Pure Human - Big Men on Campus

[Posted by Ted H]

Did I miss a week? Psssssssssh
I should be writing more, but things happen. My new job requires me to be sitting all day at a desk...all my previous jobs involved me standing and walking around doing things. So I feel this urge to always be on my feet when I can and choosing activities when I can...excuse me for not wanting to be 500lbs...

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[Pure Human - Big Men on Campus]

            "University at Albany State," Blake said again as John parked and they made for the campus "It sounds odd to say no matter how many times I try it."
            "Well it's a real place if you can't tell," John said "Kind of makes Cazenovia pale in comparison when you look at it up close."
            "Pretty sure the McDonalds in Central Square makes Caz pale in comparison," Blake said as he lit up then laughed at a "We are a smoke free campus" sign as he walked by it. They walked through, getting more than a couple sideways looks from students as they passed on their way to one of the academic buildings. "This the first time you've been on a campus since Caz kicked you out?" John asked. "Meh," Blake replied "I might've wandered into SU territory when I was drunk a couple times."
            They made their way inside a building and up to a floor where the professor offices were. "Bryant, Bryant, Bryant," Blake kept repeating as he made his way down a hall, reading every door label. "Bingo," he said as he found the right door and immediately knocked several times. "Is anybody home?" he asked as he knocked again.
            "Check the office hours," John suggested as he pointed to a schedule posted right next to the door. Blake looked to the post and leveled his gaze as he read "All hours and classes: cancelled until further notice." He looked back to John. "Might be a coincidence," John suggested. "You know how I feel about coincidences," Blake said before pounding on the door again.
            "I know you're in there!" he yelled as he pounded on the door "Dr. Kenny Bryant, open up!"
            "He's obviously not in there," John said.
            "If I were trying to avoid people, this is where I'd hide. Put up a sign saying go away and just chill in my office."
            "Yeah, well if he's really laying low in there, what makes you think constantly pounding on the door is gonna make him come out?"
            "I just need to say the magic words."
            "What? Please? Pretty please? Pretty please with sugar on top?"
            "That last one might work, but I got a better one." Blake pounded yet again on the door as he shouted "Let's talk about Derek Melrose!"
            Almost immediately there was a scrambling heard behind the door and it quickly opened. In the doorway was a man also in his 30s with short black hair and a poorly grown mustache. He wore a white button down shirt with a brown tie hanging loosely around his collar. He had thin framed glasses that Blake suspected weren't really needed and dress pants held up by cheap looking suspenders. He didn't look as ragged as Melrose was earlier that day, but he too looked like he had seen his fair share of stress recently.
            "How do you know that name?" he asked with a worried look on his face. "The real question here," Blake said "Is why do you know him?" Bryant was taken aback, but didn't look like he was going to answer. "I suggest you go and find him yourself if you have any questions that need answering regarding Dr. Melrose," Bryant said as he attempted to close his door, but Blake stuck his foot inside.
            "The last time someone blew off my inquiries and shut a door in my face ended up dying minutes later," Blake said "So excuse me for not wanting to walk away from you so easily." Bryant gave a confused look. "What are you talking about?" he asked. He stopped trying to close his door and Blake withdrew his foot. "We tracked down Dr. Melrose earlier today," John explained "He ended up committing suicide. Left a note begging for forgiveness, and he implied more than just he were guilty of something."
            Bryant closed his eyes and sighed. "He also set fire to most evidence of his wrongdoing, whatever that was," Blake added "So now we're here, and we need answers. Half a dozen people are dead, maybe more." Bryant took a step back, but maintained himself in the doorway to bar entry. "So what led you to me?" he asked "Did Melrose implicate me?"
            "Blake here took all remaining notes and such and organized them, eliminated what he felt was unimportant and looked for anything that stood out in terms of other people or information," John explained "I'm pretty sure he's autistic."
            Blake elbowed John as he took over "Your phone number was written a couple times on different papers, not to mention your initials written various times on his calendar. He had a lot of dead end jobs, and we figured he had to once be important as a doctor, so we searched and came up with him once being a professor here. Found your name on the website and noticed you were both associate professors at the same time. You two were up to something, even before he got canned."
            Bryant bit his lip as the two men talked. "Start talking," Blake said "You know something about the things running around, time to start spilling." Bryant shook his head. "Not here," he said. "Why not?" Blake asked impatiently. "No, please," Bryant begged "I can show you!"
            "Show us what?" John asked cautiously.
            "Show you were those things came from," Bryant explained.
            Blake and John looked to each other. "What do you think?" John asked as Blake turned back to Bryant. "Do you own a gun?" he asked. Bryant shook his head. "Do you plan to off yourself in any way to avoid having to face whatever it is you did?" Blake asked. "Christ, no," Bryant said "Let me give you the address on where to go. We'll meet a 7am sharp tomorrow. There, I'll explain everything. Just, please leave now before people start asking questions."
            "Why not leave now?" Blake asked "I'm not interested in putting this off."
            "This is something my family and peers know nothing about that I'd prefer to keep that way."
            Blake rolled his eyes. "Crack of dawn, tomorrow, "he said "Be there, or I come back with a megaphone." Bryant nodded and shut his door. "Hope this one doesn't find a way to kill himself before tomorrow," John said "But at least he gave us something to work with in case he does." Blake shrugged and went to leave with John. "Now we just need to figure where to spend tonight," he said.
            "I'm sure Joey has calmed down," John said "We just have to be a little more respectful. And by we, I mean you."
            "I'm just gonna let you do all the talking."
            "Look at the bright side; We're making headway. Maybe tomorrow we'll figure this all out and be out of this town."
            "That'd be nice," Blake said as he dug around for a cigarette "I'm taking it as a victory that someone didn't just off themselves after meeting us."
            "Did you get to calling 9-1-1 about Melrose?"
            "I thought you did."
            "You have my phone still, how could I?"
            "Oh, well I guess now is a good a time as any."
            "Jesus, Blake!"

Pure Human - Couples Counseling

[Posted by Ted H]

Happy Mothers Day...unless you don't have kids, or one of your kids is a bitch who always has to be a cunt and ruin things for everyone...in that case, Happy Sunday...

Full disclosure - I'm not entirely done with the novel...I AM sure how to end it and know how the final confrontation will end. The only thing up in the air is if Anin and Joey will survive. One, the other, both, neither...I have no clue. Sometimes, when you let the story write itself, the unexpected happens...But if one, the other or both die in the end, then this part here will be super depressing in retrospect...

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[Pure Human - Couples Counseling]

            Anin and Joey said nothing to each other during their trip home. Anin hadn't done much of any talking after the police released her. Joey was just thankful that no additional harm had come to Suzie and that Anin was free to go. She was also barred from returning to the hospital for visits, but Joey wasn't complaining. Back at home though, he felt the silence had gone on long enough.
            "Are you okay?" he asked, annoyed at the simplicity of it, but unable to ask anything else at this juncture. Anin simply nodded. "Anin, please," Joey said "What happened in there?" Anin stared blindly down, lost in her own thoughts. "Anin!" Joey called louder, snapping her back. "Why didn't they kill her?" she asked, confusing Joey.
            "They killed everyone else that night, why not Suzie?"
            Joey shrugged. "It wasn't real though," he tried "Just a dream. All in your head."
            "It was real Joey, God damn it!" Anin yelled "It happened. Those things happened. They killed that girl's family and they fucking toyed with her!"
            Joey got annoyed and got out of the car. "I'm not in the mood for this discussion."
            "How can you not believe in this?" Anin asked as she exited the car and followed him. "You have shown nothing to actually believe!" Joey yelled back. They were doing this outside the house in public, but neither of them cared at the moment. "You and Blake have gone around speculating for the last two days, claiming some sort of fucking monster is responsible! Do you even hear yourselves. You're using dreams to confirm your ludicrous thought process! We were just in a hospital, posing as some dying man's family just so you and Blake could get close to a traumatized girl! Where's the confirmation?"
            "No," Anin said as she folded her arms "Do not make this about rational thinking when you know what I do. You know the things I've seen."
            "And I've put up with them all this time because you've never gone this far before. Anin, before all you did was give people advice and read their cards or fortunes. Now look at you; breaking into hospitals and hanging around crime scenes."
            "That little girl is going to wake up and tell everyone what I saw. A fucking monster killed her family!"
            "She's eight years old! Everything is a fucking monster to her! Maybe you were in her head for real, sure. And maybe you just saw things from her perspective, where everything unknown in the world is nothing more than a scary monster."
            Anin balled her hands into fists as tears formed in her eyes. "Don't you dare trivialize what I do. Don't you pretend to understand it better than I can."
            "Anin," Joey continued "Just let this go. You were never meant to solve murders. You've thrown yourself into a world that you've never exposed yourself to before and you can't even keep your head above the water."
            "What would you have me do? Stop? Tell Blake he's on his own and go away?"
            "Yes! Anin, since this has begun, you haven't eaten, you can't sleep, and you can barely keep yourself together anymore. This is too much! And Blake doesn't do shit to actually help you because he's all too happy to torture you if it serves whatever twisted game he's playing!"
            "I can't sleep, Joey. Every time I do-"
            "I know, I know. The reoccurring dream or whatever where the fading man hurts you. So why not have me in that dream with you? Have me do what you and Blake did last night if it'll make you feel better."
            "You can't, Joey."       
            "Why not?"
            "Because you don't believe. Do you think Blake was my first choice last night? I just wanted to feel safe knowing I was with someone else in there. I wanted you. But you don't believe, you won't believe. Blake's a fucking asshole and he ended up doing almost exactly the worst thing that I thought he would do in there, but I also knew there was no one else and I could trust him."
            "Then what can I do to-"
            "There's nothing you can do. There's nothing I want you to do but understand. You're normal and I love that about you. All the chaos and crazy I see and endure, and then I'm with you and I can be a normal girl in a normal relationship. But now I came here and brought all this crazy with me and mixed my worlds together and now everything is all fucked up."
            Joey sighed as he opened the front door. "I'm going to call in sick today," he said "Spend the rest of today with you and we can just pretend everything is normal." Anin smiled at the thought but ultimately shook her head. "No," she said "They need you at the office. And pretending to be normal isn't going to really help, not until this is all over."
            "Are you sure?" Joey asked as he put a hand on Anin's arm and brought her close.
            "Yeah," she replied "Once this is over, we can send Blake away and it'll just be you and I, being normal once again."

Pure Human - Who Dat Is?

[Posted by Ted H]

Ah....writing at work...always fun...wish I could do it more often...

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[Pure Human - Who Dat Is?]

            "Any bet on who this guy is?" John asked as he stopped the car and killed the engine in front of the address that Clyde had texted. They were led to a neighborhood on the opposite side of town, much less respectable looking than the area with all the killing. Blake was too busy happily smoking away at a new pack of cigarettes that he'd happily bought from a corner convenience store on the way over. The clerk had been a Middle Eastern person who barely spoke English and didn't either bother checking IDs when Blake requested his cancer aid. Blake had been so happy, he even decided to pay for his coffee when he took some.
            "I'm beyond the guessing game at this point," Blake said as he got out and flicked his spent cigarette butt away "Let's just find out now." The grass in the yard was in bad need of mowing and the house itself looked uncared for in quite some time with broken vinyl siding and a moss covered roof with decayed shingles. Blake walked right up to the front door and banged his fist a few times.
            A chain lock being unhook sounded and the door opened a crack to reveal a man peeking out. "Are you cops?" he asked in a dry raspy voice. "Not really, no," Blake said. The man went to close the door as Blake shoved his foot in. "We're investigators," Blake said "And we already know you're a person of interest in something very peculiar."
            "You need a warrant to come in," the man said as he tried kicking Blake's foot out.
            "We just want to talk."
            "I'm armed."
            "So is this guy," Blake said as he motioned to John behind him.
            "I have nothing to do with what's happening out there," the man said, opening the door a little more to reveal his graying brown hair and tired looking face. All that seemed odd to Blake considering the man looked only in his mid 30s. "It's not my fault," the man continued.
            "There are at least half a dozen people dead out there," Blake said "And I'm trying to figure out why. That angry religious woman you encountered before is doing whatever it is she thinks she needs to do. Me? I'm just trying to find and stop whatever those things are. Help me."
            "No," the man said as he kicked Blake's foot back and slammed his door shut and locked it again. "It's not my fault!" he shouted "It wasn't supposed to happen that way! This isn't what I wanted!" Blake exhaled sharply through his nose as he turned to see John. "This guy knows something," John said "I'm not leaving until we figure out what."
            "Ya think?!" Blake yelled as he tossed his hands up "I can get us a fake warrant and a couple badges, but not today."
            "I don't think he'd buy that at this point anyway," John said.
            "It's gonna be one of those days, isn't it?" Blake asked as he pulled out John's phone from his pocket and dialed Matthew again "At this rate we'll have to go door to door all over Albany to find these things on top of the fact that no one wants to even help us figure out where they came from."
            "We can always burn Albany to the ground," John suggested "Lots of collateral, but it guarantees we get the monsters too."
            "We'll call that Plan B," Blake said as he listened to the ring back from Matthew's line before it abruptly cut off. "Hello?" Matthew said.
            "Albany sucks!" Blake yelled into the phone.
            "Oh, hello Blake," Matthew said, almost bored.
            "How's our little Lizzie?"
            "I've got a few running theories that I'm narrowing down. The mother also has a very intriguing history."
            "One crisis at a time," Blake said "You got a detailed knowledge of a bunch of lesser gods and demons and other such beings from other realms, right?"
            "Definitely more than you do," Matthew said.
            "Vitaearnus. Who dat is?"
            "Vitae-what?"
            "Vit-ae-arn-us!"
            "Nothing I've ever heard of, or even come close to hearing of."
            "Well, he's something."
            "And where did you find out about Mr. Arnus?"
            "A dream. Anin's to be specific."
            Blake could hear Matthew groan on the other line. "Really, Blake?" he asked "A dream."
            "Well, not really a dream per se, it's complicated. But I'm still sore from an uppercut I took in there to suggest whatever I experienced in there is legit."
            "Right, right," Matthew said, sounding like he was trying to think "But I've never heard that name before. You sure this guy isn't trying to throw you off?"
            "He would have given me something more legitimate in terms of names for me to chase down, not just make one up."
            "But why even give his name?"
            "Cuz he's in control, or so he believes.
            "I'll look into it if I have time, but I don't know what you're expecting."
            "Maybe he's new on the scene?"
            "There hasn't been anything new on the supernatural front in over 2000 years if we're talking about something that has the kind of power and influence you're suggesting. Whoever this is, they've existed in our realm for a while. I'd need more information though."
            "Yeah, well, we're still having trouble nailing down the energy of this crap. Everything we test seems to point to all human."
            "Ever stop to think that maybe it's just that, human?"
            "You should see what Anin described in her last-"
            Blake was cut off by the sound of a gunshot. He looked to John. "That came from inside the house," John said. "Gotta go call you back later bye!" Blake said as he quickly hung up and ran with John back towards the house. "Still locked tight!" Blake said as he unsuccessfully tried the doorknob. "Out of the way!" John yelled as he ran up and kicked the door, blowing it off of its latch and chain and slamming it open and against the wall inside the house.
            Right inside was the living room where an assortment of furniture clashed randomly with the deep blue carpeting. Various bits of mail and paperwork were strewn all over the coffee table along with several empty beer cans, whiskey bottles and glasses. An ash tray full of spent cigarettes sat in the corner. Nearby was a wastebasket full of even more papers, all burning from a recently lit fire. Overlooking it all was a recliner with the man from before sitting, a revolver in hand and a bloody hole gaping in the back of his head.
            "Great," Blake said with a huff. John picked up one of the papers on the table and looked it over. "He left a note," he said as he began to read it aloud "I'm sorry. May God forgive me. May God forgive us all." Blake grabbed the note and crumpled it up before tossing it into the wastebasket to burn. "What did this guy do that he'd kill himself over?" John asked as Blake looked over various documents on the table.
            "Pay stubs from random dead end jobs," Blake said as he sifted through the papers "Grant rejections, unpaid bill notices, notice of termination. This guy was in over his head." He looked to the burning wastebasket and wondered what clue he just lost out on in finding out the truth behind everything. "Dr. Melrose," John said as he picked up a discarded white lab jacket and read the ID tag.
            "He didn't destroy everything," Blake decided "He couldn't have. He went to see Suzie at the hospital, Whitey happened, we weren't that far behind. He had to be pressed with guilt." John shrugged. "You're point?" he asked. "The obvious stuff is gone," Blake said "We just need to piece together the leftovers to figure out what to do next."
            "I take it we're not calling 9-1-1 for this either?" John asked as he walked back to the door and tried to close it. "We'll call on our way out, you big baby," Blake said "Just gimme a bit to figure something before we have cops crawling all over this place." He picked up papers and looked them over "For once I want to get to a person of interest first, not last."

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."