full_score
in
damned
Nightshift 27: Second Floor, hallway containing disciplinary therapy rooms and nurse station
((From here. ))As Claude stepped into the dark hallway, he made sure to shine his flashlight beam enough to light their way forward. Doing a quick scan of the area, Claude noticed the closed doors along their path. He swallowed hard. Were they torturing Ashton in one of these rooms? Who else did they have trapped here
( Read more... )
Clark finally put two and two together (Robin Hood and a fox Robin Hood) and was on the verge of asking Robin if he was serious about being the Robin Hood - from that Disney movie, right? - or what was this about "magic" powers. He'd run into his fair share of people with powers humans simply didn't have and he had to say that the prospect of finding some here was both a relief and kind of a problem, considering the track record of all the previous encounters. Any questions he had were put on hold as they went deeper into Landels.
He realized he didn't really need his flash light to see - there was a dim, faintly reddish light in this area, enough that he could sorta see now.
It was also cold, far too cold to be natural. Nevermind that he saw what looked like movement (fighting?) down the hall; maybe other patients, but there was also just this generally horrible, icy feeling, like a physical weight pressing down on him.
That was before Clark came upon someone lying on the floor. Heart racing - were they okay? He hoped they weren't dead - he knelt next to the person.
"Guys, over here!" he said, bending down over the still body. He could see it was another young boy their age, looking deathly pale in the reddish light.
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Had he done something wrong again? Rinali's mood didn't seem to be improving. Maybe... maybe it was just this place and the strange reddish light and the monsters sneaking through the halls and... and...
Why was it so cold? There was a distinct change in the air around them and realized with some surprise, that he could see his breath in front of him, by the dim light of the portable torch. It wasn't a natural kind of cold, though he couldn't figure out just why. It reminded him of the Akuma that he and Rinali had fought before. Its icy fire that was so cold it burned. It wasn't anything like that, was it? He tried to scan the hallway, but he couldn't see far enough to make much out. The shinigami were up ahead, but they couldn't do something like this, could they?
He diverted his attention when Clark shouted. There was a boy lying on the ground, collapsed. Allen hurried over and shook the boy's shoulder lightly. He wasn't Akuma, he wasn't a ghost, so... so it was alright, wasn't it? "Hello?" Allen said gently "Hey, are you alright?"
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But Allen was being strong. She had to be strong for Allen's sake. She wiped the tears away, then spoke up louder. "Let's get him out of here," she said. She wouldn't allow herself to think like that as long as Allen was here. If they were doomed, at least they were doomed together.
But what if Allen died first? Then Kanda and Ravi...and then she'd be trapped here in this horrible place alone forever. She'd grow old waiting for a rescue from her brother that wouldn't come.
That didn't matter right now. Allen was here. Everything was going to be okay. It had to be.
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What they did have was another problem. A triangular furry head with bright oilspot eyes poked out from under on of the 'victims'. Sharp teeth glinted in the flashlight's beam as it lunged for Allen, meaning to latch onto the Exorcist's arm if he wasn't quick enough to get back. It was the size of a cat, something from the deepest sewers imaginable.
Three other rats squirmed out from under the pile of bodies, black eyes blank of any intelligence, only stupid animal instinct there. Without another warning, the three rats (that weren't trying to bite poor Allen), rushed towards Clark, Rinali, and Kyon.
It figured that where a creature like a Dementor would be, rats would be too. If they could defeat the rats, they could save the victims. If not, those rats looked big enough to gnaw their flesh from their bones.
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How was this different?
Robin snapped out of his thoughts when Clark pointed out a curled up male on the ground. He was moving over when he heard something. Something small and-
Rat like things! Well heavens above, who would have thought! Rat like things!
Robin lifted the spade quickly, trying to get it between Allan and as many of the creatures as he could. He didn't want people in his care getting hurt again, dammit.
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...You could end up hurting someone...
The doctors words came back to him as he felt Allen shake his shoulder. With the little strength that he had, he tried to push him away. "Don't get near me!"
The idea of him jumping up and biting someones neck wasn't very appealing no matter how thirsty he was.
The rats, though, changed the situation. See them come straight for them, Kyon tried his best to get up to his feet, though, he wasn't having much luck.
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Clark's first instinct was to get this poor guy on the floor away from them. He might squirm or struggle, considering his reaction to Allen's attempt to help, but Clark wasn't too worried that he'd drop him. Bending down, he gathered the other boy in his arms and lifted him up. Clark gave a surprised grunt under his breath. He didn't have too much problems picking him up, but he felt...well, heavier than he should, and that was saying something when he was used to picking up tractors and cars without breaking a sweat.
Puzzled, he decided he'd worried about it once they got out of here. It wasn't the first time his abilities had gone on the fritz - he just wished they'd pick more convenient times to do it.
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Rinali was first, whether it was a conscious thing or not, he wasn't sure. Hearing that tone in her voice... it was enough to fill his stomach with a cold lump of anxiety. Sorry? "Rinali," he turned to tell her there was no need, that there was nothing she ought to be apologizing for. If anyone had reason, it was him.
But the boy's reaction startled him further. The way he'd scrambled backward as though frightened or upset. "H-hey," Allen managed, getting to his feet as Clark picked the boy up. "It's alright, we're here to help you."
It was enough that he didn't see the rat until it was too late to dodge, too late to move out of the way of its sharp teeth. Though by some small miracle, the creature had picked the wrong arm to bite. His left arm looked warped and deformed, but in truth it was strong as metal. He could stop Akuma's bullets with it, and had, on many occasions. The only thing that could pierce it was other Innocence... or of course the power of Noah, as he'd come to find out first-hand.
The thing managed to latch on, but there was little damage it could do. It might have been a simple matter for the dementor as well; Allen did not have many happy memories and at times it was easy to despair. But the one thing that he'd fight for, even if his life was the price, was his friends. His life meant precious little compared to them and right now, they were in danger. He had to save them. There was no question of it in his mind.
Though his legs shook, he held his arm out with what strength remained. "Innocence, activate!" he called. It was slow to answer, but in a flash of light that same deformed arm grew to more than twice Allen's own height. It gave off a faintly silver and greenish glow as he swung it, the creature still clinging on tightly, against the nearest wall. If the motion didn't shake it loose, the impact surely would.
He turned to the ones that had gone after the others. Take care of these first, he told himself, then help Rukia and the others. He only hoped he'd be able to hold out long enough. The chill feeling that surrounded him insisted otherwise.
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Stop thinking that way, she told herself as she raised her flashlight like a club. She felt lost and worthless without her boots, but she would do her best.
She took a defensive stance as best she could, ready to kick one of the rats away if it came near her. Even without her boots, she remembered how to fight with her legs. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that. Hopefully Allen would be able to fight them off and she'd be okay. They'd all be okay.
For now.
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The rats were another story.
Allen managed to thud one off the wall quite nicely, the cat sized creature bouncing on the floor like a rubber ball, each smack punctuated with a squeak. That was going to be one pissed rat once the room stopped spinning for it. Meanwhile, it just squealed a few more times to express a thought or two that probably wasn't 'Happy Birthday' in rat-language.
The rat that had been charging Robin stopped and stared at it, ugly pink nose quivering as it took in his scent. It was man-shaped, that much the rat knew. Just didn't smell right for some reason. Rats had a lot of natural predators, and the fox happened to be one of them. That rat thought better of matters and headed for the wall to try to get around Robin to go join in attacking weaker prey that didn't smell like fear and death to it.
At least it was trying to get around him and his spade.
The final two bypassed Clark and Kyon for the moment, heading straight for Rinali.
((Just to keep count for everyone, there's four rats. One is trying to escape Robin, one is stunned from Allen, the other two are trying to get past Allen to get at Rinali))
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So, with a sigh, Robin moved after it and brought the spade down, 'blade' first, aiming between the rat's head and body.
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Too weak right now to fight Clark's fairly strong grip, Kyon tried to cover his nose and fight back his thirst. These people were trying to help him, so he was doing his damnedest not to blindly attack one of them and start sucking on their blood.
The thought caused Kyon to shudder uncontrollably.
Fucking doctor. Fucking Landels. He honestly wanted to know what he'd done that was so terrible that he deserved this kind of treatment. He must have done something to have his humanity ripped away from him.
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But what place was safe when they had rats the size of cats here? Clark felt certain he could protect him, but for how long? And what about the others? Come to think of it, they looked like they were doing surprisingly well, considering they were up against rats that were far bigger than they had any right to be: Allen had his not-so-human arm, Rinali had this look about her like she knew how to fight, and Robin was armed with the shovel.
Clark adjusted his hold on the boy. He still didn't have a name to his face, but he'd just have to get it later. "Guys, I've gotta take this guy back to someplace safe," he said, pressing himself up against the wall and keeping his charge lifted well off the ground.
He didn't like the idea of leaving the others even if they looked like they could hold their own. But the best way he could help was make sure the boy he held in his arms was okay - he could come back to look for the others once he made sure he was safe. As far as he knew, the patient rooms seemed to be pretty secure, at least judging by the windows and the doors.
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Luckily, his arm had quite a decent reach now that it was twice as tall as he was. It was a weapon that had taken some getting used to, but he was accustomed to it. He leapt toward the other creatures, using the large claw to pick up the nearest one and fling it away, much like the first. There was still another headed for Rinali though. He hoped he'd be able to make it in time to get the other.
Clark was leaving with the boy, which was something of a relief, but he hardly heard them. Rinali would probably be safest if she could get away. She was fast, even without her boots, so maybe... "Rinali, run! Look out!" Probably not the most helpful bit of advice, but in the heat of the moment, it was really all he could come up with.
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But then Allen was there, and Allen knocked away one of the rats for her! She was being silly. Everything was going to be okay. It had to be! As considerate as Allen's advice was, she knew how to fight. Even without her boots, she could handle herself. Besides, she only had to hold it off long enough for Allen to get there with his claw. Besides, if she ran she would've exposed her back to the rat. Better to be ready for the attack than to be caught off guard.
She bounced in place, ready to duck and weave once the creature jumped. If she timed it right, she could duck to the side and bat it away once it jumped at her...but she wasn't going to time it right. She was going to fail and the rat was....
No! she repeated again to herself. I'm not going to think like that.
Keeping her wits about her, she readied herself and prepared to block and dodge the attack.
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