[i:e23f0be105]My father was a strange sort of man, a closet intellectual. Somehow, I ended up with my name. I should have known I could never be normal.[/i:e23f0be105]

The rain didn't bother him as much as the feeling of unease that grew stronger by the moment. The occasional noise that didn't seem quite the norm for his walk home, keeping him on his toes. In spite of this awareness however, it came as a total surprise to him as a dark, indistinct figure leapt at Ishmael, knocking to the ground and pinning him for the moment.

There came a sharp pain at his neck, and although it was followed by a building pleasure, already the fight or flight instinct had kicked in, and he, in an incredible, adrenaline powered burst of strength, threw his assailant off of him, rolling to his feet with a certain, trained ease, then struggled with the small, zipped bag he had been carrying under his coat, pulling out the nine millimeter and slamming the clip in just in time to open fire, point blank at his assailant.

Time and time again, he pulled the trigger, aiming for the torso just like the range instructor had taught him, and each time, he saw the person stagger backward.

Finally, there came the sharp click of his handgun telling him it was out of ammunition, leaving Ishmael to breathe a deep sigh of relief and clutch at his bleeding neck... and then back up, as the figure on the ground twitched and began to move again.

Somewhere deep inside of him, the forensic student screamed at the impossibility of this. Ten shots from a nine millimeter to the chest would have had to hit something vital; this person shouldn't even be alive, let alone moving.

Yet here they were, coming to a stand, albeit slowly. The gun dropped out of his hand as he turned, running in terror while the more rational parts of him told him this must be a nightmare, or a horrible hallucination brought on by stress.

[b:e23f0be105][i:e23f0be105]An hour later[/i:e23f0be105][/b:e23f0be105]

[i:e23f0be105]"Jesus Ish, you get attacked by a dog or what?"[/i:e23f0be105] Jamie asked, applying gause to the twin rips on his neck as he shook his head. [i:e23f0be105]"Wasn't a dog, looked human... couldn't have been though,"[/i:e23f0be105] he responded quietly.

[i:e23f0be105]"What, we've got plenty of psychos around here, I mean, hell, we had two murders on campus last week alone,"[/i:e23f0be105] she said, not sounding terribly convinced, [i:e23f0be105]"And remember that prostitute that got ripped up two weeks ago, not more than three miles from your apartment?"[/i:e23f0be105] she added, finally putting the last piece of tape on the gauze to hold it in place.

[i:e23f0be105]"I'm not referring to that... I emptied my clip into it, Jamie. I was at point blank range, and I'm not exactly a terrible shot, no way I missed,"[/i:e23f0be105] he said, gesturing to the still empty gun pouch sitting on the table next to the bed he was sitting on. [i:e23f0be105]"Dropped the damned gun, too, can't really afford another one,"[/i:e23f0be105] he added.

[i:e23f0be105]"You killed them? Ish... you've gotta report that to the police, you're studying to be a crime scene investigator, for crying out loud. You know..."[/i:e23f0be105] Ishmael put up his hand, cutting Jamie short as he replied, [i:e23f0be105]"Jamie, it couldn't have been human.... because it got back up."[/i:e23f0be105]

((Oh! Interesting! Lovely piece of writing :)

[i:ec7908785b]"Yeah, I'll be alright, I just got hurt on the way home last night, really,"[/i:ec7908785b] Ishmael said on the phone, talking to the shift supervisor at the foundry where he worked during the day, [i:ec7908785b]"I'll be in tomorrow to make up for the time,"[/i:ec7908785b] he said, and, once his boss had agreed, he hung up the phone.

It seemed however, that the young student had no intention of staying home, resting and recovering. Instead, he pulled on a raincoat, grabbed an umbrella, and headed out the door of his apartment, very soon stepping onto the recently rain soaked streets of his neighborhood, then calmly walking to where he thought he'd been attacked.

Quietly standing there, he surveyed the ground around him, taking in every little detail. The first thing he noted was the lack of a blood trail, though it did not surprise him, given the amount of rain they'd had that night.

Of his handgun, there was also no sign, however, what did intrigue him, was one after one, he noticed the lead slugs on the ground, and bent down, pulling on a set of rubber gloves. Picking them up, ten in all he noted, he placed each in a small, plastic bag.

[i:ec7908785b]"Interesting,"[/i:ec7908785b] he said softly as he gave another glance at the slugs, then looked around for anything of further interest... such as his gun, which still was completely missing from the scene, then he turned, and headed to the college campus.

[i:ec7908785b][b:ec7908785b]Shortly after, in another part of town...[/b:ec7908785b][/i:ec7908785b]

[i:ec7908785b]"So,"[/i:ec7908785b] said the woman, still very groggy, as these were not her normal hours, [i:ec7908785b]"He came and picked up all the lead slugs? Now thats very interesting. See what you can dig up on the registration number off that gun... good work,"[/i:ec7908785b] she said, causing the small, wiry man who had told her to smile, then turn and step out the door as she rolled over in her blankets and smiled. [i:ec7908785b]"Smart, and a survival instinct, very nice,"[/i:ec7908785b] she said as she drifted back into slumber.

[i:ec7908785b][b:ec7908785b]In a campus laboratory, at the same time...[/b:ec7908785b][/i:ec7908785b]

Ishmael idly scratched at his chin as he considered the leaden lumps that glowed in a satisfying manner under the effects of luminol in the darkness; even a hard rain had not washed the blood residue off the slugs, but without his gun to fire off a few test rounds, he couldn't be entirely sure that these were in fact from his gun... what he DID know however, was that these bullets had definitely sank into flesh, the results of the test showed him that.

[i:ec7908785b]"Well, lets narrow down the results a little more,"[/i:ec7908785b] he said, flicking the lights back on, and clicking on a computer, on which he had already logged the information on each of the individual collected slug samples. Cross referencing his model of the gun with other subjects fired from similar weapons, he sat back and compared the images.

While there were differences, these were easily accounted for by the differences in individual firearms, the bullets were a rough match, not only that, but also the first ten rounds, had most likely been fired from the same source.

[i:ec7908785b]"Yeah, has to have been from mine," [/i:ec7908785b]he whispered, then grabbed a magnifying glass to get a closer look at them... he was nothing if not thorough...

[i:332b451713]"I'm telling you Jamie, this is really freaking creepy,"[/i:332b451713] Ishmael said, hand on his eyebrows as he paced back and forth. [i:332b451713]"You've been saying that for the last ten minutes, but you haven't told me what,"[/i:332b451713] Jamie replied, raising one delicate eyebrow at Ishmael.

[i:332b451713]"You want to know what? You want to know what?"[/i:332b451713] he said incredulously, [i:332b451713]"I'll tell you what. I examined those bullets, I didn't believe it under the magnifying glass, so I put them under a microscope for good measure..."[/i:332b451713]

[i:332b451713]"Oh? What'd you find? Something else that you insist can't be from a human or dog? Ish, I'm starting to worry about you,"[/i:332b451713] she said, cutting him off, her voice and face full of concern.

[i:332b451713]"No Jamie, its what I didn't find that bothers me. All the scratches on them are normal bone caused scratches. No scoring from a knife or anything,"[/i:332b451713] he said, shaking his head and glaring at the little pieces of evidence on the table as he continued, [i:332b451713]"So no way they popped them out with a tool of any sort other than maybe surgical tweezers, and I doubt they had a surgery done in the middle of the street, so... its like, Jeez, this sounds insane, but its like they were pushed out from inside the wound!"[/i:332b451713]

Jamie scratched her head, and sighed, [i:332b451713]"Look, Ish, I've got to get to my internship at the hospital, and you've got to get to class, so I'll see you tomorrow, alright?[/i:332b451713] With that, she got up out of her chair, then walked out the door, leaving Ishmael to step out of the campus medical wing and into the night air.

The night was cool and dry, and Ishmael could see his own breath, and not only that, it was rather quiet, not even the owls were hooting from the trees.

Somewhere within Ishmael's mind, certain connections started coming together, as though shattered pieces of glass, attempting to fit back together, had suddenly come apart for the last time, joined with the correct pieces, and sealed together to form coherent solutions. The result of this sudden flurry of mental activity was that he began to run, his legs powered by sudden, intense fear.

In his highschool days, Ishmael had been a pretty capable athlete, running track and field and almost never failing to place, indeed, his teachers had often commented on the wonderous union of his acute mental faculties and his natural athletic talent. However, he had matured a few years since his highschool years, and now, he was terrified. The result was of course, that he ran considerably faster, the sound of footsteps behind him, not falling behind or catching up, but instead keeping pace; what bothered him even more than that however, was the fact that as close as those footsteps were... the only hard, labored breathing he heard... was his own.

Looking around as he ran, he realized that he was in the last place he now wanted to be, though he did not know what had driven him here; the cemetary, and as he heard the metal gate slam, the rational and instinctual parts of him both agreed; this was definitely a bad thing.

---------

[i:332b451713]"You weren't kidding, boy has some spirit, doesn't he, Sheila?"[/i:332b451713] the man said to the woman standing next to them as they locked and closed the gate. [i:332b451713]"Yeah, and last night I was just thinking of a meal.... oh, I just love fast food, don't you Jesse?[/i:332b451713] she replied with a chuckle and a toothy grin, then, together, they set off after him, even as other forms flitted in the black.

--------

Ishmael didn't see it coming this time, only felt the hard impact as something that felt more like a truck than a person slammed into him, sending him flying and crashing into a tombstone. Casting around for a means of defense... any means of defense at all, his hands blindly found the handle of a shovel and brought it around at the unknown assailant he was sure was coming at him.

His reward was the solid clang of a shovel and a roar of rage, which gave him a point to focus his next, more awkward swing around this time however, there was a meaty, wet sound and an agonized yell; Ish realized that he must have turned the shovel, and whoever it was had caught the blade.

Then came a grip on the end of the shovel, and the oppositition of strengths between the two people, and though it was obvious that whoever was assaulting him was stronger, he did not lose his grip. Instead, the shovel splintered and broke, leaving Ishmael with only a broken piece of wood in his hand. Desperate, he could only shove the sharp piece of wood at his enemy, satisified only by the feeling of the makeshift weapon hitting home.

Moments later, as he turned and ran, the wind was knocked out of him by a hard blow to the chest, and the feeling of a much lighter figure on top of him, and then the painful sensation on his neck from the night before, which quickly turned into pleasure.

This time however, exhausted from his run, bruised from his fight with... whoever it had been, and winded by the powerful hit from this assailant, he had not the strength to throw his attacker off.

As his life faded, he felt his jaws pried open and a bitter, heavy liquid spilling into his mouth, then the sensation of being dropped and heard a heavy lid shut above him... what followed was darkness.

(( Wow.. nicely done :D

Thank you for your kind words of praise, Porter and Sheira, this thread is open, so feel free to join in on the fun.

[i:0a554c586f]"If he doesn't get out of the ground soon, the sun'll be up,"[/i:0a554c586f] Jesse said, looking at Sheila, who shook her head and answered, [i:0a554c586f]"I know, but he wasn't exactly the easy take down we've been used to."[/i:0a554c586f]

[i:0a554c586f]"Aint dat da truth,"[/i:0a554c586f] came a rumble from next to her as a big, heavily scarred vampire came up next to her, rubbing his chest, [i:0a554c586f]"I hope he don't get back up. Fucker staked me,"[/i:0a554c586f] he said, rubbing his chest harder.

Sheila rounded on him, her eyes narrowing dangerously; it had been her call to bring this one in, her who had found him. As such, she had a certain desire to see this one get back up out of the ground. [i:0a554c586f]"I don't know why they pulled the stake out of you. Bruce, if you can't handle a human half your size in toe to toe combat, you deserve to watch the sunrise,"[/i:0a554c586f] she said venomously, causing Bruce to back away; he had seen her in moods like this before, and it almost always had a very unpleasant consequence for the target of her rage.

[i:0a554c586f]"Looks like its time to head in, sun is nearly up,"[/i:0a554c586f] came Jesse's soft, almost melodic voice, [i:0a554c586f]"And Sheila, do rein in your temper. It'll get you dead again someday if you're not careful."[/i:0a554c586f]

Sheila paused, her fist raised to strike, turned, looked at Jesse, and sighed, lowering her hand as she, and a half a dozen others followed Jesse out of the cemetary.

[b:0a554c586f][i:0a554c586f]The next night[/i:0a554c586f][/b:0a554c586f]

In the cemetary, in spite of any possible expectations to the contrary, the earth shifted over where Ishmael had been entombed. This of course, had several consequences; one, the woman who had ran here stopped immediately in horror, and two, the man who had been chasing her slammed into her, pinning her to the ground, not noticing the earth shifting not more than ten feet from them.

As a result, neither of them saw Ishmael rise up from the earth, ripping his way in a blood frenzy from the ground; the woman being too busy trying to fight off a nearly three hundred pound man, and the man being too busy ripping her blouse off. What both of them however, were forced to notice, was Ishmael himself, as he lifted the big man clear off the woman as though he weighed nothing more than a sack of potatoes and threw him to the ground.

For her part, the woman ran, like any sensible, intelligent person would. This caught the enraged vampire's attention, but then again, so did the ham fist of the man who he had just thrown down, already up and about.

Ishmael shrugged off the blow that had landed across his jaw, then came back with one of his own, dropping the man cleanly to the ground. In a flash, Ishmael was upon him, ripping out his throat with his fangs and drinking deeply as the man twitched and thrashed against his grip, kicking out his death throes.

Finally, Ishmael rose from his victim, looking around for anything else upon which he might feed; of course, the woman was long gone. Seeing nothing else, and with a fair sized meal in his stomach, he finally began to calm down, coming out of his blood frenzy as swiftly as he had entered into it.

The first thing he noticed, was the horrendous smell; looking down, realizing what had happened, he knew the man's bowels must have emptied themselves, as sometimes happened in such a situation. What then struck him, was what exactly he had just done. He had attacked a human, and drank their blood. And it made him feel, physically at least, and, to some extent, psychologically, better.

Part of him wanted to scream it to be untrue, that this was some horrible nightmare. Another part of him however, the rational, sane part, knew that he was not dreaming, and in fact, what his condition must now be.

Looking down at the corpse, then over at the grave, he did the only logical thing... he reopened the hole, then prudently rifling through the man's pockets for anything of value and finding a wallet and a few pieces of jewelry, dumped the corpse into the broken casket, before pulling the money out of the wallet, and letting that fall on top of the body. Without further adieu, he filled the hole back in, pocketed the money and jewelry, then headed for home.

OH YUM!! Vampires and CSI!! To heck with television, you're [b:176404e1d1]much[/b:176404e1d1] more entertaining!! :shock: hehehhe

((you've really got to admire someone with natural prose.

well done!

Wow, thanks guys, I'm just doing the best I can for the moment. I don't know about natural prose or anything, but I'll do my best to live up to the standards I keep setting for myself.

[i:4c48be6f01]How unusual can that be… we found our first suspect, my dear.[/i:4c48be6f01]

After a night of deceit, something interesting was… lets say, hoped for, and I think we arrived just in time. [i:4c48be6f01] It is clearly not the one I am longing to get my hands on, but it could always be a lead.. stay low, keep following him at a distance.[/i:4c48be6f01]

I kept my eyes on this stranger, memories of my first night as a kindred flashed back before my eyes as I thought of what this newblood did earlier. Aww, sweet memories..

Being discrete as I demanded, Sebastein followed him at a reasonable distance, the night was darker than usual, needless to say it played a role in keeping the limo hidden as it rolled forth silently.

[i:4c48be6f01] What if he notices us mistress.. [/i:4c48be6f01] Ahh good old Sebastein, always anticipating the worst first. [i:4c48be6f01] You shouldnt worry too much about that.. you won’t let it happen will you..[/i:4c48be6f01]

Strange, he walked across a few kine, his clothing tainted with blood, no one really seemed to care, society isnt what it used to be. [i:4c48be6f01] He sure is a long way from home.[/i:4c48be6f01] Sebastein said, and he was right, we had been following him for a good half an hour now, and still nothing.

[i:4c48be6f01] Pass by him and stop the car further down the street, we’ll have a little talk, if it is of any interest to him, tailing will get us nowhere…[/i:4c48be6f01]

Ishmael stopped for a moment, listening to the night air as he moved along his chosen path home. Once again, he was antsy; ever aware of his surroundings, even as a human, he wasn't always precisely sure of what alerted him when he was alerted, even the night he had first been attacked, he had not immediately recognized what sense tipped him off.

Then there it was, a jet black limosuine, in the middle of a relatively unpleasant neighborhood, late at night, rolling past him and coming to park ahead of him. The inquisitive part of his mind said, [i:116c314aee]"Gee, whats a nice car like that doing around here at this hour?"[/i:116c314aee] The smart part of his mind however, said [i:116c314aee]"Hey stupid, thats not good."[/i:116c314aee]

[i:116c314aee]"Maybe I'm just paranoid,"[/i:116c314aee] he whispered softly, then turned, cutting through an alleyway, where his senses were immediately assaulted on a variety of levels. A homeless person moaned quietly in the damp next to a dumpster that emanated the stench of rancid garbage, something that, as a new vampire, he had not yet learned to block out by simply not breathing.

[i:116c314aee]"Yeah, maybe I'm just paranoid,"[/i:116c314aee] he whispered softly as he hastily made for the tall, wooden fence that cut through the middle of the alleyway. [i:116c314aee]"But after the last few days,"[/i:116c314aee] he whispered to himself as he hopped up onto a trashcan, before, with a clatter, scrambled up and over, crash landing in a pile of sodden cardboard and a few other things he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to identify.

[i:116c314aee]"I'd call paranoia less a derangement, and more a survival trait,"[/i:116c314aee] he finished irritably as he stood up, brushing himself off and wincing as his hand made contact with something squishy; apparently some homeless individual called this pile of crud their toilet.

The upshot of all of this however, was that he noticed a discarded length of pipe on the ground and picked it up, slipping it into his raincoat before, his ears open and his eyes watchful, he exited the alleyway and headed towards his apartment building, his pace quickening with every step.

[i:116c314aee]"Wish I had my gun,"[/i:116c314aee] he said softly as he glided through the streets, even though at the same moment he recognized the futility that weapon represented; it had only slowed the vampire down that first night. Blood burned on instinct alone, and darkness thickened around him, moving tangibly about him as a certain, gnawing pain cropped up deep within him, though it effectively obscured his shape even more against the indistinct darkness about him.

It nearly seemed like he knew we were following him, borrowing different alleys at each corner of numerous streets, and by God it did not made things easier for us. [i:9d9333a3e3] Go next to him, keep the pedal to his walking speed Sebastein[/i:9d9333a3e3] He agreed with is usual smile as he lit up a cigarette.

I don’t really know why I kept a grip on this specific kindred, something just told me I would benefit from it, heh, which Ventrue would pull away from any sort of benefits…

As the limo got next to him, he did not scream, nor did he tried to attack us, he simply ignored us, as if we were not present, never turning his head to even glance for a split second at the vehicule. After a brief moment Sebastein took the inniative to park the car, and head out of it to ‘’meet’’ this stranger.. I must say I was tempted to ask why, but he usualy knows what he is doing…so I decided to let it happen.

[i:9d9333a3e3] May I point out to sir that this area is deffinately not safe, escpecialy at this time of the night, perhaps I can give you a ride out, if it should please you..[/i:9d9333a3e3] Weird, I never really saw Sebastein speak like that before, for sure he had an idea, but speaking this way clearly not suggested, it screamed ‘I have a plan’ behind every word.

With an angry visage, the stranger grasped his metal pipe as he neared his position to the one of Sebastein, which, was right next to my window, luckily, all of them were black, and a view inside from the outside was impossible.

[i:9d9333a3e3] Sir ?[/i:9d9333a3e3] He added again, positioning himself in front of him. In a matter of seconds the stranger landed numerous blows to Sebastein with his weapon. For a young Kindred his power was deffinately up a notch, poor Sebastein found out the hard way.

As stupid as it sounds, I knew by looking in the eyes of Sebastein that THIS was his actual plan, he will never cease to amaze me, at some point he glanced at the darkness of my window, as if pleading me to finaly do something.

[i:9d9333a3e3] Rather eloquent..[/i:9d9333a3e3] I said, lowering the electric window just enough to reveal my eyes. [i:9d9333a3e3] You could either continue beating him up and have some problems you wouldnt be able to handle, or listen to an offer I am sure will benefit you, my bloodsucking friend…[/i:9d9333a3e3]

He looked at me strangely, as if wondering how I knew, the violent thing kept glancing in my eyes, glowing green in the night, pondering the offer I had just handed…

[i:7e7f35527a]"You know what I am. That means he did too. Which means that, since I can't tell whether you are human or vampire, aside from your eyes, I'd say you probably saw something I'd rather have not had seen,"[/i:7e7f35527a] he said softly, his reasoning making a kind of circular pattern in his mind, [i:7e7f35527a]"Either that, or you're one of the people who put me in that damned coffin,"[/i:7e7f35527a] he added, letting the pipe fall to the ground with a clatter and a glance at the person he had just severely laid about the head and ears.

[i:7e7f35527a]"But since I don't know jack right now about my present state of existence, I'd say I've got time to listen, though you did give me a bit of a start, following like that,"[/i:7e7f35527a] he said, rolling his shoulders to stretch out the muscles there, something he had often done as a mortal, and now did even as a vampire, in spite of the fact that the muscles weren't sore; he just figured they should be.

[i:7e7f35527a]"But first things first, since I'll be wanting to know who you are, and nothing is free in this world; I'm Ishmael, a forensics student in my final year at the university. You'll have to pardon my reaction to you and your friend, but at the moment, the world doesn't look particularly friendly," [/i:7e7f35527a]he finished, glancing at the glowing green eyes cautiously, but saying nothing further; it was pretty clear that he had no more to say until something was said to him.

At least, he had no intention of speaking further, but then he got that paranoid feeling again. Ishmael looked around, feeling as though someone else was watching him and trying to spot them in the black of night, his ears perking up, and his hawklike vision looking for even the most minute detail out of place.

[i:7e7f35527a]"You know, on second thought, why don't we have this discussion inside the car, preferably while moving,"[/i:7e7f35527a] he said, helping Sebastian into the driver seat of the Limosuine, picking up his pipe, and, with a quick step that further betrayed his sudden nervousness, circled around while pulling off his fouled raincoat, leaving it on the road before he got in.

A moment after Sebastian got the car moving, the hair rose on the back of Ishmael's neck as a blood curdling scream split the night.

[i:20d5e57add] Get the vehicule to a safe spot Sebastein, ahh and while I do think of it… close the lights[/i:20d5e57add] you could tell by the dilatation of his eyes that he was not entirely agreeing on perusing the street, pedal down, with no lights to guide him thru the night.

I was anticipating his reponse, it was so obvious. [i:20d5e57add] Did I ever let any harm happen to you dear Sebastein ? [/i:20d5e57add] for a split second he glanced at me and Ishmal thru the mirror, I am most certain the beating he had just took passed thru his mind as I mentioned no harm done to him before… but in a way, it was his idea.

[i:20d5e57add] Just do as I said, and we will be fine.. [/i:20d5e57add] I said to him, warning him in advance when to turn, his mortal eyes couldnt see as clear as the one of a Kindred into the depts of the night.

[i:20d5e57add] Please pardon my lack of manners, I am Shiera. And as you said, nothing comes free in this society now, which brings me to why I extended my hand to you this night.[/i:20d5e57add] I continued explaining the reasons behind my reasoning to him, as I dressed my hands with leather gloves.

I reached for a small black mallet under one of the seats, pulled it out and opened it. [i:20d5e57add] Nice toy, but I tried firearms on them before, did not entirely work out how I wanted..[/i:20d5e57add] said Ishmael.

[i:20d5e57add] But this is no ordinary pistol my dear.. [/i:20d5e57add] Delicately placing my fingers upon the clip, I picked up two bullets and inserted it in the charger. I glanced quickly at Sebastein whom continuously looked thru the mirror, he was seeing something but awaited to be sure to warn me about it.

[i:20d5e57add] We have a tail Shiera, and they are both on… [b:20d5e57add]foot.[/b:20d5e57add][/i:20d5e57add] All I can say is that this stranger had a pretty strange combination of friends and foes. [i:20d5e57add] They do seem to care about you… Ish, hope you don’t mind.[/i:20d5e57add] As the last word escaped my lips, I fired the two bullets, one found its way home in the heart of the first kindred, as the other got a nice whole in his forehead.

Mmmm, I never tired of the chill it gives me, both of them exploded in a pile of dust as the bullets found their targets.

[i:20d5e57add] As I was saying, nothing is free… let us discuss about it.[/i:20d5e57add] I said to him, as we finaly had reached the manor of my ancestors, an imposing structure built with the sweat of so many kine hundreds of years ago…