Post by Craig Jamerson on Dec 23, 2012 14:19:51 GMT -5
Craig sighed at her question, walked around his desk and looked out the window briefly before shutting out the outside world as well. "Yes," he stated flatly. He turned to her and gave up a weak smile. "I think it's about my only shot." A certain look was in his eyes and he looked nearly hopeless... the only difference between such an expression and his being that hope was the only thing he had. A prayer... a sliver of a chance. He wouldn't reveal it verbally, but his tired body was slipping up and showing a glimmer of the anxiety he was burdened with. Craig walked to his desk and lifted his leg to lean on it, "What other option would we have?" he asked. "Anywhere else, we don't have the resources we have here. This brick building will leave the Vampyre with only one obvious escape," a thick thumb jerked backwards at the window behind him. "Here's what I've got worked out so far. We can modify this as necessary, but hear me out." He gestured to a chair before the desk, offering the seat to her before sitting in his own chair.
"The UV lights will be our biggest defense for the initial wave," Craig began as he emptied the contents of the manila envelope on the desk and laid the envelope beside the pile. "They'll make him realize he's fallen into a trap. Of course, I won't hit those lights until he's made it at least half way across the floor. I think he'll realize he doesn't have time to successfully complete his mission at the time and will elect to return for me later. At that point, he has a couple options." Craig lifted a finger for each option as he counted them off. "One, go to the stairwell. Possible, but it'll take longer to get out of the building, which he'll be wanting to do. Two, go left towards the lab rack. Again, possible, but why break through brick if you don't have to? Besides, if he were to do that, he might as well try and come after me anyways. I think that's not going to be the direction he goes. Three, come after me. I intend, however, to be placed behind the safety glass where we conduct experiments. It's very strong stuff that will, if nothing else, slow him down by a few long seconds. Painful seconds at that. Besides that, I'll have a firearm at the ready and I intend to have Nibbles there to help deter that thought. Nibbles would certainly get killed in a straight-up fight, but he would hold out long enough to get the Vampyre killed, too, I believe."
Craig lowered his hand, no longer raising a finger. "Finally, the option I think he'll take. This office. I anticipate he'll see the glass and make a break for it. What he won't realize, however, is that you'll be waiting for him. You can do so either in here or outside on the front terrace. I personally think the terrace is safer for you, but you also expressed your desire to be in the building with me," he smiled faintly, "Which is appreciated. However, it will also mean you'll be in closer quarters with this thing when he comes in here." Craig bit his lip, looking down at the papers distractedly. "Unless, of course, he tries to go down through the floor," he mumbled, clearly not wanting that to happen. "But that'd be a far shot. It'd be easier for him to get through the glass in here." Craig's brown eyes returned to Rae's. "Whatever the case, he can't get away alive. If he does, we've lost our element of surprise."
Craig opened the upper-right drawer on his desk and placed the grey pistol Rae had given him inside of it before closing it most of the way and returning his attention to the matter at hand. "I also intend to make a recording of someone else yelling angrily, 'Eat silver bullets, asshole!' to help herd him the direction we want him to go." Craig grinned at Rae, unable to hide his pride at the ideas he'd formed. "Well? Whaddaya think?" he asked, feeling more at ease now that he'd voiced his plan.
Post by Rae-Star Berii on Dec 23, 2012 14:42:53 GMT -5
Rae could see the exhaustion in him, and she sat as he directed her listening to his plan unfold. She wasn’t sure what Nibbles was, it sounded like the sort of name one would give to a rat or a hamster, but he spoke of the creature being furious and for a moment she assumed it was a dog. As she sat she folded one long leg over the other and stroked Eli’s ears as he placed his nose in her lap. The dog could feel Craig’s anxiety and as usual, when the people around him were nervous, the animal became a cuddly lump of love. She stroked his ears and nodded; “They seem like decent expectations for him to take, we can assume he will think in a logical way. He will have fed recently, particularly if any staff left on site here. This will give him a better mental capacity.” She knew from experience how distracting a line of blood was to a hungry vampire; like addicts they would risk anything for it. No, the vampire that came here tonight would be in the best of mental states. “He’s killed before, we know he’s thought things out logically..” she added, persistently listening as he continued.
He smiled at her and she smiled back; “Yes I’d like to be in the building. If he doesn’t do as we anticipate it will be better for both of us to keep as close as we can. If anything, you can run while I deal with him.”
"Whatever the case, he can't get away alive. If he does, we've lost our element of surprise."
She knew what wasn’t likely to happen; Alistair – after a lot of coaxing- had talked a little of the hunger, of the need to feed. She also knew him to be a dangerously proud and noble man, while dark and defected, he lived by his own rules and he upheld them until his death. They were best to treat this vampire as the same; if the UV lights did not weaken him enough for them to kill him outright, then they would not make it through the night. There would be no retreat, there would be no ‘run away and try again tomorrow’. The vampire, though trying to keep scientists from making a discovery, surely had nothing to lose. If they did not end him, he would end them.
Her eyes followed his actions as he placed the gun in the desk. She nodded, though more to herself than to him. If he had the gun to hand, he would be safer, he would not need to be a good shot, a combination of silver bullets (assuming all six of the rounds loaded into the gun hit) and UV light would be enough to take down the vampire- she was sure of it.
"Well? Whaddaya think?"
Rae laughed gently; “I think I need a cigarette.” She told him in her beautiful British voice. But she nodded and spoke further; “I think it could work, I think there are lots of areas were the vampire might surprise us- he may not have to batter through the wall he may simply be able to do something called phasing; or he made have the ability to memorise one of us, turn us against the other..” She told him, not wanting to scare him. Unfortunately they were both human, it was hard to think like a supernatural when you were simply mortal. “I think we need to be completely prepared for anything to happen. Anything you think is impossible, or that your scientific mind disagrees with, you must be prepared for that to happen, do you understand, Craig?” She asked gently, her voice low, soft as she spoke in assurance. “These are the reasons I want to be in the building with you; these are the reasons I need to be nearby, in case he pulls an unexpected move on us.”
She wet her lips, watching him cautiously with dancing dark eyes. “My father use to say ‘We can never predict anything’, I use to think he was being obnoxious, I sort of understand what he means now. If you rely on things to act the way you expect them too then while you are overcoming your surprise at them not, your life could be stripped away.”
Rae cracked her knuckles and there was a new fire in her eyes; “I would like to get a better feel for the lay out of the building and the ground- particularly while the sun is still in the sky- and I’m sure Eli could use a stretch…?”
Post by Craig Jamerson on Dec 24, 2012 2:29:46 GMT -5
Craig nodded, forcing his face to remain composed when he was deeply unnerved. "Let's walk around the outside while we smoke and come back in on the first floor to peek around." He led the way outside and, once there, fumbled for a cigarette with slightly shaking hands. He managed to like the cancer stick and took a deep drag from it. Craig held the smoke in for a long moment and exhaled slowly before revealing what was troubling him. "Walk through walls?" he questioned, clearly unnerved. "Please tell me that's a joke," he hoped, doubting sincerely that it was. Rae wasn't the type to make crap like that up. Particularly not in a situation like this. "If he can do something like that, that could easily ruin everything," he stated blandly as he turned to his right to turn the first corner.
There was really nothing remarkable about the building. It was a blocky white-painted brick structure with no windows on the back or north side, only the front having any significant casements. As they walked, Craig couldn't help but ask a question he was sure she couldn't answer. "Rae, how do you think the Vampyre knew?" A scowl was set on Craig's face, his brow furrowed. "I mean, he called me before the news story hit the stands," Craig took a drag from his cig and looked over at Rae. "How? And almost more importantly," he continued, "Why didn't he just come after me once he did know? Why the psychological bullshit? And how did he get my damn number in the first place?!" Craig was biting his lip, probably not even realizing it, as he looked at Rae for answers she was unlikely to have. Another hit of the fag, a flick to ash it. Voice quivering audibly now, Craig fired off another question. "What things can he do that are so impossible? walk through walls, control our minds, is anything out of his power? How can he do these things?"
Another puff. Another ash. The used tobacco flitting placidly to the ground and splattering helplessly on the unforgiving cement below. Craig bit his lip. Smoke wafted from his nostril, burning, dying plant smoke coming from his lungs; lungs he was weakening, killing. Craig looked at Rae with bags under his eyes, looking truly exhausted. "We need to get food and stuff, too... in case he doesn't come as soon as we anticipate." Craig remembered suddenly and flicked his finger. Ashes.
Post by Rae-Star Berii on Dec 24, 2012 5:57:56 GMT -5
It wasn’t a joke.
Rae sighed and explained a little more; “There are many different types of vampire, they can do many different types of things. Some of them can hypnotise you, some of them can walk through walls, some of them can vanish into thin air and some of them can haunt your dreams…these are just the types I have met. There are hundreds out there; each with its own unique modification.” It was part of the reason why it was so hard being a human in this world, none of the creatures out there were the same. Granted they had things in common, something innate, something they were born with, but as each one grew they seemed to learn a whole range of different things. It was a bugger trying to catalogue it, it was a bitch trying to hunt them down.
She watched as Eli set off, watched as he dithered around sniffing the ground and then chuckled to herself as her tore away. She had no fear in the little brown dog coming back; they had, over their time together, developed something of a very close bond. Rae continued to walk beside Craig, lighting her own cigarette and drawing on it thoughtfully as he barraged her with questions. Questions that she could not answer but she could easily speculate their answers. She tried to sort her answers logically, not wanting to scare him but he had a right to know the truth. After all, he was the victim here, he was the one that needed to retain his nerves. To some extent she was proud of him for getting this far.
“I have theories.” She told him softly. “But they are just that…I don’t have any facts for you science boy.” She drew on her smoke for a moment, watching as the sliver clouds emitted up into the air, tumbling and dancing freely. Who would have thought something so serene looking could actually kill you. “It could be that he has a shadow soul in your lab- a human servant- working for him and feeding back everything you do. It could be that the journalist you spoke to was the same journalist the others spoke too. It could be that he met you at some conference you have given and has been following you since. It could be that you have met someone recently and handed them your number, a girl perhaps on a night out?” She wasn’t looking for answers. “Girls flock to vampires…they’re beautiful, lavish creatures who prey on other beautiful creatures.”
She shook her head for a moment, and shrugged a little. “I don’t know how they do what they do.” She added, running her free hand through her hair. “You’re the scientist, when we get through this, you can tell me.”
He looked at her, with pure exhaustion in his eyes and Rae smiled softly; “Let’s do that before it gets dark.” She told him, her eyes going to the sky. They didn’t have long before the sun would set. She finished her smoke, tossed it to the ground and whistled for Eli to come back to them. Then Rae popped a piece of gum in her mouth and turned to him, still smiling.
Post by Craig Jamerson on Dec 24, 2012 8:50:00 GMT -5
"There are different types of Vampyres?" Craig said, rather surprised. "What different kinds and what can each do?" Craig asked wonderously. While the idea struck some fear into him, it was minute considering what Rae had already told him about Vampyres walking through walls; a much more threatening piece of information. He smiled at Eli as he sniffed about, care free and utterly absorbed in whatever scent he'd discovered. He looked back to Rae and asked, "Do you have any idea what powers this one possesses? Perhaps he used one in the video or something that you picked up on?" He unlocked the car remotely before picking up Eli and getting in.
"And Shadow Creatures or Human Servants or whatever," Craig began after pulling across his seat belt and while turning the ignition. "Are they like mindless slaves? Can he see through their eyes or something?" Craig suddenly felt very doubtful. He backed out and pulled away from the lab carefully, checking either direction before merging with the road. "Yet another way all my planning could prove utterly useless," he mused aloud and turned his head to glance at Rae intermittently, careful to keep an eye on the road. "Know of anywhere with a silver dagger or bullets or something?" Craig chuckled, knowing she didn't. This wasn't her city and couldn't actually be expected to know the local shops well; he'd only been joking to try to lighten things up a bit. He slowed the vehicle for a stop light and took his hands from the wheel to crack his knuckles before grabbing the wheel again as he sought to retain control.
Post by Rae-Star Berii on Dec 24, 2012 9:00:23 GMT -5
She slid into the passenger side of the car, and sighed; “No, nothing out of the ordinary. I’ve searched long and hard through all of the footage. And…I’m sorry; I don’t have all of the answers on this, I have to learn by doing.” She told him, strapping herself into the seat. “As for the servants, they are human, they are like us, they move and eat and live like we do; but they serve a vampire.” She told him gently.
She was trying to be honest with him, but it was somewhat difficult to do. “The gun I have you- it’s loaded with six silver rounds.” She explained. “And I’m going to need it back when you’re done with it.” It had cost her enough and she’d had to have the bullets imported from a contact in Australia. She kept herself equipped with silver, it damaged if not killed most of the creatures in this world. While most deadly to vampires, it had its effects on many unnatural species.
It was her turn to put her hand on his shoulder; “It’ll be okay.” She reminded him and Eli barked from the back seat, seeming happy to agree with what was being said. “This won’t be the first vampire I’ve dusted and it won’t be the last. You’re in safe hands…don’t get bogged down with all their intricate details and know that if you can put a bullet in its heart or head you won’t need me to kill it, you’ll have done the job on your own.”
Post by Craig Jamerson on Dec 24, 2012 10:49:07 GMT -5
Craig smiled at her words. They were comforting to some extent; primarily because she informed him that she'd already given him six silver bullets. If it came down to it, those could easily be one of his greatest assets. He pulled into the parking lot of a BP and shut off the vehicle before looking to Rae and smiling thanfully at her. He placed a platonic hand on her knee and squeezed it once lightly. "Thanks, Rae." His espresso eyes gleamed with sincerity and he held his gaze on her for a moment before patting her knee conclusively and exiting the vehicle.
Once inside, he looked about for things that didn't require refrigeration or cooking. The selection was sorely limited and Craig fought the urge to mentally slap himself. They had all kinds of beverages- of which, Craig purchased a six pack of Miller Lites to celebrate with if they survived. He also bought some Vienna sausages and fifteen Chef Boyardee ravioli single-serving cups. When he came out with a plastic bag and a case of beer, it was beginning to sprinkle lightly and the sun was nearly gone from the sky. Frowning at the change, he hurried to the vehicle and hopped in quickly. "It's getting a bit chilly out there," he commented as he stuck his keys into the ignition. Craig started up the vehicle, backed up, and began the drive back.
Post by Rae-Star Berii on Dec 24, 2012 16:58:41 GMT -5
He tapped her leg, giving the muscle a squeeze and she watched his hand, watching him with doe-like eyes as he got out of the vehicle. Rae remained behind, sitting with Eli and stroking the top of his head as she watched the supermarket. “I have no idea what we’re getting into, Eli.” She told the dog, who clambered onto her lap and licked her fingers as he sat there getting a fuss. “Honestly, sometimes I wonder if we’d have been better of staying in London, going back to school and pretending to be normal.”
The dog whined, he didn’t seem to like that idea. He nosed her chest and lay against her heavily. She stroked his ears and sighed; “I think, after this is done, we’ll go home and hide away for a little bit, no more adventures, no more flying and we’ll splash out on some proper food.” His tail wagged the mention of food made him excited as always.
Seeing Craig coming back out towards the car with a couple of bags she shifted the dog back onto the back seat once more. Pushing the door open and letting her companion into the car. As the engine started up again and she leant back in the seat, watching him once more. She was trying to work out his motivation. Sometimes he confused her, earlier he had exploded on her, demanding to know everything about her, then he would cool, and draw on her for comfort. Rae smiled as he pulled out of the lot and began to drive back.
Wanting to talk about something a little more mundane she continued the conversation she had been having with Eli but to Craig. “So after this is done, me and Eli are gunna high tail it back to London…we’ve decided we deserve a break from the fast lane…and I even get a real job…” She giggled to herself gently. “I could be an ‘apple genius’ or something.”
Post by Craig Jamerson on Dec 27, 2012 9:04:41 GMT -5
Keeping one eye on the road, Craig flashed a look at Rae and nodded. "You deserve it. A lot has happened, hasn't it? Well, I mean a lot has happened for me, considering that-- well, what I mean to say is that maybe it's not a lot for you since you're a Hunter and all. Well, at least you're not learning about it just now. Or back at the Diner, really." Craig closed his eyes for just a moment to reorganize his thoughts before opening them to the road again. "What do you mean an apple genius?" he asked. "Like computers and what not?"
The rain thickened and Craig paid special care to the road now as they pulled onto Sycamore Drive. Gattaca labs was just a tad ahead; 320 Sycamore. It was odd to think how many times Craig had pulled onto this road dressed in his business attire; how many times he'd flowed along with the humdrum of daily life, oblivious to the world of the unknown around him. He'd thought there were no secrets left. He probably wouldn't have cared back then if one had hit him in the face, really. It was strange to consider that just a few months ago he was an entirely different being. A man of solitude, of science, of predictability, and of ignorance. How ironic that he had just started to live and now he might suddenly die. Craig's left eye twitched and he raised a hand to wipe at it.
The vehicle slowed as Craig maneuvered it into the parking lot and his parking space respectively. It was dark now and they may already have been seen. He looked around to examine the surroundings for any unusual shapes but saw nothing. Craig pressed his lips, turned the key and pulled it out. "Well, we're here. Are you ready to run to the door?" Craig asked and then looked to Rae for an answer. He pulled his wallet from his pocket, readying his swipe card in advance; he didn't want to be out here for one second longer than he needed be.
Post by Rae-Star Berii on Dec 27, 2012 17:48:32 GMT -5
“Yes, a lot has happened.” Rae agreed, though she giggled to herself as he got all tongue tied over what he was trying to say. She let him tangle himself up and then explained a lot; “I suppose” She agreed with him, “Though I have only been a hunter for about 8 months…My father was a hunter, I think, when he died he left my Uncle his journal, within it is all the information one would possibly need for such a task. It is incomplete, of course, it is inconsistent and bias in so many places but it has been a starting point and very informative.”
“We’ve travelled between New York and London mostly.” She told him. “Its lot of flying, so I’m most definitely used to planes now.”
When he asked about Apple she nodded; “Computers.” She agreed with him and smiled. As they drove in the horrid rain, she kept talking. Rae was not a water sort of person; she did not like the rain or the sea, or any such thing. “Hacking your computer was child’s play, darkling.” She smiled; “I’m building an AI, he’s currently only a programme on my computer, getting the parts from Japan and Russia and Germany are a bit of a pain, and I’m still working out a lot of the configuration but yes, I’m good with computers and machines.”
They pulled up outside the centre again, after she’d finished speaking and he paused. Her eyes went out to the rain around them; but they caught something his didn’t and Eli, the sixth sense member of the group, growled aggressively. She paused, searching in the darkness of something, any tell as to whether this was their vampire or not.
A woman came running towards the car, bleeding from her throat and her chest; she had been stabbed several times, and her uniform was broken and soaked from the weather. She slammed herself against the car, begging for help. Rae locked the doors, as Eli went mental, barking. “There’s a servant involved.” Rae said, coolly, calm. “The servant would’ve done this- to draw the vampire here easier- it’s a tell, to say you’re here…”
Rae opened the glove compartment; “Do you have anything useful in here?” She asked him. “Crow bar? Baseball bat?”
It was hard to get her barings over the thundering rain.
Post by Craig Jamerson on Dec 28, 2012 9:08:50 GMT -5
Craig looked at Rae closely. She was peering around like she thought something was wrong. Craig hadn't seen anything at all. Eli started going off suddenly and after a quick glance at him, Craig saw he was barking past Craig. He looked around a second time and turned just in time to see the body of one of his coworkers slam forcefully into the car, blood mingling with water as it poured freely from multiple wounds. Craig jerked backwards, eyes wide and yelled, "Claudette!" He froze in place, eyes making contacting with those of the dying blonde he'd mentored for the last two years. She slid down the side of the car slowly and her eyes unfocused before falling backwards finally.
Craig's heart was pounding; this couldn't be. It was supposed to come after they'd finished, not now! He was supposed to have time still. Rae's voice came from behind him, making him jump. He glanced at her to make sure it really was her and then continued staring at the corpse sitting outside his vehicle. "To say I'm here..." he repeated slowly, mind numb before he began rambling inanely, "Of course... why else would someone have numerous stab wounds and be bleeding all over my car when I had only tried to help the poor girl that didn't have any sort of help from her family and I tried so hard to help her with her work and she was smart and doing well and didn't need much help but I was gonna try and now she's bleeding on my car and she's dead on the ground--"
Craig was starting to get worked up when the sound of the glove compartment breaking open shook him from his course. He jerked away from the sound and sat squarely in his seat as he looked to see what she was doing. "No. No, I don't keep anything in here at all. I don't like clutter." Craig stopped cold. A figure that appeared to be male was slowly walking towards the car, not a care in the world, from the entrance of the lot premises in his rear-view mirror.
Craig's survival instincts sprang into action and he turned the key to the Volvo and quickly put it in drive. "Hold on," he said simply before flooring the gas. The silver vehicle launched itself suddenly over the curb and Craig cranked the steering wheel as hard as he could to avoid crashing into the building. Once at the edge of the building, he cranked the wheel again and then slammed the brakes. They were now parked just outside the side entrance and Craig got out of the car, racing as quickly as he could around it and typing his code in. With a swipe of his card, the door unlocked and Craig jerked it open quickly. With a look to his right, Craig noted that the slow-walking man had just rounded the corner and at this range the tan trenchcoat and matching 20s detective style tan Fedora did nothing to disguise an eerie smile. The man took another step closer. Craig saw Rae fly past him, but that smile.... that smile had him. Why was he smiling like that? It grew a millimeter and the man took another step. The world seemed to be going in slow motion and the handsome face before him was everything Rae had promised it would be. The angular jawline would drive any Twilight fan mad and Craig saw a dark beauty in the creature's very flesh. The creature that would kill him. But still, was death so bad? Did it matter? Why shouldn't he rest for a moment? The questions gently soothed through his mind and he wondered at them. They were good questions and he didn't have much reason to argue with the voice in his head. Except that they weren't his questions. They came from outside. Something was speaking to him wordlessly and Craig knew it couldn't be friendly. This had never happened before - hearing someone elses thoughts and it made him uncomfortable. Uncomfortable with the voice and that smirk. With the too-pale face. With the feature-disguising garb of the figure. His brain sounded an alarm in his head. This man couldn't be good. He should leave. He should get away from this man. The figure took one more step.
Craig bolted. On his way in, he pulled the door's handle slamming shut behind him and he saw a look of apparent surprise as the creature's cocky expression vanished just before the door made impact with the frame. He turned to Rae with a look of shock and urgency on his face. "To the lab!" he exclaimed a little more loudly than was needed.
Post by Rae-Star Berii on Dec 29, 2012 4:52:23 GMT -5
As he pulled the car around the side of the building, Rae sprung out of it, whistling to keep Eli close to did as Craig asked; and as he opened the building she slipped inside of it. He had his first taste, she knew it, she knew he felt the draw, the call, the sweet seductive song of the deathly invitation. She had felt it herself, felt the strange out of body experience when Alistair had placed his mesmerise onto her, she had been saved that time but the fall of her gun- the gun she had given to Craig and that he had left in his office draw. Rae watched as Eli sprang up the stairs, following is nose; she let him run ahead, it would be safer for the dog to disappear now, to find a corner and sit and wait in defence.
The door slammed shut as Craig joined her, the shock and fear on his face was more than apparent and she nodded, smiling just softly, trying to re-assure him. If he could break the magnetic spell then he was fighting a winning battle. If he had not come inside, if he had waited there would have been nothing she could have done for him. She let him go ahead, following; but not because she had not found her bearings, no, she wanted to keep him in sight.
As they passed a fire point, Rae broke into the little emergency case. From it she took the little red axe, it was light, but it was sturdy and strong, made for cutting down debris that might block the way during a fire. It was not a fire that Rae intended to use the axe on, it would be strong enough- if she was fast- to hack into the skull of any creature coming her way. The only way to save a servant was to kill the master, and then the servant would die. There was nothing she could do to save the life of either of them. It was them or us, it was dog eat dog, it was survival of the fittest and Rae intended to be the fittest.
Once safe in the lab she paused, seeing Eli already hiding under the desk in the office and growling to himself, her eyes went around the room, checking the entrances and exits, checking the windows. “No going back now.” She told him, confident.
Post by Craig Jamerson on Jan 1, 2013 12:27:38 GMT -5
Craig heard Rae speak behind him but didn't stop to reply. Instead, he raced to his office, flinging the door open and hurrying around to the far side. Craig opened the drawer he'd placed the gun in before and a wave of relief passed over him when he saw it resting exactly where he'd left it. Grabbing the gun and the remote control for the lights, Craig looked around his office carefully, feeling something out of place. His eyes traced about the room, looking at each of the darkened corners with suspicion. He found nothing. A chill came rushing about his spine and he whirled to look at the cause. Again, nothing could be seen. A cold array of sweat-beads began prickling at his forehead and he wondered at what could possibly be the cause of it all when he heard an awful banging. Shrugging off the strange feeling for now, Craig ran back out to the main floor of the lab.
The beating continued echoing up the stairwell until suddenly a loud explosion of metal crashed into his ears. It sounded as if something had broken through the door. Adrenaline was flowing freely now through Craig's veins and his mind made every movement he made seem unforgivably slow as he turned for the safety glass. Punching in yet another series of codes, he pushed against the handle for heightened speed before whistling sharply. A scratching was heard and then a previously-loosened metal grate pushed from the wall as Nibbles answered his call. The reptilian rodent bounded quickly to his side and looked up at him, awaiting his command, confidence in it's master apparent in it's eyes. Craig couldn't help but let slip a small smile at the faith of the creature, uncertain of himself as he may be. "Go stand near the stairwell door and be ready for a fight," Craig commanded his creation. Nibbles' muscles tensed a moment before he bounded away towards his destination in a zig-zag pattern that reminded one of the way a salamander moved across a wall, settling beside the aperture in wait.
Craig looked over the gun, hoping it would work as well as promised. Footsteps slowly resonated through the stairwell as something climbed the steps patiently, slowly. The moment was coming and the geneticist looked to Rae to assess her expression... perhaps for reassurance. He minded his tongue and clenched his teeth as he looked to the stairwell door. The echo of the steps was closer and the creature must be about to enter the room. Craig braced himself for all hell to break loose, finger ready on the button that would bring the lights to bear down fully on the Vampyre seeking his life. The stepping stopped just outside the door and a long silence prevailed.
Post by Rae-Star Berii on Jan 3, 2013 5:07:22 GMT -5
Rae did as he had asked her too; she left his side after a curt nod, and went into his office. She crouched beside Eli; the dog half under the desk. Nods; though this was probably not the time to reflect upon this, were odd things. They could be given in so many ways, let’s take for example the nod of agreement, which, despite the movement being completely identically, is a totally different nod than the nod of approval often given between two men. Another nod, known for its masculine relations is the nod of threat; usually given by brothers or husbands to warn off other men from a female companion or counterpart. Then there’s the slight incline of the head, perhaps this should not be classified as a nod, after all, it does not feel as positive as a nod would, it feels more threatening, darker, as if the person giving the incline really dislikes and mistrusts the person receiving the gesture. Perhaps nodding to Craig was not something Rae should have done to boost his confidence; perhaps she should have touched his shoulder again. This gesture had become something of a confidence, comfort-giving gesture between the two of them, perhaps she should continue with that.
Thankfully, Rae did not continue with such a thought process and she did not look for any greater speculation than that which took only a moment. Her mind had much more important things to be doing. It was safe to say (another precarious saying that one should think more carefully about using, particularly in a situation that is, under no circumstance, safe), that Rae’s mind did not wander aimlessly through the strange and wonderful world of personal behaviours at that moment. She was more concerned as to the location of the servant. The vampire made enough noise, drove enough fear into the heart of man, that she knew where he was, even from her place a little ‘out of the action’ she could hear the vulgarly tense steps that the creature took. He was doing that on purpose, he was doing that to wind them both up to a state of terrified anticipation; after all, Rae knew vampires could move silently as a cat, if they chose too. No, it was not the vampire she was worried about, momentarily her thoughts went to the servant. The human servant would have killed the scientist in the car lot, it was a calling to his/her master that Craig was in the building and it was a message to Craig that this was going to get a lot worse before it became marginally better, if it became any better. But who was the servant? Someone Craig knew, no doubt, possibly a security guard with access to all areas…
Her mind caught up with the situation to slowly and Rae pulled the flash-light she had been keeping her pocket out, it went to each of the corners of the room, paranoid. A cold shiver went up her spine, but the glow of the dull light revealed nothing. Rae breathed out a slow sigh, how could she have been so stupid to believe that the office would be safe? How could she not have thought of this before- even as she scolded herself mentally she was sure of the feeling of someone watching her…paranoia was not going to be her friend it seemed, now her mind would play tricks on her.
It was only when Eli growled and cowered lower against the floor that she realised she was not paranoid. Her eyes went up, ever so slowly, wishing she would not see as the flashlight bulb blinkered and glowed- there pressed into the ceiling, holding himself in a star-shape was the servant. For a moment, between the two of them there was a terrible pause, and Rae swallowed; a man. A male servant then, which had not been picked for his beauty that for sure. He dropped to the ground, landing with a great thud on the desk. Eli snarled, but the dog did not move as Rae rolled from under the desk, her long, and thick hunter’s knife drawn in a reverse position. The long, silver coated blade, which was jagged along the outside edge, was the length from her wrist to her forearm and she had learnt to use it as an extension of such.
He was not as clever as she had hoped, and launched himself straight at her. Strong, fast, he was too much of a servant to ever be human again. She knew, for she could feel it as he rammed her into the wall and took the wind from her lungs that he was a Fourth Mark, that he was almost as vampire as the vampire itself. Rae grunted as the air was knocked from between her ribs and out though her cherry lips, her blade coming up to protect her, her arm placing itself between his throat and hers as she felt his own knife, sharp on her clothes, placed between her hips.
“I will kill you, bitch.” He growled as they found themselves in an awkward stale-mate…
Craig would have to hold out on his own for a little while, Rae knew this preoccupation would not be over quickly.
Post by Craig Jamerson on Jan 3, 2013 22:50:27 GMT -5
Craig heard a commotion coming from his office and then a loud thudding. He snapped his head in that direction, wondering what was going on. Craig was about to head over to investigate when the door to the stairwell was busted down suddenly, drawing all of his attention to the being present. The Vampyre. Despite the fedora, Craig could see very clearly that the creature's eyes were aimed directly at him, clearly displeased. "I've been honing that skill for many years now, mortal shit," the creature said in a low, ominous voice as he resumed his slow, confident stride towards Craig. "More than you've been alive." The Human stepped backwards, eyes fully open and fixated on the being before him.
"Why do you want to kill me?" Craig asked simply. The Vampyre's face twitched slightly, lips becoming a small smirk yet again. "Stupid Human," the deep voice began. "I--" Craig let out a short, sharp whistle and the Vampyre looked at him quizzically a moment. A flash of movement came from behind Craig's foe, moving quickly towards the Vampyre and in a moment Nibbles was leaping through the air at the being. Many things happened suddenly and Craig was barely able to register them all. From what he would be able to recall, he seemed to see the smirk widen into a full-fledged smile the instant before his became a blur. The next moment, he was taking another calm step towards Craig and Nibbles was falling in three distinct pieces to the floor, dead before he knew he'd been hit. Craig's eyes widened as he looked at the remains. The Vampyre reached the half-way point of the floor, ever-grinning. "Did you really think a rodent would be able to pose a threat to me?" he scoffed.
Craig's thumb pressed on the button immediately, the man controlling it feeling a bit like a rat in a cage. The UV rays came on, filling the room with strong light. The Vampyre's head raised, face annoyed again. There was something else, though... the creature's face was dissolving grotesquely at a decent rate. Too quickly, Craig presumed, for the monstrosity to attack Craig effectively. "Dirty little bitch," he accused Craig as he lifted a hand in the direction of the office while taking another placid step towards his prey. The flesh began regrowing on the Supernatural's face even as other pieces were falling off, making for an odd, chilling scene. How he was doing it was something unknown, but Craig was unsettled and it showed. He took another step back, now just behind the door of the safety glass.
Craig raised his handgun, levelling it at the being before him. "Stay back," he commanded with as much authority and confidence as he could muster. Inwardly, Craig was far from confident. The being took another step, only fifteen feet from Craig, and laughed heartily through the decaying, regenerating flesh. "You're pathetic. Do you really thing a simple gun is going to stop me?" His head shook slowly, eyes never leaving Craig. "No, my dear prey... your time is up."
