Chapter 1

The sounds even in his sleep. A whistling of an object coming down. A wet crunch. A warm wet splatter spraying him. A grunt as the object came whistling down again to silence a scream of pain. Another scream, a woman. Knocking.

Knocking. Someone was knocking. Jack blearily opened his eyes his dreams spinning away like wisps in the wind.

The knock came on his door again and he sat up taking a moment to stretch. The scars on his body ceased to bother him for they were ancient and nothing would leave a mark on him now. Still he always kept his back away from people. The long scars on his shoulder blades tended to cause questions and questions could cause trouble for the foolish ones who asked him questions.

Knocking. He sighed and got up rubbing his eyes and unlocking his door opening it to his frail landlord. He was in a new city and somehow all his land lords were senile but they worked to his advantage. Before the old goat with the thick glasses could say anything he had already shut the door and moved to the chest under his bed. A few hundreds and back to the door again.

" What time is it? " Jack asked his voice a bit horse from sleep.

Bill, his landlord, Glanced at his wrists, Jack knew the old man wore 4 watches he just never understood why.

" 3 PM Jack. " Bill blinked owlishly at him but before he could say anything Jack spoke again.

" What day is it? "

Bill was used to this. Jack was one of his favorite tenets he didn't complain about mice or termites or rusty pipes, he paid his rent on time every time, and he never had a party or loud company. Actually Bill realized he had never seen Jack with company at all.

" Friday Jack, the 15th."

Jack nodded and shut and locked the door before Bill could say anything else. He wearily climbed into bed again. Sleep and Bingo. The only two things that kept him sober and people safe. A moment later he was fast asleep.

Again in the darkness. If anyone had seen him they couldn't help but to notice things. He gnashed his teeth. Sometimes a low moan of pain came from him as he rolled to his side and slipped one hand onto his shoulder to feel the top of the scar there hearing a ripping sound along with a feeling of agony. A sound of a bull whip. He grimaced. A distance voice over the lows of sheep. A whistling sound followed by a wet crunch. A roar building into an inhuman bellow.

Jack jerked awake. He lay there a moment bitterly contemplating the cracks in the ceiling. He glanced at the clock. He was hungry. He was late. He hurriedly got up and dressed in his regular street clothes. Jeans, a turtle, neck and a hoodie. They had the effect of making his broad chest look broader as well as hiding his tattoos and scars.

He walked the 7 blocks to the church and hurried in pulling out a wad of bills and handing them over to the lady at the table. He held his hand out for two and grabbed the red marker stamp before taking his place at a table near the middle.

" Rolling, 50 dollars...fifty dollars 4 corners count."

Jack laid out his two cards and got ready. Everyone ignored him just how he liked it. His mind slowly went blank thousands of years of memory were pushed back while he focused on the droning of numbers, jerkily stamping his cards. Time passed.

" Last roll!"

Jack jerked slightly and then glanced at the clock. He had been there for 2 hours. For him it was still early. He looked over his cards. Nope. No winners. He finished up the last roll call, then got up and left without speaking to anyone.

As with every city he had found a cozy diner that was rarely packed that he could retire to every night.

He very briefly wondered what Cara, the blonde waitress, from the diner he had frequented before ha done with all that money. Not that it mattered it had been years since he had been to that city and and she would be long dead before he made his way there again. It had always been thus. He had been married many times and all of them had ended pretty much one of three ways. He had left so his wife hadn't been able to see that he didn't age. He had risked telling them and had watched them age and die. He had eaten one or two of them. Literally eaten them. He just hadn't been able to control himself, and occasionally he hated himself for that.

At least this time in this diner he wasn't tempted. The waitresses were old and overweight and not the least bit interested in him other then for his tips.

He got the same ' Hi how are you hunni, what'll it be? ' delivered in a flat voice. This city was in the south a only a little further he's be in the wilds. He had actually been thinking about getting a cabin. To hell with it. He was tired. He ordered oatmeal hoping that this time he could stay sober. It wasn't that he cared if he hurt these pathetic people it was more of his way of thumbing his nose at the asshole sitting at a far booth watching him.

Oh how Jack hated him. He hated the clothes he hated his beady eyes shining from beneath a low brim hat. He hated the way he saw him walking around sometimes just watching him. Lucifer. Jack was fairly sure he was the only one who could see him. After all it was the fallen angel who sentenced him to this immortal life.

The waitress set down a lukewarm bowl of oatmeal. Jack took some grim satisfaction in eating it. It was while he was facing his enemy forcing down bite after gooey bite of food that she suddenly walked in and sat across from the prince of darkness. Jack found himself paying attention. Lucifer had never bothered to look at him with anything but disdain.

This woman, who he could only see from the back actually produced an irritated look from the fallen angel. She leaned forward slightly and spoke softly causing his irritation to become a scowl. A waitress came up next to him and not seeing Lucifer took the woman's order.

Jack had finished his oatmeal but found himself interested for once in what was going on. Lucifer was talking to this woman. He was actually having a conversation with this woman. Jack could see his lips move and he was riveted if nothing else. Thousands of years...the prince of darkness had barely said more then a handful of words to him. He found himself curious something he hadn't felt in...well actually he couldnt even remember the last time he had given a shit. He kept trying to drop his eyes not wanting to draw attention to himself but unable to to stop watching.

To his shock Lucifer actually placed his hands on the table and stood up over the woman and glared down at her. She merely laughed before making a be gone motion to him. Just like that she was alone. She accepted a hot beverage and leaned back to enjoy her drink. Jack paid laying out his tip and stood up he waked towards the door tensing as he approached the woman. He had seen many terrible things in his long exitance. Of course he had done many terrible things to.

He slowed down to throw a quick glance at her and was even more confused. She was beautiful. Attractive in a handsome way. She wore glasses which gave her a scholarly look and her hair was pulled back tight in an unattractive bun. Oh yes his eyes dropped down to what he could see of her body. She was curvy, fleshy, defiantly not the norm. He glanced back up sure he might have seen her before and was shocked that his gaze was met by the greenest eyes he'd ever seen.

He stumbled a step and then made it outside the diner. He walked back his apartment and then flopped down on the bed. For a moment he thought about the strange woman. Then his eyes drifted shut and sleep over came him. His stomach growling for something hot and dripping his teeth gnashing for something to rip and he rolled over and curled up in a ball. He slept never knowing the woman from the diner perched on the armchair watching him.

Her eyes had taken on a dull golden glow and her tongue slipped out to moisten her lips. She watched the way the muscles in his back flexed causing the scars to twitch. She studied the tattoos on his body. She studied his face and hands, his chest and his stomach . She watched him sleep and he slept the sleep of the weary never realizing he was no longer alone in his darkness.