caughtinanetwork | [Video/Action] First Tower Murder

[Every single night, Johnny would patrol the bubble and, specifically, check on his friends to make sure they were all safe. Sometimes he wouldn't go by the people he knew could take care of themselves if he were pressed for time, but there was one house he always checked on.

Last night, when Jacob's Cabin was dark, he didn't think much of it. There was nothing that seemed amiss and the man often wandered around, it seemed, so Johnny didn't even think twice about it.

It was the scent of blood that drew Johnny from his walk to his tavern. It was faint, at first, but as he walked it grew stronger...and more familiar. By the time he got to the opening of the alleyway, the vampire was a blur on the street. However, he stopped cold when he got to the body. His knees gave out beside the man and trembling hands reached out to touch the wounds, not caring about the blood that would get on him.

How? How had this happened? When? Who? Last night when Johnny thought everything was right with the world and didn't question Jacob's absence? There was nothing. The blood was stale, that gentle heart long since stilled, and the only scent in the alleyway was bleach...even that scent he'd come to love and associate with his father-figure had left the cold body.

Cold flooded him even as hot tears prickled his eyes and ran down his cheeks. The vampire took the man into his arms, not noticing the black-bordered card that slipped from the folds of the sheet Jacob's mutilated corpse was wrapped in.

Quietly, he reached for his SFC and turned it on, not bothering to hide his tears even as he let the venom and steel coat his voice.

When the video turned on, Johnny's murderous glare and Jacob's peaceful face could be seen. Just at the edge, the jagged and bloodied flesh of a slit throat was the only indication the peace was not caused by sleep.]

To those it may concern:

The man known as Jacob is dead.

[...]

To whoever did this....?

Step forward now and I'll attempt to not rip your throat out with my teeth before you've had a chance to explain why you would end this man's life.

And then, afterwards, I will make it quick.

[His golden eyes flash dangerously.]

If you don't step forward within the hour, I will find you, and the one thing I can promise is that your death will be agonizing and slow.

[More tears escape his eyes as his rage begins to give way to grief and he cuts off the video.

The make-shift wall he'd built from rage and pain broke and grief flooded him, causing him to soak the once warm and supportive shoulder he would lean against. Brokenly, the vampire sobbed and cried out, the pain in his heart too much.

He knew, he knew this wasn't permanent. Jacob would be back....but that didn't matter. It didn't change the fact Johnny had failed the one person who mattered more than anything ever. He had failed his one Saving Grace.]

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[Murder was not a kind, pleasant thing for the General to have to see. He would even admit that it still unnerved him to this day, to see one's life taken so brutally. But he's able to push this aside to address the situation at hand, swallowing hard before he's finally able to respond.]

...are there any specific methods to the murder itself? They must have left some kind of a trail.

[The tears have stopped and the blood is off of him when he answers, but his voice is lifeless and bland.]

Apparently, a sharp knife was used on his throat and torso...after he got knocked out with some sort of chemical.

There was a card next to him.

How can you tell? What kind of chemical was used? What does the card say?

There's no sign of a struggle. Otoha thinks it's cause they used something on him...I dunno, like chloroform or bromine or...something. I'm not good with chemicals.

The card was a tarot card. It said: '16 The Tower' on it.

[He holds up the card which he's kept near him so Alister can see it.]

Drugged before he was murdered... I can't tell if that's a blessing, or worse. How long will it be before he returns?

[Though the Lombax does take the card into account. He was far from one of those spiritual-reader-types, though he bad basic knowledge of what a Tarot card was. Whatever happened, this was intentional, and not a curse of the city's.

He sighs.]

We can't go one Zoni-damned week without something happening, can we?

Five days from whenever he was killed.

...I just hope he won't remember any pain...

[He shakes his head. He didn't really know what to say to that. He liked this place, he called it home and felt it was safe.....but then this happened.]

I just don't know why anyone would kill him.

He's only ever kind.

...the universe is a cruel place. You can't expect the gifted to receive gifts in turn. It just doesn't work that way.

The only solace we can find in this? He isn't gone for good. And maybe we can prevent it from happening again.

[He nods. He could agree with that first part. You didn't live to be 700 years old without seeing cruelty.

The second part makes his anger resurface and his eyes flash again and his tone grows steely.]

It won't happen again. I won't let it.

You sound resolved. Are you certain you're able to handle the situation?

I would do anything to protect him.

I felt that way before, but I'm only more certain of it now.

I'll double...triple my patrols of him and his place if I have to.

Right answer. We're not about to allow some murderer on the streets, and we're damn well not about to lat them claim another victim.

Do you know anything about that card? Why would that have been planted there?

[You're the only one who understands, Alister.]

I'm not good with Tarots, I never really put much stock in them myself.

I used to know someone who was though, and all I can remember is that it's part of the major arcana and that it's not a good card to have drawn for you. Maybe it's a warning...or a calling card...or...I don't know.

A warning... Or a challenge.

Then this... whatever it is, isn't stopping anytime soon. Which means we'll need to get to him first. Are you aware of anyone in the city who would be this cryptic?

[That actually makes him laugh, though it's still sad.]

Only Jacob himself~

I remember telling you this place was safe....I honestly believed that before today.

...no world is truly safe, my friend. Not while intelligent life inhabits it.

Or, unintelligent, as the case may be. You need to always be on your guard, if you're going to thrive.

True....I guess I've softened up since arriving here. There used to be a time when I thrived in paranoia and the assumption death was around the corner.

Perhaps that is a better mindset, I don't know.

But, you're right, there's always going to be violence, it's a fact of life, really. There's no point in pretending otherwise.

Death can change a person's perception on things, temporary or no. But it's not something you need to allow to get to you, do you understand? Do you think your friend would want you to behave in this manner? Allowing the city to crumble around you, being too afraid to do anything about it?

What about locking yourself away for the rest of your existence, worrying that you're not doing enough?

[Video/Action] First Tower Murder

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