Einladung Hospital

[+Ark1002]

She paused. "I don't care, I don't care, I don't care." Tears of joy kept flowing. "I'm just happy you're alive."

[+Sorana she/her]

8 hours ago, Ark1002 said:

She paused. "I don't care, I don't care, I don't care." Tears of joy kept flowing. "I'm just happy you're alive."

Mike pushed himself up into a sitting position. Her crying made him uncomfortable. He had no idea how to respond to it, what it meant.

"Bella. I need to go back."

He said instead, silently hoping that she would stop crying. He'd never been good with girls and a crying one, he felt awkward.

"My team, they need me. I am responsible for them."

[Clyde Froggins he/him]

23 hours ago, Sorana said:

Mira stopped in front of him.
"Good evening, sir."
she greeted him and offered him an arm.
"Please come with me, I'll take a look at your arm."

"Alright." Maxwell said "Where are you taking me?"

[+Sorana she/her]

40 minutes ago, Clyde Froggins said:

"Alright." Maxwell said "Where are you taking me?"

"To an examination room?"

She replied, astonished by his question.

[+Ark1002]

18 hours ago, Sorana said:

Mike pushed himself up into a sitting position. Her crying made him uncomfortable. He had no idea how to respond to it, what it meant.

"Bella. I need to go back."

He said instead, silently hoping that she would stop crying. He'd never been good with girls and a crying one, he felt awkward.

"My team, they need me. I am responsible for them."

She nodded, wiping the tears away. "It's okay. I'm sorry about how emotional I am. I just-" She paused, blushed, then stood.

 

[Clyde Froggins he/him]

23 hours ago, Sorana said:

"To an examination room?"

She replied, astonished by his question.

"Huh, well I've never actually been to a hospital before so I was just curious." Maxwell said.

[+Sorana she/her]

19 hours ago, Ark1002 said:

She nodded, wiping the tears away. "It's okay. I'm sorry about how emotional I am. I just-" She paused, blushed, then stood.

Mike lowered his eyes and slowly got out of bed. His cloths were torn, burnt, his jacket falling to the ground when he moved too much, completely destroyed.

"It's alright Bella. Dont' worry about it. The last days were hard."

With a sigh a smiled shyly at her and then forced himself on the task at hand. Find his squad. Infiltrate PlasmaCore. He stepped towards the door, opened it and paused in surprise.

"Maxwell. What are you doing here?"

The question was slightly superficial as he could see his injured arm clearly.

@Clyde Froggins

[+Ark1002]

Bella turned, surprised. "Maxwell?"

[Clyde Froggins he/him]

"Oh hi Bella, Mike, how are you doing?" Maxwell said surprised. "And I broke my arm to answer why I'm here."

[+Sorana she/her]

On 31.5.2019 at 5:23 PM, Clyde Froggins said:

"Oh hi Bella, Mike, how are you doing?" Maxwell said surprised. "And I broke my arm to answer why I'm here."

"I'm alive."

Mike replied uneasily.

"Do you know what's going on?"

======

Mira gave an exasperated sigh and then ushered them all through the door of an examination room.

"Let me take a look at this."

[Clyde Froggins he/him]

On 6/1/2019 at 11:01 PM, Sorana said:

"I'm alive."

Mike replied uneasily.

"Do you know what's going on?"

"Well, from what I have seen the mist that blankets the city summons monsters that attack people." Maxwell said, then gestured to his broken arm. "That's how this got broken actually."

[+Sorana she/her]

11 minutes ago, Clyde Froggins said:

"Well, from what I have seen the mist that blankets the city summons monsters that attack people." Maxwell said, then gestured to his broken arm. "That's how this got broken actually."

Mike nodded uneasily.
"My squad is out there. I need to get back. See how they are doing. Did you see anything indicating where the monsters came from?"

=================

Mira finished carving a stamp and pressed it on his arm. The arm sealed it self, the bone straigthening.
"There you are. Be careful wit hit for a while."

[Clyde Froggins he/him]

1 hour ago, Sorana said:

Mike nodded uneasily.
"My squad is out there. I need to get back. See how they are doing. Did you see anything indicating where the monsters came from?"

=================

Mira finished carving a stamp and pressed it on his arm. The arm sealed it self, the bone straigthening.
"There you are. Be careful wit hit for a while."

"Thank you ma'am." Maxwell said to Mira then turned back towards Mike. "I'm not sure but I think the origin of the mist has something to do with it."

[+Sorana she/her]

On 3.6.2019 at 7:09 PM, Clyde Froggins said:

"Thank you ma'am." Maxwell said to Mira then turned back towards Mike. "I'm not sure but I think the origin of the mist has something to do with it."

Mike paused.

"Let's head there and take a look?"

[Clyde Froggins he/him]

"Sure, but might I ask what you two were doing here?" Maxwell said searching for a cigarette in his pockets.

[+Ark1002]

She handed him one. "There was... a fire. In the city." She looked down, and a light blush colored her face.

[Clyde Froggins he/him]

Maxwell lit the cigarette then smoked it for a moment then cleared his throat. "Do we know where the mist originated?" He asked desperately trying to change the subject.

[+Ark1002]

The coughed. "No." She looked out the door.

[+Sorana she/her]

"I think Plasma Core is involved. We need to stop them."

Mike walked towards the door.

"Will you come along or stay here? I will try to make a difference."

[+Ark1002]

She leaned back. "I'm going to check in with the other gang members. I'm sorry Mike." She didn't make eye contact, still looking away.

[Clyde Froggins he/him]

"I'll come with you Mike," Maxwell said approaching him. "if you want, of course."

[+Sorana she/her]

7 hours ago, Clyde Froggins said:

"I'll come with you Mike," Maxwell said approaching him. "if you want, of course."

"Sure. Let's go."

Mike paused, then gave Bella a small smile.

"See you."

He hastened out of the door, back towards the PlasmaCore building.

Edited June 7, 2019 by Sorana

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

Quote

This thread has now entered Era 5.

It was a quiet evening on the third floor of the Cognitive Ward. Dinner had been distributed, visitors had departed, and the day's scheduled events had wrapped up. The quiet continued behind the door of Room 8 - a pleasant, contented sort of quiet broken only by the soft scratching of pencil against paper. Room 8 was decently spacious, with a little nook for a bed, a window, and even its own bathroom facility. While sterile in original design, the room showed signs of long-term occupancy, and those signs softened the clinical air into something more domestic. The room was lit by the soft yellow glow of a  lamp perched on the corner of a little desk facing the far wall. It wasn't quite cozy, but it was tidy.

Vivica sat with her legs curled beneath her, sketching contentedly and occasionally glancing up at the window. Through the glass, she could see the city and all its merrymakers traipsing through the streets wearing all of their fantastical costumes. She pointedly ignored the bright spot in the center of the city; that would be the bonfire, which she did not think about. It had been a very good day today, and Vivica did not want to ruin it by thinking about unpleasant things. Instead, she renewed her attention to the drawing before her. It was one of her best.

"I think this is one of my best," she announced seemingly to no one, her voice a cheerful soprano. "What do you think?"

 A gentle violet nimbus of light floated into view as Bennington drifted down towards the paper and then executed a gleeful loop in the air. The little octopus had a body the size of an acorn squash, and emitted a soft light that ranged anywhere from light violet to deep indigo. He was also a hallucination - but Vivica didn't tell that to Bennington. Being aware of her insanity didn't mean she had to be rude, after all. 

Vivica grinned. "I hope he likes it!" Bennington wiggled two of his appendages in agreement as Vivica carefully set her latest drawing to the side. Then, she got up from the desk and went to brush her hair, making sure she looked presentable. It had been a good week, and the staff had let her start dressing herself again. That was always exciting, because it meant she could wear her Baking Coat. It looked a lot like a doctor's lab coat, but it was different. No one else seemed to understand the difference, but that was alright. She'd worn a coat very similar to this one in her other life, except that coat had been covered in significantly more frosting. Sometimes, she dreamed about frosting. She still remembered how it felt between her fingers: thick, sticky, and hot. They didn't allow Vivica to play with frosting here in the Cognitive Ward, so her Baking Coat was still white. 

"Do you think he'll come?" She crossed to her door and peered out the little window that was set in its center. Bennington floated over to join her vigil. Strictly speaking, visiting hours were over at the Cognitive Ward - but the staff always made an exception for the Professor. Vivica had a feeling he might turn up; he wasn't much for running around in the city streets during the Festival. Maybe he was also avoiding the bonfires, like she was. It seemed like something he would do. The Professor was very sensible.

"I hope he comes," she said, fingertips curling over the little window frame as she peered into the hallway outside. "Maybe he'll bring coffee! Wouldn't that be nice, Bennington?"

The little octopus executed three rapid loops in response, glow brightening. Vivica's smile widened in agreement, and the two of them continued watching the third floor hallway, awaiting their favorite - and only - visitor.

[18th Shard he/him]

Emily made her rounds, checking on patients in the Cognitive Ward. She looked in on Vivica through a marshmallow-sauce coated window, who was chatting with her imaginary friend again, but otherwise seemed stable for tonight. A new patient seemed in perfect health, but was apparently catatonic - his charts had a short list of symptoms with no diagnoses and no history of anything like this occurring among family members. She checked his IV, which wouldn’t need changed for another hour or so. The next room over had a young mother and her daughter, who had inherited an odd effect from the Nightwatcher from her father. Apparently, the child was only capable of seeing through her peripheral vision, which was more acute than most people’s and also had a tendency to peek through into the Cognitive Realm. The little girl, Josie, was getting fitted for a pair of custom classes that were supposed to help refract more light towards the edges of her eyes. Emily smiled as the little girl talked about her favorite colors - it reminded her of her daughter, Jarah, when Jarah had had to get a new cast. Josie excitedly told Emily about the new glasses she was going to have - apparently, the rims were going to be bright pink and have a “really awesome pattern” on them. 

Suddenly, Emily winced with pain. She was getting a massive headache again. She rubbed her forehead and made a quick excuse to leave the room. She turned the corner and leaned against the wall. Something odd is happening again. I don’t have a daughter. Whatever this is, no matter how many tiny details I remember, it’s not real. She kept telling herself it, even as she remembered ‘her daughter’s’ third birthday party, and painting ‘her’ room. Sparks, she even remembered how painful childbirth had been with Jarah. I need to get checked out. I’ll finish my shift, then have one of the other nurses do an eval.

She closed her eyes and breathed deeply for a few seconds, then checked her watch. Only two hours to go. Maybe one of the patients was unknowingly broadcasting memories. It wasn’t the oddest thing that had happened in the Cognitive Ward - they did tend to get the craziest people on this side of the hospital. She tucked some stray hair back into her ponytail, then started checking on the closest patient.

She finished the near side of the hallway, then started making her way back up the other side. Most of the patients on this side were asleep, so the lights were dimmed. She stopped at Sanax’s room. Here’s a crazy shot in the dark. She rubbed hand sanitizer on her hands, then knocked. 

“You can let her in, door,” Sanax called out. Emily waited for a moment. “Door! You aren’t supposed to keep the nice nurse waiting. She has a bad headache, we don’t want her to start developing orthostatic hypotension. She’s probably already slightly dehydrated.” Emily could her Sanax moving around inside the room. He came to the window, waved, then opened the door. “Miss Emily, I am really sorry. The door is being really bad today. Wouldn’t let the nutritionist in earlier, either.” He glared at it, then gestured her inside. When they passed the curtain at the front of the room, he closed the curtain, then covered his mouth conspiratorially. “Now it can’t hear us.” He pointed at the door and whispered. “If I was you, I would fire that door. It’s not very nice. Earlier today, all I wanted was to get my special sword, but the door wouldn’t let me out. I think it locked itself and scared the other nurse away. I said, ‘Hi Nurse, can I get my sword back?’ and then the door made a creaking noise, like this, ‘Eeeeeh uuhh,’ and she just left. Then the door locked her out!” He frowned toward the doorway. “I think maybe the door is scared of my special sword. Maybe the door works for the light!” His eyes widened as he considered the new, terrifying possibility. 

Emily took in his tirade against the door with a small smile, then sat down on a couch. Sanax was definitely crazy, but he seemed pretty harmless. It was almost endearing how indignant he’d gotten about the door’s bad manners. He’d gotten more stable since the last time she’d seen him - he’d stopped going off on rhyming tangents at least, and usually gave her questions relatively coherent answers. In a lot of ways, dealing with him was like dealing with a four-year old, except with a far larger vocabulary. She took a sharp breath as another wave of pain swept her head. The floor spun just a little, as if she’d experienced a small earthquake. 

Sanax sat down on the bed in front of her and stared at her. “That’s a big owie. Do you want some water?” He took a drink of a water bottle, then offered her the rest. She shook her head. 

“Why is it hurting like this?” She felt like her ears were plugged, and the pressure was making her eyes teary. “I have been using our Chromium-fabrial to make sure to detox any residual investiture from patients, and even then I can feel this pressure, pushing on my head. It keeps getting worse. And I have all these memories of a daughter, so detailed and precise.” Emily looked up at Sanax. “I don’t have a daughter. I’m not even dating anyone right now. And yet, I know exactly what it’s like to love a child with all of your heart, and it hurts so bad because I know she won’t be at home tonight.”

Sanax leaned forward and put a gloved hand on her head. He moved his other hand in front of her, a foot away. He watched her eyes as if checking if her eyes were tracking his finger. He shook his head seriously. “Miss Nurse, where does the pressure feel like it’s coming from?” His eyes were surprisingly lucid, staying focused on her for longer than a few seconds. Emily thought for a moment. “Just behind the ears.” 

Sanax nodded. “Temporal lobe. Memory bindpoint.” He pulled off a glove, then touched her with a cool finger just behind the ear. As his finger touched her, the world went black. She closed her eyes, and opened them in a room just like this one. She was sitting next to a little girl laying on the bed, her little Jarah. Jarah put her hand in Emily’s. “Mommy, I’m scared.” “I know, sweetheart. But these doctors will fix you right up, and then you’ll be able to play just like normal.” Jarah nodded, then sat still as the anesthesiologist put a mask over her mouth and began pumping oxygen and a sedative to the little girl. “Thanks, Emily. I didn’t want to have to hold her down to put her under.” Emily smiled, then left the room. There was no way she was going to stay in the room as they started the surgery. It was hard enough seeing her little girl in a hospital gown, but they should be able to correct her left leg’s growth, and then Jarah would be able to run and play with the other kids her age.

The world faded around her, and she opened her eyes back in Sanax’s room. “What was that? It was so real. That was Jarah’s leg surgery.” She looked up at Sanax. His eyes were solid black. She pushed back on the couch, away from him. Her headache came back with a vengeance. Sanax watched her with his dark eyes. Any concentration he’d had before was gone. “Headache. Muffin bake. Sand rake.” He sat down on the bed and began to rock slightly. “Eyes awake. Angry shadows.” Emily tried to stand, to leave, but the couch was spinning. She stepped forward unevenly before tripping toward the door. She knelt, head pounding. There was high-pitched squealing, resonating in her skull like she was made of shattering glass. Her stomach churned with the ground’s movements. The room door was open and someone stepped in. The curtain opened, and a man with skin-like melting tar stepped through. His legs squished unnaturally, as if they were springs wrapped in tar-flavored jello. Emily rolled into a sitting position and grabbed the trash can. Where his face was supposed to be, there was just a drooping black liquid, running over the outline of a skull, with no eyes or mouth, or nose. Emily threw up. The tar man reached for her, and Emily scrambled into the corner of the room. She tried to stand, but her vision was still swimming before her, and she slipped back to the floor, hitting her head on the floor. The creature reached out an arm and a dark ooze seeped onto her arm. The room stopped spinning. Her headache stopped, and she could feel consciousness slipping away. There must have been some kind of sedative in the tar. Her kicks did nothing to dissuade the monster, and she could feel herself losing the battle with the sleep pushing in on her mind.

Suddenly, the tar creature jerked backwards, all of its slime pulling away. It writhed as if in pain. The lights in the room flickered, and darkness seemed to envelop the monster, ripping at it like acid. The tile floor cracked, and as Emily watched the cracks filled with darkness, dropping away into nothing. As the tar man faded away, Emily could see Sanax standing behind it, ungloved had leaking darkness. His black eyes glared at the tar until it was entirely gone. He dropped his hand to his side, and the cracks in the tile came together, leaving behind only a few spiderweb cracks on one tile. Sanax frowned. “I don’t like ooze.” Emily tried to stand, but her legs were refusing to cooperate. Sanax gently picked her up and helped her sit on the couch. Sanax moved a metal drawer in front of the door, then sat back on the bed, staring. “Very bad door. Miss Emily is going to fire you. Ooze is non-sanitary.” He took some hand sanitizer and began to rub it in up and down his arms repeatedly. He finished rubbing in the first bit of sanitizer, then got some more and started over. Emily tried to remember what had happened. She’d had a headache, and Sanax had talked with her about the odd memories she was having, and then… she must have hallucinated something attacking. Emily felt at a bump on her head from when she’d fallen. I must have a concussion. She had a headache, was a bit dizzy, and… She yawned. She was really tired now. She’d have to get a bit more rest if she was really concussed. It would be best if she checked in with another nurse before... She yawned again. She closed her eyes for just a moment, and almost didn’t feel herself leaning down to lay on the couch. She slept. In her dreams, she watched a little girl, playing on a playground.

Sanax kept whispering at the door. His eyes were gray now. He could see them in the shiny window. That was good. Black was bad, like ooze. Ooze was nasty. It got everywhere and you had to gets lots and lots of soap to clean it up. Sanax didn’t like cleaning. That’s why he liked the hospital. It was so clean and nice. And white. There wasn’t any ooze here, nope, cause that was bad. Sanax pulled his glove back on. His hands were kind of cold, probably from sucking all the light out of the ooze man. He looked over at the nice nurse. She was asleep. That was good. She had seemed really scared of the ooze man. She might even be in shock. Sanax pulled out the blanket he’d kicked off the bed earlier. He’d hidden it under the bed, where no one would look for it. Most people were too scared of the little monsters down there, waiting to eat them. Sanax wasn’t scared though. The blanket had just helped keep the monsters from getting out and scaring other people. He laid the blanket on top of Emily, then sat back down on the bed. Ooze was bad. He didn’t like it. He liked his white robe though, and his special sword, and the nice nurse, and his friend, even though his friend was missing, and he liked his white gloves and the white ceiling and the white floor, and the brown table, and the glassy-colored glass, and the metal doorknob, and...

Edited May 28, 2020 by 18th Shard

[+Sorana she/her]

His footsteps slowed as he neared a place, dominated by a huge building on one side. Despite the festival, a part of its window's were brightly lit, while others, probably those with patients inside were dark, their inhabitants sleeping. Mike straightened his improvised mask and slowly walked over, drawn by the place just like a magnet was drawn to iron. He circled around the place in front, kept to the shadows when possible, unwilling to step out into the brightly light entrance area, with its reception, anxious families and busy personel. Instead he followed a smaller alley along the side of the building, instinctively knowing that there was another entrance there.

On the back of the building waited several amulances, their drivers lounging around on a nearby bench. Waiting for the next call to arrive, waiting for the festival night to show its other, darker side. His steps were slow, nearly hesitant and he knew the moment he drew their glances, for once out of place with his mask. Quickly he lifted a hand, scolding himself for his stupidity, he had no reason to be here, nobody waiting for him inside of that place, nobody wishing he would come by to visit. Not that he could afford it either. He should turn around, leave, walk away.

Instead he shot them a bright smile, and then made a slight shrugging gesture with his shoulders. "So much for a night off." They greeted him as well, agreed on annoying work schedules and then returned to their conversation. Silently cursing himself for his weak excuse Mike stepped through the side entrace, glad that they had left it open despite regulations telling everybody otherwise. It was important to control who walked into the building and who didn't.

His eyes moved along a brightly lit hallway when he paused for a moment, tried to decide what to do now. Medicine, pain killers, maybe some filled gold minds. If he was here, he could see if he could snatch a few interesting things to use or to sell later on. Keeping his steps firm and walking as if he belonged he stopped in a dressing room first, snatched one of the blue shirts from a pile and drew it over his head. He kept his dark pants, and slung his coat over his arm. They should be harmless enough. Reading the names on the signs of the room left and right he smiled when he reached on that was labeled "apothecary". The best place to start. Trying the handle, he bit on his lip, when he realized that he would need a key card to access this room and stepped back again. So he'd need to find an unsuspecting employee first. With a slight shrug he found himself relaxing a little when he took in the challenge of what he was about to do. He prefered taking from those who'd never notice, but in the end, who would notice if something missed here?

In a month, in a year someone might count the inventory, but it would be discarded as a mistake. Staff was low tonight, the few that he passed in hallways busy and greeting him only with a short nod, before they hurried off to do their chores. Mike grabbed a little cart, full of tea and water and started to push it in front of him, stowed his coat underneath. He had no idea if the patients were supposed to get something new to drink tonight, but it always helped to appear busy. Stopped someone from giving him a real assignment.

It was easier than expected to blend in, despite the fact that he took random turns now and then, he always seemed to end up in the right place. An empty room, whose nurses had left some keys in a drawer, one labled with 'medicine'. An elevater, just large enough to contain both him and his cart. The employees kitchen where tea was cooked for the patients so that he could start filling the thermos up when someone shot him a suspicious glance and was about to inquire what he was doing here. The moment the man realized Mike was actually working, he trailed off, did whatever chores he was supposed to do. Lucky. It had been a while since he had been that lucky.

Mike left the cart in a darker corner, that felt right for stowing it there for a moment and then followed another hallway, leading him closer to the main entrace. The ER would be somewhere around here, too and he -

He came to a halt when he passed a room. C619. Tilting his head to the side, he tried to understand what was different about this room, but nothing. Only the vague feeling that there was something behind that door that waited to be discovered. Making sure that the hallway was empty Mike looked around and then let himself in. It was a room, used for emergencies that were treated with investiture as well as common medicine. Carving tools were waiting in a corner, as well as a box labled 'spheres'. In the center was a bed, at the moment carefully covered, waiting for the next patient. Quietly he closed the door behind himself and looked around. He could take some spheres, but their value was low to anybody who wasn't a Radiant. They still might get him some chrysts and he grabbed some of them, stuffed them into his bag. Using his lock picks he opened a drawer at one side and smiled when he saw a couple of pain killers. They most certainly wouldn't hurt at all. Again he made sure to take only a smaller part of them, not enough that someone would notice immediatly and closed the drawer again.

Turning around he walked over the door again, decided to check the adjacent rooms as well when some instinct held him back. He looked at the bed again, at the chair placed next to the door. There was something about this place, about this room. It reminded him of a cowboy. A rough man with a hat, with guns. Pursing his lips he tried to remember which cowboy movie had dealt with a hospital as well, had taken place in a city instead of some wild plain. He wasn't sure. Probably he had overheard something. Some people tended to leave their entertainment on despite not being there and he had been able to watch a part of a couple of movies that way, listening to many more while he searched their homes. Content with that explanation he finally opened the door and left the room. Grab a few more things and then leave. No need to add to his risk by loitering around.