A collective regime of peace and love

[Sierra]

<El-Cideon> The train rolls in, the journey only broken up by the occasional stop. No more murders or mysterious happenings punctuate the trip. Erin snaps back to reality after nearly wallpapering the cabin in cryptic writings, at which point she insists that none of it could have been written by her because she doesn't even recognize this language, and sets to deciphering it. (more)
<El-Cideon> Rolling steppe gives way to hills, and them mountains. You pass through the Urals, through mountains bored through rock and across bridges over great rivers, and enter the more densely populated western half of the Soviet Union. Industrialized cities appear. (more)
<El-Cideon> Finally, around mid-day a week after the trip began, you approach Moscow. From here, local lines can be boarded to reach your eventual destination of Leningrad. As the train rolls into central Moscow, Whitney sighs. "Finally! I thought my legs were going to atrophy before I got off this accursed train."
<Nadia_Chekova> "I think I'll stick to flying in future, I didn't appreciate how dull it would get," Nadia agrees as she looks out the window. "Excitement of the first day aside."
<El-Cideon> "Well, yes, if that constitutes excitement then perhaps I can cope with a dull life after all." The whistle blows. The train pulls into the station and rolls to a stop. Whitney stands up and collects her suitcase. "Well, I suppose this is goodbye."
<Nadia_Chekova> "Most likely, although who knows where our travels will take us?" Nadia shrugs philosophically before getting her own luggage together. "Good luck with your siter, Whitney, you've been a pleasant travelling companion."
<El-Cideon> Whitney nods, retrieves a wheeled trunk from under the seat and drags it out after her. "Yes. Long live the Revolution and all that!" she calls in parting. With a wave, she's gone, leaving your group to gather again.
* Nadia_Chekova takes Rena to find Yomi, Erin, and Suzume before they head off the train and into Moscow!
<Yomi> "So there's Lenin's mausoleum," Yomi says, opening the door of their compartment. "We simply have to visit it. What else?"
<El-Cideon> Erin still has inkstains all over her fingers and wears a rather frazzled look from having her head buried in alien languages for the past several days, but otherwise seems fine.
<Nadia_Chekova> "If we must," Nadia sighs, giving Erin a little worried look. "I don't think there's much in Moscow to care about, otherwise. We'll need to find another train to get to Leningrad."
<Yomi> "We simply must, for the complete experience," Yomi insists, herself inured to Erin's weirdness by now.
<Yomi> "In fact, we absolutely cannot get on another train today."
<Nadia_Chekova> "Fresh air might do some of us good," Nadia allows, not having spent as much time with Erin and therefore more perturbed by her manner.
<El-Cideon> "I would rather walk around than board another train immediately," Rena agrees. "My butt went numb several hours ago."
<Yomi> "There we have it!" Yomi announces, hefting her belongings. "Let's go!"
<Nadia_Chekova> "So, where's the mausoleum?" Nadia asks as she disembarks the train, powerless against the needs of Rena's posterior.
<El-Cideon> OOC: I guess K: current events or history could apply if anyone wants to actually know where they're going?
<Yomi> "Let's get a cab and ask to go there," Yomi suggests, looking about the platform. "If even someone from Mongolia knows about it, the locals have to."
<Nadia_Chekova> roll 1d20+2 untrained but if the DC is 10 or less...
* Hatbot --> "Nadia_Chekova rolls 1d20+2 untrained but if the DC is 10 or less... and gets 17."12 [1d20=15]
<Yomi> roll 1d20+6 okeys
* Hatbot --> "Yomi rolls 1d20+6 okeys and gets 18."12 [1d20=12]
<El-Cideon> Passengers are shuffling off the train all along the platform. It's an overcast, dreary day, but warm enough.
<Yomi> "Red Square, right?" Yomi muses, glad to have her coat on hand just the same. "We can find some place to stay and leave our things, and then go and visit."
<Nadia_Chekova> "Suits me," Nadia nods, not inclined to carry her luggage everywhere. "Hopefully the hotels aren't all equally bad," she adds in a lower voice.
<El-Cideon> Most of the hotels you see about are pretty shabby, actually. Modern Moscow is a drab, gray place and all the utilitarian, contemporary architecture seems meant to loom and impress all passersy-by with their own insignificance. (more)
<El-Cideon> You find a modest boarding house where you acquire a two-bed apartment for the five of you. Asking about anything more luxurious rewards you with a disapproving glare. It's not far from Red Square, at least, and you have only a short walk to get there. From the center of the broad, open thoroughfare, you can the squat block of stone that is Lenin's mausoleum situated before the high walls of the Kremlin. Far down the street is an impressive old cathedral with a series of tall, spiraling onion domes.
* Yomi admires the cathedral as much as she can while surrounded by communists who would sell her out to the secret police if she acts suspiciously, though her true goal remains the mausoleum.
* Nadia_Chekova is more interested in Saint Basil's Cathedral than the mausoleum of some moldy old zealot who kicked her mother out of the motherland, and spares it many interested glances as she follows Yomi. "Say, Erin, do you think the bracelets might work there?" she nods to the church as they walk.
<El-Cideon> There's a line before the mausoleum; everyone gives the cathedral a wide berth, of course. The locals, dressed largely in interchangeable, drab worker's garb, studiously ignore you and everyone else for the most part. There's no real hubbub of conversation or interaction; everyone keeps to themselves.
<El-Cideon> "It wasn't on the map, but we could try," Erin acknowledges. She puts a hand in her pocket, concentrates briefly. "It doesn't work from this far away, at least."
<Nadia_Chekova> When in Rome... Nadia keeps her mouth shut while in line for the dubious honour of looking at Lenin's cadaver.
* Yomi gets into the solemn line, so many of her questions close to be answered! Why is Lenin entombed like this? Is he dead, or merely resting? Would she have to cleanse Moscow of his presence?
<El-Cideon> The line moves slowly, but steadily. No one must take more than their appointed time inside, after all. Two armed guards stand outside, ensuring orderly conduct. It takes a bit of time, but eventually you make it inside. (more)
<El-Cideon> It's dark inside, the few lights mostly gathered around the glass sarcophagus. Again there are a couple guards here to ensure orderly behavior. You shuffle along with the rest of the proletariat and finally make it up front. (more)
<El-Cideon> From his expression, he could be merely resting himself for another assault on capitalism, but the waxy paleness of his skin makes it very clear that this is a preserved corpse. Bald, trim beard and mustache, somber black suit, lit in a manner that makes the body appear faintly luminescent. Those in line before you pass in silence; it seems best to do so until your time here is done.
* Yomi remains silent, but she can't resist checking if there's more to the corpse than it seems!
* Nadia_Chekova isn't prone to wailing outbursts of grief for the dead father of the revolution, so she silently passes but makes a point of staying very close to Rena just in case the German feels the urge to do anything untoward during their visit.
<El-Cideon> Rena at least seems to be taking a cue from the rest of the crowd and walking silently by.
<Nadia_Chekova> Thoroughly unimpressed, Nadia is quite happy to depart once their time before the body is concluded.
<El-Cideon> Once you're back out in the sunlight, Rena does choose to speak up. "I don't understand the point of this building," she says. "It's just a dead body. Why does everyone want to see this?"
<Yomi> "There won't be any more assaults on capitalism from him," Yomi adds dejectedly.
<Nadia_Chekova> "He has Stalin to continue the good work," Nadia mutters irritably. "Well, if that was the highlight of our trip here we're going to be in for a sad time of it."
<Yomi> Her hopes crushed so decisively, Yomi can only nod in sadness.
<El-Cideon> "Well, sometimes when you respect what someone did, you want to celebrate their accomplishments," Suzume tries to explain. Her heart doesn't really sound into it, though.
<Yomi> "Leningrad's next, then?"
<Nadia_Chekova> "Lets stretch our legs a bit, eat out somewhere nice, then sleep in real beds before we catch a train tomorrow?" Nadia suggests in that vein.
<El-Cideon> "Is there somewhere nice to eat here?" Suzume wonders.
<Yomi> "Even if we double up, there's still not enough beds," Yomi muses. "The food's got to be nice, at least," she adds swiftly afterwards, to look at the bright side.
* Nadia_Chekova deflates at her optimism being so brutally punctured. "We'll make do..."
<El-Cideon> There's not much in the way of fancy restaurants locally, unfortunately. There's not really much in the way of restaurants at all, really--constraints of private enterprise are so severe that you struggle to find them and what you do find are hole-in-the-wall dives with peeling wallpaper that serve you grudgingly and quietly. (more)
<El-Cideon> roll 1d100
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d100 and gets 4."12 [1d100=4]
<El-Cideon> Night passes. It's not the greatest night's sleep you've ever had: the beds are hard, and the walls of this shabby little boarding house are so thin that it's easy to hear the occasional argument or domestic dispute from apartments down the hall. It's with some relief that you all pile onto a train bound for Leningrad the next morning. "I think that everyone in this country is dedicated to not having any fun," Rena says as you pile into an empty car. "I do not understand it at all."
<El-Cideon>  "I think that everyone in this country is dedicated to not having any fun," Rena says as you pile into an empty car. "I do not understand it at all."
<Nadia_Chekova> "Miserable, isn't it?" Nadia nods dourly, making sure no one else is around to overhear. "Mother said it used to far more fun when she was young, before she had to leave..."
<Yomi> "Everyone is equally miserable," Yomi muses. "An intriguing new concept."
<Nadia_Chekova> "We should go somewhere nice after we're done here," Nadia declares. "Back to France or Britain."
<El-Cideon> "Either one would be fine," Rena says. "I missed a date in Paris and this was disappointing. I could also see where Nadia came from?"
<Yomi> "France seemed nicer to me while I visited," Yomi responds. "Though that might've been because I didn't understand what was being said about me."
<Nadia_Chekova> "Oh, you'd be very popular in Monaco, Rena," Nadia allows with a smile. "I'm sure we'd have lots of fun, seducing all the rich gamblers... or the poor but talented performers might be more to your taste, Rena."
<El-Cideon> "Would they? Why is that?"
<Nadia_Chekova> "Well, you've mentioned that you prefer looks to money," Nadia replies. "Not to mention many are nimble acrobats, or stage magicians with very clever hands," she grins naughtily.
<El-Cideon> "Ah, I see. It is important that they be very skilled with their hands," Rena confirms. Suzume just blushes dramatically and stares out the window.
* Yomi just tunes out Rena and Nadia when they drift towards this subject.
* Nadia_Chekova is quite happy to spend the train ride prattling away to Rena about such topics, even if no one else feels confident enough to weigh in.
<El-Cideon> Some other passengers do eventually file in, taking isolated seats around the car and carefully staring at nothing. The train moves out, chugging across the hinterlands of western Russia towards the Baltic Sea. After several stops, you arrive in Leningrad in the afternoon. (more)
<El-Cideon> Comparatively untouched by recent waves of modernism, the city looks physically much like it did before the Revolution, neoclassical facades still proliferating--though now the nicer townhouses are inhabited by loyal apparatchiks rather than aristocrats. Your actual destination is the Leningrad State Psychiatric Institute (formerly the Lvov Asylum), an old building overlooking the river (Myriam gave you the specific address).
<Nadia_Chekova> "So, how shall we approach the asylum? Pretend to be family friends? Pose as doctors? Just sneak in and hope not to be seen?" Nadia asks her companions for their preferences.
* Yomi can only suggest other alternatives for now. "We can just try to spring the victim out, or forge papers to transfer her. Bribery or blackmail might work, too. Maybe we should try to find out more before deciding on a course?"
<Nadia_Chekova> Sadly forgery isn't among Nadia's larcenous talents, but... "Bribery might work very well," she considers. "The state may mandate everyone is the same, but it's human nature to always want a bit more for oneself."
<El-Cideon> "I can fake identification with magic," Erin says. "But that might only get us inside."
<Nadia_Chekova> "We could combine them. Have Doctor Ivo provide his credentials and then offer a nice under the table package for the patient's release into our care," Nadia nods her head. "Assuming she isn't dangerously psychotic and tries to claw our eyes out or anything."
<Yomi> "What if you pose as a researcher from Moscow?" Yomi suggests to Nadia. "Or you, Erin. Or even both of you. Studying whatever mental illness you think the possessed girl's symptoms would fit. If we take the time to prepare, Suzume and I could accompany you inside, and I'll help spring her out if it comes to that, while Suzume helps contain or exorcize the possession.
<Yomi> Rena would be our reserve. How about it?"
<Nadia_Chekova> "I can pose as a brilliant young professor, I'm sure," Nadia smiles brightly. "Come to think of it, did Myriam actually mention the woman's name, though?" she adds thoughtfully.
<Yomi> "Uliana Petrova," Yomi responds, after checking her notes. "You want to arrive and claim you've heard of her, instead of appearing to just look for suitable cases?"
<Nadia_Chekova> "Better to be specific. What if they try and foist some other lunatic on us?"
<Yomi> "We'll need to come up with a decent reason for why Ivo is interested in a patient that's been here for so long. Any ideas?"
<Nadia_Chekova> "Seen her case file?" Nadia shrugs. "Or maybe her symptoms are just like those of his good friend Elgin."
* Yomi nods, accepting this.
<El-Cideon> "Maybe she needs to be transferred elsewhere for easier comparison to similar cases?" Suzume suggests.
<El-Cideon> A magically disguised Yomi and Erin are soon ready to go masquerade as doctors, with Nadia being able to whip up something like a doctor's outfit through more conventional means. The asylum is a sprawling, gray brick building that looks at least a century old. There's a central tower flanked by smaller ones at the end of two wings to either side. All the windows are covered with iron grills. A placard at the front of the building proclaims it to indeed be what you came here for.
* Nadia_Chekova just looks like a young Russian man, wearing a heavy overcoat over her suit, with breasts tightly bound and skillfully applied makeup to obscure the more feminine lines of her face, a black wig and a hat covering up her usually free-flowing chestnut tresses. "Can you make IDs for other people as well, Erin?" she asks as they approach the hospital.
<Nadia_Chekova> roll 1d20+18 disguise
* Hatbot --> "Nadia_Chekova rolls 1d20+18 disguise and gets 26."12 [1d20=8]
<El-Cideon> "I can," Erin says. "They won't last very long, but hopefully we won't need them more than once."
<Nadia_Chekova> "I'll be Doctor Pavel Chekov, then," Nadia picks a simple enough name.
* Yomi chooses to be a perky, ever-helpful nurse in Nadia's service! Pretty enough to justify being included in the group, but not so much that she's too memorable or her qualifications draw skepticism from the doctors of the asylum.
<Yomi> "Marina Smirnova, for me," Yomi decides. "Erin, are you still going as the globe-trotting Doctor Ivo?"
<El-Cideon> "Unless there are objections, I don't see why not."
<Nadia_Chekova> "Even if a German name draws raised eyebrows, I can be Russian enough for the both of us," Nadia asserts, deepening her voice somewhat.
<Yomi> "Oh, doctor, you're so capable!" Yomi gushes, hands clasped before her chest.
<El-Cideon> "I think these will only last about half a minute," Erin says as you approach the door. "So when I hand them to you, you'll have to march them in and flash them to whoever's around at the first opportunity."
<Nadia_Chekova> "Oh, that's not long at all," Nadia is surprised and perturbed, resolving to dazzle the duty nurse with SCIENCE.
<El-Cideon> "It's not a very powerful spell," Erin says apologetically.
<Nadia_Chekova> "I'm sure you do your best," Nadia consoles the poor unimpressive witch.
<Yomi> "Just recast it later if we're asked for our papers again!" Yomi adds. "I'll draw attention from you!"
<El-Cideon> "I can't do it that many times in one day!" she protests. "We'll just have to act the part enough once we're get past the front door." Which you are presently at. Erin slips each of you a piece of paper in preparation.
<Nadia_Chekova> As soon as she's given the paper, Nadia pushes open the door and marches straight towards the reception desk. "Doctor Pavel Chekov, Moscow Psychiatry Board," she introduces herself brusquely in a very manly tone, presenting the id just long enough for a good look before it's folded up into her coat. "These are my colleagues, Doctor Ivo and Miss Smirnova."
<Nadia_Chekova> "We're interested in a patient staying at this facility, who seems to exhibit symptoms similar to a new one in Moscow," she rattles things off quickly, hopefully keeping the nurse on the back foot. "A Miss Uliana... what was it, Smirnova?" he glances impatiently at Yomi for her to fill in the surname.
<Yomi> "Miss Uliana Petrova, Doctor Chekov," Yomi responds instantly, a touch of reverence in her voice.
<Nadia_Chekova> "Yes, Petrova," Nadia nods, turning back to the duty nurse. "We'd like to talk to the Doctor in charge of her treatment."
* Yomi dutifully takes position behind the disguised Nadia, slightly to the side, staring impassively at her fellow nurse.
<El-Cideon> The receptionist, a dowdy, middle-aged woman, looks up from the forms she was working on filling out. She scans your ID cards briefly, glances over each of you with a bored expression. "One moment please, comrade." She disappears into an office briefly, then reemerges with a white-coated doctor, a tall, bespectacled man so thin as to approach emaciated. (more)
<El-Cideon> "I am Doctor Isikov," he says. "I am told you have a professional interest in one of our patients?"
<Nadia_Chekova> "Good morning, Doctor Isikov," Nadia nods in professional courtesy to her fellow medical practitioner, assuming that the nurse has already furnished him with their names. "Yes, we are interested in the case of Uliana Petrova. Wandered into town covered in filth, excessively violent to the authorities before calming and insisting evil spirits were to blame?"
<Nadia_Chekova> "A similar case has recently arisen elsewhere in the Soviet Union, and we should like to compare the two more thoroughly."
<El-Cideon> OOC: roll bluff?
<Nadia_Chekova> roll 1d20+20
* Hatbot --> "Nadia_Chekova rolls 1d20+20 and gets 22."12 [1d20=2]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+2 people without sense motive ranks usually can't beat you. Usually!
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+2 people without sense motive ranks usually can't beat you. Usually! and gets 22."12 [1d20=20]
<El-Cideon> "Hmm. Yes, outmoded peasant superstitions," he sniffs. "We have tried to reeducate her but her mind refuses all remedies. Quite incurable. We merely hold her and prevent her from troubling respectable citizens. You wish to see her?"
<Nadia_Chekova> "Actually, we are interested in transferring her to another facility where she can be compared more readily with this latest patient, the similarities should make for an interesting dissertation," Nadia reaches into her coat and now hands Doctor Isikov a thick padded manilla envelope, stuffed to bulging with rouble notes. "I believe you will find the transfer papers to be satisfactory, comrade."
<Nadia_Chekova> OOC: lets say there's 3 wealth levels of cash in there for the bribe
<El-Cideon> He steadies his glasses, opens the envelope to look inside, then makes sure his back is turned to the nurse on duty as he counts the contents and pockets them. "Your papers seem to be in order. Follow me, please." He walks across the reception area, opening a door across from the entrance. (more)
<El-Cideon> It leads to an open hall down a wing to your left and right; stairs ascend to a second floor. Dr. Isikov takes these to the right and approaches a heavy wooden door. A beefy orderly waits there, and fumbles with a set of keys on seeing the doctor's approach. "If you are familiar with Comrade Petrova's condition, you are no doubt unsurprised we have had to keep her in our most secure quarters," Isikov explains.
* Nadia_Chekova nods. "How frequent are episodes of violence with her, now?"
<El-Cideon> "She responds with physical violence to attempts at medication and takes any possible opportunity for escape, so we keep her to her quarters and restrained at all times. She has a curious tendency to provoke...accidents, and must be kept in seclusion as much as possible. This is the case with your patient as well?"
<El-Cideon> He starts to lead you down a hall, the orderly accompanying you all. The facility has seen better days: the paint is patched and splotchy on the walls, peeling in some places. The hall smells faintly of rotting drywall and screams echo from behind some of the closed doors you pass.
<Nadia_Chekova> "Somewhat, although he has significantly calmed compared to when he was first brought in," Nadia replies, hoping that Uliana can at least play along and be happy that they're getting her out. "There are times when he seems perfectly calm, if distant, even unmedicated. But we're still learning just what triggers provoke him."
<El-Cideon> "Comrade Petrova is calm enough--as long as she's kept restrained. I would suggest you take care in relaxing these restrictions at your facility. She has, more than once, feigned cooperation in order to facilitate escape. In fact, you may find it easier if we sedated her before commencing the transfer. Ah, here we are." He stops at the far end of the hall, before the last door. The orderly steps forward with the keys.
<Nadia_Chekova> "It may be necessary, but let us interview her first before facilitating her removal," Nadia suggests. Erin can always use her sleep spell.
* Yomi calmly nods at Nadia's words, ready to sedate the patient should she receive such an order.
<El-Cideon> "If you wish," the doctor says. The orderly opens the door. The room on the other side is small, cramped, without furnishings. The walls are padded, though the padding is very worn and looks not to have been replaced for a very long time. (more(
<El-Cideon> The patient within possess a haggard, lined face and stringy blond hair. Given Myriam's intelligence, Uliana shouldn't be much past forty years old, but her appearance attests to prolonged stress and lack of personal hygiene. Her arms are tightly restrained in a straitjacket. She is also gagged. The orderly walks in and looms in the corner opposite her, as if warning against misbehavior.
* Yomi proceeds in after the orderly, smiling briefly at Uliana.
* Nadia_Chekova approaches the bound woman and crouches to be more on her level. "Hello Uliana," she tries a smile. "My name is Doctor Chekov. We've found someone else who has suffered in the same way you have, and we were hoping you might be able to help us with treatment. Would that be alright? You'd get to leave this facility and go somewhere that might suit you better."
<El-Cideon> Uliana is not in much of a position to smile back. Her eyes are busy staring at nothing; she only seems to take notice when Nadia begins speaking, her head snapping into motion suddenly. Her eyes flit over each of you in rapid succession before settling back on Nadia. She doesn't make a sound.
* Nadia_Chekova had hoped at least for a nod. Or even a shake of the head if it came to that. "Can you remove her gag?" she asks the orderly, breaking eye contact for a moment.
<El-Cideon> He looks to Doctor Isikov, who clears his throat before speaking. "We may. There...has historically been a higher occurrence of accidents when she is allowed to speak, although neither I nor my predecessors have ever pinpointed why. Some manner of primitive hypnotism that reaches only the weakminded, no doubt. Nonetheless..." He nods to the orderly, who kneels down to undo the gag and then retreats quickly. (more)
<El-Cideon> "She will also pray incessantly when left to her own devices. I apologize for this, comrade. She has rebuffed all attempts at a proper socialist education."
* Yomi can approve of the woman's conviction. Despite possession and communist brainwashing, she still attempts to retain her sense of self and fight against it!
<El-Cideon> "Where do we go?" Uliana asks. Her voice is rough and ragged and her gaze is fixated on Doctor Chekov as she speaks. She doesn't seem to blink enough.
<Nadia_Chekova> Facing Uliana, with her back to the doctor and the orderly, Nadia mouths, 'Out of Russia,' but aloud she says, "Moscow," immediately after. "We wish to compare your experiences with another man who we believe has suffered the same thing that afflicted you. Would you like to come with us?"
<El-Cideon> Whatever else has gone wrong with her, she seems coherent enough to get the point. She nods.
<Nadia_Chekova> "Good, I believe we understand each other," Nadia nods, straightening up. "Doctor Isikov, does Miss Petrova have clothes of her own she can be changed into before we remove her?"
<El-Cideon> "She retains no possessions of her own, Doctor Chekov. Although I was not present at the time of her arrival, I am informed that the only objects she had with her at the time of capture were the clothes she wore then, which were stained and torn beyond use. I also urge you to leave her in her present state until such time as she can be carefully controlled at your own facility. The jacket is state property, I will merely note its transfer with her."
<Nadia_Chekova> "Very well," Nadia accepts that, going now to help Uliana to her feet and putting her own drab and long coat over the woman to at least cover up her straightjacket. "You won't give us any trouble, will you Miss Petrova? After all, you're happy to be going somewhere new," she smiles, hoping the woman takes the hint and plays along with her escape rather than attempting one of her own.
* Yomi readies herself in case Uliana can't resist escaping or trying to maim them.
<El-Cideon> "I will cooperate," she says obediently. Though she does favor her former captors with a triumphant glare as she's led out, she does nothing to cause any trouble. She walks slowly and seems very weak physically.
<Nadia_Chekova> "Miss Smirnova, would you assist Miss Petrova?" Nadia asks Yomi to help support the Russian, not saying any more of their plans until they've left the asylum.
<Yomi> "At once, Doctor!" Yomi responds, taking Uliana's hand and helping her walk along.
<El-Cideon> Doctor Isikov sees you to the door. "I wish you success with the rehabilitation of your new patient, Doctor Chekov, although I think her beyond such. Do not hesitate to confine her if she causes trouble; this and proper medication were the most effective means of controlling her. Farewell." And then all of you are outside and alone.
<Nadia_Chekova> "I will loosen the straps on your jacket now, Miss Petrova - you are not our prisoner," Nadia tells her fellow Russian. "We'll take you to get cleaned up and into proper clothes shortly. It was no lie that we've met someone who's endured similar experiences as yourself, but for us the talk of evil spirits has far more base in fact than those doctors in there would credit."
<El-Cideon> ~