Let's finish what we started (TTW Tag: Noah)

[Hannah van de Berg]

“Miss Hannah,” he started, “I feel it’s important to inform you that I had been a employee under Dorian some years ago. From your information, do you think it’s possible that the kidnapper is targeting people who associated with him?”

Hannah shook her head but of course Noah could not see that as he was at the other side of the wall. Hannah sighed. " I don't think that is it, I spoke about it with Dorian and there are too many people he does not know.. There is also this woman named Claudette, she knew the woman as well if what Dorian told me is true. And I do believe it is. " Dorian had no reason to lie to Hannah, especially not after opening up to her the way he did. " We think there might be someone else involved as well as .. he does not think the woman could have done this on her own. However that is.. still something we are in the dark about." She said. 

Before Noah could reply to her Hannah found herself getting sleepy. She looked around her as the gas was filling the room. No, no it could not be time already. She looked at dorians watch a bit panicked. " Noah, I.." Her head felt heavy. She did not want to make Dorian a suspect and hoped Noah was indeed understanding of that. " Noah.. .. Dorian asked me to.. tell you he hopes you are allright.. " She managed to say as she was not sure if Noah was even still awake at the other side. She did not know when she would speak to him again. She had to tell him. After that her mind went blank and Hannah fell asleep

She had woken up in another strange room. After waking up the guy she shared her room with and getting introductions out of the way she had grown restless.  After a bit she knocked on one side of the wall. Nothing. No response. She made her way to the other side. They had to keep in touch with each other and keep spreading information around. If they did not people would get into nasty surprises. 

She knocked on the other wall. " Hello..? Is somebody there?" The brunette asked. 

[Noah Hernandez]

Noah had been up for a while now. Not too long, but long enough for that feeling of loneliness to settle in. He didn’t know if him being by himself these next two weeks was coincidental, some kind of punishment, or how the numbers of people trapped there were starting to dwindle. That last thought troubled him the most, but he knows he can’t put himself in a state of denial anymore. People were dying here. No...that would be putting it mildly. People were being murdered here. It was wrong, all wrong...but it was reality. Reality isn’t fair sometimes, Noah felt he knew that by now. However, his last encounter with Sawyer taught him otherwise. The ways in which a human could torture another human, especially one as innocent as his friend’s student, were too complex for the architect to understand. The human mind was a strange place, full of emotions and weaknesses. It’s probably why he shut himself off of it for so many years. Life just seemed easier and less risky when one shuts themselves off from those pesky feelings.

He sat on his bed, twiddling with his thumbs. A few weeks back, he would’ve been fiddling with his key, but now that was in the hands of Nameless. Nameless...he hadn’t thought about her in a while. He’s been so distracted about other things. Such an enigma that woman was. He wondered if she had witnessed what happened to Sawyer. He shook his head. Best not to think about that one.

“Hello?”

Noah perked his head up at the sound of a muffled female voice, coming from the wall. He stood on his feet and slowly made his way towards it.

“Is someone there?”

He knew he recognized that voice. It was Hannah! Their conversation had unfortunately come to an abrupt end some days ago, who knew they’d get the chance to continue it! Twas such an odd coincidence.

“Ms. Hannah? It is Noah, once again,” he answered.

[Hannah van de Berg]

It took some time before she heard something. No there was no way she was in between two empty rooms. Was this a punishment for telling everyone about the events, about all the info she had gotten and spread to make people aware. She took a deep breath. Drake had not even known about anything past the roulette event. She shivered thinking about it. Something made her think that the next time someone would point a gun of her there would not be confetti coming out of it. Shakily she breathed out. That whole thing still had her on edge, but then again who could really blame her.

She leaned against the wall feeling a bit defeated she could not do anything. Checking dorians watch made her feel even worse. She looked at the ground. She had not been in this room before, yet she was not put in one of the lesser rooms for a while now. She knew the rooms were out there. She had been in one with freya. If Geoff's theory about medal rooms was right then why would someone place Freya out of all people in a bad room. Yes Hannah had kind of messed up at her wedding by hesitating and almost falling due to the shock in her ankle. That could be why SHE was there but freya.. She did not understand it.

Right when she was about to give up she heard a familiar voice.
“Ms. Hannah? It is Noah, once again,”
Hannah's eyes lit up. Noah. She was once again roomed next to Noah. " Noah.!" she said. "How.. how are you. did anything happen?" she asked him. It was still early and waking up in a bedroom instead of a basement of some sorts was a good sign so far.

[Noah Hernandez]

Noah shook his head in response, even knowing she couldn’t see it. “No, nothing has happened. Well…no that is a false claim. I am without a roommate this time around, but…but that is not what I mean.”

Where should he start? He should definitely ease her in on the information, there was a lot of things he knew he should tell her, things he didn’t get the chance to tell her last time. All mostly due to his own stress getting in the way of focusing on what was most important at the time: that being passing around crucial information. Yet…his emotional state had distracted him. Well not this time. He needs to be focused, to stay on task. This was the only way he could be useful right now.

He took a deep breath, and spoke. “Ms. Sawyer was eventually returned to my room. She…she was very distraught, though not too physically damaged. However, the people she was with in one of these events were severely harmed. I believe she told me one of them was blinded,” he explained, pausing for a moment. “It appears our kidnapper is taking more extreme methods as time goes on.”

[Hannah van de Berg]

Hannah listened to noah's voice letting him speak. He had no roommate? Hannah looked down thinking about this. Why was that.. then it hit her. Freya had told her about how scared she was when she woke up and hannah was gone, hell even noah himself had panicked when he was alone all of the sudden.. but sawyer came back and so did hannah. That could mean one thing in her mind. ".. do you think your current roommate is .. involved in an event?" She asked softly. If noah had done nothing to anger miss baker then she could not think of another reason for him being alone. She felt a pit in her stomach.

She listened to his story about sawyer and felt herself getting pale, the pit in her stomach became even more obvious to her. So this lady had gone even more mental. Was shooting someone or leaving them to freeze in a freezer not enough..!? Why did she result to torture?! Hannah hugged her knees close to her. The theory of being stuck in some kind of darkweb torture show was getting more and more real in her head and it made her shiver. This had to be a sick joke. It had to be! She was so shocked that no words left her mouth for a bit before hesitantly speaking up.
".. did she tell you who were with her.. and .. was she allright herself..?" She asked in a small voice. She could only pray for the people involved.

[Noah Hernandez]

“Do you think your current roommate is…involved in an event?” The brunette asked him.

Noah struggled with the thought. Truthfully, he had avoided thinking that. He already went through so much stress dealing with the fact that Sawyer had been taken away, to think that there was someone he was supposed to be with being tortured the same way she was troubles him more than he’s willing to admit. He held his breath for a moment, before gaining the courage to answer her.

“My hope is that I am merely alone due to an uneven amount of people held hostage here,” he stated. It was a light version of the truth, but the truth nonetheless. The less he could focus on the worst outcomes, the better.

There was a moment of silence, however, after he told her the story of what happened to Sawyer. One that made sense, it was a lot to process. Noah feared he may have laid too much on her, in fact. That there was too much information to comprehend. But that was a common pattern in this place after all. Patterns…life was full of them it seemed. Most people think life is irregular and unpredictable, and in some cases it is. However, people will repeat their mistakes and patterns a lot. Patterns are what made up machines, buildings, programs. Patterns help maintain structure, they allow something to be understood more. If one sees something they’ve seen before, they’re more likely to understand it. This event started unexpectedly, and has had many surprises, but it in itself is a pattern. Their kidnapper is doing things that are perceived as wrong to them, but not to her. To her, this is not irregular. This is something she should expect. And it’s become something they are to expect themselves at this point.

“…did she tell you who were with her…and…was she alright herself?” Hannah asked quietly.

“She was mostly unharmed…but she was stripped of her clothes as a form of humiliation,” The architect told her. He tried to think of the others, what their names were. His memory wasn’t as good as it used to be, perhaps it was the chemicals from the gas messing with him. “I cannot remember who she said was there exactly…I believe she mentioned someone by the name of David. There was also Ethan, I had met him briefly in the basement, and one other person but my memory is failing me, unfortunately.”

[Hannah van de Berg]

Hannah nodded slowly even if Noah could not see it. That could be a possibility. For Noah's sanity she hoped he was right. The idea of the events getting more gruesome made her shiver. She did not even want to know what Miss baker had in mind for all of them. If she even had a plan and they wouldn't just go mad in the mean time. "I surely hope you are right"
She spoke softly.

Her jaw dropped when she heard what had happened to sawyer. Her eyes grew wide as she covered her mouth with one hand. Oh no. That poor girl. So now scarring them mentally and sometimes even physically was not enough? Next to torture they were just going to straight up bully people? She knew for sure the young woman must have indeed felt so ashamed. She could only hope she was in a room with clothes to pick from.

Hearing the names made her bite her lip. Oh no.. so it had been ethans turn to be in an event. The poor boy, she could only hope he was as okay as he could be given the situation. He had been so kind. He didn't deserve this type of abuse.
David.. why did that name ring a vague bell. Then she remembered. He was the older brother to a student of hers. Oh the effect this kidnapping would have on the girl, she hoped david was okay. He had to be for his family.
She had not really thought about how this must have been for the families searching for their lost siblings, friends, sons or daughters.. perhaps because it did not apply to her.

"Thank you for sharing, I'll do my best to share it as well" she said. "Before we passed out, I had been wanting to tell you about dorian and him wishing you the best." She said softly.
"He gave me so much information but we just.. we can't seem to figure out how this woman is managing to do all of this. Dorian and I think there might be more people involved.. for the asian lady who has been hosting the events.. she was a matchmaker and a young woman named claudette who is here as well, she got her fired. For the lady Everything is about honor. That might have been why she did that to poor sawyer" Hannah thought out loud. "When geoff and I were roomed he came up with the medal theory.. the rooms are ranked with how much she likes us or how "well" we do in her games..the golden bridal suite being 1 and one of the lesser rooms being last. That golden room has hints to honour, tradition and the perfect happy marriage and family written all over it in the artworks.. its .. sickening. Like some kind of messed up social experiment..!" Hannah exclaimed.

[Noah Hernandez]

“Before we passed out,” Hannah started to say, “I had been wanting to tell you about Dorian and him wishing you the best.”

Noah couldn’t help but smile a little but at the sentiment, that someone here was worried about him and his own safety. In a strange way, it made him feel…wanted. Like someone would feel sad if he passed on. But perhaps that was a selfish thing to think, or rather a selfish thing to wish. A desire to be needed by others. Was that simply human psychology or something that was deemed wrong to feel? He wasn’t sure.

He shook his head in order to erase his thoughts from it. The architect opened his mouth to answer, but then she kept going. Saying how he had shared more information with her personally.

And more information it was indeed.

It was definitely a lot to process, what with one of the victims here knowing their kidnapper personally. That didn’t surprise him completely, as kidnappers can take people they actively despite hostage for a personal vendetta. It definitely still begged the question of what people like him were doing there, who hardly knew anyone and didn’t even know much about the kidnapper at all. The social experiment theory intrigued him the most, as he remembered Huxley explaining stuff like that to him all those years back during college. How people will conduct different experiments to see how individuals will react, and what the outcome suggests about humanity. It’s definitely a subject Noah has had a hard time grasping, if only because the human psychology was so complex for him, but it wasn’t something he could rule out for this.

A fired matchmaker who’s pairing strangers together and forcing their hands in marriage. Yes…yes of course this is a social experiment.

“It would not surprise me if that was the case,” Noah stated, “You say she was a matchmaker correct? A fired one at that. This could easily be her way of proving herself worthy of her job, that she can correctly predict the best relationship for someone, even if it’s through forceful means.”

[Hannah van de Berg]

After some silence from the other side of the wall hannah noticed that maybe she had dropped too much information at once. She bit the inside of her cheek a little. Was it getting that bad. She had been trying to fill drake in little by little, she was shocked by how little some people knew. Or had she been lucky to get that much information.

Well lucky was not the good word. If anything she was lucky she had not gotten hurt, yet. She had been lucky the gun had been filled with confetti and not an actual bullet. She closed her eyes for a second as the anxiety of the situation returned to her. Breathe in through the nose.. out through the mouth. Stay calm.
She composed herself as she heard noah reply to her.

"Dorian said something like that too.. that all of this is about honour. Her honour to be more precise.. we just.. can't seem to figure out if it is just her or if someone is using this .. mentally ill woman as a puppet in their plans.."

[Noah Hernandez]

Mentally ill woman? Wait…she couldn’t mean…she must if she had spoken to Dorian!

“Miss Hannah…this mentally ill woman you speak of…are you referring to the young female voice we’ve been hearing throughout these games?” Noah whispered.

He knew it was a long shot, but he slightly hoped that maybe she knew something more about Nameless. That may a long shot, but…he wanted to at least ask. To at least get the slight chance to know more about her. She was a walking puzzle waiting to be solved, and all this time he thought he had been the only one to see who she really was. But talking to Hannah seemed to prove him otherwise.

[Hannah van de Berg]

Hannah frowned slightly as she heard Noah talk about someone else. She felt a bit .. well dumb. Her mind had been on Madge the whole time thinking that she was maybe being used by someone else since dorian did not seem to think the woman was bright enough to do this on her own. She had not even thought about the fact that it could have simply been mrs Baker and the only reason she had not slipped up yet was because this young woman, the different voice she had heard at the russian roulette and her wedding had been keeping an eye on them as well.

" I .. No that was not what I meant, but now that you mention her. there is something that I have been wondering since the wedding. She sounded so sad when she was talking about marriage. Do you think that she perhaps has been here before us, in the same position as us I mean"
She said softly

[Noah Hernandez]

Noah must’ve misunderstood Hannah’s words, somehow, as she wasn’t referring to Nameless at all. Now he felt a bit like a fool for bringing her up when the brunette had no idea who he was referring too. Ben still, her question stood out too him. He hadn’t really thought about her when he just heard her voice, but seeing her in person confirmed to him that Hannah was not far off in her theory. Well...best not to keep her in the dark. She should know the truth.

“Yes....I have no doubt in my mind that that’s the case,” he tensed up a bit. “Miss Hannah....it’s important for you to know that...that I have met this woman. She and I had a...face to face encounter.”

Shockingly, Noah had completely blanked out in his mind that this was the first person he’s told about his meeting with Nameless. It felt like so long ago since it’s happened, that he had felt someone had known by now. But no....it was a secret that was just between him and the woman in white.

[Hannah van de Berg]

Hannah frowned a bit. As she heard noah reply that quickly. How was he so sure?
And with that thought her awsner came quickly.

"You.. know her?" She asked a bit shocked. "What.. how did you meet her, what happened?" She asked as she was confused but also concerned. She hoped the lady was kind and just had to go along to stay safe. She hoped this would not paint a target on Noahs back..
It felt strange how much information she was getting. First dorian confessed to personally know their captor and now Noah personally knew the womans right hand?

Hannah moved her legs closer to her chest as she leaned against the wall. Would another puzzle piece come together now?

[Noah Hernandez]

Noah was a bit baffled. The way Hannah worded the question made him think that she suspected he’s known Nameless for a long time, when it couldn’t be further from the truth. He doesn’t even know this woman’s name. He cringed to himself, feeling embarrassed for wording the question wrong.

“Oh well….no I don’t know her personally. It started after the wedding,” he began to explain quietly, “She contacted me outside the door, asking me about what I had found. We exchanged a few words, and that was it. Then later, she…she came into my room. I saw her for the first time.”

Noah took a moment to himself, thinking about it all. He didn’t know why this was so difficult, it’s not like this was his first time telling someone the story. He informed Sawyer about it too. Perhaps it was just because when he talked about it, he couldn’t avoid thinking about it anymore.

“This woman…I do not know her name. All I know is that she is young, and looks like she’s been experiencing physical abuse. I…I do not think she is a willing participant in all this. My theory is that she’s a prisoner like us,” he said. He neglected to mention how she hit him with a lamp and knocked him unconscious, mostly because he felt it wasn’t important to add on to.

He pressed himself against the wall, thinking to himself again. Then, he spoke up….just before the gas started to roll in and knock him unconscious.

“Miss Hannah…I wanted to say that I am glad you are safe, and I hope you continue to stay wary at this time,” Noah said. He wanted to say more, to ask if Geoff or Dorian were doing alright. But he felt his state of consciousness slip away, losing his grip on the waking world.

And then his world went black.