Ren's night of "R n R", her twist on "R & R", standing for "Recon Never Rests" was over.
Her first night in New Orleans has her overwhelmed with lycans.
Her second night found her poisoned, thankfully her other worldly abilities had kicked in. She shuddered to think of what would have happened to her if she'd been strictly human.
Her third and forth nights were wonderfully uneventful, withthe exception of meeting a few nice people.
Now it was time to get to work. After a video conference with Berlin, who sternly reminded her - needlessly - that she had a duty to proform.
Once again she found herself on the roof tops. Sounds of jazz could be heard, the chatter from the people below; engines humming, purring or thundering down the streets; along with the heavy thud thud thud of every car's bass trying to outdo the others. After so much practice, she could tune it down to white noise, barely preceptable.
She knew when her eyes changed. It was the same time her canine teeth grew in length and her nails grew strong, long and razor sharp. It happened when her vampire half manifested. Deep brown eyes turned bi colored. A circle of that deep brow remained around the edges, but around the iris, a light golden wheat color. Her senses alredy heightened, that when her abilities were brought forward it was just a little better. Helping her to search out what she saught. And being on the roof top helped keep her secret as well.
And there they were. Two blockd up and across teh busy street. Taking a running start, she lept from rooftop to roof top until she was near the vampires below. If they had any sense, they'd feel her presence. There were a few lycans below. Their furry scent tingled her nostrils. Neither group of preternaturals seemed to acknowledge the other. Was it some unspoken rule? The lycans were loud and boisterous, having a good time. How she envied them.
Bringing that golded gaze back to the vampires, one with shoulder length black hair and a goatee, the other with short cropped honey colored hair. They were dressed as any party goer below and blended into the crowd. Goatee Guy was trying to hide himself. Shied his otherworldly self. Blondie was too young for that. The set , a beautiful pair. Unless you looked through Ren's eyes. It was her ability, her curse or gift, that let her see vampires and even other dhmphir, for what they really were. And no amount of supernatrual power would stop that. Like recognized like.
And now, they were making their move. Leading two women down the block and away from the rush of people. Across the street, Ren followed on the roof tops; until they entered a darkened alley.
Ren peered over the side of the building, making sure the coast was clear. Almost. There was an old drunken man staggering to a bunch of stacked boxes. As he crawled in, Ren dropped off the roof top, landing in a crouch on the cement below.
Palming the blades form the sheaths on her forearms, she made her way across the street, boldly stepping into the alley.
She could hear the vampires - they were taunting their prey. They say fear gives the blood an extra kick. Like adding Bailey's to coffee she'd been told once.
"Howdy boys'" She said, knowing her own vampiness would fool them. They were young, younger than she originally given them credit for. Well, Goatee Guy anyway. In a few hundred years he'd be a powerful master. But only if he lived tonight - and she wasn't about to let that happen.
The blonde was the first to speak. "These are ours...get yor own bitch!"
Without projecting her moves, the two palmed danggers werer thrown, the handles protruding from the neck of the blonde.
"Don't call me a bitch." SHe said, as she pulled two of her three Rea daggers from her back.
Goatee Guy reguarded her before he looked to his fallen friend. "He's never had manners. But alas, wer are not willing to share our bounty tonight." Blondie went to his knees before falling over.
"Silver?" Goatee Guy asked, one dark brow raised in astonishment. "You'd use deadly force against your own kind?"
Ren looked to the frightened women, almost completely forgotten by herself and the still standing vampire. Then she faced him. "You betchya.......RUN!" The last yelled to the women while she attacked the god awful Goatee Guy.
He recovered quickly from the inital shock of Ren's attack. Blocking her slash and landing a blow to her rib cage. She heard the crack, felt the pain. It healed quickly, though not quick enough to keep her temper from rising.
Redoubling her attempts, both knives cut through the air at lightening speed. She felt satisfaction with every sswipe that landed. He was fast. In his attempt to keep from being gutted like a fish, he grabbed her wrists. Snapping them both like breadsticks and effectively disarming her. The clang of the daggers hitting the concrete had him smiling. His fangs dripping with saliva.
"You may have deprieved me of my meal, but I'm sure you'll be a finer feast." He latched onto her shoulder, gnawing at it like a dog with a t-bone. The pain had her seeing stars and screaming out in agony. That pleased him. That sound. Because he lifted his head, hissed in pleasure, then attacked the other side.
Gritting her teeth through the pain of the new onslaught, Ren braced herself. Planting her feet. He felt her body tense and brought his head up to look at her. Her blood coated his mouth, chin, and shirt.
She head butted him.
He released one arm, only to latch tightly onto the one he still had a hold of. He spun her, intent on throwing her into the wall that was right behind her, thinking he had his kill.
Ren had other plans. She used the momentum and ran up the wall, flipping to land almost on his shoulders, enough to bring him down to kiss the concrete. With those claws of her's, she dug into his neck, ripping and tearing the flesh and bone. Until the head was a separate entity from its body.
Staggering and breathing harshly, Ren stood. She looked down at the corpse. Then she heard a gurgle, and her attention was drawn to Blondie.
Stopping only long enough to pick up her dropped daggers, she moved to stand over him.
"You're right..." her voice was rough and ragged. "I'm a bitch." Straddling over him, she sat on his chest, her bloody hands grapping the blades handles, she yanked them in opposite directions. Mostly severing the head. Sighing in disgust, she leaned forward and finished the job.
She hid her weapons away once again. Briefly she thought of the women. Looking to see if they were there or if they ran...Gone, good.
Too hurt and loosing toomuch blood as it was, she moved the bodies only far enough to cover them with the trash that was in the alley.
As she walked away, sticking to the shadows of the night, she prayed she didn't meet anyone along the way. And she prayed even harder, that she'd make it home.
Artemus' nightly jog took him in an every changing course that only worked to help him learn the city. Run until you get lost, then find your way back. Each night brought him some place new, and led to many interesting interactions. Coming around a corner, the scent of blood hit him first. The metallic flavor filling his mouth as receptors filtered it from his nose. Coming to a stop he looked down the gaping maw of the alley as brow knit together.
Disappearing into the entrance the scent grew stronger until he found the two corpses, but the scent of death was old, not fresh. Just the blood spilt. Vampires. "Oh, so no real crime here...." Careful to make sure no blood was on his shoes, Artemus slipped back out and noticed a lone pair of foot prints leaving the alley..and a slight blood trail, the faint drippings something to test. Kneeling down he dabbed a finger into the droplet andbrought it to his tongue. The taste confused the hell out of him. Blinking repeatedly his curiousity flared and set Artemus following the blood trail.
Ren cursed a blue streak.Worthy of any sailor.In time the wounds would heal, but oh yeah, not tonight.Tonight they bled.Leaving a her own flavor of breadcrumbs for the curious feline to follow.Straight into the Ninth Ward. In a round about way of course.Sticking to the shadows was not always an easy feat, especially in the more active hot spots along the way.
So she zagged and zigged – once even leaving a bloody hand print on the side of a brick building. The blood loss had her stumbling here and there.There was bound to be a print sooner or later.Subconsciously she had already had a plan to go back and bleach down any evidence.But that was later.First she needed to feed, and she needed to rest.And at the moment Ren didn’t care which happened first.
Ten blocks to go.Eight blocks to go.
Six blocks to go and holding…onto the side of a dumpster in an alley.Her eyes were bright in the darkness, not the deep brown when she had herself totally under control and ‘humanized’ as she liked to call it.Though her nails and fangs were of normal length, so some control she maintained, but very little.Was she a threat to others?Like, say…the three men stumbling out of the building across the street headed only they knew where? Newp. She was a good little dhampir, at her age, she did manage to control some of those basic urges.
“Hurry the hell up and go already.” She muttered at the men who she could hear clearly
‘Shirley’s house is this way.’
‘No you dumb ass she lives over in Kensington.’
‘Its that way…come on.’
It went on like that for at least three minutes.Three minutes where the scent of her own blood filled her nostrils, obstructing any other scent that may come her way, with the exception of three day old trash in the dumpster next to her.She closed her eyes, fighting the waves of nausea and the weakness in her that just wanted to crawl into the dumpster for the time being.Her hearing, focused on the jackasses who couldn’t only not remember exactly which was Kensington street was, but what last name Shirley went by.
"Where the hell is she going?" How did he know it was a female? Easy. The blood, could have been the scent as well but that didn't cover all the angles. The scent told him where she'd been, and tasted of vampire, but that trace of human confused the hell out of Artemus. He'd never come across anything half-assed; but then he never met children of Vlad syndrom or Mowgli's either. And the two dead suck-heads said she was dangerous, add wounded, and he could be following a real dangerous animal. Not because of her melee weapons either.
Artemus stepped up his lope to take advantage of his long stride while counting off the blocks. Slowly he saw familiar things and noted the direction had been steady towards the Ninth, so either she was meeting someone, or that's where this mysterious vigilante lived. Yes he knew to call Jessica about what happened, but she'd tell him to wait, there'd be police called, and slam, bam, thank you Mr. Piggy there'd be an investigation. No, that wouldn't do. Track the would-be killer and get himself some face time. Still, not calling her could wreak more havok than doing so. It was bad enough he thought the New Orleans pard was on its own with no allies, finding this and not letting his leader know was like declaring treason. "Fuckin politics. Hate the entire structure system. Needs to just dissolve."
With a deep growl, Artemus dug out his cheap off the wrack cell phone and dialed Jessica's number. "Hey, it's Artemus. Was out jogging and found two dead vamps in an alley with a blood trail leaving the scene. I'm following it. Gonna leave an annonymous call to 911 unless I hear back from you. And I don't plan on doing anything stupid, just observation." He ended the message by giving the address where the bodies were found.
Finally! The dumb fucks went left. A few deep breaths and Ren opened her eyes and once again they were the nice human color brown, like melted chocolate. Everyone likes chocolate!
Pushing away from the wall, she looked like a drunk staggering from the alley way. The blood still ran from her neck in rivulets, dripping from her already satruated shirt.
Once in the mouth of the alley, she shook her head to clear her vision. Then started for Andry street...
Putting the cell on silent, wouldn't do to have his prey hear it go off. This way he just had to check now and then for the little indicator light. Gradually the scent grew stronger until he found another alley, his eyes not seeing a vacating blood trail, Artemus took a lean against the wall since either this would dead end, or the alley cut across to another street. Being fresh on the trail, it dawned on him that the luxury of waiting really was on his side.
A few heartbeats granted, Artemus moved into the alley, finding that it did come out onto another street, not a dead end. Quickly, he looked for markers on his location and ripped off a quick text to Jessica that he was making his way towards Andry street. Whoever he followed could move, even though injured. But then he wasn't really running.
Ren came to the corner of Law and Andry to the abandoned looking - but not so abandoned now - warehouse type of church, the weeds and previous debris still littered the grounds. The extra exits and windows had been bricked over. Leaving only on entrance, one exit. Both of which were the same. Each other corner had vacant lots that she presumed had once held houses, with the one directly across on Law...it was a wooded corner.
Blood smeared on the railing as Ren fell up the stairs and stood at the door, digging her keys from her pocket, then rifling through the various keys to open the three locks on the door.
His path came to a halt across the street from a dilapitated church surrounded by empty lots. Holding close to the side the nearest building he watched a woman collide with the railing then the door. A faint jingle of keys. So this is our little slayer. Ducking out of site, Artemus opened his cell and sent off another text to Jessica that he'd followed the trail to Andry and Law.
Dragging her ass through the gym, through the living area and into the 'extra' part of her home. She grabbed three containers from storage fridge and went back into the living quarters.
Containers in hand, she went to the bathroom and turned on the hot water in the shower. She slid to the floor leaning against the tub.
Sitting on the floor, she downed the first containers contents without pause. The second was taken in two breaths. The third, was as if she was drinking a soda or a cup of coffee.
It was near the end of that last container, where sleep overtook her.
