Shade

GM: CDRW

Everybody knows that society has an underworld. It is full of crime, violence, and greed. That is the one people know. That is society’s underworld. They may not be part of it, but they know it is there.

There is another underworld, not one of society, but one of humanity, the souls of the dead who refuse to pass on. They are watched after by the Shades.

All shades attempt to capture these spirits and present them at the gate, but the spirits who remain behind do so for a reason. They resist.

Many do not want to leave friends and family behind. Many have had horrible crimes committed against them and will not rest until they are avenged, and many are those who fear what lies beyond the judgement; true monsters.

When a shade corners one of these spirits they will fight, and not all fights end in the capture of the spirit. Many are destroyed.

When a shade kills a spirit that has not passed on, that spirit is utterly destroyed. There will be no afterlife. There will be no heaven. There will be no hell. They cease to exist. There will be nothing.

Shades stand as silent judges, but that inspires a question in every person who would become one. “Who am I to deal out a fate that even those in hell are spared? Am I greater than God?”

They protect us from a fate worse than death, but in return, they deal it out to others. It is something that is at once truly good and truly evil. They cannot pass the gates to the next life. They must remain in this world until they are destroyed. They are immortal, but if they are killed they also cease to exist.

Things to know.

1. It takes place in the real modern world.
2. They are completely cut off from the afterlife, as such they have no more knowledge of what lies beyond the gate than a normal person. Because of this Shades can come from any background or religion.
3. Fulfilling their duty is paramount, so much that failure to do so is punished by death (cessation of existence)
4. At all times there is a mortal person who acts as the shades guardian, (usually a close friend or family member) charged with the task of destroying that shade should he or she not fulfill his duty.
5. When the guardian dies he must be replaced within 60 days, or the shade fades away.
6. Any person who wants to become a shade must have the full consequences of the situation explained to them to ensure that there is no wavering. Failure to explain everything is grounds for destruction. The same goes for people who are asked to become a guardian.
7. Even though they are technically immortal it is rare to find one more than a couple centuries old. You could say their job involves a little bit of stress.
8. Some, but not all normal people can see spirits.
9. Players can be a shade, a guardian, or a normal person.
10. Guardians do not have to be anywhere near or travel with the shade. If the shade does something that requires destruction they know. Then they find the shade.

Physics
*cough* Pay attention to these. They WILL be your friend if you use them right. *cough*

1. Shades can move between physical and spiritual forms. When physical they are just like a normal person except they can see spirits.
2. When spiritual they are just like a spirit. In other words, they cannot affect anything physically, and they cannot be seen except by people who can see spirits. They can interact with other spirits like a physical person interacts with other people or objects.
3. Spirits cannot pass through solid objects.
4. Moving solid objects can pass through spirits without causing harm.
5. When a shade becomes a spirit anything they are wearing or holding also becomes spiritual. This only applies to things that they can carry.
6. If a shade tries to take anything that is living when he becomes a spirit that thing dies.
7. Spirits can destroy the soul of a living person through prolonged contact. How quickly this happens depends on how strong the spirit is. Physically this looks like a seizure followed by death.


Rules

1. Read everyone’s posts! Not only does this keep us all on the same page, it’s fun to know your posts are being read and acted upon. Respond to stimuli and events from other players’ posts.

2. Avoid writing one-line posts or extremely long posts.

3. Edit before posting, we’re all here to improve as well as enjoy.

4. No God-modding or perfect characters. (boring!)

5. Fighting between characters is allowed. However, all the players concerned must work the action out in PM and both parties should be amenable to the outcome.

6. Do not control another person’s character without their express consent.

7. If a player is AWOL and holding up the game the character will be NPC’d at the GMs’ discretion. If you know you’ll be gone for some time you may hand over your character to another player’s care.

8. Don’t flood the thread with long conversations or extensive actions. Give others a chance to post before moving on.

9. Please discuss any issues in the Discussion thread or PM CDRW with your concerns. Gossiping about issues or spamming up the story thread is counterproductive.

10. And lastly…the GMs’ word is law.


Character Sheet

Name:
Age:
Sex:
Character type: (Shade/Guardian/Normal)
Gear/Weapons: (No restrictions beyond what you could get on the black market, but keep it reasonable or they will be put into place. If you end up with a grenade launcher you had better have a darn good explanation, not only for the GM, but also for when the S.W.A.T show up on your character's doorstep. Keep in mind that this is the "real" world. If you walk into a shopping mall with a BAR slung over your shoulder...well, you should have an idea of what'll happen)
Special Skills: (Things your character is good at; Computers, marksmanship, etc.)
Personality: (The way your character acts.)
Description: ( The way your character looks)
Background: (A brief synopsis of the events that have shaped your character's life)

Name: Coby

Age: 19

Sex: female

Character type: Shade

Gear/Weapons: Coby carries acupuncture needles and various vials in her belt, she also has a magnum pistol

Special Skills: deception and spying

Personality: Coby comes off as innocent as a lamb, she is quiet and at times you have to ask her to speak up as her voice is very soft. She appears weak often leaning on items or hiding her face. She’s gentle and caring relying on human touch, however all of this is a front for her true personality something seldom seen by any.

Description: Coby likes to wear white and soft pastel colours, her attire often Edwardian influence modern day fashion. Her hair is light brown and wavy and her eyes are a tawny colour. Coby wears no jewellery or makeup. She is naturally pretty and plays on this to suit her lifestyle. She walks with a heavy limp.

Background: When Coby was a little girl she was in a car crash and spent a lot of time being rehabilitated in hospital. She learnt to become dependant on those around her and soon found that having people to depend on made her life very comfortable so she held onto the façade. currently Adelaide Thorne is her guardian

Name: Edward Walker

Age: 24

Sex: Male

Character type: Normal

Gear/Weapons: Usually none, not counting the equipment in the ambulance. Has a Browning HP at home. Never goes anywhere without an advanced first aid kit.

Special Skills: Trained paramedic, is well trained in emergency on-scene treatment, crisis intervention and life-saving stabilization.

Personality: Highly compassionate, easily forgives those who wrong him and believes that there is good in every person. He can be considered somewhat gullible, although this is mainly because he sometimes lets his desire to see the good in people get the better of him.

Description: Short brown hair with a white streak, brown eyes. Edward doesn’t spend a lot of time on his appearance, and outside of work he usually wears whatever is lying on top of the pile. Favors dark colors, simple clothing, with no print. Always carries a pair of glasses, as he suffers from a minor case of hypermetropia.

Background: Edward grew up in a typical family; little sister, loving mother and a hardworking father. At the age of ten, the family was in a car accident, and although the rest of the family was alright, Edward was brought to the hospital with serious head trauma; he has a white streak in his hair to this very day. The hospital, however, was a revelation. Edward knew what he wanted to do from that day on; help people as a paramedic.

However, things were not that simple. After one year as a paramedic, Edward and his partner were the first to respond to a car accident. The driver was alright, but the man’s son, who had been sitting in the passenger seat, had died on spot. Edward, however, saw both the boy’s body, lying on the ground, and the boy’s spirit, clinging to his father. The boy was the first spirit he saw, but wouldn’t be the last.

Name: Drake Priest
Age: 16
Sex: Male
Character type: Normal
Gear/Weapons: Kendo Stick
Special Skills: Trained in Kendo, Boxing, Kick boxing, and Brazilian Jue Jitsu
Personality: Angry youth. Foul mouthed, agressive, short tempered and generally not a nice person to be around. His only really good trait is his honesty, and though it's hard to belive he has a set of morals that he won't break for anyone.
Description: Always wears slacks, a white under shirt, a collared shirt and a leather jacket. He keeps his hands wrapped like a boxer's to always be ready to fight.
Background: Up until a year ago he was a rather gentle youth who was really into matial arts. Then his parent where killed, throats cut in a back alley. He has become angry and hateful and is constantly looking for any possible mention of who the killer might have been. He doesn't activly search for the killer but does keep an open ear.

under construction...


Name: Donovan Cyril aka Donnie
Age: 34
Sex: Male
Character type: Guardian
Gear/Weapons: Baretta 9mm, combat knife
Special Skills: none
Personality: irritable due to his insomnia, otherwise an easy-going guy
Description: 5'9, heavy build, green eyes with bags under them. messy brown hair. sorta drags himself around from being so tired. dresses in button down shirts with jeans quite often, wears a leather jacket
Background: brother of Tom Cyril. black sheep of the family until he was 18 and moved out. Tom approached Donnie about being a guardian, and once it was proven to be real, Donnie reluctantly accepted the responsibility

Name: Adelaide 'Ady' Thorne
Age: 23
Sex: Female
Character type: Guardian
Gear/Weapons: 9mm pistol, pocket knife
Special Skills: Extensive computer training, and skilled at hand-to-hand combat

Personality: Though a sweet, caring child, since becoming a Guardian she has changed, become harder, more reserved and colder. Still at times her kinder side shows through, and there are signs of the girl she used to be.

Description: Ady has a slender build, with soft, pale blonde hair that falls to her waist with a natural curl. She is fair skinned, with a heart-shaped face and light green eyes. She wears a white cotton summer dress, with a baggy, dark brown wool cardigan and faux-suede boots.

Background: Ady was born into a fairly normal family - an older sister, and two hard working but loving parents. She had a special bond with a grandmother, who, like herself, could see spirits. Despite her talent, Ady never had to come close to a spirit until she was fifteen, when her older sister was killed in a bus crash.

Her sister's spirit refused to cross over, and began wreaking havoc all over Ady's hometown. Ady tried to stop her, but the vengeful spirit was not the sister she knew. Soon a Shade came, but was weary of his duty killing spirits. Ady had to beg him to stop her sister, and that day she knew where her life would take her.

Name: Lance Costello
Age: forever 19
Character Type: Shade
Gear/Weapons:Other than his rollerblades, he's nonmaterial, he grabs what he needs for the fight from his surroundings
Special Skills: he can't outrun a speeding bullet, but he runs pretty fast and can take phsyical hurdles in stride.

Personality: He prefers not to start the conversation, but he has no problem having one. He can be stubborn at times, but he is always ready to learn something new, and maybe admit he was wrong-maybe. He's a gentlemen and usually curteous. He finds it hard to do away with the gentler spirits because he never gets to know their story. He has had a few close calls during his early career as a Shade because he was just a tad too caring about it all.

Description: Black, two-inch mohawk, green eyes, and "runner's build." His sleeve tattoos tell his story, if you ever get to see a good portion of one. He's six foot even and always wears a saphire and diamond encrusted ring. If he's confused or nervous, he's probably fiddling with the ring too. He grins more often than he smiles, and chuckles more often than laughs. He can usually be seen in a long sleeved, form-fitting black tee and baggy cargo pants gliding around on his rollerblades.

Background: Unbeknownst to him, he was trained from a young age to be a Shade. His first Guardian, his own mother would convinve him to play little games like "Airport" where all the "passengers" had to go through a little "imaginary" portal that he got to choose every morning when he woke up. He rather enjoyed that game, but there was a similar game, one he didn't like quite as much, it was called "By," and it's what happened when one of the airplane passengers wouldn't go through his portal, he had to be a bad guy and "send them away."

Lance was fifteen when his mother was diagnosed with cancer. On her deathbed, she explained it all to him, everything. What he never understood is why he could never see the "passengers" yet she took the game so seriously. She smiled and told him the truth, "you're still looking at them with a child's eyes, not a Shades. You don't want them to be there, but they're there." She died when he was nineteen and he saw his first one. She couldn't leave, he was too afraid to convince her to pass. The threat of death didn't scare him enough so she let him in on the other part of the Shade's responsibilities, if he didn't let her go, he'd have to destroy her, punish her. He couldn't do that, he gave his mother his final good-bye and watched her "board the plane."

By some unfair luck of the draw, his next guadian was he least favorite teacher, Coach Maligainey. That man birthed a hatred for Guardians that Lance never recovered from. Because of that man, Lance prefers not to know his current guardian, unless he starts to see his finger tips dissolve, then he'll look for a guardian, but not a moment before it.

Name: Derek Galbadar
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Character Type: Guardian
Gear/Weapons: .357 magnum, pack of cigarettes, lighter, and items to make bombs (gunpowder, grenade cases, lotion, etc.) (tell me if the last one is too much)
Special Skills: Explosive Specialist, can make anything into a bomb, once made a bomb using a cigarrette and copper wire.

Personality: strong, silent type. He does, however, enjoy a good debate when one arises. He's the type that could care less if the world burned the next day.

Description: wears a grey t-shirt, black cargos, black trench coat, fingerless gloves, a silver necklace in the shape of a cross, and his favorite pair of black sneakers. Short black hair, brown eyes, a strong build, and a scar is over his right cheek.

Background: Derek's father taught him everything he knew about explosives, from the simple cherry bomb, all the way to a glorious nuke. Even with the simplest materials, a bomb could be made, and Derek was taught every technique known.
At the age of 15 his father brought him into a gang and Derek was officially made their explosives specialist. For years Derek kept a low profile with the group and made many bombing runs against enemy gangs and for heists.
Finally after 5 years of serving the gang Derek left, and it wasn't a quiet retirement. The next day after his 'retirement' a bomb had been set off in one of the gang's outposts and 6 gang members were found dead, either with 2nd degree burns or a .357 found in them. Derek met his friend, Lance, and was made his guardian, always walking forward and never looking back.

Name:Duncan Campbell

Age: 43

Sex:Male

Character type: Normal

Gear/Weapons: Rosary beads on a steel wire. A glock .45 with with crucifix on the butt and the words Libera nos a malo on the barrel (deliver us from evil). A 5" cross with a spring loaded blade in it. Bible.

Special Skills: Trained sniper, though out of practice. Can build and dismantle bombs, pick locks, and knows all the tricks of dirty fighting. Is a decent public orator and can appeal to peoples emotional sides well. A good motivator.

Personality: A loud passionate priest. He will lecture against sin, especially violence whenever he gets a chance. He tries to be kind to everyone but he will get carried away with his moral posturing.

Description: 6'2" Duncan is clearly past his prime, a gut starting to form and a second chin just beginning to make an appearance. He is clean shaven and has short black hair. His complexion is very light.

Background: Grew up in the ghettos of Belfast and joined the IRA when he was only 15. He built bombs, killed, stole, and generally performed bad deeds for them. It wasn't until his sister was killed in a bombing in the middle east when he was 35 that he realized how wrong he'd been. He left the IRA and returned home. He sought forgiveness and spent a year praying. He began seeing spirits of people he had killed. At first he thought it was guilt, then he thought it was his punishment from god. His pastor said that if god was sending him punishment, it was because Duncan was meant to seek redemption through his deed. He suggested that Duncan should dedicate his life to service and so Duncan joined the clergy.

While he was studying he began to become aware of the ghosts desires. He spent years seeking families and apologizing to them, placing himself in their hands, and turning over evidence of his former colleagues. He has yet to be killed or arrested for his deeds. For some reason the families of those he slew seemed to forgive him. Perhaps they sensed that it was a true change or perhaps they didn't want to relive the horrible events. Either way, he remained a free man and earned his collar.

He put to rest all of his personal ghost that he has found but he still saw spirits. He began to understand their words not just their desires. He has made it his mission to try to help them rest easy and achieve salvation if possible after death. He has run into a couple of shades and he doesn't like them. He is convinced they are agents of the devil, but their guardians have assured him they aren't. For now he puts up with them, but he will try to hinder them in their mission as much as possible. He has begun to arm himself in case he needs to fight these immortal demons.

Name: Kate Merstock

Age: around 25-30 but looks 17, she never really paid attention to birthdays, and once she was a shade she stopped aging normally.

Sex: Female

Character Type: Shade

Gear/Weapons: A sharp dagger and a S14•45 Limited Para carried in a shoulder holster (also several permits and fake id's), a set of lockpicking tools and a seemingly never ending supply of black markers to create her portals to shove the spirits through.

Special skills: Kate knows some Tae Kwon Do and maybe some kick boxing or street fighting. Whatever works.

Description: Not really tall, being only a teenager. Spiky white-blond hair, khol lined brown eyes and she dresses in 90's grunge (think-Nirvana): A black leather jacket worn open over a grey t-shirt and baggy blue jeans belted so they sit on her hips. The jeans have a few holes in the knees.

Slender yet toned from training and fighting. Has a few scars on her arms and a small thin white scar across her lips. (Thats what happens when someone pulls a knife in an organised streetfight).

Personality: Kate is a bit of a smart ass and a cheeky so n so. Rebellious and determined to fob off authority unless it's to do with her safety. Then she decides on following orders or not and lover of punk rock and also Nirvana.

Background: Simply put, broken home. Abusive father and older brothers. Mother died from drinking too much. She learned some self defense and put her brother in hospital when he discovered that his little sister was a little older. Has been slightly sensitive to spirits and spotted one being taken down by a Shade. Since she had nothing much going for her, she became a shade and hasn't looked back since. She has been a shade since early 1990 hence the grunge fashion)


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Name: Max Holbrook.

Age: 26

Sex: Male

Character Type: Guardian

Gear/Weapons: A Glock but he doesn't like using it. He only has it to kill his Shade.

Special skills: Putting up with Kate? Maybe some boxing but not like he was trained (think barfights etc)

Description: Brown hair, blue eyes, the whole boy next door that happens to look HOT thang. Um, slender and atheletic, classic swimmers body. Dresses in black sneakers, Blue jeans and a white shirt under a red flannel shirt.

Personality: Classic do-gooder. Doesn't like violence too much, Max is more happy to watch a movie or read a good book or go watch the local college/highschool football games.

Background: Not much to say. Tended to help Kate when he could, used to go to school with her and when he found out she was going to become a shade, he tried to talk her out of it. When he couldn't, he decided to be her guardian, not quite comprihending that he really did have to put a bullet through her head if she played up. Trust fund baby, his parents come from a privilaged background and he doesn't have to work but works part time in a small corner book store.

Name: Ansgar Aloysius
Age: ~65
Sex: Male
Character type: Shade
Gear/Weapons: Desert Eagle complete with a telescopic sight which he keeps hidden in his jacket and a Barret M82 Sniper Rifle which he keeps disassembled in a tattered suitcase.
Special Skills: Sniping, and staying inconspicuous.
Personality: Ansgar is generally a likable, kind person, like a friendly grandpa, but he can also be serious when the time calls for it.
Description: Ansgar essentially looks like a hobo. He wears ratty, tattered clothes and carries an old, tattered suitcase. He also has a long, gray beard and wise, old, gray eyes.
Background: Ansgar had been a Nazi soldier in WWII. He was stationed as a guard for a small concentration camp when he first started to see spirits. It all started when he spied a prisoner trying to escape. Ansgar shot the prisoner multiple times, all perfect shots, but nothing happened. Whats more, no one else saw the prisoner. From that day on he would occasionally see prisoners try to escape, ones that wouldn't die and no one else saw. It wasn't until he was transferred to guard a gas chamber.

Over the course of the war he saw hundreds of people die, and just as many spirits. By the time the war was over Ansgar was old. He moved to America after the war only to lose everything he owned. It was then that he became a hobo and a shade. From that time on Ansgar rejected God and vowed to deliver the souls of the afflicted himself, even to pass judgment on them if needed. His guardian is a kind, young woman who works at a soup kitchen.


Name: Adelei Liora
Age: 19
Sex: Female
Character type: Guardian
Gear/Weapons: Adelei doesn't actually carry any weapons. Though, should she ever need to kill her shade she has plenty of knives at the soup kitchen.
Special Skills: Being a kind and gentle soul. And shes a great chef.
Personality: Adelei is a very kind and nice person. Slow to anger, caring, and gentle, but firm and stead fast in her beliefs.
Description: She is a beautiful young woman with light, fair skin, long, brown hair that comes down to the middle of her back, and radiant blue eyes. She normally wears simple blouse and skirt.
Background: Adelei has a fairly simple background. Her grandfather was a victim of the holocaust and moved to the states after the war where he started a family. Adelei lives a simple life. She was home-schooled by her mother and works at homeless shelters, senior homes, soup kitchens and the like. Her life was perfectly normal except for the fact that she could see spirits. Her life became even more abnormal when her mom told her about shades and guardians on her death bed, after her mom died Adelei took up her mother's job.

Carl crashed into the wall. He tried to recover, but just didn’t have the strength to keep from tumbling down the flight of stairs and into the living room of the townhouse. There was a blinding pain in his leg and back, but he didn’t waste any time scrambling to his feet and bolting for the front door. It wasn’t fast enough. He pitched forward and everything went black.

When Carl’s vision cleared, he was on the floor with his head pressed against the door looking up at the knob. He couldn’t move. Desperately he strained to reach his hand up to grab the knob, or to move his head and see if he was coming down the stairs. He tried to listen for footsteps, but the stairs were carpeted, and he was breathing too hard to know for sure. The only thing he could do was start praying.

“Dear God. I’m sorry. I don’t know if you’ll listen to me now, but if you are, I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?”

Carl’s veins filled with ice when he heard the voice. It was over. He closed his eyes so he wouldn’t have to see the doorknob above him.

“So tell me, can you heal what father’s done, or fix this hole in a mother’s son? Can you heal the broken worlds within or strip away so we may start again?”

The voice softened nearly to a whisper.

“No. I dub you unforgiven.”


Saturday, 9:08 P.M

Alexandria News at Nine

This morning police found the bodies of five men in a townhouse in downtown Alexandria. Four of the bodies were in their beds while one was discovered in the living room. Police say that each of the bodies bore multiple stab wounds, however, only two of them showed any signs of struggle. The names of the victims have not yet been released.

Officials refused to comment on allegations that the men were members of an international crime ring known for its extreme violence in local gang wars. A source who wishes to remain anonymous has stated that the police received a tip about a scheduled drug deal, and a sting was set up. It was during this alleged operation that the bodies were found. They were already several days old.

The operation was to have been a major blow to organized crime in the area which has included activities such as gang warfare, drug and human trafficking, and contract killings.

The police have confirmed that they do not yet have any leads as to who the killer was or why the victims do not seem to have fought back against them.

In other news, the port of Alexandria has announced intentions to buy over two miles of shoreline property to aid in a bold expansion and renovation project…




City information:

Downtown: Due to sporadic growth and planning downtown Alexandria is a mixture of national businesses, high-rise apartment buildings, and some older townhouse complexes that haven’t been torn down yet.

Police headquarters are located downtown, very close to the Mayor’s office. Often times the John Tyler, police chief is at odds with the current administration because he believes that they often turn a blind eye to corruption among city officials.

Oldtown: Oldtown is located to the north of downtown Alexandria. It is home to colonial-era buildings and expensive water-front restaurants. Because of the high cost of land in the area, many businesses there have to obtain a second source of “income,” such as Harold’s Crab Shack, a small-time but nice place that also serves as a front for a gun-running business for the Mafia. The fresh daily shipments of fish often contain other, more profitable goods.

Industrial district: The industrial district is located south of downtown, next to the port. Numerous factories in the area provide everything from cars to iron ingots. In the recent economic hardships many of the factories have closed down, leaving empty and abandoned buildings for local gangs to use as hideouts.

Port: The port is a huge complex located at Horse Head Bay south of the industrial district. Docking facilities are available for even the largest ships and it is a hub international trade and high-volume shipping.

2S 1A

"Alexandria, jewel of the sea, crown of the coast. It may have started as a tiny fishing villiage during the colonial era, but now it has grown into a major industrial and cultural hub now. Between the port and three major freeways, it has access to goods from all over the world, everything from iron to East Aisan antique swords, from China and Pennsylvania respectively."

The tourist blinked and started backing away slowly.

"Thank you son, but I think I'll go ask someone else for directions."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to answer your question," Tom said in as innocent a voice as he could manage. "Go three blocks east and get onto the freeway heading northbound. Take the second exit and just follow the signs from there. You'll be at the stadium in less than fifteen minutes."

"Again, thank you. Good day."

The man hurried back to his mini-van as quickly as he could while still looking dignified. It was all Tom could do to keep from laughing.

"Call me 'son' huh?"

Slinging the bag of groceries over his shoulder, Tom began walking back to the bus station. Whistling cheerfully he reflected once again that the day was never complete until you made a complete stranger uncomfortable.

Derek sat listening to the news report that was being said, his face emotionless in the terror that occured. He took a cigarrette from his pocket and took his favorite lighter, the insignia of his old gang on the side of it. He remembered that day well, but that was the past, it was of no importance to him.

He opened the lighter, flicked it on, its usual fpht making a small flame. He lit the cig and started smoking it, closing the lighter and replacing it back in his coat pocket. He exhaled the smoke making a small cloud in front of his face and rising up to the ceiling.

"They'll do anything for good publicity won't they?" He breathed in, repeating the exhaling process.

Tom walked in the door to his apartment, grabbed an apple and tossed the groceries on the table. The T.V. was on, but nobody was watching it.

"Great, I left it on. I hope Bro's not home. He'll kill me if he knows."

He strode across the room and switched it off before heading to his room. The door to Don's room was closed, meaning he was either out or asleep. Tom didn't waste any time strapping on his gun and putting on his jacket. With that he knocked on Don's door.

"Hey Don, you home? I was gonna go streetwalking tonight. You got any new info for me?"

Dogs. Rabid dogs salivating at the sight of a little girl, ignorant to the events that happen next. The dream always started that way, then something would come in right before the angry canines could inch in close enough to put teeth into the flesh of the innocent child. Just in a nick of time, a knock on the door.

"Hey Don, you home? I was gonna go streetwalking tonight. You got any new info for me?"

This time, the canines actually growled and took a leap at her. He must have been sleeping for a whole two minutes, one and a half longer than last night. Donnie stifled a yawn and opened the door, black circles and shopping bags under his eyes. He blinked a couple times.

"Yeah, there was some strange activity on Dilauna Drive by the old pizza place that got torn down. Some crazy old bum was terrified by a blinking figure that seemed to float around."

"Geez man, you sound like hell. Try to get some sleep ok? See you later then."

Dilauna Drive wasn't too far from where they lived, which was fortunate because he'd forgotten to ask Don for some more bus fare. Hopefully it would turn out to be the real thing this time. Sometimes the info that wound it's way down the grapevine to Don was little better than the scum scraped off the bottom of septic tank. More likely than not this one would turn out to be the ramblings of yet another man too stone drunk to figure out that a roof and a bath were good things.

Lance had been gliding around Alexandria when the she caught his eye in the storefront. The new reporter all ways seemed to catch his eye, she was hot. He skidded to a stop and watched the images flash on the screen. Great, he thought to himself as the images disappeared and she was talking again, looks like I better go set up a portal... He turned from the storefront and headed back home.

Only a store down, he stopped at the hot dog joint and knocked on the tray. A yell came from the back and an old acquaintance, Freddy, showed up with three dogs ladled down with the works. Lance gave him a ten, overpaying I might add, and took the dogs to a guy sitting on the curb. Wordlessly, he set a dog down next to the man and kept on his way home.

Before skating throgh the back door of the building, he looked within himself and traced the doorway the entire way around. He took a deep breath and slowly made his way up a couple flights of stairs. He pouneded his door when he reached it, screeaming in to his roomate, "Ey! Guess whose got the dogs!"

"Geez man, you sound like hell. Try to get some sleep ok? See you later then."

Donnie returned to his room, where he sat on the bed and lit a cigarette. He reached under his pillow and pulled a more than half drunken pint of Taaka Vodka, taking a swallow followed by a harsh cough.

Tom's last words sounded great, but in actuality, he knew that Donnie hadn't slept significantly for eight months. As he took a drag, he exhaled and slipped into a flashback of being asked to become a guardian in the first place. He laughed before being placed in the flashback. He looked at himself, a skinny eighteen year old kid just moving out. Skinny? Wrong. He snapped back to reality and looked at the body he lugs around these days. He's not a teen anymore.

This morning police found the bodies of five men in a townhouse in downtown Alexandria. Four of the bodies were in their beds while one was discovered in the living room. Police say that each of the bodies bore multiple stab wounds, however, only two of them showed any signs of struggle. The names of the victims have not yet been released...

"Ugh... Probably some more spirits to check out..." Ansgar thought to himself before his train of thought was derailed by a hotdog. "Food..." He thought as he took the gift and took a bite out of it. "Verfluchte Amerikaner. Can't make a proper sausage to save their lives...," The hobo complained to himself while eating the hotdog all the same. "I'll check out that building later, meanwhile," He said looking down at his meal, "I have food"

It wasn't the pizza place, but he was getting close, and this street usually had one or two homeless men hanging around. They liked to jump the buisnessmen heading for the subway.

"Ah, what luck. I see one of my brother's fine friends enjoying his evening meal."

Tom walked up to a bum sitting on the ground.

"Hi. This may sound a little weird, but I heard one of your friends saw a ghost at the old pizza place the other night and was wondering if you might be able to direct me to him."

Furrowing her eyebrows in concentration, Kate shifted the thin tool and added another. Complecated bastard. A quick twist and she was in. With fast efficancy, Kate rolled the small pack of lock-picking tools up and shoved them into the back pocket of her pants. Standing up, she withdrew her gun from her sholder holster.

A grin lighting her features, she moved silently over the carpet, her para in her hand ready, Kate approached the man standing at the cash register.

"Hands abover your head! I want you to give me all your money!"

The man sighed heavily and turned around, his eyes narrowed. "Geez Kate. You made enough noise to scare away any spook hanging around."

Kate pouted and put her gun back in it's holster. "You're no fun anymore Max." She said to her guardian as she jumped up onto the counter, she sat down and swung her legs. "You think im not sneaky enough? Maybe I should go to the industrial area and sneak around and see how long it is before I get shot. What do you rekon?"

"Kate! Don't you even think about it!" Max growled. He shook his head and returned to counting the till before the shop opened. "Why didn't you just go in spiritual form?"

Frowning at the question, it was some time before she replied. "I don't like it much." Shaking her head, Kate jumped off the counter. "Anything of intrest happening? Spirits and all that? I was thinking of popping over the the oldies place."

"You were not." Max murmured. "You were thinking of hanging around the gang areas hoping that one will piss another off and kill him. I think I would rather you go and play with old folks. Not as dangerous."

"Not as dangerous?" Kate scoffed, "the last restless old spook nearly took my eye out with a cane. Or something, I don't know what it was but an eye was nearly lost you know!"

Her guardian glanced at her and paused before closing the till and writing the amount down in a folder. "Well, there's a thought. If you did lose a limb or an eye for example. Would you grow it back?"

"Well im not sticking around to find out. I have a job to do. Give me a buzz if you hear anything I should know about." Kate waggled her cell phone before putting it back in her pocket and leaving the way she came in.

The old pub was a ghost its self. Covered in white cloth and dust, the air was stagnant the smell of wet fur and rotting meat clinging to the old walls. The lights were secured to the sides of the walls, wrought iron and old fashioned. Where the roof had leaked in rain rust ran down the fading paint.

Coby stood in the door way her small frame leant hard against the door. To any who saw her there it she would have looked the part, a battered worn girl in a shambles of a building. She wore a high lace shirt cream with pearl buttons accented by ribbon about her middle. The skirt a tawny tweed reaching down to her knees. Not the most acceptable attire for what she had just drawn herself into.

She looked across the room her eyes wide and showing fear as they always did. She was a shade, but she had never grown accustomed to facing those who had died. Their stories scared her, their rage ate at her trust for humanity. Across the dusty bar with its boarded windows a spirit sat, a glass in his hand, he’d no doubt died with it. The precious item was clutched white knuckled. He wore a uniform from an era long past, soiled and torn.

He knew she was there, yet he remained silent hunched over his empty glass.

“s…sir?” Coby’s voice was tiny above the roar of traffic outside, barely audible.

"Ey! Guess whose got the dogs!"

Derek sighed and got up, he crossed the room, cig in hand and unlocked the latches letting him in.

"I'm assuming you," he took another breath of smoke then released, "I'm thinkin' we got some trouble about."