Day 29: Courtyard
Hiei easily grew sick of the same walls--not to mention the same idiots always within those walls--and while not perfect, the chance to go outside was better than lingering in the boundaries of that damned prison. So when the chance came, the demon was quick to leap on it, heading outside almost quick enough to make a nurse wonder if he was
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"Wish I could say I was, but I'm not," Brock said. He held out his hand. "Eddie Brock. And hate to be the one to tell you this, but you're in Landels."
And you're shit out of luck went unsaid...but after the first night, this new guy would figure that one out real fast, assuming he made it that far. Now Brock couldn't say he had any real idea about the survival rate here, but he figured that the odds weren't exactly good if you were just an average guy. It was bad enough even if you had "abilities". The blond crossed his arms over his chest, not feeling terribly impressed looking at the new kid. He looked like he belonged curled up with a good book of poetry, instead of getting the crash course in how to survive some kind of whacked out freak prison.
But Brock wasn't that big a dick, no matter what Parker thought about them. He didn't have to like the Spider, but that didn't mean he hated all the nerdy, quiet types. They were okay when they weren't cheating bastards and dammit, he was cutting that crap out before they got all annoyed again.
"Want to sit down?" Brock said, nodding toward the benches he'd spotted.
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What was even going to come of that? Nathan had worked so hard to make Congress, and now that was all going to be for nothing? It was his fault, Peter realized. He'd gotten in his brother's way.
When Eddie pointed out the benches, Peter took the initiative and went to sit. So he knew what the name of this place was now, but that didn't help him very much. He would just have to be patient and let the other man explain, though. It was still hard not to come out with a ton of questions.
Sitting on the bench gave him a good view of the pond, and as Peter looked around again, he had to admit he was surprised that the Company had even bothered with this. He would have expected to be drugged in a cell all day, but they were actually trying to make things comfortable for them here. Then again, it was easier if the subjects were willing, right?
"So, how did they find you?" He wasn't able to stop himself from asking something. "How'd they bring you here?"
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Despite his wishy-washy appearance, Peter actually asked some pretty good questions. Instead of flipping out or anything, he asked stuff that was worth knowing; Brock's opinion of the kid went up a notch at that. Normal or mutant, he had a decent head on his shoulders.
"To tell you the truth, I don't know how I got here," Brock said. "The last thing I remember before Landels is getting something to eat at this crappy fast food joint. Then I woke up here."
No point sweating the details. Peter didn't need to know that when Brock said "something to eat", he hadn't been eating a Big Mac. You didn't really want to go around advertising you were pretty much a cannibal (with refined tastes) to anyone and everyone. But the rest was true, even if he'd skimped on the specific details.
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His situation had been a little different. He distinctly remembered getting hit with something before he passed out, but there was always the chance that the Company hadn't been willing to take any chances with him, so they had allowed some sloppiness so long as it insured his capture.
"So you've been here for a while." Peter stared forward as he tried to recall what Claude had told him. Didn't the Company usually only hold people for a short period of time, just long enough to do tests on them, before letting them return to their regular lives? Maybe this facility was for the particularly hard-to-handle people, if his being here was any indication.
"What's it like? What sort of things do they do? Is it like... experimentation, or what?" Peter was frowning at Eddie, wondering what the other man had done to end up here, if anything.
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Of course, there was always the chance that he'd been made to forget. Considering how they didn't even remember Kasady or even spawning his little bastard symbiote, that didn't seem too far of a stretch. It wasn't a particularly comforting thought because it left open all sorts of nasty questions: how much did Landels really know about them? There was no telling if he'd already taken a few potshots at them and it'd been erased from Brock's memory.
He didn't speak up again for a bit, his expression darkening as he frowned to himself. When he did speak up again, he was glancing at Peter:
"No one told you about how this place seems to work?"
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There was also a chance that Eddie was being kept here just to make sure he wasn't out in the real world because he was a threat somehow (in other words, in the same boat Peter was in), but he didn't know how easy it would be to ask about that.
Either way, he definitely wasn't liking what he'd gathered about this place so far. A lot of people had been yanked out of their lives, kept from their friends and family, and for what? Just to be poked and prodded at? He could understand why they would want to keep him imprisoned, but there was no way all of these people had presented as much of a threat as he had.
At Eddie's question, Peter's darker expression turned into one of hesitant curiosity and slight sheepishness. "Uhh, no, not really. You're... kind of the first person I've spoken to." There was no real point in keeping that a secret, right? He needed all the information he could get, and if his being clueless helped with that, so be it.
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Leaning against the bench's back, Brock stretched his legs out. For once it didn't hurt too much to move. "I guess I better fill you in if that's the case."
What would come next probably would sound crazy, but you either had to believe it or you didn't. And if you didn't, you soon would. Or be dead. And hell, the way Brock saw it, if a guy could wake up having seemingly teleported from one place to another, to Landels, than the rest of it about monsters going bump in the night and little mutant girls with a thing for spontaneous combustion weren't that much more of a stretch.
"During the day you'll be treated like we're all just a bunch of mental patients," Brock said. "Y'know, typical nutballs who just need some R&R. Sucks already, but it's the night shift that you got to worry about."
He paused, glancing at Peter to see if he was still with him. Seemed to be, so he went on:
"Night's when all the 'fun' begins. For some reason the doors always unlock at night and you can wander around the halls, try to find a way out," he said. He snorted. "Or that'd be the plan, normally. I'm not sure what's the deal, but I think they release these, uh, creatures out on us."
Monsters was probably a better way to describe them, but he was trying to take this somewhat slow for Peter. Not that creatures was any different than just going out and saying they were up against some kind of freak animal that wasn't like anything he'd ever seen before.
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Unfortunately, he was forced into a frown the moment the description started. Mental patients? Was that what they were trying to pass this off as? Maybe some of these people didn't know that they had a power, or hadn't manifested yet, so the company was using that as a cover? Peter was tempted to ask about it, but there was always a chance that Eddie didn't realize what was really going on, in which case he would have to be a little more delicate with what he said.
When Eddie described what happened at night, Peter once again wasn't sure what to make of it. They let everyone out willingly, despite the fact that some of them had potentially destructive powers at their disposal? Though maybe that was the whole point - to test those powers, and observe them in action. Their every move was monitored, most likely.
And then there were the creatures that Eddie mentioned. What exactly did he mean by that? Peter didn't like the sound of it, but considering where the sun was right now, it was going to be night soon. It would be best if he knew.
"So the mental patient thing is just a front, and the real point of all this is what happens at night? But why let us try to escape? Are they just testing us? And, uh, what do you mean by creatures?"
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And then Peter had to go and ask about the monsters. Glancing up, Brock saw he didn't have that much time left; one of the nurses was heading his way as the intercom sounded, announcing the head of his shift. He spoke quickly, keeping his voice down:
"They're like no animal I've ever seen. And they're dangerous. That's all I can say," he said hurriedly. It was all he could get in before the nurse arrived, smiling down at him and his new "friend".
"I'm sorry to interrupt you, Mark," she said, her cheeks dimpling with a smile. "And your friend. But it's dinner time and we really must get you to your room."
Yeah. Dinner. He always had room for food, but he would've also liked to get more time to get the newbie here on his feet. Brock gave a little nod to Peter as he was escorted away. It looked like he was on his own for now.
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