Pure Human - Clyde vs Whitey

[Posted by Ted H]

I think there was once twice in the last novel where I shifted the focus and perspective away from Blake and onto other people. It definitely happens more in this one, mostly because of the importance of Anin (which wasn't the original plan)

Anyway, Whitey. Actually, she's based off of someone I knew. That means yes, there are people like her out in the world who pray at the drop of a dime, hate fun, and actually want to do good without promise of reward. Weird, right? This is actually the third time I've based a character off her, which really isn't a lot when you realize I tend to recycle the personalities of people I know time and again. For the record, I've been getting more and more original characters (like Clyde here) a shot.

Other 2 times I've utilized the Whitey persona: That One Night, here and here....and more prominently as a focal character in Safe Haven.

Oh course, the record of usage for one person I know in things I write belongs to Will, of the Default Will Rule fame.
...There's also Teto, someone I've utilized so much I've stopped even finding new names for him and just inserted him directly into everything (Well, not everything has his name, sometimes I feel the need to actually change it)

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[Pure Human - Clyde vs Whitey]

            "Stay right there," the security guard said to Clyde as he waited to be given an ID sticker. He waited and waited and eventually assumed trouble when the security guard came back with two additional security guards. "Clyde Rackner," the original guard said as he held up his ID to read. "Remind me how you're related to John Fitzsimmons?"
            Clyde could have played along, trying to weave through the lie he built, but something told him that Blake had fucked things up for him and he might as well abandon ship. He snatched back his ID and took off out the door. The guards all gave chase, but once Clyde was out of sight, he slipped out of the physical world and out of sight.
            "No cigarettes are worth this bull shit," he said as he strolled back into the hospital. Laying low out of the physical world was always ideal, but it hospitals, the physical world was the best approach. The reason was because it was hard to get around without being noticed or detected in such tight confines. Elevators were a no-no so Clyde had to take his trip to the stairs. He was at least thankful that it was just Blake and Whitey who could find him on sight this way. Any more people and he might lose it.
            After conquering the stairs, Clyde had to risk opening the door into the hallway, meaning if anyone was watching it, the door looked to be opening on its own. From there it was a carful walk to the ICU and towards the Fitzsimmons room. Opening the sliding door into there was easier since most attention was placed on the girl down the hall. Once safely inside, Clyde felt safe again to return to the physical world. "And with a few minutes to spare," he said with a smile as John Fitzsimmons reacted to his sudden appearing out of thin air.
            "If it's alright with you, let's just assume you still remember my little speech from yesterday and just pick up from that point," Clyde said as he reached into his jacket and pulled out his shank. The old man's labored breaths became more severe as he eyed the weapon being drawn out. "Don't worry," Clyde said "I'm not killing you with it. Well, you're dying either way, and then I'll be stabbing your spirit, which will send you directly to hell where you belong." Clyde took a moment to think about what he just said. "Hmm," he said "Maybe that John fucker had a point."
            Clyde looked to Fitzsimmons and shrugged after checking his watch. "Either way," he said as he slipped himself back out of the physical world in preparation "Time to croak so I can get on with my day." Fitzsimmons' breathing became quicker and shallower as he gripped his chest as he laid back on his pillow and stared up at the ceiling. Clyde was so impatiently focused on watching the dying, that he didn't turn around to see who it was when he heard the door slide open behind him. It was probably a nurse or someone hearing the alarm generated by the dying man.
            "Be gone, demon!" a familiar voice screamed out.
            "Oh jeeze, not this bitch aga-" Clyde remarked before he felt an blast of energy strike him in the back, blowing him back into the physical world and flat onto his face. "I am not a fucking demon!" Clyde screamed as he rolled over and got back on his feet, brandishing his shank in the process.
            "I will not let you claim this poor soul in its final hour," Whitey said as she took position at the door.
            "He's going to Hell!" Clyde exclaimed "There's nothing to claim that your god hasn't already dismissed!" Whitey ignored him as she whispered into his fist that had a glowing rosary wrapped around it before chucking another ball of energy at him. "Son of a-" Clyde cried out as he took it in the chest and it knocked him back into the window. Whitey wound up and prepared to fire again when Clyde realized she wasn't trying to kill him, just blow him out the building.
            "Get out!" she screamed as she chucked another attack his way. Clyde dove for the ground as the attack crashed through the window, blowing broken glass in all directions. Clyde scrambled to his feet and dove at Whitey immediately, shoulder checking her in the stomach. They both toppled down with Clyde staying on top. Clyde risked a look behind him and to his dismay, Fitzsimmons had died.
            "Fuck fuck fuck!" he yelled as he noticed the spirit of the dead man sneaking his way out the door before taking off down the hall. "This is all I fucking need!" he yelled as he slipped back into the spirit world and took off after. He got two steps when he felt Whitey grab him by the back of the collar and haul him to the ground and back into the real world.
            "Are you fucking kidding me?" he yelled as he kicked and flailed his hands at his attacker to get her off of him. Whitey began to chant something in preparation of some exorcising technique. "I really don't have time for this shit!" Clyde screamed as he landed a kick to Whitey's head, causing her to let go and fall back.
            "Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!" Clyde screamed as he sprinted back after Fitzsimmons. He was now resorting to the hope that the ghost was dumb enough to keep running as opposed to hiding, because Clyde didn't have time to search the hospital thoroughly with Whitey antagonizing him. "It's a fucking old man," he thought to himself "How far could he possibly have gone?"
            After racing down several hallways, and with security most likely on their way up, Clyde gave up his frantic search to instead worry about his more prevalent annoyance. He made his way out of the hospital through the spirit world and waited out back in an out of the way location where he knew no one would happen by. He waited several minutes until Whitey came for him, apparently after a wardrobe change.
            "Do you live in your own comic book world?" Clyde asked as Whitey stood prepared for him. "Come at me, demon, for I know you cannot defeat me," she said as she began to glow with holy light. "I. AM. NOT. A. FUCKING. DEMON!" Clyde screamed as he readied his shank.
            Whitey then came running at him with such a speed and in such a way, that it seemed like she was flying. Clyde barely had time to ready himself when the girl pushed into him, knocking him back and over. Clyde was anything but ready for this confrontation; Reapers were up for a specific job and fighting wasn't one of them.
            Clyde rolled over and got up as best he could. He was indeed immortal, but pain and fatigue were still a very real thing for him. Whitey geared up for the same attack as Clyde tried to formulate a plan on the fly. He was out powered and out gunned by this girl, but he refused to believe that she also had him out smarted. Whitey came running again and Clyde decided to run right at her as well, the sheer shock of his decision causing Whitey to pull up in attempt to attack earlier than she planned.
            As they collided into each other, Clyde swung his shank into Whitey as hard as he could. Whitey cried out as both of them were knocked back from each other onto the ground. Whitey clutched a bleeding wound at her abdomen as Clyde stood up and approached the fallen fighter. "I had a job to do, but you couldn't leave well enough alone, could you?" he yelled at Whitey, who couldn't even bother to look up at him.
            "Maybe someone needs to rape your dumb ass, eh?" he asked as he reached down and grabbed her by the hair, bloody shank in hand, in no mood for leniency. Whitey then screamed at the top of her lungs as a blast of energy emitted from her, blowing Clyde away several yards and into a tree. By the time he recovered himself, Whitey was gone.
            Clyde thought about going after the girl who so foolishly and self-righteously got in his way, but ultimately decided against it. He got her worse than she got him, and in the end the paperwork involved with killing a member of the living who wasn't scheduled for a reaping just wasn't worth it. "Cunt," he commented as he brushed the dirt off of himself and pocketed his shank. As it was he was in a heap of trouble, and he didn't have time to kill looking to pick a fight.

Pure Human - Charming

[Posted by Ted H]

So, I'm all set to get back on track and finish this novel.........I just need to, you know, find some free time to actually write. Could have written the other day while waiting for my car to get worked on, but no one told me the waiting room at the mechanics was nice and had power outlets and free wifi...usually the ones I frequent are shit holes....

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[Pure Human - Charming]

            John leaned against a sign near the hospital with his arms crossed as he eyed Whitey power walking towards the entrance. She was still dressed appropriately, though John still mentally noted the tight jeans she wore. "Morning," he said before he checked his watch to make sure it was still before noon. "Where's the other one?" she asked as she stopped. "We were under the agreement that you wouldn't even stop if you saw him here," John said "So he's hiding."
            Blake then came out from crouching behind the sign John was leaning against and brushed himself off. "I have better things to do," Whitey commented as she moved to walk on. "What you late?" Blake asked. "I'm not late," Whitey snapped back, a bit more angrily than she intended. "You're late," Blake said with a grin.
            "And what if I am?" Whitey decided as she put her hands on her hips and glared at Blake. "C'mon," Blake asked "I investigate, and you wage a holy war. Let's not step on each other's toes here. Help me investigate and I'll give you something to fight." Whitey didn't even dignify that with a response as she scrunched her face at Blake and walked away. "Last chance," Blake said as Whitey didn't even look back.
            "Charming as always," Blake said sarcastically and he readjusted his trench coat. "Were you expecting a different reaction?" John said, not turning his gaze away from Whitey as she walked into the hospital. "Not really," Blake said "But I figure she could've replaced the woman on our little team."
            "We work better on our own," John reminded him as Blake nodded and they walked back to the car. Not long after they reached the car, John's phone rang. "Unknown number," John said as he looked to the screen "Damn telemarketers." He was about to deny the call when Blake took the phone from him. "That should be Clyde," he said as he answered it. "Tell me you were worth that cigarette," he said into the phone.
            "Yeah, you know it," Clyde said on the other line "I spent all last night tracking down a runner before giving up on the other. I had some free time before the old guy so I went early to the hospital and watched yo girl. There was some other guy there, white coat but not a doctor. He was getting looks at the little girl. The woman noticed him too and followed him out, so I followed her."
            "You bartered a cigarette to have Lena tailed?" John asked.
            "Who's Lena?" Clyde asked.
            "Never mind that," Blake said "Continue. Where did Whitey follow the guy to?"
            "Well she tailed him to his house, I guess," Clyde said "I was gonna follow her in by slipping out of sight, but she apparently can see me too. She chased me off. Barked that she was gonna send me back to hell or something."
            "Yeah, that sounds like her," Blake mumbled.
            "Anyway," Clyde continued "I laid low and kept an eye on the house. Eventually she came back out and headed off. So I followed her to see if she were going anywhere else interesting. She pulled over and headed into the woods. I figured that odd, but followed anyway. Turns out, she was still on to me and laid a trap. Bitch jumped me and threw some freaky power shit at me."
            "You alright?" Blake asked. John didn't share the same concern.
            "Yeah, pays to me immortal," Clyde said "Plus you can't just banish a Reaper to Hell just because you're pissed off. I'll text you the address where that guy she followed lives, but consider us even. I gotta split. As it is I'll be cutting it close to reap that Fitzsimmons guy."
            "Happy reaping," Blake said and hung up. "You didn't just say that," John said as he rolled his eyes. "What?" Blake said as he waited for the text of where to go.

Pure Human - Common Sense

[Posted by Ted H]

And now the point where erryone gets angry!

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[Pure Human - Common Sense]

            "So what are you actually trying to find?" Joey asked after a while of silence, breaking John from his scattered thoughts while gazing in the general direction of the dying old man. "It's complicated," John responded "A creature, or creatures, of sorts."
            "What kind of creature?"
            "I...uh...I have no idea right now. That's what we're trying to figure."
            "Have you ruled out, you know, common sense. You're looking for monsters. Maybe it's just some guy."
            "Whatever did this ripped at least two families to shreds."
            "That doesn't prove anything."
            "Well...damn. We sound crazy when you talk about it."
            "I don't think it's the way I'm talking about it that makes it seem crazy."
            Just then the distinct scream of Anin rang through the area. John and Joey both took a look at each other before they were off and sprinting after Anin and Blake. Inside the girl's room was a scene of chaos and Anin laid on the ground in a ball and Blake was in a shouting match with a doctor. Frank was worriedly looking over his daughter while the two police officers were talking to each other behind the doctor, to John's estimation probably over who would have to arrest Blake.
            "What the hell happened in here?" John called out as Joey sprang to scoop Anin off the ground. "Who are these assholes now?" the doctor yelled. "Check the girl!" Blake yelled at the doctor "She's fine. Anin didn't hurt her!"
            "She laid hands on my patient!" the doctor yelled back "And who the hell decided either of you could approach her anyway?" He then turned to the cops "Are either of you idiots interested in doing your jobs?" The cops both looked to Frank, who wasn't interested outside of Suzie, then looked offended back to the doctor. John didn't think they were interested in arresting Blake after the doctors outburst, but he still figured it best to get out while they were still unshackled.
            "This would be a good time to exit," John said to Blake as he finally backed off from the doctor. Blake said nothing, but took a step towards the door. Anin had finally composed herself and rose from the ground, but the officers stood in her and Joey's way when they tried to leave. "Hey," Blake said at the cops, but John was pushing him out. "What do you think is going to happen when they do an actual check on us and realize we have nothing to do with that Jewish guy down the hall?" John reminded him as they reluctantly left to escape the hospital.
            They waited outside for Joey, who came storming out looking for Blake. "What the fuck happened?" he screamed. "She saw through the girl's eyes," Blake said "She saw what attacked her family." Joey balled his hands into fists. "I don't care about some lunatic. Anin's detained in a room answering to police because you insisted on involving her!" he yelled as he threw his hands in the air.
            "If by lunatic, you mean unholy creature from unknown origin," Blake said "Then yes, I had to include her. Or did you forget the part where she insisted on joining."
            "You're encouraging this delusion!" Joey barked back "She has strange dreams, and you're encouraging her that they're real. Some poor girl's family was murdered, and you want her believing the devil did it."
            "The devil didn't do it," Blake said, causing John to sigh and rub his temples. "Joey," he said, trying to intervene "I know you don't want to hear any of this, but we've seen the places these things have been. We know the damage they've caused. This isn't some serial killer running around and Blake isn't forcing Anin to believe things she doesn't already believe herself."
            "You're trying to say monsters are responsible?" Joes asked with an arched eyebrow.
            "Pretty much, yeah," Blake said. Joey took a swing at him, but Blake stepped back quickly, causing Joes to miss wildly and almost fall over. "Don't do that twice," Blake said with a level expression. Joey looked to Blake then to John who looked ready to pounce. "Fuck both of you," he said "If I catch either of you near my house or my girl, I'm calling the cops." He then stormed off back towards the hospital.
            "He took his own car to get here, right?" Blake asked.
            "Now I know why," John responded "Are you sure what Anin saw with that girl is legit?"
            "Yup," Blake said "She pretty much relived her last conscious moments. For one: We're not dealing with some random lunatic. For two: There's definitely a few more than just one of them."
            "Great. So we've got an opposition of numerous bloodthirsty creatures we can't even figure the origin to, our best leads to this is in the hospital where the police will likely have a few questions for us if we go near them again, your psychic dream lady is barred to us by her pissy boyfriend and we have no leads and no clue on what to do now. Fantastic."
            "There's always Whitey."
            "Ah yes, the holy warrior who hates you. What makes you even think she'll make an appearance?"
            "Frank had two coffees earlier, and I'm pretty sure he wasn't trying to be generous for me. He was waiting for someone, someone who is late."
            "And you know it's Lena because...?"
            "Because Frank is in pain and she needs to make it all better, starting with coddling him in his daughter's hospital room."
            "So where is she now? Why is she late?"
            "That's a good question. Maybe she's on to something and is following up. Or maybe she's late because her hair is a mess. Only one way to know for sure."
            "Stakeout. Fun," John said sarcastically "You wanna grab a coffee or something while we wait."
            "Already stole one from Frank on my way out," Blake said as he held up the cup and drank.
            "How do you do that?"

Pure Human - Apples

[Posted by Ted H]

This next part was fun to write...in a psychotic sort of way...
(I make no apologies)

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[Pure Human - Suzie]

            The hospital was as cold and uninviting as it was yesterday. Joey insisted on tagging along for this trip, so Blake had to concoct a story for how him and Anin both were invested in the dying John Fitzsimmons. "They're both my cousins," Blake explained "They just flew into town to say goodbye to Uncle John." The new security guard, younger than the previous days one and more interested in a seductive looking woman walking around the foyer, barely batted an eye at Blake's story and issued ID stickers to everyone.
            "I feel that the lying was wholly unnecessary," Anin said as they made their way to the elevators. "Hey, it pays to be good at lying in this business," Blake explained. "Then why did that lie suck so much?" Joey asked. "You're the only one who doesn't need to be here," Blake said back "So feel free to shut up."
            They took the elevator up to the appropriate floor, then made their way to the ICU. "Brace yourselves, this could get repulsive," Blake said as they walked towards the door and Blake slid it open to reveal a dying old man in his bed. "What the hell?" Joey said. "Say hello to your dear Uncle John," Blake said as he ushered everyone inside. "This is stupid," Joey said as Blake motioned Anin back out the door with himself.
            "You two keep the old man entertained," Blake said as Anin stepped passed him outside. "Coming here was your idea," Joey exclaimed as he pointed to Fitzsimmons. "Well it's gonna be weird if all of us walk into the girl's room down the hall," Blake said. "Not even going to say hello to your dear old dad?" John asked sarcastically. "I know how it'll end," Blake said as he started to slide the door closed "I already watched a dad die in the hospital."
            Blake and Anin then made their way down towards the Anderson room. Two cops were again stationed by the door as Blake tried to get a look inside. "Mr. Blake!" Frank called from behind, Blake and Anin turned to see him walking over with a couple styrofoam cups of coffee in his hands. "Hey, that guy doesn't hate you yet," Anin joked as Blake ignored her and shook Frank's hand after taking a coffee from it. "Any news from your investigation?" Frank asked.
            "Sure," Blake said "But let's talk a little more privately." Frank nodded and led the way into his daughter's room. Blake smiled at the cops as he passed, but they stared right through him. Anin avoided eye contact. Once inside, Blake closed the door and slip some blinds over so no one outside could see them.
            "Has your daughter shown any signs of waking?" Blake opened, causing Frank to hang his head low. "No," he said "Doctors aren't sure when she will." Blake looked to Anin and nodded her over to the bed. "Who is she?" Frank asked. "Friend of mine," Blake responded "Figure she could try to speak to your daughter on another level."
            "That's not how this works, Blake," Anin said as she approached the girl. Blake shushed her. Frank watched silently as Anin sat down in a chair next to the bed and reached for the girl's hand. "This is somewhat like an invasion of privacy," Anin said "And if she's nonresponsive, then there's only so much communication that I can accomplish."
            "Do what you can," Blake said. "Please," Frank added. "What's her name?" Anin asked. "Suzie," Frank said, tears welling up in his eyes. "Okay," Anin said as she brushed her hand across Suzie's forehead. She then leaned over and touched her forehead to the girl's as she whispered "Are you here, Suzie?"
            The room then grew quiet as Blake and Frank watched Anin remain motionless over Suzie. "Think anyone would notice if I opened the window for a smoke?" Blake asked. Frank gave a worried look as he refused to look away from Anin. "Right," Blake said "Business first."