Headlong Fall into Danger

Posted on Sun Oct 26th, 2025 @ 1:00am by General Dizzy House & Colonel Elizabeth & 2nd Lieutenant Michael Stern & General Charles Daffidson

1,725 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Armed and Dangerous
Location: All of Vancouver

Screams were heard that night all throughout the city. Police sirens and emergency personnel were busy as well. Fires were springing up. The city felt like it was under attack and the fear of the populace was growing fast and steady. The morgues were filling up with the dead and hospitals attempted to treat the victims they found but didn't know what happened to them or why they ended up in a coma like state. The streets ran red with blood and for a moment, Dizzy felt like she had back in ancient times when her village was destroyed and countless other villages and towns and even cities had run red like this. This was a state of war, but she still didn't know who the enemy was.

Whatever it was had attempted to destroy Gillian, her ghoul who was also the voodoo high priestess. Friends had vanished, entire coteries of her kindred had gone missing, entire packs of werewolves had ended up dead, those few fae who had come for a visit were dying like flies, and the kine also had lost many of their numbers, hundreds of kine had died in the past month, all under strange circumstances. The University was under 24/7 police protection, hospitals were full, and everyone was jumping at shadows.

Just tonight, Elizabeth, the Keeper of Elysium had reported finding two dead kine on her way to feed after hearing the screaming and fighting. So whatever was doing the killing had a physical form, it wasn't all spirit. If it had physical form, it could be found and destroyed. Dizzy had thanked Elizabeth and told her to be careful while keeping Elysium as one safe haven for all, and that also means the packs and fae and even kine. Right now, she was keeping one of the only safe places in the city.

Dizzy sent updated texts to all her kindred and all the coteries in Vancouver. Then she had to wait. Den would kill her if she went out into that mess right now. So she had to wait for the news to come to her.

Mack had tried to gather a few of the other Kindred to him, but as his mind reached out, he felt calmer than before. Suddenly, it hit him - the city was quieter. Souls were leaving - or were being destroyed by something. The lack of the fae, and the connection to humans, it made him wonder what was going on. Montgomery Park had drawn him, and he'd waved the few who'd follow him there. He walked along the road to the green space, where he saw what looked like a human - but a twisted human, None of the others saw it, but Mack stopped for a moment and blinked, his whole body freezing as he looked over what he believed to be the dead man. He saw something moving away - maybe by hopping?

There was no doubt in his mind, though he'd never seen one before. That was a Troll. And thanks to the stony, honored nature of the Changeling, it had somehow survived. Mack reached into his satchel, pulling out a bottle of water and an iron folate pill. He shoved the pill into the mouth of the kine-who-was-not-kine, and poured water in to follow. He gestured to the other Kindred around him, drawing them close.

"Can you hear me? Seriously, what tried to eat your soul? What did this? I swear, I am a friend. I'm not here to eat you."

No answer immediately followed. After about two minutes, Mack noted a rhythmic twitch of the Changeling's fingers - straightening, then dropping to curl into fists, then straightening again. He took a video, and sent it to Dizzy and the few other vampires he knew. He examined the 'man' and checked the neck. There was no direct wound, but something was missing. The smell of the blood was empty.

Attached to the video was a caption - "Prince. this is IMPORTANT. Changeling had something happen."

He looked at the others. "Look around. Find shoe prints. Whatever that is, secure it!"

Dizzy saw her phone light up and she checked. It was a message from Mack. The image she saw broke her heart. That poor troll. She texted back to Mack, "Be careful. Find out what did this. I will send someone to help the troll. Thank you." Then she contacted her blood sister and let her know about the troll. She warned her sister to stay away, send one of the heroes in to help the troll. Then she waited again.

Liz wandered Vancouver quietly in the dark. Watching. She had fed earlier, so she wasn't working being fatigued by lack of nutrients. She spotted 3 drunks staggering down the street. All were clearly without any common sense by now. It was then she heard it. A snarl. Something was nearby. It sounded more like a feral animal that a civilized being. She went in between 2 houses and contacted Dizzy about the feral sound and about it seemingly being close to her. Then she moved away from the sound. She couldn't engage in a fight. Too many people were counting on her keeping the Elysium safe.

Dizzy got the message and sent Richard out to see what it was. Using his power over shadow to explore the area, he sent his tentacles to seek that which growled and then pulled back. This growl was a werewolf pack hunting. But there was something else in the night, nearby, waiting and watching itself. Richard sent his shadow out to touch the shadow of that which hunted the pack and felt ice in his soul and he pulled back into himself. The focus of the hunter was off of the werewolf pack and onto him.

The hunter watched the werewolf pack and then the ancient vampire come to find out what hunted in this area. It wanted that vampire, it wanted the vampire or ghoul with the link to the world beyond, and it wanted the ones who ruled this city, the ancient ones with so much power to steal, with the souls of those, it could finish its second life's path. Without these lives, his second life would be much longer and he didn't want to spend even a decade in this second life, he wanted it done and over with. So he let the werewolves alone and did what he could to track the vampire made of shadow

Liz was shaking. She felt the fear in the air. It felt like... like people were about to run for the hills. A lot of people. The fear was penetrating the city, making air feel heavy. To the extent that even mortals noticed it. To mortals, most times when air was heavy, it was a sign of incoming rain. But among non-humans? It could be anything from a torrential downpour to a rogue on the hunt.
She needed more information. She went to a nearby bar, which was located in the heart of Vancouver. A lot of people frequented it. She moved to the back alley of the bar, making sure she could hear what was going on inside. There was some talk about some football match that was taking place. Some were talking about work. Then she heard it. 2 men were talking about some people who have gone missing recently. According to the 2 men, one was a man who was on the wealthier side of the spectrum. The other one had been a day laborer at the nearby construction site.
She immediately messaged Dizzy about what she had heard. Since it was clear to Liz that something was hunting. To most people, the 2 missing men weren't something of interest. But she had seen them both less than 16 hours ago. Both were big, strong, healthy men, who weren't easily taken away against their will. She moved away once again. She had more places to visit.

Dizzy got the message from Liz and frowned. She sent a message out to Lydia and Harold, they ran a popular cafe and would know what to listen for. She also sent a message to Charles to have him check things out. Then she told Richard to keep an ear out for more. She sent a message to Mack as well. "Mack, the smoke that hides the hunter from view is hiding more and more. Stop the smoke, lie bare the hunter to the naked sun, and we can feast in the blood." Then she waited for someone else to check in.

Mack read the message and nodded. Dizzy would know that he'd understood the assignment. He'd already started to seek out the thing that had injured the Changeling. He'd been vaguely aware of the sounds around him and the coterie of kindred - he'd been gradually circling toward Richard, ensuring that the other vampire knew where Mack was. This hadn't been a simple attack. This was something powerful, something strong - and in Mack's mind, something that meant to draw them out, to hurt them. But there was a dubious advantage to having the powers of an elder and the mind of a young man. He could tap into the kind of powers no one really expected. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a large pouch of donated blood, sinking his fangs in and slamming back the cold liquid quickly (much as he had done with energy drinks as a human - and for much the same purpose). To clear the smoke, he had to find the mind. To find the mind, he'd need Blood, because he knew only one thing that would out the enemy quickly and effectively. He reached out with the power of Dementation into the minds of those around, kindred and kine alike. He drew up their deepest fears and their worst nightmares. The fear probably wouldn't boil over - he wasn't looking to start a riot, after all. But fear had a way of clarifying thoughts and narrowing them. Everyone's fears were different, but they were all obvious. Anyone who wasn't afraid was even more clear. Clear the smoke, she'd said. That was exactly what Mack did, reaching out with the spread of his induced terror.

TAGS: Everyone

 

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