[from here]

For all the halls themselves weren't terribly different, the dark corridors sent a shiver up Al's spine. Perhaps it was knowing there were monsters prowling, but not where or how many--or who they'd been before. How fast did that sickness take effect? He had no idea if there was an hour or so of breathing room before his fellow inmates here might turn on him.

It wasn't a pleasant thought. Gripping the torch a bit tighter, he opened the door to the hallway.

[to here]

[In M1]

The second intercom message had startled Alphonse, and the chilling change to the doctor's voice threw him off more (though if he were honest he had expected something of the sort). He didn't waste much time, grabbing the 'magic torch' Link had told him about and searching around the rest of his side of the room.

A keyring in the desk and what he could only assume were batteries for the flashlight were the only really useful things he found. Still, it was better than nothing, and after he switched the slippers for shoes he slipped out of his room. Setting down the hallway at a trot, he turned down toward the entrance to the block.

[to here]

As it turned out, all of the female patients were wise enough to remain indoors, so the nurses didn't have as much work to do as the intercom came on and the end of the day officially hit.

"Hello, patients! This storm put a wrench into some of our planned activities, but I hope that all of you stayed dry and safe, especially those of you who are sick!" The Head Doctor did a spectacular job of sounding like he was truly worried for the patients' well-being.

"For dinner, we'll be serving some gourmet spaghetti with marinara sauce. There'll be parmesen cheese and some crushed red peppers on the side to add if you wish, not to mention a salad! I hope that you all eat well before lights out, and those of you who've been paired up with some of our new arrivals, make sure to make them feel welcome."

The announcement echoed through the halls as the patients were led back to their assigned rooms, and Landel finished it all off as most of them arrived to their doors.

"That's all for now. Sleep well, everyone, and we'll be talking again come tomorrow."

The intercom turned off, leaving patients with only their roommates as company.

[Post a comment with your room number in the subject line. Look here for room assignments.]

Under any other circumstances, Klavier would have berated himself on wasting so much time and getting so little accomplished over the course of an entire day. But when he found himself waking with a fever and a pounding headache, it suddenly seemed like a much better idea to slow down and tend to his health. ...That and he was terrified he had managed to fall victim to the current epidemic, and he wasn't quite sure what would be the best course of action. Exposing himself to the populace didn't seem like the best option, in any case.

He'd spent his morning trying to force himself to remain calm, sifting through his notes, and dealing with the constant harassment of his nurse... who simply couldn't fathom why he refused to take whatever pills she was trying to shove down his gullet.

Maybe it was because he'd refused the pills or maybe it was because he had successfully kept himself from getting too agitated, but he had slowly recovered over the course of the day. Enough that he felt up to venturing out for what little remained of the day. He was plagued with little more than a headache at the moment, so there was little point in allowing himself to remain completely useless. Did his fading symptoms mean he didn't have what others were getting? Or did everyone go through ups and downs? Nigredo had seemed alright the day before, so perhaps...

In any event, perhaps he should take this as a sign that he couldn't afford to delay his progress any further. A wake up call... or a warning, perhaps, from the powers that be. At the very least, he needed to obtain some of these flowers that supposedly cured what was spreading. Assuming they were still available to be found, that is.

...Funny, isn't it? How much time had they all wasted trying to figure out this illness instead of looking for ways out of this mess? Heh. Bravo, Herr Doktor.

Well. Nothing could be done one way or the other until nightfall. For now, he abandoned his continuously annoying nurse to venture into the Sun Room and examine the bulletin board. He'd missed out on an entire day's worth of "gossip", after all. He almost dreaded what might be waiting for him there.

[Flora!]

The intercom came on, interrupting patients during their various activities on both the recreational field and in the greenhouse.

"I hope that you all were able to get some nice, healthy exercise, but now it's... you guessed it, lunchtime!" For a moment, the Head Doctor sighed, as if even he was getting tired of these announcements. Seeing how it was the same routine every day, keeping up a cheery persona couldn't be easy.

But he continued on despite that, somehow managing to keep that sunny tone. "As you know, lunch is a free choice shift these days, so you can go just about anywhere -- the Sun Room, the Music Room, the Library, the Game Room, the Arts and Crafts room, or one of the areas you just came from -- not sure why you'd do that, but there you have it."

As it turned out, it was a good thing that the patients were given a chance to go inside, seeing how those clouds finally went through on their threat. Before long, thunder and lightning cracked and roared through the sky, and hail started to fall. The nurses made sure to get all of the patients safe and sound inside at that point, although it seemed that they were willing to let patients brave the harsh weather if they truly wanted to.

Regardless of where they went, the nurses provided each patient with a lunch in a brown paper bag, consisting of a tuna sandwich, a piece of fruit, and a cup of yogurt.