The Massacre of South Brockton

[Black Philip]

Nox attempted to answer, but there was something else that stopped him. It was something that was competing with this vampire, and the pain in the back of his neck had been the only clue. His nose began to bleed, and his fear eroded what pleasure she'd been making him feel. The vampire would feel now that another had their claws in this one. Some sort of self destruct command was playing out. This kind of mental work was the power of Dominate, the preferred form of mental attack for clanned vampires. The command was powerful, but so was the Queen. He looked at her, eyes big, dumb, and very afraid.

"Please," he said.

[The Cedar Witch]

Her senses sharpened at the scent of the slow trickle of blood from his nostril.  Fascinating.  She'd seen something like this before, but where?  She emitted a thoughtful hum, taking a step closer and brushing a gentle hand against the side of his face.

One of her own memories arose, back in her second century, a conflict between two immortals of equal standing over a human pet.  Loyalty programmed into it by one, pressure to disobey from the other. 

The difference here was that whoever laid this command wasn't her equal.

Shushing him gently, she slipped into his mind, searching for anything relating to this Project Twilight.  Large sections of his mind were already tampered with, gaps much like her own, voids of nothingness bobbing in a sea of images.  Nothing could be done about the blackness, and she moved gently through the images.

Highly-organized quadrons of creatures outfitted for war.  The musical chanting of a priest, sprinklings of holy water and the flash of a silver cross.  Each place she looked there was the unshakable feeling that there was something just over her shoulder in the shadows, trickling through his memory. 

Knowing that if she spent more time wading through his mind she might destroy it, the Queen pulled away and took a step back from him.  She gave him a quick moment to compose himself before asking another question.

"How long were you tracking me?"

[Black Philip]

The change of question eased the pain some, but it was clear that Nox was dying. His knees began to buckle, but he literally was incapable of voluntarily falling down. If he fell, he'd try and get back up, and over and over and over again. His voice shook.

"We found the first body about seventy minutes before engaging you mam," he said, looking at her like she was the grim reaper. Still, he couldn't help but imagine a softer her. He wanted comfort from her for some reason. It was pathetic, but his fear had burned away his rage. Now, he had only that, and an embarrassing attraction.

"A scout, who was not a part of this unit, spotted you. We were ordered to track you and capture you, or put you down. Your age was unobserved."

[The Cedar Witch]

Well, she had been a little sloppy.  Though she couldn't see why the humans would care for their destitute now when they were the ones who left them to the streets for a slower death.  In this light, her actions were a sort of kindness. 

She'd keep her senses open for this scout - hunt them down if she must, whatever was needed to ensure she would not be followed back into the city.  It wouldn't be difficult now that she was made aware of it.  Those that looked at you always left a mental trace leading back, no matter how well hidden they were.
 
Her laughter came musically again at his final words, trembling in their delivery and perfumed with impending death.  She reveled in the scent of it.

"You can't determine age based on observation," she chided, shaking her head.  "I am well over three thousand," her eyes bored up into his now, a hungry smile on her face as she delivered the lie he would never be able to catch.  Just then she thought maybe of tasting him, tantalized by his unexplainably attractive scent, and drew in close as if to do so.  A single finger traced the side of his neck, cracked with dried gore.   

She inhaled sharply.  "You will crawl back to your people - if you can," her voice darkened and she reached into his mind again to speak like a terrifying echo reverberating in his skull, "Tell them that none of you have the slightest idea of who you are fucking with."  In a blink her hand was around his throat, nails biting at skin.  "Stay the fuck away from me."  His throat was quickly released and she raced off into the night with inhuman speed.

It would seem, to Nox, that she'd vanished into the ether.

[Black Philip]

Nox shuddered at hearing this vampire's age. She was the oldest he'd ever met, and it made him want her even more. He didn't have time to focus on it though, as the moment she was gone he fell to his knees. His squad was dead, but he wasn't, yet. His radio was destroyed, and he'd never reach the facility in time. He could feel the blood pouring out of his nose. His only hope was to make it back to Dreki's apartment and call Agent Waters from there. She could evac him and take him in for repairs.

He crawled at first, before managing to stand and made it to a parked car on the side of the street. He punched through the driver door window, shattering the glass. He didn't bother to wipe down the seat, sitting on the broken particles, as he fiddled with the ignition key. Eventually he managed to pop out the wires from within and after a few minutes of fiddling, he heard the engine start. He felt bad stealing the car, but had no choice. It was theft or death.

He started driving, swerving like a drunk behind the wheel. It was late in South Brockton. He didn't imagine any cops would stop him here. He'd need to be more careful once he crossed the city limits. He had no time to think about this fight with a vampire, but Project Twilight wouldn't be deterred by what just happened. No, they'd see it as proof that vampires needed to be hunted and exterminated. He let his rage keep him focused as he drove off towards his new apartment.