Nightshift 42: The Bookworm

[tightsofmight]

Worst Case Scenario: they got stuck in town when night came.

He hated being right.

It started out subtle. Hinamori had barely finished her sentence before he realized that the sunlight had all but died. Things got a little cooler, wisps of grey marking their every breath. Peter turned to the window in horror. A splatter of blood blossomed before his eyes on the glass, welling up from the centre and drying as soon as it was born. Beyond it, the paved street cracked. Half-fleshed hands sprouted from the divide, pulling up even more gruesome bodies behind them.

"GAAAH!!" he shrieked, clutching at his throbbing head. His spider sense was going psycho, harder than it ever had. He tasted blood, leaking in a thin trail from his nose to his lips.

Get up get up get up

He pushed past the sensation, shooting a look up to Hinamori, then to the rest of the store when the floorboards started to creak. The clerks behind the counter didn't look so friendly now.

"Zombies," Peter whispered in disbelief, rising from his chair. "Oh my god, they're all zombies..."

The pain in his head began to fade. He took no solace in that.

Comments

[nobleman]

Guy was relieved to hear that the bookstore was apparently clear for the moment, although he didn't feel so great about it when he stepped in. The stench of rotted blood was much stronger in the enclosed space, and he was forced to put a hand to his mouth as he looked around.

It was pitch dark, and Claude's head lamp only illuminated so much. He wasn't sure that there was much for them to do in a place like this, except maybe call out for survivors who might be hidden in the cramped aisles somewhere.

Getting to the roof seemed like the more pressing plan, but he wasn't quite sure how they were going to do that, especially since Claude's arm was out of commission. Maybe he and Ronixis could work together to boost the younger man up? If there were people already up there, they could probably help too.

He was about to suggest as much when Claude spoke up and Guy glanced down in the direction his friend was looking. "Not sure," he said, though he quickly bent down, knowing that it was best that Claude exerted himself as little as possible at this point. He felt the coldness of the item against his hand, and stared down at the gun as he got back to his feet.

Where had this come from? A patient must have found it and then dropped it from some reason -- Guy didn't really want to think about why. He showed it to Claude, not quite sure what to say about it. It was a lucky find, but there was no telling if it even had any bullets. In any case, it wasn't any good to him -- he had no idea how to use guns (although he'd gotten used to dodging shots from them after a few fights with Legretta). Maybe Claude or Ronixis could get use out of it, though. Guy doubted there would be much of a chance of finding its original owner, after all.

[timeleaper.livejournal.com]

Ronixis gave Claude a curious look when the young man spoke, following his gaze but not seeing very much in the faint light. He was a little too far away for the light from the headlamps to be that useful to him. He was still more preoccupied with keeping watch for anything which decided to come after them as well. He wondered if they could drag any of the bookcases or even a chair from in here to help them climb onto the roof because he wasn't certain that Claude would make it under his own power if he was already having to lean on Guy like that. But then again, if they left a chair near the wall, it would be too easy for any of the creatures to get up if they could climb. He didn't want to take that risk.

He took a step towards them when Guy picked the object up, peering at it through the gloom. His eyes widened at the sight of the gun in the man's hand. Now that wasn't something that he'd ever expected to find in a place like this. "A gun? Who would have dropped something like that?" he asked incredulously. It seemed ridiculous to drop a valuable weapon especially when they were so rare.

[full-score.livejournal.com]

Claude stared at the gun in Guy's hand. He hadn't expected anything like that -- not here, of all places. Who would have dropped? That was a good question, but so was the matter of why.

"I don't know," he said slowly, and he gave an uneasy glance around the darkened room, his headlamp sweeping across the area. "But I don't think we should be standing around here much longer." It didn't look like there was anyone trapped in here after all, nor was there a way up to the roof from here. They were probably sitting ducks in a place like this.

By now the pain from his wound was spreading up his neck. Without thinking, Claude reached over to rub at it. The moment he touched his skin, however, his fingers jerked away as if he'd been burned. Claude's limbs suddenly grew cold at the realization that his skin felt like it was about to fall off.

That, combined with the awful, brutal thoughts that suddenly came with being in such close proximity to Guy and Dad, caused Claude's stomach to tighten with a kind of panic he didn't think he'd even experienced on the battlefield before. It was one thing to become poisoned or paralyzed from a well-aimed attack or spell; it was another thing entirely to figure out that he was turning into a monster.

Claude's heart thumped wildly in his chest, but he wasn't sure what to say. He couldn't even bring himself to look at his companions.

[nobleman]

Guy could agree that it was best that they try to get to the rooftop now that they were sure no one else was in here (if someone was hurt, they should have called out to them when they heard their voices, right?). The fact that a gun had just been abandoned here left him uneasy, although now he was left with the task of figuring out what to do with it.

"Can either of you use a gun?" he asked, glancing from Ronixis to Claude. Guy knew he would be no good with it, but now that they had found the thing it didn't seem like it should go to waste. He wasn't even sure if there were still bullets in it, but there might be. A gun would probably do a lot of damage against one of those creatures...

"Also, I was thinking that if we went back outside me and Ronixis might be able to boost you up onto the roof, Claude," he suggested. "There are other people up there who can probably help too." His friend wasn't really looking at him, but that was probably because if he did, the lamp on his head would blind Guy.

Either way, the servant couldn't see much of Claude's expression in the darkness, and so he had little to no idea that something was wrong.

[timeleaper.livejournal.com]

"I can," Ronixis said seriously. It would feel very strange to be using a gun again after having adjusted to exclusively using a bow and Heraldry, but he'd done enough training with a gun that he was very proficient in the use, albeit with something slightly more advanced than this one. "Although I'd prefer that one of you take it if you can use it," he added honestly. He didn't like the idea of either of them going unarmed when he at least could use heraldry, no matter how limited.

He nodded in agreement with Guy's plan. "I think that would be for the best." Claude was injured so it would be best to get him somewhere safe before anything else. He and Guy could at least defend themselves. "Let's head out again. I don't think we'll find anything useful here and there doesn't seem to be anyone left inside."

[full-score.livejournal.com]

It took Claude a moment to realize Guy had asked them something, and another moment for him to actually something. "U-um, I can use one, too, but..." He trailed off for a second, glancing toward his father and swallowing hard. "I have a sword back at the institute, and this crowbar right here, so...maybe you should just take it."

As far as he knew, Dad wasn't armed at all. While it was true he had his spells, Claude was familiar enough with how powers worked around here to understand that sort of thing could only take him so far.

He decided not to think about the fact he didn't trust himself with it in the first place -- not now, anyway.

When Guy and Dad suggested boosting him onto the roof with other people, the newly-born, bloodthirsty part of him whispered yes, yes, yes-- and Claude squeezed his eyes shut and quickly shook his head. "N-no, wait, hold on a second, you guys. I'm not so sure that's a good idea..."

As he spoke, he began to lead the way back outside. There wasn't ever really going to be a convenient place to say this, but right now standing around in here didn't seem like such a good idea.

((To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/673721.html?thread=56230841#t56230841).))