The Man comments that whoever is watching you is approaching. You need to leave now, while you still have some plausible deniability. You ask him to lead the way back to the elevator. He finds it funny that you even had to ask; he is more than glad to help right now.
The four of you make like a tree and LEAVE as quickly as you can (without being too suspicious). You swear you hear a fifth pair of footsteps trailing behind your group. Whoever's following you isn't putting any real effort to keep pace with you though. Their footsteps fade away into the almost tangible silence that hangs in the air.
Liz doesn't say a single word on the way back to the elevator. She refuses to look you or Ashton in the eye, content with gazing up at the ceiling. You try to find something to say but you fail to think of anything good to say.
Your group arrives back at the elevator. It's a tight fit with four people but it is what it is. That's that, this is this.
"sorry." Liz mumbles under her breath.
"It's fine. We'll talk about it later." "mmh hmm."
The Man offers an apology to Liz, even though he knows she can't hear him. He didn't want to do that but he felt like he had to. It worked, sure, but he still didn't feel great about doing it.
He wishes he could actually apologize to her.
The ride is long and awkward, but at least you stopped her from doing something stupid. That makes the ride a bit more tolerable, but only by so much.
Right as Ashton was about to ask you something, the elevator door swung open to reveal an all-too-familiar metallic grey hallway. Well, you might as well get something to eat. Maybe she'll open up once she gets something in her stomach.
You didn't notice it until now, but her skin's a lot paler than it usually is. She begins to sway from side to side. Her body is having a hard time standing up straight as well. Yeah, she needs some food, pronto. Time to head to the cafeteria.
----
There's hardly anyone dining at the cafeteria today. Aside from your little posse, you can count the amount of people in here on two hands, and you don't recognize any of them. Odd, maybe you were up there longer than you thought you were?
On the upside, at least, you won't have to wait to get your yummy slop.
The slop today isn't particularly appealing. It consists of some muddy brown sludge that might've been refried beans paired with something that, if you squinted really hard, could be theorized to be coleslaw. The meals your coworkers get don't look much better, frankly.
The piles of meat on Ashton's plate have the same greyish-pink hue as the cans of processed spam your lab has, for example. Liz has something vaguely resembling a sloppy joe, maybe? It's like if you asked an AI to create a sandwich; that's how off-putting it looks.
Your group sits down at one of the many empty tables scattered about. Liz briefly glances at you. "So, uh. Thanks. I wasn't really thinking. At all. During all of that. I guess."
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You keep your head low. Best to avoid whatever this THING is. All you got to do is walk past it. It's probably too slow and weak to attack you.
A faint smile creeps onto your face. Yeah. That sounds like a good idea.
The gaunt researcher doesn't even notice you walking past them. They continue to mutter nonsense, "Just one more day. One more day before I can afford it."
You just have to take the turn around the hallway and you're gone.
You're just about to turn around the corner but you stop mid-step. You turn your head ever-so-slightly to look back at the gaunt researcher.
They're trying to get to the cafeteria. Trying being the keyword. They're sluggishly sliding their body forward with heavy, slow movements. It's going to take this at least an hour to get from where they're at to the end of the hallway.
You peak around the corner. You can see the cafeteria right there. You could leave this reject behind.
Ah, fuck it, fine.
You turn around to check up on the researcher.
You glance down at their legs and, oof, you didn't notice it when you were behind them but their flesh is sticking to the ground. Even a retard could figure out this guy shouldn't be alive.
Or, well, girl you think. Her facial features are already beginning to droop a bit but you think you saw some lipstick on there? Maybe some softer cheeks?
You're not sure if it particularly matters right now. You need to help her if only to appease your conscience. "Uh, look, do you wanna get something to eat?"
She gurgles something. You think that's a yes.
You drape her arm over your shoulder. The wet, sticky sensation of their flabby flesh reminds you of wet modeling clay. You keep your head low to make sure she can't see you grimacing.
The two of you sluggishly head towards the cafeteria. It takes a lot longer than it would've if you just went by yourself but you should still be able to get some grub.
https://youtu.be/u998cggd37M - CAFETERIA
It's about as pitiful as you could expect from a place that kidnaps random people.
About twelve or thirteen bare metal benches are half-heartedly scattered throughout the small cafeteria. Two vending machines, low on stock (say for the occasional 'healthy' snack), rest at the western end of the room. The same blue lines you saw in the hallway are the only splashes of color you see through the whole cafeteria.
Most of the tables are already full but you can spot a few empty seats that you could sit at later. You quickly notice that most of the people here look just as out as place as you do.
A majority are still in their street clothes. A few are wearing what you'd expect of a government-based researcher, and you think you spotted a guard or two, but otherwise? You couldn't tell any of these people are meant to be actual employees here
You spot where the line for the actual 'food' is. You grab a tray for you and your gaunt coworker (you have to help her to get a stable grip on it) before joining the line.
A faint smile creeps onto your face. Yeah. That sounds like a good idea.
The gaunt researcher doesn't even notice you walking past them. They continue to mutter nonsense, "Just one more day. One more day before I can afford it."
You just have to take the turn around the hallway and you're gone.
You're just about to turn around the corner but you stop mid-step. You turn your head ever-so-slightly to look back at the gaunt researcher.
They're trying to get to the cafeteria. Trying being the keyword. They're sluggishly sliding their body forward with heavy, slow movements. It's going to take this at least an hour to get from where they're at to the end of the hallway.
You peak around the corner. You can see the cafeteria right there. You could leave this reject behind.
Ah, fuck it, fine.
You turn around to check up on the researcher.
You glance down at their legs and, oof, you didn't notice it when you were behind them but their flesh is sticking to the ground. Even a retard could figure out this guy shouldn't be alive.
Or, well, girl you think. Her facial features are already beginning to droop a bit but you think you saw some lipstick on there? Maybe some softer cheeks?
You're not sure if it particularly matters right now. You need to help her if only to appease your conscience. "Uh, look, do you wanna get something to eat?"
She gurgles something. You think that's a yes.
You drape her arm over your shoulder. The wet, sticky sensation of their flabby flesh reminds you of wet modeling clay. You keep your head low to make sure she can't see you grimacing.
The two of you sluggishly head towards the cafeteria. It takes a lot longer than it would've if you just went by yourself but you should still be able to get some grub.
https://youtu.be/u998cggd37M - CAFETERIA
It's about as pitiful as you could expect from a place that kidnaps random people.
About twelve or thirteen bare metal benches are half-heartedly scattered throughout the small cafeteria. Two vending machines, low on stock (say for the occasional 'healthy' snack), rest at the western end of the room. The same blue lines you saw in the hallway are the only splashes of color you see through the whole cafeteria.
Most of the tables are already full but you can spot a few empty seats that you could sit at later. You quickly notice that most of the people here look just as out as place as you do.
A majority are still in their street clothes. A few are wearing what you'd expect of a government-based researcher, and you think you spotted a guard or two, but otherwise? You couldn't tell any of these people are meant to be actual employees here
You spot where the line for the actual 'food' is. You grab a tray for you and your gaunt coworker (you have to help her to get a stable grip on it) before joining the line.