Here's chapter 3! I send my thanks to Becky Galler for reviewing my story and putting it on her favorites list. This is for her!


It was the next night, and the moon was full. Both Fredricka and Abigail were asleep - Fredricka in her bed and Abigail in a sleeping bag. (Abigail had been invited to Fredricka's for a sleepover as a celebration for Abigail's helping Fredricka to raise her math grades. Thanks to Abigail's tutelage, Fredricka was now a math whiz. But that didn't go to her head; she kept herself grounded - another way of saying humbled - and gave Abigail the credit, like a good friend should.)

But there was one person who was not asleep. Ace walked over to the alley where so many girls had been taken to, raped and murdered.

He had an angry gleam in his eyes. He wanted to avenge those girls' deaths.

Suddenly a figure wearing black leaped out of the shadows. He was covered in black clothes, all except his eyes. They were blue. Ace knew who he was - the Rapist of Castle Rock.

"So," said Ace, "we meet for the first time, Mike."

The rapist's eyes bugged out.

"You're Ace Merrill," he said, "and you know my name."

"Of course," said Ace calmly.

"What do you want?"

"I want nothing more than to avenge the deaths of those girls you've kidnapped, raped and murdered," Ace said.

"Ah, those ones. Cute little things…" Innocent enough words twisted to fit his evil meaning.

Ace felt a surge of possessive anger that dwarfed what he had felt before at the mere thought of those filthy hands defiling his girlfriends. He wanted nothing more than to very slowly carve that smirk from his face. To draw his death out over days until his soul finally fled to the underworld, where it would be tormented yet more for all eternity.

"Fine," growled Mike. "Shall we begin this little fight of ours?"

"Whenever you are ready," smirked Ace, then not being able to resist shooting one final blow at the rapist. "I have a prize to get to."

"I think not," said Mike. He was about to toss Ace a knife. But he changed his mind when he saw Ace pull out his switchblade and flick the blade open. "The first one to draw blood from the other person's torso wins."

Ace looked at his switchblade admiring it for its shine and sharpness; he had good taste in blades, he knew that. Then he turned to Mike.

"You're dead," said Ace.

The two males slowly began to circle each other, looking for an opening. Ace saw the first opening and lunged forward catching Mike's face and causing it to bleed slightly. Mike leapt back, wiped at the blood flowing from his neck and then lunged at Ace, going for his throat. Ace snarled, his eyes flashing dangerously as a maniacal grin was forming on his face. He lunged again and ducked under Mike's arm going for his lower torso around and stabbed him in the side above the stomach. Mike growled and grabbed hold of the wound where Ace had stuck the blade in. He dropped to his knees, blue eyes flashing; Ace was staring down at him, smirking in pleasure at beating the rapist, then pulled his knife out.

"Looks like I win," said Ace, cleaning his switchblade on his coat, then putting it in his pocket.

Mike lay there, still alive, but bleeding a little.

"Now," Ace thought, "Abigail and Fredricka are safe."

He smirked, stared at the fallen male - with brown hair, as his hood had fallen off - and left him in the alley.

Finally, his revenge was complete, and Abigail, he knew, would have nothing to worry about the next time she went walking at night.

He looked up as the Cobras appeared.

"Ace," said Eyeball; he was in shock. So were Fuzzy, Charlie, Vince and Billy. They couldn't believe their eyes.

"What happened to you?" asked Charlie.

"Simple. He went into battle, and he won," said Abigail's voice behind them. They turned to see her with a smile.

Ace couldn't help but smile back.

"That's gallant," said Abigail. Then she walked up to Ace.

"The southern gentlemen in the book 'Gone With the Wind' have nothing on you, Ace. You ride off into sure death because you're gallant."

Ace thought about what she said.

"You're right," he said, grinning.

Then Abigail walked over to Mike, then knelt in front of him. Mike opened his eyes.

"Uh, hi?"

He saw…her. Abigail Jackson. And she looked very angry.

"Mike!" she snapped. "You were going to attack me and take away my innocence?"

Before Mike could answer she went on.

"Compared to you Ace is a gentleman. If I've told you once I've told you a million times - try being a writer. Being a writer never hurt anyone!"

Then she lifted her hand and slapped him.

Ace and the Cobras flinched. They knew from experience not to make Abigail angry when she was in a dangerous mood and her blue eyes were blazing like that. Eyeball knew that all too well. Once when he called some of her guy friends girls at the diner, Abigail went psycho. She leaped into the air, baring her nails and her teeth and tackled him to the ground.

"Uh-oh," he said.

She then attacked him, punching him and calling him every cruel name under the sun. When she was done she snapped at him,

"They're boys, like you. So call them guys, like I do. You dig?"

He nodded.

After that Eyeball never called her guy friends that again; he called them guys and tried to be nice to them for Abigail's sake.

Eyeball bit his lower lip.

He didn't want to tangle with Abigail when her baby blues were blazing.

She was dangerous like that sometimes.

Abigail, in the meantime, got to her feet and walked over to the Cobras.

"Well, I better get back to Fredricka's and get some sleep," she said.

"Excuse me, boys."

They moved aside and let her through.

Ace then spoke up.

"Abigail's right," he said. "I am gallant."

"Hey, so are we," said Eyeball. "Right, guys?"

"Oh, yeah," said Vince.

"Yep," said Charlie.

"Too true," Billy concurred.

"Absolutely," said Fuzzy.


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