Night 57: Medical Wing Hall
[from here]He glanced idly at the doorways as they passed them, and yet still none read infirmary. "It's only a waste of time," he replied. "If you can't find them. Which would be a bit pathetic in a small building like this
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Sure enough, Soma seemed to be right. From a quick flashlight check down the hall to their right, there didn't seem to be an Infirmary bay that way. Just a series of smaller rooms along the walls. Still, that didn't mean the area wasn't interesting. She didn't know about Soma, but after they were done scoping out the Infirmary, Utena wondered whether it might be worth checking out more of the rooms in the wing. That was the best thing to do with a new area: explore it from top to bottom. At least, that's what Utena hoped.
"This is actually kind of exciting, in a way," Utena admitted quietly as they advanced down the hall. "I mean, I never even thought to try to get in here, but now that I think about it, it's probably a good place to check out. And tonight's the first night anyone's ever been inside." She didn't smile, exactly. Nerves kind of prevented that. But her expression was edged with a certain anticipation and determination, nonetheless.
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She moved further on, checking the doors as she went. A large door near the end of the hallway showed signs of being broken into; the plaque next to it read Infirmary. Well, that was straightforward enough. Without further ado, she pushed the door open and went in.
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A thought occurred to Utena as they moved back into the hallway. "Ah, sorry. I guess I didn't say before: Himemiya is a friend of mine. Himemiya Anthy." Never mind the conflicting feelings she felt inside her about just how accurate the word "friend" was at this point. It was still the easiest word to use with someone she'd just met.
"She's been missing for who knows how long now. I was hoping she might be here somewhere," she explained as they paused to decide on a direction. That wasn't a lie, at least. She really didn't know how long her friend had been gone. Himemiya could have disappeared around the same time Utena herself had, or she might have just vanished yesterday. That was the frustrating part of it all, almost moreso than the fact that her friend was missing at all - just the not knowing. It really made her want to punch a wall or something at times.
For now, Utena just gripped her sword and flashlight tighter. They were going to find her. Or bring down the Institute and rescue her. Whichever came
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It was just as well Utena took the lead and headed back out of the infirmary; Soma was pretty sure she'd be able to talk herself into taking one of those drugs if she stayed much longer. Ammunition went a long way in a place like this.
She listened closely when Utena mentioned her friend. That was a familiar feeling. "What does she look like? I might have seen her around--I could help you look." A pause, and then she added a little hesitantly, "And if you know the name the staff call her by, it's possible they might be able to tell you whether or not she's been released. It's not exactly a relief, but it's good to know for sure."
She decided to make a right and head deeper into the medical wing; best to get a general idea of how large this place was before they started breaking in anywhere. "I wasn't expecting this part of the institute to be so large."
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Utena flashed Soma a relieved smile. The more people looking for Himemiya, the better. She gave the other girl a quick description as they walked, keeping an eye out for room names that pinged her interest. "Her 'real name' is Delilah Jones, I think." Utena groaned slightly at having to use the word "real" with anything the Institute forced on them. "I'm gonna try asking again tomorrow about her. I think the staff today were too busy trying to look like nurses to actually answer any questions a nurse would- Ah, hey, maybe we can try in some of these rooms."
Her light had slipped down a western hall, down which she could see a number of door placards reading "Recovery Room", followed by numbers. That sounded like the next most-likely place to find sleeping patients, as far as Utena could figure. She made the turn into the hall, and gripped the handle of the first door on the north side.
[To here]
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Soma nudged open the next Recovery Room door with her foot, but it seemed essentially identical to the first. A pass with the flashlight revealed nothing out of the ordinary.
She glanced back at Utena. "I get the feeling the other rooms are all like this one, too."
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And lo and behold, their feeling held up: there were no patients to be found in any of the rooms, nor anything different between rooms except for maybe the pictures on the walls.
Utena put a hand to her forehead as they came out of the hall at last. "Well that was a bust. Man, I hope the rest of the wing turns up something. It'd be really disappointing if the only thing to find was that drug table."
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And she really needed ammunition. But she refused to let herself think about that too much--it wasn't worth it, and she knew it.
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There was another hall ahead of them, slightly further north. It didn't look promising to start; the first two doors were just bathrooms. There seemed to be something on the end, though: a room marked "General Storage". Utena had gotten nothing but useful things from storage areas before; it was worth a shot.
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The trip back was blessedly short. They had seen enough of the halls at this end of the wing now to follow them easily in the dark. Short or not, though, Utena couldn't stop the faster beating of her heart the closer they got to the room. How could she not be nervous? She was about to jab herself with god knew what.
She held her composure as best she could as they slid the doors of the Infirmary back open.
[To here]
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"Where to next?" Soma asked as they emerged into the main hall once again. There were a few larger rooms here, judging from the doors, which might hold something useful. Things like weapons.
Something roiled again in the back of her mind, unpleasantly, and this time she wasn't sure it was Marie. Some...undefinable emotion. No matter. She glanced again at Utena, faintly questioning.
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--no. That was wrong. What was she thinking? Soma pushed the thought away, trying to hide how disturbed she felt as she held the door open for the other girl and stepped through.
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