Latest / Dubious Creatures Presents / The Vampire With No Name 1.14 - Little End of the Horn

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The Vampire With No Name 1.14 - Little End of the Horn · Dubious Creatures Presents

0:32
The. A highway wanders through the
1:20
desert. A tumbleweed drifts past a dusty
1:24
dive bar. A coyote shrieks out to no one
1:28
in particular. Someone's bleeding out in a
1:31
bathroom stall. The stars tonight are bright,
1:35
but not nearly bright enough. This place does not exist, and
1:42
yet here you are. Welcome to San Arroyo Kindred.
1:48
We here at Dubious Creatures present to you the vampire with
1:53
no name. There's a slight hiss and a soft
2:05
exhale of breath as Hygea releases a cloud of something
2:13
that is not your usual vape cartridge from her lungs before
2:22
passing it to you. Astor.
2:26
Astor takes it and just kind of like cocks an eyebrow.
2:30
Yeah, it's I, I mean, it's technically CBTI.
2:34
Don't know. Mama Don hooks us up sometimes
2:37
it it helps with a calm down. All right, takes it and takes a
2:42
huge hit. Slowly exhales a massive cloud
2:48
just like. Whatever it is, it definitely
2:52
does take the edge off the the vibrating sense of anxiety, only
3:01
exacerbated by whatever it was that you were on in the yard,
3:07
slowly but surely draining out your system.
3:12
You're in. It's a storage shed.
3:17
Someone seems to have transformed into a meth lab, or
3:23
at least that was your first impression coming in.
3:27
Lots of beakers, pressure cookers, plastic tubing, very
3:33
Walter White. But I Jay assured you that it
3:36
was safe and light proof. And now Peter the two, you are
3:41
sharing a vape like not even 12 hours ago you were dodging
3:46
bullets in the middle of a strip mall.
3:52
So before we got here, Astor would have hexed Jeremy probably
3:59
like, on the way here and like, hey, I'm safe.
4:04
Just so you know, I ordered you some clothes, Hope you don't
4:08
mind and left some cash for you. I know you don't have any.
4:13
Stay safe. Bye.
4:16
And then she would have text Ash and been like, hey, so Crow's
4:22
car is still there and there's something really important.
4:25
You should probably have that towed and then she would have
4:28
text Zach and just been like, hey, thinking about you, I miss
4:36
you. Today's been crazy.
4:40
Don't worry, I'm fine. We would have eventually woken
4:44
back up to response from Zach, which just says rough day at the
4:52
office and then eventually time stamped a little bit later.
4:59
I'm taking a drive out of town a little bit.
5:01
Got to pick up some new medication for Emily when I'm
5:06
back in town. I'd love to just then it stops
5:10
if. You would have finished it and
5:12
been like, yes, I would love to meet up with you too.
5:16
OK, cool. Just let me know when you're
5:22
good. Absolutely sends a little heart.
5:28
Aegea, meanwhile, is just there's like a futon laid out in
5:33
the back corner of this laboratory, for lack of a better
5:38
term, that you're both kind of just sat on.
5:41
It's ratty and definitely smells of deeply saturated chemicals
5:48
and something else, something just a little bit coppery, but
5:52
it's comfortable. I don't judge kind enough to let
5:57
me crash here. I'm not going to judge.
6:00
She just kind of just regarding you over the tops of her
6:04
glasses. What are you doing here?
6:13
Drugs. OK, cool.
6:18
I mean, that was that was a joke because we're sorry, I have this
6:25
thing, but I used to be a triage nurse and it's kind of just
6:33
easier. Your thing.
6:34
Yeah, you know, because like I would, I believe it or not, I
6:38
was actually pretty used to the sight of blood even before all
6:42
of this. Yeah.
6:48
This this setup isn't actually mine.
6:50
This is one of my coteries. I guess you could call him Cook
6:58
House. I don't actually own the storage
7:03
unit Tabula does. I just post up here, you know,
7:09
do my craft when and where I'm able, like.
7:14
Sits there and like contemplates for a moment craft.
7:18
Yeah, you know homebrew alchemy Wren working it.
7:24
There's a lot of names what you did back in the.
7:31
The the Seren filed, Yeah. Yeah, no, the wow it it occurs
7:39
to me. I've never actually had to
7:40
explain this before. Comes Crawford like that, it's
7:44
OK. Yeah.
7:46
No, it's just wow, OK, OK, I could put, don't hog it.
7:54
She had a love around. She cut motions for the vape.
7:58
Oh, Oh yeah, here. Sorry.
8:01
Yeah, OK, takes another long drag sailing another cloud,
8:10
slightly bitter smelling vapor. So what did they tell you?
8:18
I guess is the thing before I get into any of this because
8:25
it's. A.
8:26
Lot. Tell me because I fucking woke
8:32
up in a goddamn bathtub and then I find out my ex fucking
8:36
husband's sibling is a goddamn vampire and all of my everyone
8:40
around me is a fucking vampire. I don't know shit.
8:45
OK, that's a lot to unpack right off the bat.
8:50
I had a lot on my plate for the last fucking month.
8:54
No, Hey, hey. Preaching.
8:55
Preaching to the choir, sis. OK, that I, I mean more the the
9:00
this, the Constabulary, the fucking Camarilla.
9:04
What did they what did they tell you?
9:07
Like, do they know? If you're referring to who knows
9:12
that I'm a thin blood, there's only a handful.
9:15
Like obviously the people I'm around know, but like.
9:19
And they're cool with. That they don't seem to have an
9:22
issue with it. It's not been an issue until
9:28
what's? His face stared at me like he
9:30
was going to kill me. It's the first time I
9:33
experienced it being an issue. Oh, and then there was Crow's
9:37
boyfriend, Sebastian. He he was a little weird about
9:40
it, but like he just seems grumpy.
9:45
All the time. I don't know who that is, but
9:49
cool. OK, well, the death stare,
9:54
that's not uncommon. So you probably already figured
10:05
out that you're a vampire. What All the books and the
10:11
movies and what not probably didn't prepare you for is that
10:14
there are. Several different kinds.
10:19
Yeah. But there's also degrees like,
10:25
OK, So if you look at it from like an epidemiological
10:29
standpoint, there had to be like a patient zero.
10:32
Right, that makes sense. Right.
10:35
And you know that I'm hardly the only one who's come to this
10:38
conclusion. I mean, sometimes, you know, the
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progenitor, the first vampire, the great Grand Vladdy, if you
10:47
will. You know, sometimes he's Kane,
10:52
sometimes she's Lilith, sometimes he's Kaiser.
10:56
Soze it, it doesn't really matter.
10:57
Point is, there was the first one, right?
11:02
And then they had kids, you know, Childer.
11:07
And then those Childer had Childer.
11:10
And it keeps going and going and going like generations of
11:16
vampires. You with me so far?
11:18
Yeah, yeah. Makes sense?
11:21
So turns out the family trees getting a little spread out.
11:30
Yeah, because the generation, it's not just a, it's not a just
11:34
a fancy term like, oh, those damn zoomers are ruining being a
11:41
vampire. I mean, no, like, literally the
11:45
higher you are generationally is one of us, the less potent you
11:51
are, for lack of a better term. And then just keep going and
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going and going and more people spreading it out, you know,
12:00
diluting that inherent vampireness until eventually you
12:05
get to us the bottom of the barrel, you know, we're.
12:14
Going to have to workshop a better like a more like just a
12:17
better title. We're just going to have to work
12:18
it out one one day. Not right now, we.
12:22
To to be fair, thin bloods is their word.
12:25
We call ourselves Dusk Born because let's face it, that
12:28
sounds a lot. Right, it sounds.
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A lot less like a slur, yeah. It's much cooler, yeah.
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There's no one name is a thing. Like we're talking, and I'm not
12:38
just talking about us. I mean like just across the
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board. There's jargon, sure, but we're
12:43
talking about thousands of different cultures, thousands of
12:47
different languages. There's a lot, and it really
12:51
depends on how you're looking at it.
12:54
But yeah, we're dusk born. We're alchemists, Mercurians if
13:01
you want to be fancy. And that's what this is.
13:04
And like, she points to all the equipment.
13:09
Yeah. Because, well, the way Tabula
13:13
explained it to me was that what we do, we can't call it science
13:18
because it sure as shit isn't, but it is something that only we
13:25
can do because of what we are. We're not just humans. 2 point O
13:34
we just, we got enough of patient zero in us, but also
13:41
enough of the people used to be to create some kind of reaction,
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some kind of perfect balance of opposites that lets us do things
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that well, what you saw, they can't.
13:57
And that's why they're scared. Well, that's one of the reasons.
14:01
It's the most the least esoteric reason, I guess.
14:06
It makes a certain amount of sense, I mean.
14:10
They're probably. Just scared of what they can't
14:11
control. Yeah, yeah, that's putting it
14:15
mildly. Did that make things any less
14:19
confusing? I I'm sorry again.
14:21
I'm still I'm high and I'm stressed and I'm I've never had
14:26
to give the 20 questions with a vampire speech.
14:30
The talk. Yeah.
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No, it it. Well, you're lucky.
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I happen to understand a lot. School was my thing.
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I was very good at it. Relaxes a little, so it's cool.
14:48
You don't. You don't have to be so tense
14:51
about it. I'm just worried, you know, I
14:55
mean, fucking the the sheriff and that those bikers and God, I
15:00
hope Jesse made it out OK. Yeah.
15:03
The. Bikers, I think wasn't y'all's
15:06
problem. I'm going to be so real.
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She like grabs for the babe. Give me a Yeah, she.
15:16
Gives it to you all. Right, she exhales.
15:23
I still don't. Get how like you woke up in a
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bathtub, right? OK, so then how does Rachel?
15:31
Because I saw her at, I saw her at Sacred mercy.
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It's really complicated. Are you Astor looks to hygiene
15:42
and he's like can I make this really heavy for a SEC?
15:47
Girl, we stared down the barrel of that sheriff and his goon
15:52
squad. I don't know if things get more
15:54
hairy at this point. OK.
15:59
So a month or so ago, I was part of the I was the person who blew
16:06
up the oil tanker in Lai. Really really pissed off the
16:15
wrong people they sent there hit people after me and I was
16:22
positive until last night that my sister was the one who ratted
16:28
me the fuck out because I don't think Zach would do it.
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All I know is she showed up at my house.
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Super. Early.
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I don't even know how she knew I was there other than like, maybe
16:45
process of elimination, but I don't think she would have ever
16:49
come to the conclusion that I asked Zach.
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It's another thing that I plan on asking, but whatever.
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I thought that she gave me up because it was very shortly
16:58
after that that that I was assassinated.
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Wow, OK, wait, you're fucking Lambda Mankind.
17:08
I didn't know I was land of mankind, but yes.
17:12
OK, wow. That that's kind of badass.
17:16
Like a lie. Something I weren't they didn't
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they? Like didn't they Like, you know
17:25
it doesn't. Sorry.
17:26
I just like. Wow.
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OK, that I know why. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,
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wait, wait, wait, wait. OK, just you.
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You bombed an oil Derrick on the behalf of a militant
17:45
ecoterrorist organization. Your first instinct was to come
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to fucking San Arroyo, where Endron owns like, everything, my
17:57
ex. Husband is Zach Crawford.
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Oh wow. OK, I know who that is.
18:06
Yeah, I'm sure everyone fucking knows who that is.
18:09
You know, Oh, wow. Yeah.
18:16
OK, so you should not. I'm the we're we're in the
18:20
Sisterhood of the Travelling Survivors Guild right here.
18:24
But in the future, you should probably not go spreading that
18:28
information around. I.
18:30
Don't. Not often.
18:33
I don't like bringing it up. Except his sibling.
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He's also a fucking indred vampire.
18:45
Whatever. You know, Kindred, that's their
18:50
word, I think because it's a little less camp than, you know,
18:54
the V word. Yeah, she's kind of like fully
19:00
laid down and was spread eagled on the duvet, just staring up at
19:06
the harsh glow of the singular light bulb that illuminates this
19:12
space. You know what?
19:14
Astor. Just kind of.
19:17
Lays down and puts her head on a leg and stares up as well.
19:23
You know the Zach it it's weird using his first name when they
19:30
were married to him. OK, that the he works for a
19:37
fucking financial consulting firm and that firm works with
19:42
Endron, right? Like the dude is you were
19:53
married to that guy. Is it serious like?
19:56
Yeah, the dude is. Like.
20:00
He's he's like everything wrong with the past.
20:04
He like we're talking about everything wrong with this
20:06
generation. That dude is.
20:09
I mean, wow, was he good in the sack at least?
20:14
Very. Yeah, that.
20:17
Tracks. I never asked about what he did.
20:22
I never asked any questions. Actually.
20:25
It was very hot and fast. I mean, yeah, I've, I've seen
20:31
his insta. He's yeah.
20:36
If he didn't represent everything wrong with nepotism
20:40
in corporate America, I'd hit the absolutely.
20:44
I'm I'm you know what? Though it's actually really good
20:49
to me and like, I understand that he doesn't have a great
20:52
reputation. Oh, oh, I'm starting to
20:55
understand that real hard. When we were in LA, it wasn't
20:58
that bad. Like, I don't know how I
21:00
understand why he wanted to be out in LA.
21:02
Yeah. No, like his family is
21:05
objectively the word. I mean, granted, all the fucking
21:08
San Quixote families are like the worst.
21:13
Yeah, but like, he OK. Like on a scale of two of my
21:17
target, oh, my target guy, hang out with him.
21:20
Bella fucking Castillo, Yeah. She's not great.
21:24
She's. She seems like a spoiled brat,
21:29
I'm not going to lie. I mean.
21:31
She is, but she introduced me to my boyfriend, so it's
21:35
complicated. Jesse, you remember him.
21:42
No, I don't. Everyone's face is kind of
21:45
blurred together after a while. Chicano started the party
21:51
without everyone. Yeah, yeah, he's God, I hope
21:55
he's all right. I mean, he's probably all right.
21:56
I mean, the guy, like, I I once saw him break a cinder block
22:01
with his face. He's probably fine.
22:02
We'll find out later. And it's just.
22:07
I don't know. I mean, and Bella, I mean, I, I
22:11
don't know why she probably. Yeah, but it's difficult for us.
22:20
I mean we're barely tolerated as is and the anarchs are more open
22:28
minded but just I don't. I'm going to be.
22:36
I don't think I could put my lot in with her.
22:40
I don't blame you, but I don't know.
22:43
Tabula's interested. And who is this?
22:46
Tabula Person. Oh shit.
22:49
Wow. OK, completely buried the lead.
22:51
She sits up. Yeah.
22:52
So Tabula. OK, So look, yeah, I'm with the
22:56
dispersed, but I'm also with Tabula because there's no law
23:00
that says you can't be part of more than one coterie.
23:03
And Tabula is like, I guess he's the head of Honcho Dusk, born
23:09
for, like, a better turn. I mean, we don't really have a
23:11
pecking order, but he just kind of seems to know what he's
23:14
doing. What do they look?
23:16
Like. I don't know.
23:18
I've never actually met him. Or maybe I have.
23:23
He's paranoid. I mean, not without good reason,
23:26
I mean. I mean, yeah, kind.
23:30
Of makes sense. Everyone wants to kill this
23:33
thing. But yeah, so, yeah.
23:36
So no shit. I really should.
23:38
Wow. OK, really buried the lead.
23:40
OK, so Tabula like his coderate, My coderate.
23:45
We we call ourselves Misery Company because, you know, yeah,
23:54
it's like a dust borne Underground Railroad, I guess.
24:00
I mean, Tabula, he's got all these contacts out in LA, down
24:05
in San Diego, up in Vegas. You know, he, he gets people
24:10
like us out of bad situations. That's kind of his whole shtick.
24:15
That's something I could get behind that sounds.
24:19
Yeah, but I didn't. I thought your sister being at
24:23
sacred mercy with her being a phlebotomist at all, I thought
24:27
that was him, you know, 'cause like we needed a new supply.
24:34
And you know, it helps having somebody with that kind of skill
24:38
set around. I I mean yes, but no.
24:44
But there's no not for, not for eating, for the craft that.
24:49
There's no way that my sister would ever step a toe out of
24:55
line. Even if it's a line she doesn't
24:57
know, there's no way. Hey, look, I feel like got a lot
25:03
of jigsaw pieces right now and just they're not really coming
25:10
together. Yeah, yeah.
25:14
She lies back down. We've just got.
25:17
Ourselves a proper little clusterfuck, don't we?
25:21
It's it's putting it mildly. So you work help an Underground
25:31
Railroad. Yeah, something like that.
25:36
Mostly I just keep the Lately what I've been doing is just
25:42
keeping Ambella nice and placated to get rid of the hook
25:46
up on Elle and stuff. She's, well, OK, she's strongly
25:54
in favor of Cocoa Puffs, but she's the only unbound, I think,
26:00
in the entire fucking county that doesn't have some kind of
26:03
stick up their ass. So, yeah, right.
26:10
Well, I still want to touch that situation with the 10 foot pole.
26:13
I don't know. I mean, you're kind of in it
26:15
now. I mean, you were there and
26:21
Freddy Worth was there and fucking Langford was there, so
26:29
you're kind of in it. I mean, yes, I, I realize I'm in
26:33
it, but I'm in it from a totally different perspective, I think.
26:37
Or now I'm just in it. This is so fucking complicated.
26:42
Yeah, you got like a game plan or something.
26:46
My game plan was to lay low, make money, and then fuck off to
26:50
somewhere else. Well, I think the first bit, I
26:54
think that ship has sailed, especially after tonight.
26:57
I mean, they know who you are. That's, well, I mean, I don't
27:02
know if they know about the incredibly based thing that you
27:06
did in LA more. Look, these guys make the
27:12
Gestapo look like slackers. If they know your name, then
27:16
chances are they're they've got a file on you somewhere at this
27:20
very moment. That's why I mean, look, you
27:25
think my Christian name is Hygiia?
27:27
I mean, come on. No, outside of what I was
27:33
planning on doing, I don't have a plan.
27:36
I've been. Kind of going at this by the
27:39
seat of my pants for entirely too long.
27:41
And like as the words entirely too long come out, she Astor
27:47
just starts crying. Oh shit.
27:51
Oh shit, she in that very awkward way that really only a
28:00
perfect stranger can. She tries to console you, kind
28:04
of gives you a slightly awkward hug across the shoulders.
28:08
And you are. Where are you, Astor, in this
28:13
moment? Astor is in replaying everything
28:20
from the explosion, through helping Ash hide A body, through
28:28
being held through, through just everything that has happened.
28:35
Is. And realizing that she hasn't
28:40
paused for a moment to breathe and to understand what's
28:44
actively happening. That like survival mode fight or
28:51
flight keep going until you stop and then you deal with all your
28:56
emotions. Except she stopped and now has
29:00
to think about her next steps. And instead of being able to
29:03
think about it, it's her brain has decided that's the time to
29:07
process. And your tears are blood.
29:15
Hey. Hey.
29:16
It's OK. OK.
29:17
I mean, it's not OK. But, I mean, look, we look.
29:22
You're due for a breakdown, all right?
29:23
I don't blame you. This is it's definitely not
29:29
anything anybody asks for, but you're here.
29:34
You made it through and you managed to get this far by the
29:40
seat of your pants, right? Yep, Yep, She's just like.
29:45
Wiping this blood away and it's just smearing on her jacket.
29:52
Yeah, I, I've, I'll figure it out.
29:55
Just sometimes you'd need to let it out.
30:00
I need something to focus on for a while.
30:02
That's not my problems. Can you teach me?
30:05
Just teach me something. Shit, yeah.
30:08
I mean, I can't really in good conscience that you'd go without
30:14
teaching you a little something that might save your ass next
30:19
time. I'll take it.
30:21
Anything OK? Hold on one second.
30:27
She gets up, just sort of runs her hands through the mess.
30:33
One of these tables you're clinking and shuffling and the
30:37
crackling of old paper and she eventually withdraws from the
30:42
mess very old battered looking 3 ring binder.
30:47
She opens up, starts flipping through, kind of get up and peer
30:53
curiously over her shoulder. It's a mess of just a
30:59
combination of, it looks like chemical formulae and some kind
31:03
of strange, well, alchemical symbolism.
31:10
There's really no other way to put it.
31:13
OK, OK. Oh, here's one.
31:17
I got this from a guy who owns a diner outside of Minnesota, if
31:21
you can believe it. I'll tell you good what's up.
31:25
Well, I think by now you've probably come to the realization
31:31
that fire bad. No one likes fire, not even
31:37
living people like fired. Yeah.
31:40
Well, in the worst case scenario that you get into one of those
31:44
situations, this might at the very least give you a chance to
31:49
haul ass, provided you got a lighter on hand.
31:53
Here, let me show you it's. The paper.
31:57
And she takes you through a process, a process that makes
32:04
sense and yet no sense whatsoever to this strange
32:10
improvised series of tubes and cauldrons and alembics and
32:17
athaners. A symbol from essentially
32:21
medical discards. Things one could conceivably
32:26
order online. A fair amount of spit and duct
32:29
tape. She tutors you in your first dot
32:35
of thin blood alchemy. Yay, Astor would have absolutely
32:41
ran through it several times making sure that she had it
32:45
perfectly if there was any. Like everything was perfect.
32:50
Textbookly perfect question. Is which distillation method are
32:56
you choosing for this formula? Because Astor doesn't know any
33:01
of the other distillation methods at this moment in time,
33:05
she's going to go with whatever she's taught all.
33:07
Right. In that case, instead of having
33:10
you make a roll, this is a fixatio formula.
33:17
OK, just to say it requires an apparatus, an outside vessel, in
33:25
order to distill. Specifically, it is your
33:29
intelligence plus alchemy to create this formula when you
33:34
have the proper tools on hand. Not that Astra could set
33:39
something like this up at her house, but we'll figure it out.
33:44
Hopefully. Seems to.
33:45
Be the words of the day right there.
33:50
My life right now. Meanwhile, you all are gathered
33:57
around the TV and Ash's apartment building.
34:02
It's playing out before you. Some local news station, I said,
34:09
reporting on, well, some very sanitized version of events that
34:15
you were all witness to. The reporter on screen continues
34:21
to drone. And while we still have no
34:24
official statement from the SAPD, that has been confirmed
34:29
that several members of the deceased were in fact affiliated
34:35
with the Grim Bastards Motorcycle Club.
34:39
It is believed that this series of killings may be connected to
34:44
a series of further disappearances located further
34:47
out near the now derelict Adventure Canyon near Red Rocks
34:53
Park. We bring you now live to the
34:57
Yorkshire County of the Sheriff's Department where
35:01
Sheriff Mike Soto has called a press conference.
35:06
And so on and so forth. If I could still throw up, I
35:10
would look like I would want to throw up right now.
35:14
Nick is also there in the apartment with you, and he's
35:20
also staring intently at the sanitized infotainment flashing
35:28
across the Red Network channel. Eventually, just size heavily
35:32
turns off the TV Hail Mary full of grace.
35:39
No. Can I?
35:44
I mean, I feel like this is the part where I'm supposed to say
35:47
it could have been worse, but. I don't know.
35:52
I think it's pretty. I think we, I think we've sort
35:54
of hit critical shit. We kind of have I.
35:59
Don't know if we were, if it were anywhere people gave a shit
36:03
about, maybe in San Arroyo. This is what we call a
36:07
potentially salvageable situation, you know.
36:10
Lovely. Potentially salvageable.
36:16
What does that mean? It means it.
36:19
Depends a lot on a variety of factors that I don't know how to
36:29
explain without making somebody in this room have a panic
36:33
attack. They're going to need to stop
36:35
finding bodies. That definitely would be a good
36:39
start. Yeah.
36:41
Fucking Anselm. So what's?
36:44
His deal? Really.
36:46
Yeah. Short version or long version?
36:53
Medium. Version.
36:55
Fair. Anselm used to be a big deal
37:01
when we're talking really big deal.
37:03
He was quite literally one of the people who built San Arroyo
37:10
back when I was basically just a carriage stop next to an old
37:13
mission. And he was, at least so I've
37:20
been told. I wasn't around back then.
37:26
Good buds with the former Sheriff Moussaf kind of came up
37:33
through the ranks together, so to speak, so maybe he's a little
37:40
biased when it comes to the current circumstance.
37:45
Yeah, OK, so he's got. OK, Yeah.
37:51
And we were just the lucky idiots of the week.
37:54
I mean, don't take it personally.
37:56
He's he's old. And when you get to a certain
38:03
age, you stop seeing people as people and you start seeing
38:11
people as potential cards to play.
38:13
And you just happen to be, yeah, you just happen to be a losing
38:18
hand that he could bluff with I'm.
38:24
Getting real tired of being someone else's pawn.
38:29
First time, no. Yeah.
38:34
So upside. What will happen to Anselm if we
38:38
screw up and all of us get executed by the your friends?
38:46
I honestly don't know that's that's above my pay grade and
38:50
some there's not many people who would want to go toe to toe with
38:56
him. I've.
38:58
Seen first hand what he can do. He's not even what you'd call a
39:04
combat specialist. Like I said, he just happens to
39:07
be dangerous by virtue of surviving longer than a lot of
39:11
other folks here. That's that's unsettling.
39:18
But Ash pitches the bridge of their nose just like thinking.
39:25
So what? OK, I've got another question.
39:31
Who the fuck is Freddie? Nick looks at you when you say
39:37
that. I assume you're not talking
39:39
about Freddie the pizza delivery guy.
39:43
No, the old school frankly wouldn't trust him as far as I
39:51
could throw him. Freddy Werth.
39:55
That's what I was worried you were going to say.
39:58
Yeah. Frederick Werth.
40:00
Yeah. That kind of looks like he
40:02
stepped off of an episode of Sopranos.
40:06
Well I mean not too far off he big Dick swinger local anarch
40:14
movement Once Upon a time. He basically responsible for
40:17
most of the redevelopment back during the Hollywood boom years.
40:24
Interesting and. He's got it out for the
40:27
Crawfords. I don't know why.
40:30
Not the first I've ever heard the name Freddy with things that
40:32
have been bothering the family, so that's interesting, yeah.
40:40
Well, it's you're going to hear the words.
40:44
It's complicated A lot throughout the course of this
40:47
conversation, I'm afraid. I sort of figure that everything
40:51
becomes complicated when you have a small community that's
40:54
living it, that's living together for decades.
40:58
Yeah, try centuries. Yeah, yeah, again.
41:02
Not that old, just want to clarify.
41:05
I died. I died back when Y2K was still a
41:09
major worry. OK, OK.
41:12
Yeah. Yeah, there's this.
41:17
There's this whole thing. Everyone was.
41:19
Worried the computer? Well, the original filing system
41:22
wasn't set up for more digits, so they had to rework a bunch of
41:27
filing systems and indexing so that they could actually, you
41:31
know, record 2000. Yeah.
41:35
Yeah. And like, everybody was
41:36
terrified because, you know, the early Internet age and nobody
41:39
really knew what the fuck an Internet was at that point other
41:43
than an investment opportunity and, you know, Yeah, yeah.
41:48
No, I was not, not that I was there for all of that.
41:53
I was in fucking Iraq anyway. So.
41:59
Fuck the. Situation.
42:01
How do we unfuck it? That is a good question.
42:07
I mean, it's kind of like your old lady said, the only way out
42:10
is through. So we've just got to find all of
42:14
these mystery old items of Masab's them try to solve this
42:21
and. I mean, apparently why?
42:27
Any particular reason why you're conducting a bit of a historical
42:31
audit or were you just feeling like?
42:34
Apparently, according to your magic Wizards, if we bring all
42:40
of these items to the to him, he can do some sort of magic ritual
42:47
that will weaken our dear friend Masaf.
42:51
So possibly we will be able to actually fight him without being
42:56
turned into Swiss cheats. Of course Patton's fucking
43:00
involved. Of course.
43:02
Yeah, because the situation couldn't be stupidly complicated
43:06
enough as is. If this is a.
43:08
Movie. I would say it needs a second
43:11
draft badly. Yeah, well, OK, first thing you
43:16
should realize that almost everybody you talk to has an
43:20
agenda, but they're never going to tell you what that agenda is
43:25
until it's way too late, of course.
43:28
So why? Are you helping us then?
43:33
Responsibility, guilt. Tradition of accounting.
43:37
Pick one They're. All good.
43:39
I got this annoying sense of loyalty from too many years in
43:45
the sandbox, so do with that what you will.
43:50
I mean, I'll take somebody in our corner that's at least
43:54
honest about their intentions. You're.
43:58
Sebastian. Wow, you guys have gotten
44:01
around. We've been busy.
44:06
Sebastian is, he's what you might call a local pain in the
44:11
ass, some itinerant Gangrel wandering around, generally
44:18
making on life more difficult for people, poaching,
44:21
trespassing, other people's domains, you know, the usual rap
44:24
sheet. The only difference is that, you
44:27
know, he's, I guess, part cockroach because no matter what
44:31
we do, we always just find a scurry away and then pop up
44:34
somewhere else inconvenient. Yeah.
44:38
Well, he's the sire of one of our group.
44:42
I think you left after. I think you got here after she
44:46
left. When I was following you.
44:50
The you know the the white girl dreads.
44:54
I vaguely recall. She looks like a witch or a.
44:59
Given the people, given the people you were just hanging out
45:02
with, that doesn't really narrow it down much.
45:04
I don't know what. You're talking about I wasn't
45:06
hanging out with anyone. Yeah, you were abandoning us.
45:13
I told you why I left after the fact.
45:16
Yes. I was trying to tell you during.
45:20
We could all use a little bit better work on our communication
45:24
and listening and that is all. Last night we're we're dealing
45:29
with tonight. We're dealing with tonight,
45:30
folks, Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
45:35
Who's the? It.
45:37
Who is leading the the bikers to us?
45:40
That's the next question, yeah. Well, OK, I actually have some
45:45
fucking answers this time. I did a little bit of digging.
45:48
Well, I say me, a friend of mine at Camp Pendleton did a little
45:53
bit of digging for me because the way you described the setup,
45:57
the improvised explosives, that whole, I don't know, it rang a
46:02
very distant bell. You see.
46:05
Gitz walks over to sort of the kitchenette area where you can
46:08
see he's left his satchel along with a almost comically large
46:16
desert Evil Desert Eagle pistol and a shoulder rig on the
46:22
countertop. Digs into the satchel, pulls out
46:25
a thick file, slaps it down on the coffee table in front of
46:31
you. Damn.
46:35
That's a bad. Thing I have been.
46:36
Doing this for almost 15 years, you got to give me a little
46:39
credit. That's.
46:41
Yeah, I mean, that was fast. I'm going to reach and sort of
46:45
flip the thing open and see what's inside.
46:49
Personnel file from the US Marine Corps, One Gabriel
46:57
Valdez, Lance Corporal EOD Technician, of course served 2
47:06
tours, Afghanistan and Iraq absent without leave.
47:13
Interesting. He was hanging around with this
47:18
girl and I'll give him the description and she keeps
47:21
popping up too, which is not good and she's also a problem.
47:28
Yeah, girl. Well, we're good, but we're not
47:32
infallible, and most of my fellow hounds are out chasing
47:37
after, you know, Masaf trying to make sure he doesn't.
47:42
Well. He gestures towards the TV.
47:44
This well it sounds. Like no one can actually stop
47:48
him so that seems like a waste of time.
47:53
I mean, on a good day and open terrain with a bunch of heavy
47:59
hitters like Langford, front centre maybe.
48:06
I know that's not comforting, but it's what we can.
48:09
Yeah, but. I don't know necessarily that
48:11
you want Langford to be taking credit here, because the moment
48:14
he does is the moment he decides to exercise his other duties
48:19
when it comes to all of you. Yeah, I, I.
48:24
I I would like to not die again. First time wasn't great.
48:32
Agreed, but yeah. He is right about one thing.
48:37
The situation does need to get sewn up because this guy, our
48:41
friend Gabe, Yeah, there's a reason why the masquerade is
48:48
important. And it's not just, you know, we
48:52
all like to pretend that it's, you know, because we don't want
48:55
our love votes, you know, Batman logic, right?
48:57
But the truth is, when people start worrying about the things
49:03
that go bump of the night, guys like this go and get their
49:07
torches and pitchforks and IEDs and military grade weapons.
49:14
Yeah, I've seen those movies, played in those movies before.
49:21
Yeah, yeah, I. I don't want that.
49:25
Really, Really. I realized I didn't.
49:30
I realized I didn't explain this to you very well when we were
49:33
first getting to know each other.
49:34
That's partially my bad. I was still cleaning up the the
49:37
mess at the Palmdale juggling of stuff.
49:41
But this is. But no, this is good.
49:42
It's because you're all here. There's a reason why, God,
49:49
there's a reason why we maintain a low profile.
49:54
The government knows we exist. Uh huh.
49:58
I mean, that's. That is surprising.
50:02
And not too surprising at all. I mean, I'm.
50:04
Not, I'm not saying like, let's be honest, the US government
50:09
isn't that competent. They, they wouldn't be able to
50:11
keep down an entire vampire conspiracy.
50:13
They tried. But I mean, like, there are
50:15
people who work for Uncle Sam who also see their patriotic
50:20
duty to get rid of the things that go bump in the night,
50:25
because how could they not? It's fucking 2025.
50:29
Everybody has a camera in their pocket.
50:31
It's getting increasingly harder for people like us to hide in
50:34
plain sight. Yeah, so we go to.
50:38
Ground we don't embrace. No offense, stars.
50:46
Yeah, there you go. So this situation is all the
50:50
symptoms of spinning out of control and people are scared,
50:57
to put it bluntly. San Arroyo.
51:01
Listen, I know it's a shit hole, but The thing is, think about it
51:06
for a second. Culturally irrelevant.
51:10
Tons of abandoned buildings, one of the worst murder rates in the
51:14
state. You're a human being.
51:17
Yeah, it's objectively the worst time, but if you're one of us,
51:24
it's not too. Shabby blood sucker buffet.
51:27
Exactly. And the thing?
51:29
Is we were doing pretty well up until recently.
51:34
I did. Was there like a impetus, an
51:37
inviting moment for when shit hit the fan?
51:41
I mean, other than the rave 2 nights ago.
51:43
Well, let me answer that question.
51:46
Another question, Do you want to be the impetus?
51:50
Because that's what they're going to do unless you find a
51:54
way to. I don't.
51:56
Really want to be that. Prove our.
51:59
Worth. Pretty much, yeah.
52:04
Well, I kind of do want to make it to at least Arbor Day.
52:11
I'd like to make it to my movies premiere at least.
52:16
Right. So I don't know when somebody's
52:21
going to come knocking because unfortunately, as much as I'd
52:26
love to sit here and continue to ramp up your anxiety, that I do
52:32
have a job that I kind of got to get back to arguably now more
52:36
than ever. So if you got any questions,
52:42
now's the time. In your opinion, I mean, the
52:48
only way out is through to keep doing what we're doing.
52:51
This this thing for your magic blood Wizards?
52:58
I mean, it sounds, it sounds corny as hell, but it's very
53:02
real and Patton's very good at it.
53:04
So like it or not, it might be your only play.
53:10
Yeah, that's what I was thinking.
53:12
And So what we've got one item, we've got a line on a second
53:16
one, but I don't know if we'll be able to, I don't know that
53:19
one, if that one is still available to it.
53:22
What's the? Actual.
53:24
What actually? Happens if we do pull this off
53:28
and kill him or bring him back or something.
53:32
Like what? Actually happens.
53:34
There's a lot of oh, this is through.
53:37
They're all. This is we.
53:38
Don't want him taking credit, but what actually will happen if
53:40
we do all right? Well, legally speaking, you're
53:46
not supposed to be able to kill another kindred unless you're
53:49
given, unless you're given specific remit too.
53:54
However, I think everybody can agree it's a bit of an
53:56
extenuating circumstance. Turned the dust.
54:00
Great good. You've proven that was an entire
54:05
waste of time to bring you back from the dead.
54:09
You bring him in alive, quote, UN quote.
54:13
Then the powers that be can make a big song and dance of going to
54:17
the proper channels and deciding how to put the closing remark on
54:23
the legends of the first Sheriff of San Arroyo, which, let's be
54:28
honest, is probably the more politically convenient route for
54:31
everybody involved. Or you could book it.
54:37
I don't know if that's necessarily a better or worse
54:42
option. The problem is, at least
54:46
geographically speaking, you're kind of between a rock and a
54:50
harm place. I mean, you remember Anne Bella.
54:53
You remember her whole group. Yeah.
54:56
Just imagine that but multiplied across an entire city.
54:59
That's what LA is like for us. And you should not, under any
55:06
fucking circumstances, go to Vegas.
55:08
And I'm not just talking about losing money.
55:11
Good to know. So maybe, I don't know
55:15
Sacramento. I mean nobody gives a shit about
55:17
Sacramento, but God I. Never want to go to Sacramento
55:20
again in my life. Yeah, so.
55:22
Like I said, I don't have the right.
55:23
Options. Aha.
55:26
Real fucking comedian. Yeah, like I said, not not a lot
55:32
of great options, but I honestly, truthfully would not
55:35
blame you if you did. You just you would not be able
55:41
to come back ever. Yeah.
55:47
And anybody you leave behind here, with all likelihood, yeah,
55:53
it's they don't like loose ends as you saw demonstrated at the
56:02
yard. Yeah, definitely.
56:07
Got the the finality of it all. What other?
56:11
Loose ends Did Masoff leave? Other than his school, he has a
56:16
child. Who's that you mean?
56:20
Like baby kindred, not like biologicals.
56:25
No, not, I mean I don't know if he has any biological kids.
56:30
I mean they great great great grandkids at this point.
56:33
I mean the guy was embraced like back during the Manifest destiny
56:37
period. Jesus, but no, I mean, he has a
56:44
vampire child, but she's the biggest anarchic swinger of them
56:51
all, so. So we should definitely go and
56:56
talk to. Her.
56:59
I mean, that's an option. I don't necessarily know where
57:03
you even start because technically I mean I'm the wrong
57:09
person to ask about that because technically my orders, if I see
57:12
Sarah anywhere in my vicinity are to kill on site.
57:18
Fun, she's not. Popular with my crowd?
57:23
We're under. No such compulsion.
57:25
And if nothing else, people really like to seem to talk to
57:29
us. So you know, it's our wedding.
57:33
Personality. Yeah, yeah.
57:38
I mean, the only other fuck it, add it to the list of things I
57:46
shouldn't be doing. There's a group of people in the
57:52
city that always know probably 90% more about what's going on
57:58
than anybody else, but, well, I mean, they're licks, so they're
58:04
going to want something. Yeah, I go to.
58:09
Him because, well, you know, pays to be informed.
58:12
I mean, how do you think got my hands on this whole dossier so
58:15
quick? All right, so you remember.
58:22
Langford. Yeah, big thing.
58:25
So. You know how he looks like he
58:28
lost an argument with the cheese grater?
58:31
Yeah, yeah. So.
58:33
That his clan, that's their whole shtick.
58:40
The blood changes them a lot more dramatically than the rest
58:44
of them. They all look different flavors
58:45
of fucked UPS because of it. Called themselves Nosferatu for
58:52
obvious reasons. Called.
58:55
Cute, yeah. But they know things before
59:00
anyone else does. That's kind of their whole deal.
59:04
And there's, well, I mean, as she grew up here, you probably
59:10
heard, you know, Muddy Mary, all those urban legends about
59:13
people, mole people, you know, people disappearing in the flood
59:16
tunnels. Oh yeah.
59:17
Good shit. Yeah, that.
59:21
Oh shit. Yeah.
59:24
Yeah. I mean, where do you think guys
59:26
who look like that are going to hang out on a nightly basis?
59:30
I. Mean the roll of honor, for one
59:31
but. Bear.
59:34
But you're saying that we need to hit the that we we hit the
59:37
sewers? No, you go in there uninvited.
59:41
You are ground beef. Valid.
59:46
We find somebody who can get us an invitation.
59:49
Yeah, I got an address for a guy.
59:52
You should under no circumstances take anything he
59:55
says at face value. Lovely.
59:59
Great. But he's a *.
1:00:04
Or you could go looking for Sarah, which has its own risks.
1:00:11
Does Sarah have any mortal presence?
1:00:19
The one. Thing off the top of my head is
1:00:21
that there's a there's a motocross park you head down
1:00:28
past the Interstate, exits into Brendos Valley.
1:00:33
Occasionally she pops up there. I say occasionally.
1:00:37
Well. Keep that in the back pocket at
1:00:42
least. Yeah.
1:00:44
We should at least make sure the rest of our coterie is OK.
1:00:51
I got a text. Back from Aster, she's OK.
1:00:54
OK, good, I got. AI got a text from her she she's
1:00:58
at least fine. I'm going to call something for
1:01:00
her car and eat that cost. Yeah, I guess just hanging out
1:01:10
with a thin blood that, I mean I don't give a shit personally,
1:01:16
but that might not lay well with some people.
1:01:21
Unfortunately, she's family, or at least somewhat family.
1:01:26
And yeah, no. I I got the download from
1:01:33
Langford and that feels like a whole bunch and not my business.
1:01:38
It almost feels like I'm stuck in a soap opera again, and that
1:01:44
was the worst six months of my life.
1:01:46
I actually like soap operas. I mean, there's some of them are
1:01:51
good, but like I kind of it was just like, you know.
1:01:54
I mean, I don't know, maybe it's just a me thing, but like, you
1:01:56
know, when your life's constant, you know, danger, Yeah, it's
1:02:01
nice to unwind with just some low calorie bullshit sometimes.
1:02:04
It's fair. I I'd actually enjoy them more
1:02:06
now, but it was mostly it was just I was 22 and they're like,
1:02:10
hi, you're this disposable love interest who will be here for a
1:02:15
while and then she will die. Well, I mean in.
1:02:17
Fairness bro, you got red hair. It's like a red shirt in Star
1:02:21
Trek. Yeah, well, it sounds like we at
1:02:28
least have we have more ways through.
1:02:33
Yeah, nights young at least. Let's go up and out them I.
1:02:39
Need to eat? By the love of God and Cain and
1:02:43
a whole lot else besides, please.
1:02:47
Killing people. Yeah, that do more best.
1:02:54
Cool, cool. And if we need to get in contact
1:02:58
with you, what radio? Yeah, they don't let us carry
1:03:06
phones. You.
1:03:08
Mentioned something about radio, so you know like a frequency
1:03:11
that you usually use or whatever and many of.
1:03:14
You have to find yourself near a wide band radio.
1:03:17
I can give you the frequency number, but I mean, maybe I pick
1:03:20
up, maybe remember my codery does.
1:03:22
And there you met Freda. You met.
1:03:28
Freda, Yeah. And I mean, Briggs is cool and
1:03:32
Langford is. Langford, Langford.
1:03:35
So just. Emergency, emergency.
1:03:40
Yeah, yeah, if, if we really find ourselves some shit and I
1:03:44
need help, like I need somebody ASAP or whatever.
1:03:47
This is a fun. Question, do either of you 2
1:03:49
know how to work for radio? I do.
1:03:52
Actually. That's surprising.
1:03:56
OK, Yeah, you might have noticed that we rely a lot on analogue.
1:04:01
Oh, that. Makes sense?
1:04:05
Yeah, ask Patton about it sometime to it's the whole
1:04:12
thing. But yeah, I sorry, for what it's
1:04:21
worth. Thank you.
1:04:25
Thank you're the first one to say that to us.
1:04:28
I mean the others, they'll never.
1:04:32
Yeah, believe it. Or.
1:04:33
Not I know what it's like to get thrown into the deep end.
1:04:41
So you're saying this isn't usually how things happen?
1:04:44
No, no, no. Usually there's a.
1:04:48
There's a whole process. Why wasn't the process followed
1:04:52
for us? I mean, I can make an educated
1:04:57
guess. I was very much a ask
1:05:01
forgiveness, not permission. Yeah, you, Jeremy, I heard a
1:05:07
little bit about what happened to you.
1:05:09
I think your sire. She cashed in hell of a boon to
1:05:19
make sure you didn't bleed out on the floor, but I don't know
1:05:23
anything more than that. So yeah.
1:05:29
I don't think Henry meant to turn me.
1:05:32
At least it feels what it's like.
1:05:34
But oops, yeah, Ash, it's not a mystery that Mary just wanted to
1:05:41
continue the fucking bloodline. It's a your clan, they take that
1:05:48
shit real seriously and well, I mean, you're Crawford.
1:05:54
Yeah, I had a looking back on the week before my death, I knew
1:05:59
I I'm I was getting scouted. There were some just extenuating
1:06:05
circumstances that I'm sure hastened the arrival of my on
1:06:08
death. Waving all those death flags.
1:06:12
Oh, I got literally thrown off a building.
1:06:14
Yeah, you remember you saying that?
1:06:17
Wait, what? Oh like 2 goons like literally
1:06:21
were there like got hired to kill me.
1:06:24
That's not what I was told. Oh, 'cause I mean the last thing
1:06:31
I remember I had had one too many vermelas.
1:06:35
I got what was, I mean, honestly, it was either I was
1:06:41
going to get sexually harassed or murdered by these two guys.
1:06:45
And by the time I got off the top of the building, I realized
1:06:48
that was one and not the other, and I woke up dead.
1:06:52
Yeah, no, the one of the few benefits of my job is that I get
1:06:55
a notice every time we have a new bouncing baby fledgling in
1:06:59
the area because it's kind of my job to, you know, police that
1:07:01
shit. So what did?
1:07:03
Mary tell you. Mary didn't tell me shit.
1:07:06
I got the memo from, I got the memo from my boss Langford that
1:07:12
Mary Gillan of the Eminent Clan Ventru had gotten permission
1:07:17
from Her Majesty, the Tradition of Progeny, and it just so
1:07:21
happened to be 1 Ash Crawford. And I should be on the lookout
1:07:24
because as well, no offense, but you'd have a bit of a reputation
1:07:30
for, you know, your hands being rated E for everyone.
1:07:36
Santa Roy was bull in a China shop 2024 years running.
1:07:41
You know, bulls don't actually wreck, like are actually very
1:07:44
nimble. They're not going to like, run
1:07:45
into things. It's like a misnomer.
1:07:49
Well, regardless of what kind of animal in a China shop you were,
1:07:52
Yeah, that was about the gist of it.
1:07:53
But nobody said shit about. Yeah, OK, OK, that.
1:07:59
Yeah. I was drunk.
1:08:01
I wasn't that drunk. Well your death was ruled non
1:08:08
existent as far as the state of California is concerned.
1:08:11
You're still alive and well and kicking.
1:08:15
Yeah, I've. Just.
1:08:17
Done the nocturnal life and it's not like that was much of A
1:08:21
change for me anyways. OK, great.
1:08:24
Well, that surprise, surprise, they're not telling the boots on
1:08:28
the ground everything. I'm shocked, Brockton.
1:08:34
Just made. Yeah, well look, hounds are like
1:08:38
mushrooms, OK? We get kept in the dark and fed
1:08:40
shit. Good, that's good.
1:08:44
You know, I got a lot. Of free time to come up with
1:08:46
these things. And I so rarely actually get to
1:08:48
do this whole spiel. So nice change of pace, I guess.
1:08:53
Yeah, OK. Let me kick tires, light fires,
1:08:58
etcetera, etcetera. I should probably.
1:09:01
Go clean all this blood off of me.
1:09:03
Yeah, yeah, I, I, I'll figure out food on the way, I guess.
1:09:09
Yeah, I've Jeremy. I've got some clothes that
1:09:13
probably won't fit you but are at least, like, doable.
1:09:17
I've also got some cleaning supplies in the restroom.
1:09:21
I stocked up because as it turns out, Vitae is really hard to get
1:09:25
out of clothes. Need tenderizer.
1:09:31
It. Dissolves the enzymes that it
1:09:34
also works on other several other organic stains.
1:09:37
That you think? Protein based.
1:09:39
Yeah, but yeah. Mucasa sucasa.
1:09:45
Thanks. Yes, you know.
1:09:48
How many worried text messages do I have?
1:09:54
Oh, several. And while all of this is
1:10:00
happening, Nick has gotten up and he's like peering out
1:10:03
through the curtains directly across the way from your
1:10:08
apartment. Ash looks over.
1:10:12
It is. Please tell me it's just one of
1:10:15
my neighbors going streaking and that we don't have like a hit
1:10:19
squad coming. Nah, nothing that traumatic.
1:10:22
It's just Maggie, a real T. Yeah.
1:10:28
OK, don't, don't feed there. Got it.
1:10:38
Are there OK areas to feed in? Yeah.
1:10:43
No, I mean, usually little Hollywood's the designated rack
1:10:48
because I mean, it's little Hollywood, but what with the
1:10:53
police attention in that area that wouldn't recommend it.
1:10:58
Jeremy's Jeremy's actually going.
1:11:00
To kind of look up and he's going to give the list of places
1:11:03
that Carson gave him. Wow, Wow.
1:11:08
I guess somebody did their homework.
1:11:10
Yeah, I guess you could also go. You could try South Pacific
1:11:18
Station. There's a it sounds as fucked up
1:11:23
as it is, but there's a a homeless encampment there that
1:11:27
nobody's really going to check in on.
1:11:30
Yep. Oh, and.
1:11:33
Or, you know, see who's staying at the Red Roof to.
1:11:38
I was most. People, well most people there
1:11:41
are on their way out anyway, so. Thanks.
1:11:46
You have a car coming to pick you up, I guess.
1:11:52
Yeah, something like that. I can walk.
1:11:56
You out I guess while I figure out whatever I'm doing make a
1:11:59
phone call anyways. Yeah, this is really not how
1:12:09
it's supposed to be handled. Yeah, I just.
1:12:15
I know I keep saying that, but I just want to make that clear to
1:12:19
you guys. If I had my way on this one,
1:12:23
this would be a much calmer, much more thorough conversation,
1:12:27
but I just don't think we have the time I.
1:12:31
Really. Don't.
1:12:33
Yeah, at least you've. Probably gotten to talk to your
1:12:35
the person who made you for more than 5 minutes.
1:12:38
Oh no, the person that made me, I never met him.
1:12:45
Oh, I just. Woke up thinking that the guys
1:12:51
on the other side of the village in the middle of Lavont finally
1:12:54
got the drop on me and instead I woke up with fangs and
1:12:58
grievance. So there was that.
1:13:01
I haven't seen Henry since he embraced me.
1:13:04
Yeah, look, it it was anybody who got embraced and doesn't get
1:13:13
a little fucked up because of it.
1:13:15
I haven't met him. Yeah, it's kind of traumatic.
1:13:20
I don't know if that's helpful or not, just it is what it is.
1:13:27
Thanks. For the record, Nick.
1:13:30
Yeah, I mean, somebody's got to take their job seriously, right?
1:13:35
So. It's appreciated.
1:13:41
Yeah, if we see handsome again, what should we do?
1:13:45
Should we act like we don't know that we're being fucked over or
1:13:49
what? Don't give him a reason.
1:13:54
I guess that's. Good enough, I guess.
1:13:59
I mean if he was still following us I feel like he would have
1:14:02
intervened during the fucking. You know.
1:14:05
He said he was never going to intervene, he was just going to
1:14:08
watch us. Yeah.
1:14:11
And I really do not have a read on that guy Wagner, but from
1:14:22
that region, yeah, I guess they. Don't worry about it.
1:14:28
OK. He and Raleigh head downstairs.
1:14:35
Is anyone doing anything here in the apartment I.
1:14:42
Guess Ash offered Jeremy a change of clothes, so I guess
1:14:45
I'll take up on that. Yeah, it'll be I, I think with
1:14:54
Jeremy being a large bean pole, I think it's going to be, it's
1:14:58
not going to be great options, but probably like some like.
1:15:01
Talking. Yeah, he's.
1:15:03
Going to end up with like the T-shirt like barely he on and
1:15:08
something like that. I'm assuming it's.
1:15:11
Yeah, it's probably like, yeah, I think it's like, it's probably
1:15:13
like AT shirt and jogging pants. It's one of those novelty
1:15:17
T-shirts that says, like, California's Cowboy County on
1:15:21
it. I'm going to put it on.
1:15:23
Backwards. There, Yeah.
1:15:27
Don't play that. Not because I'm I, I care what
1:15:30
that it says, but more because I feels like Bennett's doing it
1:15:33
ironically. I mean, being accused of being a
1:15:37
vampire is one thing, but being accused of being a hipster?
1:15:41
Oof. I mean, I yeah, sure, why not?
1:15:44
Yeah. And then?
1:15:45
Jeremy's going. To scrub all the blood off of
1:15:47
his face and hands from, you know, trying to kill someone.
1:15:50
Yeah. How is Jeremy feeling about
1:15:52
that? Not great.
1:15:54
And. What's even funnier is that he
1:15:58
didn't even actually kill anyone so.
1:16:01
Didn't. Actually really help.
1:16:02
So he's just kind of processing that I.
1:16:06
Mean you were trying to say if you're OK friends might be a
1:16:11
little strong words, fellow suicide pact buddies maybe.
1:16:18
Regardless, he was trying to kill you and you tried to stop
1:16:23
him and you kind of did stop him.
1:16:25
And I mean, it's not like, it's not like you killed anybody, not
1:16:29
like your friends had, but you didn't.
1:16:35
I mean we've. We've been leaving a trail of
1:16:36
bodies and the only option I had at the time was to try to kill
1:16:40
someone. And yeah, so that's processing
1:16:44
that. You don't want to leave a trail
1:16:47
of bodies. No, I don't want to hurt.
1:16:50
Anyone. But that's that's where we're
1:16:52
at. And I think he Jeremy's kind of
1:16:57
feeling like tired and like, scraped a little thin, but yeah.
1:17:04
Music. It's very faint now, but you're
1:17:08
starting to realize it's always there.
1:17:10
It just depends on the volume. But it's contemplative, the
1:17:17
elevator music of the soul. I've I.
1:17:23
Don't know. Joe Never.
1:17:24
Stops, He'll like let himself like sigh and just like stare at
1:17:29
himself in the mirror for a minute and then do what he used
1:17:31
to do before he'd like go out on stage, which he's he'd like
1:17:35
psych himself up and then he'd come out with a like cordial,
1:17:40
like half interested smile on his face.
1:17:44
But it's it is. Yeah, it's a all right.
1:17:48
Party mode on face work mode on. Time to face the music,
1:17:55
literally and figuratively. Music.