Crimson Claws & Fangs ch.14

A week in Darkness

 

Day 1:

   Its just another day like any other as Peter lies on the bed in the dark, he has no idea how long he has been in this prison cell. He has spent every day the same way lying in the bed, using the bathroom, staring at the wall away from the clear front of the cell so as not to be reminded that he is surrounded by monsters. He fears his sanity is slipping away as he hears the morning breakfast disk arriving with his nutrient paste, which has remarkably kept him fit despite a total lack of exorcise.

 

    With a deep sigh he decided that if he wants to keep his sanity he had better get a grip and at least see what is around him. Taking the morning feeding as his opportunity he moves toward the front of his cell to see that the disks are giving the cell across from his a large blood pack. Picking up the pack from the unlit darkness barely visible thanks to his own room’s lights was a figure with a clawed pink scale covered hand.

 

 

   “Well,” says Peter through the air holes to his prison mate, “since it looks like we will be neighbors you might as why tell me why these monster bastards would lock you up vampire.”

 

   After a fast slurping sound the figure hidden in the dark displayed yellow glowing eyes and said in a female voice, “and here I thought you were a hunter.” The figure disappeared completely into the shadows of her cell with not another word. To his left Peter heard a man’s voice from what he remembered as he was brought down was a shadow gnome, “She is no mere vampire m’boy, she be an ancient vampire, she was put here by Censa her self.”

 

   “Hmmm” was all Peter could respond with as he remembered the scaly hand and glowing eyes. He receded back into his cell trying to figure out what she could be, he tried twice more through out the day to get a response from any of his neighbors asking about Censa and why any of them were there, but couldn’t get any of them to respond to him, as though they were content to wait silently in their cells for how ever long they would be there.

 

Day 2:

   Upon wakening the next day and getting his food from the opening as the disks were delivering he once more got a glimpse of the scale covered vampiress, now standing and in better view, he could see she was very human in appearance if not for her bald head, fangy face, and pink scale covered body Peter would have found her to be hot.

 

    To his surprise she spoke to him “Doh-Rong.

 

    “What?” he asks.

 

    Looking him in the eye she says, “That is what I am. A Doh-Rong. Now let’s see if you know what that is.”

 

    She sleeks back into the shadows smiling leaving Peter to ponder what she said. For the first time in a long time he had something to really think about keeping him occupied with his own memories. He remembers a few times that he had heard the word Doh-Rong from his grandfather, but nothing specific. He decides that asking her would be a waste of time, or any of his fellow prisoners figuring that as immortal monsters they probably felt they had all the time in the world and would eventually be free again.

   

 Days 3-6

    On the next day the shadow gnome decided to start talking with him, even stating that the majority of the monsters on this floor were none-social vampires, demons, and others who even free would probably spend any lengths of time, maybe even years sleeping in some dark tomb anyway. Gnomes however even Shadow Gnomes are much more social creatures like humans congregating in taverns and homes to meet.

 

    He told Peter all about all sorts of prisoners he knew about, telling Peter about Doh-Rong vampires, Kukeen vampires, & the all sorts of psychic thieves & psychotic beasts that Peter had for the most part never even heard of before. According to the Shadow Gnome this place was where the H.E.P. would put all those they considered problems, even telling Peter how he was put there himself for stealing blue prints to some golem designs labeled “alternate reality production project” or some such weird name he didn’t understand the meaning of and had been paid to get by some demon called The Queen of Thorns. Even Peter had been telling the shadow gnome about his own life, about how he planed to get revenge on a were-dire named Samantha who had killed his grandfather and father.

 

   Peter has noticed that even though she hasn’t said anything the Doh-Rong has been clearly eavesdropping on his conversations, and at the exact same time her eyes have been glowing blue instead of yellow, like she was in some kind of trance just staring at them.

 

Days 7

    After her daily trance watching Peter talking she says as he is going to bed, “Order Hunter, a few days ago you said you wanted revenge against a were-dire you called Samantha.”

 

   “yeah” he says

 

“I plan to break out tomorrow” she says, “If you want to come along say so now or else I am leaving you behind.”

 

   “what about the Shadow Gnome?” he asked, “and my fellow order members?”

 

  She smiles and her eyes start to glow blue, and moving her lips she speaks in the voice of the shadow gnome, “m’boy, there is no shadow gnome there, you have been talking to me this whole time.” And reverting to her own voice she continued, “There was one in that cell the day you arrived and I told you his life story as to why he was there, but for his transactions he was executed not two days after you arrived.”

 

   With a smile she said, “You see if it can die they’ll kill it for something like theft, imagine how long it will be before they decide to free up space and get rid of you.”

 

    “Okay” he says confused, “but what about my fellow Sacred Order members?”

 

  “Its just you and me” She says, “or else I am leaving you behind, too many escapeing and it wont be long before the H.E.P. hunts them down and I don’t plan on being caught.”

 

    Peter looks to his feet and thinks hard grumbling.

 

    “well” she says, “how badly do you want revenge?”

 

    With a new determined and stern expression and tone says, “Yes.”

 

    The next day Peter is awoken by the sound of commotion coming from someplace above.