Earlier, elsewhere in the precinct...

Ned was not having a good time. Sure, messing around in the bar with Shawn and Trev had been fun, and even the ensuing brawl once Shawn had managed to draw the ire of that 'roided out bitch hadn't been too bad. Sure, his shoulder still stung a little from how that fat German loser had twisted it, but Ned had had worse. But now? Ned was fucking bored!

Separated from his buddies and brought to the precinct in another squad car than them, the cops had done the bare minimum to process him after they'd realized that any kind of bribe was way out of the frat member's budget, throwing him into a holding cell to take care of the rest tomorrow. So of course, Ned was still stuck there, in a room next to the bull pen. No company, nothing to read, and his phone had of course been confiscated. So naturally, Ned did the only thing left to do and tried to get some sleep on the uncomfortable bed of the holding cell.

CRASH!

Ned jolted awake as a cacophony of screaming metal and shattering glass echoed through the precinct, the very walls seeming to shake from a massive impact. It felt as if a fucking tank had rammed the building, and for a second, Ned thought his buddies had arrived to break him out. But he quickly realized that this was most certainly bullshit - if they came to rescue him, they'd probably use Shawn's massive trust fund to pay bail or a bribe instead of breaking any more laws.

And judging by the commotion he heard from the bull pen, the noisy newcomers were actually women. Ned couldn't quite make out what they said, but there was quite a bit of shouting involved - but soon, much to Ned's bewilderment, also moaning of an obviously sexual nature. What the hell was going on over there?! On second thought, he didn't want to know. Sure, Ned liked orgies as much as any other frat bro on the planet, but with chicks that broke into police precincts? Never stick your dick in crazy and all that shit. And Ned was doubly happy not to be a part of what was happening in the bull pen when yelling and frantic activity broke out once again. Although he'd been lying if he didn't want to know what was going on over there - and what it meant for his stay in this cell.

Nearly inaudible squeaking somewhere up in the walls made Ned raise an eyebrow as he tried to locate its source. Did they have rats, too? This place really was in the shitter.

Once the hubbub in the bull pen had died down, Ned began to worry. It was entirely too quiet in the other room - he'd thought that the cops would have gotten the situation under control and thrown the newcomers into a holding cell. Hopefully not his, of course. But there seemed to be no sounds coming from the bull pen at all, as if it was empty... instead, there was the low squeaking again, moving through the wall his cell shared with the bull pen. But somehow, Ned didn't think it belonged to a rat - whatever made it was to big. Way too fucking big.

"Heeey! Anyone out there?" Which, understandably, made Ned a little nervous. "The fuck happened? Hello?!"

Nothing. Not the slightest reaction. No, wait... that wasn't true. The squeaking sounds came closer now, until they stopped behind the vent that brought air into the cell. Ned couldn't see what was behind there - but he had the definite, freaky feeling of being watched.

Ned wanted the boredom back. Not that there was a lot going on now, but after the noises had moved on, the silence was surprisingly disconcerting, Ned's ears seeming to pick up the slightest sound - there! Something was moving in the hallway outside! Or... was it in the walls again?! No, wait... there was nothing but silence. Maybe whatever was stalking the precinct had just stopped moving?

"What the fuck, man..." Ned groused, trying to ignore the fact that he was nervous enough to talk to himself. "It's just noises. What, you a pussy or something?"

But of course, Ned jumped as sudden yelling echoed down the hallway, only for instant relief to flood him when laughter followed. Of course there was nothing bad going on, the police had the situation under control and were shooting the shi--

Ned dove to the floor when a series of gun shots rang out. Fuck! So much for under control. Even worse, once the gun fell silent, Ned could soon hear the sounds of something being dragged through the vents - and it wasn't going quietly. Ned was pretty sure he could hear muffled screams. He was back on his feet and by the door in seconds.

"Heeey! Let me out! Let me the fuck oouut!" Hitting and kicking the heavy iron door of the holding cell, Ned soon realized that no one would be coming - even if they heard him, whoever was out there had other things to worry about. "Shit! You assholes!"

Sitting down on the bed, Ned tried to keep from chewing his nails. The worst thing was not knowing what was going on out there. Freaky shit, that was for sure, but what kind of freaky shit? Something was on the hunt, apparently, and Ned wasn't so naive that he'd assume only cops were on the list of prey. The only question, maddening and impossible to answer: Why hadn't it - or they - come for him? Was he no threat, stuck as he was? Or... did it know Ned wasn't going anywhere, ready to be snatched up whenever?

It was the long pauses in which nothing happened that got to Ned. There was a little commotion out in the hallway, around the corner, closer to the bull pen, a muffled bang of metal on concrete... and then silence again. Long, anxiety-inducing silence. Well, except the rather disconcerting moan echoing through the vent. Now, Ned was chewing on his nails, almost wishing something would happen so he would stop having to think what might happen. Because really, what would snatch up people and drag them through the vents? Wild animals, that's what. And what would they then do to aforementioned snatched up people? Fucking eat them!

Maybe it was some kind of commando unit, trying to **** information from... some corrupt cops and a random frat bro? Right. That one was probably bullshit. Or was it? Not much crazier than animals getting loose in a police precinct and eating the night shift. Or maybe Ned was just--wait. The squeaking was back. But...

"The fuck...?" Either there was a weird echo... or there was more than one thing creeping through the vents.

Despite his fear, Ned stood up on the bed and got closer to the vent. The sounds were definitely coming from two directions now, and Ned's stomach dropped. But there was something else, a barely noticeable smell, like rubber and... licorice? Bringing his nose up to the vent, Ned sniffed. Definitely licorice. But why did it make his cock tingle in his pants...? Maybe psychoacti--

There was something right behind the vent. The light of the cell was glinting off sharp, silvery teeth and smooth, glossy skin.

"Fuck!" Bolting backwards, Ned stumbled off the bed, lost his balance and fell flat on his ass. "What the...?"

The silent squeaks returned as the beast behind the vent kept crawling towards the bull pen with a low, entirely too human-sounding chuckle.

Ned had barely been able to calm himself enough to think properly again when another gun shot made him curl into a protective ball on the floor. The loud, inhuman shrieks and the crashing that followed did nothing to convince Ned to leave this position. This time, the tumultous noise went on for quite a while. What in the world was going on out there?! As Ned threw a glance towards the door of the holding cell, his eyes went wide.

It was open. The electronic lock had disengaged.