Night 68: M71-80 Hallway

[complicatedliar]

Loki prepared quickly tonight, not waiting for his roommate to depart. He didn't want to be the last to the meeting point; it wouldn't do for the persona he'd built up. And really, he didn't like being late anyway unless it was carefully on purpose.

He packed up what few medical supplies he had left into a pillow case that he fixed to his waist in a compact bundle, then pulled on his coat and boots. The kunai came with him as well, and the spear that Soma had given him. Notebook, radio, and flashlight and then he was ready to go. He didn't bother to turn the flashlight on as he left.

The basement. He was most curious about this.

[To here]

Comments

M79

[dividedby]

It was happening again.

At least this time around, Zero had tried to prepare for it. On the way back to his room, he'd posted a warning note on the board for X and Harpuia; he'd glanced over his maps to find a place to run to just in case; he'd even purposefully (and silently) waited to start on dinner until the evening was almost over, so that he could be as full as possible before the prisoners were released from their rooms. (He'd also avoided eye contact with Gabe as much as possible for obvious reasons.)

Now it was time; the doors had unlocked. And as expected, the burning pain in his leg quickly returned, just as intense as the night before. He knew it would only be a matter of time before the hunger and lust for blood would return, too. He had to act quickly.

Zero didn't bother with any supplies beyond his boots, his maps, his flashlight, and the steel pipe he'd been neglecting for the past few nights - enough for him to move about and protect himself in case he was attacked, and nothing more. If he had his gun on hand...no. It would make it that much easier for him to kill someone without meaning to, so forget it. The pipe was far less dangerous.

Supplies in hand, the former Reploid hurried out the door, not daring to even look at his roommate in case that action put the man in danger.

[To here.]

M79

[impudentsongbird]

Dinner was silent affair. The most Gabriel had managed to offer Zero was a distracted smile. He knew he should have been giving his room-mate more attention, especially with the way the man was very carefully not looking at him--not in anger or fear, but almost in protectiveness--but there were things Gabe needed to do tonight. Things he was determined to do tonight.

He'd lost his torch last night. He needed another one. There was no way he could last without light.

Except that that meant having to go out into the darkness to begin with. And as much as Gabe didn't want to admit it, he was afraid--no, terrified--of walking out into that darkness. Which meant that he remained in his room for long after Zero had left, breathing very carefully and trying to override the unwelcome sensations of nausea and tingling limbs the adrenaline left in him.

It took four prayer cycles on Skulduggery's rosary before he felt able to stand up and walk through that door.

[to here.]

M73

[ryuuzaki]

L had eaten dinner quietly. It might be that he had to risk another conversation with Lingormr soon, which would include the possibility of debilitating pain. But he hadn't been cured for very long, and if the initial experience had been caused by the implant in his brain rather than the one in his stomach, he wasn't sure he wanted to endure that kind of intense discomfort just yet -- not for the sake of possibly getting information that was, as it stood, largely useless to him. The situation made him aloof, but only in a benign way, the way anyone in a psychiatric hospital who might actually belong there might be. He had sickly smiles at the ready if he needed them. As it happened, they weren't on call: Lingormr hastened off to his appointment, and L set about preparing to leave.

The flower from the greenhouse had been in his pocket in the latter part of the day -- it was the only place he could keep it. But before dinner, before anything else, he'd fished a plastic bag out of his supplies, dropped the flower in, then dropped it all in the drawer. There was no way of knowing whether it needed to be fresh, but the bag would at least keep it reasonably intact until he could get it to Lana. Now, he pocketed the bag.

The rest of his preparations were easy. With Edgar's hands still injured, it seemed unlikely that they would go to the basement tonight; apart from that, he wanted to have a serious talk with everyone before they made another attempt. And L still wanted to try to be sure that he had really been cured. That meant that the backpack and the shield and sword could stay in the room, and that he wouldn't need to dress for cold weather. Landel's braggadocio at least gave some hints as to what he had planned, and it didn't sound like he intended to tamper with the doors again. On the other hand, what he had said didn't sound good. It meant that it would be best for L to plan to travel light and well-armed.

He made sure the Walther was unobstructed and loaded with six bullets, then buckled the belt around his waist and holstered the gun. There didn't seem to be much point in bringing the miniature shield and sword, or the backpack, so he left them. Rings and sneakers went on, and a small first aid kit went into the free pocket. The radio had been silent lately, so after a moment's hesitation, he locked it in the drawer. The keys went into his pocket, and he picked up the flashlight and left.

[To here.]