Storyboard #14 - Part 2

6. I figured that there might be a clue to be found in the game itself. At least, that's what I told myself in the beginning. I basically just wanted to get my hands on it again and see how it played out. The headset and gloves had been locked away in the evidence room, so I went there to check it out. Rita welcomed me into the game, in which, I was now a vampire. She explained that in order to win the game, I had to kill and keep killing. The victims' blood would be my source of power. My first victim was to be a beautiful, young woman who approached without fear and begged me to take her.

7. Even though it was only a game, I still found it hard to give in to my true nature. Rita encouraged me to indulge myself. When I asked her what was the point of the game, she replied, "Pleasure. Fantasy fulfillment." Then she mentioned that she made some adjustments to the game in case someone came looking. I knew then that I was somehow talking with the real Rita, that she was online somewhere and making contact with me directly. She knew that I suspected her and she told me that I would find what I was looking for, but first I had to play the game. When I told her that I was looking for who killed Lowe, she boldly confessed to the murder, knowing that her virtual confession was useless in a court of law.

She disappeared temporarily, long enough for me to make my first kill. Afterwards, she reappeared and pointed to a door. When I opened the door and went inside, I found myself in a vaguely familiar place. Rita was there again, telling me that I had passed the first level and to keep an eye on my time remaining and my blood supply. She was looking forward to seeing me again. I was startled back to reality by a very loud, very angry voice booming, "Nick! What the hell are you doing?"

8. Captain Reese was definitely not happy to see me playing around with the evidence from a murder case. I quickly explained to him that Rita Scott had confessed to murdering Lowe in the game. "So what am I gonna do," he asked in frustration, "bring her hologram up on charges in virtual court?" I knew it sounded a little crazy but I insisted that the game was the key to solving the murder. I could see the captain practically sizing me up for a straight jacket. He refused to believe my theory had any merit and strongly suggested that I get back with my partner and investigate the case in a more traditional manner. Luckily, he didn't stop me from taking the gaming gear away from the evidence room. I probably would have done something fairly drastic if he had tried and I think he probably sensed as much.

I had hoped to have a bit more success at convincing my partner, but the even colder reception I got from Tracy when I told her the same thing, made me long to have Schanke back as my partner. Not that Schanke always agreed with my theories, but he was usually more willing to give me a benefit of a doubt.

9. I took another whack at interrogating Rita in person. Of course, she denied my allegations that she had used the game to make a confession to murder. But I could see it in her eyes that I was on the right track and that she was secretly taunting me. I let her know in no uncertain terms, that I was prepared for the challenge.

The locations used in the game, I quickly discovered, were real places found in Toronto. Being a cop, pretty much demanded that I know my way around the city, so it didn't take much for me to track down where I needed to go. The first place turned out to be in a museum. On a shelf, inside a closet, is where I found my first clue -- a silver skull.

10. Upon arriving at the next location, I immediately put on the headset and gloves to begin the second level of play. This time, instead of my victim offering herself to me readily, she held up a large cross to ward off my attack. Over the last few years, I've managed to build up quite a resistance to religious symbols, so the cross proved to be of no hindrance whatsoever. I easily overpowered the young woman and drained her in seconds.

11. Looking about in the potted plant in the area where I had made my kill in the game, I found the O-Type Blood label from a Red Cross blood bag. Now that I had something real to show my coworkers back at the precinct, I thought surely they would take my theory about the game seriously. Tracy still refused to even listen to such nonsense, but I could tell that Linda was more open-minded. She just needed a slight nudge to see things from my point of view, which I attempted to accomplish by way of hypnosis.

12. Unfortunately, Nat had just come into the squad room and had witnessed me putting the whammy on Linda. She was none too happy with my behavior and hauled me into an empty interrogation room to chew me out in private. I knew what I'd done was wrong, but at the time, I saw it as necessary. It didn't take much for Nat to see that it wasn't just my desire to solve a crime that had me so hooked on the game. Though I didn't want to admit it to myself, she knew that I was enjoying the realistic killing the virtual world provided. I was too wired to listen to her anymore. I walked out on her and went straight home. I had to get back into the game, but first, I had to feed the hunger that had been steadily building in me all night.

13. I'd only been home for a few minutes when LaCroix showed up unexpectedly with a bottle of human blood. It didn't take much coercion on his part to convince me to trade in the cow blood for the good stuff. I hadn't realized just how much I'd missed the taste of human blood, and I was grateful for the change. Apparently, LaCroix had been picking up on my overly emotional vibrations and decided to come prepared. When he asked what had happened to me, I pointed out the game to him. Although, I couldn't force myself to admit to him how much I had enjoyed the act of virtual killing and the taking of blood, he undoubtedly could see the truth in my eyes. He was mildly impressed by the technology of the game but more intrigued by the notion that I was once again being attracted to the lifestyle of a vampire.

14. LaCroix left as abruptly as he had arrived, and I returned to the game. The level of play had grown more challenging with the victims being two males, hiding amidst the towering pipes of a power plant. They attacked aggressively, first with muscle, then with swords, one after the other. I dispatched each quickly, and the exhilaration I experienced while fighting back and draining the blood of my attackers left me in a frenzied vampiric state. I was even more thankful to LaCroix for leaving me something, not only to satisfy my hunger, but to quench my growing desire to kill.