Night 59: Soccer/Recreational Field
[from here]It was admittedly a little better outside. The air lacked the smell of too many things not-so-freshly killed and it felt less claustrophobic than the hallways by far. Unfortunately, even the sky seemed to be glowing faintly pink, which meant Code Fabulous was still in effect. It was casting a lot of freaky shadows
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"Ah, alright, alright--but c'mon, admit it, that was fun, wasn't it?" He grinned cheekily as he set her down on the ground and gingerly slid the fencing sword out from the belt loop he'd thrust it through. It was probably better that he not carry her around anyway: the fabric was only so strong, and if he'd done any more walking, the sword would probably have managed to cut all the way through and drop to the ground.
And conditions could have been better, but sometimes, obstacles had to be overcome. Couldn't always be smooth sailing. "Shed should be somewhere in that area," Niikura shouted over the storm, pointing toward the far left corner of the field. "It's gonna suck sloggin' all the way out there, but we'll stick it out together!" With a short fist pump, he was off, stalking through the muddy field, arm looped around Shiina's. If it weren't raining, and if they weren't walking so fast, they might have actually looked like a pair out for a stroll...
The field seemed to stretch on forever, and by the time they reached the doors to the shed, Niikura's uniform was soaked through and clinging limply to him. Stilling his arm for one crucial moment, he slammed the hilt of the sword down onto the lock and watched with satisfaction as it broke under the force.
"Finally..." Yes, the long awaited shed. Finally. He nudged the doors open and eagerly darted inside.
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The wind and the rain was just as harsh as ever as they stepped out, though it was the cold that was the worst of being outside. The chill made their steps across the field quick, though the mud caked to Shiina's boots was starting to make her steps feel leaden.
A flash of lightning seemed to illuminate the area for several seconds before darkening again. But that was all that it took for the shape of what looked to be a giant, and we're talking huge, bird winging its way after them, though it was still high in the sky. Shiina stopped to stare in the direction she had seen it. Suddenly the chill from the weather wasn't anything compared to the ice in her chest.
"Shou, did you see that?" She was breathless already from the cold air ripping at her lungs. It took only a second more for her to realize that along with the roar of the whipping wind she could hear the slightest buffeting of air. Like the flapping of those large, feathered wings.
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"W-what?" He squinted into the rain as he looked upward, trying to catch sight of whatever it was that she had seen. "See...what..."
There. The shadow of a giant bird, winging slowly toward them, shrieking high above the howl of the wind. On cue, the memories filtered in; they were fresher than most, and thus came to mind more quickly: a tall, imposing man with red eyes--Recluse. His first fateful meeting with Gant. The forest. There are sometimes large birds that attack in these open areas...
...but I've been told that they only go after virgins.
Crap.
"I see it alright," Niikura said with just a hint of resignation. Great. They were going to have to run for it again, weren't they? By themselves, they might be able to kill the thing, but the conditions sucked; visibility in particular was poor. And...Shiina...
He shoved his flashlight down his shirt and grabbed her hand. "Come on, we gotta move." If it tried to attack them while they were running, at least he would be close by, close enough to push her out of the way while he took the brunt of those claws.
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He voice aloud what Niikura was thinking. Visibility was shit due to darkness and rain, and the rain had the added bonus of soaking them to the bone and providing a distraction. They also had an untrained civilian with them, and predators always went after the weaker ones. Strange what he could remember from tangentially watching some of Donatello's nature shows even decades later.
"Once it realizes we're onto it, it'll likely swoop," Mike stated, glancing to Niikura. "Don't run straight. You run with Shiina, and I'll run separately. We'll meet back up at the door."
It wasn't that long of a distance, but the separation of targets would give the bird pause. Mike just had to hope that delay would be enough to get them to safety.
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She raced across the field with Shou, dodging this way and that in an attempt to throw the creature off. It was awkward running with a bat in one hand while her other was occupied by Shou's. The icy rainwater stung her face but she gritted her teeth and rushed along, determined to keep from being a drain on Shou's speed if she could help it.
She hadn't needed to run this fast in a long time. She stumbled a few times on the slippery grass but Shou's strong arm strength managed to keep her on her upright. Maybe she was just paranoid, but even with the rain pounding down around them she could swear she heard the creature above them getting closer! Even if it was she didn't dare look back.
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The sound of the bird's enormous wings beating the air around them dogged them down the field, but he could see the door that they had come through now. They were going to make it in safely. No one was going to get--
Niikura shoved Shiina out of the way just as the bird swooped down, talons outstretched. One of them, razor-sharp and nearly the length of his hand, grazed his shoulder as it went past, and he gasped in pain, briefly letting go of Shiina's hand as his feet slid on the mud and he went down on one knee, free hand gripping his shoulder. "Damn it...!" He spared a glance upward, wiping the rain and the hair out of his eyes again. The bird was coming back around for round two, but there was no way that he was letting it finish the job, not when they were not more than a few steps away from the door.
He jumped to his feet (Shou's had always had remarkable stamina and endurance, and really, this was just a scratch.) and took Shiina by the hand again. "C'mon, let's go!" No time to even think about things. Just get inside and worry about it there.
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