Rebel with a Cause - Anarchs

[Keira Kelly]

Marni didn't even really hear the chatter going on about what the coterie had found in the place and she had barely taken in the information about vampiric corpses and how they aged after death. While that much was indeed interesting to her, she had something far more weighty on her mind. Far, far more. And while she had been able to put off thinking about it... somewhat, up until now, now... she was standing at the cusp of it with no choice but to go forward. To finally cut off ties.... Her head turned towards the hall that led to her old cell, staring off in that direction in a state of overwhelming dread and near panic. She didn't want to go back there, she didn't want to do this...

She started suddenly, jumping and flinching, when Vanessa began to grab Marni's weaponry, collecting it. She turned back to the Brujah with wide eyes, not objecting to losing the guns but not helping Vanessa to take them either, just standing there numbly. "I... I don't want to do this.." she began but Vanessa quickly stopped her, reminding her that giving closure to her loved ones was important. She turned her face away, nodding finally, numbly, agreeing to go through with it, feeling what she knew were blood-red tears going down her face. She sighed heavily as Vanessa patted her shoulder in sympathy, trying to reassure her but Marni just felt dead inside at that moment.

Her eyes jumped up to meet Van's at the suggestion of a stake as Marni drew back half a step."No!" she nearly shouted. "No stake. They aren't the only ones who need closure..." she objected. Chances were that her family would come during the day, when she had no choice but to sleep, appearing for all intents and purposes as a corpse during this time, but she was desperate not to miss a chance that they came while she was conscious, even if playing dead. She yearned to be able to see them, to be close to them once more. She also didn't want them to see her with a stake in her chest. Even if covered with a sheet in the morgue, a stake would be hard to hide. Best to let them think she died more peacefully than by being impaled through the chest.

She let Vanessa finally lead her out of the main room and down the hallway to where the punishment cells were. She followed as if she were being led to her own execution. She was, in a way. This would be the formal end of everything, of her life.. her former life. All too soon, they stopped. Marni put a hand out to the white-painted cinderblock wall, staring in at the little room that she had become so familiar with. The cement floor inside was still stained dark brown, almost black in places, with dried blood, the blood of prisoners who had been fed to 'the beast'. To Marni. She felt a shudder go through her. She wanted more than anything just to run at that moment, but one look in Van's direction told her that she wouldn't get far. They would stop her, for her own good they'd say... and probably stake her and leave her here to conclude the plan. She couldn't run.

She couldn't run but she couldn't proceed either. She stood, staring in, her mind in a complete state of panic and numbness. Finally, a hand on her back urged her in, Vanessa's voice trying to comfort her, to say it would be all right. Marni took wooden steps into the cell at the urging, heading straight for the cot. She sat down on the edge of it, her mind instantly going back to the horrible months she had spent in this room at the feel of it. She looked up at Vanessa, her eyes almost pleading to not do this but the words that came out were the opposite. "Thank you for helping me." came her thin voice, heavy with resignation now, though also with an odd finality to it.

Steeling herself, she lay down on the cot, closing her eyes, wishing she could just die here and now... so she didn't have to go through what would come next. But she didn't and wasn't going to, she knew. No, instead, she would likely live forever now, live forever without the people who had been her life all because of the selfish desires of Tobias.... Eventually she heard Vanessa leave, knowing it wouldn't be long then before the medics and coroner, all under Kindred control apparently, came to see to Marni..... and true to that, it wasn't more than five or ten minutes, but it had seemed like an eternity, before she heard voices approaching.

"What the hell happened here?" came one.

"No questions about that back there, remember?" came another.

"Not what I meant." replied the first. "Here here. These are like bloody prison cells! What kind of church keeps prison cells? And.. oh, god, this is the one." it added, stopping so close by that Marni knew it was at the doorway to her cell. "Look at the floor in here!"

"Oh wow. That's definitely from more than one person.... It's old blood though... In the bed there, there she is, that's where they said she'd be." the second one answered.

"Can she hear us?" the first one asked.

Marni kept quiet, still through it all. She had to play dead, just in case anyone not in on the plot was around. And it was good that she did when a third voice joined in, more gruff, sounding like nothing so much as a cop.

"You two shouldn't have wandered away before the scene was totally cleared. We haven't checked these hallways yet." it admonished.

"We found a body." came the second voice as it rushed closer, much closer.

Marni felt hands on her now, felt them pound into her chest painfully, pushing in what must have been a show of doing chest compressions. After only a few though they stopped and the gloved hands went to the side of her neck before falling away slowly.

"She's gone..." the voice said reluctantly. "She's cold already. No lividity visible yet but... no, she's gone. Need to get a stretcher and a body bag in here. Can you go and grab the coroner? This one is a priority."

The one that sounded like a cop came closer. "In a minute. I need to take some prints first, see if we can get any identification."

Marni felt one of her hands being lifted, her fingers being pressed one by one on a flat, cold screen. Technology. What would have taken paper and messy ink to get, now all it needed was her fingers to be pressed to the screen of a smart phone with the right app to grab her prints. Not that these would help though. Marni had no prints on record. It wouldn't take them long going through a list of missing people in the area though to find out who she was, she knew. After her hand was released she heard the heavy police shoes walk out of the room. One of the other two voices came closer to her, right beside the cot.

"Don't know if you can hear me but don't worry. We'll get you to the morgue before the sun comes up. Just keep playing it like this..." it said.

Soon after, there was the rattle of some sort of stretcher echoing down the halls and when it arrived, someone came into the room followed by the sounds of something like plastic cloth being put down on the floor nearby. Arms grabbed Marni under the shoulders, and someone else grabbed her legs, easily her gently off the cot. She let her own arms and head just hang lifelessly. She was put down slowly on the ground. She could feel the material that wasn't cement under her and realized that it must have been... a body bag. An assumption that was confirmed when she felt it being zipped up around her, finally covering over her face. Her eyes snapped open, taking in only complete darkness. It was terrifying being in the bag. She felt like there was no air.. until she reminded herself that she didn't need air anymore.

She could feel more tears rolling down her face as she was wheeled on the stretcher through the building and out into the night. Some faint light did make it through the bag she was encased in when passing through areas that were better lit, but it was still terrifying. The ride to the hospital morgue was.. quiet. Quiet and more lonely than she had ever been in her life. Eventually though the vehicle came to a stop, the doors were opened and she was wheeled inside another building, the hospital she supposed. After an elevator ride down to the basement of the hospital and a trip through some hallways and rooms, the stretcher came to a stop.

The bag she was in was lifted at the head and foot of it, and she was placed on a high, hard surface. After a few minutes, the bag zipper was pulled down, letting in the light again. She heard more voices, new ones now as she began to feel the pull of sleep, knowing that morning was getting closer.

"Such a young one, a pretty one... I hate seeing them like this." came one voice.

There was a pause before another one answered. "Yeah, they shouldn't have to die this young.. but it happens."

"My shift's over in fifteen but... do you want me to stay and help with the autopsy?" the first asked, sounding genuinely sympathetic. "I'd hate for the family not to have answers. Do we have a family on this one? Someone said something about this one having been a missing person case?"

"Yeah, her ID came in just before she did. The detectives are notifying the family soon. And no autopsy on this one." the second answered.

"Wait, what? What do you mean no autopsy. Missing persons case, young and probably had been healthy... We have to do an autopsy for the police records."

"Not this time. Go home, get some sleep." came the reply, adamant and strong, as Marni fought to hold on onto consciousness.

She couldn't anymore though as she was drawn into the death-like sleep of the Kindred and blackness.

---------------

Marni awoke suddenly, completely conscious now. The room she was in seemed to be some sort of cold room, the lights were low, just enough to see by, and she lay on a metal surface. She realized quickly that all she had on was a white sheet covering her. She sat up quickly, holding the sheet to her chest as she looked around. There were other covered corpses on metal tables around. Pulling the sheet tighter around herself, she slipped off the table, barely feeling the cold of the tiled floor. Her body was just as cold as the room and tiles now. She knew that once putting her bare feet on ceramic tiles this cold would have hurt with the bite of the cold but she barely even felt it now. The only way she knew it was cold was that it didn't give off any warmth to her undead body.

Spotting bags on a lower tray beneath other tables, Marni knelt down to look. Sure enough, there was a bag beneath hers filled with her belongings and clothing. Quickly she pulled it up onto the table and began pulling out her clothes, getting dressed, mortified at the thought that someone had stripped her, as they had all the other bodies here in the morgue. It might have just been a job to someone but... well, she was glad she hadn't been awake for that part of it. She'd have died of embarrassment.

Finally dressed, she left the sheet in a pile on the table and headed for the door, slowly and cautiously pulling it open. A quick glance outside showed only another empty room, though it too contained three tables, ones that looked like they were meant for autopsy. Marni put a hand to the top of her chest, feeling her collarbone which wasn't covered by her shirt, searching for any hints of incisions. She didn't find anything though being Kindred now, she wasn't sure if she would have.... but then again, someone here had to be working for Vanessa's people because nothing would bring more proof in the supernatural than a dead body that instantly healed up after being cut open... Marni began to creep through the deadly quiet morgue, making it through the autopsy room but a voice called out when she reached the hallway beyond.

"Hey! You're awake!" came the voice she remembered from before her sleep, the one that had said no autopsy. It belonged to a rather thin man with a small moustache and dark hair with thick glasses. He pointed a finger at her. "They said you need to wait here if you wake up. They will come and pick you up." he explained.

Marni made no move to go towards him. "Did.... did anyone come to see me?" she asked hesitantly.

The man's mouth pursed unhappily and then he sighed and nodded. "Two visitations. Parents confirmed identity... and then a young man and woman came by as well." he answered, looking at a sheet on his clipboard.

Marni frowned. Young man AND woman? Without warning, she lunged towards him, grabbed the sheet and then jumped into a sprint down the hallway, heading for the nearest door. She could hear the man, the pathologist, behind her, yelling at her to come back, that she was supposed to wait. It didn't matter. He couldn't catch her even though he tried. When she made it to an elevator and turned to press a button for the ground floor, she could see him in the far distance as the doors closed.

On the ground floor, she quickly found the first exit and headed out into the early night. The sky still contained just a hint of colour in the west, telling her she had awakened early. She still had time to get out of here before Vanessa showed up. She would go back to Vanessa and the others after but... she just had to SEE.... She glanced at the piece of paper she had taken, pleased to see that it not only contained the names of the people who had visited her, but addresses too. Getting a lay of the land, where she was, by the street names, Marni took off at a jog, glad for one thing at being Kindred now: she could keep this pace almost indefinitely without tiring.

It took some time but eventually she ended up at the address listed for Craig, her boyfriend. She glanced down again at the page to confirm it, her eyes once more going to the other name listed along beside his, a woman's name was unfamiliar to her, a name that had a police rank beside it. And why... why was there no extra address listed.... Marni now stood in front of the house and as she approached through the darkness, she could see a rather large window at the front of it. She could just see inside, see the top half of two figures in the lit interior. As she moved closer, one she easily recognized as Craig. The other.. was a woman. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she had the presence of a cop but she wore normal relaxed clothing.

It appeared they were sitting on a couch and Marni could see a tv set nearby but neither of the people within were watching it. Craig was clearly crying, distressed and the woman.. the woman was looking like she was trying to console him. She sincerely looked like she wanted nothing more than to help console and support him. Any feelings of jealousy was instantly suppressed at the realization of what was going on. He had moved on with his life in the seven months that Marni had been gone. She supposed that she could.. maybe understand that.

He had moved on but he hadn't stopped loving Marni. She was dead though, as far as he knew. And today he had been given that undeniable confirmation. And it had brought up that grief once more. Marni choked back her own tears at that, at understanding what it must be like from his side. She was suddenly just glad that he had someone there, someone... alive, that could support him and help him heal now. She longed to be the one in there, with him... but... she couldn't. Life had moved on for everyone else while she had been turned into a monster and sat in that cell in that cult's church for all those months. Life had moved on.

Marni turned her back on the scene, moving further from the house, towards a large tree near the front of the lawn. Suddenly, she slammed a fist against the tree, throwing all her hurt, anger and sadness into it. Tree bark crumbled to the ground and she heard a bone break in her hand but just stared at it numbly. The flesh was torn up a bit, some bone showing through the damage but it wasn't bleeding. She had learned vampiric bodies didn't really actively bleed unless the Kindred willed that blood out, at least in the extremities. Looking at the damage she had caused herself, not even really feeling the pain of it through the emotional pain, she willed the blood there... but not to flow. She watched as the blood began to repair the damage, mending the bone and flesh until any evidence of injury had vanished.

With resignation, she sat down heavily, her back against the tree, hidden from view of the house now. She sat, arms around her knees in front of her, waiting for what, she didn't know. Life had moved on without her. She had to move on now too, she realized. There was no going back.

( Probably be good to have Vanessa come and pick her up. She could get a copy of the addresses of the parents and Craig at the morgue so it shouldn't be too hard to find her. )

[rivaan]

The night had passed on without much of things happening... at least on the surface that was. By the time Marni was headed for the morgue and the coterie scattered to return to their havens, there was a storm brewing just under the surface and the crew knew it. Ditko would have heard of the attack, so would have the sabbat. Still on the surface the stalemate continued and the city was still in a weird calm despite the news on the tv showing an incident at the church that revealed the monstrous events that have transpired in the church for a while now.

Vanessa was rather pleased, the Baron worked fast after all. To each their place by skill and duty. She repeated in her mind as she rested in her bed for the day and when the darkness returned on later, she was ready for the new night. Having a quick blood drink first and then heading over to pick up Marni, but to her surprise, the toreador wasn't there. Well if she was to be honest, she actually expected it, especially after she heard what the woman had also heard from the person in the morgue. She gave them a word of thanks and ensurance they did the right thing and etc, the works before heading over to search for Marni.

Vanessa first drove to the house of Marni's parents and after confirming she wasn't in the vicinity she confirmed the only other alternative... The boyfriend. With a calm smile, she slowly drove over.

Arriving not too long after, she parked the car nearby and walked the rest of the way, locating a familiar figure sitting behind a tree. Seems she saw the news first hand. Vanessa let out a sigh as she slowly walked over and leaning on the other side of the tree." So... You've seen it yourself, have you decided if you too want to move on?" She asked calmly, looking at the night's sky. She understood Marni's situation to a degree at least, so she wasn't going to rush her now. If they were still alive, she would have taken Marni to a nightclub for them to get dead drunk as befitting after a bad breakup, but sadly they didn't metabolize alcohol quite the same even if they managed to consume some via the blood of people who were heavily intoxicated.

"Let's go, I heard someone brought a few assault rifles at the firing range... wana go check those out? Or maybe you'd prefer a trip to the museum? We can check the new displays before they are revealed ot the public in a few days."

[Keira Kelly]

Marni sat there, for how long she didn't know, with her back against the rough bark of the tree in the warm night air. Her face was probably streaked with red tears, she was sure but she didn't care. A part of her wanted to punch the tree again, a part wanted to just run away into the night... and a small part, a part that she had only come to hear in herself since she was turned, whispered suggestions of going into Craig's house and tearing everything there apart and feasting. That part, those urges, horrified Marni but thankfully that part was easy enough to ignore at the moment.

Eventually she heard a car pull to a stop not too far down the street and then footsteps approaching. A quick glance out of the corner of her eye assured her that it wasn't cops that had been called to investigate a suspicious person sitting outside on someone's lawn but was, in fact, Vanessa. Marni knew the Brujah would have caught up with the errant Toreador eventually but she wasn't looking forward to this now, especially not after her escape having panned out to nothing. Van had made it pretty clear that breaking the rules would bring punishment. Marni had just thought that this would have been worth it. It hadn't.

Instead of anger though, Van's tone and words were nothing but sympathetic. Marni glanced up at the other woman, not able to hide the pain. She closed her eyes tightly for a minute, seeing clearly in her mind what she had seen in the window behind her. She sighed after a long moment. Moving on.... "What choice do I have now?" she asked rhetorically back at Vanessa, bitter but resigned. She was angry too, but she wasn't angry at Craig. Angry at Tobias. She couldn't blame Craig for having moved on, found someone to help him through a tough time. She could understand that. If Tobias had still been alive, she would have killed him herself.

Marni heard Vanessa's question as to what she wanted to do now, but Marni ignored it for the moment. She turned her head to the side, casting a sidelong glance back at the house behind her, not really looking there but more of a gesture so that Van knew what she was talking about. "What do you know of her?" she asked, her voice now more dead sounding. Resigned. Marni might not be able to be part of Craig's life anymore but.. at least she could find out who that woman was... At least she could watch out for him from time to time from afar. "She's a cop, right?" By what Van had said before, 'so you've seen it yourself', made Marni believe that Vanessa already knew about this somehow and Marni wanted to know the details now.

Back at Vanessa's question, Marni did not know how to answer. She couldn't think what she wanted to do. All of her hopes were... gone now. She couldn't go back to anything she had cared for, anything she had striven for in life. She had her art, she could still make art, but.. what could she do with it? Could she sell it? It would have to be under another name at the least and Marni didn't know what other kinds of restrictions Vanessa and others would put on Marni in this. What else was there in life now? The taking out bad people had been nice but now being with Van and her organization, there were rules and more rules it seemed. She understood the reasons but... it was still restrictions to something she had found some small bit of meaning in. There was only one thing she wanted right now after losing everything.

She looked up at Vanessa again. "Art supplies, supplies for painting." she said finally. "I want to be able to pain again." she said, pulling herself to her feet slowly. "I can't get what I want, what I need, during the day... is there any way to find a place to get things like that at night?" she asked, beginning to walk towards Vanessa's car. Almost to the vehicle, she heard what sounded like a front door opening down the street. Even without looking, she just knew... She pulled open the car door as soon as Van had it unlocked and just as she slipped inside the car, she heard her voice being called from down the street in a questioning tone. Vanessa had the car on and driving away in a heartbeat.

Marni turned to look back, indeed seeing Craig and.. the other woman joining him. Marni knew that at best he had seen her silhouette in the darkness, at a distance. There was no way he could be positive of her identity. Plus he had seen her earlier in the day, indeed cold and dead in the morgue. She knew him, knew he could just come to the conclusion that he had mistaken someone else for her on a day he as grieving. She really realized why she had to get away now. She turned a worried look at Vanessa, knowing what the Brujah had said would happen to people who learned about vampires. "Don't hurt him, please. He didn't get any sort of good look at me. I know him, he will decide it was just wishful thinking.... Please, don't go after him..." she pleaded. "Can... can we just go and see if there is a place to get art supplies?"

( For the other woman, let's call her... Constable Becky Kendall. She had been assigned to help out with some of the grunt-work with Marni's disappearance case and she had had quite a bit of contact with Craig over that. During that, she had been a comfort to him and so they ended up together. Everything with her is above board, nothing suspicious.

As for Craig seeing people out on the lawn and going to investigate, its just as Marni suspected. He didn't get a real look at either of them. It's dark out and he only saw them from behind. It was more wishful thinking and that he had her on his mind that he thought Marni was... well, Marni. No real Masquerade breach risk here. )

[rivaan]

Van looked at Marni who expressed interest in the new girl in her ex boyfriend life. Well she didn't seem to have the murder her in her sleep interest. No Vanessa felt it was just concern of the man she loved and wanting to make sure he was left in good hands. It was a thing that the brujah understood well. She nodded, resting her back on the tree." Yeah, Constable Becky Kendall. As far as I'm aware and I did do some digging just to make sure when the case got brought up, she's clean. Met when she was doing grunt work on your case. She tried to help him cope and eventually... well you know." She sighed. It was not exactly a rare thing in these kinds of scenarios. Not at all, in fact it was rather common as far as she was aware.

"Well... Art supplies are kinda toreador thing... and I'm a Brujah..." Vanessa started and looked at the younger woman." There are such places, though I'm not exactly versed on those. I know a place ran by one of the Anarch Toreadors, an Art Store, they also sell supplies I think. It's a place where young people with passion of art tend to frequent. It's not exactly an Elysium, but I think you should be able to get supplies of suitable quality. Well, can always order more later online or by phonecall." She suggested.

As they got to the car, it was needless to say that Van also heard Craig's call. She acted completely neutral and as if she hadn't heard or realized it was called in their direction as she got into the car and drove off, keeping an eye on the confused man in the rare view mirror as they got further away." Relax, Marni." Vanessa reassured her charge." I've sworn to not harm an innocent. In difference to those people at the 'church', he IS innocent. I will never hurt him and even if something had to be done, I can reassure you that the furthest it would have reached is him being convinced that he just daydreamed by someone with the proper ability without hurting him." She smiled and patted Marni's shoulder." He didn't see anything concrete, at most he saw was two women chilling on the lawn before they left. Nothing of importance, he likely called your name because he saw you in the morgue today and he's still rattled. Worry not, there was no breach of hte Masquerade here. He will be safe of all influence and dangers. No action would be taken." She explained.

"Alright, let's see if I recall the place... I think it was somewhere on..." She mumbled an adress some good distance away on the border between Camarilla and Anarch turf. Just less than 6 months ago this whole area was still Anarch territory, now they had lost about half of it to the Cammies... It was NOT a good thing. the headlock of 3 factions had turned into war of attrition and the problem was in difference to the cammies or the sabbat, Anarchs didn't have a near endless resources to pull from. Cammies could redirect forces from other places, same with the Sabbat and the Sabbit didn't shy from shovelheading it when they needed to either. God how she wished for some reinforcements from the few other places with good Anarch influence, however she was well aware, Anarchs were facing a crisis as a whole... One that was sadly grounded in the very conception at the creation of the group, one that she was painfully aware of the irony that was, that it came from her own Clan... or rather what her cland had become. They had crumbled without proper leadership and this was the result. Strong while the fervor lasted yet once the high of it passed... This is why they needed to reinvent the olden ways. Even if not entirely, they needed to show her fellow brothers and sisters that the Brujah weren't just thugs and miscreants that can only think with their fists.

"Mmm..." She was lost in thought that she nearly missed the turn, but she didn't. She took a turn down a small street and stopped by the side near a store that had a neon sign hanging outside on the wall. It was an art chisel and brush." Think this is the place..." She said, pulling her phone and checking the adress again. She hadn't actually visited the place before, it was one of the things that Miles pointed out to her as things that should be known by... in his own words:' would be Toreador Moms'. She punched him for that bad joke, so they were good though. Seriously doubted his brain capabilities sometimes.

[Keira Kelly]

Marni nodded woodenly at hearing the information about the other woman. As much as it relieved her to hear that this cop woman was clean and.. it seemed innocent enough a connection, she barely felt it, barely felt anything at all. Maybe it was just good though that Craig had found someone else to help him through it all. Maybe it was good he had someone who didn't have some deep-down inner voice that sought violence and blood and carnage. Someone who wasn't a monster. Craig would be safer with this other woman than she would be with Marni now. "That's good." she heard herself answer back, voice sounding devoid of anything.

As they began to drive away though, the hollowness was replaced with pain again at even just hearing her name called by the familiar voice, hearing the pained tone of it and at seeing Craig. It hurt her to her core that she could do nothing to comfort him. If he hadn't been with that other woman, even despite what Vanessa would be forced to do to her, Marni would have been tempted to go back. She was still tempted even now.. but knowing he was with another woman now was the only thing that kept her in the car.

After Van had replied to Marni's plea to please not go after Craig, she breathed a sigh of relief. There was that at least. She felt the tears run anew though at Vanessa's words. "Thank you." she managed. When she had regained control a little bit, she added to that. "He isn't just an innocent, he's as much of a victim as I am." she choked out. She closed her eyes tight for a long moment. "At least he has someone now though that can help him through it." she added quietly.

For the rest of the drive, Marni sat in silence for the most part, her thoughts and emotions too random and confused to even follow. As she let the hollow feeling overtake her again, she began to think of what lay ahead. What did lie ahead for her now? Being a damned vampire, she guessed eternity.. but... what was the point now? She had nothing. Absolutely nothing. She had had to give up everyone she had ever loved. She had no income anymore, no work. She had her art but that was only for herself. The only thing she could think of to really keep going for now though was to uncover more of the story of what had happened with Tobias and help Vanessa learn what was really going on there. The outcome probably wouldn't affect Marni either way but at least she would learn something of why she had ended up alone, maybe. That was her only point of interest now.

Van's statement that they had reached their destination pulled Marni's attention back. She looked over, sort of dazed by everything. She watched as Van pulled out a phone, checking on something but that didn't really register with her, her mind was still on other matters. "Vanessa.... What's going to happen with the stuff that was found at the cult church?" she asked, grasping for anything that she could focus herself to in the coming nights. "Was there anything else found that we can continue tracking to find out what happened with Tobias? Whoever did that, whoever.. killed him.. needs to be punished, right?" she asked.

( Marni probably has streaks of red tears drying on her face at this point o_o )