What's Lurking In Shadows (open)

[jade]

A new city, a fresh start. Jadence hoped that New Orleans would be better than the last city, which was boring. She liked peace and quiet, but there was nothing interesting happening there and it seemed to have no life. The tigress wasn’t talking about any life as in vampires either. She loved being surrounded by culture and meeting interesting people that she always seemed to stumble upon at parks or in bookstores. It just was dull…on top of that; there were no other tigers in the city. For that matter, there weren’t many shifters period. The city kind of left her paranoid every time she stepped out of her studio apartment. All she needed was a ghost to pop out of the darkness and yell ‘boo!,’ to scare the crap out of her. That was the last thing she needed. Living in New Orleans was going so far so good. She managed to land a job at a book store and a nice loft to live in. The tigress had a lot to explore, a lot to see, and a lot to dream about.

The sun was slowly descending as Jade walked around the French Quarter with a sketch book and graphite pencil in hand. Her hair was pulled back into a French braid which should the red, orange, and black streaks of her hair. A tight forest green sweater tunic with a black belt around the waist and black skinny legged jeans. Jadence wore black and green shoes for walking while still managing to be sexy. The tigress sported a medium sized black book bag with goodies and other items in it. She had it set in her mind that she was out to explore every corner of the large city. Jadence felt like a little kid walking in an amusement park for the first time. With a smirk on her face and ear buds in her ears, she found herself stopping at many places to stop and sketch from statuses, to people who she had asked permission to draw, and even plants. All had come to an end when she stopped at Saint Louis Cathedral.

Her eyes glistened as she stopped in her tracks. The cathedral was gorgeous! Jade felt like she had hit the jackpot of old structure well preserved. A smile widened on her lips as she walked up the steps and opened the door to the large building. The door creaked, showing its true age as she glanced around curiously. Jadence adored well preserved buildings because it felt like she was taking a time machine to the past. She glanced around eagerly itching to sketch something within the dim lit room. It had such beauty that there were no other words to describe it. Opening up her sketch book to a clean page, she stared at the flickering flames and started to draw the candles. Suddenly, an odd chill came over her. Shields tightened and she knew she wasn’t alone.

[maverick]

[STYLE=font-family:arial; font-size:32px; width:400px; font-weight:bolder; text-shadow:2px -2px 4px #66aabb; letter-spacing:-3px; line-height:20px; text-align:left; color:#D6002B; padding-left:20px]I'm not sick but I'm not well[/style][STYLE=background-color:#282828; width:380px; font-family:ms gothic; font-size:12px; text-transform:uppercase; color:#66aabb; padding-left:20px; text-align:left; padding-top:5px;]hear the voices in my head..[/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][STYLE=float:right; border-right:10px solid #282828; border-left:10px solid #66aabb; border-bottom:10px solid #66aabb; border-top:#282828; background-color:#282828; width:100px; height:100px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; padding:10px][/style][atrb=style, width:400px; background-color:#282828; padding:10px, bTable] [STYLE=padding:10px; background-color:#eeeeee; font-size:10px; line-height:10px; text-align:justify; border:10px solid #66aabb]He moved with the stealth that only those highly trained could move with. Unless of course they were Vampires and lycanthropes. Well, then they could just by shear animalistic grace. But he didn't have that luxury. He was human after all. A highly trained human. The 75th Ranger Regiment was not made up of sissies, they were highly qualified men who were vigorously trained and knew what they were doing. Decked out in his Army greens he moved through the area in a way only the vampire's, shifters, or specially trained could. He was on an OPS. He'd just moved to this City, he had to do all the background work he could. He never liked getting into anything without knowing what was what. There was no sound coming from the man. Nothing at all, even his breathing was regulated. You be amazed what the enemy could hear in times like this. Really amazed. So Rangers were trained to regulate that, can't let the enemy hear you. It's of course why they were in shape. He looked from right to left, ducked and went into a roll coming out to land on one knee. Every sense was alert. Every inch of him coiled and ready. Now anyone around would know that there was no enemy, that this was a cathedral, a place of Sanctuary. Tell that to the soldier who had just escaped a Military Mental Facility. Yeah, wouldn't work. So here he was thinking he had to scope this place out. Thinking he had to go over every inch of this place until he had seen every nook and cranny. A sane person would have walked around normally, Murphy on the other hand felt that there was a reason he had to don his military greens again. He froze, every inch of him becoming still as a statue. There was someone here. Lifting his binoculars and peering through them he found the source, a woman. Shit, shit, shit, double shit. The last thing he needed was a civilian hurt. He moved in that silent way that only a former Spec OPS soldier could and positioned himself. She paused, seemed to realize that something didn't feel right. That she was being watched. What he didn't know was that she was a lycanthrope. But he wasn't here to hurt her. He moved silently and swiftly a hand covering her mouth as he moved her out of the way of the door. Ssshhh it's okay. I'm going to remove my hand. And he did. He moved so that camo painted face was looking at her. I need you to duck down, hide. Paranoid eyes scanned the area. Something wasn't right. Nothing was right. Shit shit shit. He looked back to her. Please. He placed a finger over his lips, took hold of his weapon and disappeared out of site hoping she would do as he said. He moved with his gun out in front of him point in each direction he faced. There was no sound from him, he moved as a ghost through the cathedral.[/style][STYLE=background-color:#282828; font-family:ms gothic; font-size:12px; text-transform:uppercase; color:#66aabb; text-align:center; padding-top:10px;]Outfit, 514 words with Jade, template by oxymoron of btn[/style]

[jade]

Jadence could feel her heartbeat quicken as it pounded in her chest. She must have smelt of fear which vampires and shifters considered that prey and she was not that. She could feel fear start to creep up her body as she froze. Turning invisible would save her from whatever was lurking in the cathedral with her. It would save her life, even if it was for one day. As soon as she thought her invisibility was going to kick in, she smelt the scent of human and then a hand was around her mouth. The tigress had every urge to chomp down on the hand and free herself from danger. A growl managed to pass through her tightly sealed lips as she fought against the body that was behind her. Only thing that was on her mind was escaping even though the unknown man was moving her out of the way of something. What was going on? He said something to her, but it didn’t register at first. Adrenaline was pumping hard through her and animal instincts were on the rise. Finally, she stopped struggling knowing that was the only way the man would move his hand.

As he moved his hand and faced her, Jade’s eyes were a blazing red and orange. She could see his face clearly in the dim room. A frown formed on her face as she didn’t understand what was going on or why he had snuck up behind her. ”Wha…?,” she managed to ask as he spoke what he needed her to do. Jade did not listen, instead she stood there staring at him until he said please. ”Only because you said please,” she said in a childish tone. She did not know what was going on, but she demanded to know and why was this guy telling her to hide? He placed his finger to his lips, telling her to be quiet silently. However, Jade wanted to do the opposite. She didn’t know this guy and was crazy enough to listen to him. Maybe she had gone mad.

Her body clasped on itself as she moved closer to the floor. Walking quickly to a booth she could hide behind, she peaked out and watched what the man was doing. Her eyes widened once she saw the large gun he held. Was she or he about to get killed? Panic started to rise in her again and this time, her body started to vanish from the ground up. The only thing that was still visible was her eyes, watching curiously behind the booth.

[maverick]

[STYLE=font-family:arial; font-size:32px; width:400px; font-weight:bolder; text-shadow:2px -2px 4px #66aabb; letter-spacing:-3px; line-height:20px; text-align:left; color:#D6002B; padding-left:20px]I'm not sick but I'm not well[/style][STYLE=background-color:#282828; width:380px; font-family:ms gothic; font-size:12px; text-transform:uppercase; color:#66aabb; padding-left:20px; text-align:left; padding-top:5px;]hear the voices in my head..[/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][STYLE=float:right; border-right:10px solid #282828; border-left:10px solid #66aabb; border-bottom:10px solid #66aabb; border-top:#282828; background-color:#282828; width:100px; height:100px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; padding:10px][/style][atrb=style, width:400px; background-color:#282828; padding:10px, bTable] [STYLE=padding:10px; background-color:#eeeeee; font-size:10px; line-height:10px; text-align:justify; border:10px solid #66aabb]Those eyes there was something about them. Something... Get a hold of yourself Officer. You have a job to do. Right yes. He rushed off after he was sure she had hid. His movements were slow and precise. He paused at the wall and spoke ever so quietly in to the cb. Maverick to Eagle, Just up ahead. Need cover over and out. The cb was on, but there was no one on the channel. Just Murph, but then, right now, he didn't know that. Or maybe he did. With Murphy it was hard to tell. He kept seeing it coming up from the ground. A shiver threatened to go down his spine but he wouldn't let it. Seeing the animator doing their job and raising the zombie the other night set him on a terrible flashback This wasn't some made up mission, it was real, at least it had been once. Only that time, he was on another continent wearing desert camo, not jungle greens. That time the zombies had been controlled by someone who thought to use them as weapons. He and his team had been called in to take care of them and their handler. They had done the job well as Rangers always had but it left a mark on all of them. It was bad enough Murph had that odd fear of Clown Zombies holding flowers that he didn't really like to talk about. Flashbacks like his weren't uncommon among soldiers. Some got past them better than others and some like Murph who's minds weren't right to begin with, embelished them, made them real to the point of well, donning their camo and going after zombies at Cathedrals. This being the place he saw it, that was why he'd come. A part of him knew the difference, knew that the woman with those eyes was not a part of the flashback but Murph being the way he was couldn't force himself back. Had to go with it. He ducked and rolled around a corner. Movement sparked his eyes but it wasn't what he thought. Places like this had shadows and even some you could say had ghost or remnants there of. So with shadows playing on the walls Murph went after them going deeper and deeper into the cathedral shadows moved here and there and in the small corridoor he fired. Running back the way he came he spoke into the cb those same words he had years back. "Maverick to eagle we're surrounded over. I repeat, we're surrounded. over and out." He running full speed looking behind all the pews. Where was she. Dammit he lost her. He didn't need to lose a civilian. Panic entered his eyes. He'd never lost a civilian, never failed a mission. Never... He collapsed where he should shoulders heaving as he cried. A soldier never cried. He smacked a fist to his head. A soldier never.... The flashback was over. He knew where he was. Knew that he had been safe all along. Tears caused pale streaks of skin to show through the camo pain on his face. PTSD was a soldier's worst enemy.[/style][STYLE=background-color:#282828; font-family:ms gothic; font-size:12px; text-transform:uppercase; color:#66aabb; text-align:center; padding-top:10px;]Outfit, 526 words with Jade, template by oxymoron of btn[/style]

[jade]

She looked left then right. There was nothing visible to her knowledge, but she could feel something within the cathedral. What she felt some something unsettling and twisted her stomach into pretzels. Fear still moved through her like a great wave that couldn’t be stopped as it crashed into the shore. The tigress felt nauseated as her emotions started to become overwhelming. She swallowed hard as she watched the man who instructed her to hide. For the sake of another’s life, Jade knew she had to be strong even though she could smell his fear like cheap cologne. The scent was driving her wild, but Jadence had more control over herself to let something so little take control over her. There was more important things in the world then the smell of pray of a person that shouldn’t become a meal.

Her ears perked as if her feline ears had replaced her human ones, but no one could be able to see. She looked at the man as she noticed the slightest movement as if someone on the radio. Jadence strained her ears trying to hear what the man was hearing, but she failed. Who was this guy? The tigress’s eyes widened as she shifted to the other side of the booth, watching the man closely as he ducked and rolled. Jadence felt as if she was watching a movie, but had front row seats. Sadly, she had to be a part of the nightmare. She saw something that caught his eye as she looked left and then right again, trying to figure out if she could see it also. She officially declared that she was being told to hide by a loony. Something the tigress thought she was crazy, but the man had topped it.

Quickly, she felt something change in the air as she tilted her head; eyes looked like they were sideways. She heard sobs as she stared at the man seemed like dead weight unto himself and soon she found him on the floor. What had just happened?! Jadence panicked not sure why he was crying. She looked around with sad eyes before speaking. ”Don’t cry!,” she said loudly, which echoed through the cathedral. If there was something really there, the tigress led the monsters to them. It also suddenly it her that she was only two glowing eyes. She probably looked like a ghost, which was the last thing she wanted to be described as. Trying to gain control of her emotions, Jade managed to calm herself down enough for her body to be solid. Her body felt heavy and slightly weak. She would need to eat soon, but first thing she needed to worry about was the man.

A pout formed on her face as she stood up and walked towards the sobbing male. She carefully placed her hands on his shoulders which slid into an embrace. “I don’t know what had happened or what was happening, but everything will be okay. I just hope I didn’t just attract danger to us,” she said softly, trying to comfort the man while looking around, slightly paranoid that some demon would jump out and kill them.