Day 58: Sun Room (Second Shift)
[From here.]The room was mainly empty when Michael reached it, which was fine by him. It wasn't that he didn't feel sympathy for the other patients, but he also didn't know if it would be helpful for him to talk to them. The staff seemed to think that forming bonds amongst themselves would lead to recovery, but to him it felt more like they would
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Which was frustrating, but unsurprising. She tilted her head back against the back of the couch, staring up at the ceiling in thought for a moment. "It all sounds rather futile and impossible, when you look at what we have to work with. Impressive, really, since I bet if most of us were home, a place like this wouldn't contain us for longer than five minutes."
She'd observed a lot of that over the past day, mostly hinted at in conversations she'd listened in on, or what she'd picked up from the board this morning. And from what she observed. Considering who'd been picked from Mystic Falls, she had to wonder if that was the pattern. This place certainly seemed to be collecting people who would otherwise be very hard to keep.
She wondered if Zack qualified for this category himself, but wasn't sure how to come out and ask him. As long as turning into a canine wasn't a habitual thing, it didn't really bother her one way or another, but it was interesting.
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And it would happen.
"Ha, you're right about that last part," he said with a grin as he leaned further back into the couch. He was probably getting it wet with his long, damp hair, but that wasn't something he was inclined to worry about too much. "Wouldn't that be nice, if we could just all pool our powers together and bust out of here?" But it had already been made obvious that that wouldn't be happening.
"Still, don't think of it as impossible," he continued, turning to Rose with a slightly more serious look on his face. "We might have to hold out for a while, but I'm sure we'll make it out someday. You can't keep this many people captive for that long." Certainly not for years, like what had happened to him before all this. He wasn't sure why it was that everyone seemed to want him caged up like this, but he was starting to wonder if he'd be spending the larger part of his twenties as a prisoner.
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Realizing she'd derailed her own train of thought again, her gaze flicked back to his face, letting herself relax a little more. "No. They won't be able to hold this many for long. I can't imagine any force that could, to be honest. Apparently they enjoy a challenge."
Either that or they were extremely lucky.
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As for Rose's next comment, Zack had to wonder if that was how the military saw it. Did they see the whole force of the patient body as a real threat, something that could actually uproot them? Or were they thriving on their own arrogance and belief that they would always be able to control them? He hoped it was the latter, since that would at least give them the element of surprise.
"Anyway, I guess you should probably look into getting a weapon that'll do you better than that flashlight, huh?" Zack remembered how Rose had swiped it at the bat, but night had ended soon after that. He wondered how things would have gone if morning hadn't interrupted.
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Relieved when he changed the subject, Rose laughed softly, looking sheepish. "That would probably be smart, wouldn't it? I'll have to find something a little less necessary to beat things with. I'm not used to having to rely on weapons. This'll be a bit of a switch."
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There was something interesting in what Rose said, though, and this time it wasn't as easy to ignore. Seeing how she was the one who had alluded to it, Zack figured that it was fair to ask. "What do you usually rely on, then?" If not weapons, then what? Agility? Brute strength? Just judging from Rose's appearance, he'd bet on the former, but it really was impossible to tell.
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"I've never had to worry about training with weapons, to be honest. I tend to fall back on whatever's around and handy, when I've needed it."
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Rose's answer had also made it clear that she wasn't used to fighting monsters, just humans. In what context? That might be prying a bit too much, though. "Believe me, I know what you mean," he said, expelling a breath that was half-laugh, half-sigh.
"But anyway, I'm pretty good with a sword" -- which was the understatement of the year, honestly -- "so if you ever need someone to teach you a thing or two, feel free to ask." Which also reminded him that he needed to check up on Taura's training group. He'd actually be useful now that he had a weapon to demonstrate with. And, if all went well, he'd even end up with something better than a short sword by tonight.
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Which basically meant break something. Rose could handle that. She'd just have to figure out what. But she'd have to find something before venturing out tonight, just in case. If she came across something like what Zack had turned into last night, she wanted something bigger than her damned flashlight to fend the thing off. No way was she letting one of those get that close to her.
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He could have asked further questions and tried to get to the bottom of it, since it wasn't as if Rose had been closed off during their conversation thus far, but as it turned out he'd lost his chance. The intercom chimed on and that Major Harrington was still doing his best to make the announcements at least a little bit interesting. "Oh, looks like that's it," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. At least his hair had dried by now. Zack straightened on the couch and then started to get to his feet. "It was nice chatting, Rose. I hope everything goes smoothly for you tonight." He grinned at her and winked before heading off to meet his escort.
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