Nightshift 29: West Wing, Hall A

[unmocked_lawr]

[from here]

Javert slowed his pace as he turned the corner, illuminating the immediate area with broad sweeps of his flashlight. There didn't seem to be anyone - or anything - in this hallway yet.

Hopefully it would stay that way, but that was probably too much to ask for.

Comments

[kagurazuki]

She gave a shy wave to Ichimoto as he left their group, saying her own quiet thanks that she wasn't certain he'd heard. At least there were kind people here, even if it seemed a bad place otherwise. It was almost like walking around the Sohma estate at night. It was dark and kind of scary and sometimes there were noises that she couldn't quite put her finger on, but here... she had a feeling those little bumps in the night were more than just little bumps. She swallowed back her fear and tagged along.

Maybe they were all out of monsters, she thought hopefully.

[officer_leon]

This hall was empty, of both people and monsters. At least so far. Leon swept the hall with his flashlight, occasionally glancing back over his shoulder to make sure nothing was sneaking up on them.

"Kagura, what's your cousin like?" he asked quietly, not wanting to make too much noise. "Would he be involved with a place like this?"

[unmocked_lawr]

Javert kept silent, scanning the doors as they continued down the hallway. Office number nine was only a short distance away.

He, too, was interested in what Kagura had to say. Even if they didn't manage to contact Hatori Sohma tonight, he would at least have a better idea of how to deal with the man the next time therapy began.

[kagurazuki]

"Um," Kagura replied, a little distracted by the question. "He's nice, but... he's kind of distant I guess? Momiji and I would go visit him sometimes when he wasn't with Akito-sama. He's pretty devoted to his work I think."

She puzzled for a bit; it still didn't add up why Hatori would be here if Akito wasn't. "I don't... I don't think he would," she said after a moment. "It doesn't make sense. He's Akito-sama's care-taker. If anything happened to the head of our family's health, he has to be there to treat it. Unless Akito-sama is here too, but that would make any sense either..."

Akito was terribly reclusive for one. It was rare enough that she saw the head of the Sohma family, let alone the members outside the zodiac.

[son_ofkrypton]

[Coming from here with ZEX]

Okay, so Clark could've gone without the laughing. It was kinda weird. But he's a stage guy, he thought, thinking that he was judging Zex unfairly just because he was a little, uh, flashy. Or dramatic. Stage actors were probably supposed to be dramatic, he guessed. At least he was watching his back. Clark couldn't really see Zex in the darkness, but he still got the feeling on the back of his neck that the older man had his eyes on him and was looking after him

[wantsyourzex]

"Ah yes, very careful." ZEX glanced around their surroundings, trying to remember how quickly the previous monsters he had encountered had moved. Far quicker than he could move in this body, but that may not have been the case for his new young friend. Hmm. "There are a lot of strange things wandering this place at night... it does make one wonder how it all happens. That transformation..." ZEX tried to keep his fascination out of his voice. "I do wonder if it's the facility itself or the occupants that can cause such a change..."

ZEX looked around the hallway, and tried to remember his previous exploratory adventures. "I don't believe I've gone this way either... it doesn't look very familiar to me."

His vision, of course, was handicapped with the tiny double eyes and poor light and he may very well have been this way before, but that made for poor conversation, and ZEX kept it to himself.

[son_ofkrypton]

[Oh CRAP, I'm so, so sorry! I totally thought it was your turn and I was going *DURRR*]

Strange things. Zex probably meant weird things, like how the nurses had just - just mutated, right out of the blue, and changed from nice, if kind of strict people to things out for blood. Clark wouldn't go so far as to call them monsters, not when he just knew there had to be a person trapped inside, but he did have to admit that they did fit the "strange" bill.

"I wish I knew," Clark sighed. If he knew what caused the changes, maybe he could find a way to stop them. "Maybe someone here knows."

Clark waited, glancing back at Zex as he got the feeling of him looking around the hall. There wasn't much to see, even with the beams from the flashlights playing out across the surfaces.

"I guess we should keep going," Clark said. He nodded toward what looked like a slightly smaller hall. "How about that way?"

[wantsyourzex]

[Hahaha don't worry about it OD]

"I'm sure someone here must know what's going on. Someone who orchestrated out arrival here, among... other things." While ZEX normally was fairly open about the fact he wasn't human, not really, this didn't seem like an opportune time to bring that up. "Some sort of struggle between one faction and the other, if those occasional broadcasts are any indication. It does make me wonder... if they're real, this place may not be as tightly run as I thought."

ZEX tried a smile when Clark looked his way, not sure if he caught it. "That's fine with me," ZEX barely managed to avoid saying 'human', "Clark."

[unmocked_lawr]

[from here]

Javert stepped back out into the hallway, glancing left and right for signs of any more oversized cats.

"The good news," he said as he started walking, "is that the library's nearby. The bad news is that there's usually a good-sized brawl in the Sun Room, and we'll have to pass through there in order to reach the library."

[kagurazuki]

Kagura followed close as she dared, trailing her flashlight up and down the darkened hallway. She was relieved to hear that the library was close, but the thought of another fight didn't thrill her. The blood on her back had dried at least, though it left some stains on the back of her shirt. She really hoped it wasn't going to scar. Who would want a girl with scars?!

Among so many new people, she felt a little uncomfortable, but she thought that a little conversation might help lighten the mood. If nothing else, it was something to keep her mind off the thought of more giant bugs and kitty cats. "Um," she asked shyly, posing the question to both the newcomers, "if it's not too much trouble, w-where are you from? Are either of you new?"

[wantsyourzex]

Surrounded by humans... this was ideal, compared to his previous solitary wanderings. ZEX tried to keep within the center of the group if he could.

"Yes, I thought I heard something going on in the Sun Room earlier. I'd recommend staying clear of it for now."

ZEX thought a bit about the girl's question. Given the atmosphere and the monsters roaming about... he still wasn't entirely sure it was a good idea to mention his otherworldly origins. Now that he had a group to travel with, he'd hate to have them turn against him. And of course, there was that conditioning that told him that "all humans hate VUX" that was difficult to overcome, although he'd accomplished quite a bit in that field.

"I'm from... somewhere far away. I'm sure none of you have heard of it... it seems no one has heard of it so far, actually." ZEX gestured with both hands before replacing the other over his eye. "And I've been here a few days... not a lot of time, but enough to know a few things about it. Well, as much as one can know about a place like this."

[officer_leon]

Leon brought up the rear of the group, glancing over his shoulder every few seconds to ensure nothing was following them. He halfway listened to Kagura and Zex's conversation. Something was in the Sun Room... he wondered what they meant by that. Javert said it was often a place where fights broke out after dark. Something told Leon that neither of them meant that patients were getting into scuffles.