Day 47: Breakfast

[thatdamnedninja]

It had all been going so well

Comments

[its_the_mileage]

Morning. Indy rolled over and swore. He'd been hoping to get further than that after the hike, especially given the high likelihood that the kinds of things that had been coming up to prevent him from getting out there would keep coming up.

Well, at least they'd had a chance to look around the store; that was something, anyway. And now he had a few more notes to compare with Lunge's if he wanted to. Slow progress was still progress, he reminded himself, maybe with a hint of defensiveness.

Indy rolled all the way out of bed, tucked his whip under his mattress, and opened the door with a big smile for the nurse, who wasn't having any of it. Where did a medical professional pick up such a lousy bedside manner, he wondered. She dropped him off at the door to the cafeteria, where he found himself an English muffin and a table to himself. Looked like it was early yet.

[for the man of many names]

[quarter_english]

L started awake at the beginning of the intercom announcement

[its_the_mileage]

And who should turn up but Lunge's colleague, the elusive Ryuuzaki, or whatever he was telling people his name was this morning. Indy thought he detected some expectancy in that greeting, too. What was this leading up to?

"Morning," he replied amiably enough, setting his muffin sandwich (egg, cheese and extra sausage, not a bad way to start the day off) down on his plate to indicate that he was willing to play along. "I ran into your friend Lunge yesterday--or rather, he found me. He tells me he's interested in those ruins."

That might or might not be the intended thrust of the conversation, assuming there was one--and if it was, Indy had probably only restated information Ryuuzaki already knew. Still, it was a good enough opening gambit, and he waited with interest to see how the younger man would respond.

[quarter_english]

If L was honest with himself, he had to admit that he didn't feel fully awake. The persistent lack of coffee wasn't helping. He stared, a little bit bleary-eyed, at Dr. Jones, then picked up his fork by the end of its handle, and frowned at it. A moment later, he was staring again

[its_the_mileage]

"He mentioned that he was there two nights ago," Indy answered, "and that what he saw of the church matched what you'd told him of my descriptions."

We was something he didn't recall Lunge's mentioning, though. Indy wasn't sure how far he could trust their findings if they were out unsupervised, since there was no way of knowing either how good their methods were or how straight they'd be with him about their results. On the other hand, both Ryuuzaki and Lunge did seem reasonably competent. Maybe he should try to get out there with them one of these nights. It would be nice if he didn't have to scour the whole site by himself, aside from whatever assistance he might luck into.

He held off for now on mentioning his own recent trip to the ruins. Instead, he pressed, "Did you find anything else interesting while you were out there?"

[quarter_english]

While he listened, L loaded his fork with a few pieces of fruit and ate them; he was still chewing when he next spoke

[its_the_mileage]

"You couldn't see it?" Indy repeated, staring back at Ryuuzaki with undisguised incredulity

[quarter_english]

L sighed, and shook his head, but there was an unusual expression around his eyes: fascinated, challenged, and more awake than he had been a few minutes earlier

[its_the_mileage]

"What questions, exactly?" Indy asked, still not buying this. He picked up the sandwich again and resumed eating to give himself more time to think

[quarter_english]

"Questions which I think you wouldn't have much trouble guessing," L replied. "The most salient one is, of course, why I was... oblivious... to any experience of the town itself, and whether or not I would be again. That is: is the anomaly in some way intrinsic to me, or was it the result of what happened to me that day?" He paused to sip at his juice

[its_the_mileage]

Indy managed to stifle a sigh of relief. He never thought he'd see the day when he'd consider brainwashing and town-sized hallucinations the more rational direction a discussion could follow, but here it was

[quarter_english]

"Yes. I will have to make another trip out there. It's a shame they don't give us gloves in this place."

L found himself unwilling to share his strongest suspicion with Dr. Jones. The town is irrelevant, a red herring, something there to draw out curious types and make them waste their time. The trek out to it takes most of any night on which it is attempted; patients who made it never seem to see much before dawn. Yet it is irresistible to all kinds of people: archaeologists and other investigators, for example. He sighed, a sigh which might have sounded as if it was a response to the question about the purge.

"It was my theory, or the beginnings of one, but if such a purge happened, it wouldn't have been very long ago. The skeletons are clean, and there are a number of them, yes? That kind of cleaning is done primarily by dermestid beetles, and it is unlikely to occur in a few short weeks when so many bodies are involved."