Night 68: Main Hallway, 1-Center

[madeinthehrl]

[from here]

It was still early in the night from the looks of it--the main hallway was totally clear as they moved toward the Sun Room. It was true the route they were taking was normally guarded, but there was no guarantee the rec field wasn't, and with a group this large, they would stand a better chance at breaking through anything that might await them.

She glanced back at the group. "If there's someone in the Sun Room, try to focus on disabling the attacker and running. I don't want to get held up in a pointless fight."

Comments

[fallenbeanpole]

"Let's just hope there isn't anything," the Once-ler muttered as he stepped forward. He paused at the door, glancing at his companions again. The rest of the group sported much better armaments; the hammer he'd brought along was pathetic in comparison. There wasn't anything he could do about that now, though.

"Everybody ready? Let's go." The Once-ler opened the door, flashlight held at the ready.

[to here]

[redcladidealist]

[From here.]

The next part of the hall was empty of any signs of anyone else. Trying not to feel unnerved, Lloyd kept on talk as he flicked his flashlight around. "If I wanted to make something like that, I'd have to use my Dad's forge, and it'd take me days since I'd have to hammer and work the metal." It probably wouldn't be as good as that one looked, either. Weapons smithing was not his strong point.

[armoredsoul]

Al decided to let his brother field that one, glancing over to him with a grin.

[fullmetalheart]

"It's related. They started being developed at the same time. Anyway, you need to be really good with chemistry and other branches of science to be a good alchemist. What other branches depends on your specialty," Ed explained, trying to keep it relatively simple. "One of the helpful things about it is that you can do stuff so much faster than traditional methods, given the correct raw materials."

[deathrattling]

In this hallway, lit only through the distant glass panes of the front entrance, it was dark enough that the corners were hugged with shadow -- but that was normal, a product of the Institute's night-time ambiance.

Or was it?

Streaking from the shadow cast by the angle of the wall, a black cat suddenly wound its purring way around Al's ankles, moving with total self-assurance and no heed whatsoever for his balance.

[redcladidealist]

Science. Something Lloyd absolutely wasn't good at, and more often than not didn't even understand what was being discussed in class. If alchemy was something more related to science than magic, he probably wouldn't ever understand it - though, technically, the same could be said of magic, too. Either way, he could content himself with the fact that it clearly worked.

Though to what extent? What could alchemy do? He started to open his mouth to ask, only to jump, startled, when one of the shadows moved. Nearly fumbling his flashlight, he jerked the beam of light on whatever it was that had just darted into there path. There, there it was! It was wrapped around Al's ankles! It was-

He blinked. "A cat?"

[armoredsoul]

"Wha--!?" Al yelped and stumbled as the cat tangled around his legs, fortunately flailing away from the rest of the group with the sword. A few staggering steps lead to a faceplant, and he groans as he pushes himself up to hands and knees to look back at the feline in question.

"It could have chosen a better time to be friendly..." he said with good humor. If there was one cat here, there were probably others--and his brother couldn't tell him he can't spoil and pet these ones!

[freewill]

[From here. Timeskipping the above thread.]

Something struck him as wrong, and Castiel paused for a moment as he reached the center portion of the hall. He put his arm out to the side, to stop Lust in place as he tried to sense the air around them.

While it was quiet, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something evil lurking around. He couldn't sense things as well here, but this was strong enough that it was making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. He ran his hand down his neck and shook his head.

"Something's not right here. We should hurry," he said as he started to move forward again, pushing his body as fast as he could.

[deathrattling]

Something was not right indeed: even as they stepped into the hallways the shadows seemed to still, shivering into a readiness that recognised intruders not so much as victims as vessels into which misery could be shared and fury poured. The silence of the night became complete, absent of the susurrus of patients seeking their freedom through the hallways.

In the depth of the quiet there sounded a soft whimper. Tucked into the shadows a dark-haired boy hunched with skinny arms clasped tightly around his knees, staring wide-eyed down the hallway, so still that they could easily pass him by if not paying attention.

[a_sin_for_him]

No, something wasn't right at all. Lust's thin lipped expression turned to a frown. She wasn't so rattled by the day's losses as to not sense that subtle wrongness.

She followed after Castiel, eyes narrowed and scanning the dark corridor around them. The prickly feeling of unease didn't fade, only grew worse as the eerie quiet settled over them.

Or...almost quiet.

"What was that?" Even hushed, her voice sounded too loud to her own ears.

[freewill]

As the silence set in, something so strong that it was as if all of the sound had been sucked away, Castiel realized that there was a reason this felt familiar. He let out a breath, remembering that time on the field with Gabriel, and knew that this was the exact same set of sensations. They were being haunted.

The sound of crying hit him then, and immediately he knew it had to be a trap. It was no surprise that Lust asked about it, but Castiel turned toward her sharply, moving so quickly that his stomach seized in pain.

He placed a hand there, but ignored it for the most part, eyeing Lust sharply. "Nothing good. Whatever may be causing this, I've encountered it before. It's a ghost." She would have to believe him -- and how couldn't she, considering she wasn't human herself? The urgency in his body language and tone likely made it clear that this was no joke.

[deathrattling]

The boy's cries continued, the only sound breaking through the deadened silence, until his eyes lit upon something at the end of the hall and he quieted: and then relocated more than moved, flickering up to standing as if there had been no motion in between, and from there to a spot behind Lust in the blink of an eye. One pale hand reached out and snagged onto her wrist, grip cold and demanding.

In the other arm he held a small black cat, curled comfortably against his chest and staring at them with gleaming eyes.

[a_sin_for_him]

"Yes." Lust's voice was without emotion or expression. Ghost. Spirit. Spectre. This place was too rife with them. "I believe I may have, too. Don't touch it."

Of course, that meant nothing when the thing itself took the choice out of their hands. At the cold grip on her wrist the homunculus jerked away even as she turned, remembering the other time some manner of spirit had touched her in this place.

Scar had been there, that night.

[ever_loyal_dog]

[from here]

"I cannot say for certain, but it might be best to take the stairs on the far side of this hall. They're not far beyond the doors to the Sun Room, on the right. It seems much quieter that way."

It was just as he remembered it during the day, though the building certainly took on a darker, more sinister feeling during the night. Was it his imagination or did everything seem a bit more run-down and dirty as well?

If the thunderous roars and pounding sounds getting nearer were any indication, the sooner they got to the other end of the building, the better. Hopefully this time they wouldn't have to worry so much about the doorways either.

[deathrattling]

It was far from his imagination: the Institute looked less run-down than it did altogether abandoned, moonlight striking the unkempt walls in a way that turned everything grey. The patients' footsteps stirred up thicker and thicker layers of dust as they proceeded through the hallway, and a strip of loose wallpaper fluttered free in a faint breeze of indeterminate origin.

The hallway stretched out before them, seemingly elongated, the far end buried in shadow thick enough that it was nearly tangible. Around them, indistinct and barely-there, there sounded the faintest rattling breath.

[impudentsongbird]

"Thank you," Gabe said, sincerely and earnestly and with his relief written all over his face. He stuck close to them as they walked, staying quietly in the middle. Both of them looked to be better in a fight than he was, regardless of his abilities. He wasn't a warrior; he just had some talents, in comparison.

He wasn't used to being open about those talents, so he hesitated first. After what had happened with Murphy, could he afford to not warn them, just in case? At least most people here had some kind of power. His having magic wouldn't be too odd. "I can wear animal shapes," Gabe explained. "One of them's a mountain lion." He smiled weakly. "I'd rather not have cause to use it, but I can, if I have to."

He couldn't help but glance toward the Sun-Room as they passed it. He'd deliberately avoided the place, for the most part, since Skulduggery had told him there was something in there. The sounds of battle only reminded him of it.

Except that when he looked back to the hallway at large, it was ... darker. Dustier. More shadowed. The not-quite-there sound made a chill run down Gabe's back, made his step falter, his heart leaping to his throat and eyes widening. He swallowed hard to try and control the unfamiliar urge to breathe fast, too fast, and instead took a slow breath, held it, exhaled. "I think--did either of you hear that?"

[asteroidbelt]

Riiiight, a mountain lion would come in handy. Why did Ryusei keep running across this? Was he simply at a statistical disadvantage?

More importantly, he thought as they passed the Sun Room—had this hallway always been this long? And this... dusty? Ryusei stopped and lifted a foot, shining his flashlight down. That was definitely dust. If the hallway had been like this in the morning, he would have noticed something.

"Hear what?"

[ever_loyal_dog]

Soushi could feel a faint breeze, as if a window or a door had been left ajar somewhere down the hall. It wasn't much, but it was enough to stir dust and bits of paper, the movement enough to cause his flashlight to jump from place to place.

His brows knit together. Nothing. It was just as empty as before, but he couldn't ignore the way the darkness seemed to close in on them. It hadn't been so dark moments before. He held steady, though Gabe's comment gave him pause. A mountain lion?

Soushi let out a slow breath as he continued. It wasn't a wolf, at least, but it was close. And if Gabe had a human form as well as the animal, that would make him an Atavist too, wouldn't it? Had he been part of Inukami's plan as well?

He opened his mouth to ask further questions, but Gabe was right on another count as well. It was faint and difficult to hear unless one was listening for it, but it was there all the same. The sound of breathing, difficult or labored as it might be, but certainly not one of their own. Either someone was injured, or this was something else entirely. He gripped the baseball bat in his right hand a bit tighter.

"Stay alert and move quickly," Soushi whispered in a quiet, but firm voice. He gestured to the far end of the hall, now almost completely obscured by the darkness. His experience with the supernatural was more than enough to make him wary. If they could avoid any sort of encounter, it was all the better, but it seemed even here he might not be able to escape the demons, ghosts, and monsters that followed at night. At least back home they'd had the protection of Ayakashi-kan, but here? He couldn't be sure what to expect.

[deathrattling]

Definitely dust, and definitely plenty of it. Clouds stirred into the air and stayed suspended as they moved deeper, wafting between them in the faintest breaths of air: a warm autumn breeze that smelled like decay, laden with the sweetness of the dying season. In the little moonlight that shafted into the hall the dust glittered in eddies --

And behind them, in more purposeful swirls, spinning and building into a figure, indistinct and barely-visible in the shadowy hall, lurching after them in a silent awkward hunch.

[stop_the_rain]

[from here]

Everything looked the same. Murphy knew where he was, but it all looked the same anyway. He hated that. It was like prison. And his dark mood only grew darker the longer he went with nothing to vent his frustration and anger on.

[to here]

[doctor_voodoo]

[From here.]

Facilier curved past the corner into the next hall, his Shadow following suit against the wall above. Spotting more flashlights retreating into the Sun Room up ahead, Facilier could barely repress a strained growl from escaping his throat. How was he going to reach the greenhouse in time? Facilier then realized that perhaps this route wasn't the most efficient one to take towards the greenhouse outside. If he had gone the other way and risked a climb over the wall surrounding the recreational field...

The Bokor frowned furiously to himself. It was too late to back up now. Gripping into his cane and flashlight, Facilier crouched into a stooped walk and continued his silent stalk down the hallway towards the upcoming exit. His violet eyes pierced intensely into the darkness, requiring no need of light to make his way through the shadows. All he had to do was reach his goal undetected and hope that Landel wasn't going to throw yet another unpleasant surprise his way....

[deathrattling]

Hoping had little room in the Institute, and less so in this realm that it had chosen to steep in blood and fury. But here was a patient who could travel in shadows, a curio amid those who thought to protect themselves with light: and it was shadow that claimed this hallway now, thick enough it was nearly tangible.

Or -- was tangible: behind Facilier, the slant of darkness cast by a wall shifted, becoming fluid in movement until strands of shadow rose and chased his Shadow across the wall. Subtly, with ghost touches, it wrapped around ankles, wrists, clung onto the mirrored shape of his torso.

And he would find, as he tried to move on, that he could take no steps further than the nearest door.

[doctor_voodoo]

Meanwhile, the Bokor's magical intuition prickled at the back of his mind, a soft warning which subtly trailed down his spine in the form of a foreboding shiver. It then grew further in Facilier's consciousness, a sensation akin to a brief whiff of a memory-laden fragrance but on a spiritual level. A couple steps forward and that psychic kinesthesia swiftly approached Facilier's Shadow. Sensing the encroaching spirit, the doppelganger was the first to look over its flattened shoulder towards the incoming presence, yet it barely had a chance to mimic the expression of a surprised gasp before the dark intruder took hold of its ethereal limbs.

The moment his Shadow was touched, Facilier was fully alerted to the new presence when he felt the same restrictive physical pressures as his Shadow was experiencing. Instantly, the Bokor was reminded of the shadowy vines which Hakkai had used on him the night he transformed. That chilling thought sent an explosion of adrenaline inside the doctor's heart. No..! He shouldn't be feeling this again, Hakkai was supposed to be dead! Facilier saw the monstrous boy collapse in his own pool of blood! Surely Hakkai had not returned from the dead to haunt him?!

Eyes wide and teeth clenched in a frightened grimace, Facilier snapped his head around to confront his attacker and raised his cane in defense. "Who--" was all the Bokor could utter at the inexplicable sight of the black mass growing over his Shadow's body. As his Shadow began to struggle against the unearthly hands, Facilier turned to fully face the anomaly, frozen with terrorized confusion as he stared at the lightless being. He could partially recognize the magical flavor of his attacker, it was different from Hakkai, yet it felt too close to home when it came to Facilier's own spiritual alignment... It smelled of death and festering rage.

"Just who do you think you are, spirit?!" Facilier demanded, his deep voice bellowed strongly against the horror that clenched tightly into his heart. He kept his eyes fixed on the formless stranger, his fingers digging deep into his cane, wary of how to strike such a phantasmal target. "Get your paws off my Shadow this instant! Don't y'all know who you're dealing with?!"

Despite his threat, Facilier couldn't tell who -- or what -- he was up against just yet; but he was The Shadow Man after all, he had to assert his authority and gain the upper hand before things got too hairy...

[deathrattling]

If there had ever been hearing within the capacity of this spirit, it was long gone. There was only the overwhelming sensation of hatred, a rage borne of blood and betrayal, something that comprehended nothing more than a lust for vengeance and a need to revisit the horror, again and again. To relive it in a space saturated with it: to ensnare whomever entered that space into the same furious grief.

On the wall, the dark strands only multiplied. Even as Facilier spoke, useless and fruitless, the black holding onto his Shadow thickened until a loop descended from the ceiling, winding around the Shadow's neck. It stayed there for a moment -- almost friendly, touch light, soft -- and then it jerked upward.

And it pulled, lifting the Shadow up the wall, tightening around its own dark neck until there was no gap of light between it and Shadow.

[doctor_voodoo]

Adding to his growing terror, Facilier found that his words had fallen upon deaf ears -- if the spirit even had ears in the first place! He could only grit his teeth and fruitlessly pull away from the invisible clutches upon himself and his Shadow.

The sickening ambiance of the spirit grew thick along the walls, giving off waves of emotional pollution which Facilier's supernatural empathy picked up on more than he could stand. Such ethereal radiation caused both doctor and Shadow to recoil, almost sharing the same despair and jealousy that was being forced upon them. The bokor was unable to tell exactly what kind of spirit this entity was, but he was most certain that it was a very angry sort.

"I SAID LET GO--!!" Facilier commanded once more as both he and his mimic fought hard against the coiling darkness. There seemed to be no way to reason with this creature, it was all but a hateful mass of bodiless grief, raging and unstoppable in its mindless pursuit of death. Facilier had to think fast out of this but he had very limited cards to play with. The only thing he could catch on in that fevered moment was how it somewhat resembled some of the Loa back in New Orleans. Those beings seemed unstoppable too, but they had a weakness...

Snarling, Facilier shifted his grip on his flashlight, nearly dropping it in his panic, and fumbled for the on/off switch. He could see the new tendrils dropping down above his Shadow; feel its threatening caress on both of their necks... Facilier knew this was now or never and switched the light on at his attacker. A second later and Facilier felt the ghostly touch around his throat squeeze into a deathly noose.

"NO--!"

Gasping, Facilier felt his feet leave the ground and his legs kicked about in an uncontrollable reflex for survival. Within the midst of his panic, Facilier dropped his cane but managed to keep a death grip of his own upon his flashlight. As his only weapon clattered to the ground, Facilier instinctively clutched into his strangled neck with his free hand and struck out at his attacker with his flashlight in a frenzied attempt to free himself.