Night 67: Main Hallway, 1-West

[ofthemotions]

[from here --and waiting for Ryusei!]

There still wasn't a lot of people in the halls, and it was starting to make him nervous. Maybe he should try to find someone to hang out with tonight. Snow and Celty had insisted on how Mikado shouldn't be alone at night--it wouldn't hurt to take their advice. But it would be strange to just go up to someone and ask to walk around with them.

...Wouldn't it?

He made a face, and paused in the hall, looking around. He was more aware of the bandages covering his eye in the dim, and even wearing his own clothes didn't negate that uncomfortability. He was suddenly starting to think he should have just stayed inside.

Comments

[asteroidbelt]

[from here. HELLO]

Now he really had to make a decision. He could explore the areas of the building he hadn't seen, but there was no telling whether or not there was staff there. And he had to slide past this...kid.... That was a kid, right? Unless the institute was big on recruiting kids for their patient-busting security, the stranger probably wasn't a staff member. (And if he was, Ryusei hadn't done anything that 'but the door was open' couldn't cover for, if he played it innocently enough.)

He flicked on his flashlight. "Seems I'm not the only one who has one," he said aloud.

[freewill]

[From here.]

As Castiel slowly made his way into the main hallway, he heard a voice and squinted through the darkness (his flashlight was in his coat pocket, and his vision wasn't as good as it should have been) to see a pair of patients. One of them was a boy he'd spoken to briefly, but since it had been the first day after his surgery, the conversation hadn't really gone anywhere.

In other words, this wasn't any of his concern. Instead of continuing on down the hall, though, Castiel realized that he had to take a break. His arms were burning with pain from using the crutches, and he doubted he'd be able to go further without resting first. He sighed and moved the crutches into one hand so that he could lean himself against the wall.

He just needed a few seconds to catch his breath and let his arms relax, and then he'd keep going.

[For Lust!]

[knightspirit]

[from here]

The stairs were at end the end of the hall... Kyousuke wasn't particularly looking forward to climbing them like this, but it couldn't helped. At least the painkillers were doing their job, for now, although he was sure he'd be feeling the effects of so little rest tomorrow.

He scanned the hall just as he had the last, and after a moment of hesitation, he ended up leaning against the wall. He still didn't know where Kratos was, and though this wasn't where they were supposed to be meeting, he felt like he should at least give a small grace period, just in case. Normally, he wouldn't have, but he owed the man, and even though he was already convinced of what the result of this little expedition would be, he was beginning to grow agitated, uncertain if he really wanted to face that. For that matter, why was he the one doing this...? It wasn't that he minded, but there had to be better choices than a near stranger. Someone who had been closer, maybe.

... Well, whatever. It was too late to be thinking that now.

[for Link eventually]

[his_legacy]

[From here]

Link somehow found strength in his legs once again, dashing through the largest hallway toward the women's blocks. He needed to focus!

But it was so difficult, with people dropping dead around him and nothing he could do about it.

[To here]

[fourstonewalls]

[from here]

The sounds of conversation grew louder as Lana turned into the main hall, resolving themselves into words and distinct voices. She stopped, for a moment, and pretended to wait while she listened. One man on crutches was following a woman somewhere, but she hadn't heard where, and they were already leaving. Another pair were headed to the morgue, and confirming Mr. Dent's death was not something she felt any need to do. He was dead, or he wasn't, and if he was going to come back to life, she didn't expect he'd like an audience for the process.

There had to be more patients heading for the greenhouse. Maybe she'd just wait a few minutes. Though the worst that could happen...didn't bear thinking about, really. This was, quite possibly, the most dangerous place to wait, not for her, but for everyone else. And yet there she stood, watching the ends of the hallways stay perfectly in line. She might, she admitted, be more spooked by the idea of heading to the greenhouse alone than she'd pretended before. Five minutes, she thought, and then she'd go.

[L & Co.]

[dispersive]

[From here]

Luke made it to their designated meeting spot without any trouble. Frankly, he was surprised since he would think something that made such a mess of a man would be a bumbling tirade throughout the rest of the institute. With no tracks to follow, the only conclusion the replica could come to was that another person had done it and wiped away any evidence.

It frustrated him to know that people were fighting among themselves instead of at the real terror in this institute. The redhead kept a keen eye on each patient around him, wondering if the perpetrator was right under his nose.

[Abysmal peeps!]

[redcladidealist]

[From here.]

There were several other people in this hall, but as near as he could tell none of them were Kratos. Any minute, though, the man would probably show up, and the others all looked busy, intent on their own goals for the night. Lloyd picked an out of the way spot and leaned against the wall, keeping an eye out for who came and went. Any minute now...

Any minute.

[ever_loyal_dog]

[from here]

He rounded the corner, following cautiously. They probably wouldn't have to worry too much about the monsters in a place this populated, but he wasn't about to take a chance. So far, it looked much the same. The same hall he'd walked by this morning on the way to breakfast, and again when he'd come back for dinner. He was fairly certain it wasn't just his imagination though, that made things look aged, worn, and damaged. The building had seemed in such good repair in the daylight.

Still, he glanced about the shadowed faces for any familiar ones. That was Ryuugamine not far off, and little Anise, though he doubted they would recognize him at his current size. No sign of any of the Ayakashi residents, demons or no, and at least the smell of blood in the air was no longer so heavy in the open hall. He stayed close to Lingormr, flashlight concentrated on the ground in front of him.

[fallenbeanpole]

[from here]

The Once-ler continued at a fast pace, avoiding the other patients in the hall. His leg was starting to protest the exertions even more, but he pressed on towards the western patient blocks.

[to here]

[thecamellia]

_{[from here, and for Leanne!]}

It was well into nightshift, and Tsubaki still didn't feel any different. No discomfort, no pain... and no rashes or anything of the sort. Did she dare to hope? Would she be well enough to pull this off?

If good fortune was on her side, maybe there was room for hope. She had to see this possibility through; it was a duty she'd set herself, just as elsewhere in the building Kratos would be ready to tend to Sora if need be. Thinking about her friend and what had become of him because of their inability to find a cure just made her more determined to get to the Greenhouse and back.

She owed it to Sora--they all did. And to people like Leanne, too, who were depending on a solution.

Now, it was just a matter of waiting for Leanne and her friend to arrive in the main hall, and then they could go! If the other girl didn't appear soon, Tsubaki was prepared to head to her room if she had to. Leanne had been well enough to put up notes during the day, but that could've changed come nightfall.

[idolism]

_{[from here]}

The route back toward the male cell blocks was clear, but Aidou kept up a swift pace nonetheless. He needed to get back. His trip had not taken long, however it'd been long to likely make Sasuke antsy. Assuming the boy was ready to tackle the cavernous area again.

He supposed picking a place to meet would have reduced the amount of uncertainty... Who would've thought he'd have been moved to a new cell, though?

[oyaji]

[From here]

The hallway was much quieter than it usually was. He wondered if many had stayed in for the day or they had just been slow to start wandering. Either way, none of the patients looked anxious or spooked like they had just seen a bloody deranged monster come scrambling down the hallway. Well, he supposed that was for the best even if it meant there were no leads on where the bastard could be.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to check rooms as they went. Barnaby couldn't get mad at him if they were heading in the direction of the greenhouse and just popping a head in a few rooms on the way, right? Right!

[seekingmystrength]

[from here]

"This is one of the main halls," he commented in passing, giving a quick nod to the hallway they'd just come from before continuing on, "Unless you go through a field back that way, every patient passes this way if they want to get anywhere from the rooms."

On occasion, Kurogane had used the field himself. It was the fastest way to get between his and Fai's room, and one of the safer options for getting to the basement. Heading for the stairs, Kurogane wondered over whether this Fai had the same room or not and asked back, "Do you know your room number?"