Bitemarks 2.7

My teeth hurt. :( But I know people are waiting. I also notice we're getting a little asynchronous, which is why we're still with Skarletta.

Bitemarks 2.7

Skarletta awoke, the memory of her death still fresh in her mind. The frozen wastes of the Arctic. Why had she been there? The pieces were definitely coming together. Soon she would know. She got up and went to the window, peeking out through the curtain. Night had fallen and a blue led clock beside David's bed showed 12:30 am. And David himself? He was asleep on the floor. She leaned over him and sniffed. The transformation was complete. His immune system had been overpowered by her venom and now he was just like her. Well, almost. Certainly enough to suffice. She jostled him with her foot until he awoke and saw the pained expression on his face. He clutched at his stomach and groaned.
"It hurts..."
"It's the hunger." she told him, "You know what that means?"
He nodded weakly.
"Come on, get up." she continued. "We'll go feed."


They didn't have to go far to find their victims. There were people still in the streets, making their way home from whatever nighttime entertainment they'd indulged in. Skarletta waited until she detected a young couple who didn't have incredible volumes of alcohol in their bloodstream and then she and David stalked them. The attack was quick, Skarletta was too seasoned a killer and the couple offered little resistance. She showed David how to locate the veins and release his fangs. He was a messy feeder but he'd learn soon enough. Afterwards Skarletta dumped the bodies in a skip in an alley behind a restaurant.
"Let's go back." she said, "I have things I need to know."


Back at David's house Skarletta booted up his computer.
"You are proficient at using this device?" she asked him.
"Yeah." David nodded, "What is it you were looking for?"
"I still don't know. Something important. Something I was doing before..." she trailed off, looking at the various posters around his bedroom.
"Who's that?" she asked, pointing at one that showed a bald man wearing an unusual black and red top.
"Captain Picard. He's a fictional character from a tv show? Star Trek?"
"Star... trek...?"
"It's about the future, when humans have gone into space and begun exploring the stars."
Skarletta laughed.
"Dherroine? In space? Hah. Your people lack the brains for such an endeavour."
"They already made it to the moon."
Skarletta's eyes flashed wide.
"They've already left the planet?"
"Sure."
Whatever mental barriers blocked her memory of the past gave way and everything came flooding back in that instant. That was the important thing. If they'd already managed to produce craft capable of reaching the moon then her time was running out! That was what she was doing in the Arctic! The device! Her ship!
She grabbed David by the shoulders.
"My ship. We need my ship. Those centuries wasted while I lay in the ice! It must still be here somewhere."
She pointed to the computer.
"Find out who has it."
"How?"
"Karal. All who are spawned speak it. Find out everything you can about anyone involved with anything that could be linked to me."
"It's going to take time..."
"Then you'd best begin immediately."
"And what will you do?"
Skarletta drummed her fingers against her thigh. What did she need to do...? The Arctic? She thought for a moment.
"Get me some information first. Climate reports. Scientific journals. Temperatures over the last few hundred years. Air composition. Soil mineral levels. I need to know if the device was activated and... see if you can find any lists of unusual electromagnetic signals. It's always possible that some foolish Dherroine accidentally activated the device or something else on my ship that we could trace."

Angel's Mansion

A virtual walk around Angel's mansion by the waterfall in Sims 3. This is aimed at one specific person but you're all welcome to comment. :P
Pictures are cropped due to size, click them to see the full size picture. (Photobucket window opens in new tab, click the picture in that window to make full size).

Starting with a long shot of 53a Waterfall Way showing the house and the waterfall.


Front of the house, showing fishpond, signpost, front door and two cars.


Close up of cars. In the foreground, Angel's customized sports car. In the background, Randall's Police Cruiser.


Front door, showing entryway, customized mailbox/dustbin and personal fire hydrant.


Long shot of the ground floor showing floorplan.


Entering through the front door we have the ancillary hallway. Statue of Venus plus a Masterpiece painting by Randall.


Turning left from the statue of Venus we see the archway that leads us through into the main hall.


A view down the main hall.


First room on the right from the main hall is the kitchen.



First door on the left leads to the Lounge.
Widescreen Plasma TV.


And custom fireplace (with blue fire).


Second door on the right leads to the Dining Room.



The windows look out over the waterfall.


A shot looking backwards along the main hall (ie the reverse of the previous Main Hall shot.


The archway at the end of the main hall leads into this perpendicular corridor. The statue is of Atlas. The stairs lead up to the next floor but we're not going up them yet.


Randall's Bedroom.


Angel's Room. Note the portrait of Angel and another of his wife. The guitar in the room is gold.


The two identical downstairs bathrooms.


Reverse view of that corridor. In picture, Angel's wife Christina and Angel's daughter, Zara.


Bird's eye view of the pool/gym.


Closer view of the gym section.


Closer view of the pool section.


Shot of the study (from the doorway). In picture, Randall, painting.


Reverse angle shot of the study. In picture, Angel and Angel's daughter, Blaze.


Last view of the corridor to show staircase fully.


Upstairs corridor.


Doorway to master bedroom.


Master bedroom with cribs for the twins.


Door to playroom.


Playroom.


Upstairs bathroom with potty facilities.


This archway at the top of the stairs leads into another hallway that sits on top of the main hall downstairs.


And that hallway itself. Currently there are no doors on the right hand side as there are no rooms above the pool/gym, study and lounge.


But it does have two doors on the left which lead into...

Blaze's bedroom.


Which has one of the best views in the house through that bay window.


And Zara's room.


Which also has a beautiful view out onto the waterfall.


And that's it. The mansion so far. Currently valued at a little over 300'000 simoleons.

As a bonus here's the pic of Angel playing one of his customized guitars which might look better in the higher resolution offered by Facebook.


:) Nice? Hope you like the decor. I spent a long time debating floorings, wall coverings, little details like the magazine strewn coffee table in the main hall and the dual flooring in the gym/pool. All paintings were painted by Randall or Alan and vary in value from 2'000 to 4'500 simoleons.
The second easel is a spare that belonged to Alan before he went to the Netherworld.
The guitars all belong to Angel (four in total). One animal print, which was his very first from the old house. Two blue flame guitars (one for the house, one for his inventory), and the solid gold one in the bedroom that he wished to buy after becoming a rockstar.
There are various certificates dotted about which may or may not be visible that belong as follows.
Study - Painting - Randall.
Study - Writing - Alan.
Gym - Athletics - Angel.
Angel's bedroom - Guitar - Charisma - Angel.
Kitchen - Cooking - Randall.

Bitemarks 2.6

Yeesh, I dunno. It was only Monday yesterday. What happened?! O_O

Bitemarks 2.6

Skarletta was dreaming. Dreaming of that last two days before her death. There were three main tribes she remembered living there in the snows. She'd always tried to be careful but with such small populations it was probably only a matter of time until she slipped up. She'd spawned of course, to divert attention away from herself. But one tribe member came across her feeding one night without her knowledge and had reported it to the tribal chief. They'd hounded her from the settlement forcing her to run and run she had. She ran across the snows all night to the second tribe and there she sought shelter. But her safety there was shortlived and soon a messenger arrived, to pass on the news of the ungodly creature walking among them. Skarletta heard them coming for her and made her way to the last place she knew. The village of the third tribe. That was to be her downfall. All the time she had known herself mentally superior to these Dherroine but the first chief was about to surprise her. He had anticipated her reaction and had already sent a messenger to the third tribe. That alone would have meant little, but so too had he sent all his able warriors to lie in ambush. When Skarletta arrived at the third settlement its warriors awaited her with their crude weapons of stone and bone. The warriors of the first tribe sprang their ambush and closed in from behind. Trapped in between the two tribes Skarletta had no choice but to fight. She was fast of course and stronger than any individual Dherroine but their numbers were great. She killed many that day but the rain of spears and arrows took its toll on her. The running from one tribe to the other had weakened her and when they closed in with daggers and heavy clubs it was only a matter of time until one struck her a lucky blow across the head. Many more were quick to take advantage of her dazed state and standing in the blood drenched snow, surrounded by the dead of both tribes, Skarletta was brutally beaten into unconsciousness.

It was some time until she awoke. What was left of her energy had healed her many wounds. The tribes had seen this as they bound her and spoke of devil magic. The third tribe's chief was the first to suggest it was her who had caused the arrival of the others, members of their own tribe who exhibited this magical healing and thirst for blood. It was he too who suggested the only way to rid themselves of that curse was to sacrifice her to the Great Bird God. And unanimously, Skarletta's fate was decided. At noon she was dragged to the top of the Hill of the Bird God and shackled to the stone altar there, usually used only for animal sacrifice. She is an animal, said the third chief, and thus would they offer her to the Bird God as one.

She could still recall how they slashed at her throat and wrists and neck and ankles, severing veins, arteries and tendons. She remembered the look of disgust on the face of the third chief as he slashed at her throat again when it healed over. For an hour they bled her this way until she was too weak to struggle at her bonds any further. And then the third chief took his polished obsidian dagger and drove it through her ribcage into her heart with all his might. Her screams filled the air and she used one final burst of energy to try and escape her bonds. Her shifting body weight wrenched the dagger from the chief's grip and she felt it shift inside of her. Angrily he reached for its handle and tore it free of her chest. The blade splintered as it withdrew, leaving a small shard within and as the blood flowed freely from the wound Skarletta felt herself drifting away...

Bitemarks 2.5

Bitemarks 2.5

Skarletta looked around David's batchelor pad. It was a single bedroom, kitchen, small lounge and bathroom in an old converted house. The only real signs of decoration were various posters, mostly in the bedroom but she paid them no mind. David stood idly by, still locked in the Thrall. Skarletta sighed to herself. She had relied so heavily on the Thrall to get others to do her bidding but it was not a simple task to maintain. It drained her and spawning David would take its toll too. She would have to feed again tonight. She looked over at her target. He was not physically strong, not that it mattered, the transformation process would improve his strength. The important part is that he would retain his knowledge and skills. She just knew that was going to come in useful. There was little point her delaying longer than necessary. She slid over to him and bent his head to one side exposing the veins on his neck. She could feel the blood screaming through his veins, begging her for release. Such a simple biological process. One of the things she had seen on the internet was a snake that injects its venom through hollow fangs. Not entirely dissimilar she thought as her own fangs slid down from their protective sheaths and punctured his skin. She took but a sip of blood through them, just for the taste, then injected him with her venom. He didn't resist, though his limbs twitched in faint struggle against the foreign substance now overwhelming his immune system. She knew exactly how much he needed and when she was done she pushed him to one side and he collapsed upon the floor, still twitching. She let him loose of the Thrall. It was done. He would be powerless for a few hours until the transformation was complete. He would need to feed then, as would she. She made her way over to his bed and flopped down onto it. She would sleep 'til then.

--------------------------------------

Ed was awoken by the sound of his mobile phone ringing. Groggily he reached for it and answered.
"Yeah?"
"Ed, you lazy little fucker."
It was Tony, lead guitarist for Poleaxe, Ed's ex bandmate.
"Tony? What time is it?"
"1 pm you hardcore little party bastard. Musta been a good night. Now listen up, 'cos I've only got a few minutes. We've managed to snag a fucking cushty little gig. You remember when we were starting out we played that metal club down near Stanley Park?"
"Satan's Armpit?" Ed remembered it well. It had been the band's first big break.
"Yeah that's the fella. Well they're having one fucktastic New Year's Eve party and we're taking main slot! Right through the fucking countdown son! They want us to play "Atomic Bomb"."
Ed knew the song well with its catchy chorus, 'Time to explode, here comes the motherload, three two one like an atomic bomb!'. Fitting, he supposed. One of Tony's twisted creations about Nuclear War breaking out on New Year's Eve. Tony was still rambling in his ear.
"Very strict access list yeah? But I have a couple of guest passes heading your way for the gig and afterparty backstage. And Ed, I said a couple bitch, bring a friend. Don't turn up alone, eh Chuckles? I ain't taking no for an answer either before you think about pussying out. All work and no play..."
Somewhere in the background Ed faintly heard another voice.
"Tony, for fuck's sake man. We're waiting on you. This shit ain't cheap!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming Derek, keep your fucking panties on! Listen Ed, I gotta go. We've started recording the new album. It's gonna blow you to shit. We'll be doing a preview track at the gig. Don't take your eyes off the fucking postbox. Laters."
Tony hung up and Ed sunk back into his bed. This actually sounded like a welcome distraction. Once this mess was all over and everything had returned to something resembling normal... Well it would be nice to see how his bandmates were doing and nice to return to their roots in Stanley Park. But first he had a vampire to take care of. Time for him to get back to the Bureau and find out what had happened overnight.

Ahem

So I was just reading when I came across Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories, a list by S.S. Van Dine published in 1928.
It's here if you wish to see.
http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/vandine.htm

I couldn't help but be delighted by this rule.

16. A detective novel should contain no long descriptive passages, no literary dallying with side-issues, no subtly worked-out character analyses, no "atmospheric" preoccupations. such matters have no vital place in a record of crime and deduction. They hold up the action and introduce issues irrelevant to the main purpose, which is to state a problem, analyze it, and bring it to a successful conclusion. To be sure, there must be a sufficient descriptiveness and character delineation to give the novel verisimilitude.

Clearly I am not the first to note overly lengthy descriptive devices as little more than distraction, wasting time and steering the reader's attention away from the lack of action!
Glad someone agrees with me.

Bitemarks 2.4

Bitemarks 2.4

Ed left the base and jogged back to his car. He was still fuming inside and felt the jog take the edge off it slightly. He didn't fancy going home and remembered the gym at his dad's place. He had the key. Well, it was his place now. He might as well make the most of this downtime. If he was honest with himself he knew his anger was becoming a distraction. He reached the car, slipped behind the wheel and headed off to his dad's house. Maybe it was time he should start thinking about moving in there. His place had the soundproof room but his dad's place was far more isolated. He could sell that pokey little house with its defaced windows, not that he needed the money.

The drive was empty when he pulled into his dad's place. His place. Valentina still came once a week to keep it clean but Ed didn't need the kind of round the clock care his father had. He parked and locked the car and made his way inside. Locks were fine but if he was going to move his equipment here he'd probably install an alarm system. He'd seen one advertised in a magazine last week that used satellite technology to link the alarm system to a wristwatch so the owner would be alerted if the alarm triggered. Very high tech. He decided to check the manufacturer's website later. First he had more important things on his mind. He went down to the gym and flicked its lights on. His dad hadn't used it much in his later years but Ed had used it before. Among other equipment there was a punchbag leaning against one corner. Ed lifted it up and hung it on its hook. He took off his jacket, slinging it to one side then let loose a punch at the bag. Something was missing. He needed some focus. It was too quiet. He headed up to his dad's room and looked around for a laptop. It was on the desk near his dad's bed. It wasn't exactly top of the range but it would suit his needs. He took it back down to the gym and switched it on, opening a web browser and navigating to his online storage folder. He kept a few things on there, including a few albums for ease of access. He scrolled through 'til he found something that suited his mood, Drowning Pool's album "Sinner". He set the album playing on shuffle and moved back to face the punchbag. He felt the guitars kick in, let their distorted wailing and churning fire through his body, felt the high notes scream up and down his spine and listened to the singer's voice, full of anger, resentment and animosity. He pulled back a fist and slammed it into the bag again. Better. He shifted position and let a volley of punches leave him, feeling the impact of his knuckles slamming into the bag as it fought against him.

Ed was worn out by the time the fourth song ended. His arms and hands ached from the exertion and impact and sweat coated his upper torso, drenching his t shirt. It covered his brow too, his hair clinging to it. He brushed it from his eyes with his forearm as the band's singer mournfully lamented the folly of narcissism.
"Do I really want this
Sometimes I scare myself I just can't let it go
Can you believe it
Everything happens for reasons I just don't know
I don't care about anyone else but me
I don't care about anyone
I don't care about anyone else but me
I don't care about anyone or anything but me "
That final chorus haunted Ed and he closed the media player and switched the laptop off. He sighed deeply. It wasn't just about his own feelings, he saw that now. He had to see the bigger picture. Whoever let Beauclair survive the cull was no different than Ed choosing to let Grace live. Beauclair hadn't interfered with the status quo any more than she had. The Mother would have been dug up eventually one way or another, with or without Beauclair. At least this way they had the advantage of his expertise and knowledge. And people, although they didn't know it, were relying on him to save them. He wasn't responsible for letting Beauclair live, but he knew now he was responsible for making sure The Mother died.


(Lyrics from Tear Away by Drowning Pool, copyright of respective owners.)

Bitemarks 2.3

Today's dental appointment was cancelled so I have spare time! :O

Bitemarks 2.3

Skarletta stood near the shelf, book in hand. She was only skimming its contents, not through lack of ability. Reading had come pretty quick to her and the book was not entirely uninteresting, being as it was a beginner's guide to internet usage. But as she scanned its pages she was keeping a watchful eye on the computer terminals and the people using them. She watched their movements noting the simplicity of the devices used. One flat array of alphanumeric characters for input, one moveable device that controlled an on screen equivalent allowing direct interaction. It was fascinating. So complex to design, build and even comprehend its inner workings, yet so laughably simple to manipulate. At that moment one elderly man left his terminal and Skarletta sidled over and sank into the chair. From what she'd read so far the internet was really one huge book. Using a 'browser' as an index page she could search the book's pages for information relevant to her. Simple. She had the beginner's guide open beside her and looked at the screen for the symbol that would open the index. She gripped the device to her right that the book named as a mouse and moved it, watching the on screen cursor follow her movements. She smiled to herself and clicked upon the circular symbol she recognised from the book. The screen changed showing a brightly coloured logo reading "Google". What was a Google? She flicked through a couple of pages in her book. Ah this was the index. All she had to do was enter the words that interested her and be presented with the information. She pondered where to start. There was so much that was new about this world. She should probably begin by catching up on all the events that had happened since her supposed death. She typed in "history" and clicked and began reading.

Reading was something Skarletta had no trouble with and the more she read the faster she was able to process the information. Before she knew it she had absorbed most of the major historical events. There was a lot of irrelevant information that she skipped and she soon found herself diverted to other pages as a topic took her interest. There were periods of science, where the Dherroine had discovered that their planet was round. For some reason, she already knew that. Periods of culture where man had painted and sculpted and written great works of fact and fiction. And periods of war. Much war. That did not surprise her at all and yet this too seemed important to her somehow. What was this significant piece of information that still lay buried in the back of her mind as she had lain buried in the snow? She read more. She read about man's fear of biological disaster. She read about man's discovery of electricity and how they harnessed its power the whole world over. She read about how high speed fibre optic cables could carry impulses around the world. This too seemed familiar. She read about cancer, about pokémon, about spam, about modern political figures, about C++, about Youtube, about the hole in the ozone layer, about WW2, about the telephone. And then something happened. She read about videogames and for the first time paid attention to a box to the side of the screen flashing. She'd noticed them on nearly every page, all irrelevant, many offering prizes for clicking but this one was different. It showed a woman, looking not unlike herself, in a state of semi-undress. Skarletta clicked and received an error message. Curiosity gripped her. She returned to the index, the Google, and searched the error message. Something was denying her access and soon she found details on how to bypass it. It was complicated but she was growing more adept by the second. An hour later she had managed to bypass the security filter the library tech staff had put in place and had returned to the picture of the woman. She clicked and the page immediately changed. The background was bright red and offered up more images. Images of women completely unclothed, many of them adopting a pose that suggested only one thing and that thing now made sense to her mind. This was the second hunger. She clicked through more links, stumbling across a site offering moving images, pre-recorded videos of the Dherroine procreating. This was what distracted her mind. She knew now that until this was out of her system she would never recover the important information. The second hunger was the desire to mate. But not with a Dherroine. With one of her own kind. And for that she would need to spawn.
"Excuse me miss."
The voice came from her left and Skarletta turned to see a bespectacled young man standing awkwardly. A badge on the front of his ill fitting shirt named him "David". Skarletta analysed his posture, his look, his nervous voice. She had seen a word for this type of physically weak Dherroine. Nerd.
"Yes?" she inquired.
"You can't look at that here." he motioned toward the screen, "These computers are for public use. You'll have to..."
She interrupted him with a raised index finger and sniffed the air.
"You live alone?"
"I'm sorry? I don't see..."
Skarletta thrust the Thrall upon him. For a moment he struggled, mentally trying to resist her but she glared at him, staring deep into his pupils and forcing her superior mental prowess upon him, piercing his defences and dominating his mind. She reached over to the mouse and closed the offending page.
"Lead me." she commanded.

Bitemarks 2.2

Seriously, the lack of time I have at the moment is ridiculi!

Bitemarks 2.2

Ed fumed silently in the car as one of the bureau's drivers took him back to headquarters. He waited impatiently for Alf to show up in the briefing room. When he did Ed stared angrily at him. Alf sighed.
"Ed, there's no point being mad at me. It's not like this is my decision. Just like it's not my decision about who gets full disclosure."
"That doesn't make it right."
"Well right or wrong there's not much we can do about it. Beauclair is alive. He plays by our rules and there's an agreement in place. Speaking of which..."
"Yeah well, you might want to know that letting Beauclair live was one hell of a bad decision."
Ed put his feet up on the desk and lit up a cigarette.
"I don't even know where to begin. The vampires. You know they call themselves the Karal?"
"I did."
"Well Beauclair's been doing his history. He has a vault full of old relics. Artefacts, books, ornamental stuff. Probably been collecting it for ages. He says he's been having teams dig it up around the world. That's why he had Keibler's team up north."
"Digging for artefacts?"
"One artefact. He calls it the Mother. It was supposed to be the remains of the very first vampire."
"The remains..." Alf looked decidedly worried.
"Yeah. Only I've never seen remains kill ten people and drink their blood."
"So you're saying..."
Ed interrupted before he could finish.
"Yes. I'm saying that because WE let a vampire survive the cull he's managed to locate the body of the very first vampire, dig it up and let it loose on the world. Now I don't know much about complex bloodlines Alf but I had to hunt down Grace and let me tell you, the mother of all werewolves was a lot stronger than a regular werewolf and I get the feeling we won't be taking down the Mother with a fancy sniper rifle shooting tranqs. In fact, now that it crosses my mind, how do we kill a vampire? Garlic, stake through the heart? Lure her into sunlight?"
Alf shook his head.
"I have no idea. We'll have to research. There'll be records."
"From the cull?"
"No. The cull was en masse. It had to be a surefire method. Nearly all of the vampires were killed by beheading, in their sleep. It was the only way to be sure."
"What a resounding success."
"Well I'll get everyone right on it. I know we can discount a few myths straight off. Sunlight won't do a damn thing. Garlic neither. Vampires of old were resistant to being shot. Arrows, muskets, rifles. The problem with projectiles it that they go straight through, or at least can be pulled out. As long as the vampire can feed the wound just heals itself over."
"Instantly?"
"For most small wounds yes. Larger ones can take longer. And they can't just regrow limbs. There are limits. I'll try to find out what those limits are. In the mean time..."
"In the meantime I need to get some sleep, something to eat and try and wind down."
"By all means. I'll have all traffic monitored for anything sounding even remotely vampire related. If anything comes up before tomorrow I'll send Katia to check it out. Anything that crops up after then is all yours. I'll also get hold of Beauclair again, see what useful information he can provide."
Ed stubbed out his cigarette and stood up, making for the door.
"Oh and Ed."
Ed paused.
"What's done is done. We have work to do. I don't want anger getting in the way of that. Go home, relax. I have a feeling I'll be needing you at your best."