Gender: Unspecified Location: Your mom's basement.
Ch. 16
“Members of the Resistance! Please gather in the dining hall,” Anna’s voice announced over the sound system.
The 41 members of the Resistance dropped whatever they were doing a filed into the dining hall, sitting in their respective seats. The hall was done up in lavish decorations and along the four walls was an endless buffet made of the last of their food reserves. Like every other table they gathered at, the dining hall table was round, designed after the table King Arthur used to hold his meetings. No one sat at the head of the table, for there was no end, this made everyone equal to one another and kept conflicts at a minimum. At the center of the table where the HoloScreens usually were stood the Original Six members of the Resistance, waiting for them to settle down.
At long last the hall quieted and the Original Six began their speech.
“Well… we did it… we’re finally ready for the final battle,” Kay began, “When I began recruiting you guys, I admit that I had doubts. But now… the only doubt I have is how much is gonna be left over from tonight.”
Once the chuckles subsided, Sidney took over.
“I know I speak for the rest of us Originals when I say that we can’t thank you enough for springing us from Romanis’ jail,” he said, “It’s bitter sweet that we have to leave this place, and never being able to return… but at least it’ll be for a good cause.”
“**** it all and let’s eat!” Mairuzu called from across the table.
Many people rolled their eyes but once the word was given, they all leapt from their chairs and bombarded the table. And in a matter of minutes, everyone was chatting away and shoving MG’s food down their gullets. With a flick of the wrist and a snap of the fingers, Sol produced the dessert which consisted of three fountains of melted chocolate and rows of cakes and other little treats. Once everything was eaten and the place cleaned spotless, they dragged their bloated stomachs off to sleep off the last hardy meal they’d probably have in a long while.
* * *
“Now then son… are we feeling a bit better?” Satan asked of his son.
“Yes, Father,” Romanis’ multi-tonal voice replied from within the flames.
Romanis was sitting calmly inside a Coffin of Fire, this reverted him back to his original form, the daemon Mammon. Inside the Coffin he was able to bend a stretch his form and unfurl the red, leathery wings that protruded from his back and licked the sides of the walls. His seven heads stretched to the ceiling of the room with the horns and crowns scoring marks in the plaster and gouging holes here and there. When Romanis opened his blood red eyes, he saw everything as it should be. A world filled with violence, pain and suffering.
“Good,” the growl came, “Open your mind and look for them.”
“I see them. They are in the Antarctic,” he replied, “In an old prison.”
“Good, good, now crush them!” Satan shouted, revealing his true voice from within the child’s body.
“They have too many defenses,” he growled with distaste.
“Find a way in!” Satan ordered.
“I can’t!” he protested, “There is no way in. the Original Resistance members are too strong!”
“Impossible! You’re just too weak,” the child’s body contorted into something inhuman.
“No I’m not! They’re too strong for me!” he complained.
Then an explosion rocked the foundation of the building sending dust and debris throughout the halls. The Coffin of Fire shattered and Mammon disappeared to be replaced by the crumpled form of Romanis. When he stood, his eyes were coal black and filled with their own fire from the depths of Hell.
“I know where they are,” he announced as he strode across the room to the door, “Assemble the troops! I want every soldier in their vehicle in two hours!”
Satan stayed behind with a look of pure disgust on his face at the weakness his own son just displayed. Then with a huff, he replaced the sweet and innocent look of the girl he was impersonating back on his face and followed Romanis.
‘Something drastic must be done,’ the Lord of Hell thought to himself, ‘I must summon another daemon. Perhaps the Whore? Yes… she could be his wife…. And we could be a happy family on top of the world.’
“You summoned me my Lord?” a growl said from the shadows.
“Right yourself, woman,” he ordered, “You are to pose as the wife of my son. I am the daughter. And remember, we are a happy family living our lives in royalty.”
“Yes, my Lord,” the voice said.
In a matter of minutes, the Whore of Babylon stood before Satan in the form of a woman with long, ink black hair and yellow-green eyes. A few more seconds later and the memory of her existence was planted into everyone’s mind.
“Come now, darling,” the Whore smiled, “Let us join your father in the battle room.”
“Yes, mother,” the child’s voice said from behind the malicious smile she wore.
* * *
In a matter of hours, the trucks, Transport Pods and Aerial Vehicles were jam packed with everything the members of the Resistance could carry and then some. Because they weren’t returning to the underground, Antarctic prison they had called home for so long, they needed to erase any and all traces of their stay there.
“Kay, we’ve got some problems,” Grey placed a hand on the window of the Semi the Crosby family was traveling in.
“What is it?” she asked looking up from the monitor of her GPS.
“Our cover’s been blown,” he said, a slight panicked look was apparent in his eyes as well as the eyes of many other members.
“That’s kinda good isn’t it? We want them to know where we’ve been staying and all that jazz to throw them off the trail?” she inquired in a confused tone.
“Not on this scale, no. They’re on their way as we speak, and by the looks of things, they brought the entire Romanis Army with them,” he said.
Kyrie let a heavy sigh escape her lips, “Okay, get back to your Pod. You’re team is out first, tell them to go now.”
With a frantic nod of the head, Grey jogged off to the lead Transport Pod and gave the word to the other pilots that they were to leave immediately. Meanwhile, Kay hopped down from her seat and ran to the lead Aerial Vehicle.
“Mike, we need to move faster than we thought,” she said, “Grey says they’re coming with bigger and better guns than we thought. So as soon as the Pods take off, y’ns guys take top the skies. Don’t engage with Romanis unless absolutely necessary.”
“Got it,” the diminutive Welsh nodded, “Oi! Listen up! As soon as the Pea Pods take off, we go! Only shoot at Romanis’ people if necessary and no sooner!”
“See you, Mike,” she smiled at him and ran back to her truck.
“Anna and Faye are ready to go,” Sidney jumped into the drivers seat and took the wheel just as the pods rolled out through the now opened doors.
“Is Jack secure?” she asked as she put on her seat belt.
“As safe as the reincarnation of Jesus Christ could ever be,” he replied with a grim look in his warm, brown eyes.
“Hey, Sid,” she took his hand as he reached for the ignition, “It’ll be alright, we’ll get through this.”
“I know…,” he said, he looked like he wanted to say more but the screaming of the A.V.’s cut him off.
With a mighty roar, the three Semis started up and were out the front gate just as an insistent beeping from the onboard computer alerted everyone to the close proximity of Romanis. The A.V.s had long since disappeared into the cloud cover but up ahead the Pods were still somewhat visible in the bright light reflecting off the snow and ice. Above them flew Stealth Vehicles and on the ground far off in the distance was a troop of tanks and modified HumVs.
“Do they really think they can sneak up on us with those S.V.s?” Anastasia’s voice asked over the radio.
“Who knows, I’ve always said the Russians were crazy,” Kay replied with a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth.
Just as the leading tank began firing on the Pods they disappeared under the ice having activated the Heat Drills and dropped the twenty feet through the ice in a single burst of heat to evade capture. Now that the only visible targets were the gigantic Semi trucks about four miles ahead, the attack turned into a game of chicken between the Semis and the HumV that lead Romanis’ ground attack.
“On the count of three we activate the shields and blast through,” Sidney said into the radio.
“Roger,” Brian replied.
“Gotcha,” Angus said.
The two groups came closer and closer to each other, threatening contact within minutes.
“One….”
The two Semis carrying the Youngs and the Johnsons sped up to become neck in neck with the Crosby Semi….
“Two….”
The ground troops formed a straight line so they could surround the Semis once the impact took place….
“THREE!!!”
All at once a shining lavender nexus enveloped the Semis. Some of the HumVs and tanks tried to swerve out of the way but it was too late. Above them, the S.V.s broke formation to avoid the debris. The impact was tremendous, it jarred the very teeth in every Vampires mouth to the point of pain. If any of the Vampires in the Semis had heartbeats, they would have skipped two full beats before jumping back into action at a hummingbirds pace. This being the sensation felt by the Vampires, the humans in the three HumVs and three tanks were literally liquefied. The remaining ground troops sped off into the distance towards the former headquarters of the Resistance.
“That was just the appetizer, boys… please enjoy the main course,” Anna said in a very 21st century Hollywood style before pressing the Detonator.
Behind them, the former underground jail exploded with a force big enough to send the remaining ground troops sailing through the air end over end. Finally, with whoops and cheers of success, the Resistance sped off into the bright Antarctic sun to continue their mission.
Gender: Unspecified Location: Your mom's basement.
Ch. 17
“…. And further more, this treaty with the last nation to stand alone as a free nation on Earth will further strengthen our unity as one complete planet. I hereby authorize the signing of the Peace Treaty between the UESC with Israel,” Romanis said proudly during the press conference, “President David?”
A tall Israeli man walked on stage and took the pen offered by Romanis and, with a flourish, signed his name at the bottom of the Peace Treaty. When Romanis and President David shook hands and smiled for the camera flashes the crowd erupted in a round of applause and cheers except for a small group of people near the center of the audience. They stood and watched with rage as one more piece fell into place that proved that the Apocalypse was soon going to be upon them. Thousands of miles away, driving through the Canadian wasteland, three semis listened to the broadcast of the signing as they made their way across a once great nation.
In the drivers seat of the middle semi sat a sullen eyes Sidney who wasn’t even really listening to the broadcast. His solemn brown eyes wandered across the scenery of his former home as his Vampire senses did all the driving. Beside him riding shotgun was his wife, Kay, who stared in wonder at what had happened to her husbands native land.
“Oh, Sidney,” she said in a low voice, “I’m so sorry.”
Sid left one hand on the wheel and reached over to take Kay’s hand as the broadcast concluded. Meanwhile, Israel, the small group of people led by a diminutive Welsh kid, stalked through the crowd to leave the horror scene.
“You listening to this bullshit?” Walshy asked in a hushed voice, directing the question to a small com-link hidden on the collar of his jacket.
“Yeah, Mike,” Anna replied, “We heard.”
“How’s Jack doing?” Piggle asked in a worried tone.
“Fast asleep,” Angus said trying to sound cheerful despite the horrifying situation they were all in, “And he’ll stay that way until we relocate and reunite.”
“Let’s all hope it happens sooner than later,” Mike replied.
“See you later Welsh kid,” Brian said before cutting off the transmission.
In the back of the lead semi-truck, Jack lay in a cryogenic state, his body swathed in a cool, green liquid that kept his body in a frozen state and his mind in a dream-like trance. But as soon as President David pressed the pen to paper and sealed the deal to the Treaty, a stab of pain shot through the Son of God’s heart that made him stir….
* * *
It was a normal day, a perfect day really. The clouds covering the Earth had pulled back over the lands to reveal the bright blue sky and great, golden disk that was the sun as it made it’s trip around. On the other side of the world where the moon shone brightly like a silver dollar on the ink back sky, a full moon with a million stars giving their eternal light to the world. Then… a million points of light shone from the center of the chests of millions of people as they lay in bed or walked the streets. In a great and blinding light… they disappeared.
Cars crashed and aircrafts spun out of control as they tumbled from the sky. Up in the sky, a school of silver souls swam through the white clouds and through the Pearly Gates. There they all grew wings and halos appeared on their heads like a golden crown. A multitude of cries rang out through the newly formed souls as they suddenly found themselves floating in the sky before the on entity they sought after for their troubles and looked to for guidance… God.
Behind the one, mighty God stood the other entities that had spent their eternal lives looking over their combined creations. Buddha and Shiva shook their heads at the event beginning to unfold on the Earth’s surface as Romanis’ men began raiding people’s home and businesses. The Greek/Roman Gods said their final farewells and bid their luck to God and left their final gifts to their children, the demigods, and the members of the Resistance.
“If this plan goes right,” God said in his divine form to Zeus and Apollo, “My son shall prevail alongside your daughter Apollo.”
“Yes,” Zeus agreed, “And hopefully, with the help of the remaining demigods, the numbers of the Resistance will increase and their strength increased tenfold.”
“I’d write a haiku or limerick right about now, but my nerves are too shot to bring the words to my lips,” Apollo said solemnly.
In his divine form, Apollo leaned forward off of Mount Olympus and whispered into Kay’s ear through the wind, “Take care, my daughter.”
Then, along with the other gods and deities, Apollo disappeared into the vast expanse of space to await the death of Marko Romanis. But Satan had another thing in mind when he opened a great fissure directly in front of the Crosby’s semi-truck and, sending them careening off the road and rolling through the trees. Their cries could be heard over the com-link embedded behind Resistance members’s ear. Luckily, one of the Crosby’s hit the shield and a shining nexus erupted around them to protect their bodies and the cargo they carried. Finally, after rolling for nearly a mile down a steep hill, the semi came to a crashing halt as they hit a tree that sprang up out of no where.
“Is everyone alright?!” Sid called out.
“I think so,” Kay replied ion a strained voice.
“It hurts,” groaned Sebastion.
“Your foot’s in my stomach, Elly!” Kara cried out.
“Well your nails are digging into my neck!” Kiriel retorted.
“Kids stop fighting!” Kyrie shouted from her vantage point as her lower half stuck out the windshield and her torso was wrapped mummy-like in the seatbelt.
“Kay, are you okay?” Sidney said once he had righted himself.
“Never better, dear,” she grimaced, “Except for the fact that I’ve got a two ton semi truck crushing my legs, I’m peachy keen.”
“Kids try and climb out of the top, wherever that may be, and help me get this off of your mother,” Sid ordered.
“What the **** just happened?!” Faylene’s voice crackled over the crushed radio that was now hanging by a single wire from the console.
“Something made the ground open up in front of us and we went rolling down the hill,” Kay replied as calmly as she could manage.
“We’re coming back to help,” Anna said as the sound of screeching tires on the asphalt was apparent in the background.
“No! Go on without us,” Sid shouted, “We’ll take care of ourselves, just take care of Jack.”
“Y-you sure?” Angus asked in an unsure voice.
“Very, Ang. Now go on and get the hell out of here before we attract any attention,” Kyrie tried to sound positive, “You never know what the Hades Romanis has prowling the skies or ground.”
“When will we see you again?” Brian asked.
“Whenever the Gods allow it,” Sid replied.
“In other words you have no clue,” he said in a worried tone.
“Just go before I come up there and flip y’ns guys myself!” Kay shouted.
“Bye, I guess,” Faye said, tears apparent in her voice.
“We’ll find each other soon, I promise,” Kay soothed.
And with that that final wire connecting the Crosby’s radio to the transmitter snapped as they rolled the truck off of Kay. The two remaining semis drove off into the distance until they grew out of range of each other, the Johnson’s planning their route to get to an old estate Anna and Faye’s parents had set up many millennia ago but was, hopefully, still protected by the multitude of spells and enchantments that kept marauders from raiding the place and kept times harmful effects from destroying it. The Young’s drove out west to follow the last known path of the Transport Pods to find Gray and his team then they would follow the still alive GPS signal of the Aerial Vehicles to find Mike. When their belongings were safely on their backs and the remains of the truck completely destroyed, the Crosby’s set off through the woods to find the nearest town, occupied or not….
Gender: Unspecified Location: Your mom's basement.
okay doods and doodettes. ive been writting a story i simply call Vampires about two rival underground organizations
im on like chapter 16[but havent really had that.....idk spark? lately so im stuck]
but its readable at here
and im taking a creative writing class at my library where my teacher is a pretty cool dood just out of college
and i shall post a new story i just began today, so enjoy!!!
Prologue
She looked into his beautifully dark brown eyes with fear in her own. A smile picked up one side of his mouth and revealed one razor sharp fang glistening with venom. A low chuckle rose in his throat that was almost a growl before opening his mouth and lowering it onto her neck. She felt the fangs pierce her skin and the incredible rush that came afterwards. Although somewhere deep in her mind, the smart part of her was screaming “This is a ****ing vampire! He’s going to kill you!” the stupid part of her brain was currently in control and saying “But this is the best I’ve felt in months.”
She felt him pull the blood from her veins and a shiver ran through her spine until he pressed a hand against it to quiet the tremors. After a while, she began to feel dizzier and dizzier until she finally collapsed against him and he let her fall onto the cold concrete. It was hours later that they finally found her, barely breathing and the weakest pulse imaginable. The only thing that kept her alive was the vampire’s venom now coursing through her veins in place of blood. They took her to the hospital and infused her with blood as well as healed the puncture wounds on her neck as best as possible.
When she finally awoke days later from the coma, her eyes burned liquid silver and her mouth now sported a set of fangs. When the nurse came in, she bolted as soon as she saw those eyes and fangs. That’s when she knew she had to leave and live in the shadows. No one could ever know about her liquid silver eyes or the razor sharp fangs in her mouth. And above all, she had to find the man who did this to her. Who stole her life and replaced it with a cursed one. When she did find him, he would pay.
Gender: Unspecified Location: Your mom's basement.
Ch. 1- Introductions are in Order
That’s how I was born. In the back alley behind a liquor store in the slums. I barely remember the man who did it beyond those eyes and the fangs. They’ve haunted me for years, those eyes. By the way, my name is Enya. That’s it. Just Enya. I dropped my last name years ago because it kept me tied down to my human self and to that final night as a human. Plus it’s a hell of a whole lot easier to keep your first name and drop the rest then make it all up when you’re traveling across the world.
I didn’t know his name but I knew those eyes. No other vampire I’ve met, and I’ve met a lot, has those same eyes. Speaking of eyes. I remembered to slide my sunglasses on over my own to hide their silver color. No matter where you went, people with silver eyes were always pegged as otherworldly… or on drugs. Yes, in the year 2056, drugs can change the color of a person’s eyes and more. It was one of the ways cops kept track of junkies roaming the streets. If more than a couple people sporting a different texture skin and bugging out, then the feds immediately knew a dealer was around.
I made my way down the streets of my beloved city, Pittsburgh. I always come back here after I’ve finished searching another country. There was something about the buildings that always calmed me down. No matter how far I was away from that vampire, I found solace here every time I returned. Above me, skywalks wound their way around every corner and sometimes even through the buildings surrounding me. A wind whipped up around me and I found myself pulling my black leather coat closer to my body for warmth. Although it wasn’t like I really felt the cold much anymore, I could easily ignore things as trivial as temperature changes, but it was a force of habit that was long ago drilled into my system.
As I entered the diner tucked away beside a computer store, I pulled the earbuds of my headphones from my head and stored them inside my coat pocket. The place was warm and welcoming, like the rest of the city. It always smelled like whatever the cook had on the grill, this time it was potatoes. I found a smile on my face as I sat in my usual spot, a small booth seat situated in the corner. As soon as I was settled, a waitress sauntered up to me with a knowing smile on her face. Her hair was salt and pepper in color and pulled into a tight bun as she chewed a wad of gum, cinnamon by the scent of her breath.
“Welcome home, Enya,” the waitress, her name was Sally, greeted as she began to write. “The usual I take it?”
“You know me all too well, Sal,” I said with a smile.
“How was wherever you were?” she asked before walking away.
“Spain?” I replied. “Divine. You’d never believe the sights from my window.”
“Tell me about it sometime,” she smiled and finally walked away to put the order in.
When she was gone, I looked out the window into the setting sun, the reason I chose this seat every time I came here. Oh yes, my audience, we vampires are in fact capable of walking in the daylight hours. That doesn’t mean we exactly enjoy it, but it’s very possible. The only reason we’re associated with nighttime is because we were condemned to it centuries ago, when the first of us followed the old myths that garlic was poison and crucifixes deterred us. To inform those of you who hug the bible to your person in the middle of the night and wear silver all the time. Plus to those of you who have read stories about certain sparkly vampires with the ability to read minds, not like we can’t do that either, throw everything you think you know about us out the window and listen up!
We can walk in the daylight; like I said before, it’s a tad uncomfortable cause we burn easily but, again, not impossible. Garlic doesn’t cause us to clutch our throats and collapse in pain; actually, I quite enjoy the taste of the stuff on just about every pasta dish. Holy water does squat; c’mon people, it’s water, and we’re not demons here, just unfortunate. Crucifixes do nothing; I know quite a few vampires who are men of the cloth, actually. And as for silver, well, I wouldn’t wear a ring of pure silver on my pinky finger all the time if it burned me.
I always came to the diner, which was called Diamond in the Rough, for those who wondered, around the same time of the day, when the sun was beginning its descent over the horizon. The seat I sat in every time was conveniently facing the setting sun, allowing me to keep my shades on all the time without people thinking it’s weird. Sally brought my usual drink, an unsweetened iced-tea minus the lemon, and promised my order in five minutes. A yawn escaped me as I stirred packet after packet of sugar, the real stuff, not the crappy “all-natural low-calorie sweetener”, into the giant glass they always served iced-tea in.
That’s when I spotted him across the street. It was only a split second flash from in between a semi roaring passed, but with my super vision, it was more than enough. My mouth fell open with the tip of my straw resting on my lips as I saw him. He was wearing non-descript dark clothes and kept darting his gaze up and down the street. And that gaze….
‘Those eyes,’ I realized. ‘Only one person in the world has those brown eyes.’
“Sally!” I called out to the back causing a few of the other patrons to jump suddenly.
“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” she asked looking frazzled.
“Sorry, but I just remembered something important,” I explained. “Do you think you could wrap that up?”
“Sure,” Sally said. “Regular packaging or on-the-go?”
I took one last look out the window and saw him moving into a back alley.
“Better make that on-the-go,” I replied.
Gender: Unspecified Location: Your mom's basement.
Ch. 2- Possession
He moved fast, faster than any other vampire I’d met before. This could explain why I don’t remember him approaching me. Then again… a lot of details from that night have escaped me over the years. He kept looking around at the rooftops and over his shoulder as he made his way through the winding maze between the buildings. His hair was a dark brown, short, but not cut so close to his head that I could tell the shape of his noggin. Under the dark, non-descript clothes he wore, I could just make out the lines of his muscles.
If I had a heartbeat, it would have been going a mile a minute as I followed him. No, not a him, a monster, a true creature of the night, swooping down on young maidens in dark alleys to drain them of life. He fit the conformity of the old ways of vampires and the still standard idea of us by humans like a glove. I felt the venom well up in my mouth as my anger surged and my senses focused on my target.
That’s another thing about us vamps, once we’re angry or “into the hunt”, as some of us call focusing, you can’t find a way to back us down. The only way to stop and angry vampire, is to kill it. Otherwise, we could go through hell and back to find the object of our obsession and bring our world back into balance. That’s why I’ve spent 50 years on the hunt for this bastard. And when we go for help from others of our kind, they immediately help because they fully understand the nature of the hunt.
I was all fired up and ready for action so when he stopped suddenly, I nearly ran into him. He turned his head once more to look up and around. Luckily though, I was already well hidden in the shadow of a dumpster. Finally his eyes rested on a spot in front of him and he spoke.
“I knew I’d find you here,” he said.
I recoiled at the sound of his voice, nearly enough so to make me fall out of my hiding spot. For twenty years I’d imagined what he might sound like, this monster who had taken my life away and replaced it with something cursed. But in those twenty years, I’d always imagined his voice to be deep and gravely, the kind that ensnares people and forces them to listen right off the bat. And yet his real voice was much softer, not rough like sandpaper, but soft like a warm breeze enveloping you. When the second voice spoke, I jumped nearly as much as I did when he first spoke.
“Oh did you now?” a female’s voice said. “How very clever of you, Duncan.”
“Duncan,” I sounded the name out on my lip silently.
So that was the name of my obsession. Once again a surprise as I expected something more along the lines of Gabriel or something as silly as Bob. I pushed my sunglasses higher up my nose to keep my silver eyes from giving me away, they’re reflective and it doesn’t take vampire vision to be able to see the glow in a dark alley. The conversation turned boring for a while so I contemplated methods of murder. There was always the good old fashioned stab him in the back and book it, but that’s too good for him. I guess I could overtake him and slip poison down his throat or into his bloodstream.
“I think it’s time you repaid that debt, Donelle,” Duncan was saying.
“And what debt would that be?” Donelle asked.
From my vantage point, there was a small window that revealed Duncan’s face in its reflection. His eyes flashed angrily, their liquid surface turning solid and the brown color changing to black for a second. He advanced on the woman with a hidden blade concealed in his palm. I readied myself to make my move, deciding to strike once the creepy looking ***** was dead and gone.
And when I say she was a creepy *****, I mean she was a creepy *****. Her hair was long and dark but looked to be soaked in something. Her eyes were a crimson red that seemed to flow like real blood. But the weirdest thing I saw about her was her hands. Instead of regular dainty fingers most women, me included, have, her fingers ended in claws. They were curled slightly into fists momentarily, but every once in a while, they would flex, letting off some sort of emotion; anger I guessed.
The slightest twitch in her mouth revealed her true intentions to me a tad too late. She moved in faster than I could see and, with those claws of hers, she ran Duncan through, effectively ending his life before I could get there. Abandoning all hope of stealth to my anger, I leapt from the shadows just in time to catch Duncan’s falling body.
“Hey!” I called out angrily as the woman disappeared through a dark portal she’d called up.
Donelle turned her head over her shoulder, and like some kind of celebrity on the red carpet, she blew a kiss my way before the dark corridor sealed. That’s when it felt like the wind was knocked out of me. I didn’t know if it was her or just the sudden impact that my hunt was over. Or was it? Now that Duncan was dead and gone, I could eliminate that weirdo ***** from the world and save people everywhere from the nightmares I was sure to have later. With the final setting ray of light, Duncan’s body faded into ashes and floated to join the rest of our kind on the other side.
Gender: Unspecified Location: Your mom's basement.
Ch. 3- Duncan
The trip home was a slightly disappointing one. I spent the time on the train down to Washington reliving those moments hiding. A piece of me was angry at the fact that I hid in the shadows like a coward and watched someone being murdered, while the other piece argued that he was the man who ruined my life and he deserved everything he got. I stared out the window at the night sky rolling silently passed as I chomped down on my, now cold, dinner.
Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention. For those of you who are wondering, no eating human food won’t kill me or make me sick. It’s actually quite sustaining. Gives us energy and makes us happy just like humans. But we do have incredibly high metabolisms, so whatever we eat burns away in a matter of an hour or so, depending on how much running around we’re doing. Meaning that by the end of the train ride, my tumbly was a grumbly.
One strange incident did go down while on the train, however. While going through a tunnel, I had my gaze locked on a small crack in the window when suddenly a face popped up in the reflection right next to me. The face only appeared for a split second but in that split second, I had already memorized the face. Thank you vampire vision. It was a man, definitely, and he had dark hair and dark eyes, eyes I immediately recognized.
“Duncan,” I whispered.
I looked around the tiny compartment to see if someone had snuck in on me or something, but I was still alone. I felt my brows furrow as I pondered what had just happened. But before I could think any further, the conductor announced our arrival in Washington and I had to make my way to the exit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And now for a tour of my lovely home. It’s small, but granted it is me casa. A one bedroom one bathroom apartment not too far from the train station. The kitchen was simple with its stove, counters, sink and refrigerator and the living room was basically a library. What can I say? I love to read. It’s the best way to spend sleepless nights, which are often as sleep is optional with vamps, and great for researching possible clues in a hunt. Shelves covered every inch of the walls there and books overflowed them, some even forming neat little piles on the floor around the entertainment center and couch.
I have a pretty healthy collection of movies as well as games to counteract the bookworm in me because sometimes you just need to let your brain rest from all the black and white pages and escape your miserable existence through other means. I have a lot of old school movies, mostly from the era I was born in or older, as well as newer ones that catch my eye as they’re made. The games were mostly RPG platformers, puzzle games and a hockey game or two.
Enough about my meager existence, let’s move on with the story. Ahem… where was I? Oh, yeah! As soon as I got inside, I plopped down onto the couch, suddenly exhausted for some strange reason. I felt as though I’d been in the fight of my life and that there was a huge hole in my heart. That could’ve been explained away by the fact that my fifty year hunt was finally over, but I digress. I fumbled for the controller with my face still buried in the feathery soft, memory bead pillow. It smelled clean of dust mites and with a hint of Febreeze so I took a wild guess that the cleaner-bots had been in today some time. There, inhaling the scent of Febreeze and listening to the evening news, something quite unexpected happened.
“Wow, it’s been years since I watched human television. I guess that’s what happens when you don’t stop to smell the roses once in a while,” a man’s voice said.
“Hello?” I sat up and asked.
I looked at the TV for any clues, but to no avail. I got up, despite my protesting muscles, and searched the apartment. Nothing in the bedroom, or the closet… no one in the bathroom…. Huh.
“No use searching for me, darling. I am everywhere and nowhere,” the voice said.
“Who’s there?” I asked beginning to get annoyed.
I unleashed the hidden blade I had tucked up the sleeves of by leather coat.
The voice whistled. “Nice set of cutlery you have there,” he said. “Looks like the assassin’s design from way back in the 1400’s. All the power and mystique minus the pain of losing your ring finger.”
“Show yourself, coward!” I called out to no one.
“Over here,” he taunted.
I spun around quickly, thinking the assailant was behind me.
“Nope! You missed!” he continued to taunt me.
I let out a cry of frustration, silently grateful that the walls were soundproof, and spun around in a fury.
“Who are you? Tell me!” I cried.
“The man you have hunted for half a century,” the voice whispered into my ear.
I stopped in my tracks and felt the hidden blades retract.
Gender: Unspecified Location: Your mom's basement.
Ch. 4- The New Hunt
“Hello, darling,” Duncan’s voice said cheerfully. “Long time no see… kinda.”
“Where the hell are you?” I asked.
“Sorry, Enya, but you can’t kill me. Seeing as I’m already dead,” he said.
“Then how can I hear you?” I inquired, still not believing what was happening.
“Well, about that,” he said hesitantly. “I’m inside you.”
“Bullshit,” I scoffed.
“Look can we take this conversation up face-to-face? It’s a bit awkward conversing this way,” he admitted.
“And how are we gonna do that? Some magical place inside my imagination?” I asked sarcastically.
“Or we could just look in the mirror,” he suggested.
The only mirror I owned was in the bathroom, so I turned on the light and beheld the horror before me. He stood there in the bathroom with me, looking solid as ever, but only in the reflection. While in the mirror, he leaned against the shower door with his arms folded, in reality, I was completely and utterly alone. I could see how penetrating his eyes were, even if he was a ghost, their intensity haunting me silently now more than ever. His jacket was gone, revealing the simple t-shirt and blue jeans he wore underneath. His body looked completely whole despite the beating he’d taken earlier.
“So then… why are you here?” I asked.
“Simple. When I died, I entered your head. Now we’re synched together until we can find my body and my soul can once again inhabit it,” he explained.
“And you know my name, how?” I asked. “Please tell me you can’t read my thoughts.”
“Afraid I can’t do that. I hear and see everything you hear and see, as well as what you think,” he said with a maniacal smile.
“Well there goes my plans to lobotomize myself in the middle of the night,” I grumbled.
“Hostility does not suit you,” Duncan scolded.
“Well that’s what happens when you spend fifty year trying to kill someone, only to have them killed before you can claim the right and then find them living inside your head!” she shouted at the reflection.
“Okay, fair enough,” he shrugged. “Now about getting my body back-“
“There will be no more discussing this until I’ve had a good night sleep. Whatever the hell is goin on here can wait until I don’t feel like I’m falling apart at the seams,” I said with finality.
My sleep was plagued by dreams of him. He was everywhere I looked, staring me down from rooftops or alleyways with those deep brown eyes of his. The only exception was that instead of simply scaring the living daylights out of me with their beauty, they also enthralled me. The look he gave me in that dreamland seemed to call out to me, enticing me to come forward, to let down my guard, and to surrender to him the way I had that night he turned me. When I awoke, I found that my clothes were off and that I was dressed in a pair of my pajamas.
“The ****?” I asked in confusion.
“It’s not good for you to sleep in your clothes,” that voice piped up from somewhere unreachable in my head. “Ruins the sheets, wrinkles the clothes, plus you’re constricted so you wake up feeling wore than you did before you went to bed.”
“I swear to the gods, if you did anything else besides just dressing me, I’ll kill you faster than you can take your first breath,” I threatened.
“Now why do you have to bring the gods into this one?” Duncan asked. “Fine, I swear by the gods that I did no harm to your exquisite body while you were out cold.”
“It’s not harm I’m worried about,” I grumbled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Now then,” I said sitting down at the small table that took up most of my kitchen. “This chick, what was her name? Donelle. Let’s do a bit of research on her first.”
“Research? Who taught you to research a target before going in?” Duncan asked.
“Myself, seeing as you basically left me alone,” I said. “I only learned fighting and stealth techniques from other people. Plus, researching came naturally to me cause of my intended career path as a human.”
“And that was?” he inquired, I felt him trying to pry into my secrets, but I put up a wall between him and my most guarded secrets.
“None of your business,” I scolded. “Tell me a bit about her so I can get started.”
“Do you have a Demonata book?” he asked and I felt him probe the list of books I own.
“Let me save you the trouble,” I said before reaching behind me to the counter and snatching it from beside the microwave.
“Convenient,” he remarked as I flipped through.
“What species is she?” I asked.
The Demonata is a thin book that holds the classification of each and every demon in this universe, yes you heard me right, this universe. Surprisingly, there aren’t a whole lot of types, and the book acts like a sort of mini-portal, meaning once you open the classification of demon you want, the book changes to accommodate. And what does that mean you may ask? Just hang on a second and find out, kiddies.
“L-Lucian,” Duncan said reluctantly.
“What?!” I shouted, almost flying from my chair. “You ****ed around with a Lucian?! What the hell’s the matter with you?”
“There’s a very good reason, and once you open her chapter you’ll find out why,” he explained hastily.
“There’d better be,” I growled as I flipped to the right section.
Once I opened the book to the Lucian classification, the book expanded to accommodate the large number of Lucian demons. Did you think Mammon was the only child of the Morningstar? Wrong-o. He is only one of many. And the Lucians are definitely one demon family that like to look after their own, not only do they like it, but they pride themselves in being the most close-nit families in the history of our universe. Literally, when you **** around with one of them, they descend on you like stink on a fly. Oh yes, and they were also the descendents of Lucifer himself. How fun. Well, let’s read the entry, shall we?
Demonata- Lucian Branch
Donelle- “World Leader”- The 3,652nd daughter of Lucifer. Mother was a Witch Demon who seduced Lucifer 300 years ago. She retains her mother’s appearance and some of her powers with all the charisma and will of Lucifer. Her main goal, like so many of her siblings, is to free her father from his prison under our plane of existence, Hell, by finding and releasing Samael, the rest of Lucifer where most of his power resides.
“So she’s after Samael,” I commented after reading the passage. “Great. Very informative. Does this thing know her weaknesses?”
“She doesn’t have any that are known,” Duncan chimed in.
“This just keeps getting better and better. What should I know next? Can she control time? Does she have one of the Pieces of Eden?” I asked beginning to pace around the small apartment.
“Fortunately no on both accounts,” he informed. “However, since her father is the residing demon of pride, she is able to control anyone with too much pride.”
“Wait a second… you mean pride as in one of the Seven Deadly Sins right?” I asked.
“Yeah?” he responded.
“Well, why the hell hasn’t anyone seen this before?” I inquired sharply. “Pride comes with big egos. You tear down her ego, then she goes tumbling down as well!”
“But that’s just it,” he countered, “no one knows what her ego is all about.”
“Well, that’s a simple thing to solve,” I scoffed.
“How so?”
“We trail the *****.”
Last edited by That ACDC Chick on Jan 4th, 2010 at 02:30 AM
Gender: Unspecified Location: Your mom's basement.
Ch. 5- Assassin
As I packed, with a firm mental blindfold over Duncan’s peepers, a tapping noise caught my attention from the living room. I knew immediately it could only be one thing. An owl was perched silently on the tiny herb garden that adorned my window, like every other window, with an all too familiar thick envelope tied around its neck. The envelope was sealed with a single lump of golden wax with no insignia stamped on it, but through the wax was a piece of twine that extended out to wrap around the four edges. I untied the package as the owl stood regally with its head held high and I knew that the message was from the big man himself.
I slipped a couple of gold coins into the small leather pouch under one of the wings and placed a scrap of my toast between the owl’s beak, which the animal ate graciously before flying off into the night. I twisted a knob beside the window to make the windows opaque to prevent anyone from seeing inside the apartment and headed back to the bedroom. There on the bed, I pushed aside the piles of supplies and pulled out a knife to cut the twine with.
“What is that? A note from a secret admirer?” Duncan asked.
I jumped slightly at the sound of his voice.
“It’s none of your business,” I said curtly.
“Touchy subject, huh? Must be some guy,” he commented.
“Awww,” I cooed. “Do I detect a hint of jealousy?”
That finally shut him up, so I pulled the little ends of twine to crack the golden wax seal satisfyingly. From the parchment envelope I pulled four other thinner envelopes, these all sealed with different colored waxes and stamped with different insignias, along with a single page letter. The calligraphy confirmed my suspicions of this package coming from the highest seat in the order. Somehow, that didn’t make me feel any less nervous.
To whom this may concern:
Enclosed in this envelope is a summons for four new missions of the highest importance. If, for any reason, you are unable to accept these missions, burn these items in a phosphorus fire at dusk by the 16th. Otherwise, the contacts will be waiting for your meeting at the specified times once the mission letter is opened. Good luck and remember, nothing is true and everything is permitted.
D.M.
“Shee-it,” I sighed flopping against one of the pillows. “Four missions when I got important things to do. But I guess it’ll be a good way to start searching for clues. What do you think?”
“Oh, I’m allowed to speak am I?” Duncan asked.
“Did I hurt your feelings? Suck it up,” I said. “This is very important, and it pays very good money, which will be important on the road. I’m gonna accept.”
“Am I allowed to know what the flying **** is going on?” he inquired.
“You’ll see in a second,” I waved him off mentally.
I picked the evergreen wax seal first and cracked it open carefully. Once the seal was broken, a whisper escaped the envelope and flew through the cracks in the door and out the window to deliver its message. I pulled the three documents from the envelope and memorized their contents. One was a paper photo of my target sitting at a café in Paris, France; I could just make out the Eiffel Tower in the background. The second was a full page summary of the target and the final document was a scrap of paper that specified the time and place for the meeting with the contact.
“Hold it there a minute… are you an assassin?” Duncan asked after he’d processed the contents of the envelope.
“Yep,” I said simply, still reading the info on the target.
“Huh,” he said. “Never would’ve guessed.”
“Would you be quiet please? I have to burn this as soon as I’m finished reading it,” I explained sharply.
Name: Robert Jackson
Profession: Politician
Age: 56
Reason: Has been secretly embezzling money from the US government for years and using it to fuel his travel expenses. On these travels, he kidnaps small children and performs ludicrous acts with them before murdering them and leaving their bodies to rot in various placed in the child’s home village or town.
Danger level: 7- Has several highly paid bodyguards to protect him at all times and has implanted himself with sensors to detect anything out of the ordinary.
I set the info aside with the photo and checked the scrap of paper one last time.
Gustave’s Tower- fourteen day’s deaths
“The hell is that supposed to mean?” Duncan asked as I snatched the envelope and documents up and made my way to the kitchen.
‘Gustave Eiffel was the engineer who built Paris’s most famous structures,’ I explained silently.
“Okay, the Eiffel Tower then,” Duncan mused. “But what about fourteen day’s deaths?”
‘The day dies as midnight,’ I explained.
In the kitchen, I pulled a small, glass jar filled halfway with a greenly glowing substance. From the cupboard up above the stove, I pulled a large silver pot and placed it on the stovetop. In went the documents and smash went the glass jar of glowing substance. A split second later, a white-blue flame erupted from the pot, sending a small whisper out the window with the force, and I quickly slammed the lid down on the pot to kill the flame.
“So this whole assassin business… it’s all pretty serious, huh?” he asked once the pot was washed and put away.
“As serious as a heart attack,” I said quietly.
By the time the whispers had reached the contact and the head honcho, I was already out the door ordering a plane ticket.
Last edited by That ACDC Chick on Jan 17th, 2010 at 02:59 AM
Gender: Unspecified Location: Your mom's basement.
been over a month since i posted a story
i think its bout time, dont you?
Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands
Ch. 1
The boat bounced along the waves forcing Kiriel to hold on tight to her bags. The captain steered as best he could, but no matter what, each bounce nearly sent them flying overboard. Finally the dock came into view and relief flooded through Kiriel. The captain set the boat gently along the dock and tied it off before helping her out of the boat. At the end of the dock awaited an old man with a bald head and a bristly, white mustache. He carried a crooked cane in one hand and wore workers overall’s that were well worn and patched in many places. Beyond him lay one of the two main islands, Verdue Island.
“Hello,” Kiriel called out happily.
“Good morning, follow me if you will and I’ll show you to your home,” the old man said. “My name is Taro, and soon you’ll meet the rest of the leaders of Sunshine Islands.”
“Where is everyone?” she asked when they passed a small diner and she saw no one inside.
“Setting up for the New Year’s Festival on Meadow Island,” Taro replied as they crossed over a bridge linking Verdue Island to Kiriel’s ranch.
“Ah, I see,” she replied.
“Tomorrow you can go around and introduce yourself to everyone, get to know people,” he suggested.
“Okay,” she smiled as they walked up to the tiny farmhouse.
“This is it,” Taro said puffing up his chest. “It’s a bit small, but I’m sure that if you save up some Gold and lumber, you can ask Gannon to expand it for you.”
“Did someone say my name?” a gruff voice said from behind them.
“Ah, good, you’re all here,” Taro said with a satisfied look to him.
A troupe of three people walked across the bridge connecting Ranch Island to Verdue Island. They stopped in front of Kiriel and Taro and looked over the new villager. Finally, a man wearing traditional clothes walked forward and held out a hand.
“My name is Chen,” the man said with a calm smile. “I run the merchant shop along with my son, Charlie.”
The woman was next to step forward and shake Kiriel’s hand.
“I’m Mirabelle,” she smiled. “I run the animal shop right next to Chen’s. come to me of you’re looking to buy any animals to raise on your farm.”
Finally, a big burly man stepped forward and grasped Kiriel’s hand in his gigantic one.
“Name’s Gannon,” he said in a gruff voice. “I’m the Island’s builder, so come to me for upgrades to your house and when you want to build other things for your farm.”
“Well, I think that’s everyone,” Taro said. “Let’s leave the little lady alone to get settled in. just ask any one of us for help if you need it.”
They all left Kiriel alone to walk into her new home and place her things in the proper place. What she brought in her bag wasn’t much, nor was any of it valuable price-wise, but it all deserved a place in her new home. First was an old journal given to her by her father to record her thoughts and the happenings on the farm. Then there was a picture of her family, her parents and her bother and sister all lined up happily underneath a blooming cherry tree. And finally was the set of tools used by her grandfather when he owned a ranch in a small valley called Forget-Me-Not, high up in the mountains.
These she loaded in a small rucksack and headed off to begin her first job, clearing the field for the season’s crops. She spent the day chopping wood and hammering rocks to their proper shape to be stored in the storage bin next the house. There were larger boulders and stumps that she couldn’t get out just yet, she’d have to ask about Wonderfuls the next day. Finally, the weeds were pulled and placed in the shipping bin for the single gold a piece for each one. Many people in other villages used weeds from various areas of the world for medicine or even in recipes, so Kiriel helped them by pulling each one she saw and shipping it.
By the time the sun had set, she could hear the celebration all the way over on Meadow Island, helping to bring in the New Year. She knew she’d be counting down the 120 days until the next New Year, hoping to the gods she’d be welcomed warmly by the villagers. Once her fieldwork was all finished up, she wrote down her thoughts on the first day as a rancher in the old journal and laid down in her bed for a long needed sleep.
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Sep 11th, 2009 03:45 AM
