[Sodium_noir] A Walk in the Park - End of Thursday night

[Eric Magnuson]

Cash
Gangrel
Gotham Park

> 'Damn,' Cash thinks to himself, glad he had fed
> earlier, being filled with vitae, he was able to
> resist the call of human blood.  This would not be
> the
> time to be caught licking it from the victim's open
> wounds.  Pushing the scent of blood to the back of
> his
> mind, he took in the details again, committing them
> to
> memory.  This may be an isolated, random killing,
> but
> being an expert in killing, Cash didn't think so. 
> The
> white rose in the bum's hand almost proved it.
> 
> Uncertain if anyone would call the police, Cash
> looked
> around for a pay phone, not wanting the police to
> have
> his cell number.
> 
Looking to the left and right, Cash saw a crowd
gathering, but his gaze was drawn back to the corpse
lying before him.  He looked at the corpse with a
strange combination of hunger and curiosity.  Who
killed this man and why, and why advertise with a
bloodstained rose?

He could hear the sounds of voices speaking excitedly,
then sirens in the distance, someone had called the
cops.  How to get away from here without attracting
any more attention.  Licking his lips, and giving one
last look at the corpse, Cash slipped through the
crowd, bumping into a couple people on his way out.

When he reached an isolated grove of trees, he looked
one last time around to see if anyone was there. 
Seeing no one, He formed the image of a bat in his
mind.  Curiosity had won out over caution, and Cash
closed his eyes.  Willing himself into the bat, he
shifted forms.  His body compressed and compacted into
the bat’s tiny body, his arms and fingers warping into
his wings.  His hearing became preternally sharpened,
his eyesight dimmed.  Then the transformation was
complete.

Flapping his arms, the small bat that cash had become
took to the sky.  Setting a course back to the murder
scene, he flew back.  By the time he had returned, the
police had arrived.  One cop was interviewing the
clearly unhinged bum while another put police tape up,
pushing the crowd back.  Settling onto a tree branch,
Cash listened carefully to the  cops and the witness. 
Most of the crowd was dispersed, since they had only
come, like Cash, when they heard the scream, a few
giving statements about what the saw.  Cash silently
groaned when a few of the witnesses mentioned him,
giving a fair description.  That would be a problem
for another night.

Two of the cops moved off to one side and put their
heads together, Cash tried to hear what they were
saying to each other, but the mouse-haired guy giving
a statement drowned them out, “Yeah, I heard the
scream, but when I came to see if I could help,” he
started. ‘Yeah, just to ogle at other people’s
misfortunes, I’ll bet,’ Cash thought.  The man
continued, “Then that guy in the leather coat nearly
ran me over, smelled of booze, let me tell you.” 
Turning back to the two cops off to the side, he saw
that they had started back to the road, where the
flashing lights of the cruisers could be seen.  

Unable to get any more from the cops there, Cash flew
off to another isolated grove of trees where he
allowed his own form to appear in his mind.  Closing
his bat eyes, he transformed back into his natural
form.  Looking at the luminous dial of his watch, he
decided that he would put off his investigation of the
Shale’s business until tomorrow night.  Moving a
little further into the grove, Cash laid on the ground
and closing his eyes, he sank into the ground beneath
the trees to rest until the night returned.


TBC

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