We're All Human

>Panic Attacks?

Hello.

Message from Dante [REPLY]

>You may call me Dante.

>I've recently become quite the fan of Black Alley Stories.

>I'm still trying to form certain impressions about the work from a literary perspective.

>And of course goggling for interpretation has only lead to a massive amount of pornography.

>So I'd appreciate assistance in analyzing this as literature.

>Not that I expect many takers.

"What the fuck."

"Uh, Mori, are you okay?" Atai asked. There was the sound of Mori's phone slipping from his hand and hitting the pavement, making a dreadful static-laced roaring sound.

"Mori?"

"Mooori?"

The sound of scrambling filled Atai, and she heard a dry, cracked coughing.

"Mori!"

"I'm alright, kid. I'm sure as shit not going in that fucking but I'm alright," Mori replied. His breathing was labored and his voice gravelly.

"Are you having a panic attack or something?" Atai said.

"Something like that, yeah," MMori replied. There was a sound Atai speculated was him lowering himself to the ground against a wall. She fired off a message to Dante on the CASH site.

Panic Attacks

Private Message from Atai [REPLY]

>Dante, uh

>Can you skype me?

>(MissusAtai)

>One of my friends just had a massive panic attack in front of the Church and

>

>look I don't know do you know something about this please answer me.

"Can you explain what happened, Mori? Please?" Silence.

"I'm worried about you, Mori." More silence. She received a call from a username she could only assume was Dante. She answered it and a thick, husky responded.

"I'm Dante. Of course."

"Dante, thank heavens. My friend is--"

"You mentioned. This happened outside the building?"

"Yes. Uh. I don't know if there's any, Church stuff or not, but he wasn't inside for sure."

"Right. Is he predisposed to attacks like this?"

"He's only mentioned something like this a few times, so maybe?"

"I assume he's not responding."

"He's not, no."

"Wonderful. As much as this is an insidious organization, they don't often cause massive amounts of psychological trauma at a mere glance. Is your friend, perhaps, a survivor of a cult?"

"No-- not--"

"As far as you know. Think hard. Some other organization, something that would employ similar methods? I can only assume he saw /some/ piece of propaganda that might have triggered... something. But that only makes sense if he had something to be triggered. We don't always know the deepest secrets of the ones we call 'friend', but for the sake of this friend I would think your way through as thoroughly as possible."

"...Mori," Atai said tenatively, switching calls to his. "Did this... bring back something from, uh. From when you were in a gang?"

"...Call it that." Mori said finally. He sounded like a overplayed recording. "This place is... it's hell, Atai. The literal Biblical kind. If they've got some kind of a hold on Glass we need to fix it. I can't walk through those doors, but I... I think we could get Nadeshiko and Vlad to help us. I'm sure Vlad can afford to bump up their flight a little bit..."

"Get away from there, Mori! I'll talk to Vlad and Nade and see what I pull together."

Mori coughed again. "Sorry I wasn't much help, Atai."