The Streetlight Death [MM]

[Storyteller]

Title: The Streetlight Death
------------------------------
Characters: Caligrace, Hudson, Every

Hudson must post first, outlining a story on the following theme (feel free to get creative):

Setting: An unsettling part of the city that`s usually busy
Backstory: The group were out (alone or together) enjoying some down time (some or all characters).
Occurance: soldiers attack.
Variable: It`s an abnormally cold night.

Participants: 3
ARES: yes
Speed: very slow
Chapter: no
Minimum Words Per Post: 500
Maximum Words Per Post: none

------------------------------
This thread was generated via the Roleplay Matchmaking System.

[Hudson]

April. How long had it been since he'd emerged from the sewer dwelling and did more than hack and read, cramming his head full of facts, as if he were in college again, completing a degree he'd already completed. And what had he done with his degree? Absolutely nothing. He'd applied for every possible job in the city, and he knew, thanks to several failed interviews, not to include the fact that he'd interned for a company working on a cure for vampirism. No one wanted to "take a risk" on him, as if they knew his secret, as if they knew that he'd turned into one of the "monsters rampaging the city." The first time he'd heard the words, he'd been stunned into silence; the second time he'd heard the words, he'd nearly overturned the table and set the record straight. He took it as an insult to himself and to his sire, and he did not take kindly to people insulting his sire, insinuating that she was anything other than an absolute delight. Needless to say, he'd failed the first and second interview, and the rest of his failed interviews blurred together, becoming one mistake after another. His job with Jayden was a temporary thing, at least that's what he said at the start, but things had changed. Instead of asking for more hours, Hudson shifted his focus to hacking, and then he just lost track of time. Without the failed interviews drawing him out, he had no reason to go out.

April. Hudson looked around the quiet cafe and then reached over to open the blinds. As soon as he saw the pink supermoon, he sighed and closed the blinds with more force than necessary. He hated full moons. No one could explain to him why his powers went insane on him, refusing to work, becoming more like a frozen webpage -- and he hated frozen webpages -- so he avoided full moons. Or he did. Hudson cleared his browser history, making sure to delete every trace of the websites he'd visited and keywords he'd searched. He couldn't pull up much on the microchips that vampires kept whispering about. It was part of the most recent Act, and Hudson didn't trust the government as much as he'd once thought. Becoming a vampire meant changing his outlook on almost everything. He still couldn't admit to himself that he was one, preferring to simply call himself a telepath, with no further explanation.

He didn't really need the computer, hadn't for some time, but he liked the familiarity. When he wasn't at internet cafes, he was on his laptop. He only used his powers to hack, and it was all about preferences. He told himself that even with the moon peaking from behind thin clouds, he'd made the right decision to get out. He'd been hearing odd noises in the dwelling, noises he couldn't explain, like static, and he hated it.

"Are you done?"

"Huh?"

"With the computer."

The brunette pointed to the computer, all of the tabs on his browser gone. He nodded, then he grabbed his cup of coffee and moved out of the woman's way so she could steal the seat for herself. He lingered there a minute, going over things he could say to her, because he was tired of relying on Jayd for conversation when the man was like a porcupine with socializing. The woman looked up at him and smiled, though it looked just as nervous as he felt. What would he say to any other woman? Right. Maybe not that.

"Uh, I'm Hudson," he said, sticking his hand out. She didn't hesitate to shake his hand. "So you're a fellow computer nerd. Nice."

"Oh the biggest. It's matched only by my love for anime," she joked, giggling to herself. Hudson arched a brow at her, trying to decide whether she was being serious or joking. "You don't watch anime?"

"To be honest? No. I like crime stories. You know, the ones about unsolved murders and serial killers."

"Um. Well. Look at the time."

"Uh, no. You're right. I should go. Stay."

Hudson smiled one last time and hurried away, trying to understand why women didn't just appreciate the honesty. He'd never been a liar. He'd watched anime in his freshman year of college, but only because his roommate came with several Dragon Ball Z posters. The anime was just as stupid as he'd thought, and he'd complained until his roommate finally got tired of his bitching and took the posters down. He didn't want men with bulging muscles staring at him while he tried to sleep. Anime. Honestly. Had that woman never seen a documentary about the death penalty? Hudson left the cafe and stepped out into the chilly night. The moment the cool air hit him, he felt that familiar buzz, like a disconnect between himself and his powers. To check, he tried accessing the net, but nothing happened.

Hudson emptied his coffee cup down a drain and tossed the empty cup into the trash bin. Wickbridge was quieter than he anticipated. People usually lined up outside of the bank for the ATM, others milling around the entrance to the quarantine zone. Hudson saw one soldier there, the man clearly distracted by the cigarette dangling from his lips. Where had everyone gone? Didn't they know about the pink moon? Hudson scanned the area once more, then tried the net again, only to receive a sharp zap that had him hissing.

"Fine. No powers," he mumbled to himself. He pulled his blue-jean jacket around himself and stuffed his hands into the pockets. There was really only one place to go, but something about the empty street made him ask himself the same questions over and over.

Where had everyone gone?

Was he missing something?

[Caligrace]

I will return, yes, I will return
I’ll come back for the honey and you...

The haunting melody sent a chill down her spine as she crossed the street, her fingers curled tight within the thin fabric of her sweater. The air was far more chilled than she had anticipated, and the sweater she had thrown on did nothing to protect her from the elements, but it had been the only thing she could find for appearance. From the moment the new Act had been put in place, she did everything she could to avoid suspicion, even though it was only a matter of time before she was figured out. Until then, she chose to wear the proper attire (or tried to), keep her head down, and avoid as many crowds as she could. With the pandemic underway, the crowd control was easy enough to master. Just wait until the shops closed their doors before venturing out into the world - of course, there would always be a straggler or five that believed themselves incapable of getting ill.

With a roll of her eyes, she dipped her fingers into the pocket of her jeans and wiggled her phone free, the device lighting up in her palm to signal a low battery. “Every is going to kill me,” she muttered, her steps slowing to a complete stop as she tried to hastily type out a message to the shadow. Amused laughter brushed across her ear, the sweet scent of honey and cinnamon catching on the wind as a small, pale and freckled hand reached over her shoulder to tap at the screen. Gritting her teeth as Nine pretended to press button after button in an attempt to annoy her, she managed to finish her message and send it off a second before the phone lost power. With it essentially nothing more than a brick in her hand, she slipped it back into her pocket and turned to glare into the shop’s window.

“You’re not cute, you know.”

With no one around her, she didn’t bother to lower her voice as she brushed her fingers through her scarlet curls, only to watch in the reflection as Nine mocked her movements. The spectre just flashed her a ghoulish grin and leaned over, lips pressing to her chilled cheek before she spun on the heel of her stiletto. For some reason, she had opted for silence tonight, and instead, left the taunting to Brenden. As if on cue, the melody picked back up, his voice as dark as night and smooth as whiskey. If it weren’t for the ice in his glare as he watched her every movement, she might have found him comforting instead of downright frightening.

He never came back
To his love so fair
And so she died
Dreaming of his kiss…

“I’ve apologized a thousand times over. It wasn’t my fault, and this is no life for you.”

As expected, her words did nothing to stop the singing, and instead, he grew in volume until she swore that the windows shook with the power of his voice. Closing her eyes, she fought to not lift her hands and cover her ears, refusing to give the ghost the satisfaction of her discomfort. After a moment, the song cut off and his dry, hideous laughter followed her as she took off down the street, gaze dancing from sign to sign in search of the bank. It became clear within five minutes that she had taken a wrong turn and ended up in the completely wrong district, as was custom for the allurist. Why they still trust me to leave on my own, I will never know, she thought with a sigh, reaching into the pocket opposite of her phone to curve her fingers around the familiar, dented tin for comfort. Before she had a chance to free it from her pocket, the sound of footsteps caught her attention, causing the ghosts to grow quiet as she searched through the darkness. It only took her a moment to find the source, and she offered a bright and charming smile as she lifted her hand, relief flashing in her eyes.

“Hudson! What are you doing out here, doll? And… where is here, exactly?”

[Every]

Outfit

Every didn’t go out during the full moon. Her friends knew it, her family knew it. The shadow lay on her back, comfortably resting on her couch, with her eyes shut. Her hands sat against her ribcage as she breathed quietly in and out through her nose. Meditation had never been something that particularly worked for her while she’d been human, but as a vampire, it helped her distract her from the spirits that settled around her. Zachary still hovered nearby, although her ability to see him had faded, his presence still chilled the air enough that she could feel it against her own cool flesh.

Chadwick sat, unimpressed, at her ankles and legs resting against the wall. He wouldn’t say anything, given he knew she’d throw something sharp in his direction. That much hadn’t changed as much as she had. A solid snort followed, prompting her to open one eye to see him looking down at her cellphone. Caligrace. “It seems Ms. Summers has managed to get herself lost, again.” His amusement had her rolling her eyes as she curled into a ball before pushing off the couch. Her sock clad hit the floor, Every properly straightening herself up as she furrowed her eyebrows.

“Does it say where she is?”

The question had Chadwick scoffing as an answer while Every reached for the device.

It was a common occurrence.

Common enough that Every had a contingency plan in place, at least. The bubbly allurist and Jayden were a dime a dozen when it came to having strong minds, but low attention spans. Even with Caligrace having an eidetic memory, she wasn’t the most locationally aware. “She didn’t say.” She frowned, sighing before she began to type at her phone, pulling up a tracking software and entirely missing the look of confusion that crossed her thrall’s face. “Tell me you didn’t put a tracking emitter in the woman.” Every glanced at him briefly, a shake of her head following as she said, “I put it in her shoe.”

The blinking red dot on her phone gave the location, a frown playing across her lips as she moved. She put her boots on, removing the tome from its usual spot on her person.

“You can’t use your powers, remember?”

Zachary called before her location changed.

There was no noise that greeted her as she landed in the Andras family home, the echoing of her boots the only sound as she made her way towards her destination.

From Pandemonium, she stepped through the fadeportal and landed in Bullwood. From Bullwood, she took the transit to Wickbridge. She rolled her head on her shoulders with a sigh escaping past her lips and continued to follow the blinking beacon. Her boots scraped against the concrete, the asphalt with her movements while her hair fell over her shoulders. Her freehand hovered over the handle of her knife, tucked away and out of sight. It was only as she stepped off the transit did Every notice how still the normally busy streets were. No soldiers, no vampires, no humans...

When she found Caligrace, she wasn’t entirely surprised to find that she failed to be alone. The allurist was a social butterfly, but it wasn’t a stranger this time. “It’s Wickbridge, maybe a tad south.” She answered the question as she approached, a frown playing across her lips as she set her hand on her hip near her knife. She didn’t like how quiet it was, as if she’d been able to mute the shadows and deepen them around the three of them - but she couldn’t, not that night.

Her hazel eyes took in their surroundings, lingering on a spot beside Caligrace that felt off.

“We should get going. I don’t like this.”

She glanced to Hudson, adding, "You, too. Come on."

[Hudson]

People. He never knew how much he depended on the foot traffic to feel like a part of the city. The Moonlight Lotus Cafe provided most of the light for the street. Overhead, the streetlight on that section of the street had blown out, likely weeks ago, as the city never fixed things in a timely manner. The soldier had shifted his attention to Hudson, and he couldn't think of anything to do, other than wave to the man. Unsurprisingly, the man didn't wave back. He headed in the direction of the Wickbridge station, already planning to retreat to the sewer dwelling and do what he did best, hacking. A light breeze hit him, the chill in the air caressing his face, so he frowned, squinted his eyes, and began the journey to the station. He took one final look at the soldier, but the man was no longer there. The man rarely left his post. He could only think of one other time the man had left, and that had been one terrible night; although, to be fair, he'd met a beautiful woman, so he couldn't quite complain. Lennox. What a nice name.

Hudson stopped underneath another broken streetlight, eyes on a glowing sign in the distance. It was for the club, Club Argent, or something along those lines. He'd never visited the joint, and he had no plans on rectifying it. A gunshot in the distance, coming from somewhere within the quarantine zone, caused him to jump. Without powers, he had to trust his gun skills. He hated full moons with a passion, even if they looked wonderful. If he had to guess the reason behind his loss of powers, he would have pinpointed his status as a vampire; however, not every vampire shared the same problem. Maybe it was a telepath thing. Maybe it was a Hudson thing. He made a note to ask his sire, Caligrace. She was intelligent. Or maybe Every -- she was scary though, very intimidating. Maybe he'd ask about that too.

Hearing footsteps, he turned to look to his left. His hand instinctively went for his gun, hand on the grip, preparing for the need to defend himself. But it wasn't necessary. He recognized Cali's voice, so he started in that direction. He expected two people, not a one-sided conversation with the breeze. To be sure that he hadn't missed anyone, he took a scan of the area. Still empty. He talked to himself on occasion, but not when addressing someone other than himself. He opened his mouth to ask her about the conversation, but she finally noticed him and he swept it under the rug. Perhaps he'd been hearing things.

"Hey. I was actually at the cafe." Hudson jerked a thumb over his shoulder, pointing in the wrong direction, then used his other thumb to point in the correct direction. "I use public terminals when I'm planting viruses. It's a little difficult doing it, otherwise." Hudson tapped his right temple as a reference to his telepath skills. "What are you doing out here? We're pretty close to the quarantine zone. Is that your new hangout?" He joked with her, intent on teasing her a bit more, but Every made an appearance.

The woman surfaced from the shadows like a shark on the hunt, at least in his opinion. He liked her, but she was something else. Hudson glanced back at the quarantine zone, but the soldier was back at his spot again, lazy posture showing that he didn't expect any trouble for the night.

"It's odd, isn't it?" Hudson referred to the quiet, the lack of people, the lack of cops and soldiers. Something was off and it bothered him that he couldn't understand why he felt that way, beyond the obvious. When was the last time they had a peaceful night?

Footsteps approached from two different directions, some from the station and others from the direction of the bank. Apparently, the people were back.

[Caligrace]

It wasn’t the silence that had her on edge, but the sudden spike in anxiety. It crawled along her arms, invisible and yet still somehow managing to feel like thick oil. In her mind, she envisioned it as black, spilling along her skin and tracing her body until it settled against her chest. It was always the same with this particular emotion, and as Hudson muttered something about oddities, the anxiety gripped her throat in a skeletal grasp. Breathe, Caligrace, breathe. Without thought, her fingers dipped into the pocket of her sweater, the tin popping open with a near silent ting. Easing a small, sweetly scented disk, from inside, she placed it on her tongue and counted back from ten as the SweeTart dissolved. Closing the tin, she flashed a smile, her lips parting to speak before the sound of footfalls had her spinning slowly.

Even without her excellent night-vision, she would have been able to tell just who was approaching. Their builds were too muscular, too rigid, to be anything other than soldiers. Of course, the weapons clutched in their hands would have been a dead giveaway, too. Game face, Summers, she thought, her charismatic smile already making an appearance. She thought to tell Hudson and Every to take their leave, but she knew there was slim chance in them listening, and so she just sighed. Lifting a hand, she tucked her hair behind the shell of her ear and tipped her head, her posture unbothered as the soldiers grew closer. With each step in their direction, the grips on the weapons grew tighter, until one soldier was white-knuckled.

“How can we help you, fellas?” Her voice was as smooth as honey, and she didn’t allow even the smallest quiver to enter her words. Crossing her arms loose across her chest, she raised a brow as one stepped forward, trying to use his size to intimidate her. “Identification. Now.” His voice was gruff, and as his hand stretched out, palm up, barely an inch from her face, she laughed, her gaze sliding towards Every.

There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that the other was thinking the same thing -- there was no talking sweet to get them out of this one.

“Well, it seems we may have a little problem,” she sighed, pretending to search her pockets for the identification she didn’t have. “It seems I just don’t have it on me…”