Title: Dorm Games Part One

Author: Talon

Author E-mail: VTheNippledOneV@aol.com

Rating: R. Contains some brutality.

Summary: Girl becomes a player in the Masquerade. This is from a really cool dream I had. Some ideas herein are not apart of my subconscious. Otherwise I'd just check myself in to an institution.

Disclaimer: The characters are all mine. However, the ideas or outlining story belong to White Wolf, and/or anyone affiliated with White Wolf.

Feedback: Um, yeah. I have my flame retardant clothes on today. So flame away.

Dedication: Everyone who likes to read my stuff.

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When I was young, my mother and I lived across from a college campus. We lived in a small two-story house, with no yard and not a lot of privacy from our nosy neighbors. But, it was home.

Obscuring the view, of our near rural community was a twelve story high- rise building. It was quite obvious shoved right in the middle of nowhere. My mother hated the building and many times lobbied for its deconstruction. I thought it added a bit of sophistication to our life.

I remember thinking, once I had graduated high school, I would become a part of that school's student body, graduate and became a worthy doctor. I had it all planned out, my whole life.



It never occurred to me that the end would come so soon.

*************

As I grew older, I began to notice that the houses around me began to disappear and became other high-rise buildings. It seemed as if the construction worker built day and night, never to take a break.

By the time I was eighteen, ours was the only house left in the neighborhood. It was quite strange. What were even stranger were the missing children. Children I had grown up with just disappeared.

I knew something bad hadn't happened to them. Their families just moved away. My mother would always exclaim, "See! There are strange things that happen at that college. And it's making everyone move away. But not you and I baby. No one is going to force us out of his house. No one."

I hadn't really understood what she meant by strange activity, Not until I awoke in the middle of the night and looked out my window. Crowds of people left the seemingly deserted building, heading towards the other buildings on the campus. The school day had started. I thought that was awfully odd. Classes should have been over by now.

I had to squint to see. Where were they going, in complete darkness, anyway? They needed no flashlights or anything of that nature. It was as if they knew where they were going.

The phone had rung a couple of times before my mom picked it up. I heard her arguing with someone. She tried to keep her voice strong, but I knew. Someone had scared her to death.

I left my room to go to the living room, where she sat with her head in her hands.

I inched forward and patted her on the shoulder. 'Mama, what's wrong?"

My mother met my eyes. Her face was soaked with tears. Its usual mahogany complexion was very, very pale. She sighed deeply and pressed a soft had to my cheek. "Paige..." she started, her voice quivering. "We.." she sighed again.

"Mama," I said, feeling the tears burning my eyelids. "What's the matter?"

She looked into my eyes with her coffee brown eyes and I saw a smile play upon her lips. She looked nostalgic, her mind replaying memories. Memories of me.

I felt a warm tear fall upon my cheek and run down my chin. Some terrible had happened.

"Paige, honey." My mama began again. "Promise me you'll always be careful in whatever you do."

"I will be careful, mama. You know that." What was she talking about?

"I know baby. I do." She held my hands in hers. "But you can't trust everyone. Some people are bad." She looked down. "Times have changed since I was a little girl." She looked to the heavens and muttered. "Maybe not all that much."

"Mama, I'm worried." I placed my head in her lap, feeling my tears staining her nightdress.

She smoothed my hair down, wiping my tears away. She whispered, "Paige. My little Paige. So beautiful. So human."

I looked up. "Mama?"

"You will understand soon enough, honey." She began to cry again. "I wish I could protect you. Keep you from understanding but they have control." She buried her face in her hands. "I tried to keep you safe, but they've won."

"Who? Who's won, Mama?" I backed away from her.

"The Assassins." She whispered.

Just then our front door opened and six figures clad in black stalked into our home. They were very ominous in the soft light of our living room. They stood in a circle glaring at me, all in black cloaks. They said nothing, which was scarier. I looked around the room, trying to analyze each face. However, each face, was as stoic and empty of emotion as the next.

A woman, smaller than the rest, stepped forward. She looked up at me with surreal eyes, as silver as the moon. She removed her hood, revealing onyx black hair, and brown skin. She now held an amused expression on her face. She reached a thin hand out to touch my face. I jerked back. "Don't touch me."

She smirked. "I am not going to touch you." She spoke with a thick Middle Eastern accent. "They are here for that." She motioned to the other five people in the room.

I looked to my mother who now looked quite sickly. "Mama? What's going on?"

The woman spoke up. "You have been chosen. To be one of us."

"One of you?" I turned to her, tears dripping down my cheeks. "What does that mean?"

My mother and the woman spoke in unison. "An Assamite."

"An Assamite? What's-" I started to ask questions but the woman raised a hand to shush me.

"First, I don't want you to hold this against your mother." She looked up. "Too many of us do that. It wasn't her idea." She smiled. "She is a woman of strong mind. Now, I see where you get it from." The smile erased just as quickly as it appeared. "However, force prevails. As for who were are? You'll find that out soon enough."

"What is she saying Mama?" I looked at my mother.

She just rocked back and forth, chanting, "I tried. I tried."

One of the cloaked figures interrupted. His deep male voice booming throughout the room. "Miriam, let's get this moving."

"Shut up!" She said.

The man continued to speak. "Do something now or I will. Both of these people endanger the Masquerade by knowing we exist."

"Quiet now, or I will kill you." Miriam removed her cloak, revealing a complicated leather outfit. Intricate straps ran the length of her body. Holsters here, sheaths there.

It caused me to gasp.

"Relax." She said. "I said I was not going to touch you. They will do that."

I looked back to the others. They'd all removed their cloaks and were wearing similar clothing. If clothing was what you would call it.

Miriam nodded to my mother. My mother rose and ran to embrace me. "I'm so sorry Paige. I love you so much. Please forgive me." She pleaded, holding me tightly.

"I love you too, Mama." I cried, body weak with sobs.

One of the leather clad figures pulled my mother away from me. "It is time." He said blandly.

I looked to the strangers and back to my mother. "Time?"

A flash of light caught my eye, as a two-foot sword swooped down and beheaded my mother.

"NOOOOOOOO!!!!" I screamed, running towards my mother's body. "MAAAAAMMMMAAAAA!!!"

Another man, one with short blond hair caught me by the waist and slammed me to the ground, in a warm pool of my mother's blood. I screamed, thrashing my arms and legs.

"Look at me!" he said, in a guff voice.

I did. One look into his eyes, and I felt my body relax and all thoughts disappear. Everything had a red lining. As if a child had outlined everything with a red crayon. I was paralyzed.

Two of the people stretched my arms out at my sides, and two more stretched my legs. I felt the cold skin of another against my face. They were going to kill me too. And I wanted it. I wanted to die.

I could hear nothing but my breathing and heartbeat and Miriam stood looming over me. Her mouth was moving but I heard nothing. Miriam smiled, showing me white fangs. She kissed me gently on the lips and I felt a prick as the man at my neck buried his fangs in the vein of my neck. I heard my breath speed up, and my heart race.

I felt stings as the others punctured the designated parts of my body. I felt the suction of one's mouth at my neck like the kiss of a sibling, brother or sister. The mouths at the folds of my arms were like hungry animals, frenzying for the last drop of food. And the other two were sucking at my thighs like lewd lovers wanting more that just the feel of my skin.

My breath caught in my throat as my heart skipped a beat, then slowed down. I was dying. My eyes fluttered from trying to stay conscious. I couldn't breath. My body jerked with my heart's effort to keep pumping. The sound was resonant in my ears like the occasional beat of a solitary drum.



I licked my suddenly dry lips. I was so thirsty. I felt the suction of my attackers mouths give way and they removed themselves from my skin. I lay there helpless, too weak to move. My eyes closed, and I felt into complete darkness.

In the distance, as I was detached from my body, I felt the trickle of warm blood as it made it's way into my mouth.



Part Two



I awoke with a start. I grabbed my chest, pained with the effort to breathe. I blinked once or twice, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. It didn't take long. I felt strange. Something was different about me. I panicked.

"Relax." Said a male voice. "You're safe now."

My voice came out ragged and rough. "How?"

I looked around searching for the voice. The man just appeared out of the shadows. "Why, you're with me, of course.

"And who are you?" I squinted against the light he turned on. "And how did I get here?"

As my eyes adjusted, I focused upon a man with short black hair. "I'm Lott."

"Okay. Can I go home now?" I searched for some article of clothing. "But before I go home, can I have some clothes."

He chuckled, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Paige, Paige. This is your home."

I smirked. Either this guy was crazy, or....Okay he was just plain crazy. "No, my home is across the street with my mother!" I words stopped in my throat. I felt the tears burning behind my eyelids. "My mama.."

I scooted off of the bed, comforter wrapped around my body. "You psychos murdered my mother."

"And we killed you!" He said it so, nonchalantly, I had to meet his eyes.

He looked so stoic, void of emotion. So ethereal, that I gasped and stumbled back. "What the hell are you?"

"I'm a vampire. I'm sure you've been told of us. But we are apart of something called the Masquerade.."

I sat there while he told me of my newly obtained history. It was a lot to take in, and it was quiet exotic. Extremely, different from what I was used to.

He told me of the Prince of the City, Julian Luna, a Ventrue vampire, former enforcer. He tries to protect the Masquerade but is lost in his own emotions. With a human in fact.

Once Lott was finished, I stood up, with a pile of clothes and walked silently away from him.

"There is an extra toothbrush in the medicine cabinet. Feel free." He said, as if it were routine.

I was now an Assamite. We weren't apart of the Sabbat. Nor the Camarilla. We were our own people. Independents. Along with the Followers of Set, Ravnos, and Giovanni.

It was all very strange, and now very, very true.

"Julian would like a word with my new grandchilde." Lott called from the next room. "Please get dressed and we'll visit him."

Just as I was coming out of the bathroom a girl burst into the room, a happy ball of energy. "When can we start Dorm Games, Lott? I'm so excited!"

Confusion must've been quite prominent on my face because they both stared at me.

The girl smiled, tossing a platinum lock over her shoulder and extended her head. "Hi! I'm Xuxu. Are you my new cousin?" She looked back and forth from Lott to me.

I just stared at her hand, not saying a word. This was all new to me.

However, the gallant, Lott spoke first. "Yes, Xuxu. She is. Can you excuse us for a moment?"

Her mouth formed a quite human, 'O'. And she stood up abruptly. "Oh, I'm sorry. She's getting her first lesson! I'll go. Nice to meet you Paige." And she closed the door behind her.

I glared at Lott. "What's Dorm Games?"

He walked behind me and placed his hand upon my shoulders. "You'll find out after you meeting with the Prince." He turned me to him, stern look in his black eyes. "Paige, listen to me. It is imperative that you return here before dusk. Julian is a cheater and he'll try to make us lose. I want a fair game this time."

"What are you talking about?"

He looked at me with a proud look in his eyes, like a father to a daughter. "You're one of our best Paige. I can see that already." He kissed me on the forehead. "Good luck. You will be taken in one of our cars." He smirked and left me standing alone in the room.



***********

I tried to return to the dormitory before dusk, however, Julian was purposely stalling. Trying to make me late. I felt like the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. I'm late, I'm late. I'm late for an important date!

I saw a triumphant grin play upon Julian's hard features. The streetlights were on and I wasn't even near the dormitory. Once he stopped talking about the do's and don'ts in his city, I spoke up. "I have to go now. I have class."

With a wave of his hand, I was out of his mansion, in the Deville. And on my way back to the dorms.

*********

With my new lightening speed, I ran inside the dormitory, Xuxu and Miriam met me just inside the doors, both were dressed in the same weapons I'd seen the night of my embrace. In each of their hands were a two foot sword covered in a sheath.

Miriam smiled, extending one sword to me first. "These are yours. For the Games and then on."

I blinked. Xuxu and Miriam helped me put the weapons on, each sheath crossing my chest. It felt kind of awkward. But some how it felt right.

Miriam looked down the dark, sconce-lit hallway. "Shit, they are coming. Good luck!" She said, and they both disappeared into the shadows.

I was left standing there, weapons I didn't even know how to use attached to my body. Hearing the vampire of a about one hundred vampires in the distance, I removed a sward and stood there.

Hundreds of vampires with there gamefaces on came charging through the hallway. Suddenly I knew who was on my side and who wasn't. I let out a war- cry and charged into the throngs of vampires and began to swing my trusty sword, each swoop removing a head or two.

Before I knew it I was standing in the dim hallway, still yielding the sward, surrounded by about fifty-something vampire bodies, laying even more lifeless than they already were. I looked down at me self, drenched with borrowed blood. Droplets making puddles on the floor. I looked around me, where the participating players, including Xuxu, Miriam and Lot, stood also drenching in blood.

Ringing in my ears, was a great white noise. As if I'd gone completely deaf. It was dead silent, no pun intended.

I swallowed, licking the blood off of my lips.

"Paige, reverse your Obfuscate. They never knew what hit em." Xuxu said.

"Yes." I heard Lot say, gladly. "*That was Dorm Games. And we won."

Fin.