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 Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 6:50 am
The beast, far to enraged and hungry to accept The Lady's deduction that everyone here was dead, quickly heightened The Lady's senses again and scented for fresh blood. Though the blood of the dead and dying scattered about everywhere was masking the scent of living blood, the living Wastlanders who had taken cover during both raids and were now moving out to try and save who and what they could. The beast grinned and growled softly as The Lady was able to hear the sounds of loud foot steps moving around behind her in the Warehouse.
Her head turned around to see them, there weren't even close to as many living as there were dead, and most of them appeared to be the non-fighting type...more medic and clean up crew then anything. Surely one of them would know where the Grand Wastelander's location was? But bitting and sucking the life out of one of them right here and now before she asked, 'Okay, so which one of you wants to take me to your leader' just didn't seem like a good idea. Biting and killing off someone to far gone and dying did not appeal to her, but in a sense the humans could take it as ending his pain while sparring those who could be saved the agony of being sucked dry.
She wanted to be as descreet as possible with the act, meaning the least amount of people seeing the better.
In a corner to the far left of the warehouse entrance where she stood, she saw a young man propped up against the wall and bleeding profusly from several gun shot wounds to his arms, legs, and right chest. She could see the aura of death around him, and sighed as she made her decision. Food was food, but she couldn't risk the remaining Wastelander to go silent on her because they saw her feed on a dying young man. He was going to die anyway, and with his quickened death, he would be inevitably saving one of his commrades the fate of a vampire bite.
She walked over to him, his eyes already fading as the last sparkle of life began to dim, and he looked at her with a slacking face...but no one could mistake his youth. He was probebly around twenty four or so, ruffled and blood matted dark hair, his eyes must have been hazel at one time, and his skin beneath the blood smears was tanned ever though the paling of death was taking him. She was covered in blood, but she had whipped the majority of the blood around her mouth with her black leather sleeve, so she didn't look as ghastly as she had moments ago.
She knelt down beside the man on one knee, keeping to his left side so a mountain of over turned storage containers and debris hid them from view. The man's breath was labored, gurggles, and ragged...it wouldn't be long, and she couldn't feed from a dead body. Even though he wasn't going to be alive much longer, she at least wanted to explain his importance before his passing.
"...What's your name soldier?" She asked, her tone smooth and slightly ebbing on compassion.
The man's eyes suddenly flared with life as he weakly turned them towards her, she knew he couldn't see well...his eyes were to clouded by blood and death to know what she looked like, but he could hear. "...D...Dan...iel...ma'am..." He said, his voice cracking and bearly audible.
"Alright then Daniel," She said her voice as comforting as she could manage without giving into her more human emotions, "I'll be honest...with your injuries, I nor any of the best medics in the world could save you. However, I can give you the option to save the lives of others this night...and all you have to do is endure one more bit of pain and concent to my offer."
Daniel looked suddenly older, he had been hoping that someone would come along and say 'I can fix that', but hearing it from someone who was speaking in all honesty what he already knew...was painful in itself. He was going to die...only living for twenty four and a half years, and he was going to die. It was devastating news...but it quickly passed on as did his denial. He was going to die...but he was being given the chance to make a difference before it happened. His lips tightened into a firm grim line and he closed his clouded eyes and felt the determination and finality of his decision fill him with the courage to stare Death in the face and keep right on walking towards him.
"...I...I c-concent." He said firmly, and even though it was pointless he felt the need to brace himself for whatever was to come. "J...Just...o-one...thing...r-remember...m-my name...?"
The Lady looked at the young man with curiosity, and then admiration before her face took on the stonic expression it always did before she fed. Daniel...she would remember the name.
The Lady reached forward and pulled Daniel closer to her so his head was resting over her right shoulder leaving the side of his unmarred nack perfectly displayed. She could feel Daniel's open wounds bleeding onto her still, and without any further delay she bit down into his neck. Warm fresh blood filled her mouth as she swallowed, the beast purring in delight and satisfaction, basking in the wash of crimson life now flowing through her.
Daniel had twitched and jerked once before he fell quick and motionless in her arms. His breathing calmed, his muscles relaxed, and finally his heart ceased to beat against The Lady's chest where she had pressed him against her. It didn't take more then a minute to drain the last of Daniel's remaming blood, and once she had, The Lady removed her fangs from him, blood escaping down the corners of her mouth and she pulled him away to lay him back down against the wall.
The Best had curled up once more, satisfied, deep within her, and her eyes returned to the normal green of her true self. She looked at Daniel's peaceful corpes for a moment longer before standing up and leaving him behind. He wouldn't turn into a vampire, tha change meant they would have had to have shared blood...but she did feel a twing of regret for his death and a slight admiration for the kid.
He was just a kid...brave and self sacrificing till the end.
Quickly putting the matter aside, she approached one of the medics, resting against a far wall. She stood before him and glared down at him.
"Where can I find the Grand Wastelander? And how soon can you take me there?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 1:45 pm
As Lady asked her question, one of the medics closed the eyes of the man he tried to save. "I can. And the soonest we can leave is once we've helped those we can." His gear was soaked from the blood of countless men, women, and children he had kneeled over trying to save. Already some of the bodies were being laid in a line, a item of their religion or of importance in their final grips. The man sighed, and walked over, wiping his hands clean of hte blood of his last attempt. "Now I know you must be in a hurry to get there, but frankly, I can't leave anyone who might still have a chance. If you haven't noticed, we're stretched thin trying to help everyone. A good number of our medics, doctors and nurses were killed during the fighting, and those of us left haven't the tools or equipment now to do even safe surgery. But if I was to say an hour, could you wait?" The man simply looked at the blood soaked towel in his hands, and sighed yet again, throwing it to the side. The man was the brother to Daniel, and many of his features were close to the young mans, only older, and with black hair, and blue eyes. "I'm just hoping to find my brother in all of this mess..." The man looked around, seeing the workload ahead of him still.
Mainwhile, Bartz had called Dion to him, and sighed. "Well Dion... Whatever the hell you did at the Lady Governer's fortress has really stirred a hornet's nest for me. It seems you've been picked by the Lady of the Fallen to be both our watchdog and her... Walking meal. Frankly, we either give her what she wants to get what want, or we let her go and rampage both the Empire and us. Frankly, I hate this idea, but me liking it has nothing to do with it. Your to gear up, alone, and be ready to follow both my and her orders." Bartz rubbed his forehead with his thumb and index finger, regreating it already. "Sir, if you feel it will help us fight the Empire, then you could tell me to parade in front of the palace, waving my a** in the guards faces for as long as possible, and I would do it. We've been fighting the Empire for so long, we're getting close to being ready to do whatever it takes to take it down. And if this will help us do so, then so be it." Dion stated calmly, dispite the turmol going though his mind. Like he said, he would do whatever it took to help defeat the Empire, but something in hte back of his mind was screaming at him to say no, not let this woman have her way with him. He saluted, hand raised to his eyebrow, just like the militaries of the old US used to. He turned on his heel, and walked out, heading towards the armory to get his gear ready.
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 5:01 pm
An hour? Time was short in both hours till sunrise and when the VCF's reinforments would arrive. They probably never expected their first or second lines of defense to be whipped out, so it might take at least five to six hours before they assembled enough troops, gear, and equiptment...and another two to three to arrive here from their nearest head quarters. She was frustrated but didn't show it.
When the man spoke of a brother she turned to really gaudge the man's appearence for the first time. He looked like an aged version of the young man, Daniel, that she had fed from before he died. That alone...gave this man enough respect and resign not to push the grieving man's patients any further then he was willing to accept. How would he react if he knew that, even though he would have died anyway, she was the one who ended his life? Stole with little precious time he would have had to say goodbye? Would he hate her...refuse to help her...even try to raise a weapon to her? It was undoubtably the man's younger brother...he deserved to know...but not if it would cloud his judgement and priorities as to guiding her safely to the Grand Wastelander.
"...I am sure your brother fought well and made a significant turn in this battle for the better." She said and looked expressionlessly at the man, "Do what you have to do, but one hour...no more. Whether you find your brother or not...one hour."
And the clock was starting now.
She walked away from the man and back to the shattered communications room. The place was shot to hell, and several of the monitors were destoryed and riddled with bullets including the large one she had been speak to Bartz on not long ago. However, a smaller computer terminal in a far corner of the room was intact and still operational. It had a camera on the top and a scroll list on screen of contacts...however, their was a lock password setting activated.
She walked over to the terminal and sat down in the chair that had its back blown off. She quickly began to type on the keyboard, easily bypassing the security systems and reading the list. This must have been on an administrator's setting, and even encrypted it was simple to trace the last made call from this coms room: the one to Bratz.
Selecting the desire to open communications with "Main HQ", Kelbora sat tall and crossed her arms and legs, waiting for the signal to finish relaying to the Grand Wastelander's monitor. She wasn't worried about the transmission being traced, the signal was well hidden, encyrpted, and secure. The Wastelanders must have had apt computer geniuses working for them.
"---SIGNAL DIALING...SIGNAL RECIEVED...WAITING FOR RESPONSE...WAITING FOR RESPONSE...---"
The Lady remained expressionless, looking at the opening view screens to see the office Bartz had been in before...now to see if he'd acctually answer her call.
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 6:22 pm
When Aida returned to the shack, the young girl she had saved from the vampire was locked in an embrace with her weeping mother. As she approached, the woman looked up and smiled. "Thank you so much for saving my daughter!"
"I was only doing my job." Aida said and held out her hand, waiting for the money. She wasn't saying it to be humble either. If she hadn't been hired to take care of the vampires stalking the area, she would never have stayed here in the first place.
The man grumbled as he reached into his pocket and handed Aida a small wad of dollar bills. "This is all we can afford at the moment. Even with all of us combined, we have little to no money."
Aida fingered through the bills, counting in her head. Forty-five dollars total. "Fine." She pocketed the cash and began to walk away, heading for her motorcycle. "Well my job is done. I'll be taking my leave."
The mother released her child and ran up to the mercenary. "Please, Miss Aida, you have a great talent for battle. Nobody else here has the skills to fight. If you would stay and protect us, we could provide you shelter and food."
Aida crossed her arms with an expressionless face. "If you have more to pay me, then maybe I will stick around."
"We do not have money, as you know."
What the woman said was the truth. The city of Drovine, once known as Providence, had suffered a mass attack, or rather, a mass buffet as vampires poured in and feasted on every human they could find. Only a small few managed to escape, and found refuge in the shack they now inhabited in the forest outside of the city.
Shortly after the attack, a few vampires were spotted scouring the area. A couple of the refugees who had been out hunting were drained dry by the vampires. Aida had been passing through the area when they hired her to eliminate the vampires so they may have a chance at living. But if they couldn't pay for her to stay longer, then she had no interest in protecting them.
"I don't do community service." Aida began to walk away again but the woman stepped in front of her.
"Please, I beg of you! If you won't do it for us, then think of the children! There is no telling when more of those creatures might come back!" She pleaded with the mercenary, ready to cry at the thought of her child being drained by a vampire.
"Then you all had better get moving and find a safer place. Either that, or find somebody who cares. Look, this is my job. If I just start protecting people at no cost, then nobody is going to want to pay me. This is how I make a living. You don't like it, tough." Without waiting for the woman to say anymore, Aida got onto her motorcycle and took off, leaving the shack and it's inhabitants in the dust.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 5:51 pm
Bartz looked at his monitor was it flickered until it showed an image of Kelbora. Dion pressed the key to accept the signal, and stared at her face for a moment. "What is it right now? I'm getting the man you wanted, Dion Zeromus, ready for you. Wait a moment. Why does it look like some sort of explosion happened there?!" Bartz was worried. What happened there? Bartz hoped the local population was alright. He wasn't worrying about just his Wastelanders, but the people nearby.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 6:15 pm
Kelbora reamined expressionless, calm, and unphased by any of his concern. She originally called to set up the meeting, but she supposed a damage report was in order...and since she was the only one around to do so, she might as well.
"The VCF found your Warehouse and attacked. The place has been shot to s**t and only a hand full of your people plus the people on this side of town survived." She said, smooth, even, and calm, "Though I killed the majority of the Empier's finest...a few escaped with their lives. I imagine the bounty on my head has just gone up by double or so since one man screamed my alias for all to hear. But this presents another problem...now the Empire is going to assume I'm working with or for the Wastelanders...this must be quite a shock to the government of this country, and its sure to tighten security around all Lord or Lady Govenor places of business. Not to mention the towns and cities..."
With that she closed her eyes for a moment. Tonight had turned into a disaster...and it all started with that damn man, this Dion Zeromus ******** up her assasination attempt. And now...not only was her presence here announced to the country, but she had used up far to much power and made far to much of a noticable show NOT to be noticed. Crap...
"Also, a young man stationed here named Daniel..." She began, voice unreadable again and eyes still closed, "He sacrificed himself tonight to be my donar of the evening as he lay dying from VCF bullet wounds to vital areas. He has a brother here who is a medic and seeing to the wounded, he said he would take me to your location, but he has yet to learn of his younger brother's fate. I'd rather like to avoid an emotional confrontation from a grieving loved one, so if possible, I'd like to arrange fast transportation to your location as soon as possible from a safe spot outside of town. Its just to hot here."
With that she opened her deep green eyes to look at Bartz, seriousness and a great wieght that made her look almost older...almost.
"...My bite doesn't kill if I don't want it to, and the man was in pain and dying slowly. He only felt the puncturing of his skin for a second before the numbness took over. I promise...I made it as quick as possible." There, she'd said it, that was the truth and even she...a vampire...respected the responsibility of one soldier to another in that kind of situation.
She didn't want him to suffer, and she even sent him on his way with the knowledge that he had spared many that night.
"To make you feel better, and this...Dion...if he is there...So long as I am not reduced to a state of near starvation, I have control over the effects of my bite. He won't turn unless we share blood, he won't feel pain unless I want him to, he won't feel pleasure if I don't will it, and should I choose...he won't have to feel a thing." With that she gave a short and wicked smirk, "So tell him to be a good boy when its getting near dinner time, and it'll all be over quick." She said with a hint of humor before she became serious again.
"Redevous point, and name of transportation. The sun will be rising soon, and even with this eternal cloud cover, I am at my weakest during the daylight."
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 6:34 pm
Bartz sighed. "The safest place for me to have any kind of transport get to is the outskirts of hte city. I'll send an ORCA Transport to pick you up. And I've already informed Dion to do whatever you say, as well as follow my orders. Basicly, I told him that anything you tell him to do was the equal of me saying it. He won't fight you in any way without a VERY good damn reason." Bartz stated. But that much damage, and without any kind of explosive device, must have been a massive drain to her. The warehouse was fairly close to the outskirts of hte city, so there was no long wait to get there, and the transport could arrive fairly quickly since it didn't simply push air under the rotors it didn't have. "You'll transport will be there in under an hour. That good enough?" Bartz was hoping so, and ordered the craft on his personal comm unit. The Crew was ordered not to try anythign fancy, or to even question the number they were picking up, just to do it.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 6:48 pm
"Good. So long as this...Dion, sticks to that philosophy, all will be well and you have him back in one piece." She said and then looked down at her once gloved hand. The skin was so pale, paler then death because this was the hand she'd used to summon the demons to her aid. It took a lot of power, so much it mealted the leather glove on her skin and nearly rotted the skin away. It would heal...but she rather she didn't have to do that again. "Very well, that time is atiquit. I will head out to the rendevous point with your Wastelander now. Hope to meet you in person soon...commander." With that, she canceled the trasmission and stood up from her seat.
She was going to grab her guide and head out as soon as possible. She wanted out of this city before more guards or bounty hunters showed up for her head. Or worse...the Empiers personal assasins. They were thorns in her side, and she was sure one of them was aware she was here. After all...that sniper bullet that killed the Lady Govenor had to have come from somewhere.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 7:05 pm
The guide was finishing putting the stitches on a man's leg wound, glad it was nothing serious. Mostly a nick shot, but it had ripped the skin apart really. It would heal, it would just leave a painful memory until it could be properly cared for. He saw the vampire walk out of the remains of the comm room. "What now? I know my hour is about up, so i've gotten what I could to take with me. I'm ready to go." He looked at her hand, but didn't say anything, not wanting to agrivate her too much, not after watching specticale that had played out an hour earlier.
At hte Outskirts of hte city, half-an-hour later...
The Transport was landing down now, half an hour after leaving hte base, and opening the hatch to let the two people climb aboard. The Pilots were looking at the two of them, wondering who the woman in black was.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 7:52 pm
The Lady looked at him and saw his eyes travel to her hand, and she smirked. He was hesitating, denying his medic instincts to treat the wound because he was afraid of her. She could smell it...the fear was everywhere.
"...What's the matter? Don't like the idea of treating a vampire? Or maybe you're just to afraid to try?" She asked half in sarcastic bitterness, half in serious contempt. Humans were of such weak constitution: Save all the Humans you can, any other creature...who gives a s**t?
She then turned from him before he could respond and looked towards the exit.
"There's a transport waiting for me outisde of the city. Bartz sent a ORCA to pick me up and its probably at the drop point." She said and waved a hand at the exit, "'Lead on MacDuff, for the night is short and with the morn' come the terrors of the demons who wear crowns of blood and gold.'"She quoted an old play by a man with the name William Shakespeare. One of her favorite authors, poets, and screen play writters...but a man forgotten millenias ago...and she didn't expect him to know the origin of her words, but the meaning was clear.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 7:59 pm
The man shook his head. "It's just that You a Vampire, and I figured fresh blood would heal you better then anything I could do. Even If I had the best medical facility on Earth, what some fresh blood would do for you is way beyond it. And your probably right." He followed her out to the drop point, wondering what the Grand Wastelander was wanting with this spacific vampire.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 9:31 pm
Faer Gul Naneth was back at home, with the orphans who happily welcomed her back, crowding around her legs and marveling at how her copy had just melted away. They hadn't known the difference, but were amazed. She sat in her chair by the fire, one of the young ones bringing her a cloth and water, in which she cleaned the blood off of herself. The children were used to such blood, having seen alot of it themselves.
Faer tried to ignore the twinging that she felt, pulling her, but it was incessant and bothersome. In a last effort to ignore it, she settled the kids down for bed and joined them for the first time, seeing as she needed no sleep. the children enjoyed this and curled around her, her body unnaturally warm.
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Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2007 7:08 pm
The Lady was a vampire, she moved with the grace and silence of one who floats over the ground and has the fluidity in her movements to make it seem as though she were flawless in all respects. The old vampires were masters in seduction and poise, it was almost as if they were truly as inhuman as the thought of gods being mortals. Every roll of the hips, bend of the legs, sway of the arms was enough to make any weak minded mortal or strong willed king turn and look. It was as if being the undead, a vampire, changed what was once real and human into the embodiment of perfection and desire.
However The Lady, though aware of the powers she'd inherited from the Incubis and Sccubus ancestors of her kind and she was old enough to use them to their fullest extent at will, walked this way without ever realizing it. It was stealthy and made no sound, even the leather pressing and moving together was not even a whisper to those not expecting her to come for their lives. Sealth was what she desired, especially tonight incase a rouge VCF returned and felt bold with his sniper rifle in hand. Or...if that sniper from earlier appeared.
She thought the man would be useful as a guide and possible shield from shell shocked and absently trigger happy Wastelanders who scattered and returned to see their base in shammbles while a lone vampire was wondering about. But she saw no one, and the sound of the ORCA, however faint, was easily traceable by her sharp hearing.
She quickened the pace, making the man behind her have to run to catch up, and the two came up an incline in the road leading out of the city. Sure enough in a grassy and worn area beyond the "Welcome to the City" sign, was an air vehical landing and a man leaping out of the open door. The wind whirled and picked up as they approached, but The Lady never wavered and continued on in her brisk yet seemingly calm pace.
Finally she had covered the distance between herself and the still running machine, her eyes fell on a tall male figure with protection goggles down, helmet covering most of his facial features, weapon slung over one shoulder, and several survival pouches with various supplies adorning his vest and pant legs. After running him over she stood before him and looked directly up into his eyes hidden by the glare on the glasses. Her expression was blank and her green eyes with cat like pupils were wide to gather as much light as possible to see in the darkness.
"So, Bartz is a man of his word." She said over the noise of the ORCA and the wind blowing her hair around her like a veil of gold, "And you are?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2007 7:23 pm
Dion smirked, seeing the Lady of the Fallen for the second time in a week. "You asked for Bartz best did you not? I'm it. Your own personal comm operator, blood donar, and overall lacky until otherwise noted. You give an order, I'll do it to the best of my abilities. Give a 'suggestion', i'll figure out what it means and, like being given an order, do it. For me, your Equal to Bartz for orders." Dion yelled to be heard over the engines. Dion noticed the medic standing nearby, and quirked an eyebrow, not that it was visable, but it could be noticed in his manner. "I though Vampires didn't need medical support." Dion stated in both question and statement.
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Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2007 7:56 pm
The Lady smirked inside, but didn't outwardly show it. She expected Bartz to give her a guid, watch dog, and donar...but not a completely submissive subborniate. It had been a long time since she had commanded anything...hmph, she wondered what he would have said if he knew her former human rank? Perhaps another time. She took a glance at the medic and turned back to Dion.
"He was my guide through the city, he's one of the few surivors of the Warehouse raid. I suggest someone take down his accounts of the events and get help here to evacuated before the VCF rediscover their backbone." With that she turned back to look at the medic...and she nodded to him in silent thanks before remaining silent for a moment...then spoke as she found his eyes and locked with them, "You're brother was a brave man and saved me from having to find someone else to fed on, saving me from having to take the life of someone who acctually had a chance. I laid him in a funeral position safely behind a large wall of cargo in the warehouse. He asked me not to forget his name or what he'd done for me...and I won't." With that, she turned away from him and passed Dion as she entered the ORCA.
She didn't wait for the man to respond, she didn't want to nor did she have the time to reiceive a reaction of anger or hate. She'd told him the truth, he deserved that much, but she wasn't about to taken on another emotional burden or enemy because she felt obligated to tell him of his brother's fate. She sat on the leather bench seats of the vehical, arms and legs crossed, gaze to the floor, and an impassive wave of tiredness pass over her face.
Curious...how would Dion, her now newly appointed donar react to hearing that the last person she had bite was dead and another Wastelander? Would his devotion or alliegence be so...complete?
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