Night 56: Main Hallway, 1-West

[poorexample]

[From here.]He had reached the meeting point in less than a few minutes and there was still not another patient to be seen. Castiel paused, standing near the wall as he moved his flashlight up and down the corridor. There was nothing, not the sound of a shadow slipping through the dark; not the whisper of something less than human

Comments

[swornandbroken]

[from here]

Matt hadn't been in the hallway where they usually met, though Mello looked for him out of habit, despite the note. He wasn't in the hallway by the stairs, either. Really holed up, then, and probably sulking.

Mello had never been very given to introspection, not generally liking what he found when he looked too deeply into his own psyche; but he was self-aware enough to realize that his way of coping with things--do more, do anything, only act--didn't work for everyone. He didn't begrudge Matt the right to take some time off. ...all right, he did, but he wasn't going to admit he did.

He made for the stairs, sweeping the flashlight beam along the floor in front of him. One benefit to being alone was that he didn't feel any need to pretend he could see perfectly well.

[unwittingly awaiting the Sisters Skye XD]

[fourstonewalls]

[from here]When she'd stopped laughing, Lana schooled her face into something resembling a serious expression, and gave Ema a serious answer

[scientist_skye]

Lana's laughter earned series of confused blinks and a small frown. Ema didn't remember Mr. Wright's face being all that funny when she'd mistaken him for Mia Fey. But then, Ema was also pretty firmly panicked about her sister's upcoming trial and refusal to admit that she hadn't actually killed anyone. There wasn't much humor to be found in Ema, that day.

That morning, sitting in the hallway outside of Mr. Wright's office, felt like ages ago, despite only being a little over a week. So much had happened since she arrived in the Institute that it was becoming harder and harder to think of home in any immediate sense. Besides, her mood when she met Mr. Wright hardly mattered now. Lana didn't kill Detective Goodman and the sisters were actually sisters again. That mattered more than anything

[swornandbroken]

There were two women coming along the hall towards him, apparently gossiping about someone; Mello caught a name that might have been familiar, but he didn't hear it clearly enough to be sure. One of them looked very young, but if he hadn't known from personal experience that age was no accurate indicator of abilities or determination, he would've learnt it by now in this place.

He'd heard the radios other people carried come to life, despite not carrying his own, and knew that voice more than well enough to recognize it. The bugs babbled something about not being willing to adjust conclusions he'd already drawn, but Mello ignored them, and stepped into the path of the two women, certain they'd noticed him

[fourstonewalls]

Before Lana could answer, the radio crackled to life, ending with the now-standard squeal of feedback that usually heralded a change in the nature of reality.  She'd put a arm around Ema's shoulder as soon as the broadcast had started, and her hold tightened as the volume picked up.   But before she could voice a reaction to that, the man in the shadows stepped forward

[scientist_skye]

Thanks to the earplugs, the squealing at the end of the broadcast only caused Ema to wince rather than double over in pain. Even if Lana's hold on her didn't make much difference scientifically speaking, it seemed to help guard against the pain of the feedback anyway.

Before either sister could react, someone approached the two of them and asked about the broadcast. So she had noticed someone down the hall before! Lana fielded the question, summarizing the major details of the broadcast and introducing herself. A few moments passed before Ema realized that her sister was looking down at her expectantly

[swornandbroken]

"Hmph." The noise Mello made meant it figures, because it did; he was more certain than ever that those two had been in it together from the start. If the alleged rebels were so easy to find that Landel could manage it, to all appearances, the moment the mood struck him, why had he let them continue, unless they served some sort of purpose in his mind? Mello had long been inclined to think the purpose was the same false hope represented by letting the prisoners have the illusion of progress against the torture sessions, of having made enough of a difference that measures to thwart them had been stepped up. Rats who'd refuse to run the maze at all were no fun, after all, he thought with an inward scowl. If the prisoners believed someone out there was on their side, the arsehole's experimental pool stayed active

[fourstonewalls]

Lana gave a firm nod, with her eyes flicking over to Ema, at Mello's declaration of distrust. She didn't trust either of them herself, though she couldn't forget the naked pain in Landel's eyes when he'd been dragged from the Institute. She'd seen enough people dragged out of the courtroom screaming their innocence despite the conviction she'd won; rarely did they have that genuine spark in their eyes.

That didn't mean he was on their side, or that he cared for their well-being beyond how it fit into his own plans, but it meant she was at least curious. "That was the plan. We were going to take a look at the files. I don't suggest those stairs," she said. "We're better off avoiding both the Sun Room and the balconies." There could be just as many brainwashed patients over on the other halls, but at least they wouldn't be inviting trouble.

[to here]