NIGHTSHIFT 43: M1 - M10 CORRIDOR

[stiffserpent.livejournal.com]

Ignoring the pain in his broken arm, Snake crept along the hallway. He had brought only the matches and hairspray with him, hooked into the band of his pants, needing no light. His feet made no sound. Even that vision of the corridor earlier hadn't phased him like his much-loved old Outer Heaven flashbacks usually did, as he was far too focused on his mission.

He had been checking the men's block rooms, one at a time. Most of them were vacated; some were not, and even the sounds of movement inside those ones were enough to reassure him that they were not the rooms that belonged to Big Boss.

Systematically, he started down the furthest corridor in the block to the south of his own, starting with room M10. The door was, of course, unlocked, and he cautiously pushed it open. Like many of the others, it seemed empty, but for less than a second he caught a trace of Big Boss's smell. It was enough to lure him into the room, even though no-one was visible. Had he imagined it?

[M10]

Comments

[prisonerofdeath.livejournal.com]

"Because they're experimenting. It's painful, and it seems to always take something away, but in exchange you get something. In my case I've lost the ability to sneak around because of the light, but I've got the radar instead," And the traumatic memories of that night, but there was no need to mention that. "I think they take them every night, now. Some to brainwash and turn against us and others to experiment on. I've never heard of anyone being taken twice, though."

That was all the important, relevant information and Fox lapsed into silence, his head tilted forward slightly as he found something interesting in the lower half of the room to look at. Fox turned his head to the side slightly and glanced at the door, a very subtle gesture but it gave away that his thoughts had turned to Snake.

[pseudovirtueman.livejournal.com]

"Explains the apparent chaos at night," Big Boss said, "It's just a huge game to them, an experiment. Sometimes the rules get changed, often on a whim, and only the strongest survive, in the end." And there are also those that sacrifice themselves for others.

The concept wasn't new to him. It wasn't so much the setting itself that bothered him, but the circumstances and the whole compulsion that came with the affair. And the pointlessness of it all.

Big Boss heaved a sigh, well aware of where Fox's thoughts were right now. His own were all over the place, but even he was slowly, grudgingly beginning to realize that he had to direct his energy elsewhere. There was a good chance that he had incapacitated Snake for a while, anyway; and where'd be the fun in granting him another favor and killing him now?

He had time. He had been patient for over twenty years, so he could wait a little while longer. Imagining Snake's dead and broken body lying in front of him would be motivation enough to get out of here as soon as possible.

And then him.

Yes.

"He wet his pants," Big Boss said, half annoyed, half amused, "I better lend him a pair of my own if you don't want him to smell like piss for the rest of the night. I bet some of the creatures out there have sensitive noses."

That said, he left the room for the hallway. After that he'd map out the place as far as he could; find out where they kept the supplies.

And try to remember what exactly went into a homemade bomb.