Seven Points

[Slate Morrison]

RISE OF THE BLOOD MOON EVENT - 'The Calm Before the Storm'

4:00 PM. November 11th, 2019. Veteran’s Day. Full Moon.
Muldoon’s Irish Pub & Restaurant, 3rd Avenue (between 43rd and 44th), Midtown, Manhattan.

Slate had been frequenting Muldoon’s for years. Quaint low lit pubs with that authentic Irish ambience were hard to come by and so their clientele tended to stick. The lack of cops made it all the more attractive, the rogue detective preferring not to rub shoulders with his fellow boys in blue at the end of the day. He didn’t have much in common.

Tucked in a corner booth, Slate took note of the pictures and memorabilia on the shelf above him. The place was littered with Irish mementos and old photographs of Irish icons and ancestors of the owners. He usually sat at the bar and had never seen these two characters before, one man evidently a veteran. Before taking a swig of his lager he raised his pint, tipping it to the unknown soldier out of respect. It was Veteran’s day after all, and as a good a reason as any other to partake in a drink or two.

[npc]Did you order?[/npc] Inquired the young woman returning to the table, sliding into the corner beside the much larger man.

[slate]Steak right?[/slate] He confirmed.

[npc]Salmon![/npc] The girl groaned, gasping at the mishap.

She couldn’t possibly eat red meat but as a mischievous grin spread across the man’s face it became obvious he was only feigning the mix-up. [slate]Just kidding. Wouldn’t want to risk you turning or anything.[/slate]

[npc]Very funny.[/npc] She smiled, rolling large, dark lashed eyes seductively at the handsome musician. [npc]You shouldn’t joke about things like that.[/npc] She playfully scolded, but there was a superstitious truth to her words.

It was the first full moon of the ‘Turn’ and people were still getting used to venturing out on these nights. The reality of lycanthropes and their change dictated by a lunar influence had struck horror in the populace. For years, people cowered behind locked doors, fearing a were-beast to come a’ knocking. Incidents were few and even rare were random attacks. In Slate’s experience most assaults committed by were-beasts were purposely directed toward individuals of a criminal nature. Still, the illusion of security was required. The pub’s front windows and door were guarded by heavy bars. Just in case.

[npc]Aren’t you a little worried? You know, I never go out on these nights. I think this is the first time in five years.[/npc]

Slate shook his head and shrugged. [slate]Don’t think about it much. You’re just as likely to run into something just as monstrous any night of the week.[/slate]

[npc]Gee. Thanks for that. I may never go out again.[/npc] She laughed while pulling a thinly rolled joint out of a cigarette case. Igniting the tip, the girl took a pull and passed the favour to Slate, but he politely refused and sparked up one of his cigarillos instead.

[slate]Another Harp.[/slate] He requested of a passing server, gesturing to his quarter full glass.

[slate]So what d’ya do, Megan?[/slate] The musician finally asked.

[npc]I’m in my third year, still not sure what I want to do.[/npc] She admitted, her knee accidentally grazing his beneath the table. [npc]You?[/npc]

[slate]I’m doing it.[/slate] Slate lied, purposely hiding the fact that he was a cop.

 

Musicians were far more attractive.

[Raeden (Rae) Seiko]

Blue light slid over the building and disappeared again only to come back around as the strobe she had slapped up on her jeep bar when she got the call continued to warn those in the area the cops were around. It wasn’t long before the red and blue lights came to compliment her solitary beacon, the corner of 3rd and 44th speckling with an almost festive slip of colored lights as sirens remained silent. It was a crime scene, not an active chase.

 

Lance had been the first there in his unmarked car, taking notes from the eye witness after cording the space off with caution tape. It was once a "fancy" courtyard beside the United Nations Global Compact, some sustainable living something at 3rd and 44th that had not survived the demise of the world. Now it was a shit alley with all the nasty dumpsters from every dive restaurant and bar for six blocks lining the walkway that once was lined by a reflecting pond. Sliding out of the jeep she pulled the 22 from the center console and pushed it into the back of her slacks, grip sitting over the fitted kevlar vest. Ears were homing in on the round of questioning as she walked past the two.

 

Man and woman fighting… she grabbed him and asked him not to go… he said he had to… pushed her and ran down the street.

 

The rest was uninteresting to her, a ramble of opinion from the witness on the fact that the guy "killed" her. Hand lifted the gold strip of ribbon to duck under, crouching just inside the corded off area. Pupils flushed as she studied the crumpled woman leaning against the rank dumpster. The blood dripping down from the front corner of the rusted metal and pooling behind the blond spoke of head strike on the metal being the source of death. But what happened was her job to figure out.

 

Pupils dilated again as they pursued the clues, zooming in on details that flushed closer as though she had flipped a magnifying lens between her and the world before a second "lens" effect snapped her view closer. Head tilted as it magnified again and again.

 

Footprints. Many sets muddied in the filthy snow, mud and grease that was built up around the dumpsters. But as the details of each print came into focus she began to separate those that didn’t belong to the soul of the flipped off heel that sat upside down in the bloody snow. Finding the ones she was looking for she matched the depth and freshness with the other sets until the single male size tens bubbled to the surface in her analysis, almost highlighting above the others in the odd "crime lab" that was her brain.

 

Head glanced to the sidewalk outside the yellow "safe" zone. The same prints quickly spotted before amber gaze moved again to the space in front of the woman. Straight line. Vision grew fuzzy a moment as she released the magnification and the pupils refocused normally on the scene, nostrils flaring to take over the study. It took a little time to focus in on anything but the stink of trash that had not been picked up in far too long.

 

Blood, the woman reeked of it, but as the analysis delved beyond the obvious the next scents drew more light to the scene. Sex….. pheromones…. Lycan.

 

Interesting.

 

Standing she ducked back out from under the yellow tape, Lance walking over to meet her tapping his pad.

 

[npc]…. So she was arguin' with a big guy who smashed her into the dumpster… killin' her.[/npc]

 

[rae]….doubt that.[/rae]

 

He smirked. Lance was used to his research being proven wrong by a five minute study of the crime scene by the Detective.

 

[npc]….so instead it was…..?..[/npc]

 

[rae]…boyfriend or at least she was sleeping with him. Lycanthrope. I suspect he wanted to get away because of the full moon tonight. Probably she didn’t know. He did push her, but he did it all the way out here at the sidewalk. She stumbled back a couple steps and he was already running down the street…. probably has no idea she is dead.[/rae]

 

She pointed to a line in the snow that looked no different than every other line in the muddy mess.

 

[rae]…her heel slipped out from under her causing her to topple over backwards and hit her head on the dumpster corner. Two inches more to the left and she would have just had a bad bump on her head and a good cry over him ditching her. Unfortunately that corner got her.[/rae]

 

Lance nodded through it all as he "studied" the scene…acting like he saw it all too and underneath a giant "how the fuck she do that?!" was filling his head. But then a frown covered his brow as something she had said sunk in.

 

[npc]…lycanthrope… you sure?... we have had a few stories of spooked lycanthropes abandoning jobs and heading out of town… think its related?[/npc]

 

That was new information…. no one had filled her in on that one…….

[Slate Morrison]

[npc]Shit![/npc] Megan exclaimed. Slate followed her curious gaze over his shoulder, catching the all too familiar flashes of red and blue. [npc]Do you think it’s one of them?[/npc] She asked nervously.

[slate]Doubt it.[/slate] Slate shrugged, his eyes narrowing. He wasn’t so sure, but he didn’t want to spook her.

Gazing out the window, Angelic eyes capable of seeing vast distances meandered down the street. The passed by the officers, past the yellow tape; the sound of the car’s engines, their voices, becoming audible.

There was a female detective at the scene. At first glance he nearly mistook her for his partner. ‘Adria?’ She had same long black hair, a distinctly Asian appearance to the partial profile, the similarities ending as she turned around to face his line of sight.

‘What had happened?’ Slate curiously probed the crime scene, eavesdropping on the conversation between the woman and her partner. She had remarkable insights, drawing conclusions that he himself would have been hard pressed to formulate.

[npc]So d’ya wanna get outta here?[/npc] The girl suggested, but Slate suddenly had other plans.

[slate]What?[/slate] He frustratedly pulled his attention away from the crime scene, [slate]Oh… Damn. Wouldn’t you know it, I completely forgot about a rehearsal.[/slate] He lied, checking his watch.

[npc]A rehearsal?[/npc]

[slate]Yeah, sorry.[/slate] He apologized, sliding out of the booth and grabbing his trench coat hanging on a nearby coat stand. [slate]How ‘bout I give ya a call later?[/slate]

The girl just stared at him incredulously. He was the one that got her to come out on this cursed night in the first place and now he was blowing her off! [npc]Don’t bother.[/npc] She snapped, [npc]Fucking jerk.[/npc]

Yeah, he had that coming, and he was. Slate didn’t dispute it.

[slate]Sorry.[/slate]

Without another moments hesitation Slate stole out of the pub and onto the street. There was something in the air that night, a strange sensation he couldn’t quite put his finger on. One of the detectives had mentioned lycanthropes leaving town. Must’a kept tabs on some, they were usually pretty secretive. What ever was going on, it was bigger than just this isolated incident, and as was Slate’s custom, he always liked to meet the unknown head on.

[slate]Detective Morrison.[/slate] Slate announced, flashing his badge and identification to one of the officers guarding the perimeter of the crime scene, [slate]Who’s in charge?[/slate]

The young officer momentarily scrutinized the badge. The Jersey Police Department’s jurisdiction overlapped into southern Manhattan so his presence wasn’t out of the ordinary. [npc]That’d be Detective Seiko.[/npc] he answered, thumbing over his shoulder toward the plain clothed woman.

Ducking under the police tape, Slate bee-lined it for the detective, keen eyes observing the scene, trying to draw the same conclusions Seiko had arrived at. [slate]Detective Seiko, Detective Morrison, Jersey PD. Just happened to be in the neighbourhood. Lycanthrope?[/slate] he inquired.

[Raeden (Rae) Seiko]

Brow was faintly knitted in a thoughtful scrunch. There was always some hanky panky to deal with on the nights of full moons, it was why she worked every one of them, but there had not been reports of Lycans abandoning the city that she could recall. Some left to protect others but it wasn’t police noteworthy.

 

So why this time was it? Was she missing something?

 

Turning she set eyes on the scene again, orbs flicking over the ground and up the wall, as the pupils expanded and snapped back to contraction with every zoom in on the crime scene. The world was beginning to fade away as she began to get microscopic but her name spoken caught her attention and lashes blinked to release the ability, letting her other senses flush back to active in time to catch the guy duck under the police tape and approach. Brow lifted slightly as he was looked over. She wasn’t suspicious, but she was cautious. Their precinct had gotten burned by outside cops who didn’t care for their brothers and sisters the way she had pulled together the expanded Precinct 10. They had lost two good men because of the outsider's carelessness.

 

[slate] Detective Seiko, Detective Morrison, Jersey PD. Just happened to be in the neighbourhood. Lycanthrope? [/slate]

 

Light amber orbs assessed him again before flicking up to Lance, almost smirking at the undercover cops clear expression of suspicion focused on the stranger. She caught his eye and nodded faintly before tipping her head towards the newcomer, inviting Lance to explain what he knew. Truth was… she was eager to know as well.

 

[npc]….ya….started gettin' calls this morning of Lycanthrope just up and abandoning their jobs and families. Got eighteen cases of businesses callin' it in and six Missing Person cases where the family called it in. All said the same, that it was normal for the person to work the morning shift on the day of the full moon and then skip out, but today they just all got spooked and flew out of places.. without a word sometimes.[/npc]

 

So why did this Lycanthrope wait so long? If the others were ditching the city in the morning why did this one wait until late afternoon? Hadnt gotten the Lycan evacuate memo?

 

Hands slid into the pocket of her slacks as she looked the scene over again, faint knit of thought scrunching her brow as she didn’t bother to look at the visiting detective when addressing him.

 

[rae]…seeing the same in Jersey?... am wondering if this is only an inner city thing or more wide spread.[/rae]

 

Lips pursed a bit still thinking through the details as she slid her hand free and pushed a gray button that was clipped onto the two way radio that snugged on her hip. Only then was it obvious there was a wire that disappeared under her vest and snaked up the side of her neck nearly unseen in the dark hair, earpiece tucked neatly in her ear with the wire mic clipped just on the edge of the vest strap nearly undetectable. It had been one of the first things she had made sure they got up and running again after the world had gone to hell in a handbasket. Cops couldn’t stay safe on the streets if they couldn’t communicate with eachother at all times. Closer inspection showed every cop in the precinct was sporting either a stingray tactical set like hers or the more traditional tactical throat microphone collar. Not all precincts had bothered getting the old technology running again.

 

[rae]….Judy…..any increase in gang activity today in the city? Unusual call outs?[/rae]

 

She listened as the girl back at dispatched rattled off the few minor incidents that had been reported over the day, including the crime she was currently at. Head shook before offering a quick "thanks". She wanted to rule out some turf war. She had never heard of the Lycanthropes packing together to fight but… who knew these days.

 

[rae]..nothing else odd being reported.[/rae]

 

She paused and turned to look at the visiting detective still waiting for an answer regarding his side of the "fence".

 

[rae]..so… Jersey?[/rae]

[Slate Morrison]

Slate nonchalantly lit up a cigarillo while Seiko’s partner filled him in on the odd Lycanthrope activity. Honestly, he was more impressed with just how much they gave a shit about what he and many other cops considered menaces. Seiko’s additional intel, proved it was business as usual otherwise, but she was looking to correlate their findings. She sensed something. Slate could feel it to, but couldn’t quite put a finger on it; like a nagging smell you just couldn’t place.

[slate]Lycanthropes are like any other nuisance. If they’re behaving responsibly, they ain’t my problem.[/slate] He simply stated, [slate]Jersey’s Jersey. Full moon always brings out the lunatics, but yeah, this one’s… I dunno… weird, y’know? Dogs ’n cats been goin’ squirrelly all day.[/slate]

Slate stared up at the faint violet hued celestial crack quickly intensifying in the darkening sky and took a drag on his thin cigar. [slate]Figured, it might be the Nevus.[/slate] he admitted. Hardly a profound deduction, but more often than not, the Nevus was usually the cause of any strange unexplainable shit.

[slate]Few months ago we had to put one down, your standard wolf. Isolated incident. Kept it outta the media to avoid a panic. Guy was a junkie and lost control. Ever since we’ve been a little more vigilant.[/slate] The report was buried. Only a few knew the actual details and Slate only found out because of his uncle who was one of the district captains overseeing the case. Didn’t much matter now letting the cat out of the bag so long after the fact.

Slate hoped that it was just the usual full moon paranoia that was affecting him. He wasn’t prone to the jitters, but there was a first time for everything.

[Raeden (Rae) Seiko]

She didn’t like it. A sudden rash of calls all regarding lycanthropes? There was no way they were all just coincidence.

 

[slate] Lycanthropes are like any other nuisance. If they’re behaving responsibly, they ain’t my problem. Jersey’s Jersey. Full moon always brings out the lunatics, but yeah, this one’s… I dunno… weird, y’know? Dogs ’n cats been goin’ squirrelly all day. [/slate]

 

Brow quirked a bit at the animal references.

 

[slate] Figured, it might be the Nevus. [/slate] [rae]….maybe.[/rae]

 

Mutter was soft, sounding less than convinced as the amber eyes flicked to the sky, pupils expanding then snapping shut three times, zooming in on the crack in the sky seeking anomalies. She watched it often. Anomalies in the scar often were precursors to wild events. She didn’t immediately spot any but something about the sky did seem…. off. Pupils relaxed as the gaze dropped back to the Detective when he started talking once more.

 

[slate] Few months ago we had to put one down, your standard wolf. Isolated incident. Kept it outta the media to avoid a panic. Guy was a junkie and lost control. Ever since we’ve been a little more vigilant. [/slate]

 

"hmm"… was the only thing out of her as she glanced at the crime scene once more, furrow of her brow betraying thought. A rogue wasn’t unheard of. They had dealt with a couple in the last few years as well. This was bigger than a rogue. Her "spidey" sense told her as much. Head shook as she turned towards her jeep pausing as her ear piece flicked to life, finger pressing on the side of box on her hip.

 

[rae]….he saw what?[/rae]

 

Blink was pronounced as she turned sharply and strode into the middle of the street, a car swerving and blowing its horn as she stared at the sky, pupils snapping several times as she focused on the sliver of horizon that peeked between buildings.

 

[rae]…fuck[/rae]

 

More than one of her cops glanced up, instantly at attention as she strode to the back of her jeep, keys snapping out to unlock the steel box in the back, lid lifting to betray a small arsenal. A second gun was slid into the back of her waistband as she flicked the box on her hip.

 

[rae]…was it on the calendar?…. Judy!...was it on the calendar?[/rae]

 

Answer clearly was not what she wanted to hear as another "fuck" escaped her lips as the shotgun came out. Boys in blue were already arming up in reaction to her own actions. Amber glanced at the Detective and Lance who was scowling at her.

 

[rae]…it's not a normal full moon… it’s a blood moon, can already see it rising.[/rae]

 

[npc]…wait…what? I didn’t think….[/npc][rae]…its not… not supposed to be one till next year December. [/rae]

 

His "fuck" mirrored hers as he ran to his car to get his own gear.

 

Head shook as she adjusted the velcro strap at her side to tighten the kevlar as eyes caught the Detective.

 

[rae]…looks like you were right… [/rae]

[Slate Morrison]

Slate followed her eyes to the night sky but dared not let his ‘far-gaze’ linger. The secrets of the Nevus were not meant for him. She was different though. Seiko ‘saw’, but differently, unbound by the celestial nature of his gifts.

‘Dammit!’ Slate wasn’t pleased at all that his instincts were correct. Enhanced sight followed her own to verify the crimson glow creeping over the distant horizon. ‘A sanguine moon!’ And there was something else. Heightened hearing detected a distant howl, uncharacteristic amidst the cacophony of the city. It was low at fist, solitary, then the pitch grew stronger, the beastly cry joined by more, and more.

[slate]How —?[/slate] Slate stopped himself, realizing the answer to his question was all too obvious. The Nevus was unpredictable. It effected everything, threw people’s lives into a tail-spin on a whim, but something else was wrong.

The blood moon, enraged Lycanthropes, increased their craving for blood and violence while at the same time making them stronger and even more durable. It didn’t necessarily increase their frequency or cause them to pack together. They tolerated one another but never traveled in mass with a shared purpose. That’s exactly what it sounded like. No fighting. No squabbling. Just the vicious snarls of demons on the prowl.

‘Crap! Megan!’ Slate recalled as he slapped a clip of silver rounds in his gun. ‘Shit! It was because of him that she dared to venture out on a full moon. If anything happened to her it would be on him.

He started to move back the way he had come, violet eyes scanning the street, but even as he approached the line of police tape he saw the first of them. Two behemoths stalked out of the shadows of a nearby alley, one a seven foot tall werewolf, the larger one a black bear.

[npc]Lycanthropes![/npc] An officer panicked, unleashing a barrage of silver rounds at the blood thirsty creatures.

[Raeden (Rae) Seiko]

[slate]How --?[/slate]

 

Brow lifted at him. There was a naïve question. How did any of the shit that happened these days start… with the damn crack in the sky. Strap of the Heckler & Kloch was pulled over her head and shoulder to let the submachine drape just behind her left hip as the steel lid was slammed on her jeep box.

 

She heard it finally, the howls and snarls of creatures on the rampage. The plural was the concerning part. It sounded like a damn pack. Lycanthropes didn’t travel in packs, not even on full moons.

 

[rae]…Judy… city is being overrun by Lycans… spread to all precincts immediately and get them into the streets.[/rae]

 

Even as she flicked the box back off she added quietly to herself.

 

[rae]…going to be a blood bath….[/rae]

 

As if on cue the monolithic bear crashed into the eerie rotation of blue and white lights. There was a faint glimmer of disorientation in the wild eyes as his "brother" wolf lumbered out beside him, both caught in the hypnotic cycle of cerulean and fluorescence.

 

[npc]Lycanthropes![/npc]

 

Brow quirked as eyes slid over to panicking uniformed, his bullets spraying wildly before running out with an ominous click. More than one set of frantic eyes were on her.

 

[rae]…you were expecting fairies perhaps?[/rae]

 

She had a twisted and calm humor in her words as her right hand gripped the ebony forestock, toned arm snapping up and down to pump the shotgun before it swung up, caught into the left to take aim. Explosion erupted into the street, the scattered shot far more powerful than some might expect as it hit true in the bear's face, removing nearly half the skull.

 

Something about the woman's almost relaxed commitment to the here and now drew a calm over most of the men.

 

[rae]….no restraint.[/rae]

 

The "blessing" to not exercise moderation drew several nods as they all seemed to remember this was their job, this was why they were on the streets day in and day out. To serve and protect, an almost archaic belief and yet it was alive and well among this family. This was the pride she had brought back to the 10th, a pride that was evident as the men "woke" up beginning to sprint to action, gunfire suddenly more precise, the frantic panic gone even as the next shadows came thundering down the street.

[Slate Morrison]

The fury of pain stricken roars reverberated in the hearts of the officers as their barrage of silvered rounds ripped into the beast’s hairy hides. Death was imminent, irreparable bullet holes perforated their flesh and vital organs, but beneath the violent crimson glow, the creature’s were stronger, more resilient… more enraged. Neither were forced back an inch as they relentlessly charged their attackers. The bear lead, ploughing through a squad car, it’s massive shoulder bashing it aside, crushing two officers against a wall.

[npc]The silver’s not having any effect![/npc] Shouted a back peddling officer as the wolf leapt atop his SUV and let out a blood curdling howl.

The Lycanthropes were simply so empowered by the sanguine moon that they seemed impervious but they would fall, unfortunately until they did they would battle on hardly any weakness. It was a powerful illusion, and the officers were quickly losing heart.

[npc]Rifles![/npc] Someone shouted.

As 9mm rounds ricocheted off of the bear’s thick skull it stood to reason that they needed more firepower, so a few officers bolted for their trunks and proceeded to fish out their high powered assault rifles. Certainly couldn’t hurt, Slate considered, of course it was accuracy that would make all the difference. They needed to target the head, neck and heart, anything else wasn’t going to cut it.

Another squad fell into the bears’ massive paws. It’s claws pushed into the metal of the fenders as it hefted up the vehicle and hurled it into the mouth of the alley. The car skipped across the pavement, flipped on to it’s side and became lodged in the opening, narrowly missing Slate as he leapt over it in one bound.

Gleaming blade flashed red as Slate drew his silver edged gurkha. For him it was a far more effective weapon against the monsters but it also meant engaging them into melee.

[Raeden (Rae) Seiko]

[npc]The silver’s not having any effect![/npc]

 

Head shook as she pumped the stock once more. Her voice booming over the clash of animal and man.

 

[rae]They are… but these guys are jacked… PCP addict having a roid rage episode.[/rae]

 

It made sense to them. They all had come across a suspect that should have gone down with bullets in their chest but their drug high had them still coming. She nodded slightly as one recommended rifles. The power would do more damage, especially if they targeted the brain. Even on a roid rage, taking out the brain would drop a suspect.

 

She took the risk and expanded her sense of smell well beyond the immediate vicinity, stealing the sharpness away from her other senses for the briefest moment.

 

As the temptation to trace the scents even further began to entice her out of the here and now, a blurry shadow caught her attention. The werewolf was in the air, frighteningly fixated on the woman who had let her attention wander. Dropping to the ground on her back the shotgun cocked just a second before she pointed it straight up, blast erupting into the belly of the animal as it came down on her, rocketing it up several feet and off to the side as she rolled out of the way. Grunting softly as the kick of the weapon had knocked the butt right into her ribs. God bless Kevlar.

 

Agile she was on her feet once more, sliding over the hood of her jeep as she barked information to her men.

 

[rae]…got lupine, feline, ursine and ……simian?[/rae]

 

Head shook. She had never come across a simian lycanthrope. Could that be? But the scent wreaked of gorilla. That could REALLY suck. Her stock cocked again, dropping into her left palm and calmly taking aim at the nearest lupine who had just sent an officer flying back over twenty feet with a single swipe. The explosion was followed by a high pitched yelp a second before the thick form fell to its knees, struggling to get up as its ear was missing and part of its skull dangled at the side of its head.

 

She had made her point in case the men hadn't figured it out yet.

 

Real problem was the time it took to aim was enough time for five more to come pouring into the street. Seriously fucked up.

 

Fireball zipped near her shoulder to set a feline lycanthrope's chest on fire. Really only effective at enraging it further. Even with altered on the force, she wasn’t sure they had the strength to hold back this crimson tide.

 

Ears caught the whistle of metal cutting through air just a second before a squad car flipped end over end just over her jeep, rear bumper ramming into the brick wall before the hood slammed down on the roll bar of her jeep, dropping into a curl just at the side of her passenger door she was not crushed only because the squad car cantilevered off her hood.

 

[rae]…fuck…[/rae]

 

Ok…. messing with her jeep was uncalled for.

[Slate Morrison]

Slate hit the ground running, the sterling silver blade low, poised for an upward swing. Even as he sprinted toward certain death he showed no fear, expression void of emotion.

The bear was massive. Were-beasts were incredibly strong, far more so than their animal counter-parts and beneath a blood moon they were damn near unstoppable. Shear raw power hurled the creature forward with incredible speed, providing the officers will little to no chance of precision targeting. All they could do was aim at the body and hope to hit something vital. It was doubtful that even a heart strike would have immediate consequences. Outside of blowing the creature’s damn head off it could still take a few more officers down with it before it finally succumbed to the silver.

The bear lunged at it’s diminutive prey but just before the were-creature struck Slate hurled himself into it’s attack, prematurely closing the distance. Turning in the air, a back kick drove hard into the beast’s belly. An amusing effort if the creature had a sense of humour but if such were the case it would not have been laughing. The powerful kick stopped the creature dead in it’s tracks. Suspended in mid-air from the inertia of the collision, Slate spun, the gurkha flashing downward in a deadly arc as the bear doubled over. Deadly accuracy powered by supernatural strength struck home, driving the silver blade into it’s ear, sinking deep into the bear’s skull. The beast froze and quivered, but there was yet one breath of life in it’s black eyes. Rearing up with a hideous roar it caught it’s killer with a blow of it’s gargantuan arm knocking Slate into the air. Through the air he sailed, slamming into the back seat of a nearby jeep.

The bear shambled forward, blood spewing from the blade protruding from the side of it’s head. It clumsily forced a leg forward then collapsed into a twitching mass. As the silver prevented the were-beast’s powerful healing factor from repairing the damage it quickly died. It’s mass began shrink, the fur recede. Bulky muscle deflated into feminine curves until a the corpse of a naked woman was left in it’s place.

[Raeden (Rae) Seiko]

Amber eyes flicked to the blur that was the professed Jersey cop.

 

Altered.

 

At least he was useful and could take care of himself because her crew didn’t have time to babysit. As the shot gun again was cocked and aimed she caught him returning from the corner of her eye, not exactly as gracefully as he passed before, flinching at the impact on the threadbare back seat.

 

Frown glanced at the body that had just been flung into her jeep, by some miracle managing not to get decapitated by the patrol car resting upside down on her roll bar.

 

Hey….don't bleed in my jeep.

 

Hip was already sliding over the hood of her vintage ride, gun sliding from behind her, nozzle barely free from the band at the back of her waist before it was swung around and aiming. She didn’t shoot like the others, hand tracking ahead of movement in anticipation of where the target would be, not where it was, pupils flushing and contracting as she stole a faint magnification. The zip of the bullet embedded in the right eye and back into the brain of a charging wolfbeast, knocking it off course from its deadly path for the dumbfounded officer staring at the dead naked woman in the street.

 

Growl was under her breath as she sprinted to the center of the street, spin unexpected as her foot connected with his gut, knocking the wind out of him.

 

WAKE UP!

 

Her second shot managed to blind the wolf completely as it rampaged towards them, momentum undaunted.  Lithe form dropped to curl and roll towards the onslaught, sending the creature tripping over her as the kevlar managed to keep her from getting gashed by the scrambling claws. The massive creature tumbled right into the side of the jeep, roaring as the silver in its brain burned it slowly towards death.

 

Be horrified later… a cop now!

 

Words snarled at the rookie as she pushed from the ground, unsure there would be a time to be horrified.

[Zeph]

((there was lots of fighting and blood and we all made it out barely alive! Closing the thread due to player departure  ))