Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
AHS Announcements
Staff Announcement

A Mysterious Message!
Read Yours!

Now Up to the Plate!
Read More!


A new skin has been added in honor of the season! Also, Brackenridge Manor has opened it's doors! The butler has some words of warning for you.

Cordially, Icarus
Main Storyline Information

Current Storyline Thread
Party at Brackenridge


Welcome, you are currently not logged in. Without being logged in you are limited to posting in Contact the Staff and the Advertising forum. You are welcome to read as much as you like, but when you are ready to join, go ahead and read the rules and create an account!

Create an Account!


If you're already a member please log in:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Night Surgeon; Lev
Topic Started: Mar 29 2009, 11:14 PM (453 Views)
Kari
Member Avatar
Some assembly required
[ *  * ]
'What am I doing?' Ena wondered to herself, wrapping her coat in closer around herself. 'I should be in bed.' Sniffing, she glanced down at the map clutched in her hand before checking the time on her phone. The sun was setting fast and Ena still hadn't reached the convenient store. She was a bright girl and knew better than to be walking around at night by herself but the store was farther than she had thought. Checking the street signs, Ena waited for a car to pass before rushing across. Sneezing, she turned into the residential district. The store was only a few more blocks down, judging from the map.

She was sick and tired of this cold. She hadn't been able to sleep the last two nights and she needed something to get this fever down. The sun was nearly set but she didn't want to turn around and head back to school. There was no way she was going home empty handed. Plus, she did have some powers so it wasn't like she was completely defenseless. Still, Domino wasn't the safest town to be walking around at night. In fact, it was probably one of the more dangerous towns, considering the kinds of people who made it their home. Who knows what kinds of creeps could be stalking around. Somehow, at night, the urban forest could rival the dark forest for it's monsters. The ones around these parts just usually weren't quite so easy to spot.

The streetlights flickered on as Ena hurried past a dark alleyway, freaking herself out. One hand still holding the map, the other went into her pocket where several thick shards of glass rested. The feel of the cool, smooth surface against her fingers helped to calm her nerves a little bit but she would still be happier the sooner she got to the store. She didn't want to be caught out here alone.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Leventa
Member Avatar
Monster Enthusiast

The modern era was more unkind than any other. While most of humanity flourished under the tyrannical reign of progress, that ceaseless advancement was frequently gained by building upon the misery of other civilizations. The advent of penicillin, the inevitable unlocking of the genome and the founding of countless pharmaceutical companies, had all but spelled the doom of his kind.

As the Sun steadily fell behind the horizon, a weary survivor inched his way out of hiding. The old house was practically crumbling down around him, and there was little doubt that it would soon be bulldozed to the ground to make room for another dwelling. Would the humans be surprised by the abnormally high infestation of rats in the shabby, disintegrating house? Or would they focus on the dogs and cats whose corpses littered the old wooden floors like so much garbage?

It made little matter. The animals were paltry junk food in comparison to the feast he intended for this night, and after the nourishment had been claimed, he would range elsewhere for a time. A little village perhaps, where he could pick them off one at a time until entire families were buried together in hastily excavated graves. Enshrouded in his black cloak, coat and wide-brimmed hat, the ancient Doctor walked along the darkened sidewalks in his best human imitation. Rarely, someone on the street would take notice of the bird-like mask upon his face, prompting the Doctor to stop and tip his hat. But they hardly ever noticed, such was his manner of talents.

The walk gave him some time to think about his brethren, and how few remained. In times past, they had been so prolific that dozens could pass one another daily, walking through city streets clogged with human dead. It was intrinsic to the nature of his species that humanities darkest days were his best. Unfortunately, the banquet was not to last. Their purposeful spreading of the plague worked in their advantage for only so long, as soon, far too soon, they killed off all those who weren't gifted with some form of hapless luck or biological immunity. At that point, there were just far too many of his kind to survive with what meager sicknesses they could conjure upon humanity. Droves of Doctors died in forgotten places, leaving behind little more than their clothes and black tar that was strewn with tiny feathers.

It was by sheer luck that he had survived into this new period of human prosperity. But it was a difficult life. These days, when a human fell ill, they sought medical attention at a hospital, rather than expiring in the comfort of their own home, something which made it increasingly difficult to feed upon the sickness and suffering that he was obliged to spread. Measly animals would not sustain him forever, not if he intended to visit the countryside.

The Doctor would need something much more substantial.

As he prowled the streets, his cane clicking softly on the concrete below, it was the simplest of things which drew him to Ena. As she crossed the street, he heard her cough, and felt the sickness in her veins. A weak cold though it may be, it would make his work incredibly simple. He could change it, amplify its properties until the cold was the worst of fevers, boiling her away from the inside out. And as she groaned in pained delirium, he would drink in her misery like the finest of ambrosias.

Cocking his head to the side, the Doctor's body ruffled in a strangely avian gesture of excitement. Following quickly behind her but folded into the spreading night, the audible "clack-clack-clack" of his cane striking the ground filled the darkness behind Ena.

His patient chosen, the Doctor prepared to operate.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Kari
Member Avatar
Some assembly required
[ *  * ]
Humans had an innate fear of the dark and the unknown. It stems back to the days when they were little more than monkeys in trees. The dark meant that the predators were prowling. The unknown meant you didn't know what was out there in the dark, where it was, and if it thought you looked tasty. Even in the brightly, artificially lit world today very few things hold more natural horror than the unknown. If we knew what death brought would it truly be so frightening?

Deliberately thinking about the nature of fear, Ena distracted herself, trying to keep from scaring herself at the sight of every shadow behind a trashcan or stirring of a tree branch in the wind. A fit of coughing overtook her, forcing Ena to a stop as she lifted her sleeve to cover her mouth. It was only after she got the coughing under control that Ena noticed how quiet it was. She'd been so caught up in her own thoughts she hadn't even noticed how the rumble of traffic seemed to have vanished with the last of the sunlight. She didn't even hear any animals rustling around in the bushes. Trying to shrug it off, Ena started walking again.

It was then that she heard the clacking.

Frowning deeply to herself, she watched her own feet as she walked. Ena almost never wore heals, especially not when she had a lot of walking to do. She didn't think there was any way that sound was her. Indeed, it only took a few steps to determine that the tapping wasn't on pace with her strides. Fingers tightening around the glass shards in her pocket, Ena determinately kept her pace steady. If there was someone behind her, she wasn't going to let them know that she thought they were there and if there wasn't she wasn't going to be so cowardly as to speed up to try and put some distance between them. It was probably just someone else out for a late night walk. No need to get all freaked out about it. All the same, Ena remembered back to the tips that her mother used to fill her head with when it came to situations like these. If she crossed the street and whoever was behind her didn't follow then she was alright. However, if they did come after her, she was in trouble.

Ena had a whole plan worked out when she reached an intersection. She stopped just a moment, double checking the street signs. Eerily enough, the clacking seemed to stop too. Frowning, Ena quickly crossed the street, listening to the clacking following behind her. Okay, she was in trouble. Stopping again halfway down the street, in front of a row of houses, she looked back. He was following her anyways so what harm was there in it.

At first she thought it had to be the poor lighting. Sure, the streetlights were leaving only spots of light pooling on the ground but it was more than enough to see things by. Or, at least, it should have been. She was stopped now, so the clacking had predictably stopped with her, but there was nothing to be seen behind her. Carefully walking backwards a few steps, the clacking started up with her again, but there was nothing there. Now she was scared.

Turning around she took off running. She didn't know what she was hearing but she wanted to be around other people. The sooner she got to the store the better.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Leventa
Member Avatar
Monster Enthusiast

Around this point in time, Jacob was relaxing comfortably in the bay window at the front right of the house. The small, glass enclosed alcove was a perfect place for reading and studying during the day, especially if you preferred natural sunlight to the harsh artificial buzz of electric lighting. Come nightfall, the bay window also served as a very convenient place from which to people watch.

Legs hanging down over the edge of the seat, the Fenrir's upper body was supported by his forearms and elbows, the side of his face resting lightly against the glass as he stared out into the night. Standing beside him on the plush seat cushion, was Jacob's frequent companion on these observational stints: The mothbaby. Known as Indrid, Jacob had been the owner of the strange little creature for years. A rather unique birthday present from his father, the mothbaby had an ability to limitedly predict future misfortunes. It was fun sitting there, witnessing the humans as they went about their nightly routines, not to mention that every now and again, Indrid would point his/her/its stubby little arm towards somebody as if to indicate that they were going to have an interesting night of their own.

Having watched for more than an hour with his particular brand of detached disinterest, Jacob spied the first truly interesting sight of the entire night standing on the sidewalk right in front of his home. This particular piece of visual stimulation came in the form of a pretty girl starring into the darkness. The cautiously paranoid look on her face displayed a genuine sense of fear that struck Jacob even from this distance. What was she afraid of? Perhaps a clingy stalker boyfriend that wouldn't take rejection in the form of a restraining order?

She took a few of steps backward and, within the alcove of the bay window, Indrid went totally rigid and pointed its arm at the lovely blond outside. However, unlike all the other times that Jacob had seen this little display, the mothbaby was twitching with an almost frantic frequency, its eyes glowing a faint red as it pronounced judgment on the future.

“Would you stop that before she notices your...glowing? I can't be fagged with this kind of stuff right now,” Jacob said, just in time for the yellow-haired girl to bolt down the street in a run. Far less noticeable, but infinitely more ominous, was the barely visible shape of something clothed in black following behind the girl. And following quickly, its gait clearly not human as it practically seemed to dance as it ran, its limbs flowing back and forth in strange motions as it effortlessly kept pace with the human.

“...goddammit.”
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Kari
Member Avatar
Some assembly required
[ *  * ]
Once upon a time, when Ena was really young she had been playing out in her backyard, playing around in the fall leaves. After making a complete mess of the leaf piles her father had made, she decided to play on the swing set. However, as soon as she started to run over there she heard a rustling of leaves behind her. Turning around sharply, she didn't see anything back there. Taking a few steps forwards, she heard the rustling behind her again. She spun in a circle, constantly hearing the crunching of leaves behind her. After five minutes of spinning in circles, she ran into the house to her mother, nearly in tears, convinced there was a ghost after her. The ghost just turned out to be some leaves that had gotten stuck to her hair, that's why she kept hearing them rustling behind her.

Being slightly older and more than slightly wiser now, Ena had the sense to know it probably wasn't a ghost after her. She also had the experience to rule out it just being a repeat of the events past. A backyard in Minnesota wasn't the kind of place ghosts usually lurked. However, in the belly of Domino, a short walk from a major epicenter of supernatural activity that was Anime High School, ghosts weren't the only things that might be wandering around.

There was nothing but darkened steadily growing apartment windows as far down the street as she could see. She knew she had to be over two streets to get to the store. If she could find a clean break in the buildings growing at her sides she could at least get a clear view of the store. Spotting a small gap between two buildings, she went for it. Of course, as soon as she had turned into the opening she realized what a stupid mistake that had been. She mentally hit herself for acting just like the stupid ditz did in the horror movies. Turning down a dark alley way with something chancing her, how had that seemed like a good idea? Of course it was going to be a dead end. She should have know.

Oh well, now at least whatever was chasing her would have to come out of hiding. Turning around, Ena pulled the glass shards out of her pockets, discretely holding a bundle in each hand. With a good ten feet between her and the end of the alley, she habitually slid into a defensive stance, listening as the clacking moved up the sidewalk, towards where she was partly hidden in the shadows of the alley.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Leventa
Member Avatar
Monster Enthusiast

A sliver of light cast from a nearby street lamp penetrated the darkness of the alleyway in which Ena had sought refuge from her pursuer. Stepping into the alleyway with elegant strides more befitting of a nobleman than a monster, the Doctor finally came into sight. Stooped over as it was, the human-shaped figure wasn't much taller than Ena herself but, as it approached her, it seemed to grow with every clack of its cane against the cement, rising to a frightfully impressive 6'5” in the process.

Covered from head to toe in black garb, the clothes had a faint, almost sickly sheen to them in the light, as if the clothing was coated in something unpleasantly greasy. The Doctor's face was concealed by a garish bird mask with black-tinted goggles where the eyes should be. As he drew closer and closer to Ena's hiding spot, his head twitched and bobbed from side to side in an avian manner. Brushing aside the front of his strange garment, the Doctor revealed his left hand, a hideously twisted appendage that sported long, hooked claws at the end of each digit.

Shall I cure you?” it spoke in a voice full of gravel and sing-song melody.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · Yearbook: 2009 · Next Topic »
Add Reply