SOMBRETA - THE OLD HARLAN ARMS on 85th ST
Feb 20, 2015 23:06:55 GMT -8
Post by Thy Dungyeon Maestyr on Feb 20, 2015 23:06:55 GMT -8
LATER,
Eli started to hear some unusual movements in the hall. Before that it had been rare
random steps of hotel employees and guests. The awkward gait of these movements
suggested paranoia, a burden... He looked to the door. The bell sounded.
Eli scrambled to his feet and answered.
Eli-
"Oh shit--! Sorry, oh man! What...?"
Helen's Voice-
"We got Vitus, Eli! Let us in?"
He got the door open and tried not to stare too dumb-foundedly and failed.
They got Vitus into the room and Wilhelm held him up, while Helen cast about for something.
Eli-
"Oh, oh wow..."
Helen-
"It's waay worse than it looks. Wilhelm-
I had to... use my powers..." "He will be fine, but needs care."
Helen-
"What's the best private room for, like, healing up?
Where would you put a burned up guy?"
Eli-
"Ah, uh, this room was meant for Jack,
he probably won't be using it for a bit."
He showed her to the master bedroom, which had an adjoining bathroom.
Wilhelm didn't need to be prompted, taking him in there. Helen took a bag
of supplies that way, but then stopped short at the door, looking back to Eli.
Helen-
"Do you think, maybe, you should see--?
Never mind. I'll be out in a few minutes."
She disappeared into the room with Wilhelm and Vitus. Eli realized then
that they'd left a trail of some kind of terrible scent, still hanging in the air.
He was glad he didn't have a stomach to turn. He leaned next to the door.
Eli-
"What happened? Was everyone else okay?"
He had to force himself to ask, dreading the inevitable answer.
Wilhelm's Voice-
"A few moment's more, if you please."
Helen came back out.
Helen-
"I don't know... How to say..."
Eli-
"Oh no... Angela? I didn't want to--
but I just knew it. How horrible!"
Helen-
"It's-- so much worse than that...
Jack is gone too! Vitus saw him die."
Eli-
"What?! That-- that can't be, can it? Wasn't--
that kid, he said he wasn't... Vitus-- he's sure?"
Helen-
"He said he saw him get blown up. Sounds
pretty certain to me, ugh. So horrible!"
Eli-
"Oh... wow."
He meandered over to sit on the sofa.
Helen came about half way, and hovered.
Eli-
"..."
Helen-
"Is there anything I can do?"
Eli-
"Oh, I don't... I don't really know what to do?
I can't... think. But I was just there earlier?"
Helen-
"I know! This feels so unreal. And Demetri
wants me to get poor Vitus talking, like, hey,
give that guy a break! Anyhow..."
Helen-
"I just want everyone to be OK, as OK as possible.
I'm gonna go back in there. Can you get Jason here?"
Eli-
"I had a bad feeling so I told him to go somewhere safe...
Why didn't Jack answer? I tried to call him..."
Helen-
"I don't know, but I should go help Vitus.
Please, get me if you need anything."
Wilhelm Voice-
"Liebchen, I need a third hahnd, if you could be zo kind?"
Eli nodded and sat numbly in silence. She went back to work...
Wilhelm took his leave to return home and Helen called Darren to take his place.
Other calls were made, Demetri arranged a video conference to happen soon.
Helen-
"Eli, you should come see Vitus. It's... kind of terrible
but we'll need you to help out. He's missing an arm and just every-
thing is totally burned. It looks really, really gross.
He's bandaged but, well... It's going to start hurting worse.
His new skin might stick to the bandages. I think mostly not though,
because our bodies expel foreign stuff like bullets. He's going to need
all his blood given to him until it's done."
Eli-
"Okay, um... how should I get...?"
Helen-
"Um, we'll have Demetri deliver some. Maybe I could
too. Not sure what I'll have time for, we'll know
better after this stupid call."
Eli-
"Yeah, not looking forward to that...
But hey, thanks for everything..."
Helen-
"No problem, kiddo. Just remember,
it's going to get better soon."
Eli made his way into the sick room. Air freshener was doing its best to
cover the smell of burnt flesh but it would still be enough to gag a human.
He took the seat that Helen had pulled next to the bed but couldn't
Eli-
"Uh... Hey, man."
Vitus-
"Did she say I'm going to look healthy again?"
Eli-
"You will eventually, right? Just gotta... heal that stuff."
Vitus-
"Yeah, I just wanted to make sure you know...
quite bring himself to look straight at the mangled dude.
He covered his face.
Eli-
"Damn it, man. This fucking sucks."
Vitus-
"Yeah. I'm... can't process it... yet. Sorry about Jack."
Eli-
"Don't give me the-- eh, gory details,
but you're really sure...? I just can't..."
Vitus-
"I don't think it's good to focus on long shots.
Theodore would have had to save him, and even if he did
everything right and right away, it might not have worked.
It was that bad."
Eli-
"Man, I was just there! I should have--"
Eli-
"Did... Helen tell you that I saw some-
thing? Like a, uh, premonition..."
Vitus-
"You couldn't have. Used it to warn. I had it... I bet
Jason and Gaston... It happened when it was too late."
Eli-
"Oh... Well, that's kind of a weight off, I guess."
Eli-
"Oh shit, I just thought about Chloë!
How's she going to--"
"I guess I should be bugging you about this, you
gotta feel even worse. He was like your-- ...you
know. And... everything. How could this happen?"
Vitus-
"I- never lived through this kind of thing before, but
it happens sometimes. There were other vampires in
Harlan before the Circle, before I was born. They're gone."
Eli-
"Shit, dude. First Sophie and now... So this happened
like a hundred years ago, and not again until right now?
When we're all just born? Why? I don't get it..."
Vitus-
"Same as humans. They think they have good reasons... Sorry."
Eli-
"Man, you're saying sorry to me and I'm not the
one who got blown up. Can I get you something?
Just let you have some peace and quiet?"
Vitus-
"Yehh, if you don't mind. Thanks..."
Eli-
"Sure, just uh, just give me a holler."
He left the guy to rest and returned to the living room wondering how
much of that sickly stink was wafting in with him. Across the room, a
Darren appeared in the door. Helen squeezed him, he grumpled, and
then he came to set her pink-ass laptop on the coffee table.
Darren-
"Ya miss yer laptop that much?" Helen-
"Oh Darren, terrible things
are happening! Jack is dead!"
Eli-
"Yeah, dude... It's really bad."
Darren-
"Oh crap. It's happening. I knew some
shit like this was gonna happen." Helen-
"Oh, Darren!"
Eli-
"Man. It's serious, but we don't need you
flipping out. Just keep it together."
Darren-
"Yeah, fuck, well, I guess all bets
are off. That dude said he didn't Helen-
wanna kill the baby vamps, and "I still can't believe Theodore
then..." is doing all of this. He was just
a baby himself last I saw him.
A sweet boy."
Eli-
"Wh--wow, you met him before? How?"
Helen-
"It was like a hundred fifty years ago.
we were both pretty new. His progenitor
was real scary. They left town pretty soon
after he was turned."
Eli-
"Vitus said some vampires died before
he was born... that wasn't then, was it?"
Darren- Helen-
"Fuckin' creepy biz." "Yeah, the Circle was formed in
Harlan before I was turned, but there
was still some fallout from that going on
I don't remember much. Kelligrine -
Theodore's progenitor - was supposed to
join the Circle, but didn't, and didn't get
killed over it. Still, it's why they moved."
Eli-
"So why's he back now and taking it out on us?
Sorry-- I'm sure you'd tell everyone if you knew.
But it's just so... Why now? Just as we're born..."
Darren- Helen-
"Does it matter?" "If he means what people say he said,
then maybe he came back thinking to
save you all, and killed Jack by mistake.
Oh, it's a sad, messed up world."
Eli-
"I just hope he doesn't try to 'save' anyone else..."
Helen-
"I just can't imagine what happened
Darren- to him. He had an older sister Patricia,
"Like Ellen huh." used to look out for him. If he's here, I
think... Maybe she's gone."
Eli-
"Normally I might feel bad for someone,
but if he really did this... then..."
Eli-
"--You don't really like cussing, do you?"
Helen-
Darren- "Maybe one, if it helps you feel better."
"Boobityfucklemuckles."
Eli-
"If he did this, then ffff--"
Eli-
"--Fuck 'im."
Eli-
"Okay, that is slightly better..."
Soon thereafter, the whole crew was involved in
THE SKALL CALL OF DOOM...
{Originally}
Farley:
"Oh? Maybe the new threat'll distract her as well. Do tell."