Somber. Depressing. Hopeless.
It was that feeling of failure, that feeling of loss that came right after the realization that after the EKG screamed its last stuttering beeps and went flatline, after the cries of 'Clear!' and the jolts of electricity running through the meat sack that was undergoing its last transition from person to corpse. Elettra Vitale had turned away from the scene, from the harried ER doc calling time of death, from the big crash cart and its defibrillator being shut down, taking off her gloves, tossing them into the biohazard bin, leaving another little piece of her emotion behind...
She wasn't too old for this moment to still mean something.
She wasn't too old for the subconscious knowledge that she could save him to flow to mind. But there were Traditions. There were rules. There was the knowledge that she couldn't save everyone.
Not even a victim of some wannabes.
Not even one who suffered at the hands of pretenders.
He'd whispered to her, gibbering in fear of vampyres. But the bites on this homeless man's neck and wrists, where he'd been bleeding out his drugged lifeblood, those weren't Kindred. She knew it the second she saw it. She had asked 'where?', so quietly, touching his wrist. Feeling it, seeing it -- the Sight was as merciless as it was informative. The pain. The spurts of Blood. The hands on him, holding him down, the teeth, tearing into him, the needle slipping in --
An alleyway, on the outskirts of downtown. He whispered a street name.
Two plus two made four.
A call had been made, to the law. Atticus James, reporting for duty, with his Dragon companion Dirt Nap tagging along for the ride. Thomas had come along, too, ever curious, ever social, ever wondering.
Now, the four stood in shadows, staring down into the darkness of the alleyway where this unfortunate had met his gruesome end.
Welcome to Night Stalkers. This is a plot focusing on horror and the hopelessness of the human condition in the World of Darkness. The first two minutes of the linked music helps set the tone. Enjoy.
Please roll anything you might wish to to investigate this scene.
Melissa Ruach Steven Woland