Don't Let the Darkness In…
The moon hung high in the night sky, the luminescent sphere casting a haunting glow down on the deserted park beneath it. Deserted that is, except for the young couple sitting next to each other, hand in had, completely oblivious to the world.
As well as the creatures of the night who were roaming it….
"Richard, what was that?" the girl asked the boy, a hint of worry in her voice.
"What?" he asked, wondering what it was she meant.
"I thought I heard a rustle in the bushes." She whispered into his ear nervously, looking behind them into the darkness.
He chuckled, "I don't think so, the place is completely empty."
"Really? Do you think so?" a deep, inhuman voice mockingly questioned from behind them.
"Huh?" was all the two had the time to say before the thing was upon them. It was a monstrous creature with pale, rotting flesh and two sharp canines that glinted in the moonlight.
The girl let out a high pitched scream and, along with her boyfriend, rushed down the stone path to the park's exit, the creature in pursuit.
They tried their best to escape, but it was of no use, the thing was much faster and agile then they were. Within moments, it had caught up to them, knocking them to the ground.
"Ah!! Get off me! Get off!!" the girl cried, as the thing seized her arm and pulled her up and closer to it, "Help!" she screeched.
Richard was still on the ground where he had fallen, frozen in fear. He could only stare wide-eyed at the inhuman monstrosity the towered above him, holding his struggling girlfriend. He continued to stare when a dark figure erupted from the shadows and tackled the thing to the ground, sending the girl temporarily out or harm's way.
She whimpered and crawled towards him, hot tears running down her face. He, in return, met her halfway and hugged her, assuring her that it was all right, although he wasn't really sure if what he was saying was true.
The sound of fists hitting skin and the sound of bodies impacting with the ground caused the two to turn their heads to the battle nearby. The mysterious figure that had saved them was matching their assailant blow for blow, getting a hit in every now and then as well.
One hit ripped the thing's shirt and sent the creature stumbling back. When it regained its composure, a long, golden chain with some sort of emblem glittered in the light. It looked almost like a C or something, encased in a circular border, but whatever it was, it made the other figure outwardly tense.
"Where is he?!" the figure demanded.
The thing just laughed, "Oh, you would like to know, wouldn't you, Flame? Well, even if I did tell you, you couldn't take him on. You may be good, but not even your power is enough to beat Master Crystolus."
"Tell me." The figure demanded again, angrily.
"Never!" the monster shouted, making a blind, suicide charge for the other. He never made it, though. He was turned to ashes by the torrent of fire that The Flame shot out before he could come within two feet of his target. The Flame continued to stand there even after the threat was gone, a strange red or orange aura surrounding him.
The couple just stared in awe at their savior, who still had smoke coming from the hand that had produced the fire. They turned look at him, and their eyes widened when they saw that the hand was not burned at all.
"Wh-who are you?" Richard asked, shakily when the figure made no move to leave.
"Someone you should forget." The Flame answered, calmly, devoid of emotion, "Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yes." The girl answered, her voice wavering only slightly.
"Good. I suggest you go home then, there's more where he came from" The Flame advised before turning his back to them and melting into the shadows.
The couple just watched him disappear. It wasn't until later that they sadly realized that they never even got to see his face.
'How are you two doing?'
'Good, he does most of the work though. I'm just here for backup.'
'Are you still in New York?'
'No, couldn't risk running into Mimi. We're in California now. A little town a few miles south of L.A.'
'That's good, need anything?'
'No, with his fire we really don't have a need for any other supplies. That last shipment of torches we got from you is still here. Thanks, btw.'
'No problem, it's the least I can do after….'
'Yeah, I know.'
'I wish I could be of more help, but I can't leave my family.'
'That's ok, we understand. This is Angel, signing off.'
'Lectro, signing off.' Izzy finished typing, then he closed his laptop.
He let his mind drift…
~Three boys stood in a deserted parking lot, just as the sun rose over the horizon. The stood in a circle and held out their hands, making a pact. A promace….~
"Good luck, you guys." He said to himself, "Sorry, I can't join you…"
"You know, that kid is really starting to bug me." Saigo grumbled, reading the night's report. The Master had already lost ten more warriors to The Flame.
He pushed his wire-framed glasses up higher on his nose, annoying his minions who were gathered around him as 'body guards'.
It was dark, and he couldn't see their mocking stares. It angered them that such a sniveling coward could be one of the Master's top five commanders. He was a weak disgrace to all vampires. Still, he had a brain, and knew how to command others well, making him a valuable asset to the Master Crystolus' empire.
"We really need to take care of him." Saigo mumbled, half to himself, "But how…….We need to figure out where he's stationed, then we can strike. Or perhaps….."
He continued to plan out ways to stop The Flame.
The Flame was a boy who had just suddenly appeared, vowing to destroy the Master. He had the ability to shoot waves of fire at will from his bare hands. Not exactly the best thing to have flying at you when you're a vampire, or really in general. He was a good fighter, and pretty determined, but he was still a kid, and he needed to be stopped before he became a real threat.
"I've got it!" Saigo said at last, "We have to spread a rumor. Let it seep out that we have a core at the old cemetery. We can ambush him when he arrives."
His followers nodded, inwardly rolling their eyes at such a simple plan. A core was a group of vampires that stayed together during the day. Already The Flame had found two of them. It was a simple task of destroying a vampire core once you found it. Just set the place on fire and sit back and enjoy the show. Still, the rumor of a core would be more then enough to bring The Flame briefly out into the open.
"So…." Saigo started, grinning, "Let's begin, I want The Flame dead by this time tomorrow."
The door to the abandoned apartment opened, and Angel shot his head up quickly, prepared for anything.
He sighed in relief when he saw it was just Flame, as he preferred to be called now. Clad in dark jeans and a black leather jacket over a light blue tee, he seemed more like a street punk then a superhero, as Angel teasingly called him, during those rare times when he was actually in a happy mood anyway…
Flame pulled off his jacket, the golden ring on his finger glittering for a moment as his hand fell under the lamplight.
"I heard about a core." He stated, voice monotone, "At the old cemetery, let's head there in the mourning.
Angel laughed, looking at the clock "Taichi, it is mourning. Three a.m. to be exact." He said, matter-of-factly.
Tai just stared at him, "Whatever Takeru. It's not mourning till the sun's high above the sky for me." He yawned, stretching his arms and slumping on the couch.
Takeru shook his head, "You push yourself too hard. At this rate, when you do get to face this 'ultimate evil' guy you'll fall flat on your face."
"Will not." Tai grumbled.
"Hey, don't feel bad." T.K. teased, "Maybe you'll snore him to death or something."
"Ha. Ha. Well, I wouldn't be so overworked if you came and actually helped me once in a while." A muffled voice responded, "You'd think you'd want to help." He said, accusingly.
The blond blinked then shook his head, "Tai, that was mean. But yeah, well, I'm not much help. You can shoot fire, not me."
"Yeah." Tai mumbled again, "Blame it on the fire."
"Exactly."
"So…wake me up at noon. We can take um' out then."
"Sure."
"Sir! I see them coming." A vampire reported.
Jack grinned, "Good. Everyone, get to your positions." He ordered.
Two vampires in the back nodded, heading for the stone steps that led to the balcony.
Everything was going perfectly…..
~Hey, that was a great concert, Matt.
Thanks, Tai.~
Tai shook his head, trying to get the voices in his head to go away. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about that. He and Takeru stood in front of the graveyard, looking in at the old undertaker's building. It was the most obvious spot when one was looking for a place that could hold a core. The tall, dreary building cast a dark shadow on the surrounding area. It's second story, covered balcony and cracked, stone walls made the structure seem dreary, even on the sunniest of days.
He turned to his younger partner, "Ready?" he asked.
T.K. nodded, taking a deep breath and getting a tighter grip on the flare in his hand, not that it would be needed since Tai was there. But it was always better to be safe then sorry, as the old proverb went.
"Ok." Tai said, reaching for the door, "Here….we…."
He was cut off when a huge tarp fell from the balcony above them.
"Angel!" Tai shouted, making sure not to use his friend's real name in the presence of a possible enemy.
Takeru was out of there in an instant, jumping quickly out of the way and hovering in the air for a moment or so before dropping to the ground.
If one had looked carefully, they might have seen the traces of a yellow mist of aura leave the young boy as he landed.
But all attention was now focused on Tai. Unlike 'Angel', The Flame had been unable to get out of the way quickly enough to evade capture, and was now thrashing under the tarp, trying to get out and see his opponents.
He was not given the pleasure. Several vampires appeared in the doorway of the stone building and, securing the ends of the tarp together, dragged the struggling teen inside.
T.K., not about to just stand there and let it happen, grabbed a match from his back pocket and lit the torch. He waited until a strong flame was burning brightly on the end of the wooden stake, then ran in after his friend.
He wouldn't let it happen again….
Tai struggled wildly under the heavy fabric. He had tried flaming his way out, but the thick tarp was fireproof. They had done their homework. This was a well-laid out, if not slightly overused plan. Still, he had fallen for it. Yeah, he had fallen for, it hook, line, and sinker.
He mentally kicked himself. He should have known they'd try to kill him sooner of later. He was quite the 'nuisance' as one vampire had called him before he had reduced her to ashes. Now he was paying for his lack of prudence to her warning.
As soon as they were out or range of the doorway, Tai had found himself brutally thrown to the ground, and between struggling to get free, he was also struggling for survival. Angry teeth and pointed fangs came at him through the tarp, trying to pierce his skin and drain him of his life….
Drain him……
~His hand ran over his pale neck, fingers feeling his pulse and savoring the meal he was about to enjoy. He licked his lips, though more for show then in actual hunger. He wanted his 'true' victim to know just what was about to happen next.~
Taichi shook his head and quickly dodged another set of fangs. He had to keep focused on the task at hand, if he wanted to survive……..
Jack grinned, watching his minions try to get at the boy. Soon, it would all be over. He would have joined in the feeding, but he wasn't one for sharing a meal with anyone.
He heard light footsteps coming from the direction of the doorway. He turned to see the outline of The Flame's friend, Angel was it, being illuminated on the stone wall by the light of a burning torch.
Jack smiled to himself, he would get to feed after all…
T.K. looked around the dreary building, eyes adjusting to the dark. He could hear struggling going on nearby.
He could also feel the body the rammed into him a few seconds later, knocking the wind out of him and the torch to the ground.
"Pretty stupid, boy." The vampire snickered into his ear, grabbing his wrists and pinning the blond to the cold, stone wall.
"Damn…." T.K. groaned, trying to get to the torch he had dropped, still burning a few feet away. However, he couldn't pull his arm out of the demon's iron grip. He struggled in vain as the monster slowly opened his mouth, exposing his sharp fangs, and leaned over him, preparing to bite into his neck.
T.K.'s breaths became quick and frantic. The hairs on his neck stood on end as the vampire's hot, putrid breath came in contact with his skin.
He wasn't sure what to do, so T.K. did the first thing that came to mind as Jack's fangs were about to puncture his skin.
He kneed the undead creature in the groin then spit in his face.
Jack let out a moan and loosened his grip on the boy slightly, but it wasn't enough for the blond to escape, and as soon as the vampire regained his composure and wiped the saliva from his face, he was back where he had started.
"So, you think that's funny, huh?" the monster growled angrily at T.K., who wavered slightly under his gaze, but still stood defiantly.
"Well?!"
T.K. was silent, but on the inside, he was terrified.
"Fine then!" Jack growled, grabbing both of T.K.'s arms and pinned them behind the blonde's back with one of his hands. With the other, he covered T.K.'s mouth and bent the boy's head over, fully exposing his neck.
T.K. struggled to get free, making an attempt to knee the vampire again, but Jack simply forced the boy to his knees, and prepared to feast.
Takeru let out a small whimper, and his eyes widened in fear as the vampire moved towards his neck. There was no way he could get out of this now.
A few feet away, though for T.K. it might have as well been miles, the torch he had earlier lost still burned brightly, the determined flame never dyeing out.
To be continued…..