Night 57: General Storage (Med Wing)

[roseoverture]

[From here]Just like the janitor's closet upstairs, the space was cramped. Unlike the janitor's closet, however, it looked like everything in here was a bit harder to get at. Most of it was packed up in cardboard boxes or in closed cabinets. From what she could see on the labels, though, at least some of the stuff looked like it might be worth

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[roseoverture]

"That's what I was thinking. Did you see the message someone posted about that today?" Utena asked, opening a cabinet and pulling down random things that looked useful - a couple bottles each of tablets she vaguely recognized the names of (Vicodin, Tylenol, Aspirin, Valium), burn salve, gauze and bandaging materials, and hydrogen peroxide. "I didn't look at it too close, but I think the gist of it was that they're trying to make a new group for that. If we can get a bunch of this stuff to them, that'll make things a lot easier for them getting started, I bet."

This was good. At least they were going to be of some help by being out here tonight, even if it wasn't immediate. Though, as Utena gathered materials (syringes from another cardboard box next), it only brought her thoughts back to the drugs in the Infirmary. She was already getting supplies for people who needed them. How was getting a weapon for someone any less worth doing? She and Soma were lucky to have swords; she knew plenty of other patients who were completely defenseless, and with the dwindling (maybe non-existent?) number of people like Skuld around now...

Her expression fell somewhat at those thoughts, though she continued packing her box. "Hey... Are you still thinking about those drugs too?" she asked. She really didn't know much about Soma's feelings on the whole drug thing yet, now that she thought about it. The other girl hadn't said much back in the Infirmary.

[madeinthehrl]

"I saw that. I know the man who wrote the note--I'm sure he'd appreciate the gesture." Peter seemed a reasonable sort; if he was organizing the group, Soma was sure it would go well.

She dropped several rolls of gauze into the box and turned her attention to the next, quickly packing bandages away. Once they were done with this, if they could hold on to whatever they'd acquired...

It wasn't necessary to follow that train of thought, because Utena had voiced it aloud. So it wasn't just her who was thinking about the infirmary. Soma nodded, though she wasn't sure if Utena would be able to see the motion in the dark. "I...yes," she said, a little hesitantly. It wasn't something she'd usually admit, especially not to a near-stranger, but the matter had been bothering her enough that it would practically be a relief to talk about it.

"I'm running out of ammunition for my gun," she explained, putting the last of the bandages away and opening another box. "Without a teleport ring into Doyleton, I won't be able to find more. If taking one of those pills will get me a few more rounds it might be worth it."

[roseoverture]

Utena had been a little afraid of that "yes". She had wanted someone to assure her that she was right to be wary of the drugs, and talk her into not taking them.

Hearing that Soma had been thinking the same thing as her pretty much just sealed the deal, though, Utena thought with a feeling that rose and sunk inside her simultaneously. She wasn't crazy to be thinking about things like this. Even the older, seemingly smarter girl had been thinking along the same lines. She was wary about the idea of taking anything Landel or Aguilar set out for them - really wary, especially after what Landel had done to her mind and body already in this place. But then: princes were the self-sacrificing type, weren't they?

"Whatever happens shouldn't last too long, at least, right?" she reasoned after some hesitation, closing the syringe box. She could only figure that the military wouldn't have offered rewards if the patients wouldn't be around to use them. "If Aguilar meant any of that crazy crap about treating us like men and women and whatnot... Yeah. I guess it might be worth a shot."

[madeinthehrl]

"It's possible the effects would last one night at most," conceded Soma reluctantly. This--this was idiotic. She shouldn't allow herself to be talked into something as risky as an experimental drug trial. But she remembered the comments on the bulletin board a few nights ago--people had had their powers restored by Aguilar, hadn't they? Or their possessions? She couldn't recall. Something similar.

She could go a long way with her quantum brainwaves back to normal. And if she got a few more rounds out of the whole thing...

She dropped the last of the drugs into her box and folded the flaps shut again, trying to get them to stay closed by careful rearrangement of the cut tape. "I guess there's only one way to find out."

[roseoverture]

One night at most. That sounded about right, actually. Terrible things happened all the time in Landel's, but the big things only ever lasted about that long - a day at the longest (hello, "real self" brainwashing). It kind of sickened Utena to think about it that way, but it still reassured her, at least partially.

Okay, Aguilar. We're gonna trust you this once. Let's hope you're worth it, she thought, still unable to help gritting her teeth at the idea even as she accepted it.

"Guess you're right," Utena answered, taking a breath in and out to calm her nerves (not helping much). After closing up her own box, she shuffled through the cramped space back toward the door.

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