Nightshift 40: Outside the Institute - Lake

[tender-cruelty.livejournal.com]

[From here]


By the time that Allelujah saw the first hints of snow, he was already wishing that he'd borrowed Fai's coat. He could see his breath rising in the air in front of him and a chill mist seemed to seep through the Institute coat that he was wearing. It wasn't made to endure the cold for more than a couple of hours, he supposed, the material thinner than he would have liked. He wished that he had some kind of gloves as well to keep his fingers from getting numb. But by that point he'd gone too far to want to turn back. He'd keep going for as long as he could.

His path took him away from the river, although he could always hear the sound of it and he kept moving back towards it at every opportunity, not wanting to get lost on the mountain tracks. The snow lay as a light dusting on the ground this high up, making the paths slippery and forcing Allelujah to cling to rocks more often, but he continued with dogged determination.

It took him by surprise when the path suddenly widened, the cliffs rising high on either side and leaving him staring down at a lake hidden within the valley below. His eyes widened at the sight of it; the white snow and bright water and the ice floating serenly across the surface, and he peered out for a few moments, noting the presence of a small hut, before he began to make his way down towards it. But as he walked, the valley began to seem less and less pristine and perfect. In places, the snow was stained with dark patches of what could only be blood and the closer to the lake that he got, the less clear the water appeared. The whole place had an air of corruption which made him feel slightly sick.

How far had he walked tonight? Five miles? Ten? More? And the corruption was still present. How far did it spread? If he somehow managed to travel to a different state, a different country, would he still find things changed like this at night? If he would then... then what was the point?

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[damned-monsters.livejournal.com]

The area seemed unnaturally still tonight, but like the seemingly-pristine valley the impression only lasted for a short time. The chill silence was abruptly broken by a sharp, baying howl that echoed off the surrounding cliffs, rendering the source impossible to determine at first. After a moment the shadows in a rock crevice seemed somehow to coalesce and take solid form into the creature that emerged from within, lurching out into the open with an unsteady gait.

As it stepped out, broad paws crunching against snow and bone alike, the wan moonlight revealed more of its form: it was massive, almost doglike, and coated in matted fur as dark as the gloom that had hidden it. The vicious, talonlike claws that dug and tore into the ground with each step were, however, quite solid, and its long bushy-furred tail swished and swayed as its hindquarters moved out of synch with the fore.

Hunger made it salivate as it approached, faster than it might be thought possible for such an ungainly-seeming creature, and it bore down on the unlucky intruder with single-minded intensity.

[tender-cruelty.livejournal.com]

Allelujah snapped to attention the moment that the ghostly howl sounded around the valley, his gaze turning in the direction that he thought the noise had come from, trying to pinpoint it. It proved unnecessary however because the beast soon stepped out into the open, revealing itself and Allelujah couldn't help but shudder at the sight. It was just wrong. The way it moved, the way it swayed so oddly... nothing living should be able to move like that.

Before he could think about it too deeply though, it began to run towards him at a ridiculous pace, giving Allelujah little time to draw one of the long broken glass pipettes and a flask of acid. He doubted that he could outrun the monster, so fighting seemed the only option.

[damned-monsters.livejournal.com]

Everything about the creature spoke of wrongness, from its lurching gallop to its odd appearance, like a mingling of insect and canine. It even more than the bloodstains and corruption in the area was a sign of just how very distorted the area around the Institute could be, and it was certainly more dangerous than both of those combined.

Dirt and bloody snow scattered beneath its paws as it charged toward Allelujah, and once close enough the great hulking beast launched itself at the man. Both forepaws were outstretched, aiming to strike the man's upper chest, as its gaping jaws sought to close on his throat.

[tender-cruelty.livejournal.com]

It was moving too fast by then to dodge completely out of the way, so Allelujah twisted away from it, presenting his shoulder instead of his throat to the beast as it leaped, the sharp jagged glass of the pipette sticking out towards it. At the same time, he raised the other hand, the one holding the acid bottle, and brought it down sharply at the beast's head, regardless of the acid which spilled over his own fingers.

[damned-monsters.livejournal.com]

The beast was large enough that when it struck, it struck hard - which was not entirely a good thing, since it meant that it drove the sharp-tipped piece of glass deep into its chest. That combined by the sudden burning fluid splashing across its muzzle and into one eye was enough to distract it from what it thought would be an easy meal.

Its teeth had started to sink into the flesh of the man's shoulder but it drew back again a little with a sharp whimper of pain and a snarl, shaking its great furry head sharply as though it could just flick the acid away. And all the while its long bushy tail flailed madly, like a puppy's upon sighting its master, even if nothing else about its demeanor spoke of friendliness.

[tender-cruelty.livejournal.com]

Allelujah grunted softly when the beast hit him, feeling the sharp teeth dig into his shoulder but he knew that if he let himself be distracted by the pain, then he'd give the monster an advantage. He could deal with the wounds later. He felt the glass sink deeply into the monster's flesh and the whine of pain said that the acid had done its work, even if Allelujah's own fingers were now burning from contact with it.

As soon as the beast let go of him, he grabbed the other flask of chemical and brought it down viciously against the creatures head, grinding it into its skin as hard as he could, even though the glass shards cut into his own skin as well.