Despite his surroundings, he's...lucid. Like the Stranger. Not like David or the Nurse. It's eerie. It's almost scarier.
The nurse is still standing in the doorway, watching me with her vacant smile. She's a sentry. A guard.
"This is only floor two of a hundred." I say. I still don't want to get close enough that I might be trapped in the room.
"So you're new." The doctor says, as if that confirms something to him.
"You sound...different from the doctor I met." I say, carefully.
"Doctor David." He sneers when I give a short nod. "That boy is no doctor. He's a scavenger playing dress-up." He picks up a scalpel from the tray, the metal gleaming in the light. "I am a doctor. I was a surgeon. A good one." He looks at the blade, his eyes distant. "Too good."
"Too...?"
He waved a hand, as if dismissing the concern in my voice.
"I don't remember." He sighed and set his scalpel down. "I remember my own blood and asking...why," his voice was soft. "I did everything right, so why..."
He took a breath and shook his head, looking back at me.
"But it's gone. Eventually I assume I'll forget even the moment of death and become someone like that David." His eyes looked at the scalpel. "He might as well be dead already."
I swallow.
"What's your name?" I ask him.
It's not something I should ask. It's not important. He's just another obstacle in my way.
But...he's not like the others. He's not lost in a dream. He's here, present, and dangerous. And I want to know his name.
"Doctor." He says, and puts his scalpel back down. "That's what I am. That's what I do."
"You don't remember?"
"No." He says, and he sounds...like he's been asked this before.
His smile lacks any happiness. "You're new. You still remember?" He asks, but he doesn't wait for me to answer. "Hold on to it as long as you want. But you won't make it long enough to lose yourself if that hand gets infected." He nods to my bloody palm. "We're not here to suffer...or at least, we're not supposed to. Nurse, fetch the gauze."
The nurse - it's as if she's not even there - steps past me, approaching him with a measured pace. Her eyes are not on me, and she makes no indication she even sees me.
But my body...
My body is stiff as a board.
I can't get this sense of danger out of my head. This man is not mad. He's not even lost his memory yet.
But I can't trust.
Anyone. It's too dangerous.
"Come now. You're safe." The man said, but his eyes are still cold. "You didn't stumble into that greenhouse by accident."
I don't move.
"You're a level two, aren't you? At least." He says, and I can't help but narrow my eyes. "I'm level 13. If I wanted to, you would have no hope of escape. Not from here." He takes a step towards me, and I realize I've been slowly backing up.
"Are you here to kill me, then? Are you a monster?" I ask, my voice steady despite the fear, the anger, the anger of my death keeping me on my feet.
"I'm a doctor, and I have no intention of killing you. There is no escape from this place, but at least I can help you suffer less." He says, and his voice is so sincere, so honest, that I believe him. He wants to help me. "Nurse."
He doesn't even have to finish his sentence. She is already at his side, handing him a roll of gauze. It's like she was made just to be what she is. It's...
Uncanny.
He walks up to me, slowly, and I don't back away. I can't afford to look weak.
But my heart is racing.
He is bigger than me.
He is stronger than me.
And he doesn't have a single shred of empathy in his eyes.
He takes my hand, and I resist the urge to pull away as he wipes it down with antiseptic, and wraps it slowly in the gauze, tying it neatly.
"You have a weapon." He says, matter of factly. "So you have a desire to survive. I can respect that." He gives my hand a little squeeze. "If I take away your hope now, I could keep you safe, like Nurse."
"I'll never be like her." I say, my voice sharp.
"All of us will be Nurse. Or David. Or both." He says. "Once we forget our purpose. Nurse and I have already settled into a pleasant routine. She prepares the room, and I...operate."
"On who?"
He doesn't answer that question.
"Purpose helps. I think." He lets out a breath. "The memories fade, but with a goal, you can hold on to yourself a little longer." His grey eyes stare into mine. "What do you want? I am not asking what you're going to wish for at the end. I'm asking what you want from this place, right now."
I hesitate, and for a moment, all I can see is that knife.
That face.
"...I want to live."
"We all do." He says, and it's a strange statement because he's dead. We're all dead. But he doesn't comment on that. "If you want to live, then stay here." He says, letting go of my hand. "I will keep you safe. Even when you lose yourself, I'll keep you alive as long as possible." There is an echo of desperation in his voice. A plea I can't ignore. "Please. It's a terrible thing to go through this alone."
I swallow and stare up at the older man, and I realize something about this place.
He is a prisoner too.
He's just built himself a cell that's nicer than being lost in the hallways. Like David, he is putting on a role, pretending he has a place here, a purpose.
Unlike David, he is not delusional.
I am not going to stay with him.
And he knows it. The moment the words are in my mind, he knows. I can see it in the disappointment that flashes across his face.
"...Very well then. But you will regret your choice when you realize this place has no ending." He says, his voice hardening. "To turn back is as hard as going forward." His grey eyes look into mine. "It's why I stopped trying."
I turn to leave, and I can hear him sigh.
"....There are two paths to Floor 3." He says. "If you wish to survive at your level...stay away from dark rooms. Even if it means you must walk further. You won't survive the dark hall to Floor 3. Don't try." He says, and that's it. He doesn't give me any more advice.
I make my way out of his operating room, and the nurse follows me. When I get to the door, I turn to look back at her.
She smiles that sweet, empty smile.
And shuts the door in my face.