Night 57: Infirmary

[antiheroed]

[ from here]For as direct as they were being, Riku understood how much of this section of Landel's remained unexplored. They were so focused on acquiring the drug that it hadn't occurred to them to stop-or, if it had, it was a thought stopped by his frustration with his partner for the night. To think he pushed off some old man because he thought he

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[roseoverture]

[From here]

Utena set her box down by the door. The table was still there, though a few more of the drugs looked like they had been moved in the time since they had checked it last. There hadn't been any cries of pain so far, at least none that Utena or Soma had been able to hear from further up the hall. No people passed out next to the table, either. Those were good signs, she supposed?

"Fancy seeing this place again so soon, huh?" she half-joked quietly as they approached the cornucopia of drugs.

[madeinthehrl]

Soma wasn't so reassured by the fact that there were no bodies in sight. They could have been removed, she reasoned, or they could have stumbled off elsewhere to die--

But she brushed those thoughts away with an effort. It had never been in her nature to second-guess herself, and now that she'd made up her mind...

"It seems like Aguilar knows us better than Landel did." She put down her own box of supplies, selected a vial, and uncapped it, carefully shaking out the pills into her hand. If she was going to ingest an experimental drug, she'd prefer to do it with a minimum of fuss. "Ready?"

[roseoverture]

Soma had the right idea, picking something that didn't involve sticking something sharp into her body. Utena grabbed another pill bottle for herself, shaking one out into the palm of her hand. She set the bottle back down with an unintentionally loud "thunk"; she didn't want to be holding onto it or the pill for any longer than she had to.

"Ready," she answered then, turning back to Soma and giving her a decisive nod. No turning back now.

[madeinthehrl]

Soma offered a faint, if steady smile; then, without further ado, and ignoring Marie's decided unease, she tipped her head back and swallowed the pill.

She was silent for a moment as she set the bottle down, then reconsidered and tucked the bottle into her pocket. Even if there weren't any discernible effects as a result of taking the drug, there were some people here who might be able to identify it, given time. She couldn't deny she wanted to learn more about what was happening here.

She just hoped Allelujah never got wind of this. She'd never hear the end of it then.

[roseoverture]

Utena made a face after swallowing her pill. Ugh, now she wished there had been a glass of water around. The back of her mouth tasted gross. Here's hoping that's the most of my worries tonight, she thought, shivering uncomfortably as the pill made its way down her throat.

She watched Soma pocket her pill bottle; Utena was tempted to do the same, but ultimately refrained. It was bad enough that she'd had to swallow the damn thing. Carrying the whole bottle around, even in her box, would just feel like an extension of the wrongness going on here. Besides, she had enough stuff to take back to the medical types for tomorrow night anyway.

"I don't feel anything yet," said Utena after a little while, putting a hand to the back of her neck. "Maybe it was a dud." She smirked a little. "Heh, wouldn't that be great luck? All that worry, and it might've been for nothing anyway."

[madeinthehrl]

Soma concentrated a little, half-hoping to feel the familiar tingle of her quantum brainwaves returning to her. Nothing.

She had to agree with Utena, though--in this case, nothing was better than the list of potential alternatives her brain immediately supplied. She smiled again, tentatively. "It would be nice to get a weapon for nothing, too."

Well, there wasn't much point in waiting around if nothing was going to happen. Straightening slightly, she headed for the door, glancing back at Utena. "We might as well pick up where we left off, then. There are a lot of rooms here we haven't explored."

There was an uneasy stirring in the back of her mind. Soma pushed the other girl's thoughts away with a flash of irritation. Marie always worried too much, anyway.

[madeinthehrl]

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