Nightshift 33: Walk-In Refrigerator

[arrogantflame.livejournal.com]

[From here]

It was cold. But for once, it wasn't the first thought that crossed Wolfram's mind as he was practically thrown into the giant cooler. He was more worried about his eyes than anything. It still hurt to open them, and when he tried nothing would focus anyways. And he could still hear what was going on in the kitchen behind him.

Crawling over to the nearest side, still clinging possessively to his items, he tried to focus on listening for Aidou and "John" as best as he could, trembling more in fear than from the cold. Not that he would admit to being almost terrified. No, of course not. Wasn't like he wouldn't be seeing that ugly thing in his dreams for the next five years at least.

Comments

[i-slay-giants.livejournal.com]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/403285.html?thread=32020309#t32095061)]

The Fable stumbled over the threshold, eventually face planting onto the cold floor. Despite his physical injuries, he quickly pushed himself upright in an attempt to save a little bit of pride. Quickly, however, he realized that the other inhabitant currently couldn't see him, so it wasn't nearly as important to look cool.

"Ow," he stated dryly after a moment.

[idolism]

_{[continuing to cockblock the alien from here]}

Of course the other two would be useless in helping keeping the thing out. Once it pulled out of the nearly unsalvageable wedge it'd made, Aidou slammed the door with a deafening bang, holding it closed against the angry onslaught. The pounding and gurgling hisses were far too near for his liking, though the vampire had to think the worst was over. Unless it was smart enough to try and reopen the door from the outside.

He stayed where he was, continuing to hold the door shut with what strength was left in his tiring body. 'Tired' was an understatement. Despite the temperature of the fridge, sweat was beading on the back of his neck.

Relying so much on his ice... Aidou's sigh was more weary than relieved.

That'd been far too close.

[silent-predator.livejournal.com]

Immediately, there were several loud bangs of the door being struck, followed by more hissing. There was a screech of metal, as talons and the tail blade struck the otherside of the door.

It was a futile effort: the door shuddered but didn't give. After several more pounds, the was silence.

[silent-predator.livejournal.com]

[back to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/403285.html?view=32106837#t32106837)]

[spirit-forge.livejournal.com]

There was no one here; that was good. Archer was feeling bad about earlier... well actually not really, but Brook could use something to eat. Plus, Archer himself as a heroic spirit needed to keep his mana reserves up. Without Gaia, he'd have to rely on alternative sources. He'd never developed a taste for devouring people's souls, so that was out of the question.

He picked up some ham, juice, milk, and fruit. Hopefully the fruits and juices would keep longer than the others.

[fuyunohanabi.livejournal.com]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/403285.html?thread=32380245#t32380245)]


Rangiku moved quickly into the refrigerator and grabbed hold of the door, starting to tug on it. She doubted that that creature was going to be stunned for very long at all and she doubted that she had it in her to fire another blast at it without knocking herself out.

[traitors-smile.livejournal.com]

Gin wasn't taking any chances. As soon as Rangiku was inside, he was pulling too; there was only so much time before the monster tried again. His back left a bloody smear where he'd been leaning on the door, but he hardly felt it. Using what leverage he could to keep it shut, he turned to Ran.

"I'll hold it. Find th' next door," he said hurriedly, almost a command. She'd been here before, she, at least, knew where to look.

[fuyunohanabi.livejournal.com]

Rangiku gasped in relief when the door swung closed, but like Gin, she wasn't about to trust to its integrity for very long. She headed over to the back corner of the fridge, searching quickly in the darkness for the discoloured tile which hid the trap door. She found it after a moment, and slipped her fingers awkwardly into the crack, pulling it up and moving it aside. "Gin! Get down there. There's a long staircase so be careful, but we can stop a little way down." SHe'd close the tile and she didn't think the monster would be able to get it up very easily.

[traitors-smile.livejournal.com]

He had to wonder how exactly the institute managed to have so many deadly creatures and still be up and running in the morning just like always. Even Aizen would be impressed by their efficiency, if nothing else. Though the recent radio broadcasts would prove otherwise. It sounded like the power was shifting.

At any rate, it didn't take him long to press off from the wall and jump down the hole in the floor. He landed easily enough, despite the stairs. That made only one new injury for the night. He supposed it could have been worse.

[[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/408382.html?thread=32554302#t32554302)]]

[wishescankill.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/403285.html?thread=32365397)]

Anya collapsed as soon as she had the door open, finding it necessary to take a moment to bleed in relative peace.

Sheer adrenaline had kept her going, but now that she had a second or two with just the perishable foodstuffs, she found her energy ebbing away. Her skin shifted back to human form, which irked all the burned out nerve endings in her back, not to mention the chunk that was missing from her side. Normally she'd be healed already, but everything sucked in this dimension.

Slowly, she raised her head to see if Willow and Angel - oh, and that monster - had followed her through.

[light-wicca.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/403285.html?thread=32365397#t32365397)]

"Anya?" Willow asked tentatively, still with both hands on the edge of the door to keep it open for Angel. One hand might normally have worked, but Willow was too weak from the spell to manage that. It scared her a little bit how much that simple spell had drained of her energy.

Willow wanted to go straight over to Anya's side and help stem any bleeding as quickly as possible, but she also needed to help Angel get in the room quickly and shut the monster out behind him. She bit her lip, torn between the two, and just hoping the monster wouldn't try to follow them into the basement.

[blurred-divide.livejournal.com]

Angel remained out just long enough for Willow to get through safely first. He dove inside a split second behind her and shut the door, although he had no idea if he'd be quick enough or not; whatever that thing was, it moved surprisingly fast. He nodded at Willow, indicating that she could go help Anya while he...watched the front and hoped nothing broke through. His fingers curled around the handle of the axe. Skuld was a rare stroke of luck, to be sure.

They couldn't stay here forever, though. Big monster aside, they were inside a fridge. He lacked the body temperature to properly feel the cold, but Willow and Anya were a different story.

"We need to find the way down," he said. He'd look for it himself except he didn't want to take his eyes off the entrance just yet.

[wishescankill.livejournal.com]

Anya pushed herself rather painfully into a sitting position. Her back was almost completely numb, especially in such a cold place, but her side hurt like hell.

"Why'd it attack me?" she groused, picking up her sword from where she'd dropped it. A speck of the acid blood had clung to the metal, but no real damage done. She brushed it off with a nearby wedge of cheese, and it began eating its way through that. "Angel looks decidedly more threatening."

When the vampire in question spoke, Anya tried to recall exactly what her roommate had told her. "The entrance is under an off-color tile. Somewhere back there, I think," she informed the others, gesturing vaguely towards the back of the room.

[jurisfictional.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/403285.html?thread=32653141#t32653141)]

Thursday closed the door as soon as Archer and Hokuto were in, pausing for one heart-stopping moment before she remembered to breathe. It didn't sound like the creature was going to follow them this time.

"Everyone okay?" she asked a little shakily. It was an incredibly stupid question, and she realized it as soon as the words left her mouth, but maybe a little semblance of normality might help things along.

[akarusa.livejournal.com]

Somehow, Hokuto managed to reply "Yeah," and even that sounded strained. Her breathing was coming harder than it should have; it wasn't exhaustion, but stress. It won't follow us, she said silently, still trembling, and not from the cold; she'd barely noticed it, and not because of the jacket she was wearing. It can't get us now. She knew it, but she was still trying desperately to convince herself. We got away.

But Hisoka...

Her chest tightened even more; as much as she wanted to, she couldn't stop picturing what had happened to him. Hisoka... They'd arrived long after he was already dead--she knew that. There was nothing they or anyone else could have done for him; she had little doubt he'd been alone when it happened. He died alone. No one there for him, and the thing that killed him didn't stop attacking until after he was...

Hokuto swallowed hard, but the bile was rising in her throat and she couldn't hold it back. She stumbled away, wishing the others would leave her alone for a minute and knowing they wouldn't, and threw up. She couldn't even stay standing; she fell to her knees, retching until long past the time she'd lost everything she'd eaten that day. Tears were running down her face by the time she stopped; when she felt she could, she stumbled to her feet but didn't turn back to her team, hugging herself and leaning against the wall for support. I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...

[spirit-forge.livejournal.com]

Leaning his back against the wall, Archer began controlling his breathing, using exercises he'd learnt from his martial arts training. After a while, calming his body became simple a reflex. Hopefully that bastard can't get to us in here. It would be really bad if he tears through that door now.

"I'm fine." Archer winced from the cut on his hand, nothing that would impede his performance tonight. Ripping a piece of cloth from his uniform, he wrapped a makeshift bandage around his wound.

He heard Hokuto's verbal response, followed by a physical one, clearly contradicting the former. Trying to ignore her actions was easier said than done, especially when there wasn't much else to distract them from the sounds and smell. He only hoped she hadn't done it on the trap door. Good thing Thursday was the leader.

"I know we're short on time but let's give her a moment," he whispered to Thursday. Hokuto wasn't like him, and presumably Thursday too. She wasn't a hardened fighter; her heart hadn't been darkened by scores of unimaginable violence like his had. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that Hokuto wasn't doing much better, so he decided to intervene. "Excuse me."

Walking over to his other teammate, he crouched down to her level, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. This really wasn't his area of expertise, which he hoped didn't show, but felt like he had to at least try. "Hokuto, just let it out. It's better to do that now, so you can handle things later. Believe me, I know."

When he'd been a teenager like Hokuto, Archer had seen a truly horrific scene, and like her, he reacted in a similar manner, badly. "You know, when I was around your age, I saw something... bad, and I responded in the same way. Let me tell you, it wasn't pretty," he whispered, half-joking near the end and hoping it had at least helped her self-esteem a little.

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/403285.html?thread=32436309#t32436309)]

TK made it through the door, breathing hard from the fight and the pain in his shoulder that was finally starting to become a problem. He turned back to watch the others, still keeping his club ready in case that thing tried to follow.

"Come on!" It looked like they'd all make it, but luck had this terrible habit of always giving out just when you needed it most.

[reanalyze.livejournal.com]

Citan wasn't far behind, thankful to Armand for holding the door for them. He was weakened now, but damned if he was going to show it. He was stronger than this!

And as soon as Armand was through, they could continue to the basement. Hopefully un-bothered.

[secret-orchard.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/403285.html?thread=33032533#t33033813)]

Armand nearly fell through the door, blood running freely from his shoulder and arm, but even though it hurt so bad he felt he could faint, it didn't feel as if anything was broken. It was just a passing blow, devastating, but he doubted it was with the creature's full strength. His vision wavered, but he felt it necessary to try to smile for his companions, to pretend it wasn't as bad as it was.

"Our friend didn't want to let me go without a hug," he said, too breathless to sell the half-hearted joke.

[muted-flame.livejournal.com]

Shoving the door closed behind them, Roy staggered forward, his hand moving back down to his torso where the blood was flowing freely. He fell down to his knees, gasping in pain. It wasn't just the wound or the fact that his chest felt like it was burning - his whole body was aching, and he had obviously pushed it to the limit.

He fell forward onto his hands and knees, glancing down at his shirt as he realized that some of the fabric had literally been eaten away. With a frown, he pulled back into a sitting position and quickly yanked his shirt off. He didn't know what that green stuff was, but he didn't want any more of it making contact with his skin.

Hopefully Hughes would do the same. He couldn't focus on the other man right now, as much as he was worried about him, when he was already busy trying not to pass out.

[felled-hero.livejournal.com]

Hughes sank down as well, breathing heavily. He reached a hand up to his face, wincing. He could feel his cheek blistering, like he'd been burned. What the hell had that thing been?

But at least they were out of there. And Roy looked to be in worse shape than he was. He knew he'd be okay. He didn't think he could use his left arm, but the right one would be okay. It was a clean stab.

"Come on," he managed, trying to block out the pain from his ruined shoulder. "We've got to get you to the clinic. You're...gonna need to rest."

[muted-flame.livejournal.com]

"The clinic?" Roy responded, his tone sharper than usual. He didn't mean to take it out on his friend, but it was hard to think straight and remain calm when the pain was clouding his head. "How are we even supposed to get back there?" It would be a lot of ground to cover, not to mention it would require going back through the monster's den.

With his shirt off it was easier for him to inspect the stomach wound, and he used the parts of his shirt that didn't have the green liquid on it to wipe the blood away. When he could actually see the cut itself, he could tell that it wasn't as bad as he had thought, and he just needed to make measures to stop the bleeding.

He started ripping his shirt apart, and the process brought back memories. It had been a while since he had gotten seriously hurt here, but he had definitely gone through this his share of times in the past.

[rappigs.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/403285.html?thread=32892757#t32892757)]

Panting, the eccentric emperor let himself inside, really glad for how cool it was in here. And somehow the sharp pain of the wounds on his shoulder didn't hurt so badly in here. Those claws of the monster's really had done a doozy on him, hadn't they?

Peony reached back and felt for the wound, finding that more blood came off on his fingers than he'd expected there to be. And it really smarted. He grimaced.

As cool as these wounds were gonna look tomorrow, Peony wasn't very proud of them tonight, to tell the truth. Even Haseo seemed like he'd had some training... He was the untrained emperor who wanted to be anything but the guy to slow them down. He was the fearless leader! And leaders didn't get injured.

So he marched right over to the trap door. Even if these things on his back weren't okay, he'd pretend like they were. That'd work out fine!

[visualize.livejournal.com]

So they were able to escape after all. Not as if Jade ever doubted it, but there seemed to be more important matters that he had to attend to before they could continue on with this little escapade.

Paying no mind to the fact like his legs felt like they were about to buckle, Jade briskly followed his Majesty as the latter made his way to the trap door. He had shot his arm out to grab hold of Peony's wrist, pulling the man back and forcing him to stop in his tracks before he went about his work. He was quick to shrug off his coat, casually pulling off his own shirt and reached over to lift up at the tattered remains of his friend's. After inspecting the wound and making sure to pull away any shreds of cloth that clung to the scratches the colonel then wrapped his article of clothing over the injury and pulled the makeshift bandage into a tight knot.

"Don't think I'm through with you just yet," Jade commented with his usual smile as he pulled his coat back on. While one would have found his actions to be somewhat spontaneous, he was very aware of his own responsibilities. When all of that was said and done, he glanced over at the direction that his Majesty had been walking towards, taking notice of the dark 'block' in the corner of the room.

[nobleman]

Somehow, they had made it. Considering his wounds and the fact that he was the last one to start running, Guy was also the last one to make it through the door. Now that he had a moment to think, he could tell that the upper right side of his body wasn't doing too well. The gashes on his arm weren't bothering him as much as the fact that the green ooze that had come out of that creature seemed to have destroyed his shirt. If it could burn through cloth, then there was a good chance it could burn through skin.

The servant watched as Jade stripped and figured he would follow suit. He pulled his shirt off and then used a clean part of it to rub at his side where the green stuff had brushed against his skin. He didn't know if that was going to do much good, though, and he was pretty sure the area was starting to burn.

They still needed to get down to the basement, though, so he wasn't sure if he should bring it up. But the longer he left it, the more it started to hurt. He kept his shirt held against it as he slowly moved over to where Jade and Peony had congregated, holding the meat cleaver in his free hand. "That was a close one," he remarked, trying to speak around a wince. At least some of them had gotten out of it unscathed. And the attack Jade had managed back there had been pretty impressive! Not that he was too surprised by that.