After what seemed a brief period of unconsciousness following the silence over the intercom, von Karma heard normal, non-mechanical human voices blaring over the intercom. Of course. I knew it was too good to be true, he grumbled to himself as the Head Lunatic's voice wafted through the public address system. Just as I thought. It was nothing more than a pompous display to fool the patients into thinking he was dead.
The aging prosecutor looked over at his roommate. Still in deep slumber... or so it seemed. While von Karma was grateful not to have to engage in frivolous chitchat with him, there was something unnerving about a man who never left the room, instead appearing to sleep constantly. ...Was the man perhaps spying on him, making the mere pretense of sleeping? As long as Mr. Hamilton was in here, awake or not, von Karma would have to maintain extra discretion in here.
"Mr. Fuchs! How are we feeling today?" a disgustingly cheery voice rang out, interrupting his thoughts. Such impeccable timing, von Karma thought to himself sardonically, as his nurse approached his bed.
He wasted no time answering her. "Nurse! What is the matter with my roommate?! He has slept for two whole days! Is he ill? If so, I demand that you move him to the infirmary! I will hold you and the Institute responsible should I contract whatever it is that he has!"
The nurse just folded her arms, a patronizing smile on her face as she waited for him to finish his demand. "Don't worry about him, Mr. Fuchs. He is fine. His treatment just makes him a little groggy. We've been monitoring his condition, so we know he's okay. Now... it's breakfast time! Come on, now!"
Not wanting to create a scene, he grudgingly lifted himself out of bed. As he did so, he noted that the severe pain he had experienced in his shoulder just hours earlier was greatly dulled. The heat and swelling were virtually nonexistent. Experimentally, he reached over to rub his shoulder. He felt a bandage underneath his shirt, but it was thin; the layers of gauze were gone. Accelerated healing? He would have asked the nurse about this, but it would likely prove an exercise in futility as usual.
He followed her into the cafeteria, grumbling as he saw how crowded it already was. Right now, after what happened last night, the last thing he wanted was to be around anyone. But it was still preferable to the humiliation of getting sedated. He absently filled a plate and found a table that didn't seem quite as occupied yet. It was only after he had sat down and started in on his breakfast that he realized that sitting just across from him was the smarmy blond man who had been his seatmate on the bus just two days ago. The one who had witnessed that mortifying yogurt target practice incident.
As usual, the man was grinning smugly, a stark contrast to the air of gloom that pervaded the rest of the cafeteria. von Karma returned that saccharine smile with a look of infinite annoyance, before finally addressing him, his arms folded. "Well. How nice to see that someone is in such high spirits this morning. Are you always this perpetually cheerful?"
no subject
The aging prosecutor looked over at his roommate. Still in deep slumber... or so it seemed. While von Karma was grateful not to have to engage in frivolous chitchat with him, there was something unnerving about a man who never left the room, instead appearing to sleep constantly. ...Was the man perhaps spying on him, making the mere pretense of sleeping? As long as Mr. Hamilton was in here, awake or not, von Karma would have to maintain extra discretion in here.
"Mr. Fuchs! How are we feeling today?" a disgustingly cheery voice rang out, interrupting his thoughts. Such impeccable timing, von Karma thought to himself sardonically, as his nurse approached his bed.
He wasted no time answering her. "Nurse! What is the matter with my roommate?! He has slept for two whole days! Is he ill? If so, I demand that you move him to the infirmary! I will hold you and the Institute responsible should I contract whatever it is that he has!"
The nurse just folded her arms, a patronizing smile on her face as she waited for him to finish his demand. "Don't worry about him, Mr. Fuchs. He is fine. His treatment just makes him a little groggy. We've been monitoring his condition, so we know he's okay. Now... it's breakfast time! Come on, now!"
Not wanting to create a scene, he grudgingly lifted himself out of bed. As he did so, he noted that the severe pain he had experienced in his shoulder just hours earlier was greatly dulled. The heat and swelling were virtually nonexistent. Experimentally, he reached over to rub his shoulder. He felt a bandage underneath his shirt, but it was thin; the layers of gauze were gone. Accelerated healing? He would have asked the nurse about this, but it would likely prove an exercise in futility as usual.
He followed her into the cafeteria, grumbling as he saw how crowded it already was. Right now, after what happened last night, the last thing he wanted was to be around anyone. But it was still preferable to the humiliation of getting sedated. He absently filled a plate and found a table that didn't seem quite as occupied yet. It was only after he had sat down and started in on his breakfast that he realized that sitting just across from him was the smarmy blond man who had been his seatmate on the bus just two days ago. The one who had witnessed that mortifying yogurt target practice incident.
As usual, the man was grinning smugly, a stark contrast to the air of gloom that pervaded the rest of the cafeteria. von Karma returned that saccharine smile with a look of infinite annoyance, before finally addressing him, his arms folded. "Well. How nice to see that someone is in such high spirits this morning. Are you always this perpetually cheerful?"