Nightshift 35: West Wing, South Hall 1-B

[givemeoblivion.livejournal.com]

[from here]

Left led outside, further down the hall at least. Callisto reminded herself absently of this as she went the opposite direction. In the future she might see what all the fuss was about, but not now. The announcements only made her current target all the more interesting.

[to here]

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[damned-monsters.livejournal.com]

Even if the patients had heard them and were ready, the rats didn't hesitate. They continued to stick close to each other as they reached the two, and it was only once they were practically at the two men's feet that they split up.

One rat went for Citan, tail swinging around as it jumped forward and aimed for his ankle. Another moved toward Armand, skirting around the pillowcase he was swinging in order to make an attempt to latch onto his leg as well.

The third started to circle around behind them, not wanting to give the two any chance of escape. The creatures didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that the things they were attacking were much larger than them.

[reanalyze.livejournal.com]

Citan had to fight back a chuckle as the diseased little thing went for his foot. He brought his foot up and out in a sharp little kick, intending to catch the thing in its middle and send it backwards.

"Tenacious creatures, aren't they?" he called back to Armand, narrowing his eyes some at the animal going for his companion. He hated to turn his back on the one attack him, but...well...he knew Armand was no fighter.

[secret-orchard.livejournal.com]

"Yes," Armand agreed. He kicked out at the rat, to break its attempt to attach itself to him, and turned in place so he could swing the weighted pillowcase again. He lost track of the other two rats.

"Where did the other ones go?"

[damned-monsters.livejournal.com]

Citan's kick hit, and while the rat was tossed back with a startled cry and hit the wall, it didn't intend to simply lay down and die. It took a moment to gather itself and then raced forward again, this time attempting to jump up at Citan's legs, hooked claws outstretched.

The one targeting Armand was able to avoid his kick and then zone in on his leg, jumping up at it and then scratching down the man's shin.

The third one had managed to get around behind the two patients, and when it realized that one of its companions was having some success in its attack, it moved up behind Armand and made to nibble at his heel - but its teeth were by no means small.

[reanalyze.livejournal.com]

Citan muttered a curse as he felt the rat's claws sink into his leg. The pain didn't bother him, rather the fact that the creature had managed a hit. It was simply an over-sized, diseased rodent! The constant reminders of his weakness in this place did not sit well with the man.

He brought a straight hand down on the thing's neck, lips set in a thin line. He was going to kill it. It and every foul creature this institute saw fit to release upon him.

"How are you faring, Armand?"

[secret-orchard.livejournal.com]

Armand hissed in pain as the claws, not so tiny now that they were sinking into his leg, ripped down his leg to his boot top. He knew better than to crouch, so he reached with his bare hand to try to pry it off, and back-stepped, right into the teeth of the one behind him. He kicked back with that food, hoping to dislodge the rodent.

"I found the other one," he said, not letting himself sink into worry yet.

[damned-monsters.livejournal.com]

When Citan's hand smacked down against the rat that had attached to him, it wailed and squirmed, wanting to get away since it knew that there was a chance that the human wanted to grab it. It realized that it might be doomed in the human's grasp, after all.

When the second rat's claws met the top of Armand's boot, it wasn't sure what to do. It didn't want to retreat without getting something for its efforts, and so it took a quick bite out of his leg before the man's hand threw it off.

The one that was biting at Armand's heel got two small chunks of flesh ripped out before it was kicked away, flying off of his foot and landing against the floor.

[reanalyze.livejournal.com]

"We'll best them!" Citan grinned as he felt the creature's fear. He tried to snatch the scruff of it's neck, to pluck it up and finish it quickly and with as little mess as possible. He didn't want to make it bleed out, after all.

And Armand seemed to be handling himself rather well. Perhaps he could learn a few simple moves.

[secret-orchard.livejournal.com]

Since he was resigned to being bitten, Armand had his jaw clenched tight so he wouldn't cry out when the teeth sank into him. But then he freed himself of the creatures. He whirled around in place, trying to focus on one of the two that had attacked him. His step was unsteady--he'd never realized how much one used one's heels. He wasn't sure if they needed to kill all of them, or if just one would satisfy Citan.

[damned-monsters.livejournal.com]

In the end, the rat that Citan was after wasn't able to get away. It screeched when it was seized, not wanting to imagine what might be coming next. It flailed around as much as it could, willing to do anything in order to get away from the man before something terrible happened to it.

Though the two rats that had been after Armand had dispersed, that didn't mean they were ready to quit. When he didn't make any immediate attempt to attack them, the one that he wasn't facing jumped for his leg again, while the other remained where it was and tried to anticipate what would happen next.