I'm starting out as a mortal. We pulled together character sheets. Mine is out in my car still.
Some of writers group will know who I mean when I say that she's Mary, from Hell's Angel. Amazingly enough, some of the concepts from the story fit nicely into the GM's plans; he cackled maniacally when I mentioned the Neutral Denny's.
Mary is an elementary schoolteacher, and she has just commenced on the ride of her life.
The last echoes of the students faded from [insert location] Elementary, and Mary Gibson set the last miniature chair upside-down on the last miniature desk, and rubbed her eyes. The day had not been good. Both Michelles had been crabby, Kerry had thrown up, and even quiet little Heather had turned into a screaming monster. She took another look around the classroom, then headed to her desk in search of aspirin. It was a weeknight, but maybe she'd call a friend over for a well-deserved beer later on. There was just something in the air.
*
Just at the edges of the nearby forest, a man in a high-collared trenchcoat stopped in his tracks. He, too, was sensing something amiss. Unlike Ms. Gibson's untrained senses, the werewolf knew that a Kindred, an unfamiliar Kindred, was at work with some unsavory magic. He made himself unobtrusive and watched. In the center of the clearing, a vampire pressed his hands together and chanted, although the werewolf could not hear the words. When the vampire turned his back, the werewolf couldn't see the gestures, but he did see a cloud gather above the vampire's head.
The cloud darkened. Soon, all that was visible was a patch of shadow. A patch of moving shadow. The werewolf followed at a run as the shadow sped full-tilt toward the elementary school.
The cloud darkened and sped. It wrapped around itself in ever-tightening circles. It crossed the playground, spitting dirt and rocks every which way. By the time it hit the school, it was a full-fledged tornado. A large portion of the school disintegrated into rubble. The werewolf leaped forward. A falling wall grazed his head, knocking him flat to the ground. He could sense little activity inside the school -- blessedly, the children were gone, though there were a few sparks of life remaining. He shook himself off and got to his feet again.
*
Mary screamed as half her classroom disappeared into howling winds. She dove for cover under her desk. Was it a terrorist attack? Was it a natural disaster? She didn't know. She didn't know if running outside would save her life or doom her, but she was too scared to move. The crashing and howling continued, but from over the din, she heard someone ask, "Are you OK?"
She peered out from behind the desk and saw a blond man in a trenchcoat standing there. She took a quick self-assessment. She wasn't hurt, so even though she knew she was about to break down into a gibbering mess, she nodded. "I think so," she said.
He moved out of her view behind the desk. There was a weird feeling in the air. "Hop on," he said. "We've got to get out of here."
Mary crawled all the way out, and what she saw blew her mind. Instead of the young man standing there, she saw a pony-sized honest-to-God WOLF standing in her classroom. The shock was just too much for her. She collapsed into a little heap under her desk, hyperventilating and clutching her knees and rocking back and forth. The wolf poked her gently with his huge muzzle, whimpering and licking her cheeks the same way her dog used to. Every few seconds he would break off and growl ferociously at the clamour outside.
With a supreme act of will, Mary pulled herself together. Just in time, as the wolf took the waistband of her jeans in his mouth and tossed her up on his back. She hung on for dear life as he raced out of the building through the hole in the wall.
A flash of lightning illuminated the clear blue sky, and Mary looked back to see a tornado chasing them. She clung to the wolf for dear life as he rocketed through the city, leaping over fences and dashing through yards, even pushing off walls to try to gain speed. She started praying as the tornado started creeping closer.
She caught sight of the wolf's destination, and a trickle of hope eased through her chest. The wolf was running full-tilt at the Catholic church, an immense cathedral that could hold thousands. He seemed to know what he was doing, and there was no question that the tornado was chasing them with a malevolent intelligence. Evil couldn't abide holy ground, could it? She prayed harder. She wasn't Catholic, but it was all supposed to be the same once you got down to it.
She looked back. The tornado was creeping up faster. The wolf put on a burst of speed.
As they entered the grounds of the church, the edges of the tornado grew ragged, and it started to shred apart, but not fast enough for Mary's liking. The wolf kept going full tilt, straight at the closed front doors. Mary braced herself.
When they were five feet away, the doors gaped open, and they shot through. The last shreds of the evil cloud reached after them, but they were clear! The wolf skidded sideways on the polished floor, and Mary tumbled off, rolling across the floor before sliding to a halt. The church doors slammed shut behind them.
Slowly, shakily, Mary sat up.
There was a flash of light, and a woman appeared in the vast chamber. She looked at the dazed wolf, nodded to him, and cast a glance over Mary. A flash of something akin to recognition lit her eyes, and she inclined her head towards Mary. "Good to meet you. I'm Bridget." The wolf quietly trotted off down a hallway.
"I'm Mary," said Mary. She looked the woman up and down. [Description], but her most notable feature was the translucent orb of light that enveloped her. "What's going on?" Mary asked shakily, the events of the past half-hour beginning to take their toll.
"I don't know!" the woman said. "Not ten seconds ago, I was in France."
Mary recounted the events as she remembered them. As she drew to a conclusion, the same young man who'd come into her classroom walked back out of the same hallway the wolf had disappeared into. "So that was you," she said. She'd been beginning to doubt the evidence of her own senses, but there he was, somewhat cleaner, and wearing different clothes.
"Aye, it was," he said, then turned to the other woman and began briefing her with his perspective on the same events. Mary tried hard to follow, but her head was swimming. It seemed that the party responsible for the destruction was something called a Kindred, and while she knew that she'd heard the name before, exactly what manner of creature that was escaped her. Whatever it was, this one was evidently bad news, as it outclassed the man -- wolf -- werewolf! -- who had rescued her.
"Follow me," he said just then, and he led her and Bridget into an elevator. They emerged on what seemed to be a residential floor. He conducted Bridget to an empty bedroom, and then showed Mary into another one. "Rest, if you can," he urged.
Mary did not need to hear his instructions twice. The room featured a small bathroom; she mopped the worst of the grime and debris from the destruction of her school from her skin, then collapsed into bed. She supposed that she really ought to be gibbering in a corner, but that seemed like a waste of effort, so she settled for closing her eyes and falling into an exhausted sleep.
