Human Error [Closed]
Posted: 21 Jul 2015, 17:25
Myk should have understood by now that some needs are optional and some are not. The Telepath could put off his cravings with lesser pleasures, but only for a time. Sleep was more a luxury than a necessity these nights, even if he was capable of tiring. Music was a beautiful motivator and cathartic influence too, but it could be drowned out by the serenading of the streets. Sexual satiation, even from the most arbitrary of places and people, was a fleeting escape and every tiny jewel that Myk could set his pewter eyes upon, quickly dulled with age and experience. These small things were mere distractions in the face of his desires, and inevitably, fatefully, Myk would always feel that hunger. It was that hunger, that growing ache that reached his innards and left him humming with fever and complaint, which Myk could never escape.
It was raining that night. The scent of life washed away with the pounding water, rinsing the world of its sins. From his silent stance beneath the stone overhang of a baroque archway, the Telepath relished the sights and sounds surrounding him. It was always a pleasant feeling to mix amongst these strange, oblivious folk. One of Myk’s favourite past-times was people watching and he often dressed purposely to stimulate responses. The Telepath’s wardrobe featured a wide range of outfits, from the damn-right terrifying, to mildly quirky, and occasionally normal, casual attire. Myk’s wardrobe had many styles as well, with Circus ware, Gothic-chic, Victorian themes, Steampunk, Kawaii, Cyberpunk, Fetish and Visual Kei featuring predominantly. Just as spontaneous and varied, was Myk’s selection of make-up, accessories, hair styles and shoes. As it happened, however, on this night Myk was absorbed in the shadows of reticence. The Telepath dressed plainly in stone-wash jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, his hair ironed flat in rivulets that poured down him like milk, and his features quiet; white foundation perfected his cashmere complexion, eye-liner and a single layer of mascara framed his pewter eyes.
Myk took in a breath as he closed his eyes; the oxygen wasn’t needed of course, but the habit was there. The inhale of damp, sweet air was also calming. The Telepath’s shoulders slumped and his back pressed against the wall. He could stay here for hours, undisturbed, unwatched and unwanted. Ordinarily these sentiments might have made the Vampire fret, but tonight, Myk needed to be alone. Yet, the comforting, clean scent of rain was soon dominated with blood, and the soothing patter of each heavy drop was drowned out by the beating of human hearts. The Telepath finally opened his eyes to gaze out at the city, pewter orbs full of contempt for any and all who dared to entreat on his attention.
Thump, thump, thump…
That sound. That all-encompassing sound was closer now.
Thump-thump-thump…
And quicker still.
Myk glared at those who scurried by him like frightened mice, but just like the lightning in the skies above, it all disappeared. All was silent once more, save for the rain, and the Telepath closed his eyes again.
The first sensation Myk could place as the dregs of a dreamless sleep crept away from him was the tug on his sleeve. Pewter eyes dripped down his own arm, crooning past ripped and stained fabric to the discrete, long-fingered hand that settled its weight on Myk’s elbow. The weight soon became a caustic pressure and the Telepath winced as the clasped hand became a fierce, tugging grip. Myk was turned sharply about and the force of the motion made his pewter eyes roll drunkenly in his skull. A high-pitched tone droned on in Myk’s ears, drowning out the voices of those around him. It was difficult to focus for a few moments, but Myk made out a prominent face amongst so much fog and darkness. Two piercing blue eyes pulled out of a roundish face, a square jaw hung low amid two boulder-sized shoulders. A torso, cloaked in a black and white uniform, lit up the part of Myk’s brain that recognised symbols. Pewter eyes, now clear and sharp, looked back to the policeman’s pug-like face.
“Whose blood is that?” the man barked.
Myk frowned, his movements sluggish and trembling and his mind bewildered. When he tried to remember the events of this night though, his memories scattered and floated away like paper scraps in an updraft. Myk snatched at the soaring memories, determined to remember, but he couldn’t collect enough to form a comprehensible picture. The first thing he could keep hold of was the memory of the rain and how he’d taken shelter beneath an archway near Cedar Court. He remembered the lightning flash and nothing more, nothing more than waking to this man leering at him and gripping his arm tight. Myk tried to pull away, pewter eyes closing slowly, but the policeman would not release him. The officer repeated his question and gave the Telepath a shake. Myk heard something rip. Impulse overcame hesitance and shock in that moment; Myk struck the Human with unpalatable force. The officer hit the ground with a slap and now shock, surprise and confusion ensnared a new victim. Pewter eyes stained with malice turned on the cowering mortal as Myk stepped forward. This armed police officer may have been twice the Vampire’s girth, but size never deterred him.
With a flicker of movement, Myk’s foot came down hard on the human’s wrist, trapping it between the floor and the sole of his combat boot. Sensing that the man might be reaching for a weapon, Myk felt he had no choice but to step in.
“Please don’t do that,” Myk hissed. “I know… I know you are just doing your job… But don’t shoot me… anymore…”
There was a strangled moan coming from the officer and he forced a hand under Myk’s boot to try and wrench the pressure off his wrist. Despite his willowy frame, however, Myk was stronger than he looked and the foot didn’t budge.
“If you promise…” Myk hissed again, rolling the words on his tongue as if savouring some sort of taste. “If you promise not to shoot me… I will let you go.”
The Telepath, unaware of his own appearance, was completely unaware of the world around him. The brick walls of the industrial buildings were only inches away from Myk’s shoulders, creating a narrow pathway that stretched on for metres; the concrete floor was damp, but drying; the sky was clouded over and it was no longer raining; yet Myk knew nothing of this. The Telepath was suspended in his own bubble, the world around him dark and blurry and unimportant. He remembered where he was, disregarded where he was now, and focused solely on the mortal writhing beneath his feet. The air around the Telepath was suddenly so much more predatory, as if the man was a tiger with the scent of injured prey thick in his nostrils. Myk’s once-white shirt, even his once-white hair was now blotched with dark crimson; drying blood spatters acting as the bands of this prowling tiger. Myk leant on that one foot pinning the Human to the ground and then snarled.
“Promise.”
The prompt, however, did not encourage a promise of safety. Knowing that he could not get his hand free, the police officer reached for the gun with his other, weaker hand, aimed and then fired. A howl carved down the alleyway as, ironically, a bullet punctured a lung. The Vampire staggered backward with a soundless gasp and subsequently continued to wheeze. Again, Myk didn’t need the oxygen, but basic instinct still told him to breathe and with each breath, the deflated sack of muscle pumped oxygen into his chest cavity. Obviously, basic instincts were stupid and so Myk refused to listen to the urge to fall down and succumb to suffocation. Instead, a hand applied itself to the wound’s entrance, damming the flow of cerise blood with fingertips alone. That 10mm bullet had done very little damage in spite of the proximity and in spite of the angle of penetration. The pellet had cut cleanly through from the chest and out of the highest rib on Myk’s back. Myk was lucky really. Had that gun been aimed but a fraction higher, that bullet would be lodged in his shoulder blade and would be very difficult to remove.
One cold, pale finger pushed through the opening in his shirt, in his flesh, and dug deep into his own chest. The officer on the ground stared in revulsion as the scene before him unravelled, not out of some terrible B Movie Horror Flick, but in flesh and blood standing right in front of him. Silence stretched as the seconds ticked past, all but the squelch of thick blood and some wet gasps invaded. The police officer began to crawl away, the scratch of metal on concrete as he dragged the gun with his hand made Myk stop. Pewter eyes shot forward, bloodied fingers pulling free from the opening in his chest. The retreating, vulnerable creature only encouraged the killer in Myk further, however. The sound pounding on the walls now was the drumming of this man’s heart – strong, loud, quick and terrified. Myk closed his eyes and stuck his nose into the air, breathing in the heat and pulse of it. His lower jaw hung loose at the joint, parting lips that were pale and clean mere hours ago but were now red and bruised, crusting and flaking away. A crimson route from his nostrils, to his cheeks, around his lips and to the foot of his neck was already evident, but what was less obvious was the tips of Myk’s sharp fangs that protruded just past his upper lip.
When the police officer had asked only moments ago whose blood covered Myk in that dramatic fashion, he must have supposed that his superior size would lead to the end of the butchery. Whether he believed that Myk was the victim or the butcher initially, however, no longer mattered. This white knight had made a grave error and he knew now that he was looking at death.
It was raining that night. The scent of life washed away with the pounding water, rinsing the world of its sins. From his silent stance beneath the stone overhang of a baroque archway, the Telepath relished the sights and sounds surrounding him. It was always a pleasant feeling to mix amongst these strange, oblivious folk. One of Myk’s favourite past-times was people watching and he often dressed purposely to stimulate responses. The Telepath’s wardrobe featured a wide range of outfits, from the damn-right terrifying, to mildly quirky, and occasionally normal, casual attire. Myk’s wardrobe had many styles as well, with Circus ware, Gothic-chic, Victorian themes, Steampunk, Kawaii, Cyberpunk, Fetish and Visual Kei featuring predominantly. Just as spontaneous and varied, was Myk’s selection of make-up, accessories, hair styles and shoes. As it happened, however, on this night Myk was absorbed in the shadows of reticence. The Telepath dressed plainly in stone-wash jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, his hair ironed flat in rivulets that poured down him like milk, and his features quiet; white foundation perfected his cashmere complexion, eye-liner and a single layer of mascara framed his pewter eyes.
Myk took in a breath as he closed his eyes; the oxygen wasn’t needed of course, but the habit was there. The inhale of damp, sweet air was also calming. The Telepath’s shoulders slumped and his back pressed against the wall. He could stay here for hours, undisturbed, unwatched and unwanted. Ordinarily these sentiments might have made the Vampire fret, but tonight, Myk needed to be alone. Yet, the comforting, clean scent of rain was soon dominated with blood, and the soothing patter of each heavy drop was drowned out by the beating of human hearts. The Telepath finally opened his eyes to gaze out at the city, pewter orbs full of contempt for any and all who dared to entreat on his attention.
Thump, thump, thump…
That sound. That all-encompassing sound was closer now.
Thump-thump-thump…
And quicker still.
Myk glared at those who scurried by him like frightened mice, but just like the lightning in the skies above, it all disappeared. All was silent once more, save for the rain, and the Telepath closed his eyes again.
The first sensation Myk could place as the dregs of a dreamless sleep crept away from him was the tug on his sleeve. Pewter eyes dripped down his own arm, crooning past ripped and stained fabric to the discrete, long-fingered hand that settled its weight on Myk’s elbow. The weight soon became a caustic pressure and the Telepath winced as the clasped hand became a fierce, tugging grip. Myk was turned sharply about and the force of the motion made his pewter eyes roll drunkenly in his skull. A high-pitched tone droned on in Myk’s ears, drowning out the voices of those around him. It was difficult to focus for a few moments, but Myk made out a prominent face amongst so much fog and darkness. Two piercing blue eyes pulled out of a roundish face, a square jaw hung low amid two boulder-sized shoulders. A torso, cloaked in a black and white uniform, lit up the part of Myk’s brain that recognised symbols. Pewter eyes, now clear and sharp, looked back to the policeman’s pug-like face.
“Whose blood is that?” the man barked.
Myk frowned, his movements sluggish and trembling and his mind bewildered. When he tried to remember the events of this night though, his memories scattered and floated away like paper scraps in an updraft. Myk snatched at the soaring memories, determined to remember, but he couldn’t collect enough to form a comprehensible picture. The first thing he could keep hold of was the memory of the rain and how he’d taken shelter beneath an archway near Cedar Court. He remembered the lightning flash and nothing more, nothing more than waking to this man leering at him and gripping his arm tight. Myk tried to pull away, pewter eyes closing slowly, but the policeman would not release him. The officer repeated his question and gave the Telepath a shake. Myk heard something rip. Impulse overcame hesitance and shock in that moment; Myk struck the Human with unpalatable force. The officer hit the ground with a slap and now shock, surprise and confusion ensnared a new victim. Pewter eyes stained with malice turned on the cowering mortal as Myk stepped forward. This armed police officer may have been twice the Vampire’s girth, but size never deterred him.
With a flicker of movement, Myk’s foot came down hard on the human’s wrist, trapping it between the floor and the sole of his combat boot. Sensing that the man might be reaching for a weapon, Myk felt he had no choice but to step in.
“Please don’t do that,” Myk hissed. “I know… I know you are just doing your job… But don’t shoot me… anymore…”
There was a strangled moan coming from the officer and he forced a hand under Myk’s boot to try and wrench the pressure off his wrist. Despite his willowy frame, however, Myk was stronger than he looked and the foot didn’t budge.
“If you promise…” Myk hissed again, rolling the words on his tongue as if savouring some sort of taste. “If you promise not to shoot me… I will let you go.”
The Telepath, unaware of his own appearance, was completely unaware of the world around him. The brick walls of the industrial buildings were only inches away from Myk’s shoulders, creating a narrow pathway that stretched on for metres; the concrete floor was damp, but drying; the sky was clouded over and it was no longer raining; yet Myk knew nothing of this. The Telepath was suspended in his own bubble, the world around him dark and blurry and unimportant. He remembered where he was, disregarded where he was now, and focused solely on the mortal writhing beneath his feet. The air around the Telepath was suddenly so much more predatory, as if the man was a tiger with the scent of injured prey thick in his nostrils. Myk’s once-white shirt, even his once-white hair was now blotched with dark crimson; drying blood spatters acting as the bands of this prowling tiger. Myk leant on that one foot pinning the Human to the ground and then snarled.
“Promise.”
The prompt, however, did not encourage a promise of safety. Knowing that he could not get his hand free, the police officer reached for the gun with his other, weaker hand, aimed and then fired. A howl carved down the alleyway as, ironically, a bullet punctured a lung. The Vampire staggered backward with a soundless gasp and subsequently continued to wheeze. Again, Myk didn’t need the oxygen, but basic instinct still told him to breathe and with each breath, the deflated sack of muscle pumped oxygen into his chest cavity. Obviously, basic instincts were stupid and so Myk refused to listen to the urge to fall down and succumb to suffocation. Instead, a hand applied itself to the wound’s entrance, damming the flow of cerise blood with fingertips alone. That 10mm bullet had done very little damage in spite of the proximity and in spite of the angle of penetration. The pellet had cut cleanly through from the chest and out of the highest rib on Myk’s back. Myk was lucky really. Had that gun been aimed but a fraction higher, that bullet would be lodged in his shoulder blade and would be very difficult to remove.
One cold, pale finger pushed through the opening in his shirt, in his flesh, and dug deep into his own chest. The officer on the ground stared in revulsion as the scene before him unravelled, not out of some terrible B Movie Horror Flick, but in flesh and blood standing right in front of him. Silence stretched as the seconds ticked past, all but the squelch of thick blood and some wet gasps invaded. The police officer began to crawl away, the scratch of metal on concrete as he dragged the gun with his hand made Myk stop. Pewter eyes shot forward, bloodied fingers pulling free from the opening in his chest. The retreating, vulnerable creature only encouraged the killer in Myk further, however. The sound pounding on the walls now was the drumming of this man’s heart – strong, loud, quick and terrified. Myk closed his eyes and stuck his nose into the air, breathing in the heat and pulse of it. His lower jaw hung loose at the joint, parting lips that were pale and clean mere hours ago but were now red and bruised, crusting and flaking away. A crimson route from his nostrils, to his cheeks, around his lips and to the foot of his neck was already evident, but what was less obvious was the tips of Myk’s sharp fangs that protruded just past his upper lip.
When the police officer had asked only moments ago whose blood covered Myk in that dramatic fashion, he must have supposed that his superior size would lead to the end of the butchery. Whether he believed that Myk was the victim or the butcher initially, however, no longer mattered. This white knight had made a grave error and he knew now that he was looking at death.