Nightshift 49: Bath and Beauty Shop
[from here]The sickening feeling, the small bit of head-spinning and Brook was able to take things in. He might start getting used to the weird sensation sooner or later depending on how many times they kept playing chance with the doorways. This time though, Brook found himself more interested in the area they'd found themselves in than in making
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It looked like that idea that they were only warped within the institute was just that--an idea.
Brook's laughter bounced off the many little shelves and displays in the store, making it somehow seem more cavernous and disquieting in the semidarkness. More so than with the office they had stumbled into, he felt like they were out of place.
He walked over to the closest display, picking up one of the colored packages. "Bath and Beauty lavender hand lotion," he read aloud.
...Why did that name sound familiar?
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Brook himself did not recognize the name, but that could have been a good thing. If there were new names around then, then that meant they were no longer inside Landel's then, didn't it? Which was good! Maybe now they could take a door without the fear of being instantly transported somewhere strange! Or, well, stranger.
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Bath and Beauty had been the store right next door.
His slightly-widened eyes averted to the windows on either side of the entrance they had come through, and he moved over to one to affirm his suspicions. Through the rain-stained glass, he could see a sidewalk--and beyond that, a street.
"We're in Doyleton."
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"But the town at night is...!" He didn't finish. It was too scary to finish! After all, the events from his previous time spent in the town at night had not been good. Not in the slightest! And just having the prospect of repeating those terrible times was keeping Brook from having any desire to remain in the place. Hopefully the door would take them back. Anywhere but in the town! "You're sure it's the town? Like... 100%?" Fear was getting the better of him, so he had to ask. Just to be sure before he headed for the door like the chicken he was.
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Even though he was just walking through a door, Prussia felt like he'd just landed from a particularly ill-planned jump once he was through. He wondered about it briefly, but was quickly distracted by the change in the air.
This room smelled nice.
That was the first thing Prussia noticed about their destination, though the second was that it had seen better days. In fact, at a glance it didn't look like it belonged in the hospital at all; there was a door and windows (some of which were definitely in the wrong places, along what should have been indoor walls given where they'd come from), and it kind of looked like...
"...Is this a store?"
It looked like some of the stores in that town they were at earlier, only after it had been in the middle of a war zone. The sound of the rain outside was louder, too, like it was hitting the room of the room (building?) instead of something more distant.
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And apparently into no room that Ronixis recognised.
He squinted into the room, the scent assaulting him almost immediately; floral and fruity, all merging together, like perfume. He took a long look at the windows, the door, the broken furniture, and swore under his breath. "I think you may be right and if it is a store in the town, we should get out of here quickly. The town is not a place I want to deal with after dark again." Not after what he'd seen last week. "Grab anything useful that could be used as a weapon. We will need it."
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If he had to guess, it was some kind of raid that happened. After all, the shops he'd been in today had been in great condition, so there must have been rioting or looting or a combination after they'd left town that evening.
Ah, there was a broken chair that could work. Prussia took hold of one of the legs, stomping down on the remaining supports in an attempt to break them off. It wouldn't be the best weapon in the world, but this place sold, what, soap? Perfume? It wasn't like there were swords and guns laying around.
Of course, there was still one very important question that needed answering. "How the hell did we end up in town, anyway?"
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Couldn't they have become stranded in the bar at least?
"Well, last week night fell before we got back to the Institute. And then the numerous dead of the entire town's history walked the earth once more," he said blandly. "It wasn't a pretty sight." He frowned thoughtfully. "Also, if we see any of them, their bites are infectious."
He couldn't find anything so he would probably have to rely on heraldry again. "I don't know how we got here, but it worries me a lot. We might want to think about finding a way to at least get to a shop with more useful things than sparkly Lavendar bath creme though."
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The moment Leon stepped into the new area, he froze up. This wasn't inside Landel's. It wasn't any building he'd been in during his last night spent here, but all the same...
"Go back." His voice shook, and he refused to move forward. They weren't surrounded by the undead like they had been before, but there were some noticeable shambling shapes through the windows. Being here wouldn't help Keman, and it was certainly the last place they wanted to be at night period. "It's the town. Go back."
The door had to take them out of this. If they were stuck here after all that warping, he didn't know what he'd do. At least he was with Haseo and Endrance, but...
It had been much easier to be brave about this during the day, but now that it was night and looking almost as it did the week prior, he was coming very close to having a panic attack.
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There was that moment of confusion, a cautious step forward, and though he was immediately put on-edge by such a drastic change in Leon's voice, for a moment the Rogue didn't process that where they'd ended up this time was so different- aside from the sudden return of the sound of pouring rain, and an odd scent reminiscent of rotted flowers.
And then the realization hit him, just as the mage said it. This wasn't a store Haseo would have been caught dead in during the day, but it definitely had to be in Doyleton. And while they had been as prepared as was probably possible during the day and had still felt inadequately protected, even having a sword and flashlight in hand wasn't enough to feel safe. Not after the previous week.
"Damn it," the teen growled, a ( ... )
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Breathe. Stay calm. You have someone to protect.
-- but it was far harder to stay calm when there was something coming up from the ground and wrapping around his ankle and pulling downward. He moved on instinct at that point, driving the point of his sword down into the thing's hand, then moving to sever it with a single strike.
He breathed hard for a moment after the creature's hand was detached, taking the moment to regain his bearings. As much as it was possible to do in the situation, anyway.
"I'm moving," he said, in a surprisingly even tone of voice for the situation. Instinct and adrenaline took over, and he reached for the doorknob. Wherever it was they went had to be better than this place.
[and they're back to Landel's.]
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She hadn't held onto the door when she stepped through. There'd been no need to since she was just going into the Sun Room. It should have been one step, maybe two in order to get just past the door and observe the area before laying out a game plan for everyone to follow. Instead, as soon as she stepped through the door, she felt sick to her stomach again. She stumbled a bit, felt the dizziness that had hit her earlier smash into her again like a car hitting a very unforgiving wall. Righting herself, Franziska reached out, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. She expected to find a couch or something nearby, but instead her fingertips brushed into what felt like bottles.
Glass.
They tinkled and tipped over, thunking against the shelf she was holding onto.
A shelf?
Franziska raised her head and opened her eyes, taking in what appeared to be-- "Impossible."
There was no way she was here. There was no physical way this was happening. She'd never been in this store personally, but she'd ( ... )
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Klavier Gavin was speaking as well, but he at least made sense. The way Battler spoke it made Franziska's head hurt worse than it already did. There was no trick in the world that could instantly transport them all the way to Doyleton! No matter how little Franziska wanted to admit she was stumped as to how this was happening, there was no logical explanation besides whatever mechanism was able to pull them into the Institute in the first place. It was malfunctioning or the Head Doctor was just being a ( ... )
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Thunder crashed, and the whole world seemed to spin, as Lana stepped into the room. No, building, again. They were back in the town, and this time, the place didn't look as preserved and as quiet as the antiques the first shop had housed. Broken glass was all over the floor, and the stench of decaying flesh. Lana instinctively tried to pull up a scarf she wasn't wearing to cover her nose.
Keep alert, she wanted to say, but warning the man who'd taught her how to proceed into dangerous situations seemed redundant, at best. Intentionally mocking, at worst, and they couldn't afford to do this now. She did stretch an arm out in a keep-back gesture; for as much as he barged into situations without a seeming care when it benefitted him, She knew how quietly he could move ( ... )
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She moved quickly, as fas as she could without tripping over the bottles and canisters that littered the floor. It was almost fast enough. A form lurched out of the darkness, arms extended. Her flashlight was pointing directly at what would have been its face if it had had enough of one left to be called that. Oh, God, they're real. And moving fast. What do I...dammit, we weren't trained for this. Damon had the door open -- all they needed was an extra few seconds. One single shot ( ... )
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