Old Wounds
Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2007 1:50 pm
May 28th, 2007
Even though it was only four weeks later, the image was still fresh in her mind. She kept picturing Ms. Atwood’s drawing of a friend, a friend not seen for nigh upon a year, though the drawing portrayed her as somewhat older than she would have been. Bryan was itching to escape Pocket D and Drix’s presence and was restless enough to desire a little action. Vesper put a call into a contact, receiving news of a Council-owned lab that had been experimenting with a new type of vampyr. She made a flippant suggestion to investigate the lab as she wondered if he wanted to try out his new costume.
“Wanna go after some Council, then? I'm still tryin' to make an impression on them.”
“Sure! Nothing better than smashing Fascists.”
Only halfway through the lab, they encountered the first body bag. As much as she abhorred doing otherwise, Ves could not leave them undisturbed. The information that she had been sent after was too important to risk overlooking the possibility that it might be on one of the scientists. Apparently the bullet-ridden remains were not something the Council soldiers wanted to look upon themselves. It took every ounce of willpower she had in her to open those bags, look into unseeing eyes, and check the empty pockets of the dead scientists, and everything that was left to zip them back up without retching or screaming in frustration. Several body bags and a computer or two later, it was seriously wearing on Ves.
“I don't think I've ever seen so many bodies left in a lab like this...”
There wasn’t time for reflection, though. Bryan nodded toward an imposing figure on a platform, a figure who hadn’t noticed their presence, yet. “Archon Vypr.”
Ves steeled herself, throwing anger and hatred aside. Hatred wasn’t something to carry into a fight. It wasn’t something to carry at all.
The Archon and his men were the last remaining Council forces to be taken into custody, and the needed data was safely in hand. Ves glanced around briefly. “Looks like that's it...”
“Great work.”
“Maybe... Or maybe I shoulda been here sooner...”
Bryan shrugged, though he disagreed. “You can't think like that.”
He was right; she knew he was right, but before she could say a word, her eyes lit upon one of the objects lying on the platform. “Where in the world did you get an old car?”
“Jersey… International treaty, all hurled objects come from Jersey.”
Ves couldn’t help but laugh. “That's one way to clear the mind up…” she had to admit. “An old car... Wow!” It didn’t stay clear long, though, as her gaze was drawn over the railing to the hidden corpse next to the computer terminal.
“Come on, let's get out of here Ves.”
“Yeah... Nothin' more to do here.”
“No... unfortunately not.”
The Council soldiers had massacred the scientists and planned to destroy the lab in an attempt to conceal their involvement. Ves and Bryan had interrupted those plans, which meant that the deaths of those scientists had served no purpose. Even though she knew it wasn’t her fault, Ves was still shaken by the deaths, but there was still work to do and reflections would have to come later.
Later, that night, though she had worked herself to exhaustion, the image of one of the scientists resurfaced in her dreams. The wan skin, the blond hair, strands spun from pale gold floating in a pool of darkest red. The face morphed slightly to one she could never forget, the surroundings faded to those of an unkempt basement.
Even though it was only four weeks later, the image was still fresh in her mind. She kept picturing Ms. Atwood’s drawing of a friend, a friend not seen for nigh upon a year, though the drawing portrayed her as somewhat older than she would have been. Bryan was itching to escape Pocket D and Drix’s presence and was restless enough to desire a little action. Vesper put a call into a contact, receiving news of a Council-owned lab that had been experimenting with a new type of vampyr. She made a flippant suggestion to investigate the lab as she wondered if he wanted to try out his new costume.
“Wanna go after some Council, then? I'm still tryin' to make an impression on them.”
“Sure! Nothing better than smashing Fascists.”
Only halfway through the lab, they encountered the first body bag. As much as she abhorred doing otherwise, Ves could not leave them undisturbed. The information that she had been sent after was too important to risk overlooking the possibility that it might be on one of the scientists. Apparently the bullet-ridden remains were not something the Council soldiers wanted to look upon themselves. It took every ounce of willpower she had in her to open those bags, look into unseeing eyes, and check the empty pockets of the dead scientists, and everything that was left to zip them back up without retching or screaming in frustration. Several body bags and a computer or two later, it was seriously wearing on Ves.
“I don't think I've ever seen so many bodies left in a lab like this...”
There wasn’t time for reflection, though. Bryan nodded toward an imposing figure on a platform, a figure who hadn’t noticed their presence, yet. “Archon Vypr.”
Ves steeled herself, throwing anger and hatred aside. Hatred wasn’t something to carry into a fight. It wasn’t something to carry at all.
The Archon and his men were the last remaining Council forces to be taken into custody, and the needed data was safely in hand. Ves glanced around briefly. “Looks like that's it...”
“Great work.”
“Maybe... Or maybe I shoulda been here sooner...”
Bryan shrugged, though he disagreed. “You can't think like that.”
He was right; she knew he was right, but before she could say a word, her eyes lit upon one of the objects lying on the platform. “Where in the world did you get an old car?”
“Jersey… International treaty, all hurled objects come from Jersey.”
Ves couldn’t help but laugh. “That's one way to clear the mind up…” she had to admit. “An old car... Wow!” It didn’t stay clear long, though, as her gaze was drawn over the railing to the hidden corpse next to the computer terminal.
“Come on, let's get out of here Ves.”
“Yeah... Nothin' more to do here.”
“No... unfortunately not.”
The Council soldiers had massacred the scientists and planned to destroy the lab in an attempt to conceal their involvement. Ves and Bryan had interrupted those plans, which meant that the deaths of those scientists had served no purpose. Even though she knew it wasn’t her fault, Ves was still shaken by the deaths, but there was still work to do and reflections would have to come later.
Later, that night, though she had worked herself to exhaustion, the image of one of the scientists resurfaced in her dreams. The wan skin, the blond hair, strands spun from pale gold floating in a pool of darkest red. The face morphed slightly to one she could never forget, the surroundings faded to those of an unkempt basement.