Night 63: Road to/from Doyleton

[dividedby]

[From here.]

But being outside was probably just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than it was being trapped inside the bus with that nurse.

Besides the many other deformed nurses that were roaming around here, Zero caught sight of numerous forms flying overhead, casting large shadows on the ground as they passed by. They looked like...eagles. But deformed and horrific-looking, just like the nurses. At first, they seemed content to simply circle overhead, screeching, like vultures swarming above a carcass. But then many of them suddenly swooped down and headed straight for some of the prisoners running in the street.

Kind of like the one flying at Zero right now.

"Kh--!" The once-Reploid barely managed to dodge the monster as it dived for him by falling to the ground and rolling back onto his feet. The bird flew upwards again, slowly flapping its wings, then circled around as if to try again, another eagle joining it. To avoid them, Zero quickly moved out of the open, where he was obviously a target, and circled around one of the buses, keeping his back to it for cover. But he knew he wasn't going to be safe here...not when there were nurses on the ground and so many eagles above.

Not since the night he had become temporarily stronger had there been so much visible chaos... And if that one prisoner hadn't started a riot, this wouldn't be happening right now...!

As he stood contemplating the best route for escape, Zero glanced around quickly, searching the fleeing prisoners for anyone familiar or anyone who might need help. He was defenseless, so protecting someone else would only get him so far (and he certainly didn't want a repeat of two nights ago), but they all might have a better chance of survival if they grouped up...

[Leanne, Lana, and Harvey, WHERE YOU AT.]

Comments

[corvus_veritas]

[From here.]

There was another horrific scene to greet Byrne as he jumped off the bus and started running across the road. A swarm of sickly looking birds - eagles? - were flying overhead, some diving down to attack the other escaping patients; on the ground, more monstrous nurses were wandering around, doubtlessly searching for blood. W-where were they supposed to go? There were so many monsters and it seemed as though they were all left defenseless here--how could they fight this!?

Driven by fear with his judgment clouded by his still lingering fever, Byrne could only think of doing one thing at that moment. He stopped running, cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted as loud as he could: "Baaaaaaadd!"

Forget their past arguments. Forget what happened the past two days. Forget anything ever. Byrne just wanted to see his best friend alive and stick beside him in the middle of all this chaos! "Badd, where are you?!" he called out again, looking around frantically. "Baaaaadd!"

But the older detective was nowhere in sight, and Byrne had to keep moving before he became a sitting target. Oh, this was a nightmare! What was he supposed to do?

[Renamon and Badd!]

[tasteoftruth]

[From here]

Like a mother bat, Badd could hear Byrne screaming for him even in a crowd of terrified patients. Damndamndamn where was he where was he THERE!

"Here! Over here!" Badd shouldered his way through the crowd, practically tackling Byrne when he finally got close enough to touch him. His large arm wrapped protectively around his smaller partner. "We need to get inside," he said, as if that wasn't blatantly obvious. "Buses aren't safe. I don't suppose you've got a weapon?"

The nurses had a lot of targets but that didn't make Badd and Byrne immune. He was programmed to fight back, not run, and being so defenseless made Badd crave even a two-by-for with a nail in it for support.

[rocksthecourt]

[from here]

He finally made it outside and away from the Monster Formerly Known as Nurse, but it was hardly a cause for celebration. No one was safe just yet. In fact, it was probably worse out here. They were on a forest road in the middle of the night. Aside from the headlights of the buses and the slight glow of moonlight, it was pitch black out here! The kind of dark that exists only when you were far far away from an actual city. Needless to say, he was hardly accustomed to such a thing. Dead dark. And dead quiet outside the howling wind and the distant sounds of screeching (not exactly a reassurance in and of itself, by the way).

That sound got closer and soon huge, HUGE shadows could be seen flitting about overhead. Bats? Birds? Yes, birds. Though they were far too huge to be normal birds. Klavier wasn't given much time to gather his bearings as the birds started to swoop. One dived at a patient not too far away from himself, thankfully missing. But it was enough to startle a yell from Klavier and he stumbled back. Verdammich!

"...Move away from the headlights!" he yelled before taking his own advice and quickly making his way toward the closest tree. Whatever these things were, they were attacking from above. Being underneath some kind of cover might either help keep them hidden or else harder to spot. Getting away from the brightest light source might help as well... though who knew how well these things could see in the dark? Still, it seemed like the best immediate course of action.

Trees didn't seem much safer and venturing away form the path was the equivalent of suicide. There really was only one choice. As much as he hated to admit it, the institute was probably the safest place. At least there, they were indoors and there were rooms to hide in and run to. Out in the open, they were helpless, especially without weapons or flashlights. All they had to do was follow the road in the direction the buses were facing. Simple enough if one ignored the imminent death flying around above them... But Klavier wasn't going to just make a run for it like a coward. He needed to see that people were getting off the buses safely, and... although he had no idea what he would be able to do to help, he couldn't just turn his back if someone ended up getting attacked. And he wanted to ensure the people he knew were safe as well.

He reached down and felt along the ground, trying to find something like a tree branch to use should he need to suddenly swat a gigantic monster hawk away. ...You'd think there would be one at the base of a blasted tree. Just his luck. Oh, but he found a big rock, for whatever the hell good that would do against those damn things. Ach. He looked up at the shadows flying above head, resisting the urge to cover his ears from the screeching racket, and carefully moved along the treeline toward the other buses. It was all he could do at the moment to attempt staying out of sight.

[Nigredo!! Albedo!! You kids better be alive, dammit!!]

[atrabilis]

[From here, and wow.]

There existed a distinction from within and without. Nigredo felt it the instant his feet touched ground, the second his form was enveloped by the fluttering of shadows overhead. Green eyes flitted toward the sky and down to the horizon as the boy recognized shapes in the distance. As he found wonder and not fear at their sight.

What he saw could not be so easily described in his language. Animals were an unfortunate rarity in his timeline, an antiquity not so easily forgotten (like he could ever lapse in memory). Witnessing a type seen only on U.M.N. documentation proved to such an odd experience, and without something more concrete, Nigredo had only silence for the spectacle. Birds, large and many, hovered overhead. Once in a while, they dipped down to peck at a fellow patient. Sometimes, they landed to rush at another. And Nigredo--

Nigredo remembered. He reached to yank Albedo toward the trees, in time to see a particularly large avian aim for their particularly obvious location. Somehow, this was enough to break the boy's concentrated anger with the need for survival, and he ran toward the forest with his brother in tow.

Somehow, despite it all, he still kept to his silence.

[survives]

[from here]

The screaming only seemed to grow louder outside the bus, the darkness only making it seem all the more disturbing. As more and more patients piled out of the buses, a man's voice joined the din, shouting something she couldn't quite make out over and over again. Leanne couldn't quite make out what he was saying, but it was enough to startle her into moving again, away from the rest of the nurses.

However, perhaps more pressing a threat than the nurses were the screeching, flying monsters circling overhead. No matter how quickly they ran, it'd take some work to lose something that could fly, could follow them no matter what obstacles they faced on the ground, and could... dive straight at them.

If there was one thing she hoped never to see again, it was the sight of a giant bird getting closer and closer, claws aimed at her.

Letting out an involuntary shriek, Leanne lunged to the ground, her forearms hitting the ground hard. Her heart beating loudly in her chest, she leapt to her feet and ran, not wasting a single second in checking if it was about to attack her again. Were this a job, she had no doubt Vashyron would be yelling at them to get the hell out. And she had no intention of doing otherwise, not while she was unarmed.

A head of a blond hair was the first thing that caught her eye then, and she didn't need to guess to know who it belonged to. "Zero!"

[dualistic]

[From here.]

With all the yelling and the shrieking of some sort of mutant birds overhead, Harvey was finding it hard to focus. Still, he was good in disaster situations, even if he wasn't particularly fond of them, and so he kept hold of Lana's arm, practically dragging her with him as he tried to squint around the area.

They were surrounded by dense trees on either side, which meant a branch would make the most sense when it came to finding a weapon. He doubted that anything wooden was going to do much good against the huge winged things that were already attacking some patients, though, so he had to wonder if running would make more sense. Then again, how the hell were you supposed to outrun something that could fly?

The only person nearby who he recognized was Zero, and he glanced back to Lana, nodding to him. "I've worked with him before. Not sure he's going to be able to do much more than us, but right now there's probably safety in numbers." At this point, Harvey wanted to surround himself with people he knew he could work with. He and Zero had gotten someone killed the last time they'd worked together, but the callous part of him also knew that meant both of them were survivors.

[freewill]

[From here.]

As Castiel had suspected, things were no better out here. While he'd thought things had been loud on that cramped bus, now everyone's screams were echoing through the surrounding trees, and more than that, there were creatures wailing overhead.

Almost immediately he looked up, and while it was too dark for him to make out much, he could see the silhouette of large, winged monsters. Harpies, maybe, or wyverns? He frowned, urging both Soma and Lingormr away from the buses so that the others would have room to jump off.

"We need some method by which to fight," he said, trying to shove away the feeling of inadequacy that came with not being able to simply smite these things with a flick of his hand. Ripping off a part of the bus wasn't going to be possible, which meant they would need to rely on tree branches or something along those lines.

But they didn't even have flashlight, and the headlights on the buses were only pointed in one direction. Castiel was about to start toward the side of the road in search of a stray branch, but a particularly loud caw from overhead stopped him as he realized that one of the winged beasts was headed right for him.

[complicatedliar]

Loki grabbed Soma's elbow until he felt like she was steady on her feet - he'd never seen her as anything but steady, and it disturbed him greatly but now was definitely not the time to ask about it.

He glanced up at the sky, keen eyes taking in large shapes cutting back and forth in the weak light. "What are those?" he asked quietly. At Castiel's question he shook his head. "Weapons do not seem to be in abundance unless we wish to go back and take them from the nurse."

Which was very obviously not an option.

Even as he spoke, he felt through his pockets, pulling out one of the pens he'd brought with him. It was pathetic, as weapons went, but it was better than bare hands. He yanked the cap off, then caught sight of the beast heading for Castiel.

He hadn't been in a combat situation since being imprisoned. He hadn't realized how powerful instinct was, after millenia of fighting in a group. There were simply ways that one behaved. And since magic wasn't an option, he lunged to the side, shoving Castiel out of the creature's trajectory and rolling in that direction as well. As he nimbly regained his feet, he flung the pen with unerring accuracy. He had to hope that better than human strength could compensate for the flimsiness of the weapon.

[selfnighted]

[from here]

He's let them out to play, it seems, Maya thought, before correcting herself—no, perhaps they'd always been here. Nonetheless, while the racket made it easier to determine if something was diving toward her, Maya had no skill in such things. It had always been easier to—

No time for ruminations. Maya glanced at the bus she had vacated, and turned in the direction the bus was facing. Institute it was, then. She doubted, she thought as she started moving, that there were less monsters in the direction of the asylum, but as the bus could no longer be used a safe cover, she needed to find the closest approximation. Which, unfortunately meant the asylum, as she didn't relish trying to hide from things in the air.

What a situation, she thought bemusedly to herself as she ran.

[free?]

[somesoulsearching]

[May I have this chaotic date?]

Getting both on and off of the buses was a difficult task for Brook even when things weren't chaotic, so it was a wonder when he finally managed to make his way to the back of his bus and tumble out of the back door. His face broke his fall, and his body assisted in a few other's exits from the vehicle before he was able to push himself up and sputter out a very scared, "W-what's happening?!"

The nurses had so quickly changed into monsters and now there were giant birds that looked nothing like the songbirds he enjoyed swooping around and diving at patients! Under the darkness of night, the scene was enough to terrify even the bravest of souls. And Brook was definitely not among those.

He shot up and let his body respond as it would, his legs taking him full speed away from the buses and, he presumed, towards the Institute. The rooms were safest. They always were! "It's like Thriller Bark all over again!" he shrieked, daring to glance back in case something was following after him. What he should have been paying attention to more was his front since others had already started their escape ahead of him.

[seekingmystrength]

[from here]

While part of him wanted to wait by the bus for the blond, just so he could deck him and maybe leave him for the nurses they shouldn't have been dealing with, Kurogane kept his focus on the more important matter of getting away from the buses and out of the open. He stayed along the side of the most damaged bus until he caught sight of the one ahead of it through the dark and veered off to the roadside.

The most present danger were the monsters that had once been the nurses, and taking cover in the surrounding brush, or at least getting a weapon from a tree would serve better than tackling the things bare handed.

[thecamellia]

_{[from here]}

Another thing that had to go was the pink jacket. It was too eye-catching. Peeling it off, Tsubaki abandoned it under the bus, leaving her in the thin, dark blue t-shirt she’d been wearing underneath. With it gone, she pressed herself against the bus’ hulk and tried to get a glimpse of where Kurogane had gone. She got only a brief impression of him running along the side of the road before his receding figure was eclipsed by the bedlam around her.

A stray feather fell in front of her eyes; a leftover from one of the giant birds circling over the vehicle. She’d never encountered one of the creatures personally before, but they were obviously aggressive and dangerously high in number. Long years of practice allowed her to even out her breathing despite the tension thrumming under her skin.

Get ready, Tsubaki.

She had a weapon. She could help fight their way to safety. She wasn’t helpless.

Three… two… one…

Tsubaki timed her run and darted out on the heels of a passing bird, keeping to cover where she could find it. Cover, however, was scarce--the only nearby building that she was aware of was the hospital, and although the trees on either side of the road would deter flying foes, blundering around in strange territory only opened the door to monsters who might be hunting in the forest.

She had just started around the second bus when the hair on the back of her neck rose. Looking up, she saw a talon clip the edge of the bus, only a few inches short of where her head had been. Quick! Before she could get out from under it, the bird banked sharply; she heard the rustle of dirt and grass as it landed, wings flaring wide to try and strike her again. Although Tsubaki jumped away, a wing tip still clipped her shoulder with enough force to send her to the ground.

The kusarigama. Holding the image of her chain scythe in her mind, the girl crawled forward and rolled herself under the bus. Something hit the side of it with a shriek, but she was already squeezing herself out the other side and onto the road, a golden glow illuminating the end of her hair. By the time the Aquila charged around the corner, she had the handle of the chain scythe in her hand.

[gald_digger]

[from here]

Upon exiting the vehicle, Anise had hoped to find safety and relief. Instead, an ominous shadow crossed her path, causing her to back up close to the bus - though she made sure to make room for Guy to get out as well. It wasn't too hard to figure out what had cast it. The creatures were already making efforts to swoop and claw at the patients who had escaped ahead of them.

"Those birds are out again," she warned Guy. He probably didn't need to be told which birds she meant.

Now what were they supposed to do? Every path available looked like a death trap, from what Anise could see. Sticking with the buses wasn't going to be an option for much longer, either.

[nobleman]

Guy jumped out of the bus right after Anise, landing with a surprising grace despite the circumstances. He found his friend backed up against the side of the bus, and right as Anise spoke Guy glanced up and saw the swooping wings of one of "those birds."

He moved away from the bus to make room for any other exiting patients. "Guess that isn't a big surprise," he muttered, half to Anise and half to himself. Couldn't Landel have at least aimed for some originality? Then again, maybe he should be glad it was at least something familiar and he'd know what to expect.

Guy remembered the conversations that had sprung up after this had happened the last time, though. People had gotten into long discussions about the attack patterns, and a certain conclusion had been made. His face fell into a deeper frown. "I'm pretty sure both of us are going to be targets," he warned Anise. "We need to try and make it back up to the institute." At least if they got a roof over their heads they wouldn't need to worry about being pecked to death.

[idolism]

_{[from here and about to team up with a fellow aquila-target.]}

… Only to wind up in the middle of a feeding frenzy as the birds began descending on fleeing prisoners.

Aidou hadn’t forgotten the rumors regarding who the birds chose to attack and why, but he had long ago chosen to ignore them. The only thing that mattered was the knowledge that the beasts would attack him if given the chance. Personal experience had taught him so the hard way. At the same time, he also knew a little of what they were capable of since he had fought them before. That was an advantage. A small one, but an advantage all the same.

As he avoided a group in the middle of a disagreement with the foul creatures, the vampire sorely wished he had his abilities back. If there was ever a night for Landel’s power-repressing device to break…

[stylebythemile]

[from here]

"Ungh!"

Sonia landed on the ground much harder than she'd expected she would, but she'd finally made it out, at least. And she'd managed to land on her feet. With this body, she could never tell when something might be a problem until it became one. That included jumping off the back of a bus with longer legs than she was used to.

She didn't get a chance to look around before a large shadow suddenly fell over her. Her mouth fell open and she quickly looked up to see something swooping down toward her.

"Ahh!" She just managed to dive out of the way before hearing it cut through the air behind her, and the sounds of more screeches coming her way had her climbing back on to her feet in no time. She frantically looked around and saw two more of the things in a nosedive, heading straight for her!

Teeth clenched, she ducked to the ground and rolled under the vehicle, clutching the back of her head until she heard the impact of the creatures hitting the bus and their fading screeches as they flew away.

She steeled herself and crawled out from under the bus, her eyes on the sky. Those creatures were sure to attack her again the moment they saw her, but she couldn't just leave the other prisoners! Not wasting another minute, the princess checked that the coast was clear and ran out from behind the bus, heading toward the chaos on the other side of the road.

But she hadn't made it that far before one of the monsters landed in front of her, causing her to skid to a near stop and bolt in a different direction.

It was then she noticed someone right up ahead. She'd run into more of the things if she went left or right! If the boy didn't run away now, the eagle might go after him, too! "Look out!"

[sarcasmfordummies]

"Great going, Donna," was all that came out of her mouth in the scramble to get the hell off of her bus once the sun had set. She'd been there the time before, had known what happened if they weren't back by the time the sun set, but had she paid attention to that? Noooooo. Instead she'd complained at a nurse that wasn't even paying her any mind through the whole ride and side-trip.

And now that said nurse wanted nothing more than to take a bite out of her? Complaining wasn't going to keep that from happening. Running however was a great course action and helped her to the back and off of the bus in good time.

Not that the outside was doing any better. From monster nurses to screeching birds! Donna almost wished there had been the zombies instead as those she could have at least run away from! That would have been just too easy though. With monster nurses behind and birds above, it was all Donna could do to duck off to the roadside where she could only hope that a bush would keep her hidden long enough to figure out what to do.

[Spaceman!]

sdflsejfsl somehow I kept overlooking this post ;_;

[timedork]

[From here]

The situation outside the buses wasn't much better than the situation inside them. More room, easier to run—sure—but not better. Not by a long shot.

He could make out streams of people escaping the buses, but spotting a particular person was harder in the dark. The Doctor wasn't even sure which bus she might have gotten on... He was sure he hadn't seen her on his, but had she been on the one that had crashed? Or on the other?

He started making his way towards one of the other buses, hoping it was the right one; if not, he could double back, but she might have gone elsewhere by then. Better, then, to shout!—and hope he'd be heard over the shrieking of birds and nurses alike.

"Donna!" he called out as he made his way, looking at each person he got near in case it was her and wishing for a torch. "Donna!"

[toxicspiderman]

[from here]

Starting up one of the buses that hadn't wrapped the front end around a tree sounded like a plan. They could figure out which way they were going once they had it running. But he needed a partner in crime. No fun without someone to bitch about his driving. Or to do the driving while he did the bitching. Equal-opportunity bitching. Anyone who knew the difference between road and tree could apply.

[Gumshoe!]

[ham_fisted]

[from here]

After he had made it outside, Gumshoe took off. His heart was pounding in his ears and his throat was dry, but he didn't stop running! He couldn't see very far in front of him, and he wouldn't be able to hear people calling out for help over the deafening screeches of those monsters, but he tried to keep an eye out for stragglers and anyone who might be hurt as he jogged over to the other two buses.

The detective was breathing hard by the time he got to the last bus--the one that had crashed. He turned around and looked up in horror at the giant shadows circling overhead.

That was when he noticed someone standing really close to him. Was that...? "What are you doing, pal!?" he shouted at Mr. Taylor. "Don't just stand there! Get outta here!"

[terriblehaiku]

[From here]

It wasn't much better away from the buses. There were too many patients and too many monsters to make much sense of anything, and he didn't have a single damned weapon to fight with.

Not that it really would have mattered. He'd done his best to keep moving at a decent clip as he got away from the vehicles, but ignoring the pain in his leg did not mean it wasn't injured, and he could tell he was undoing what little healing had happened as he kept pushing himself forward. This wasn't doing him any good. He couldn't fight, and he couldn't even properly escape. About all he could do was try and stick to the fringes of this mess and hope he didn't catch anything's attention.

[no_dont_go]

[from here]

Aigis jumped down from the exit at the back of the bus, landing in a familiar crouch that absorbed the impact rather than caused her to stumble. She kept moving, her feet staggering in a robotic fashion similar to how she moved back home.

After three steps the final pieces of Sechs' shouted words took root in her mind and stopped her short. He would return. She mustn't leave without him.

Why had she left him in the first place? Had she seriously just allowed him to fight against that monster without staying to offer back-up? Aigis gasped, turning on her heels and staring in horror at the bus she had left behind.

"Sechs-san!" Her voice quaked, and a shiver that was both terror and illness swept up her spine, pinning her in place. She could hear inhuman sounds coming from inside the bus, and she knew that thing, that once-nurse, was probably the source. But that didn't give her confidence. Sechs could still be hurting, bleeding, dyin--

"Sechs-san!" She screamed again, her voice shrill and a little desperate. With her attention so attuned to the bus before her, awaiting a friend she could only wish would appear, she hardly noticed the circling forms of other creatures just waiting for the right moment to strike.

[sixth_attack]

[From here.]

With fear pumping through his blood, Sechs dashed through the bus and burst out through the back exit. Akin to a predator on the chase, Sechs landed on the harsh surface of the road with his hands splayed on the ground and his knees bent to support his weight. As he jumped up to his feet, Sechs' bright yellow eyes glared through his hair, anxiously searching for the source of the voice crying out for his name.

"Aigis?!" he called, fearing the worst until he caught sight of the fellow droid. Standing not too far from the bus stood Aigis, terror clearly visible on her face but she was unharmed nonetheless. Relieved but not ready to relax just yet, Sechs made a quick dash towards his ally -- but not before an enormous black mass of feathers literally crashed in from the sky between him and Aigis.

Frozen in that mind-numbing moment too sudden to be real, Sechs could barely cry out his warning before the monster swooped in for the kill. "LOOK OUT--"

[brokensmolder]

[from here.]

The scene outside the bus looked little better than the one he'd just escaped. Other prisoners were gathered in groups, frantically searching for lost friends or fleeing into the woods while huge birds circled overhead. Maybe it was the low light, but he didn't see the trees as being a significantly better option than staying in the open. But that didn't matter right now.

All he cared about was finding Rapunzel.

Eugene had seen her get herded onto one of the other buses, but right now there was no way to tell which was which. Without even waiting to see if his companion had made it off the bus, he ran toward the nearest one and started to shout her name.

"Rapunzel! Rapunzel!"

[hairraising]

[From here] Her lungs filled with air and her chest soared when that familiar face emerged from the bus. "Eugene!" she called back to him, picking up her feet, glowing hair flying behind her.

She almost tackled him to the ground, but managed to hold herself back at least that much. "I was so scared for you," she said, her arms around him tight and shivering against the warmth of his body.

However, they didn't stay like that for long. They couldn't, and Rapunzel knew it. Trying to push back the quake in her voice, she soon pulled away from him and grabbed his hand instead. "We have to go. Now. Come on!" No time to worry about hair or monster nurses or meeting up with anyone else, she thought. They just had to get somewhere safer.

[heroesdontshave]

[from here]

As bad as things had seemed to be inside the vehicle, it was a hell of a lot worse outside. Everyone was running all over the place and there were these big things flying all over the place, swooping down and attacking people. They were friggin' everywhere! It was almost like there had been a whole swarm of the damn things just sitting around and waiting for them all to come out so they could fly in and make snacks out of them. Some kind of bird monsters, it looked like. Definitely nothing you'd find on Cocoon, that was for damn sure.

Maybe it was that junk in him or maybe it was because he was caught so off guard by the whole situation, but Snow just found himself staring at the mayhem around them. The things just kept attacking out of nowhere, diving down from the darkness. One would dive down to attack one person, then before he could even think about heading over there, another would swoop down at someone else in another direction. Then another. And another. His attention was being pulled in every conceivable direction and he had no idea where he should even be focusi--

"Screeee!" It came from above and there was only enough time to look up and register a shape diving down at them before reacting. He moved immediately without thinking and half dove-half ducked for the ground, hoping to drag the other two along with him to evade the attack. His only warning was to suddenly yell "Look out!" just as he was doing so.

Hey, he might have been drugged up, but he could still fall forward pretty damn well.

[ippo]

Alone, Ippo wasn't sure if he could get the big guy moving in a new direction. He was thankful for the second helping hand that pulled Snow away from the deranged monster convulsing on the ground. However, the triumph soon meant nothing as they escaped the frying pan and hopped right into the licking fire.

The only thing Ippo could do was tighten his grip around Snow so the boxer didn't simply bolt like a wild animal caught in a frenzy. It was a really tempting idea, but as he watched the rest of the patients caught in the chaos, no amount of running in any direction wore on the monsters that herded them like sheep. He almost wondered if they should get back into the bus and take their chances with the nurses instead, but it was too late.

One of the flying monstrosities had set its sight on their little pack and for how high Snow was, he seemed to be the only one of them with any bright ideas. When he dived for the ground, it forcibly pulled Ippo down with him and gave him an aerial view from the hard earth below. Claws and giant maws descended upon them and he unabashedly screamed, rolling in closer to the giant American for cover.

[hairraising]

It was all happening too fast.

Rapunzel's heart had lurched hard enough in her chest when Eugene's bus suddenly swerved off the road and slammed into a tree. She had nearly pierced holes in her palms with her fingernails as she waited and watched, the shadows of night looming ever thicker until the sun dipped below the horizon. And then the nurse on the bus had let out a horrific cry and fell to the ground, writhing in pain as she sprouted blades and needles from her fingertips and let slip her grasp on humanity, kicking and screaming. it was a wonder Rapunzel hadn't fainted on the spot.

But she didn't. Maybe because she knew she couldn't, maybe because Landel's was hardening her. Either way, she didn't have much time. Any second now she was going to become a beacon of sunlight; not good for getting away from those that would prowl the night. She had to get to Eugene, get to some place they could hide. Get away. Go somewhere, anywhere but here.!

The first opening she got, Rapunzel bolted. She could already feel her scalp tingling. Luckily she was near the back of the bus, and it didn't take long for someone else to force open the back door. Just as the top of her head began to bloom with light, she burst out onto the grass and dirt below, tumbling forward and scraping burning through her knees. She winced as the light around her snaked along the ground, spreading to the tips of her hair and then beyond. She forced herself to her feet, dirt and rocks digging into her palms as her hair piled ever longer at her feet. If Eugene was in the crashed bus, at least he would see her, she told herself as she ran toward it.

[To here.]

[baniichan]

((From Bus 2.))

It wasn't until Barnaby landed onto the ground and got one good look at some of the large shadows swooping overhead that he realized they might have just made a grave mistake. True, if they had not directed the patients toward the exit in a calm and orderly fashion, it would have likely been a matter of time before someone used their NEXT powers to burst open a window or tear part of the bus open, causing more panic and injuring others in the process.

However, he'd failed to take into account that the strange creatures may not have been confined to only the buses. The owner of one of the shadows, a large bird with and even larger wingspan, swooped down at one of the fleeing patients, who barely managed to dodge out of the way. Barnaby's heart jumped into his throat at the unexpected sight, and for a second he felt simultaneously pulled in different directions. But now wasn't the time to become mired in self doubt or second guesses.

They needed to make sure the patients on the bus were okay before they could turn their attention anywhere else. The grim reality was that they would fail to accomplish anything if they lost focus now.

After throwing a glance over his shoulder to make sure Kotetsu was following, Barnaby turned and dashed toward the door on the driver's end of the bus.

[oyaji]

Wild Tiger followed right behind him, jumping off the back of the bus with little flair and no finesse. He was slow to recover as he slowly raised himself on his gangly legs, watching the chaos laid out before him with wide eyes.

"What the...?" How could something like this happen? This wasn't a sci-fi/fantasy novel here! Monsters didn't exist and especially not in such giant packs. A NEXT shapeshifter, sure, it was possible, but this wasn't. It couldn't be and yet he was seeing it with his own eyes, trapped in a schizophrenic nightmare. And they had been the ones who had led these civilians like lambs to slaughter, but how could they have known?

Barnaby, thankfully, had the right idea and it brought him out of his shock. They needed to help those still left on the bus first before they moved on to other matters. "Bu... Bunny! Be careful!" he shouted with a hand cupped around his mouth. It wouldn't take much for one of these creatures to pluck them right off the ground.

[ninelivesonce]

[from here]

There was no sign of the nurse on the ground outside the door, and the shouts and shrieks coming from several groups of patients being menaced by giant birds were making it difficult to hear if she'd snuck off somewhere.  

Next question, then.  Taura looked around for a head of pink hair, which, unlike the nurse, wasn't hard to spot.  "Utena!"   That's who she'd heard.  She jogged over.  "What do you think about getting out of here?"  

[revolutionise]

Utena winced as she her the nurse crash against something inside, after which Taura came busting out. She didn't take much time to think about her answer. "'Out of here' sounds like the place to go," she said. She glanced back into the bus, still worried for Sechs, but it seemed he had dealt the nurse a pretty heavy blow; it wasn't going to take much more to take her out. There were going to be a lot of other people who would need help more than the capable battle cyborg.

"Sechs, stay safe! I'll catch up with you later!" she called back as she and Taura started running.

She wasn't sure of which direction they were going, but by the sounds in the air above them, she took it that that didn't matter so much right now. She had to find something she could use as a weapon first; there was no way she could fight anything bigger than a person without one, especially not in a dress. Damn it, this was the second time she'd gotten caught at night with a useless dress tangling around her legs.

For a moment, she couldn't help seeing Juri in place of Taura. Guess it's the second night I've gotten stuck out here with a bigger older girl to watch my back, too, she thought.

"This way," said Utena, veering off into a more heavily wooded area. She didn't know where it would take them, but it wasn't in the direction of Doyleton or the Institute. Hopefully, she thought, they could find some big tree branches or rocks to help them out, too.

[requitedfate]

[from here]

The cold wind of the open air struck Shiina as soon as they were out the door. She staggered to the side of the road, knowing full well they weren't out of hot water yet. She just needed a moment.

She bent, putting her hands on her knees and just trying to breathe. Breathe. That was suddenly a much more difficult process than it usually was. No matter how much oxygen she drew in, she couldn't seem to fill her lungs. Her vision prickled and blurred. She opened her mouth, intending to gasp for more air, but then she froze. A chocked sound that wasn't quite a scream and wasn't quite a sob escaped into the air.

Oh, God... It was really going to happen. Just like that. And there wasn't anything that could be done to stop it.

[oneman_onekill]

They burst out of the emergency exit, the first breath of the fresh winter air outside setting his lungs on fire after the stifling fear-filled atmosphere of the bus. Niikura gasped and coughed as Shiina pulled him to the side of the road. He hovered over her worriedly as she bent over, trying to breathe. "Nagasawa." They had to go. In the distance, he could hear the shrieks of the birds, the ones that they'd fought off a few nights ago. He could sympathize with her current state of mind--well, maybe he couldn't completely since he wasn't the one that was infected--but they had to go before they ended up dead or maimed; being bird food wasn't a better fate by any means.

A little louder: "Nagasawa." Then, when there was no response, he crouched down in front of her and gently tilted her chin up so that he could see her face. "Shiina..." Please don't attack. Please don't attack. Not right now. "Shiina--look at me. I promised I'd protect ya, didn't I?" One hand brushed some of her hair out of her face. "I'm not backin' down from that promise. You're going to be okay."

[kings_thief]

[From Here]



Even as they got further from the bus, Locke was still worried there'd be something that would spring out at them and attack. It happened often back home and the institute didn't seem to be any different so who was to say outside of the institute would be any safer.

Of course, one difference was that, now, neither of them were armed. Hopefully, if they were fast enough, they could get to the town and find some sort of defense.

If not...he'd protect Tolten for as long as he could.

[age_of_kings]

It was mad chaos, but Tolten kept his hand firmly gripped 'bout Locke's. He held to the other man like a lifeline, something real and solid and unchanging. He needed that anchor.

And once they were beneath the dark sky - thank the ancestor he had a coat! - he was treble glad he had done so. He heard them before he saw them, though he was aware from the yelling and other outcries that outside wasn't any safer than inside. But he had assumed...they were so far from the institute itself!

"Locke..."

The young king rolled his eyes upward, a plaintive tone in his voice. The flapping of great leathery wings and the screech of raptors on the hunt chilled his blood in his veins. The things blocked out the stars, circling and calling above. All around the evidence of attacks were apparent, some other groups already engaged in battle with the things.

They had no choice to run, but where? They were in the open, and within a moment one of the things would have his scent....

[lovecraftcomplex]

> Rose: Land already

Rose landed in the vegetation beside the bus, which concealed a layer of decaying leaves atopt a small lagoon of mud. A veritable smorgasboard of soft landings, if completely undignified ones. An anti-immaculate trifecta.

Maybe she'd just wait for Ilia to come charging out the regular door to get up.

Except that there was a giant bird screaming down out of the sky with her name on it. Not literally. It was completely unadorned, except for the blood glistening on its talons. But in the sense that it was clearly headed straight for her.

[avengingfists]

Show off. Ilia didn't have time to rebuke her young comrade for being reckless. Rose had already launched herself out the window into the darkness and into who knew what other danger lurked out there. Pure recklessness. The worst part was, if Ilia hadn't been so down-graded in power she would have done the same thing.

Cursing under her breathe, Ilia battled her way through the crowd of other patients scrambling for the exit and leaped to the ground. Circling the bus at a run, Ilia stumbled on the gravel at the side of the road and sprinted her way towards Rose. "Get up! Now!"

Ilia glanced up. They were being swarmed, and by a flock of giant birds, no less. And one seemed to be circling above Rose in a possessive way. Damn. She couldn't take on something like that with just her basic attacks. They had to move, and fast!

[vstheworld]

Scott hadn't really woken up until just now. Not just in the sense that he had been sleeping like a limp corpse until the cries of the nurse at the front the bus sounded, but also in the sense that he hadn't fully been aware of reality until right this very second. He had spent the whole day feeling as though he were seeing the world through a foggy glass of dream logic, and the only thing that was pulling him out of it now was a single piercing thought: Ramona.

He didn't know where they were, but he knew 1) it wasn't at the Institute and 2) it was nighttime now. Night + not Landel's = not good. If Ramona was still back at the Institute, as Scott had eventually figured she had to be, that meant that it would basically be her and maybe a handful of other patients in the building. Alone. With, like, a billion monsters waiting in the shadows. Okay, maybe not a billion, but still, it was more than a tiny group of people could handle on their own in a gigantic building.

Scott had just lost two of the most important friends he'd made in his time here. He was not about to level up in the game of losing. Maybe Ramona could handle herself, maybe she couldn't, but either way, Scott didn't want to think that if anything happened to her, he could have done something about it.

By the time Scott fought his way out of the bus, he could hear something eagle-y screaming in the sky above. For some reason, though, as he ran down the road away from the buses, none of the creatures decided he was worth eating. They were all avoiding him like the proverbial anchovy on the Doyleton Forest Pizza Special. Scott couldn't quite grock why, but he didn't have to. Living was good enough for him without questioning why it was happening.

He ran and ran and ran, ran ran and ran some more. He didn't know it, but he was pushing himself to the limits of his speed, faster than a human being could run. In the last legs toward the institute, he was full-on sprinting at that speed, all the while thinking Ramona, Ramona, gotta get to Ramona, Ramonaramonaramonawickedramonaoooohhhyeahhhlittlebreakdownrightthereoohhhramona, Ramona, please be... okay...

[vstheworld]

And just like that, Scott began to slow. The Institute wasn't getting closer nearly as fast anymore. It was suddenly like he was looking into the end of that one hallway in Poltergeist, the one that extended the more JoBeth Williams ran towards it. Scott again didn't realize it, but he was at his video-game-y limits for speed. Now came the pain.

"Oh, come oooonnnn, this is not a good time to be JoBeth Williams!" Scott whined, puffing and panting as he slowed to a jog, struggling to keep his legs going and heart pumping.

[earthling]

((From here.))

It was almost like the last time they'd broken down before nightfall. True, there were considerably fewer flames, which was something he was grateful for. But that didn't mean as much when the patients around him were getting bombarded by large, mutated birds, and they were further away from any sort of shelter.

As tempting as it was to make a run for the institute, Claude knew they couldn't act careless. Not wanting to draw a bunch of attention to their group, he didn't quite bring himself to a full stand. Instead, his eyes darted over to Firo.

"Have you ever run into these things before?" he urgently asked.

[immortale]

On the other hand, maybe the bus hadn't been so bad after all. At least the monster nurse was something he could recognize, and there was only one of her. But out here...

Shit. No matter how he looked at it, it was bad out here (and thank you for that prior reinforcement, shouter). Firo followed Claude's lead and stayed low; whatever the hell those flying...things were—birds, he guessed, though he'd never heard of birds that big—he didn't want to draw their attention as long as he was unarmed.

At his roommate's question, he shook his head. "No," he answered in a low whisper, keeping an eye on one bird(?) that was currently circling overhead. "What the hell are they, anyway?"

[envy_the_sinners]

[From here]

The world around him was very different at night- so unlike the carefully trimmed trees and singing birds of the daylight. An eerie, heavy mist hung over him as Scar looked up the road to the Institute. There were many other passengers already making their ways back up the road.

But something was getting in the way.

The Ishbalan's red eyes widened as he watched the patients run about in a panic as enormous, sickly looking birds swooped down from the sky to pick them off. Being on the bus was starting to look like a better idea. The carnage could only be attributed to the chimera's invasion of Lior. His hands clinched to fists and his heart pounded in his ears as he whipped around to shout back to L and Lust.

"We need to move!"

[a_sin_for_him]

Thank you, Sir Obvious!

Lust didn't let the words past her mind, but she couldn't help them. Of course they had to move, they'd exited into yet another attack! This one of the aerial variety! She looked upwards as soon as she'd followed Ryuzaki out of the bus, luckily without needing to fend off any monsters.

She kept her hand at the ready, tingling in her fingers as she made sure she could extend her claws at a moment's notice.

"Go!" was what she actually yelled to Scar, her eyes narrowed and her body rigid and prepared.

[doctor_voodoo]

[From here.]

Facilier pushed and shoved his way out of the bus with no acknowledgement or care towards those he jostled in his wake. He had to get out of that damned bus! Growling out every curse in every language he knew, Facilier's panic sent him hurtling out the emergency exit, his long limbs flailing in the air before he hit the road running like a gangly horse in a race between life and death.

Yet any relief from that crowded vehicle was denied to Facilier as a scene of chaos and survival came to life before his eyes like a deranged act from a morbid theatrical play. Patients around him were under attack by enormous black figures diving from the skies! The Bokor cried out in terror at the sight -- had his "Friends" from the Other Side finally made their presence known? The huge liquid-like creatures uttered terrible screeches like the Loa, and Facilier barely had a chance to dive for the ground when another flash of black surged towards him--

Facilier dove off the street and tumbled into a patch of straggly bushes just as the screaming creature soared over his head. Wheezing with terror, Facilier struggled to get back to his feet, fearing that the Loa was mere inches from grabbing him again. Yet the attack never came, instead Facilier felt something unnervingly soft land on his head. With a trembling hand, Facilier snatched the object and held it before his eyes. A black feather? Panting and shaking, Facilier turned to better observe the mayhem playing out on the darkened street. It wasn't the Loa who were attacking the stranded prisoners, but giant birds of prey! Patients left and right were being attacked with steely claws and beaks, not supernatural shadows! The terrible raptors seemed to have their focus only on certain individuals as well and so far they were ignoring him. Why was this?

Facilier didn't care to waste any time pondering this question. Not too far ahead loomed the institute. So close yet so painfully far. Facilier dared to take his chances with finding safety in that damned building than stay outside! He tucked the feather into his pocket and tore himself out of the prickly shrubs. He felt the presence of his living Shadow emerge from behind and he sprinted off with his dark doppelganger silently gliding close by. He kept to the side of the street beneath the shelter of the surrounding forest with his focus locked on the institute ahead, never looking back to the bloody bedlam taking place behind...

[lastlovesong]

[from here]

As soon as she jumped out of the bus, Chise ran into another threat far more worse than what was behind her. Up in the sky, circling above the rest of the fleeing patients were vulture-esque creatures, swooping down on the people as if they were mice. There were all trapped in an open field with no places to hide, except for the mutated nurse-infested broken down buses; the line of trees and the dark shape of the institute were still too far to run to. Both situations were unfavorable, but outside Chise had a slight chance of being able to defend herself without injuring the other patients.


Gathering whatever physical strength she had, Chise ran towards the institute.