Path of the Vampire forum

Johannes slowly tilted his neck to one side, then the other, popping the joints as he did. There was a fresh refill of coffee in front of it, just as he liked it: black and hot. His fingers darted over the keyboard, scrolling through different newspaper clipping and forum entries, in search of the bkiller whale.

He was convinced there was a story to find here: kids went on the internet, found themselves a 'handler', who gave them assignments like listening to emo music, or spend a day inside with the curtains closed, with only some candles lit. As the so-called game progressed, the assignments grew much more serious, resulting in suicides in several cases. if a player wanted to bail out, they got threathened.

His editor agreed it was a sick game, but wasn't entirely sure if it wasn't some internet hoax. The last thing the newspaper wanted was caught falling for some urban myth and see their credibility (and advertisement revenues) go down the drain. So he was stuck here for now, researching the truth or lack thereof, behind the phenomenon, hoping there was a story to write. He damn well could use the cash.

He sighed...as was to be expected, it wasn't an easy search. These kind of games don't really have a pop-up when you visit Facebook or check your e-mail.

The CyberCafe was one of her many haunts, especially when she wanted to simply have a change of scene. A change of scene was good in some aspects, simply because one could watch human behaviours in different settings and if it was one thing that Syn was painfully aware of, was the fact that she didn’t mirror human emotions very well. Blue eyes darted across the screen as numbers flickered across it and her fingers moved across the keyboard without much effort at all. The script programming was almost complete and she would gain another useful tool in her arsenal, however it had been painfully slow, as it had taken too many days to complete. Syn had her job for her sire, Cedric, which was her top priority. When it came to him, anything he needed was top priority and the woman would always try to make sure that whatever it was that he wanted to be done, was done. Such as it was for her, work was basically it, simply because she felt no need to have to do anything else.

Being emotionless wasn’t really a curse for the woman, in fact every way that she looked it at, it was probably the only way that the business woman could have handled being turned into a vampire in the first place. Granted, it was that or die due to the fadebeast that had been going inside of her, so the emotionless predicament that she found herself in, was logical in its own right. Her mind would have broken otherwise, so to save itself and her sanity, her emotions were also killed in the process of her transformation. Fingers paused upon the keyboard as the waitress returned back to her table, “Would y…” The waitress’s words died off as blue eyes peered up into green ones for a moment, ”I don’t need another coffee, thank you.” The shadow simply said without blinking and the waitress moved away from her.

As her gaze followed the waitress, she suddenly caught sight of a man, come to think of it, he had been here long before she had. A hum rose to her lips as she watched the man whose own fingers darted across the keyboard and she took in a deep breath, noting the familiar scents of a human being. Whatever it was that the man was working on, it seemed to have caught the man’s interest and she wondered just as to what drove the man to be here for quite some time. She realised that due to her own inability to feel the need to do anything that it meant that she could sit in the one spot for hours on end without feeling the time slip by. In fact, if she wasn’t such a fledgling as the sun rose in the sky, the woman was pretty certain that she wouldn’t sleep either. This man, had caught her interest and she wondered just as to what drove him to sit in the same position for so long.

Fingers flickered across the touchpad as she sent her laptop to sleep before she closed up her machine and tucked it away in its carry bag. Zipping it up, she slung it over her left shoulder and rose from her position at her table after tossing a fifty dollar note upon the table. Heeled steps crossed over the floor to reach the man’s table and she seated herself across from the man. ”Hello, the name is Syn. I hope that you don’t mind if I sit here. See, I noticed you earlier when I arrived, but you have been here far longer than I have and I generally situate myself in a spot for many hours. So, I got curious. Most people… Get too. What’s the word, Distracted? Unmotivated or have a simple lack of drive. You on the other hand seemed rather focused upon something and have been for quite some time. So, curiousity killed the cat and now I’m here, so to speak. Which brings me right around just as to why I’m here, my curiousity. What exactly has you so focused that you would spend many hours sitting in the same spot while your muscles cramp up?”

Johannes blinked as he looked up from the screen at the young woman. While his brain was still transferring her question, his hand already gestured to the seat she had taken, as if to give permission. There was something strange about him, his brain continued, now it had been waylaid by the rest of his body, and needed a new train of thought. The eyes. Yes, the eyes were indeed the first to be noticed. A bright blue indeed. But it was as if you were gazing into a mirror. It was as if...you only got back what you put in to it.

He rubbed his face for a moment, exhaustion now kicking in as the caffeine reached a new low. Oh gods, he should never have quit smoking. Why did he quit smoking?!

He smiled and gave his wristwatch a look. "Has it really been that long? Yes....I guess it has.
He waved for the waitress and ordered another coffee, with a large glass of water to go. I was important to stay hydrated. "Did you want anything?", he asked the newcomer.

"I'm Johannes, pleasure to meet you...Syn, you said it was? And to answer your question, no big secret there, I was working on a few stories....I'm a journalist, you see, or at least, aspire to be one. Freelance, since I don't have to sell my independence that way and I can write about the things that matter. You know, the kind of naivety that doesn't pay the bills.

He leaned back in his seat and stretched a moment.

'Do you know that feeling, when you're watching a crime series or reading a whodunnit? That feeling that has you simply needing to know who did it? Or have you ever been given one of those rope puzzles, the kind with a metal bit and you have to separate the rope and metal, which is seemingly impossible? I guess I am one of those people who simply has to know. It turns me into a proverbial bloodhound, I guess. I simply keep on going until I solve the puzzle.

He thanked and paid the waitress, almost immediately nipping his coffee.

"It's the same with stories I'm researching, I guess..."

He was mid-way drinking his coffee when his demeanour suddenly whole-heartedly agreed with her. Quickly putting the cup down again, he gestured. "See...that's exactly what I mean. I forget to eat properly, tend to skip sleep...all because of that puzzle...as if it's taunting me, daring me to see if I can solve it. It's the modern version of the thrill of the hunt, I guess"

He now finally sipped, making a sour face upon her mentioning of vampires, as if the coffee was cold or suddenly to bitter.

"Vampires, ghosts, paranormal activity...I must admit, I couldn't care less about all that stuff. I don't really get why so many people want to read or hear about those things, while there are enough problems to care about in 'the real world' all around us. I mean, here...one of the things I'm working on right now....the killer whale...it's a new, online game, which typically targets socially weaker kids and teens. At first, it all seems innocent...you get a handler and are given assignments, like 'close all the curtains and listen to emo music all day' or 'have no other light source than candles", but before you know it, the assignments get more dangerous. 'Have a whale tattooed on your arm. Commit suicide', things like that. If the players want out, they are threatened.

Or take this city, for example. Another investigation I'm having right now...has it ever occured to you how much sex trade is present in this city? Who are these girls? Do they work for themselves or are they exploited by a third party?

He sighed and smiled apologetically, sipping his coffee once more. "I know, told you....naive..."

He emptied the coffe, now really getting passionate about the topic, as his body language and intonation betrayed.
"Yes, but isn't that exatly the way of thinking that strengthens the status quo? I mean, don't get me wrong, I agree that there will always be sex trades. It's as old as the street and perhaps we should count ourselves lucky it exists...I honestly don't know what it would do to sexual related crimes if it didn't exist, but that's not the point.

Have you ever been to Amsterdam? Famous for it's red light district....no dirty alleyways, but a nice area along the canals. It's almost window shopping. Even more, the women working there have actually fomed a union. No so-called bosses or pimps, but an actual, legal trade union that looks after their interests. Insurance, for example. Fixed prices. Health check-ups on a regular basis.

I mean, I can go on and on..."

He smiled somewhat apologetically, now resting and folding his hands on the table.

'The thing is...we need to keep debating these issues. I know change will not come tomorrow, like a tsunami, sweeping over the city. But when we give up debating, asking critical questions..." He shook his head. "That's when we are truly lost, in my opinion...

He grinned. "But yeah, if I was in this line of work for the money, I'd better start writing about the boob job of some celebrity, I know...