Night 57: General Storage (Med Wing)

[revolutionise]

[From here]

Just like the janitor's closet upstairs, the space was cramped. Unlike the janitor's closet, however, it looked like everything in here was a bit harder to get at. Most of it was packed up in cardboard boxes or in closed cabinets. From what she could see on the labels, though, at least some of the stuff looked like it might be worth picking up. She wasn't much for medical stuff herself, but she knew others were; it was good to get that stuff out in the patient blocks where it was safer than making people come find it in places like this.

"Guess this is the part where we get to do a little shopping, huh?" she remarked with a faint grin, starting by pulling down a box of spare hospital gowns and slicing it open with the edge of her sword. She dumped most of the gowns out in a corner, but kept a couple in and held onto the box itself. It was going to be useful for carrying things, she thought as she made for the cabinets.

Comments

[forgot-it-all.livejournal.com]

How did a person ever learn to deal with the very real and very frightening experience of having a true life horror happen before their eyes? Was there even a way to deal with it? Or did everyone react like Ritsuka was reacting? As Sechs' transformation progressed, Ritsuka could only stand, staring, shell-shocked. Pieces of him were literally falling off, hitting the ground with sounds that made Ritsuka think he'd never want to eat again. He was calling for help, but the sight of once living flesh curling back into rot and decay before his eyes was too frightening. Ritsuka couldn't move. He couldn't do anything but try to scream, his throat closing off so only choked sounds of fear came through.

Move. Move! You need to move!

It wasn't until the stacks of boxes came cascading down, crumbling towers bouncing here and there that Ritsuka snapped out of his trance. Whatever was happening to Sechs, it was painful and he had to help! Even if... Even if he knew this disease. He'd seen it in town. He'd seen in when...

One step forward, then another, fingers gripping the backpack so hard his knuckles were turning white. "...Sechs...?" He'd been screaming and now he was silent, rigid, barely breathing. Had he...died? Was he dying? "...Sechs? What..." What is going on? he wanted to say, but nothing more came out. His throat felt dry and thick and he took another step forward, reaching down with a trembling hand to try and push some of the boxes off his friend. "...Sechs?"

[sixth-attack.livejournal.com]

At last! The "Dark Side of the Moon" had gained full control of its host! The goals set by its creator were finally accomplished! No longer was the dark entity stuck squirming in its host's spine, reduced to taunting and controlling only parts of the body it resided in. No, it had gained access to everything, just as it had been made to do! Oh how it had longed for this moment!

The Replica's terror and despair, accompanied by the spreading decay, quenched the drug's thirst for all that it represented, giving it the power it needed to break Sechs' consciousness with a mental snap of agony. Sechs gave out a rattling gasp before dropping his head to the floor. The android was no longer awake, unaware of what was going on around him. It was his living alter ego that was in control now, no longer just a passenger in Sechs' head...

As the infection of the Replica's upper right side reached its peak, the black, oozy form of the drug was squeezing into every nook and cranny of Sechs' brain until it had possession of all the strings to its puppet's limbs. Any moment now and the drug would be able to move freely and prove its destructive superiority over its host...

Meanwhile, the cat boy was tentatively approaching Sechs' prone body. The drug couldn't help but bring a smirk to Sechs' lips. The poor little boy had no idea what was going on here! It was a shame that it wasn't that irritating Kaioshin who was in the same room; the living drug had a few choice words for that pointy-eared wimp! Not to mention its desire to kill him for nearly scorching it to death with his damned Ki energy! For now, the drug would just have to settle for this kid...

The body of Sechs was kept still and quiet, harmlessly sprawled on the floor while soft gasping could be heard from his hidden face. Ritsuka's approach was sensed by the drug, and once the boy's hand got close enough, Sechs' rotten limb suddenly snapped up and grabbed for Ritsuka's wrist.

A raspy chuckle was forced out through Sechs' throat as his body was slowly shifted back to his knees. His head remained bowed, completely hidden behind a curtain of messy black hair. "You stupid little freak!" came the words through Sechs' voice, words which seemed to echo from some distant plane of darkness and not from the android himself. "You think you're some doctor who's gonna save everyone?! HAH! You can go and help the institute's lab rats once their doctors are done with them all you want, but your efforts mean NOTHING! You're no Saint!"

There was a nauseating crackling of bones as the drug snapped Sechs' head up with an unnerving jerk, revealing a face deranged by cruel and sadistic darkness. There was all but a terrible black mask to greet Ritsuka, a beastly grin full of sharp teeth and two yellow irises spared by the blackened eyes were the only recognizable features of a human face. The one clutching onto Ritsuka's arm with a decaying hand was no longer Sechs, but something far more sinister and dangerous.

"Your little band-aids can't stop what is destined for everyone here!" the drug taunted with its host's mouth, "Those dear people you wanna save are all but lab rats who are made for whatever happens to them! Even the ones who die here!" There was another horrible cackle as Sechs' arm was commanded to give Ritsuka a rough shake. "You're nothing but a lab rat yourself! Running around with your tail between your legs in a maze you can never comprehend! You're running away from the truth!"

Fueled by its hunger for destruction and the infection's cravings for flesh, the empowered drug prepared its new body for the attack. "It's all for nothing, and you KNOW it!" it jeered, "So how 'bout I take you out of your misery, kid?! I can start with that stupid tail of yours!" A dark tongue slithered out of Sechs' mouth and hungrily licked his glinting teeth. "It sure looks scrumptious there..."

With those words, the drug reached out with Sechs' uninfected arm towards Rituska's back, snarling and lunging forward with a gaping mouth while the less muscled arm kept its grip upon its prey. Unlike its unconscious host, the drug completely despised any sort of ally, seeing them as only targets to be destroyed, or in this case, devoured...

[forgot-it-all.livejournal.com]

Just as he reached forward, Sechs moved - faster than he thought capable - and grabbed his wrist with that half-rotten limb. The feel of no longer living flesh grabbing at him caused his stomach to turn and his body to go rigid, freezing him to the spot. For the briefest of moments, Ritsuka hoped it was just Sechs clinging to life, trying to fight against whatever was slowly eating away at him... But then the laughter started and he shifted onto his knees. The way he moved and spoke and the words he said weren't Sechs at all. Ritsuka's vision narrowed to a pinpoint, everything focused on the moving body that was no longer his companion.

He knew he should move. He knew he should fight back and run, wrench his arm away and flee, get as far from this place as possible, and yet Ritsuka couldn't do a thing. Sechs looked up at him, a dark horror replacing the man's face, and Ritsuka could do nothing to get away. Not everyone here is your friend. You trust too easily. You should be careful. Words he didn't recognize but he knew were true. He shouldn't have trusted someone he didn't know here.

"--how 'bout I take you out of your misery, kid?" The weight of Sechs' words came crashing down on him, crushing him under the truth of it all, but at the same time, it woke him from his fear-induced stupor. He had to run or he'd break his promise to Soubi and Alfons and Albedo and Miku and everyone else who had ever cared for him here. "...looks scrumptious there..."

"No! Get away from me!"

As Sechs lunged forward, Ritsuka swung the backpack at his face and wrenched his hand free. He hated using violence, but... survival. Survival was key here. He had to run and as his hand came loose from Sechs' grip, Ritsuka bolted for the door.

[sixth-attack.livejournal.com]

The dark entity gave out a sickening cackle at the expression of terror on Ritsuka's face, it couldn't wait to taste the kid's flesh and hear him scream. Sechs' toothy mouth bore down on the drug's target, but its hunger was thwarted by the impact of Ritsuka's backpack slamming into its host's face. The possessed Replica fell, his neck snapping back as his grip on Ritsuka failed.

Whatever pain resulted in that attack did not register for Sechs' living alter ego, it was far too enthralled in its berserk state to care. A beastly growl escaped Sechs' mouth as he was commanded to scramble back up to his feet. The drug realized that its host's right arm had been too disintegrated to keep a good grip on the kid. It didn't matter though, the rest of Sechs' body was still intact, and the drug had every intention of using it to its full ability.

"C'mere kitty!" Sechs' voice jeered as Ritsuka scampered off, his amber irises locked onto his prey's retreating tail. Sechs' towering body lifted itself up with a deranged stumble, his whole body hunched over like a beast prowling upon its hind legs. The sudden thrill of the hunt released a maniacal cackle from Sechs' throat, a terrible laugh which did not belong to him. With no mercy to spare for Ritsuka, the black poison possessing Sechs instantly gave chase, its balance over its host's body wavering slightly as it threw Sechs' left arm forward to claw at Ritsuka's back.

As Ritsuka dashed through the door and out into the hallway, Sechs' manipulated body was just a second behind, slamming the same door open against the wall with a resounding crash. "It's all useless, y'know!" called Sechs' voice as he stumbled out into the hall with his right arm hanging limply by his side. "You and everyone else will die! ALL OF YOU!"

And then the frenzied Replica rushed forward, his vision focused on Ritsuka with nothing but murderous intention. The drug laughed with sadistic glee, knowing its body was far faster and stronger than its prey. It was like a game of cat and mouse, except in this case the mouse was a bit of a feline himself! The living poison increased its host's speed. Any second now and it would have Sechs' hands and teeth digging into Ritsuka's flesh...

[forgot-it-all.livejournal.com]

Ritsuka hadn't felt sheer panic in a long time. The adrenaline narrowed his world into a single tunnel, suffocating, pushing in at him from the corners and crushing him as he ran. He could feel wind at his back as Sechs swiped at him and it only spurred him forward. Whatever Sechs had become, he was going to die if Sechs caught him. The door crashed behind him and Ritsuka fled, ignoring the way the backpack threw his balance to the side. He simply had to run. He had to escape. The creature behind him was going to kill him.

Panic ate away at his system and from the corners he thought he saw monsters clawing through the walls. The world was turning black around him and still he ran, slamming his shoulder into the wall as he skidded around a corner. It threw him off and his hand hit the ground, but he used it to push himself forward again. Always forward. He couldn't stop. If he did...

"You and everyone else will die!"

Breath catching in his throat, Ritsuka ran as fast as he could but that thing was right behind him. It was catching up. Soon enough, those half-rotten fingers would dig through his back and rip him to shreds. He tried to scream, but he didn't have the luxury as the intercom overhead clicked on. The dark that had eaten away at his vision suddenly overtook him completely, draining consciousness from him along with the rise of the sun.