Soap was attached to the wall in dispensers. He didn’t see any green soap, though; they were clear. He washed himself off, feeling the goo slip off of his skin and watching it go through the drain in the floor. The greenness of it became deeper as it went down the drain, letting off a slight smell like flowers.

Ah. Green soap.

He bent down, touching the drain. It was loose.

Pulling up the grate, he felt down there with his fingers. There was a lot of hair. It was really gross, and Eien gagged a little bit, but he felt something sharp and something loose. Damn, his hand was too big.

He cursed a bit as his finger bit into the sharp part, tearing a bit of skin. Sucking on his finger, he looked around the shower and saw something strange in the soap dispenser. He looked at if from different angles. There was definitely something black in there.

The top of the soap dispenser was difficult to pull off. There was a latch that was a bit finicky and caked with dried soap. He pulled it off and stuck his hand in, feeling around for the black object. There it was!

He pulled out a weird stick made of metal with a little knob at the end. It also was able to be extended by pulling the ends of it. He tried extending it and sticking the knob end into the drain hole, feeling around for the loose item. Ah!

It was a magnet.

He carefully pulled the item out of the drain. It was a key.

A key to what? Why was Nurse Dagmar playing some kind of game with him? He turned off the water, reluctant to move on but eager to leave, sensing something wrong with the hospital.

The towels were soft. He buried his face in one for a minute; just feeling the softness was nice. He was being too reckless. Anyone could come in at any time, and they would see him naked. Eien donned a new robe and threw his old one into the “USED” bin.

He stared at the key.

What was he supposed to do with it? What was it for?

He paced around the bathroom, his bare feet slapping uncomfortably on the floor, echoing. What else did Nurse Dagmar say? He checked the stalls again; he looked at the ceiling; he tried pulling the other drains in the shower. Nothing.

A bit frustrated, he felt like time was ticking away from him. He was spending time messing around with this when Aino was trapped upstairs on the fifth floor. Who knows what they wanted to do to her? If they found something wrong with him, then wouldn’t they definitely find something wrong with her? Especially with her…weird not human wind power. And how in the world was she unable to defend them against those stupid bugs.

He cursed, kicking at the air. If only she got rid of those stupid bugs, they wouldn’t be here. They could have approached the area slowly, seeing what they could do to blend in. They could have figured out where they were and avoided being vulnerable like this.

His fingers pulled at his hair, gripping tightly.

“Arrrgh,” he grumbled, raising his face to the ceiling. Oh. Wait.

He looked at the towel shelf near the door.

What was that?

There was some kind of purposeful crack in the wall.

He hurried over to it, pushing away the towels stacked neatly, blocking it. It was a door? No. It looked like a panel that opened up to fix the water pipes.

Would the key fit there? He inserted the key into the keyhole.

Fuck. It didn’t fit.

Angry, he punched at the wall, hitting only air because hitting the actual wall could break his fingers. Forget it. He would save the key and see if it fit somewhere else.

Eien emerged from the showers and saw a set of clothes on the bed he had occupied. He touched the soft fabric; they smelled like soap from the bathroom. He let himself drift for a moment in the comfort of cleanliness and softness, and then started to dress himself.

The clothing was different than the clothing in Beldam. In Beldam, the men tended to wear very plain clothes, mostly browns and grays, to match with the dust in the poor districts, Breeches were tucked in at the ankles to prevent legs from taking in dust and tended to be a bit form fitted. Shirts were mostly done with buttons on the front with sleeves that allowed easy access to the pith.

Here, wherever they were, in Morshe? The clothing was mottled green and brown. The pants hung loose at the ends of the legs as did the sleeves. The neck was more open, the edges of the neck hole almost too wide, leaving him feeling a bit exposed. Pockets. There were definitely more pockets than Beldam’s general style. They were also a bit thicker and warmer.

“I figured you would want something to wear other than the clothes you came in with,” Nurse Dagmar said. Eien watched her as she approached.

She smiled at him, the smile not reaching her eyes.

“Let’s go for a walk now. Let me show you some of our care options.” He frowned at her.

“It’s best to talk as we walk,” she replied, motioning with her head. He followed her out the door into the hallway again.

“I trust you found what you were looking for?” She asked as they went through the door leading to the elevator.

“I found what you told me to find. Not where it goes,” he replied, feeling a bit of discomfort being so vague.

“That’s good. I think we will discharge you sooner rather than later. I took the liberties of providing you with new government regulated bags and clothing. You’ll find them on the fourth floor, in the lab.”

“The lab?”

“It is easy to find. I trust you can do it,” she said as she pressed the button to the elevator. Eien followed her in, feeling less at ease the more she talked. It seemed like she as helping them, but what was this place? Why was everything coded? Danger. Duh. Obviously, this place was dangerous. But he felt severely lost in how to move, talk, and act. What were the people like here? What was the government like? Was it more restrictive than Beldam? Were there things that were not able to be said?

Nurse Dagmar pressed the buttons to the fourth floor and the fifth floor.

“I will do my best to retrieve…” she hesitated, “…your wife. It’s best you refer to her that way, as openly as you can.”

“Why?”

Her lips pursed together. Eien felt the elevator jolt as it reached the fourth floor.

She looked up seriously into his eyes.

“Otherwise, they would kill her.”