"Hey," he addressed the girl sternly, raising a hand to impede the tirade. "Would y'knock it off?" Rubbing his temple slowly, he deliberated an answer, gaze flickering over the adolescent. "I'll tell you everything. Relax."
He allowed a pause, eyes traveling from her feet to face as he decided how to forward an intro to her. The man finally sighed when the words felt confident on his tongue.
"OK. Diva, I'm sorry –" Which honestly resonated strangely, coming from his mouth – "I've gotta break this to you." He pulled a slightly hesitant face, speculating why in the world a nurse dumped this girl on him. This wouldn't end well. The short-lived interval concluded when he glanced this way and that before returning his full attention to her.
Why did he have to do this?
"Place's called Landel's Institute. The staff'll have you believe you're a mental patient, but we're all bright enough to estimate the opposite. Everyone here is a prisoner, part of some bigger plan." He exhaled silently, the beginnings of guilt swelling within him. "And we're all tryin' to work out an escape. In the mean time, we've gotta stick with the facts – we're gonna be stuck here a while. It's a sick, twisted kind o' thing we've got goin' for us. Long as we all keep safe, out of harm's way, we'll live through this." His jaw snapped shut, throat feeling parched for some reason.
"... They lifted our gear," he continued in a softer voice, unable to look at Diva anymore. "All of it. These rags we're wearin' are the uniform."
no subject
He allowed a pause, eyes traveling from her feet to face as he decided how to forward an intro to her. The man finally sighed when the words felt confident on his tongue.
"OK. Diva, I'm sorry –" Which honestly resonated strangely, coming from his mouth – "I've gotta break this to you." He pulled a slightly hesitant face, speculating why in the world a nurse dumped this girl on him. This wouldn't end well. The short-lived interval concluded when he glanced this way and that before returning his full attention to her.
Why did he have to do this?
"Place's called Landel's Institute. The staff'll have you believe you're a mental patient, but we're all bright enough to estimate the opposite. Everyone here is a prisoner, part of some bigger plan." He exhaled silently, the beginnings of guilt swelling within him. "And we're all tryin' to work out an escape. In the mean time, we've gotta stick with the facts – we're gonna be stuck here a while. It's a sick, twisted kind o' thing we've got goin' for us. Long as we all keep safe, out of harm's way, we'll live through this." His jaw snapped shut, throat feeling parched for some reason.
"... They lifted our gear," he continued in a softer voice, unable to look at Diva anymore. "All of it. These rags we're wearin' are the uniform."