I slid into the booth. "Sorry I'm late. Work went over."
She smiled at me and, God help me, my heart skipped a beat. It wasn't that she was so damn beautiful, although she was. She was a head turner. Long dark hair, flawless pale skin, long legs, nice tits, the whole package. It was everything else about her. Smart, funny, and somehow strong and gentle at the same time. More modern than a modern woman with the deportment and self confidence of a dowager duchess. Christ, how the fuck did I get this lucky?
She was stirring a half cup of coffee with a spoon. "It's okay. You're here now and we have the rest of the evening. I did eat with out you. Sorry."
"I don't believe you," I said. "You don't eat enough to feed a cat."
"I told you," she said, "I snack too much at work. Kills my appetite. Most days." She smiled.
My heart skipped a beat. "Ready to order?" a waitress asked me.
"Just a minute," I said, grabbing a menu.
"Sure," she said, "I'll be back in a minute or two."
"Why so happy?" she asked.
"I'm with you and you're not mad at me for being late."
She turned away for a moment and came back smiling. "Order some dinner and eat fast," she said. "We have a movie to catch."
-----
We walked out of the theater, her cheek resting on my shoulder. "Did you like it?" I asked.
"Yeah," she said, "I did."
"Good," I replied. "I was a little worried."
"Silly man," she said and kissed me on the cheek, her lips cool on my skin.
"The Deer Hunter isn't exactly a 'date movie'."
"It is for us," she said. "We're not ordinary."
"You certainly aren't."
She grabbed my chin and turned my head to look directly into her eyes. There was fire in her sky-blue eyes. "Don't ever sell yourself short Matthew. I see what the world does not."
"Whatever you say," I said, trying to make a joke of it. It was a little frightening.
"I mean it," she said. "I see your strength, you loyalty, your wit, and your wisdom. I see the strength of your mind and the strength of your spirit." She paused for a moment. "And now I have to ask you something hard. Something has come up and I have to leave. I love you. I want you to come with me."
My heart jumped into my throat. My mind was racing. My job, my apartment, my friends, my family. All of it was here. Going with her would mean leaving everything behind to follow a woman I had known for three weeks. "I love you too," I managed.
"We have a little time," she said. "And the night is young. Let me give you reasons to come with me."
-----
"Your girl's leaving? That's rough. Sorry to hear that Matt." Bob bent down to refill his cup of coffee.
"She wants me to come with her."
"And?" asked Bob. He had five years, three fewer inches in height, and thirty pounds on me. Bob was a good guy, almost happily married with a tragic taste for plaid polyester sports jackets. He sipped his coffee. "Do you love her?"
"Yeah, I think so. I mean it's so fast, but I think I do." Although I didn't know where she had to go. We hadn't really talked the rest of the night. Sandrine had a way of dodging questions sometimes. I loved her but about some parts of her life I knew nothing. It hadn't mattered. I hadn't known her long, but now, now when there was a big move on the plate, now I hesitated. What was the whole story?
"Sounds like you have it bad," Bob said. "Maybe you should go. You're young, you've got time. And besides, she great in the sack."
"I didn't say that. Although she is."
"Didn't need to say it Matt. You come in with a big smile on your clock and looking like you've been dragged through the ringer. Everyone knows you got laid and that it went half the night."
"It's the best sex I've ever had," I said quietly.
Bob let out a whoop.
"Keep it down," I said. "Drains away all my strength afterward, but she's like nothing else. And the sex, don't get me wrong it's terrific, the sex is just one small part of it. I love being with her. All the time. She's like no one else I've ever met and she wants to be with me."
"Then you know what you gotta do."
"Yeah, I do." And I did. Really, it wasn't a choice at all. I was just nervous because I had never up ended my life over a woman before, but really that had already happened the night Sandrine had walked into my life.
"Nice knowing you buddy. We should get together for a drink before you go."
"Count on it," I replied.
-----
The phone rang when I had just gotten out the shower. I half stumbled out of the bathroom and into the living room to catch it before the ringing stop. "Hello?" I said. Please let it be her. Please let me be on time.
"Matthew." God is kind.
"Yes," I said. "Yes, I'll go with you. Wherever it is you have to go."
She said something I couldn't catch. "Thank you Matthew. I know this hasn't been fair to you."
"It's okay," I said. "It's fine. We'll be alright."
"There's things I've kept from you," she said, "but not after tonight."
"Is something wrong? Are you in trouble?" Jesus, let it be a jealous ex-boyfriend and not the law.
"Yes, but nothing criminal and nothing we can't handle" she said. "I wouldn't be leaving if everything was right and we have less time than I thought."
"It's okay," I replied. "I've already made up my mind. I said I was coming."
"I'll swing by and pick you up," she said. "Then I'll tell you everything."
Brighter Than the Sun, Sweeter Than Life (Vampire)
Moderator: LadyTevar
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Imperial Overlord
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Brighter Than the Sun, Sweeter Than Life (Vampire)
Last edited by Imperial Overlord on 2014-11-10 04:30pm, edited 1 time in total.
The Excellent Prismatic Spray. For when you absolutely, positively must kill a motherfucker. Accept no substitutions. Contact a magician of the later Aeons for details. Some conditions may apply.
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Imperial Overlord
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- Joined: 2004-08-19 04:30am
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Re: Brighter Than the Sun, Sweeter Than Life (Vampire)
She was as good as her word. Barely twenty minutes later she was ringing the buzzer to my apartment. I had never gotten around to giving her keys. We had moved so fast over so short of time, it just hadn't happened. I threw on my jacket and locked the door behind me before heading downstairs and out the door. She was waiting for me.
She looked like a million bucks, as always. She was wearing tight jeans, cowboy boots, a white blouse, a black leather trench coat and leaning against the hood of her black '68 Mustang. She was smiling, but was uneasy. I could tell. I could always tell with her.
"Hey handsome."
"Hello yourself beautiful." I walked over and kissed her, her lips cool against mine. Her flesh was always cool because of some kind of circulation problem. I guess everyone has one flaw.
"Get in," she said. "We have a place to be."
"Alright," I said, getting into the car.
"Buckle up," she said sliding into the driver's seat. She barely did a shoulder check before sending the Mustang roaring into the street. Driving with Sandrine was not an experience for the timid, but she saw everything coming before it arrived and had the reflexes of a cat. Soon she was muscling our way through traffic and heading toward the edge of town.
"I thought we were going to talk," I said as the traffic thinned out.
"We are," she said. "But there are people you need to meet and things you need to see. Trust me."
"I do."
"I know."
We spent the rest of the drive in silence. We weren't even really in the city anymore, adrift in a sea of pine trees. She turned off at a sign that went by too fast to read in the dark. The road lead to a small parking lot and a scattering of picnic tables in a clearing. There was a small building in the center. A rest area or a park maybe. There was someone waiting.
She parked next to a dark van. "We're here," she said and got out. I slowly did the same. Some part of my brain was screaming that I was going to be dismembered and murdered by a Satanic cult. I tried to keep it together, but a shiver was running down my spine.
"Matthew, this is Anton. He's my . . . father. Of sorts."
"Hello Matthew," said Anton, extending his hand. "I've heard a lot about you." He was tall and handsome and he could have been Sandrine's older brother. Dark haired, pale skin, dark eyes, and the bearing of an aristocrat. He seemed to be vaguely amused by the situation and there was something . . . odd about him. I could almost see waves of power flowing up from the earth and wrapping around him.
I blinked. That was . . . odd. He extended his hand. I shook it. It was cool. "You are right to be nervous," said Anton. "This will be one of the most important nights of your life and the decision that you make will mark your life. Come."
He walked toward one of the picnic benches. A man and a woman were perched on the table. The man was well muscled, bald, and black. The woman was petite redhead that was barely above five foot tall. They were both wearing jeans and a dark t-shirts.
"Sulla and Julia," said Anton. "They already know who you are so let us get started. You know that there is something . . . unusual about Sandrine. Something off. Something unnatural for a human. Clues you've ignored because of who she is and what she means to you."
"Yeah," I said, "the same vibe I get off you, and your friends, but mostly you."
"Really?" he replied.
"I told you he was sensitive," said Sandrine.
"You did," Anton replied. "We're not human, not any longer," said Anton. "We've changed. We can do things no mortal can." He flicked his fingers and an icy wind blasted through the air and then was gone. Sulla moved, impossibly fast, shifting from sitting to standing right behind Anton. "We can command the elements and the beasts of the field and the air. We are eternally young. We are stronger, faster, tougher than men."
"Jesus fucking Christ!" I replied. It was insane, but I believed every word. God help me I did.
"Yes him, if you believe in him," replied Anton. "I personally find the idea that the world was created by and is run by a benevolent sky father to be laughable. But I could be wrong. You've seen the world around us, or at least the outer rind. Does it seem to be wholesome fruit?"
"You're vampires or something like them," I said. "Always at night. Never eating."
"Yes," said Anton. "Call us a pack. Packs are family, after all and we are family. Join us and join Sandrine. Remain young and vital forever. Remain with her forever."
"And what if I refuse? Death?"
"Sandrine would never forgive me," said Anton. "She brought you before me because you would not be harmed if you rejected our offer. It lies within my gift to muddle memories. If you refuse, then you will never remember this conversation and wake up tomorrow morning in you own bed."
"And what about killing?"
"Sandrine has fed from you several times. We kill when we need to, not because our lives require it. I haven't killed in years and the last time I did it was in self defence."
I looked over at Sandrine. "Please," she said. She took my hand. "Join us. Join me."
I had already said yes. I hadn't known this when I said it, but I had known I was accepting a dark weight upon me and I still said it. What I had learned here hadn't been enough to change it.
"Yes," I said. Sandrine embraced me, her grasp like iron and her lips on mine.
"You won't regret this," she said. "I promise."
She let me go and I looked into Anton's eyes and all awareness seemed to bleed away. I felt a moment of pain and then ecstasy that I had only felt in Sandrine's arms as the world faded away. Something hot and bitter slid down my throat, burning like fire and filling me up again. I was giddy, drunk, albeit not on alcohol.
Strong arms lifted me up and the world went buy. From a distance I could hear a male voice speaking. "The earth is your mother as I am your father." He laid me on the ground. "Rest within her embrace and gather your strength. Emerge reborn."
The earth opened beneath me, swallowing me down into darkness.
She looked like a million bucks, as always. She was wearing tight jeans, cowboy boots, a white blouse, a black leather trench coat and leaning against the hood of her black '68 Mustang. She was smiling, but was uneasy. I could tell. I could always tell with her.
"Hey handsome."
"Hello yourself beautiful." I walked over and kissed her, her lips cool against mine. Her flesh was always cool because of some kind of circulation problem. I guess everyone has one flaw.
"Get in," she said. "We have a place to be."
"Alright," I said, getting into the car.
"Buckle up," she said sliding into the driver's seat. She barely did a shoulder check before sending the Mustang roaring into the street. Driving with Sandrine was not an experience for the timid, but she saw everything coming before it arrived and had the reflexes of a cat. Soon she was muscling our way through traffic and heading toward the edge of town.
"I thought we were going to talk," I said as the traffic thinned out.
"We are," she said. "But there are people you need to meet and things you need to see. Trust me."
"I do."
"I know."
We spent the rest of the drive in silence. We weren't even really in the city anymore, adrift in a sea of pine trees. She turned off at a sign that went by too fast to read in the dark. The road lead to a small parking lot and a scattering of picnic tables in a clearing. There was a small building in the center. A rest area or a park maybe. There was someone waiting.
She parked next to a dark van. "We're here," she said and got out. I slowly did the same. Some part of my brain was screaming that I was going to be dismembered and murdered by a Satanic cult. I tried to keep it together, but a shiver was running down my spine.
"Matthew, this is Anton. He's my . . . father. Of sorts."
"Hello Matthew," said Anton, extending his hand. "I've heard a lot about you." He was tall and handsome and he could have been Sandrine's older brother. Dark haired, pale skin, dark eyes, and the bearing of an aristocrat. He seemed to be vaguely amused by the situation and there was something . . . odd about him. I could almost see waves of power flowing up from the earth and wrapping around him.
I blinked. That was . . . odd. He extended his hand. I shook it. It was cool. "You are right to be nervous," said Anton. "This will be one of the most important nights of your life and the decision that you make will mark your life. Come."
He walked toward one of the picnic benches. A man and a woman were perched on the table. The man was well muscled, bald, and black. The woman was petite redhead that was barely above five foot tall. They were both wearing jeans and a dark t-shirts.
"Sulla and Julia," said Anton. "They already know who you are so let us get started. You know that there is something . . . unusual about Sandrine. Something off. Something unnatural for a human. Clues you've ignored because of who she is and what she means to you."
"Yeah," I said, "the same vibe I get off you, and your friends, but mostly you."
"Really?" he replied.
"I told you he was sensitive," said Sandrine.
"You did," Anton replied. "We're not human, not any longer," said Anton. "We've changed. We can do things no mortal can." He flicked his fingers and an icy wind blasted through the air and then was gone. Sulla moved, impossibly fast, shifting from sitting to standing right behind Anton. "We can command the elements and the beasts of the field and the air. We are eternally young. We are stronger, faster, tougher than men."
"Jesus fucking Christ!" I replied. It was insane, but I believed every word. God help me I did.
"Yes him, if you believe in him," replied Anton. "I personally find the idea that the world was created by and is run by a benevolent sky father to be laughable. But I could be wrong. You've seen the world around us, or at least the outer rind. Does it seem to be wholesome fruit?"
"You're vampires or something like them," I said. "Always at night. Never eating."
"Yes," said Anton. "Call us a pack. Packs are family, after all and we are family. Join us and join Sandrine. Remain young and vital forever. Remain with her forever."
"And what if I refuse? Death?"
"Sandrine would never forgive me," said Anton. "She brought you before me because you would not be harmed if you rejected our offer. It lies within my gift to muddle memories. If you refuse, then you will never remember this conversation and wake up tomorrow morning in you own bed."
"And what about killing?"
"Sandrine has fed from you several times. We kill when we need to, not because our lives require it. I haven't killed in years and the last time I did it was in self defence."
I looked over at Sandrine. "Please," she said. She took my hand. "Join us. Join me."
I had already said yes. I hadn't known this when I said it, but I had known I was accepting a dark weight upon me and I still said it. What I had learned here hadn't been enough to change it.
"Yes," I said. Sandrine embraced me, her grasp like iron and her lips on mine.
"You won't regret this," she said. "I promise."
She let me go and I looked into Anton's eyes and all awareness seemed to bleed away. I felt a moment of pain and then ecstasy that I had only felt in Sandrine's arms as the world faded away. Something hot and bitter slid down my throat, burning like fire and filling me up again. I was giddy, drunk, albeit not on alcohol.
Strong arms lifted me up and the world went buy. From a distance I could hear a male voice speaking. "The earth is your mother as I am your father." He laid me on the ground. "Rest within her embrace and gather your strength. Emerge reborn."
The earth opened beneath me, swallowing me down into darkness.
The Excellent Prismatic Spray. For when you absolutely, positively must kill a motherfucker. Accept no substitutions. Contact a magician of the later Aeons for details. Some conditions may apply.
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Imperial Overlord
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Re: Brighter Than the Sun, Sweeter Than Life (Vampire)
I should have panicked as the earth dragged me down, but I was sufficiently detached that it really didn't register for a few moments. Then I realized that I was perfectly comfortable despite being buried alive. The earth didn't so much press down upon me as embrace me. I felt comfortable and more than that I was protected and connected to the world in a way that I never had been before. I extended my senses and I could feel the vibrations of the movements above me. I concentrated and I could hear what was being said above.
"How long do you think?" asked Sulla.
"Not long, I think," Anton replied. "The embrace of Moist Mother Earth will help him with accepting his transition and more than most he has reasons to surface quickly. He will get his bearings and then- he is listening to us now."
"That was quick," said a woman's voice, presumably Julia. "The gifts don't usually manifest so quickly and strongly."
"They did with me," said Anton. "Of course, I was most of the way there already. That is why my sire, whose hearts blood I devoured, chose me. Sandrine saw much of the same potential in him, although this benighted world does not encourage one to believe one actually hear the spirits or see the wakes of their passing. Overactive imaginations are blamed and chemicals are suggested to suppress instead of enhance such gifts. But now what sleeps will be awakened. Come to us Matthew. Come to the night."
I began to dig. The earth was soft, yielding. I was ready to give me up and to welcome my back should I wish to return. It wasn't long before my hands were clawing air. Sulla seized my right hand and pulled me from the dirt. "Welcome back, my brother."
I didn't know how to really answer that. "Thanks," I managed. They were all gathered around me. I looked around.
I could see, despite the darkness. I could see far better than I could in broad daylight. I could make out the colour of the fur of the rats darting in the underbrush and the individual feathers of the ravens roosting above us. I could see the craters and the mountains of the moon. I could see myself in detail, reflected in Sandrine's eyes.
"Here," said Sulla, tossing me a blood pack from a picnic cooler. "You'll need a couple of these. Take the edge off."
I did. It wasn't nearly as good as Anton's blood had been, sort of like eating the cold and depressing left overs of what had been a great warm meal, but it did take the edge off my hunger. They waited until I was settled, which turned out to be three packs.
"There is a rite," Sulla began, "that goes back to the beginning. It is older than all of us, save Anton, and as he has done since the beginning, he will lead us through it. With it we will welcome our new brother to our family and we-".
He stopped and turned his head and everyone else did too. I could hear it also. Vehicles were coming. Big ones. A barn owl settled on a tree branch as the headlights of two black vans approached.
"Fuck," said Sulla.
"Stay calm," said Anton. "Julia, make ready. Sulla with me. Sandrine, keep him safe."
Men came out of the vans, although not all of them were men. Two German Shepherds walked with them. Four of the men were human, but the other three and the woman were vampires. The humans wore trench coats and three of them carried pump action shotguns. The fourth had an M-16.
The vampires were a more diverse lot. Their auras were as pale as those of my new family but they were ugly swirls of purple, red, and orange. One of them was dark haired woman wearing Aviator sunglasses, a leather jacket, jeans, work boots, and a flannel shirt. The men consisted of a short, slim white guy in a double breasted suit with a fucking tommy gun, a beefy Chinese guy wearing leather, jeans, and packing a fucking machete, and a lean, tall black man wearing a black leather duster over shirt and slacks who had a shotgun in his hands and a sword slung over his back.
The short man takes a cigarette out of a silver case and lights it with a gold lighter. He takes a drag. "Best thing about being dead," he says, "is that you can smoke these things until the stars die. Now I thought you boys and girls were told to get the fuck out of town and yet here you are."
"Fucking sociopath piece of shit," Sandrine hissed just softly enough for me to hear.
"We're just leaving," said Sulla. "We're at the edge of town and have finished the last of our unfinished business. You win."
The woman laughed. "Damn right I win," said the short man. "But you were told to hit the road three days ago and here you motherfuckers are, still in town with a fresh shovelhead right beside you."
"He's not a shovelhead," Sandrine said hotly.
"We're not Sabbat," said Sulla. "And we're leaving, just like your boss wants. It doesn't matter where or when he was embraced, because he's not staying. There is no problem unless you want there to be one.""
"Two days late and after violating the Third Tradition and that's if we leave out reeking of being Sabbat spies. No, you're not leaving. You're going to court. Or to ash if you give me any trouble."
Anton held up his hands. "You have us. We won't give you any trouble. We aren't Sabbat and we can prove it. Take us to court." He made a sweeping gesture to indicate us all and I saw his aura shimmer. He said something and his eyes flashed with orange light. I could see the heat shimmers coiling around the short man.
He screamed and burst into flames. The gun fell from his hands and he fell, rolling on the ground. Julia screamed out and the ravens in the trees took flight, a screeching wave at black that tore at the owl and the eyes of the gunmen. It had taken about two seconds for tense stand off to turn into bloody, shrieking chaos.
Sulla had pulled out a Colt .45 automatic and burned through the entire clip in a few seconds, putting every round into the chest of one of the gunmen. He fell and Sulla reloaded as he walked forward. Several shogun blasts hit Anton and he folded up and fell while Sandrine and Julia darted forward. Julia had held one hand behind her back and now I knew why. It was a monstrous thing with huge scything talons and great serrated bone blades protruding from her knuckles.
Sulla was hit several times, but barely slowed. He gunned downed the man with the M-16 and then became something . . . else. His flesh became grey armour and his body swelled as if was turning into the Hulk and he sort of was. In moments he was an armoured grey monster that looked a lot like the big brother of a hairless cross between a gorilla and a football linebacker. Shorty had gotten back up and looked worse for wear. He emptied the tommy gun at Sulla and a lot of bullets hit, but they seemed to piss him off more than hurt them. He moved on shorty with impossible speed. Shorty reciprocated.
The woman sprung at Julia with talons of her own, but the ground swallowed her up. Julia howled with laughter and advanced on tall black vampire, who was blasting birds out of the air. He tossed the empty shotgun and drew his sword to meet her.
Sandrine closed the distance with the guys on her side but shotgun blasts knocked her down. The remaining dog went for her. The other was howling in agony, blood running from its mutilated eyes. I tackled the dog off Sandrine and tore it's throat out with my fangs. It was easy, like I had done it a hundred times.
The Chinese vampire was coming at her fast, machete in his hands. Sandrine had a gleaming Kukri knife in her hand and blocked his first blow. I was unarmed. Well, almost unarmed. The gunmen weren't shooting because they didn't have a clear shot. The earth sucked one of them down as Sandrine parried a strike and dodged another. The Chinese vampire was stronger and faster, but she could see his moves before he made them.
I tackled him and he broke it, but I hung on to his sword arm. His strength was like iron and it was clear he could pull me a part in a moment but he didn't have that moment. Sandrine nearly severed his arm at the shoulder and slashed open his neck. Blood sort of poured out and we both hauled him down and tore at him with our fangs. Sweet blood went down my throat and his strength drained away.
When we looked up the other gunman had been pulled down as well. Anton was on his feet and Julia had transformed into a monster like Sulla. She was dark grey, almost black, with elongated arms, legs, and head and a compact torso. Her movements were spiderlike and she retained her monstrous weapon hand. Sulla had torn his opponent asunder and Julia had ravaged hers. The others were down or in the earth.
Anton limped over to where the woman had been submerged. "Julia, Sulla, if you would be so good as to come over. The earth will not be able to hold the Scourge for much longer and she is Gangrel." They loped over. "I doubt the ghouls will survive their internment and if they do, they are unlikely to be in any shape to threaten us. Gangrel, on the other hand . . ."
"Are Gangrel," Sulla finished. The vampires circled the spot. "Let us handle her," Sulla growled. "She'll be a handful."
She sprang out of the earth like a jack-in-the-box and went for me. Sandrine snarled at her and she recoiled. That was enough. Sulla grabbed one arm and Julia the other. Sulla put his other arm on her shoulder and her arm came away as if made of wax while Julia rammed her blade-hand into her gut and tore up. She convulsed, her wounds hissing and bubbling and they dropped her. She fell and began decomposing.
Anton stood over her body. "We offered to leave in peace and peace was rejected. Legend remembers us a Fiends, legends whose truths they did not remember. What they have sown, they have reaped. Ours are the hands the ended them, but as the mother defends her children and wolves defend their pack, so do we defend ourselves and our own. May their spirits go on to whatever judgement and afterlife awaits them."
He looked up at us. "We have some clean up to do. Sandrine, take Matthew and settle whatever needs to be settled with his life. The rest of us will work on this."
"What about John Law," asked Julia.
"The Prince won't know about this until tomorrow night at the earliest and will need a new Sheriff and a new Scourge," said Anton. "Their deaths have bought us time. Let us use it."
"How long do you think?" asked Sulla.
"Not long, I think," Anton replied. "The embrace of Moist Mother Earth will help him with accepting his transition and more than most he has reasons to surface quickly. He will get his bearings and then- he is listening to us now."
"That was quick," said a woman's voice, presumably Julia. "The gifts don't usually manifest so quickly and strongly."
"They did with me," said Anton. "Of course, I was most of the way there already. That is why my sire, whose hearts blood I devoured, chose me. Sandrine saw much of the same potential in him, although this benighted world does not encourage one to believe one actually hear the spirits or see the wakes of their passing. Overactive imaginations are blamed and chemicals are suggested to suppress instead of enhance such gifts. But now what sleeps will be awakened. Come to us Matthew. Come to the night."
I began to dig. The earth was soft, yielding. I was ready to give me up and to welcome my back should I wish to return. It wasn't long before my hands were clawing air. Sulla seized my right hand and pulled me from the dirt. "Welcome back, my brother."
I didn't know how to really answer that. "Thanks," I managed. They were all gathered around me. I looked around.
I could see, despite the darkness. I could see far better than I could in broad daylight. I could make out the colour of the fur of the rats darting in the underbrush and the individual feathers of the ravens roosting above us. I could see the craters and the mountains of the moon. I could see myself in detail, reflected in Sandrine's eyes.
"Here," said Sulla, tossing me a blood pack from a picnic cooler. "You'll need a couple of these. Take the edge off."
I did. It wasn't nearly as good as Anton's blood had been, sort of like eating the cold and depressing left overs of what had been a great warm meal, but it did take the edge off my hunger. They waited until I was settled, which turned out to be three packs.
"There is a rite," Sulla began, "that goes back to the beginning. It is older than all of us, save Anton, and as he has done since the beginning, he will lead us through it. With it we will welcome our new brother to our family and we-".
He stopped and turned his head and everyone else did too. I could hear it also. Vehicles were coming. Big ones. A barn owl settled on a tree branch as the headlights of two black vans approached.
"Fuck," said Sulla.
"Stay calm," said Anton. "Julia, make ready. Sulla with me. Sandrine, keep him safe."
Men came out of the vans, although not all of them were men. Two German Shepherds walked with them. Four of the men were human, but the other three and the woman were vampires. The humans wore trench coats and three of them carried pump action shotguns. The fourth had an M-16.
The vampires were a more diverse lot. Their auras were as pale as those of my new family but they were ugly swirls of purple, red, and orange. One of them was dark haired woman wearing Aviator sunglasses, a leather jacket, jeans, work boots, and a flannel shirt. The men consisted of a short, slim white guy in a double breasted suit with a fucking tommy gun, a beefy Chinese guy wearing leather, jeans, and packing a fucking machete, and a lean, tall black man wearing a black leather duster over shirt and slacks who had a shotgun in his hands and a sword slung over his back.
The short man takes a cigarette out of a silver case and lights it with a gold lighter. He takes a drag. "Best thing about being dead," he says, "is that you can smoke these things until the stars die. Now I thought you boys and girls were told to get the fuck out of town and yet here you are."
"Fucking sociopath piece of shit," Sandrine hissed just softly enough for me to hear.
"We're just leaving," said Sulla. "We're at the edge of town and have finished the last of our unfinished business. You win."
The woman laughed. "Damn right I win," said the short man. "But you were told to hit the road three days ago and here you motherfuckers are, still in town with a fresh shovelhead right beside you."
"He's not a shovelhead," Sandrine said hotly.
"We're not Sabbat," said Sulla. "And we're leaving, just like your boss wants. It doesn't matter where or when he was embraced, because he's not staying. There is no problem unless you want there to be one.""
"Two days late and after violating the Third Tradition and that's if we leave out reeking of being Sabbat spies. No, you're not leaving. You're going to court. Or to ash if you give me any trouble."
Anton held up his hands. "You have us. We won't give you any trouble. We aren't Sabbat and we can prove it. Take us to court." He made a sweeping gesture to indicate us all and I saw his aura shimmer. He said something and his eyes flashed with orange light. I could see the heat shimmers coiling around the short man.
He screamed and burst into flames. The gun fell from his hands and he fell, rolling on the ground. Julia screamed out and the ravens in the trees took flight, a screeching wave at black that tore at the owl and the eyes of the gunmen. It had taken about two seconds for tense stand off to turn into bloody, shrieking chaos.
Sulla had pulled out a Colt .45 automatic and burned through the entire clip in a few seconds, putting every round into the chest of one of the gunmen. He fell and Sulla reloaded as he walked forward. Several shogun blasts hit Anton and he folded up and fell while Sandrine and Julia darted forward. Julia had held one hand behind her back and now I knew why. It was a monstrous thing with huge scything talons and great serrated bone blades protruding from her knuckles.
Sulla was hit several times, but barely slowed. He gunned downed the man with the M-16 and then became something . . . else. His flesh became grey armour and his body swelled as if was turning into the Hulk and he sort of was. In moments he was an armoured grey monster that looked a lot like the big brother of a hairless cross between a gorilla and a football linebacker. Shorty had gotten back up and looked worse for wear. He emptied the tommy gun at Sulla and a lot of bullets hit, but they seemed to piss him off more than hurt them. He moved on shorty with impossible speed. Shorty reciprocated.
The woman sprung at Julia with talons of her own, but the ground swallowed her up. Julia howled with laughter and advanced on tall black vampire, who was blasting birds out of the air. He tossed the empty shotgun and drew his sword to meet her.
Sandrine closed the distance with the guys on her side but shotgun blasts knocked her down. The remaining dog went for her. The other was howling in agony, blood running from its mutilated eyes. I tackled the dog off Sandrine and tore it's throat out with my fangs. It was easy, like I had done it a hundred times.
The Chinese vampire was coming at her fast, machete in his hands. Sandrine had a gleaming Kukri knife in her hand and blocked his first blow. I was unarmed. Well, almost unarmed. The gunmen weren't shooting because they didn't have a clear shot. The earth sucked one of them down as Sandrine parried a strike and dodged another. The Chinese vampire was stronger and faster, but she could see his moves before he made them.
I tackled him and he broke it, but I hung on to his sword arm. His strength was like iron and it was clear he could pull me a part in a moment but he didn't have that moment. Sandrine nearly severed his arm at the shoulder and slashed open his neck. Blood sort of poured out and we both hauled him down and tore at him with our fangs. Sweet blood went down my throat and his strength drained away.
When we looked up the other gunman had been pulled down as well. Anton was on his feet and Julia had transformed into a monster like Sulla. She was dark grey, almost black, with elongated arms, legs, and head and a compact torso. Her movements were spiderlike and she retained her monstrous weapon hand. Sulla had torn his opponent asunder and Julia had ravaged hers. The others were down or in the earth.
Anton limped over to where the woman had been submerged. "Julia, Sulla, if you would be so good as to come over. The earth will not be able to hold the Scourge for much longer and she is Gangrel." They loped over. "I doubt the ghouls will survive their internment and if they do, they are unlikely to be in any shape to threaten us. Gangrel, on the other hand . . ."
"Are Gangrel," Sulla finished. The vampires circled the spot. "Let us handle her," Sulla growled. "She'll be a handful."
She sprang out of the earth like a jack-in-the-box and went for me. Sandrine snarled at her and she recoiled. That was enough. Sulla grabbed one arm and Julia the other. Sulla put his other arm on her shoulder and her arm came away as if made of wax while Julia rammed her blade-hand into her gut and tore up. She convulsed, her wounds hissing and bubbling and they dropped her. She fell and began decomposing.
Anton stood over her body. "We offered to leave in peace and peace was rejected. Legend remembers us a Fiends, legends whose truths they did not remember. What they have sown, they have reaped. Ours are the hands the ended them, but as the mother defends her children and wolves defend their pack, so do we defend ourselves and our own. May their spirits go on to whatever judgement and afterlife awaits them."
He looked up at us. "We have some clean up to do. Sandrine, take Matthew and settle whatever needs to be settled with his life. The rest of us will work on this."
"What about John Law," asked Julia.
"The Prince won't know about this until tomorrow night at the earliest and will need a new Sheriff and a new Scourge," said Anton. "Their deaths have bought us time. Let us use it."
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Imperial Overlord
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Re: Brighter Than the Sun, Sweeter Than Life (Vampire)
I was shaking as I followed Sandrine back to her car. "Here," she said tossing me a packet of baby wipes. "Get in and clean your face."
"Christ," I said as I fumbled with the seat belt. "Christ. We killed those people."
"They were going to take us to a show trial with a judge slightly less paranoid than Stalin," she replied. "We did what we had to do."
"Why?"
She pulled out of the parking lot and back into the road. "Big picture why? Because we delayed leaving town for you. Because they saw you covered in dirt and thought we were making shock troops for a larger bullshit power play. Because wanderers could be any damned thing and that includes the assholes that those bunch of assholes are at war with. Because they had already decided that they had seen their enemy and that meant the next step was show trial and execution. So we fought."
"God."
"We war, just like men. They're secret, but just as deadly. War over power, war over hate. Mostly, our family is done with that bullshit but sometimes that isn't enough. It's a dangerous world out there, we see it more clearly than most."
I tried to process what she was saying and found it easy. "So what now?"
"Now we take some essential stuff from your apartment before they close the noose and we leave town. Jesse will do clean up and grab the rest."
"Jesse?"
"He's a human who helps us. Daylight isn't our friend."
"And you trust him."
"Yes," she said. "He's taken our blood and bound to us. He benefits from the arrangement as well. Certainly better for him than prison. Or shot in the face, which was where he was heading."
She pulled up at my building and we went inside. I picked up a few changes of clothes and a few sentimental things. Practical matters like bank book and birth certificate followed. It's funny to how few pieces a life can be reduced to.
"My parents," I said softly.
"Phone them in a day or two. And then later. The heat will cool down and we'll be gone and after awhile we can be back to visit."
"That easy."
"That easy," said Sandrine. We drove in silence the rest of the way. It turned out to be for more than an hour. We finally stopped at a motel on the edge of a small town nearly a hundred miles away. We parked next to the van and Julia came out of one of the rooms.
"Apartment keys," she said. I reached into my pockets and tossed them to her.
She turned around and handed them to a young man with long brown hair behind her. He was maybe twenty. "Go," Julia said. He did.
"That's Jessie?" I asked.
"Yeah. Liz is our other ghoul."
"That's an attractive name."
"That's what they call them in English. Some other words are nicer, some are worse. Jessie will see that the rest of your stuff is packed up and goes to storage or with us. We can come back and sort through the rest later."
"Sounds easy. Almost too easy."
"It's better to know how to handle a mess before it happens rather than trying to figure it out after it happens. Most of the time we don't need to do this, but sometimes larger forces impose their own rules."
I followed her into the motel room. Julia sitting on one of the beds. Black body bags were laid out on the floor. There were also several garbage bags full of dirt. "I took the liberty of filling your bag," she said to me.
"You put dirt in a body bag that I'm supposed to sleep in."
"Part of our heritage," said Sandrine.
"Like in Dracula."
"Closer than you might think," she replied. "We rest comfortably in our native earth, very poorly without it."
"We filled a few bags for you," said Julia. "You'll sleep like a baby. Best sleep you've ever had."
"It's true," said Sandrine. "Some may believe we are cursed by God, but if so why are we so close to the source of life? Why are we so close to the earth and draw such strength from it, why do our minds connect so easily with those of animals? Those of our line have always rejected the trite claims of damnation. We are not alive, but in so many ways we are more than alive."
She embraced me. "It's glorious Matthew. Even the touch of wind is a caress. Tomorrow night, you'll see. The first night of many. We'll show you the way."
"Christ," I said as I fumbled with the seat belt. "Christ. We killed those people."
"They were going to take us to a show trial with a judge slightly less paranoid than Stalin," she replied. "We did what we had to do."
"Why?"
She pulled out of the parking lot and back into the road. "Big picture why? Because we delayed leaving town for you. Because they saw you covered in dirt and thought we were making shock troops for a larger bullshit power play. Because wanderers could be any damned thing and that includes the assholes that those bunch of assholes are at war with. Because they had already decided that they had seen their enemy and that meant the next step was show trial and execution. So we fought."
"God."
"We war, just like men. They're secret, but just as deadly. War over power, war over hate. Mostly, our family is done with that bullshit but sometimes that isn't enough. It's a dangerous world out there, we see it more clearly than most."
I tried to process what she was saying and found it easy. "So what now?"
"Now we take some essential stuff from your apartment before they close the noose and we leave town. Jesse will do clean up and grab the rest."
"Jesse?"
"He's a human who helps us. Daylight isn't our friend."
"And you trust him."
"Yes," she said. "He's taken our blood and bound to us. He benefits from the arrangement as well. Certainly better for him than prison. Or shot in the face, which was where he was heading."
She pulled up at my building and we went inside. I picked up a few changes of clothes and a few sentimental things. Practical matters like bank book and birth certificate followed. It's funny to how few pieces a life can be reduced to.
"My parents," I said softly.
"Phone them in a day or two. And then later. The heat will cool down and we'll be gone and after awhile we can be back to visit."
"That easy."
"That easy," said Sandrine. We drove in silence the rest of the way. It turned out to be for more than an hour. We finally stopped at a motel on the edge of a small town nearly a hundred miles away. We parked next to the van and Julia came out of one of the rooms.
"Apartment keys," she said. I reached into my pockets and tossed them to her.
She turned around and handed them to a young man with long brown hair behind her. He was maybe twenty. "Go," Julia said. He did.
"That's Jessie?" I asked.
"Yeah. Liz is our other ghoul."
"That's an attractive name."
"That's what they call them in English. Some other words are nicer, some are worse. Jessie will see that the rest of your stuff is packed up and goes to storage or with us. We can come back and sort through the rest later."
"Sounds easy. Almost too easy."
"It's better to know how to handle a mess before it happens rather than trying to figure it out after it happens. Most of the time we don't need to do this, but sometimes larger forces impose their own rules."
I followed her into the motel room. Julia sitting on one of the beds. Black body bags were laid out on the floor. There were also several garbage bags full of dirt. "I took the liberty of filling your bag," she said to me.
"You put dirt in a body bag that I'm supposed to sleep in."
"Part of our heritage," said Sandrine.
"Like in Dracula."
"Closer than you might think," she replied. "We rest comfortably in our native earth, very poorly without it."
"We filled a few bags for you," said Julia. "You'll sleep like a baby. Best sleep you've ever had."
"It's true," said Sandrine. "Some may believe we are cursed by God, but if so why are we so close to the source of life? Why are we so close to the earth and draw such strength from it, why do our minds connect so easily with those of animals? Those of our line have always rejected the trite claims of damnation. We are not alive, but in so many ways we are more than alive."
She embraced me. "It's glorious Matthew. Even the touch of wind is a caress. Tomorrow night, you'll see. The first night of many. We'll show you the way."
The Excellent Prismatic Spray. For when you absolutely, positively must kill a motherfucker. Accept no substitutions. Contact a magician of the later Aeons for details. Some conditions may apply.
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Imperial Overlord
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- Joined: 2004-08-19 04:30am
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Re: Brighter Than the Sun, Sweeter Than Life (Vampire)
I woke the next night. My watch said just after eight. Julia wasn't awake, but Sandrine was stretched out on the bed, smiling at me. "Hello lover."
"Hello. I hope I didn't sleep late."
"Just after night fall. I only woke up a few minutes ago. Shower?"
"Yeah."
"Go ahead. Not really enough room for two."
Standing under a spray of hot water is one of life's joys and it didn't seem to end with undeath. I tried to be conscientious and not stay in too long. I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my waist before leaving the bathroom. Julia was waiting, naked as a jaybird. Some women look better clothed than naked. That wasn't the case with Julia and she looked good in clothes.
She smiled at me as she walked past and slapped me on the ass as she went into the shower. Sandrine laughed. "Clothes are, for Julia, only really required if there's likely to be human company. You'll get used to it. And no, I'm not jealous that you liked the view."
"Guilty as charged, but that's all I'm guilty of, I swear."
"I know," she said and kissed me on the cheek. "Now I've got to go out and bring home the bacon."
"What?"
"You're hungry, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I am."
"Well steak and potatoes aren't what your body needs anymore. Don't worry about it. We'll hunt for you until you get your skills up to speed. Better for everyone that way. I'll be back soon enough." She slipped on her boots and headed out the door.
Anton came in as she went out. "Good evening Matthew."
"Uh hello," I replied.
"How are you?"
"Fine I guess. Thirsty."
"Yes, of course. Sandrine has gone out. It won't be long before the thirst is soothed. But I can tell you don't like it."
"It's not that I think she's in danger or anything, but . . "
"You're a man used to taking care of yourself and to need the help of a woman, even a strong, capable woman is not the way you're used to living. I understand. This life is new to you Matthew. You're inexperienced in it. We are doing things this way to help spare you from the mistakes you might make. Spare you, ourselves, and others. People can die if a feeding goes bad. Some vampires are so far gone they prefer it that way. This is simply us covering ourselves and having your back. It is also us protected the humans from anything going wrong."
"You have an answer for everything."
"No, but this isn't the first or the third time I've been through this. I was there for everyone in the pack. You are no exception. We will guide your steps at first, but soon you will find yourself on a more equal footing. Do you trust me?"
I looked at him and saw, for a moment, a halo of shimmering gold and cerulean light. I blinked and it was gone. I hesitated and then I answered. "Yes, I do."
"Good. Hunting is an important skill. We need blood to survive so we must do it often, but in taking it we can harm mortals and they would have good reason to be afraid if they knew our true nature. There are many ways to do it, but it is not necessary to inflict lasting harm and it should be avoidable if at all possible. Seduction is a skill many of us hone to aid in the hunt. In lovemaking mouths are often on flesh and ecstasy are what one expects, after all. And one does not question why ones strength is depleted after the act."
He sat down on the far bed. "The next few days are going to be hectic. You'll be learning the basics, the nuts and bolts of vampiric existence. Don't hold back from asking questions, but we are going to hold back on some of the more esoteric parts of our nature. Walking before running and all that. I must say you're taking this quite well."
"I guess I always felt that there was something more, you know. I could see it or touch it, but I knew that it was out there, out of reach but there. And now I find it was hiding as the most perfect thing in my life and brought me over to join her. Its not what I expected, but in a way its something I always wanted. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"Yes, I think I do. That quality about you was one of the reasons I supported Sandrine's decision to embrace you."
"How did you know? I mean that night at the park was the first time we'd ever met."
"But not the first time I'd seen you and I can see far more than a mortal with my eyes. It's a gift that runs strongly through our shared blood."
"Like seeing a halo around someone?"
"Yes. What did you see?"
"God and blue, around you."
"Impressive. The gift is finding fertile soul in you. In time I'll help you understand everything you're seeing and push it towards its full potential, but for now just focus on extending your senses and listen to any warnings it may give you of danger. The rest can wait."
Julia came out of the shower, naked and glistening. "My dear," said Anton, "lust may only live on in my mind instead of in my flesh but you are such a strong reminder."
"Why thank you big brother," she said sauntering over.
"Sadly, you had best get dressed. Sandrine will be returning with food shortly."
"Take out is dull," she replied.
"Baby steps, little sister," Anton replied. "Baby steps. At first. You'll have your time."
She pouted, but got dressed. "Julia has many skills, but Sandrine is our supreme mistress of this kind of hunting. She is gifted in powers that attract others to her and persuade them to follow her."
"Mind control?"
"Influence, not control. Free will is retained, but as in all things, acquiescence is so easy."
We talked a bit longer, nuts and bolts stuff about traveling and surface appearances and so forth when I heard laughter and foot steps. Sandrine came into the doorway with a small pack of people with her. Teenagers by their appearance or early twenties.
"Hey," she said and giggled. "This is Josh, Bill, and Steve and Jill and Susan." She waved. "Everyone say hi."
They said "hi", we waved back. "They're having a little problem getting booze because their fake ID is terrible and this town isn't that big. They want to go to a tailgate party and I said we'd be willing to help them out if we could join the party."
One of them, Josh I think, said, "yeah, if you guys can help us get beer it'll totally be cool."
Anton smiled at them. "Don't worry about that. We can score some booze. In fact, let me grab my bottle of vodka and we can get started before heading out?"
You can imagine the rest. It really was that fucking easy. Humans half catch themselves, if you let them. That was the one of the most important things I learned during my early hunting lessons. The other was how sweet it tasted. Blood was everything good about this world rolled into one. If was life and love and laughter. God as my witness, it was worth giving up the day.
It would work out alright for all of us. They would have the night of their lives and wake up with vague memories and we would move on with warm liquid ecstasy burning in our bodies. A pretty good trade, in my opinion.
"Hello. I hope I didn't sleep late."
"Just after night fall. I only woke up a few minutes ago. Shower?"
"Yeah."
"Go ahead. Not really enough room for two."
Standing under a spray of hot water is one of life's joys and it didn't seem to end with undeath. I tried to be conscientious and not stay in too long. I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my waist before leaving the bathroom. Julia was waiting, naked as a jaybird. Some women look better clothed than naked. That wasn't the case with Julia and she looked good in clothes.
She smiled at me as she walked past and slapped me on the ass as she went into the shower. Sandrine laughed. "Clothes are, for Julia, only really required if there's likely to be human company. You'll get used to it. And no, I'm not jealous that you liked the view."
"Guilty as charged, but that's all I'm guilty of, I swear."
"I know," she said and kissed me on the cheek. "Now I've got to go out and bring home the bacon."
"What?"
"You're hungry, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I am."
"Well steak and potatoes aren't what your body needs anymore. Don't worry about it. We'll hunt for you until you get your skills up to speed. Better for everyone that way. I'll be back soon enough." She slipped on her boots and headed out the door.
Anton came in as she went out. "Good evening Matthew."
"Uh hello," I replied.
"How are you?"
"Fine I guess. Thirsty."
"Yes, of course. Sandrine has gone out. It won't be long before the thirst is soothed. But I can tell you don't like it."
"It's not that I think she's in danger or anything, but . . "
"You're a man used to taking care of yourself and to need the help of a woman, even a strong, capable woman is not the way you're used to living. I understand. This life is new to you Matthew. You're inexperienced in it. We are doing things this way to help spare you from the mistakes you might make. Spare you, ourselves, and others. People can die if a feeding goes bad. Some vampires are so far gone they prefer it that way. This is simply us covering ourselves and having your back. It is also us protected the humans from anything going wrong."
"You have an answer for everything."
"No, but this isn't the first or the third time I've been through this. I was there for everyone in the pack. You are no exception. We will guide your steps at first, but soon you will find yourself on a more equal footing. Do you trust me?"
I looked at him and saw, for a moment, a halo of shimmering gold and cerulean light. I blinked and it was gone. I hesitated and then I answered. "Yes, I do."
"Good. Hunting is an important skill. We need blood to survive so we must do it often, but in taking it we can harm mortals and they would have good reason to be afraid if they knew our true nature. There are many ways to do it, but it is not necessary to inflict lasting harm and it should be avoidable if at all possible. Seduction is a skill many of us hone to aid in the hunt. In lovemaking mouths are often on flesh and ecstasy are what one expects, after all. And one does not question why ones strength is depleted after the act."
He sat down on the far bed. "The next few days are going to be hectic. You'll be learning the basics, the nuts and bolts of vampiric existence. Don't hold back from asking questions, but we are going to hold back on some of the more esoteric parts of our nature. Walking before running and all that. I must say you're taking this quite well."
"I guess I always felt that there was something more, you know. I could see it or touch it, but I knew that it was out there, out of reach but there. And now I find it was hiding as the most perfect thing in my life and brought me over to join her. Its not what I expected, but in a way its something I always wanted. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"Yes, I think I do. That quality about you was one of the reasons I supported Sandrine's decision to embrace you."
"How did you know? I mean that night at the park was the first time we'd ever met."
"But not the first time I'd seen you and I can see far more than a mortal with my eyes. It's a gift that runs strongly through our shared blood."
"Like seeing a halo around someone?"
"Yes. What did you see?"
"God and blue, around you."
"Impressive. The gift is finding fertile soul in you. In time I'll help you understand everything you're seeing and push it towards its full potential, but for now just focus on extending your senses and listen to any warnings it may give you of danger. The rest can wait."
Julia came out of the shower, naked and glistening. "My dear," said Anton, "lust may only live on in my mind instead of in my flesh but you are such a strong reminder."
"Why thank you big brother," she said sauntering over.
"Sadly, you had best get dressed. Sandrine will be returning with food shortly."
"Take out is dull," she replied.
"Baby steps, little sister," Anton replied. "Baby steps. At first. You'll have your time."
She pouted, but got dressed. "Julia has many skills, but Sandrine is our supreme mistress of this kind of hunting. She is gifted in powers that attract others to her and persuade them to follow her."
"Mind control?"
"Influence, not control. Free will is retained, but as in all things, acquiescence is so easy."
We talked a bit longer, nuts and bolts stuff about traveling and surface appearances and so forth when I heard laughter and foot steps. Sandrine came into the doorway with a small pack of people with her. Teenagers by their appearance or early twenties.
"Hey," she said and giggled. "This is Josh, Bill, and Steve and Jill and Susan." She waved. "Everyone say hi."
They said "hi", we waved back. "They're having a little problem getting booze because their fake ID is terrible and this town isn't that big. They want to go to a tailgate party and I said we'd be willing to help them out if we could join the party."
One of them, Josh I think, said, "yeah, if you guys can help us get beer it'll totally be cool."
Anton smiled at them. "Don't worry about that. We can score some booze. In fact, let me grab my bottle of vodka and we can get started before heading out?"
You can imagine the rest. It really was that fucking easy. Humans half catch themselves, if you let them. That was the one of the most important things I learned during my early hunting lessons. The other was how sweet it tasted. Blood was everything good about this world rolled into one. If was life and love and laughter. God as my witness, it was worth giving up the day.
It would work out alright for all of us. They would have the night of their lives and wake up with vague memories and we would move on with warm liquid ecstasy burning in our bodies. A pretty good trade, in my opinion.
Last edited by Imperial Overlord on 2014-11-10 04:30pm, edited 1 time in total.
The Excellent Prismatic Spray. For when you absolutely, positively must kill a motherfucker. Accept no substitutions. Contact a magician of the later Aeons for details. Some conditions may apply.
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Imperial Overlord
- Emperor's Hand
- Posts: 11978
- Joined: 2004-08-19 04:30am
- Location: The Tower at Charm
Re: Brighter Than the Sun, Sweeter Than Life (Vampire)
The next few weeks were me testing my wings. I was a baby vamp, but they were there to catch me if I fell. Hunting was easy, although I hadn't ever been much good a pick ups. I could see who was lonely, desperate, or lust starved. Catching their attention and being amenable was usually enough and that was more than easy. I was, after all, not interested in honesty. People would tell you their prejudices with very little prompting and it was easy enough not to be what they didn't like and let them assume that you were what they wanted to have or close enough for fifteen minutes or an hour.
At least with women. Gays were shocking at first. I hadn't even considered the idea and blood was far too close for sex for the idea to be attractive. I didn't hate them or fear them, but I considered the idea to be . . . unpleasant. Unmanly. The prejudices of the living from my time and culture.
Sulla had to practically drag me into the gay bar to get me to go, but five minutes in and I learned why it was a big deal. It was a meat market with clandestine and not so clandestine temporary assignations happening at the drop of a hat. It was like shooting fish in a fucking barrel, especially when you were built like Sulla with his patricians face and Greek god's body. I was able to hide my dislike under a facade of first timer nerves and twenty minutes later I was drinking blood every bit as sweet as a woman's. Being undead has a wonderful way of helping one overcome his or her prejudices.
The third week, as it became clear that hunting was something I had developed to an acceptable level of skill, they taught me other skills. Good places to hide in emergencies, street fighting moves, sparing with blades, and the rudiments of of the Disciplines. I practiced with the familiars until I could speak with all of them and hear them in turn. I could see auras and enhance any sense until it was as sharp as a razor. I got cut and bruised but blood was a cure for that.
And there was always Sandrine. The rest of the pack were like long lost relatives, uncles and cousins I never new I had and who had my back but Sandrine was my love and I was hers. There were indulgent chuckles when we went off together but we belonged to each other. I had always been happy just being around her and now more than ever. I had lost the day, but I had gained eternal bliss. Literally. I was happy with the trade.
I was the baby of my new family. Anton was our wise patriarch, Sulla was our worldly and strong uncle. Sandrine was our charming and clever aunt and Julia was our fierce and wild cousin. It wasn't too long before I was to learn what my niche was.
First, however, I had skills to learn. The shaping of flesh was a talent that was strong in our blood. Enough skill in it and one could make wonders and horrors. Incompetence would create under deformed freaks. Sulla and Julia were the masters of it, Julia being a prodigy when it came to flesh shaping. Where other would need to reshape flesh like clay with her hands she could change hers by will alone with a precision neither Anton nor Sulla could equal.
I was clumsy at first and my efforts required a considerable quantity of blood to fuel them, but I had teachers to correct me and reverse my mistakes. I had already seen some of the possibilities that the art opened up and I was both eager and afraid to learn them. But learn I did, at least the foundations of the art.
All and all I was just another fledgling vampire, another neonate. What differentiated me from any other neonate was the people around me. I had family, I had pack not a master and sibling rivals. I had friendship and love not allies of convenience. What I became was because to them.
At least with women. Gays were shocking at first. I hadn't even considered the idea and blood was far too close for sex for the idea to be attractive. I didn't hate them or fear them, but I considered the idea to be . . . unpleasant. Unmanly. The prejudices of the living from my time and culture.
Sulla had to practically drag me into the gay bar to get me to go, but five minutes in and I learned why it was a big deal. It was a meat market with clandestine and not so clandestine temporary assignations happening at the drop of a hat. It was like shooting fish in a fucking barrel, especially when you were built like Sulla with his patricians face and Greek god's body. I was able to hide my dislike under a facade of first timer nerves and twenty minutes later I was drinking blood every bit as sweet as a woman's. Being undead has a wonderful way of helping one overcome his or her prejudices.
The third week, as it became clear that hunting was something I had developed to an acceptable level of skill, they taught me other skills. Good places to hide in emergencies, street fighting moves, sparing with blades, and the rudiments of of the Disciplines. I practiced with the familiars until I could speak with all of them and hear them in turn. I could see auras and enhance any sense until it was as sharp as a razor. I got cut and bruised but blood was a cure for that.
And there was always Sandrine. The rest of the pack were like long lost relatives, uncles and cousins I never new I had and who had my back but Sandrine was my love and I was hers. There were indulgent chuckles when we went off together but we belonged to each other. I had always been happy just being around her and now more than ever. I had lost the day, but I had gained eternal bliss. Literally. I was happy with the trade.
I was the baby of my new family. Anton was our wise patriarch, Sulla was our worldly and strong uncle. Sandrine was our charming and clever aunt and Julia was our fierce and wild cousin. It wasn't too long before I was to learn what my niche was.
First, however, I had skills to learn. The shaping of flesh was a talent that was strong in our blood. Enough skill in it and one could make wonders and horrors. Incompetence would create under deformed freaks. Sulla and Julia were the masters of it, Julia being a prodigy when it came to flesh shaping. Where other would need to reshape flesh like clay with her hands she could change hers by will alone with a precision neither Anton nor Sulla could equal.
I was clumsy at first and my efforts required a considerable quantity of blood to fuel them, but I had teachers to correct me and reverse my mistakes. I had already seen some of the possibilities that the art opened up and I was both eager and afraid to learn them. But learn I did, at least the foundations of the art.
All and all I was just another fledgling vampire, another neonate. What differentiated me from any other neonate was the people around me. I had family, I had pack not a master and sibling rivals. I had friendship and love not allies of convenience. What I became was because to them.
The Excellent Prismatic Spray. For when you absolutely, positively must kill a motherfucker. Accept no substitutions. Contact a magician of the later Aeons for details. Some conditions may apply.
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Tandrax218
- Padawan Learner
- Posts: 184
- Joined: 2009-12-19 09:47am
Re: Brighter Than the Sun, Sweeter Than Life (Vampire)
Nice to see this back in action mr. I.O
Hope you update this more regularly
keep up the god work
Hope you update this more regularly
keep up the god work
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Imperial Overlord
- Emperor's Hand
- Posts: 11978
- Joined: 2004-08-19 04:30am
- Location: The Tower at Charm
Re: Brighter Than the Sun, Sweeter Than Life (Vampire)
Unfortunately, life's hounds caught up with us. I had spent the previous night getting my ass kicked by Sulla and Julia, either singly or together and being the rabbit in chase games. The theory behind it was survival training, but it was brutal. Over the course of the night I had a dozen bones in my chest and my arms broken and been run ragged through the woods for hours under the idea it was better to suffer in training than be unprepared for battle. "Sweat now so you don't bleed later," was how Sulla but it but since I did a fair amount of bleeding it was a less than perfect metaphor.
I awoke fairly hungry the next night and the same was true for everyone, albeit to a lesser extent because they didn't have to recover from the same amount of punishment as I had. We were in the middle of nowhere small town U.S.A., but there was a roadhouse not too far from the outskirts of town. We pulled into a parking lot loaded with pick ups in Sandrine's Mustang with Sulla and Julia in the Corvette.
We slid out of the cars, four hungry vampires in front of a full bar. Anton was in the van with Liz and Jesse and since he hadn't participated in last nights fun and games he wasn't hungry. Sulla lead us in, as he always did. We treasured Anton for his experience and wisdom, but the old vampire had been bitten by ennui. Sulla was the second eldest, bold, decisive, and smart as a whip so we tended to look to him for actual leadership. This suited him, and everyone else, just fine.
So we walked in to a bar/restaurant crowded with humans. Very blue collar with no shortage of blue jeans and plaid with country music playing from the jukebox. Also very fucking white. A couple of good old boys gave Sulla looks I didn't need my aura reading skills to interpret. If I had still been breathing I might have suggested another place but now I was almost eager for trouble. That would give us even more opportunities to feed and allow me to be the ass kicker instead of the ass kickee. I had plenty of aggression to work out and hunger helped push my beast to the surface. Besides, fuck those racists motherfuckers.
Sulla met those looks with a smile and I guess he hadn't gotten enough of kicking white boy ass last night and was looking forward to a second helping. I didn't need to look at Julia to know what she was thinking. She was always up for a fight and if one didn't kick off here she would provoke one. The exchange of eyeball fucking did allow Sandrine to take the lead and order beers from the disgruntled looking dude at the bar.
I got a tingling sensation in the back of my skull. "We're leaving," Sulla growled. "Now." I resisted the urge to ask what the fuck was going on. The urgency in his voice left no room for questions and the tingling was getting stronger. I sharpened my sight, looking for hidden danger as I took a step back. The disparate colours of the human emotional pallet clung to crowd and perhaps too many of them were on the hostile edge of the spectrum, but nothing was there that should generate alarm. Then I saw the trio moving toward us from the far side of the room.
Their auras blazed hot and furious, violent mixes of red and purple that were far brighter than a human's. One was a sandy blond youth trying to grow a scraggly blond beard. The second had his hair dark and short and was big as a bull and looked as strong. The woman with the waves of blond hair taking up the rear looked as hard as a rock and as cold as ice. Even if they had been humans they would have been a tough crew to mess with and while I didn't know what they were, I did know what they weren't.
Smiles were on the bigots faces as we retreated out the door, but they had ceased to matter. "What is it?" I hissed as we got out the door. Sulla was out last and he didn't answer. He broke into a run for the cars. We followed. A second later and the trio came out the door.
Sandrine turned and pulled her Beretta. The young guy was in the lead and he had gotten bigger and hairier. She put three in chest and he fell down. The woman stepped over him but she wasn't a woman any longer. Grey fur was sprouting all over her and she was growing, her clothes dissolving into nothing as her face turned into a muzzle. The change from woman to wolf-monster took just a handful of seconds and when it was done a nine foot tall killing machine was charging across the gravel at us.
Sandrine and Sulla emptied their magazines into her. Almost every bullet hit and they were .45s and 9mm hollow points. She went down, the fur on her torso matted with blood. The big male charged. He too had shifted and was more than ten feet tall in man-wolf form. Sulla shifted to his zulo form and met his charge.
Giant grey armoured gorilla and the man-wolf collided. Claws opened grisly looking wounds that trailed black smoke on Sulla's forearms and across his chest. The pain wouldn't stop him. I hadn't known him long, but I knew him well enough. Nothing short of True Death would stop Sulla. He caught the werewolf in a grapple as the young one got back up. The thoughts going through my head at this point were something like "shit-fuck-motherfucker."
He ran full speed at Sandrine, kicking up gravel as he closed. She was busy switching magazines and he was fast, so damn fast. I didn't have a weapon but I with my senses in high gear I could easily follow his movements. I called upon the power of my blood and slammed into her legs, sending us both down into the gravel.
I scrambled away from the werewolf as it got back to his feet. Beyond him I could see a couple of locals at the door gaping and then deciding they wanted no part of what was going down. A very wise decision that. Sandrine had reloaded and had the his attention. He came at Sandrine, hard and fast as the female got unsteadily to her feet. Fuck. She must have had at least a dozen rounds in her torso and it was clear that enough lead to kill two men twice over was a short term inconvenience. I could see the fucking wounds heal it was happening so fast.
But not all wounds are equal. Julia had joined Sulla's grapple and and seized the werewolf's shoulders from behind. She peeled off muscle and hide like pulling up a rug, tearing open a wound from his collarbone to his hips. Bone gleamed wet and bloody as the wolf let out a howl of pure anguish. Julia's right hand now ended in huge scything bone-blades. She reached into the wound and closed her claw-hand around his spine. She pulled. Goblets of flesh and bone came with her hands. The werewolf collapsed like a steer in an abattoir.
The youth missed Sandrine with his first strike. He was fast, but fucking telegraphing his blows. I had gotten up and was charging toward him, but unfortunately he had plenty of gas. He tagged her across the abdomen, shredding her leather jacket and sending her spinning. I tackled him hard from behind but didn't slow him down. He tried to shake me off but that meant he was splitting his attention and engaged in a half-assed way of dislodging me when Julia leapt at him.
She smashed him across the face, tearing up the right side of his head and gouging his eye. He fell back bellowing. I shifted me grip to his left leg as Sulla blurred to confront the female. I poured my power into his flesh and it responded. I pulled. I was trying to remove his leg, but instead I degloved the meat off of his thigh. Oops.
I confess I was a little giddy at the moment. There is no brew as heady as bringing the mighty to their knees with the exception of the screams of one's enemies and at the moment I supped on both. To be a vampire is to be a predator and while we Tzimisce strive to cage our beasts, those of us who are not ascetics do not deny the pleasures the world offers us.
He fell, of course. The female tore Sulla up in a few seconds and left him sprawled on the ground with wounds that oozed black smoke. She charged us and Julia rushed to meet her, having completed assuming the zulo form. Armoured arachnid-woman clashed with she-wolf. Julia struck low, tearing open the flesh of the werewolf's thighs. The werewolf ripped open her face, gutted her, and bit off her right forearm. Both fell.
I was slow compared to the wolf, but not so slow that I could do nothing. The power of the blood was already running through me. I pulled Julia away from the werewolf and back to the car. The wolf snarled and pulled herself through the gravel with dismaying speed, but as Julia shed the zulo form her weight became as nothing. I put distance on her. The youth was also clawing his way through gravel. They radiated hate like god damned supernovas. What the fuck would it take to keep them down?
I put Julia in the Mustang and gunned the engine, sliding it into reverse and kicking up a spray of gravel. Pursuing me had allowed Sandrine to circle around and pick up Sulla. She was going full tilt towards the 'Vette. The male saw and changed course, having shifted into a huge fucking wolf with a head the size of a grizzly bear. He was dragging his maimed leg, but still making good speed. So I shifted gears and headed straight at him.
It felt like brick wall and for a moment I was sure I had gotten the worst of it despite hitting him with a god damn Mustang, but while I was jerked to a near halt he was sent flying into the gravel. He lay stunned for a moment so I fed the car some gas and went over him. Sandrine got Sulla into the 'Vette and then we were both driving off into the night.
I saw both werewolves stand in the review mirror as we left. Anton was somewhere up ahead, but we were wounded, ravenous, and in werewolf country without Sulla's leadership. We had gone from hunter to prey.
I awoke fairly hungry the next night and the same was true for everyone, albeit to a lesser extent because they didn't have to recover from the same amount of punishment as I had. We were in the middle of nowhere small town U.S.A., but there was a roadhouse not too far from the outskirts of town. We pulled into a parking lot loaded with pick ups in Sandrine's Mustang with Sulla and Julia in the Corvette.
We slid out of the cars, four hungry vampires in front of a full bar. Anton was in the van with Liz and Jesse and since he hadn't participated in last nights fun and games he wasn't hungry. Sulla lead us in, as he always did. We treasured Anton for his experience and wisdom, but the old vampire had been bitten by ennui. Sulla was the second eldest, bold, decisive, and smart as a whip so we tended to look to him for actual leadership. This suited him, and everyone else, just fine.
So we walked in to a bar/restaurant crowded with humans. Very blue collar with no shortage of blue jeans and plaid with country music playing from the jukebox. Also very fucking white. A couple of good old boys gave Sulla looks I didn't need my aura reading skills to interpret. If I had still been breathing I might have suggested another place but now I was almost eager for trouble. That would give us even more opportunities to feed and allow me to be the ass kicker instead of the ass kickee. I had plenty of aggression to work out and hunger helped push my beast to the surface. Besides, fuck those racists motherfuckers.
Sulla met those looks with a smile and I guess he hadn't gotten enough of kicking white boy ass last night and was looking forward to a second helping. I didn't need to look at Julia to know what she was thinking. She was always up for a fight and if one didn't kick off here she would provoke one. The exchange of eyeball fucking did allow Sandrine to take the lead and order beers from the disgruntled looking dude at the bar.
I got a tingling sensation in the back of my skull. "We're leaving," Sulla growled. "Now." I resisted the urge to ask what the fuck was going on. The urgency in his voice left no room for questions and the tingling was getting stronger. I sharpened my sight, looking for hidden danger as I took a step back. The disparate colours of the human emotional pallet clung to crowd and perhaps too many of them were on the hostile edge of the spectrum, but nothing was there that should generate alarm. Then I saw the trio moving toward us from the far side of the room.
Their auras blazed hot and furious, violent mixes of red and purple that were far brighter than a human's. One was a sandy blond youth trying to grow a scraggly blond beard. The second had his hair dark and short and was big as a bull and looked as strong. The woman with the waves of blond hair taking up the rear looked as hard as a rock and as cold as ice. Even if they had been humans they would have been a tough crew to mess with and while I didn't know what they were, I did know what they weren't.
Smiles were on the bigots faces as we retreated out the door, but they had ceased to matter. "What is it?" I hissed as we got out the door. Sulla was out last and he didn't answer. He broke into a run for the cars. We followed. A second later and the trio came out the door.
Sandrine turned and pulled her Beretta. The young guy was in the lead and he had gotten bigger and hairier. She put three in chest and he fell down. The woman stepped over him but she wasn't a woman any longer. Grey fur was sprouting all over her and she was growing, her clothes dissolving into nothing as her face turned into a muzzle. The change from woman to wolf-monster took just a handful of seconds and when it was done a nine foot tall killing machine was charging across the gravel at us.
Sandrine and Sulla emptied their magazines into her. Almost every bullet hit and they were .45s and 9mm hollow points. She went down, the fur on her torso matted with blood. The big male charged. He too had shifted and was more than ten feet tall in man-wolf form. Sulla shifted to his zulo form and met his charge.
Giant grey armoured gorilla and the man-wolf collided. Claws opened grisly looking wounds that trailed black smoke on Sulla's forearms and across his chest. The pain wouldn't stop him. I hadn't known him long, but I knew him well enough. Nothing short of True Death would stop Sulla. He caught the werewolf in a grapple as the young one got back up. The thoughts going through my head at this point were something like "shit-fuck-motherfucker."
He ran full speed at Sandrine, kicking up gravel as he closed. She was busy switching magazines and he was fast, so damn fast. I didn't have a weapon but I with my senses in high gear I could easily follow his movements. I called upon the power of my blood and slammed into her legs, sending us both down into the gravel.
I scrambled away from the werewolf as it got back to his feet. Beyond him I could see a couple of locals at the door gaping and then deciding they wanted no part of what was going down. A very wise decision that. Sandrine had reloaded and had the his attention. He came at Sandrine, hard and fast as the female got unsteadily to her feet. Fuck. She must have had at least a dozen rounds in her torso and it was clear that enough lead to kill two men twice over was a short term inconvenience. I could see the fucking wounds heal it was happening so fast.
But not all wounds are equal. Julia had joined Sulla's grapple and and seized the werewolf's shoulders from behind. She peeled off muscle and hide like pulling up a rug, tearing open a wound from his collarbone to his hips. Bone gleamed wet and bloody as the wolf let out a howl of pure anguish. Julia's right hand now ended in huge scything bone-blades. She reached into the wound and closed her claw-hand around his spine. She pulled. Goblets of flesh and bone came with her hands. The werewolf collapsed like a steer in an abattoir.
The youth missed Sandrine with his first strike. He was fast, but fucking telegraphing his blows. I had gotten up and was charging toward him, but unfortunately he had plenty of gas. He tagged her across the abdomen, shredding her leather jacket and sending her spinning. I tackled him hard from behind but didn't slow him down. He tried to shake me off but that meant he was splitting his attention and engaged in a half-assed way of dislodging me when Julia leapt at him.
She smashed him across the face, tearing up the right side of his head and gouging his eye. He fell back bellowing. I shifted me grip to his left leg as Sulla blurred to confront the female. I poured my power into his flesh and it responded. I pulled. I was trying to remove his leg, but instead I degloved the meat off of his thigh. Oops.
I confess I was a little giddy at the moment. There is no brew as heady as bringing the mighty to their knees with the exception of the screams of one's enemies and at the moment I supped on both. To be a vampire is to be a predator and while we Tzimisce strive to cage our beasts, those of us who are not ascetics do not deny the pleasures the world offers us.
He fell, of course. The female tore Sulla up in a few seconds and left him sprawled on the ground with wounds that oozed black smoke. She charged us and Julia rushed to meet her, having completed assuming the zulo form. Armoured arachnid-woman clashed with she-wolf. Julia struck low, tearing open the flesh of the werewolf's thighs. The werewolf ripped open her face, gutted her, and bit off her right forearm. Both fell.
I was slow compared to the wolf, but not so slow that I could do nothing. The power of the blood was already running through me. I pulled Julia away from the werewolf and back to the car. The wolf snarled and pulled herself through the gravel with dismaying speed, but as Julia shed the zulo form her weight became as nothing. I put distance on her. The youth was also clawing his way through gravel. They radiated hate like god damned supernovas. What the fuck would it take to keep them down?
I put Julia in the Mustang and gunned the engine, sliding it into reverse and kicking up a spray of gravel. Pursuing me had allowed Sandrine to circle around and pick up Sulla. She was going full tilt towards the 'Vette. The male saw and changed course, having shifted into a huge fucking wolf with a head the size of a grizzly bear. He was dragging his maimed leg, but still making good speed. So I shifted gears and headed straight at him.
It felt like brick wall and for a moment I was sure I had gotten the worst of it despite hitting him with a god damn Mustang, but while I was jerked to a near halt he was sent flying into the gravel. He lay stunned for a moment so I fed the car some gas and went over him. Sandrine got Sulla into the 'Vette and then we were both driving off into the night.
I saw both werewolves stand in the review mirror as we left. Anton was somewhere up ahead, but we were wounded, ravenous, and in werewolf country without Sulla's leadership. We had gone from hunter to prey.
Last edited by Imperial Overlord on 2014-11-10 04:32pm, edited 1 time in total.
The Excellent Prismatic Spray. For when you absolutely, positively must kill a motherfucker. Accept no substitutions. Contact a magician of the later Aeons for details. Some conditions may apply.
Re: Brighter Than the Sun, Sweeter Than Life (Vampire)
Now why would you ruin a perfectly good towel on crap and piss?I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my waste before leaving the bathroom.
lolASVS('97)/SDN('03)
"Whilst human alchemists refer to the combustion triangle, some of their orcish counterparts see it as more of a hexagon: heat, fuel, air, laughter, screaming, fun." Dawn of the Dragons
ASSCRAVATS!
"Whilst human alchemists refer to the combustion triangle, some of their orcish counterparts see it as more of a hexagon: heat, fuel, air, laughter, screaming, fun." Dawn of the Dragons
ASSCRAVATS!
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White Haven
- Sith Acolyte
- Posts: 6360
- Joined: 2004-05-17 03:14pm
- Location: The North Remembers, When It Can Be Bothered
Re: Brighter Than the Sun, Sweeter Than Life (Vampire)
Should also be ascetic, not aesthetic. Good shit as always, IO.
Out of Context Theatre, this week starring Darth Nostril.
-'If you really want to fuck with these idiots tell them that there is a vaccine for chemtrails.'
Fiction!: The Final War (Bolo/Lovecraft) (Ch 7 9/15/11), Living (D&D, Complete)
Re: Brighter Than the Sun, Sweeter Than Life (Vampire)
They would run into Get.
Me: Nope, that's why I have you around to tell me.
Nitram: You -are- beautiful. Anyone tries to tell you otherwise kill them.
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" -- Leonard Nimoy, last Tweet