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

[hajike-tobiume.livejournal.com]

Momo was already on her feet, eyes narrowed and shimmering slightly as she looked at their spirit threads. At least she tried to. No souls - tey had no souls.

"I hope you this answers the question you had earlier about the state of the townspeople," Momo replied, wiping away the small bit of blood that had begun to drip from her own nose. "They lack souls as well."

Despite being trapped in a building with zombie-like creatures, Momo was surprisingly calm. This was unexpected and she was unarmed, but she was far from helpless. She was shinigami. Turning to Peter, she put a hand on his arm and forced him to meet her eyes.

"We need to get out. There is no tactical advantage in staying inside." Not with them. "Let's move!" With that, the shinigami delivered a kick at the closest bookshelf with a strength her tiny frame should not possess.

[mitase.livejournal.com]

[in from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/673721.html?thread=55591865#t55591865)]

Hanatarou's startled cry was cut off abruptly when he struck one of the shelves, then slid down onto the floor amidst a minor avalance of books. He somewhat belatedly lifted his arms to protect his head and blinked around at the store, attempting to regain his bearings.

This was all wrong, even more so than nights usually were in this place. They should've been back in the building, he should've had dinner with Sora and then had his uniform to change into. He could've at least felt like he was prepared for the night that way, even if the false-Hisagomaru he carried was more for show than anything else, but this - whatever was going on, he didn't know, and had no idea what he was supposed to do.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming from behind him, and the shinigami froze in place for an instant, ignoring the inevitable trickle of blood that seeped from one nostril as he focused on the spirit threads around him. He could hear something there, but - no threads. Nothing.

That meant...

The shinigami grabbed up the closest books and turned, hurling them with all his (not at all considerable) strength at the creatures approaching from between the shelves. He had nothing else with which to fight, and they were only coming closer.

[31st-of-china.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/674253.html?thread=55612109#t55781325) later at night]


He could see more the creatures shambling in on him from the main street.

Sanzo pushed at the front door. It gave, but stopped short against something heavy and solid. There wasn't any more time to try and force the thing. The undead were getting closer, and he needed to hurry up and make a damn decision whether to try this place further or move on.

The monk walked around to the side of the building, when his eyes caught something. One of the ground-level windows was shattered, and judging from a glance inside, it looked like someone had attempted to barricade the front door. Why the hell they didn't barricade the windows as well was beyond him. Gun out in front of him, he checked the main room, studying the corners, the counter. The last thing he wanted was to stumble upon a nest of frightened patients and get his ass shot at.

It looked clear. Carefully stepping through the broken window, Sanzo entered the bookstore. Glass crunched under his shoe soles.

[31st-of-china.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/675435.html?thread=55894123#t55894123) some time later]

The world was swimming back to focus. At first, all he could see were blurry shapes, couldn't hear anything but his ragged breathing. There was something spider-like coming at him from above. Sanzo's eyes closed.

Warm liquid was pooled up under him. He was lying on his stomach. His cheek was pressed against the floor.

His eyes opened again. This time they stayed open. That shadowy shape resolved itself into the hand of one of the undead. The creature was trying to reach for him. It was only inches away. Distantly, he rolled his eyes up. He got glimpse of a rotten eye before the face wavered into that of a spider-youkai, then to centipede. More dead eyes appeared.

There wasn't any sign of Takasugi. The barricade had shifted, falling a few inches. Gaps were opening up. The things were moaning as they pressed against it, teeth gnashing. Sanzo didn't know if they had any of the basics senses. They acted like they could smell the blood heavy in the room. It seemed like it was spurring them on. More hands were joining the first through the gap, all desperately trying to reach for him.

Something brushed against his hair, something suspiciously finger-like. Without thinking, Sanzo dragged himself further away. The things went into a frenzy, wailing and groaning. The barricade creaked ominiously. Inch by inch, Sanzo pulled himself across the floor, leaving a trail of blood behind. The monk got to the base of the steps before that last bit of strength gave out.

Sanzo rested his cheek back on the floor, unable to keep his head up much longer. He'd always known that there was a good chance he'd die on the mission. If not during, most likely after. He'd just never thought it'd be like this.

He just didn't think he'd have to die with that chorus of watery moans in his ears. Sanzo would've preferred it if death had been instant. Instead, he was going to have to listen to them trying to get in while he slowly bled to death.

The monk tried to focus instead on his own harsh breathing, even as he lay there. Anything to drown out the mob at the window.

[reserved: Kenren]

[timeleaper.livejournal.com]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/673721.html?thread=55972537#t55972537)]

He stepped into the building, looking around the dim interior carefully. There didn't seem to be anything waiting immediately inside, but that was no reason to throw caution to the winds. Complacency just got people injured or worse. He kicked aside some of the broken pieces of barricade and moved further into the building. The scent of blood and dead flesh hit him, but he heard no movement just yet. He turned back to the doorway where he could see Guy and Claude. "It seems safe for now," he said, although his voice was grim. "Watch out for the shrapnel."

[akarusa.livejournal.com]

[[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/677442.html?thread=56218434#t56218434).]]

Hokuto didn't realize until they actually got to the bookstore that there was no way Falis could climb onto the roof, even with assistance. It was possible there would be someone who could carry her, but... it was such a long shot she didn't think it was worth the risk of leaving Falis alone. Instead, she helped her over to the bookstore itself, hoping to find a corner they could sit in undisturbed.

Of course, first they had to worry about getting in... the door was blocked off, but the broken window was only partially barricaded. Hokuto sighed and looked at Falis, touching her cheek to get her attention. "This might be a little tricky, since we have to go through the front window. I'll go first, then help you in."