Donut Look Now

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

Nero

Location: Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Turning around with a huff, I reply to Caden in a pout. “Sie hat damit angefangen.” But I can’t really complain, Caden’s warm touch felt nice and momentarily made me forget why I was irritated. I steal a glance at him out of the corner of my eye before I shift to look out my window. “Ich vergesse immer, wie lebendig die Stadt nachts ist.” I observe as we enter downtown Chicago.

Translations

”She started it” “I always forget how vibrant the city is at night”

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Nic Wu

Location: University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL
Skills:

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With a little bribery, the assistant lets me slip into the morgue. They told me something about someone else visiting tonight, but I really don’t care at this point. If I’m caught by anyone outside the hospital, I had the fancy title of ‘Head Nurse’ to save me.

I take a few steadying deep breaths as I stand in front of the freezer slab that holds my mother… Or her body rather. My hands shake as I try to muster the nerve to do this.

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Nero

Location: Chicago, IL
Skills:

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I let out a small snort of laughter over her comment, but ignore it. Then she starts going on about the magic we’re using tonight. I let her explain this all as I smile at her, my eye twitching. I might not be a sorcerer, but I wasn’t born yesterday. When she’s finished, I clear my throat. “Yes, I know what we’re doing tonight.” I try not to let my irritation with her seep into my tone. “I’m planning ahead for when we finally are in the same vicinity as the beastie.”

I hold out my gloved hand to her. “But if you don’t want it, I’m sure I’ll find some other use for it down the road.” I finish with a brow raised and a smirk on my face.

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Nero

Location: Chicago, IL
Skills:

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”I think the better question is why don’t you have your own map.” I tell her cheekily before I shrug. ”I think I needed it for a crossroads deal… It had something to do with that clown fast food place.” I leave out the part that Ray Kroc and the McDonalds brothers had made a deal with one of my crossroad demons. I don’t need her prying any further into my past than she did earlier today.

But then I remember the little hex bag in my pocket and sigh to myself. She’s only going to ask more questions with this. Still, I need to be able to track the beastie and who better than another witch to decipher the incantation. I pull the bag out and turn to offer it to Cassiopeia. “A friend gave me this and I don’t remember exactly why or what it was meant for, but the Latin on the little note mentions tracking. Do you think it might help as a tracking device?”

Historical Footnote

1955 - First McDonald's Franchise Restaurant Opened
McDonald’s was founded in 1940 in San Bernardino, California. In 1955, Ray Kroc joined the fast-food company and purchased it from the McDonalds brothers. The first McDonald’s franchise was opened in Chicago in 1955 in Des Plaines. The company's global headquarter was moved to Chicago from Oak Brook in 2018.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

Main Characters

Avery Zain
Cassiopeia Claire Alistair
Caden
Kimiko Voss
Nero
Nicholas Wu

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Canon Characters

Encountered On the Road So Far



Crowley
Detective Freddie Costa

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Other Characters

Shouren “Ren” Wu
(Nic’s Father)
Jane
(Nic’s Best Friend)
Kat
(Jane’s Girlfriend)
Rolf Voss
(Kiki’s Father)
‘Mae Dukke’
(Kiki’s Mother)
Levi
(Alpha of Chicago Werewolf Pack) - Banished
Terrance
(Second in Chicago Werewolf Pack) - Deceased

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Nero

Location: Outside Nero’s Home, Chicago, IL
Skills:

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My lips twitch into a smirk as I climb into the front seat of the SUV, purposely sticking my butt out a little as I do so in response to his comment. I’m surprised to see Cassiopeia in the back seat. I gave her a little wave.

”Hello again. This is the best I could find.” I say as I offer her the rolled up map. ”It’s of the entire county, but it’s also from 1945.” With a shrug, I leave it at that. After handing the map off, I turn around to sit criss-cross in my seat.

Nic Wu

Location: University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL
Skills:

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I had been able to sneak into the hospital without anyone recognizing me earlier that day and printed out a list of the patients who shared the same wounds as my mother along with their files. Trying to stay low key, I took the files to the park that was near the hospital to review them. Sitting on the bench for most of the day, I wrote down observations and key details that stood out to me both in a notebook and on the printed papers. I was surprised by some of the smaller details I found, but the most alarming fact I found was about my own mother; out of the five victims that arrived at our hospital, only my mom had made it past triage before dying. I make a mental note to reach out to my friends at some of the other trauma centers around. There are some owed favors I want to cash in on, namely I need to know how many victims there are. Using my phone, I send my requests to each of the level one trauma centers in the area.
That list included Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Mt. Sinai Hospital, Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical, but if I include level one pediatrics, there’s also Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County. The only center I didn’t need was my own; Chicago Medicine Center. I only ask for the patient files to be emailed to me if the friend is comfortable in toeing the HIPAA line. Surprisingly, all of them send every document they can. I don’t know if it’s out of pity for my situation or my friendship, but I’m grateful.

I’m losing light as the sun sets, but I’ve gotten a pretty good idea of every ‘animal attack’ that’s happened over the last ten months. My hands shake as I recheck my math to make sure I have this correct. “Holy fuck.” I mumble under my breath. It had started off slow with only one or two attacks each month, but in the last three weeks there had been an incident each week. And these incidents were not just one victim, if I’m reading the reports correctly and the tweets I find aren’t complete bullshit, entire households were affected. And yet, there wasn’t a single news report or article on this. Against my better judgement, I browse Reddit forums to see if there’s anything else I can find.

The most frequently repeated post is that there’s no hard evidence left. For some of these victims, there is no family to claim the body so they end up being cremated. My mother’s body is finally going to be released to me tomorrow, but it’s still lying in the morgue at my hospital. Stuffing all my research into my backpack, I head back towards the University of Chicago Medical Center.

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Nero

Location: Nero’s Home, Chicago, IL
Skills:

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”Mein dunkler Prinz.” I say mischievously as I look him up and down. Even dressed in one color, he still looks great. I duck quickly inside the house to grab the map I had set down by the door before I meet Caden at the steps. Tilting my head, I smirk a little at him before I take his hand with my gloved one. ”And they say chivalry is dead.” I sigh dramatically as we descend the steps together. Nodding to his question, I hold up the map with my other hand. ”This is a map of the entire county - I hope that works.”

Translations

”My dark prince”

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Nero

Location: Nero’s House, Chicago, IL
Skills:

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Setting the phone back on the receiver, I unfurl the map to make sure it’s actually of Chicago. To my delight, it’s of the entire Cook County. Granted, it’s from 1945, but it should work nicely for tracking the beastie. I roll the map back up and tie it with a piece of twine to keep it in place. By this time, I hear the doorbell ring. I do a little skip down the stairs and to the front door, beaming brightly when I open it.

There’s no one there. I scowl a little, narrowing my eyes. There’s an SUV parked in the street that wasn’t there before and it’s been about fifteen minutes since Caden ended the call. ”Are we playing hide and seek?” I ask the darkness, thinking Caden must be playing a prank. Which would make him all the more desirable to me if he is. I fucking love a good prank.

Nero’s House

Exterior: wsj.com/articles/a-10-000-square-foot… Interior: theinterioreditor.com/real-homes-tour…

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Nero

Location: Chicago, IL
Skills:

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That makes so much more sense. ”Ah, I can supply that, sure. It might be a little outdated but that just means it’ll be the right aesthetic for a night of magic.” I joke as I start shuffling through my cabinets closest to the phone. Most of the maps I have are from the early 1900s, but surely that would be okay since we just need the general location, not what specifically is there. While rummaging. I find a little hex bag with a note tied to it. The handwriting is Rowena’s and it describes an incantation for tracking. Not remembering when she gave this to me, I grab it and stuff it into my shorts before resuming the search for a map.

”When should I expect you?” I ask, rifling through the last cabinet nearby. I grin when I see a old rolled up paper, stained with age.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

Nero

Location: Chicago, IL
Skills:

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I blink slowly, confused by the strange request. ”A map…? Of what, exactly? Won’t the hospital have some sort of map on its website? I grab a few throwing knifes, attaching them to a garter just under the bottom of my shorts. I don’t think I’ll need them, but I like to be prepared. ”What does she need a map for anyway?” I ask after straightening back up to stand.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

Nero

Location: Chicago, IL
Skills:

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I nod along with what Caden is saying until he responds to what was meant for the black cat in my arms. Coughing in surprise, I feel my ears grow hot and nearly drop the cat. She mews at me angrily and hops out of my arms to go do something else. I pull the phone away from my mouth so I can take a couple of stabilizing deep breaths. ”Gut zu wissen,” I manage to say after a moment. ”Aber ich habe mit meiner Katze gesprochen.” Trying to move past the embarrassment of whatever schoolgirl nonsense has just happened to me, I ask ”Is there anything in particular that I need to bring?” I twirl the phone cord around one of my fingers.

Translations

”Good to know, but I was talking to my cat.”