Path of the Vampire forum

Cori had spent most of the day in the catacombs…hunting and dismembering the bodies of all who fell under her knife. She had been using her knife more than usual, which was a turn from the norm. Cori was a fantastic marksman and when she shot at her marks, the first round always took the trajectory that she had intended. Her sudden switch to her blade, was something new and possibly had a darker reason than she even knew.

Cori began to enjoy the feel of the knife slicing into the decaying flesh of her targets…when the black ooze from the marks gushed out of the wound onto her hand, she felt something click inside her. Cori was satisfied, dare you say happy. When she used her knife, she did not make one quick stab, she preferred to use her strength to drive the blade in deep, twist and slice a huge incision upwards from the point of contact. The noise the blade made when it hit bone, when it punctured organs was a sound that only a killer would enjoy…and Cori, had become a killer in so many ways.

Cori walked down the dimly lit streets of Harper rock tonight, as opposed to making her way to her resting spot via the sewers. It was again, not the norm. Things had strayed from the norm for Cori as of late, and she was embracing the newly found freedom. As she rounded the corner, she heard some muttering coming from up ahead. “Stupid customers, always having a complaint or a gripe. They can’t just pay me my due and close the door…always having to *****.” Cori saw a rather stout balding man unloading a van. The side of the van had a small advertisement for a plumbing business…the name was faded and she could not quite make it out. Wanting to avoid humans as much as possible, Cori slowly made her way to the opposite side of the street. She immediately got a sense… it wasn’t so much a feeling, as it was a glimpse a snapshot of sorts. Cori had, sense she was younger, always had an odd sense about people, she could read them. It is why she entered into the law profession when she was, alive. Then, like a trumpet had sounded, she noticed a dark car, possibly a later Lincoln, with blacked out windows. The car was running and she could not quite make out if anyone was in it. As she got closer, she saw, through the glass, a silhouette. Someone was in the car…

Many people park outside of their flats waiting on a lover or what not… but she was in an area of town that had no residences, that she knew of. It was the part of town that many, especially women, would not go let alone stop and browse. Cori became curious, as she always did. She thought to herself that it might be some mob business, maybe a meeting of the higher ups. She walked about ten more feet and then darted quickly into an alley…

With her back against the building wall, she thought how silly she was being. What if Trahir found out that she was possibly putting herself in danger, dealing with the mob. She knew that any run ins with them, would tarnish his name, or so he would say. Her curiosity kept her there, ignoring the internal voice in her head. It was then, that she peered out, just a bit…so she could observe the black car and the shadow that sat in it…

Over the last six months, Genesis Lab had plumbing issue after plumbing issue. The plumbing company said that the lab should contract with them. One low monthly fee, and all service calls would be covered versus paying the higher hourly rate, it would make fiscal sense to the bottom line. However, once Doc signed the contract, getting a plumber to actually show up, on time, was impossible. Mainly because the plumbing company assigned plumbers to specific accounts. And the plumber that had his account, was on the take. This particular plumber had seniority in the company and cherry picked the jobs he would work on. He picked lucrative businesses that he thought he could put the squeeze on. A lab needed water. How much money would they lose if the water had to be shut off for an extended period of time? After some digging around, Doc was able to tie the scam back to him alone. This guy would ‘bandaid’ the job, knowing it wouldn’t completely correct the issue. Then when the issue reared again, on a weekend or holiday, he would would hit up the business owners for ‘overtime’ that he then pocketed.

After stalking the plumber for the last three weeks, Doc learned the plumber was a creature of habit. Every Wednesday night, like clockwork, he rolled out of the company parking lot at 5:10pm and headed to the neighborhood convenience store located a few blocks from his home, where he picked up a couple of six packs and spent the evening drinking alone watching ‘wrestling’. Wednesday was the wife’s night out with her book club. Doc surmised it wasn’t really a book club, as she bore the distinct odor of stale cigarette smoke and alcohol when she would finally get home in the wee hours of the morning.

The plumber’s home was bland and dull. It was your basic forty year old starter home and it was showing it’s age. The neighborhood at one time had been a popular community, but as the neighborhood aged, newer communities popped up and it fell out of favor with the younger families. So it become less and less popular. Yes. The place where this plumber lived, was far from a gated community, so Doc had to wonder what did the plumber spend all that ill-gotten money on? It wasn’t his lifestyle, home, perhaps it was the wife. She was younger than him and quite the looker; that is.. if you liked bleached blond hair, capped teeth, and could look past that the air of desperation born of imbibing one too many highballs, i.e. liquid courage, on Book Club Night.

Watching the plumber pull into his driveway, Doc drove on, parking several streets over, at a home that was vacant. This way his vehicle didn’t stand out quite so much. It was a home where one expected to see a car. Staying to the Shadows Doc made his way back to the Plumber’s non-descript home, then using his powers of uninvited guest, he let himself in. This wasn’t the first time he had been inside. He had been in quite a few times. He prided himself on knowing the enemy territory. Never go into a place, you do not have at least three ways to get out of. The house was older, but clean and neat, even if it was dated and could use some paint. The Plumber had planted himself in front of his television and was already on his second brew.

Sticking to the shadows, Doc slunk around and behind the Plumber who was ensconced in his lazy boy easy chair. He watched him for a few moments, letting things settle into a quiet lull. Just as the show on television when to commercial, he struck. Grabbing a quartz bookend from the shelf to the right of, Doc slammed it into the plumber’s head, rendering him unconscious immediately.

Cori Watched from the alley, for who knows how long. She saw the shadow get out of their vehicle and head down the road…it was not easy to see him, as he blended in to the darkness, making sure he never quite walked beneath a streetlight. Cori, followed them, but stayed a distance away so as not to get spotted. She was use to going unnoticed..use to sneaking around….

In the catacombs, Cori prided herself on her surprise attack. When she spotted a mark, she would get in front of them and wait..as the anticipation was part of the high. The stalk was just as fulfilling as the kill..in so many ways. Cori had never stalked someone like this, ever. Her gut told her that this was no mob boss, or gangster…it was another vampire and he was good at going unnoticed. Cori followed them..right back to the street where that van was parked, the one with the worn out plumbers advertisement on its side and the human that had come from it.

As Cori hid behind a parked car, she watched the shadow enter the building…she had figured out by now, that it was a male. He entered the building through the front door…but how? Cori thought that vampires had to be invited into abodes that were owned by humans and vampires alike. In now way was this shadow invited in…if so why would he have stalked like he did..hiding in the shadows with each move he made, not wanting to be seen.

Cori took a breath, not like she had to ... it was more out of habit and worked her way up the residence. She knew she could not get in, but she tried the door anyway, it was locked and she knew that entering this way was not feasible. Her need to feed her curiosity became stronger… what was this male doing… did he know the human… or was it a mark, a meal?

From the stoop of the home Cori saw that there was a little ledge that she could get to, that bordered a window. “ Yes, there it is.” She said under her breath. It was perfect..it allowed her to see into the home, but not be seen. The large unpruned bushes would give her cover from eyes on the road, and the angle of the ledge was perfect as it was hidden from those from the inside. With one quick jump, she was on the ledge..balancing herself and looking into the home.

From her view, she could see the human sitting in a chair watching TV..but where was the shadow? Cori turned and looked out to the street, seeing if anyone was passing and might spot a blonde woman hanging on a window sill..nothing, nothing at all. When she turned back to the action inside the window, she saw him…the shadow..he was coming from behind and..” Smack” hit the human on the head with something…
”What the hell”, Cori whispered. She saw the humans head slump forward…

The plumber’s head fell forwards, and the can of beer fell from his nerveless fingers. Doc wiped the bookend off and carefully replaced it on the shelf. Moving around to stand in front of the man, he rubbed his jaw. The plumber was closing on 270 pounds. Now Doc had experience moving bodies and dead weight, but 270 pounds of dead weight was going to be tricky to get into position.

Standing there debating his options, he felt as though he were being watched. Without turning to look at the window, he knew that was where something watched him. Careful to not let on about his suspicions, he turned on his heel and headed into the kitchen, only to return to the living room a moment later with a black trash bag and duct tape. Dropping them on the floor, he again exited the room, heading off to collect more items. At least that was the impression he wanted to give. Once out the room, he slipped completely into the shadows and exited the house via the back kitchen door. Staying well hidden in the shadows and darkness, he made his
way around to the front of the house.

And there she was, his spy. He watched her, his eyes narrowed, his mind running through the iterations. She was careful to say out of sight. Her perch on the ledge was such that it lent itself to long term viewing. It was clear she was not a stranger to stake outs. But the question remained, was she watching him or the plumber? Was it just his bad luck to have interrupted her stake out? Or was watching him? And if she was watching him.. why? Who sent her? He really couldn’t get a good look at her, hidden by the shrubbery and poor lighting. All he could tell was that she was blonde and female. No male had a curve to their derriere like that, at least none he knew.

Doc pulled his .40 calibre from his shoulder holster, and racked it, thus chambering a round. The sound coming from behind her would have given the game away. She would know she was found out and cornered. He shrugged absently to himself, he had planned on one victim, looks like he was going to have two.

Cori watched The Shadow, it seemed that he was there to rob the plumber, not merely kill him. He took particular care to clean off the tool he used to hit the poor man with, a bookend, and returned it to its respective place upon the shelf. Cori saw him retreat for just a moment and gather a large plastic bag… it was then that a quick thought entered into her mind. This residence was neat and tidy, but it did not scream of affluence. Why would one kill a human and break into an abode that did not offer a bounty, like others could...it perplexed Cori. Her senses heightened, just a bit, over the discrepancy she found in this Shadows plan. While she had escaped into her mind, Cori had taken her eyes from the window, for just a moment…when she turned back, he was gone…Within seconds she heard the familiar sound of a round being chambered…Cori did not turn she did not even move...in that instant she used her celerity and moved to a position that was a tad more comfortable for her.

Cori had worked hard in perfecting this power and she appeared behind the male, with her blade drawn she brought it to the shadows throat, her other hand was comfortably grasping the butt of her firearm that lay nuzzled in the small of her back. Her body was flush against his back as to not give him any leeway for an attack at all. She had honed her skill in the sewers… surprising all the undead zombies that trudged by. Cori knew this was no zombie...not even close. He was a much larger, stronger vampire...but she did not care, she had no fear.

“ Good evening to you, Shadow.” Cori was always formal when meeting another, but she always had a latent sense of sarcasm when meeting another... the circumstance did not quite matter. Her blade was pressed against his jugular, at a slight angle…it would take milliseconds for her to slice deeply into his throat…but, she did not want this one dead… she was intrigued by him. As she stood there she analyzed…ensuring her stance was right and showed no sign of weakness, her hand was firmly gripped upon the shaft of the blade ready to react if need be, her head was between the shoulder blades of the man…

“I was merely watching your handiwork and I was quite impressed.” Cori was telling the truth, she was interested in learning how he got into the residence, how he did it without being seen..her curiosity was at a peak...wth that her grip upon the blade and her firearm tightened... in preparation.

Doc smirked into the darkness as she offered him an ever so polite platitude even as she wordlessly threatened him. Yes, she held a knife to his throat, but he had been given enough slashed throats, to know it wouldn’t be a critical wound and he wasn’t opposed to being hurt if he gave as good as he got. That coupled with his constitution, he told himself ‘let her try’… except. Except, she didn’t use his name. If someone was stalking him, for being who he was, wouldn’t they at least know his name and use it? The odds said yes, she would use his name to prove she knew who he was, when she threatened him with the blade. So this female didn’t know him and came across him accidentally, or she did know of him and she was being cagey.

Being loath to under-estimate anyone, he was willing to accept that she could be playing it tight to the chest with information. So he continue to wait, and not react immediately, and thus by his inaction, her next words gave him even more pause. She complimented him. A compliment? To what end? And what was she so ******* impressed with? “Well then you’re easily impressed. All I did was knock him the **** out.”

She was a vampire, he knew this, she knew that he knew this. She was strong, but he didn’t recognize her. That made things a bit more dicey. Granted he couldn’t be expected to know every vampire in the city, but usually he caught wind of the more violent types rather quickly. And for a female to not take the chance to leave when she had it, but to instead threaten him… well that made her the 'violent type'. The question now because, who was she, who did she belong to, and would Vel have his ******* hide if he killed her?

His gut reaction was to morph, eviscerate, gut and behead her, then go deal with the plumber. But, when he went with his gut reactions, he always ******* paid a price before it was all said and done. It was a hell of a lot easier going with his gut when he was human, because he had no connections. He had no one close that would pay the price for his **** ups. Now here he was, a vampire stronger than he was a human, but weak with more responsibilities and obligations than he ever had a human. Well ****. That caution voice of his was telling him to go slow, and the voice was usually right. So he offered a solution.

“As much as I like being in the arms of a woman," His voice had a leering quality to it, "and I can tell I would enjoy it even more facing the other way as well,... but every minute I waste out here with you, is one more minute he is closer to coming around inside, and making my job that much harder. So if you don’t mind.. why don't you be on your way, hmm?”

Cori laughed, it was a guttural reaction… and not one that she could even have controlled, if she tried. The arrogance of this one was palatable, as his words to her were a dismissal of sorts. Cori had experienced this sort before, damn it, Trahir is this type of male. The ones that thought because a woman was smaller and less well, manly…that they were not dangerous. This was a serious flaw of most men…to underestimate their opponents.

Cori felt his body become more rigid, which would benefit her if he tried to turn and make a move on her. It was always best to remain loose in a fighting stance, as it allowed for your body to go from point A to point B in a shorter amount of time. She began to analyze his weaknesses… she began to prepare for a fight. Cori was a fighter, she always had been. Even when there was no fight to be had, she always found one. Some considered this a flaw, her confrontational demeanor… Cori never thought it was, she felt it was a strength, one that allowed her to protect and survive.

“I will not be leaving, Shadow. What I will be doing, is joining you. I mean, if you would allow it.” Cori knew that men like this loved when a woman was slightly submissive… it fed their need. As she spoke, her grip on her firearm became tighter and she slowly began to withdraw it from the small of her back….
Her knees were bent slightly and her chest pushed more into the males back… the perfect position to both attack and defend. Cori knew that if this male used powers, she would not be prepared…

Oh.. great .. her ‘highness’ was ******* joining him. Doc sighed and muttered a rather annoyed emphatic, “****.” Sure she said ‘if he allowed it’. Not for one millisecond did he delude himself into thinking she was being submissive. She had him over a barrel and she banking on the fact that he realized it.

Doc dissected his options. Suppose he didn’t allow it? He would be forced to brawl her here, in the open front yard of the plumber’s house, where.. chances were very good, some nosey neighbor would see them and since there was a female involved.. call the cops. In her haste to get away, she may break the masquerade, and not only would he lose the advantage he had previously with the plumber, he would have now facilitated a breach of the masquerade as well. Great. Just ******* great.

It was clear that the only course of action he really had was to let her join; unless he wanted to just tome out and let her have at the plumber by herself. But **** that last option. He was going to get his satisfaction, even if sweetcheeks demanded to be a apart. He had waited three weeks for this night, and he wasn’t stepping out now.

Uncaring about the blade that was at his neck, Doc holstered his gun. He reached up grabbed her wrist and pulled it away from his neck slightly, allowing him to turn his head. She was strong, but he was stronger. “Alright Sweetcheeks,” His tone was less than thrilled and barely disguised frustration. “put your ******* blade away. We don’t use our tools. We use his. Everything we use.. will be his.” He sighed in annoyance, she was probably hamfisted with a blade. “Now can we going get? We have less than ninety minutes before the wife gets home.”

The moment he grabbed her wrist, Cori had Demeter ready. Her finger was ready to pull the trigger…if need be. He may be older, stronger…but this one needed not underestimate her fortitude. With the barrel less than three inches from his back, Cori had a choice to make.

Cori knew that she had given the older vampire no choice in the matter. If he chose to fight her, he would expose both of them to the humans that were around. A blonde out in the dark, seemingly being accosted by a male…would surely bring the police, along with attention that both Cori and he knew would lead to a breech of the masquerade. Trahir had explained the masquerade in detail, one night, and she was very good at staying below radar..until now. Curiosity, always got the best of her.

She did not like pet names, never did. Being called sweet cheeks by the Shadow made Cori’s blood boil…at the same time, she could not help but smile. She heard the frustration in his voice and knew that she was keeping him from something important. He wanted back at that plumber..but to rob him? Why would he choose a plumber to rob, they certainly do not have a plethora of goods with value? Unless his motivation and charge was something more…

Cori heard him acquiesce to her request, and she slowly placed Demeter back in the small of her back.
“Alright Buttercup, let’s get this done.” A small laugh escaped from Cori’s lips, as she called him a pet name back. She removed her arm from around his neck, using a bit of strength to release her wrist from his grasp. The blade that had once been at his neck, was sheathed in its respective spot. Cori took a step backward from the male she had now coined Buttercup, still maintaining her defensive posture. “ Lead the way, I am anxious to observe.”

Cori wanted to do more than observe, she wanted to participate… if he was going to kill the human, she wanted to watch. His technique., to record each of his movements and the counters of his mark…this, the thought, made Cori’s grin even wider.

As they walked towards the plumber’s door, Cori realized something. She stopped dead in her tracks, crossed her arms in front of her and said, “Hey, Buttercup… I cannot enter the home, I do not have that ability…yet.” Cori was a newly formed vampire and had not yet gained powers that would allow her to freely roam around a humans domicile. Her power was that of a killer… in more ways than one.

No one ever said being a serial killer was easy, or that it didn’t have it’s own dubious quirks that could make things hard. Well Doc just discovered another quirk to the negative side, her highness Sweetcheeks. He set off in an annoyed stalk uncaring whether she followed or not. Maybe he would get lucky, and she would have an attack of conscious and leave him the **** alone. Doubtful. But one could hope, not that he did. He tended to go with the worst case scenario. She would follow and become chatty cathy.. talking his ear off.

Which, is almost what happened. Almost. Instead it went something like this.. ‘Oh yea.. forgot to mention I can’t enter.’ Doc stopped mid step, his head hung for a moment before he turned and looked her. “Really?” The exasperation was more than evident. “I don’t suppose you would take a raincheck..?” The look on her face could have been anything, but he took it as an emphatic ‘no’. He started mentally counting. A coping technique that he discovered in childhood. The counting helped him focus, not on the annoyance but on the task at hand, and it gave the added benefit of ignoring the annoyance, in this case, her highness Sweetcheeks lack of powers.

Well at least now, he knew why she was impressed. His voice was flat and to the point. “I will get you in,” he looked toward the darkest area of the yard. “Go over there.. and wait for me.” He turned to walk away then stopped once more and looked back at her. “You’re going to have to allow me to do this. Mentally prepare yourself for acceptance. If you try to block me.. I wont be able to get you in.”

Once inside the home once more, Doc focused on Sweetcheeks appearance in his mind, and then summoned her to him. “There.” It was all he said, before heading to his victim. Now, back in the living room, television still on, plumber still in a slumped position in his easy chair, out for the count. At least that was a something in his favor. Doc hefted the dead weight over his shoulder and left the living room. He opened a door in the hallway and headed down into the basement. He had been in the plumber’s house enough to know it like the back of his hand. He knew what tools the plumber had, what accoutrements he could use to facilitate his intended plans. That was half the fun. Scope out the target. Learn his patterns. Then do the deed using only the tools on hand. He knew exactly what items he would use.

Once in the basement, dropped the plumber unceremoniously on the cement floor. The basement was dirty, dusty and smelled slightly of mold. It meant there was a water problem. The irony was not lost on Doc. The plumber had a makeshift work station here. Work bench with tools and cabinets and mini refrigerator. It was clear by the only clear area on bench and empty beer cans in the trash, that he only came down here to drink and get away from his wife. He opened one of the cabinets and took out a roll of duct tape and rope.

Moving back to the plumber Doc trussed the plumber’s wrists together. He glanced at his watch, time was short. The plumber would be coming to soon, and he didn’t have him in position yet. He snorted in derision. ******* Princess threw his timing off. He turned back to the bench and looked at it for a long moment envisioning where the plumber kept the drill. he nodded to himself, and moved to the correct cabinet drawer and pulled out the drill. Using the stool, he stood on it, and drilled a hole through the load bearing beam that ran the length of the house. replacing the drill in the proper cabinet, he took the other end of the rope and fed it into the hole and began the process of hoisting the body up and tying off the rope to the base of the base of the workbench.

Doc finally acknowledged female. “Alright princess.. there is a free standing full length mirror in the master bedroom. Go collect it.”