Nightshift 60: Main Hallway, 1-West

[toxicspiderman]

[from here]Even the main hall was deserted. S.T. switched on his flashlight and took a look around. Yeah, it was empty. No roadkill, no other patients. If he ever made it home, he was never bitching at any of the girls who didn't want to do night ops alone again. It was different when you knew there were things out there in the darkness.

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[kings_thief]

[From here]

Once Locke hit the main hallway, he paused. This was where everything deviated and the stairs leading to the second floor were supposed to be around here. Mostly, he was thankful he could still remember the map Tolten had shown him the other night and also which way they'd gone to get upstairs before; he didn't need to waste time by wandering around getting lost.

However, since this was the largest hall on this floor, he knew he had to act with a little more caution; who knew what might be going on with the others traveling through here and there were always other threats to consider. Plus, Locke had to remember he was unarmed. If he found himself in some situation now, he'd be hard pressed to get out of it with only minor injuries.

[mateswithnobody]

[from here]

Despite having no earthly idea of where she should start to look for the Head Doctor, Donna definitely knew where to go in order to find someone who could help her towards that endeavor. The big hallway, or the first of them in any case. Donna followed the way there by heart, letting her boots kick the floor extra hard as she strut along, full of confidence. It didn't matter that she was, as always, a human and as unarmed as when she'd first arrived; Donna Noble didn't let this place get to her, and she was not going to let anyone see that she was scared.

Coming to the hallway, she sent a look around and found someone travelling alone, a guy by his looks. "Hey," she called, knowing it wouldn't hurt to ask, "Any ideas on where Landel parks his pompous arse around here? I'm looking to get an appointment."

Subtle though her question was, Donna would be fine if the guy didn't have any clue because that would just be too easy.

[kings_thief]

When Locke heard the woman's voice he felt a brief flash of worry that he'd been caught by one of the people he'd been trying to avoid. However, the more rational part of his mind calmed him down and brought a smile to his face when he turned to her. "Sadly, I don't. Honestly, I really couldn't even tell you where to look; the ground floor would make sense for easy access to us, but the top floor would make sense if he wanted to keep himself separate."

He hadn't really given it much thought, but going to see if he could find Landel was something that Locke realized he was interested in doing. Though...there wasn't much sense in trying to confront the guy without being armed, so his mission for tonight took priority for him.

"What're you gonna do if you find him?"

[mateswithnobody]

The response was a good bit better than a simple "no", though it wasn't any more useful. No one really knew, did they? If they did, then there'd be more of a fuss, or else mobbing of the area every night. Donna found herself looking up as she huffed, the woman beign more keen on the belief that Landel would want to keep himself separate. What was the saying...? Smoke and idiots rise to high places?

And speaking of idiots... Donna's attention fell back to the blonde when he put a question to her. Without much pause, she smiled and said, "Thought I'd ask him out for tea." Then the smile fell and she folded her arms. "Whaddya think I'm gunna do?! I'm hoping to plant my boot a mile into his backside the moment I find him!"

Who needed weapons when you had designer boots?

[kings_thief]

Locke laughed, a bit of the stress he'd been feeling melting away. It was a bit of a dumb question. If he happened across the guy responsible for putting Locke and his friends in this place and hurting them, the thief wouldn't even hesitate before doing what he could to get Landel to send them back.

"Good plan, though, I think an actual weapon might make more of an impact. Guessing you don't have one if you're thinking about using shoes."

Speaking of which, he needed to get moving...but, maybe this woman would be interested in coming with him and finding something to arm herself with as well.

[mateswithnobody]

"Hey, I paid enough for these boots that they'd better be able to handle stomping over one psychotic doctor," Donna defended, pointing down as she stepped one foot forward to show off the footwear. "I mean, there might not be much of a heel on this pair, but like hell I'd be running about these hallways in heels. Wouldn't even matter how fashionable they were!"

Donna could think of a few other pairs of her many shoes that would have been practical for both hallway running and doctor kicking, but she didn't have access to those. That she'd gotten this outfit was a godsend in and of itself! Anything beat out a robe and fuzzy slippers.

Calming down a bit, she folded her arms and stepped up to match her feet. "It's not like I'd be that good with a weapon either. I mean yeah, Grandad wanted to teach me how to shoot a gun at one point, but Mum thought it'd be more practical to carry mace," she shrugged, "Not that I can't let my fists do the talking if need be."

And it'd be so much more satisfying to turn out Landel herself without

[kings_thief]

"Fists, huh? Fair enough, I can believe that." He certainly had his fair share of daydreams where he served one good punch to that doctor's jaw and the bastard didn't get back up. Still, the security of knowing he had a dagger...or, dagger-like weapon, would be make him feel better about any meeting.

"So, not even a frying pan would interest you? I'm headed up to the upstairs kitchen. They've got knives there, I hear, but I bet there's plenty more that could also be useful." Even Sabin had those claw weapons of his and that man was, practically, a walking weapon himself. He couldn't imagine someone being alright with being unarmed.

"Don't think that I'm doubting the ability of your boots, I just don't like the thought of a lady walking around this place without some sort of backup."

[mateswithnobody]

Donna liked it that she was able to convince others of her confidence. That made it all the easier to at least partially convince herself of it. Partially.

Unfolding her arms, Donna considered his talk of a frying pan seriously. Would be a hell of a lot better than the rubber hammer she'd used once, and she at least had some experience with kitchen ware. She hadn't used any to attack monsters exactly, but... well, she knew how easily a pan swung the wrong, or maybe right way could give a person a bloody nose.

"You know what? A frying pan actually sounds like a really good idea," she eventually decided, "I've done some whacking with stuff, and one of those could definitely last a good while. Maybe I'll follow you up..." she ended abruptly, realizing she had nothing to call the guy by. "I'm Donna, by the way," she said next, "Sorry, manners don't show too well in this place.

[kings_thief]

"It's alright, not like I made any effort to introduce myself. I'm Locke, it's nice to meet you. Shall we, then?" He winked at her and gestured to the stairs that led to the upper level, starting off in that direction.

He hadn't intended on traveling with anyone, but Donna seemed fun and, oddly enough, he didn't feel so much like a liability when they were both unarmed. Well, except for her boots.Besides, it was probably wiser to travel in pairs, at the very least, to avoid running into anything unpleasant without back-up.

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