Making clothing for a doll was harder than I had initially thought, it kind of gave me a new appreciation for actual tailors who used to do all this by hand. Molly’s clothing that Alice and I made were… well, let’s just say that she put them on for a while before we all agreed that it was probably best that the doll wore what she had originally.
“I told you it was a waste of time to dress me up,” the doll complained, “It’s pointless if I’m just wearing what I had before.”
“It’s not a waste of time!” Alice exclaimed, “It was fun! And I know you liked the hat Uncle Walter made for you!”
Molly sighed as she clutched a tiny hat, “Fine, I’ll admit I have a soft spot for the beret.”
“And the flowers I put on it?”
“Yes, Alice, I like the flowers you put on it as well.”
“See, it’s not a waste of time,” Alice said with triumph, “You’re just grumpy.”
“Well,” I added, “I think it’s about time we take the grumpy Molly on a walk. Maybe that’ll cheer all of us up!”
Alice cheered up immediately and practically rushed to get going. However, she was stopped by her doll right away.
“What did the madam tell you to do after playing?” Molly added, pointing to the mess that we made.
Alice pouted, “To make sure I tidy up… but I want to show Uncle Walter all the cool spots we found!”
“But it is important to clean up after yourself, Alice. Look,” I said, “I’ll help out too, that way we can finish faster. We’ll get you a snack after as well, how’s that?”
“Alright…” the girl finally agreed, “And can I get any snack I want? I'm normally not allowed to eat too many snacks...”
“I don’t see why not,” I answered, “And I’ll keep it a secret if anyone asks.”
The girl brightened up immediately and started to clean the area. I didn’t have to do much, honestly, since she just moved all the trash and loose fabric with her mind. The only thing I did was mop up a little; we were done cleaning in almost no time at all.
“Let’s go, Molly!” Alice shouted, “Let’s go get a cookie from the back!”
Her doll sighed again, “You’ll spoil her like this, Dr. Walter.”
I shrugged, “It’s one cookie, I think she deserves a treat.”
“I guess so,” the doll agreed, “It has been a long time since I’ve seen her so happy, so one cookie can’t hurt. Thank you, doctor, I’ll let the madam know that you cheered up her daughter.”
Well, that confirms things. Before I could talk anymore, Alice picked up her doll and dragged me toward the back of the cafeteria. No one tried to stop us when we entered the staff-only area and reached the kitchens, although the various chefs were clearly unnerved when they saw the two of us stroll in. They stopped butchering their cuts of meat and looked like they weren’t sure what they were supposed to do.
“Carry on,” I said quickly, “Don’t mind us, we’re just getting a cookie.”
One of the chefs glanced over at a guard who just nodded in turn. Once everyone knew to just leave the two of us alone, they returned to their work and all but ignored our existence.
“The cookies are kept here,” Alice said, pointing to an indiscreet jar tucked away in the back of the storage area. Two members of the Discipline staff seemed to be guarding the container for whatever reason. In fact, the whole area was pretty well defended. Guess they really didn't want Alice sneaking away a few snacks, although it seemed a little excessive in my eyes.
The three of us approached and the guards looked at me in puzzlement.
“Just here to give the young lady a cookie,” I said casually, “Please step aside.”
They didn’t, although I could see a bit of hesitation in their actions. The two huge men quickly glanced at Molly, who only gave them a little nod, before silently shifting positions. Why were they so on guard about a harmless snack?
“Alright, just one cookie, Alice,” I said as I unscrewed the glass jar, the lid was stuck on tight, “Anymore’s not good for you.”
“I know, Uncle Walter,” she answered and took a snack from the offered container, “Mom and Molly always tell me to eat healthy so I can grow up to be big and strong.”
“You should have one as well, Dr. Walter,” Molly said, “It’s not every day that we get to have one of those.”
I frowned and looked at a new cookie that I had taken out. It looked like any other chocolate chip cookie that I’ve ever seen, but then again, why would the Director assign staff just to guard them?
Noe, you notice anything weird about the food?
“Negative, my Host,” she replied, “The cookie is perfectly edible and will even improve your form after consumption, but please do not eat more than one per day.”
Ok… I mean, it wasn’t like I was addicted to snacking, so I never planned to eat that many in the first place.
Either way, if Noe said it’s safe to eat, then I couldn’t see why I should decline. I stuffed the baked snack into my mouth and chewed. It was pretty good, all things considered, but it wasn’t so good that they were addicting. Either way, I finished the cookie and felt a pleasant warmth flow through my body. I dusted off my fingers, these were probably handmade as well. Kind of tasted like the Shoggoths I ate as a Xollon, now that I thought about it. I could have sworn that I heard a barely audible wail when I ate it, although I'm pretty sure that was just my imagination.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Primary Soul Title: It That Sleeps at the Edge of Dusk (??? Rank)
Progress to Awakening: 12.61%
“And what do we say to Dr. Walter?” Molly reminded the girl after Alice had eaten her fill.
“Thank you, Uncle Walter,” the girl said with a little bow.
“For what?” Molly added sternly.
“For the cookie,” Alice replied quickly, “And for being my friend!”
I chuckled, “Well, you are most welcome, Alice. You think it’s time for us to exercise a little after all that food?”
“Yes!”
I nodded, “Alright, since I’m going to tag along with you, why don’t you decide where you want to go first?”
My main goal today was to get a better idea of the hospital layout and just see how the staff and patients behave. I wanted to ultimately see what was in the basement, but something told me that causally mentioning it was a bad idea, even to a child. The hospital’s basement was on none of the maps, and the Regressor’s insistence in getting to key to unlock it suggests it’s a place that’s restricted. I’ll play it safe and focus on the other tasks before delving into the literal underbelly of this horror hospital.
“Oh oh, Molly,” she smiled, swinging her doll around much to Molly’s displeasure, “Why don’t we show Dr. Walter all the sick people? There’s a whole bunch of them now, so we can play with the new ones!”
Not a bad idea, one of the regressor’s instructions was to get him a key to get out of the patient ward, so checking out the layout and general security of the place was useful. Plus, I needed to read up on the patient’s rulebook as well, or more accurately, have Noe memorize it. If we’re going to see the new patients, then I could also potentially pass on a note to Jae-Hyun as well, if only to let him know that I was doing fine.
“Well, if Dr. Walter’s with us then it should be fine,” the doll answered, “But be mindful of the other doctors and nurses. Remember the trouble you got into when you played with too many of the patients last time?”
Alice’s expression turned sour as she muttered, “I know, I’ll be good.”
“Don’t you worry, Molly,” I added in, “I’ll make sure she behaves. Come on, you can lead us to the sick people, Alice!”
The three of us all but rushed out of the cafeteria, although Molly had to remind the young girl to slow down at times, and down various hallways and corridors. The staff all made a conscious effort to avoid the three of us; I can only imagine what kind of menace this kid could be if they behaved like that just from seeing her. It was almost as if they were terrified of her, although it’s probably more accurate to say they were terrified of what would happen if they accidentally broke a rule because of Alice.
We made it halfway to where I remembered the patients' ward to be when an announcement broke the flow of our travels. This was actually the first time I had heard one since coming here, which was strange, I’ve been to my fair share of hospitals in the past and there was always one thing or another being announced throughout the building.
Attention all staff! Attention all staff! We have an escaped Patient roaming Hope’s Memorial. All staff are to prioritize the capture of Patient 755. The Patient is considered highly dangerous with unknown mutations.
Attention all staff! Attention all staff! We have an escaped…
Oh, it seems like one of the Aspirants managed to escape. It must be someone quite skilled. If they’re trying to stage an escape this early on, then a part of the regular Aspirant’s clear conditions probably had something to do with getting out of this hospital. Or maybe this was just a special case, it was too early to tell without more information.
Wait… how did this person manage to escape? If just getting out was easy, then Jae-Hyun wouldn’t have purposefully asked me to get him a key out of there. Did this escaped Aspirant manage to somehow steal one in the few days he was here? It was also possible he or she managed to do so with a unique ability, but I couldn’t risk losing out on the chance to acquire one of the items that the Regressor needed.
That only left one option for me really, I had to capture this escapee before anyone else did. If he or she had the keys out, I’ll just nab that, and if not, I could ask them how they managed to get out. Worst case I could just add another name to my ever-growing list to show to the Director.
“Say, Alice,” I said, gesturing for her to slow down a little, “Did you hear that announcement?”
She nodded.
“And didn’t you say that you were really good at hide and seek?”
“Yup!” she answered, “I’m the best in the whole hospital! You can ask Molly!”
“That she is,” the doll answered with a chuckle.
“Then I think I have an idea for a fun game we can play,” I added with a smile, “But it’ll be challenging since you’re so good. Do you think you’re up for it?”
“Is it hide and seek?”
“It is, and it’s with that no good patient that escaped,” I answered with a nod, “But it wouldn’t be very fun to just catch them normally, that’d be too easy, right?”
“Yeah,” Alice said with confidence, “I’ve caught lots before!”
“I would expect nothing less from the master of hide and seek!” I replied excitedly, “And since you’re the best, I have to make sure it’s extra hard. Do you want to hear the rules for super hide and seek?”
“Yes, Uncle Walter!” the girl answered, her eyes practically sparkling with anticipation.
“Ok, well, we’ll be competing with all the other hospital staff to catch that patient, but we have to be the first to get them!” I explained, “But you can do that easy peasy.”
Alice agreed readily.
“So we have to catch the patient without squishing them! Even the stuff they’re wearing needs to be in one piece.” I continued, “You know what that means, right?”
The girl thought for a moment before slowly nodding, “Yeah, he’s got to be breathing and stuff so I gotta be gentle. That’s going to be super hard! I can see him running out the hospital right now, he’s pretty good at not being caught.”
Oh, so the ghost girl is clairvoyant as well, why am I not surprised? No wonder she’s so good at hide-and-seek if her opponents can’t even hide in the first place. Good luck getting out of this one, Mr. Escapee.
“But do you think you can do it?” I asked, “Of course, Molly and I will help as well. You can be in charge, and we’ll follow your orders, Captain Alice! So, what do you say?”
“I can Uncle Walter! Captain Alice can do it no problem!” the girl said with uncontained excitement, “Is that ok, Molly?”
“You’ll really spoil her like this,” the doll said with that familiar sigh, “But fine, we’ll let her have some fun since we do need to find the patient in any case. Yes, Captain Alice, we’ll follow your orders.”
Alice hugged her doll and swung her around. I was worried the fragile-looking doll would break in all honesty, but Molly was a lot tougher than I thought.
“Ok,” I said once we were all in agreement, “Once you find the patient, make sure you catch him real good and bring him back to us. We can even show him to your mom after, I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you help out.”
Alice nodded again, she was practically bouncing up and down now, eager to start the game.
“Alright,” I said, “Since you’re in charge, tell us what to do, oh mighty Captain Alice!”
She gave me and the doll a resolute salute and told us our instructions. It wasn’t too bad, all things considered. Alice was honestly a very bright child, unfortunately, the patient who escaped will find out this brilliance in the worst way possible.