Disclaimer: All Pretender related ideas are property of NBC. Other characters are mine.

Author’s Note: This is the most far-fetched Pretender story I have written, so please hang with me on this one. This is a
violence-action-horror-monster story involving our favorite characters. Oh and if you are a sweeper fan or just a plain people
person… I advise you not to read this… peeps do get killed.

Warning: Language and violence.
 
 

 

[If life got any more boring than it is, my head would explode. Literally.]

Running her tongue over her upper lip, she tossed the cigarette down to the dusty wooden floor and ground it out with her toe.
Inhaling sharply, her narrow green eyes looked over to the man sitting in the corner of the dim lighted room, his head folded in
his arms with his long blonde hair covering the rest of his face.

“Let’s go kill someone,” he said suddenly, his voice muffled. She rolled her eyes simply and turned towards the table in the
center of the room. “I mean-” he looked up- “Can’t we just go out and terrorize someone.”

“You are such a moron,” she snapped, leaning over the table to turn the knob on the lantern, lighting the room more with the
dancing flames. “I told you, we have to keep low.”

“Yeah, well,” he said, shrugging, tucking his head back down in his arms that rest upon his drawn up legs. “Something to do,”
he mumbled.

Smiling evilly, she walked over to him, leaning down on her haunches so her face was level with his. “Darry told us to stay low
for a while.” She paused. “Don’t worry, our time will come.”

He nodded softly, staring at her. “When will it be our time?”

“Soon,” she purred, staring at him through her long dark eyelashes. “Very soon.”

“Hello, I’m Jarod Chandler,” he said politely, reaching out a hand. The man looked up from his paper work at the outstretched
hand and then took it, flashing his eyes up at the stranger’s face.

“You the new cop?” the man boomed.

Jarod nodded. “Yes I am. Please call me Jarod.”

The man behind the desk gestured towards an old, fade chair that sat just behind Jarod, Jarod taking the sit softly. “You’re the
fool who took the job, eh?”

Jarod blinked a couple times, briefly looking around. “Excuse me?”

The man shook his head, his eyes never straying from Jarod’s face. “All those blasted stories about ‘vampires and
werewolves’.”

Jarod titled his head to the side slightly, staring at the older man in confusion. “I don’t follow.”

“Good,” the man snapped, standing from his leather chair and walking around the desk. “Welcome to Hazelville, the smallest
town in the middle of nowhere,” he barked, his tone flat and expressionless. “I’m Dean Carter and I will be your supervisor.”

Jarod slowly rose to his feet as he watched the man walk over to his office door and swing it open. Gesturing with his palm up,
the man swung his arm out the door. Jarod exhaled slowly, walking out of the office and not looking back.

Jarod briskly walked into his office, shutting the door and exploring the new office with his eyes. It was a plain office, nothing
too fancy with a file cabinet here, a plant there, and there was a large dark wooden desk at the far end. The room was rather
dim, so Jarod crossed the room to pull the shades up from the window behind his desk. Sighing, Jarod blinked at the bright
sunlight, scanning the view from his room. It was the first floor of the small police station, only seeing the poorly paved road and
a couple cars driving on it. Old buildings, looking as if they’d collapse once someone bumped it, lined the cracked sidewalks
that ran along side the road. No civilians occupied those sidewalks and Jarod’s brow furrowed at that.

The odd behavior of this town is what brought Jarod to this place. People have become missing over the past two years and
there was no evidence of where they had gone. And now, just recently have the people of this small little town blamed the
mystery on make believe creatures that were said to suck the blood of unexpecting victims or grow hair and fangs like a canine.

Jarod snorted at that. How foolish. No such thing. But true, due to the fact that Jarod hasn’t been familiar to everyday life, he
wasn’t sure about anything. But the logic part of his mind told him that believing in ‘vampires’ and ‘werewolves’ were just as
foolish as jumping off a cliff and into the freezing rapids below during a snow storm. Common sense told him that this town
knew more then they were saying. Vampires and werewolves was just a cover up to what they really believe. What they were
afraid to believe.

“God, Darry, where the hell have you been?” she hissed, stalking up to him and placing her hands on her hips. “We’ve been
waiting for two fucking days!”

He ignored her, walking into the room and dropping his bag down on the table. Pulling it open, he reached inside and pulled out
a pack of cigarettes. Her eyes widened, snatching the pack from his hands. “Does that make it up?” he asked, chuckling.

She turned her back to him, scraping her claws on the wrapper, yanking the package open. Pulling out a cigarette, she placed it
between her lips, pulling out a lighter from her pocket. Inhaling, she let the smoke flow around her teeth and tongue before
exhaling slowly.

“Don’t hog, Tessa,” he snapped, reaching over her shoulder and plucking the cigarette from her mouth, hearing her growl of
anger.

“Darry?”

Darry turned around, smiling with the cigarette in the corner of his mouth as the blonde man came walking up to him from the
other room. “Hey kid,” Darry said, slapping the shorter man on the back. “Have a cigarette,” he said, pulling it out from his
mouth and placing it in the other man’s lips. Studying him, Darry frowned. “You need a hair cut, Curt.”

Curt ran a hand through his long blonde hair, eyeing the taller, darker, bigger built man. Taking the weed from his mouth, he
looked down at it, blowing a perfect smoke ring. “Yeah, well, haven’t got out much, since… well, since the stories.”

“People will [make up] anything these days,” Tessa interrupted with an evil laugh, coming up to the two men. Turning to the
Darry, she smiled, her eyes gleaming with mischief. “So, Darry, when [are] we going to be able to stalk into the night again?”

Darry smiled knowingly, briefly looking over at Curt. “Tomorrow I should say. The newspapers haven’t said anything in a while
and I think it’s safe.”

“Great!” Curt said, rubbing his hands together.

“But-” Darry waved a finger at him- “no foolish business like before, alright?”

Curt nodded, smiling ear to ear. “Right, ‘when you bite, stay out of sight’.”

Darry smiled, turning to Tessa. “Now, you’re going to the police station again.” Tessa huffed, but Darry hushed her. “No buts.
Try to find out what’s the fuss about… the stories… got it?”

Reluctantly, Tessa nodded.

The doors hissed as she entered, taking only a couple long strides before she stood in front of her father and his bimbo of a
wife. Eyeing the blonde’s stomach, she sneered, almost at the unborn baby, rather than the woman.

“Angel,” her father said, wrapping his large arms around her, almost twice, and pulled her into an embrace. Kissing the side of
her temple, he pulled away, smiling at her.

“Daddy, you wanted to see me?” Miss Parker asked, briefly flashing Brigitte a look.

“Hmm, yes,” her father said, turning towards his wife and wrapping an arm around her. Brigitte smiled up at him, before
popping the red sucker back into her mouth. “Your mother and I would like you to company us at dinner tonight.”

Miss Parker was already shaking her head. “Daddy, I-”

“No excuses. I want us three to have a nice evening out.”

Miss Parker snapped her mouth shut reluctantly, looking down to the carpeted floor, biting back the urge to roll her eyes.

“What do you say?” he asked, his eyes almost squinted shut as he smiled widely.

Miss Parker opened her mouth, hesitated and then shut it again. “I have a lot of things daddy, and I-”

“Oh, pish-posh. Those things can wait.” He pulled the bimbo closer to him. “This is [family].”

[The hell it is], she thought. “Fine.”

“Great,” he said, smiling.

Miss Parker smiled, turned and left the office quickly before she lost her stomach. Pacing quickly down the hall, she made her
way to the elevator, jamming her slender finger on the button for the doors to open.

“Miss Parker,” she heard the voice of the nervous little tech behind her. She looked over her shoulder just in time to see Broots
trotting up behind her, holding up a white piece of paper.

“What?” she snapped, eyeing the paper in his hand.

He took a breath. “I found a lead on Jarod.”

She smiled, almost too widely, and turned away from the elevator, walking passed Broots and down the hall towards her
father’s office.

“Wh-where are you going?” Broots asked, watching as she stopped, looking over her shoulder at him.

“I have a [dinner] to cancel.”

Vampire (vam’pir), n. In folklore, a corpse that becomes reanimated at night and sucks the blood of sleeping persons.

Werewolf (wer’woolf’), n. In folklore, a person changed into a wolf, or one who can assume the form of a wolf at will.

Jarod stared at the screen, tilting his head in confusion. ‘In folklore’. These things aren’t real, just beliefs. Why are people
scared of something that isn’t real? Sighing, Jarod looked away from his laptop to the clock that hung over his office door.
9:35am it read. Exhaling slowly, Jarod leaned forward and rubbed his tired eyes.

“Knock, knock,” someone sang from his door. Jarod snapped his attention over at the brunette that stood in his doorframe,
smiling at him. Sitting up straighter, he watched as she approached him, her hand extended out in front of her. “Hi, my name is
Tessa Florence and I am reporter for a local newspaper. May I interview you about what’s happened recently?”

Tessa watched as the handsome dark haired man fought with an answer, his gorgeous lips parting slightly.

“What’s happened recently?” he asked, his innocence charming.

“You haven’t heard?” she asked, lifting perfect eyebrows.

Clenching his teeth, Jarod shook his head. Licking her upper lip, she sat down, eyeing his nameplate that sat in the front of his
desk. “May I call you Jarod?” He nodded. “Great. Well, Jarod, recently there have been [silly] stories about ‘creatures’ living
around here. Stupid, huh?”

Jarod flashed her a dimpled smirk, looking away towards his computer screen. “Not stupid, but uh… [odd] beliefs.”

“Yeah,” Tessa said, nodding her head softly. “Beliefs.”

“So… Miss Florence, you still wanting to interview me or-?”

She smiled widely. “Call me Tessa, and no. But, I would like to ‘chat’ over dinner. What do you say?”

Jarod blinked a couple times, obviously taken off guard by her invitation. “I don’t know you.”

She giggled at his innocence, punching him lightly in the arm. “That’s where I am going to get to know you silly- over dinner.”

Jarod swallowed, looking away and smiling. “I would love to, Tessa.”

“Great,” she said, raising to her feet. “I will see you tonight then?”

Jarod looked up at her. “Tonight?”

“Well yeah.” She shrugged. “Why not? Around eight okay?”

Jarod ran his tongue over his lower lip considering quickly. “Alright.”

“Great,” she said, spinning and walking towards the door. Stopping at the door, she looked over her shoulder. “I will be here at
eight. We’ll decide where to go from there.”

Jarod nodded. “Okay, see you later.”

Flashing a farewell smile, she disappeared from his view. Turning back to his computer, Jarod thought of how odd and forward
that woman was, and yet intriguing at the same time.

Just another odd civilian.

“I am so brilliant!” she said, smiling as she entered the dark room. Lifting the pack of cigarettes from the table, she slid out one,
lighting it and sticking it in her lips.

“Oh?” Darry asked, leaning against the doorframe. Spinning around, she plucked the cigarette from her mouth to smile at him,
realizing he was in the room.

“Yeah, Darry baby. I [am] brilliant. I got a full proof plan that is going to bring our [lives] to the way they were.”

Darry didn’t look convinced, strolling into the room as he pierced his lips, eyeing the pack of cigarettes on the table. “Yeah?
What’s the news at the police station?”

Frowning, she turned towards the table, tapping the end of her cigarette on the ashtray before bringing the burning weed back
to her red full lips. “Nothing much-” she sighed- “Although, there’s where my plan comes in.”

Darry lifted his eyebrows, reaching down and opening the pack of cigarettes. “And what is your ‘full proof’ plan of yours?”

She smiled knowingly. “Alright, listen,” she began, taking a seat at the table and pulling the ashtray towards her. “There is this
[really] cute cop there and he-”

“Oh, Tessa,” Darry groaned, turning away from her. “Not one of those again. If I didn’t know any better, you enjoy the sex
better then the meal.”

“It’s not one of those,” she growled. “He could be… the [one], you know.”

Darry narrowed his eyes. “The one what?”

“The one that could spread our kind.”

“You mean get you pregnant?”

She bit her lip. “Why not? He’s cute and charming.”

“Sure,” he said sarcastically, lighting his cigarette and sticking it in his mouth. “Just what we need is a cute and [charming] guy in
our team.”

Tessa narrowed her eyes, tilting her head a little. “I like him.”

“So what,” Darry said, blowing smoke out of his nose. “There is nothing ‘cute’ and ‘charming’ about what we do.”

Tessa raised her eyebrows, getting up slowly. “You- [the] Darry is admitting we are on the evil side?” She let out low laugh, no
humor in the sound. “Getting soft, are we now, Darry?”

“Shut your pie hole,” he snarled. “All I am saying is that we can raise our own little devils.”

She threw her head back and laughed. “You mean-” she chuckled, pointing between him and herself- “you and me?” He
crooked an eyebrow, causing her to laugh harder. Resuming her composer, she shook her head. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

After he was silent for a moment, staring at her with raised eyebrows, she let her jaw drop, stepping away from the table to
gesture widely around the room. “Hell-o Darry baby! Do [you] see any little ‘devils’ around here? I thought we declared that
there was nothing between us! And besides,” she said, her voice softening to a purr, walking up to him and grabbing his collar.
“I’d like to have another member to our ‘team’. He’s built for the work, I must say.”

Darry huffed, staring down at her. “Fine. When?” he snapped impatiently.

She smiled all teeth, sticking the cigarette in her mouth and sucking on it. “Tonight around 8:30ish.”

Darry nodded, inhaling sharply. “And what’s the copper’s name?”

Tessa smiled. “Jarod.”

“Parker?”

“Hmm?” she murmured, turning from the plane window to look at the older man. Sydney smiled, looking over at her.

“How was your ‘meeting’ with your father?”

Miss Parker exhaled slowly, briefly closing her eyes. “He didn’t seem [too] disappointed. Although he did declare that I [was]
going to go next time he asks.” She glanced over the Broots who was fast a sleep in the chair across from her, before looking
down at her watch. “When are we landing?” she asked, changing the subject.

Sydney lifted his eyebrows briefly, shrugging. “In about an hour, I suppose.” She leaned her head back against the chair,
catching Sydney’s concern. “Is everything alright, Parker?”

She briefly looked over at him, piercing her lips. “Fine, Syd. Just that I have been thinking about my father recently.” She
paused, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her index finger and thumb. “He seems to care, but when I’m around him, he
seems- I don’t know- he seems he could care less.” Sydney was already nodding his head, sticking his bottom lip out. Miss
Parker looked over at him, waiting. “Are you going to give me your I-know-what-you-should-do shrink bull shit, or is this a
case of follow your own damn instincts?”

He looked over at her smiling. “Parker, your father does care, he is just afraid to show it. Maybe you should open up to him
more as well.”

She stared at him. “That’s the best you can come up with?” she asked dully. “Couldn’t you at least say, ‘put a gun to your head
and demand his attention’?” She let out a huff of frustration and weariness. “I’m going to ask the pilot when we’re landing,” she
declared, getting up from her seat.

Jarod tried with all his power to not loose his stomach as the woman across from him ate… ate… that… [meat].

“Rare!” she literally had screamed at the waiter and this is what the man had come back with. Hell, is looked as if it was freshly
cut from the animal itself and just thrown onto the plate. And yet, there she was scoffing it down so furiously that he thought she
was going to choke on her own fingers.

Pausing, she looked up from her meal and noticed him staring at her with a look between disgust and shock. She licked her lips,
set the bloody piece of meat down on her plate and reached for a napkin.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, dabbing at her mouth with the blue napkin. Clearing her throat nervously, she set the cloth down by her
plate. “So… Jarod, tell me about yourself.”

Jarod lifted his eyebrows slightly, looking down at his own steak, which was medium rare, and found himself oddly not hungry
anymore. “Not much to tell,” he said, stabbing his fork into the meat.

“Really?” she said, seeming rather interested as he used his knife to cut a bite sized piece of the steak. “No family?”

Jarod lifted the piece up with his fork, staring at it for a minute before bringing it back down to his plate. “I lost contact with
them a long time ago.”

“I’m sorry,” she muttered, staring at his plate. After a moment, she licked her lips, looking back up his face and found him
staring at her with shock again. Sitting up straighter, she fidgeted in her chair, looking around the small little restaurant.

“So, tell me about [yourself],” Jarod said, picking up his glass of water and taking a sip.

She shrugged, still looking around the deserted restaurant. “Lived here all my boring, pathetic life.”

“Boring and pathetic, huh?” Jarod asked teasingly, looking around for the waiter with their check.

“Yeah. Hazelville is a boring town.”

“I wouldn’t say boring,” Jarod said, watching as the waiter approached their table with a white piece of paper in his hand.
Muttering a thank you to the man, the waiter disappeared again. Jarod turned to Tessa, and smiled. “I’d say more like,
‘interesting’.”

“Interesting?” she repeated. “What’s so interesting?”

“Well, for one, all those [wild] stories.”

Tessa froze, staring at him for a long moment. “What stories?” she asked innocently, reaching over and plucking her glass of
water from the table.

“You know, the stories. The ones you wanted to interview me on. Werewolves… vampires. I looked them up. Very odd.”

She choked on her gulp of water and forced a laugh. “Oh, [those] stories. Just foolish talk. People will do anything for a good
conversation of gossip, believe me Jarod.”

Jarod nodded, although not convinced as he lifted his glass and took a sip. Setting his glass back down, he sighed, glancing
down at his watch. “Well, it’s getting late. I enjoyed the dinner-”

“Can you drive me home?” she asked, watching as he stood.

He looked down at her and crooked an eyebrow. “But, your car is at the station.”

“No it isn’t,” she said.

“Then how did you get to the police station?”

“I walked.”

“Don’t you live way out in the country?”

“I like to walk.”

Jarod stared at her for a minute, before nodding reluctantly. “Alright, I-I will take you home then.”

She smiled widely. “Thank you so much, Jarod.”

“No problem,” Jarod said slowly, pulling out a couple bills from his wallet.

It was already pitch black outside by time they reached the paved country road of Miller. Jarod gripped the wheel, and
watched the odd behavior of the woman next to him in the corner of his eye. Why was she staring at him like that? Jarod bit the
inside of his cheek, forcing himself to concentrate on the road.

“Jarod…?” she began, the sudden sound of her voice sending chills down his spine. He looked over at her briefly, acting as
causal as possible. He watched the odd smile spread cross her face. “Have you ever been close to death?”

At that, he shot her a look that he didn’t even know what it meant. “Excuse me?”

“Doesn’t it feel good?” she purred, scooting closer to him.

“What-?” he began, swallowing hard.

“I mean, the feel of death’s wings squeezing you. The feel of his powerful hand grasping your heart,” she whispered into his ear.
Leaning back a little, she said louder, “Can you feel it?”

Jarod gasped, unable to breathe suddenly, bringing a hand to his chest. The car swerved on the deserted road, as Jarod
desperately tried to slow the vehicle down.

The brake! The brake won’t work!

Jarod gasped again, trying to get air into his lungs but was unable to. His frantic gaze looked over at the brunette next to him,
who was smiling widely.

A white blur burned into his eyes and… then… CRASH.

“Three little speckled frogs, sitting on a speckled log, eating the most delicious bugs! Yum, yum! One jumped in the pool, where
it was nice a cool! Now there is only two speckled frogs,” a child sang, her little voice echoing.

Jarod opened his eyes slowly, the moon and the top of the trees in his line of view. Jarod’s brow furrowed in confusion,
watching the dark clouds move slowly through the star lit sky as the child giggled, the sound echoing in his head.

Slowly turning his head, he saw the child from afar, her hair in long curls and wearing only a white dress that reached her ankles,
feet bare. She giggled again, skipping along the paved road towards him. In one hand she held a flower, where she stopped
now and then to bring the daisy to her nose, closing her eyes and inhaling the smell of it.

“Twinkle, twinkle little star!” she began, stopping a couple feet from where Jarod lay, looking down at him and then throwing
her arms up above her head, titling her head back towards the sky. “How I wonder what you are!”

“Who-” Jarod croaked, his voice weak and rugged. “Who are you?”

She looked down at him suddenly, eyeing him evilly for interrupting her song. “The devil,” she murmured. Her little green eyes
narrowed down at him. “The devil my sweet, sweet Jarod.”

Jarod quirked his lips, staring up at her. “You? But you’re a little-”

“I’m not little!” she screeched, clenching her fist around the flower she held.
Looking down at the flower, she opened her fist, staring at the abused daisy.

Jarod merely smiled at her. A child, a small little girl like this was no devil. Had to be no more then five. No devil. This was a
foolish child that took a walk at night with bare feet on a road that had no one around. Just taking a walk to pick flowers, just
taking a walk. No devil. But- how did she know his name?

“Up above the clouds so high!” she suddenly began again, throwing her arms up into the air and twirling around. “Like a
diamond in the sky!”

“Why are you singing so loudly?” Jarod asked softly, watching the little girl spin around towards him again, staring at him.

She bent down on her haunches suddenly, her little sharp knees pinning into Jarod’s shoulder. “You all bloody,” she said,
looking him over casually. “You gonna die.” It was more of a statement then a question.

Jarod stared up at her, watching her blond curls circle around her plump face as she leaned over him. “I’m not going to die.”

“Do you like my flower?” she asked suddenly, jumping from each subject to the next.

Jarod’s brow furrowed again, looking towards her tiny hand that held a daisy in his line of view. “It’s nice.”

“Nice?” she asked, looking at the flower herself. “I was killed for this flower.”

Jarod stared at her. “Excuse me?”

She merely smiled down at him, a dimple in each round cheek. “You’re loosing consciousness.”

Jarod stared at her for a long moment, before asking. “How would you know that I am loosing-”

“He’s awake!” Jarod heard someone shout as he forced his eyes open. Jarod looked up at the outline of a stranger in a daze.
They seemed to be crowded around him, their beady eyes staring, looking, watching him.

Slow motion. Everything seemed to be in slow motion.

Blink.

Where is the little girl? What happened to her?

Blink.

“We’re loosing him again! Tom, did you call the police?” he heard someone shout. Jarod groaned, closing his eyes, hearing a
faint muffled reply from the other person from far away.

“Pain,” Jarod murmured.

“Yeah, they’re coming, buddy. Don’t worry. You’re going to be okay,” he heard a soft voice say above him.

Jarod wanted to open his eyes again, but it was too hard to focus. Settling back into the darkness, Jarod allowed his body to
relax.

“What?” Darry screeched.

“We slammed into a tree, Jarod was thrown from the vehicle and he was [so] close to dying when this god damned car pulled
up behind the accident and two half witted men jumped out and ran to Jarod’s side. Luckily, I got away without notice.”

Darry spun around and punched the wall, the wall crumbling under the impact. Tessa blinked a couple times, staring at the
indent on the wall.

“Easy there, Darry baby. We’ll get him,” she said, inhaling the smoke of her cigarette and blowing the smoke out of her pointed
nose.

“I know we will,” Darry said calmly suddenly, spinning towards her again and running a hand in her hair. “But, he’ll tell people
about you,” he growled, clutching his fist in her hair.

She stood there calmly as he pulled her hair, her green eyes narrowed at him. Reaching up, she pressed the burning ember of
her cigarette onto his hand that held her hair, causing him to rip away with a yelp.

“Tell me,” she began, sticking the cigarette back in her mouth, inhaling and blowing the smoke in his face. “Would you believe a
man that claimed a woman tried to kill him by her ‘evil powers’?”

Darry smiled. “Not if you have evil powers yourself.”

Rolling her eyes, she turned away from him, seeing Curt in the doorway. “Hey kid,” she said, walking over to him and wrapping
her arm around his shoulders.

“You smoke too much,” Curt murmured, plucking the cigarette from her fingertips and placing it in his mouth.

She threw her head back and laughed. “Yeah, I should be worrying about my [health], shouldn’t I?” she looked over at Darry,
still smiling. “I might die… again.”

Curt shrugged off Tessa’s arm and titled his head back, blowing a smoke ring into the air. “What are you two so happy about?
Someone die?”

“Nope,” Tessa said, smirking, strutting over to the table and lifting the package of cigarettes. “But someone will.”

“Yeah?” Curt asked, looking over at Darry. “Who?”

Darry shrugged. “Some guy.”

Curt smiled. “Well, point him out and I’ll do the honors.”

“No way,” Tessa snapped, after lighting her cigarette. “He’s mine.”

“Oh I see-” Curt grinned- “One of those.”

Tessa huffed and looked away, crossing her arm over her chest while the other reached up to the pull the cigarette out of her
mouth to exhale.

“Well? What’s the plan?” Curt asked, looking between Darry and Tessa.

Darry shrugged, looking over at the brunette. “Poison? Neck injury? Fire?”

Tessa quirked her lips. “It has to be clean.”

“Like a car crash wasn’t,” Darry stated sarcastically, rubbing his aching fist.

“Wait? You guys already tried to kill this dude?” Curt asked, tilting his head. “And you didn’t tell me? I’m ashamed.”

“Nothing personal kid,” Darry said, crossing the room to ruffle the younger man’s hair. “You really need a hair cut.”

Ignoring him, Curt turned to the brunette who was crushing her butt in the ashtray, watching the two with amusement. “So when
we act?” Curt asked.

Tessa smirked, her eyes gleaming with mischief.

“This has to be the smallest hospital I have ever seen,” Broots mumbled looking around the tiny waiting room. “I mean, my
bathroom is bigger than this.”

“Hello?” Miss Parker called, leaning over the counter and hitting the bell three more times. “Damn,” she whispered to herself,
turning on her heel towards the other two. “This is where Officer Carter said they had taken Jarod, right?”

Sydney nodded, running a hand over his face. “Said he got in a car accident.”

“How bad, did he say?” Broots asked, turning from a picture he was studying that was hung on the blue-green wall.

“He didn’t say,” Miss Parker snapped, looking over the counter again. “Hello? Is anyone here?” Ding, ding, ding. “Hello?”

“What?” a short woman snapped, placing a hand on the bell and dragging it towards her and out of Miss Parker’s reach.

Miss Parker stared at the tiny little blond that was half hidden behind a pair of goggles. “Is there a man named Jarod ‘Chandler’
staying here?”

“Family?” she asked, pushing her glasses up her nose with her index finger.

“Yes,” Miss Parker snapped. “Is he staying here?”

The woman chewed her gum while staring at Miss Parker, finally reaching under the counter to bring out a huge, but thin book,
placing it on the counter in front of Miss Parker. “I don’t know. Why don’t [you] look,” the woman sneered.

Miss Parker eyed her dangerously, watching her return to the back, before opening the book and scanning the names. Albert,
Andrews, Bailey, Buck, Carter, [Chandler]. Jarod Chandler! Room F9.

She leaned over him, smirking slightly. “You gonna die?” her little voice echoed in his head. Jarod watched her through his
eyelashes, too weak to answer her. “You gonna die?” she repeated. After, her small eyes stared at him for long moment, she
said again, this time a statement more than a question. “You’re gonna die.”

Jarod closed his eyes, shutting out the image of her long curls surrounding her face, the way her small eyes stared down at him in
such a fashion that scared him.

“The Devil you know, will have to grow, stronger inside you each sin,” she chanted slowly. “But not even he, can forgive thee,
as for what [you] have become within.” Jarod opened his eyes slowly, looking up at her with confusion. She smiled at his
unasked question. “The devil is watching,” she whispered, leaning her face down towards his more. “The devil is watching…
and waiting, Jarod. He’ll come for you soon.”

“No,” Jarod whispered hoarsely, lifting a hand up to her soft round cheek. “You’re no devil. You are merely a child,” he
whispered with a slight smile. “Just a child that sneaked into my room.”

She shook her head. “The Devil you know, will have to grow, stronger inside you each sin.”

Jarod’s brow furrowed. “What does that mean?”

“But not even he, can forgive thee, as for what [you] have become within.” The little girl stood straight, her gaze still on his face
as she stood there, hovering over him. “The devil will come.”

“Wait, where are you going?” Jarod whispered, watching the child turn and walk out of his sight. “No, wait.”

The nurse frowned, looking down as Jarod mumbled words softly, his face tensing. Reaching down, the nurse checked Jarod’s
pulse before fixing the blanket on top of him, pulling it higher over the sleeping form.

Hearing the door hiss open, the nurse looked over her shoulder to see a woman and two men enter the room, all three pairs of
eyes glued onto Jarod.

“Family?” the woman snapped.

Miss Parker looked up from Jarod towards the lady. “Yes.”

The woman nodded, making no further comment as she left the room, shutting the door behind her.

“Strange place,” Broots mumbled.

Miss Parker hurried over to Jarod’s side, looking down at him. “Must have been bad,” she stated, her tone flat. Jarod
whimpered softly, twisting his head side to side, clutching the sheets.

“God,” Sydney whispered, walking up behind Miss Parker to look down at Jarod. “He’s in worse shape then I imagined.”

“Maybe we can get some answers,” Miss Parker snapped, turning for the door. “Hey!” she snapped, pulling over a nurse. “Do
you know what happened to this man?”

The woman looked over the brunette’s shoulder at the man that lay in the hospital bed. “Hmph-” she huffed, looking down at
her chart. “Was in a car accident.”

“You don’t think I know that?” Miss Parker growled. “But what happened? What’s his condition?”

“He was thrown from the vehicle as the car had slammed into a tree-”

“People don’t get [thrown] out of cars when hitting a tree,” Miss Parker said, tilting her head to the side.

The woman shrugged. “Maybe he crawled out.”

“Maybe?” Miss Parker asked, lifting both eyebrows. “You [don’t] know?”

“It’s not my business.”

“Make it your business,” Miss Parker snapped. Watching the woman look away from her briefly, Miss Parker scowled at her.
“Go on.”

“Anyway, he was rather delusional and still is, keeps mumbling things. He was conscious a little while the two men that found
him were with him. The patient said there was a woman in the car with him, but there is still no sign of her.”

“A woman?”

“Yes. He said her name was um… oh it escapes me, but he was certain there was a woman.”

Miss Parker looked over her shoulder at Jarod, with Sydney leaning over him and watching with confusion as Jarod squirmed
on the bed.

“What’s his condition?”

“Um… nothing seriously broken or damaged, except for a mild concussion. A couple of bruises, scrapes, scars and scratches.
He lost a lot of blood due to the head injury, but we were able to stop the bleeding.”

Miss Parker inhaled sharply, nodding softly before turning away from her and walking back into the room.

“Well, he’ll survive,” Miss Parker said, closing the door behind her and coming up to the bedside. Exhaling slowly, Miss Parker
looked over at Sydney. “We should get him ready to go back to the Centre.”

“God, Parker,” Sydney said bitterly, looking over at her with furious eyes. “He is in no condition to be going anywhere and you
damn well know that!”

Miss Parker tilted her head slightly, and opened her mouth to reply when-

“No,” Jarod mumbled in his sleep, his brow furrowing. “No wait.”

“Wait, where are you going?” Jarod asked, sitting up. The little girl simply shrugged, looking over her little shoulder at him, her
curls wisping her round cheeks.

“You don’t need me anymore,” she said.

“[I] don’t need [you]?” Jarod asked, crooking an eyebrow. Pushing back the covers, he stood, for the first time looking around.
“Where am I?”

The girl giggled, turning around to face him. “Why you are in the hospital, silly.”

“Why is everything so blurry and bright?” Jarod said, blinking. A thought occurred to him suddenly, and he looked away from
the out-of-focus scenery to the little girl in a white dress before him, her chin only up to his waist. “Am I dreaming?”

The little girl shook her head side to side, her green eyes boring into him. “Not a dream, Jarod. There is a thin line between
reality and fantasy.”

“So, I’m on that line?”

“Nope, farther…” she explained casually, smirking slightly. “There is also a line between fantasy and death. You are on [that]
line.”

“So, I’m dying?” Jarod asked, shocked that the thought didn’t scare him.

The little girl shook her head again. “No, you are going to be okay.”

Jarod nodded. “Then, why am I still here?”

The girl merely shrugged. “You go back when you want to.”

“I want to,” Jarod replied, eagerness in his eyes. “How?”

The little girl smiled again. “Wake up.”

Jarod looked around, blinking at the brightness. “How do I wake up?”

Huffing, she took his hand and pulled him towards the bed. Jarod lied down and closed his eyes as she instructed, telling him to
relax and let reality come back to him.

Lying there, Jarod stared into the darkness of his eyelids, the bright scenery now dim and dark. A cold breeze caught his skin
and he inhaled sharply, opening his eyes after a full minute went by to tell her that it didn’t work… when-

“You’re awake!” Sydney said smiling, setting down his newspaper and scooting the chair a couple more inches towards the
bed. Jarod’s brow furrowed, staring up at the older man.

Reality kicked him in the rear and panic filled his eyes, his chest heaving. “Sydney? What are you doing here?” he croaked.

“It’s okay Jarod,” Sydney said gently, laying a hand on the younger man’s arm and squeezing, flashing him a reassuring smile.

Jarod looked around, his brown eyes still holding panic. “Where’s Miss Parker and Broots and the sweepers? Where are
they?” he said quickly, his hoarse voice cracking.

“It’s okay Jarod. Miss Parker, Broots and I are the only ones here.”

“Miss Parker? Where is she?”

“It’s okay. She agreed to not take you back.”

“Yet.” Jarod finished, his frantic brown eyes boring into the man.

Sydney looked down at him carefully, changing the subject. “How are you? You need anything?”

Jarod took a minute to analyze the situation, figuring which spot hurt and which didn’t. His side hurt like hell, his right leg felt like
it was on fire, and it felt like he was lying on a rock. His mouth was rather dry also.

“Can I have some water?”

Sydney smiled, nodded once and reached over to pluck the paper cup of water, a red straw sticking out of the top, from the
nightstand. Taking the straw, he placed it between Jarod’s lips, allowing the younger man to get his fill of the cold, clear liquid.
Jarod closed his eyes, letting the water slide down his throat. [Damn, that tasted good.]

“Thank you,” Jarod whispered as Sydney set the cup back down.

“Not even a decent cup of coffee!” Miss Parker hissed as she and Broots entered the room. Both stopped dead in the tracks at
sight of Sydney [and] Jarod watching them. Miss Parker was the first to recover. “Oh good, you’re awake, because we have a
train to catch.”

“Parker,” Sydney growled.

“The nurse said there was nothing broken or seriously damaged, so we can go now,” Miss Parker said, walking over to Jarod
and Sydney.

“Parker, he has a concussion. He shouldn’t be moved.”

“Spare the medical shit, Syd. If he passes out, you aren’t as old as you look, you can carry him.”

Sydney briefly closed his eyes in defeat, looking down to the tiled floor. [No way you can win this one.]

“Why are we taking a train?” Jarod whispered, limping along side of Sydney as they made their way down the subway steps.
Jarod was now dressed in a simple sky blue sweater and loose fit khakis that Sydney had bought for him. The long sleeves of
the sweater hid the handcuffs that were shackled tightly around Jarod’s wrists.

Glancing back briefly, Jarod eyed the four sweepers who followed them.

“Because,” Miss Parker snapped, walking closely behind Jarod, her hand firmly clasped over his upper arm. “The corporate jet
is in the hanger and we weren’t able to get a plane ticket.”

“Oh the shame,” Jarod huffed sarcastically. “I love to fly.”

Miss Parker tightened her grip on his bicep and pushed him faster down the steps, causing him to stumble on the last one.

“Miss Parker, do be careful,” Sydney said quietly, grabbing Jarod’s other arm.

“Whatever,” she growled. “We have a train to catch.”

“Jeez, this place sure is empty,” Broots said, looking around the underground subway. “Where is the train anyway-” Broots
looked down at his watch- “It should have been here a few minutes ago.” All eight made their way to the end of the platform,
looking down at the subway tracks below. “Did we miss it?” Broots asked.

“Oh darn,” Jarod muttered sarcastically.

“Shut up, Rat Boy,” Miss Parker snapped. Now she knew why she hated trains so much… because they were always late…
or early. “It will be here,” Miss Parker snapped.

[It will be here, my ass] Miss Parker repeated in her head. She clenched her teeth together, concentrating on the subway tracks
below; but was unable to take her mind of the way Jarod’s hip kept brushing into hers, the way his muscles felt under the thin
fabric of his khaki pants. When they had reached near the tracks to wait for the train, the sudden stop made Jarod’s right side
hit against her front. She bit the inside of her cheek as she felt the way the curve of his ass fitted perfectly against her.

She found herself sighing a little, which caught Jarod’s attention. “What’s wrong Miss P.?” he said with that childlike grin of his.
God she hated that grin… it was so damn sexy.

“Damn it,” she said to herself out loud, which caused Jarod to blink in surprise.

“What?” he asked.

Miss Parker looked at him carefully, her eyes narrowed slightly. “Nothing Rat Boy. Now shut up!”

“There it is,” Broots said out loud, watching the lights of the approaching train light up the dim subway tunnel.

Jarod briefly lifted his eyebrows, before looking away to watch the train approach the platform. As the doors slid open, Jarod
inhaled sharply as Miss Parker pushed him through the doors, Sydney, Broots and the sweepers following close behind.

Miss Parker pushed Jarod into a window seat, while she took the seat next to him. They sat there in silence, waiting for
everyone to aboard the train, Sydney and Broots taking the seats behind them. As the train began to move, Miss Parker looked
around the empty car. It had to be about the fifth car back, so maybe people were in the first couple cars. [Maybe]

“Hmph,” Jarod suddenly huffed, causing Miss Parker to look over at him in surprise.

“What the hell’s your problem?” she growled.

Jarod looked over at her. “Don’t you find it funny that a little town like this has a run down police department, an old hospital
and unfriendly people… yet they seem to have a brand new subway?”

Miss Parker blinked a couple times, looking around the empty car again, watching the lights on the tunnel walls outside the train
fly by. It [was] a little odd. And why would a small little town like this spend all that money on a subway when they didn’t even
ride it? They could have used the money to fix up their more ‘important’ buildings.

Suddenly the lights flickered off, causing Miss Parker to gasp slightly.
“What the hell?” she snapped, only the lights outside the train lighting up the car as they went by. Grabbing Jarod’s arm through
the dim light, she pulled him to his feet along with her, handcuffing him to the pole in the middle of the aisle way with another pair
of handcuffs.

“What are you doing, Parker?” Sydney asked, also getting to his feet.

“I am going to find out what the hell’s going on,” she said through clenched teeth, before taking off towards the sliding doors
that lead to the car in front of them.

All four sweepers stood, surrounding Jarod like vultures. Jarod smiled, leaning his forehead on the pole, holding back the
laughter.

“I am handcuffed to a blasted pole, guys,” Jarod said slowly, still not looking at them. “Go find something else worth guarding.”

All four men in black suits exchanged looks, but still stood their ground.

“Hello?” Miss Parker called, stepping through the sliding doors that lead to the first car. Making her way down the dark aisle
way, she caught her foot on a chair leg and stumbled. “Damn,” she muttered, catching herself with the back of one of the plastic
chairs. “Hello?” she called again, starting on her way again. “Is anyone here?”

Walking through the sliding doors, she stepped into the conductor’s car, a cool breeze catching her skin. Gasping, she stared at
the dark haired man that sat, cross-legged, in the engineer’s chair, staring at her with a devilish grin.

“Are you the engineer of this train?” she asked, her icy blue eyes boring into the man with the peculiar expression spread out
over his tough face.

He shrugged casually, piercing his lips. “Maybe,” he said, uncrossing his legs and leaning forward, his elbows resting on his
knees. His eyes roamed up and down her legs.

“Hey buddy,” Miss Parker snapped. “I’m up here.”

Lifting his bushy eyebrows, the man’s beady eyes landed onto hers. “I see.”

“Yeah well,” Miss Parker growled. “If you want someone to fuck, go find a dog in heat.”

The man’s lips broke out into a smile, his throat giving a deep chuckle. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Miss Parker blinked a couple times, stepping back slightly as the man stood, his full height towering over her, even with her
heels.

“Who are you?” Miss Parker whispered.

The man’s eyes widened a little. “I am the devil, my sweet. I am what children fear at night. I am the one who feeds nightmares
to your dreams. I am the dark little corner in your mind and soul, screaming to be released.” He smiled, leaning forward, his
face inches from hers. “But you can call me Darry.”

“What’s taking her so long?” Broots asked, sitting down beside Sydney, who was watching Jarod closely. The younger man
seemed to be rather tired, the way his tall form leaned against the pole, eyes shut. His forehead was against the cold metal,
bobbing slightly from the train’s vibration.

Sydney sighed softly, looking over at the balding tech. “Maybe you should go look for her.”

Broots winced slightly. “Me? Why me? Send one of those black suited guard dogs to do the dirty work.”

Sydney smirked, looking over at the group of sweepers surrounding the now pale prisoner. Getting up from his seat, Sydney
gestured for Broots to get up as well, letting him step into the aisle way. Pushing through two of the sweepers, Sydney came to
stand beside Jarod, placing a hand on his shoulder. Jarod flinched slightly, looking up through his eyelashes at the older man that
stood beside him, wearing a expression of concern on his aged face.

“You okay?” he whispered.

Jarod nodded. “Yeah, just tired.”

“You look as if you are about to faint,” Sydney said, flashing a sad smile.

Jarod smiled weakly as well. “Are you offering to catch me?”

Sydney chuckled softly. “Only if I have to.” Turning towards the sweepers, he told them to back off. Watching as the sweepers
took their seats, still surrounding Jarod, Sydney turned back to the handcuffed prisoner. “There, I got you more air.”

“Thanks Syd,” Jarod muttered.

“Well, [Darry],” Miss Parker said mockingly, slowly inching her way back towards the sliding doors, the tall man following her
every move. “Why are you, my friends and I the only ones on this train?”

He smiled. “You’re the only crazy ones.”

“Oh?” Miss Parker asked, keeping calm even though this man scares the hell out of her. “And what about you? Aren’t you
crazy? Or are we the only crazy ones to be on this train with [you]?”

Darry smiled, still walking along in front of her as she backed through the sliding doors. “Precisely that last one.”

“And why would we be scared of you? Because you are what… the devil?” she asked, forcing sarcasm in her voice.

He flashed her all teeth. “Yeah.” Just then, his eyes bore the red-hot fire of burning flames, his mouth sprouting fangs. Miss
Parker screamed, leaping back and yanking her gun out from the holster on her waistband. She shot at him four times, all four
bullets racking into his body. Miss Parker spun around on her heel and took off down the dim aisle way before he even hit the
ground.

Sydney took a seat next to Broots, letting out a long sigh. “Maybe [now] you should go look for her,” Sydney said, Broots’
head snapping over to the older man.

“But…” Broots began. “It’s dark… I might stumble… or-”

“Oh c’mon, Mr. Broots,” Sydney said. “The lights on the tunnel walls provide light.”

Broots pierced his lips together, looking out the window, watching the tiny lights fly by, lighting up the cart for a split second,
going dark and then lighting it again. Sighing, Broots stood.

“Fine, I’ll go look for her. But once she finds out [I] was sent after her, she’ll be… you know-”

“Right Broots,” Sydney said, flashing him a reassuring smile. “Just blame it on me.”

Broots nodded once, turned towards the front of the car when-

Miss Parker sprang through the sliding doors, trotting towards them. “We have to get off this damn train,” Miss Parker huffed.

“Why?” Sydney asked, getting up. All eyes were on her.

“There is something very wrong,” she said slowly with her eyebrows lifted.

“What’s wrong?” Jarod asked.

“There was a man,” Miss Parker said, eyeing each face. “He… I don’t know how to explain it. He just-”

“Honey! I’m home!” a deep voice growled, followed by the hissing of the doors as the shut behind the tall, dark man.

“I shot you!” Miss Parker shouted at him in astonishment, turning towards him and lifting the aim of her gun at him.

He slowly approached them, smiling devilishly. “Yeah, can’t you tell?” he asked, gesturing at the bullet holes in his shirt… with
no blood. “This was a new shirt, bitch!”

Miss Parker’s eyes narrowed. “Jeez, I’m sorry,” she spat out sarcastically.

Suddenly, a brunette came out from behind him, flashing white teeth with red lips at them all.

“You!” Jarod shouted. “You’re… you’re-”

“Nice to see you too, baby,” she said, winking at him.

Miss Parker glanced back at Jarod briefly, before turning towards the woman again. “Who the hell are you?”

Tessa crooked an eyebrow, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. She ran her tongue over her upper teeth, hand on one hip.
“Why, I’m Jarod’s lover.”

“Bull shit!” Jarod spat out. “You tried to kill me!”

“You were the woman in the car,” Miss Parker said softly. Jarod looked at her and blinked in surprise.

“Why… you do do your homework,” Tessa purred.

Miss Parker nodded, her blue eyes narrowed on the tall brunette that stood about ten feet away from her. Jerking her head
towards the two, all four sweepers leaped to their feet. In just a matter of seconds, all guns were aimed at them.

“Oh-” Tessa giggled- “Didn’t see that one coming!”

“Well, you will soon enough,” Miss Parker growled.

“Oh and you are going to what…?” Darry said, smirking, gesturing down at his shirt. “Put holes in us until all our air deflates?”

“You’ll do more than deflating, I guarantee that!” Miss Parker growled.

“You saw with your own eyes, bitch, that we don’t die!” Darry shouted at her, his thick eyebrows raised.

“It… it had to be a trick,” Miss Parker muttered softly.

“Well, enough chit-chat, but we’ve come for someone. So if everyone can just settle their differences for now and just hand
over the loot, then we can be on our merry little way,” Tessa said smugly, blowing smoke out of her perfect lips.

“Who?” Sydney asked. Tessa smiled at the older man, before her sharp green eyes skipped over to Jarod.

“Bull shit you will!” Miss Parker screeched, stepping closer to Jarod. “He’s mine!”

Tessa smiled. “Now, we do have a little problem, don’t we, Darry, baby?”

“Indeed,” Darry purred, his eyes glued on Miss Parker. “Guess we have to take her too.” Miss Parker blinked.

Tessa looked over at Darry with surprise. “The hell you will!”

Darry scraped his eyes off of Miss Parker to the other brunette. “Why not? You get what you want. Why can’t I get her?”

“Because,” Tessa growled.

“Hate to interrupt,” Miss Parker said through clenched teeth. “But the only ones that are [going] anywhere, are you two.”

Tessa smiled widely. “Oh really?” Lifting up both hands in front of her, she screeched, “Back!”

Miss Parker screamed as a gush of wind hit her hard, lifting her feet from the floor. She flew backwards, watching in the corner
of her eye as Broots, Sydney and the sweepers did the same. The automatic doors behind them were too slow to open, two of
the sweepers slamming into it, Miss Parker and the rest slamming into them. Hearing the hiss of the doors, they landed on their
backs in the next car, breathing heavily and staring up at the ceiling. The doors hissed shut after their dramatic exit.

“What the hell happened?” Broots croaked.

Suddenly, there was the sound of a loud gush of wind hitting the windows outside. All looked up to see the windows turning
black before their eyes.

“What the hell?” one of the sweepers whispered.

Miss Parker was the first to reach her feet, running to the sliding doors, and trying to open them. Miss Parker wiped uselessly at
the windows, cupping her hands to see in them.

Behind her, the rest climbed to their feet.

“Jarod!” Sydney said, looking around. “He’s in there.”

“You and Broots go to the end of the train where you are out of the way and call help,” Miss Parker ordered, tossing them a
phone.

The handcuffs clanged against the pole as Jarod struggled to get free.

“Easy there, baby,” Tessa said, coming up to him and resting a hand on his cheek, only to have him yank away. “It won’t hurt…
that much.”

“Go to hell!” Jarod said to her through clenched teeth.

“Been there, done that,” Tessa sighed, inhaling her cigarette, and blowing the smoke in his face.

“Who… what the hell are you?”

“I’m your lover… for all eternity,” she whispered, leaning towards him. Grabbing his jaw in a death grip, she forced his mouth
open, covering his lips with hers. He struggled, and after a moment, she let him go. Jarod turned his head the other way,
breathing heavily and scowling at her. Tessa giggled, dropping her cigarette to the floor and grinding it out with her toe. “You
are so cute when you are mad. I like that.”

“Well? We gonna kill him or what?” Darry asked impatiently, tapping his toe.

Tessa looked over her shoulder at him and smirked. “You are just jealous.”

“Or just plain ‘ol fucking bored!” Darry said, swinging out his arms. “I’ll be in the john,” he mumbled, turning and leaving her
sight. She huffed and turned towards Jarod, smirking at him devilishly.

BANG, BANG! Suddenly, the windows shattered behind them, Tessa and Jarod both jumped at the sound. Gun aimed, Miss
Parker leaped through the class and shot twice at Tessa, planting one in her forehead. Screaming, Tessa thrust her hand at
Parker, a bolt of light flashing through the air. Rolling out of the way, the force slammed into a chair, shattering pieces of plastic
everywhere.

“Shit,” Miss Parker whispered, looking over her shoulder at the damage. Looking up at Tessa, Miss Parker stared as she stood
over her, the hole in her forehead now gone. “What the hell are you?”

Tessa pierced her lips, putting her weight on one leg and lifting her hand to her chin. “You know, people do ask that question
frequently, and I find myself trying to answer it in as many different ways as possible.” Miss Parker stared in astonishment.
“So… lets see how I can answer this one.”

Before she could finish, Miss Parker leaped to her feet, taking off towards Jarod, but in a flash, Tessa was in front of her.
Grabbing her by the neck, Tessa lifted Miss Parker off her feet, forcing her to stare into her glowing red glare.

“I was in line for a perfect set up,” Tessa said through clenched teeth. “And you so rudely interrupted.”

“Piss off,” Miss Parker huffed, clawing at the woman’s wrist to release her.

“Let her go!” Jarod shouted, kicking out a leg and landing a strike on the back of Tessa’s knees, causing them to buckle.

Tessa let go of Miss Parker, struggling to compose herself, before turning around and backhanding Jarod across the face. The
handcuffs made a noisy clang as he was thrown backwards.

At that moment, all four sweepers leaped through the shattered class, pulling out their guns.

“Bullets don’t work you morons!” Miss Parker screamed at them from the floor. But spoke too late, for the train was filled with
the sound of gunshots. Miss Parker covered her ears, squeezing her eyes shut tightly.

After a full ten seconds of the thunder of gun blasts, Tessa’s brow curved downwards, her red lips now baring sharp fangs.

“Let there be death!” she screeched, hissing at them. Two of the sweepers cowered and turned and ran, the other two stood
and stared in horror as the creature leaped at them with her claws and fangs thrashing into them, ripping them apart. Miss
Parker closed her eyes from the blood splatter and turned to Jarod, digging in her pocket for the keys. Quickly, she unlocked
Jarod from his imprisonment and both took off towards the front of the train.

Tessa looked up from her meal, wiping the blood from her chin and smirked as she watched the two run off.

“Move, move!” Miss Parker encouraged, after they ran through the fourth sliding door. After discovering they weren’t being
followed, they slowed down, doubled over to catch their breath. “Why isn’t she following us?”

Jarod shook his head, staring off behind them. “It’s like she wanted us to.”

Both turning at the same time, they landed into something hard, at the same time looking up at a tall, broad shouldered man
smiling down at them.

“Hello kiddies!” Darry said cheerfully. “Where’s ya going in such a hurry?”

“The hell out of here,” Miss Parker huffed, stepping back, pulling Jarod back as well.

Darry lifted both eyebrows. “Not so fast sugar.” Snatching Jarod’s wrist, he lifted Jarod up until he stood on his tiptoes,
grabbing Miss Parker and doing the same. “Now, kiddies, you two both have a date with death, and I will be your escort for
the day.”

“Sorry, not today!” Jarod spat out, lifting both feet and slamming his feet into the bigger man’s gut. Darry doubled over,
releasing the two. Miss Parker and Jarod leaped back and spun around, sprinting through the doors and down the next car.

Darry quickly recovered, and began his calm walk after them.

“Damn!” Sydney cursed, smacking the phone with his palm.

“What?” Broots asked, taking the phone from Sydney and putting it to his ear. Static. “The battery?”

“I don’t know,” Sydney said.

“Hello gentlemen,” Tessa said from the other end of the car, smirking at them. Both gasped, staring at her and the blood that
covered her shirt. “Don’t worry, babies… I’m okay. It’s not my blood,” she laughed.

“What do you want?” Sydney asked.

“You two out of the way,” she hissed. Stepping back, she stood behind the automatic doors, laughing one more time before she
lifted her arms into the air.

Broots and Sydney screamed as the floor beneath them lifted, the whole car lifting up from the tracks. Gravity took its toll, and
both men slammed into the floor below, sliding their way towards Tessa, who now stood behind the closed doors. Sydney was
the first to slam into the glass, knocking the air out of him as Broots slammed into him. The opposite end of the car kept lifting
higher and higher, until the floor was almost longitude.

Turning from the scene, Tessa calmly made her way to the doors on the other end of the car. Until she reached the doors, did
the doors Sydney and Broots were pressed against opened, dumping both men onto the floor of the car behind them.

“Jesus,” Sydney gasped softly, as he and Broots watched through the glass as the last car kept rising all the way up until it
suddenly slammed into the top of the car they occupied. Glass shattered around them, and both struggled to cover their faces as
things were tossed around the car from impact.

“Sydney!” Sydney heard Broots yell as the open windows now allowed strong winds to gush through. “We’re going to die!”

Sydney could feel the strong air start to pull him towards the now open hole of where the automatic doors should have been. As
the censor felt Sydney approach, the doors tried to open, but the top of the door frame was bent out of shape from the ceiling
caving in that it only made it half way. Lucky for Sydney too.

Grabbing the doorframe, Syd held on for dear life, watching Broots do the same after he was pulled towards the doors.
Looking up through daze eyes, Sydney watched the ceiling slowly start to crumple from the extra weight, the metal screaming
from the abuse. It was when Sydney heard Broots gasp that he knew the younger man noticed too.

“We need to get out of this car!” Sydney shouted over the loud gushing of air. He watched Broots’ frantic face nod in
agreement.

Reaching up behind him, Sydney grabbed a leg of a chair, pulling himself off the doorframe and slowly making his way towards
the opposite side of the car.

“What the hell was that?” Miss Parker shouted as both of them felt the train rock slightly as they kept running.

“I don’t know!” Jarod replied, as they ran through another pair of sliding doors. “But we need to find Sydney and Broots now!”

“I found them,” Tessa said, appearing in front of them. Miss Parker and Jarod skidded to a stop a couple of feet away from
her, watching the evil smirk spread across her lips. “You needn’t worry about them any longer.”

“You didn’t,” Miss Parker whispered.

“I did,” Tessa replied, wrinkling her nose like a little schoolgirl. “It was so fun too! Just had to be there!” Her eyebrows lifted
suddenly. “Oh and your four little rats are goners too!”

“You can’t do this,” Jarod whispered.

“I can, baby,” she replied. “And I will.” Biting her lower lip, Tessa lifted her fingers. “Let’s speed things up a little bit, shall we?”
Snap.

Both Sydney and Broots were blown back as the train suddenly took off faster, the air around them increasing dramatically.
Sydney ground his teeth to the stinging of the wind on his face as he forced his tired arms to begin pulling him to safety.

Finally reaching the doors, Sydney pressed his hand on the glass, forcing the doors to slide open. They wouldn’t budge.

“Help me!” Sydney shouted over the noise to Broots, who was right behind him. As Broots reached the other side, both tried
with all their strength to open the doors that were their only escape to safety.

Miss Parker and Jarod now lay on the floor at her feet from the sudden force of the train as it sped across the tracks below.
Above them, they listened as Tessa laughed evilly.

“This is so much fun!” she said cheerfully. “Aren’t you guys having a blast?”

“Piss off you whore!” Miss Parker screamed up at her.

Tessa’s eyes widening in mock surprise. “Jeebers, didn’t see that one coming.”

“I bet you didn’t see this one coming either!” Sydney said from behind, Tessa turning just in time to see Sydney lift up the
broken chair leg over his head, swinging it as hard as he could. Tessa hit the floor as Jarod and Miss Parker leaped to their feet,
jumping over the now unconscious Tessa towards Broots and Sydney.

“We have to slow down the train!” Jarod yelled over the noise of the train. All
three nodded in agreement.

They ran blindly towards the front, only slowing for the doors ahead of them to open. As they barged into the control room, all
four skidded to a stop, slamming into each other as they stared at Darry, cigarette in mouth, sitting in the conductor’s chair.

“Hi, again,” he said calmly, lifting a hand to pull the cigarette from his lips and exhaling. “You people should have learned
already not to run on a train.”

“Slow the train down,” Miss Parker demanded.

Darry smiled. “Don’t you know the bad guys never listen? Jeez, you guys don’t know fan fiction.”

“Slow the train down,” Miss Parker repeated.

Darry sighed, rising to his feet slowly. “Alright, fine, I’ll slow the god damned train down!” he shouted, slamming his foot.

CRACK! The thought just occurred to Jarod to grab onto the doorframe as metal screamed, the train shaking violently, and the
other three were thrown backwards. Jarod felt his fingertips burn as he held on, grinding his teeth from the pain. He felt his feet
lift off the floor briefly, causing his grip to loosen, and he to fly backward with the others, sliding down the car on his back.

As they hit the doors, they heard the deep voice shout over metal hissing. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing some
turbulence! Please buckle your seat belts! Thank you!” Darry shouted.

The train suddenly took a sharp jolt to the right as it popped off the tracks, slamming into the subway wall with a terrible grind.
All the windows shattered, filling the car with glass. Miss Parker felt a chair slam into her back as she slid down the car again,
struggling to keep her head and face covered.

Jarod felt himself pulled backwards from gravity as he tried to stand. It felt the train was tipping as it struggled to stop.

The statement was proved true, when the train slammed onto its left side, everyone being thrown onto the broken windows.
Sparks flew up into the car, Jarod trying frantically not to fall through a window and onto the tracks. The train gave a
tremendous jolt and everything went black.

Opening heavy eyes, her vision blurred as she forced herself to focus on her surroundings. Right in front of her line of view,
stood a chair on its side. At first she thought it was just lying there, but at closer inspection, she saw that it was connected to the
wall, or the floor. Blinking, she moved her eyes away from it and noted glass, everywhere that it could possibly lay, all around
her and on her. She felt something heavy on her legs, the weight keeping her from moving from the spot in which she lay in the
wreckage. What had happened?

Lifting her head painfully, Miss Parker eyed the limp form lying across her legs, finding the one who’s responsible for her
captive. A sweeper. Clenching her teeth, she moved her legs from under the body, the bloody form rolling limply off her.

“God,” she whispered under her breath, noticing the large piece of glass sticking up from his brow. “You packed a good one,”
she whispered, not sure she was talking to the dead man or the object responsible for his death.

“Parker?” she heard a faint voice whisper, turning her attention from the sweeper to the area around her. Spotting Sydney, lying
under a chair, she scooted towards him, hissing and cursing as she did.

“Syd? You okay?” she asked, her eyes filled with worry, as she lifted the chair from the older man.

He grunted in pain, winced and then smiled his calm, collective smile. “Yeah, Parker. Or at least I will be.”

Nodding, she turned her head slightly, gasping as she felt a sharp pain zap through her body. Placing a hand to her neck, she
clenched her teeth, unaware that Sydney was forcing him self up to help her.

“Here,” he said, reaching over and plucking a piece of glass from the base of her neck, quickly reaching in his pocket for his
handkerchief, as she screamed in pain. Grabbing the cloth from his hand, she placed it on her neck, flashing the old man an
accusing look.

“Thanks Syd,” she hissed, but the man wasn’t paying attention to her. Instead, Sydney’s eyes were scanning the wreckage,
spotting Broots, and quickly scrambling to his side, checking for a pulse.

Sighing, Sydney looked up at Parker and smiled, turning back to Broots and shaking him until he was aware, looking up at the
older man with glazed eyes.

“You all right, Broots?” the man asked.

Broots swallowed, his brow creasing in pain. “S-sure,” he whispered, his voice hoarse. Blinking a couple times to clear his
vision, he looked up at Sydney, carefully. “Is everyone… okay?”

“Not exactly,” Miss Parker began, coming to sit next to them, but her eyes and attention were scanning the train, which laid on
its side now, seats and glass tossed and shattered everywhere. There was a light, the only light, hanging from its socket,
swinging back and forth, blinking. If it weren’t for the lights on the tunnel wall outside, it would be rather hard to navigate their
way out of here, with only a blinking light to guide them.

“Not exactly?” Broots whispered, still waiting for her to finish.

Her eyes finally fell on him, looking at him real hard. “A sweeper is dead,” she said, with no emotion. Looking away, she sighed.
“Boo freaking hoo.”

“And… and Jarod?” Broots asked, and winced as both looked at him with a stunning glare, paralyzing him for a brief moment.
Watching as Sydney got to wobbly feet, Miss Parker and Broots did the same, dizziness washing over them like warm water.

Their height gave them an advantage of the situation, now able to look down at the scene. Searching the whole car, they found
two sweepers alive and still kicking, but no Jarod. His body refused to show up, all three co-workers frowning, and did all they
could do. They left.

“I told you I get what I want,” Tessa said, blowing smoke out of her nose as she watched the group leave, limping and cursing
as they left. She smiled at their receding backs before turning to Darry, which had a limp form thrown over his shoulder. “We
better hurry before this corpse decides to remain… corpsie.”

Giving a final nod, Darry turned, walking briskly along side of Tessa as they made their way further down into the darkness of
the tunnel.
 

To be continued…
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