Night 57: Disciplinary Therapy Corridor

[oneman_onekill]

[from here]Niikura edged around the corner into the corridor proper, heart suddenly beating faster than ever. And yet there was no one. The hall was a little eerie in that way...but honestly, what had he been expecting to see? Writhing bodies? A mini boss? In some ways, just seeing nothing was worse, because now he'd hit a dead end

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[immortale]

[From here]

There was a bend in the hall up ahead, and Firo could already make out a several doors lining the opposite wall. Which door they'd need next, however, was a completely mystery to him; Peter hadn't said anything about where they'd be going after getting through the door. The pair of prisoners from before were also nowhere to be seen when he looked around, presumably having already gone around the corner.

Firo paused, looking back at Peter. "What next?" he asked quietly, taking a moment to swing the door shut behind them as a precaution.

[human_sponge]

In the end, the pair ahead of them had decided to focus on brute strength to get the door open rather than picking the lock. Peter didn't know if it was because the lock was particularly hard to pick or because they hadn't really known what they were doing in the first place, but it didn't seem to matter either way. He followed Firo inside, glad to see that they'd made it this far without any problems

[immortale]

Surely there was more they could do then just wait for one of the victim to appear on their own-wasn't this supposed to be some kind of rescue?-but before Firo'd had a chance to voice the thought... one of the victims actually appeared.

Or... so he assumed. At first, all he'd registered was that one of the doors was open, and it wasn't until a quiet voice called out that he realized there was actually a person clinging to the doorframe.

Peter had probably noticed already, but nonetheless Firo gave a quick pat against the other man's arm and then motioned to the open door. "Over there," he said, before heading that way himself.

There wasn't much he could do in the way of first aid-he'd only picked up basics here and there-so he'd follow Peter's lead on this. At the very least, maybe he could help to support the man at the door so he didn't topple over and hurt himself more. Firo could make out what looked like blood, so chances were the guy was already in bad shape to begin with.

[human_sponge]

As it turned out, they didn't have to wait long. Peter would have liked to say that their timing had been good, but that wasn't true at all. That would have only been the case if they'd managed to save these people before they were tortured

[immortale]

Even if Peter's grip wasn't secure, Firo's was.

Upon Peter's request, Firo nodded and took hold of the injured man's other shoulder to hold him steady as they lowered him. He wasn't sure what the search and rescue he had asked about, but Peter probably knew what he was talking about-and so Peter should be the one to answer.

While he hadn't exactly been expecting the man's legs to give out before they'd managed to get him to the ground, with one of them on each side, he at least didn't tumble right away.

"Easy," he said quietly, glancing from the injured man's face to Peter. "Even if you don't think you need it, just let Peter have a look at you to be sure."

[human_sponge]

"Right, Search and Rescue," Peter answered without thinking. Technically he wasn't a part of that group, seeing how he'd never actually said he was joining, but they had similar goals and so it was easier to just explain himself that way. It meant the same thing: he was here to help, in whatever way that he could.

For now, that meant seeing to it that the kid didn't collapse to the floor and hurt himself even more. With Firo's help they were able to support his weight and ease him down to the floor, though Peter didn't know how much longer the kid would even be conscious.

"Just relax as much as you can," he said with the soft tone of someone who was used to dealing with the sick or the injured. He realized he didn't have any towels to wipe away the blood and so instead he used his flashlight as best as he could in order to search the kid's body for wounds.

"Do you know where you're injured?" he asked, because it was really difficult to tell when there was so much blood and so little light.

[immortale]

Disagreeable fellow, wasn't he? Maybe it was because of whatever he'd gone through, but here they were trying to help him and all he'd done was say he didn't need it. If it hadn't been for the fact that he was really there to assist Peter, Firo had a mind to leave the injured boy alone just like he wanted

[human_sponge]

It seemed strange that someone would be rejecting medical attention when it was clear that they needed it, but eventually Peter realized that that might not be the case at all. Even as he searched for any source for the blood, he found nothing. The kid was clearly woozy from losing all of that blood, but it was like the wounds that had caused it all had patched themselves up.

And -- well, Peter knew that was possible.

It wasn't something he was going to get into now, though, especially since the kid didn't seem to want to stay here. Peter had to agree with Firo -- that moving someone so weak would be hard and there were probably more monsters outside of this hall than within it -- but he also couldn't blame the kid for wanting to get away from the place where he'd been tortured.

"He's right," he told the kid as he glanced to Firo. "We're not going to be able to move you easily. Are you sure you want to go?" He wanted a direct answer or at least some kind of reasoning before deciding.

[immortale]

Firo felt confident enough, but before he could open his mouth to say so, he reconsidered the young man's words. The cats from the other night were one thing, but if there were bigger creatures out there, or if they attacked in a pack... It wasn't impossible that something might slip past him. He'd be fine even if he was killed, but that was more than he could say for Peter or the guy they were supposed to be helping.

Moving him was still a risk in itself, though. But while taking the young man back to, say, his room might be too much, maybe there was a feasible middle ground here.

"Is there anywhere safe nearby?" he suggested, though he was unsure whether there actually was a place. The room the young man had come out of seemed defensible, but even Firo thought it would be cruel to keep him there longer. "As long as there's somewhere not too far, we wouldn't have to be out in the open for long."

[human_sponge]

Peter had to admit that it was surreal to be lectured by someone that they had come all this way to help. The teen was almost bossing them around at this point -- or at least questioning their motives. Peter couldn't judge him too harshly, though, since he had no idea what he'd just been through beyond realizing that it must have been terrible.

On top of that, it wasn't as if the patients he'd dealt with on his hospital rounds hadn't been demanding and unreasonable at times. It was part of the job.

"Somewhere safe?" Peter spoke the words as if they were completely foreign to him, mainly because they might as well be. "As far as I know, the only place that's really safe at night is the patient rooms." Which was a shame, because trying to haul the kid all the way down the stairs would be a trial even with two of them supporting his weight. They hadn't encountered any monsters on the way here, but the stench of all that blood could easily attract some.

[immortale]

Well that was discouraging news. Firo had been sure that there would be some small rooms-offices, maybe-where they could barricade the doors to prevent anything from getting in. Were their own rooms really the only safe places? How frustrating...

Firo sighed again, turning his flashlight to scan the inside of the nearby room in case that was the only option; it looked empty, like the boy had been the only one in there. In that case, the only things getting in would have to come through the door.

In the end, it was still up to Peter-and, he guessed, to the patient himself. He'd finally stopped being so stubborn, but suggesting that room couldn't have been easy.

"What do you think?" he asked Peter. It would be a long way to the prisoners' rooms, but maybe there were still other options. Maybe even just a different room in this hall could be better.