damned_institute | Day 71: Patient Library (Third Shift)

It wasn't often that Castiel was left to his own devices here, but during the meal shift he actually sat alone for the entirety of it. He didn't necessarily enjoy the solitude, but this place had forced him into more interaction with strangers and more specifically with humans than he had ever been prepared for. He had been managing because there were at least a few others here like him -- not angels (save for one), but other non-humans who struggled to understand the strange species. People like Lust, for instance.

Given a choice of where to go, the library was almost always Castiel's choice, but in this case he had even more reason for it. He and Kratos had gone there last night and found the switch to the hidden passage with little trouble, but he would still be interested to see it all by the light of day -- and also to see what would happen if that book was grabbed for when it wasn't nightshift.

His nurse sighed at his decision, but didn't argue with him beyond that, allowing him to step into the quiet space of the library. "Well, go ahead," she said, waving him off even as her sharp eyes watched his back retreat into the aisles.

It had been the middle one, and a quick glance around proved that there was no sign of the creature they'd pinned under the shelves. Like always, any sign of their nighttime activities was gone by morning. Castiel started down the middle aisle, keeping a lookout for The Oxford Book of English Verse.

[For Soushi.]

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"That would be the question most of us would like the answer to," Castiel said as he grabbed for the book and pulled at it. It stuck in place, not coming out into his hand no matter how much strength he applied. The passage didn't open, of course, but the inability for the book to budge was definitely a clue. That must have been how this secret was found in the first place.

He turned back to Soushi. "The fact that it's so difficult to access is a clue in itself that there must be something of use there -- and many have guessed that Landel can be found therel."

Castiel wasn't expecting that they would find his office immediately, and there was frankly no guarantee that the Head Doctor spent all of his time in the institute, either. But there was only one way to know for certain.

Interesting. None of the patients knew what was on the third floor? Soushi appeared puzzled by the answer, but Castiel didn't seem the sort to tell obvious lies. Perhaps he should reconsider his exploration of the second floor's kennel in light of the new information. Finding the doctor was probably a much faster way to return to his world. If that was at all possible. Was there anything left to return to?

"I see. That is troubling. Do you think we were meant to find it? I can't imagine that man making such an obvious mistake unless it were some kind of bait or trap," he theorized. An entrance somewhere that the patients could so easily access? Then again, Aidou had been here at least a couple of months and he was still no closer to escape. Was it that well hidden? He supposed there might not be a lot of interest in English Verse in the middle of the night.

That was the problem. Soushi had hit on that almost instantly, but it was the natural question to ask when you were handed something on a silver platter in this way. Granted, it had taken the patients quite some time to actually find this hidden switch...

"Landel knows that we're aware of it," he explained. "When I went into the passage last night and started to ride the elevator upward, there were speakers fitted into the walls. He spoke to my companion and I and made it very clear that he was aware of what we were doing, and we woke up this morning after that." Which wasn't a good sign, naturally, but Castiel had already discussed this and decided that in the end, he couldn't give up so easily. This might be the only chance they have.

It might not be a good idea to linger by the spot of interest for too long, and so Castiel started further down the aisle, a vague attempt at subtlety.

That was the part he didn't understand. If they were somewhere Landel didn't want them to be at the end of the night, all he had to do was dispose of them, rather than take them gently to their beds the next morning.

He followed Castiel's lead, leaving the book behind. Now that he knew about the passage, should he take it as well? Did he really want Landel's attention trained on him like that?

"How did he react?" Soushi pried. It was hard to tell from Castiel's explanation whether the doctor had been pleased that his patients had made it so far, or angry that they had done so. His lips formed a thin line as he mulled the information over.

"Has anyone else found it? Or seen what's beyond the elevator?" he didn't mean to keep questioning Castiel, but the idea of making progress in this place was too tempting. He didn't want to allow himself to hope until he was a bit more certain they had a chance.

"He seemed to be... pleased with himself," Castiel responded as he reached the end of the aisle and moved into the next one. There wasn't much to do in a library when having a conversation with someone else, so he'd resorted to wandering idly. "He wanted to make it very clear that he had control over whether or not we saw the third floor for ourselves."

Castiel couldn't see why Landel would change his way of handling that from one night to the next, but he was willing to keep trying until there was a better result. That might be tantamount to insanity, but seeing how they were in an institute, it seemed appropriate.

"A man named Skulduggery originally told me about the passage," he said. "Other than him and whoever was investigating it with him, I don't know who else is aware of it." It couldn't have been that many people, or Castiel would have heard of it before now. "But as far as I know, no one's actually made it to the top yet."

Which only made him more eager to see it for himself.

The more he heard, the more confused he felt. The doctor was pleased with himself, not at all bothered by their attempts to reach him. Either they were heading in the right direction and sorely out-classed, or it was a dead end. He wasn't sure he liked either option, but at least it was a hint that went somewhere. Thus far he felt like he was chasing shadows and whispers and hoping that he found something to lead him back home.

"Not terribly encouraging, but I suppose he might have been bluffing," Soushi suggested. Despite the low probability for success, Castiel didn't seem to have any intention of giving up. Otherwise, why mention it at all?

"You intend to try again?"

Soushi wasn't providing any optimism toward the situation, but that would have been wasted on Castiel, so it was for the best. He was always going to approach a situation in a realistic way, not seeing much point for false hope. He realized that this was a long shot and that they might never get to the top of that escalator, but there was no better option available to them.

"Tonight, yes," he said with a nod. He wondered what sort of creature would be sent out to guard the area this time around. Now that he was healed up, it would be that much easier to handle, but he wasn't going to let his guard down either. The last thing Castiel wanted was to get another injury just after recovering from his surgery.

He glanced over at Soushi. "How have you been spending your nights?"

Edited 2013-06-20 16:20 (UTC)

Well, that was that. He had the information and he knew now what Castiel's plans were. The question was, did he want to do the same? Or did he want to continue in his own way. There was still the kennel on the second floor to look into.

"Looking for answers in all the wrong places, it would seem," he said with a quiet sigh. His nights had seen little progress, and his luck seemed terrible no matter who he went with. The only difference had been the success in actually finding his supposed possessions.

"I've not made any real progress since I saw you last, Castiel-san."

Soushi's response came as no surprise, not when that was the case for most of the patients here. It was rare to actually encounter helpful information in this place, which was why he wasn't going to give up on the idea of the third floor so quickly. And even then, this lead had already led to disappointment. That was how things worked here.

And to an extent, that was how things had worked back home as well. No matter what he and the Winchesters had tried to stop Lucifer and the Horsemen, it had usually ended in disaster of some kind.

"That's not out of the ordinary," he said after a pause. "It can take weeks to make any progress here." It wasn't an encouraging remark, but it was the truth.

Day 71: Patient Library (Third Shift)

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WHOOPS, I meant escalator, not elevator, let's just pretend that never happened.

lol no prob

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