Day 75: Intercom, Dinner

[damned_intercom]

With how the number of patients had dwindled lately, the day passed on without much note, save for one sedation that had happened early on. Which meant that soon enough, the intercom came on yet again, this time to announce the day's end.

"Hello, dear patients. I know a lot of your friends have been sent home lately, and maybe some of you are missing them." Was this a referral to that one patient's outburst that morning? Who knew.

"But instead of worrying about them, you should think of yourselves! There aren't many of you enrolled here right now, which means each one of you gets more of our attention. Before long, all of you will be headed back to your friends and family too. Maybe you can even meet up with some of your fellow patients after you're released -- wouldn't that be nice?"

Of course, Landel wasn't referring to the sort of homecoming that the patients wanted. Nice as it sounded in the daytime, the truth was something far more sinister.

"For now, enjoy some dinner with your roommates! Tonight we're serving spaghetti and garlic bread -- a popular choice, I would think. Have a nice meal."

And with that, the intercom shut off and the nurses gathered up the patients to take them to their rooms.

[ Make sure to check the rooming list, as it was updated prior to this post being made! ]

Comments

M7

[lighthearted]

It seemed like the days just got more and more boring. There were so few of them here now that things stayed pretty quiet, and maybe that was a good thing, but it also made Sora pretty antsy by the time that dinner rolled around.

He and Link would have plenty of work to do tonight, as usual, and he was prepared for a fight after the warning that he'd seen on the bulletin board.

As he took a seat in front of his spaghetti, Sora had to wonder if there was a reason that their numbers were dropping. Was Landel slowly but surely brainwashing all of them because he knew that they were actually making progress? Was that his plan?

If it was, then they were going to have to work harder than ever.

[his_legacy]

The days were starting to drag miserably. Landel's Institute was an empty shell in comparison to when Link had first arrived. At least they were making progress. Those who remained could find their way home. He did what he could to push away the consideration of what was happening to those whose numbers were so rapidly dwindling.

At least Sora was here. Link's roommate had come to be something of his partner at night. He was thankful for that.

For now, though, it was dinner shift once again. He entered his bedroom with a nod to Sora.

"I'm glad you're still here." It was worth saying, Link thought.

[lighthearted]

Considering how the disappearances were piling up day by day, Sora was just as relieved to find that Link wasn't among them. They had each other to rely on for the nights, and if Link disappeared on him, then Sora wouldn't know what to do.

Except for keep pressing forward on his own, but he realized that wasn't a good idea.

"You too," he said, grinning over at Link in greeting. Sora then picked up his fork and started eating with gusto, wanting to make sure he was fully energized for when those doors opened.

"Did you see the map that someone put up on the bulletin board? It looks like we might get attacked up on the third floor soon..."

[his_legacy]

"Yes, I had a look at it. But things are at least starting to become more clear at this point, as far as where we are in regards to the rest of the floor at a given time." That was essential to Link. What good were they hopelessly lost? He paused for a moment as he fiddled with his dinner.

"Do I bother to mention the amount of people who have been 'released' lately?" He looked over to Sora.

[lighthearted]

It did help having a clearer idea of where everything was in relation to everything else up on the third floor. Whoever had put up that map, they'd done a really good job. Sora probably should have copied it down, but he had committed a lot of it to memory.

At the mention of more people disappearing, Sora glanced over with his fork halfway to his mouth. "Who else?" he asked with a frown. As if Tsurugi hadn't been enough...

[his_legacy]

"I just... haven't been seeing people lately. It's like the building is emptying itself. I try to keep tabs on who I've seen on which days, but I can only keep track of so many. I definitely didn't see those brothers today... Edward and Alphonse? I don't know if you met them, but I spoke with Alphonse on several occasions. He was kind..."

Was. Gods only knew where they were now.

"It all just makes me nervous," Link admitted as he continued to poke at his dinner rather than eat it.

[lighthearted]

Sora nodded, as he'd noticed the same thing. Tsubaki was still around, thankfully, but how many of his other friends were actually still here? The answer was not many, and it definitely made him feel like their days were numbered. They needed to end this and stop Landel, and they needed to do it soon.

"I knew them, but a long time ago. I think they left and came back in that time..." Not that it mattered, as the brothers were apparently gone now, brainwashed all over again.

"I wonder if Landel knows that we're onto something and he's trying to get us all brainwashed before we can get to him." It might be something that took a lot of time and effort, which was why it had been happening gradually rather than all at once. Sora took another bite of spaghetti, frowning as he chewed. The more he talked about this, the more anxious he became.

[his_legacy]

"I'm sure he knows what we're up to. But the fact that not all of us have been killed or brainwashed yet at least proves that he cannot do it all in one swoop, so to speak." Link finally took a bite out of his dinner.

"He can only get so many of us in a night." Or so Link hopes and assumes.

[lighthearted]

That meant that every night, there was a chance that one of them (or both of them) wouldn't be here the next morning. Sora had been here so long that the idea of being caught in Landel's trap seemed almost impossible. He'd held out for months now -- he could keep it up for a little longer.

"Well, for now we're both still here. We'd better make the best of that, right?" Sora rushed to finish his dinner so he could start getting ready for the night ahead of them.

[his_legacy]

Link nodded, putting on a small smile for Sora before shoveling down a portion of his food.

"Tonight, we'll finish him." Time was of the essence, and they were running out of it. Now, though, with the resources and information they had gathered, Link was convinced that it was possible. They needed to find the man himself, and finish him. The thought made him pause, both mentally and in his eating.

It was so easy, to condemn the man to death.

[lighthearted]

Link sounded so certain of it. Sora wanted to feel the same way, but it seemed like there were still so many obstacles in the way.

He finished off his plate of food, reminding himself that holding onto hope and faith that they could get this done was the only way that they would win. If they believed they'd stop Landel, it would make it that much more possible.

"Right," he agreed despite any misgivings, standing from his seat so that he could get changed before the lights turned off.