Sangamon Taylor (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
toxicspiderman) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
damned_institute2010-02-17 07:57 pm
toxicspiderman) wrote in damned_institute2010-02-17 07:57 pm
Entry tags:
Night 47: Decontamination Room
[from here]
"I'll show you when I can put this thing down." He jiggled the toolkit. In answer, the flashlight beam went drunk-driver on a motorcycle for a second, and a few stray pills rattled in the bottom. Nothing budged. S.T. had packed the thing tight. This place made for slipshod data collection, but he wasn't going to go queering the results intentionally.
"But you said blinded? That's another one for the Two Thousand and Margin of Error Landel's Senses Census. Survey says: one hundred percent, if E.S.P. counts." That was stretching things since he didn't have Javert's notes; hell, the next to last one he'd helped drag out had been too tranked out to spill details. Or successfully tell them all to fuck off. "I know, I know, and I'm not about to pull out the crystal vibrations. This was straight from three of the most rational guys here." And Recluse, given this place's fanatical adherence to Murphy's Law, was likely on the meditative path of the Eightfold Phantom Limbs. So extra-sensory senses might be standard-issue, or coffee-shop bodywork to him. He shrugged, and waited for Carter to go all geek freshman again.
"I'll show you when I can put this thing down." He jiggled the toolkit. In answer, the flashlight beam went drunk-driver on a motorcycle for a second, and a few stray pills rattled in the bottom. Nothing budged. S.T. had packed the thing tight. This place made for slipshod data collection, but he wasn't going to go queering the results intentionally.
"But you said blinded? That's another one for the Two Thousand and Margin of Error Landel's Senses Census. Survey says: one hundred percent, if E.S.P. counts." That was stretching things since he didn't have Javert's notes; hell, the next to last one he'd helped drag out had been too tranked out to spill details. Or successfully tell them all to fuck off. "I know, I know, and I'm not about to pull out the crystal vibrations. This was straight from three of the most rational guys here." And Recluse, given this place's fanatical adherence to Murphy's Law, was likely on the meditative path of the Eightfold Phantom Limbs. So extra-sensory senses might be standard-issue, or coffee-shop bodywork to him. He shrugged, and waited for Carter to go all geek freshman again.
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As a coping mechanism, his brain was constructing a daring escape plan for if Arthur ever disappeared. Come up here, kick in the door, guns blazing...he didn't actually have any guns, though, that would be a problem. Fists blazing, then.
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He barely mustered an "Mm," in response to Carter's continued emotionality. Scourge's current state was an irritation to him, nothing more.
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"No, they shouldn't." Was Carter finally taking the situation seriously? If so, good. They were almost to the lab, and kid in a candy store wasn't the attitude he wanted to babysit when explosives were involved.
[to here]
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At least they were heading in the right direction. Rolo remembered this place well, and just beyond here would be the area that held the chemical storage. And then once they got there? Assuming the place wasn't crowded or looted... well, to be honest, what could Rolo do even then? Get a few supplies to throw in his pillowcase and...?
He shook his head again, as if trying to dispel any further thought. What was wrong with him tonight? It must have been his late start tonight, but he said nothing, not expecting Greta to understand or care. Right, just having supplies should be enough. Rolo would worry about what to do with all of it later. Hence, he didn't pay much attention to his surroundings, much like last night.
As far as he could tell though, this room was creepy and smelled way too sterile, and he would have liked to leave as soon as possible. Once they reached the end of the room, Rolo glanced behind him once just to check if Greta was still with him, or if she found something more interesting to look at.
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She walked ahead a bit to get a better look, only to discover absolutely nothing of interest. It was vaguely disappointing. For all the creepy atmosphere lauded about by Head Doctor and patients alike, they could attempt to inject more fear into their settings. Her life was as dull and grey as ever.
When Ange returned to Rolo, she met his glance with something like a nod, as if giving her consent to continue.
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It looked like there was nothing of interest in this room after all, so Rolo opened the door slightly and peered in. He thought he could hear... Yes, there were voices. Further nudging of the door open revealed another light source, what sounded like voices talking, and... radio static? It was a bit difficult to really tell what was going on from where he was, but he was only interested in whether it was going to get in his way or not.
Just what the hell were they doing? Finally, he swung the door open enough that he could peek his head out, realizing that they were occupied with something on the table. In other words, it looked like they weren't going anywhere. From what Rolo could tell, they were regular patients.
He scowled again, not sure how to continue. Unless they came out of the chemical storage, then he'd have to break that lock and catch their attention. He didn't know who they were and what they were doing, aside from the fact that he wanted no part in it. On the other hand, he was so close to his goal that it was maddening.
"... There's a group in there, using the lab equipment," Rolo finally reported to Greta, still looking unsure. "If they came out of the chemical storage, we can probably enter quickly and quietly. Just stay close and ignore them."
Ignoring them. Hah, like that ever worked. At the same time, Rolo was frustrated enough to take the risk of wandering into hostile territory, mostly because he was just sick of people constantly getting in his way. Danger or not, he just wanted to get something done tonight. He fiddled with his flashlight to turn it off, since he knew he just needed to find the right wall and stick with it until he touched two doors, but... Oh, damn it all.
"... Turn off your light and grab the end of my shirt," Rolo muttered, trying hard not to flush at his stupid set of instructions. Two flashlights on was too much attention, but Greta would be blindly flailing around in the dark otherwise.
He hated Landels so much.
[ to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/824197.html) ]
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Upon entering the room, Tanaka immediately noticed two things: first, that it was much smaller than the room on the map - just a little square area with a table in the middle, really - and second, that the other door was on the wrong wall. He motioned for ZEX and Hayes to stop, and whispered, "It seems Landel's been doing some redecorating... the map doesn't match the room. This may be a trap." Not that that'd stop him, but they'd have to be careful going into the rooms ahead. He glanced through the door, then turned and added, "The next room is clear. Looks like showers for the scientists."
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But Hayes and Tanaka hadn't mentioned anything like that, so he had to assume it was in his head. In a manner of speaking.
"It's possible. I believe he's changed the layout of this place before during the night." If there was a trap of some sort, with his poor vision it was unlikely that ZEX would see it first. So he was more than happy to stay some distance behind Tanaka... let the Shofixti go first. "It's difficult for me to see in the dark... do you see anything, Commander?" Of the three of them, Hayes probably had the best eyesight after all.
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Still, he wasn't going to just dismiss the others' concerns, especially when they had more experience of this hellhole than he did, so he gave the room another look. He hadn't seen anything scanning it on arrival, and nothing looked different now. "I see plenty of things, but nothing seems to be moving except you two," he reported.
It was strange how right this felt. He was with a familiar ally and a new one, with a real mission in mind, and that made it easy to slip back into shipboard habits of thought. Hell, ZEX probably wasn't even the strangest admiral he'd ever had.
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...just like the map said. Whoever forgot to draw lines between these rooms and just wrote "Decontamination" all over them deserved a good poke in the eye. The Shofixti hurried towards the door, and opened it a crack. The other patients who had gone ahead were still in there... if there was any danger, they'd be reacting to it. He sighed. "All clear. Looks like my concerns were misplaced. Stay close; we're almost there."
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This was getting so tiresome, and the fact that he was well aware that there was nothing he could do to make it stop didn't help. What was the point of this? What did Landel have to gain from doing this to him, giving him this kind of sight? If what he saw was real, after all, but what scraps of evidence he had pointed to them being real... somewhere. Not here, but... somewhere.
The Shofixti kicked something open, getting ZEX's attention back on what they were doing, and he followed along behind him. Constant motion around him kept him on edge, even if he was the only one who could see it, and he felt tense.
"It's possible the maps are less than trustworthy..." ZEX said, somewhat distracted. "There's always a margin of error, and sometimes what you write down one day isn't there the next." ZEX could recall the strange drawings in his journal that had vanished without warning - perhaps signs of affection from his previous invisible admirer. Imagining similarly disappearing and reappearing lines on a map was easy. "All the more reason to investigate personally, I suppose."
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"What a wonderful thought," he sighed. "Has anyone found something they can't seem to do?"