Explosions are not really fun, even for those causing the explosions at the command of another. The group, who labels themselves as being the Voluntary Vampire Extinction Movement makes their way back to their secondary "safehouse" individually.
This leads them just outside of Dallas to a small Christmas Tree Farm. It's the perfect location for January, as these places generally take a month or two off until Spring weather reappears. Tucked in the back of the farm, through their little forest of trees, is an old ramshackle hut. Though hut is probably the wrong word to describe it, this is what they call it. It's a bunkhouse cabin with enough room to hide ten to fifteen of them for a while, and there's only eight people that have made it here thus far. Four humans, four vampires. Two, a male and a female, are standing guard outside the door. The poor female looks broken and bruised, her face starting to melt from purple to a sickly green color.
Thankfully it's still nightfall when a certain vampire tracks a certain member of this group back to their little safehouse. A grin lights up Dietrich's features at the location. 'Pity the fools, they have no idea they've just stepped into the casket.' Unfortunately that the Sheriff has given a no-retaliation order so all he can do is poke around… but it says nothing about self-defence, so if someone shoots at him, all well and good right? He flits from tree to tree, staking out the place and it's guards. The fact that there are both vampires and humans present puzzles Dietrich and it shows on his face as he works his way around to the backside of the hut.
The woman appears to be on edge, pacing back and forth, constantly looking into the shadows. At every little noise, she eeps, spins and starts toward it, only to pace back to position, much to the amusement of her vampire companion. This is what happens when a vampire comes and attempts to kill her, leaving her with a horribly broken nose and bruised face.
When he hears a movement of a different sort, he holds up a hand to get the woman to stop her pacing, and accelerates his speed until he comes to a stop between Dietrich and the hut. The vampire in question is tall, lanky, and doesn't look at all like he could hold his own if it came to blows. Yet, he's not going to allow another intruder to ruin a safe house. "Help you with something," he drawls, peering at the intruder.
Dietrich chuckles, his laughter echoing around the trees and he leans out from behind a tree with a maniacal grin on his face. First step to scaring people… make yourself seem crazier than they think you are. "Oh you might… you might… I was curious as to what a vampire is doing here with humans… seems a little odd, considering what just happened in town, don't you think?" He leans back behind the tree, safely out of any annoying firearms or silver the people might have with them.
"Bother checking the Sheriff's estate?" The vampire arches a brow, peering at Dietrich. "Seems to me, his contingent left with a few humans as well. Want to rethink your question?" The fact that the Sheriff left with someone they were planning on using for another nefarious plot goes completely unmentioned. "Since you don't seem to know what we're doing here, think I'll ask a question of my own. Why were you following us?"
Dietrich chuckles and says, "What the Sheriff does is his business. If he shits in the woods, it's not my business to go sniff around it." He replies, "It's simple, the person I followed back here was involved in the attack and I decided I'd follow them back and see who they're involved with. Considering the Sheriff will be out for blood and I think he'd be a little perterbed that you were hiding the culprits and didn't say anything, you might want to look out for your own hide there friend."
"The Sheriff doesn't concern me," the vampire says with a slightly malicious grin. "I work for a higher power." One may think he's talking about the big guy above, but the way it's said, it's likely to be something else entirely. "We will not deny being at the event in question, but forgive me for believing that you lack proof as to any involvement in any attack. It seems to me the poor bastards on the stage are dead, and unable to say who they were working for or for what reasons."
Dietrich smirks as he steps out from behind the tree and says, "You seem to be under the impression that I plan on convicting you in a court of law… you see… I find courts to be a pain in the ass. And considering all I need to do is light a spark and torch this place, no one will know that a vampire was involved here. So care to rephrase your statement? Starting with whom you are working for?" The vampwitch holds up a finger and a small gout of flame erupts from near the end, making it prietty apparent he's capable of doing just what he said. His eyes however are not so much on the vampire as looking about for anyone that might be trying to sneak up on him.
"Unless you are able to fly, and are prone to not losing any hair, and being that this is a business establishment, you'll find that there will be an investigation, and you will be found out." The vampire makes a gesture, and noises can be heard from inside the bunkhouse. "Especially since another of you torched a gas station not long ago. Two arsons in the span of a week would look mighty suspicious." Especially at such odd locations. "As for my employer, that's on a need-to-know basis, and I'm sorry but you're not really on that extremely short list."
Dietrich nods, tapping his lips and says, "I suppose so." He hears the noises and that probably means folks with guns or other stuff coming on out. He shrugs and then says, "Ok. How about I phone the Sheriff and I'm certain in no time he'll have folks out here to dismantle your little operation, while I stand watch to make sure you don't remove any evidence. You're still screwed my friend."
"Oh by all means, call the Sheriff and his little crew. Doubt he's healed fully yet from saving that human." The vampire smirks, crossing arms over his chest. "As for evidence, do you really think we'd keep anything out in the back of a tree farm?" The location is obviously not the headquarters.
"Hey, Damien… You cool back there?" The female voice rings out, but she's not leaving her post by the front it doesn't seem. Even though the door opens, and some more sounds can be heard from the bunkhouse.
Dietrich smirks and says, "You'd be suprised what you can find if you really take the time to look… mail… letter, land records… etc etc etc… there's all sorts of wonderful paper trails in this world today." He then shrugs and says, "I'm getting bored… time to take the wind out of your sails whelp." He snaps his fingers and the vampire's shirt is the target of his pyromantic powers. Just simply to light him on fire.
Being set ablaze really does nothing to stop the vampire. He shows no sign of it hurting, no pain. He does however rush forward at full speed, which brings him beside Dietrich in less than half a second. After which time he goes to grab the intruding vampire by the throat. "Take the wind all you want child," he hisses at his intruder. "But keep in mind, you just made a very powerful enemy." Be it himself, or someone else.
Still, odd how he doesn't seem to mind being on fire at all, despite what it's doing to his flesh.
"Fine," he spits out for his companion out front.
"Okay, good. Hey, what's that li— aww fucking hell, not again." And the woman up front begins to shriek. Loud enough that it covers up almost any other noise. There is a reason she's set to be a guard, even though she's easily pushed around.
Dietrich smirks as the hand grabs his throat. The is a slight blur from his arm before the offending vampire finds a knife sticking out of his chest where his heart would be located. "So did you. If anyone asks in hell, tell them Dietrich Eberle sent you. You'll make friends fast." Once the vampire dies, in whatever fashion that one's particular vampiric state seems appropriate, he blurs to climb the cabin walls to the roof. He grins, waiting to see whom else comes out.
He manages to knife the vampire in the chest, but before he dies, he hisses, "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth." Then, his body convulses and ruptures into a mass of black goo and remaining bone.
The bunkhouse is silent, so very silent. No movement in it whatsoever. Every good group has contingency plans, and this particular group has many plans for disappearing should they be found. While Dietrich busied himself with killing the vampire, the other vampires inside the bunkhouse busied themselves with taking up their human companions and racing out the front door. The only one left behind is the battered blonde shrieker who stumbles back several steps as something suddenly is upon the roof. The battered blonde shrieker who just so happened to catch his name, and is yelping it into her phone.
Dietrich spots the vampires racing out the door and then he realizes the blonde shrieker is talking on a phone. Abruptly he's down off the roof and has the blonde by her throat, effectively cutting off her windpipe and voice but probably not before she just gave out his name. The phone hand is gripped by the vampire, and brought to his ear to hear anything the person on the other end is saying.
The phone is eerily silent, not even the sound of breathing on the other end, nor the sound of an answering machine taking the message. The woman, having been through this before in recent days, struggles only in so much as making an attempt to ram her knee up into extremely soft bits to force him to let go. She's by no means a fighter, but even she has her breaking limits. However, she seems willing to sacrifice herself to let the others get to safety.
Dietrich grunts with some pain as he is knee'd. Do women know just how much that hurts? This prompts the vampire to tighten his grip on the woman, but only enough to continue asphixating her to knock her out. Once she looses conciousness, he lets go and listens to the phone once more, but if there is nothing said or anything to indicate the presence of a listener, he will close it or hang it up and turn his attention to the hopefully unconcious woman.
Truly, the woman doesn't care that it hurt him. The hope was that it would shock him enough to release her, but instead he seems to tighten his grip. Because she struggles to get free, it's not long before she goes lax. Unlike a vampire, she can't survive without air.
The phone is still eerily silent - so silent that there's not even an ounce of background noise. As though the phone were not even on. No questions, no voice, no listener? Perhaps, or perhaps just not a human one.
Dietrich does indeed hang up the phone as there is no answer and he turns it off for good measure. He picks up the woman and slings her over his shoulder and sticks his head into the cabin to examine for any evidence. He highly doubts they've left anything behind that could be used to track them, but you never know. He glances to the unconcious body over his shoulder, "Now my prietty, just what in the world are you fools up to? I think the Sheriff would like to have a word with you… just too bad you can't decline this invitation, eh?"
Alas, the poor unconscious woman cannot reply. She's simply slung on his shoulder like a dirty old sack of potatoes, head bobbling against his back, arms draping toward his buttocks.
The inside of the bunkhouse is empty, but for a few sleeping bags and canned food. Really, the only thing of note there at all is a newspaper with the date and location of the mayor's opening ceremonies circled.
Dietrich shakes his head, examining the newspaper with some interest and then leaves the bunkhouse. He pulls out a cell of his own, the prepaid kind and dials 911. He gives the location of the business and says, "Yeah, I just heard a few gunshots in there and just afterward I saw three figures running out of the trees with what I think were bags slung over their shoulders… looked like the size of bodies to me." Oh that will just make the Operator's day, some guy that sounds like a old fogie calling in about bodies. He then hangs up abruptly in the middle of giving further details and turns off the cell. And then he hightails it out of the woods the way he came… away from roads where the police might likely be coming soon.
