Ellis Duban

Ellis jerked awake as the screaming started. Sitting up she looked around trying to figure out where she was. The stiffness of the seat reminded her as she leaned forward and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. The church pews were unforgiving, which made sense she figured; God wants you to listen when he's talking, so why make the seats comfy? With a sleepy smile she ran her hands up into her loose hair, scratching when she heard more screams.

Twisting around she looked at the church entry way where the sound had drifted in. This small town was nothing like Nachton - the streets were deserted and quiet when she drove down main street. The church was the only thing open this time of night, ironically. Ellis stood and walked back out to the street, pushing open the double doors quickly.

The city hall building lights were on.

'Hmm.'

Curiosity had always gotten the best of her and in the last 1500 years, that was one constant in her life. That and the trouble it ultimately always got her in. Ah well, why fight destiny. Her boots clanked as she stepped down the wooden steps, her hands tucked back into the pockets of her loose fitting jeans. She had left her jacket in the car, so her button up shirt fluttered in the wind, untucked. Not her normal choice for a night walk, but when you find a comfy pair of jeans, you gotta wear them out till they're full of holes.

Crossing the street she stood in front of City Hall, looking and listening for a tell tale sign of a problem. Hands still tucked into her pockets, not really fearing anything that might bump in the night, she walked in, shoving the door open with her shoulder. All things considered, she was probably the most dangerous thing in town, hands in pocket and everything. That was the nice thing about being a vampire - knowing the bumps in the night were probably lunch more than a threat.

Walking into the lobby, she noticed no one was around - nothing was amiss. Perception was a wonderful ability, but she admitted that it was a little scary that there wasn't anything picking up on her radar. No faint heart beats, no breathing. Nothing. The lobby connected with a long hallway that she casually walked down till she reached another double door. This time she took her hands out of her pockets and pushed open the door.

Nothing.

Correction, there was a small box on a table at the far end of the room. On the floor there were hundreds of pictures. Bending down she picked one up and looked at it. It was a picture of a little asian looking woman with long black hair. She picked up another - some random person in a picture with a less than thrilling background. Looking around she could see that all the pictures were basically the same - 1 person in some setting.

Standing Ellis walked towards the box and put her hand on it. No bad vibe. No explosion. Still - nothing. Opening the box she saw another picture, face down. Her hand hovered over it but hesistated. She pulled her hand back and then ran it through her black hair. Ellis closed the box again and looked around the room.

Where the fuck was everyone? She walked over to a window and looked out. The city was still dark and quiet. Too quiet.

'Fuck.'

Ellis looked at her hand and noticed the dirt from the box. She wiped it away on the back of her jeans and started to walk out of the building. Then she stopped, shoulders slumped. God damn fucking curiosity.

With an annoyed walk back to the box, Ellis opened it and took the picture out.

'Fuck me.'

It was a picture of her, in a familiar dress at a familiar house...about 1300 years ago. When something hit her like a brick house from behind, her last thought was of how her curiosity was a pain in the fucking ass.