[ For several minutes sometime after lockdown, the inhabitants of Snowhell will be treated to a constant barrage of broken sounds and words--almost as if someone is trying to figure out how a tablet works.

Which is exactly what's happening. Finally, the testing stops and a voice that some will recognize comes through. ]

Hello?! This little machine says I can talk to people. Is anyone there?!

[ There's a very short pause. ]

I don' want to be in this creepy room anymore! Let me out! I'm sorry! I won't do it again! I want Grandpa!

[ It's Sheena's voice all right, but it has the cadence of a child and is on the verge of tears. A child who is frightened and calling for her Grandpa.

Then the sobbing begins, and if one listens carefully, they can hear what sounds like a body sliding down the wall to the floor, stopping with a soft "thud" when they hit. The sobs become muffled as do her words. ]

I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please let me out of this creepy place! I'll be good! I promise!

[ A pause. Then a despairing and longing "Grandpa", followed by sobs until the feed cuts out. ]

Hello. Everything back to normal, is it?

[As normal as it gets, anyway. There's the crunch of snow in the background; he's walking as he's talking.]

I wanted to talk about those dreams - the ones with the messages. Thought I'd compile a list of what was heard. I've been looking at my own and trying to figure them out, but it feels like I got one small piece of a very big puzzle, yeah? So here it is. I talked to Andromeda, that AI. Sounds like she's not dead after all. She claimed to not be working against us. There was a big hole in the air in front of me; I asked her about it. She told me it was so dark that even light could not escape from it, and that no one knows what happens inside of it. She said the answers are in the center - of the hole, of the town, I dunno. We have to find the spiral - more about spirals, again - and "go deeper". Said the spiral's nearby. Everything else is "obscured".

She also said our time is half up - that's based on who's been here the longest - and we've got to escape soon. Suggested we work together and share information, so let's try it, eh? Fit these pieces together.

[He absolutely does not trust Andromeda, or any other Norfinbury-native entity - but right now, he has very little context for anything. He means it when he says that he thinks he only has a tiny piece of the puzzle, and it's not a good feeling. For all he knows right now, "find the center, find the spiral" could be his ticket out - or it could be a trap.]

Right. Another thing. Have we got any way to tell the months or the days of the week? That's something I'd like to know. I suppose a proper calendar is too much to expect, but some other way to keep track of time as it passes - has anybody managed it? I'd guess we're in the thick of winter right now, but fuck if I know anything about seasons in Alaska.

Characters: House, Cloud, and Sheena
Location: The Hospital
Date: Day 122
Summary: House heads down to the morgue, Cloud wakes up and moves out. They meet in the middle! And then head upstairs to meet Sheena!
Warnings: Probably allusions to suicidal ideation and character death.

( I am medicine and I am poison... )