damned_institute | night 45: F-A block hallway.

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night 45: F-A block hallway.

( from here. )

So far, so good. Once Bella’s hand touched the corner of the wall, she followed it slowly, her feet stumbling over themselves for a few seconds before she finally got her footing. “Stupid ... disorientating darkness,” she muttered to herself, her cheeks flushed from the thought of falling. That certainly wasn’t high up there on her list of things to do tonight.

Oh well.

Pressing forwards, Bella found another door and pushed it open.

Here we go, she thought to herself. And stepped into the empty hallway.

( to here. )

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[from here, waiting for Meche]

There were...more people out here than Maria had expected. So it wasn't just her door that had been unlocked, it had been a lot of people's. Maybe even everyone's. That wasn't safe, was it? It was one thing to pretend it happened at night, but this was something else. This was different. For one thing, it wasn't actually supposed to happen.

Where was her nurse? Did they really all go home for the night? Surely there would be some staff on hand in case something went wrong? This institute was so highly regarded. It didn't make sense for there to be no nighttime supervision. She was sure Papa wouldn't have had her sent to a place like that.

Maria gnawed on her lower lip, trying to shrug off her discomfort. Nobody here seemed hurt yet. That was a good thing, right? But they could get hurt. Why wasn't anyone doing anything about it?

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/754251.html?thread=62515275#t62515275)]

It was sort of like speaking of the devil: as soon as Meche started to worry about one zombie-infected friend, she turned the corner and saw the other one right there in the hall. Soma was by herself, moving...differently from usual, Meche thought. As though she was uncertain or preoccupied about something. Or hungry?

"Soma!" Meche called, hurrying over to the younger woman before she really stopped to think about it. "How are you feeling?" She certainly didn't look very happy--not that Meche should really expect her to, she guessed, since the last time they'd seen each other they'd been in the middle of a fight. Feeling a little guilty, Meche glanced around. The hall was mostly empty, but there were a handful of young guys nearby who could probably help her if Soma was feeling peckish.

Maria turned instinctively, the flashlight beam skittering in the general direction of the voice, and almost regretted it. She needed to learn to stop responding to that. It was what people here knew her as, but...they needed to see the light eventually too, didn't they?

"Meche," she said, offering a faint smile that surprisingly came rather easily. She didn't know the older woman's real name, so she guessed it was all right if she kept calling her that for now. It was a relief to see someone familiar out here in the hallways, even if she hadn't spoken to Meche very often. There was that one time in Doyleton, and...she'd appeared sometimes in her delusions, but...

"I'm all right," she added quickly, aware that she'd paused for a moment. "I'm doing a lot better." That was right; she'd hurt herself a few days ago and Meche had expressed concern. It was nice of her to ask. "Do you know what's going on, though?"

"I'm glad to hear it." Meche came right back with a smile and a private rush of relief--maybe it had just worn off after all, then. Hopefully that meant it wouldn't be too bad if she were a little late getting to Senna and Alita's room. "Senna was pretty worried when she didn't hear back from you on the bulletin board yesterday afternoon, so it's good to see you up and around, you know?" She didn't mention the incident the other night; it didn't really need to be said.

What was going on? A whole lot of things, honestly, but Meche decided she'd better skip to the most important details. "I'm actually on my way over there right now," she explained to Soma. "Senna had a pretty bad day today, so we're both playing hooky from Arts and Crafts tonight, and I wanted to make sure she's feeling okay."

She hesitated for a minute. Normally what was wrong with Senna wouldn't be anyone's business, but Soma was one of Senna's friends too and a member of their club. If they hadn't seen each other today, Senna would probably want her to know what was going on. So after a few seconds, Meche added in a lower voice, "Actually...to be honest, I'm worried about her. Earlier she was calling herself 'Sarah' and saying that everything she's told us about herself was a story from a game. I'm not sure what to think."

Maria ducked her head slightly, embarrassed. It was really nice of everyone to worry about her like this. She'd thought she'd never be able to make friends when she'd first arrived, but it was starting to seem like everyone here was just as close to her as her friends back home were.

It sounded like Meche had assumed she was talking about Sarah. That was a little odd--didn't she see anything strange about the doors unlocking like this?--but Maria decided to let it slide for the moment. "I talked to her at lunch today," she said, nodding. "A lot of people seem like they've had it pretty rough."

A slight frown on her face grew as Meche told her about Sarah--it didn't sound like the older woman remembered who she was after all. In that case, she probably expected the doors to be open--it was part of her delusions anyway. There probably wasn't any use in asking her to help everyone get back inside.

"I guess the best thing to do is to give her time," she said at last. Maybe she ought to play it neutral for now. "She has a lot to think about, but she knows we're here for her no matter who she thinks she is."

A lot of people? "Really? Did something happen?" Meche asked. "Aside from the usual reasons people have bad days here, I mean." Like disappearances and monsters--the ordinary, run-of-the-mill things. Sad that they were so easy to get used to.

"Well, you're probably right about Senna, anyway," she added, trying to keep her voice light. She couldn't help drumming her fingers slightly anxiously on the side of the flashlight while she talked, though. It had just been such a strange story. "She's always telling me I worry too much about things. Maybe it was just a temporary funk and she'll feel better on her own tomorrow." Not that that was going to stop her from going to check. Better safe than sorry, Meche thought.

Another girl (someone she knew? It was tough to tell in the darkness) had turned in from her hall, which reminded Meche that she probably shouldn't stand around for too long herself. A few more minutes wouldn't hurt, but only if she wasn't holding Soma up too. "Where are you headed, by the way? I won't keep you any more if you're in a hurry, but I hope you're meeting someone, at least."

There was only so long Maria wanted to tiptoe around the subject, and she didn't want to outright lie to Meche. "Sort of," she said, looking down. "It sounded on the bulletin board as if people have started to remember who they really are." She looked back up then, a touch of determination entering her voice. "But I'm sure she'll feel better tomorrow." Just because Sarah and Senna weren't quite the same people didn't mean the potential for her to start smiling again wasn't there.

Meche, though--it sounded as if this might be a problem. No doubt everyone was treating the doors unlocking as normal because as far as they were concerned, it happened every night, but the more clear-headed people around here had to know it didn't, right? It wasn't actually supposed to happen, and now that it had, someone could get carried away. People could get hurt. Meche didn't seem like the violent type, but the other patients...

"I'm actually going to take a look around," she said, choosing to ignore the comment about meeting someone. Not unless she found someone willing to help. "Are you going to Sa--to Senna's and Falis's room? I might stop by to see how they're doing later."

"Who they really--" Meche stopped herself, frowning. What did Soma mean by that? Those "real lives" were just stories made up by the staff to confuse them; she had to know that as well as anyone. "Well, I think Senna usually has a pretty good sense of who she is, even if she has a lot to deal with sometimes," she replied, with an equal touch of determination. "I'll be glad when she's back to normal." She felt like it was important to say that somehow, to make sure they were on the same page. They really needed to keep Senna grounded right now.

As for where she was going, at least that had a simpler answer: "Yes, I'm heading straight over." She didn't miss the fact that Soma hadn't mentioned meeting anyone else, and Meche knew from the bulletin board that she didn't have an Arts and Crafts assignment. It didn't look like Soma was carrying a weapon, either. Meche wondered if she shouldn't volunteer to go along, but she only had a flashlight and Soma was a lot faster than she was anyway. She'd just have to trust that the girl would be all right.

"Take care, Soma," she said, offering an encouraging smile. "I'll tell the girls you might drop in later."

With a last glance back, she hurried on ahead into Senna's hall.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/758704.html?thread=62524080#t62747056)]

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night 45: F-A block hallway.

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