Nightshift 45: Recreational Field

[doneinthree]

[From here]

The air outside tasted so good that Bill didn't even bother to worry about how improbably realistic it was that he could be hallucinating fresh air too. He supposed if his genius IQ had to be good for something, it was for conjuring overly complex delusions. How else would he have come up with that whole bit about old future Spock instigating him to start a fight with Aidan? Only his own awesome brain, creating elaborate lies to excuse the shitty things he did after getting suspended from school.

It was freezing out here. Balancing his flashlight in one hand, Bill reached for the buttons of his coat to block out the cold, but then stopped when the dancing beam of light made it obvious that he was alone on the soccer field. Or, at least, imagining that he was alone as far as he could see, which admittedly wasn't that far at all. Still, there was no one moving along the building to the other door, no one headed to the walls...

Bill squinted through the barely moonlit darkness, unable to explain why any of that should unnerve him.

Comments

[damned-monsters.livejournal.com]

Something stirred in the dark field, making the mists clinging near the walls swirl in brief warning before...something emerged from the deeper darkness by the wall. The form revealed in the dim moonlight might once have been human, but now? Under the twisted experiments of the Institute it was far more than the sum of its parts. And such varied parts, indeed...

A woman's head and torso certainly formed the creature's base, clad only in a fall of filthy hair that might once have been blonde but now hung in dingy, lank strings. One eye was all that was clearly visible of its features, and that empty of anything resembling human thought or emotion; it swiveled in its socket to fix on the lone man before the creature opened its mouth to bare unevenly-spaced fangs in a hiss.

It moved out of shadowy concealment on not legs, but what appeared to be the tail of a serpent larger by far than anything that could be found in nature. From its shoulders hung massive patchwork arms, in some places human skin, in others matted fur, and in others what appeared to be odd blobs of moss. Each ended in four blade-like nails, however, glinting razor-sharp even in what little light could be found in the area - light that seemed to be blotted out further by the massive wings spreading behind the creature's back, raggedy black feathers lifting to blot out the sky above.

[tiassa]

[doneinthree]

Movement swirled in the corner of his vision as Bill's flashlight went over the area for the second time, and his head turned to face it before the electric light did, catching a glimpse of... a woman? If there was only one thing he knew well, it was feminine shapes, but the rest of it was all wrong: hulking where she should have been slender, twisting where she should have been straight.

You're seeing things, his mind insisted, which was the same time that he called out "Hello?!" — which was also the same time that the woman emerged from the shadow of the high wall, propelled forward by claws and tail and wings.

While Bill was aware of some logical inner voice telling him that he was still seeing things, it could not overcome the soft pink animal part of him that saw those nails and started backing up, clumsily, blindly.

"Okay, now would be a good time to wake up," he suggested to himself, as if just saying it would be enough to snap him out of his nighttime hallucinations. Mind over matter, Bill. Wake up, wake up, wake up—

[damned-monsters.livejournal.com]

Though he was backing away, he wasn't moving all that fast; it wasn't difficult at all for the grotesque creature to keep up and come closer still. Its movements seemed uncoordinated, snake-tail undulating over the frosted grass and wings flapping out of sync as though the parts of different origin were still trying to move on their own. No matter how awkward its appearance, though, it was still unnaturally quick to close the distance between itself and its prey.

The leftover lunged forward, driven by a hunger that would never cease, its mouth agape and a string of drool oozing from the corner, dripping unheeded onto its bare chest. One misshapen arm lifted and swung to strike once it judged it was close enough, blade-fingers spread and glinting razor-sharp in the cold moonlight.

[doneinthree]

Even as Bill kept stumbling backwards away from the woman-bird-snake-thing, he couldn't help but stare at her with the sort of detached fascination that came from knowing that you were looking at something which wasn't real. Her awkward, out-of-its-element movements reminded him of a dream: an endless field even colder than this one, a massive improbable creature stumbling across the ice toward him, close enough for him to smell the stink of it but just far enough (inches, seconds) that he wasn't shredded to jerky...

Like now.

Like right now.

"Son of a—!" Bill spun away from her, but too late — the monster's lunging claws caught him across the chest and shoulder, slashing past both his thin T-shirt and unbuttoned coat. Bright red pain shot through him, and he screamed as he tumbled into the cutting grass, retaining just enough sense to twist his body so he didn't hurt himself worse. Pure desperation fueled what he did next. Bill chucked his flashlight at the monster's head with all the strength he could muster and, without waiting to see it connect, tried to scramble away from her and back to his feet so he could run.

[swornandbroken.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/755796.html?thread=62088276#t62088276)]

He hadn't seen or heard anything even potentially life-threatening yet, but Mello remained wary as they went. Sure, some of the other prisoners could've been so suggestible that a little darkness would've freaked them out, but just like the place should damn well have been shut down from the outside by now, it was equally inexplicable that there would still be people trapped here if there were a chance to walk right out every night. He twisted the pillowcase into a sort of rope, and wrapped it around his left hand, ready to swing it if he had to. Maybe it would prove overkill to have headed out with a weapon in each hand, but he felt better with them.

It was fucking cold out there, and Mello huffed quietly in annoyance that he'd been in too much of a hurry to leave the room to look for warmer clothes. There wasn't anything to be done for it now. He squinted out into the dark night and gave Emmett a shrug that said: Let's go while the going's good.

[damned-monsters.livejournal.com]

It seemed clear enough for the moment, though with the mists clinging thicker at the edges of the field it could be difficult to say for certain if one was alone out there. It was possible that the way was completely open for the two to reach the far wall and even climb over.

The bell-like howl of a canine that had scented prey, however, would probably make one doubt that assumption. There was no sign for the moment of the creature that had called the hunt, though, and the sound shivered sourceless over the chill field.

[rides-on-top.livejournal.com]

The shock of cold air startled Emmett, he'd been impervious to cold temperatures for so seventy years. Morgan was right, this place really fucked with you. He could run in the snow all night without flinching and now a little chill in the air was shaking him up.

Emmett only got a couple steps forward before he heard the unfamiliar howl. There was no dog stink in the air-- he could smell those kids coming a mile away, so it probably wasn't a werewolf. He scanned the field, but the fog made it difficult to locate the sound. Whatever was out there was hiding like a coward. Emmett wasn't going to be intimidated by a cowardly animal, so he nodded to Morgan and continued heading towards the obscured edges of the field.

[swornandbroken.livejournal.com]

Mello followed, switching off the flashlight. In this murk, it seemed likely that the beam would alert other (things, he thought, and pretended he hadn't) people to their presence before it could do its job alerting them to theirs. Thing was more useful as a club, anyway.

He nodded back to Emmett to show he was still good to go. This whole setup reeked of B-movie horror: vague, pseudo-ominous warnings from strangers; noises that were supposed to be spooky. It was all so fucking cheesy, Mello would have laughed if stealth hadn't been an issue. He wouldn't lie to himself, though: he sure did miss the familiar, live weight of his gun in his hand.

[pleading-ngri.livejournal.com]

Besides, there was a superstitious part of him that didn't want to announce too loudly any kind of happiness, just in case someone was watching and felt that needed to be corrected. Phoenix heaved a deep breath, giving into to the itchy restlessness that always took hold of him in the open air around here and speeding to a jog as he headed for the other door.

I'd say that's paranoid, but it's been pretty well proven that they're actually out to get us around here.

[war-wounds.livejournal.com]

A light shudder ran through Ratchet's frame, startling him until he remembered that Sari often made the same spastic movement when she was too cold. The air was uncomfortably cool out here, and a quick glance up at the stars and down at what had to be grass explained why. So, he'd ended up outside. Interesting. The stars weren't rendered all that well, only a thin sliver of their light visible. Well, even a well-coded sim had its limits. What dim light there was was still preferable to the pitch-black building he'd just left.

He could just make out a wall on the far side of the field. There was a decent chance that the sim ended there, and even if it tried to render more environment on the fly, Ratchet would be able to spot the program working. Either way, he'd be that much closer to shaking off this damnable virus.

[spandexorgtfo.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/755796.html?thread=62190420)]

There were already a few patients moving through the field, but Kratos paid them little mind; it was more important that they focus on reaching the basement as fast as possible.

Similar to the previous night, he fell to the rear of the group, watching closely for any sign of a monster.

[buteo-sapiens.livejournal.com]

< That's far enough, kids, > said a voice in their heads, and something leaped lightly from the top of the wall across the field, trotting closer, but still just deep enough in the darkness to be hard to see. < This is a no-passing zone. >

Which, Tobias considered, was a really awful one-liner, something Marco would say, but it got his meaning across, as did the way his tail-blade glinted slightly in the moonlight, arched and at the ready over his back.

< If you turn back, I won't have to hurt you, > he added, trotting back and forth over the grass, his hooves almost silent as it crushed greenly beneath them.

[faile.livejournal.com]

Fortunately, it hadn't taken long for Hitsugaya to arrive, and after a brief exchange of greetings, they were on their way. "I suppose we'll be taking the same route as before, then?" he asked as he began to make his way towards the vine-covered wall they had scaled the night before.

But before he could get near, he heard a strange voice. There wasn't anything particularly strange about the sound of the voice, but rather how he heard it. It seemed to ring within his own head, among his thoughts, though it was easily distinguished from them.

"An enemy," he announced, unsure if the others had heard it or not.

In an instant, Faize stopped in his tracks, scanning the area for movement. His eyes locked onto a figure leaping from the wall, though he wasn't quite able to identify it. Pointing his flashlight at the figure, the Eldarian was able to determine that it was a four-legged creature of some kind. The metallic glint and the unusual warning were more than enough to suggest it was some sort of threat.

Did the voice come from the beast, or perhaps one who commanded it? Faize couldn't be sure, but in the meantime he slipped into what he felt was his proper place for a battle: at the rear of the group. Standing on guard, he awaited any orders or actions to follow.

[ryuuzaki]

[From here.]

The cool air hit Daniel as he pushed through the door that led to the field. His Institute-provided coat was warm enough, but he still felt underdressed; he wasn't a man who had ever been very tolerant of physical discomfort. He knew that the longer he was engaged in this wild goose chase, the more he would want a hat, scarf, and gloves, to protect his extremities from the chill. A hood would have been acceptable, but the sweatshirt didn't have one.

It was brighter out here, so he turned off his torch and slipped it into the pocket of his coat. We've made it outside, he thought, with some disappointment. Where are the nurses? They should have seen us; there are enough people wandering the halls to alert them.

-- Maybe there are too many for them to stop easily, but why didn't they even try to make some kind of announcement suggesting that we go back to our rooms? It's peculiar... they seem to be entirely absent. He made up his mind to bring it up with his nurse in the morning.

He walked in a straight line, toward the wall that was some distance ahead of them, and spoke with a note of frustration in his tone. "We have not discussed how we will get over the wall."

[herr-inspektor.livejournal.com]

Personal issues were to be expected from Laurier- he had, after all, been admitted to a mental institute for some reason, even if it was all a gross sham- but Lunge made note of it anyway with a single twitch of his hand. It was a subject that could be chased when they were out of the Institute grounds, working through less difficult obstacles.

Then again, 'difficult' was entirely subjective. The chill of the night caught against Lunge's skin, sharpening his senses and mind to the finest of points. Primed. He became distinctly aware of their surroundings as they passed, from the grass underfoot to the voices of those already in the field. The greatest threat, he decided, comes from the shadows nearer the walls and from the roof building behind us. I will have to be the eyes for the both of us- Laurier's greatest fear (and 'fear' I use loosely) is that a nurse will find him. Mine is rather more... valid.

He had already decided how they were to tackle the wall. "The wall isn't a problem," he said as they approached, glancing back to Laurier to get a better look at his frame again. Now that he was standing a little straighter he could appreciate his height; he shouldn't have too much of a problem getting over. "Use the vines."

Hopefully, he hadn't lost too much of his edge, physically. Grabbing ahold of the thick, dark vines coiled along the wall like snakes, he put a foot to the stone, took in a breath and hauled himself up to the top of the wall and over.

[gavemyword.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/755796.html?thread=62433364#t62433364)]

He wandered out into open air and had to blink to adjust his eyes to the soft, evening light. It wasn't much better than the darkness inside, but it had a more natural quality that Jean appreciated. Even as a child, he would always stray into the back garden to practice. Kuina would sometimes follow after him and they'd argue over dinner or his schoolwork or something equally useless. She'd always beat him silly when they fought.

Jean caught himself before he thought too deeply about anything else. He went and sat down under a large tree, thinking that if any staff came to look for him they may as well find him peacefully enjoying nature.

He'd somehow managed to miss the people off fighting a freakish man monster and a dog but... that was just his imagination. Just a bunch of people going a little crazy. If they got too violent, he could always just climb the tree and wait it out.

[promisedawhale.livejournal.com]

The night air felt wonderful against his skin - a far better feeling than against bones! - and Brook paused in his humming and strolling to take in a deep breath. Things just got so stuffy in the building that it never hurt to take a moment to enjoy some simpler things like fresh air.

Unless there were wild beasts going after patients on the field.

Brook's breath caught and he moved, nearly fell back into the wall of the building. "Ah-h..." he stammered a little, and started sliding carefully along the wall, "I'll just... be heading on then," he said, nodding that it was best to not draw attention to himself. He used to have been made of bones after all, so a scary dog would probably love to have a go at him. If he could just make it to the wall...

[gavemyword.livejournal.com]

[I'm really, really, really sorry I've been failing you these past few shifts D:]

A tall figure cast a very distinct shadow over the grass Jean was resting on. He looked up in time to see the man's face and he recognized it almost instantly; it was pretty hard to forget a face like that. Jean wracked his brain trying to remember Brook's real name, hesitating to call out whatever name he'd known from his delusions and knowing it was too familiar to lead down the healing path he needed to travel.

But... just because he needed to do it didn't necessarily mean that he wanted to.

"Uh. Brook! Hey!" Jean yelled, waving his arms to draw attention. It might've been difficult to spot him from under the shadows of the tree had Jean not been calling out so loudly.

[dual-worlds.livejournal.com]

((From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/755796.html?thread=62284628#t62284628).))

Spock could see his breath in front of him as he stepped out into the cold air. It was uncomfortable, particularly for one possessing a Vulcan's physiology, but at least his uniform had long sleeves. At any rate, he didn't allow such matters to distract him as he quickly scanned the area. There didn't appear to be any "zombies" roaming the field, but that was the only ideal condition he could see. A couple of patients had apparently encountered some of the institute's beasts. While Spock privately acknowledged the conflict, his gaze was drawn toward a man who had just been knocked onto ground by another creature.

A quick sweep from his flashlight briefly illuminated the Captain.

Spock's eyebrows faintly furrowed at the realization, but he didn't hesitate in giving his orders. "Doctor, you and your companion will remain by the door while Mr. Chekov and myself attempt to retrieve the Captain. Only involve yourselves if we call for aid." The calm, yet authoritative tone in which he spoke suggested that the plan was not up for discussion.

He turned to his navigator. "Mr. Chekov, you will bring Captain Kirk back inside as quickly as possible. Do not engage any creatures unless absolutely necessary. I will distract the one attacking the Captain until you are safely off of the field."

[sewenteen-sir.livejournal.com]

Chekov had a few seconds to figure out what was happening. First, he saw someone running away from--what in Siberia was that?

He'd never seen anything like it. And from the way it moved and what he saw of it, he would have been willing to wager that he'd never see anything like it again. Snake-like body, wings, and what looked to be metal talons shredding something the person had thrown at it. Commander Spock's flashlight revealed it to be Captain Kirk.

Looking immediately for orders, Chekov received them from Commander Spock before he could even ask. While he didn't like the odds Commander Spock may or may not have with the talon-snake-being, he wasn't in a position to argue. Unless the doctor and the unknown prisoner had combat experience, Commander Spock was their best bet.

"Aye, sir!" Chekov replied on the tail of Commander Spock's order. He took a moment to ready himself, and he sped off into the darkness towards the crawling shadow that was (supposedly) Captain Kirk.

[To here! (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/759345.html?thread=62348849#t62348849)]

[hes-deadjim.livejournal.com]

Admitting to anyone out loud that he did consider the cold-blooded Vulcan a close friend wasn't something he was willing to do any time soon, much less to himself in his own delirium. Call it being obstinate, but there were some things better left unsaid. He was going to stick by it. He was also not going to wonder why his mind was bringing it up.

"More like fellow crew," McCoy settled on the more neutral option. It felt weird talking to figments his brain was conjuring up, as if they were actually right there. It was remarkably real. This whole thing was damned detailed, and he was even thinking up the cold air on his forearms. Remarkable.

Spock saved him from answering on that front right then by issuing orders. Even his mind was able to replicate that same commanding voice that he'd heard before. Instinct made him straighten up and obey, remaining where he was while he and Chekov took off into the darkness.

McCoy flicked the flashlight being over towards where they were running towards and nearly dropped it in the process: the beam lit upon something that could only come out of nightmares. It was large, and it was going after Jim!

"What the--" He started forwards despite himself. He forced himself to stop after the first few steps. If it weren't for Spock's orders....

[mukuchi.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/755796.html?thread=62554452)]

Mori stepped out into the field and froze - the smell of fear and blood and a scent Mori had never smelled before. Tonight there was no robot car, but there was something else. And that something else was made of flesh and blood, but wasn't from their world, or any world that Mori had ever heard of. Reaching up, he took hold of Mitsukuni's right leg, making sure to secure him to his shoulders and motioned to the fight across the field. They were both relatively unarmed (not that it had stopped Mori before when he ran into the path of the shuriken) and Leon was waiting for them, but it was obvious people were in trouble. They seemed to be handling it fair enough, but...

If he asked Mitsukuni, his cousin would want to go help. It would mean the delay of getting Mitsukuni his weapons. And setting Leon back even further. Frowning, Mori made the decision to move on, silently apologizing to the people across the field. He hoped they'd be alright...

Turning, he hurried along the wall and headed to the next door leading back into the Institute.

[mukuchi.livejournal.com]

[going here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/758058.html?thread=62605610#t62605610)]

[no-barbarian.livejournal.com]

Ah. He'd forgotten that this door led outside. He shivered a little in the breeze.

"You know, I think it's brighter out here than it is inside."

So sorry! Never realized you had replied to your post

[runner-up-robot.livejournal.com]

Frank followed Todd, heading back and eventually outside. After looking around and only seeing a couple other patients talking, he headed down the wall on the right. It was a bit chilly outside, and he was hoping to get back into the building in another door, and continue exploring where it was a bit warmer.

"I... sorta work. I guess I'm in school mostly." He wasn't sure how Todd would react to the fact that he'd sold drugs, and he'd almost said 'I'm in a gang' but that wasn't even really true anymore.

And, incidentally, his look was a quick one as there was no blue centaur fighting those patients, because that would be stupid and crazy and ridiculous and he refused to look back in that direction while he hobbled quickly to the next door.