[From here]

Well, this was already an improvement. Last night had ended far too quickly. The former turtle looked around, watching out but mostly listening for others. No one came. The coast was clear--for the moment. Mike preferred it that way.

And that's where he came to terms with a new hurdle from being human, which he had been ignoring since he walked down the previous hall. His night vision was shit. Not even worse. Shit. How did humans go around like this, blind as bats at night? Except bats had echolocation. Mike didn't, and he hated being human.

He frowned. It was too dark to make it as a human, which meant using his flashlight. Which meant giving away his location. Which meant possibly finding himself being set up for an ambush by another patient or one of the smarter monsters. If there were smarter monsters. Not that he knew there was, but if this place was going to go through the whole horror film shtick, they might as well have one. It always made the place scarier.

So he'd have to use his flashlight--but he'd go through it carefully. Mike reached into his his makeshift pocket from his second pair of sweatpants wrapped around his front. He grabbed hold of his flashlight and pointed it forward, through the fabric of his sweatpants, before turning it on.

The light was dimmer, but it served its purpose. He didn't need the full light, and it was too dangerous to use it. This was more like the darkness he was used to seeing, and it wouldn't sacrifice too much the little night vision this human form had. Who knew how long the flashlight would last.

To that end, he paused for a moment, memorized what the hall looked like, and turned it off. Periodic bursts were better than constant use. He was trained to move in complete darkness. Master Splinter had prepared him for this. One look told him that the hall was clear of monsters, and any other patient would have their flashlight on.

He continued moving, quickly but carefully, down the hall.

[To here.]

[From here.]

It was probably a good time to declare everyone legally dead, because this was the fourth hallway in a row. This was what being proactive felt like. Yes. He was going to roll with that. Proactive and paranoid as hell, that was him.

Paranoid enough to take out the pathetic little knife from the pillow case and clutch it around the handful of cloth. Maybe one day, Edward thought derisively, I'll be lucky enough to find night-vision goggles so I can stop wasting my time with the light. As soon as he thought it the flashlight flickered, the round yellow beam turning black before popping back on again.

What little blood he had in him drained from his face. "That was terrible of me, I'm sorry. You're a fine flashlight. Possibly the best."

[To here.]

[From here.]

The big connecting corridor. He may be in a rush, but this hallway deserved extra caution. What would he do if he tried to get to Stefan and ended up mauled on the way there? The first night when he'd smelled blood here, it was still a bit... haunting. It meant there was a chance of something lurking, dragon or not.

Dammit, he was trying to reminisce again. Less thinking, more walking (which, as things went, was actually a feat for a vampire. It came with the whole multi-tasking thing.)

Sweeping his light through the length of the corridor, Edward inspected every bit of wall the light touched, eyes darting like a bird's for any sign of movement. Still no patients. At least the stillness would make it easy to see any potential ambush. At least, that's what he was going to tell himself.

[To here.]

[From here.]

... this was not a good sign. Edward was used to the single hallway his room was in being empty considering how it was part of the last row of rooms, but once he stepped outside the block there had always been a few stragglers wearing the tell-tale gray slacks. Unconsciously, he pulled the pillowcase closer to him. He wasn't stupid. This was... odd.

Two hallways without a single soul in sight. Maybe it was his pace. It was hard to tell if it was merely human or not; all he knew was that he couldn't stop now. He wished he could be selfish and say it was only worry that pushed him, but his throat was rough and dry. Thirst helped. It always did. It had the driving force of a wrecking ball and the insistence of fatal pain.

[To here.]

[From here.]

Even this early, Edward was waiting for... whatever it was that was coming. Project 2911. Was that the name of a new beast? Did Landel have a dragon waiting for him to turn the wrong corner so he could be set on fire again and not live to regret it? He wouldn't be surprised at this point. He just wished he had the strength to go along with the rage.

He'd never tried dragon blood. It probably tasted like gasoline, which he had tried. It had only taken a week for Edward to realize that taking bets from Emmett was not a good thing to do.

No time for reminiscing. Remembering what Landel had done to his brother only fueled his drive, his steps moving faster.

[To here.]

To the individuals who participated in this morning's insubordination: know that you're in part responsible for what happens tonight.

"I wasn't even here then," Alaric sighed under his breath, feeling under his pillow for the flashlight he'd found during dinner. He was starting to catch on to the game, if that's all this really was - this kind of showed that someone wanted them to go outside. He imagined no one was really going to say no to the mystery, which was the perfect draw. Mystery and a little push out the door.

At least he'd gotten one answer to his questions; what he'd been waiting for was the audible click of the door as soon as another announcement started ringing through the room. A timed system, then? He didn't know anything about prisons outside of riots that had actually led to something (and maybe a little fascination with the Bastille), so it was all guesswork on his part.

Well, at the very least, he didn't have to worry about sticking with Indiana Jones or wondering around in the dark all night until he got eaten by bloated rats or whatever. Having a plan was good. It wasn't exactly solid, but that's how he got things done, whether lesson plans or plans for dinner. Alaric barely needed the push to make the step outside the door frame, flipping the switch of the light on and taking a moment to realize... everything looked goddamn different.

Great.

F30... f for female. His deductive skills were only going to get him so far, considering he had no idea where the female block was. At this rate, he would've preferred a map over a flashlight.

He had a start, though; he'd obviously need to leave the block his room was in first. Alaric had been paying attention to the path his nurse (and later, the guard) had been taking to bring him to and fro from the room (M17 he repeated in his head a few times), so he turned right from outside his door, tentatively beginning his slow walk through the darkness in nothing but slippers.

Slippers which failed him after only seven steps. He caught the tip on something, tripping forward and dropping his flashlight. The light cracked against the tile, sputtering pathetically before clicking off.

Surrounded by complete darkness, Alaric just stared at where he thought the light had landed. Surely God did not hate him this much. There was no way his luck was this bad, and he was thinking that after his wife had dumped him to be a vampire. "You have got to be kidding."

[From here.]

Judging from that announcement, the man who had spoken was not the general himself. Whoever that was had spoken about the general as if it was another person, so who did that make him? Was he just one of the officers? And if so, what made him so important that he got to make the announcements? These were the thoughts running through Sora's head as he moved from his own hallway into the one that would take him out of the block.

He was sure that more and more would be explained as the night went by -- or in the morning, if they really wanted to make them wait that long. But if crazy stuff was going to be happening tonight, then someone was probably going to chime in on the intercom.

Then again, could Sora even assume that much? Everything might work differently now that Landel was gone. Those same patterns didn't have to be followed. It was definitely disorienting.

Though one thing that hadn't changed was the layout of the building. (And he certainly hoped that didn't happen again.) The boy headed right for the door, knowing his way to the stairs like the back of his hand by this point. He might as well have been sleepwalking.

[To here.]

The jingle of the intercom seemed ill-timed this round, a fact that was further pronounced by the pleasant voice following suit.

"Hello, patients. This is I.R.I.S. again. Due to technical difficulties, we are unable to speak to you directly at this time. Until the matter is resolved, we will be announcing the remainder of today's events from our automated service.

It is now time for everyone to retire to their assigned rooms for Dinner Shift. Tonight's menu consists of premium spaghetti with Landel's signature marinara sauce, garlic bread, and a side of Caesar salad. Our dessert for tonight is chocolate chip cookies. In addition, we will be providing the usual selection of drinks, and vegetarian alternatives can be made available upon request.

We again would like to apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact your nurse with any questions or concerns you might have. Thank you, and have a wonderful evening."

The intercom clicked off.

[ All room threads go in response to this post; please post your character's room number as the subject line of the initial post. ANY NEWLY ACCEPTED CHARACTERS MAY POST TO THIS SHIFT (but are not obligated to if you would like to wait for Nightshift or Dayshift); please refer to the new room assignments before posting. Thank you! ]

[From here]

Thankfully this room wasn't full of cages or bizarrely mutated creatures. Instead, only cabinets lined the walls on either side. Bright yellow and dark blue cabinets. Yellow like sunshine and blue like blueberries. That meant goodies for them, right? Either way, Gant approved of the cheery color scheme.

"Looks like we might have found something nice," Gant said to break the silence. He moved to one of the yellow cabinets and had a peek inside. Bottles. Lots of pretty plastic bottles. But what would be inside? Damn little labels were hard to read in the dark with only a flashlight. Didn't help that his glasses were back to their rosy tint. Now he wished he'd kept the clear lenses, but he hadn't expected to have to read anything tonight.

[From here]

Unlike the silence that defined the unmoving nature of the previous rooms, this room conveyed a response to their arrival. A response in the form of noises; of nails scraping, of limbs shifting, of growls, of sniffs and howls, of sounds beyond identification. Cages were all this room appeared to hold, but many of these cages were occupied with creatures that grew increasingly more agitated by their mere presence.

Xemnas approached one of the cages and shone the small light of his flashlight inside, revealing the creature within. At one point, the creature may have been a normal animal, but the nature of these apparent experiments had morphed it, had deformed it into a far cry of what it once had been. Other cages revealed even more 'results' of these experiments; creatures with warped snouts, with extra eyes, with unnatural fangs and claws or missing limbs entirely. Their original species were still recognizable, but they could no longer be part of it.

It certainly implied that the abominations roaming the corridors were a product of experiments. Perhaps, the purpose of this facility was possibly no more than that. This, along with the sleep studies and special counseling, certainly seemed to support such hypothesis. The one vital piece still defined by the unknown, however, was the head doctor's purpose. What could it be that the head doctor was seeking?

Others may have been disturbed at the sight before them, may have been shocked or disgusted at the display of such obvious cruelty. But no expression of shock or disturbance or disgust ever crossed the Nobody's features, instead observing it with a calm and mild interest that was, perhaps, more disturbing - more ruthless - than the sight itself. As one without an existence, he held no compassion, no sympathy. How would a man without a heart truly experience sympathy for anything within these cages? After all, sacrifices were needed when one pursued goals. Sacrifices of a more ruthless nature than the ones in these cages he himself had made even before he had forfeit his existence and became a part of Nothing.

Xemnas took some time observing the creatures within the cages before he glanced at the clipboards. Unfortunately, its meaning appeared to be private to the one who had written them.

[From here]

This was but one of the rooms within the immediate area that Xemnas wished to see, but one of the rooms that had claimed his interest nonetheless.

The small beam of his flashlight revealed six empty beds with gleaming tables in-between. The instruments usually found on top of their gleaming surfaces were possibly hidden in the cabinet between those two doors on the Eastern side of the room; it would doubtlessly pay to have a look. There were two more doors leading North to what would be the autopsy rooms. In the South-Eastern corner there was a desk with a computer.

But the interior was all that greeted them as the Nobody made his way into the silent room. It was as unmoving as the room prior. It would seem the room was for now a safe one, allowing him to lay eyes on what there was to perceive before moving on.

The computer would doubtlessly yield little results in his quest for information; it would either be useless or be protected by one or more passwords. As the Superior started it up for good measure, he soon found his suspicions to be correct. Unfortunate, but expected. He would not fruitlessly attempt to gain entrance to whatever files had been stored upon it; without the required password it would be but an exercise in futility, a waste of valuable time that could be spend more efficiently. Instead, he turned and moved towards the cabinet to search its contents, all the while keeping part of his attention on Gant.

Perhaps Xemnas wasn't one to make needless conversation, especially when it would be a topic defined by small talk, but he still acknowledged the man's presence. And the other patient could do as he wished as long as he did not interfere; without the power he usually wielded the Nobody did not delusion himself with believing he would hold such authority over the ones he chose to bring along.

They would be given a purpose in other ways.

[From here]

As predicted, the fragile lock did not persist after a few blows. Xemnas carefully pushed open the door, fully aware that the noise would have doubtlessly alerted anything that may have lurked within the room that lay before him. But the darkness remained unstirred; nothing leaped from its depths, nothing crossed the small beam of his flashlight or otherwise signaled its presence, nothing broke the silence but footsteps on the floor as the Nobody made his way inside.

It was a decontamination room, meant to wash away pollution from the body. He had already gathered as much from the maps he had acquired, this merely confirming their apparent accuracy. The area held three rooms within, but he only offered them a brief glance as he wordlessly passed through them. To Xemnas, they held no meaning; it were the rooms that lay beyond this area that he wished to see.

He cast a glance over his shoulder, watching the actions of his companion as if to make sure the man would not linger needlessly.

[From here.]

And it was dark. The bright white of John's flashlight only seemed to emphasize inky black shadows and pristine white tiles. When (if?) he got out of here, he resolved never to see another horror movie -- after all, what would be the point?

He ran his flashlight over the room, taking in the empty tables, the scale. It was obvious (or at least it was to John) what this room was for: he'd been in countless similar rooms since medical school. It seemed empty, so he headed towards the cabinets on the far side of the room. There must be something interesting in them.

[From here.]

Ludwig had... not anticipated anything like this. The instant after he and John broke through the door, a rush of cool air met them. The room was frigid, and as Ludwig led the way in, he knew exactly where they were. Weighing stations, beds, tables... and worst of all, those refrigerated cabinets in the walls. This was a morgue, and it wasn't just the cold that sent a shiver down his spine. After the previous night... well, places like this brought back bad memories. Very, very bad memories.

For now, however, he let his flashlight shine on all of those fixtures, slowly walking deeper into the room. It seemed like there were no bodies or anyone around. That was good. After the monsters in the hallway, Ludwig was concerned about running into more of them.

"It seems empty," he whispered, and yet his voice still seemed so deafening in the echoing room. And after the events of the previous night, well... he didn't like how those shadows almost seemed to shift whenever he didn't have his eye on them.

[from here]

The radio S.T. was carrying crackled to life as Mello made a beeline for the door between him and that hall. Between him and saving Matt, if he was lucky and fast enough. Mello mostly ignored the broadcast, having long since decided the rebels were incompetent at best, and outright tools of the Head Arsehole at worst; and though he noted the advice to head outside, he wasn't about to follow it.

A glance to make sure S.T. wasn't inserting himself into the proceedings in a way that would get him hurt, and Mello got a running half-step's start, and kicked the door open.

Nothing.

No sounds, no people. Too late after all. His shoulders sagged, and the bugs lit right the fuck up. You knew you never had a chance. When they take people, they don't let them go until it's over. And now you have to wait, and try to guess what they're doing to him, and know you can't stop it, and know he'd never be here in the first place if it weren't for you.

Mello didn't need to be reminded of any of that. He looked over at S.T., as if noticing his presence all over again. "How long. How long does it take?"

[From here.]

Well... here he was. Ludwig's flashlight played along the empty hallway, and for the first time, he truly felt like he was alone in this place. Up on the second floor, he couldn't even hear the constant hum of activity and movement on the lower floor. In a way, it made sense, given how much distance he'd put between them. But on the other... it was rather eerie. Such absolute silence everywhere, such darkness pressing in from all directions... it was more than a little intimidating. His single flashlight didn't cast much illumination in the cavernous hallway, and the sheer variety of choices was also a reason to pause.

He could proceed straight ahead, or a little to his left to investigate that hallway. Or, he could turn to his right, to where the majority of the Institute still remained. He'd seen the open area on the second floor above the sun room, it was entirely possible that the staff had something useful up there on hand in case the patients got unruly. Or, it was also possible that he could continue going and see what was further on still, beyond the reach of his flashlight beam.

Mm... all of them were good options, and while his methodical nature made him want to go left and work his way right, he also knew that was likely not where the best materials would be for weapons or other such things. So, for now, he paused and contemplated the matter, considering his options carefully. All the while, he remained tense and alert- without weapons, if a monster surprised him, that would be it for him. So he had to be careful, and know when to retreat if an attack was too much for him to handle.

[Waiting for Watson]

[From here.]

Granted, he wasn't in the clear yet. It was on the stairs themselves that the Doctor had suddenly called out to him, though for the moment he seemed to be completely alone. It meant that he was getting better at this, if he was moving through these areas faster than the other patients. That was good to know, as he was used to being able to get places ahead of everyone else. His lack of teleportation was the most obvious loss of power from his perspective.

The main obstacle now was the possibility that something was guarding the chapel once more. He didn't see why it was such a sought-after area, though maybe it was due to the fact that people like him got curious.

That statue might be enough to tempt some people as well, even if it had the signs of some sort of curse or black magic written all over it. There were plenty of people who wouldn't realize that.

Keeping his gaze upward, Castiel started up the stairs.

[For Dean and the Doctor to stumble upon.]

Badd ate his dinner in silence and his roommate afforded him the same courtesy. Tomorrow he'd give the nurses the slip, recapture Kay, give the nurses the slip, and go hunting for the way out of this dump. He had no idea what part of the country they were in but they'd have to run into reliable authorities eventually if they just kept walking. As for tonight, there was nothing to do but sleep off his confusion and go over escape plans in his head. He stretched out on the bed as the head doctor did his final ramble of the night, closed his eyes as the lights went out--and opened them again as the ramble continued.

Well. It sounded like the esteemed Dr. Landel was losing a bit of his marbles too. Why did criminals always have to gloat when they thought they had no chance of getting away with it? It occasionally made his job easier but it was also endlessly annoying until someone caught them in a lie and then took them away.

(Though after having Gant on the receiving end of a good hard gloat this morning, Badd was starting to see the appeal...it had been a bit immature, but it had felt damn good.)

Then the doors clicked open and a lot of things clicked in Badd's head. Kay had mentioned the doors opening at night, as had Wally, and apparently it hadn't just been a delusion. All that talk on the bulletin board about meeting at some unspecified later and going places in dreams and having bad dreams...it was code. Easily deciphered code but perhaps not for an ignorant nurse or orderly. They were planning after-hours activities under the authorities' noses, and ridiculously complex ones at that.

If 'dreams' was code for 'nighttime', Badd didn't want to find out what they meant by 'released'. He hoped it was code for 'escaped' but from the prisoner reactions he doubted it.

Badd put aside the confusing whys of this newest weirdity and focused on the whats and the whos. The who was Kay and the what was an insane asylum full of wandering loonies and god knows who else. If she was smart she'd stay in her room, but when had Kay ever been smart? She was probably going out to find 'Gummy' or some other imagined friend of hers, or maybe going to steal the truth from some place she wasn't really supposed to be in.

Badd heaved himself out of bed and picked up the flashlight he'd found earlier in his desk drawer. He'd have preferred his gun but you made do with what you had. "I know you'd never forgive me if I let something happen to her, Faraday, but I wish you'd trained her to make my job easier," he muttered. Time to go play hero again.

[To here.]

[From here.]

At one point Sora might have noted how the hall was particularly empty, but as things stood, he just made his way around the corner and toward the block's exit without really thinking about it. The fact of the matter was that he'd seen this hall in so many different states (empty, packed full of people, streaked with blood after a fight) that it hardly registered. He could have tried to analyze the situation, but in the end there wasn't much that could be determined this early in the night.

When he thought about it, he hadn't done something this routine since he'd been in school. (Which was a sad enough realization on its own, but it was true.) His life as a Keyblade Master had been constantly changing. Sure, there had been a pattern (move to the next world, fight Heartless, move on again), but at least he'd generally been exposed to brand new places each time.

This place, on the other hand, was as drab as could be. Until something bad happened, of course.

Rubbing at the back of his neck, Sora opened the door and then slipped out into the next corridor.

[To here.]

[ from here ]

This hall, she concluded based on the younger Peter's directions, she concluded, was where her uncle's room was. She took a quick look at the nurse's station as she passed it, and the door that led to the patient block. It was the same as on her end, so really, there was nothing special to see, but it was something she committed to memory for the future when she needed to go check on him.

She considered doing it now, seeing if she could catch him before he went out with his little search and rescue crew to heal people. But, it wasn't the best of ideas, and she had to remind herself that helping the younger Peter with his flashlight troubles was her priority for the night -- not checking up on those villas of blood her uncle had drawn.

So, she kept walking, straight through the open doors into the next hall.

[ to here ]