Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Why do they keep doing this to me? I don't even get a moment's rest in this place, I swear. The sadistic bastards," Hayden growled, carrying a tray down the hallway loaded with food, bottled water, and even a random can of soda. If nothing else, they were thorough here. "I swear, they do this to torture me JUST for their own entertainment!"

He continued grumbling and muttering to himself as he made his way down the dormitory hallway. Finally reaching the correct room, he knocked on the door, making a silent decision. Maybe if he could make this quick, just drop the food and stuff off then get out, he could make a quick stop by Karen's room and see how she was doing.

After knocking, he balanced the tray carefully before opening the door. "Err...hi?" he said awkwardly, spotting the young woman inside. Setting the tray down on the one table in the room, he continued explaining automatically. "They sent me down here with this. Thought you might be hungry or thirsty or something. There's plenty of stuff here, so I'm sure you'll find something you like. Well....yeah..." Already inching towards the door, it was obvious that Hayden didn't want to hang around any longer than he had to. He hated this cursed work and the more he could avoid interacting with the people he felt like he was betraying, the better the chance he thought he had of saving some small part of his remaining soul.

Hayden jumped, ashamed immediately for doing so. It was just a little girl...well, for now. Why was he so jumpy anyway?

"Umm...sorry 'bout that," he apologized automatically; it was something that came naturally to him after all this time at CRONUS. It seemed like that's all he ever did; between apologizing to his superiors...and to the poor people he lied to like this. Rubbing his neck nervously, Hayden turned to the latest 'victim.' "I didn't mean to be rude. Just figured you didn't want anyone in here bothering you so I was just going to hurry on my way." That much was true at least. He left out the fact that he wasn't comfortable being here and that he'd much rather be on his way to visit Karen down the hall.

Pausing, the guard eyed the girl for a moment longer before asking, "Is there something else I can get you? Anything that's not on the tray there?"

Automatically putting on a smile, Hayden nodded. "Alright. That's good to hear. I'll just go and leave you alone to eat then. Remember if you need anything, just ask, okay?"

Why did they keep sending him to do this sort of work? They had to know that he hated it. They had to see his discomfort. Maybe that's why they did it. Sick, sadistic...

"Take care now..."

'Oh yeah, 'take care'... Jeez, how can you keep saying that to them?'

Slightly taken by surprise, her light push nearly carried him to the door. "Err...okay?" Unsure of what to say, Hayden paused briefly at the door. Something felt...odd. Like, something needed to be said or done or...something before he left, though he had no idea what.

"Umm...enjoy your meal," he offered before slipping out of the room. He paused, just outside the door and leaned on the wall. He covered his face with both hands, head thudding softly against the wall. "What is wrong with me? Or maybe I should ask, what's wrong with this place? Of course...that question has a lot of answers...and I think I know them all already..."

"And what was with that tray? That was not the normal sort of selection they send me with. And....why am I talking to myself?" Scratching his head with an odd half-smile, Hayden blinked a few times then sighed. "I gotta' get out of this place. It's driving me crazy." Chuckling softly, he headed down the hallway. Maybe he could stop by Karen's room before returning to his own personal hole in the wall. It'd be a nice break in this horrible day...

******

Meanwhile, a pair of researchers watched their latest subject with interest. "There we go...despite initial complaints, the subject has accepted her offered food and begun to eat. Worries that she might refuse nourishment seem to be unfounded."

The other researcher glanced over and cleared his throat. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course. What is your inquiry?"

"Do you really have to talk like that? Can't you just speak like a normal person?"

"Negative."

"Yeah, I figured." Sighing tiredly, he shook his head and went back to making observational notes.

"Subject seems prone to sudden, unprovoked fits of shouting and illogical deductions. Note to self: Administer psychological testing as soon as possible to determine whether or not subject might be a danger to herself or others. Also, mental instability could affect the experiment as well as..."

Rolling his eyes at his collegue's muttered notes, the other researcher fought the urge to drop his head down onto the desk. Hard. "Why did I get stuck on shift with this lunatic?" he muttered quietly to himself, taking serious notes on his observations. They would have to do something soon before the young woman got too worked up. If they couldn't placated her, who knew what she might try to do? She was confused, angry, and understandably so. Not mentally unstable. "Not that I will be either if I have to put up with this moron for much longer..."

*click*

"Now, if the subject has finished with her momentary fit, this would be a good time for psychological tes--"

*BAM*

Silence.

Then...a different voice sounded from the intercom.

"I'm sorry about that, miss. You'll have to excuse my collegue. He's a bit insane at the moment. Please, relax and make yourself at home while I take care of that."

The second researcher turned off the intercom system and turned to his collegue. He'd finally had enough of his obnoxious behavior. Talking to the subject like that had been the last straw. The minute the crazy nutjob had touched the intercom button, he'd leapt into action.

Meaning, he whapped him upside the head with his clipboard and knocked him silly.

"You idiot."

The man sneered at his unconscious cohort. "You stupid fool. You screw everything up and now I have to fix it. We were supposed to observe her for the Doc and nothing else! Now, here I am stuck with damage control."

Sighing, he settled back in his chair with a deep breath. Calm. Damage control now; beat the crap out of his collegue later. Pressing the intercom's transmit button, he leaned in to the microphone to speak, trying to keep his voice calm and soothing.

"I apologize profusely for that. The man you heard will be dealt with accordingly. He should never have said anything of the sort and I have no idea why he would do so. No one thinks you're mental. I understand that you might be confused and upset...but not mental. If you'll take just a moment to calm down, I'd like to see if we can't work things out and clear the air between us as soon as possible, miss. If you'd like anything else, to eat or drink or anything of that nature, please use the intercom on the wall."

He turned the speaker off and leaned back, massaging his temples. He could feel a headache coming on already...