Day 50: Waiting Room / Lobby 1 (3rd Shift)

[hat_einen_vogel]

Prussia wouldn't admit it out loud, but it had been nice to see his brother this morning. West had obviously been doing well before he ended up here; he must have recovered from the war some time in the gap between Prussia's own time and his, and kept on surviving, no matter what rules and restrictions and laws the Control Council had put in place

Comments

[mistressmadgirl]

Agatha had kind of wanted to see that movie, or rather, to see how the movie was being done. So many of the machines here were of unfamiliar design, which only made sense if they really were in the Americas. If she managed a seat near the projector, who knew what she could learn?

Unfortunately, that plan was currently being shot down by That Nurse, a person Agatha was beginning to loathe with her entire being.

"So when they said it was a free choice day, that was another total lie, then?" Agatha demanded. "I can't even choose to sit around for an hour or two?"

That Nurse had a longsuffering expression which Agatha considered to be totally unfair. She wasn't being locked up and drugged and half-drowned and her friends dragged off for modification. She was just hanging around all day and making Agatha's life difficult. "Marie-"

"Agatha-"

"Marie," That Nurse repeated, "it really isn't fair to the other people in your life for you to shut them out. And I'll bet you miss them, too."

"I don't miss anyone on this continent," Agatha

[damned_visitors]

As the nurse led the Clays in, they were obviously distraught, but catching sight of Marie, they were clearly happy to see their little girl again. Nora managed a reserved smile, and Nick's stern expression softened slightly.

They hurried to her table as Nora sighed, "Oh, Child..." At least she seemed well. Upset, yes, but she had always been troubled and it was only natural after all that had happened.

[mistressmadgirl]

Agatha tried to hold on to her annoyance. It kept everything at arm's length, inconveniences that didn't really matter that much. Before, the obvious alternative had been fear.

The first glimpse of her parents' faces cut through that easily. She'd seen them die! Even if they might have been repaired, they wouldn't be showing up here except as other prisoners! What could--

-she couldn't think about this with any kind of coherency. They were dead, and they were here, and they were the only parents she'd ever known. "Lilith," she whispered, hating the stinging eyes that promised tears before long. "Adam? You're..."

[damned_visitors]

The couple exchanged a worried look. It had been a long and terrible several days after bringing her here, waiting to see how she was adjusting. But she was acting like she hadn't expected to see her parents ever again. And, of course, there were those names. They didn't expect Marie to be all better right away, of course, but it was still heart-wrenching.

Nora touched her girl gently on the harm, hopefully reassuringly, "Marie, you know our names are Nick, and Nora."

[mistressmadgirl]

Lilith's touch should have been a comfort like nothing else. She was Agatha's real mother, the one who cared about her as something other than a body. It shouldn't have filled her with inexpressible horror. But this... wasn't Lilith. Agatha jerked her arm away from whatever was pretending to be her family, something with a symmetrical face that called her Marie in that soft, sad voice.

"I see," Agatha whispered. The first stirrings of hysterical rage were beginning, and she welcomed them- better than frozen grief. "Obviously they know a lot about me. This is... a lot of detail." A bit of mad laughter spilled out, as her voice rose in pitch and volume. "This was not necessary!"

[damned_visitors]

This time, there was no need to look at each-other - they both knew that tone. She was retreating into her paranoid delusions, and already starting to sound hysterical. Nora was worried - she didn't know how to get through to their daughter when she was like this - but Nick held her hand tightly, and conveyed silently to Marie what Nora was about to say aloud.

"Marie... I know it's been hard, and you're scared. But whatever you think is happening, we still love you. Nothing will ever change that."

[mistressmadgirl]

"No, no, no!" There was a little more whimpering in that than Agatha would have liked, but given the situation, it could have been much worse. "You don't get to say that! Lilith would get to say that! If she was here!" If she were alive. And the not-Adam, "Nick" as they were calling him, was all the strong silent presence she remembered, but with the same sad worried look as not-Lilith.

She'd never thought of something like this. There had been a few revivification fantasies, which were a perfectly normal part of grieving, some realistic enough to include the likely memory loss... but no, never anything this twisted.