Waiting to Die

*They find themselves in a basement hall, barely able to see anything a flashlight beam is not directly pointed at. Along the way, Schreiber stops to pick the lock of a janitor's closet, holding her pen light in her teeth.*

L"What are we stopping for?!"

Schreiber<I 'old yew, I 'eed a 'ail'un!>

*Once the lock pops, she swings the door open, locating said nailgun & pulling it out. Looking around for anything in the closet that might be useful, Lilith grabs a mop & a thing of bleach. Thiera shines the light backward, where they can see the white monster crawling out of the door they came through, hanging upside-down from the ceiling, its eyes reflected brightly.*

L"C'mon!"

*She grabs Thiera & runs after Dr. Schreiber.*

L"Can we get done & get out--out before that thing c--catches up?!"

Schreiber<Doubtful, you'll most likely have to hold it off.>
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"Like I said, kid, I've seen a lot in the wars. Since I don't have any drugs with me, we'll have to do this the fun way. Ever heard of electroshock treatment?"

*He rummages around in a drawer for a car battery, setting it on the table & hooking up to it a set of wires & alligator clips.*

"Basically I jam these onto your head, you have a seizure, & after you're done coughing up your tongue, it'll be much looser. Y'see, kid, they always crack in the end."

*Eve grabs another mob is there is one, and Tirea takes a broom. They both run after Thiera and Lilith*

"Hold it off how?!"

Stefan dribbled saliva down his cheek and groaned from the chest.

Probably a little late to scavenge for things that might be useful but probably won't be, so they run with the others.

Schreiber<By any means necessary.>

*As she stops near a lab door & begins picking the lock, it scuttles across the roof towards them with surprising speed, appearing to blur around the edges as it zigs & zags towards them. By the time she gets the door open, it drops down right in front of them. Lilith tucks the mop under her arm & unscrews the lid to the bleach, trying to throw some at its face, but it raises a hand to intercept the caustic liquid & reaches out to grab at her.*
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*Ira attaches the alligator clamps to his temples & electricity surges through his head, causing him to convulse. After a few seconds, Ira turns off the current, & roughly turns him away so he can vomit on the table.*

*Eve dives away from the creature's hand, moving near the lab door, her face white and hands shaking. Tirea, on the other hand, moves away from the thing's hand but attempts to jab it in the eyes*

Astarte backed up.

Stefan vomited.

*It quickly twists its arm, grabbing the mop handle & snapping it. With Schreiber heading into the room, followed swiftly by Lilith dragging Thiera, the beast jabs it right into her gut & takes a swat at Taiyo with its other claw.*
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*Soon, sirens & lights indicate that the police are pulling up.*

*Eve follows Lilith and Thiera through the door. Tirea throws herself back in as well*

Taiyo falls back in some half-ass combination of dodging and falling over. Azuma pulls her up and they follow Schreiber.

Astarte had darted after Schreiber with her head down at the first opportunity.

Stefan retched loudly.

*The beast's strike brushes Azuma on the arm, ripping several lacerations on his shoulder. There's a lot of blood & even more pain. Unfortunately, they find there's no way to block the door, so it follows them, Lilith awkwardly whacking its ankles with the mop in an attempt to keep it at bay.*

L"Any TIME now!"

*Meanwhile, Dr. Schreiber is rummaging around in drawers.*

Schreiber<Oh, sorry, is assembling a radioactive gun taking too long for your liking? Shame a bunch of kids stole my old one & lost it. We're just lucky Ira didn't think to clear out the stock yet.>

*She heads over to the sink & dumps a vial of something into the nail gun in a way that can't at all be sanitary. Thiera is slumped beside the sink, holding the stick protruding from her side, grimacing at the blood, & wheezing.*

L"Don't worry, Thiera! Everything is under control! You're going to be fine."

Th"No...no, I don't think I am...."

L"This is no time to--"

*As she's arguing, the beast finally manages to take the mop from her. Apparently angry, it breaks it into tiny little pieces & rushes her. Dropping the bleach & spilling it all over, Lilith digs out the hunting knife, trying to stab it, but it grabs her wrist at the last second with a sickening crunch & a strained scream. Despite the pain in her hand, she manages to twist out of the way of the blow it aims at her stomach & even hold on to the weapon. Thiera staggers forward.*
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*Enter a fat cop with a handlebar mustache.*

R"Take him from here. I'll be by to see him later. Have you found Schreiber yet?"

Cop<I'm afraid not, but we've left a tip that there may be a break-in at the bio lab.>

R"Good. If they haven't left there yet, they should be easy to find. The door is probably still open too. Still nothing from the priest?"

Cop<No. He seems to be well under our--that is, your control.>

R"Good boy. I'll be sure to get you some treats while I'm out."

*He heads out with a slight spring in his step, the cop looking as if he'd eaten something sour.*

*Eve opens her mouth as if to say something, however no sound comes out. Her face is completely white. Tirea moves towards her and grabs the broom in Eve's hands, then stabs at the creature's face again*

Astarte put an arm across the front of Thiera's shoulders to stop her from approaching the monster.

Stefan remained at the mercy of others. If the cop intended to move him, he would be dead weight.

They fall back to not get torn up, maybe they find something to throw at the monster, but probably not.

*They could try throwing the chunks of wood. In the mean time, the monster grabs the broom.*

Th"Get out of the way!"

*Lilith withdraws her gravity knife & jams it in the creature's wrist as hard as she can, getting it stuck, but managing to free itself. She backs away, kind of limply holding the hunting knife in a defensive position. Apparently finished, Schreiber turns around & fires a few nails into its eyes. The creature shrieks in a high-pitched, sonic squeal & thrashes around, clawing at empty air.*

Schreiber<Get it away from the door so we can leave!>
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*He is eventually cuffed, hauled into a police car, & taken to the station.*

Astarte doesn't do that, keeping Thiera from doing whatever it is she is planning on doing.

*Tirea scoots backward, and looks at Eve, who is mimicking a throwing motion. Tirea behind to look around for something moderately heavy but still light enough that she can toss it pretty far. Like some glassware. Once she finds something, she tosses it as far away from the door and the others as she can*

They throw chunks of wood, I guess.

*It is a lab, so I guess there would be a beaker or something. But it doesn't seem to mind any of the things being thrown at it, & ignores the sound of shattering glass. As the others back up, Schreiber turns on the sink for some reason, before firing a couple more times, at its throat. Apparently having nails embedded into its exoskeleton pisses it off, as it goes tearing off after her. She runs around it as it grabs the spout & mangles it. Obviously, they head for the door.*

*Eve and Tirea follow Schreiber as fast as they can*

Astarte followed, giving Thiera's collar a tug to bring her after.

*So I suppose that just leaves Taiyo & Azuma alone with the beast. It claws at its eyes & they can hear nails plunking in the sink. In the retreating light, they can see a shadowy form flit in front of the doorway.*
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*Outside, it doesn't take them long to get to the opposite stairwell & wrench it open.*

*Heading up the stairs, I guess*

Eve:<What about Azuma and Taiyo?!>

Astarte took the stairs.