“This is unbelievable bullshit.” Rubicon was sitting down in a metal chair, his hands tied with a plastic zipline behind his back. He was so pissed off, with himself, his situation, and everything.
All he had to do was go to Vibora Bay, and beat up the Chick With No Pants who took hostages in a mall. No big deal, right? Except one of her arrows went right through his heart and sent him immediately into torpor.
How was he supposed to know that Vibora Bay was held by Sabbat?
Not that Rubicon was card-carrying total Cammie Brujah, but he wouldn’t go against his leader, who would not only beat the shit out of him if he broke ranks, but would force him to take the next step to a Blood Binding. He’d seen it happen to his other mates, and knew that was something he certainly didn’t want.
He was starving, and this close to losing it. He knew they knew it. They had left him alone in this room for hours. Sunrise should be coming soon.
The door opened, and two men came in. One looked like a man; the other looked like amonster. Nosferatu and who knew what, Rubicon thought to himself.
“Rubicon,” said the man, “We have treat for you.”
The monster, a creature with a melted face and tusks for teeth, took a seat across from him. “We’re not going to kill you,” he said, his voice a deep rumble in his throat. The man stood against the wall, crossing his arms and watching.
“Ain’t that a shame, cuz then I’ll get a chance to kill you,” said Rubicon.
“I doubt that,” said the monster, and caught Rubicon’s eyes. Rubicon was enraptured for a moment by the gold in the creature’s eyes, and it seemed to move. Coalesce, then separate. “Look deep,” the monster said. “Look deeper.”
Rubicon stared, caught in the man’s gaze. The gold flowed in the dark of the man’s pupil.
“Show me your Beast.”
Rubicon didn’t fight it, as his body tensed and pulled against the ziplines. His fangs dropped and he hissed, angry at being denied his true freedom now.
“Excellent,” said the man against the wall. “Bring it in.”
The door opened and a naked woman was thrust inside. She had small cuts and bruises, but the blood smell was all around her.
Rubicon pulled himself off the chair, almost dislocating his arms to do so.
The man and the monster calmly left the room. Said the man, “What’s the pool?”
“Two grand.”
“And how long?”
“Most of them are less than five minutes.”
The man looked at his Rolex. “I say two.”
“I concur.”
The man laughed, slapping the monster on the back. They heard banging coming from the room. “Let’s go watch the show,” said the man, and they went to a different room. There were four cameras set up in the room. A small group of people were gathered in the camera room, the ones who had stake in the pool.
“Brujah, I told you,” said a woman as the two men entered.
“So it seems,” said the monster. “He was far too easy to turn.”
There was a scream as Rubicon slammed the metal chair into the wall, over and over in an attempt to dent it enough to get his arms around. The woman screamed and pounded on the door. Rubicon slammed his arm against the wall hard, and shrugged, trying to get the chair off.
He changed tactics, and rushed at the woman, throwing his body against her. One camera on the opposite side of them was able to catch him trying to get his mouth on her neck, as she batted against him. He didn’t seem to move, but only his fangs and mouth. Finally, he latched onto her neck, and she tried with all her might to get him off. It wasn’t the jugular vein, but it was enough to get the woman to stop fighting.
Everyone in the room awwed. “Who won?”
The monster took out a piece of paper. “Paul Chase.”
“This one was too quick. Not very satisfying,” said the man. “Have the ghouls take him out at first light.”
The Nosferatu nodded, as the crowd dispersed.
~~~~~~~~~~
Inspiration: The Writer’s Idea Thesaurus. Situation: “A man displaying a demonic ‘second personality’ is hypnotized in an effort to exorcise that evil second self – but instead of being exorcised the demonic self becomes the dominant personality.”