The Laughing Corpse

Subject: The Laughing Corpse Mon Jul 28, 2008 1:59 am

20, 000 Years Ago

The silence lofting around the deep dark underground tunnels was interrupted by screaming. Each second a new one echoed through and into the cells where each prisoner was kept. Each one was small and dank. It smelled like blood, sweat, and dead bodies because soon after the Corpus finished their torture sessions, the person or creature would soon die from the extent of the wounds. It was a nightmare that would never seemed to end even if you prayed as much as possible. Down here, there was no God, no Devil, just you and your soul.

At the farthest end of the cells was Nicholai. He was no older than fifteen when the torture started to happen because of his powers coming in. The Corpus feared him and raised him. They could never break his mind though, each time he ran off into his safehaven. Sitting in the corner of the cell, the only light that was able to be seen was the small slits from the window at the top of the door. Dressed in nothing more than a paired of tattered shorts, his head was buried deep within his hands. Tear-stained cheeks burned from a fresh set that fell. A grown boy was crying. Most would have laughed but if they only knew what he went through, they could probably spare him some sympathy.

"Nicholai...oh Nicholai..." Her voice sounded. It was sadistic and dark. Each time he heard, he would try and pretend he was not there but she always saw him.

"Go away...go away...go away..." He muttered in Romanian.

"Oh dear, is it too much?"

"Go away...go away..." He continued.

Still shaking, fear trembled through his whole body as he felt hands wrap around his arms. He was yanked from his kneeling position as he was dragged to the interrogation room. He could feel the cold ground beneath his feet as he tried to hold himself up but it was literally impossible. They shackled up his wrists as he sagged down and the electrical current passed through his body as he screamed like the ones he had heard into the night.

Present Day

Nicholai woke up with a start. Sweat drenched his chest as he pushed himself up into a sitting position and looked around where he was. He was not in London where most of his torture sessions had been taking place in secrecy. He rubbed his face by rubbing his hand over his face as he sighed and laid back down. Staring at the ceiling, he growled and pushed himself up from the bed. X was still sleeping as he got on a pair of sweatpants over his semi-nude form and walked out of the room in a quiet fury.

Walking into the bathroom on the second floor, he slammed the door behind him. He turned on the water and splashed it over his face as he caught sight of his scars from his torture. He growled again, and punched the mirror as it shattered into hundreds of shards and a couple of them still remained stuck in his fist as he flexed and cursed. Blood curled around them but they would heal in no time when he decided to pull them out. Leaning his head back against the wall behind him, he closed his eyes and looked out the window as the storm was finishing its aftermath. This night was too familiar and the power was calling to him. He feared that calling. Was he as evil as they made him believe?

Guest

Xiuhcoatl, or X as most called her since there was hardly anyone who could pronounce her name properly awoke with a start at the sound of tinkering glass. The dreams, the nightmares still plagued him. Plagued them both. She had had her own dealings with the Corpus and the Mortuus when they had both opposed the Bloodlines of Sanguine. She had seen them rise above only to be chased back Underground by Draven. Now here she was, married to the son that the Montriarch had thought she lost all those centuries ago. Pushing herself up from the bed, she padded across the plush carpeting and grabbed her robe off of the back of the door. Sliding it around her slender frame and tying it loosely across her mid section, X followed her husbands scent to the second floor bathroom. Knocking lightly on the door with the knuckly of her index finger, she knew better than to open it without an invitation. She had done that once when they had first gotten married. Luckily she had quick reflexes otherwise she would have met fate with a rather expensive Aztec vase that had been a decor piece of the bathroom. Now she kept all such expensive items locked away.

"Nicholai, darling, everything alright?"

Subject: Re: The Laughing Corpse Tue Jul 29, 2008 4:18 am

"I can't get rid of them."

Nicholai opened the door just enough where it was cracked. He knew she would come in on her own accord as he backed away from the door and sat down on the edge of the spa tub that filled their bathroom. His hand that connected with the glass was still bruised and bleeding since he didn't even tend to the wound. Why did he puncture himself? Was it to make him feel more alive? Looking back up, his tired eyes were not teary just too distant. Ever since he had become Vitae, he thought of nothing else but those days that tortured him. They had been replaced by a happiness he thought could change everything. Was that temporary like everything in his life as well?

"I thought by now...it would be done with. Every night its the same dream and at the end there is a corpse standing there...pointing and laughing."

Guest

X pushed her way through the partially open door of the bathroom, closing it behind her. She leaned back against it for a moment sighing. Using her shoulder to push herself off of the door, she made her way towards her husband, being carefuly not to step on shards of broken glass. Grasping his hand in hers, she began removing the slivers of glass. For a moment, she said nothing, listening to him as he talked.

"The horrors of your past are over, Nicholai. They are nothing but dreams now, nightmares."

She turned to look up at him as she removed the shards of glass, letting them tinker to the floor. She leaned forward and brushed her lips against his. "I wish I could get rid of them for you."

Subject: Re: The Laughing Corpse Wed Jul 30, 2008 2:42 am

He remained silent as she had thought a minute about what to say. What could she say to chase away the horrors that plagued him for so many years. Even now, when he found peace with X, and finally had a family who he knew cared about him, he was still haunted. How did a dead man rid of his past? He carried on once but lost everything. His gaze never left her beautiful form, face and soul as she smoothly took the slivers of glass out from his knuckles.

He listened but only nodded. When she brushed her lips against his, he only sighed and cupped her face with his free hand. "I just fear that they will take you away from me. It wont happen, I wont let anything happen to you."

Guest

"I am not going anywhere." The former Aztec Princess framed his face with her hands, allowing her thumbs to brush along either side of his jaw. "We are in this together for the long haul, Nich. I have endured far worse than any Corpus could ever put me through."

Xiuhocatl stood on her toes to press her lips against her husbands with a gentle tenderness that never failed to bring a smile to his face. She knew it, and she had used this very same gesture often. Either in a fight or to just lighten his mood.

Subject: Re: The Laughing Corpse Wed Jul 30, 2008 4:45 pm

Nicholai watched her do her ever-present trick that never failed. The corners of his lips curved upwards as he leaned down so she needn't stand on her tiptoes to reach his lips. Slipping an arm around her slender waist, he pulled her closer so their bodies touched. Looking down at her, he pushed her long dark hair from her face before placing a kiss on her lips as well.

"You are so good." He whispered, before walking around her. He still had her hand as he slipped out the door. They were up, he might as well take her on of his spontaneous midnight adventures.