Tales from Ealdwic: The Rats in the walls

king's college hospital, London
(Janis enters the hospital with the cats at her side. In the lobby is a Japanese woman in a long purple skirt with a cat carrier in her lap, looking over at her she waves to Janis and the cats.)
Yuuko: It’s nice to meet you Ms. Harrington, I wish it could have been under better circumstances, follow me the nursery is this way.
Janis: Nice to meet you, too. This is unfortunate. (gestures to the cats) This is Ziggy, Trixie, Lox and Oksana. I think we are ready to follow you when you are ready. We should do this quickly before we cause alarm amongst the medical personnel and patients.
(Janis takes out a few cat pendants from her backpack and places them on each cat identifying them as service therapy cats.)
(Leading Janis and the cats down a hallway and up an elevator the Cats can't help but feel they are being watched. When they arrive on the third Floor, Yuuko leads them down a hall outside to the window overlooking the nursery.)
Yuuko: (Picking up Lox, to give him a better look at the Nursery, before pointing at a cradle with a series of tubes coming out of it.) His name is Anwar Sharmáke, his mother reported being visited by a rat like demon shortly before she went into labor. If the pattern I have identified is correct then around 3:00am the creature should enter the nursery, make it's way over to that plastic box under the cradle, and rupture the plastic bag of blood inside. I need one of you to keep an eye on that box and keep it intact. I am not sure what it will do once it sees you but I think there are two likely scenarios, it will either run from you or it will try and kill you. If it tries to run from you I need you to chase it to room 333, the empty one at the end of this hall. If it tries to kill you I need you to run to room 300 at the other end of the hall. (Offering Janis a soft cat carrier) Ms. Harrington would you mind taking up position in room 333, I will take up position in room 300, also you all look super cute in your service pedants.
Janis: Absolutely. I'll take Ziggy and Trixie to that room. (she looks at Oksana) Sweetie, stay in the room with Lox and keep watch. If that rat demon comes out, you two will have the experience to stop whatever this thing came out to do.
Oksana: (Fiddles with her blood focus that looks like a baby pink cat toy mouse) I think that is an awesome idea, Mom. If that creature attacks this room, then Lox and I can stop it and try to undo whatever it's done before it kills the little one.
Janis: (nods to both Lox and Oksana and gives them each a loving pat on the head. She takes her leave from the room with the cat carrier, Ziggy and Trixie following behind.)
Yuuko: (opening the door to the nursery, before whispering to Lox and Oksana) it should be 3:00am in about 10 minutes, you can hide under the cribs, I just have to distract the nurse. (turning to the nurse at her desk.) Excuse me, I am sorry to bother you but can you direct me to the Sharmáke’s room?
(the nurse looking annoyed gets up and points down the hall and says room 332 before shutting the door behind her as the cat's slip through. As the clock ticks towards 3:00am, the cats can see the nurse at her desk slipping away into sleep until finally she closes her eyes. Across the room something begins rattling in the air vent, attempting to remove the cover.)
Lox: The coast is clear. Hide underneath the cribs!
Oksana: (scurrying for the crib nearest the target child) Whew! That was close. I never thought that human nurse would leave. (her white ears perk up and she looks up onto the ceiling and follows the travelling noise in the air vents) Lox! Is it...?
Lox: (paws on a communication pip on his Templar cross leather collar) Ziggy! Trixie! We got movement! Get ready!
(the vent closest to the floor begins to move as screws seem to pop out one at time before a gnarled hand pushes aside the vent cover. Emerging from the vent is a rat like creature with a shockingly human face, titering to itself as it creeps across the floor making its way to the box under the cradle. As it arrives at the box it begins to fiddle with the latches on either side.)
Lox: (His white ears pull back and tries not to growl as he witnesses the creature entering the room. He looks to Oksana hiding under the other crib a few rows down. He blinks with his eyes, still his ears pulled back, pupils getting wider. Clearly he's getting angry and ready to fight. Oksana, from the other side, sees the vile, twisted creature tainting the latches with its very presence. And both cats measure themselves to prepare themselves for battle.)
(as the creature fiddles with the latches it begins to sniff the air, before turning its head in Lox and Oksana direction and then seeming to evaporate into thin air.)
Lox: What the...? Where did he go? (He jumps onto the crib where the creature was fiddling with the latches and checks the little one for vital signs.) Vital signs normal parameters for human, latches are tampered, but the rat didn't go further.
Oksana: (looks around and sniffs the air for any traces of the creature.) Surely that rat is not something like a ghost demon. Wait, how can ghosts and demons be both within an animal?
Browni: (reappearing behind Lox, he seems to have tripled in size) Cat is tasty too! (snapping its jaws it nearly misses Lox tail.)
Lox: (He turns around at the slightest nip of his white, Birman tail, he springs back a bit and arches his back slightly, then his paws suddenly turn bloody from the anima within him.) CONTACT! (He bares his claws and lashes out at the creature inside the crib. Trying not to disturb the preemies too much, Lox realized, a human baby crib is not a good place to fight. So he lashes out at the creature with a flurry of claws, on all fours, he digs his claws into the grotesque fur of the rat and flips it off the crib and onto the floor. Oksana bares her claws and blood appears on her paws as well. Being a field nurse, the blood is a medicine and a weapon, she concentrates her anima to attempt to drain the rat, to weaken him enough for him to be captured.)
(the two tumble to the floor as the creature bites into Lox side and pulls out a chunk of flesh and fur before throwing him across the room.)
Browni: (spitting out the fur and flesh) Yuk! not Cat, BEE!, Bee is stupid like cat but not tasty. (taking its gnarled hands it puts a boney finger down its throat and begins to vomit filth onto the floor. before grabbing the leg of the cradle and  attempting to tip it over.)
Lox: MROWWWW!! (cries out with a sickening screech as he tries to limp his way to the vomiting creature to gain an advantage of attack.)
Oksana:Oh no! Filth! Where's Min-ji when you need her? (referring to the Siamese-Nermegal half breed who is often branded as the only filth kitty in the Batallion. A master of stealth, espionage and the tentacles protruding from her spine act as a shield and healer against the Filth.)
(The filth pools and spreads through the floor like wildfire separating the two cats. Oksana crawls back from the spreading Filth while Lox, injured, bleeding from the side, yet resilient, still fighting the creature with all conviction. Suddenly near the far corner of the room, a blue-blackish substance grows inside the commotion. A small, swirling mass of blue and black mist grows bigger, and a dark cat-like figure exits from the mist. Her eyes glowing bright like the light of Bastet, Min-ji's tentacles protrude out from her spine, shielding the room from any further catastrophe that the filth might have wrought from the creature.)
Min-ji: By the power of Nefertari the Younger, Aspect of Bast, I banish thee Filth from my sight!
(the black pool begins to contract and vanish as the creature shrinks to about half its new size.)
Browni: (hissing angrily, he tips over a cradle and begins to run for the door.)
(the crying infant, sets off the other babies, as the nurse remains in her magical sleep.)
Browni: (exiting the nursery and stepping into the hall.)
Lox: He's heading out the door! After him!
(Oksana and Min-ji take off from the nursery and runing after the creature across the long corridor, while Lox is limping his best behind, his side dripping with his own blood. Lox attempts to use his own blood as much as he can while on the chase to help close the wound faster. The creature was so fast, but Min-ji and Oksana were fit enough to keep up behind him as they knock over every bit of paperwork in the nursing stations, the waiting room and the unsuspecting nurses along the hallway. Ducking and weaving through the feet of obstetricians and rolling gurneys carrying women in labor and about to be taken to the delivery rooms.)
Browni: (making his way down the hall towards room 333, he turns to the cats as sinister smile creeps across his face revealing a set of yellow fangs. Opening a vein on his wrist he begins to make a strange motion with his hands.)
Woman on gurney: (crying out in pain) something's wrong with my Jaw.
Obstetrician: (feeling her chest) She’s having a heart attack, get her upstairs now!
(the chaos in the hallway causes enough confusion that the cats are pushed aside as the creature runs down the hallway in the opposite direction.)
Min-ji: (noticing that the creature had taken a "hard left turn") SLAM ON THE CLAWS!
(Min-ji and Oksana bare their claws onto the shiny, waxed floors of the maternity, and even with claws they were slip-sliding as if they are hydro planing through water. As both cats trying to make a turn to pursue the creature, they are both skidding backwards and collided with a nearby trash receptacle. In such a collision, the trash can wobbled like a basketball circling on the rim, as Min-ji and Oksana on their hind legs and sitting, shaking off the dizziness from their heads...)
Lox: Look out!!!
Lox (skidding not far behind from the other cats and collides with them like bowling pins on a spare. Then the trash can topples down onto the floor, strewing papers and other trash onto the floor.)
Browni: (turning to laugh at the cats momentarily he doesn't see that he is right outside of room 300.)
Yuuko: (Stepping out of the dark room she brings the cat carrier down on the creature and quickly tilts it up locking it inside) I got it!
(the creature rocking the carrier violently struggles against the runes holding it inside.)
Browni: Let me out, Browni no go to agartha!
Yuuko: (looking at Lox bleeding shoulder she drops the carrier and goes to scoop up the cat) Are you hurt!? I am so sorry, I never should have sent you, (taking a blue bottle from the bag) here drink this. (opening the bottle it seems to contain milk.)
Lox:(sniffs the bottle that Yuuko has offered, and he begins to lap up the milk. When he has had a few laps, he went into a purr, showing his contentment.) Yes, ma'am. I'm ok. (he snuggles on the chest of the lady)
Min-ji: I'm not sure about the Filth that was in that room though. I better cleanse your wound with my tentacle to make sure you're not infected from that fight.
Lox: I'm fine, Minj! I've been cleansing the wound with my own blood anima along the way.
Min-ji: Doesn't matter! You really should have that wound looked at by the vets after I cleanse it out.
Oksana: Don't worry, my little foster brother, I will nurse you back to health with all the snuggles of the Secret World.
(the milk causes anima to well up inside Lox, causing his wound to close, though leaving a bald spot where the creature bit him.)
Yuuko: (grabbing the cat carrier, she leads the cats down to room 333 to find Janis.) We have got the cryptid, though he put up quite a fight, we should probably leave before…
Security Guard: (approaching them from behind) Ma’am I am going to have to ask you and the cats to leave.
Janis: (Her brows furrow as the security guard approaches her anima cats, as Min-ji quickly and stealthily makes her portal getaway) I beg your pardon. My cats are certified therapy cats! Here are the collar pendants to prove that we have obtained licensing for them to be here.
Lox: (meow)
Oksana:(meows and begins to paw playfully like a normal cat.)
Security Guard: You also failed to get Dr. West approval to bring them here, you have got clearance for the rest of the hospital, but Dr. West is the final word for the maternity ward, please just get the cats and go.
Browni: (titering in the carrier.)
Yuuko: We have got what we came for let’s just get out of here.
Janis: Absolutely outrageous, but I can't agree with you more, Yuuko. Well this has been quite a night! Kitties, we're going home!
Trixie: (attempting to paw and bat at The creature cooped up in the carrier) Hehe, you's under arrest!! You have the right to shut yer dern mouth! Anything ya say can be used against ya in the Feline Court of Law. You have the right to an attorney. If ya can't afford, one will be konked out and dragged fer ya!
(As Yuuko and Janis exit the hospital with the cats they pass a doctor making her way up to the maternity ward. As they pass her the runes on the carrier seem to deactivate and the creature inside vanishes, only to reappear seconds later on the doctor's shoulder.)
Dr. West: Ladies, in the future please refrain from harassing my pet, he is crucial to my ongoing research. (Opening an elevator, she steps in and turns to Yukko and Janis.) I will not tolerate any further interference from either of you.
Browni: (sticking his tongue out from atop her shoulder) Cat is stupid animal, Browni hurt you good!
(the people around them seem to be oblivious to the creatures presence, as the elevator door closes.)
-end of file-