A/N: Gurrgh.

Forgive me for the short chapter and too FUCKING MANY OC'S.

Chapter 2-10: God of Ashes

Downtown Seattle, 12th October 2010, 2:39 AM

The ground was covered with yellowed cigarette butts and empty beer cans. The alley was enclosed on both sides by towering buildings, blurry shadows moving around behind the dirtied windows. Graffiti covered the walls, but still could not conceal the bare concrete below so many streaks of paint. Only one flickering streetlight was to be seen, and the cramped alley seemed like an oasis of silence in the ocean that was a living city, pulsing with a sick vitality. The sky was nearly invisible, cut through by the razor wires of power lines spreading like so many veins, slowly pulsing their life into the organism they sustained.

Frank Willis took a final, long wheeze of his cigarette, nearly burning his fingers on the filterless remnant of tobacco. Spitting out the last bits of rolling paper and tobacco, he breathed in deeply, tightened his loosened tie, adjusted his collar and spoke.

"Judging from the amount of blood and the witness accounts - claws and teeth and the like - I'd have to say the culprit isn't human at all." The two assistants stationed at the entrance to the alleyway sighed and rolled their eyes.

"There goes ol' van Helsing again. I bet he's gonna tell us it's a werewolf."

"Well, at least he's good for a laugh. Since people stopped writing private eye noir novels, he's been the best source of ridiculous clichés around here."

Willis stared up towards the buildings overhead, signs advertising loan companies and massage parlours reflected in his eyes. He brushed a stray strand of hair out of his eyes and pulled out a titanium-finish flask from his coat pocket.

"Say what you want, men, but sometimes the unexplainable is the only explanation. How'd you explain ten eyewitnesses speaking of dagger-length claws and a mouth full of canine teeth?"

The oldest of the assistants, a heavily stubbled man who looked like wearing a badge caused him physical pain, leaned up against the wall and laughed, the sound hoarse and devoid of humor.

"Seemingly, they didn't bother teaching you witness psychology, van Helsing. The eyewitnesses were members of the same group, a bunch of

shit-for-brains gangbangers. They'd have made each other believe. That's how it works."

Willis took a long swig from his flask, a trickle of bourbon dripping down into his rough stubble. He tapped the flask with a nail and swore under his breath when it only yielded a hollow, ringing sound.

"They separated. Even the ones who broke off said it could've been a lycanthrope."

The stubbled assistant groaned and rubbed his eyes.

"Okay, so it's a werewolf. Doesn't explain why the only man they put on the case is a fucking alcoholic. If they want to solve it, heap it on a newbie. If all the cases are this obvious, it's child's play."

Willis stepped forward, letting the lone streetlight illuminate him. The light laid itself over his mussy hair and drawn face like a curtain. His eyes were slightly unfocused, and his beige coat had been left open to show a white shirt peppered with burn marks.

"So call me an alchy. I'm not a good detective either. But I believe. There's something out there. For starters, the body's gone. If you know what to assume, it's all easy. Take the case if you want. Come to think of it, go ahead. I'll take it at my own pace. If you believe you can solve it, try. Let's see if the guy who had to try only once to get in beats the guy who scraped the new depths of low the first two times."

The Internet, floating .us domain

diaries of the hunt

jace helped us find a new domain again. makes me grateful for having created him on a whim

nessie is still having a freakout. at least we're still able to put out pics for all of you

this time we saw that the cops were fucking pussies. went down just as easy as the others

got a car, going to seattle

nessie said that hunter bitch is there now. everyone from the bbs, her name is angela weber

kill her if you see her and nessie will pay you twenty grand

jason's gonna be at the hs party tomorrow night

bring us one grand and we'll fix you up

so here are the pics:

Download folder rljps containing and 26 others: link