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I wrote a sestina for class with this subject, and my Lit teacher asked me to make it into a story- so here it is!
Heartless
She had made her decision- the pain was too much. An almost physical agony, centered in her chest. She had to get rid of it, no matter the consequences. Kneeling on the ground, a knife in her hand, the cool leather of the pommel searing her flesh, she knew there was no turning back.
She placed the blade with one swift motion, stabbing it into her chest, just between her right lung and her heart, ignoring the wave of pain that threatened to pull her under, her own body, warning her against what she was about to do. Carefully, almost methodically, as if she was performing a delicate surgery, she cut a hole in her chest, just a tad wider then her fist, the blood pouring out, each heartbeat becoming weaker as she moved, swiftly to avoid passing out. Then went about severing the arteries and viscera attaching the heart to the chest cavity. Beat, she was filled with a bone-wracking pain, beat, and then absolutely nothing at all, as if she was floating, equal parts empathy and apathy. She stood at the edge of humanity and nothingness, life and death.
And she jumped, a free fall into the unknown. With a final stroke of the gleaming silver blade, she severed the last thing holding her heart in place, the aorta, then took her other hand and plucked it, almost effortlessly, from her chest.
She felt nothing but a dim weightlessness, as if in dream. Staring at her hand, still quivering in her blood-soaked hand, still trying desperately to pump her life’s blood through her body.
The Greeks believed that the heart was the center of one’s personality, that everything you were was centered there, and that the blood carried your emotions and who you were throughout your body. And she had just removed it.
Amazed she stared at it, entranced by its futile palpitations. How could all of this pain, she wondered, come from an organ so… small? It fit into her hand easily, trembling for all it was worth, not believing it was useless, not wanting to believe. Trying to remind her that no human could live without a heart.
“Then, perhaps I am not human anymore.” She whispered to the trembling organ in her hand, and she new it to be true. She wasn’t dieing. Surely, she should have at least passed out by now, but after the first waves of dizziness and pain, she felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. Only a numbness spreading through her body, centered at her still open chest.
The mass of tissue in her hand was realizing the pointlessness of continuing to fight, realizing it was insignificant now. She no longer needed to feel. In trying to stop the pain, by cutting out her own heart, she had undergone a metamorphosis. She was totally without feeling. No longer human. She was both more and less.
She stood, and cast the useless attachment on the ground, her hand becoming a fist around the knife. She left the tiny room in which she had done her unspeakable deed, ignoring the fact she had left what had made her human on the ground.
Her compassion, her empathy. Her heart.
The shell of a once human girl walked down the street, ignorant of the gaping wound on its chest, knife in hand. Her eyes were hollow, but not haunted. Just… absent of everything.
Apathetic.
Empty.
 Dante Alicheery · Thu Apr 26, 2007 @ 04:46am · 0 Comments |
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I traced the scars upon your wrists,
And stared deep into your crystal eyes,
Into a soul, marred worse then your flesh.
I felt such pain, and such pride.
Sadness for what you had to experience,
For the sorrow and the pain you were introduced to,
So early on.
Pride in the fact that you survived,
Your soul becoming defiant, tempered like steel,
By your losses.
Pain for the hardening of your heart that you had to endure.
But through all of this, you never shed a tear.
You cried in other ways,
Tracing your pain onto your skin,
A memory you would never forget,
A symbol of the fact you overcame it all.
You elixir of life spilled on the floor,
Washing away your innocence.
You had to grow up so fast.
Becoming, so quickly, so world weary.
Eyes wide, searching at all times.
Never having the chance to rest.
Your eyes, once filled with such emotion,
Became chips of eyes, emotionless.
Never letting your precious tears fall.
But tonight, worry not.
Allow your head to hit the pillow,
Recapture your dreams, and your lost hope.
I shall stand guard against the nightmares.
And wash away the old aching pains,
Healing you so perfectly, the scars shall disappear.
Then start upon healing your heart and soul.
Tonight…
And every night after…
I will be here.
Dante Alicheery · Fri Mar 30, 2007 @ 09:59pm · 0 Comments |
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Chapter 2
Lian stared at him, strangely. The Agency building had always been a safe haven for them. Why would it be dangerous? What could possibly hurt them in there? “David… why do you think that?”
“I don’t know, Li.” He said, shaking his head. “I just, have a bad feeling.”
“I trust your instincts, David, I do, but I don’t feel any impending doom.” She paused, scenting the air. “And nothing looks or smells out of place. Could you be mistaken?”
“It’s possible, I have been wrong before, or interpreted signs wrong. But something… something tells me it would be a really bad idea to go in there right now.” David peered at her, at the expression of worry on her face. “Maybe I am mistaken. I’m probably just shaken up from before… still seeing monsters everywhere…” He chuckled mirthlessly and started back up the stairs.
Lian hung back a minute, frowning. Maybe he was right. Maybe they were walking right into something big and dark and bad. In that case… Lian would be right beside her partner when he faced it. She followed him up the stairs.
David opened the big double doors heading into the lobby and walked through fearlessly, head held high, no sign of his earlier distress. Lian followed him as quickly as she could.
The lobby was the lobby of any office building around America, polished floor, some chairs, a few potted plants, and a receptionist’s desk at the far end of the room, with two shiny silver elevators to the left of it, and a large ebony door to the right. The floor was made of midnight blue stone; with veins of silver, and the furniture was black leather, the plants some nondescript fern.
The receptionist was a werelynx, a timid young blonde despite the power of her animal form. She ducked her head in greeting to them, never once making eye contact as she opened one of the elevators for them and told their handler they were coming.
The elevator opened again on the thirteenth floor, to reveal rows and rows of black ebony desks upon a white marble floor. On the west side of the room was wall to ceiling windows, looking over the city, and on the other side were the doors of private offices, with windows peering out into the “agent pool”. Everyone in this room was either a handler or an agent, all working on various cases.
They strode over to the door at the far left of the room, and David knocked gently on the door. Lian found that her mouth was dry, and that her stomach was knotted in anticipation. The door swung open, revealing the familiar office of Jack, their handler, or boss. The office had powder blue walls, and a sand-colored carpet. His desk was sprawling mahogany, and was covered in papers.
The sight of Jack made Lian smile automatically, even as her stomach knot tightened. He had short black hair; his suit was rumpled, as if he had pulled an all-nighter, again. His tie was colorful and looked like a clown threw up on him, not surprising, given Jack’s fondness for strange looking ties. His face was pale, nondescript, nothing out of the ordinary. He had one of those faces that was neither ugly nor handsome, just… forgettable. He greeted them warmly enough, his dark brown eyes sparkling.
Jack was a were-wolf, beta in the local pack, second to only the Alpha. His familiar, musky scent greeted Lian as well, and it was that scent that started to ease her mind. Jack wouldn’t allow anyone, or anything, to harm his favorite charges.
“Winchester, Johnson.” He said, a slow smile spreading across his face. “Before we talk business, there is someone I’d like you to meet.” He gestured to the chair across from him to a woman. Lian blinked. She had looked around the room the minute they had come in, and she had not noticed this nameless woman across from her boss. Meaning this woman had not only masked her sight, but her smell and the sound of her heart beat as well. This meant she had to be a witch, fey or demon of some sort, in order to create a glamour that advanced.
“This is Maureen Skylar, an old friend.” Maureen was a woman in her late twenties, with deep, almost endless green eyes. Not just green, but a thousand different hues of green, dancing with a kind of mirth, the dominant one depending on the light. Right now it was the color of pine trees, a kind of forest green. Her hair was a luscious honeyed blonde that shimmered in the artificial light of Jack’s office. Her lips were full and red, and her face was that of a supermodel’s, to go along with the supermodel body. Her sweater was angora, and colored the same as her eyes. Under that was a pair of black jeans and boots bedecked her boots.
David felt the same dread in the pit of his stomach as he had before, but he didn’t show it. He didn’t trust her, and he wouldn’t give her a chance to harm him. He put up all his mental shields.
For Lian, it was something else entirely. Instinctively, at first, she liked Maureen, which was strange because she never liked anyone right off the bat, not even David. This made her suspicious. That, and the scent of magick that surrounded her like cheap perfume, the scent of blood, burning roses and cinnamon. A scent so thick, it coated her tongue, refusing to leave her. Maureen was very powerful.
“Maureen, dear, I proudly present the NPIB’s two finest agents, the Lioness and the Angel, Lian Winchester, and David Johnson.” Jack finished, and Maureen nodded to each of them before holding out her hand.
“It is a pleasure to meet both of you. Jack has told me so much.” Her voice was clipped and her accent smacked faintly of Oxford English.
Lian eyed the hand suspiciously, and looked into David’s eyes, conveying her feelings with a look. He also looked vaguely suspicious, but more disturbed then anything. Of course, you’d have to know him really well in order to tell he felt anything at all. Nevertheless, he took her hand.
“Then, if seems you have the advantage, Ms. Skylar.” David replied, before bowing over her hand to kiss the back of it. Maureen blinked, seemingly put off guard, a shocked expression flitting over her face for half a second before her cordial demeanor was back in place. “For we have heard nothing of you.”
Lian sat down on the arm of the plush leather couch by the door, observing this. Watching this display left her with a bad taste in her mouth, and faint feelings of jealousy. When David came up, he looked at her strangely, and she looked away, remembering one of his secondary powers was empathy, fighting not to blush. It was really hard to hide things around psychics.
“Oh, me.” She said to him, completely ignoring Lian. “There is nothing really special about me. But, I heard that you two were the ones that exterminated the nest down on East Washington. Impressive for ones so young. You are what, sixteen?”
“Eighteen, Ms. Skylar.” David answered just as genially, speaking for them both while Lian stood back, bristling. “And Lian is only seventeen.”
“Impressive.” She muttered to herself. “Very impressive.” Jack beamed at her, and then at his charges.
“Nothing special, you say?” Lian said finally. “Ms. Skylar, how humble you must be. You must be quite special for the scent of magick to cling to you like it does. What are you, if it is not to bold to ask. Witch? Half-demon? Fey?”
Maureen’s eyes narrowed as she considered Lian very carefully. “Ms. Skylar is the Secretary of Preternatural Affairs.” Jack said nervously, actually sweating, trying to undo any insult Lian may have given to their important visitor.
“That still doesn’t answer my question.” Lian said as she crossed her arms over her chest, simultaneously making David laugh and thwarting Jack’s plan to calm Ms. Skylar down.
“Lian…” he said, instead, warning her to stop with the questions.
Maureen held up a hand to stop his words. “It is alright Jack. The girl is just curious.” To Lian she said; “I am a mutt. My mother was a Sidhe lady, my father, a demon. He raped her outside the Sidhe mound, and my mother, in her shame, gave me up when I was born. I was taken in by a young witch and her husband, who found that he was infertile, and they so wanted a baby girl of their own.” She smirked. “Does that answer your question, child?”
Lian just sat there, her mouth drawn into a line, considering Maureen. After a while Maureen turned to Jack. “I must be going now, Jack; there are appointments I cannot miss. Thank you for your hospitality.” She nodded to both David and Lian as she left the room.
As soon as Maureen had left the room, Jack turned on Lian, berating her for her bluntness. “What was that all about?” he asked through gritted teeth.
“I wished to know why I was feeling such vibes around her.” Lian said plainly, not knowing exactly what she did wrong. David just smiled wanly, and fell into the plush couch by the door.
“She was not a suspect; you were not here to interrogate her…” Jack just shook his head. “It seems that you need to learn some tact.”
“But… David had a…” Lian started, but stopped abruptly when David placed a hand on her thigh. She looked down at him and, in reading his expression, shut up. Until we know what’s going on, it said, Until we know we can trust everyone here, we can’t tell them about that. Who knows whether or not they’ve been compromised? It also told her that he didn’t trust Maureen Skylar anymore then she did. It made her feel better to know that her partner felt the same way she did about Jack’s “old friend”. “I was just curious.” She amended.
Jack just smiled and shook his head. “Which, I guess is why you are such a good operative. So, how did your mission go?”
“Quite well.” David said, sitting up straight. “We eradicated all the vampires with minimal loss of civilian property.”
“In other words,” Lian said, rolling her eyes. “We burned up the nest, and a few of the surrounding buildings might have been scorched. Just a little bit, though.”
Jack sighed. “Lian, I told you to be more careful with public and civilian property. We can’t have another Milan.” David sniggered at this, looking duly chastened when she glared at him.
In Milan, Lian and David had been on the trail of an drug smuggling ring, the drug smugglers being fey, and smuggling what was commonly known as Venus’ Laughter, an aphrodisiac that affected everyone, human, vamp, lycan, and fey. Everyone. And could be smoked, thus inhaled, taken intravenously, or eaten if baked into something, or mixed with wine. It caused someone to be taken over by lust, so they would do almost anyone. It’s commonly used as a date rape drug, a quite successful one too, which pissed Lian off all the more. She ran into the run-down apartment where it was being brewed, and Changed into were form, her half-lion, half-human form, and she rampaged, knocking men unconscious and then throwing them into a pile, mercilessly. Then, she placed a bomb in the corner of the basement, threw the men over her broad shoulders, and ran like hell. When the bomb went off, it blew up two and a half city blocks, mercifully empty at ten in the morning. Only one died, and it was one of the bad guys, but many more were injured. After that, Lian had been placed on probation for two months, and almost asked to “turn in her badge.”
“Ah, but Jake, this wasn’t my fault, this time. David set those bombs, David blew it up.” Lian replied, a smirk growing on her face as David glowered at her.
Jake raised his eyebrows at David. “Doesn’t Lian usually do the fighting, and David man the wheel?”
“Yeah, but we decided to… uh, change it up a bit.” David said, his face growing a little red, so one could almost believe he was blushing.
“What he means, is we had it on good authority that the Master of this little nest had an animal to call, but, we didn’t know what. So, instead of wasting time by digging, interrogating and endless stakeouts, you know, everything your supposed to do first, while in the meantime, the bad guy runs away to another town, he decided we should play it safe, and I should wait in the car. I think he just wanted to know what it felt like to blow a building up.” She looked down at her partner, aware that David still had his hand on her thigh. “It’s great, isn’t it?”
With each word, David’s scowl grew darker, until Lian was sure that if looks could kill, she would defiantly be dead.
“I see…” Jake said, staring at the both of them incredulously. “So, David, did you satisfy your curiosity?”
David scowled at him as well. “There was no curiosity involved. That is Lian’s department. I was merely doing what I thought was in the best interests of the mission.”
Lian chuckled. “We know that, David. We’re just ribbin’ ya.” He raised an eyebrow at her in confusion. “You know… making fun of you.”
“Ah.”
“So, all joking aside, please you two, try to keep the property damage to a minimum.” Jack said, settling back into his chair.
“Will do, chief.” Lian replied brightly. “So, do you have another assignment for us?”
“Not at the moment.” Jack said, turning back to the stack of papers on his desk. Lian didn’t bother to hide her disappointment; perhaps they should minimize the property damage. “Why don’t you go home, get some rest, you know, take a vacation. I’ll see you dark and late next Monday night.”
Considering today was Monday, that would give them an entire week off. Lian stared at him, incredulous. “Jack, an entire week? What did we do wrong?”
Jack laughed at that, a warm chuckle. “Wrong? I thought it was a good thing, me giving you a week off.”
“But, what will we do? I can’t sit around my apartment for an entire week! I’ll die of boredom!” Lian said.
“Well, then why don’t you take a vacation, Lian? Somewhere nice, the Sahara desert or something?” David said, giving her an amused glance.
“Ha ha… Sahara desert, lion. So funny, David.” She glared at him.
“Well, I’m not joking. Get out of here, you two. I don’t want to see your faces around here ‘till next week Monday night.”
Grumbling, Lian exited his office, David following swiftly and silently after. “An entire week.” She groaned on the elevator ride down. “How will I survive?”
“Well, you could catch up on all those classes you missed while on the case.” David said. Despite working at the NPIB, they still had to pass high school, just like everyone else, but they were enrolled at a special school, for kids already in the NPIB programs.
“So, you’re saying you’re all caught up, despite being on stakeouts for the past three nights, and despite doing about two full days of research before that.” Lian said, looking at him as if he had just grown an extra head.
“Yes.” Lian gaped at him, not believing his words one bit. “It’s not all that hard, you see…” He went on.
He was interrupted by the sound of a cell phone ringing to the tune of “Eine Kline Nacht Musik.” Lian rolled her eyes at the clichéd song, knowing full well it didn’t belong to her.
Sure enough, David pulled the still ringing cell phone from his pocket, after doing the customary search-rapidly-for-cell-phone-dance. He flipped it open and answered with a formal “David Johnson Speaking.”
An unfamiliar female voice spoke on the other line. “Mr. Johnson.” She said, her voice thick with an undistinguishable accent. “I am calling concerning the origins of your birth. Doubtless, you have been wondering about your heritage, and perhaps have even been doing some digging, most likely to no avail. I believe I have some documents that will help you, if you are willing to do something for me.” David’s expression grew stony, almost expressionless, save for the slight widening of his eyes, the slight change in his heart rate, and the faint sheen of sweat that was appearing at his temples, that indicated surprise or shock, and even dread. His throat grew dry, and he was unable to respond.
“If you do not wish to know, if you believe ignorance is bliss, simply forget I ever spoke to you, and go on with your life. But, if by chance you wish to know about yourself, you will meet my associate, Mikal, at the Dark Sun Café, Thursday night at midnight. Seat yourself outside, Mikal will find you. Be warned, you may not like what you discover. And, do not speak of this to anyone; including your dear partner, Lian, was it? You would not want anything to happen to her.” With that, the mystery woman hung up.
Lian frowned, watching him listening to the woman on the phone. She could only hear the voice; the words were too run together for her to make out. But, it must have been bad news, for his heart had sped up, and he had started to sweat. By all counts, he must have been alarmed. “Hey.” She said, as he hung up. “Is everything okay?”
“Huh?” he said, his voice a little breathy. “Oh, right, everything’s fine.”
His tone clearly said, I don’t want to talk about it, so Lian changed the subject. He was still slightly unnerved by the time they had reached the ground floor.
As he walked to the car he had left in the parking lot last night, she placed her hand on his shoulder, allowing her concern to show on her face, to come across in her voice. “Hey, David. If you need anything, even if it’s just to talk… well, you know my number. Its not like I’ll be doing anything worth bothering.”
He nodded and promised to take her up on that offer before he jumped in his car and got out of there like the devil was at his heels. She stood there, watching him drive off, the knot she thought herself rid of coming back three-fold.
She got into her car and started home.
((I've noticed no one's commenting. Thats okay. I'll put this up anyway.))
Dante Alicheery · Sat Dec 09, 2006 @ 02:23am · 0 Comments |
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Real NaNoWriMo Chapter One |
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Chapter One, as promised:
David stood on the street, watching the sunrise, the way it seemed to light up the world as the sky went from midnight blue, to purple, then through the various shades of blue, each lighter then the next, watching as the stars faded from the sky, watching and standing there as if nothing was happening. Behind him, there was a warehouse completely ablaze, all broken windows and such, as if blown up, and spreading to the other buildings. He wasn’t worried. Why should he? He was the one that started the fire. His sandy-blonde hair moved slightly in the morning breeze, the same breeze blowing the fire towards other buildings. His hair was cut fairly long, to the nape of the neck, and seemed to be layered, his roots darker then the rest of his hair, natural, of course. David didn’t care enough about his appearance to alter it. His eyes were a sky blue, showing a level-headedness laced with a kind of cocky edge. He had the face of a heart-breaker; save for his nose, broken in two places and healed wrong, which might have added to the attraction. He was calm in the face of fire, one of those strong and silent types that act like bad-boys but secretly they have a passion for poetry.
He was tall, about 5’ 11’’, and thin, a look that might have been gawky on anyone else. His nails were perfectly manicured, pianist’s fingers, although his instrument of choice was bass guitar. He was dressed in an untucked long-sleeved sky blue T-shirt, collar open so you could see the gold chain hanging down, with an obscured symbol for a pendent. The shirt was covered up by a charcoal suit jacket, and he wore matching pants. Nike shoes covered his feet, white and light blue with no socks. While he looked sheltered, he had seen as much death and destruction as your average soldier.
A girl drove down the street in a black convertible, top down, up to the corner where he stood calmly, ignoring the fire behind him.
“Did you get them?” asked driver, a girl of about seventeen, only a year younger then David himself.
“See for yourself.” David drawled, his voice a Midwestern accent, that is, no accent to speak of. His voice was a pleasant baritone, almost music to one’s ears, even when he wasn’t singing.
The girl looked around him, the fire reflected in the lenses of her sunglasses. “I see.” She said, her voice an impeccable alto with a hint of an Irish lilt. “Could you have made it any subtler?”
“Well, originally, I was going to use dynamite, but I panicked and couldn’t find a spot to put it. I had to resort to using some Molotov cocktails. They worked alright, not as well as I would have liked, but there you are.” He jumped over the door as he spoke, settling himself into the tan leather seats.
The girl slid the sunglasses down her nose, showing clear hazel eyes, more brown at the moment then green, and raised one perfectly arched eyebrow at him. He continued to look forward, as if ignoring her. She shrugged and put the car into drive.
“I trust the paperwork is in order?” David asked as the girl maneuvered the convertible through the streets and then onto the Beltline.
“Aren’t you supposed to check that, before you blow up the building full of vampires?” She asked him, eyebrows raised.
“Generally, yes. But is it?”
“Yes, David. The warrant clearly reads ‘Use what ever force you deem necessary to take out those sons-of-bitches.”
“Really?”
“Not really, but that’s the gist of it.” He studied her for a long minute, then settled into the seat.
Her name was Lian, and you wouldn’t know it by looking at her, but she was a lycanthrope, of the lion variety. Her hair was a golden-brown, which hung all the way to the small of her back. Her skin was of the milk-and-honey complexion usually found in red-heads, passed down from her mother, and she had a sprinkling of freckles dusting her nose. Her nose and chin were a little strong for her face, but that didn’t take away from her “girl-next-door” good looks.
She was curvy where it counted with child-bearing hips she also got from her mother, a curse in this day and age. She was about 5’ 6’’, a fairly short girl, short enough to give her, not only a mean streak, but enough defenses to get her past anything. She wasn’t particularly fat, but she wasn’t anorexic either. She had her mother’s temper and the training to use it to her advantage.
She was dressed in a backless black dress with a plunging neckline, two full bell sleeves and with an A-line cut that left most of her knees bare, and enough makeup that she looked at least a few years older. All, so not her idea, especially the makeup, as she usually never wore any. She was comfortable enough in her own skin. She had never been self-conscious, but never particularly vain enough to partake in the usual styles of the time, plunging necklines and skirts so short you might as well not wear anything at all. Her pumps were black Nine-West’s that elevated her an extra two inches. And there was a black silk rope with a golden pendent on the end, with an emerald set in. Matching golden earrings sparkled through her hair.
She distained blades and guns, like everyone in the NPIB, called the Agency by all agents; she knew how to use them. While she would rather use her claws, she still had two regulation knives strapped to the insides of her wrists, both made of keen steel. Not silver, like David’s, as, if it cut her, it would poison her blood and make her sick, if not kill her. Like all lycanthropes, she was fatally allergic to silver. Plus, they were useful against the technology-hating fey.
Lian and David had been working together for about a year and a half ago, when they were both new recruits in the NPIB’s program. They started you young, when you were most useful, and learned the easiest. Each team had a partner with superior strength, and the other one had some sort of kinetic or pathic power. David was pathic, meaning his power was more passive then active. He was empathetic, the most common, as well as athiopathic, or a truth finder. He could tell when someone was lying, instinctively, and was excellent with interrogations, as when he used his power, the person in question couldn’t lie, the truth just spilled out. The downside was he found it impossible to tell a direct lie, although he had no problem with sarcasm, in fact, he used it quite frequently. He got his power from his father, as he was a half-demon. His father was a Veritas demon, or virtuous demon, a fallen angel. Which one, he didn’t know.
He also had latent clairvoyance, meaning once and awhile, he would get a vision, just a flash, that wasn’t usually very helpful. But sometimes, he would see something that would help them immensely on their case, and was probably the reason they solved them so quickly. The Agency Council had hypothesized that he had other latent powers, which would come to light in time, thanks to his father’s blood.
He was also an accomplished martial artist, as all Agency trained people are, and had the same weapons training as the rest of them. He was also the one in touch with their handler when they were away.
They worked well together, accentuated each others strengths and covering each others weaknesses. They had steadily worked their way up the ladder, from simple misuse-of-powers cases, illegal charms and the like, to mass murders. Tonight, they took care of a nest of vampires that had been moving around the country, slaughtering innocents, people with no power to speak of. They were rebels, going against the rule of all supernatural communities, whether it be lycanthrope, vampire , fey, or common kitchen witch, the rule being “Don’t draw attention to yourself”, so the vampire Lord of the area wouldn’t protest. They wanted to fit in, to be law-abiding citizens like everyone else.
And so, the burning building.
They had started out that night, undercover at one of the many vampire owned clubs that dotted the city of Madison, Wisconsin. People came from all over the Midwest just to see some vampires, to be able to tell their friends they saw a real live, or real dead, “creature of the night.” They were called day-trippers, and sometimes snacks, by the preternatural community. Surprisingly enough, Madison was one of the top ten places for spotting vamps in the US. The first being, of course, New Orleans, thanks to Ann Rice, followed by New York, San Francisco and Chicago. Vamps tended to live in Northern states, especially during the winter when it got dark really quickly. Which is why there were vamps in Alaska. But it was kind of hard to bite someone through winter gear, hence the nightclubs. All those fresh bodies, flushed and panting from dancing.
They had entered the Nite Mirror, the most popular of such vampire clubs, acting like day-trippers, here to see their first vampire. That’s when Lian caught the scent of one of the vampires they had been tracking, a flunky of the group, only a month or two dead. She followed it, leading David along, dancing through the crowd; close enough to follow the vampire when he left, close enough to stop him should he take a body, but far enough away that he wouldn’t see them or smell them.
Finally, just after midnight, the vampire left. They had waited a few minutes, then left out the same door, Lian tracking him with the ease of a natural predator. They stayed far enough back so he couldn’t hear them over the noise of the city. Their plan was to follow him back to the nest, but he dropped something, and as turned around and bent down to grab it, he spied them in the shadows.
Before he could scream, Lian was on him, pinning him down, stopping him from fleeing or screaming, and David placed his hand on the vampire’s forehead, his eyes glowing silver as they always did when he used his power. The vampire’s eyes rolled into his head in response as he fell into a deep trance. When David spoke, his voice was a rumbling bass, deep and hypnotic.
“Where is the nest?” he asked, and Lian had to stop herself from obliging him, even though she knew nothing. She found herself thinking how cute he looked, with his blonde hair all mussed from the chase, his rumbling voice… she had always liked basses, his irises turned molten silver… She looked down at the vampire’s rat face, blushing and willing David not to see it as the vampire rattled off the address, how many vampires were in the nest, and how powerful their Lord was, his voice a raspy monotone.
As soon as they got everything they needed, Lian took a silver knife from his wrist sheath and expertly found the heart. As soon as the silver touched his dead organ, the vampire gasped as the silver burned through his still veins filled with stolen blood, contaminating him, killing him. A few seconds later, he was ashes in on the street.
Lian had driven them to the nest, an old warehouse near East Washington, and they had waited until dawn, when the vamps would once again fall into their death-like slumber. David went inside while she opted to wait outside, even though she wanted part of the kill. Doubtless, the Master vampire, the leader of them all, their Lord, would smell her and possibly wake up, if they weren’t already awake. And, this Master had a familiar, or animal to control. If his familiar was the lion, then he would possibly turn her against David, and David would have to kill her.
And so, David went inside, armed with silver and fire, to kill the nest, while Lian waited outside in the car.
Now, Lian drove them down the roads at near 60 miles an hour, the sirens ringing in her ears. Did he have to use fire? She asked silently Couldn’t he have… I don’t know… shot them or something? Much less messy. She moved a little faster, wanting to get out of there, knowing that the police wouldn’t stop them. They were the police, or close enough too.
She was taking them to the regional NPIB headquarters, housed downtown near the Capital. David had fallen asleep beside her, and she found herself watching him in between glances at the road. He was so beautiful when he slept, even with that twice broken nose, if anything; it just made him more handsome, even more then his hair shining in the morning light. She felt like Psyche watching Eros sleep, like it was forbidden, but she just couldn’t help herself.
She felt a blush creeping up her face again, and she quickly turned back to the road. Yes, she was a teenager, so, supposedly it was normal. They had been partners at first, tried to be all business like the Agency suggested, but eventually, they became best friends, it was as if they couldn’t help it. It would be really bad if they started dating. But… the more she got to know him; the more she wanted to ask him out, just to a movie or something. They had gone out as friends, and undercover when they had to, but… to ask him out…
Thankfully, they were there, so she didn’t have to think about it anymore. She pulled into their designated parking space and shook David awake. He blearily opened his eyes, and claimed out of the car, yawning. She rolled her eyes at him and grabbed the briefcase with the report she had busied herself with when David was in the nest, having all the fun.
Lian looked up at the large building, like an office building more then anything else. No one would notice anything suspicious or out of the ordinary about it. Nothing to indicate supernatural being inhabited it day and night. And to be accurate, it pretty much was an office building, albeit one with an extensive basement and office hours to match. The basement was where the vampires worked, and incase they worked until after dawn, sun-tight rooms below. Below that were the jail cells, specially made for a certain type of preternatural creature. Silver for the weres, silver hung with symbols of several different faiths for vampires, cold iron for the fey, and so on, all fortified to withstand the preternatural strength of the occupants.
But all of this was below ground, above, it had offices for the agents and officers who could withstand sunlight, lycanthropes, fey, witches, half-demons, even one or two living vampires. But that was inside. From the outside, it was nothing but an office building, or so it would seem, but for the marble sign that proudly declared “NPIB: The National Preternatural Investigations Bureau” in bright shiny gold letters, glinting in the morning light.
The NPIB had started back in 2026, a year after the third Great Awakening. But, this Great Awakening was not a religious revival. This was the time when supernatural creatures, once thought of as faerie tales, were pushed into the light, and the realm of reality.
It started when Senator Charles Lee was attacked by a vampire as he was taking a walk to clear his head one evening. He survived the attack, if it could be called that, for three nights later; he woke up at full-dark, in his coffin, a vampire. Questions came up as to whether or not he could keep his job, whether or not his family could keep his belonging that sort of thing. He was legally dead, he had no pulse, he didn’t breathe, and yet he was moving around, he could walk, talk, and conduct business, just like before, as long as he wasn’t in direct sunlight. And so vampires had no other choice. The revealed themselves, all at once, via Internet, TV and radio, and brought the rest of the preternatural world with them.
Vampirism and lycanthropy were studied, and the government concluded they were diseases, albeit, rare ones, ones that literally modified one’s DNA, making them stronger, faster, makes them able to heal much easier, and in the case of vampirism, makes them almost immortal, as well as giving them other powers, nearly unimaginable.
Vampirism was found to be akin to porphyria, a hereditary blood disease that makes one susceptible to sunlight and allergic to garlic as well as giving them anemia-like symptoms. Vampires, or Homo sapiens sanguis have adapted to the anemia by taking the blood of other beings to replenish their own life. They have not been found to be allergic to garlic, and they can cross over running water just fine, as well as move about freely in all but direct sunlight, as this does harm all but the strongest of them. Articles of faith have been found to harm them as well. The scientists found that the disease transferred through blood, so if one were to have a lot of vampire blood in them, they may become a vampire themselves.
Lycanthropes, or the scientific name being Homo sapiens lunaris and then the name of the animal they change into, on the other hand, is unlike any other disease, and has been described as more of a mutation. It gives one the ability to arrange their cells in such a way that they literally change form into one type of animal or another. Why only one type of animal is still unknown. It also gives them the ability to heal everything, save decapitation, 3rd degree burns, and the removal of vital organs and any wound made by silver. They seem to be able to change whenever they wish, but an overflow of adrenaline seems to start it, and the moon did have an influence. For some reason, the phases of the moon affected their adrenaline levels, most notably, the full moon. On the three days of the full moon, many lycanthropes, especially the weak and/or newly turned ones experienced something called “Moon Madness”, or lunacy, where their Beast sort of took them over. Changing would cure it, as would mating, at least, most of the time.
The fey, or Homo veneficus nympha, and demons and other-worldly creatures were found to be completely different species. Some unlike anything on this plane of existence. It was found that these other species were at least compatible with humans, which is why we get fey with human blood, as well as half-demons.
The Agency had come about as a way to police the other races, to deal with things the human police were not equipped to handle. The took care of things from vampire serial killers, to the more mundane things like hauntings and possessions. And the Lioness and the Angel, as they were called, were some of the NPIB’s top agents.
Lian shook herself out of her reverie and started up the glossy steps, wanting to get this over with so she could go home and go to bed.
She was at the door when she realized something was wrong. She turned back, to find David at the bottom of the steps, his hand on the railing. His skin was paler then normal, and his eyes were wide. It was clear he was spooked.
“What’s wrong?” Lian asked him, her concern for her partner coming across in her voice. She went to him when he didn’t answer, and placed her hand on his shoulder. His only response was to shrug her off.
A little hurt, she backed off.
He started to shiver a little, and she noticed his eyes were silver, not just the irises, like when he used his powers, but his whole eye was consumed with silver, so it looked like he was blind. It clicked, he was having a vision.
Lian watched and waited with baited breath, anxious. She never knew what to do in times like this. But finally, the silver receded, and his sky blue eyes were staring back at her. “Lian?” he asked, his voice hoarse.
“David? David, what did you see?” she asked, feeling nervous energy pounding through her. She wanted him to direct her to the enemy so she could kill it. That’s the way they worked, usually. He would figure out a plan, find a way to get her in, all the technical stuff, and she would apply the muscle.
“I-I… rapid series of pictures, I couldn’t make most of them out… an overall feeling of dread… danger…” He closed his eyes, trying to remember. “Lian, I don’t think we should go in there.”
Dante Alicheery · Sun Nov 26, 2006 @ 02:44am · 0 Comments |
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As most of you know, November is National Novel Writing Month. Thorughout the month, people write novel/las and try for a goal of 50,000 words by midnight on November 31st. And as all of you know, November is almost over. So why am I posting this now?
I have 15,000 words all. Thats it. Partially due to homework, partially due to Gaia. And since Gaia ruined this for me... (just kidding.) I thought I would share with it the fruits of my so called Labor. So here it is all. I will share my story with you before anyone else.
It is currently untitled, but please, tell me what you think. Presuming anyone ever reads this.
And this shall start... next entry. ^_^
Dante Alicheery · Sun Nov 26, 2006 @ 02:42am · 0 Comments |
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