Night 52: F11-F20 Hallway
Asuka had almost missed the eerie, parting words of the head doctor as she hustled around her room. Everything had been eaten so she would have plenty of energy to burn all night. Her roommate never returned to the room, which was more than fine with Asuka. It gave her free reign to bustle around their compact prison cell, grabbing her baseball bat
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Ilia moved her flashlight around the hall, making certain nothing nasty was awaiting them while they took the brief walk to Anise's room. She stopped just short of going inside the door, in case she had misheard or Anise's roommate was still inside. "This the one, Anise?"
F14. She would remember this. If Anise ever needed company, or Ilia found herself also with some trouble she knew where at least one dependable friend could be found. And the location was convenient. Anise didn't have to risk her safety just to come see Ilia, so the woman could rest easily on that end.
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Over the weeks, Anise had done a lot to brighten up her room, with cute dolls positioned on her dresser and her origami animals lined up on her desk. She usually loved showing off her room when she had the chance, though right now there wasn't much time for that.
The girl went straight to her desk, ripped a piece of paper from her journal, and quickly scribbled a note to Tear, explaining that she had gone to look for her. At the end of the note, she asked Tear to leave a message on the bulletin tomorrow. To make it stand out, she pushed most of the other things on her desk to one side, and left the origami duck Tear had watched her make on top of it.
"... Finished!" she announced, whirling around to face Ilia again. "Let's start looking. I know three places that special counseling patients tend to show up at, so we should try those first." There wasn't much time, so she'd have to explain as they
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As soon as Anise was done, Ilia backed out into the hallway. She took another quick glance around, then moved towards the exit.
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Anise hurried through the hallway, feeling more than just a little ill at ease. She was trying not to think about the shadow, even while it made more and more strange movements, as if trying to draw her attention back to it. There was still a part of her that illogically hoped she could walk fast enough to leave it behind.
When she reached the door, she shoved it open roughly, determined to quickly see what was there, and then promptly get out and away. The emptiness of the room before her was no big surprise, but Tear's presence wasn't the only thing they needed to check for.
Anise took a few steps into the room, stopping at her desk. The origami figure she'd placed over the note hadn't moved an inch since she left it. "... Tear didn't come here," she announced, looking down at it. She wasn't in any of the places they checked, she didn't come to the meeting place at all... where was she ( ... )
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But then she saw it - a dark figure with bright eyes, standing at Ilia's height and... cowering?
That wasn't what Anise normally expected from the monsters here. But the fact that it didn't act threatening wasn't much consolation, as Anise soon recognized the voice that came from the shadow. It was just like Ilia's... no, it was Ilia's voice, but it wasn't coming from Ilia. Then... Ilia's shadow was talking? But that couldn't be...
"What are you so worried about?" a disturbingly familiar voice sneered from behind her. Instinctively, Anise drew closer to Ilia, turning to face what stood behind her: herself. The figure was dark and the lighting was poor, but it had enough definition in its features that Anise could make out her own face, its ( ... )
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But then something else threw her off guard and she whipped around. Had Anise just said she thought Ilia was--"What! Another one?" She should have known better, but it shocked her nonetheless.
Red eyes, small stature. Shaped exactly like Anise. Just like the other one, it looked like a living shadow. But she couldn't let it phase her! She had to keep them moving--they had to escape before... before... "A-anise! L-let's go." Even in her own ears, her plea sounded shaky.
"I can't... I can't..." Ilia turned back around, backing further into the room closer to Anise. Her shadow--no, the illusion, it couldn't really be ( ... )
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"You don't have to be strong to help me," the smaller shadow said, addressing Ilia in an almost reassuring tone. The message, however, wasn't quite so kind. "You just have to be gullible, and you do that just fine."Anise could feel some kind of weight forming in the pit of her stomach. She didn't think about Ilia that way at all! But hearing those things in her own voice made her think... Ilia had already gotten hurt once because of Anise. Was she taking advantage of her without even meaning to ( ... )
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No! She didn't want to hear it! That couldn't be true! She was strong. She wasn't a hypocrite, not like that doctor had tried to insinuate! She, and Anise too! They weren't here to be his play things! They were not going to fall prey to his illusions.
Or, that's what she told herself. She tried to shake it, but she couldn't seem to focus. To force herself to move forward. What had Anise said? Or was it the Shadow Anise? No, the hand that grabbed hers was solid and real. She gripped it back and nodded, then pushed herself to run! Run run run! Right past that Shadowself and into the hallway.
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