The longer Max's silence lasted, the more his panic began to outweigh that feeble shred of hope that this wasn't what he thought it was. 'Who is Dr. Jekyll' didn't sound like a very complicated question, but the physical difficulty displayed in forming a response said more than any words could. Vlad couldn't say that he knew Max well by any stretch of the imagination, considering they'd only met once in the past before now, but what they'd done had left them as more than just acquaintance. For there to be a Dr. Jekyll, there would have to be another... what? Another personality? Was Max nothing more than a delusion created by a crazy man? He wanted to take another handful of painkillers, but they would only make him woozy and he needed to be able to think clearly.
"Brian Jenkins in 302," he repeated, voice hollow. Slowly the puzzle pieces were starting to fall into place - why they could only meet after a certain time, why he'd never seen Max on the forums. Yet there were still things that didn't make sense, and he tried to listen to his friend's explanation before letting his thoughts free. How was he supposed to believe that the man sitting across from him didn't exist when he was right there? Every conversation they'd had, what they'd done together... and he was just a creation of a scared little boy? Ever since he'd moved into Bellum Vlad had learned to believe the impossible, but this was different. This had nothing to do with the building.
He took a deep breath, ignoring the sharp pain in his lungs as he tried to sort out what he'd just heard as rationally as possible. "You... You come out after dark, then? While Brian is asleep?" He was trying to understand, but all he could think of was multiple personality disorder and that he was talking to what was essentially another persona created by a traumatized man. But thinking of it like that made Max seem like some kind of imaginary friend instead of an actual person, and he didn't like that. The point was that he existed because he was talking to him right now. "I cannot say I understand all of this," he said finally, running a hand across his forehead. "But... do you really think Brian can get rid of you? Is there something you can do to make yourself... more permanent?"