[nWoD] Campus Vigilantes 2.5 - Snowed In

[-Sentinel-]

[This is a ultra-short solo adventure reserved for Odentin. The third true instalment of the series will require a bit more preparation.]



December 21

Maxwell University, Chicago


It began snowing at around three in the afternoon on the last school day of the winter term. By four, most of the city’s snow blowers were hard at work; all flights out of O’Hare International Airport had been cancelled or delayed, to the distress of anyone who needed to be in New York or LA for Christmas. By five, news anchors were reporting the largest snowstorm the area had seen in a decade. Maxwell University’s students completed their last exams in a hurry in hopes of catching a bus before all transportation in the Windy City became hopelessly paralyzed.

As always at this time of the year at this latitude, night had long fallen by six o’clock. By then, the campus was almost entirely deserted except for some staff and a few harried students who still needed the library to finish an essay due at midnight. The red brick buildings of Maxwell University were bathed in the glow of Christmas lights – holiday lights for the politically correct – reflected by the thick carpet of snow. And the storm still showed no sign of abating.

Adam Correll was among the last students on campus; these past few weeks, his archery practice had taken some time away from his studies, forcing him to work extra hard and extra late to pass all of his courses. He had just handed in his last essay to Mr Milliken as the elderly teacher was about to leave his office for the holiday. Many people thought Adam needed to get his priorities straight. For his part, Adam knew that all his hours spent sticking arrows into targets this week had been well worth it: tomorrow night was an Illinois-wide archery tournament, to which he had earned a spot by having the best average accuracy in Maxwell University’s archery club. The Illinois tournament, in turn, was an important rung in the ladder to the United States’ Olympic archery team.

The last of his schoolwork now behind him until mid-January, Adam hurried to the sports building to retrieve the competition bow he stored in his locker before the place closed down for the holiday period. Except for a grumpy-looking janitor on the first floor, the entire building, while still nominally open, was every bit as deserted as the rest of the university. Once he got his bow and arrows back, Adam began to head out, but stopped when he heard sound from the archery practice room, just around the corner. He peered inside and saw a short, slightly-built girl with short blond hair and glasses shooting arrows at a target in quick succession with an intent expression on her face.

Allison Keating; of course she would be here, snowstorm or not. Allison had a few predictable patterns, one of them being that she trained in archery every evening of the week between five and six, not a minute more or less. It was a habit she had imposed on herself last year while patiently preparing to unmask and take down the murderer of her brother Ian. Now, despite the killer being in a psychiatric ward until he was fit to stand trial, Allison clearly saw no reason to stop training.

[Odentin]

Adam swallows hard and shakes his head, trying to get the pounding of his own heart out of his ears, Now or never. Last day of term. Now or never...

He pushes the door open and enters the practice area, remaining silent until she finishes her set. Once she does, he clears his throat, to get her attention, "Uh, hey Ally. You're here a bit late, aren't you?"

[-Sentinel-]

Allison started at the sound of Adam's voice, but recovered quickly, blew a stray lock of hair away from her face and gave Adam a warm smile.

"Oh, look who's talking - the one who always trains until ten. So I hear you're in the tournament tomorrow?"

[Odentin]

I said he waits for her to finish. :smalltongue:

He smiles, blushing, "I live on campus, now. I have an excuse." He clears his throat again, finding it (and his mouth) rather dry, "Yeah, I am. The, uh, the Olympics commission said I have to. Don't really wanna go out in this weather, though." A third time, he has to clear his throat, and he reaches back to see if he left a water bottle in his pack, "So...uh. You heading home for the break?"

[-Sentinel-]

Oops, sorry. :smallredface: Fixed.

Allison looked half embarrassed, half sad.

"Uh... not really. I mean, it's not like I have a better place to be than here. My family was never really the same since... you know... the Halloween Massacre. I can't begin to explain what it was like to get asked by everyone what it's like to have a murderer in the family. My parents ended up divorced, my father went back to Seattle... and they didn't even go to Ian's funeral, 'cause all the media were there. I never forgave them that, and they never forgave me for going anyway. So yeah, a Christmas party with them would be pretty awkward."

[Odentin]

Adam nods knowingly, "Don't have to explain. Dumb question, I'm sorry." He shifts his pack and tries to breathe through the bloodflow in his head, "So, um, I mean, if you're not, um. Hm. Me an' Leon got the new place set up and, y'know, he's back east for the break and, um, if you wanna, y'know, come over and, maybe, uh, hang out? Y'know, over the holiday, gets lonely...I'll shut up now..."

Adam hangs his head and sighs, Stupidstupidstupidstupidstupidstupidstupidstupidst upidstupid...

[-Sentinel-]

Allison grinned. "Sure! You know, I'll miss Leon. I really wanted to spend another night with him before he left, but I was a bit too shy to ask."

There was a beat.

"I mean, uh, for playing Super Smash Bros. on the Wii, like we did just before the Halloween party. I don't mean to imply there's anything, uh.......... anyway, I'm told he already has a girlfriend back home."

She looked down, nervously fingering the head of an arrow as if she now contemplated driving it through her own eye. Clearly Adam was not the only one with an awkardness problem.

[Odentin]

Adam reflexively smiles along with her, though this quickly fades as she speaks, and a small "Oh." escapes before the beat...

"I had, uh...kinda meant it...as a....date.... But if...." he doesn't finish his sentence, only releases a soundly defeated sigh.

[-Sentinel-]

Allison froze and turned wide blue eyes towards Adam.

"A... date? As in, uh, date-date? I... uh... I mean, yeah! Sure!" she blurted out, a blush coloring her cheeks. "I'm absolutely okay with that! What do you suggest? I mean, we'll do whatever you want regardless, but... Shut up, Allison."

[Odentin]

Adam's face brightens considerably, "R-really? I...I mean, awesome. Cool. Uh....I have no idea what I'm supposed to do now...uh."

He looks around, as if searching for help, "Well, like I said...you can come over and hang out, if you'd like. I-I'd cook, but I just got the place, and I don't want it to burn down..." He chuckles nervously, "Or we could go out to...somewhere. I'm sorry...I don't know what I'm doing...."

[-Sentinel-]

"R-really? I...I mean, awesome. Cool. Uh....I have no idea what I'm supposed to do now...uh."

Allison chuckled. "Makes two of us."



"Well, like I said...you can come over and hang out, if you'd like. I-I'd cook, but I just got the place, and I don't want it to burn down..." He chuckles nervously, "Or we could go out to...somewhere. I'm sorry...I don't know what I'm doing...."

"Hanging out is okay," said Allison hurriedly. "We can order pizza or Chinese and watch Game of Thrones on my laptop, or something. Unless, uh, you think it sounds nerdy and lame - then we'll do something else. But I mean, we must have common interests and hobbies besides archery, right?"

[Odentin]

"No, no. That sounds great...I think I've missed a few episodes..."

He pulls his phone and checks the time, "Anyways, I should probably be getting home..."

[-Sentinel-]

"Sure!" Allison quickly finished packing her bow and arrows. "Can I walk with you for a bit?"

It was 6:14 according to Adam's phone.

[Odentin]

Adam smiles, "Of course. Not going very far, though. Just to the parking lot. I'll walk you to your car, though..."

[-Sentinel-]

"Thanks! I don't have a car, but I live right next to the campus."

Each of them carrying their bows and arrows, they headed out, chatting about the tournament tomorrow. Allison's eyes twinkled with joy, as if she could scarcely believe the number one archer in the club had asked her out. As they were about to leave the building, however, the snowstorm outside had turned into a veritable blizzard; they could scarcely see thirty feet ahead. The snow on the ground was piled knee-deep. Even a short trip in this weather seemed daunting.

Allison sighed. "Let's stay close, okay? We don't want to get lost." She smiled shyly. "Can we hold hands?"

[Odentin]

Adam chuckles, "Sure. Would you like my jacket, too?"

Looking out into the storm, he sighs, "And I can give you a ride home, too, if you'd like. Right now I'm glad I got a Jeep with four-wheel drive..."

[-Sentinel-]

The corners of Allison's lips quirked up. "Keep your jacket, but I'll say yes to the ride."

They held hands and started advancing through the snow. It was very slow progress, and it was not long before their boots were filled with meltwater. With the snowflakes blowing in their faces, they had to keep their gazes down, straight ahead. It did not take long for the sports building to disappear behind them, but Adam was sure they had not gone more than fifty yards.

Without warning, Adam felt Allison's hand stiffen in alarm. He followed her gaze and saw indistinct movement in the snow about ten yards straight ahead. Suddenly, the surface of the snow broke, as if to reveal something underneath... but the only thing that arose from it was more snow. In mere seconds, the rising mass of snow grew denser and asserted a vaguely human-like shape, standing about seven feet high, with powerful arms and a large head but no visible legs; the bottom part of it simply merged with the snow on the ground.

Adam caught more movement from the corner of his eyes and saw another such shape emerge some ten yards to the first's left - the two of them now forming a roughly equilateral triangle with Adam and Allison. Both creatures suddenly charged towards the humans, moving with deceptive speed and silence on the snow despite their bulk.

"What. The. Fµck," Allison muttered.

I'll let you act before Allison. Be advised that the deep snow halves your movement; the two snow monsters have no such restrictions.

[Odentin]

In one swift movement, Adam drops his pack, flips his bow around on his arm, nocks an arrow, and draws it back, levelled at one of the...things. His eyes and face harden, and his voice rings out, "You really want to face down the two best archers in the school"

No quick draw, so take the turn to 'ready' the bow and reflexive to ready the arrow...

[-Sentinel-]

"...Looks like they do, yeah."

Allison's voice trembled a bit, but her hand did not. She drew her shortbow like lightning, nocked an arrow with practiced ease - speed shooting being her specialty - and let fly at the snow golem on the left.

Allison does have Quick Draw, as well as the Rapid Nock merit from Fighting Style: Archery. She can draw, nock and fire in the same round.

Dex 3 + Firearms 3 + bow specialty 1 + Damage 2 = 9. [roll0]

10-again: [roll1]

3 successes. They count as bashing damage, since the golems are made of snow and have no vital organs.

Oh, and bedtime for me! :smalltongue: To Be Continued...

The arrow took out a fist-sized chunk of compressed snow from its target's head, but the snow golem kept coming, undaunted. The two of them were now almost upon the humans.

[Odentin]

Got my editing done too late. Fuggit.

Adam smirks and shifts his aim, letting fly at the one with an arrow already sticking out of it, leaving the one closer to himself for later...

Dex+Athletics+Archery Spec+Bow+Willpower
4+5+1+3+3=16
[roll0] - 4 damage.

"Get back, Ally. These things aren't slowing down..."

[-Sentinel-]

Adam's arrow planted itself to the fletching into one of the creatures; the monster just kept going straight ahead, as if hit by a paper plane. Heedless of Adam's command, Allison did not move an inch from where she stood - she had just noticed that both of the golems were clearly heading towards Adam alone. A hard expression on her face, she nocked another arrow and shot at the already damaged snow golem. This time her arrow tore a significant chunk of snow out of the golem's head, almost smashing it off its shoulders.

The charging golem was slowed down a bit; just enough for Adam to avoid a mighty but clumsy swipe of its arm. The athlete, however, was not nearly fast enough to escape the other golem as it threw himself bodily upon him in a bear hug that knocked the breath out of his lungs.

Rolls in the OOC thread. Adam is now grappled.

[Odentin]

Adam ducks deftly under the arm of the damaged Snowman...only to maneuver himself into the waiting arms of the other one. Mentally cursing himself, he twists around, using his bow for leverage to wrap his arms around the thing's "head" and kicking for a leg, hoping to overpower and take control from the beastie...

Overpower attempt, Immobilize maneuver.
Str+Brawl-Frosty's Str+Willpower
2+1-3+3=3.
[roll0] - 1 Success. Whew.

[-Sentinel-]

Adam managed to kick his way out of the mass of snow that now tried to smother him and, with great effort, succeeded in forcing it to stay down... just in time to give a clear shot to Allison, who had drawn back several steps and already had another arrow nocked. Her next shot caught the prone golem in the chest and tore off a large chunk of it. The creature did not even seem to notice - instead it raised a mighty fist and punched Adam in the face. It did not hurt much more than a large snowball, but it was enough to make Adam recoil. Before the athlete could recover, the second golem, attacking from behind, threw much of the snow composing its base at the athlete's legs to keep him from shifting his feet.

The first golem broke free and the second grappled Adam.

Roll perception (Wits + Composure), at a -3 penalty for being in combat and having urgent matters to attend to. I suggest you do it before you decide your action for this round.

[Odentin]

Adam grunts and shakes the snow off of his face, muttering about...something.

Wits+Composure: [roll0]
10 Again: [roll1]

[Odentin]

Adam twists around and attempts to immobilize the second snowman, as well, but fails, "This one, first!"

Accidentally deleted the post. Failed the roll.

[-Sentinel-]

"C'mon, die already!" Allison snarled at the first snowman, loosing another arrow.

The projectile only clipped the shoulder of the creature on the left. Once more, the monster ignored it and concentrated instead on seizing Adam, but the young man managed to twist out of its way despite still being in the grip of his other opponent. Before he could break free entirely, the second snow golem clamped a powerful hand around Adam's face, filling his mouth and nose with snow. Slowly it worked its fingers up Adam's nostrils and down his throat, causing the student's head to pound in agony at the cold.

Through the haze of cold and pain, a detail caught Adam's eye. The first snowman's chest, blown open by one of Allison's arrows, had something in the middle that had just been laid bare - a black, shrunken heart, which looked disturbingly like a human heart. And it was beating.

[Odentin]

Adam coughs and tries to shake himself free, or at least free enough to grab the trench knife out of the back of his jeans, though the pain and panic leave him unable to find the grip.

Overpower: [roll0] to draw his knife....and that's it.

Fark.

[-Sentinel-]

Letting out a frustrated breath, Allison shot another arrow, but it went wide. In the meantime, the damaged snowman finally managed to get a solid hold of Adam again, while its companion kept trying to suffocate the student with snow.

[Odentin]

Adam panics and flails wildly, trying to get free of the deranged THINGS trying to kill him...

As he frees himself, he coughs out to Allison, "The heart! Shoot the heart!"

3-4+3=2. Ugh. Risking Willpower to try to escape...

[roll0]

Edit: OH AND THE HEAVENS SMILE UPON ME THIS ROLL!

[-Sentinel-]

Allison's eyes narrowed. She nocked another arrow and shot it, but missed the mark entirely.

The golems were not relenting. They piled themselves onto Adam like football players, seemingly not even noticing Allison shooting at them for a while now.

[Odentin]

"Breathe, focus. Take your time and aim. I got this."

Adam twists and rolls, trying to give Allison an opening and keep his face clear of snow...

Risking again: [roll0]

[-Sentinel-]

Adam managed to free himself from both creatures just as Allison let loose another arrow. The projectile flew straight and true and tore the damaged snowman's black heart out of its body. Almost instantly, the snowman collapsed in on itself and became nothing but a shapeless pile of snow as whatever magic holding it together failed.

The other attacker was not done, however. It once more threw itself bodily onto Adam and tried to pin him to the ground.

Rolls in the OOC thread. Adam is grappled again. (Yes, I know it's annoying, but grappling is the only way these things can deal damage.)

[Odentin]

Adam lets out a triumphant yell...right before getting tackled again. He grits his teeth and keeps squirming, trying to escape but saving his strength for once he's free...

Chance die to escape: [roll0]

If successful: Using Willpower to add 2 to Adam's defense against the next attack.
If not, unless I'm mistaken, it should add to his Str to avoid being overpowered. - Nevermind, then.


(Yes, I know it's annoying, but grappling is the only way these things can deal damage.)

It's cool, I got this. Only got scary when he was being suffocated...

[-Sentinel-]

Allison's next arrow caught the snow golem from behind in the middle of the chest. The creature slowed a bit and missed its next attempt to grab Adam's legs.

[Odentin]

Adam grins and draws back an arrow as he steps back, "Shouldn't have sent something with a HEART after me."

His grin falls to stony concentration, and he looses...

Dex + Ath + Specialty + Weapon Damage + WP - Called Shot
4 + 5 + 1 + 3 + 3 - 4 = [roll0]
10 Again: [roll1]

6 damage.


If it falls:Adam lowers his bow and sneers, "This is what I do."

He looks up at Allison, "Nice work. You ok?"

[-Sentinel-]

Adam's point-blank arrow tore straight through the monster's chest and came out on the other side with the heart stuck on it. Most of its momentum and balance lost, it arced down and dropped into the snow at Allison's feet. The golem collapsed like the other one, lifeless.

Adam lowered his bow and sneered, "This is what I do."

He looked up at Allison, "Nice work. You ok?"

Allison did not answer at once; her eyes were fixated on the heart. It was still beating feebly despite the arrow through it. Quickly, she nocked another arrow and shot it through the heart, ending its palpitations once and for all. She tentatively bent down and lifted the heart, holding it by the shaft of Adam's arrow still stuck in it.

"...A heart pierced by an arrow. Happy Valentine's Day in advance, I guess," she said wryly. She examined it more closely and wrinkled her nose. "Uh. It smells like formaldehyde."

A noise came from behind Adam: the receding sound of heavy breathing and panting. The student turned to see a dark human shape disappear into the snowstorm with great difficulty, constantly tripping in the deep snow.

[Odentin]

"Hold that thought."

Adam drops his bow and books it after the shadowy form as quick as he possibly can in the deep snow...

[-Sentinel-]

It was slow work to run through the deep snow, but in his haste to get away, the other man tripped at almost every step and tired himself out quickly. He was dressed in dark winter clothes and wore a White Sox baseball cap. Adam eventually caught up with him and tackled him to the ground. His opponent did not resist; he simply let out a curse and stopped struggling.

Adam removed the man's baseball cap and recognized at once the ruddy face and short blond hair: it was Danny Novak, a member of the archery club - and the one who had ended up number 2 in the club's Top 10 this term, after Adam.

[Odentin]

"Danny. I was going to ask why, but right now I'll just stick to how? Get up."

Adam proceeds to drag Danny back to Allison. If he looks like he's going to struggle, Adam pulls his knife. If he DOES struggle, Adam punches him with it.

[-Sentinel-]

Cringing away from Adam, Danny raised his hands to show he was unarmed and did not resist at all as the athlete dragged him. Allison held her bow in a way that indicated she could have an arrow ready at a heartbeat's notice.

"I... I wasn't trying to hurt you, Adam, I swear!" Danny pleaded, terror plain in his voice. "Well, not much! Just enough to take your place in the tournament tomorrow. I mean, if I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have made these golems out of snow!"

Allison eyed him coldly. "The question was how," she reminded him.

"I don't know!" protested Danny. "I don't know, honest! It's the hearts that bring them to life. I don't know how and I don't want to. I didn't make the hearts; only bought them."

Allison's Intelligence 3 + Empathy 4: [roll0]
10-again: [roll1]

Allison turned to Adam, pursing her lips. "Pretty sure he's telling the truth."

[Odentin]

"Bought them where?"

Adam's voice is ice, but wamrs as he looks back to Allison, "Collect them both. Please." The last word seems like an afterthought. He's not used to being polite during a hunt...

[-Sentinel-]

"Bought them where?"

Danny bit his lower lip. "I can't tell you that," he said, his voice both trembling and determined. "You don't piss off those people."

Meanwhile, Allison went in search of the second heart. In the deep snow, it was not easy, but she eventually found it. Neither of the hearts so much as twitched.

[Odentin]

Adam laughs, "Danny, you're lucky I'm cold. And that everyone is on break right now. You don't want to KNOW what I can have done to you. Just think about that. When term starts again, you'll be in for a lot of pain. And if you ever fµck with the dark arts again, that pain will look like a pleasure cruise."

He turns and begins to collect arrows, ignoring Danny entirely. Once done, he takes Allison's hand once again and begins sloughing back towards his Jeep.

That's not a threat, either. I'm sure Kale would have a field day on that punk...

Edit: Rather, not trying to threaten him.

[-Sentinel-]

Danny gulped and nodded frantically. As soon as Adam started walking away from him, he got up and fled into the snowstorm. Adam found two of his arrows and four of Allison's, but soon had to give up on finding them all; the snow was too deep and just kept falling. Allison followed him, holding both of the shrivelled hearts disdainfully.

"We'll, uh, have to get rid of those," she muttered. "I really can't see what we can do with them."

It was not long before they reached Adam's Jeep, though the vehicle was barely recognizable under all the snow.

[Odentin]

Adam throws open the back door and drops his gear in on top of the myriad hunting gear already in there. Once seated inside, he finally answers Allison's question, "We'll throw them in my freezer. Leon will want a look at them once he gets back. Now, where to?" He finishes with a blushing smile, as if he wasn't almost just suffocated and frozen to death.

[-Sentinel-]

Allison delicately put the two hearts on her lap, having no place else to put them.

"2086, Foster Street. Only two streets behind the law department." She blew out a breath and smiled tiredly. "Does this sort of thing happen to you often?"


I'm about to conclude this ultra-short (as promised) story. If you have important things to do or say, now is the time.

[Odentin]

Adam sighs and starts the Jeep, talking as he drives cautiously to her place, "Yes and no. Usually I'm not in hand to hand combat, and I'm the one doing the surprising. I'm sorry that you had to get involved with that, but I'm grateful you were there." He smiles, "Though I hope this doesn't become habit. Broken ribs and getting drowned isn't exactly romantic, or so I hear."

Referencing his injuries during the Halloween party.

"What I do is dangerous, Ally. I asked you out, but I don't want to put you in harm's way. I'll...I'll understand if you reconsider..."

He sounds tired as he finishes, though that's probably as much from the soaked clothing as psychological strain and fear that she will, in fact, reconsider...

[-Sentinel-]

Allison chuckled. "No way I'm letting go of you over this, Adam. It was sort of fun, actually. Of course I'm not the one who had a pound of snow shoved down her throat..."

The drive was not a long one, even in the deep snow. Pity; it meant less time to spend with Allison. It was not long before Adam stopped the Jeep in front of the five-story apartment building his new date lived in.

"So yeah," said Allison after a moment of silence, as if not sure what else to say. "Sleep early. You've got a big tournament tomorrow, and no snowman on Earth is gonna stop you from going."

She turned to Adam and, after a brief hesitation, leaned forward and pressed a clumsy, tentative kiss on his lips.

[Odentin]

Adam's face turns a shade of red that makes him think that all of the blood in his body suddenly rushed into it, "Sleep well, yourself. I'll call you tomorrow afterwards?"

Once she answers, he watches to make sure she makes it inside safely before heading back to his own house, where he places the hearts in a freezer bag, then tosses them in the freezer in the basement for Leon. Once he's showered and gotten the chill out of his bones, he sends a mass email to all active members of the RPG Club:

Subject: Frosty the Snowman
Body:
Frosty the Snowman was a jolly, happy soul. With his corncob pipe and his button nose and two eyes made out of coal.
Except that he didn't have any of that sh¡t, nor the magic top hat, when he and his buddy attacked Allison Keating and I outside the sports building tonight. What they DID have were preserved and beating human hearts. From the smell of them, they were from dead bodies. Formaldehyde. The kid who used them said he bought the hearts somewhere, but I couldn't get him to tell me where. Someone in the city is making powerful magic trinkets and selling them to idiots who don't know what they're handling. So it looks like we've got a mage hunt when term starts.

Enjoy your holidays. I'll see you all when you get back.

-Adam

P.S. Leon, I saved the hearts for you.

[-Sentinel-]

Adam's face turns a shade of red that makes him think that all of the blood in his body suddenly rushed into it, "Sleep well, yourself. I'll call you tomorrow afterwards?"
Allison was blushing as well, but her blue eyes shone brightly. "Sure! See you."

She grabbed her bow and arrows, stepped out of the car and walked towards her apartment building, a cheerful spring in her gait. Adam waited until she had entered the building and disappeared from sight before driving away. Outside the car, the snowstorm was finally abating and stars were starting to come into view to the horizon.

Tomorrow would be a sunnier day.



The End.


.