damned_institute | Day 37: Intercom, Evening

"And I believe it's time to start wrapping up the day," was what the Head Doctor said after the intercom's initial jingle. "Now that everyone's all cleaned up, I think it's time for some... that's right, dinner!

"Tonight, we're serving some scrumptuous rotisserie herb chicken, seasoned with rosemary, lemon juice, and other delicious seasonings. On the side, we have cooked asparagus with bits of grilled onion, as well as small roasted potatoes with garlic and butter; for dessert, we'll be serving vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup on top. Our normal assorted drinks and specialized diet alternatives are available.

"Some of you might find that you have new roommates since your old ones were fortunate enough to recover and leave us. Hopefully, you'll be able to see them again the next time we have visitors if you wish, but in the meantime please treat your new bunkmates kindly.

"I believe that's all for now. I hope you had a wonderful day and that you have a delicious dinner! ...Well, you'll definitely be having a delicious dinner, but there's nothing surprising about that, is there? Hahaha..."

With a seemingly good-natured chuckle, the Head Doctor turned off his mic.

[ All introduction posts for this shift's group of new characters should be made in response to this post. Find your character's room assignments here.

All room threads go in response to this post; please post your character's room number as the subject line of the initial post. Thank you! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Allen said a quiet hello, having finished his meal, more of less, by the time Sasuke arrived. He picked at it here and there, but wasn't all that interested in it.

"Good evening Sasuke, how've you been?" he asked, more out of formality and to pass the time than anything else.

Sasuke ate quickly, more than hungry enough, but paused when Allen spoke. How was Sasuke? The proper answer would have been that he'd been much, much better (notably before Naruto and anyone associated with him had arrived in the Institute). There was no point sharing that kind of information, though.

"I had some success working through the basement last night," Sasuke said, between eating. "You?"

"Really?" Allen glanced up. "Usually it takes so long to get down there that I can't get much else done." Well, that and the few times he'd tried to get down there, there had been several obstacles in their way. "But I'm glad to hear you're making progress."

Allen considered his own situation for a moment before answering. Sasuke had been pretty understanding, even when he'd had things like that curse mark, which he only now knew more about. "I'm kind of lost, I guess," yes, that seemed the best way to put it. "Almost everyone I've met since coming here has vanished or... or been killed over the last few days."

Not making progress did seem to be the standard. It had taken them two nights to get down to the basement, but at least they'd gotten through some of it. Hopefully tonight would be as good.

Allen's answer was reason for consideration, though. Sasuke frowned at his meal, eating more slowly now. It wasn't an isolated pattern, then. "A number of the people I knew have vanished as well," Sasuke said. Vanishing wasn't unusual here, though. What was more rare -- "You say some have been killed?"

Now that Sasuke thought about it, it was strange that fewer people were found outright killed. Given how limited their abilities were here, and the relative strength of the monsters ...

As bad as it was to have friends disappear, he felt worse knowing that it was happening to others as well. Sasuke seemed alright, but he must be dealing with losses of his own.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he assured the other, then considered the question carefully before answering, right hand playing with the little plastic fork as he sat on the bed.

"One last night, one the night before. The first was an enemy of mine, killed by another patient here. And last night, it was a friend, someone I met my first day here. I don't know much about it, but I think I'll be attending the memorial service for him tonight."

Sasuke was tempted to reassure Allen that the only thing he really missed out of the ones who were missing were those who had been useful, especially since the ones who returned were the ones who sabotaged their own abilities by being morons.

Sasuke's business with the other people of his world was unrelated to the subject at hand, though, so he shoved the irritation out of his mind and focused on drinking as many liquids as possible while he listened. Two in two nights, when over the time Sasuke had been here he'd really only heard of two or so in total.

Was Landel upping the ante? Another patient -- last time Sasuke had heard of killings, it had been other patients, as well.

"How did your friend die?" He asked, hoping Allen would be able to look past the bonds he'd built (even here, they were difficult to avoid, it seemed) to the value of information. Not sure if it would make it easier to talk about, Sasuke added, "Some of my allies who had disappeared have returned. Without memory of this place, but alive and well."

Allen shook his head, even if the gesture was lost on Sasuke. "I don't really know. There was a post on the bulletin about it today, they said he'd died in battle." It did seem just like him to go out fighting, but it was hard to accept for the ones left behind.

"So... so people who disappear can come back again?" he was surprised to hear that much. So far, it'd hadn't happened to anyone he knew. "You must've been relieved to see them. Well... I guess it's sort of a double edged sword. I don't like being here alone, but I don't want my friends to have to suffer here either." Still he knew how nice it was to have people here who knew and cared about one another. That could make all the difference.

Day 37: Intercom, Evening

Re: M58

Re: M58

Re: M58

Re: M58

Re: M58

Re: M58

Re: M58