Bitemarks 5.1

Yes, 5.1. I realise section 4 was small but sometimes that's how it happens.

Bitemarks 5.1

With little choice left Ed had returned to the Bureau. He was still reeling slightly from the shock of seeing Skarletta leap from one helicopter to the other. Not to mention being temporarily face to face with her for the first time. Twice now they'd met. The score stood at one all. Ed had a feeling only one of them would survive their third meeting.
"Ed? Back already?"
It was Alf.
"I lost her." said Ed, "She fell into the ocean after I zapped her. I wouldn't be at all surprised if she turns up again real soon."
"I'll have everyone looking out."
"You know, she didn't seem too fazed by this thing." said Ed, holding up the stun gun. "But when I zapped her with it, just for a second, it was like she lost control of all her muscles, went limp."
"That's the general principle as I understand it, Ed."
Ed held up the modified crossbow bolt in his other hand.
"I'm thinking... anti-pacemaker."
"You mean... if we...?"
Ed nodded.
"See if RnD can find a way to combine the two technologies... quickly. If I can lodge one of these bolts inside her and it can repeatedly zap her. Maybe it'll only slow her down, maybe it will incapacitate her, who knows but I'm keen to end this. You said all the vampires in the cull were killed by decapitation?"
"That's right."
"Then I'm going to need a sword as well."


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


Skarletta pulled herself ashore and lay panting. She wasn't easily tired but the electric shocks, the fall from the chopper and swimming through the strong oceanic currents had been hard work even for her. She lay on her back for a moment and looked up at the sky. Night was falling already and she could see Polaris shining. She'd swum due east after her fall and that meant she now lay on the west coast of Iceland. Iceland. She smiled. A perfect place to put her final plan into action. Iceland had no military of its own and by the time another country sent in re-enforcements to stop her it would all be too late. But she needed access to some technological equipment. Keflavik would be perfect for her needs. The radar complex had been closed down recently but the equipment had yet to be relocated and would suit her needs. The only real difficulty would be defending the main complex whilst putting her plan into action. Pity she hadn't had the foresight to bring David along. He would have been useful fodder...

Ray Bradbury and Obama

Firstly I'd like to pass on a link a friend sent me to a short story by Ray Bradbury.
http://raybradbury.ru/library/story/53/2/0
Wish I could write like that. :(

Secondly. Remember when Obama came to power and he was all like:
"I'm gonna get shit done!"
And we were all like:
"Wow. Cool. I hope he gets shit done."
And then he just got on with and started getting shit done. Kicking off at the carbon emissions conference? Radically changing America's healthcare policy? Nuclear disarmament treaties?
I'll tell you what. When America's done with him Obama's welcome to come over here and kick England into line. We need a man who'll just get shit done.

Just a couple of things.

So, that was the revelation. The climate changing device intended to bring about global cooling, though not exactly plunging Earth into an ice age still reducing the entire planet to little more than an Arctic wasteland. How, you ask, given the spherical nature of the planet and the impact that has on how the sun's rays strike its surface and give it warmth. Well I kinda meant to mention it but it just didn't really fit in at the time. It's to do with altering the Earth's atmosphere. Kinda like thickening the Ozone layer up so far less sun gets through. Like a reverse greenhouse effect. But it doesn't matter. The main point is, I planned that from the start and it has nothing whatsoever to do with the discussion we had on global warming. An annoying coincidence.

Secondly, regarding this concept of alien life arriving on Earth in much earlier times (Which in bitemarks is manifested by Skarletta being here so long ago that her direct 'descendents' 'evolve' to become successively weaker forms of her that we know today as vampires). This is not a new concept. I'm probably not the first to mix vampires in with this early alien visitation theory either. And what's more, who says it's just a theory? I'm not the first to point out the sheer unlikelihood of Earth being the only planet in the universe capable of holding life.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Rosa_camuna_e_antropomorfi_R24_-_Foppe_-_Nadro_(Foto_Luca_Giarelli).jpg
That's a stone carving done in around 10'000BC or so I was told, discovered at Val Camonica, Italy. Is that some form of space helmet? Or an animal skull? Who knows.
This picture too shows engravings from the same place.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Ancientastronauts.jpg

And what about this one from Tassili N'Ajjer in Algeria circa 6000BC?
http://www.inquiring-mines.com/images/ancient_astronauts/cave_art_tassili_mountains_02.jpg
There's probably more too. Is it really coincidence that even 8000 years ago the 'flying saucer' existed as a concept? I just thought you might be interested in seeing those.
*cue spooky music*

Bitemarks 4.4

Ok so, I see my cunning plan of starting Bitemarks 4.3 on Sunday and finishing it off on Tuesday made it post as a Sunday update. Gah. Foiled.

Bitemarks 4.4

Skarletta clutched the device to her chest as she fell. To be this close... All those years ago it had all seemed so simple. She'd travelled to the north to see how the Dherroine coped with the extreme climate. The results had been perfect. They were able to survive but suffered from the cold enough to make them easily manipulatable. Exactly as hoped. And all she had to do was activate this device and bury it. A forcefield would protect it against anything once activated and, if placed far north enough, it would gradually alter the climate of the planet to match that frozen north. They'd stopped her then... but not this time.
She ran her fingers across the device's surface, triggering the startup sequence and...
Nothing happened.
"Noooooooooooooooooooo!!"
She ran her fingers across it again and again though she knew it was futile. The electric shock had damaged its circuitry. The device was useless. with one final scream of frustration Skarletta plunged into the Atlantic.


Ed was pulled back by the pilot and landed hard on his seat. His right elbow struck the pilot and the chopper veered wildly to one side until he managed to bring it under control. Ed gripped the seatbelt again and peered down from the chopper door at the ocean beneath them.
"Shit. Where'd she go? Circle round."
The pilot did his best to keep the aircraft going in a circle while allowing Ed a clear view. They circled like this for about five minutes then Ed sat back down in his seat. He stamped his foot angrily on the floor.
"Fuck!"


Skarletta let the device sink down. It was useless to her now. Her mission had failed and all that remained was one last option. Staying a few feet under the surface she struck out and began to swim, heading to the last landmass she remembered seeing from her chopper.

RIP

Today we mourn for the tragic passing of Magical Trevor, the most ninja of all mice, who died today having reached the grand old age of 4 and a half. :(

Bitemarks 4.3

Bitemarks 4.3

Skarletta couldn't help but smile as she flew across the sea in the stolen news helicopter. She hadn't expected it to be so easy. She was beginning to like this 'internet'. The way it made all the skills and information of mankind open to her. Oh sure the chopper was clunky in comparison to the smooth controls of her spaceship. But it would get her where she wished to go and that was all that mattered. Soon she would be north enough to land the chopper, plant the device and then... She hadn't really given much thought to what then. Other than guarding the device and studying the Dherroine she was free to do whatever she wished.

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

Ed's chopper also was making its way northwards and whether by luck or simply the difference in speed between the two it wasn't long until they sighted the news copter. It was the pilot who brought it to Ed's attention. Out of place, slightly erratic flight pattern. Ed was sure it was her but still had the pilot radio in to check. Once they knew for sure the chopper had been stolen Ed was convinced.
"We need to take her down." he told the pilot.
"This ain't no military craft son." the pilot replied. "No guns on this thing."
Ed thought. All he had with him was the micro syringe, his pistol and... the stun device.
"Can you get within fifteen feet of her?" asked Ed.
"Fifteen feet. This isn't a fucking car you know. Can't just pull up alongside. The blades." He pointed upward.
"What about if you get above her?" Ed asked.
There was a lengthy pause.
"If she were to hit us with those blades..."
"You know what she is, right? You have clearance?"
"Yeah... Shit boy... if you get us killed..."
The pilot pulled the chopper up. He was faster, more manoeuvrable and more skilled than Skarletta and so far she'd still given no indication of noticing them behind her. Slowly he drew nearer and nearer. Ed wound his left arm into the belt of the seat and gripped the device tightly in his right hand. He slid the chopper door open and peered out at Skarletta's helicopter below them. He indicated with his hand for the pilot to drop down a little more. Ed's heart was pounding as the spinning disc of Skarletta's rotors loomed closer. It was hard to judge distance looking down from the chopper like this but when it felt right Ed fired the device. The electrical bolt hit the rotors and Ed watched as blue lightning cracked down from them, seemingly encompassing the little chopper. There was a horrible whining sound and the chopper spun wildly. Even if the bolt had interrupted the controls for a moment it could be enough, thought Ed, pulling himself back inside as the pilot raised their own chopper up higher.
"Crazy sonofabitch." said the pilot as he swung the chopper to one side so they could see what had happened. Skarletta's chopper was spinning wildly now as it lost altitude.
"It's just sea down there." said Ed, realising he had no idea whether or not Skarletta would survive.
"Look!" said the pilot.
Ed looked. As the chopper spun the door on it opened and he could see Skarletta looking out at them. Neither of them expected what happened next. Seemingly defying the laws of gravity Skarletta leapt from the stricken craft but not to plunge into the icy waters far below. No, she jumped straight up. Panicked, the pilot tried to manoeuvre but there was no time. With a thud Skarletta struck their windscreen and clung on tight. She stared through the glass at them, eyes open wide as she recognized Ed.
"You!" she mouthed, or rather shouted, her voice drowned out by the sound of the chopper and the thick glass between them.
"SHIT!" cried the pilot, "Do something!"
Ed could only think of one thing to do. He swapped the device into his left hand, slid the chopper door open once more and gripped the frame tightly with his right. He pushed with his feet, temporarily leaving the craft entirely and swinging, pivoting around the door frame and coming face to face with Skarletta. In the second before he started to swing back he pointed the device at her face and pulled the trigger. The bolt struck the vampire and Ed swung back. His feet fought for purchase on the chopper floor and his grip on the doorframe loosened. For a second Ed thought he was about to fall, then he felt the pilot's hand grabbing the back of his shirt. Suspended temporarily, half in, half out of the chopper, Ed watched as Skarletta fell. The device had made her lose her grip on the chopper and now she was plummeting down...

Expedition

Expedition

What do you see in the pools of chaos
The waters that encourage humanity's demise
Somewhere lost, the wandering soul of a warrior
A fallen soldier so eager to rise
The dreams of the angels mix with the devils'
A long lost secret that they dare not speak
Don't stare for too long in the pools of chaos
They'll suck you right in if your will is too weak

What do you find in the jungle of torment
A myriad of caves where the madness hides
Keep on your feet, foolish would-be explorer
Lest this be the prison where your spirit resides
The longer you stay the more you'll fall victim
To the hot humid stench of lingering doubt
Retrace your steps to the river of anguish
If you follow its banks you might just get out

What did you learn beyond the threshold of reason
How to succumb to logic's power?
Undermine yourself with emotional treason
The fruit of secret knowledge, both sweet and sour
Take this one piece of joy as you now step free, blinking
Shielding your eyes against the harsh light of day
Your feet only covered but a fraction of the journey
And you're blessed with the freedom to walk swiftly away

© Charon 2010

Bitemarks 4.2

Bitemarks 4.2

Skarletta rapped sharply on David's door until he answered. She shoved him aside when she did and made for his bedroom and began rummaging through his wardrobe.
"What's going on?" he asked.
Skarletta pulled the device from her trousers and passed it to him.
"Hold this. Bloody thing got wet on the way here but it should be fine."
"What is it?"
"None of your concern." Skarletta told him, swapping her top for a t shirt of his.
"Did you spawn while I was gone?"
"Yeah." David grinned. "It was easy. Three people!"
He seemed pleased with his results.
"It will do for now." she told him, "But more is always better and do try to spread them out." She gave him a look then helped herself to a pair of his jeans.
"So what's this for?" asked David, waving the device around.
Skarletta thought back to the maps she'd seen of this planet.
"Greenland I think will be north enough. There's no need to get right to the pole."
"Greenland?"
"Territory of Denmark. Bit further north than Iceland." she told him matter of factly. "I'll need a helicopter."
"Wh..."
"A helicopter David. Where can I find a helicopter?" She kicked off her damp shoes and put on a pair of David's boots.
"The police station has one I guess. Or the airport. Or the radio?"
"Radio?"
"They use it to give traffic reports."
"Excellent." She made her way to his computer and pulled up Google maps.
"Show me where it is."


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


Ed played with the micro syringe in his fingers. A shot of adrenaline. It was going to take more than this to take down a vampire but he was thankful for even that edge. Hopefully it would be enough for him to get a shot off from the crossbow before she killed him. But where to shoot? He'd obviously damaged her severely last time but hadn't seen where he'd hit. Should he aim for the heart? Would the bolt lodge in place? Would it even pass the ribcage? Or perhaps the head? Beauclair hadn't said if they could regrow brain matter or not. Ed had to presume they could.
There was a knock at the door and Alf entered the Briefing Room.
"Nearly ready?" he asked.
"Yeah." said Ed. "Listen... if anything happens to me Alf... my documents are up to date, right?"
Alf nodded. He knew Ed was talking about his will, what would happen to his possessions if he were to die, letters that needed to be delivered to various people.
"I have every faith in you Ed." said Alf. "And you won't be without some surprises." he showed Ed the device from the spaceship.
"You were right. It's a weapon. R and D have been firing this thing in one of the chest chambers and analysing it. It's not unlike a taser really. They told me the specifics but... you know. It fires electricity."
Ed nodded.
"Ok. So it's a stun weapon?"
"We guess so. Obviously there's no real way to test it and they didn't know what kind of charge it holds so we only fired it twice. But they estimate it would disrupt the natural flow of electric charge along the body's nerves enough to cause temporary paralysis."
"How temporary?"
"No idea. But they reckon it should work even on the Mother. The body has ways of fighting diseases. Antibodies. Electrical disruption is something else altogether. She shouldn't be able to avoid its effects."
"Right." Ed took the device.
"Oh and one more thing. I went through your medical records. Your blood type is AB negative."
"And?"
"It's the rarest blood type. Maybe it's important, maybe it isn't. It's something to do with having A and B antigens but no D antigens."
"And that's significant?"
"Maybe. We don't know yet. We took blood and cell samples from Beauclair. R and D are testing them against various blood antigen combinations now."
"Well at least I know she won't feed on me."
Ed took the device from Alf and held it.
"How does it work?"
"Put a little pressure on the trigger mechanism." said Alf, "A light will appear around where your thumb is now. Just push that and pull the trigger at the same time. There's no recoil."
"Range?"
"About fifteen feet."
"Oh great." said Ed, sarcastically. "So much for keeping a safe distance. I won't have much time to do this. Cooldown time?"
"Couple of seconds and you can fire again."
"I doubt I'll get a couple of seconds... Is the chopper ready?"
"Ready when you are."
Ed stuffed the device in his pocket along with the micro syringe.
"Let's go."

Qarîna

You know, the root canal wasn't that painful at all really. :S I can't help but expect to wake up tomorrow in agony. :( The joys of pessimism. In the meantime... been a while since I wrote a poemette, right?

Qarîna

Curvy form of comely wench
The lingering scent of innocence
Eyes that promise answered lust
Lips that lie as they sing of trust

You 'splay the charm that never fails
Drawn by beckoning fingernails
My lips, they struggle, to name the spectre
The words drowned out in a sea of nectar

You might as well be made of fire
Wearing clothes of razorwire
Untouchable
You're untouchable
A demon birthed of pure desire

© Charon 2010

Meow

6:30am. It's a shit time to be awake. It's an even shitter time to be at work. And worse still knowing all the other things I have to do today and tomorrow.
Still, least I can rely on the good old British press to make me lol first thing in the morning. Calling for a ban on Mephedrone because (shock horror!) the death toll has risen to...
Wait for it...
FIVE!!

ZOMG. Ban it quick! A drug we know nothing about killing a grand total of 5 people. Wait... haven't we known Mephedrone was being used since like 2007? So that's five deaths... in three years...
*grabs a calculator*
1.6 recurring. I thought so.
1.6 deaths per year is enough for a ban?
Well shit, people. In that case I hereby call for a ban on:
Cars
Junk food
Tobacco
Alcohol
Baths
Stairs
Bumblebees
Peanuts
Sex
Guns
Doctors
Airplanes
Fire
War
China
Religion
and Electricity.

Just because 1.6 people per year are stupid... Just because 1.6 people per year kill themselves by abusing something... That's no reason to ban it.

Bitemarks 4.1

Bitemarks 4.1

Ed was beginning to hate the feeling of waking up with a sore head and lurching stomach. As he groggily surveyed his surroundings he recalled the crash. Time to speculate further was lost as he became aware of sirens some way off in the distance. Regaining clarity he scrabbled on the seat for his rucksack and stuffed the crossbow inside it. The driver's side door of the car was wrecked. The vehicle had struck the tree side on, mercifully it was the rear door that had connected and buckled under the impact but it had been enough to twist the metal frame. The glass had shattered in the window and the section round the locking mechanism told Ed it wouldn't work. He shuffled over the handbrake to the passenger door and tried it. It was stuck. Ed shifted his position, gripped the handle and gave it a firm kick. This time it shifted and two kicks later it was open. Ed made sure he hadn't left anything behind then climbed out of the car. The sirens were drawing closer. Ed caught a glance of himself in what remained of the wing mirror. He looked a mess. Fragments of glass had cut his head in places and his face was bloodied. He certainly wasn't in any state to be seen by anyone. He slung the rucksack onto his back and took off into the woods at a jog.


Maybe they'd notice he'd fled into the woods. Maybe they wouldn't. Either way Ed wasn't about to take that chance. He ran and as he did so he rang the Bureau. As long as he kept going in a straight line they could track his signal easily and get a chopper out to him. Ed was glad he lived in the digital age. Agents past would have had much more difficulty in dealing with a scenario like this. All he had to do was keep moving. He used his time wisely as he ran, thinking back over what he'd seen at Beauclair's place. Trying to find some clue as to what the Mother would be doing next...

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

Back at the Bureau Alf and Ed had a lot to discuss.
"What on Earth happened to you?" Alf asked, as Ed entered the briefing room.
"Had a little run in with the Mother." Ed told him.
Alf raised an eyebrow.
"And she didn't feed on you?"
Ed shook his head.
"No... at least... I don't think so."
Alf came over and examined his neck.
"That's odd." said Alf.
"Now that I think about it." said Ed, "It's really odd. I must have hit her with the crossbow. She bled all over the place."
"So why wouldn't she have fed on you?" Alf mused.
"Yeah, thanks for the sympathy."
"You know I'm right though. If we can figure out why, we might be able to use that to our advantage. Are you anaemic?"
"No." Ed sighed, "Just have someone sift through my medical records later."
"Did the crossbow do much damage?"
"I dunno." said Ed, "I was unconscious. I didn't even see it fire let alone hit her. She moved so fast. I heard her coming but before I could even turn around..."
"That we can help with." said Alf with a smile. "Beauclair told us all he could before he passed away. Turns out that the vampires have conscious control over their endocrine system. It this that allows them to increase or suppress their healing rates among other things. The other thing it allows them to do is massively increase the flow of adrenaline around their system. Oh sure they might already be faster, stronger, but it's that surge that gives them the boost."
Alf pulled out a disc shaped object and passed it to Ed.
"You know what this is?"
"Micro syringe, right?" said Ed, examining the button on top of the device.
"Exactly. Place it over the vein, push the button. Piece of cake. That one's loaded with a small shot of adrenaline. Enough to flood your system, not enough to kill you. It's not exactly going to let you outpace her, Ed, but we figure every little edge counts."
"We'll see if it works before too long. I have a feeling I know where she's headed."
"How?"
"She blew up the spaceship." said Ed. "But she went inside it first. She didn't go there just to blow up her ship. I think she wanted something from inside it and whatever it is, she's taking it back to the Arctic."
Alf mulled this over.
"I'll have to get some people out there. See if any parts of the ship survived. If we're dealing with an alien race then we need all the information we can get."
"Then it's a good job I have this."
Ed produced the device he'd stolen from Skarletta's ship.
"If I'm right, it's a weapon of some kind. If we can figure out how to work it I want to take it with me. Maybe I can use it against her."
"Even if we do stop her, Ed... we're still left with some major questions. Knowing now that she's an alien... Why the hell was she here in the first place. Why in all these years haven't we seen any others? And just how advanced could her race be after all this time?"
"The questions are your job." said Ed, "Stopping her from doing whatever she's planning to is mine."

Bloggy bloggy.

Bitemarks will continue monday, I promise. In the meantime, I wanna talk so sit down, have a cuppa and listen up.

I've become lost in the sea of internet blogging. I've come to terms with reality in many aspects. I realise the chance of new readers coming my way are as close to zero as they're gonna get, closely followed by my dwindling active readership. I'm also acutely aware that though I'd quite like to be rich (wouldn't we all?) or renowned or even just respected by my readers and fellow writers the simple truth is, it ain't gonna happen. Sun-Tzu knows why. Clever bastard. Perhaps, as he would say, it's simply that I don't want to win. I just don't want it enough. Perhaps, just like JD Salinger, I'm content simply to write for my own amusement and entertainment first and foremost. Perhaps I'm just too miserable and/or disillusioned half the time to cast even the simplest of linguistical spells. Perhaps I get too caught up in reading either to research ideas I don't even know I'm having yet, or to expand my knowledge overall. Or perhaps, like Douglas Adams, I'm just lazy.
This might sound like some farewell. It isn't. If anything, it's the opposite. It's a declaration that whether people are here reading or not, I intend to continue, even if at times it doesn't look like it. I'm even going to make sure I get back into writing some actual blogs and not just posting poems and story snippets. Because I just like writing. To please me.
I used to think I had a pretty unique mindset. Turns out I was wrong. Turns out there's a lot of people out there who think like me, feel like me. Maybe that's something I'll tell you about some day. Maybe it isn't. But even those thoughts and ideas and feelings and mannerisms are no longer truly my own, they still are mine. One thing I know for sure. In the wake of Iamamiwhoami, I realise that I don't really care for total anonymity. At least, not as a writer. So I point anyone looking over to
http://www.formspring.me/Charonicus
where you can ask me anything that's on your mind. Be it about me, my thoughts, or just seeking an answer to any question at all. I am putting myself and my knowledge at your disposal.

The other thing I wanted to talk about was metadata. I read an article recently in Wired magazine by Russell M Davies. He points out that you, the reader, are devoid of information about the metadata behind the pieces we writers produce. Now, I, as a blogger, can and often do include such metadata. (Like how sometimes I'll bracket in an afterthought or an aside). But even then not all of it. Would it matter if you knew or not that as I write this article I'm listening to Sun and Steel by Iron Maiden. Or that I just finished work, the boredom of which was the factor that drove me to think up this very blog entry? Or that I'm itching to get finished and watch a movie before bed? His point was that you miss a lot of the creative process. You don't know if I stopped halfway through this blog to get a sandwich. Or if the phone rang and I was interrupted enough that I forgot a section that I wanted to include, thus denying you that section. I found this interesting in part because it relates to something coming up in bitemarks. I don't want to spoil it. But let's just say this. There's a part coming up that I've been nervous about. Nervous because it may seem to be related to something that happened on my blog during the early days of this Bitemarks project. I just want you to know, it isn't related. It was always the plan. The fact that it's there is co-incidence. And when it happens, I'll point it out, so you know what I'm on about.

I think that's everything. See you soon.

Bitemarks 3.12

Ah sorry. Allow me to sum up my week.
"Al, can you stay late after work today?"
"Al, can you work tomorrow instead of having the day off?"
"Welcome home Al... remember I was renovating the loft? Well I've blown the lighting circuit. Here's a torch, see you monday."
¬¬

Now where were we?

Bitemarks 3.12

Her memory filled in the gaps as Skarletta ran her fingers over the hidden touchpad on the ship's exterior. A door seemingly appeared from nowhere on the smooth surface and slid silently open. Skarletta ducked inside. There wasn't time to power up the ship beyond its basic auxiliary power. Neither was there time to run a full set of diagnostics on the device. But the device *was* here and that was a good thing. Skarletta grabbed it from its housing then made to leave. Her hand was slippery where the arterial blood was pulsing against the wound and seeping out through her fingers. She couldn't dally, but she could spare enough time for one more act. She flicked open a panel near the ship's primary controls and pressed a series of buttons then made her way back out. Ed lay where she left him, still unconscious. Inconsequential now she mused and made her way back out of Beauclair's house. On the drive here she had passed a small village. It was close enough. She would feed, heal and then make her way back to England.


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


Ed groaned loudly and tried to open his eyes. His vision swam and wouldn't focus. His whole skull felt like it had been shattered. He shifted his position and sat up, immediately wishing he hadn't. The rush of disorientation flew down to his stomach and he rolled to one side and vomited heavily. He was aware now how tender his neck felt too. Gingerly he pressed around it with his fingers, listening for the tell tale scrape of bone on bone but it seemed intact. He hadn't seen a thing but he had no doubt what had happened. It had to be her. He looked around for the crossbow and found it. It was in its fired position, so he'd got his shot off after all. That was evidenced further when he saw the trail of blood leading from him towards the ship. The ship! He saw it now and lost himself in a moment of disbelief. An actual working spaceship, right there in front of him, defying everything he thought he knew. It was smaller perhaps than he expected although in this huge hangar it was hard to judge the true scale of the bubble shaped craft. He moved closer to it. It could be around the size of four double decker buses, elliptical, maybe 25 metres or so long and half as wide. Its outer surface was completely smooth with no distinguishing marks except for the large bloody handprint upon it. Ed reached out and touched the print. The blood was smeared, almost like someone had drawn a pattern on the side. He traced it with his finger, a criss cross diamond shape. As he traced lights glowed under his touch and as he completed the pattern a section of the bubble slid away to reveal an opening. Ed fished in his pocket for another of the silver bolts and fitted it to the crossbow. Was she still in there? He peered inside. Lights had come on inside as the door opened and Ed stepped in. The inside was similar to the outside. Smooth white metal in most places and here and there more familiar sections of steel. There were two doors ahead and Ed took the one on the right first. Beyond the doorway was a room of sorts. At its centre was some form of computer terminal that reminded him of the Tardis controls from the Dr Who show he used to watch as a child. It was full of blinking lights and buttons and a few levers. To his left there were more panels on the wall and a section of glass. Ed looked at the glass panel. It housed some form of device that looked detachable. He ran his fingers around the edge of the glass and noticed a soft red light blinking to the right. Taking a deep breath he pressed the red light as it lit up. The glass panel slid aside and Ed reached in and pulled out the device. It could have been anything and Ed wasn't stupid enough to give in to mere curiosity given the situation but there was something important about this device. It had a trigger. Oh it wasn't gun shaped and perhaps it was something as innocuous as a medical device, but Ed decided he wanted it. He noticed more lights blinking on the control panel and went over to look. A section of panel had lights and he noticed more of them had lit up since he first looked. Ed watched them for a while. They were flashing in some kind of regular pattern. He had no idea what they were but they put him in mind of a film he'd seen a long time ago as a teenager. Predator. A chill ran down his spine. That was what they looked like... a countdown of sorts. And countdowns on electronic devices generally meant...

Ed didn't even stop to think. He ran. He ran with the urgency of a child running away from the playground bully. He ran with the panic of an animal escaping a predator. He ran like a man who genuinely feared for his life. He ran from the room so fast he slammed into the vault door opposite. He ran down the corridor and nearly lost his footing on a rug near the door he'd entered through. He ran through Beauclair's house heading only for the door, ignoring everything else in the way. He ran out of the main door and down the stairs two at a time. He ran to his car, tore the door open and started it up even as he closed it behind him. And once the engine started he slammed his foot down on the accelerator and drove at full speed down the country road, back the way he'd came. He didn't care about the windy country roads he hated so much. He didn't think about those shadowy trees that leapt from nowhere. He drove. Time no longer meant anything, coming rapidly in moments of fast and slow motion. Had it been seconds? Minutes? How much distance had he...?
WOOOOMPH!
He felt the explosion and saw the mushroom cloud in the rearview mirror as it swallowed up the hill that Beauclair's house had sat upon. He felt the shockwave slam into the car. He felt the wheels lose friction as the car was temporarily lifted by the force. He felt the wheels strike the road again and heard the tires screech as the car slid sideways. He felt the heat of the blast and he felt too the jarring impact as the car slammed sideways into one of those trees. And for the second time that day, Ed felt himself lose consciousness...

Bitemarks 3.11

I'm back from my brief sojourn. Sadly no, it wasn't a visit of pleasure but a family funeral. Such things happen. On with the story.

Bitemarks 3.11

Skarletta tugged on the silver tube protruding from her shoulder. What was this? She wiggled it and felt it shift. The spasm of pain that followed told her all she needed to know. The tube had struck her brachial artery. The moment she tugged it out she would begin to bleed profusely. There was a genuine fear at the back of her mind. She already needed to feed and this only complicated matters. Her next meal was now an urgent consideration. she looked over to the fallen body of Ed and walked over to him. Perhaps if she pulled the tube out whilst feeding on him it would heal fast enough, then she need only feed again before she crossed the Channel again? She nudged Ed's head with her foot and it lolled to one side revealing the soft skin of his neck. She leant in close and stopped. She took an experimental sniff. Something was unusual here. Curiously she scratched the surface of his neck with a fingernail. Not deep enough to hit a vein, just enough to draw a single drop of blood. She drew it up to her mouth and let the drop land on her tongue. Almost immediately she balked and spat it out, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. It didn't taste right, not right at all. It was sour and bitter. What ailed this repugnant creature to make his blood taste so foul? Whatever the reason Skarletta knew she could not feed upon him. Nor could she afford to waste time leaving this tube stuck in her arm lest the artery close itself off entirely. Time was her biggest enemy now. If she was quick, she thought, she should easily be able to enter the ship, leave and find someone to feed on before she bled to death. As for this creature, she thought, grimacing as she yanked the spiky tube from her shoulder, she had no doubt their paths would cross again. She clamped her hand down as blood spewed from the wound and quickly headed towards the spaceship dominating the centre of the room.

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Sorry, something just came up. I'll carry that on tomorrow.