Fish of Oblivion
Guardian Angel Haruki
SkyeOfStars
redrootssss
Altered TundraJeremiah Dupree
Physical state: Chilled but healthy
Mental state: Distracted
The walk back to reception was haunting - hardly in the literary sense of the word. No in the way every step of Jeremiah Dupree and Emil Gunther seemed to be followed by the step of a third, just the slightest bit out of sync with their footfalls. In the way of a distant banging on an unseen cell door. In the unrelenting gaze of something invisible as the coat was disposed of, not in the trash but where any tired doctor may have misplaced it. In the siren song of Faye Desdemona, or something trying its damnable best to imitate her, trying to call them back.
A true spectre haunting them both.
It was hardly a wonder that Dr. Steiner worried, and yet Professor Dupree didn't have his voice back quite yet. It would be hers. He wished that meant Faye.
He owed Steiner some kind of answer, especially considering what needed to be done next. If he truly needed to enter Atkin's office, particularly under these illegal circumstances, the least he could do was speak. But to invite Steiner directly? What else might that invite? Himself, Emil, August, Jeremy - what might another cause? And more importantly, what might he be inviting into Steiner's life? Jeremiah's life was... negligible at times. What he did to himself, for himself, remained his own business. What he brought onto others, however, needed far more careful consideration. Outright dismissal could not be an option, however. Not against such concern and not against the travesty that awaited. And, preferably, before Emil could respond to his favored teacher without these concerns.
Dupree was a professor. He had a duty to try to keep the situation manageable. And only now did his voice return.
"Madness. What might be expected from a place such as this, I suppose." Not from the patient herself, but from the knowledge she carried. The promise of a world's end, an invasion of minds - any number of terrors to descend upon humanity, if these connected mysteries were discarded so casually. He hesitated. "Arthur, do you still have access to Dr. Atkin's office?"
Dupree was hardly the type to use the given name of his peers. There was a certain power and pain they held over others. Yet, here he was now. He glanced to the hand clutching his shoulder, then to the waiting students by the door, then to the older man at the receptionist's desk - a visitor, he was sure. Despite his proximity, Dupree made no effort to pull himself free and instead lowered his voice. It cracked on the first word and then no more. "He left something behind. Something about a place that hides secrets above and below the water?" Close to her exact words. He could not forget them if he tried. Perhaps Dr. Steiner would recognize the reference. They'd be able to find what they needed before the Agent - or worse, Lexington - caught them all.
Of course, failure could not be an option.