Update and musings - Generation Gap.
Nov. 14th, 2003 12:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sparkindarknessWill get some writing done... I will.
I'm beginning to feel likme a right slacker. There just aren't enough hours in the day. Who was it who said humans need 8 hours sleep? Why wasn't I consulted on this?
And some plot problems. Spark in Darkness, that I still desperately want to return to a normal life, has too much plot. There's always another adventure, death defying battle or tragic occurance jsut around the corner that I have to fight with all my resources just to hold at bay long enough for the boys to recover from the last one.
On the opposite score, Light & Dark don't have enough plot. Oh they've got a vague wishy washy long term goal, but it's very Bush administration-ish (as in, has a vague goal but absolutely no concrete or plausible methods of achieving it). It also has a few short term goals, but even these don't really add to the long term plot much, they don't bring progress and may just short sightedly make things worse by setting up ill-thought out barriers I have to deal with later(y'know, the paralells to the Bush administration are getting quite spooky).
Anyway, enough musing, I got some copied up Generation Gap. Which has JUST the right amount of plot, thank you very much (and fails to resemble any nation's policies, as far as I'm aware).
Ethan woke groggily. It felt like he hadn't slept in a month, the waking world weighing down on his mind like a lead weight. He cracked his eyelids the tiniest fraction like the victim of a bad hang over. He winced at the close up sight of Bazza’s many piercing, topped by the violently pink and purple mohican that added an extra foot to the vampire’s height.
“’Ere, ‘e’s awake.” He dragged Ethan to his feet as he stood up. Ethan didn’t even try to fight. Bazza was a lot stronger than him as he had proved far too often before. “You’ve bin asleep all day mate. ‘oo needs ter sleep for 9 hours?! C’mon, missing best part of the day!”
The twins giggled from the corner, wrapped around each other on a complicated knot of black leather. One was male, one was female, but it was damn near impossible to tell them apart. “Come and play, little Ethan. There’s so much more fun to be had than sleeping.” The second detached its head from where it was licking down a pale nipple. “Come play with us, Ethan. We’re ever so lonely over here.”
Ethan tried to scoot back a little in Bazza’s grip. Bazza was Ok, if a little violent, he just had high expectations, he held everyone too them, though. Unfortunately Ethan was the one who failed them the most. He could generally get away with a clip round the ear and a quick scurry for cover though. He was a good vamp, as much as you ever got a good vamp, and a bloody good friend to have when you were in a tight spot. Thing is, Ethan doubted he classed as a friend. The twins freaked him out big time. They weren’t so much evil and twisted as really perverse. Completely sick, and they didn’t seem to get that most people in the world didn’t like what they did.
The door banged open, spilling diffuse sunlight into the room, faded by thin curtains. Bazza and the twins blinked in the sudden light, grimacing at the touch of soft sunlight - they could survive it, but it didn't mean they liked it. Ethan screamed and ducked back, frantically looking for cover while trying to ram his head into the collar of his shirt. His skin began to blister, and darken. The agony stopped abruptly, he managed to catch himself before full panic hit. He lay in much deeper shadow, somehow. It took a few minutes to sink in, Bazza, far taller and broader than Ethan, hell far taller and broader than most weight lifters, had stepped between him and the sunlight.
The punk vampire glared up, fangs peaking between his lips. “Fuck bitch! That was way OTT! What’s yer problem?!”
Andrea glided down the steps, her flushed skin highlighted by her screaming red lipstick, wash of auburn hair and wide green eyes. She was absolutely stunning in figure hugging PVC that covered her from neck to ankle and wrist without leaving anything to the imagination. She was beautiful, but even the twins backed away from her. They were twisted, she was mad. Ethan managed not to whimper. He would not be weak, not again. He wouldn't cry or scream or run. He could do that much for himself at least. He hoped he could anyway.
“I didn’t realise the cripple was in here.” Her voice managed to be both a sultry purr and edged with blades. It rolled over the skin like soft velvet embedded with shards of glass. “If he had died it would’ve been no loss, Bazza. Nothing to get angry about, now, is it?”
Bazza backed off, Ethan didn't even think he knew what he was doing. Andrea had that effect on some people, well on everyone really. She was one severely sick bitch.
“Have you come to take our toy away from us, Andrea?” One of the twins leaned forward pouting, even if it did keep out of arm’s reach. “Try not to break him too badly this time, it does take him so long to heal, and he’s no fun when he’s a mess.” The other seemed to consider for a time before leaning forward to join its partner, “well, he’s not as much fun when he’s a mess, especially when we don’t get to turn him into a mess in the first place.”
Ethan began to sidle out of the room. But he was trapped in Bazza’s broad shadow. Hopelessly he tried his one trick, closing his eyes, he concentrated on the room without him in it, held it steady in his mind. Less than a second later he faded from view, even blurring memory slightly so the others couldn’t remember him ever being there. Alfred had always said he could do this trick faster than any vampire he had ever know, and a hell of a lot better. He’d never known anyone who could do it in plane sight when everyone knew where he was.
The twins grinned with insane glee. “Looks like you’re going to have to play a game of hide and seek Andrea.” “Shame there’s only one place he can be, still it’ll be fun to see what body part she lays her sweet little hands on first.”
Bazza hadn’t backed down though. Though Ethan thought this was more hating Andrea than any affection for the runt of the litter. Looked like there was going to be one hell of a bust up. Normally Ethan’d love to see Bazza plaster Andrea’s pretty face all over the walls, but at the moment, Bazza’s massive frame was the only thing between him and premature cremation.
The door closed, darkness returned. A wave of silence seemed to echo from the entrance, damping down Andrea’s hissed reply. Matthew picked his way delicately into the room, riding on the wave of his own quite calm. He managed to take in the entire room with just one blink of those vague, washed out blue eyes. Everyone froze for a minute, before watching the slightly eccentric seeming middle aged man with a comically huge bag in one hand as if he were some amusing street theatre. Sometimes he was, but he was bright in a nutty professor kind of way. Of course this nutty professor had found the key to a heamotoxin that could put down a vampire in minutes and utterly destroyed his healing ability for days. He was the vampire who had discovered a 101 really unpleasant ways to use silver nitrate against a werewolf. And how many grams of the stuff we needed to add to the water supply to devastate the wererats. And he was one of the few vamps willing to do it regardless of how many humans were poisoned in the process. Ethan knew Bazza would hurt him in a temper of frustration. He knew the twins would hurt him because they thought he should like it. He definitely knew Andrea would hurt him just because she loved to hear people scream and how they looked when they were hurting bad. But only Matthew would feel nothing, only he would tear chunks off you to satisfy his curiosity. He found Ethan’s weakness fascinating. Unfortunately.
“There a problem, Matthew?” Bazza said, fairly respectfully. The whole gang liked having Matthew on their side, certainly better than having him against them. Annoying Matthew was never a good idea. He wouldn't loose his temper. He wouldn’t get mad. He wouldn’t attack you. He’d go away and think, perhaps at great length. It’s one thing to be killed in a fury, another to be killed by someone who has meticulously planned every step to make your end as unpleasant as possible.
Matthew blinked like he’d been caught by surprise. Ethan doubted it, he often wondered how much of Matthew was an act. “Problem? Problem... hmmm... no. I just thought Andrea may be having trouble, I asked her to bring me Ethan. I need him to complete my experiments on the essential components of human blood when it comes to vampiric digestion.” He pulled out a long, savage looking knife, regarding its edge with terrifying precision. “I just need to see how much of the human blood he absorbs into his system. Some fairly elementary surgery.”
Andrea smiled, the idea of someone else in pain always made her happy. “He was right here Matthew, but he seems to have done his little disappearing act...” She pouted, full red lips glinting lusciously even in the darkness.
Matthew paused, eyes lost as he thought. Everyone jumped when he spoke, the mists still pulled across the scientist’s eyes. “Ethan.” He paused. “Ethan, I know you can hear me. The Twins are stood with their backs to the stairs going down.” The leather clad pair moved to block any hope of escape downwards.
“Barry is kindly going to stand in front of the back door,” the huge vampire blurred, too fast for a mortal eye to follow, only the supernatural senses of the vampire gang was able to track his movement. Far faster than Ethan’s aborted attempt to reach the door first.
“And Andrea will kindly guard the front door.” She had already moved, predicting his words. They moved professionally, like a well oiled machine, or a troupe of professional dancers moving to the directions of a master choreographer. This was why these vampires, along with the absent Lex, were Alfred’s crack squad. And why Alfred was pretty much ruler of the supernatural elements of the metropolis.
“Naturally you are aware that trying to exit via the stairs leading up will cause you inconvenience given your photosensitivity.” Ethan briefly considered trying it - it’d be a relatively quick way to go at least. Painful though, and these vampires could probably get him out of sunlight before the damage was fatal.
“Ethan. We have already established through previous experimentation the extent of your photosensitivity and the intensity and length of exposure you can tolerate. We also established how difficult it is for you to maintain your admirable stealth abilities while in sunlight. I assume you remember.” Ethan shuddered. He remembered.
“I will open the door Ethan. You will be found, albeit after much avoidable pain. The experiment will continue anyway. Your co-operation would be appreciated in the name of efficiency.”
Ethan shuddered. There were never any good choices. He walked into the room, might as well embrace the inevitable on your feet as cower on your belly, right? No, he didn't really believe it either.
“Excellent. I knew you would see sense. Drink this.” He threw Ethan a medical bag of blood from the depths of his huge sack. Even crushed with despair and desperately fighting not to shake, Ethan felt a desperate thrill run through him at the presence of the blood, revelled at the feel of it sliding past his fangs. Matthew watched him vaguely until he finished, before gesturing for him to lie down on the floor. They had learned before that impromptu surgery involving vampires on tables was very heavy on the furniture, even one as weak as Ethan.
“Barry, would you be so kind as to secure his shoulders and wrists. Andrea, his ankles, please. Lesley, could you and your sibling hold him at hip and upper chest.” The gang moved to comply, even Andrea. They really did work well together.
Ethan closed his eyes, desperately willing himself to be elsewhere, trying to block everything out, as he had tried so many times in the past... to escape...
Interesting...
He blinked at the random thought, an alien voice in his mind. He had no time to think on it though. The knife in Matthew’s hand descended, slicing deeply, precisely into his flesh from neck down to hips, perfection to make any surgeon proud. Or any pathologist. He tried to pull away, to run, thrash, anything! The hands holding him tightened their crushing, impossible grips. The pain was indescribable, the feel of his organs exposed to the air nauseated his long atrophied stomach. His vision blurred his hearing rang, the pain was to all inclusive it demanded every part of his attention, banishing his senses to oblivion. He dimly heard Matthews musings over his screaming, twitching body.
“Fascinating! See, he hardly bleeds? Not even as much as most vampires. I knew studying him would bring a new view. Look! The blood, it’s concentrate. I was correct, vampire blood is more concentrated than human, which explains how we have the capacity for so much blood. Hmmm... Ethan’s blood is so thick it is nearly solid... yet it flows freely. Is this a disorder? A weakness that explains his greater hunger?”
A bag was pressed to Ethan’s unresponsive lips. Blood trickled into his wide, sobbing mouth, flowed down his throat in a sweet rush of energy and joy that almost cut the pain. Almost.
“Ah, yes. Different blood groups all react the same. But no, there is something missing. The blood is not pressurised, not even as much as a human’s yet still it flows. What concentrates it if not pressure? And where does the excess liquid go? And... Fascinating. Fascinating.” His voice was cold, clinical.
Ethan saw the nice rise again from the corner of one eye misted with bloody tears. To escape... to be somewhere else. He clenched his eyes shut and desperately wished for a miracle, unconsciousness, anything to escape this nightmare.
Ah. Young. Yes, very young. An infant. He is not the key. Still, perchance he will lead me to such.
Ethan dimly felt the knife fall again, but it seemed distant. Almost as if it was happening to someone else. He felt the tearing, felt the pain, but it didn’t seem important anymore, certainly didn't seem more than vaguely irritating. He opened his eyes and saw the surprised faces of the vampires holding his body down. He could hardly see their faces, since they were looking down at his unresponsive form, but he could almost feel their shock. Then reality hit - he couldn't see their faces because they were looking down at his body?! He looked down at his own closed eyes, apparently far from above.
Useful or not, he is certainly amusing.
That voice again, he looked around for the source of that deeply resonant force, words without form.
He can hear me? Impressive, young one. Well, compare to your competition, which isn’t saying much.
Ethan tried to speak, but no words came out. He tried to feel for his mouth, but couldn't find his hands... his body was far below, then what was he?!
Oh, very amusing child! You will not find me in there child, nor in your head. Look above.
Ethan turned his strange form upwards to the ceiling. No sooner had he looked up than he started to rise. He flailed frantically, or would have if he could, to stop the accelerating swoop towards unforgiving reinforced floor boards... and passed straight through them. And the rooms above, past storey upon storey until he soared above the city... in full sunlight.
He gaped... had it been so long since he had seen the sun? So many years, so many years, how could he ever have taken it for granted before? Had he forgotten how beautiful that shining orb was. How warm and rich and pure? For a brief moment he knew why humans once worshipped the golden star.
A trifle fanciful. You would do better to be practical child. It is beautiful, but it weakens you. You will learn
Then he felt it, under the warm, pressing weight of the sun’s touch. A power, as large and vast as the city itself. He couldn’t figure out it’s point of origin, just the vast strength of it. It rolled around him, holding him as surely as the vampires below held his body. He knew in that instant that he lived only at the whim of this incredible force. He felt small, weak and, for the first time in all the years of the abuse he had suffered at the hands of the elite gang of vampires, he felt less.
Perhaps you will be my herald. We will meet again young one.
He was thrown. He plummeted back to Earth. If he had lungs in this form he’d be screaming. He had a lightning flash glimpse of ceiling, storeys, a circle of vampires...
Then the pain hit him full force, jerking him out of the slackened grip of the gang. Lungs restored, he screamed so loudly he felt something break in his throat. The gang scattered back, confused and a little scared. Except Matthew. He stared from inches away, the gleam of interest clearing his misty blue eyes.
“Fascinating.”
I'm beginning to feel likme a right slacker. There just aren't enough hours in the day. Who was it who said humans need 8 hours sleep? Why wasn't I consulted on this?
And some plot problems. Spark in Darkness, that I still desperately want to return to a normal life, has too much plot. There's always another adventure, death defying battle or tragic occurance jsut around the corner that I have to fight with all my resources just to hold at bay long enough for the boys to recover from the last one.
On the opposite score, Light & Dark don't have enough plot. Oh they've got a vague wishy washy long term goal, but it's very Bush administration-ish (as in, has a vague goal but absolutely no concrete or plausible methods of achieving it). It also has a few short term goals, but even these don't really add to the long term plot much, they don't bring progress and may just short sightedly make things worse by setting up ill-thought out barriers I have to deal with later(y'know, the paralells to the Bush administration are getting quite spooky).
Anyway, enough musing, I got some copied up Generation Gap. Which has JUST the right amount of plot, thank you very much (and fails to resemble any nation's policies, as far as I'm aware).
Ethan woke groggily. It felt like he hadn't slept in a month, the waking world weighing down on his mind like a lead weight. He cracked his eyelids the tiniest fraction like the victim of a bad hang over. He winced at the close up sight of Bazza’s many piercing, topped by the violently pink and purple mohican that added an extra foot to the vampire’s height.
“’Ere, ‘e’s awake.” He dragged Ethan to his feet as he stood up. Ethan didn’t even try to fight. Bazza was a lot stronger than him as he had proved far too often before. “You’ve bin asleep all day mate. ‘oo needs ter sleep for 9 hours?! C’mon, missing best part of the day!”
The twins giggled from the corner, wrapped around each other on a complicated knot of black leather. One was male, one was female, but it was damn near impossible to tell them apart. “Come and play, little Ethan. There’s so much more fun to be had than sleeping.” The second detached its head from where it was licking down a pale nipple. “Come play with us, Ethan. We’re ever so lonely over here.”
Ethan tried to scoot back a little in Bazza’s grip. Bazza was Ok, if a little violent, he just had high expectations, he held everyone too them, though. Unfortunately Ethan was the one who failed them the most. He could generally get away with a clip round the ear and a quick scurry for cover though. He was a good vamp, as much as you ever got a good vamp, and a bloody good friend to have when you were in a tight spot. Thing is, Ethan doubted he classed as a friend. The twins freaked him out big time. They weren’t so much evil and twisted as really perverse. Completely sick, and they didn’t seem to get that most people in the world didn’t like what they did.
The door banged open, spilling diffuse sunlight into the room, faded by thin curtains. Bazza and the twins blinked in the sudden light, grimacing at the touch of soft sunlight - they could survive it, but it didn't mean they liked it. Ethan screamed and ducked back, frantically looking for cover while trying to ram his head into the collar of his shirt. His skin began to blister, and darken. The agony stopped abruptly, he managed to catch himself before full panic hit. He lay in much deeper shadow, somehow. It took a few minutes to sink in, Bazza, far taller and broader than Ethan, hell far taller and broader than most weight lifters, had stepped between him and the sunlight.
The punk vampire glared up, fangs peaking between his lips. “Fuck bitch! That was way OTT! What’s yer problem?!”
Andrea glided down the steps, her flushed skin highlighted by her screaming red lipstick, wash of auburn hair and wide green eyes. She was absolutely stunning in figure hugging PVC that covered her from neck to ankle and wrist without leaving anything to the imagination. She was beautiful, but even the twins backed away from her. They were twisted, she was mad. Ethan managed not to whimper. He would not be weak, not again. He wouldn't cry or scream or run. He could do that much for himself at least. He hoped he could anyway.
“I didn’t realise the cripple was in here.” Her voice managed to be both a sultry purr and edged with blades. It rolled over the skin like soft velvet embedded with shards of glass. “If he had died it would’ve been no loss, Bazza. Nothing to get angry about, now, is it?”
Bazza backed off, Ethan didn't even think he knew what he was doing. Andrea had that effect on some people, well on everyone really. She was one severely sick bitch.
“Have you come to take our toy away from us, Andrea?” One of the twins leaned forward pouting, even if it did keep out of arm’s reach. “Try not to break him too badly this time, it does take him so long to heal, and he’s no fun when he’s a mess.” The other seemed to consider for a time before leaning forward to join its partner, “well, he’s not as much fun when he’s a mess, especially when we don’t get to turn him into a mess in the first place.”
Ethan began to sidle out of the room. But he was trapped in Bazza’s broad shadow. Hopelessly he tried his one trick, closing his eyes, he concentrated on the room without him in it, held it steady in his mind. Less than a second later he faded from view, even blurring memory slightly so the others couldn’t remember him ever being there. Alfred had always said he could do this trick faster than any vampire he had ever know, and a hell of a lot better. He’d never known anyone who could do it in plane sight when everyone knew where he was.
The twins grinned with insane glee. “Looks like you’re going to have to play a game of hide and seek Andrea.” “Shame there’s only one place he can be, still it’ll be fun to see what body part she lays her sweet little hands on first.”
Bazza hadn’t backed down though. Though Ethan thought this was more hating Andrea than any affection for the runt of the litter. Looked like there was going to be one hell of a bust up. Normally Ethan’d love to see Bazza plaster Andrea’s pretty face all over the walls, but at the moment, Bazza’s massive frame was the only thing between him and premature cremation.
The door closed, darkness returned. A wave of silence seemed to echo from the entrance, damping down Andrea’s hissed reply. Matthew picked his way delicately into the room, riding on the wave of his own quite calm. He managed to take in the entire room with just one blink of those vague, washed out blue eyes. Everyone froze for a minute, before watching the slightly eccentric seeming middle aged man with a comically huge bag in one hand as if he were some amusing street theatre. Sometimes he was, but he was bright in a nutty professor kind of way. Of course this nutty professor had found the key to a heamotoxin that could put down a vampire in minutes and utterly destroyed his healing ability for days. He was the vampire who had discovered a 101 really unpleasant ways to use silver nitrate against a werewolf. And how many grams of the stuff we needed to add to the water supply to devastate the wererats. And he was one of the few vamps willing to do it regardless of how many humans were poisoned in the process. Ethan knew Bazza would hurt him in a temper of frustration. He knew the twins would hurt him because they thought he should like it. He definitely knew Andrea would hurt him just because she loved to hear people scream and how they looked when they were hurting bad. But only Matthew would feel nothing, only he would tear chunks off you to satisfy his curiosity. He found Ethan’s weakness fascinating. Unfortunately.
“There a problem, Matthew?” Bazza said, fairly respectfully. The whole gang liked having Matthew on their side, certainly better than having him against them. Annoying Matthew was never a good idea. He wouldn't loose his temper. He wouldn’t get mad. He wouldn’t attack you. He’d go away and think, perhaps at great length. It’s one thing to be killed in a fury, another to be killed by someone who has meticulously planned every step to make your end as unpleasant as possible.
Matthew blinked like he’d been caught by surprise. Ethan doubted it, he often wondered how much of Matthew was an act. “Problem? Problem... hmmm... no. I just thought Andrea may be having trouble, I asked her to bring me Ethan. I need him to complete my experiments on the essential components of human blood when it comes to vampiric digestion.” He pulled out a long, savage looking knife, regarding its edge with terrifying precision. “I just need to see how much of the human blood he absorbs into his system. Some fairly elementary surgery.”
Andrea smiled, the idea of someone else in pain always made her happy. “He was right here Matthew, but he seems to have done his little disappearing act...” She pouted, full red lips glinting lusciously even in the darkness.
Matthew paused, eyes lost as he thought. Everyone jumped when he spoke, the mists still pulled across the scientist’s eyes. “Ethan.” He paused. “Ethan, I know you can hear me. The Twins are stood with their backs to the stairs going down.” The leather clad pair moved to block any hope of escape downwards.
“Barry is kindly going to stand in front of the back door,” the huge vampire blurred, too fast for a mortal eye to follow, only the supernatural senses of the vampire gang was able to track his movement. Far faster than Ethan’s aborted attempt to reach the door first.
“And Andrea will kindly guard the front door.” She had already moved, predicting his words. They moved professionally, like a well oiled machine, or a troupe of professional dancers moving to the directions of a master choreographer. This was why these vampires, along with the absent Lex, were Alfred’s crack squad. And why Alfred was pretty much ruler of the supernatural elements of the metropolis.
“Naturally you are aware that trying to exit via the stairs leading up will cause you inconvenience given your photosensitivity.” Ethan briefly considered trying it - it’d be a relatively quick way to go at least. Painful though, and these vampires could probably get him out of sunlight before the damage was fatal.
“Ethan. We have already established through previous experimentation the extent of your photosensitivity and the intensity and length of exposure you can tolerate. We also established how difficult it is for you to maintain your admirable stealth abilities while in sunlight. I assume you remember.” Ethan shuddered. He remembered.
“I will open the door Ethan. You will be found, albeit after much avoidable pain. The experiment will continue anyway. Your co-operation would be appreciated in the name of efficiency.”
Ethan shuddered. There were never any good choices. He walked into the room, might as well embrace the inevitable on your feet as cower on your belly, right? No, he didn't really believe it either.
“Excellent. I knew you would see sense. Drink this.” He threw Ethan a medical bag of blood from the depths of his huge sack. Even crushed with despair and desperately fighting not to shake, Ethan felt a desperate thrill run through him at the presence of the blood, revelled at the feel of it sliding past his fangs. Matthew watched him vaguely until he finished, before gesturing for him to lie down on the floor. They had learned before that impromptu surgery involving vampires on tables was very heavy on the furniture, even one as weak as Ethan.
“Barry, would you be so kind as to secure his shoulders and wrists. Andrea, his ankles, please. Lesley, could you and your sibling hold him at hip and upper chest.” The gang moved to comply, even Andrea. They really did work well together.
Ethan closed his eyes, desperately willing himself to be elsewhere, trying to block everything out, as he had tried so many times in the past... to escape...
Interesting...
He blinked at the random thought, an alien voice in his mind. He had no time to think on it though. The knife in Matthew’s hand descended, slicing deeply, precisely into his flesh from neck down to hips, perfection to make any surgeon proud. Or any pathologist. He tried to pull away, to run, thrash, anything! The hands holding him tightened their crushing, impossible grips. The pain was indescribable, the feel of his organs exposed to the air nauseated his long atrophied stomach. His vision blurred his hearing rang, the pain was to all inclusive it demanded every part of his attention, banishing his senses to oblivion. He dimly heard Matthews musings over his screaming, twitching body.
“Fascinating! See, he hardly bleeds? Not even as much as most vampires. I knew studying him would bring a new view. Look! The blood, it’s concentrate. I was correct, vampire blood is more concentrated than human, which explains how we have the capacity for so much blood. Hmmm... Ethan’s blood is so thick it is nearly solid... yet it flows freely. Is this a disorder? A weakness that explains his greater hunger?”
A bag was pressed to Ethan’s unresponsive lips. Blood trickled into his wide, sobbing mouth, flowed down his throat in a sweet rush of energy and joy that almost cut the pain. Almost.
“Ah, yes. Different blood groups all react the same. But no, there is something missing. The blood is not pressurised, not even as much as a human’s yet still it flows. What concentrates it if not pressure? And where does the excess liquid go? And... Fascinating. Fascinating.” His voice was cold, clinical.
Ethan saw the nice rise again from the corner of one eye misted with bloody tears. To escape... to be somewhere else. He clenched his eyes shut and desperately wished for a miracle, unconsciousness, anything to escape this nightmare.
Ah. Young. Yes, very young. An infant. He is not the key. Still, perchance he will lead me to such.
Ethan dimly felt the knife fall again, but it seemed distant. Almost as if it was happening to someone else. He felt the tearing, felt the pain, but it didn’t seem important anymore, certainly didn't seem more than vaguely irritating. He opened his eyes and saw the surprised faces of the vampires holding his body down. He could hardly see their faces, since they were looking down at his unresponsive form, but he could almost feel their shock. Then reality hit - he couldn't see their faces because they were looking down at his body?! He looked down at his own closed eyes, apparently far from above.
Useful or not, he is certainly amusing.
That voice again, he looked around for the source of that deeply resonant force, words without form.
He can hear me? Impressive, young one. Well, compare to your competition, which isn’t saying much.
Ethan tried to speak, but no words came out. He tried to feel for his mouth, but couldn't find his hands... his body was far below, then what was he?!
Oh, very amusing child! You will not find me in there child, nor in your head. Look above.
Ethan turned his strange form upwards to the ceiling. No sooner had he looked up than he started to rise. He flailed frantically, or would have if he could, to stop the accelerating swoop towards unforgiving reinforced floor boards... and passed straight through them. And the rooms above, past storey upon storey until he soared above the city... in full sunlight.
He gaped... had it been so long since he had seen the sun? So many years, so many years, how could he ever have taken it for granted before? Had he forgotten how beautiful that shining orb was. How warm and rich and pure? For a brief moment he knew why humans once worshipped the golden star.
A trifle fanciful. You would do better to be practical child. It is beautiful, but it weakens you. You will learn
Then he felt it, under the warm, pressing weight of the sun’s touch. A power, as large and vast as the city itself. He couldn’t figure out it’s point of origin, just the vast strength of it. It rolled around him, holding him as surely as the vampires below held his body. He knew in that instant that he lived only at the whim of this incredible force. He felt small, weak and, for the first time in all the years of the abuse he had suffered at the hands of the elite gang of vampires, he felt less.
Perhaps you will be my herald. We will meet again young one.
He was thrown. He plummeted back to Earth. If he had lungs in this form he’d be screaming. He had a lightning flash glimpse of ceiling, storeys, a circle of vampires...
Then the pain hit him full force, jerking him out of the slackened grip of the gang. Lungs restored, he screamed so loudly he felt something break in his throat. The gang scattered back, confused and a little scared. Except Matthew. He stared from inches away, the gleam of interest clearing his misty blue eyes.
“Fascinating.”
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2003-11-14 01:27 am (UTC)This is a really... powerful piece. Poor Ethan. Except that doesn't really cover it at all. It's creepy and scary, and yet there's that little bit of hope for Ethan thrown in.
I like the description of the different reasons the different vampires would hurt people (or Ethan, specifically.) And the last line is... disturbing.
I really like it, but it makes me want to crawl out of my mind and hide at the same time.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-11-14 09:55 pm (UTC)And mega-thank yous for the disturbing - it's meant to be, these are disturbing people.
Yes, they all have different reasons to hurt people - but all are willing to hurt people. And Matthew is very disturbing, makes for uneasy mental space...