Night 67: Main Hallway, 1-Center

[freewill]

[From here.]

They'd already neared the Sun Room and the door that led to the building's exit, but Castiel wasn't aiming for either one tonight. It was still quiet on this side of the building, which seemed strange to him. He was using crutches, after all... He would have expected that plenty of other patients would have beaten him and Lust to this point.

It didn't matter. If their path wasn't littered with obstacles, that would make it easier to reach the greenhouse. As for Lust's question...

"There is one person I know who I believe is still ill," he explained. "Her name is Aigis. She used to be an android, though she's been made human here." Just like him, and perhaps just like Lust. Though she was a created human, so he had no idea if she could ever be the real thing. Did she even have a soul? There was no way he would be able to feel for it in this place; he didn't have that kind of power at the moment.

"We have a few things in common, but she hasn't been taking her illness very seriously." Which frustrated him, especially since she had struck him as the goal-oriented type. Did she really have that little concern for her own well-being?

Comments

[dispersive]

[From here]

As they moved further down the hallway, Luke was surprised to see such a lack of patients. "Where is everyone?" He figured there would be a herd of them coming down this way, but it was practically silent. That only made the dark even more creepy, especially now that he had ghosts on the brain.

Why in the hell had he gone and said something like that? Now he was all concerned about the safety of their group from some angry spirit form beyond this world. It wasn't a good way to start a journey.

[nobleman]

Guy was glad that everyone agreed on going to the greenhouse. Anise made a good point about how four healthy fighters would be an asset when there was a good chance the area would be swarming with monsters. Besides, while Guy hadn't promised Leanne that he would go, he still felt like it was his responsibility to grab one of the flowers for her.

They were going to need to get back to working on the caverns at some point, and Guy knew that. But Luke coming along presented a problem there, one that they couldn't even explain in full detail. It was something they could figure out later, though.

And while Guy wasn't hoping that they got attacked, now that he had a sheath for his sword he was pretty intent on making use of it. He hadn't showed his craftsmanship off to either Luke or Anise, since he doubted they would care that much. And Claude's praise had been enough to embarrass him on its own...

Luke brought up a good question, though -- it was pretty deserted in this hallway. "I'm not sure," Guy replied. "A lot of people are sick, and... if there was a body in one of the halls, that might have deterred people from coming this far." Guy made sure to keep his flashlight shining in all directions, since he knew there could be a dangerous killer on the loose.

[earthling]

He hadn't expected everyone to agree to his idea so readily, but Claude supposed there weren't many other options for them at this point. Besides, they couldn't just forget about the other patients, either. The fact there was one less person alive was a stark reminder of their shared circumstances.

As they passed further into the hallway, though, there was an uneasy feeling lurking in his gut. It wasn't until Luke spoke up that he realized part of the reason. Guy had his ideas as to why the area was so empty, but Claude wasn't convinced.

"That wouldn't explain why there aren't more people coming from the other blocks, though," Claude pointed out. "I mean, I guess, it's possible a bunch of people are just plain sick, but..."

He still sounded skeptical. Considering what was on the line, he doubted that maybe patients would be sitting on their butts just because they didn't feel well. There were a lot of stubborn people here.

[gald_digger]

Luke had a point. There were a few groups out and about, but the crowds grew thinner as they moved forward. There was barely anyone ahead. “Maybe… we’re still early?” she offered, trying to sound hopeful, though there was a hint of doubt in her tone.

The less optimistic side of Anise was wondering if the reason for the lack of patients was that for many of the remaining sick people, it was already too late. She saw the death announcements on the bulletin, the talk of people who’d gone missing. There was no telling how many of them were sick or were killed by sick people who’d transformed, and she couldn’t help thinking it played a part in some of those cases.

Of course, those thoughts were much too dark to voice to her friends, and Anise didn’t want to think too much about what could have happened if she and Claude hadn’t been cured in time. She just had to keep moving.

[to here]