Sara stayed quiet as she finished her Porridge before she swallowed before answering Benjamin.
"I... Don't like the attention from staff." She admitted, dropping her head slightly. "I... I hope Ray is okay; I... Hope Ari is okay." She looked to the table as she cupped her cup of hot chocolate.
"I'm sorry I'm not helpful." She said quietly, "I'm... Not Staff like you think I was. I'm sorry if it seems like I lied, I...." She shrunk into herself. "Sorry."

Benjamin reached out to touch Sara's arm as she stared at her cup. "I never thought you lied. But, since you work alongside them you have a different relationship with them than the other patients. Are there any members of the staff you trust? People who are kind and not condescending and are willing to listen to patients?"
From what he had observed, there weren't many like that. They were either strict and demanded the rules to be followed, or were kind and treated everyone like children instead of adults.

Sara dropped her cup, moving to grab it before it hit the table before she looked up to Benjamin with wild, fearful eyes. Her breathing calmed when she realized it was him who was touching her moving to put the now empty cup on the table with a weak smile.
"You say I have a different relationship with them." She said with a bit of a laugh, "They're only nice to me because Vivian tells them to be." She gave a small sigh before she moved her hands to her face to rub her temples.
"They still treat me like a patient. They stare at me whenever I try and eat in the Staff Room. No one takes me seriously when I report a medical problem about the other patients. There's no one here who don't see me as a mental person." She started to raise her voice slightly, now to a normal speaking level instead of barely above a whisper.

She dropped her voice back down as she felt her shoulders drop back and tears ebb at her face.
"I'm... Not crazy. I'm haunted by this voice. She's... Not nice." She continued with a bit of a sigh. "And Marc, as lovely as he is, doesn't... seem to believe me." She stared at the table.
"He... took me for a date. Last night. It was nice, but I don't think he thinks I'm a sane person."

When Benjamin noticed how afraid she looked he quickly let go of her. That hadn't been his intention.
He listened to her explanation and that was what he had seen here as well, with the nurse who had the cart with the warm food and drinks.

"The problem is," Benjamin said, "auditory halucinations are a thing and people just assume that's what it is. I do believe you, but in this world people just don't believe in what they can't see or hear for themselves. That's how I ended up here as well. And Ray. I could see her spirits, but barely anyone can." He paused as he thought about it. "But Marc took you on a date and I've seen how gentle he was with that catanotic patient that hasn't shown up for breakfast today. Maybe we could talk to him when his shift starts."

Sara looked up to him as he said he believed her, her eyes went wide and she fell silent. She listened to everything he said, "You can... See them?" She asked in a whisper, she looked towards the door; where Dia had disappeared out of.
"Well, We can all see Dia now." She gave a half-laugh, "But I can... Hear them. I could always hear Ari the loudest, I could always distinguish between the voices." She said as she gave a weak smile to Benjamin.

When he mentioned trying to talk to Marc about things she winced.
"I... Don't know." She started, "I know he'll help out but I... Don't know if he'll believe us."
She winced as a dark aura trembled around her, shadows slowly gripping onto her chest as a voice whispered into her ear- the voice audible to Benjamin.
"He'll never believe you, You're be stuck as the crazy woman forever." The voice hissed to Sara, who flinched and shook her head but didn't move.

Benjamin watched the dark aura and the shadow around Sara and narrowed his eyes. Then the voice, a faint hiss, barely audible, but he heard it.
"Shut it," he growled. "Leave her alone."

Then he turned to Sara and reached out to take her hand. "Listen, Sara. Society has rejected to believe in what can't be observed or measured objectively and tought that to their children, so in their eyes we are crazy for seeing and hearing things that aren't there. And that is a doctrine that is really, really hard to break free from. But, a person is tangible and so is the paperwork around them. Simon died, but Marc won't believe I saw his spirit. So we will just emphasize how strange it is he just left without saying goodbye and that others left suddenly as well. And that we just want some piece of mind about them. If he's kind enough he might check where they went and if he will notice they aren't where they are supposed to be he might get suspicious too and then we have an ally who can look things up. That's why we need to bring in Marc, even if he sees us as patients."

The shadow seemed to hesitate as Benjamin spoke to it, pulling away from Sara before almost rearing up behind her before disappearing from view.
Sara stared at Benjamin, her eyes widened as she watched him turn and speak to her. Her mouth was agape as he spoke to her, she didn't believe it.

well, she believed He could see Ray's spirits, but no one was able to either see or hear her spirit but her. "You..." She felt her voice tremble, "You saw her?" She said, "But I... Agree with you. I'm just... Surprised you can see her. Not even Ray could sense her, I never got to ask Dia or Ari but..." She trailed off as a nurse walked past her quietly.

Benjamin waited until the nurse had left. "That is why I'm here, I see things no-one else can. Ghosts, shadow creatures. I've always been able to see them. This is why I also believe Simon really did have auditory verbal hallucinations because I never saw anything talk to him." He pondered the remark about Ray for a moment. "Maybe Ray is only attuned to her own spirits, which enables her to see and hear them, but not other spirits. Not that I'm expert, but that would be my guess."

Sara straightened herself as she listened to Benjamin, her eyes focused on him as the shadow flowed around her angrily before it seemed to dissipate.
"That... Is possible." She said with a nod, giving a small smile. She could felt her body start to relax as her spirit seemed to coil back to the edge of her mind. "I've had suspicions about this place when others have disappeared. But there hasn't been others who have 'left'."

Dia skidded around the corner and immediately grabbed Ari off the ground and pulled her into a hug, she didn't even realize that Ari was solid. She was just happy she was okay.
"My sister." Dia said as she let Ari go. Ari breathed slightly, feeling her chest move before she moved her hands down her face and moved to touch Dias'.
"Dia!" Ari gasped, moving to cover her mouth with a sparkle in her eyes.

It looked like Sara was more relaxed now. Benjamin leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms and legs. "If you're done, let's go for a walk," he said as someone of the staff passed their table. It would probably be considered good he was socializing with someone other than Ray. Not that he would stop hanging out with her, but they had mentioned it was best for him to stop talking to her, so it was probably a good thing if he would pretend he was okay with Ray not being there.

But he was worried about her; she was back in isolation. And she seemed to believe something had happened to Ari and had blamed it on Dia. Hopefully Ray was okay; at the first opportunity he'd go to her.

Sara nodded as Benjamin seemed to stretch. She was ready to get out of this room, it made her feel weird. Like it was some high school cafeteria and she was a bullied child by even the teachers.
"A walk sounds good." She said as she slowly stood from her chair, making sure not to hit the staff member behind her as she did so.

Ray felt Queasy. What the fuck had happened?
Ari, something happened to Ari. She jolted upright and looked around the padded room she was sealed in and gave a growl.
"Yeah yeah, growl all you want princess, not going to save you." The guard said from outside, Ray moved to stand up but stumbled back once she was on her feet. "Don't try to stand yet, your brain is still foggy from the sedative."
Dia, Dia had done something to Ari. She couldn't feel her anymore, what had Dia done to her? Was it because she finally had her own body again that she thought she'd be able to just take out her other spirit?

Anger bubbled through her body, Benjamin had started to defend her too! Dia was taking everything from her!
That fucking bitch, using her body as a Vessel for years and now this is how she repaid her?

Benjamin soon followed suit and walked away. Find Ari and Dia first? Or go to Ray first? Ray was safe now, not in a good place, but he couldn't get her out even if he wanted to. Ari's fate was still uncertain.
"Let's see if we can find Ari and Dia," he suggested to Sara. "And after that I'll need your help to get close to Ray." He had a thoughtful frown on his head. "Has staff send you on errands for them in the past?"

Sara gave a small nod to Benjamins' words. "Should we check Ray's room first? Maybe Dia went there, or Ari could be there?" She asked before she blinked at his question. A frown washed over her face slowly before she nodded once, "Yeah, I've done paper work. I've helped with food. Most of it was dish washing or laundry." She sighed softly.

Dia moved to stand up with Ari in her arms still, keeping her tight to her chest. "I'm so happy to see you." She started quietly, pressing her head against Aris'. "I love you, my sister."
Ari gave a bit of a sob, "I love you too." She gripped Dia's face and couldn't find the words to say what she wanted to say. How was she suddenly solid, did... Dia know she was solid? Where was Ray? Was she okay?
"Ray...?" Ari started, Dia shook her head slightly.
"Not now, let's... Not bring her up."

"It's the place they're most familiar with," Benjamin agreed when Sara suggested Ray's room.
If Sara had done so many different errands, people wouldn't find it suspicious if she'd claim to be on an errand for someone... that could be useful.
He stepped into the corridor and looked around before heading in the direction of Ray's room. He needed to visit Ray as well, he was worried about her. Rushing to her immediately wasn't smart and he hated how he had to think about all of his actions because of the watchful eyes of the staff.

Sara nodded at his words, "Smart idea," She said, "Its' good I have you on my side... I think." She blinked, trying to think about her next words as they walked towards Rays' room. Sara occasionally glanced back towards Benjamin as she noticed he wanted to go see her. "We'll check on her afterwards."

Dia settled Ari on Rays' bed, moving slowly to rub her head as she sat beside her.
"Ray's... Angry." She started, Ari gave a small mumble in response as she pulled the covers over her. "She thinks I did something to you, and she yelled at Benjamin for siding with me."
"he does seem to like you." Ari mumbled before she moved to put her hand on Dia's lap. "We'll... Get through this okay? Just give me some time to realize to use a real body again."

He knew it was best to check on dia and Ari first, and that he shouldn't rush to Ray right now, but a part of him still wanted to go there.

It wasn't long before they reached Ray's room and after making sure no-one of the staff was around - he had no business in Ray's room with her in isolation - he opened the door and quickly stepped inside.

His eyes settled on the two women who used to be transparent. "What happened?" he asked, moving his eyes from Dia, although they lingered there for a moment, to Ari.

Dia flinched as the door opened, readying herself to defend herself and Ari from whoever entered the room. She hesitated at the sight of Sara before she focused on Benjamin. She opened her mouth to speak as Benjamin asked what happened, before she was able to get any words out Ari stood up and dashed to Benjamin and hugged him tightly.
"Aaaah! I can touch you!" She almost squealed, bouncing around with Benjamin in her arms, "This is great! Oh my god!"

"Oh, Ari." Benjamin grinned at the hug, but his eyes were on Dia. "That's great. I'm happy for you."
He gently pulled her arms away - he understood the excitement and he really was happy for her, but there was more on his mind and he couldn't share the same enthusiasm. "Is this why Ray lost her connection with you?" he asked Ari. "She suddenly flipped out and accused Dia of doing something to you."

Ari paused at Benjamin pulling her away from him, she blinked as he spoke to her before she turned to Dia, who stayed on the bed, refusing to look towards Ari at the moment.
"Is... This why you wouldn't tell me about Ray?" She asked, Dia flinched at the words and kind of just hid into herself. "Dia, don't do this." Ari said as she turned from Benjamin and walked to her, crossing her arms and standing by the older spirit. "Don't lock down like this, I'm not going to- I'm not-" She breathed in as she felt her voice raise before she dropped her arms and closed her eyes, returning her voice back to normal. "I promise I'm not angry, I'm not going to hurt you."
Dia looked up towards Ari and hiccupped a sob, rubbing her eyes with her forearm before she looked away again. "She... Tried to attack me; I saw it in her. It's the same look you have when you're about to try and kill someone."

Ari stepped back at Dia's words, looking to Benjamin and Sara with her mouth open, but she didn't speak.
Sara flinched as Ari turned to them, moving to hide behind Benjamin, despite being a bit taller than him. "We... Didn't do anything." She mumbled softly.

---

Ray focused as the tranquillizer left her body, she moved to stand up shakily, stepping towards the door and pressed her head against the bars.
"Let me out." She started, knowing she'd have to argue about why she should be let out. "I'm sorry I yelled at your 'coworker'." She would have air quoted if her hands weren't fucking tied up, "I've learnt my lesson, I won't be violent. I want to draw in my room."

Benjamin listened as Ari and Dia talked; he felt a hint of annoyance when Dia recalled Ray had been ready to attack her. It was the last thing he had expected to see and if he had to choose he would side with Dia. Now he felt for both spirits. He knew Sara was standing behind him and probably needed the comfort, but he was also certain they weren't in danger here.

He stepped forward and first stopped near Ari, gently taking her shoulder for a moment. "We'll visit Ray later and see if we can work this out somehow. It's amazing you're solid too."
Having said that, he continued to Dia and sat down next to her so he could take her in his arms. Seeing her cry was one of the most painful things he had experienced so far.

---

A guard looked through the barred window. "The psychiatrist will evaluate first, then she'll decide if you can leave or not," he told her curtly. "Attacking someone of the staff is not something we take lightly, especially with your history."