Night 51: Recreational Field

[notstealing]

[From here.]

When Locke opened the door, he was greeted by a rush of fresh air-something entirely unexpected, on his part. It was too easy, wasn't it? When he looked around, all he saw was a field, a shed, and walls that blocked him from being home free. Lucky me, he thought to himself, as he looked around the surroundings. So far, he'd managed to

Comments

[unheroed]

[From here.]

Maybe they hadn't been too delayed after all.

Other than some slight movement in the distance that he could barely make out (it was either a patient who had gotten a huge head start on them, or a monster that was watching and biding its time), the field was deserted. Harvey didn't think he had been outside when it was this empty, but he wasn't going to let that bother him.

Once again, they were forced to make a choice. Did they go straight ahead and move away from the building, or cut through the courtyard into -- what, the cafeteria? It would make sure that they bypassed the Sun Room, but that didn't mean they were in the clear. But they weren't going to be in the clear no matter where they went.

Harvey could have offered to flip his coin, but that would just jump start a whole lot of questions that he didn't want to answer. He glanced over at his traveling partner for the night and shrugged. "So have you decided?" At least it wasn't raining.

[deathrattling]

It wasn't raining, but the patients would find (if they were the particularly observant type) that the air on the recreational field was just a shade thicker than the temperature and humidity throughout the day had suggested. What should have been a clear night, moisture leeched out by the weather, was instead thick: but not with fog, but with a weight to every breath and a depth to every shadow.

Nothing moved in the field. Nothing whatsoever: not the leaves of the vines crawling over the brick wall, nor the blades of grass. The whisper of the patients' footfall landed with a deadness incongruous to this open space.

[its_the_mileage]

"Just thought I'd ask," Indy said neutrally as he followed Dent out the door. "Thought it might help us figure out where we are." He craned his neck up briefly to look, but it was hard to see much while they were still moving. Which they were. If they were going to stop and stargaze, he actually felt safer doing it outside the Institute's walls.

Luckily, that was where he'd decided they were heading. "Straight," Indy said. He started jogging toward the back wall, trying to make sure the two of them kept pace. "Get over the wall, pick a direction, see what we find. At least we don't have to worry about how to get back," he added dryly.

Their feet sounded awfully loud in the grass. Indy didn't think of himself as a superstitious fellow (the complete opposite, actually), but something about this place felt--off, almost. Like the proverbial goose walking over your grave. He couldn't put his finger on it, though, so he shrugged and chalked it up to paranoia. After last night, he was probably entitled to an uncharacteristic bout or two of

[unheroed]

Trying to position themselves through the stars, then? That was surprisingly old-fashioned, though Harvey figured it made sense for an archaeologist. Chances were that Jones had his head dipped into the past more often than not. Regardless, it was up to him to try and figure that out, but the man seemed more focused on getting over the wall first.

Harvey could agree with that plan. He'd seen monsters out on this field before, whereas the surrounding area had been surprisingly danger-free. Well, other than the terrain, but at least he had the right footwear for it this time around. He was just glad that they'd figured out where they were going. It was a good thing that Jones wasn't the indecisive type.

Though as he walked alongside Jones, Harvey couldn't help feeling like something was wrong. He couldn't put his finger on what it was, but it was almost as if everything was too still. He knew it was hackneyed ("it's quiet... too quiet," and all that), and yet he couldn't kick the feeling no matter how hard he tried. He didn't like

[deathrattling]

Home free, except for one thing.

Even as Locke moved towards his destination, the air of the field had started to shift, becoming strangely opaque in its darkness. The moonlight that had glanced off neatly-manicured lawn now strained to reach the corner Locke had chosen for his escape, and the black shadow of the wall concealed the blacker shadow of the very vines he was grappling.

Those shadows twisted and writhed with his movement -- but from them lifted myriad thinner strands of black, first apart and then off the wall altogether, twining imperceptibly around Locke's legs as he climbed.

When he reached the top of the wall, a faint rattle sounded and then fell silent, as if heard from a distance, and the dark threads around the patient's legs suddenly tightened and yanked down.

[notstealing]

The moment he reached the top and about to jump off to the side, Locke looked around; something was off, but before he could do anything in response, a sudden weight pulled him back to the ground, causing him to fall hard on his arm on impact, with a harsh 'THUD.' Grimacing and biting his lower lip as if that would help to ease the pain (it didn't, but it was a nice try), Locke groaned and quickly pulled his leg towards him and sat upright, inching further away from the wall, wary of the possibilities

[deathrattling]

The black tendrils wrapped around his legs vanished the moment he hit the ground, as if sucked back into the crawling vines themselves. Silence reigned in the field in response to Locke's questioning warning --

Until something did respond. A guttural noise, as if someone were trying to speak with a ruined throat, it came from behind him. As if the moon were suddenly hidden behind a thick depth of water, the light in the area wavered and grew uncertain at the same time.

Still, there was enough for someone sharp-sighted to see something moving to Locke's right, mostly hidden by the long black shadow cast by the wall.

[notstealing]

The truth was, as much as he kept repeating to himself about how this place wasn't creepy at all, it was pretty damn creepy. Outright scary, like something out of a nightmare. And the worst part was, he felt vulnerable, like a child lost in the woods

[flashyaudacity]

[From here]

If Kaito was to get to the courtyard before Hattori and Kudou, the fastest way to the courtyard would be this way. All it would take was scaling the wall and then dropping down to the other side, and then looking for a suitable hiding place to wait out the time until the detectives showed up...

He couldn't make out much in the darkness of the field without his flashlight, so he stayed close to the edge of the building until he reached the wall that separated the field from the courtyard. Kaito began to climb up, moving slowly to find decent enough footholds until he was able to make a grab at a vine to assist him on the way up. There would be no sense in tiring himself out this early.

[deathrattling]

A cloud drifted over the moon as a patient exited the building proper, gauzing the light and throwing the shadows in the place longer and blacker. A chill breeze rustled through Kaito's hair once, and just once, barely visible to his right, there was something that might have been movement -- but should he turn to look, nothing but grass swaying in the wind would be in sight.

Nothing happened to stop his scaling of the wall -- Kaito would make good enough progress on the way up. But when he reached for that last handhold, he would find something quite different from either rough stone or smooth plant matter. Fingers, deathly-cold and ghastly white, gripped his own.

[flashyaudacity]

Just a little further, and...

Kaito reached up to grip the upper edge of the wall, and then froze at the feeling of a cold hand suddenly gripping his own. Startled, he almost yanked his hand back, but stopped himself; if there was someone at the top of the wall who had simply been trying to help him up, pulling away now might just make both of them fall... His head snapped up to see who was there instead, but while he could make out the vague shape of a pale hand latched onto his own hand, it was hard to tell anything else.

"Hello?" he ventured, an unpleasant sensation settling in the pit of his stomach. He tried to push the feeling aside; really, there was no reason to get nervous...

[deathrattling]

There was no response save that of a low, guttural breath -- a strained sound that extended oddly before cutting off. The hand pulled with more insistence, trying to lever Kaito up and over.

Except if he did go over the wall, he would find himself in the exact same spot he had just climbed away from -- the same field, the same wall in front of him, the same vines. The only thing missing was the hand, which would no longer be suspended over the top of the wall.

[hajike_tobiume]

[from here]

Being as intimately familiar with the institute's layout as she was, Momo could practically navigate it with her eyes closed. She didn't though, leading her band of four into the rec field. She was ever alert, ever ready even with her slight vision handicap, for whatever monster Landel would place before them.

So far, it seemed like there wasn't anything in the field. Was this luck, coincidence, or just right timing? Or perhaps something was laying in wait. The shinigami decided the last option was probably the most likely.

"To the wall, quick," she said, pointing to the wall between the field and the courtyard, covering her group. "Xemnas, help Erika up please." One would think the vice captain, as short as she was, would also need help.

[per_ardua]

Raine noticed and was not happy with the brush-off, but Momo had neatly made sure she had no chance to do anything about it. Biting her tongue to keep from saying something one of them would regret, she simply obeyed orders and ran for the wall, hoping they wouldn't run into anything between here and there.

For now, she would keep quiet, do as she was told, and help the others as much as she could. But as soon as she got the chance, she was demanding answers; she did not like being kept in the dark when something obviously important was happening.

[deathrattling]

Momo was right. There was something waiting in the field -- but nothing visible presented itself to the intruding patients just yet. Except, perhaps, a flicker in the shadows: was it movement? The grass tickled by the breeze, or a stray leaf spiraling to the ground?

As Raine headed for the wall, light footsteps followed behind her, thudding quietly into the grass. If she were to turn, however, she would see nothing -- nor would any of the other patients working their way into the field. Even the grass failed to indent.

But every time she turned her back to the door, they would start again, always at the same distance behind her.

[witchdetective]

Momo didn't waste time, though Erika couldn't say she exactly disliked that. Time was precious, after all. And she seemed to already be acquainted with Xemnas, which meant less time spent on introductions. So when Momo explained the objectives, Erika made no protest and followed the woman out to the recreational field.

The recreational field brought back a sour memory though, and Erika was already cursing herself for wearing her dress yet again; although, she did notice that the rip that it suffered was somehow mended. Perhaps it wouldn't be too bad this time, but...

Having Momo instruct Xemnas to "help" her, however, dealt a blow to the detective that irritated her beyond belief. That irritation showed faintly with the flicker in her eyes and the way she looked at Xemnas, an ever so polite look that yet dared him to lay a hand on her. Not that she didn't trust the other man to do anything indecent, but she didn't need "help" either

[meitantei]

[from here.]

Damn it was dark. Shinichi squinted into the gloom, trying to make out the door into the other hallway and wishing that he hadn't used up his batteries so quickly. They'd need to fix that, first chance they got. For now, there were other things to worry about.

He stumbled about in the dark, looking for the other door, but eventually his fingers found the handle. Good.

[deathrattling]

A light might have done him some good in the hallways, but the night in the recreational field was dark enough to render it more hindrance than benefit. A more sensitive type would feel the gloom pressing down on his back, a distinct aura of --

Fury --

Tainting the night air.

Even the least sensitive type would notice the thin black strands that sprouted out from the doorframe and whipped around Shinichi's wrist and hand, tightening enough to bind it into place if he didn't react quickly.

[osakapwnzu]

( From here.)

The quickest, if not the safest, way to Shinichi's place was through the field, obviously. They both knew that, so the likelihood of Heiji missing Shinichi was slim to none. He jogged down the hallway, not at all doubting how eager Shinichi would be to join up and go grab them some phantom thief.

Heiji found the door handle in the dark and pulled it open, nearly running into whoever was on the other side. Man, if he'd gotten there a second later, there would have been door in his face. And speak of the devil that was--

That was--...

Hair.

Either Heiji's mind began working at several hundred kilometers an hour, or time slowed down. The memory of the hair all over the walls and floor, of watching Sen be taken down by Sai and ultimately killed, the rattling breath, the water, the water. No, he'd tried his damnedest to keep Shinichi and Kaito away from this, how had it found him? Not again, not again, not again.

"FUCKING-- KUDOU! GET INSIDE!" he screamed, reaching for his friend's shoulder to pull him through

[meitantei]

"...What...?"

There was hair wrapping itself around Shinichi's wrist, black and sinuous and very definitely human. Within seconds, it had bound his hand to the door handle and more was coming out from the frame. The fact that this was impossible and totally illogical didn't seem to phase him anymore, not after a couple of weeks here, but the thought still struck him. He was in very real danger here; hair didn't just whip out from behind a door and trap people for the hell of it. And trapped he was.

Belatedly, it occurred to him to struggle, trying to pull his hand free. It wouldn't budge. Panic was rising, interfering with his ability to reason clearly. Whatever was behind this hair was no good. He was stuck, and--

A hand came out of (seemingly) nowhere and grabbed him, pulling him back. His first instinct was to fight it off and keep struggling, but...he recognized that voice.

Oh thank God.

"Hattori," he gasped, "now would be a good time to use that sword."