Night 57: Main Hallway, 1-West

[witchdetective]

[ from here ]As Erika approached the meeting spot, she was pleased to see that she was, indeed, first to reach there. This was to be expected: Erika was closest to this particular hallway and she could have given the others a minute's head start and still probably beat them while walking at a leisurely pace. But Erika had hurried to get here and

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[immortale]

[From here]

Firo's pace slowed as he reached the main hall, and then came to a stop entirely. He still hadn't made up his mind as to where to go from here, and he needed to make a decision quickly.

It was left for the kitchen via the Sun Room and presumably left for the infirmary as well (if that was the eastern end of the building), but should he try his luck elsewhere, such as upstairs? He wasn't sure what was up there, but there was just as much to poke around upstairs as there was on this level. Setting aside the hope of finding a knife, maybe he could at least find a smaller blade-scalpels for instance, since this place had posed as a hospital. Maybe he should check the medical wing for those kinds of tools?

Firo glanced down the hallway, keeping his guard up as he thought it over. It had been around here that he and Dexter had come under attack the other night, and he wasn't about to let some animals get the drop on him a second time.

[Holding out for some Heroes]

[human_sponge]

[From here.]

As usual, this part of the hall was the most crowded, and Peter had to wonder why it was that the monsters didn't head over here. Then again, one group of cats attacking a few patients would drag in all the other patients nearby, so he could see how it would lead to a losing fight for the beasts.

Or maybe the general actually was interested in watching their progress and didn't want them to get so distracted from their real goals.

Peter only recognized one person who was nearby, and that was Firo. The young man seemed to either be waiting for someone or trying to decide what to do. He appeared to be in good shape and so Peter didn't need to fuss over him or anything, but he did give him a small wave as he headed toward the stairs.

[immortale]

Maybe he should have made a plan in advance, instead of just heading out of the room without knowing exactly where he was going. If he stood around for too long, that would just make him a target for cats or whatever else might be lurking in the halls-and that was no good. He still knew little about the building and what it held as a whole (though he could say with confidence there was nothing with a cutting edge in, say, the Sun Room), so no matter which direction he went, it could be worth it in order to orient himself, even if he didn't walk away with a weapon in the end.

Just as he was about to make a decision by the flip of the coin (in spirit, at least, since he didn't actually have a coin on him), Firo caught sight of Peter. The other man waved to him as he headed for the stairs, and after only an additional second of thinking, Firo started moving again.

"Peter!" he called out, moving at a jog to join the man. "Where are you headed?"

[human_sponge]

While the wave had been nothing more than a quick hello, Firo seemed to make more of it seeing how he ran over soon after. Peter paused; even though there was somewhere he needed to be, he knew he'd be useless until the experiments ended and the doors opened, so he could spare a few minutes to speak with the young man.

Judging from Firo's question, it seemed that he might actually be looking for someone to partner up with for the night. Peter didn't mind taking him along, but the young man might not like the mission that he was on very much. Then again, who did? It was something done out of obligation, to help others.

"I'm heading upstairs," he said with a nod to the stairwell in front of them. "I don't know how much you know about the experiments that they do here, but they're going on tonight and I want to be there to help whoever was taken once they're released." It still bothered him that all he could do was try to offer support after the damage was done rather than preventing it somehow, but it was better than nothing.

[immortale]

"Experiments?" The echoed question came out automatically, and Firo barely even realized he'd spoken until the word was out of his mouth. He hadn't heard much at all about experiments being run here-maybe that was the way that the prisoners were useful to their captors? But... "What kind of experiments?"

He was reminded again of Szilard, and of the mention of some concoction in that night's announcement. The destination was different-Peter was going upstairs, while the announcement had clearly said the infirmary was on the ground floor-but the two could have easily been related, and just spread out so as to have everything in one place. An elixir in one location, the 'lab rats' it was tested on in another.

-But he was getting ahead of himself; his line of thinking could have been entirely off, if the experiments weren't anything like he was thinking. Nevertheless, he gestured towards the stairs Peter had nodded towards. "Mind if I come with you?"

[human_sponge]

It seemed that that was one thing that Peter had left out of his explanation when he'd talked to Firo on the younger man's first day here. He frowned, not wanting to have to be the one to break the news and yet knowing that Firo should be prepared. "Well, I think it varies, but it's basically glorified torture." Peter didn't have many details, seeing how most people who went through it weren't interested in talking about what had happened to them