NIGHT 54: West Wing, South Hall 1-A

[sanguinario]

[From here.]It was probably a good time to declare everyone legally dead, because this was the fourth hallway in a row. This was what being proactive felt like. Yes. He was going to roll with that. Proactive and paranoid as hell, that was him

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[damned_monsters]

The bat on the brunet's back got it the worst. When its victim flung himself backward, the impact crushed most of the creature's already brittle and rotting parts. Bone cracked like twigs underneath the weight, and putrid intestines stained the back of the vest. Unfortunately for the prey, the bat's last instinct had been to bite down harder, leaving its fangs firmly clamped into flesh even in death.

The bat on the ground knew better than to get too close to wildly flailing legs, and so reassessed what it was going to do. As quick as it could, injuries considered, it made a hopping, hobbling dash around the brunet, then made a push off the ground, landing on the man's arm. Baring its fangs, it made to claw its way up, aiming for a nice juicy chunk of his upper arm.

Then there was the remaining bat, still in flight. Flashlight beams kept it at bay for the time being, but it hadn't given up on its meal for the night just yet. The newcomer had a weapon. Too dangerous. For now it just circled overhead, waiting for an opportunity to dive back in. It flew low enough that the shovel might reach it, but it would be a difficult and awkward swing to achieve a good hit.

[swornandbroken]

Mello was too distracted for any more than a quick glance towards the man approaching them--a stranger, dark hair, using Matt's alias, and armed, thank god--he just barked out, "One up above, they don't like light." He'd have to trust the guy to take that one, or at least keep it away. Someone walking around with a shovel was probably a veteran of enough fights here to manage that.

The sickening crunch when Matt threw himself backwards meant that one was out of commission, or so Mello fervently hoped; you never fucking knew around here. It was still latched on, but he had to deal with the more immediate threat, and he swung the flashlight hard for the bat trying to make a snack of Matt's arm, beam pointed towards it. If it broke, so what.

[for_a_song]

Apparently, the disgusting monstrosity of the night was some sort of... bat. Three of them. And from the very brief glance he gave the things, they looked to be suffering from the same sort of rot that the cat he'd help kill on his first night had.

Great. Zombie animals. He really loved this place's sense of the macabre. His first instinct was to help out Mason, who was clearly not okay with being turned into bat-food, but the shovel was hardly a good instrument for hitting things attached to something you didn't want to cause bodily harm too, and it looked as if his blond companion was already on the job. Instead, he turned his attention to the one flying overhead as it was pointed out to him. It seemed to be smart, staying up high and out of easy range of his shovel. But he was tall, and in any case, there wasn't much harm in taking a swing at it, was there?

He aimed the flashlight upwards to pinpoint his target and shifted his grip on the shovel so that he held the end of the handle with the rest of it resting back over his shoulder. This wasn't going to be the most graceful attack ever, and the shovel was going to be hard to control this way, but he took a moment to aim and then swung the shovel upward in an arc, trying to extend his arm as far as he could to give the thing as much reach as possible. If he could swat the creature down lower, he could try to finish it off.

[gamingsostfu]

"Fu-" Matt couldn't get the word out; he just let out a particularly loud and completely unconscious shriek of pain when he felt the bat give one last what-for between his shoulderblades, flinging his arms out. He didn't notice the other one crawling up his arm; all the brunet was able to focus on was the searing pain in his back, and he tried hard to lurch back up to his feet.

"Mello! Mello, come on, man, kill it already!" He was on the verge of a temporary collapse, just from the pain. If they weren't already headed to the pharmacy, they sure as hell were now. Something told him the Vicodin back in his room might not do the trick this time.

[unmocked_lawr]

[from here]

He'd been hoping for more clues here. No such luck. Javert narrowed his eyes, scanning the bustling hallway with a practiced eye. There were more patients here, many carrying cylinders similar to the one he'd found in his pocket. He withdrew the object again and examined it closely. Sliding a small block attached to the side lit the glass end.

Once again, he was struck with the feeling that he had done this before, than he had passed through these hallways many times, but aside from the faint sense of déjà vu, he could recall nothing. Javert's unease only grew, but he stifled the unfamiliar emotion as a commotion near the end of the hall caught his eye.

Creatures. Large bats, stinking of putrefaction, attacking three young men. There was no time to stare in disbelief: now he knew why he had kept a sword in his room. He pulled it from the belt at his side and broke into a run, keeping his light trained on the bat circling about the ceiling.

[damned_monsters]

The bat on the brunet's arm had torn through the fabric of his shirt, but hadn't reached flesh by the time the blond flashed light in its face. It hissed and clung to the arm in pain, trying to hide its head. This gave the blond a perfect opportunity to bash the bat across the body. This broke most of the creature's fragile bones at last, sending it flying off its prey to the floor. It still lived, but just barely, only able to make strangled shrieking noises now. Another solid blow would be enough to take it out.

The bat in the air was starting to get the idea that this group of humans was not the best target for a meal by now. It was hit from two angles with light this time, which sent it screaming and spiraling just low enough to allow the long-haired man's shovel to strike it clean across one wing, damaging it significantly. The bat struggled to stay airborn and turned to make a retreat, but it was already dropping fast.

[swornandbroken]

Still focused on the bat that had finally detached from Matt's arm, Mello slammed the flashlight down on it, hoping to finish it off and silence its awful cries. He gave Javert and the dark-haired man a quick nod of acknowledgment, and quickly knelt beside Matt, letting the flashlight drop to the floor. Part of him wanted to protest that they'd been doing fine, hadn't needed help, but Matt's condition was a blatant contradiction of that.

"We don't need to go to the pharmacy. I've got one with--" he began to say, but he was distracted by mental images flooding in, showing him places around the Institute and carrying with them a sense of foreboding. What the hell? He shook his head to try to clear the disorientation, and held out an arm to help support Matt. "I've got one with me.

"Hold still. This'll hurt, but only for a second." Again, he had to fight back nausea at the very idea of touching the creature, but told himself firmly he'd dealt with worse. (You know that's another lie you live by; you can handle so much less than you tell yourself, he thought involuntarily. Shut the fuck up, I don't have time for this.) He gritted his teeth, grabbed the bat on Matt's back around its midsection, and gave it a sharp tug. Thank god for the gloves, at least.

[for_a_song]

The shovel connected, and seemed to do the bat some lasting damage. Good. That meant he could spare a moment to work out just what the hell was going on. The blond was taking care of Mason, it looked like, which was good. From the sound he'd made, getting bitten could not have been a pleasant experience. He was reminded of the damage the equally zombified cat had done to him his first night and winced a little in sympathy. It was too bad he'd decided to travel light for the evening, or he might have at least been able to offer some medical supplies.

The gentleman with the sword, he had never seen before. But he'd helped out with the added flashlight power, and a sword seemed a bit better for dispatching unwanted creatures than his shovel was. Granted, it didn't look like the bat was going to escape very far anyway, but it was better to finish it off, right? "We should probably finish that one off before it can go after anyone else," he commented. "And you're better equipped than I am."

[gamingsostfu]

"Augh-" It was an agonized cry that Matt let out when he felt the sadly familiar ripping and tearing; no matter what, it seemed that he was destined to get the crap beat and bitten out of him at least once a night while still Landel's captive. Just more incentive to get the hell back to Kansas, he thought as the pain started to die down - but only a little, to a horrible stinging throbbing sensation that seemed to run up and down his spine.

His head finally began to clear though, and what Mello was saying managed to register through the red haze. Blinking his eyes quickly to try to clear his vision, Matt nodded, reaching out and grabbing a hold of Mello to steady himself - and maybe convince himself that the world wasn't really spinning in circles like that. The brunet didn't notice the pause in Mello's speech, though; all he cared about was getting the pain and lousiness gone. "What've you- What've you got?"

He'd say hi to Javert and Gren when his brain was less packed full of I'm dead why do I still have to go through this shit somebody make me a zombie for the love of God-

[unmocked_lawr]

The blond and the brunet both seemed familiar, in a way Javert couldn't quite place. He was growing heartily sick and tired of that feeling; it hadn't been an emotion he was used to feeling in Paris, and it wasn't one he enjoyed here. Wherever here was.

There was little time to consider his surroundings; the dark-haired young man's swing had connected and the remaining bat was dropping quickly. Nodding once in response to his comment, Javert drew within striking range and brought the saber down hard on the creature's other wing. Immobilizing it entirely would make it easier to kill.

[swornandbroken]

Mello threw the bat aside, (mostly) suppressing the disgusted face he wanted to make. "Thanks," he told the dark-haired man. Looking to Javert, he added, "Good timing.

"We don't want to go to the pharmacy. Trust me," he told Matt, meeting his eyes for a second in a look he hoped Matt could read really, don't ask, just know I have good reason into. There was something up in the hallway they'd have to pass through to get there. He didn't know what, but it set off all his internal alarms. He rummaged in the pillowcase he'd dropped, and drew out one of the doses of morphine, showing it to Matt, but hesitating to hand it over. "How bad is it, Matty?" he asked, low. It was a toss-up between dealing with the pain and keeping Matt mobile, and for himself, Mello would always have chosen the latter.

The radio in the pillowcase came on, and Mello listened to the transmission. He didn't laugh at the attempt at a joke, and he doubted the rebel would have any more to offer tonight than he'd ever done.

Someone needed to take charge. It wasn't going to be some damn voice that could have come from anywhere, but getting out was still a good idea. Mello looked to Javert and the stranger in turn to include them in this. "We need to get out before shit goes down. I say we head for the actual front doors, for once."

[for_a_song]

The sword had done a number on the remaining bat. Gren didn't think it would be harming anyone else in the state it was in, but there was no point in taking chances. He took advantage of its crippled state, adjusting his grip on the shovel and hitting it with one good solid whack. If that didn't kill it, it would at least keep it from going anywhere.

"Thanks for the assist," he commented with a nod, before turning back towards Mason and the blond who was attending to him. It looked like he'd managed to bring along some medical supplies, which made Gren feel better about leaving his supplies in his room.

"Sounds like a plan. You guys want some company? You don't look very well armed." Not that his shovel was the best weapon out there, but it had a better range than a flashlight, and he had combat experience to back it up.

[gamingsostfu]

"We're not getting out of here." Then Matt coughed before taking as deep a breath as he could manage - which wasn't very deep, really. Blinking furiously, he tried to push down the pain enough to get up off the floor, but it still hurt too badly. The wound, he knew, was bad, and it was bleeding heavily; there wasn't much more he could do for it, though, other than to take off his vest and put pressure on it.

But as soon as he started to move, even a little, searing pain shot up and down his spine, invading his head, which was starting to ache too. With a sharp cry, he leaned over, against the wall, and stared at Mello a moment. "It hurts bad, man," he said, trying not to pant too much. "I- I think it hit a nerve or something." Then his eyes drifted over the needle in Mello's hand, and he stared at it for a minute before looking back to his friend, his expression clearly asking What do you think?

[unmocked_lawr]

Javert felt distinctly as if he were drowning again, except this time the river was pulling him along and not under. Evidently these people knew him, though to what degree it was difficult to tell. The utter lack of surprise they displayed at his appearance suggested that they were the ones with whom he had arranged to meet tonight--though, again, to what end, he could not imagine.

The box in his pocket crackled, and though he hid his surprise well, the voice that emitted from it still came as a shock. The message was of no use: indecipherable nonsense about the military, and nurses. This was a hospital of some sort, then, though he had figured that much out by now. But none of that explained why he was here, why he had been here for a month, and why he could somehow remember none of the above.

The blond--Mello, Javert remembered from the fight--was saying something about leaving. Annoyance flared up for a brief instant, but pride prevented him from saying anything more. He nodded silently and shoved his hands into his pockets, pausing only when his fingers closed around a half-used roll of gauze. At last. Something of use.

"It doesn't appear we're going anywhere until your friend is back up on his feet," he said dryly, and tossed Mello the gauze. "What was all that about the military?"

[swornandbroken]

"I won't say no to a shovel on our side," Mello told the dark-haired man, who clearly knew how to use his, another plus. He felt his sense of what areas were unsafe would let them navigate with relative ease, but he also knew the shit you could run into here at night was spread out over far more than the locations that seemed foremost in his mind. He also wasn't in a hurry to reveal he had a gun. "I'm Mello." No point using 'Morgan,' when Matt had been blabbing his name all over. "You obviously know Mason, and this is Inspector Javert."

He stood when Matt did, and silently handed the syringe over, then went to work on a bandage. The bleeding, worryingly, hadn't slowed much, so Mello held the gauze over the wound for now, applying pressure. He didn't dignify Matt's pessimism with a reply; it would've been the same argument he'd been giving the bugs: Really? Watch me.

"You don't remember," he told, more than asked, Javert. The older man seemed, somehow, to have forgotten their exchange of theories about that very topic earlier today. "There's been a coup here. We're under martial law, or something close to it." He checked the gauze, which came away far too bloody for his liking, and swore under his breath. "What's the last thing you do remember?"

Javert's intelligence was native, and he would probably still be useful to have along, but it was getting rather crowded for Mello's taste, too close to sacrificing speed and stealth, and a drugged Matt wasn't going to help there. You know your chances of actually escaping are slim to none, anyway. Mello steadfastly ignored the chatter. "You use that," he told Matt, "I still expect you to keep up."

[for_a_song]

"Maybe not, but we can't know that until we try." He hadn't pegged Mason for that much of a pessimist, but the boy was clearly in pain, which certainly wouldn't help anyone's outlook much.

He nodded to Mello as the blond introduced himself and the man with the sword. "Mason and I were brought in on the same day," he replied. Almost a week ago, now. "I'm Gren." He didn't have any other plans for the evening, and assisting this group seemed like it might be the best use of his time, if they wanted him along. Things were definitely getting odd tonight, and the radio broadcast from their 'friend' didn't lend any of the reassurance it seemed to was meant to.

But these three knew each other--or were meant to, although there was apparently something else going on with the man named Javert. He could wait until it was sorted out before deciding if he should stay or go, at any rate.