With surprise and concern.

"Wait, you're not actually thinking of going back there, are you?" Taylor asks, concerned, "I mean, you said it yourself, right? Ten minutes with her, and you'll be down for anything."

...Frick, frick, frick. Hold it together, Maya. You can't afford to make a mistake here, and no matter how right Taylor is, you can't let her know it. Or else, she'll do something stupid for you, and you'll both be lost.

"Entirely true," You reply with enforced calm, "But looking at it another way, she demanded seven days for a reason, right? Whatever it is she wants, I have six days where I'm more or less guaranteed 'safe'. Distressing memories aside."

Making sure your hand wasn't shaking, you took another sip of your half-forgotten drink.

"A lot can change, depending on what exactly her agenda is," You continue, "And while we're protected from her, she's not protected from us, right? I could take another crack at the video solution, get a tape before she gives me one. Or I could pursue that letter-writing approach she suggested. Or maybe we could try something radical, find another **** that could take her on. You said it yourself; it's too early for us to give up, just because we misjudged our enemy. But if I don't go in tomorrow..."

You sigh, and take a deep gulp of your drink.

"Well, that's giving up, isn't it?" You finish, "Because then she'll know we're not playing her game, and she'll simply dispose of us. We don't know who's on her side. We don't even know how many people are on her side. One of them will just rat us out, we'll be surrounded, and Ms. Devlin will come for you. The safe play here is to play for time and stabilize our position."

Taylor nods, slowly. You can tell she's not really buying this, but... Studying her face, you know she's not about to do anything rash. She's just trying to think of alternatives, and darkness, you hope she can find one.

Taylor kept her own face studiously neutral in return, as she began to speak.

"It's just..." She began, "You bounced back more quickly than I'd expected, but when I found you, you were in a pretty bad headspace. Maybe I just came by at a particularly bad moment, but... Do you really think you could take another day of that?"

You think through her question to yourself. You know you'll answer yes either way, but that's because you had to answer yes - there wasn't a real alternative here, not if you wanted to keep Taylor alive. But what you say here, you want your answer to be as honest as you could make it. This could be the last conversation between the real you and your best friend.

...But you find the answer is a lot easier than you'd realized. Or than you wanted.

"Yes," You answer, with surprising honesty, "The idea of losing myself like that is terrifying. I never want to do it again, and I don't want there to be anyone with that kind of control over another. But the things I said, and the things she pushed me to do... Those were, well, fine. I feel a bit violated philosophically, but not emotionally; under her influence I honestly wanted to do all of those things, and she was encouraging me to take an active role in all of it."

You take a deep breath, and let it out.

"I can say with complete certainty that going back there is amongst the last things I want to do," You conclude, "But once the existential horror is done with and I'm set free again... It won't be an issue. I just have to adjust to a world where people can have that kind of power, and find a way to keep them away from me."

Taylor nodded at your words, and gave you a sad smile.

"Well, I guess we have a few days to work with, then..." She says softly, "But I'll keep looking for a way to ensure you don't need them, okay? I won't do anything rash, but I'm promised her protection. I can ask around a bit without danger; you don't need to handle this alone."

You nod in agreement. The idea of Taylor in the hands of that creature was terrifying... But that was the only thing you feared leaving her alone with. You knew she could handle herself with any of the more natural denizens of this college.

"So tell me just what happened in there?" Taylor asks you, giving you a puppy dog look as a joke, "I didn't want to ask while you looked like you had a foot in the grave, but... If you say it's fine now, I'm really curious as to just what happened in there."

...An hour ago, maybe you'd have considered trading a shard of your soul rather than tell anyone about what happened. But now, having had a chance to recharge and regroup with Taylor, and contextualize things a bit... Now, you felt like you could share it with her. You couldn't say it wasn't a sensitive point for you still... But in the abstract, now. The details... They were a bit weird and a bit freaky, but with your emotions having been so warped in there, there was none of the pain or bitterness that you feared might haunt you after. You were furious that someone had warped your emotions like that, but the events themselves... They were a minor matter, strange as it felt to say.