River patted down his clothes. It did nothing but soothe his mind, his outfit still covered in so many things that he directly decided to take a walk to one of the asylum’s washrooms.
This was really too much.
At this time of the day no one was near the graveyard and River had nothing to worry about leaving through the backdoor. He walked once around the building, entered the main halls again and trudged his way to one of the washrooms.
Just as he stepped inside, he heard water running and his eyes met another pair.
Stunned, both Aspen and River only blinked for a moment, then spoke up at the same time.
“Why are you bloody?”
“Why do you reek?”
The expressions changed to surprise at the exact same time as well. Aspen suddenly laughed, his eyes actually narrowing with amusement, and even River’s lips couldn’t help but tug up.
“Just unimportant reasons”, Aspen waved off, a couple dark-colored droplets going flying. He held his hands under the rushing water, roughly washing off the blood.
It hadn’t only gotten on his hands but also on his face and arms, but what he couldn’t wash off wasn’t obvious due to the grayscale of the dream.
River took the sink to Aspen’s right and started washing himself as best as he could. His clothes he could at least wipe down with a towel. “Reasons is a good explanation. I will copy that one.”
Aspen’s pretty eyes widened a bit, curiosity evident. His long eyelashes were fluttering as he put on a fawning smile and changed his tone into a gentle purr. River’s voice had lost the monotone edge and his movements were smoother than usual. “You’re in a good mood! And that despite the smell. Did you find something good?”
“Found the corpse chute.”
“Ah. That explains your state.”
“Also…” River shook his hands to let the water fly off. Although he wasn’t facing Aspen, his expression was soft. “I don’t usually get protected by others.”
Aspen gave a little “hehe” at being caught. He bowed in a flourish, cheeks darkening a bit with an almost sheepish blush. “My pleasure.”
“Did Amber run off?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Kinda. I think she’ll return if you’re around. Where’s the guys?”
“Glvc’a kjca ab pewq vbkc atf mteaf klat wf.”
“P kbcvfg kts!”
Ktf ilaaif fzmtjcuf kjr iluta-tfjgafv, jcv la ifoa Crqfc’r tfjga pewqlcu tjqqlis.
Tfr, tf kjcafv Elnfg jilnf obg tlr bkc yfcfola, yea tf tjv ab rjs, pera yflcu jilnf wluta cba mea la.
C Elnfg klat gfijzfv rtbeivfgr jcv j rboa fzqgfrrlbc, klat tlr abcf iluta jcv ufcaif… Qjrc’a atlr rb wemt yfaafg? Cjjt. Lf vlvc’a xcbk ktja tf’v tjnf ab vb, yea tf kjcafv Elnfg ilxf atlr qfgwjcfcais.
He’d figure it out. He already knew how to keep River alive, so he was confident he could learn this too.
Being protected, was it?
River was his.
And you protect your own.
If River liked that, even better.
Amber did indeed return once she spotted River. She kept a careful distance from Aspen, but they all knew why. The young woman listened in as River explained everything about the chute and his general idea.
The chute was the perfect escape path for the patient. He could also leave through the backdoor, which would lead him to the unwatched cemetery.
So his basic idea was:
Count on the patient’s common escape plan and ensure he’d find both the shift plan – which should make him suspicious of the security room – and the key ring.
Frankly speaking, River didn’t think it’d work out like that but he needed to see where exactly it’d fail for him to come up with a more detailed plan. For now, this was good enough, not to mention they could improvise.
Amber was happy to be reunited with Plaster and Rhythm, two actually normal people. The group of three startled and frightened little animals crowded back together the very second they saw each other.
Plaster reported that the shift plan had been followed to the dot so far, which was perfect for what River had hoped to do.
By now it was also getting late enough that they needed to prepare everything, so River slipped back into the treatment their patient was gonna hide in.
“Would here be good?” River mostly muttered to no one in particular as he circled the room around the area where the patient had hid. The key couldn’t be placed too obviously, but it also couldn’t be hidden too well…
“Just give it a try. I’d put it here. Hey, all of you! Once the Actor comes out I might have to distract the shadows again. Don’t get in my way, alright?” Aspen addressed the others as he waited.
Amber reacted the most strongly, jolting and quickly nodding. Her lips were trembling but she bit on them, gaze constantly lowered to avoid meeting Aspen’s. It was likely her fear that infected the others, who had turned mute alongside her.
“Fine… This will have to do.” River found his spot and squatted down nearby, getting ready to react once the patient entered. “Don’t block the door, Aspen. Be careful not to run into the patient when he enters.”
Because they hadn’t changed anything with the patient himself, the man slipped out at the same time as before.
Unknown to him, five pairs of eyes were observing his every move as he hid once more, the perfect repetition of his actions adding to the gloomy atmosphere.
His routine was only broken by the rustle of the paper he brushed against, and it caused him to freeze up.
The patient carefully reached for the piece of paper. He tilted it several times until the sparse lighting allowed him to roughly read it.
It was unknown why he took so long to finish the simple plan. His movements were deliberately slow and he touched the key ring that was nearby the paper, a tiny scraping sound appearing as one of the keys moved.
Then the patient shuddered, placed the plan back, and suddenly hid right next to the door to listen.
Under everyone’s surprised gaze, he not only slipped out faster than before, he even made his way completely back – right into his room, closing the door.
“Okay. Too suspicious, I guess.” Helpless, Aspen rubbed his neck. “Do you think he will come out again?”
“…No. I think we are missing the conversation.”
“Conversation?”
“You know, that incredibly odd conversation that the nurses had right in front of his room. I think he has to be awake to hear it. Or, well, if this was a game, then that would be something I’d expect. No matter how realistic everything here is, there are still points that are deliberate and obvious.”
River went through his memories.
There were things like the little lady that had been locked up, who was hard to miss because most shadows would one way or another draw your attention to her.
There was the scared child that was always obviously hiding or crying so that it was impossible to miss.
There was the very obvious way the arrogant student at school was acting.
Now it was a conversation, taking place audibly right in front of their main actor while said person was asleep due to taking pills.
Aspen raised his hand and tapped his index finger. “Okay, ensure that the guy doesn’t take his pills. Next?”
“I need it to be more obvious that there’s a path in the security office. A trail or something.”
“Blood?”
“Ideally.”
Aspen tapped his middle finger. “Cool. We’ve got a corpse we can use. Next?”
“Hmm.” River closed his eyes. “Ensure that there’s someone who can distract the security guards when he’s fleeing.”
“Me! Next?”
“I think… I’ll fake a note. Something that explains why exactly the key ring and the shift plan are placed so obviously. Maybe… something for a new hire? Ah, whatever. I don’t think it has to be too logical.”
Aspen switched to raising both thumbs. He beamed at River, enjoying himself. “Then we’ve got everything planned?”
“I think so.”
“Awesome! If you need blood for your trail, we should probably prepare it already. Wanna come along?”
“Yes.”
River didn’t need to look back to know he was not going to be followed by the others for this.
There had to be a scalpel (or several?) missing from the treatment rooms, considering that the Deer’s body in a corner of the courtyard had been slashed and stabbed multiple times. Given the scene of carnage, Deer must have resisted harshly, and yet Aspen had no visible wounds, which either meant he had avoided them completely or they were hidden beneath his clothes.
Aspen is so cute in this chapter! 🙂
Aaah… the last chapter was so disgusting that this one is sweet in comparison.
Thanks for the chapter ! ^^
(sorry for the delay, I was moving)
This chapter refreshed me so much, it was very good. Aspen this cat is adorable!Wait…why does stabbing a guy with him get cute…? No matter, the other got what he deserved!Thanks for the chapter~