(no subject)

[lilorphanmaggie]

The front windows had been shuddered.  Not on the outside, but on the inside, so if a person were to look at the front of the building it would appear relatively normal, blinds, curtains, nothing amiss.  When you start boarding up windows on a residential property from the outside, yet there is still activity on the premise, people start asking questions, questions no one wants to answer.

So, for all intents and purposes, it looks like a normal, two story (three counting the basement) apartment.  It’s quiet, the lawn well maintained, and sidewalk always courteously shoveled and salted.  The front door is reinforced steel and there is a video camera tucked away in a corner, to allow anyone on the inside to see who is knocking-knocking on their front door.  At least that’s how it appears.

There is a back entrance as well, though it doesn’t appear as heavily watched or fortified as the front door.  Back when the building was a legitimate apartment building there was a basement entrance, a dug down bunch of stairs that lead to a door.  It’s still there, just completely filled with trash and various construction debris.

Like always, the place is quiet.

Comments

[forever-bitter.livejournal.com]

Guy's never been one to shirk at kicking down the front door and making his presence known to all. However, he generally isn't going up against vampires. This calls for a subtle sort of entrance, which to Guy is the back door. He waits until it's bright and sunny out (vampires are supposed to be weak in sunlight, right?) to make his approach.

First off, he'll try the doorknob. Never know when people leave their doors unlocked, allowing whoever to waltz in off the street and rob them blind.

[lilorphanmaggie.livejournal.com]

Smart move, waiting for day light, vampires hate that shit. At least Black Court vampires do which is really the important point.

The door is locked, it's not heavily locked however, a simple dead bolt, and there is a window by the door complete with shadowed white curtains. If he were to put his hand through the window he would meet plywood which covers all the windows.

There is a radio playing somewhere inside.

[forever-bitter.livejournal.com]

Guy does, in fact, attempt to punch through the window, only to be met with plywood against his knuckles. He curses, licks the his wounds then, after giving them a minute or two to heal, punches again. This time, he's aiming to crack through the plywood cover and maybe see what waits just beyond the door.

[lilorphanmaggie.livejournal.com]

The second punch will crack the plywood and sent beams of light shooting into what appears to be a dirty mud room. There are two doors in this room, one right in front of the back door, a good seven feet away, and a door to the right of the back door. That's where the music is coming from.

While he can not see what is beyond either door, there is the scraping of chair against floor in the room behind the door to the right of him. Even with the music, a breaking window can be a bit noisy.

[forever-bitter.livejournal.com]

Shit. He's been heard. No, wait, he wants to be heard, he rationalizes. These fuckers ought to know he's coming. It'll give him a chance to see how he fares against the undead. Of course, it helps that he's standing in the sunlight still and makes sure to keep his shadow out of the hole he's punched for insurance.

"Knock knock," He calls in. "Housekeeping!"

[lilorphanmaggie.livejournal.com]

There is a moment of silent, two moments of silence and then footsteps, a heavy set heading toward the back door where Guy is standing, waiting. The side door opens and a man moves through, he's about six feet, five inches and in nondescript black clothes, and mildly muscled.

When he unlocks the door and opens it slowly, his face and eyes utterly and totally blank, the very definition of 'the lights are on but no one is home.' He stares outside but not at Guy, just stares. "Would you like to leave a message?" He asks. The sunlight does not appear to hurt him.

[forever-bitter.livejournal.com]

[OOC: It turns out long prose posts on my phone are damn near impossible. Sorry for the delay.]

Guy frowns and tries to peer around the man. So much for the sun trick. "Dude, aren't you going to invite me in? It's cold out here."

And before the guy can object, he adds, "It's a long message."

[lilorphanmaggie.livejournal.com]

ooc: I know those feels! Errrr sorry, wrong journal

There is no man behind the Renfield at the door, just a kitchen with an old aluminum framed kitchen table and an equally old battery powered radio. The man doesn't move and for a moment he doesn't respond either till:

"No one is allowed inside. Leave now." There is no inflection when he speaks there are some facial twitches but they seem completely involuntary.

[forever-bitter.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, no. Not going anywhere."

Guy shrugs. "So I guess you're either gonna have to let me in or come out here and drive me off yourself. What'll it be, asshole?"

[lilorphanmaggie.livejournal.com]

The Renfield doesn't look very hurt or upset over the situation, or being called an asshole. He doesn't look much of anything except empty. He has a very set series of instructions he is supposed to obey, keeping people out is one of them, not leaving is also apart of his instructions.

"Neither one. Go away." He takes a step back and starts to shut the door on Guy.

[forever-bitter.livejournal.com]

The werewolf grabs the door and pulls it back with somewhat enhanced strength. "I told you, I'm not going anywhere."

He punctuates this by using his shoulder to shove against the Renfield. It won't win him any fights, but it should allow him enough access to enter the building. What happens next remains to be seen.

[lilorphanmaggie.livejournal.com]

Not surprisingly, the Renfield wasn't expecting that response, and for all intents and purposes Guy could pretty much have done anything as long as he didn't pass the threshold. All that changes when he shoves past the mindless drone and into the dwelling.

Then shit gets real.

Renfield just flips the fuck out. He has no independent thought, his only commands involve protecting the house and the treasures it hold. He let's out a loud, mad roar and slams the door shut before slamming his fist into the retreating figure of Guy.

[forever-bitter.livejournal.com]

Guy yelps and flips around. At least this is something of a reaction, albeit it not one he likes. Then again, he's here to rob the place, so he wasn't exactly expecting a warm welcome.

"Son of a bitch."

Right, time to return with a punch of his own aimed at the other man's jaw. "Let's see how you like that!"

[lilorphanmaggie.livejournal.com]

Renfield staggers back, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, it barely phases him. While this Renfield isn't so old that he is completely rabid, he is still tough as fuck and completely oblivious to the idea of pain. Guy is going to have to bring his A game when it comes to these bad boys.

Renfield staggers forward and takes another swing at Guy, one right hook and then a left, he isn't skilled in fighting, he is just looking to inflict as much pain as possible on the intruder.

[forever-bitter.livejournal.com]

Well. This is unfortunate. The first punch connects, but Guy ducks down before another can. His face stings, but it doesn't stop him from kicking out in a crouch and attempting to bring the Renfield to the floor.

If the attack proves successful, he'll hop on top and attempt to choke the vampire out. Wishful thinking, but worth a shot, he figures.

[lilorphanmaggie.livejournal.com]

To be clear, a Renfield is not a vampire it is a thralled human, which means that a Black Court vampire has taken over it's mind. Not unlike the Renfield in the book. It is human, but a rabid, intense, strong, human who's only drive and goal is whatever the vampire tells it to do.

There is no coming back from being thralled by a Black Court vampire, there is no healing, your mind is no longer your own, and you will become more and more deranged until someone puts you out of your misery.

The Renfield thrashes under Guy, gasping for breath, gagging and gurgling as his arms flail about and his hands smash into Guy's face and head as his lips begin to turn blue. The Renfield can be choked out, but it will take time. However it only takes one brute force blow to crush a windpipe.

[forever-bitter.livejournal.com]

Guy grunts. Those hands in his face? Not exactly helpful. That the lips are turning blue is encouraging, but it's not going nearly fast enough. He leans in hard on his elbow, trying to use it as a rounded point to cut off more of the windpipe, though it's hard with the struggling.

"Just stay down already!"

[lilorphanmaggie.livejournal.com]

A few more moments of struggle and the Renfield goes limp, hands falling away to the floor and his eyes closing. The question becomes, how long does a choked out Renfield stay down for? At the current moment he is no longer a threat, but still under Guy.

[forever-bitter.livejournal.com]

Okay, good. That's one down. And no one else seems to have been alerted- even better. Guy rises and looks around the area, in the off chance something of value might be lurking in the entrance way. Maybe he can swipe an expensive piece of art or some car keys and score big within the first ten feet of the door.

It doesn't look promising.

[lilorphanmaggie.livejournal.com]

In the mud room where he took the guy down, there are a few pairs of shoes, two ratty hanging coats and a closed door in front of him. To the right is the kitchen with the rickety table and battery powered radio that is currently playing the 1986, Peter Gabriel hit, "In Your Eyes."

There are dishes in the sink, a dying fern on the window sill to a boarded up window.

Unless he's looking for hepatitis it doesn't appear to be around here.

[forever-bitter.livejournal.com]

"Shit."

Let's see what's behind door number one. Guy moves to the closed door and throws it open, fully expecting to be disappointed by a pantry or broom closet. Then again, maybe these folks keep their drugs in the broom closet...

[lilorphanmaggie.livejournal.com]

Behind door number one it is...

An empty, dark walled off stairwell leading down to another door, presumably what once was the basement apartment. The stairs look well traveled but the place smells a bit dusty, dank, and like earth and cold.

No noises come from the stairwell or from behind the door at the foot of the stairs.

[forever-bitter.livejournal.com]

How ominous. Guy doesn't like the smell, but the basement is as good a place as any to poke around. He hops down the stairs and tries the door. Hopefully it isn't locked so he doesn't have to make quite as much noise entering this area.

[lilorphanmaggie.livejournal.com]

The bottom door is not unlocked, and gives way to a partially furnished basement apartment, the windows completely boarded up and sealed shut. It is dark, suuuuper dark with no external light, it would be hard for a human to see around in.

For a werewolf he might be able to shapes, outlines of two couches, a chair, vague, shapeless piles on the floor. The place smells even more of dirt and damp, and, a new smell, death, decay - stale blood.

Side note: there is electricity in the house, so there's probably a light switch around, somewhere in the dark. Unless he brought his own light source.

[forever-bitter.livejournal.com]

Ugh. Not a healthy smell. Guy wonders if maybe he should have waited a few minutes and allowed the bruising from his first fight to go down, but ah, no. Time is not necessarily on his side. Right.

Keeping his senses on edge, he gropes along the wall for a light switch. Might as well see what he's up against here.