damned_institute | Night 43: West Wing, South Hall 1-B

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Night 43: West Wing, South Hall 1-B

[from here]

Something didn't feel quite right about the building as Beatrix stepped out into the hallway. Moving to the left, she put her back against the wall to wait for Wonka to arrive. She wasn't sure what didn't feel right about it, but her instincts were warning her to expect more of the unexpected and to trust what she felt, not her eyes.

A flicker of movement out of the corner of her eyes, yet nothing was there. Her eyes narrowed. Yes, something wasn't quite right.

[waiting for Wonka]

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High above the wandering patients heads was a faint noise, almost like something was shifting around in the cover of the darkness. A faint chittering noise could be heard as well, but that was the only warning the pair got as the three bats dropped down from the ceiling, two diving from the leading patient's face while the last circled to attack from behind.

[Kesiah]

He was about to reply to Feldt when the sounds of something not quite human caught his attention. He stopped on his tracks.

And suddenly, before he could do anything else, two bats had swooped down on him. He gave out a startled cry as he automatically raised both arms in front of his face, crossed together in a defensive position, the grip on his flashlight tightening.

And then it was there: the smell of something reeking of decay, the smell of death that he was so familiar with ever since he was child. Scenes from his past as a child guerrilla flashed before his eyes—gathering up the prisoners, aiming a rifle at the back of their heads, dragging their dead bodies and tossing them into a shallow grave—

He gave out an angry cry and swung both arms out in an attempt to swat the bats away.

They were being attacked. That much was obvious when the bats swooped in on the pair. There was something off about these bats though - something that felt just as off as everything else in the institute. She didn't have a chance to point the beam of the flashlight towards one of the bats. She almost dropped the flashlight she was carrying in an attempt to swing around and at least catch them in the light for a short moment.

These bats were nothing like what she had read about in books, and definitely not anything like the stuff she had learned from Haro. She had noticed the third bat circling around behind them in her attempt to get a good look at it, and threw her arms up to protect herself.

She really wasn't much of a fighter.

The flashlight beams were a problem, though easy enough for the bats to avoid as they tore through the air, shrieking when the light came too close to them.

It seemed they'd chosen their prey well, as both patients chose to try blocking their faces rather than attacking back, meaning the bats would have a better chance at doing enough damage to bring then down and feast. One darted in close to Setsuna's arms, intent on tearing into the vulnerable flesh there, but then the prey suddenly fought back in an unexpected burst of anger. The attack was wild and uncoordinated, but it managed to catch the bat by surprise, tossing it into the nearby wall with a snap of fragile wing bones and another gust of decay.

The one attacking Feldt seemed to have better luck, since the girl didn't seem likely to fight back as much as the boy had, but all the same it came in low, more cautious after the fate of the first creature.

The opening was enough for Setsuna to whirl around. He noticed now, how the bats reacted when the light had been pointed at them, so he made sure to keep his flashlight raised at all times.

He glanced over his shoulder and noticed that Feldt had also been attacked.

"Feldt Grace!" he cried out, rushing to her side and pointing the light at the bat.

Feldt couldn't help but notice how the bats reacted to light as well, even if she was currently trying to keep herself safe from the things. But... if they made that sound when light got close to them, then it was probably safe to say that light did something to them.

Setsuna had reacted before she could, as he was pointing the light at the bat that was currently attacking her - but there was another one still. One that Setsuna hadn't hit. Feldt edged closer to Setsuna, but she kept holding her flashlight up, hoping to find it in the dark.

The bats gave inhuman screams as the light caught them, the light painfully bright to their eyes, and wheeled around, relying on their speed and size to avoid the annoying beams. While the patients might be bigger and better armed than them, the bats could move faster and go to places they couldn't, giving them a possible advantage.

They swooped back for another attack, this time one diving from high towards Feldt's head while the other swept up from underneath, clawing at Setsuna's hand.

Setsuna's years of fighting had taught him the skills he needed and honed his reflexes to what they were today, so when he sensed the bat charging from underneath he swiftly dodged away—but the bat was quicker.

He gave out a cry of pain as the bat's claws grazed against his skin, bright red blood seeping out the wound and forming tiny, round droplets on the floor. He ground his teeth together and tried to counterattack, this time trying to use his flashlight as a weapon. With an angered grunt, he adjusted his grip on the flashlight so that it was positioned horizontally, almost like how he held a knife during hand-to-hand combat, and quickly swung the end without the light at the bat that had just attacked him.

The screams from the bats were loud, and they made Feldt want to cover her ears - but she didn't. She was a bit braver this time, now that she had seen Setsuna take care of one of them easily enough. However, she wasn't very good at actually attacking. The most she could do was swing her arms around a bit, trying to hit the bat away from her head.

She almost stopped doing that when she heard Setsuna's cry of pain, although she worriedly looked over at him. She would need to make sure he was okay once the threat of the bats had been handled. She didn't have the time to do that just yet.

The scent of blood in the air had a noticeable affect on the bats, as they seemed to focus on little else. The one attacking Setsuna tried to get in close again to attack the same hand, intent on doing further damage and possibly obtaining a piece of sweet flesh for itself. That proved to be its undoing, however, as it couldn't avoid the attack in time and the flashlight smashed into it, snapping delicate bones and splattering rotting gore around the area.

The remaining creature was knocked back by Feldt's arms and to the floor, momentarily stunned but uninjured.

The snapping sound where Setsuna had hit the bat was enough to ensure him that his blow had connected. His nose scrunched up at the rotting smell that only grew stronger from the blow as he swiftly turned around to check on Feldt.

He spotted the bat lying on the floor beside her, unmoving. Before, he wouldn't hesitate to eliminate it, but now was different. He wasn't sure whether there were other monsters around this hallway and he wasn't going to risk it, so they had to leave immediately.

He wasn't going to lose another comrade again.

Quickly, he reached out and grabbed Feldt's wrist. "Let's go!" he exclaimed, running to the next hallway and dragging her along.

What were those things?!

Whatever these bats were, they were disgusting. The smell only continued to grow worse as well. She hoped that Setsuna was okay - although she didn't get a chance to do much, considering that the older boy had grabbed her wrist and started leading her away.

She was okay with that, though - because she wanted to get as far away as possible from those things. Whatever they were, they definitely weren't normal.

But with the last one stunned on the ground, it was probably better if they kept going.

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Night 43: West Wing, South Hall 1-B

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