RPG Hunter: The Reckoning

[Horendithas]

[COLOR="Indigo"][SIZE="1"]The best time to take care of piggies was first thing in the morning. Unnatural creatures or not they still held to the standard police statistics that clearly dictated that if [I]shit[/I] was going to happen, it would do so in the middle of the night. People didn?t storm a police station at ten past six in the morning. But Marcus and Nicholas rarely did anything that was expected and this time was no exception.

Marcus and Nicholas checked out of the hotel at exactly fifteen till six. They pulled up and parked in a lot one block from the police station in question at exactly six am, all of it as smoothly as if they had done it a thousand times. Both were fully armed, their clothing barely concealing the fact, other than Nicholas?s sword that he was so fond of taking everywhere.

?[B]Do you have to take that damn thing all over the place? It?s impossible to hide for something like this.[/B]? Marcus complained as they hurried up the steps leading into the police station.

?[B]I do not bring peace, but a sword.[/B]? Nicholas answered solemnly.

Marcus snorted, ?[B]That another one of your verses?[/B]? Nicholas did not answer and Marcus did not ask again as they opened the dual doors and stepped in.

The front room was designed to make it next to impossible for people to just walk in, but no door lock was meant to withstand being blown to pieces. Marcus ignored the query from the clerk behind the bullet proof glass and drew his Desert Eagle. He fired one shot to blow the handle apart and then used his right foot to deliver a sharp kick to knock the door in.

In the next moment as he moved into the now open hallway he re-holstered the Tiger in favor of pulling the Jericho. The door to where the clerk was backing up in panic as they pulled their own weapon was wide open. Marcus took her down with a shot right between the eyes. The piggie gave off a sickening squeal as blood splattered against the wall seconds before the body hit and slumped to the floor.

He absent mindedly took note of the familiar click, click and then boom of Nicholas?s gun as first the surveillance camera and then the dispatcher radio shattered into tiny pieces. A brief moment to switch the Jericho to his left hand while he pulled the Desert Eagle to blow the lock of the next door and then it was back in its holster and the two moved into the following room.

All eyes were looking in their direction and as if in slow motion, weapons were being pulled. Marcus curled his lips in disgust, so many damn piggies; they were everywhere, like coach roaches. Kill one and ten more would come out of the shadows. It was sickening. Marcus could almost imagine that he could smell the stench since they were all over the place.

He lost himself to taking out the targets, one, and then two and then three. The smell of blood and the squeal of pigs filled the air as some frantically tried to return fire and others dove for the relative safety of their desks. Chaos was rampant and Marcus found a silly ditty running through his mind as clearly as if someone was singing it.

[I]-This little pig went to market- [/I]

Nicholas took aim and the last camera shattered into little pieces, the shot echoing throughout the room.

[I]-This little pig stayed at home-[/I]

A piggie?s head cautiously poked up just above one of the chest high dividers separating some of the desks. Nicholas had already shifted the Blackhawk to his left hand. He stepped forward pulling the sword free in an arch that took the piggie?s head off before it could do more than blink.
[I]
-This little pig had roast beef-[/I]

One of the few humans in the room drew a bead on Marcus and he put a bullet through their right shoulder, sending them flying over the desk behind them. Marcus smiled grimly as Nicholas put his Blackhawk away after firing five rounds, relying on his sword and knuckles to dispatch the pigs that got in his way.
[I]
- This little pig had none-[/I]

The room fell silent. The corpses of the piggies littered the room. Marcus was down to two shots with his Jericho. He put it away and pulled the Desert Eagle again as they moved down the hallway to where the Police commissioner, the Sheriff and a couple other high ranking piggies would be meeting.

[I]-This little pig cried "Wee, wee, wee!"-[/I]

He blew a hole through the Sheriff's chest who upon seeing the two coming down the hall attempted to flee back into the room. Shots rang out, most of them going wide in the ensuing panic. Marcus grimaced when one grazed his left arm. He staggered slightly and continued. [I]Boom, boom? boom.[/I] Two shots left. The two entered the meeting room.

[I]-All the way home-[/I]

The would be piggie police commissioner was back against the far wall, its grotesque features twisted in what Marcus assumed was an expression of fear. Nicholas drew his weapon with deliberate slowness and took aim.

[I]-Click-[/I]

A frightened squeal filled the air.

[I]-Click-[/I]

The creature cowered, its body shaking.
[I]
-Boom-[/I]

Blood splattered all over the wall as the creature slumped to the floor. Marcus glanced at the clock high up on the wall. It was now twenty past six. It was time to get going before too many reinforcements arrived. They didn't have time to stick around for any stray piggies that they might have missed.

?[B]We forgot to get breakfast,[/B]? Nicholas commented dryly as the pair weaved their way back through the station, calmly stepping over the bodies.

?[B]We?ll get some on the way out of town.[/B]? Marcus said shortly.

?[B]You know what I could go for right about now?[/B]? Nicholas asked.

?[B]We are [I]not[/I] getting any bacon.[/B]?

Nicholas snorted slightly. ?[B]I want a donut, not another pig.[/B]?

Marcus laughed. [/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Talon]

[color=crimson][i][pindent=2]The Ghast leaped them, turning and slamming its one meaty paw into Chase's chest, sending the Hunter flying into the side of a nearby Dumpster. It let out its bestial roar and prepared to charge Jackson, but sniffed the air and -grinned-. It turned and pointed at Chase, only Chase, before it turned and, with one bound, climbed the side of a nearby building, leaping from rooftop to rooftop towards the south.[/pindent]
[pindent=2]Chase breathed hollowly as he used the lid of the Dumpster to pull himself to his feet, his eyes locked on his fellow Hunter as he slumped over. He tried to heal himself, resting his palm over his heart, but found the energy wouldn't come. The last attempt to heal himself was barely able to continue. His willpower was drained. He waved off the other Hunter's attempt to catch his attention as he stumbled into the alley where his car was stashed. He didn't need help driving; he knew where he needed to be. His eyes wandered over his left arm as he grit his teeth and spit blood yet again, starting the car without even bothering to hide the weapons in the cache, simply stopping to throw them under the tarp. He hoped nobody would pull him over. Not in his condition. He drove off, waving weakly to the other Hunter, sketching a quick 'Healing' glyph in the air. He hoped the other Hunter got the message.[/pindent][/color][/i]

[center]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~[/center]

[i][color=gray][pindent=2]His eyes searched the documents in his hand before he threw them across the desk. He leaned back and smirked, studying the ceiling for a full five minutes before he stood and bathed in the sunlight his window-wall provided him. He smirked quite broadly, enjoying the feeling of superiority for a moment, before a frown crossed his face.[/pindent]
[pindent=2]There, thumping across the rooftops, heading right for his building, was his Ghast. It was missing an arm; the frown turned into a scowl. He hoped the creature had not slain his targets. It was meant only as a warning, and a message to galvanize them into being the reckless bunch of fanatics he knew them to be. If it lost an arm, that meant they were either stronger than he'd estimated, an impossiblity, or his creature had stayed in the fight too long. He would have to reprimand the Ghast -personally- for its failure to listen to its given orders. He turned and pressed his intercom.[/pindent][pindent=2][/i]"Mrs. Gray, please clear my schedule for the next two months, and send the injured man in the lobby to my office. Also, could you please be a dear and arrange a flight for me to New Orleans? That is all, Mrs. Gray."[/pindent][i]
[pindent=2]He turned and cracked his neck audibly as he studied the view before him once again, a broad smirk spreading on his face as he hit the 'send' button on the email to the last Hunter in what he was now referring to as 'his most dangerous game'. With that, even as he heard the elevator to his personal office starting up, he pressed his forehead to the window and dropped the fly of his slacks, reaching in to caress himself. The power, the strength he had to move his pawns as he wished, was sooo intoxicating.[/color][/pindent][/i]

[Raiha]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][i]Manjusra turned her eyes, blazing with red behind protective lenses towards the glyph, and within moments, it seemed she was stepping up to Chase's beat up car and pulling him across the e-brake to the passenger seat, before taking them back to her place. Pulling with her arms, she dragged him through the back door, into the basement, the place where the chains and weapons were. But also the hose to take care of the blood and other fluids that usually came from torture.

Chase was heavy, she couldn't deny it, but he was also dying, and desperate. A reed mat was already laid out on the stone floor, and she dragged him the rest of the way, laying him down. Turning to the wall, Manjusra dropped most of her clothing against the wall, leaving on her sports bra and shorts. Lighting a couple candles in the wall sconces that lined the small, circular room, she locked the basement door behind her and knelt with her knees pointing south, the same direction as Chase's feet. He coughed and tried to speak, and she placed a pale hand over his mouth. With her right hand she picked up the sharpie that laid on the low desk next to her other tools and carefully ripped away his shirt.[/i]

"Oh yeah, this is going to be pretty."

[i]With the pen, she carefully drew always moving it deosil as she made a circle where his two collarbones met and then another on the only piece of his sternum not shredded open. Then, focus points made, she put her hands together and formed the first of the mudra she used to calm herself. First palms face upwards, fingers pressed together, thumbs extended. After several deeper breaths, the candles flickered, and Manjusra, moving very slowly, pulled her fingers apart and placed her right first finger against the ground by Chase's head, the left simply resting on her left knee, palm upward again.

Then she clapped both hands together, pressing for several seconds, before gathering her strength where they met. White light exploded from them as she pushed her fingers towards Chase's broken body. First her fingertips flew over his chest, running like spiders across his broken ribcage, pausing to tug at his heart . Then she ran them down his arms, across his stomach, down his twisted left leg. Pulling back up, breathing hard but suffused with an ephemeral calm, she resumed her meditation position, her eyes focusing on the circles. They disappeared under a sudden bloom of light shaped like flowers, and then vanished, leaving behind a coughing, bewildered Chase.

He sat up with a start, turning to see Manjusra rolling with sweat, her hands on the ground as she hunched over, breathing like she'd just run a marathon. [/i]

"Manji? Where's the Ghast? What are you-?"

[i]As he reached out to touch her, he recoiled and looked at his blood encrusted hands. His wrist didn't hurt from when it had cracked into a wall. His chest seemed just fine. In fact, he felt wonderful. Chase looked back at her and saw a crumbling of what looked like ash in the middle of her forehead when she looked up at him, tears of exertion in her eyes.[/i]

"Thank you Manji."

"Wel...come."

[i]She would've said more, but instead she settled for flopping forward on the mat, trusting Chase to find the hose coiled in the corner around a bucket of industrial strength soap and wash himself before thinking of tracking blood and mud into her house.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[DeLarge]

[SIZE=1]It was not until Jax was sure that Chase was in the safe hands of Manjusra, and he had seen the Chase's car drive off that the adrenaline rush wore off. He dropped to the floor, his knees collapsing uner him, and before he hit the ground he cursed himself for not having used his Edge to track the super-Ghast.

His breathing sped up, coming fast and ragged as he struggled to open his eyes and get back to his feet. Looking down at his stomach, he saw that the flesh had been torn open in several places, probably when the thermal shockwave had thrown him back through a wall. Blood was dribbling down onto the waistband of his trousers, and he began feeling woozy.

[I]Open space...need open...space...

[/I]Staggering, the pain giving him the appearance of a drunkard, he tried desperately to get to the empty industrial park that he knew was nearby. His blood now began to soak into the fabric of his trousers, and droplets of it fell to the floor, mixing with the dust on the ground. His head began to spin, his vision becoming blurry, and he only just managed to stumble into the industrial park.

Charging as fast as he could towards the centre of the six hundred square foot park, the largest open space he could think of in his pain-addled state, he collapsed onto the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust as he dropped.

[I]Stomach...heal the stomach...concentrate, Jackson...

[/I]A rush of warm energy swelled in his chest, and he forced it towards any part of his body which was currently feeling pain - his torn-up stomach, his pounding head, the shoulder that may or may not have been dislocated.

[I]Christ...here it comes...

[/I]Suddenly, the energy began to work it's magic. His wounds began to heal over, and his shoulder popped itself back into place. However, there was too much energy, and the rest of it had to go somewhere.

Blinding golden light began to arc out of his body like lightning, the crackling sound of the energy cutting through the air drowning out the cries of discomfort that were pouring from the Hunter's mouth. The energy he had directed to his head shot out of his mouth and eyes, blasting into the sky as he cried out.

The dust on the ground around him heated up, smouldering and smoking as it did, and the air got hotter and hotter.

Then, as suddenly as it had started, the rejuvenation process was over. There were a few faint traces of scar tissue on his stomach, his head felt much better, and his shoulder no long cried out in agony. He gasped, and rolled onto his stomach, coughing and spluttering as foul black goo splattered onto the ground from his mouth. He recognised it as tar, a product of his nicotine addiction.

That was one good thing about Rejuvenating - even if you didn't want it to, it got rid of all the crap that got into your lungs from smoking.

Jax got to his feet and looked around. The ground all around him was burnt and scorched, smoke rising in tiny plumes. He hated this happening every time he healed himself, but until he could find a decent focus for the healing energy it was the risk he was going to have to run. He rolled his head around in a circle, hearing the tendons crack, then yanked his battered PDA from his pocket and dialled a number as he left the scene.

[B]"Manjusra," [/B]he said, [B]"How's the kid?"

"Kid? He's only five years younger than me," [/B]she replied, with mock indignation.

[B]"You want me to start calling you kid too?"

"He's fine, Jackson," [/B]she said, her tone serious again, [B]"But he took a fair beating from that thing. And if the two of you couldn't take it down, then I'm not sure what it's going to take."

"I've got a few contacts that could get me some heavier artillery," [/B]Jax said, rubbing the bridge of his nose, [B]"But barring the use of an air strike, I think it's going to be tough."

"So, did you get the email?"

"Yeah."

"Worried?"

"I'm not sure. It could be fake, but I've been doing this a long time, and my gut tells me it's real. Someone who can make this kind of threat surely has some kind of clout behind him."

"You think the message and the Ghast are connected?"

"Could well be. Did you get the personal message?"

"Yeah. New Orleans."

"Mmhmm," [/B]mumbled Jax, [B]"Plane?"

"Seems the most sensible way to do it."

"You sure you'd be alright on the plane?"

"I'm a big girl, Jax, I think I can take care of myself."

"Course. Listen, I'm only a few blocks away - maybe you and me should travel together - could take some organising. Can I come visit?"
[/B][/SIZE]

[Talon]

[color=crimson][i][pindent=2]He felt like shit. He could admit it out loud, if anyone were around to hear it, but then, he was still feeling like he'd gone one-on-two with Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali with the gloves off. He shook his head, trying to clear some of the delirium-induced memories as he showered with the garden hose Manjusra kept in her basement. He was still too out of it to realize -why- she kept said gardening hose attached to a water source in her -basement-, but then, since his brain was continuing a rendition of an Army jody, he could probably be forgiven.[/pindent][pindent=2][/i]"C-130 rollin' down the strip, Airborne daddy gonna take a little trip. Mission unspoken, destination unknown. Don't even know if he's ever goin' home."[/pindent]
[pindent=2][i]He toweled off with a nearby towel, climbing the stairs without even bothering to throw on his tattered jeans or shredded coat. They wouldn't cover anything important anyway. He stopped mid-step on one of the stairs and leaned against the wall, catching his breath as he scanned the now-visible kitchen for his cellphone.[/pindent][pindent=2][/i]"Me and Superman got in a fight. I hit him in the head with some kryptonite. Hit him so hard I busted his brain, and now I'm datin' Lois Lane."[/pindent]
[pindent=2][i]He found the device, along with his side-arms and holsters, and flushed. He'd actually been out enough to drive with those things strapped on? He was lucky he hadn't gotten caught! He checked his cellphone, finding a single text message, and he opened it. Paling upon reading the missive, he immediately dialed up Beartalker.[/pindent][pindent=2][/i]"Yes, Johnathan, I -did- get the surprise you set me up for. Yes, it was pleasant. Yes, it was better than my birthday two years ago. Shut the hell up and listen. I need a ride to New Orleans. I don't -give- a damn about the paperwork. Do you -want- me to show your wife Manji's porn collection? Good. I'll be at the airport at...what time is it? Three thirty? Damn. I'll be at the airbase for seven tonight. You want me to take her? She's good to fly? Fine. I'll see if she'll come."[/pindent][i]
[pindent=2]He looked up to see Manjusra leaning against the door of her kitchen, gazing at him intently, and he returned the intent gaze. He cracked his neck slowly and walked up to her, taking the cell phone from her hand and putting it down with his upon the kitchen counter. He lifted her up into a deep, desperate kiss, and carried her upstairs. He had three hours to get ready; why waste any time?[/color][/i][/pindent]

[Zephyr]

[SIZE="1"][COLOR="DarkRed"]As was often the case, sleep would not come to Amanda this night. Attempts to pick up the Wraith trail from the night before had proven effective beyond her expectations, and she now found herself back in the same abandoned building she had left not a few hours ago. For reasons she had yet to decipher a lone Wraith had made it's way back to the now utterly vacant building.

Was it looking for another victim in a familiar location? Was this building it's idea of home, and it was just returning here? Perhaps it knew of her previous killings here and was laying a trap expecting her to return, or even following her from another point she had not picked up on. There were too many questions, and just not enough data to do more than spill circles speculating ideas. For now, though, she had bigger problems to try and deal with.

A rush of air passed mere inches above Amanda's head as she narrowly dodged the Wraith's brutal kick. These new inhumans were surprisingly fast, and seemed to have an innate knowledge of attacking like a champion kickboxer, minus the use of fists. Amanda's fist flew upward, intending to smash the Wraith in the chin with a punishing uppercut, but it merely struck air as the Wraith leaned back out of the way. A second later it was halfway across the room with a short hop backwards.

"I don't suppose I could convince you to politely stand still for your judgment, could I?" Amanda never meant the phrase as a joke, like many of the action-movie loving newbie hunters tended to. Pointlessly dramatic phrases were a waste. Instead she was attempting to gauge the inhuman's understanding of language or vocal intonation.

The Wraith merely cocked it's head to one side, like a confused dog failing to understand it's master's command, and leaped forward to begin it's attack anew. Blows were traded on both sides, and as time drew on Amanda began to wear down even though the Wraith never seemed to.

[I]If this continues I'm screwed. Guess I have no choice in the matter.[/I]

With a flurry of kicks and punches Amanda jumped forward toward the Wraith. Instinctively it reacted by hopping back a few steps to avoid the attacks, and regain a more offensive advantage. However, this was exactly what Amanda had planned on. Standing upright she covered her right eye with her left hand.

"I can see your fate. Now stand still for it."

For a moment ethereal chains rose from the ground and wrapped around the Wraith, dragging it down before fading from view. The chains were a visible side-effect of Amanda's edge, and even though they had faded the effects of the edge itself held fast. [I]Better make this fast before this one drains me.[/I] For a moment Amanda kneeled down as if she was before a god, and spoke quietly before kissing her own right knee.

?In Nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti.?

Without a moment's hesitation she jumped up and delivered a kick to the chest of the Wraith. A second before impact her lower leg was wreathed in ghostly red streamers of light, which flared for a moment when the kick connected. The Wraith's entire upper torso literally exploded backwards, covering the nearby walls and floor with a black liquid Amanda has seen from previous encounters. Amanda slumped back against a nearby wall to regain her breath. Two edges like that in combo could be taxing.



Later that night, or closer to morning by this point, Amanda made her way back to the hotel. After a quick shower and a quick cup of tea she sat down to check the latest on Hunter-Net. What she found was the biggest shockwave she had seen on the system in a long time. The message was straightforward, and very grim, and the responses from fellow hunters varied from it being a hoax to "we can't afford to take it as false." Waiting in her in-box was another surprise.

[I]So, looks like a change of scenery is in my future. New Orleans? A bit of a haul from here. I'm still not sure what I should make of this, but it's part of the job, hoax or otherwise.[/I]

Amanda shut down the computer for the night and took to her waiting bed. Sleep was going to be required if she planned to make the drive to New Orleans from here, and given that it may be the last sleep she would get for a few days either way it was best to take it now.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Raiha]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][i]Majusra leaned against the curve of her bedroom wall. Both were showered and cleaned and for the most part packed. Manjusra was still rolling over her options. She didn't mind flying, provided the pilot knew what he was doing and wasn't a hunter himself. Chase assured her that it wasn't the case, so she packed her normal gear and opened her closet, deciding on which coat to take. Chase leaned over her shoulder, one arm wrapped around her waist.[/i]

"Go with the German trench coat. It's sexy."

"You would think that wouldn't you."

"'You got me."

[i]She pulled it off of the hanger and pulled it on, finding her hood next to it and pulling it deep across her forehead. He picked up her relatively light duffel and his own and she pulled open the door, locking it behind her with a quick movement he barely saw. She dropped the key into one of her inner pockets and pulled on her shades, walking towards his car, her eyes scanning the area ahead and behind them in what would seem paranoid on anyone else. In her case it was just an extra precaution. No point in taking dumb risks that could get both of them hurt.

Chase started the engine and the two cruised towards the municipal airport, or at least that's what he'd told her. She leaned back and cracked her neck a few times. After they'd cleaned up and showered, she'd collapsed into bed as lifeless as a swamp log, halfway through his explaining of where they were going and how they were getting there. Part of her felt bad, but since he had full use of all his limbs again, he didn't give her a hard time about it. Instead he'd kissed her repeatedly to wake her up an hour and a half later and she'd shown him what she'd called "Manjusra's special Pile Packing method." It involved her throwing the clothes she was going to wear in a huge pile on the bed before sorting and rolling them so neatly he half wondered how she'd learned how to pack so efficiently.[/i]

"We used to travel to places with great night life when I was little."

"Such as?"

"India, Buenos Aires, that's where I learned how to tango."

[i]He let that image sink into his head, the two of them swirling around a dark, almost abandoned warehouse late at night while tango music poured from the speakers in the ceiling, and shook himself a few times to clear his head. The pulled up to their destination with several minutes to spare, and he pulled out their duffels from the trunk while she lit up two cigarettes and passed one to him with an almost careless gesture.[/i]

"You're a doll."

"Says the guy who has all four appendages working again thanks to me."

[i]He leaned over to whisper something into her ear when the pilot walked out of the building they parked next to and headed towards them.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR="DarkGreen"][FONT="Book Antiqua"]Jonathan had finished taking a shower and getting cleaned up, he still didn?t have an appetite though. The lingering stench was still making his stomach turn. So instead he turned his attention to the Hunter-Net while his hair dried and his nerves settled back down.

It was all pretty routine or rather there was nothing new to look at other than one odd e-mail that he didn?t know who the sender was. He read it once, raised an eyebrow in disbelief and then read it again. [I]What kind of stupid prank is this?[/I] The whole thing was to be blunt? cheesier than hell. It was like some stupid plot from a really bad horror flick.

He ran the main points of it through his mind as he re-read it for a third time. ?[B]Expecting company of a higher order - Things must be planned out perfectly - I know your identities - Don?t tell anyone other than who I choose to show up or you all die[/B]? [I]What moron wrote this drivel? [/I]

Jonathan scowled at the address given that was located in New Orleans.[I] Riiight. I?m just supposed to blindly make arrangements to fly or drive there so some lame ass experienced hunter can have fun hazing one of the newer guys on the Hunter-Net. [/I]He moved to delete the message and then paused, his hand hovering over the mouse.

Even if it was a prank, what if they really had sent it to others? He wasn?t getting anything from it like he did with other messages. But that didn?t mean anything, if the place was too far away or the events too far into the future, he often didn?t get anything with his sight. The only way to be sure would be to actually go there.

If it was a prank he could do something about it. His ability to see into the past would let him know who had done it if someone actually had set up a stupid prank. Jonathan sighed and moved to print a copy of the address instead of deleting the message.[I] I am so going to beat the hell out of the idiot who thought of this. We don?t have time for this kind of bullshit.[/I]

The realization that whoever had sent it was wasting people?s time decided him. That and the trip would give him a tiny break from having to deal with the horrors that were just waiting out there. Sometimes, he got so tired of that, dealing with the damn visions and the creatures that spawned them.[I] I don't know how the others keep doing this for years at a time.[/I] He hadn't even been doing it a year and already he wanted to quit.

If mankind really was going to evolve into something like that, he just wished it would just go ahead and get it over with. Though why he even wondered if that was the case, he didn?t fully understand. He just couldn?t get that thought out of his mind at times. Wondering if he was doing the right thing or not.

The printer finished, shoving the paper out into the tray and Jonathan logged out before turning everything off. First he needed to call a friend to get some more supplies and then once he had packed, he would head off. Sure he could have flown out there, but that would have left him without a vehicle and weapons since no commercial airline was going to allow him to cart his arsenal with him. He stood up and went into the bedroom to start packing. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[Allamorph]

[FONT=Calibri][B]"So let me get this straight,"[/B] remarked Claget as he steered the car onto a small gravel access road, [B]"you had your stuff delivered to a public storage facility?"[/B]

[B]"Yes, why?"[/B] Nicholas returned, watching the markers on the rows of garages pass by.

[B]"I dunno. I suppose when you said 'drop box' I thought you meant something like a P.O. box."[/B]

Nicholas gave his partner a sidelong glance.

[B]"You think I'd have a handgun,"[/B] he said slowly, raising an eyebrow, [B]"shipped to a post office . . . in the middle of a city."[/B]

Claget opened his mouth and closed it again.

[B]"Good point,"[/B] he said.

[B]"Turn here."[/B]

Claget complied, and Nicholas went back to counting freight containers and wondering why a Hunter would make such a ridiculous assumption in the first place. Technically, Hunters were vigilantes, and vigilantes never lasted long if they went out of their way to alert authorities. Using a post office box for acquiring weapons was almost like waving to the Nice Policeman while having a full-blown shootout on the streets of Baltimore at high noon.

Of course, the rash of precinct shootings lately wasn't exactly subtle, either. Nicholas made a note to have Claget start wiping down his shell casings before loading his magazines. He also added driving gloves to his shopping list.

After a few minutes, Nicholas ordered Claget to stop, and the two exited the car.

[B]"So how'd you get it here?"[/B] Claget asked as Nicholas walked around to the container behind the former truck driver.

[B]"I had the gear I'd ordered shipped to a friend of mine,"[/B] replied Nicholas, [B]"and he put in here for me." [/B] Springing the lock, he swung the door open and slipped inside, emerging with a large box under one arm. He thrust the package at Claget and refastened the container while his partner tossed the carton in the back seat.

[B]"That thing is way too big for just a handgun,"[/B] Claget said after they had resumed travel. [B]"What else you got in there?"[/B]

[B]"Ammunition and other supplies I thought we might need sometime,"[/B] returned Nicholas dismissively. He pulled a laptop out of a bag in the back. [B]"So it's Louisiana next, hunh?"[/B]

[B]"Yeah. Some kook sent some sort of prophetic-doomsday message to a couple dozen people on the Net. Apparently Watcher's taking it seriously."[/B] Claget shrugged. [B]"You said you were bored, so I thought it might be worth looking into." [/B] He glanced at Nicholas, who had started busily tapping away. [B]"What're you doing?"[/B]

Nicholas didn't look up. [B]"Checking out the message."[/B]

Claget paused, discarding his initial queryâ??how his partner was getting a wifi connection on a state highwayâ??in favor of a pursuing a more pertinent oddity:

[B]"I thought you didn't [I]have [/I]a Net account."[/B]

[B]"I don't."[/B]

[B]"Then howâ??"[/B] Claget snuck a glance at the screen and was rewarded with the username.

[I]Intheyear2525.[/I]

[B]"â??you're an asshole."[/B]

Nicholas bobbed his eyebrows.[/FONT] Edited March 25, 2012 by Allamorph

[GuyYouMetOnline]

[COLOR=indigo]Many other Hunters preferred more... covert means of transporting all their equipment while traveling. But Vaxla didn't care. Although she couldn't exactly carry a sword on the plane with her, she wasn't taking anything she couldn't bring as checked luggage. And aside from the sword, there were no weapons. To a normal person, it would just look like an extremely unusual collection of items. Vaxla kept some items with her, but there was nothing wrong with having a flashlight or garlic in her carry-on bag.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#4b0082]There hadn't been any vampires on the flight, but now Vaxla saw a pair. She'd rented a baggage cart and was wheeling her bags out to her rented pickup truck (nothing else they'd had could hold everything Vaxla'd brought). When she was inside the rental car place, she'd seen them with a different clerk. They hadn't been on Vaxla's flight, but they'd obviously been on one that had arrived around the same time.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#4b0082]Vaxla didn't need anything fancy to take a pair of vampires. She placed her bags in the back of the pickup and began wheeling the cart back. On her way, she passed the vampires, who seemed to have found their car. She acted quickly, taking out her flashlight. She turned it on, said, "[I]Lux[/I]", and a vampire was dead before it had even known anything was coming. Vaxla turned the light on the second vampire, who was just as surprised as the first one. It managed to react, though, charging Vaxla just as her light fell on it. The vampire slammed into her as its body disintegrated, knocking her to the ground. But it didn't accomplish anything; the vampire was already dead. Vaxla pushed what was left off of her and stood up as the vampire's body was burned away.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#4b0082]Vaxla returned the baggage cart as if nothing had happened, then went back to the pickup she'd rented. She removed some straps from one of her bags and used them to secure the bags as a precaution, then hopped in and pulled out of the lot, headed for the specified location.[/COLOR]

[Darren]

[SIZE="1"][I]"are you alright?" Kazimir asked.
There was a young man sprawled out on the ground in front of him. He didn't move. Kazimir went to touch his seemingly lifeless body, when its hand jerked. He fell back, horrified at what was going on.
"Why didn't you save me?" It screamed. A deep, almost demonic voice emerging from its vocal cords.
Kazimir was shuffling backwards on the ground. "Who the hell are you?" he screamed, coming to a stop as he backed into a tree.
The man, or creature?, had begun moving more and more. Somehow as its bones popped and twisted, it got larger. When it's transformation was done, the creature turned, with solid black eyes, cold enough to kill.
"Don't tell me you don't recognize me?" it said. With a monstrous claw, it began fishing something out of a hole in its head that Kazimir hadn't noticed before. Pulling out a silver bullet "Now do you recognize your brother?"
He examined the young hunter with pure excitement, as though he were playing with his food. The flesh from his brother's face began peeling and falling to the ground until there was nothing but muscles and exposed bone. With one last demonic roar, it charged. His brother charged to kill him.[/I]

Kazimir jolted upright and thrust his fist, (the one that was holding a blade in it) to the side.
[B]"Holy shit, man!"[/B] Martin was holding the back the blade from piercing his neck. [B]"I was only trying to wake you up. You were having a nightmare or something."[/B]

It was night outside, and the two were still on their Journey to New Orleans. [B]"What's going on?"[/B] Kazimir asked, strangely calm considering what had just passed.

[B]"I don't know man, you tell me! You're the one with a fuckin' blade to my throat!"[/B] Kazimir just noticed that he hadn't moved his arm from Martin's neck.

After removing the knife, [B]"Where are we?"[/B]

[B]"About half-way."[/B] The response was withdrawn. Martin had finally seen why Kazimir was an insomniac.

[B]"How long was I asleep?"[/B]

[B]"About 10 minutes."[/B]

[B]"Pull over,"[/B] Kazimir was fishing a pair of glasses out of his bag. [B]"I'm driving."[/B]

[B]"Whoa! No one drives the Huntsmobile except me."[/B]

[B]"Do it unless you want me to fall asleep again."[/B]

You could tell Martin was deep in thought. If he wasn't as quick as he was last time, he might not be able to protect himself from getting stabbed. The hunter pulled over at a gas station. After grabbing some snacks to make the rest of the trip, Kazimir took over the responsibility of driving.

When they pulled back out, Martin was occupying himself with his weapons and choking down junk food. Kazimir was just glad to be keeping his mind busy. But he knew he couldn't do it for much longer. He had to fall asleep eventually.[/SIZE]

[Talon]

[color=crimson][b][u][center][size=2]Chapter One: To Stone the Heroes....[/center][/size][/b][/u]

[pindent=2][i]Manjusra was asleep when the plane touched down in New Orleans. He'd tried to hold in his laughter when she saw that the pilot was wearing Army greens, and failed miserably when she saw that their ride was a C-130 transport. He had to take his car with him, after all. It was a very pleasant ride, by Chase's standards, and he'd slept through most of it.[/pindent]
[pindent=2]He checked Hunter-Net's list on safehouses in the area and saw one near the French Quarter that had seen little reported use lately. He nodded and put out a notice that he'd been opening that safehouse soon, pleased to see that it was one of the 'old-money' Hunter's manses. It would make things easier if some of the Hunters congregated in one place to coordinate their actions.[/pindent]
[pindent=2]He unbuckled and lifted the sleeping Manji in his arms as he headed into the hold, setting her quietly in the car, as the plane's activity wound down. The pilot opened the bay doors and released the hooks keeping the car in place. With a wave, Johnathan grinned evilly and gunned the car in reverse, backing down the ramp quickly and spinning to face a nearby gravel road. He looked up and checked a nearby signpost.[/pindent][pindent=2]"H-uh. I didn't know Camp Villere had an airstrip...."[/pindent]
[pindent=2]Checking his GPS, he tore out of the military training 'facility' onto the interstate that would carry him to old New Orleans. He, of course, didn't realize that the facility hadn't had an airstrip at all, but Beartalker was good like that.[/color][/pindent]

[Horendithas]

[COLOR="Indigo"][SIZE="1"]Trying to sleep while someone else was driving was something Marcus had never been good at. It was why he had preferred to drive solo instead of team when he had been working as a truck driver. Putting up with training was about all he ever wanted to deal with. He preferred it if things [I]didn?t move[/I] while he slept. It didn?t help that the roads in some states caused the trucks to vibrate like it was about to fall apart. Cars weren?t as bad but he still hated it.

Normally they would stop at some rundown motel for a night?s sleep whenever they relocated, but after the fuss with the police station, they had opted for putting a lot of distance between them and that fiasco. It wasn?t often that they were that brazen and forward about dealing with freaks. Piggies were easier to deal with that way though. Once you killed one, if the news got out, the others would go into hiding, so it was best to take them all out at the same time.

So as a result the real problem was that even in death, piggy?s still looked human to those without any gift, so naturally the law was up in arms over the slaughter. In their eyes, some psycho had killed policeman so they were creating quite a stir in an effort to find them, they had very little to actually go on though. Nicholas had seen to that by destroying the surveillance cameras. It didn?t stop them from trying, and the quicker they left the area, the better.

Marcus drifted in and out of dreams about his life before becoming imbued while Nicholas drove. He was finally jolted fully awake by the car hitting something that caused him to bounce hard enough to clear the seat. If not for his seatbelt, he would have hit the ceiling of the car.

?[B]Jesus, Preach.[/B]? He complained as he opened his eyes to see that they were on some road. ?[B]Are you aiming for the potholes or what?[/B]? It was dark out and other than a few sets of headlights behind and off in front, they were alone.

?[B]Train tracks.[/B]? Nicholas explained.

Marcus grunted and took a look at his watch. It was nearly five am. ?[B]So, where the hell are we anyway?[/B]? The lights from the car highlighted a sign listing the closest cities as Nicholas drove by. ?[B]Never mind.[/B]?

He reached behind the seat and pulled out his thick atlas map from when he had been driving truck. It only took him a moment to find what he wanted. The listing of the truck stops and restaurants along the main roads told him what he wanted to know. They could stop and grab some breakfast and he could log into the net to see if there was any news on that odd message he had gotten.

Marcus would have rather slept some more, but he?d slept long enough that he was unlikely to fall back asleep any time soon. Once they figured out what the deal was, he?d find a place to crash and really sleep for a change. Or perhaps he?d insist they do that when they arrived. Going into something like that without being fully rested was foolish.

?[B]So, how does breakfast sound Preach? We could stop at the next truck stop and grab something while I check the net.[/B]? He stuffed the map back behind his seat. ?[B]And since you just love hitting potholes, I?ll drive for a while so you can sleep.[/B]?

Nicholas just grinned and said nothing. It was kind of a joke between them since he knew how much Marcus hated sleeping in a moving vehicle. Telling Nicholas that he hit potholes was his way of saying he was too awake to sleep anymore. [/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR="DarkGreen"][FONT="Book Antiqua"]It was short, but having a few days of nothing but driving to the new location had been peaceful. No visions, no freaks, and no fellow hunters to think[I] you[/I] were a freak for wanting to be sure they weren?t a problem before you dealt with one of the horrors. Jonathan knew that the only ones who understood him were those who always tried to save them first.

He didn?t really want to save them; he just didn?t think it was right to destroy them if it was a natural process. Jonathan sighed and then he laughed at where his thoughts were going as he continued down the freeway into New Orleans. He reached over with is right hand to crank up the volume of the song currently playing on the radio. A Promise In The Clouds. One of these days he needed to remember to pick up the album to add to his small collection.

The exit he wanted came up and he took it without hesitation. He had checked the hunter net at the last motel he had stayed at so he knew just where to go. Someone had set up a safe house in the city and though he was still not convinced that it wasn?t a prank, safe houses were still a good means to gather information from other hunters. It would probably be best to go there before he went to the specified location. How well the safe house was set up would be a good way to help determine if it was a prank or not.

Or so he thought, but if he found nothing there, then it would be obvious. For some reason he couldn?t think clearly now that he was actually in New Orleans. He wondered if it was just the exhaustion of the trip speaking. However by going to a safe house, he wouldn?t have to bother with checking the area. Someone else would have already scouted the area. There would be no need to make sure the motel in question didn?t have any nasty surprises for him. All of that would already be taken care of for the safe house's location.

He followed the directions to the safe house that he had memorized earlier in the day before he left. It was early afternoon and the traffic was on the light side. The song he was listening to was just coming to an end as he pulled up in front of the building in question. He killed the engine and got out, tucking his keys in his pocket before locking and shutting the door.

Jonathan wanted to talk to someone before he bothered to bring his stuff in. Though he had his weapons, leaving those behind was something that he never did unless he had no choice at all. He?d almost gotten himself killed once by doing that. Never again, it was better to risk getting arrested for having them on his person.

He took a deep breath and started towards the main door to the building. It was a pity that the short break was over with. Though if he was lucky and it was just a prank, then he?d get the break of the drive back to the other town or at the very least one of settling into this area. [/FONT][/COLOR]