Night 51: M-B Block Hallway

[notstealing]

[From here.]Locke made a point to be as careful and quiet as possible, looking past the hallway to make sure no one else was trailing him. Well, anyone with hostile intent, anyway. Once the cost was clear, he stepped quietly into the hallway, prioritizing in the most rational way as possible. He didn't have a weapon to protect himself with, nor

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[perfectrecord]

[Back from here]

Anyone present and attentive in the patient block hallway would likely notice the sudden commotion to the south: the door to the men's room swinging wide open, and an elderly man clad in Victorian era finery bolting from it, his face ashen and bearing the look of stifled horror. The knuckles of his hands were also white, as he gripped tightly onto both his flashlight and cane.

von Karma strode a few more feet away from the restroom's exit, then stopped to catch his breath. Just in time, too; a low wheeze emanated from his chest as he inhaled deeply, the sound blotting out any softer noises from his range of hearing. By now, that monster must be trapped inside that cramped space, so he had a little time to rest. ...And to massage his right shoulder, which was now throbbing in pain. He shifted his flashlight to his right hand, then kneaded the aching joint that still held that hellish piece of metal within.

While he massaged his shoulder, he stared at the rows of hallways before him. He just needed to go down the one that led to his room, and he would stay in for the rest of the night. ...But which one was the correct hallway? For that matter, which room was his?

...No. It couldn't be... Of all the accursed times for that blasted bullet to affect him again! Damn you, Landel!

It was just then that he realized that he hadn't heard any sound indicating that the bathroom door had closed fully. A pervasive chill coursed through his body as he turned around to see whether it had...

[damned_monsters]

The prey was moving and the spider sped up to follow, crashing through the partially open door and out into the hallway beyond. The struggle to get through the door disorientated it momentarily, but it recovered quickly and cast about for its prey...

There! Old, weak prey that would be tougher than it liked, but prey nonetheless and close at hand as well. The spider chittered and shrieked, long, spindly limbs struggling to get it moving around fast enough to pursue its target before the patient had the chance to flee elsewhere. Once it had its jaws around the man, there would be no chance of escape and it could take its time with the kill and feeding.

[perfectrecord]

Expecting to see only a closed door to the south, von Karma was dismayed to instead look upon the elongated limbs and -- even more unnerving -- the glistening fangs of that abhorrent spider he had just fled from. Verdammt! It had indeed broken through the door! He had tarried here for much too long, no thanks to the Head Lunatic's "experimentation" upon him.

He had only a few seconds to make a decision. None of the patient hallways were viable options now. They all led to dead ends, giving the monster the perfect opportunity to trap him in any of them and subject him to either the quick death from its venom... or the slow, excruciating demise from the arachnid sinking its jaws into him and draining him of his vital fluids. Neither prospect appealed to him.

However, the door to the east led outside of the patient block, leading to better alternatives of escape from this death trap. Immediately, he turned around and ran towards it.

That spider was gaining on him. Opening the door might cost him valuable time; he would need to try to stall the abomination just long enough to ensure a full escape. Just as he arrived at the exit, he spun around and with as much force as he could muster, von Karma launched his flashlight straight towards those ghastly, hungry eyes that were fixed upon him.

Without wasting time to see whether the object had connected with its target, he opened the door just wide enough for him to slip through and hurried out of the patient block. This time, he would make sure that the door was closed all the way... and after that, he certainly wouldn't wait around nor look back until he had arrived at a safer location.

[To here]

[damned_monsters]

It was so close it could almost taste the meat it would sink its fangs into, and the spider sped up to close the distance between it and its prey--

When a blindingly bright light hurtled through the air and hit it rather painfully in its sensitive eyes. The spider fell back with a screech and by the time it had recovered, it had lost its advantage. The patient had escaped, the closed door meaning that, by the time it found a way to bypass the barrier, it would be too late to catch up. With a final shriek of rage the spider melted back into the shadows to wait for any other unsuspecting patients who might pass by.

[ham_fisted]

[from here]

Time to see if Prosecutor von Karma kept his word. Gumshoe turned the corner into the main hallway and glanced at something on the floor... then froze and did a double-take when he realized what it was. The detective raised an eyebrow and walked across the room to pick it up.

Hmm... How they thought they'd get by without a flashlight was anyone's guess. Maybe someone lent them theirs, he thought, examining both ends of it (call it force of habit) before switching it off. He guessed he could pin up a message on the bulletin board letting them know he had it.

[damned_monsters]

The spider, irate from losing the prey it had found already, refused to pass up this opportunity. This patient was distracted, too busy looking at the flashlight lost by the first man it had chased, and therefore it had something of an advantage if it struck quickly, before it was discovered.

That was all the motivation it needed; the spider lunged out of the shadows protecting it and for the patient's back, hoping to bear the man down with its weight so it could bite him and feed.

[ham_fisted]

Gumshoe lowered the flashlight and turned back to the path he was meant to go down. It didn't cross his mind that he should pause or look around when he heard something coming. He wasn't worried; it'd been so long since he'd been attacked by one of those things... Maybe someone had to go to the bathroom on crutches, and the, uh--...what were they called? ...--'accordions' in this hall were just messing up the sound they made. You know... like when Mr. Edgeworth slammed the prosecutor's bench, and the echo made both sides of the courtroom jump in their seats!

The smile that appeared at the thought suddenly vanished when he noticed a shadow coming up beside him--

He heard himself shout, but knowing it came from him didn't help matters at all! By the time he'd pointed his own flashlight at whoever had taken an unsettling interest in him, he discovered it wasn't so much a 'who' as a 'what'. As soon as he'd gotten a look at the thing, he immediately wished he could take it back somehow; he wouldn't be able to sleep a wink this week. He jerked a few steps toward the closest door, dragging the thing on his leg along for the ride, before he pulled the limb free, tripped up, and fell hard on all fours.

The detective scrambled to his feet and stumbled forward another step. Without thinking, he hurled his most recent find at where he thought the m-m-m-monster was--it was all he could do to stop himself from looking at it directly again; the image he already had was going to stick with him for the rest of his life!--and turned on his heel so fast he almost totally overlooked the guy who was standing right there in the room with him.

"H-Hey, pal!" Gumshoe shouted at him, his voice shaking. "Wh-What do you think you're doing!? Don't just stand there!" He slammed the door as far open as he could, hopped to the other side and held it there, waiting for him.

[to here]