LOCKED TO alchemicals

[deaftly]

[He doesn't remember anything. All he knows is that there's a bright light in his face and he just wants to sleep. After a couple of minutes of tossing and turning he finally opens his eyes and sits up. The room he's in is perfectly white, without any sort of interesting features. There's a desk and a chair, but nothing on either of them. They're as white as the walls and floor, and on closer inspection, the bed he's in is just as white and spotless as the rest of the room. The sheets are a bit on the stiff side even though he's been sleeping under them, and the bed is kind of hard for his liking, so he finally squirms out from under the covers and stands.

The clothes he's wearing strike him as being wrong, though he can't recall what the "right" clothes would be. They're white - like everything else - and they're very simple. He doesn't have anything to compare them to, but the material is soft and kind of thin and feels a little odd. He shrugs off his confusion about the clothes and starts for the door. Even the doorknob is white, which strikes him as strange for about half a second before he yanks the door open.

The room that he enters is spacious. Like the room he woke up in, everything is white. There's a sofa, a small table in front of the sofa, and a couple of plush chairs. There's a couple of doors leading elsewhere, and his first order of business is to see where they lead. One leads to a perfectly white kitchen which isn't interesting right now (though some part of him wonders if the food will be just as white) and the other door he comes to is locked. There should be a front door around here somewhere though, right? He doesn't want to be here. He can't remember why he's here (or anything, really) but being here doesn't seem right.]

Comments

[deaftly]

I don't...

[Well, it's pretty obvious by now that he doesn't understand, so he falls silent.]

Well there's-- there has to be something I can do! I can't just watch you like this!!

[alchemicals]

[Ah, don't do that...]

I know how to deal with it. I'll do it once we know what the hell we're supposed to do here.

[deaftly]

Do what?

[That... really doesn't sound good.]

Why won't you tell me what's going on?

[alchemicals]

...Promise me you won't get all offended about what I'm going to say, okay? Or...I don't know, if you get offended, don't do anything stupid while you're offended. Because I can see this ending a lot of different ways and one of them is with you getting super-offended.

[deaftly]

Uh, okay? I promise I won't get super-offended. Or well, I'll try. I definitely won't do anything dumb, okay?

[alchemicals]

...Look, don't you think it's fucked up at all that they put a human in with someone who can only eat humans? Yeah, they're giving you food now, but we don't know if they're going to keep doing that.

We don't know what kind of sick fuck we're dealing with. What if the point is to make you decide that eating me's a great idea after a while?

[deaftly]

Ahh...

[Naki's eyes widen and shift once again.]

N-No, I wouldn't-- I would never! That's fucked up-- if they think I'm gonna-- No way!!

[He can't seem to decide if he's more angry or upset by this and the result is an awkward shift between the two.]

[alchemicals]

...I know you wouldn't. But it's possible, right? That that's what they want?

[deaftly]

Y-Yeah... I guess that's possible...

[He reaches up to push his hair back and for a moment his fingers linger over his left ear. He hadn't noticed it before, but there's two holes in his ear. It's tempting to focus on that rather than the topic of conversation, but he refuses to let it go that easily.]

B-But I'll never do that to you! Never!!

[alchemicals]

I know you won't. I know. At the same time, I'm not going to do anything to encourage that shit, either. That's why I'm kind of fucked up right now. But like I said, I'll be okay.

[deaftly]

Not going to do anything to...?

[It slowly seems to dawn on him.]

Ah, shit, wait... Are you... You're not eating, are you?

[The more he thinks about it, the more obvious it is. He hasn't seen Kimbley eat.]

[alchemicals]

[You know, the water you gave him is absolutely fascinating for a while before he glances back up to answer.]

Ah...I don't know if you know how humans are supposed to work, we usually eat every six hours or something like that.

[...That's...about as close to answering that as he's getting, buddy.]

[deaftly]

Six hours...

[Naki's eyes widen and his mouth falls open.]

N-No way, so you've been... I mean it's been... it's been awhile...

[No wonder Kimbley hasn't been feeling well.]

B-But that's-- That's fucked up! If you don't eat then you'll-- you'll starve!

[alchemicals]

I eat once in a while. Not much, but I'm not going to let myself die, either. I don't want to give that sick fuck the satisfaction, you know?

[Don't do that.]

...Calm down, okay? I haven't forgotten anything about what I promised you.

[deaftly]

[No, you don't understand, there's something very bad about starving that isn't death, but he's not what it is.]

I... Yeah. I know you haven't but...

[Once again he messes with his hair.]

But this is wrong! You shouldn't have to starve yourself!! I... I mean I know that this is fucked up and that's... that's probably why you're in here with me but I'm--!! I'm not gonna do that! Ever!!

[alchemicals]

[He just kind of...stares for a moment before glancing away; he's not sure what to do with that and it's obvious, though something about it's striking him strangely. It's just kind of hard to say what; he isn't entirely sure that he knows.]

And if that is why I'm in here with you, that's going to eventually kill you, right?

Say whatever you want. When it comes down to it, you're not going to fuckin' die for me and I'm not going to ask you to.

[deaftly]

I--!

[Naki's shoulders start shaking but as much as he wants to deny Kimbley's words, he knows he can't. If it ultimately comes down to it, can he sacrifice his life for Kimbley's? He's not sure he can. He shakes his head slowly, still trying to figure out what to even say to that.]

I... I don't...

[At least this seems to have stunned him to the point where he can't even cry.]

[alchemicals]

[He looks away again, setting the cup down on the table next to the bed and promptly bunching up the fabric of the covers in his hands.]

...That was low. I...sorry, that was really fucking low, I'm just...

[He hesitates; he shakes his head after a moment. Wherever that was going, he's not too inclined to finish it.]

[deaftly]

[Naki's not upset. That's probably the first sign that something is very wrong, but he's not upset by Kimbley's words. He's troubled by them, yes, but he's not mad or on the verge of crying, so that's... something. He's not sure exactly what it is, but boy is it a thing.

Eventually he moves to sit on the edge of the bed, but he doesn't get any closer than that.]

I'm not... Look, I'm not mad at you. I mean it's... probably better to get this shit out in the open immediately, right? So we have some idea of what the fuck's gonna happen.

[Naki picks at a stray thread on the covers. It gives him something to do while he thinks.]

...But... you can't keep going like this. If you do, they're gonna have to step in and... I dunno if that'll be good or bad. I mean you might be able to get out if they do have to take you out for medical treatment or whatever but...

[Who knows, they could just decide to wipe Kimbley's memory or something.]

[alchemicals]

...No.

[Kimbley's been quiet through all of that, and while he hasn't moved to close any of the distance between them, he's not moving away from him, either. It's the last part that gets the reaction, and he suspects he's reacting to the wrong part of it entirely, but...]

Either we both get out or neither of us do. I'm not leaving you here, even if I get an opportunity like that, you hear me?

[deaftly]

You could always come back for me. I mean, if you've got a perfectly good chance of escaping, you should take it. It's better than both of us being stuck in here. Especially with the whole... that. I mean, if this is what they're really trying to do and you escape, they'll throw someone else in here with me, right?

[That makes sense to him. Of course it'll suck if Kimbley gets out and he doesn't, but he trusts Kimbley.]

[alchemicals]

Maybe. We don't even know if that's what they're doing, that's the fucking problem.

[He can hear himself getting frustrated; he can't really bring himself to care, his grip on the covers tightening sharply.]

[deaftly]

Yeah. I know. There's no way to check... unless... maybe we could leave them a note and maybe they'll respond?

[He kind of doubts it, but it might work.]

[alchemicals]

With our fucking luck, they don't speak the same language as either of us.

[He lets himself flop back against the bed at that, dropping one of his arms across his eyes as he does so.]

Shit...

[deaftly]

...I dunno, if they didn't speak whatever we're speaking then they couldn't keep tabs on what we're planning. I think that'd be a pretty fucking stupid thing to overlook, don't you?

[It just seems to dumb. There's no way they're that stupid, right? If Naki's calling it dumb, then surely they've already got that covered.]

It can't hurt to try, right? I mean we could both write the message down and maybe they can read at least one of 'em.