Post by Zuyuri on May 21, 2016 5:47:05 GMT
Thorn Manor had been abandoned since the nineteenth century. According to history files, a ritual had commenced there and had gone horribly wrong. In the chaos, everyone in the mansion – the lord, his family, even the household help – were killed by the demonic forces unleashed. However, mages had sealed the portal and made it obsolete. Unfortunately for the modern BPD, the seal had finally broken.
“Time, maybe. Seals wear off over time.”
Shadow was brainstorming the incident as the red and black BPD car pulled up to the rusted gates of Thorn Manor. Through the rough iron, the disrepaired chateau could be seen. The gray stone was beginning to stain with mildew, turning the white-gray into a green. Ivy was crawling on one part of the house, covering the darkened windows. The doors were rotting and peeling. The roof tiles were patched with moss. In short, the house looked like it was sick. The only part of the chateau that didn’t show any signs of aging was the tower on the right hand side. The stone there was gray, and the tiles of green gray slated on top of one another like crocodile scales on the peaked roof.
“But why would an old Ombre attract black magic today?” This was asked by Special Agent Rouge Baton. Rouge was, in many ways, the Others’ success story. She was top of her class when she graduated the police academy. She had impressed not only her superior officers, but even the mayor of Louisiana. Despite her checkered past, which had shown signs of treasure raiding through the United States, she had managed to reach the rank of Special Agent. Oh, and to add to the resume, Rouge was a vampire. Vampire bat, to be more specific. Her white fur and dark aqua eyes may have fooled anyone, but her lust for blood was dangerous; Shadow would know, he had been partnered with her for this mission.
“Who knows?” Shadow mused. “Power? A lot of it has to have been built up after these years.”
The mission was simple. Rumor had it that there were mysterious goings on at Thorn Manor, all of which were attached to black magic, which was up there with drug dealings as a major crime. All the acts had associations with vampires, as dirt confiscated from the scene had come from as far over as Russia and people in Lieu Sanglate made comment of noises coming from the general area. All Shadow and Rouge had to do was secure the area, apprehend any suspicious people, and purify the Ombre.
Purifying an Ombre was easy. Based on whatever supernatural occurrence was the most prominent, the police would have to use the antithesis to cancel the activity. With the case of vampires, Shadow and Rouge had come prepared. The sour-sweet smell of garlic hung in the air from the cloves they were carrying, and Rouge had gone so far to carry garlic spray in a perfume bottle despite her intolerance; wooden stakes were tucked next to their guns, which served as both a weapon and a makeshift crucifix; a flask of holy water, courtesy of the BPD holy water cooler provided by the Colt family, swung at Shadow’s hip; and their guns were loaded with lead bullets.
The gate squeaked with protest as they entered the property. Shadow held his pistol low as he peeked in. Vampires were notorious for the quietest of sneak attacks. The only way you knew one was coming was to listen for the smallest of sounds. His ears pricked at a rustling, but the cause was only his own foot shifting. The sense of being watched wasn’t there. The one thing he did feel, though, was the oddly comforting sensation of thickened air. Heaviness was common with Louisiana humidity, but in Ombres, the extra pressure, like someone was squeezing another’s shoulder, was used to indicate black magic. Shadow had a natural sense for this, even explaining it to his colleagues who didn’t feel it.
“There’s definitely an Ombre here,” he reported. “but all clear.”
“WAIT!”
Both the agent and the cop cringed. They forgot; they were babysitting an intern. Molly Nicholas meant well, but it was clear her strength in the police academy was book-smarts. Molly was rushing over, her red ponytail waving behind her head. “Before we go in there, don’t you think we should call for backup?”
“One step ahead of you, hon,” Rouge patted her radio. “I’ve got my team on standby. If we get in any trouble, I’ll page them.”
Shadow tuned out the female cops discussing a plan. Rouge’s team wasn’t too far off, having gone to investigate a potential vampire killing spree in the bayou. There were vampires in there, he knew it. How else would one section of the chateau be perfectly clean while the rest of the house looked absolutely ruined. Even the garden with its cracked fountain, overgrown lawn furniture, and wild gardens, seemed like a façade.
“…Shadow?”
The black hedgehog snapped out of his intense focus of the chateau courtyard. He gave Molly a quizzical look, which made the intern grin nervously.
“Oh. Didn’t mean to startle you. Is it clear to go?”
The reply she got was the flask of holy water being flung into her hands. “Whatever you do, don’t drop that,” Shadow muttered. He was already walking into the courtyard, pistol pointing downward. T was bad enough that Ombres were difficult to track, but now he had Molly to think about. She was only human, a well read human, but an easy target for vampires. And speaking of Molly, she was rushing right behind him, asking question after question; “So, how many drops do I put on the Ombre to shut it off? Is it true that this place was the start of a vampire cult? They say you destroyed four vampires in seconds, is that true?” Shadow purposefully picked up the pace. He had been in this situation multiple times; hearing people talk about him being ‘destructive’ put him on edge, more so than usual. Yes, he had taken lives, but for the cause of saving more. It was a curse all cops, Others Unit or not, bore. Molly called after him, “Shadow?!”
But then he heard it. Sirens were known for their beautiful voices, vampires were known for their voices that managed to be both beautiful and hideous at the same time. The melodious howling was of several different tones, harmonizing to create a cacophony composed by a six year old. It was the choir from hell. Shadow’s grip tightened on the gun. It sounded close. They could be in the mansion itself or on the grounds.
“…Keep your ears open,” she said, nodding to both female cops to get behind him.
Rouge agreed. “That sounded like a cry of joy. Good for them, bad for us.”
Bad indeed. The chorus lasted for two minutes, which to Shadow and his team, felt like two hours. As the voices died down, the first wave of attack came forward. From afar, they looked like average bats, but the naked bodies and gaping mouths proved otherwise; vampire larvae. All of them were sweeping forward, aiming at Molly. Shadow and Rouge were reacting quickly. Bullet shots came from one’s gun as he teleported back and forth, the other fought with her sharp boots and teeth. Shadow teleported next to Molly, grabbing her by the hand and making her run with him. Wind rushed behind them, meaning Rouge was purposefully making noise to show she was with them.
The run led them to the remains of an old garden bench, shrouded by weeping willow. Molly was panting; while Shadow had eased his normal speed to adjust, it was still quick. The intern smiled at the cops, whispering, “Thanks. Didn’t know what I’d do.” Her hand slipped from Shadow’s. “At least we know there are vampires. Come on, we have to find that Ombre!” She took off ahead, going in the direction of what looked like a stripped down greenhouse.
“Molly!” Shadow was the first to take off after the redhead. He had gotten out of the willow and had made it over the small hill…and that was when he blacked out.
“Time, maybe. Seals wear off over time.”
Shadow was brainstorming the incident as the red and black BPD car pulled up to the rusted gates of Thorn Manor. Through the rough iron, the disrepaired chateau could be seen. The gray stone was beginning to stain with mildew, turning the white-gray into a green. Ivy was crawling on one part of the house, covering the darkened windows. The doors were rotting and peeling. The roof tiles were patched with moss. In short, the house looked like it was sick. The only part of the chateau that didn’t show any signs of aging was the tower on the right hand side. The stone there was gray, and the tiles of green gray slated on top of one another like crocodile scales on the peaked roof.
“But why would an old Ombre attract black magic today?” This was asked by Special Agent Rouge Baton. Rouge was, in many ways, the Others’ success story. She was top of her class when she graduated the police academy. She had impressed not only her superior officers, but even the mayor of Louisiana. Despite her checkered past, which had shown signs of treasure raiding through the United States, she had managed to reach the rank of Special Agent. Oh, and to add to the resume, Rouge was a vampire. Vampire bat, to be more specific. Her white fur and dark aqua eyes may have fooled anyone, but her lust for blood was dangerous; Shadow would know, he had been partnered with her for this mission.
“Who knows?” Shadow mused. “Power? A lot of it has to have been built up after these years.”
The mission was simple. Rumor had it that there were mysterious goings on at Thorn Manor, all of which were attached to black magic, which was up there with drug dealings as a major crime. All the acts had associations with vampires, as dirt confiscated from the scene had come from as far over as Russia and people in Lieu Sanglate made comment of noises coming from the general area. All Shadow and Rouge had to do was secure the area, apprehend any suspicious people, and purify the Ombre.
Purifying an Ombre was easy. Based on whatever supernatural occurrence was the most prominent, the police would have to use the antithesis to cancel the activity. With the case of vampires, Shadow and Rouge had come prepared. The sour-sweet smell of garlic hung in the air from the cloves they were carrying, and Rouge had gone so far to carry garlic spray in a perfume bottle despite her intolerance; wooden stakes were tucked next to their guns, which served as both a weapon and a makeshift crucifix; a flask of holy water, courtesy of the BPD holy water cooler provided by the Colt family, swung at Shadow’s hip; and their guns were loaded with lead bullets.
The gate squeaked with protest as they entered the property. Shadow held his pistol low as he peeked in. Vampires were notorious for the quietest of sneak attacks. The only way you knew one was coming was to listen for the smallest of sounds. His ears pricked at a rustling, but the cause was only his own foot shifting. The sense of being watched wasn’t there. The one thing he did feel, though, was the oddly comforting sensation of thickened air. Heaviness was common with Louisiana humidity, but in Ombres, the extra pressure, like someone was squeezing another’s shoulder, was used to indicate black magic. Shadow had a natural sense for this, even explaining it to his colleagues who didn’t feel it.
“There’s definitely an Ombre here,” he reported. “but all clear.”
“WAIT!”
Both the agent and the cop cringed. They forgot; they were babysitting an intern. Molly Nicholas meant well, but it was clear her strength in the police academy was book-smarts. Molly was rushing over, her red ponytail waving behind her head. “Before we go in there, don’t you think we should call for backup?”
“One step ahead of you, hon,” Rouge patted her radio. “I’ve got my team on standby. If we get in any trouble, I’ll page them.”
Shadow tuned out the female cops discussing a plan. Rouge’s team wasn’t too far off, having gone to investigate a potential vampire killing spree in the bayou. There were vampires in there, he knew it. How else would one section of the chateau be perfectly clean while the rest of the house looked absolutely ruined. Even the garden with its cracked fountain, overgrown lawn furniture, and wild gardens, seemed like a façade.
“…Shadow?”
The black hedgehog snapped out of his intense focus of the chateau courtyard. He gave Molly a quizzical look, which made the intern grin nervously.
“Oh. Didn’t mean to startle you. Is it clear to go?”
The reply she got was the flask of holy water being flung into her hands. “Whatever you do, don’t drop that,” Shadow muttered. He was already walking into the courtyard, pistol pointing downward. T was bad enough that Ombres were difficult to track, but now he had Molly to think about. She was only human, a well read human, but an easy target for vampires. And speaking of Molly, she was rushing right behind him, asking question after question; “So, how many drops do I put on the Ombre to shut it off? Is it true that this place was the start of a vampire cult? They say you destroyed four vampires in seconds, is that true?” Shadow purposefully picked up the pace. He had been in this situation multiple times; hearing people talk about him being ‘destructive’ put him on edge, more so than usual. Yes, he had taken lives, but for the cause of saving more. It was a curse all cops, Others Unit or not, bore. Molly called after him, “Shadow?!”
But then he heard it. Sirens were known for their beautiful voices, vampires were known for their voices that managed to be both beautiful and hideous at the same time. The melodious howling was of several different tones, harmonizing to create a cacophony composed by a six year old. It was the choir from hell. Shadow’s grip tightened on the gun. It sounded close. They could be in the mansion itself or on the grounds.
“…Keep your ears open,” she said, nodding to both female cops to get behind him.
Rouge agreed. “That sounded like a cry of joy. Good for them, bad for us.”
Bad indeed. The chorus lasted for two minutes, which to Shadow and his team, felt like two hours. As the voices died down, the first wave of attack came forward. From afar, they looked like average bats, but the naked bodies and gaping mouths proved otherwise; vampire larvae. All of them were sweeping forward, aiming at Molly. Shadow and Rouge were reacting quickly. Bullet shots came from one’s gun as he teleported back and forth, the other fought with her sharp boots and teeth. Shadow teleported next to Molly, grabbing her by the hand and making her run with him. Wind rushed behind them, meaning Rouge was purposefully making noise to show she was with them.
The run led them to the remains of an old garden bench, shrouded by weeping willow. Molly was panting; while Shadow had eased his normal speed to adjust, it was still quick. The intern smiled at the cops, whispering, “Thanks. Didn’t know what I’d do.” Her hand slipped from Shadow’s. “At least we know there are vampires. Come on, we have to find that Ombre!” She took off ahead, going in the direction of what looked like a stripped down greenhouse.
“Molly!” Shadow was the first to take off after the redhead. He had gotten out of the willow and had made it over the small hill…and that was when he blacked out.