DAY 55: Sun Room [2nd Shift]

[autophoenix]

[ from here ]Either she was the only unlucky person to experience a freezing shower, or she just hadn't built up the tolerance for it that the more seasoned patients had. Whichever it was, she was the first person into the sun room and while normally she wouldn't mind that, the soldiers were majorly creepy and she was kind of hoping for some kind

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[scintillatingly]

[From here.]Once Sora had gotten changed and was in the middle of putting his beret back on, he'd decided to take a chance to ask one of the soldiers for some clips. The fact that his hair was wet at the moment meant that the hat was bound to behave a bit better, but that wasn't going to last for long; he was going to need those clips or he'd be constantly pushing it back up into place, which was no fun

[pullstrung]

Okay, so things had officially gone from bad to worse. Big time. The uniforms, the weird metal tags around their necks, the complete take-over by those soldiers -- Woody was already starting to miss that loony bin set-up from before. At least they hadn't made people scrub the floor while forcing the ones who really deserved the punishment watch. That was just...sick. He'd never seen anyone do something like that before, much less actually been part of it. Having to stand while other people were punished for something he'd done wasn't something he wanted to repeat anytime soon.

His soldier wasn't nearly as patient with him as his old nurse, either. As much as she'd gotten on his nerves sometimes, he hadn't wanted her replaced with someone stricter. That was exactly what they didn't need! But more than anything, he just wanted out of here, and the recent changes made that need ten times stronger.

At least they weren't forcing him outside during this shift. Although they'd given him a leather jacket with C. Wheeler written in

[scintillatingly]

It didn't take long for someone to join him, and it turned out to be a familiar face. Not as familiar as some, but Sora remembered Woody rather clearly. He'd seemed like a good person with the way he'd been worrying about Buzz, after all. Sora hoped that he'd helped him get a little more used to his new body, although they hadn't even been allowed to eat yet today. He felt kind of hungry himself, but he'd just have to put off those thoughts until lunch. They would have to feed them then, right?

He waved at the man as he walked up, smiling when the hat was tilted at him. He wished he could do that without his beret falling off, but that was besides the point

[pullstrung]

Woody sat down onto the sofa beside Sora once he got the go-ahead, his long legs sprawling out in front of him. He still wasn't quite used to sitting on a piece of furniture that was actually designed with his body size in mind, but that was the least of his worries these days. Still, he couldn't help but smile a little when Sora asked after him. While there was no way he'd confide in someone so young about his problems, it was kind of touching to see that Sora was so concerned about other people even though he was in as much trouble as everybody else.

"Yeah," Woody said with a nod. "Yeah, I found him. We've met up a few times since I last talked to you, actually." As for eating, he couldn't help but snort at that. It was strange to hear a kid reminding him that he needed to take care of himself, but it was also true that Sora had more experience than him in being an actual person. "And I've been trying to eat more, but these new guys haven't been making it easy." The other patients weren't, either, come to think of it.

[scintillatingly]

Sora was relieved to hear that Woody had been meeting up with Buzz regularly. He took that to mean that they'd been going out at night together, which was the best way to go about things. He wondered if he should ask Woody if he wanted to join Arts and Crafts. Sora would be willing to always put him and Buzz in the same group, after all, and it was possible that they would need some support considering they were in bodies they weren't used to

[pullstrung]

Woody hoped lunch would be better. He'd cringed every time the female soldier had spoken up with that harsh voice of hers. Why were they even giving those kinds of orders to a toy? Why had they thought bringing someone like him or Buzz here would be a good idea? It just didn't make any sense to Woody. Not for the first time, he felt more than a little angry that they'd been unfairly targeted like this

[scintillatingly]

It was nice of Woody to offer to keep an eye out, although Sora was already pretty sure that Riku was gone for good. For the moment, anyway. There was always the chance that he could come back, but at this point he was starting to wonder if it was better that he didn't. The fact that he'd come in and out so many times couldn't be a good sign, after all

[pullstrung]

Woody couldn't help but look faintly skeptical at that description. A kid with silver hair? Either he'd gone gray early, or it was some fad he hadn't heard about -- unless there were other reasons for such an unusual hair color, but so far Sora hadn't said anything to make Woody think that was likely. The expression faded as quickly as it came, though, and Woody nodded. "All right, I'll let you know if I ever see him." He sounded distinct-looking enough, at least.

When Sora launched into his explanation about Arts and Crafts, Woody realized it was probably the exact opposite of a summer camp activity. Of course, he shouldn't have been surprised by anything at this point. This place called itself a hospital when they did anything except help people, and now it was being run by soldiers. It was like everything else was already upside-down enough, so why not a group that posed as a regular club by day while trying to tear apart the institute at night

[scintillatingly]

Even if it had been brief, Sora had caught the look on Woody's face in response to the description he'd given. He wasn't sure what had stood out about it, though it probably had something to do with the hair color. For some reason silver hair seemed odd to Woody, though Sora had always seen it as normal. He'd grown up alongside Riku and his hair had always been like that, so it didn't strike him as strange. "Thanks a lot," he said, nodding back even though he got the feeling Woody wouldn't be running across his friend

[pullstrung]

So the people in Arts and Crafts worked in groups of three. That made sense, though Woody wondered if they'd get stuck with someone who'd just slow him and Buzz down in their own goals. On the other hand, they could also get paired with someone who knew their way around the building a lot better than either of them. Probably a bit of a coin toss, but wasn't anything around here anymore

[scintillatingly]

While Woody's answer wasn't a yes, it also wasn't a flat-out no like what Sora had gotten from Sam, so it was better than nothing. Sora figured that the man was probably being genuine, since he said he'd talk to his friend about it and all. Buzz seemed like the sort of person who would like the idea of a club, so he allowed himself to have high hopes about the whole thing. And even if they didn't join, it wasn't the end of the world or anything

[pullstrung]

He'd heard a lot about the monsters, the supposed impossibility of escape, and even the torture that went on, but this was definitely the first Woody had heard about brainwashing.

"What?!" he hissed, throwing a glance over his shoulder to make sure none of the other soldiers were listening in on their conversation. "You mean they can really do that here!?" It wasn't a new concept to Woody, especially after what Lotso had done to Buzz, but people didn't have a reset button like Buzz Lightyear toys.

"And you actually try to take them down?" he anxiously asked. It seemed like coming up with a plan to trick them would be a better idea than attacking them directly, but that probably depended on who'd been brainwashed.

[scintillatingly]

Woody's sudden outburst caused Sora to jerk out of his more relaxed position, and he also couldn't help sending a glance around the area, but it was more to check and see if they had attracted any attention. A few of the soldiers were looking their way, but when the loud talking didn't continue they lost interest, at least somewhat. These guys seemed way more persistent about watching them than the nurses had been, which was saying something.

The last question that Woody asked almost came across as an accusation, and Sora started to wring his hands together as he worked on gathering the words together to explain. "Well, I usually just try to knock them out. I mean, it's not their fault that they're doing that, but they will hurt other patients really badly. I'd rather try to take care of them early on and make sure they don't hurt people who are less prepared, y'know

[pullstrung]

Woody relaxed a little when Sora admitted he didn't actively try to hurt people who'd been brainwashed, but it was still disconcerting that someone his age would even have to worry about things like that. He wasn't supposed to be locked in an institute and fighting monsters. Boys like Sora needed to be out in the fresh air, going to school, making friends, and joining sports teams. What kind of sicko would throw kids in a place like this, anyway?

Either way, some of the messages he'd seen on the board suddenly made a lot more sense. There were people here who were forced to work for the institute for a night. Great. He hoped a couple of toys like him and Buzz could fly under the radar enough not to be used for something like that. Then again, the fact they were toys hadn't saved them from winding up here in the first place, so that was probably a major case of wishful thinking

[scintillatingly]

From the sound of it, Woody didn't seem to think that he would have been capable of fighting successfully, and while it did hit a sore spot for Sora, he realized that the man was just looking out for his well-being. Most fifteen-year-olds didn't go on journeys across worlds to defeat creatures of darkness, and so he could understand why someone might be confused. What really bugged him was when he explained what he was capable of and people still didn't believe him

[pullstrung]

Woody raised his eyebrows at that admission -- not necessarily because he thought Sora was lying, but because he wasn't sure what it meant. It was possible the kid had a healthy, active imagination, but maybe he was just outright crazy too. On the other hand, what if he really had been fighting before being brought to the institute? That didn't sound like a good thing for a kid his age to do, but Woody knew not all children came from stable homes.

"'Chosen', huh," he said slowly, uncertain of whether he should ask for details or not. Did his parents know about any of this? Woody almost had a mind to ask, but then the intercom suddenly went off. Great, he inwardly sighed. Shift change already? After having him stand in the cafeteria while everyone scrubbed, there was no telling what else they'd make him do later.

"Look," he said, glancing back at Sora, "I'll talk to my friend Buzz about that club thing. But you be careful, okay?"