The Amber Alert was a clever ploy, I’ll give them that much, it was timed well, it disturbed the proceedings and forced us to fall back. If I understand correctly, and I do, our Moles have failed miserably and we are compromised. Our Pack could have taken this sleepy town by ourselves were it not for the ubiquitous presence of incompetence we seem to be incessantly surrounded by, but it is of little importance to us. That is not our purpose here. As opposed to the other Packs in the area who serve exclusively as blunt instruments, our purpose is more… surgical in nature.

We have done this several times before, it is something of a tradition for us, while I must admit that some of us have been together longer than others, We, are legion. We work in unison, as a highly tuned machine, or not at all. The whole is far greater than the sum of its parts.

I do not particularly like Sawney, truthfully I do not particularly like any of them, but I do need them, our relationship is highly logical, a symbiosis from which all of us benefit. Each of us has particular skills which we add to the collective and I must say that regardless of his intellectual shortcomings, Sawney has proven himself to be highly resourceful.

He brings us to a perfect spot, on the edge of suburbia. There is but a single house constructed at the end of a new street ending in a culdesac, to one side there is an empty lot, to the other there is a foundation. All around are pieces of heavy machinery left overnight and a scattering of work-trucks. The van will attract little attention. The driveway of the cheaply made, yet ostentatious house ends in a two-car garage and it would seem that whatever vehicles these people own are parked inside. Good, no one will notice that they are not coming and going. I get out and walk once around the house, there is a basement and approximately four bedrooms, standard front and backdoor and presumably a means of egress to the garage.

Of course when things get ugly in a moment, there is some small possibility that someone might try and escape through a window, though it has been my experience that when these soft, whitebread folk are given a choice between survival and not damaging the new windows or the bed of chrysanthemums below, they almost always choose the latter. But if we are lucky enough to have a runner tonight, I am confident that Sawney will be more than happy to practice his archery skills.

As I round the far side of the house, my glowing eyes see all four of my Packmates at the ready. I give the sign for Dust and Enoch to cover the back door, she will be able to hear all that occurs here in the front and he will act with her. The Priest        will take up position near the garage, out of sight of the front door, entering directly behind me and unlocking the back door, then we will sweep the house.

When all are in place I walk directly to the front door and ring the doorbell quickly and repeatedly, to indicate a panic of some sort. When the master of the house rises, he will be groggy and irritated by the inconvenience, but he will answer the summons dutifully because he is assured by the world he knows that he maintains a certain amount of invulnerability because he is somehow important. Unfortunately for him, his world and ours are about to collide.

I let off of the buzzer after about a minute, take a step back and convince the minds of any who would observe me that, in fact, they do not and wait for the door to open. As it does, I swiftly breeze past him and behind, clenching my fist around his nose and mouth so he cannot cry out, wrapping my other arm around his neck so as to cut off the bloodflow to his brain as well.

Acid has shut the front door and headed past me to the back of the house before the man even passes out.  

--Last edited by Pathos on 2008-05-15 18:22:29 --

"They's inside," Sawney says to himself, looking at the clock on the dash, "five minutes an' Ah'll follow." He reminds himself of his instructions as he exits the cab of the van, which is not connected to the cargo-hold of the back. Quickly scanning down the empty street, he grabs his case and clicks the latches. Inside is a thick, handmade recurve-shortbow with a seventy pound draw and a quarrel of handmade arrows with varying tips.

"If'n anyone come out It sez, drop 'em, hard an fast" he says, reiterating what Acid had told him. Knocking an arrow and slinging the quarrel over his shoulder, he moves to the side of the van facing away from the house, where he can be hidden but still see the house through the passenger window and the windshield, turn to watch down the street, and most importantly, keep an eye on the clock.

As he waits, he marvels at the efficiency of the Pack and wishes his dogs worked that well together. "Ah miss mah dawgs" he says mournfully in his southern accent, making it sound like an achey-breaky country-western song.

 I enter the door quickly as Pathos deals with the creature at the door, it shall be short work. I round a corner, and nearly bump into one of the creatures offspring, young possibly a decade old. It only sees a person that could be male or female, I have transcended sex it is below me. I am the third, I am divine. It does not even struggle as I rip its trachea from its throat. These creatures exist for our whim, our merest pleasure, nothing more.

There is blood upon my garments, filthy little creatures, their young. The bodies are still growing and the blood supply is large and uncontrolled.

I arrive at their kitchen and reach the back door into their abode. I open the door,"You are invited in my brother and sister, revel in our condition. String up the bodies, there shall be a blood feast and I shall deliver a sermon of our father afterward. Grifter's failure has shown me I have been lax in my duties, I will not fail you" as it ushers in the pair.

It's mind sweeps to Caine and of the lessons it must teach this night. A mad glean quickly covers it's perfect eyes, rarely does it show any emotion, but its sermons are moving to say the least. One might even say inspired.

 I sweep around the house with Dust, she is silent, I am not. It bodes well the mortals are asleep, they will not raise the alarm. I reach the door and look to Dust, she is the harbinger that shall loose the dog of war. I draw deeply into my strength of will, The will of Mars courses through my veins, 'Mars vigila' ("Mars awaken"). The wait is long, everyone must be ready. The previous packs must have made mistakes, we do not. I start mumbling the Code, reciting it over and over. I recall the 50 witnesses that signed and decreed the word that set us apart.

Dust looks at me, I am saying it aloud. I silence my mouth but continue it as a rote. It calms me, tells me what my actions should be, it chains the beast and slowly starves it in a corner. Dust nods, I am a legionnaire, a follower of Mars, he lends me strength. I will conquer, I am war.

I proceed past Dust inside and spot Pathos at the front door, I know the routine, dead men tell no tales. I move toward the stairwell ascending into the dark. I move upstairs and I hear a door lock. Simple delusion, I kick the door down, and walk in. I spot the female across the bed, as I feel a small child sprint past my leg. Dust will take care of her, there is no escape from this Amityville. I leap over and start pummeling her into the floor (burn 1 blood, 2008-05-11 13:29:53Enoch rolls 7 dice to pummeling 5,6,4,6,7, 6,1 (3 successes), 2008-05-11 13:30:12Enoch rolls 8 dice to pummeling 8,10,7,7,10, 3,5,1,8,2 (5 successes); Damage 2008-05-11 13:34:31Enoch rolls 5 dice to pummeling damage 6,4,1,6,4 [(1 success)2 successes w/ potence],2008-05-11 13:35:47 Enoch rolls 7 dice to pummeling damage 8,3,1,4,4, 3,4 [(failure)1 success w/ potence]  

--Last edited by Enoch on 2008-05-11 18:58:14 --

2008-05-11 14:26:02 Dust rolls 6 dice to grab child 3,8,10,5,5, 6 (3 successes )
*******************************

Children are interesting creatures. For their small stature and innate weakness they are also some of the most perceptive when it comes to recognizing us for what we really are.

As the little dear rushes past Enoch, running from monsters in the dark, seeking the comfort of her Daddy's strong arms I will catch her.

Children are valuable. Nothing motivates a juice bag more than threatening their offspring. Nother gets someones attention like handing him his darling daughters pinky finger, wrapped in plastic...

With one swift move i catch the little girl by the hair as she moves to fly past me, she gets out about half a shriek before my arm is locked around her neck, choking her back to sleep.

I whisper into her ear, tightening my grip and twisting her hair.

'Save your screams precious, you've only had a glimpse of hell..'

I can hear her scream,"Run Samantha, Run.." as I pummel her. There is blood, I can smell it. I must have broke her nose. I strike her again and again as she weakens with the onslaught.(2008-05-11 14:41:07Enoch rolls 8 dice to pummeling 2,6,9,2,8, 4,1,9 (3 successes;2008-05-11 14:45:35 Enoch rolls 5 dice to pummeling damage 7,8,6,10,6, 1 (4 successes)5 w/ potence) She stops screaming and I can hear the gurgle of blood in her lungs, she is not for this world much longer. I enjoy the feel of her warm flesh as I wrap my hands around her neck and choke the life from her body.

I immediately start to drag her body into the living room. I look around for Sawney, he always has some rope. There are some rafters in there that should work, I have needed this. As I drag her, I first notice the smell. Dark and sour, she must have soiled herself. It drives the hunger and beast within me wild with fury, I cannot resist it. I reach down and rip open her stomach searching for what I need. I pull out the still steaming liver and consume it tartar. My beast held in check I drag her now bloody corpse downstairs, some things cannot wait.

I can still taste the acrid aftertaste of the liver on my tongue. The burn reminds me of horseradish, I wonder how long before I forget that taste, I wonder.  

--Last edited by Enoch on 2008-05-11 17:07:37 --

(2008-05-11 15:37:48 Sawney rolls 4 dice to Percep+Alert (lookout) 5,10,8,9 (3 successes)

"Tahm's up" he says looking at the clock again. He scans the surroundings once more and grabs a duffel bag from the back before closing and locking the van then heading into the house.

Entering the front door, he locks it, tossing the bag to the floor near the growing pile of juicebags. Grinning he sets his bow in the unused section beneath the fancy coat-rack by the door meant for umbrellas and canes and hangs his quiver on a hook.

Returning to the bag he begins to pull several lengths of oddly-textured rope from it, tying several quick slip-knots and tossing them over the exposed rafter above as he finishes each one.

Glancing around as he works, he spots the child with no throat and begins to salivate worse than Pavlov's dog. One at a time, he wraps a rope around the feet of the former residents as they are brought to him, pulling the knot tight and hoisting them up as one would a bail of hay to a barn loft and tying off on the handrail of the staircase.

Cocking his head as if he were trying to turn it up-side down like a barn-owl, he scrutinizes the man's face. "Ghad dammit, Ah gots ta look like this guy fer the next week? He looks like a queer!" he protests to himself, knowing that Acid will force him to wear the man's face and act as though he were deathly ill, in case anyone should happen to come to the door while the Pack sleeps below.

 After dragging the bloodied corpse downstairs to Sawney, I start securing the house. I start in the basement by covering and taping all the windows, I can already see it has been down here. There is its box of dirt. I guess we are staying here for awhile. I lock and bolt all the doors out, even the upstairs door. It has told me to, it doesn't trust Sawney. It is mortal after all. I leave the door upstairs open and continue through the house closing blinds and curtains, locking windows, closing the flue on the chimney. We are thorough, this is not our first house nor will it be our last, there is a routine, an order if you will.
--------------------------------
2008-05-11 16:55:10Enoch rolls 5 dice to Securing the house 1,5,6,9,6 (2 successes)(Perc+Security diff-6)

I like it fresh... The little girl is unharmed, only choked out. Not a drip was wasted from her. I carry her down the stairs and use a roll of ducttape to secure her tiny wrists and her little mouth.

I leave her on the floor, her neck already bruising from the naked choke and turn my attention to Sawney.

I get his attention with a quick boot to his ribs.

'What the fuck Sawney? Wheres my shit. Be a good little bitch and get my gear.'

I shoo him like an animal. A pack mule or stupid dog... Its not good to let the help be idle. And i wouldnt trust him to help in securing the joint anyway...

Everyone seems busy so i will go do my part. Wandering the house and finding my way to the garage. We will have options for transportation. I flick on the lights and run my hand along a beefed up SUV. The battered mothers overglorified minivan...A battering ram on wheels if you ask me.

In the second slot a sedan. Boring, economical.. a toyota. Sawney was right, the husband is a fag. I reach up to quickly disconnect the motors from the garage doors. Its nothing permanant, but the doors are heavy and locked... and now powerless. A difficult impediment for nayone trespassing.

I slip a four iron out of a golf caddy as i flick off the lights and head upstairs. If Sawney didnt bring my gear in hes gonna catch a beating...

Sawney waited for her to pass with his eyes upon the floor, like any obedient dog not wanting to provoke another strike and then ran out to the van to get her obnoxious-looking, electric-pink shoulder bag with the rhinestones all over it.

He curses himself for forgetting it in the first place. "Gahd dammit Sawney. Wher's yer head at boy? You keep jackin' round an they's gonna starve you again."

He places it gingerly on top of the hutch near the garage door, so it is the first thing she sees when she returns.  

--Last edited by Radiationjunkie on 2008-05-11 23:52:07 --

I despise children. It is a truly Heraclean effort for me keep from further defiling the corpse of the filthy little mongrel that Acid extirpated, to say nothing of the screeching brat that Dust just brought down. Normally we do not kill the inhabitants right away as we have other plans for them. It was undoubtedly doing me a favor, as It knows very well how deeply my abhorrence of the worthless little maggots truly goes. To me they are the epitome of the ignorance, avarice and squalor that is Mankind.

There is no logic in their ceaseless spawning, not one single forethought of the consequences. To maintain balance, a population’s fecundity must roughly equal its mortality. The humans have done nothing if not prove beyond any possibility of argument that they are utterly incapable of the simple task that they were given. And so, all of creation suffers with them for their transgressions. The equilibrium was lost eons ago. They say that it is the get of Caine that are cursed, I would argue the opposite: it is the get of Seth who are forsaken. They are the vapid and disease ridden livestock. We are the cunning predators created to keep them in check. I would say that we are the ones who came out ahead.

To take my mind off of those disgusting little hobgoblins, I busy myself tearing the stained carpet from its moorings. Should a nosy acquaintance of our guests happen by, it would be better that they see the bare wooden floor being removed due to the mold infestation that caused the entire family to fall ill than to see a blood-caked carpet through the crack in the door when Sawney opens it.

As I finish I see that It is about to commence with the Feast…

 As Sawney is returning inside,"Scout the area and await my call, you are not to enter until I call for you. I would hate having to discipline you so near to your sister's estrus" with that I stare coldly at at my creation explaining what my displeasure would provoke in my gaze."Now" as he scurries out the door, I lock it at his departure. Dust and Enoch are just returning to the room and Pathos is behind me, from the sounds, finishing hanging the bodies. I turn to all of the assembled, my pack, my brothers.

“We shall string up these chider of Seth, for the blood feast shall consume this eve.” and immediately we set to work. When we have finished It pulls out a Chalice.

“Low there, we have traveled far to wage war upon the Infidels, they dwell within this domain and all shall quake when the time of reckoning is at hand. As Caine proclaimed,”

“And Caine will call aloud the names of those to be destroyed. for their crimes are too great and all those who have consumed the heart's blood of their sire will be brought before the Black Throne and made to drink of Caine's blood
And Caine's blood will eat their blood
And the Dark Mother herself will be brought forth and there, in the valley of Enoch, will there be a battle a duel of Dark Father and Dark Mother
The Demon Queen will bite deep
The Damned King will bite deeper
We will not know the thing which will happen, but the sky will tear apart, and the earth below
And the forces of Hell will pour up out of the ground”

To It’s pack,“All of Caine’s blood, pour out the gift into a chalice that we will share of it and become as brothers again.”

“Once this war was over,
All of the Kindred hid from one another
And from the humans that surrounded them.
In hiding we remain today,
For the Jyhad continues still.”

While intoning the verse, all fill the chalice with their vitae,  and holding aloft the chalice, It finishes…

“May the many and manifest blessings of Caine be upon us all, and preserve our Blessed Sect through until our Final Victory.”

At this point all there drink deeply of the precious draught, from which we defy our nature.

“We here are full of righteous wrath, behold our fury upon the wicked and corrupt, with our father’s guidance we cannot fail, for ours is the sword of Caine, we his cleaver to his abased childer.”

“We are commanded to slake our revenge first amongst the elder of the scholars, the philosophers. It shall finish what was started long ago in Carthage, we shall never live amongst the kine and know love, for it is written, Carthago delenda est (Carthage must be destroyed) ”

"And they asked Caine the old Father,
'Why do you command us to not Embrace those we love?'
And Caine said to them, 'Love is the sweet rain which falls down from the One Above.
Love is the gift of life.
Remember ye not Auriel's Curse?
That we are to eat only ashes, drink only blood?
Blood is not sweet rain. Our drink takes Life.'
And then Caine's eyes got the look of Visions, and he quieted, then he spoke:
'But if ever one of us is gifted with the love of a mortal without Command or Awe, without compulsion
a Love given freely, then that Love will be as the gentle rain to even the lowliest of us.
And though we shall not Embrace it,
it will feed us as if we supped at our Father`s table
it will satisfy our deepest thirst.
But harken ye, my children!
The Children of Seth will always hate us again and again, for we are their predators we are their Masters
and they know this. deep in their soul.
Look not for Love among them! They will not give it.
Be not a fool."

At that It draws itself up and stares at the pack, infused with new vision, new emotion, a sense of purpose."Caine has provided a feast for us, consume of these, drink deeply my Sword for as you sup, strength of purpose shall you gain, Champions you are, heralds of the truth, torches in the dark."  

With the Priests words i take my place. A new fever in my eyes and fangs in my grin. A wicked blade is held tight in my hand and pressed hard against the throat of the suspended little girl.

I look to each of my brothers, we are one less. But so much stronger for the loss... I adjust my grip on the girls hair, the blade just barely scratching her skin, her eyes open and panicked, but her body bound and mouth gagged. I am hungry... I wait only for our priests final word of the feast...

 "By the strength of our vitae, we are as one, in thought, action, and deed, and now we shall grow hale and strong" as It motions them all forward to the conclusion they have all awaited.

I work my blade like im opening a melon. Giving the little girls neck a deep, smiling gash as her lifes blood spills forth. I know the others will do much the same...

I drop the blade and catch blood in my hands, its like a shower. Her growing little body contains more blood than it should and she sprays, a heart pumping out of fear and pain... Ending its life quicker.

I drink the hot liquid in mouthfulls, very messy. Red stains my blond hair and coats my face like a mask, giving me strength, giving us all strength...

I have taken off my jacket, I no longer need to hide my appearance from casual observers. My shirt is undulating behind my back. Out comes a long thin prehensile probiscus, knotted with bone and sinew. I do not feed directly from the kine, my mortal body took in sustenance from my mouth, I have evolved beyond those petty needs.

I stake my claim on the younger male, the blood does not stink with the hormones of the adults. I plunge the frail probiscus in and it courses with vitae.

Once we were as children, then at some point we realize we are adults. Once we were adults, at some point we realize we have transformed. How does one realize they have become a god, I do not know but I do know I am getting very close.  

--Last edited by Acid on 2008-05-13 10:01:41 --

 I listen to Acid's words, truly It has a gift for the sermons. I don't usually understand all the wisdom in Its sermons. I am much younger, It says I will grow, no It says evolve. Either way, through the Code I shall endure. I will understand and be shown the wisdom of Caines words. I have all the time I need.

I cannot resist the wife, she is already covered in the sweet stink of filth. It sticks to her like a perfume, I am intoxicated. I drain her body, she fills me. I leave the drained corpse, Sawney will make it dissappear. Everyone serves their purpose, everything is in order.

 "We shall not fail, for our Code is perfection the infidels can not hope to achieve. We are the sword of Caine.. We shall conquer the failed begotten of Carthage as they did long ago. No one will doubt our will and strength of purpose."

As the sermon begins, I take my place after the others, backhanding "Chuck" to stir him from his slumber. As Acid gains momentum, I cover the man's mouth and pry his eyelids open to make him watch what the others do to his beloved family. Acid is especially fervent tonight. A good sign. It must be pleased with our progress thus far.

It makes perfect sense, as It always does. 'How could one possibly love a mortal?' I wonder to myself, glancing around at the inverted cattle. Although I myself am incapable of love , I do understand the concept. It seems to me that for one of our kind to project romantic love upon any of Seth's line, for all of their efforts, they may as well just fall in love with a cockroach. Certainly they will receive nothing greater in return.

I am the last to feed. I am always the last to feed. It is a matter of self control for me, to force myself to watch, much as I force my victim to, my pack revel in the feast, to smell the blood and hear their abandon. Some part of me, deep down wants to cry out, to join them. That part of me gets a heel-kick in the face for its troubles, and utterly savaged by my cold logic.

When the others are nearly finished and their victims hang lifeless, my prey begins to silently weep. I quickly plunge a talon into his solar-plexus. Now that I have his attention, I show him my fangs as they slide out to their full length, to reiterate to him that what he has witnessed tonight is real. He begins to squirm now, as though trying to break free. Better. I cannot bear the taste of their emotions, minute chemicals borne upon the blood, when I drink from them I feel infected by it for a time, I find it more difficult to control myself. Though I cannot expect them to be without emotion, if I must choose, then Fear seems to be the lessor of the evils. It is appropriate, the prey should be infused with adrenaline, the predator's senses enhanced by it. As the man stares wide-eyed into my face, my eyes begin to glow, as he descends into a full panic, I in turn, descend upon him.

Outside, Sawney busies himself learning the layout of the surrounding territory. (2008-05-14 07:08:20 Sawney rolls 4 dice to Percep+Alert 1,8,7,4 (1 success))

What appeared to be an empty lot from a distance, seems to be an unfinished basement, the string grid is up, but the framing is not, nor is the rebar in place. They will likely be pouring the foundation here within the next week. "Well now, ain't that jus' purtier than a speckled pup under a painted wagon." He says, grinning down into the hole in the ground. "Spose Ah'll have'tuh keep an eye on this."