CYOA Page 131
Sep. 13th, 2013 02:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lumy12You can't let Joel go in there by himself. You can't explain why... you just can't do it. Joel can think you're paranoid (and you very well might be) or simply too scared to let him out of your sight, but you're going with your gut on this one.
"All right -- we just got lost. We're confused." Joel makes a big show of studying the map (and yes, you notice the guards noticing!), pointing at it and making remarks to you (the guards can't hear, of course)... but he really does point out the way he wants you to go. Down one street, over two, then back up toward the hospital from the other side. If there are guards there too, then...
"We're fucked?" you suggest.
"No. We go on by, leave the horses somewhere, an' play it stealthy. They can't have guards posted at every single possible entrance to the place. Not all the windows, anyhow."
You don't end up needing the stealth, but you don't find another way that's easy to enter (like a door that's not locked or barricaded). You leave the horses in the parking garage and creep around in search of an unconventional way in. Finally you find one: a third-level entrance from the garage with one of the doors busted. "Joel, over here! Look!" you call him over just loudly enough for him to hear. "These doors slide open--"
"An' the inside ones are barricaded," Joel points out.
"Yeah but look at the top."
He does. "No."
"Yes!"
"It won't work."
"Yes it will! I can totally fit through there. I just need a boost. Then I can go let you in somewhere."
"There's glass up there."
"I can just knock it down -- if I get a little scraped, no big deal."
"You might upset the... shit in the way here." He gestures to whatever's blocking the door. Random hospital equipment, looks like.
"Even better -- then I can let you in here."
"Not if you fall an' break your leg."
"I could totally still do it with a broken leg." You slug his arm lightly. "Come on -- I'm not going to get hurt. We just have to find where I'm going to let you in."
"That's the other problem. You can't tell which of these doors are gonna work from the inside, or that you can even get to -- they could have more barricades. Ones you can't see 'cause the doors ain't glass."
You sigh. "Do you have to point out every little thing that has the slightest chance of going wrong?"
"Yes. Keeps you out of trouble."
"We'll find a window, then."
"These windows ain't that easy to take off, an' if you break the glass, you attract attention."
Sooooo you keep looking for another way in.
You don't find one that doesn't involve breaking glass; all of the windows within your reach are intact and closed. In the end, Joel agrees to try your way, and you even find a door on the ground floor that you know isn't barricaded -- because you can see it through a window!
He's still very grumpy about it.
"It'll be fine," you reassure him yet again. "Look, you can see the elevators right there... so there should be a stairwell really close."
He just refuses to be reassured. "If you ain't at that door downstairs in five minutes, I'm goin' 'round front."
Which wouldn't be the worst thing, as you'll be inside... but you'd have to find each other, and Joel doubts they'd let strangers just wander around freely inside, so that might not be easy.
He's still scowling when you get back to your parking garage entrance. "Quit worrying. I'll stick the matchbook in the stairwell door in case it locks behind me," you add before he can remind you. (Chances are you could find another way out of the stairwell, but "you never know.") You leave your backpack with Joel because you don't think you can squeeze through that opening with it on your back, and he can't simply toss it up to you. Well... he could... but you don't think he'll want you reaching down to grab it. Besides, you're only going to be apart for like a minute. "Will you boost me up already?!" you urge him.
After using Joel as a staircase, you slither through the opening without difficulty (the glass pieces were easy to dislodge; you get like one minor scrape on your arm), and this area of the hospital looks deserted, so the coast is clear. The barricade furniture offers enough footholds for you to climb down and drop to the floor easily. You try to move the obstacles away from the door, but you're not surprised when they don't budge. "Seeya downstairs!" you hiss at Joel.
You enter the interior stairwell down the hall, prop the door, and skip down the stairs--
Oh shit! There's like... pieces of wall material or something blocking your way to the second floor. Joel didn't warn me about THIS possibility! ...okay, I guess it actually falls under the category of 'unseen barricades,' which he DID think of. You try to pull one of the panels up, but it's fucking heavy. You might be able to push it around on level ground, but tugging it up the stairs ain't gonna happen. Fuck -- I think Joel's too far down to hear me even if I yell... and I don't even WANT to yell...
Maybe you can find another way down... if there's another set of elevators with a stairwell, maybe? Ugh, why didn't I make him give me TEN minutes? And it's not like he has a clock to look at. He might only wait two minutes and decide it's been long enough, that you should've gotten to his door by then and something must have happened...
You don't have time to be super-stealthy, but luckily for you, there's no one on this floor. It's pretty dark, like they don't even have the electricity turned on up here. There's an EXIT sign! It's lit up even though the overhead lights aren't on. You run for it...
Yep, it's another stairwell. You do the matchbook thing... get all the way to the ground... yes! A door opening to the outside. You figure it's much less risky to use that one rather than cross the hospital on the ground floor -- and it has a bolt, so you can leave it ajar by sliding it over with the door open.
The only problem is it's a loooong way around to where Joel is, and you can't just run for it. You have to be mindful of the windows; you can see there are people on this floor. You manage to move fairly quickly, but by the time you make it all the way to Joel's door...
He's gone! Okay, don't panic... he SAID he was only going to wait a few minutes...
Now you have to go all the way back around, retracing your steps. You backtrack all the way back to the third floor to retrieve your matchbook, then decide to try your luck on the second floor. If you both find Danny and his mom, you'll find each other. ...But will Joel be looking for Danny, or for you? Danny would be easier for him to find. "Can you please direct me to a patient's room?" would probably go over a little better with the staff than "Excuse me, I need to go find a girl who just sneaked in the back way."
You ease the door open on the second level. So far so good... man, I wish I'd thought to look around outside for my backpack... Joel probably stashed it somewhere cuz it would look weird for him to come in with two... and he probably wouldn't take the time to go leave it with the horses... but you do have your gun and your knife. Your gun is tucked in your pants, hidden under your shirt: still noticeable, but only from behind, so not as attention-grabbing as your holster would be. And your knife is, as always, in your pocket.
You sneak around at first... but you know you're going to have to reveal yourself anyway, so when there's no one in the halls, you emerge... just blend in. Be cool...
You poke your head into rooms that look like they might have patients in them, but you have yet to see an actual patient. Or a doctor, nurse, what-have-you. I must be on the wrong floor for that... but you do hear something down the hall... voices, maybe? You move in that direction.
A man emerges from one of the rooms ahead. "Can I... help you?" he calls to you tentatively. Maybe they don't get a lot of traffic down here, because he seems surprised to see you.
"I hope so," you answer with a smile. "I'm looking for a patient. I'm... guessing they're not on this floor." ...Why does this guy look so familiar?!
"Nope. This is the labs... supplies... Ellie? Is that you?"
"...So I do know you. I'm sorry... I don't remember your name."
"Trip."
"...Oh yeah!" The guy with the weird name; he says it's a proper name when spelled with two p's. And that was about the extent of your interaction with him, apart from seeing him with Marlene a couple times maybe. You're surprised he remembers you, actually. His brownish-blond hair looks darker -- and shorter -- than you remember. "You were one of the Fireflies migrating west."
"Right, right. Just moved back east a little... when we came here, I mean. Month or so ago."
"Oh yeah? Were you in the hospital, or the university? Or both?" He left Boston quite a bit before you did, if you remember correctly. Of course, they may have locations you (and Tommy) don't know about as well...
"Both. I was there, in Salt Lake City... the day you left," he says quietly. Somberly. Strangely, really...
"Oh." You don't know what to say, other than the truth. Maybe I'll finally get some answers! Answers Joel would never give me... "I don't remember anything about that hospital. I was unconscious the whole time. I remember being in a tunnel... and then waking up in a car."
Tripp is looking at you so intensely now that it makes you feel uncomfortable. "Really."
"Yeah." ...Does he not believe me?
"Someone told you what happened, though." He states it like a fact.
"Um... no?" You realize how lame that must sound; it's only natural that you would ask about what happened while you were asleep and why you're now in a car headed away from your destination. "I mean... not exactly. Not all the details." Or any of the details...
"He didn't tell you?" Now he seems... sort of amused. "The smuggler? That's who you left with, right?"
It's funny to hear Joel referred to that way after all this time! "You must mean Joel. Yeah. He... doesn't like to talk about... stuff."
Tripp knits his brow. "Wait... you're still in touch with this guy? -Is he here with you?"
That's FEAR in his voice. ...What the fuck, Joel?! Something makes you not want to answer that last question. "Can you tell me what happened that day? From your point of view." As if Joel actually shared his with you. Ha!
He looks at you for a moment. "Girl, I can tell you anything you wanna know about that day. I... need to go finish up something real quick first. If you can just wait a minute -- why don't you have a seat in here." He leads you into what appears to be an examination room. "I'll be back in a flash. -You'll be safe in here." He draws the curtain behind him.
...Why did he do that? Like the curtain is going to protect you from... whatever big bad dangers are lurking out there? It's a fucking hospital. With guards and everything. He seemed really anxious just now. I get being afraid of Joel -- he can be scary -- but he was like... REALLY nervous. Enough to make your stomach twist a little. Maybe you should just leave.
But he did say he would tell you "anything you wanna know" -- yeah, that would be everything. And clearly some shit went down that Joel hasn't seen fit to share with you. If you had ever managed to shelve your curiosity before, it's jumped right back into your lap now.
If you take a seat and wait for Tripp to return and enlighten you, turn to page 215.
If your unease is stronger than your curiosity and you bolt, turn to page 218.
Carlos
Date: 2020-08-06 01:51 pm (UTC)Re: Carlos
Date: 2020-08-07 03:13 am (UTC)