{Lucky} I Will Remember
Nov. 10th, 2008 06:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wayfarers_lodgeUser Posted: Tues, 17th June, 2003 11:36am EST
User ID: GreySeraph (2,168 posts)
Subject: Hi from stormy Sydney!
Hey to you, fucks,
It's storming like sweet bloody Jesus out here at the moment. Some concerned citizens and I are going to go out and try and capture some footage tonight, I have some hot leads that are going to be awesome. Promise to keep you all informed.
Big Gay Fucking Hearts,
GreySeraph
---
User Posted: Tues, 17th June, 2003 12:04pm EST
User ID: [Mod]MattieHart48 (2,731 posts)
Subject: Re: Hi from stormy Sydney!
Seraph,
I'm totally up for that. I have a new camera i'm dying to try. I'll pm you, k?
Mattie
---
User Posted: Tues, 17th June, 2003 12:09pm EST
User ID: Sparrahawk (1,162 posts)
Subject: Re: Hi from stormy Sydney!
Seraph, Mattie, count me in!
Sparra ~v~
Fly High, and They'll Never See It Coming When You Shit On Their Head
---
User Posted: Tues, 17th June, 2003 12:23pm EST
User ID: ChronosCat (1,684 posts)
Subject: Re: Hi from stormy Sydney!
You fags go without me, i'mma take a shit in your hat.
Tick tock,
ChronosCat
---
The 'cell' met in some quiet cafe in the Cross- the sort of place that had always been a cafe, and would always be a cafe, no matter how many owners it went through. The proprietor this week seemed dimly uninterested in his clientelle, even though four in a group was the most he'd had all day, but that was good thing- it never paid to be too interested in this city.
The four huddled around Seraph's laptop, very carefully sipping their coffees away from the delicate instrument. Chronos ("NOT CAT!" he'd declare emphatically whenever someone made the mistake) gestured towards the screen with his free hand, chocolate-dark skin blending into the gloom.
"So what ya got for us, Seraph?" He said, pulling his hands back over his dreads. He'd come from somewhere in the islands- not Jamaica, one of it's lesser known neighbours- and the accent had never really faded to obscurity, not even playing Half Life and Warcraft on teamspeak.
Andrea, aka Grey Seraph, spread her hands, like a magician about to reveal a particularly clever trick.
"Alright, so. I was pissing around for lulz through some backsystems that I stumbled on a few nights ago, and I found a CCTV network. Some security tapes for a company that doesn't give a fuck, only looks like they wanna scare their employees into line."
She reached out and clicked a few buttons. Up popped a grainy, black-and-white image, time watermarked in the bottom right corner. That was hardly noticed as a black shape, something hunched over and weird, skittered haphazardly across the camera's eye, and wrapped a clearly clawed hand around a doorknob, before slipping inside the building.
There was silence for a moment, the stunned silence of a group of conspiracy theorists who have the modern Watergate documents dropped in their laps
"Whoa," said Sparra, shaking her head, bright blue locks flying. The little Japanese girl embodied harajuku style, a concept that the world wouldn't discover at large until Gwen Stefani would force it onto the world a year later. She was also relatively new to Network Zero- while she had gone back through the archives and seen plenty of clips and photos, this was the first she had been involved in first hand. "That's crazy. What is that thing?"
"Some description of Cryptid? Possibly a Lycanthrope?" Offered Chronos.
"Possibly," ceded Seraph, "but there's more."
She opened another folder, which had half a dozen other files, and queued them up to play one after the other. They looped through, showing not only the shadowy creature, but what looked like a regular woman, except her shadow had four legs instead of two, and a beautiful, almost ethereal man, who carried himself like a haughty angel. All of them entered through the same door, as if expected.
It was Sparra who caught the pattern.
"Those... those are all on Tuesday nights," she said, blinking, "That can't be a coincidence, right?"
"I don't think so," replied Seraph, "Considering they don't show up on any other night, and these files go back for three months, and those are just the ones that haven't been cached. I've got little idea what we're dealing with here, but it seems to be a coven of some description. They're meeting tonight, there's no doubt of that. If we can capture some footage of what's actually going on in there, we might have something new."
Everyone looked to Mattie, almost unconsciously. He was the oldest amongst them, and had been subscribed to the Secret Frequency the longest. He took a long mouthful of his V, before leaning over and kissing Andi softly on the cheek.
"You've done good, little Angel. Sounds like we have something big here. Let's check it out."
He winked dramatically, smiling as he hefted his sports bag onto his shoulder.
"Who knows? Today could be our lucky day."
---
The alleyway was dark and narrow, and twisted around like a snake in its death throes. The ground was covered in garbage, used needles and cigarette butts, and the entire area stank of wet rot and bin juice. No one came down here without some other agenda.
So it was as Tuesday turned into Tuesday night, and Seraph, Mattie, Chronos and Sparra picked their way through the detritus. The sky was already dark, the storm clouds not yet finished pouring down on the filthy city.
"Christ Almighty, why do they always end up in shitty places like this? Can't we ever have upmarket monsters?" Chronos asked, lifting his feet with almost exaggerated care. For all his height and apparent clumsiness, he moved easily and with grace.
"Because they hate you, fag," replied Andi, keeping a low profile against the alley wall. "Didn't you get the memo? The whole fucking world does it to spite you."
"Figures. Fucks." He muttered, smirking slightly, pressing himself against the corner of the building.
"Would the pair of you hush?" Mattie muttered, scowling, sports bag thudding against his side. "We need to be careful. No idea what these things can do."
"Right, sure thing, Mattie." Seraph nodded, then held up her hand. "Hold it. The camera's up in that corner there, from the looks of it. I'll check it out."
She snaked her head around the corner, peering up, before nodding and pointing.
"Uh-huh. There it is. Up about... hrm... ten foot? Can anyone jump that?"
"I got it, Angel." Chronos exhaled, closing his eyes for a moment. Then he bounced, almost as if flying. He richoched off the wall and caught a ledge, other hand flashing out to twist the focus ring of the camera. Job done, he landed with a delicate thud, smiling.
"Chronos..." Mattie smiled, nodding his approval, "That was amazing."
"Amazing nothing," interjected Sparra, eyes wide, "What the fuck was that?"
"It's called Parkour," replied Chronos, waving his hand as if to indicate it was nothing, "Saw a bunch of guys practising about a year ago, decided to join in. Good way to stay fit."
"Yeah? I think i've seen some clips of that around. Looks pretty cool, anyway." Sparra looked around. "So they won't notice the camera's fucked?"
"Oh, no." Seraph shook her head. "No one accesses the camera files until Wednesday at the earliest, if do at all."
Sparra nodded as Mattie looked around the back alley, which widened out into a small courtyard that was crammed full of industrial bins. Three doorways were sunk into two of the the walls, and a skinny ledge ran along the length of the wall up above line of sight.
"Shit, this looks good for hiding." Mattie beamed. "Right, Sparra, d'you reckon you could sit up there?" He pointed to the ledge.
"You'd better bet I can!" she replied, "Chronos, give me a leg up."
"Have you got something to defend yourself in case this all goes shit?"
In reply, she pulled out a can of hairspray with a lighter taped to it.
"Everything hates fire, Mattie."
Mattie nodded approvingly, and as Sparrah got boosted up to her lookout point, he turned to Seraph.
"You're small, Andi, that's good. We'll tuck you into the door next to our target- less chance of you being seen. Chronos and I will hide in one of the bins."
"Oh man, bins? This just gets fuckin' better and better." Grumbled Chronos, even as he jumped in. Andi handed Mattie his sports bag, and watched as he pulled out his prized cricket bat. He ran his hands over it, almost ritualistically, and smiled at Andi.
"Most of them hate willow, too. And it's got more weight than a baseball bat. Go on now, scoot. Get into position- we've got a wait ahead of us."
The hours passed drearily, but none of the cell were unduly bored- they were all used to sitting around, waiting for computers to finish defragging. The sky opened twice, pissing down rain on the uncaring city streets, soaking the lot of them to the skin.
Still they waited.
Seraph looked around, and saw a vague movement in the garbage at her feet. She looked down, and saw something leathery and bipedal looking at her intently.
"What..." she muttered, squinting, when she heard a noise from further down the alley. She shook herself, and pressed herself back against the door, fiddling with her camera so that it peered around the corner towards the alley entrance.
There was a soft, murmuring sound, which clarified itself into words in a high, lilting voice.
"...of course, we would have to be careful with the steps we were going to take."
There was what sounded like a reply in a deep, snarling tongue, that hurt the ears to hear. Lucky flinched momentarily, and the other speaker started again.
"All things considered, I expect we... my goodness, what on earth is that?"
The crunching footsteps got closer. The small creature started, and was whipped away from the entrance. Lucky pulled herself back very, very slowly, curling up in the corner of the doorway.
"Goodness me. You are an interesting little creature, are you not? What on earth could you have been studying so intently?"
There was nothing she could do to stop the creature peering into her doorway. The man was beautiful and frightening, skin an icy white, radiating an aura of a cat looking at a crippled mouse. He smiled.
"Why, hello there, little girl."
There was a howl from above as Sparra jumped down, streaming flame from her hand like an avenging angel. The creature looked up as she landed on him, and hissed as his clothes melted away. She crowed with victory, and suddenly stopped and looked down at her stomach, eyes wide with shock. Three ebon-black claws stuck out through her belly.
All hell broke loose as Mattie shouted with incoherant rage and launched himself from the dumpster, Chronos close behind. Seraph flinched at each sound as she inched her way around the courtyard, holding her camera towards the carnage. Through the melee, she saw the strange, black creature from the first video, facing off against Mattie, and Chronos swinging wildly with what looked like a kitchen knife at the haughty angel. Both of her compact-mates were bleeding, and the air was hot with the fight, and stank with blood and bile and garbage.
She ducked down in between the dumpsters, hiding her eyes. Suddenly, something whispered to her.
"Look! Run that way!"
She opened her eyes, and saw the small leathery thing.
"Look, girl-thing! Run that way! Run now, and you escape!"
It didn't occur to her to question. Something small and animal within her urged her to run, and she obeyed, just as the screaming started. Something whistled overhead and dropped in front of her- Mattie's cricket bat, with half of Mattie's arm still attached. Without even thinking she picked it up by the blade, shaking Mattie's hand from the handle, and ran. The screaming stopped abruptly, and the only sound left was the thudding of her own heart in her ears, and the surprisingly soft sound of her own footfalls.
Nothing stirred. No one was interested in this city. It paid not to be.
---
The thread requested no longer exists in this location. It could be that the thread was deleted, or moved by the admin staff. Ask a Board Moderator for further information.
Cache retrieved Sun, 29th June, 2003 4:46am EST
User Posted: Thur, 26th June, 2003 1:31pm EST
User ID: SasukeLover21 (827 posts)
Subject: Has anyone seen Sparrahawk?
Hey guys,
I just had the police call me, asking about Sparrahawk by her real name. We've been hanging out a bit since Supanova, so that's understandable. She's gone missing, and her parents are freaking the fuck out. It's occured to me I haven't seen her online for over a week. Has anyone seen her?
Before anyone jumps on me, no, I didn't mention the Network. That'd be stupid.
SL
---
User Posted: Thur, 26th June, 2003, 1:39pm EST
User ID: Freerunner (526 posts)
Subject: Re: Has anyone seen Sparrahawk?
I got the same call about ChronosCat a few days. Didn't think anything more of it, he goes out sometimes and doesn't come back for days, but now i'm worried. Didn't the both of them say they were going on a hunt to get some footage?
Freerunner
I have better things to do than sit on the internet all day. Strange but true.
---
User Posted: Thur, 26th June, 2003 1:46pm EST
User ID: SasukeLover21 (827 posts)
Subject: Re: Has anyone seen Sparrahawk?
That's right, they did too. Come to think of it it, Mattie and Seraph haven't posted either, and I haven't seen Mattie on any messengers either. Seraph, I can see you're online. Have you seen them since then?
SL
---
User Posted: Thur, 26 June, 2003 1:52pm EST
User ID: GreySeraph (2,170 posts)
Subject: RE: Re: Has anyone seen Sparrahawk?
I don't wanna talk about it.
GreySeraph.
---
User Posted: Thur, 26th June, 2003 2:01pm EST
User ID: SasukeLover21 (827 posts)
Subject: RE: Re: Has anyone seen Sparrahawk?
Come on, you can't do this to us. Information has to be free. What happened?
SL
---
Private Message
To: GreySeraph
From: [Mod]CastBroader
Subject: Mattie, Sparra and Chronos
Time: Thur, 26th June, 2003 2:03pm
Alright, Seraph. This sounds like some heavy shit. You wanna explain what's going on before this gets too out of control?
CastBroader.
---
Private Message
To: [Mod]CastBroader
From: GreySeraph
Subject: Re: Mattie, Sparra and Chronos
Time: Thur, 26th June, 2003 2:05pm
Attachment: 17062003.mpg
The Truth must out. The others are dead, i'm pretty sure, and if their bodies haven't been found, they never will be.
I only managed to get a little bit of footage, but it's yours to view. I think this whole thread needs to be deleted, so if the cops do get wind, they can't use it against us.
Being a survivor can suck my cock.
GreySeraph
---
Private Message
To: GreySeraph
From: [Mod]CastBroader
Subject: Re: Mattie, Sparra and Chronos
Time: Thur, 26th June, 2003 2:10pm
Holy fucking shit, Seraph, are you alright? Just... fuck. What the fuck were those things?
You're right. Can't afford for the swine to trace this back to us. Fuck, the screaming, why the fuck didn't anyone do anything?
CastBroader
---
Private Message
To: [Mod]CastBroader
From: GreySeraph
Subject: Re: Mattie, Sparra and Chronos
Time: Thur, 26th June, 2003 2:13pm
Because people don't care. People don't want to get involved.
It has to be removed, but the Truth must out. Here's what I reckon should happen- I make a reply, with the video attached. You take it down in about six hours, and clean up any trace of it. That way enough people'll have the vid that it won't be forgotten.
This was a fuckup in the planning department, pure and simple. Can't afford to let this keep happening, otherwise, we're screwed.
Of course, this is up for your approval, being that you're a Mod and i'm not.
Big Gay Fucking Hearts,
GreySeraph
---
Private Message
To: GreySeraph
From: [Mod]CastBroader
Subject: Re: Mattie, Sparra and Chronos
Time: Thur, 26th June, 2003 2:22pm
No no, that sounds good, and I just got the OK from the rest of the mod staff.
If you need us, let us know, OK? This shit is too epic for anyone to have to deal with on their own.
CastBroader
---
User Posted: Thur, 26 June, 2003 2:49pm EST
User ID: GreySeraph (2,170 posts)
Subject: The Truth About MattieHart, Sparrahawk and ChronosCat (PLZ READ)
Attachment: 17062003.mpg
Please note, this is posted with Mod approval.
Sometimes, the truth is bullshit. Sometimes bad things happen to good people, sometimes the bad guys win, and all of the time, the Vigil is best left in the hands of the experienced.
Attached to this post is the footage that I captured last Tuesday. This, along with this post, is the only record of what happened to Mattie, Sparra and Chronos. In six hours, this post will be deleted for the safety of the Network. I couldn't let this remain silent, not after everything, not after years of saying that the Truth must be heard.
Basically, I found some footage that looked cool, and we decided to trip on in there like we were the coolest shit in the world, like the bad things out there couldn't touch us because we were on the side of truth. There was no planning, no contingency, no communications. Somehow, the things noticed us, and the whole thing quickly became a fucking turkey shoot.
Mattie, Sparra and Chronos are dead- at least, I hope they are. If they aren't, we're all fucked. I'm lucky to be alive, myself. We went in without plans and got fucked, and now the only justice Mattie, Sparra and Chronos are going to receive is the occasional mention in Missing Persons Unit propaganda- and that which we can give them. If not for my own luck, you guys wouldn't even know. You'd go on wondering just what happened, maybe even falling prey yourselves.
We need to be more prepared than that. Mattie was one of the wisest and most experienced of us, and even he fell for it. If we're going to act, we need to do so with care and wisdom- I mean, fucking look at us. We're computer geeks. What business have we got taking on demons and shifting-things and stuff that belongs in Anne Rice novels without planning?
I'm sorry. This is as much my fault as it was everyone elses. I should have been smarter. But I promise you all, I'll make sure no one forgets this lesson.
I'll remember MattieHart48, Sparrahawk and ChronosCat.
Will you?
GreySeraph
User ID: GreySeraph (2,168 posts)
Subject: Hi from stormy Sydney!
Hey to you, fucks,
It's storming like sweet bloody Jesus out here at the moment. Some concerned citizens and I are going to go out and try and capture some footage tonight, I have some hot leads that are going to be awesome. Promise to keep you all informed.
Big Gay Fucking Hearts,
GreySeraph
---
User Posted: Tues, 17th June, 2003 12:04pm EST
User ID: [Mod]MattieHart48 (2,731 posts)
Subject: Re: Hi from stormy Sydney!
Seraph,
I'm totally up for that. I have a new camera i'm dying to try. I'll pm you, k?
Mattie
---
User Posted: Tues, 17th June, 2003 12:09pm EST
User ID: Sparrahawk (1,162 posts)
Subject: Re: Hi from stormy Sydney!
Seraph, Mattie, count me in!
Sparra ~v~
Fly High, and They'll Never See It Coming When You Shit On Their Head
---
User Posted: Tues, 17th June, 2003 12:23pm EST
User ID: ChronosCat (1,684 posts)
Subject: Re: Hi from stormy Sydney!
You fags go without me, i'mma take a shit in your hat.
Tick tock,
ChronosCat
---
The 'cell' met in some quiet cafe in the Cross- the sort of place that had always been a cafe, and would always be a cafe, no matter how many owners it went through. The proprietor this week seemed dimly uninterested in his clientelle, even though four in a group was the most he'd had all day, but that was good thing- it never paid to be too interested in this city.
The four huddled around Seraph's laptop, very carefully sipping their coffees away from the delicate instrument. Chronos ("NOT CAT!" he'd declare emphatically whenever someone made the mistake) gestured towards the screen with his free hand, chocolate-dark skin blending into the gloom.
"So what ya got for us, Seraph?" He said, pulling his hands back over his dreads. He'd come from somewhere in the islands- not Jamaica, one of it's lesser known neighbours- and the accent had never really faded to obscurity, not even playing Half Life and Warcraft on teamspeak.
Andrea, aka Grey Seraph, spread her hands, like a magician about to reveal a particularly clever trick.
"Alright, so. I was pissing around for lulz through some backsystems that I stumbled on a few nights ago, and I found a CCTV network. Some security tapes for a company that doesn't give a fuck, only looks like they wanna scare their employees into line."
She reached out and clicked a few buttons. Up popped a grainy, black-and-white image, time watermarked in the bottom right corner. That was hardly noticed as a black shape, something hunched over and weird, skittered haphazardly across the camera's eye, and wrapped a clearly clawed hand around a doorknob, before slipping inside the building.
There was silence for a moment, the stunned silence of a group of conspiracy theorists who have the modern Watergate documents dropped in their laps
"Whoa," said Sparra, shaking her head, bright blue locks flying. The little Japanese girl embodied harajuku style, a concept that the world wouldn't discover at large until Gwen Stefani would force it onto the world a year later. She was also relatively new to Network Zero- while she had gone back through the archives and seen plenty of clips and photos, this was the first she had been involved in first hand. "That's crazy. What is that thing?"
"Some description of Cryptid? Possibly a Lycanthrope?" Offered Chronos.
"Possibly," ceded Seraph, "but there's more."
She opened another folder, which had half a dozen other files, and queued them up to play one after the other. They looped through, showing not only the shadowy creature, but what looked like a regular woman, except her shadow had four legs instead of two, and a beautiful, almost ethereal man, who carried himself like a haughty angel. All of them entered through the same door, as if expected.
It was Sparra who caught the pattern.
"Those... those are all on Tuesday nights," she said, blinking, "That can't be a coincidence, right?"
"I don't think so," replied Seraph, "Considering they don't show up on any other night, and these files go back for three months, and those are just the ones that haven't been cached. I've got little idea what we're dealing with here, but it seems to be a coven of some description. They're meeting tonight, there's no doubt of that. If we can capture some footage of what's actually going on in there, we might have something new."
Everyone looked to Mattie, almost unconsciously. He was the oldest amongst them, and had been subscribed to the Secret Frequency the longest. He took a long mouthful of his V, before leaning over and kissing Andi softly on the cheek.
"You've done good, little Angel. Sounds like we have something big here. Let's check it out."
He winked dramatically, smiling as he hefted his sports bag onto his shoulder.
"Who knows? Today could be our lucky day."
---
The alleyway was dark and narrow, and twisted around like a snake in its death throes. The ground was covered in garbage, used needles and cigarette butts, and the entire area stank of wet rot and bin juice. No one came down here without some other agenda.
So it was as Tuesday turned into Tuesday night, and Seraph, Mattie, Chronos and Sparra picked their way through the detritus. The sky was already dark, the storm clouds not yet finished pouring down on the filthy city.
"Christ Almighty, why do they always end up in shitty places like this? Can't we ever have upmarket monsters?" Chronos asked, lifting his feet with almost exaggerated care. For all his height and apparent clumsiness, he moved easily and with grace.
"Because they hate you, fag," replied Andi, keeping a low profile against the alley wall. "Didn't you get the memo? The whole fucking world does it to spite you."
"Figures. Fucks." He muttered, smirking slightly, pressing himself against the corner of the building.
"Would the pair of you hush?" Mattie muttered, scowling, sports bag thudding against his side. "We need to be careful. No idea what these things can do."
"Right, sure thing, Mattie." Seraph nodded, then held up her hand. "Hold it. The camera's up in that corner there, from the looks of it. I'll check it out."
She snaked her head around the corner, peering up, before nodding and pointing.
"Uh-huh. There it is. Up about... hrm... ten foot? Can anyone jump that?"
"I got it, Angel." Chronos exhaled, closing his eyes for a moment. Then he bounced, almost as if flying. He richoched off the wall and caught a ledge, other hand flashing out to twist the focus ring of the camera. Job done, he landed with a delicate thud, smiling.
"Chronos..." Mattie smiled, nodding his approval, "That was amazing."
"Amazing nothing," interjected Sparra, eyes wide, "What the fuck was that?"
"It's called Parkour," replied Chronos, waving his hand as if to indicate it was nothing, "Saw a bunch of guys practising about a year ago, decided to join in. Good way to stay fit."
"Yeah? I think i've seen some clips of that around. Looks pretty cool, anyway." Sparra looked around. "So they won't notice the camera's fucked?"
"Oh, no." Seraph shook her head. "No one accesses the camera files until Wednesday at the earliest, if do at all."
Sparra nodded as Mattie looked around the back alley, which widened out into a small courtyard that was crammed full of industrial bins. Three doorways were sunk into two of the the walls, and a skinny ledge ran along the length of the wall up above line of sight.
"Shit, this looks good for hiding." Mattie beamed. "Right, Sparra, d'you reckon you could sit up there?" He pointed to the ledge.
"You'd better bet I can!" she replied, "Chronos, give me a leg up."
"Have you got something to defend yourself in case this all goes shit?"
In reply, she pulled out a can of hairspray with a lighter taped to it.
"Everything hates fire, Mattie."
Mattie nodded approvingly, and as Sparrah got boosted up to her lookout point, he turned to Seraph.
"You're small, Andi, that's good. We'll tuck you into the door next to our target- less chance of you being seen. Chronos and I will hide in one of the bins."
"Oh man, bins? This just gets fuckin' better and better." Grumbled Chronos, even as he jumped in. Andi handed Mattie his sports bag, and watched as he pulled out his prized cricket bat. He ran his hands over it, almost ritualistically, and smiled at Andi.
"Most of them hate willow, too. And it's got more weight than a baseball bat. Go on now, scoot. Get into position- we've got a wait ahead of us."
The hours passed drearily, but none of the cell were unduly bored- they were all used to sitting around, waiting for computers to finish defragging. The sky opened twice, pissing down rain on the uncaring city streets, soaking the lot of them to the skin.
Still they waited.
Seraph looked around, and saw a vague movement in the garbage at her feet. She looked down, and saw something leathery and bipedal looking at her intently.
"What..." she muttered, squinting, when she heard a noise from further down the alley. She shook herself, and pressed herself back against the door, fiddling with her camera so that it peered around the corner towards the alley entrance.
There was a soft, murmuring sound, which clarified itself into words in a high, lilting voice.
"...of course, we would have to be careful with the steps we were going to take."
There was what sounded like a reply in a deep, snarling tongue, that hurt the ears to hear. Lucky flinched momentarily, and the other speaker started again.
"All things considered, I expect we... my goodness, what on earth is that?"
The crunching footsteps got closer. The small creature started, and was whipped away from the entrance. Lucky pulled herself back very, very slowly, curling up in the corner of the doorway.
"Goodness me. You are an interesting little creature, are you not? What on earth could you have been studying so intently?"
There was nothing she could do to stop the creature peering into her doorway. The man was beautiful and frightening, skin an icy white, radiating an aura of a cat looking at a crippled mouse. He smiled.
"Why, hello there, little girl."
There was a howl from above as Sparra jumped down, streaming flame from her hand like an avenging angel. The creature looked up as she landed on him, and hissed as his clothes melted away. She crowed with victory, and suddenly stopped and looked down at her stomach, eyes wide with shock. Three ebon-black claws stuck out through her belly.
All hell broke loose as Mattie shouted with incoherant rage and launched himself from the dumpster, Chronos close behind. Seraph flinched at each sound as she inched her way around the courtyard, holding her camera towards the carnage. Through the melee, she saw the strange, black creature from the first video, facing off against Mattie, and Chronos swinging wildly with what looked like a kitchen knife at the haughty angel. Both of her compact-mates were bleeding, and the air was hot with the fight, and stank with blood and bile and garbage.
She ducked down in between the dumpsters, hiding her eyes. Suddenly, something whispered to her.
"Look! Run that way!"
She opened her eyes, and saw the small leathery thing.
"Look, girl-thing! Run that way! Run now, and you escape!"
It didn't occur to her to question. Something small and animal within her urged her to run, and she obeyed, just as the screaming started. Something whistled overhead and dropped in front of her- Mattie's cricket bat, with half of Mattie's arm still attached. Without even thinking she picked it up by the blade, shaking Mattie's hand from the handle, and ran. The screaming stopped abruptly, and the only sound left was the thudding of her own heart in her ears, and the surprisingly soft sound of her own footfalls.
Nothing stirred. No one was interested in this city. It paid not to be.
---
The thread requested no longer exists in this location. It could be that the thread was deleted, or moved by the admin staff. Ask a Board Moderator for further information.
Cache retrieved Sun, 29th June, 2003 4:46am EST
User Posted: Thur, 26th June, 2003 1:31pm EST
User ID: SasukeLover21 (827 posts)
Subject: Has anyone seen Sparrahawk?
Hey guys,
I just had the police call me, asking about Sparrahawk by her real name. We've been hanging out a bit since Supanova, so that's understandable. She's gone missing, and her parents are freaking the fuck out. It's occured to me I haven't seen her online for over a week. Has anyone seen her?
Before anyone jumps on me, no, I didn't mention the Network. That'd be stupid.
SL
---
User Posted: Thur, 26th June, 2003, 1:39pm EST
User ID: Freerunner (526 posts)
Subject: Re: Has anyone seen Sparrahawk?
I got the same call about ChronosCat a few days. Didn't think anything more of it, he goes out sometimes and doesn't come back for days, but now i'm worried. Didn't the both of them say they were going on a hunt to get some footage?
Freerunner
I have better things to do than sit on the internet all day. Strange but true.
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User Posted: Thur, 26th June, 2003 1:46pm EST
User ID: SasukeLover21 (827 posts)
Subject: Re: Has anyone seen Sparrahawk?
That's right, they did too. Come to think of it it, Mattie and Seraph haven't posted either, and I haven't seen Mattie on any messengers either. Seraph, I can see you're online. Have you seen them since then?
SL
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User Posted: Thur, 26 June, 2003 1:52pm EST
User ID: GreySeraph (2,170 posts)
Subject: RE: Re: Has anyone seen Sparrahawk?
I don't wanna talk about it.
GreySeraph.
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User Posted: Thur, 26th June, 2003 2:01pm EST
User ID: SasukeLover21 (827 posts)
Subject: RE: Re: Has anyone seen Sparrahawk?
Come on, you can't do this to us. Information has to be free. What happened?
SL
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Private Message
To: GreySeraph
From: [Mod]CastBroader
Subject: Mattie, Sparra and Chronos
Time: Thur, 26th June, 2003 2:03pm
Alright, Seraph. This sounds like some heavy shit. You wanna explain what's going on before this gets too out of control?
CastBroader.
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Private Message
To: [Mod]CastBroader
From: GreySeraph
Subject: Re: Mattie, Sparra and Chronos
Time: Thur, 26th June, 2003 2:05pm
Attachment: 17062003.mpg
The Truth must out. The others are dead, i'm pretty sure, and if their bodies haven't been found, they never will be.
I only managed to get a little bit of footage, but it's yours to view. I think this whole thread needs to be deleted, so if the cops do get wind, they can't use it against us.
Being a survivor can suck my cock.
GreySeraph
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Private Message
To: GreySeraph
From: [Mod]CastBroader
Subject: Re: Mattie, Sparra and Chronos
Time: Thur, 26th June, 2003 2:10pm
Holy fucking shit, Seraph, are you alright? Just... fuck. What the fuck were those things?
You're right. Can't afford for the swine to trace this back to us. Fuck, the screaming, why the fuck didn't anyone do anything?
CastBroader
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Private Message
To: [Mod]CastBroader
From: GreySeraph
Subject: Re: Mattie, Sparra and Chronos
Time: Thur, 26th June, 2003 2:13pm
Because people don't care. People don't want to get involved.
It has to be removed, but the Truth must out. Here's what I reckon should happen- I make a reply, with the video attached. You take it down in about six hours, and clean up any trace of it. That way enough people'll have the vid that it won't be forgotten.
This was a fuckup in the planning department, pure and simple. Can't afford to let this keep happening, otherwise, we're screwed.
Of course, this is up for your approval, being that you're a Mod and i'm not.
Big Gay Fucking Hearts,
GreySeraph
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Private Message
To: GreySeraph
From: [Mod]CastBroader
Subject: Re: Mattie, Sparra and Chronos
Time: Thur, 26th June, 2003 2:22pm
No no, that sounds good, and I just got the OK from the rest of the mod staff.
If you need us, let us know, OK? This shit is too epic for anyone to have to deal with on their own.
CastBroader
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User Posted: Thur, 26 June, 2003 2:49pm EST
User ID: GreySeraph (2,170 posts)
Subject: The Truth About MattieHart, Sparrahawk and ChronosCat (PLZ READ)
Attachment: 17062003.mpg
Please note, this is posted with Mod approval.
Sometimes, the truth is bullshit. Sometimes bad things happen to good people, sometimes the bad guys win, and all of the time, the Vigil is best left in the hands of the experienced.
Attached to this post is the footage that I captured last Tuesday. This, along with this post, is the only record of what happened to Mattie, Sparra and Chronos. In six hours, this post will be deleted for the safety of the Network. I couldn't let this remain silent, not after everything, not after years of saying that the Truth must be heard.
Basically, I found some footage that looked cool, and we decided to trip on in there like we were the coolest shit in the world, like the bad things out there couldn't touch us because we were on the side of truth. There was no planning, no contingency, no communications. Somehow, the things noticed us, and the whole thing quickly became a fucking turkey shoot.
Mattie, Sparra and Chronos are dead- at least, I hope they are. If they aren't, we're all fucked. I'm lucky to be alive, myself. We went in without plans and got fucked, and now the only justice Mattie, Sparra and Chronos are going to receive is the occasional mention in Missing Persons Unit propaganda- and that which we can give them. If not for my own luck, you guys wouldn't even know. You'd go on wondering just what happened, maybe even falling prey yourselves.
We need to be more prepared than that. Mattie was one of the wisest and most experienced of us, and even he fell for it. If we're going to act, we need to do so with care and wisdom- I mean, fucking look at us. We're computer geeks. What business have we got taking on demons and shifting-things and stuff that belongs in Anne Rice novels without planning?
I'm sorry. This is as much my fault as it was everyone elses. I should have been smarter. But I promise you all, I'll make sure no one forgets this lesson.
I'll remember MattieHart48, Sparrahawk and ChronosCat.
Will you?
GreySeraph
