Day 41: Breakfast

[oftemptation.livejournal.com]

Endrance turned his head to look at the intercom, giving it a look that would wither an entire rose garden in an instant. He would never get used to ending up in his room again from somewhere else in the Institute.

He brushed his bangs out of his eyes, not sitting up just yet. He could tell already that his torso had been heavily bandaged, even more so than it had been the night before. The cuts on his arms were covered with fresh bandages, and the one on his cheek seemed to no longer be there at all.

Endrance had been expecting to wake up in a lot of pain, but even that seemed numbed. "They must have given me something," he murmured quietly, as he slowly sat up.

At that moment, his nurse came to get him, pushing a wheelchair along with her. "Peyton, dear, good morning. I've come to take you to breakfast, so..." He shook his head. "I'm fine. There's no need for that...I can walk perfectly well."

She sighed. Well, if he insisted, she wasn't going to stop him. She motioned for an orderly to take the chair away, and walked him to the cafeteria. Once they had gotten there, she pointed him toward a seat, then set a full tray of pancakes covered with syrup, a bowl of fruit, and a glass of orange juice in front of him. "Now eat all of that, Peyton, or else you won't be strong enough to keep walking like that."

He glared at her back as she walked away, then stopped suddenly. There was that faint pulse he'd felt the night before...it was exactly the same.

And so he completely ignored his food in favor of staring at the cafeteria doors, looking at every patient that came in.

[thread will be closed to Haseo. ♥]

Comments

[oldest-man.livejournal.com]

"Every few days," Methos confirmed. It was a gamble to assume the pattern he'd noticed since his own arrival was a steady one, but as he still hadn't heard any remarks over a sudden influx, it seemed reasonable enough for the time being. "And no. In case you were wondering, no one seems to remember exactly how they got here."

He shrugged, taking a bite of his pancakes and using the time spent to chew and swallow to study the man across the table. His own expression was slightly puzzled, slightly frustrated, and very much that of someone trying hard to keep up an air of calm.

"We're very much held captive," he answered. "I don't think anyone's managed a successful escape attempt during the day, and those who've gotten out during the night have just woken up here again in the morning."

[should-be-dead.livejournal.com]

Tenzen blinked at both statements. No one remembering how they ended up here was suspicious enough, but to wake up here in the morning after escaping during the night hardly made any sense. "You mean they are recaptured." Tenzen said. It was the likeliest conclusion.

"If this is some sort of prison, why are we held captive here?" He continued to inquire, not seeing why he'd suddenly end up in some sort of foreign prison without even knowing the details. "More importantly, who is responsible for this?" Firing a number of questions at the first person he ran into here, especially when he couldn't tell whether this person could be trusted or not, did not seem to be the best move. But, above all, he wanted answers.

[oldest-man.livejournal.com]

"That's the logical assumption," Methos replied evenly. "But no one actually remembers the process of being recaptured, either. Drug-triggered amnesia, most likely, but it would make it difficult to avoid patrols." Though he'd never heard of a drug that effective which would have no negative side-effects, it still seemed an easier explanation than the ones defaulted to by a surprising portion of the patient populace.

One corner of his mouth quirked slightly as he considered the questions. They were the same ones he'd been asking himself, and so far, there still weren't any clear answers. "The man claiming to head this prison is called Dr. Landel. He's the one usually speaking over the intercoms. I've never seen his face, but a few people may have, if you ask around. As for why...no one's really deigned to give us an explanation, unless you count the lies. Some sort of experiment seems the most likely reason."

[should-be-dead.livejournal.com]

Tenzen glanced at the man across him, remaining skeptical about his words. It did sound more like rubbish than anything else, but unfortunately he didn't have an explanation available that sounded even slightly more logical than this one had sounded.

"You do realize that this all sounds rather strange?" he eventually said, not keeping his skeptism a secret. "And what is this 'intercom' you speak of?"

[oldest-man.livejournal.com]

"Of course," Methos replied. He looked up from the table, offering the other man a small, spare smile. "It likely sounds like the raving of a lunatic. But you can either take it under consideration, or you can ignore it and learn the hard way yourself. That's entirely your choice, and doesn't have any effect on me." He didn't feel it necessary to admit he'd chosen the second path himself, and continued to do it as often as not when faced with the more ludicrous claims of the other inmates.

The question about the intercom left him momentarily puzzled, both as to how the man could be unfamiliar with the device, and how to explain it. Eventually he settled on, "It's a vocal broadcast system. It allows someone to transmit a vocal message simultaneously to every room in this building. You can see the speaker over there." He lifted a hand to indicate the speaker on the wall, then shrugged. "You'll get a demonstration soon enough. They always make an announcement after breakfast."

[should-be-dead.livejournal.com]

Tenzen's gaze followed the man's gesture, glancing at the unfamiliar device on the wall that was apparently called a 'speaker'. So messages were transmitted through that thing? The ninja couldn't help but to lift an eyebrow. Claiming that he had never heard of such things in the 214 years of his existence was clearly an understatement. Which wasn't all that surprising considering the time period the ninja was from.

He returned his gaze towards the man across him. "Learn it the hard way, hmm?" he said. "That almost makes me curious."