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First Sight: A d20 Modern Story Hour (Updated 01-03-2008)
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<blockquote data-quote="Lamprolign" data-source="post: 1866863" data-attributes="member: 7860"><p>035</p><p><em>Feeling unknown</em></p><p><em>and you're all alone,</em></p><p><em>flesh and bone,</em></p><p><em>by the telephone,</em></p><p><em>lift up the receiver,</em></p><p><em>I'll make you a believer</em></p><p> - Depeche Mode, (Johnny Cash cover), <em>Personal Jesus</em></p><p></p><p></p><p>"<em>...run!</em>" </p><p></p><p>"Sanguis co..."</p><p></p><p>"<em>Tharae curoon taranis!</em>"</p><p></p><p>A jagged bolt of blue-white lightning struck the woman squarely in the torso, cutting off her incantation and throwing her against a railway pylon with a loud thump. Adrenaline and magic pounded in Gabe's veins. The smell of burnt hair and scorched flesh assaulted his nostrils. He saw the woman rise unsteadily from the pavement. </p><p></p><p>"Ròiseal viitahea!" </p><p></p><p>A compression wave flashed outward. She threw herself at the ground. The worst of the blast screamed over her head, striking the concrete and steel of the elevated rails in a shower of gravel and the scream of bending girders. </p><p></p><p>"<em>Oops...</em>" </p><p></p><p>The woman exploded from the dust, both feet striking Gabe squarely in the chest, forcing the air from him and throwing him across the narrow street. He hit the ground rolling and came swiftly to a crouch, facing his adversary. Stabbing pain with each breath marked at least one broken rib. <em>Where is Poe when you need her?</em> The woman backed a step and he saw her mouth moving.</p><p></p><p>"<em>She's casting!</em>" Mary shouted in his mind. "<em>Caer’aroon naes naeor!</em>"</p><p></p><p>Gabe's arms snapped up and blue fire streamed out to meet a matching stream of red incandescence. The two energies exploded against one another sending the pugilists to the ground amid a shower of asphalt and embers. He regained his feet a split second before her but already the glimmer of arcane fire surrounded her arms. It shot out for him. He ducked beneath the stream of uncanny flame. Struggling with protesting retinas he saw a dark shape soaring through the night directly at him.</p><p></p><p>"Sgiath!" He and Mary cried in unison. The creature impacted on an unseen shield scarcely an arm's length away. "Balaas aingeal!" glowing crimson mist swirled around Gabe's hand then sped outward in a column.</p><p></p><p>The attack caught his assailant off balance, striking her solidly in the face. She fell to the ground screaming. Shadow swirled around her and swiftly expanded to engulf the area. <em>Damn, I can't see a thing.</em></p><p></p><p>"<em>Listen...</em>"</p><p></p><p>Gabe heard the scrape of boots on the asphalt and launched himself in that direction.</p><p></p><p>"<em>Wai...</em>"</p><p></p><p>His consciousness exploded into millions of exquisitely clear slivers of pain as something very hard moving very fast connected with his left temple. Dazed, he spun in a circle, the ground felt like a surface of rolling marbles. He fell hard, sending a wave of agony through his chest. Through the ringing in his ears he thought he heard the distant whine of sirens and the rapid thud of retreating footfalls. </p><p></p><p>Every circuit in his brain resisting the effort, Gabe rose and ran in the after the sound. The unnatural darkness had dissipated leaving only the normal gloom of night. He pelted down a street lined by old but well maintained houses that ran perpendicular to the tracks. Every jolting step sent another stab of pain through his chest. He tasted the salty, coppery essence of blood in his mouth. He neither saw, nor sensed any sign of his adversary. A coughing fit left bright red blood onto the pavement. He slowed to a walk, then stopped and finally sank to his knees. Each gasping breath brought gurgling deep in his chest. <em>Not good.</em> Convulsive coughing left a patch of blood wider than his shadow on the sidewalk. </p><p></p><p>"<em>Gabe?</em>"</p><p></p><p>He heard Mary's voice as if whispered from afar. His thoughts were mired in quicksand, detached, he watched as the edges of his vision began to close in.</p><p></p><p>"<em>Gabe!</em>"</p><p></p><p></p><p>****</p><p></p><p>"Sweet Jesus," Jake Brewer said as he climbed out of the unmarked police cruiser.</p><p></p><p>Lori Gies did not respond as she surveyed the scene. Fire engines and police tape demarked the area of devastation. She noted the knee-deep crater surrounded by patches of burning asphalt that were still being extinguished. The nearest support pylon for the L tracks lying in a heap of shattered concrete and twisted steel. The rails above sagged dangerously earthward. Near the ruined pylon a white sheet covered what was obviously a body. She easily stooped under the yellow line and continued into the destruction.</p><p></p><p>Brewer snapped the tape in his passing. "Fix that," he said to the nearest patrolman. He stopped a few paces in, visually sweeping the area. "Where in the hell are these scumbags getting this kind of firepower?"</p><p></p><p>Lori was already too far ahead to hear over the babble of radio communications emanating from the radios carried by the uniformed officers. She came to the sheet draped body and flipped the covering back deftly. Glazed, pale blue eyes stared blindly back at her from a face matching the sheet in hue. She pulled the sheet back further and examined the gaping wound in his chest. <em>Same wounds, but not the same MO...</em> Covering the body, she rose and walked toward the crater. </p><p></p><p>She stopped at the edge. Against the night's chill she could feel faint heat emanating from the pit. Pulling a flashlight out of her coat pocket she looked closely at the interior of the basin. It glinted with reflected light. The earth had been melted and fused. She knelt and brought her nose bare millimeters from the ground and inhaled slowly. Underlying the stench of burnt asphalt and charred earth she smelled the barest hint of sulfur. <em>Very interesting.</em> She stood, noticing a group of spectators standing past the perimeter she walked toward them.</p><p></p><p>Brewer stomped around the scene with the finesse and personable charm of a T. rex. He came upon the CSI unit as they arrived. "Pete, where's Ansgar?"</p><p></p><p>"He's not on this shift tonight." </p><p></p><p>"Funny, he always seems to be in the area when something weird goes on." Brewer scratched his head absently. This was the third time he'd stood on a battlefield in his own backyard. Even the Feds and their explosives experts had found not a trace of chemical residue. At least none that they'd shared with 'us little city cops.' </p><p></p><p>"Well, everyone I've talked to claims to have seen nothing until after the fireworks," Lori said as she walked back from the perimeter.</p><p></p><p>"I'm not surprised, most people in these neighborhoods have enough sense just to keep their heads down when they hear things going boom in their front yard." Brewer was walking toward the railway pylon. "I think we've got a turf war going on in town, something right out of Capone's days but with rockets."</p><p></p><p>"And the bled out bodies?"</p><p></p><p>"I think it's some kind of cult thing going on," Brewer said. "Some Satan worshipping pukes leaving a calling card for the home team."</p><p></p><p>Lori looked over her shoulder at the morgue crew removing the body and said nothing.</p><p></p><p>****</p><p></p><p>Gabe Ansgar lay on his stomach, his head turned to one side, in a slowly congealing brown puddle. His breathing was shallow, almost imperceptible except for the low gurgling that accompanied each exhalation. The air stirred sending a few survivors of the past autumn's leaves skittering past his quietly drowning body. A shadow fell across Gabe's head.</p><p></p><p>A woman, wrapped tightly in a black oilskin drover coat, knelt beside Gabe's body. Sharp brown eyes set above broad cheekbones surveyed the fallen investigator. Absently she pushed an unruly strand of sepia-colored hair behind a smallish ear. With a calloused hand, she pulled the upturned collar of his coat back and leaned closer to his face. "He doesn't look like much does he?" Her voice was soft, almost a child's</p><p></p><p>From out of ratty hedge bordering the sidewalk, a large raccoon strolled. It turned its head to regard her. Chirping once, it sniffed the air vigorously then chittered at the woman.</p><p></p><p>"I think the blood gave that away, Abby." The woman sighed and looked up and down the street. "We better move him before somebody else comes along." A slight smile touched her face. "She's going to be very pleased with us." </p><p></p><p></p><p>© 2004, Austin Hale</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lamprolign, post: 1866863, member: 7860"] 035 [i]Feeling unknown and you're all alone, flesh and bone, by the telephone, lift up the receiver, I'll make you a believer[/i] - Depeche Mode, (Johnny Cash cover), [i]Personal Jesus[/i] "[i]...run![/i]" "Sanguis co..." "[i]Tharae curoon taranis![/i]" A jagged bolt of blue-white lightning struck the woman squarely in the torso, cutting off her incantation and throwing her against a railway pylon with a loud thump. Adrenaline and magic pounded in Gabe's veins. The smell of burnt hair and scorched flesh assaulted his nostrils. He saw the woman rise unsteadily from the pavement. "Ròiseal viitahea!" A compression wave flashed outward. She threw herself at the ground. The worst of the blast screamed over her head, striking the concrete and steel of the elevated rails in a shower of gravel and the scream of bending girders. "[i]Oops...[/i]" The woman exploded from the dust, both feet striking Gabe squarely in the chest, forcing the air from him and throwing him across the narrow street. He hit the ground rolling and came swiftly to a crouch, facing his adversary. Stabbing pain with each breath marked at least one broken rib. [i]Where is Poe when you need her?[/i] The woman backed a step and he saw her mouth moving. "[i]She's casting![/i]" Mary shouted in his mind. "[i]Caer’aroon naes naeor![/i]" Gabe's arms snapped up and blue fire streamed out to meet a matching stream of red incandescence. The two energies exploded against one another sending the pugilists to the ground amid a shower of asphalt and embers. He regained his feet a split second before her but already the glimmer of arcane fire surrounded her arms. It shot out for him. He ducked beneath the stream of uncanny flame. Struggling with protesting retinas he saw a dark shape soaring through the night directly at him. "Sgiath!" He and Mary cried in unison. The creature impacted on an unseen shield scarcely an arm's length away. "Balaas aingeal!" glowing crimson mist swirled around Gabe's hand then sped outward in a column. The attack caught his assailant off balance, striking her solidly in the face. She fell to the ground screaming. Shadow swirled around her and swiftly expanded to engulf the area. [i]Damn, I can't see a thing.[/i] "[i]Listen...[/i]" Gabe heard the scrape of boots on the asphalt and launched himself in that direction. "[i]Wai...[/i]" His consciousness exploded into millions of exquisitely clear slivers of pain as something very hard moving very fast connected with his left temple. Dazed, he spun in a circle, the ground felt like a surface of rolling marbles. He fell hard, sending a wave of agony through his chest. Through the ringing in his ears he thought he heard the distant whine of sirens and the rapid thud of retreating footfalls. Every circuit in his brain resisting the effort, Gabe rose and ran in the after the sound. The unnatural darkness had dissipated leaving only the normal gloom of night. He pelted down a street lined by old but well maintained houses that ran perpendicular to the tracks. Every jolting step sent another stab of pain through his chest. He tasted the salty, coppery essence of blood in his mouth. He neither saw, nor sensed any sign of his adversary. A coughing fit left bright red blood onto the pavement. He slowed to a walk, then stopped and finally sank to his knees. Each gasping breath brought gurgling deep in his chest. [i]Not good.[/i] Convulsive coughing left a patch of blood wider than his shadow on the sidewalk. "[i]Gabe?[/i]" He heard Mary's voice as if whispered from afar. His thoughts were mired in quicksand, detached, he watched as the edges of his vision began to close in. "[i]Gabe![/i]" **** "Sweet Jesus," Jake Brewer said as he climbed out of the unmarked police cruiser. Lori Gies did not respond as she surveyed the scene. Fire engines and police tape demarked the area of devastation. She noted the knee-deep crater surrounded by patches of burning asphalt that were still being extinguished. The nearest support pylon for the L tracks lying in a heap of shattered concrete and twisted steel. The rails above sagged dangerously earthward. Near the ruined pylon a white sheet covered what was obviously a body. She easily stooped under the yellow line and continued into the destruction. Brewer snapped the tape in his passing. "Fix that," he said to the nearest patrolman. He stopped a few paces in, visually sweeping the area. "Where in the hell are these scumbags getting this kind of firepower?" Lori was already too far ahead to hear over the babble of radio communications emanating from the radios carried by the uniformed officers. She came to the sheet draped body and flipped the covering back deftly. Glazed, pale blue eyes stared blindly back at her from a face matching the sheet in hue. She pulled the sheet back further and examined the gaping wound in his chest. [i]Same wounds, but not the same MO...[/i] Covering the body, she rose and walked toward the crater. She stopped at the edge. Against the night's chill she could feel faint heat emanating from the pit. Pulling a flashlight out of her coat pocket she looked closely at the interior of the basin. It glinted with reflected light. The earth had been melted and fused. She knelt and brought her nose bare millimeters from the ground and inhaled slowly. Underlying the stench of burnt asphalt and charred earth she smelled the barest hint of sulfur. [i]Very interesting.[/i] She stood, noticing a group of spectators standing past the perimeter she walked toward them. Brewer stomped around the scene with the finesse and personable charm of a T. rex. He came upon the CSI unit as they arrived. "Pete, where's Ansgar?" "He's not on this shift tonight." "Funny, he always seems to be in the area when something weird goes on." Brewer scratched his head absently. This was the third time he'd stood on a battlefield in his own backyard. Even the Feds and their explosives experts had found not a trace of chemical residue. At least none that they'd shared with 'us little city cops.' "Well, everyone I've talked to claims to have seen nothing until after the fireworks," Lori said as she walked back from the perimeter. "I'm not surprised, most people in these neighborhoods have enough sense just to keep their heads down when they hear things going boom in their front yard." Brewer was walking toward the railway pylon. "I think we've got a turf war going on in town, something right out of Capone's days but with rockets." "And the bled out bodies?" "I think it's some kind of cult thing going on," Brewer said. "Some Satan worshipping pukes leaving a calling card for the home team." Lori looked over her shoulder at the morgue crew removing the body and said nothing. **** Gabe Ansgar lay on his stomach, his head turned to one side, in a slowly congealing brown puddle. His breathing was shallow, almost imperceptible except for the low gurgling that accompanied each exhalation. The air stirred sending a few survivors of the past autumn's leaves skittering past his quietly drowning body. A shadow fell across Gabe's head. A woman, wrapped tightly in a black oilskin drover coat, knelt beside Gabe's body. Sharp brown eyes set above broad cheekbones surveyed the fallen investigator. Absently she pushed an unruly strand of sepia-colored hair behind a smallish ear. With a calloused hand, she pulled the upturned collar of his coat back and leaned closer to his face. "He doesn't look like much does he?" Her voice was soft, almost a child's From out of ratty hedge bordering the sidewalk, a large raccoon strolled. It turned its head to regard her. Chirping once, it sniffed the air vigorously then chittered at the woman. "I think the blood gave that away, Abby." The woman sighed and looked up and down the street. "We better move him before somebody else comes along." A slight smile touched her face. "She's going to be very pleased with us." © 2004, Austin Hale [/QUOTE]
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First Sight: A d20 Modern Story Hour (Updated 01-03-2008)
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