Night 57: Medical Wing Hall

[purpletaint]

[from here]He glanced idly at the doorways as they passed them, and yet still none read infirmary. "It's only a waste of time," he replied. "If you can't find them. Which would be a bit pathetic in a small building like this

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[loyalrose]

[ From here.]

Rose slipped out into the hallway, shining her flashlight quickly around. Again, she could hear voices nearby, of other patients looking for this room, or perhaps fleeing from it. She wondered if any of them had turned into dogs as well? Or worse? She'd gotten away lucky, it seemed.

Stepping out of the doorway, she glanced back to see if Zack was still following. "Which way?" she whispered to him, not wanting to draw attention if there was anything unfriendly out here now. Should they explore more here in this warren of rooms and hallways or venture to some other part of the hospital? She didn't care where they went, as long as it put more distance between her and that room. Although that strange creeping dread hadn't entirely dissipated, even with her standing out here in the hallway. She rubbed her arms absently, a worried frown crossing her lips.

[zack_fair]

As it turned out, Rose had been pretty eager to get out of there once she'd determined that he wasn't going to tear her throat out. Zack didn't mind and so he was quick to follow after her, although he found that he was more comfortable staying a few paces behind her -- or more specifically, behind that flashlight beam. He would have preferred to take the lead because despite the fact that he was a drooling, rotting monster, he was also strong. He could feel the power behind the muscles in both his front and hind legs and he knew that he could have handled whatever might attack them, but

[loyalrose]

Rose followed him slowly, keeping her flashlight beam high enough that it illuminated at eye level - she hadn't missed the fact that in his new form, Zack wasn't overly fond of the light. That didn't make much sense, but neither did the fact that he was currently a dog. At this point of the night, she'd given up trying to figure out 'how' and 'why' and was just rolling along on 'what next

[zack_fair]

Recovery rooms. There were certainly a lot of them, and as far as Zack knew, they were meant for people to rest up in after getting heavy-duty surgery. The operating rooms they'd seen earlier came to mind, and he glanced from door to door as he wondered how often these were actually used. Were they just for show, or had patients actually been operated on without their knowledge? Maybe that was what happened to patients after they disappeared but before they were put out in the "real world."

Zack hated to think that Aerith might have been here without him even knowing, but he also realized that he was only making guesses and probably imagining things that were even worse than the reality. He hoped that was the case, at least

[loyalrose]

She was back in the hall, standing beside the infirmary door once more, trying to get herself back under control. The skin around her eyes still felt heated and tight, and she kept her back to Zack, knowing that if he caught sight of her now, he'd know something was up. She took deep breaths, willing the hunger to abate, doing her best to focus on something else

[zack_fair]

While Zack wished there was something he could do, it wasn't like he could place a hand on Rose's shoulder or even ask her if she was okay. He could have drawn closer, but in his state he was sure that that would only make things worse. Instead he simply sat there on his haunches, waiting for Rose to regain her composure

[loyalrose]

Her eyes were focusing a little, enough to make outlines. And movement. Why was there movement? She was thankful for enhanced senses beyond what normal humans had, even though it still seemed a little stifled here. Darkness had never been an issue for her before waking up here. She didn't even know why it was an issue now, only that being in the dark, right here and right now, was a Very Bad Thing. And she could still see things moving where there shouldn't be anything.

A whisper of air brushed against her cheek and she moved, spinning faster than human eyes should be able to follow, her back pressed against the wall by the infirmary door. "Shit," she hissed out again, barely paying attention to Zack's whine this time, her focus completely shot in the rush of fear-driven adrenaline. "I have to get out of here. There's... there's thingsAnother shadow moved, off to her right, and that was enough to spur her in the opposite direction, backing away down the hallway in the direction they'd originally come from, her useless flashlight

[zack_fair]

It was clear that he was no longer getting through to her. Zack didn't know if he could blame himself for that, though -- if Rose had actually been paying attention, she probably would have figured it out. But she couldn't exactly do that when she seemed to be having a mild panic attack, and Zack was still trying to figure out why. They had come down this way to get to the infirmary originally and she'd been completely fine, so why was she acting so scared now? Did it all have to do with that blood that she'd smelled

[loyalrose]

She could hear the click of Zack's nails on the tile behind her, following her. Despite the fact that Rose knew it was him, the sound still sent cold chills down her spine, her breath coming in panicky gasps. Something loomed in front of her and a shriek left her lips before she realized it was a wall. Another hallway. Completely disoriented now, her fingers reached out, guiding herself down in a new direction, stopping when she found a door. Another room.

Her hands were scrabbling for the handle an instant later. It was locked or jammed or something, but in the dark, she couldn't tell, and in a moment of extreme frustration, she slammed the handle of the flashlight against the knob with a strained curse