damned_institute | Nightshift 35: Main Hallway, 2-West

The leftover had a rather messy way of eating, trampling its victim underfoot before using its tongue to mop up the bloody mess. But it didn't get the chance to finish off Naomi, who had managed to resist long enough to stomp on the thing's tongue. The creature let out a pained roar, tongue finally uncoiling from her leg and retreating back into its unnatural mouth for the time being.

But now it was enraged, tongue lashing back out to try and keep Naomi down, long enough for it to crush her underneath its bulk. The creature raised the whiplike muscle up high before slamming it down towards the girl, whistling as it sliced through the air.

Matsuda had been huddled against the wall, watching as Naomi struggled with the thing and its...tongue. It was disgusting and horrifying, and he was surprised that she'd managed to fend it off for this long. It looked like she'd only made it more angry, though, and it didn't look good for them.

As the tongue came down again, Matsuda tightened his grip on his flashlight and scrambled back up. He swung it as hard as he could at the thing's tongue, letting out a rather fearful cry as he did so. It had worked before, maybe it would work again. He was so going to die, but maybe he'd be able to help her out.

Despite telling him to stay back and down, Naomi was grateful for Matusda's sudden action. She'd be angry later. For now, she scrambled away, wincing as she felt the weight of the thing's tongue slam into her shoulder, and flipped onto her hands.

It hurt, and she felt her bruised - possibly broken, she would think about it later - shoulder burn with pain, but she brought her legs straight up under the monster to slam her feet into what she assumed was the thing's chin. Or as close to a chin as the disgusting thing had.

Hopefully, between the two of them, they could fend the thing off....

The creature roared with anger as Matsuda's flashlight connected, sending the muscle flying off track and hitting Naomi's shoulder instead of her body. Before it could retaliate, target changed towards the cowering man that attacked it, it felt something strike the mass sloppily attached to its body, screeching at the sudden pain.

The force of the blow sent the monster reeling backwards, back into the wall as it scrabbled its many legs in an effort to keep upright. But the creature was not going to be felled easily, and it turned its attention to Matsuda, charging at the young man with the intent of pinning him against the wall or on the floor.

It had to feed.

Who knew, it had actually worked! Naomi had managed to get out of the way, and sent it into the wall. Good, now all they had to do was flee down the--

Oh shit, now it was headed his way. Running down the hall would probably be a very bad idea. Matsuda tried to scramble out of the way, but he knew he wasn't going to make it. He couldn't die here! They hadn't even gotten to L yet! He hadn't gotten home yet! Matsuda had come to terms a while back with the fact that the Kira case would probably kill him, but he'd much rather have a heart attack because of a notebook than be eaten by this...thing.

His body reacted on its own, swinging the flashlight out again with as much force as he could manage. He hoped it would drive the monster away so that he and Naomi could make a break for any place upstairs that might be safe.

Oh no. This wasn't good. Matsuda was trying to fend the thing off, but it was clear to Naomi that he didn't have the skills needed. And despite the pain in her shoulder, the hall remained empty, and she was going to have to do what she could to at least get the thing to leave the man alone.

Naomi recovered, feinting quickly to move to the side and round house kick the creature on the same side Matsuda was attempting to hit it with his flashlight. She didn't know how easily this thing would go down, but maybe...maybe if she could get her legs around its 'neck', she could snap something....

Alone, the flashlight would have slowed the creature down for a few moments before it resumed its rampage, but with the aid of Naomi, it managed to veer the creature of course and stop it in its tracks. For a moment.

The tentacle-tongue emerged again, bruised and battered but still very intact as it lashed forward, sweeping out and aiming to smash them both against the wall. The creature was very irritated now, and all it needed was to pin its prey down for just a moment.

Matsuda had finally gotten a hold of himself, or at least as well as he could manage under the circumstances, when the monster's tongue came back out and was headed right for them.

Even though he had watched and jumped in to attack it earlier, it was still frightening to see that tongue headed his way. If this monster was like something out of a horror movie, then its tongue was like something out of some awful porn movie. Or maybe...hentai, if that was the right term? Either way, the words 'Tentacle Rape' flashed through Matsuda's mind, and he fought down an extra twinge of panic that rose up. Hopefully the thing would kill them before it did that.

Matsuda reacted a second too slow, and begun bringing the flashlight up again just in time for the tongue to smash into him and pin him against the wall, covering both of his arms. He couldn't use his flashlight to try and get rid of it, couldn't try beating helplessly at it with his free hand. He was screwed.

Oh god, oh god, I'm going to die, were the panicked thoughts that repeated in his mind, but some small part of his brain couldn't help but try to be optimistic about it. After all, he'd at least survived until his second night. He just hoped that it would be quick and less painful than he could probably imagine.

Naomi wasn't quite fast enough this time. She brought her leg up for a kick, but felt the shock of the tongue slamming into her, pinning her with her leg raised and pulled painfully against her body. She squirmed and struggled, breathing growing quick and labored as she realized there was a good chance she wasn't going to make it through this.

But that didn't mean she was going to give up easily. She tried to bring her head down, mouth open, gagging at the idea of sinking her teeth into that disgusting tentacle tongue, but not having any other option at the moment.

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/396700.html?thread=37915036#t37915036)]

Just then, Tanaka mounted the last few steps of the stairs and burst into the hallway, drawn there by the noises he had heard in the stairwell. It didn't take him long to see what had made the roar he had heard... and one look at the thing dissolved every molecule of doubt he had that this place was run by a (more) deranged Umgah. Who else would stitch together human parts into a misshapen lump like that, and then sic it on two patients? The Shofixti stared at the thing for a moment, its legs too big or small, its... tentacle?... pinning a man to the wall... and... Ms. Maki!

Tanaka sprang into action. Rushing forward, he let out an ear-splitting "KYAAIIIIIIIEEE!" and brought down his flashlight on the tongue-tentacle, hammering it in an attempt to make it release its grip.

Zelnick hardly had a chance to register Tanaka's words before the guy had darted up the stairs-- jeeze, had he always been that fast?!-- towards the sound of a fight.

Zelnick wasn't sure whether he should take the battle cry as good or bad. On one hand, Tanaka had obviously rushed into the conflict, lending himself to help the other patients.

On the other hand, Tanaka had rushed into the conflict.

Swearing under his breath, he gestured with his flashlight for ZEX to follow, running behind Tanaka and flinching when he saw the monster. Oh god, that was... indescribable.

And attacking some other patients, and being attacked by Tanaka. Well, that settled that, and Zelnick followed at a more cautious speed, dashing in and slamming both flashlight and cast-iron skillet against the thing.

This was precisely why he and his Captain should have stayed in a safe room engaging in pleasurable activities. It had always been foolish to follow a Shofixti too close in battle!

But he had no choice, and the thought of his Captain in danger kept all other reservations at bay. He could not allow him to be hurt, no matter what the situation may entail.

And it entailed... something magnificent. When he caught sight of the strange, misshapen thing, for a moment it took his breath away. The wonders this institute could produce! Thousands of fascinated questions ran through his mind; how it moved, how it ate, its muscular structure, what it would feel like, but this wasn't the time nor place to give it better thought. It was violent and dangerous, and its beauty could not be safely appreciated now.

ZEX tried to think quickly. He had a blunt object, probably of limited effectiveness against something with thick skin and muscle. Its odd limb structure and movement could possibly be exploited, if he had a better weapon... a weak point, what could be a weak point? The tongue, obviously, but it seemed the others were attacking that already. He was at a disadvantage, uncoordinated and clumsy in this foreign body, but he had to think... keep it distracted, unable to focus on any one target, use the limited resources available... human claws and teeth, would they be of any use?

ZEX tried to think and move quickly, there was no time to waste. Squeeze, crush bones, if there was a secondary torso, its arms didn't look as if they could be used...

While the creature was distracted, ZEX circled around to what he hoped was the creature's backside. Human arms were a poor substitute for his own, but it was an instinctual offensive reaction. He leapt for the creature's body, attempting to scramble onto its back and take hold of the faceless mass on top of its backwards torso. If he could crush or twist it off...

This was to be the monster's moment of triumph; it could already taste its prey, mouth opening wide to begin the feeding process. One would have thought that the creature was actually smiling from how the corner of its mouth was upturned, clearly relishing the double serving it managed to capture.

And then all of that was gone when a loud sound filled the air, a shriek that rivaled its own, and the monster found itself being attacked from all sides. The beatings that came from the side from the two newcomers were enough to sufficiently distract it long enough for another to climb on its back to the useless torso atop its mass.

The creature was helpless at this point, battered tongue wildly trying to reach behind as it trashed and squirmed underneath the assault, but that was not enough to throw the patient on its back off.

Oddly, one would think that stitching together random parts would have worked to the monster's advantage, as it would be impossible to locate vital points. On the other hand, it made randomly swinging at the monster eerily effective.

CRACK!

A resounding crack filled the air as something in the creature broke, perhaps from the multiple beatings or the extra weight on its back, or it simply was bent over the wrong way, but after that crack, the creature suddenly went limp and fell over, legs twitching and mouth gasping one last breath before it went completely silent, tongue dropping right to the ground and freeing Naomi and Matsuda.

Matsuda had been bracing himself for the feeling of being devoured alive (whatever it actually felt like), but it never came. He had glanced up at the battle cry to find someone jumping at the monster and swinging a flashlight at it. Then two more people came up. It was an entire rescue party, and they seemed to know what they were doing.

Oh thank god!

Gratitude and relief simply weren't enough to describe how Matsuda felt when the monster's tongue fell to the ground. He slid to the floor, gripping onto his flashlight tightly as the rest of his body shook. They hadn't died, they hadn't died.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down again. That monster had been horrifying, but they had come up here for a reason. They had to hurry up and go rescue L. Matsuda looked over at Naomi, making sure that she was okay, before turning back to their rescuers.

"T-thank you!" he managed meekly as he pushed himself back up. He leaned against the wall as he took another deep breath. His hands were still shaking, but he was managing to calm down. They were alive, and that was all that mattered.

Edited 2008-10-01 20:57 (UTC)

Naomi almost wasn't sure what had happened. she'd tried to bite the thing, then everything was a blur and they were dropped....

"Tanaka!" she exclaimed, recognizing the man from the other day. She didn't recognize the others, but she recognized him. The one who had been 'biologically changed' by the institute. Sore and aching, her shoulder making an unhealthy crunching noise as she moved, Naomi struggled to her feet and adjusted her askew clothing - fixing her jacket, zipping it back up, making sure her skirt wasn't stuck inside her underwear.

"Thank you," she breathed, relief washing over her at the realization that they were safe. They were going to be alright.

"Thank you."

Tanaka was about to go check that Naomi and her escort were safe, but their quick response to the monster's death assured him that all was well. Coming a little closer to the two detectives, he replied, "Don't worry about it. I consider you a friend, Ms. Maki. It was the least I could do."

Then, the Shofixti paused, and looked back at his two companions, realizing that they probably had no idea why he had jumped into the battle so quickly. Straightening himself up, Tanaka began to rectify this situation with a quick introduction. "Captain, Admiral, this is Ms. Maki. Ms. Maki, this is Captain Zelnick, the leader of our little rebellion, and Admiral ZEX, an... ally, also from our time." Addressing the Captain again, he continued, "I met Ms. Maki over lunch the other day, and when I saw her trapped by that patched-together thing, I felt the need to act immediately on the matter."

That done, Tanaka took another look at the pair. Yes, this was the same man whom he had seen earlier, accompanying Naomi in the hallway. It was a good thing they had arrived when they did... neither seemed to have a weapon, and institutional cotton and a biker's jacket weren't much defense from a monster like that.

Wait.

Her jacket. Her clothes.

An odd expression crept over Tanaka's face as he continued to look straight at Maki. So she was also a traitor, one of the ones working for the Institute on the side. But... she was about to be eaten by one of Landel's abominations when he had arrived! And besides, meeting four traitors in two nights seemed a little unlikely, unless there were far fewer real patients than first appearances had indicated. In fact, had he seen anyone here who didn't have their uniforms, other than the people from his own time?

Tanaka shook his head, trying to clear it. The whole situation was too confusing to understand right now, but this much was clear: apparently, not everyone with their old clothes was in Landel's pay. Realizing that he had been staring at Naomi, he quickly tried to cover what might be considered rude by a human (and certainly would have been considered such by a friendly Shofixti). "I apologize. I have a lot on my mind right now, and drifted off for a moment." Hopefully, that would keep his momentary doubt of a personal ally from causing problems down the line.

Changing the subject, he added, "What brings you up here, though? We were going to look for supplies, but if you have some other plan..."

It took Zelnick a moment to realize the thing was dead, stepping back rather unsteadily and staring at the gruesome-- and dead-- thing.

Whooh, adrenaline. The thing had been far, far larger than the cat-sized rats and roaches he'd seen, and those had been unsettling enough. What he wouldn't give for a ship distancing him from these fights...

After a moment, he steadied himself, just in time to catch Tanaka's introductions, and he looked up at the people they'd rescued. "Hey," he said, voice mostly steady, and waved a skillet-burdened hand in a semi-salute, before noting to Tanaka, "I would appreciate it if you gave me more warning before you launched yourself at things. And did the launching with considerably more self-preservation." He paused, then added with a smile, "But you did a good thing."

To the two rescuees, he asked, "You guys all right?"

ZEX was, at the moment, busy examining the dead creature's body with his hands, running over muscle lines and flesh with an almost creepy intensity. He was still perched somewhat on its back, since there was now no danger and he didn't see any immediate reason to move.

Although when people began to talk, he looked up somewhat, although he was still distracted. "Ah, Captain, are you alright?" That was all that mattered to him.

Well, that and the exquisitely bizarre thing he was now sitting on. He looked back to it, grinning unconsciously. It had died so suddenly! What could have been the exact cause? So many questions!

Matsuda listened to the introductions, but instead curiously watched the guy who was still on the monster's dead body, trying to figure out just what he was doing. Eventually, the man (Zex?) looked up and joined the conversation, so Matsuda looked back up at the other two.

Both of them seemed a tad less weird, although he didn't really know what else to make of them. Then again, Mr...Tanaka, was it? seemed like the kind of guy who was a bit more gung-ho about fighting, if what the 'Captain' said was right.

...These guys' names were way too confusing. Tanaka he could pronounce, since it was what the nurses were calling him, but Zelnick and Zex? Couldn't he just call them something simpler like Hideki and Daisuke, Bert and Ernie, or something like that?

"Yeah, thanks to you guys. I...I think we're okay," he responded, glancing over to Naomi. He'd probably have some bruises once morning came, but he'd gotten out of it, all in all, without a scratch. Naomi, however, might not have been that lucky, but he wasn't sure. It seemed like she had gotten hit when the thing had first shown up, but only she knew how bad it really was. "Right, Maki?" he'd let her handle the question of why they were up here in the first place. L was weird about letting other people know about him, and since she was an old friend, she'd probably have a better idea of what to say and what to not.

"We have other plans, thank you," Naomi said, inclining her head slightly. "But we're alright now, thanks to you." She favored all three with a warm smile, still reeling from the fact they hadn't ended up that thing's dinner.

She wasn't about to give any specifics, not now. It was up to L if he wanted anyone else to know he'd been taken tonight, not either of them. And luckily, Matsuda seemed to understand that as well.

"You'll have good luck finding supplies up here, though. I've heard the janitor's closet a couple halls down has a lot of stuff to plunder." She quickly changed to subject, focusing on Tanaka's plans rather than their own. She was indebted to the man now, for saving her life. She knew he'd done it as a friend, and she appreciated that - both the act and the friendship - but the fact remained.

"And if we find anything important tonight...you'll be the first to know in the morning."

"I'm glad to hear it," Tanaka answered the two. "That thing looked like it was winning decisively when we showed up... I wasn't sure how badly you were hurt already." He looked concerned for a moment, wondering if they'd be able to defend themselves should another monster come along. But his group had their own plans up here, and it wasn't his place to offer anything to "Maki" and her friend. After some consideration, he continued, "Well, if you already have your own objectives, I don't want to keep you waiting with any idle chatter. If you think you'll be all right the rest of the way..."

Turning his head to look back at his own group, Tanaka noticed ZEX's odd behavior as well... going over that misshapen lump like it was a rare sword. The Shofixti gave him a quizzical expression, if only for a second or so - for once without any particular disgust in it if only because the actions were so odd in context. Forget warning the Captain about ZEX, he would be happy to just find out why this VUX acted like a polar opposite to most of his species!

Well, never mind that. There was still work to be done that evening. Addressing the two, he asked, "Captain? ZEX? Shall we press on?"

Well, ZEX seemed to be enjoying himself. Which Zelnick didn't particularly want to think about, beyond realizing that-- in different circumstances, and with a place to keep it-- ZEX would probably have tried to capture the creature.

Putting that kinda creepy thought aside, he answered, "Yeah, I'm okay. Not a scratch on me."

Turning back to the people they had helped, he smiled. "Glad you're all good. And thanks for the tip, Maki." He nodded to Tanaka-- moving on was probably a good idea-- and took point for the moment. "Try to not get attacked again," he told Tanaka's friends, then moved on towards the kitchen.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/468026.html?thread=38139962#t38139962)]

Matsuda was kinda confused what they'd been talking about, for the most part, but he supposed he would learn his way around eventually. He sure intended not to get attacked again, at least. He waved to the rescue group as they left, then turned back to Naomi. "You sure have some nice friends," he said, giving her a smile.

But now that they were free, it was time to move on. The rescue had put him in a better mood about things, definitely, even though he was still kinda nervous about getting attacked again. If that happened...well, they'd have to find a different way around, because his solution was turning tail and running in the opposite direction as fast as he could. They'd been dawdling too much, and Matsuda was more than ready to head toward wherever this hall was.

Except he didn't know where it was.

"So, ah...which way is the hall where they're keeping him, again?"

"I...didn't even know they were my friends," Naomi said, quietly and half to herself. She'd never been good at making friends. She'd never wanted to make friends. Not to say she had some aversion to the idea, it just was never high on her list of priorities. And now, apparently, she'd ended up finding herself some damn good ones in this place.

"It's down there," she went on, focusing on the task at hand. "Matsuda, I might need your help," she admitted, testing her weight on the leg that had gotten caught between the wall and the tentacle. It hurt.

"We don't have very far to go, but if Ryu needs a hand getting back to his room...." Which, Naomi imagined, would mean she and Matsuda walking along with him but trying to make it look like they weren't. She knew how he was about help.

Matsuda was kind of confused by her statement. Tanaka had said he considered her a friend, hadn't he, so how could she have not known? Then again, he tended to consider anyone he liked (or met, usually) a friend. Oh well, she knew now that they were her friends.

He glanced down the hall, then looked back over when she said she might need his help. "Huh? You've got it," he replied, moving closer. He took her arm and slid it over his shoulder, allowing himself to support both of their weight. If they could just get down there without getting attacked again, then they could get him back. If he needed to get back to his room, however...

"Well, is there any other place up here that might be safe and easier to get to?" he asked after a moment of silence, trying to think over some better way. "Some place where he could at least rest and we could make sure he was okay?"

Nightshift 35: Main Hallway, 2-West

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