Day 57: Sun Room [Third Shift]

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Brunch had tasted delicious as usual, but he still felt guilty for enjoying it when so many other patients weren't as fortunate as him and Ritsuka. Still, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't grateful for his meals. His appetite had been pretty spotty during the week after his "sleep study", so Claude wanted to think he was making up for lost time

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[razing_phoenix]

While Guy hadn't meant to put Claude through all the trouble of asking a staff member about it, he didn't exactly have the time to stop him either. His policy was to stay out of the military's way as much as possible, although in this case they actually got lucky enough to interact with someone who was relatively nice. That might just have something to do with their rank, though. Both he and Claude were S Rank, weren't they? It was no surprise that they were being treated well.

So it was The Great Escape that had won. Guy smiled when he heard that, mainly because he got the feeling that most patients had voted for it on the name alone. It looked like that included Claude as well.

"Me? I actually didn't vote because I didn't know anything about the options." He'd seen Anise's bulletin post about it, but at that point he just hadn't gotten around to putting a vote in. "I figured I'd leave it to the patients who knew about movies to decide." Seeing how the one Claude had picked had ended up being the winner, Guy was sure that they were in for a good show.

It seemed that the movie was going to start in a minute or two, so Guy decided to get some small talk out of the way before they had to lower their voices for the film. "But how has your day been so far?" He considered telling Claude about what happened to Tear, but in the end it didn't seem like it would be right for him to deliver the news on her behalf. There were a couple of other things he wanted to bring up, such as the book that he'd bought in town the day before, but he wasn't sure if they'd have the time. He decided he'd just play it by ear, seeing how there would always be more chances to chat with Claude.

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He was a little surprised to hear Guy hadn't tried to vote, but Claude could understand why he wouldn't want to participate if he didn't know much about the available titles. Then again, he had a feeling most of the people here didn't know much about them, seeing how there was a significant non-Earth population. Not only that, but there were many Earthlings who weren't from this time period. Claude himself couldn't even say he'd watched The Great Escape before.

Though he was about to tell Guy as much, it was then that his friend asked him about his day. "It's been okay!" Claude answered, trying to sound as upbeat as he could. In all honesty, he was pretty worried about Leon, but talking about it now wasn't going to do either of them much good. "I got a good meal last shift, so I really can't complain." It meant he had his appetite back. Not only that, but after seeing some of the gruel on other patients' plates, he wasn't about to take it for granted, either.

While he was tempted to bring up last night, Claude decided to focus on lighter topics for the time being. Thinking of the caverns inevitably led Claude to think about the coliseum, which brought all sorts of horrid memories to mind. Besides, they'd have tonight to focus on that sort of thing, wouldn't they?

"I missed seeing you in Doyleton yesterday," he added instead. If he recalled correctly, that had been the first time they'd taken a trip out there and not seen each other. "Did you buy anything?"

[razing_phoenix]

As Claude explained how his day had gone so far, Guy couldn't help but notice that he hadn't mentioned any of the people who he'd talked to. He didn't know if that was good or bad, though he imagined that Claude would have mentioned if he'd chatted with any of their mutual friends. When food was mentioned, he was quick to nod. "Yeah, I was lucky enough to be eating with someone else who had full access to the food, so that was nice."

Not that he planned to stay away from anyone who had the gruel, but it did make him a bit uncomfortable to be chowing down on delicious food while someone else was spooning up pink paste. It was only a small change about the military coming in, and yet it was one of the things that affected Guy the most.

At that point Claude actually brought up Doyleton, almost as if he'd read his mind. Then again, with all of the time that they spent together, it wasn't too shocking that they had started to think along the same lines.

"Yeah, I did buy something. Well, first I got a book. I didn't really know what was the best thing to pick out, but I just got something from the science fiction section. And later on in the day I bought some leather from the hardware store so that I can try to make myself a sheath." If he did a good enough job the first time, he might even have enough of it to make two. "How about you?"

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That was right -- Guy had been eating with Donna Noble, hadn't he? She'd been around for awhile, so it made sense that she'd get some good food, too. Claude was glad there were at least some other people here getting treated well.

"Oh...yeah, I saw you eating with Ms. Noble," Claude remarked. He wasn't sure why he had to put some effort into sounding casual about it. It had just been something he'd seen in passing. Patients intermingled all of the time, after all. Obviously, their eating together wasn't a big deal, but there was always some nosy part of Claude that manifested itself during the most inconvenient times. In this case, he knew he ought to reel it in and not pry too much on the off chance it would come across as weird.

"Um, I don't know her very well," he added, "but I'm glad she hasn't disappeared or anything since the last time I saw her." That, at least, was true.

Either way, he was interested to hear about Guy's trip to Doyleton, and Claude gave him his full attention by turning toward him a little more. When his friend mentioned that he actually purchased a science fiction book, his eyes immediately lit up. He knew Guy gravitated toward that genre on his own, but it made him happy to hear that he looked into other titles outside of Landel's library.

Before he could comment on that, though, Guy also mentioned the leather he purchased -- for a sheath, of all things.

Claude smacked a hand over his forehead. "Oooh, I wish I'd thought to do that!" That sort of thing was right up his alley, too. Designing and crafting his own tools was always a nice challenge. Still, he was interested to see what Guy decided to do with what he'd bought. "Good thinking, though. If you need any help with putting it together, let me know." He doubted Guy would, seeing how talented he was at making things, but the offer still stood.

As for himself, he felt pretty foolish in comparison. After all, he'd gotten a pretty decent allowance and hadn't spent most of it. "Oh, um...well, I just got some batteries," he admitted after a moment. "I thought about grabbing some groceries or other supplies, but I was kind of preoccupied about something that day." Claude did his best to shrug it off so Guy wouldn't think it was such a big deal. "I'll just get better stuff next week. But I'm glad you got some nice things! You'll have to tell me about that book."

[razing_phoenix]

So Claude had met Donna too? Guy was a little shocked to hear that, though when he put some more thought into it he realized it wasn't that surprising. All three of them had been here for a long time, so it only made sense that they'd all met each other by now. Today had been his first time speaking with the woman, but there was no reason that he wouldn't talk to her again at some point.

Guy himself hadn't noticed who Claude had been sitting with at brunch, which he felt kind of bad about. He should have made it more of a habit to look out for his friends when he could, even if there wasn't much to worry about during the day. "Yeah, it's good to know that there are people besides us who have lasted in this place." Sometimes it felt like it was only him, Anise, and Claude who had been here for more than thirty days or so.

Either way, Claude looked excited about the fact that he'd bought a book while in town, which was more or less what Guy had expected. He knew how often their interests seemed to coincide, and it was talking about science fiction that had led to them being friends in the first place. In that way, the purchase had been sort of nostalgic.

He couldn't help laughing when Claude started kicking himself for not thinking about the sheath idea. "I'm sorry. I should have gotten some extra for you, though if I'm careful there might be enough with what I have. I didn't think to buy extra batteries, so you've got me there." He probably would have had enough money for some if he'd managed to make his way over to the electronics store this time, but sadly that hadn't happened. He kept Claude's offer in mind either way, realizing that with his limited resources he might need all the help he could get.

"I'll make sure to tell you about the book later, but... looks like the movie is starting." The lights dimmed even further and he saw one of the staff members doing something up near the screen. It was hard to tell how all of this even worked, and Guy sat up a little further in his seat as he tried to figure it out. Honestly, he wanted to know what had been bothering Claude yesterday, but it didn't seem like they would be able to talk about that with a movie playing in the background.

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"No need to be sorry," Claude assured him. Guy didn't have any reason to feel bad just because Claude hadn't used his money better. Like the other blond had pointed out, he'd at least thought to grab some extra batteries. That was better than nothing, right? "If you wind up with extra leather, that'd be great. But don't worry if you have to use all of it."

When the lights grew darker and Guy pointed out the movie was starting, Claude fell silent and shifted in his seat to get more comfortable. Meanwhile, it looked like Guy was trying to get a better look at what was going on near the screen. If they didn't have anything like that on Auldrant, he imagined his friend was dying to know all its inner workings. Claude wondered if he could use his rank to get a closer look at the equipment once the movie was over.

Within a few moments, though, the beginning credits began to play. Shots of military vehicles rolling down a road filled the screen, which were accompanied by a catchy band tune. There was also a some text that explained that, although the filmmakers had to compress the time frame of events and take liberties with some of the characters, every detail of the protagonists' escape itself was how it actually happened in real life.

Claude suddenly realized that Guy probably wasn't familiar with the historical context behind the story. If he had to explain some things, though, he didn't mind at all. Since they didn't have any non-fiction available to them, this was likely going to be the closest thing they could get to a history lesson about Earth.

[razing_phoenix]

The first thing Guy noticed as the movie started up was that it was in color. The one last week had been all black and white, so it was interesting to see the difference. In his opinion the color was better since it felt more real. He had to wonder why anyone would make one of these movies black and white, though there was probably a reason. Maybe the color ones were more expensive somehow?

Either way, the action started up pretty soon, even if at the moment it was just a bunch of text (what looked like names) being laid over some vehicles going down a road. Still, maybe the fontech that Tear had seen last night had been like these? Guy had never seen them in real life before, so he couldn't be sure. The cars in Doyleton were generally a whole lot smaller...

What was more shocking even than that was the explanation that what they were about to watch was based on real events. Guy leaned in closer to Claude, wanting to ask a question and yet having enough courtesy to speak as quietly as possible. "So this is a true story?"

If that was the case, then it was something that had happened on Earth, right? Guy wondered how many years ago it had been. Either way, that prospect made it all the more exciting to watch, and it wasn't long before he was on the edge of his seat waiting for it all to progress.

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When Guy leaned in, Claude scooted closer so he could hear him. The Sun Room wasn't very crowded yet, but they still needed to have consideration for anyone else who might want to watch.

"Yeah," he whispered in response. "The movie takes place in a prisoner of war camp, and it said their escape happened in real life. So, it's based on an escape made by real POWs. I think it's supposed to be during Earth's second world war." They'd made the film years after the fact, obviously, but it was still interesting to watch.

As the credits finished and the trucks reached their destination (the prison camp, actually), Claude figured they were in Nazi Germany. He heard American and British accents among the prisoners, and he recognized their captors' uniforms from history books and pieces of propaganda he studied in school. Earth sure was different during those times...

He had to admit he was curious to know what Guy would think of all this, and that part of him was looking forward to any comments or questions he had. In the meantime, he watched as a couple of the main characters were introduced, and they began to familiarize themselves with the area.

[razing_phoenix]

Prisoners of war? Guy couldn't be sure, but it sounded like gruesome subject matter. Then again, what they were watching on the screen was far too similar to what they were personally experiencing right now, so he couldn't say that it wasn't appropriate in its own way. He just doubted that Landel would have allowed such a thing to be shower. Either way, Guy was curious to see how the soldiers would make their escape, though he doubted that the situation would be similar enough that they could apply it to their own purposes.

It didn't take long for him to fall silent as he watched, paying close attention so that he could keep track of all the characters and follow what was going on. The prison itself looked pretty different from Landel's, and in some ways it was worse. Still, these guys at least had the benefit of still being on the same planet, meaning that they had an actual chance of getting home.

"The second world war... when was that in comparison to now?" he asked, keeping half of his attention on the movie and half on Claude. He wasn't sure if Claude would know the exact dates, but having some idea of how far it was in the past would be good enough for him.

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Upon hearing Guy's next question, Claude rubbed his chin as he thought about it. Judging by a lot of the clues he'd seen here since his arrival, it had to be about the early 21st century now. And if World War II went happened during the 1940s, then...

"Roughly 60 years ago, I'd say," he responded. Sometimes it took him a moment to calculate that sort of thing since Earthlings used a different calendar system in his own time, but he had a decent grasp on the different eras of his planet's history. According to his own timeline, World War III was less than a century off from now, so this particular period was considered something of a tumultuous time that preceded the development of advanced space travel.

"They're on a continent called Europe," Claude softly added in an attempt to shed a little more light on the movie's background. "That's a whole ocean away from where we are now, but a lot of fighting happened there."

He wondered whether the British, German and American accents in the movie translated over for Guy or not. Then again, Claude could recognize distinct speaking styles among a lot of the patients, so maybe the technology here was advanced enough for it.

[razing_phoenix]

Sixty years was certainly a while, but not as long as it could have been. Guy was particularly thinking of the Dawn Age, which was thousands of years back. He'd figured that the events he was watching on the screen couldn't be that date, however, since the clothes they were wearing and the areas they were in seemed rather similar to the time period they were in now.

It was interesting to hear that it was taking place on an entirely different continent, though. So there was America and then there was Europe, huh? He almost asked Claude if he'd ever been there, but then remembered that he was from the future and these places likely didn't exist anymore -- or at least didn't have the same names.

They hadn't been watching for too long before the characters started to discuss a possible escape. It seemed to all be a plot to distract their captors from the real fighting, which Guy thought was a pretty noble endeavor.

"Building a tunnel, huh?" he muttered to himself as the plan started to get discussed on the screen. That might be a clever method for the characters in the movie, but it wasn't the sort of thing that would work here. They were able to get outside easily enough, after all. There were just a number of other obstacles set out to stop them.

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It made since that they'd go the tunnel route. They had barbed wire and watchtowers to sneak past, as well as the cover of darkness that actually lasted a full night. While it was much easier for the patients at Landel's to move around once the sun set, the fact was that night would abruptly end on them as long as they were within the Institute's grasp. Their own escape was bound to be a bit more complicated, but Claude never thought they'd get any helpful ideas from this film. The circumstances were just too different, and he doubted their captors would show them anything that would give them potential tips. If anything, it seemed like a way of mocking them.

Either way, the British officer, Bartlett, who was the leader of the prisoners, had an interesting reason for wanting to plan for a mass escape. It sounded like he wanted to contribute to the war effort in his own way, and a mass break-out would definitely draw out a lot of the Germans' resources.

Claude continued to watch as the movie progressed, and the characters discussed their assignments. He thought it was pretty gusty of them to have more than one tunnel going at once. They were going to have to stop the Germans from noticing all their work, right?

"You know," he said as he leaned closer to Guy again, "I think most of these characters are actually fighter pilots." He wasn't sure if his friend had picked up on that, but Claude thought he'd be interested to hear it.

[razing_phoenix]

Maybe it was just to make the story more interesting or maybe it had really happened that way, but it looked like in this movie there really was a leader of the escape effort. They could never have such a thing here at Landel's, mainly because there were too many of them and it was too difficult to communicate with each other on a regular basis. Separate groups might have their leaders, but it clearly wasn't the same.

Guy realized that he needed to stop comparing the two situations and just try to enjoy the movie. He glanced over at Claude when his friend spoke up, however, raising both eyebrows in response. "Fighter pilots?"

He tried to imagine what those were like by going off of his own knowledge from home, but it was like he came up against some sort of strange block. There was nothing where something should have been, and he realized it was because of the memories that had been taken from him by this place. Guy held back a sigh and tried to focus on the movie so that Claude wouldn't notice his sudden change in mood.

Part of him had to wonder, though, if he would ever get those memories back, or if they were gone forever, taken from him when he'd breathed his last breath on that coliseum floor. He gave a small shake of his head and then turned his attention to Claude again. "What are those like on Earth?"

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The question made him pause for a moment as he considered how to answer. Claude had taken for granted that Guy would automatically know what he meant, but that didn't seem to be the case. It was likely a foreign concept on Auldrant, especially given how new flight technology was there.

"They're soldiers who fly airplanes during wartime," he patiently explained. "They come from above and shoot at their targets, or drop bombs on them. But if they crash over enemy territory, then they'll get captured and taken to a prison camp like these guys." If they didn't die first, anyway, but that went without saying, unfortunately.

Claude almost asked whether Auldrantian airships moved fast enough for combat, but refrained when he once again faced the heavy reality that Guy's memories had been stolen from him. Of course he wouldn't remember something like that. He didn't even remember the woman who piloted the ship they used to travel their world. That was a depressing thought, but maybe Guy would be interested enough in the subject matter to not get bogged down by things right then -- at least, Claude hoped that would be the case.

[razing_phoenix]

In a way, being a fighter pilot sounded exciting, but the mention of dropping bombs made Guy wonder if it was the sort of thing that left a bad taste in your mouth at the end of the day. He was curious about it nonetheless, wondering what the airplanes looked like and how all of the weaponry worked. Sadly, this movie was about what happened after the planes went down.

"Right... I guess that's the trade-off for not fighting on the ground, huh?" He had seen battlefields himself, although he had always skirted around them. With the way the military was getting involved in the institute now, Guy had to wonder if that might change at some point. It was hard to imagine being sent out to fight a war on a planet that he wasn't even a citizen of, but...

As the movie progressed, the real work on the tunnels began. Guy watched as the characters meticulously worked on digging while taking precautions to avoid getting caught. "Seems like a lot of work..." Then again, what lengths would he go to get out of this place and back home? It was hard to know because he'd never gotten an opportunity quite like the one on screen, but he'd already died once and he was planning to search an unknown area tonight. He wasn't exactly taking it easy here either.

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Fighting wasn't exactly pleasant business, no matter whether it was on the ground, in the air, or among the stars. As a soldier himself, though, Claude understood that sometimes there wasn't much of a choice, especially when someone's homeland was in danger. Still, piloting during battle seemed more glamorous than trudging through muddy trenches or shooting from a fox hole. Some of the wartime literature from the world wars suggested as much. Of course, there wasn't much point in getting into all that right then without distracting Guy from the movie too much.

Instead, he leaned back in his seat, stretching his arms a little bit. He got the feeling this movie wouldn't skimp out on escape details, so he figured he ought to get comfortable for the rest of the film. Without thinking, Claude settled his arm on the back of the couch, a couple of inches behind Guy's shoulders. If he just focused on watching the show with his friend, it was easy to pretend they were just a couple of people enjoying a movie together.

Guy was right that it looked like a lot of work. He could only imagine the thought that had to go into not only securing the supplies necessary to build a tunnel, but also making certain that their captors stayed unaware of their activities.

The story continued, and Claude was content to watch without comment -- that is, until some of the prisoners began to do things like sing songs in order to distract the Germans from their digging. "Woah, that really worked?" he muttered. Sometimes it was hard to imagine this actually happened in real life.