Disclaimer: Sadly, I must announce that I do not own Companions of the Night. Though I highly doubt anyone can possibly think I could ever own anything anyway. Because, seriously, I don't. :)

Chapter 8: Taking One Down

A sun of red and gold was setting on a field of cold stone, but there was no warmth in the rays of the light as they fell upon the cold figure of Kerry Nowicki. Her world had been shattered, left in the dark, broken, defeated.

Four nights ago, Kerry had been eating ice cream with Ian, watching a sunset much like this one. Now, she was standing alone in a graveyard, staring down at her father's fresh grave. It still had not sunk in completely that she would never again see him smile… hear him laugh.


Kerry's body went completely numb, shutdown on its own. It wasn't true, it couldn't be him. Not Dad. Not now. She couldn't breathe, felt sick, her stomach couldn't take this. Her heart was heavy and hurt. Her face was cold and wet. It wasn't until then did she realize that she was shaking, crying, falling apart.

"Kerry."

The voice sounded urgent and compelling, yet it was so far away Kerry wasn't sure if it wasn't her imagination. "Kerry. We have to move. Now!"

She heard the urgency in the voice, felt the sudden alarm in the air, but she couldn't respond. Didn't the voice understand? He was gone forever. He would never come back… and it was all her fault.

"Kerry!" Suddenly, Kerry was pushed to the ground, flat on her stomach, as the sound of a gunshot split the air. There was a squeal of tires on the pavement and a shocked gasp of pain before the noise of the car engine faded away. Kerry couldn't see what was going on, but knew that Michel had been shot.

Her first instinct was to jump up and help Michel, but her body was immobile, even if she tried to force herself to stand up, she was shaking too hard. Her arms wobbled uselessly as she tried to roll over onto her back. She glanced up.

Lights in houses came on across the street and Kerry knew there was no time before people would come out and start to investigate. No time before they called the police, if somebody hadn't already. No time before they would come and take Ian away. No time…

"Kerry." Suddenly, Athan was kneeling beside her, helping her to finally sit up. "Kerry, are you hurt?"

It took a minute for the question to sink in… a precious minute they didn't have time to waste. "No… I… I'm…"

Athan didn't wait for her to finish but cut her off. "Kerry, we have to move. Can you get to the car by yourself? I have to help Michel." Kerry's head snapped up quickly at that. Michel was still on the ground; about five feet from her… his hands were on his chest and…

Oh God.

There was blood, great amounts of it, pulsing and streaming from a deep wound… luckily on the opposite side from the heart. Obviously the person who shot him either hadn't wanted to kill him, only slow him down, or had really bad aim and couldn't tell left from right. He didn't look like he was in a lot of pain, but still… there was so much blood! He was looking down at the gore on his lap, with a mixture of wonder, awe, self-loathing, and disgust.

Athan swore, moving from Kerry's side to Michel's in less than a millisecond. "Get in the car, Kerry!"

Michel grimaced as Athan tried to pull him up by wrapping an arm around Michel's shoulders. "Damn it, Michel." Athan's voice sounded coarse, but amused at the same time. "Must you always play the hero?"

If Michel had been himself and had not been preoccupied with his injury, Kerry was certain Athan would've gotten a lot more than just a soft, annoyed growl.

Just then a soft, muted voice called out Kerry's name. This voice stirred her into action like nothing else could have. No, Ian couldn't see… couldn't find out that way. Kerry jumped up, with a speed she didn't even know she had, and whirled around. Ian was still in Athan's car, his nose pressed up against the glass, his eyes wide, face white. With a glance at Athan, who nodded, still occupied with helping Michel, Kerry managed to make a run for the car.

She flung open the back door and whispered to Ian, "Are you hurt?"

At the shake of his head, Kerry continued, "I need you to do a really big job for me. I need you to push your car seat over and into the floor, okay?" He nodded. "Then, I want you to curl up on the seat and make yourself into the tinniest roly-poly ball as possible. Can you do that for me?"

Ian nodded again, but, "Where are you going? Don't leave, Kerry," He looked as if he was about to cry, and Kerry couldn't stand it when Ian cried.

"Ssshhh, baby, I'll be right back." she leaned into the car to give him a quick hug. "I have to help Michel. You just do that little task I gave you and everything will be okay. I promise."

She didn't wait for him to answer, but shut the door and looked back at Michel and Athan, which now seemed that no help was really needed. "Kerry," Michel whispered as they came within a few feet of the car. "Tell Ian to get in the front seat…" His voice was hoarse with the pain that must have finally caught up with him as he jarred the wound and closed the distance between them. Kerry didn't see how he was still able to move at all.

"Why? --"

"Just do it." Athan being Athan in a snarly mood. Not that she could blame him. "We don't have time to argue."

"You're not putting pressure on the wound." Kerry reopened the back door. "Ian, munchkin, you have to ride up front."

Ian looked at her quizzically, then down at his car seat. "But…"

"Don't worry about it, Ian. Come here." He crawled over to her and wrapped his arms around her neck. "Close your eyes," she whispered to him, "and keep them closed until I say it's safe, okay?"

"Okay." Ian whispered back and he snuggled closer into her. She repositioned Ian in the front seat, while Athan got Michel settled in the back. He tried to slide in beside Michel, but Kerry stopped him with a light touch on his arm. "You drive, Athan." When he looked as if he was about to argue, Kerry said, in a slightly embarrassed tone, "I still don't know how to drive a stick shift, and we don't have time for driving lessons today."

Michel chuckled slightly but stopped short as the effort caused a sharp gasp of pain. Kerry brushed past Athan, more than a little nervous by his close proximity. But whether he figured there wasn't time to argue or he just didn't care one way or the other, he used his super-inhuman vampire speed to get to the front seat. He was slamming on the gas before Kerry could even fully sit down and close the door.

"Your eyes are still closed, right Ian?" Kerry asked as they drove past her house, her eyes forward on the back of the front passenger seat.

"Yes." Ian whispered, timidly.

"Okay." She looked at Michel, who had gone quiet and reserved. He was still bleeding, but only a little, his vampire defenses kicking in. His eyes were closed and his head was thrown back onto the headrest, leaving his face bared. If he had looked pale earlier…

"Nice job, Kerry." She berated herself, "throw yourself into the backseat with a bleeding, hungry vampire. That's not asking for trouble at all."

"Are you okay?" Stupid question. He just got shot in the gut. Of course he's not okay, but she knew what she was really asking him, and so did he.

His chest wasn't moving up and down in the natural rhythm of breathing.

As though reading her thoughts, he said, "It's difficult to breathe."

Wow for once he didn't lie to her… That was just downright scary in itself. Where was he usual beguiling and charming self, the one who always found a way to irritate the hell out of her?

Suddenly he opened his eyes and looked at her, his gaze seeing more than what her face gave away. "Are you alright?"

She knew what he was asking, and all the time that she'd been fighting for, all the strength she'd thought she'd had, drained out of her at an alarming rate and she had to close her eyes and her heart against the fresh wave of pain it caused. She couldn't afford to give into her emotions and break down now. Her future and Ian's were at stake. She had to focus on more pressing matters if she wanted to through the rest of the horrible, godforsaken night.

She opened her eyes that were still filled with tears and looked straight into the vampire's. "Do you need…"

He didn't let her finish, but turned away to look out the window. "Athan will take care of it later."

"You don't have until later, Michel." Athan finally spoke up from the driver's seat. "You need it now. Let Kerry…"

Before Kerry could protest at the idea, Michel spoke sharply, "No." And that was it.

They both glanced at him in shock, before Athan's expression turned to anger. He glared at Michel, daring him to refuse twice. Michel just kept his eyes in the darkness, uninterested. "Why the hell not?"

"Athan. My brother." Kerry reminded him, quietly, not wanting him to direct his sudden frustration at her.

At least he considered it, then he said, "We don't have time to stop and you'll be dead

by the time we get there and find someone. It's not like you're doing anymore damage anyway, everyone already knows."

Kerry looked up at Michel startled, then to Athan. "What?"

Athan's beautiful and annoyed eyes found hers in the rear-view mirror. "His scent is all over you, as yours is on him. It's not like you can hide it." His eyes went back to Michel. "He should have taken care of this two years ago."

"Shut up, Athan." Somehow, Michel sounded stronger now, anger and annoyance evident in his voice.

Athan shot back, "How did you think you could get away with keeping her alive?"

The question hung ominously in the now silent car. Kerry finally leaned until she could see Ian in the front seat, his head against the window, his chest moving in cadency. It was the first time in a while that she felt oddly grateful for vampire powers.

She only had two choices now: let Michel drink her blood or not. And both choices had pros and cons. She wouldn't win with either choice. But if one of them had to be the stronger at the moment… well even injured he was probably stronger than her, but Kerry couldn't be sure. Athan said he might die before the reached their destination and Kerry knew she wouldn't let him die without a fight. Even if that meant she might have to give up her own life for his. Well, been there, done that before.

If she thought about it thoroughly, she wouldn't be able to go through with it. Michel had told her the usual amount of blood a vampire took from his victim was a pint. A pint… Kerry shuddered. And he'd probably have to take more than that.

Choices. It always came down to making decisions that affected more than just her life.

Kerry took a deep breath. "Just do it, Michel."

He didn't even glance at her, he didn't move at all. "Michel…" Kerry stumbled in her head to find the right words. She had no idea what she was doing. It reminded her of a time when she would have bolted from the car if she had had to make this choice years ago. The car was silent once more and Michel still didn't move, not even to blink.

Finally, an aggravated Athan snarled, "She just gave you permission and your still sitting there like a dumbass. Do you think it will make anything better if you die now? Damn it, Michel, think of Kerry and her brother. What are they going to do now? Are you just going to let Adrien finish them off? Her father is dead…"

Kerry flinched, the pain slicing against her heart like a razor. "Athan." Michel growled menacingly, finally looking at Kerry. Tears started to form in her eyes, but she blinked them back, refusing to let them fall. Once she got started, she would never be able to stop.

Michel watched this with a shadow of a nameless emotion on his face, but it faded away quickly. With a slightly controlled wince, Michel gently pulled her over to him and he hugged her, leaning her head against his shoulder. Kerry slammed her eyes shut, the emotions slipping past her control. She fought back for the control and won.

She looked up at Athan in the rear-view mirror and their eyes met. Suddenly Athan's fist appeared behind his seat and when he opened his hand, he held… Oh crap. Kerry's eyes jumped back up to his and he looked apologetic and confident as he mouthed "help him."

Kerry knew if she glanced up at Michel, it would give them away, rouse him enough to make make him look. She would have to do this and hope Michel didn't see until it was too late. Before she could have a chance to think it through, she reached for the razor…


The sun sank low beneath the horizon, twilight making its mark against the cold sky, and the world kept spinning even as Kerry's own imploded and left her in a moonless, starless night. What was she going to do? That was easy enough. She'd have to drop out of college and get a full-time job. She's have to sell their house, there was no way she could afford it on her own. It would probably be safer to move away from Brockport, preferably somewhere south with a lot of sunshine. They'd have to leave everything behind, their friends, neighbors, everything they were familiar with and everything they cared about. She'd even miss Mrs. Armendariz, the old, cranky lady that watched Ian while dad was at work.

They'd have to forget everything they knew and start anew. Her major was English and though she wasn't sure what her future career might be, but she's always dreamed of becoming a writer. Now that dream might never be achieved.

It wasn't like she'd lived her life daydreaming (although she'd done more than her fair share of that in her life). After that weekend in December, she knew the world was full of monsters, knew it intimately, and she should have never been so naïve to believe that the danger to her family had passed.

Kerry rubbed absently at the faint scar on her wrist that was a perfect line. And what would she do about Michel? Or, as the case may be, what was Michel going to do about them? He was still mad at her from that little stunt she and Athan pulled with the razor, but he couldn't argue with the effectiveness of it. It was amazing to see what a little of her blood could do. He hadn't returned to normal immediately, but his pallor was a bit better, and he didn't sound as grumpy afterward.

She'd fallen asleep before he could really work up to berating her for what she had done…

… And she'd woken up in his arms to learn that her father's funeral had been set.

So, either he didn't want to upset her further by reprimanding her about the other night, or he just figured it was no use arguing either way.

Considering the way things could have gone, Kerry had had it pretty easy. Ashley had made all the arrangements during the day, Michel and Athan had talked to the police, and Ian had taken the news rather easily, to put it mildly. He'd cried, but then so had she and when the tears finally ran dry, they fell asleep together in each others' arms.

Kerry didn't know if it was because they were both suffering from shock, or if they were really stronger together than she would have believed. Maybe she could get through this. As long as she had Ian. As long as she still had a family…

"Kerry?"

Kerry's eyes widened as she realized she was no longer alone in the graveyard. The voice… it was a voice from her past… one she had not heard in so many years… She whirled around, only to regret it instantly, her equilibrium thrown off balance after standing so still for so long, her stomach realizing it first. But nothing was more important than that voice…

"Mom?"

"Yes, honey, it's me."

Kerry met the eyes of the woman who had haunted her mind and heart for far longer than she deserved. After so many years of no letters, no phone calls, no gifts for birthdays or Christmas, she decided to show up now? But somehow, Kerry couldn't find the strength to hate the woman standing in front of her.

She looked like her daughter, with the exception of being a little taller and bigger at the waist. She had darker hair than Kerry, but her eyes were the same color and their faces were somewhat alike. The years hadn't seemed to change her mom at all. She was still the same woman, and for some reason it surprised Kerry. Wouldn't a person change after walking out on her own family? Wouldn't she feel a little guilty at all for leaving them brokenhearted and empty? Why was she here now? Why hadn't she come sooner?

They stared at each other a minute before Kerry's mom said, "Your friend called me and that's how I found out. I'm so sorry it took me so long. Flights from Florida to here aren't cheap and…" Her mom suddenly looked helpless. "I'm sorry you had to go through with this on your own, but you should have known that a funeral this soon would have put me at a disadvantage. What with work and the abruptness and… I was in the middle of a case and…"

"Mom… what are you doing here?" She had to know…

"Sweetie. I came to help you. I don't know what your plans were, but…" Her mom paused, watching her daughter's reaction carefully to her next words. "I know you probably hate me, as well you should, but… I have a home and you and Ian could be happy, I think, in Florida. It's such a beautiful place and there's room for the two of you…"

Was she serious? Could she really be asking her this?

Kerry cut her off. "You want us to move in with you? To move to Florida?"

Kerry's mother bit her lip nervously, a habit Kerry still had a problem getting rid of herself. "I know you probably think it's the most absurd thing you've ever heard, but think about it Kerry. You can still go to college, in fact… well, we'll talk about it later, but I know you and Ian would be so happy and… and we can try to be a family again. It didn't work out between me and your father, but I know me, you, and Ian can all pull through together."

"The truth is, Kerry, I've missed my children. I loved you and Ian. I wanted to fight for custody for you both, but I wasn't sure about… about David and a good home for you kids." She took a careful step towards Kerry. "But I've never stopped fighting. I've never stopped loving you two. You guys are all I have…" Her mom chuckled nervously. "Maybe I just have commitment issues when it comes to men. But… Can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?"

Kerry stared at the woman who had deserted her, the woman who might still, after all this, desert her and Ian again for a new man or job. The woman who had caused all this to happen, if she had never left them, where would Kerry and Ian be now? Would Dad still be alive? Did this make her mom responsible for her dad's death?

No. She told herself. It didn't matter anyway. She made her choices just as I made mine. It's no use arguing about the past. You have to come to terms with the past and your future if you want to move on. Dad would want that.

With that thought, she slowly approached her mother, her eyes never leaving hers. She leaned into her eyes and whispered, "I already have." And then, she hugged her.

And that was when Kerry knew everything was going to be all-right.


Review please. Do you think Michel would be angry or happy that Kerry will think about moving to Florida? Should Kerry trust her mom? Tell me what you think will happen and give me your opinions on stuff you liked in the chapter and what you didn't like. Maybe if I get enough pressure I'll update faster and sooner. Thanks for reading!