Post by Zuyuri on Sept 10, 2016 17:44:30 GMT
The sun was still out, which meant Shadow and Sunshine had some time to think of a plan to get out. They were staring at the patch of dust Shadow had swept up from running in a circle. The door to the outside of the mansion was either locked or no longer functioning properly, which meant they couldn’t go hunt for a library. Sunshine at one time suggested, either jokingly or seriously, climbing the window using her hair ala Rapunzel, but Shadow had shaken his head, arguing it could result if not one, but both of them, getting hurt scaling down.
“What if we go down one of the holes?” Sunshine pointed to the floor where her hair had caused collateral damage. She started drawing a circle with two dots with her finger.
“It’s risky,” Shadow pointed out. “We don’t know if the hole will drop us thirty feet or two feet.”
“It’s safer than going down the tower,” Sunshine argued. “We at least have grounding up here. Whatever room we land in can’t be locked.”
Shadow looked back to the sky. The sun was still high. According to Sunshine, the harnessing of sunlight had been a hereditary power from her mother’s side of the family. It was strongest during high noon, the first light of dawn, and the last light of dusk. That meant she had some power surging through that hair, even if it was just a fraction of how powerful that blast had been. No one would get hurt so long as she maintained control. He swiped the dust strategy away, making his own.
“Let’s test each hole. If it’s deep enough, we can try your plan. Otherwise, I can try and break the door, latch the exit, and get us out of here.”
Sunshine frowned. “Fine.”
For fifteen minutes, they studied each hole. The rubble was cracked, but there was no way they could dig a crevice in time before the vampires came. So, they went with Shadow’s plan. He gave Sunshine a smirk, sort of a silent taunt of ‘you were wrong, I was right’. After she stuck her tongue out at him, he went back to focusing on the door. His hand clenched and he rushed forward with a kinetic boost. His fist met the door, creating a splintering noise. The door creaked with each punch, the wood flying every direction. After one final punch, it exploded, opening to a flight of darkened, rickety stairs.
“Oh. We were in the attic. Fun,” Sunshine said dryly.
Shadow stepped through first. The exit wasn’t booby trapped; no doubt the vampires didn’t think they would be going out through the door. If they had tried the window, it probably would have been just an unpleasant setback. “Okay. We’re clear,” he reported to Sunshine, who very slowly hiked over the blast radius.
The only light source they had were the few streams filtering through the rotting roof and slits of windows, which showed the longest staircase either one had seen in a while. The stairs themselves were rickety. The wood was showing signs of mold, if the peeling paint and splintering wasn’t enough. The darkness swallowed the stairs, making them seem to go on forever.
“I…have to admit,” Shadow said as he tested the first stair, continuing the cautious walk down, “I didn’t think you could...color me impressed.”
“I know!” Sunshine shrieked excitedly. Her smile dissolved into a cocky smirk at Shadow’s quizzical look. “I know,” she repeated casually.
The stairs creaked beneath their feet as they descended. It had a basic pattern, ten steps to a landing and repeat. As they exited one landing, Sunshine started talking again, “So…Shadow Griffiths, huh?”
“…What about it?”
“Oh, the whole sleep talk thing. You said it a few times. Is that your name? I don’t think we were properly introduced, what with the whole wondering if we were on the buffet table and all.”
“Vampires don’t drink Other blood unless they’re starving,” Shadow rolled his eyes. “I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Don’t you have backup?”
“I did. My partner, Rouge, and our intern Molly were with us. I was going after them before I got jumped. Not sure if they made it out okay.”
“Can’t you call them?”
“I have no communication devices, Sunshine, and I’m not a telepath. So, no, I can’t.”
“Geez, calm down Mr. Prickly, it was just a question, not an interrogation.”
“Okay, since you’re keen on asking questions about me, I’ve got one for you. How is it you have never been educated on Others? Don’t they teach you that kind of thing in schools?”
“Um…” Sunshine looked away. “Well…”
Splintering wood cut off her reply. Her words dissolved to a squeal of fear as she shot through the weakened wood. Her hands gripped the closest piece. The next landing was ten feet below, which meant if she dropped, shattered ankles or worse. Shadow looked down, then to the stairs. Just five more flights and they’d be to the door. “Stay there,” he told her. The jets shot him down to the landing. “Okay, Sunshine,” he called up to her, “let go. You’re going to be okay.”
“Won’t I be heavy for you?!” she yelled back.
“Just trust me!”
Sunshine took a breath. Her fingers released from the wood. She tumbled in a free motion before landing into Shadow’s open grip. Their combined weight made the wood creak, but no splintering and careening them down. They were okay. She sat up quickly, rushing a hair out of her face.
“Whew. Thanks. That was the craziest thing I’ve probably ever done in my life.”
The door was to their left. The latch lifted with ease, leading to a hallway that had seen no care in years. Cobwebs decorated each corner. The decorative mirrors were either cracked or smudged, their frames tarnished to the point they looked black. The chandelier above was adorned with shattered crystals. The drapes, carpets and tapestries were coated in layers upon layers of dust. The wallpaper was peeling. It must have been elegant in the hayday, but the gilt had faded to nothing. The only sign of life in the mansion was the crystal vase of red roses. There were red-brown splotches on the floor, and a metallic stench hung in the air.
Three sets of double doors lined the walls. The first one set was locked. The second set was closed tightly, but one peek in made Shadow shut it quickly. The quick peak had shown a swatch of fabric encasing a figure like a cocoon. It shuddered at just the sliver of light. The rustling stopped as the door shut.
“Well?” Sunshine asked.
“Our lovely hosts are having a power nap,” Shadow answered, gesturing to the door. Sunshine nodded in understanding.
“Okay, and what could be behind door number three?” Sunshine asked, opening it this time.
In the slit of light, an antique bedroom set was spread out. A bed framed by a thick dark blue canopy lay in the center of the room. The wrinkled remains of a person in a nightgown lay with a gaping mouth, glassed eyes, yellowing teeth, and noticeable bite marks caked over with blood lay on the bed. Her bony hand was forever posed on a deflated cat’s corpse.
“Yeesh,” Sunshine cringed. “Um…what do you cops call this kind of scene”
“A bit and run,” Shadow answered. He was rummaging through the furniture, unphased by the dead bodies.
Sunshine snorted. “Seriously? A bit and run? Come on, what other crime codenames do you guys have? Eclipse?”
“Weres.”
“Wait…like werewolves?”
“Oh, there’s more than werewolves. The were virus is like chicken pox; effects people until they get it under control. I could list all the weres the units come across.”
“What’s the weirdest?”
“Does were-crocodile answer your question?”
“Um…actually yes.”
“Okay, um…how about Pazuzu? I see that in the news a lot.”
“Demons.”
“Any I’m missing?”
“On occasion we get Clippings, which are angels. And in answer to your question, yes those exist.”
Shadow opened the armoire, beaming in delight as he recognized his old friends. His pistol was still in its holster and his com was half-battery. The vampires hadn’t decided to play cops and robbers. He gave a satistifed ‘pft’ as he latched his com back on his wrist and his pistol on his hip. “That was easy.”
“So we got your things, can we go home now?” Sunshine asked, still eyeing the corpse quizzically.
“There’s one more thing before we do, and we need to do it before our gracious hosts wake up. And…I think your sun magic can help us.”
“Okay, what are we doing?”
“We’re closing an Ombre.”
“What if we go down one of the holes?” Sunshine pointed to the floor where her hair had caused collateral damage. She started drawing a circle with two dots with her finger.
“It’s risky,” Shadow pointed out. “We don’t know if the hole will drop us thirty feet or two feet.”
“It’s safer than going down the tower,” Sunshine argued. “We at least have grounding up here. Whatever room we land in can’t be locked.”
Shadow looked back to the sky. The sun was still high. According to Sunshine, the harnessing of sunlight had been a hereditary power from her mother’s side of the family. It was strongest during high noon, the first light of dawn, and the last light of dusk. That meant she had some power surging through that hair, even if it was just a fraction of how powerful that blast had been. No one would get hurt so long as she maintained control. He swiped the dust strategy away, making his own.
“Let’s test each hole. If it’s deep enough, we can try your plan. Otherwise, I can try and break the door, latch the exit, and get us out of here.”
Sunshine frowned. “Fine.”
For fifteen minutes, they studied each hole. The rubble was cracked, but there was no way they could dig a crevice in time before the vampires came. So, they went with Shadow’s plan. He gave Sunshine a smirk, sort of a silent taunt of ‘you were wrong, I was right’. After she stuck her tongue out at him, he went back to focusing on the door. His hand clenched and he rushed forward with a kinetic boost. His fist met the door, creating a splintering noise. The door creaked with each punch, the wood flying every direction. After one final punch, it exploded, opening to a flight of darkened, rickety stairs.
“Oh. We were in the attic. Fun,” Sunshine said dryly.
Shadow stepped through first. The exit wasn’t booby trapped; no doubt the vampires didn’t think they would be going out through the door. If they had tried the window, it probably would have been just an unpleasant setback. “Okay. We’re clear,” he reported to Sunshine, who very slowly hiked over the blast radius.
The only light source they had were the few streams filtering through the rotting roof and slits of windows, which showed the longest staircase either one had seen in a while. The stairs themselves were rickety. The wood was showing signs of mold, if the peeling paint and splintering wasn’t enough. The darkness swallowed the stairs, making them seem to go on forever.
“I…have to admit,” Shadow said as he tested the first stair, continuing the cautious walk down, “I didn’t think you could...color me impressed.”
“I know!” Sunshine shrieked excitedly. Her smile dissolved into a cocky smirk at Shadow’s quizzical look. “I know,” she repeated casually.
The stairs creaked beneath their feet as they descended. It had a basic pattern, ten steps to a landing and repeat. As they exited one landing, Sunshine started talking again, “So…Shadow Griffiths, huh?”
“…What about it?”
“Oh, the whole sleep talk thing. You said it a few times. Is that your name? I don’t think we were properly introduced, what with the whole wondering if we were on the buffet table and all.”
“Vampires don’t drink Other blood unless they’re starving,” Shadow rolled his eyes. “I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Don’t you have backup?”
“I did. My partner, Rouge, and our intern Molly were with us. I was going after them before I got jumped. Not sure if they made it out okay.”
“Can’t you call them?”
“I have no communication devices, Sunshine, and I’m not a telepath. So, no, I can’t.”
“Geez, calm down Mr. Prickly, it was just a question, not an interrogation.”
“Okay, since you’re keen on asking questions about me, I’ve got one for you. How is it you have never been educated on Others? Don’t they teach you that kind of thing in schools?”
“Um…” Sunshine looked away. “Well…”
Splintering wood cut off her reply. Her words dissolved to a squeal of fear as she shot through the weakened wood. Her hands gripped the closest piece. The next landing was ten feet below, which meant if she dropped, shattered ankles or worse. Shadow looked down, then to the stairs. Just five more flights and they’d be to the door. “Stay there,” he told her. The jets shot him down to the landing. “Okay, Sunshine,” he called up to her, “let go. You’re going to be okay.”
“Won’t I be heavy for you?!” she yelled back.
“Just trust me!”
Sunshine took a breath. Her fingers released from the wood. She tumbled in a free motion before landing into Shadow’s open grip. Their combined weight made the wood creak, but no splintering and careening them down. They were okay. She sat up quickly, rushing a hair out of her face.
“Whew. Thanks. That was the craziest thing I’ve probably ever done in my life.”
The door was to their left. The latch lifted with ease, leading to a hallway that had seen no care in years. Cobwebs decorated each corner. The decorative mirrors were either cracked or smudged, their frames tarnished to the point they looked black. The chandelier above was adorned with shattered crystals. The drapes, carpets and tapestries were coated in layers upon layers of dust. The wallpaper was peeling. It must have been elegant in the hayday, but the gilt had faded to nothing. The only sign of life in the mansion was the crystal vase of red roses. There were red-brown splotches on the floor, and a metallic stench hung in the air.
Three sets of double doors lined the walls. The first one set was locked. The second set was closed tightly, but one peek in made Shadow shut it quickly. The quick peak had shown a swatch of fabric encasing a figure like a cocoon. It shuddered at just the sliver of light. The rustling stopped as the door shut.
“Well?” Sunshine asked.
“Our lovely hosts are having a power nap,” Shadow answered, gesturing to the door. Sunshine nodded in understanding.
“Okay, and what could be behind door number three?” Sunshine asked, opening it this time.
In the slit of light, an antique bedroom set was spread out. A bed framed by a thick dark blue canopy lay in the center of the room. The wrinkled remains of a person in a nightgown lay with a gaping mouth, glassed eyes, yellowing teeth, and noticeable bite marks caked over with blood lay on the bed. Her bony hand was forever posed on a deflated cat’s corpse.
“Yeesh,” Sunshine cringed. “Um…what do you cops call this kind of scene”
“A bit and run,” Shadow answered. He was rummaging through the furniture, unphased by the dead bodies.
Sunshine snorted. “Seriously? A bit and run? Come on, what other crime codenames do you guys have? Eclipse?”
“Weres.”
“Wait…like werewolves?”
“Oh, there’s more than werewolves. The were virus is like chicken pox; effects people until they get it under control. I could list all the weres the units come across.”
“What’s the weirdest?”
“Does were-crocodile answer your question?”
“Um…actually yes.”
“Okay, um…how about Pazuzu? I see that in the news a lot.”
“Demons.”
“Any I’m missing?”
“On occasion we get Clippings, which are angels. And in answer to your question, yes those exist.”
Shadow opened the armoire, beaming in delight as he recognized his old friends. His pistol was still in its holster and his com was half-battery. The vampires hadn’t decided to play cops and robbers. He gave a satistifed ‘pft’ as he latched his com back on his wrist and his pistol on his hip. “That was easy.”
“So we got your things, can we go home now?” Sunshine asked, still eyeing the corpse quizzically.
“There’s one more thing before we do, and we need to do it before our gracious hosts wake up. And…I think your sun magic can help us.”
“Okay, what are we doing?”
“We’re closing an Ombre.”