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<blockquote data-quote="Jodo Kast" data-source="post: 1882246" data-attributes="member: 4810"><p><strong>First Sight</strong></p><p></p><p>This is a clip from the <em>First Sight</em> thread penned by Lamprolign and me. The story is set in Chicago. Several of our heroes are tracking a mysterious menace who has killed several of their number and recently threatened another. Our cast (for this installment): Gabe, intrepid crime scene investigator who recently became aware of startling psychic/mystic abilities; Mary, teenage witch who finds herself in the predicament of being stuck as a disembodied spririt inside Gabe's head, but still able to exercise her sorcerous powers through him; Poe, vampire as lethal as she is lovely; Piotr, Russian hitman (who just happens to be a werewolf). Mind you, this installment was imagined, written and posted well before the <em>Underworld</em> movie hit the scene. Please drop in on our humble little story hour and let us know what you think.</p><p></p><p>018</p><p></p><p><em>Do you care what the line is,</em></p><p><em>Do you care if you won't,</em></p><p><em>Lesson one is let's stop waiting for the sunlight</em></p><p><em>It's not crazy to bow down in the full moon, in the full moon</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Do you care what the riot is,</em></p><p><em>Do you care if its falsefied,</em></p><p><em>Lesson one is let's stop waiting for the sunlight</em></p><p><em>It's not crazy to bow down in the full moon, in the full moon</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Hey, hey I'm dead on arrival,</em></p><p><em>Hey, hey I'm distant</em></p><p><em>Crawling right back, yes, I'm crawling right back</em></p><p></p><p>- Urge Overkill, <em>Honesty Files</em></p><p></p><p>"Where are you going?"</p><p></p><p>"Hunting."</p><p></p><p></p><p>****</p><p></p><p>"More coffee sir?" The waitress waved a half-full carafe towards the man's cup.</p><p></p><p>"No thank you," the man responded with an accent that she thought was Slavic.</p><p></p><p>She considered asking him where he was from. She had just started a Russian language class at university and was curious. The man turned and looked at her for a brief moment before staring back out onto the street. His gaze chilled her to the core. She turned and walked quickly away.</p><p></p><p>Piotr glanced at the young woman as she disappeared into the cafe's kitchen. Her revulsion amused him. He looked at the clock that hung above the counter of the small cafe. Midnight. He began to wonder if Asher was going to leave the building this night. <em>No matter. We can finish our business indoors....</em></p><p></p><p>****</p><p></p><p>The northeast wind bit through Gabe's coat, causing him the shiver violently. "Where the hell are we going?"</p><p></p><p>"Asher said he needed to work. He'll be in his office. We're going there to watch and wait. He'll be our bait."</p><p></p><p>"I don't suppose this guy knows that he's bait?"</p><p></p><p>"He made it clear last night that he didn't want our help," Poe said with an edge in her voice. "I'm out to stop this freak before he goes after somebody else from the Haven. We're not here to protect Asher."</p><p></p><p>"<em>Poe,</em>" Mary protested, "<em>he's still a person. We can't just let him die.</em>"</p><p></p><p>"He should have thought of that before he turned his back on us," Poe shot back. "His loss will be well worth it if it allows us to stop the beast."</p><p></p><p>"Why am I following a psycho?" Gabe's mumble was heard only by Mary, who remained uncharacteristically silent.</p><p></p><p>****</p><p></p><p>Piotr sighed. Too many people, he thought as he walked past the building's rear entrance. Trucks were already there, lining up in preparation to deliver the morning edition. He turned the corner out of the alley, heading back toward the cafe. A blast of cold wind greeted him, cold that would have sent most hurrying indoors. Piotr raised his face to the wind and embraced the chill despite his relatively sparse attire consisting of a gray turtleneck and faded jeans. A dark blue toboggan pulled over his brow covered his head. He weaved his way quickly between the numerous pedestrians crowding the sidewalks. <em>Perhaps you will live yet another night, comrade.</em></p><p></p><p>The wind shifted direction as it eddied around the buildings. Piotr stopped. A familiar scent triggered a short burst of adrenaline. <em>Have you come out to play little girl?</em> Piotr scanned the faces surrounding him to no avail. A twist of wind carried the scent to him. With the wind swirling there was no way he could discern where she might be. He didn't believe it was a coincidence that the vampire was in his hunting ground again. She would have to be dealt with before Piotr could continue the hunt. A thin smile creased his face at the thought.</p><p></p><p>****</p><p>Poe stood quietly in the shadows of a darkened doorway. The werewolf paused ten yards from her. He slowly looked around, turning a full circle, and then he moved on. As he moved past, she slipped out into the flow of people behind him. She could hear her pulse beating in her head, feel the strength coursing through her. Her recent feeding had replenished her beyond the cost of regeneration. Poe grinned wickedly. The werewolf had toyed with her. He would pay dearly.</p><p></p><p>Gabe followed a few paces behind the vampire. He wondered again why he had tagged along. He supposed that part of it was professional interest. A crime had been committed, and even though this was not exactly conventional investigation, the bad guy needed to be stopped. Maybe part of it was something Mary had said. <em>They're your people too</em>. He wasn't quite ready to admit that to himself, but it lurked in his subconscious. </p><p></p><p>"<em>I've got a bad feeling about this,</em>" Mary said quietly.</p><p></p><p>"Me too," Gabe whispered. </p><p></p><p>****</p><p></p><p>Piotr continued to walk. He passed the cafe where he was seated earlier, and then turned down a narrow alley that led off of Adams into shadows. <em>Follow, little girl</em>.</p><p></p><p>****</p><p></p><p>Poe watched the man in the gray sweater pass into the shadows of an alley. She slipped silently into the dark lane. A stygian mist gathered around her, swirling up from the ground, until she disappeared. The black mist spread from the dark recesses of doorways and from under overhangs. Tendrils filled the alley, blocking the light from the thoroughfare behind her. She smiled, pleased by the darkness.</p><p></p><p>The slightest scraping sound gave scant warning as several hundred pounds of fur and claw rushed toward her. She sidestepped, testing his ability to see in her shadow mist. He changed direction immediately, bearing down on her. Leaping to the side, she barely evaded the swipe of razor talons. <em>Damn! How can he see me</em>?!</p><p></p><p>Poe rolled to her feet. She spotted her quarry skidding around for another charge, fully transformed, a mass of bristly fur, sharp teeth and claws. In a single leap she closed the distance between them. Her booted foot landed squarely on the monster's eye with a wet crunching sound and the spatter of blood. He snarled in rage, swiping sideways with his tooth filled maw. Poe bounded away, landing on a second floor fire escape platform. </p><p></p><p>The beast angled its head toward her. One eye was bloody but the other transfixed her with a baleful yellow stare. It leapt, easily clearing the distance to the platform. Poe sprang away at the last instant, sailing across the alley to find a tenuous perch on a third floor windowsill. No sooner had the beast's feet made contact then it jumped again. Poe somersaulted into midair, arcing gracefully to the pavement below. The creature crashed through the window and inside the building. </p><p></p><p>****</p><p></p><p>Gabe stood on the sidewalk where the alley disappeared behind an inky veil of unnatural darkness. Sounds of a struggle pierced the black veil, followed by the crystalline refrain of breaking glass.</p><p></p><p>"<em>We have to go in there,</em>" Mary said. "<em>Poe could be hurt.</em>"</p><p></p><p>"If we go in there, I could be hurt. Poe's a big girl, she can take care of herself," Gabe responded. Several minutes passed and the darkness in the alley dissipated. He saw no sign of Poe or the beast. </p><p></p><p>"."</p><p></p><p>Gabe cautiously walked down the alley. About fifty paces brought him to a spatter of blood on the pavement. <em>I wonder whose...</em>. There were gouges in the pavement where the creature's claws dug in as it leapt. A shard of broken glass caught his attention. He looked up and saw the shattered window. </p><p></p><p>"<img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />!" </p><p></p><p>Gabe stared at the window three stories overhead, and then looked around at street level. There was a steel door opening into the building a few yards away. He knew before he tried that the door would be locked.</p><p></p><p>"<em>Fosgail an dràstar</em>," Mary spoke.</p><p></p><p>Gabe heard his voice speaking in time with hers. The door crumpled inward, ripping from its frame and crashing against the wall of what looked like a hallway.</p><p></p><p>"<em>Oops.</em>"</p><p></p><p>"Nice Mary," Gabe said. "Why don't we get some trumpets and firecrackers to announce ourselves while you're at it. You could ask before you hijack my vocal cords, you know." He stepped through the door.</p><p></p><p>**** </p><p></p><p>Piotr's right eye was useless. He could feel the blood trickling down his cheek, taste it in the corner of his mouth. Moving swiftly, he crossed the long narrow room. By the light of computer monitors he could make out a door at the far end. The corners of his mouth turned up in a horrific parody of a smile. The tight quarters here would work to his advantage. He slipped through the door into the corridor beyond. </p><p></p><p>****</p><p></p><p>Glass crunched under her feet as Poe stepped from the windowsill. Scattered spots of blood led away from the window into a long narrow room lined by desks. Poe stood for a moment listening. Silence. She moved across the room toward the only door. The blood trail continued down the corridor beyond. A multitude of doors opened on either side of the hallway, black openings through which her quarry might be waiting. </p><p></p><p>****</p><p></p><p>He heard the faint scuff of a booted foot. He became still, his breathing a barely audible whisper. The central heating carried the smell of fresh earth to his nostrils. She was near. The muscles in his legs tensed, readying to spring. His ears strained to hear her approach.</p><p></p><p>****</p><p></p><p>Poe stopped. Did she hear something? Every nerve was strung snare-tight. Then she heard the soft sound of exhalation. She whirled and saw the beast hurtling toward her. There was no room to dodge in the close confines of the corridor. It slammed into her with bone crushing force. She was pinned between the beast and the wall. One arm under the creature's snout barely kept the jagged teeth from her face. Blood seeped through her coat where talons had raked her shoulders. She brought her knee up hard into the creature's rib cage. Bones gave way beneath the blow and Poe heaved the beast back. She felt the walls pressing in. She couldn't maneuver in such tight quarters.</p><p></p><p>It charged again. At the last moment Poe dropped to the floor with her legs pulled tightly to her chest. As the creature pressed its attack, she uncoiled explosively, planting both feet in the creature's chest. Up and over it went, carried by its own momentum. Its back tore through the drop ceiling. Pieces of plaster tile and steel frame rained from above. The beast's trajectory carried it through a steel door into a stair well.</p><p></p><p>Before the rain of ceiling had stopped it scrabbled to its feet again. Poe considered her options quickly. She had to get out of this building. It would only be a matter of time before the werewolf's greater weight and weaponry won the battle in the enclosed space of the hallway.</p><p></p><p>It leapt. Poe could not evade this time. They rolled down the hallway, Poe trying desperately to keep the toothy muzzle away from her throat and face. She was unable to land any blows of her own. The talons ripped long gashes on her shoulders. Its hind feet lacerated her legs. The gray carpeting of the hallway floor turned dark with Poe's blood.</p><p></p><p>****</p><p></p><p>Gabe had just entered the stairwell when he heard the door above him explode open from a great impact. He looked up to see a light rain of white dust float down from the third floor landing.</p><p></p><p>"<img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />!" </p><p></p><p>Gabe ran up the stairs, wondering exactly what good he was going to do when he got there. He skidded through the ruined third floor door into a hallway. There was Poe, pinned under the beast and from the looks of things not doing too well.</p><p></p><p>"<em>POE</em>!"</p><p></p><p>It seemed to Gabe as if Mary's voice had split his skull in two. He felt an incredible surge of emotion coarse through him as Mary's thoughts spilled into his consciousness. Gabe's arm raised before him, his fingers and hand held flat, pointing toward the creature.</p><p></p><p>"<em>Balaas aingeal</em>!" their voices intoned together. </p><p></p><p>Red light swirled around his hand and then surged forward to strike the beast in the shoulder. It howled in pain. The air reeked of burnt hair and flesh. It turned a baleful eye in their direction. Gabe's other hand swung around as if throwing.</p><p></p><p>"<em>Ròiseal viitahea</em>" </p><p></p><p>A compression wave, outlined in pale blue light, streaked outward from the arc of Gabe's arm. It tore down both sides of the hallway, shattering drywall and steel frame. It struck the still smoldering beast, sending it flying to the opposite end of the hallway with a sickening crunch of breaking bones and tearing flesh. Gabe brought his hand in front of his face and gawked at it as if it were some alien thing suddenly grafted to his body. </p><p></p><p>The beast rose from the floor, staggered two steps, and then disappeared through the far door. Poe climbed to her feet, dripping blood but still moving.</p><p></p><p>"Don't let it get away!"</p><p></p><p>Gabe sprinted after the werewolf, Poe a step behind. They burst through the far door. A trail of blood drops made it a simple task to follow the creature. It led to another stairwell. The trail went up. Gabe thought they must be at the fifth floor when the trail exited the stairwell. The door deposited them on the top floor of an adjoining parking building. Gabe skidded to a halt. An image flashed across his mind of the creature flying through the air. He turned in time to see the beast leaping from a dark corner where the parking building connected with the building they had just exited. Its jaw clamped down hard on Gabe's left arm as he failed to dodge the attack. Gabe felt a great pressure and was sure he heard bones splintering. Then he was slung from side to side as the beast began to rip him apart. Suddenly it released him.</p><p></p><p>Gabe saw Poe on the creature's back. With both arms locked around its neck she clamped its windpipe shut. It thrashed wildly for a moment then jumped straight up, flipping over onto its back and pinning Poe between itself and the concrete floor. Her breath was taken away as the impact forced all the air from her lungs. Her grip loosened enough for the beast to roll away. Poe sprang to her feet, landing in a crouch, ready for another attack. </p><p></p><p>Gabe lay still on the concrete. He was still conscious but he couldn't move. His left arm was a shattered ruin from the elbow down. He could see bits of broken bone protruding from several places. Blood pulsed out. Gabe's battered brain registered that an artery must be cut. He had to stop the bleeding.</p><p></p><p>"<em>Voraes ni tuagh banigh</em>."</p><p></p><p>"<em>Gabe</em>," Mary's voice seemed muted, as if she were speaking through a wall. "<em>Gabe, you have to stay with me here</em>."</p><p></p><p>"<em>Voraes ni tuagh banigh</em>."</p><p></p><p>Gabe felt a tingling in his arm, and a small measure of strength returned to him. He looked at the shattered arm. Blood continued to ooze out of the many lacerations, but it no longer surged. He looked over to see Poe and the werewolf warily circling. Each looked for a weakness in the other's defenses. Gabe could not stand. He crawled back toward the wall and propped himself up against it. </p><p></p><p>Poe kept her eyes locked on the creature's left eye. The right eye was swollen shut in an angry red mass that was still dripping blood. As they circled, Poe gradually closed the distance between them. She dropped straight down, catching her weight on her hands, swinging both legs around. The kick caught the creature on the end of its snout. A tooth flew out and skidded across the concrete. </p><p></p><p>The werewolf lunged, its jaw snapping shut inches from Poe's face. She fell back on her shoulders, pulled her legs to her and kicked out. This time the blow landed solidly in the creature's throat. It made a gasping rasp and backed away. Poe was up in a heartbeat, catching the beast just below the ear with a roundhouse kick. It faltered for a moment and then lunged, seizing Poe's leg in a crushing bite. It thrashed Poe from side to side, slamming her into the concrete. </p><p></p><p>Gabe saw the vampire fall with the creature latched onto her leg. He raised his right arm, fingers outstretched.</p><p></p><p>"<em>Caer’aroon naes naeor</em>," Gabe said in time with Mary.</p><p></p><p>Bolts of blue light shot from Gabe's hand, striking the creature in the ribcage. Howling, it released the vampire. It turned to face Gabe. Poe rolled away and regained her footing. Her leg was broken. She nearly fell when she tried to put weight on it. Poe balanced on the good leg and looked around. The edge of the deck was only a few yards behind her. If she could only get the beast near enough.…</p><p></p><p>Gabe's arm hung limp at his side. He'd lost a lot of blood before Mary slowed the bleeding ... too much blood. </p><p></p><p>The beast watched Gabe's head loll to the side. This one was no longer a threat. He turned back to face the vampire in time to receive a vicious kick to the head. Bright lights exploded in its vision. It turned, snapped blindly and felt fabric tear through its teeth. It saw the vampire standing just a short distance away. She seemed to be favoring one leg. A final attack should finish her. He leapt toward the vampire clawed forelimbs fully outstretched. He would tear her apart. More swiftly than his eye could follow she feinted to the left. Where his target had stood now he saw only open space and lights far below. </p><p></p><p>Poe crawled back to the edge and peered over. Bakayaro, she thought. She could just make out a crushed form on the sidewalk far below. Good riddance. Poe looked at Gabe's unconscious form. Maybe he wasn't such a loser after all... </p><p></p><p>****</p><p></p><p>Gabe opened his eyes. He saw a varnished tongue and groove pattern above. That's not my ceiling. Sunlight was flooding the room through windows that were out of his line of sight. He heard a sound to his side.</p><p></p><p>"Well, I see that you are finally awake Gabriel." The Sister's voice floated from across the room.</p><p></p><p>"How...?"</p><p></p><p>"...did you get here?" the Sister finished for him. "Poe carried you."</p><p></p><p>Gabe's eyes widened and he felt his neck for wounds with his right hand. At the same time he realized his arm was bound in an elaborate splint. </p><p></p><p>"I think Poe might be offended by your reaction," the Sister chuckled softly. "As amusing as it was."</p><p></p><p>"<em>How is Poe</em>?" </p><p></p><p>"She's fine, Mary," the Sister answered. "She is much more durable than our unfortunate public servant here."</p><p></p><p>"Thanks," Gabe said. "What happened to the hairy-scary?"</p><p></p><p>The Sister allowed the spinning wheel to coast to a stop. She looked out the window before answering. "He disappeared. No body was found."</p><p></p><p>"Lovely," Gabe replied, "meaning he could be and probably is still out there."</p><p></p><p>"Yes," the Sister continued looking out the window. "He must be severely injured though. I don't believe we will see him for some time. The most troubling aspect of these events is why. Until we know that it will be very difficult to guard against." The Sister paused and looked back at Gabe. "I fear there is something more at work here than the werewolf, I just don't know what or who...yet."</p><p></p><p></p><p>© Austin Hale</p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=25634" target="_blank">First Sight: A d20 Modern Story Hour</a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jodo Kast, post: 1882246, member: 4810"] [b]First Sight[/b] This is a clip from the [i]First Sight[/i] thread penned by Lamprolign and me. The story is set in Chicago. Several of our heroes are tracking a mysterious menace who has killed several of their number and recently threatened another. Our cast (for this installment): Gabe, intrepid crime scene investigator who recently became aware of startling psychic/mystic abilities; Mary, teenage witch who finds herself in the predicament of being stuck as a disembodied spririt inside Gabe's head, but still able to exercise her sorcerous powers through him; Poe, vampire as lethal as she is lovely; Piotr, Russian hitman (who just happens to be a werewolf). Mind you, this installment was imagined, written and posted well before the [I]Underworld[/I] movie hit the scene. Please drop in on our humble little story hour and let us know what you think. 018 [i]Do you care what the line is, Do you care if you won't, Lesson one is let's stop waiting for the sunlight It's not crazy to bow down in the full moon, in the full moon Do you care what the riot is, Do you care if its falsefied, Lesson one is let's stop waiting for the sunlight It's not crazy to bow down in the full moon, in the full moon Hey, hey I'm dead on arrival, Hey, hey I'm distant Crawling right back, yes, I'm crawling right back[/I] - Urge Overkill, [I]Honesty Files[/I] "Where are you going?" "Hunting." **** "More coffee sir?" The waitress waved a half-full carafe towards the man's cup. "No thank you," the man responded with an accent that she thought was Slavic. She considered asking him where he was from. She had just started a Russian language class at university and was curious. The man turned and looked at her for a brief moment before staring back out onto the street. His gaze chilled her to the core. She turned and walked quickly away. Piotr glanced at the young woman as she disappeared into the cafe's kitchen. Her revulsion amused him. He looked at the clock that hung above the counter of the small cafe. Midnight. He began to wonder if Asher was going to leave the building this night. [i]No matter. We can finish our business indoors....[/i] **** The northeast wind bit through Gabe's coat, causing him the shiver violently. "Where the hell are we going?" "Asher said he needed to work. He'll be in his office. We're going there to watch and wait. He'll be our bait." "I don't suppose this guy knows that he's bait?" "He made it clear last night that he didn't want our help," Poe said with an edge in her voice. "I'm out to stop this freak before he goes after somebody else from the Haven. We're not here to protect Asher." "[i]Poe,[/i]" Mary protested, "[i]he's still a person. We can't just let him die.[/i]" "He should have thought of that before he turned his back on us," Poe shot back. "His loss will be well worth it if it allows us to stop the beast." "Why am I following a psycho?" Gabe's mumble was heard only by Mary, who remained uncharacteristically silent. **** Piotr sighed. Too many people, he thought as he walked past the building's rear entrance. Trucks were already there, lining up in preparation to deliver the morning edition. He turned the corner out of the alley, heading back toward the cafe. A blast of cold wind greeted him, cold that would have sent most hurrying indoors. Piotr raised his face to the wind and embraced the chill despite his relatively sparse attire consisting of a gray turtleneck and faded jeans. A dark blue toboggan pulled over his brow covered his head. He weaved his way quickly between the numerous pedestrians crowding the sidewalks. [i]Perhaps you will live yet another night, comrade.[/i] The wind shifted direction as it eddied around the buildings. Piotr stopped. A familiar scent triggered a short burst of adrenaline. [i]Have you come out to play little girl?[/i] Piotr scanned the faces surrounding him to no avail. A twist of wind carried the scent to him. With the wind swirling there was no way he could discern where she might be. He didn't believe it was a coincidence that the vampire was in his hunting ground again. She would have to be dealt with before Piotr could continue the hunt. A thin smile creased his face at the thought. **** Poe stood quietly in the shadows of a darkened doorway. The werewolf paused ten yards from her. He slowly looked around, turning a full circle, and then he moved on. As he moved past, she slipped out into the flow of people behind him. She could hear her pulse beating in her head, feel the strength coursing through her. Her recent feeding had replenished her beyond the cost of regeneration. Poe grinned wickedly. The werewolf had toyed with her. He would pay dearly. Gabe followed a few paces behind the vampire. He wondered again why he had tagged along. He supposed that part of it was professional interest. A crime had been committed, and even though this was not exactly conventional investigation, the bad guy needed to be stopped. Maybe part of it was something Mary had said. [i]They're your people too[/i]. He wasn't quite ready to admit that to himself, but it lurked in his subconscious. "[i]I've got a bad feeling about this,[/i]" Mary said quietly. "Me too," Gabe whispered. **** Piotr continued to walk. He passed the cafe where he was seated earlier, and then turned down a narrow alley that led off of Adams into shadows. [i]Follow, little girl[/i]. **** Poe watched the man in the gray sweater pass into the shadows of an alley. She slipped silently into the dark lane. A stygian mist gathered around her, swirling up from the ground, until she disappeared. The black mist spread from the dark recesses of doorways and from under overhangs. Tendrils filled the alley, blocking the light from the thoroughfare behind her. She smiled, pleased by the darkness. The slightest scraping sound gave scant warning as several hundred pounds of fur and claw rushed toward her. She sidestepped, testing his ability to see in her shadow mist. He changed direction immediately, bearing down on her. Leaping to the side, she barely evaded the swipe of razor talons. [i]Damn! How can he see me[/i]?! Poe rolled to her feet. She spotted her quarry skidding around for another charge, fully transformed, a mass of bristly fur, sharp teeth and claws. In a single leap she closed the distance between them. Her booted foot landed squarely on the monster's eye with a wet crunching sound and the spatter of blood. He snarled in rage, swiping sideways with his tooth filled maw. Poe bounded away, landing on a second floor fire escape platform. The beast angled its head toward her. One eye was bloody but the other transfixed her with a baleful yellow stare. It leapt, easily clearing the distance to the platform. Poe sprang away at the last instant, sailing across the alley to find a tenuous perch on a third floor windowsill. No sooner had the beast's feet made contact then it jumped again. Poe somersaulted into midair, arcing gracefully to the pavement below. The creature crashed through the window and inside the building. **** Gabe stood on the sidewalk where the alley disappeared behind an inky veil of unnatural darkness. Sounds of a struggle pierced the black veil, followed by the crystalline refrain of breaking glass. "[i]We have to go in there,[/i]" Mary said. "[i]Poe could be hurt.[/i]" "If we go in there, I could be hurt. Poe's a big girl, she can take care of herself," Gabe responded. Several minutes passed and the darkness in the alley dissipated. He saw no sign of Poe or the beast. "." Gabe cautiously walked down the alley. About fifty paces brought him to a spatter of blood on the pavement. [i]I wonder whose...[/i]. There were gouges in the pavement where the creature's claws dug in as it leapt. A shard of broken glass caught his attention. He looked up and saw the shattered window. ":):):):):)!" Gabe stared at the window three stories overhead, and then looked around at street level. There was a steel door opening into the building a few yards away. He knew before he tried that the door would be locked. "[i]Fosgail an dràstar[/i]," Mary spoke. Gabe heard his voice speaking in time with hers. The door crumpled inward, ripping from its frame and crashing against the wall of what looked like a hallway. "[i]Oops.[/i]" "Nice Mary," Gabe said. "Why don't we get some trumpets and firecrackers to announce ourselves while you're at it. You could ask before you hijack my vocal cords, you know." He stepped through the door. **** Piotr's right eye was useless. He could feel the blood trickling down his cheek, taste it in the corner of his mouth. Moving swiftly, he crossed the long narrow room. By the light of computer monitors he could make out a door at the far end. The corners of his mouth turned up in a horrific parody of a smile. The tight quarters here would work to his advantage. He slipped through the door into the corridor beyond. **** Glass crunched under her feet as Poe stepped from the windowsill. Scattered spots of blood led away from the window into a long narrow room lined by desks. Poe stood for a moment listening. Silence. She moved across the room toward the only door. The blood trail continued down the corridor beyond. A multitude of doors opened on either side of the hallway, black openings through which her quarry might be waiting. **** He heard the faint scuff of a booted foot. He became still, his breathing a barely audible whisper. The central heating carried the smell of fresh earth to his nostrils. She was near. The muscles in his legs tensed, readying to spring. His ears strained to hear her approach. **** Poe stopped. Did she hear something? Every nerve was strung snare-tight. Then she heard the soft sound of exhalation. She whirled and saw the beast hurtling toward her. There was no room to dodge in the close confines of the corridor. It slammed into her with bone crushing force. She was pinned between the beast and the wall. One arm under the creature's snout barely kept the jagged teeth from her face. Blood seeped through her coat where talons had raked her shoulders. She brought her knee up hard into the creature's rib cage. Bones gave way beneath the blow and Poe heaved the beast back. She felt the walls pressing in. She couldn't maneuver in such tight quarters. It charged again. At the last moment Poe dropped to the floor with her legs pulled tightly to her chest. As the creature pressed its attack, she uncoiled explosively, planting both feet in the creature's chest. Up and over it went, carried by its own momentum. Its back tore through the drop ceiling. Pieces of plaster tile and steel frame rained from above. The beast's trajectory carried it through a steel door into a stair well. Before the rain of ceiling had stopped it scrabbled to its feet again. Poe considered her options quickly. She had to get out of this building. It would only be a matter of time before the werewolf's greater weight and weaponry won the battle in the enclosed space of the hallway. It leapt. Poe could not evade this time. They rolled down the hallway, Poe trying desperately to keep the toothy muzzle away from her throat and face. She was unable to land any blows of her own. The talons ripped long gashes on her shoulders. Its hind feet lacerated her legs. The gray carpeting of the hallway floor turned dark with Poe's blood. **** Gabe had just entered the stairwell when he heard the door above him explode open from a great impact. He looked up to see a light rain of white dust float down from the third floor landing. ":):):):):)!" Gabe ran up the stairs, wondering exactly what good he was going to do when he got there. He skidded through the ruined third floor door into a hallway. There was Poe, pinned under the beast and from the looks of things not doing too well. "[i]POE[/i]!" It seemed to Gabe as if Mary's voice had split his skull in two. He felt an incredible surge of emotion coarse through him as Mary's thoughts spilled into his consciousness. Gabe's arm raised before him, his fingers and hand held flat, pointing toward the creature. "[i]Balaas aingeal[/i]!" their voices intoned together. Red light swirled around his hand and then surged forward to strike the beast in the shoulder. It howled in pain. The air reeked of burnt hair and flesh. It turned a baleful eye in their direction. Gabe's other hand swung around as if throwing. "[i]Ròiseal viitahea[/i]" A compression wave, outlined in pale blue light, streaked outward from the arc of Gabe's arm. It tore down both sides of the hallway, shattering drywall and steel frame. It struck the still smoldering beast, sending it flying to the opposite end of the hallway with a sickening crunch of breaking bones and tearing flesh. Gabe brought his hand in front of his face and gawked at it as if it were some alien thing suddenly grafted to his body. The beast rose from the floor, staggered two steps, and then disappeared through the far door. Poe climbed to her feet, dripping blood but still moving. "Don't let it get away!" Gabe sprinted after the werewolf, Poe a step behind. They burst through the far door. A trail of blood drops made it a simple task to follow the creature. It led to another stairwell. The trail went up. Gabe thought they must be at the fifth floor when the trail exited the stairwell. The door deposited them on the top floor of an adjoining parking building. Gabe skidded to a halt. An image flashed across his mind of the creature flying through the air. He turned in time to see the beast leaping from a dark corner where the parking building connected with the building they had just exited. Its jaw clamped down hard on Gabe's left arm as he failed to dodge the attack. Gabe felt a great pressure and was sure he heard bones splintering. Then he was slung from side to side as the beast began to rip him apart. Suddenly it released him. Gabe saw Poe on the creature's back. With both arms locked around its neck she clamped its windpipe shut. It thrashed wildly for a moment then jumped straight up, flipping over onto its back and pinning Poe between itself and the concrete floor. Her breath was taken away as the impact forced all the air from her lungs. Her grip loosened enough for the beast to roll away. Poe sprang to her feet, landing in a crouch, ready for another attack. Gabe lay still on the concrete. He was still conscious but he couldn't move. His left arm was a shattered ruin from the elbow down. He could see bits of broken bone protruding from several places. Blood pulsed out. Gabe's battered brain registered that an artery must be cut. He had to stop the bleeding. "[i]Voraes ni tuagh banigh[/i]." "[i]Gabe[/i]," Mary's voice seemed muted, as if she were speaking through a wall. "[i]Gabe, you have to stay with me here[/i]." "[i]Voraes ni tuagh banigh[/i]." Gabe felt a tingling in his arm, and a small measure of strength returned to him. He looked at the shattered arm. Blood continued to ooze out of the many lacerations, but it no longer surged. He looked over to see Poe and the werewolf warily circling. Each looked for a weakness in the other's defenses. Gabe could not stand. He crawled back toward the wall and propped himself up against it. Poe kept her eyes locked on the creature's left eye. The right eye was swollen shut in an angry red mass that was still dripping blood. As they circled, Poe gradually closed the distance between them. She dropped straight down, catching her weight on her hands, swinging both legs around. The kick caught the creature on the end of its snout. A tooth flew out and skidded across the concrete. The werewolf lunged, its jaw snapping shut inches from Poe's face. She fell back on her shoulders, pulled her legs to her and kicked out. This time the blow landed solidly in the creature's throat. It made a gasping rasp and backed away. Poe was up in a heartbeat, catching the beast just below the ear with a roundhouse kick. It faltered for a moment and then lunged, seizing Poe's leg in a crushing bite. It thrashed Poe from side to side, slamming her into the concrete. Gabe saw the vampire fall with the creature latched onto her leg. He raised his right arm, fingers outstretched. "[i]Caer’aroon naes naeor[/i]," Gabe said in time with Mary. Bolts of blue light shot from Gabe's hand, striking the creature in the ribcage. Howling, it released the vampire. It turned to face Gabe. Poe rolled away and regained her footing. Her leg was broken. She nearly fell when she tried to put weight on it. Poe balanced on the good leg and looked around. The edge of the deck was only a few yards behind her. If she could only get the beast near enough.… Gabe's arm hung limp at his side. He'd lost a lot of blood before Mary slowed the bleeding ... too much blood. The beast watched Gabe's head loll to the side. This one was no longer a threat. He turned back to face the vampire in time to receive a vicious kick to the head. Bright lights exploded in its vision. It turned, snapped blindly and felt fabric tear through its teeth. It saw the vampire standing just a short distance away. She seemed to be favoring one leg. A final attack should finish her. He leapt toward the vampire clawed forelimbs fully outstretched. He would tear her apart. More swiftly than his eye could follow she feinted to the left. Where his target had stood now he saw only open space and lights far below. Poe crawled back to the edge and peered over. Bakayaro, she thought. She could just make out a crushed form on the sidewalk far below. Good riddance. Poe looked at Gabe's unconscious form. Maybe he wasn't such a loser after all... **** Gabe opened his eyes. He saw a varnished tongue and groove pattern above. That's not my ceiling. Sunlight was flooding the room through windows that were out of his line of sight. He heard a sound to his side. "Well, I see that you are finally awake Gabriel." The Sister's voice floated from across the room. "How...?" "...did you get here?" the Sister finished for him. "Poe carried you." Gabe's eyes widened and he felt his neck for wounds with his right hand. At the same time he realized his arm was bound in an elaborate splint. "I think Poe might be offended by your reaction," the Sister chuckled softly. "As amusing as it was." "[i]How is Poe[/i]?" "She's fine, Mary," the Sister answered. "She is much more durable than our unfortunate public servant here." "Thanks," Gabe said. "What happened to the hairy-scary?" The Sister allowed the spinning wheel to coast to a stop. She looked out the window before answering. "He disappeared. No body was found." "Lovely," Gabe replied, "meaning he could be and probably is still out there." "Yes," the Sister continued looking out the window. "He must be severely injured though. I don't believe we will see him for some time. The most troubling aspect of these events is why. Until we know that it will be very difficult to guard against." The Sister paused and looked back at Gabe. "I fear there is something more at work here than the werewolf, I just don't know what or who...yet." © Austin Hale [URL=http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=25634]First Sight: A d20 Modern Story Hour[/URL] [/QUOTE]
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