When you wake up, you're pretty sure it's late afternoon. Just after the sun's gone down. You roll out from underneath the bed, hop to your feet and adjust your clothes in the mirror. You feel pretty good. Doesn't take you any time to wake up at all. It's like flipping a switch from off to on. You could get used to this.
Actually, come to think of it, you've been wearing the same clothes for a while, and they're a little grungy. You take a minute to change, which is a little bit of a relief. You toss the old clothes on the edge of your bed and leave your room.
You almost collide with your sister. Alicia's a little younger than you, second year of high school, and she's apparently pretty pleased to see you, since she hugs you on the spot.
“What happened to you?” she asks. You shrug. “Long story.”
She holds you for a little while. “Glad you're okay.” she concludes, head buried in your shoulder.
“Thanks. You doing all right?”
“...Yeah.”
This all is a little surprising to you, since you normally didn't get along very well. She breaks off the hug and tells you “Dad's downstairs. Dinner's going to be ready soon.” You wonder if your mother or brother told her what happened. For that matter, you wonder why she isn't nervous the way other people are about the vampirism thing. Maybe it only affects certain people. The Ives didn't seem to care. Earl wasn't nervous around you, at least not like prey.
You go to the kitchen. Your father is there, sitting and reading a book off to one corner. Your mother is making dinner. Their body language is a little odd, like they aren't as comfortable with each other as they were before you left. Your dad is dressed a little shabbily, but he's clean shaven and his hair is combed. Something is cooking in the oven, and it smells like some sort of poultry. Your heightened sense of smell makes it an unpleasant experience.
“Tom!”
Your dad puts the book down and gets up to hug you. Apparently he's not nervous about the vampire thing either.
“You, uh, you all right?” he asks.
“Uh, yeah, I'm all right.” you tell him.
“Your mother told me something...a little...weird.” he concludes.
“The, uh, vampire thing?” you ask.
“Is it...?”
“Yeah.” you shrug. “Pretty much.”
“Oh.” he says. He seems totally taken aback. You notice your sister watching you talk from the living room. She seems just as baffled as he does.
“So what happened?” he asks.
“Uh.” you struggle for words as you sit at the kitchen table. “I...I'm not totally clear on that. My memory's a bit damaged from when it happened. What I've sort of figured out is that, well, my friends and I went to a Christmas party out at The Office, and then some, uh, bad vampires kidnapped us?”
“Bad vampires kidnapped you?” he asks, incredulous.
“Yeah, pretty much. I heard them talking. They have a game where they kidnap a set of people and the strongest one gets to become one of them or something, at least that's what I thought he meant.”
“So how did you get away from them?”
“Dunno. Woke up in a strange house. And, uh, then they tried to kidnap me again, only I got away.”
“And you came here?”
“Right.”
“How did they turn you into a vampire?” he asks.
“Fucked if I know.” would be your first answer, but that would upset them, so you settle for a shrug. “I can't remember.”
“Anyways, I'm sure you have like a million questions for me. But I gotta get a few ground things established with you, if that's okay?”
You gesture at your mother to make sure she knows that she's included in this, and you beckon at your sister who is clearly eavesdropping to just come and join the conversation.
“First, I need to know you still trust me, and that I can trust you all to, uh, not expose me to the police or put my life in danger any other way. To leave me undisturbed during the day. Can you promise me that?”
You don't nudge their wills. Your sister and father nod unhesitatingly, but your mother hesitates for a moment before nodding.
“Swear to God?” you ask. Your parents wince, but both of them nod.
“We promise.” they tell you.
“All right. Second, I-”
“Aw heck.” your dad says. “George knows you're here, but he doesn't know about the whole, uh, thing with the...”
This complicates things. George is your Dad's best friend, attends the same church, friend since high school, etcetera. You guess that after your parents had some sort of fight your dad had been staying with him. But if he knows...
Your dad takes out his phone and tells you that he'll ask George not to say anything, but you know that it's probably too late. He tends to be awkwardly loud on social media, and probably made some sort of gushing announcement about how glad he is you've returned home and how marvelous the power of prayer is, etcetera, etcetera.
Your dad asks him not to say anything. George apologizes for already having made some sort of post in exactly the nature you predicted. What throws you for a loop is that your dad reports that George reports that somehow it's gone.
“Gone?” you ask.
“Yeah.” your dad tells you. “Like it was never there. It was up, but then it wasn't.”
“That's concerning.”
“Yes, but, uh, it's a good thing for us, right? Probably just a lucky bug in the system.”
“Right. Well. Not the priority right now. I'm gonna go out. I'm going to The Office, where it all started. See if I can find some clues.”
“What? Clues?” your mother asks.
“Yeah. About how my friends got taken.”
Her response is exasperated. “But, why are you getting involved in this again? You've just escaped from the, uh, bad vampires...There's still so much that needs explaining.”
“Look, I have, uh, sort of insider information. Information the cops can't have, or wouldn't use right... Also. I need something to do.”
“Something to do?”
Everyone looks a little dumbfounded, but eventually your sister pipes up.
“Right...If you can't, um, go out in the sun any more, and if you're staying missing...I guess that means you can't go to school any more. Or go to church. Or college...”
“I'll try not to shed any tears about that.” you smirk.
“Shit!” your father proclaims. “It's all, just, so much to take in. How are you going to...?”
“We'll figure it out as we go. Don't worry. For now, I wanna go to The Office, see if I can find anything there.”
“Won't they recognize you there?”
“In my current state? Doubt it. Bit pale, unshaven, and ever so slightly less doe eyed. Shouldn't really be an issue, I think.”
They look kinda defeated.
“So...Heh. You wanna give me a drive up to The Office?” you ask.
“All right.” your father says. “I'll drive you after supper?”
“Sounds good.”
- - -
So, you're going to The Office first. Any other errands? Gun: yes/no?
What next? >_
Clothes: Dress shirt, t-shirt beneath that, briefs, pants, socks, work boots, wool coat, toque.
Adjustable crescent wrench (Bashing weapon/tool)
A big wad of twenty dollar bills.
A supply checklist
A conspiracy web map
A hand-drawn map of Fawcett
Blood: 7/10
Heightened Senses (Passive) – Sharper hearing, sense of smell, kinesthetic awareness.
Hidden Knife – Conceal up to three small items on your person. Free.
Hidden Person - Reach into the minds of others, convince them you aren't there. 1 blood to activate, no maintenance cost.
Nudge Will – Make someone cooperative or uncooperative. Subtle. Free
Haunt – Makes someone highly unsettled, brings their subconscious fears to the surface. 1 blood to activate.
Weapons
Transportation
Other resources
Holy Water?
Graham house stuff
1. Thomas's house – You're staying here, at least for now. Where your family lives.
2. Thomas's school – Schmaltz Memorial Highschool. Not a bad school, all things considered.
3. Eastern Mall – Primary, and only remaining shopping center in Fawcett.
4. Guns – A gun store. Exactly what it says on the tin, you guess.
5. The Office – Not an office. Actually the bar where you last remember being before this mess started.
6. Andrew's house – Your best friend's house. Hopefully he's doing okay.
7. Jodie's house – You've always kind of liked Jodie, but she didn't reciprocate.
8. Marie's house – The odd duck's house. Guess you're all odd ducks now, though.
9. Jame's house – He was always a bit of a jerk, but still a decent friend when it counted.
10. The Fawcett Park – Sadly, near enough to main roads and industrial park it isn't that peaceful.
Author
Topic: (SG) Please Drink Responsibly. (Read 12737 times)