Night 58: Front Desk (Medical Wing)

[spandexorgtfo]

[from here]Following Soma into the medical wing, Kratos closed the door quietly behind them. The lobby area looked as much as it had the previous night, although he did not stop again to draw comparisons between it and the Elemental Research Academy. His awe and curiosity had both been satisfied, so now it was simply business as usual. This part of

Comments

[gargantuanlaugh]

[from here]

The front desk area was just the way he remembered it from last time. Except there wasn't a strange smiley face on the dry erase board. Just the message about being a good patient. Nothing new, as far as Gant could tell.

Now he could gloat a little easier, what with the area being momentarily empty except for the two of them. "Got myself a little bit of protection." He winked at her, pulling the gun partway out of his pocket. "We should be fine. No worries, I got us covered." Or so he expected.

There. With that information out of the way, Gant was pretty certain Lana wouldn't try anything to harm him. And even if she did, he still had his trump care of a transportation ring. He still wasn't 100 percent certain that it would work like people claimed, but so far he had no reason to doubt the grapevine.

[fourstonewalls]

Relief over having her assumption validated meant that Lana didn't question his statement, nor pry into what those effects might have been.

"I see." More relief; Damon Gant with a gun was a normal sight. He didn't win fights with force, he won them with intelligence, and that he'd had with him since he arrived. She attempted to look duly impressed. "It seems a rather significant reward for such a paltry service." Ilia had murdered a man and gotten a bottle of aspirin; had Damon done more than he was letting on? That wouldn't be a surprise

[damned_monsters]

Luck (if one wanted to call it that) was on Lana's side tonight. What could be more distracting than a rattling sigh from the shadows? Every deep breath was an arduous labor, and when the owner began to crawl away from its corner, the two patients could see why. The dragging leftover was supporting a lot of dead weight.

One strong arm, furry and much too big for its body, pulled it across the tile as it gurgled and gasped for air. It had two heads, but only one seemed to have any life at all. The other lulled against its left shoulder, bobbing with every grasping motion its thin, feminine arm made toward Gant and Lana. The razor sharp scalpels the leftover called nails scraped a horrible noise across the ground as it began to stand on twisted animal legs.

It wasn't quick, but its jerky twitching made it seem very unpredictable. An arm stitched to its back would spasm and fall back against the hulk body. Its black, animal eyes darted from patient to wall, trying in vain to keep its focus where it needed to be.

[Claire]

[gargantuanlaugh]

Gant had to admit that Lana had a point. This place was kept pretty much ship-shape, or so it would seem to an unknowing eye during the day. And at night, it was almost just as inscrutable if one was looking for real evidence that would hold up in court. Unless a judge actually visited this place to see the horrors, nothing would ever be proved against Landel or Aguilar or whoever was running this loony bin

[fourstonewalls]

[from here]

Lana strolled back out of the file room, her bootheels clicking softly. Gant had been trying to get her attention -- had he been this transparent in his ploys all along? Whatever it was, it could wait. He'd played this game too many times. She closed the door behind her, and swung the flashlight up. "Something the -- what the hell is that?"

She could admit when she'd been wrong. It was a skill too few people possessed, especially in her line of work.

Oh, god, what was that? It wasn't a zombie -- it was just pieces. Animals and humans -- she'd seen worse than that on crime scenes, but they hadn't still been moving. This was, and while it was lumbering awkwardly, it showed no signs of slowing down.

Think fast, Skye. "Ahem. Listen to me when I'm talking to you." That was directed at the thing, which she didn't expect could understand English, but tone was always important. She rapped the candlestick on the door behind her, just in case

[damned_monsters]

Gant had hit the target, but nowhere vital. The bullet had pierced the creature's left shoulder and, whether the nerves were dead or the thing was too used to pain to start flinching now, it continued to advance. A trickle of blood, most of it already coagulating, eventually began to pump slowly from the bullet wound like molasses as it dragged one misshapen in front of the other with new intent.

Another patient had walked in on the nightmare already in progress. She was smaller, and while louder as she banged and carried on, that didn't always mean stronger. It would focus its attention on her; it was as good a plan as any, especially with as little brain activity as it could muster.

With a wheezing exhale of breath (a pitiful war cry from a monster so savage), it charged forward with swollen, red eyes intent on spearing Lana from in front of the desk. It stumbled once, but regained its momentum quickly.

[gargantuanlaugh]

Was Lana really trying to reason with the thing? It was a misshapen lump of a monster! How could she even-- but he didn't have time to think about that.

His shot had made it, but the thing was still moving their way. Almost as if the bullet hadn't done any damage at all. There was barely any visible reaction, save for the trickle of blood. One whole bullet, wasted. Gant felt frustration welling up within him, making his movements even more erratic as he took aim again.

He was going to make a remark that he thought maybe it had two heads, but it suddenly changed directions and charged towards the desk. Towards Lana.

For a brief moment, Gant realized this was the moment to escape. It was fully distracted from him. He could just as easily slip away now. He could run fast, so surely he would get out the door without too much worry. He should turn now. Run, leave this place and put the incident behind him.

But it was going after Lana. She was his old partner, and the one person he respected above all others. This was not

[fourstonewalls]

Distracting it had worked. Distracting it had worked way too well. It was headed for her more quickly than she'd thought it could possibly move.

She ducked down, and scrambled towards the thickest part of the desk, where the drawers had been filled with paper and several layers of metal and plywood. It brought her further from the door, but a little file room was a recipe for a bloodbath.

Besides, that would be leaving Gant with that thing, and she couldn't do that to anyone. If she could get out from behind the desk they could run for it, back into the main halls.

[damned_monsters]

The mistake had been the leftover's. It had brushed off Gant's numb assault as useless while it headed for the smaller patient. Now it was in a vulnerable position that the man had inevitably taken advantage of. The bullet hit the dead weight of the second head that hung listlessly on the left and suddenly it was lifeless no longer. A blood-curdling scream came out of its pale lips as it thrashed back and forth. It may not have held the better mental facility, but it felt pain where the right head could not.

Something it did share, however, was anger. Crying like a wounded siren, Lana had been forgotten in its throes of pain. It wanted the man. it needed to stop him before any further damage could be made. Whatever had wounded was in the his hands. That needed to go immediately. The large, bear-like arm reached for Gant's hands in order to crush them. The rest of the monstrosity began to crowd him into the corner so there would be no hope of escape.

[gargantuanlaugh]

The scream sent cold, tingling bumps breaking out all over the chief's arms. He had just about had it, feeling this kind of fear. He was the ex-Chief of Police of the L.A. precinct. He'd faced down countless thugs and criminals for over 40 years. He had already made this thing scream. That meant he could kill it and there was no need for cowering.

The monster was coming after him now, but Gant was confident he could take it down if only he could get around the thing. He made a break for the desk, trying to rush away from its flailing arm and keeping his hands up as he attempted to side-step the leftovers. "Lana, I think I have an idea!"

Maybe if he could get back there, he and Lana could keep desk as a the barrier between them and the monster. He had greater a range with his gun than that beast had with just the one long paw. They just needed to be faster. If he could just get a little further...

[fourstonewalls]

Lana had been about to run for it, towards both Gant and the doors, but Gant wasn't having any of it. He was moving towards her, not away, diving for the desk. It was the best cover they had, but she would have preferred to run. The die was cast: it was time for a fight

[damned_monsters]

The sharp scalpel hooked into its pelvis. The keen slice wasn't felt until moments later when another geyser began to drool down its abdomen. Its legs began to buckle until it could do little more than squat. Well, if these patients were hell bent on killing it, the leftover was determined to bring one of them down with him. It wasn't without bite just yet.

Gant had had a good idea, but it took time and attention away from the monster to perform it. As the patient moved, the leftover screamed in frustration and pain and swung out its big furry hand like a clothes line to stop the man from gaining ground. The other, much smaller but much quicker, shot toward the man's stomach, intent to skewer him through. While Lana may have gotten lucky with one scalpel, the leftover had five to do with as it pleased.

[gargantuanlaugh]

He thought he was fast enough. Smart enough. But overconfidence was a mistake Gant had made a lot in the recent past. Tonight was no different