Just a little dribble chapter revealing more of Damir's past and just as I promised, here's a cameo of Luis Lopez

Tell me what you guys think so far and Happy Holidays! :D

Edit: So I spelled Luis's name wrong. lol Oops

Shadows of the Night

Chapter 21:

Alive

Song: Alive ~ Anthony Warlow – Jekyll and Hyde OST

Pain shot through Darko's side as he lied there on a dingy, busted couch in his brother's shitty apartment. He tried to move for a glass of water, but his ribs screamed in agony. Niko had really fucked him up this time. He knew if Damir was a second late, Niko would not have hesitated to finish him off this time.

After a visit from a shady, doctor in a poorly lit basement, Darko was revealed to find out that he arm was merely dislocated, however, three of his ribs were broken. Now all he could do was suffer in agony until his bones properly healed. He wished Niko would have killed him then and there. It seemed his old friend was weaker than he thought.

That wasn't Darko's biggest problem, though.

Damir was pacing around the living room like a caged animal. He knew about Niko and now Darko was going to get the brunt of Damir's anger. At least for a moment, his brother pitied him enough to not hurt him.

"You fucking lied to me!" Damir snarled. "You told me Niko died in that ambush. How did he get away?"

"I don't know! The bullet struck him in the heart and he wasn't breathing. I was sure he was dead. Damir, Niko isn't a threat to us."

Damir's eyes narrowed. "Had he not intervened when we had that girl... Maybe if you had shut her up better…" He shook his head. His mind burned with fury the more he thought about it.

"Niko was always-" Darko hissed as his ribs and face throbbed with pain. He took a breath to sooth it away before he continued. "-a hypocrite. He did a lot of terrible things during the war. I mean, he was tame compared to what the others had done, but…" His sides burned, cutting him off again.

Damir flopped onto his armchair and thought back to that day he was run out of the village. He remembered finding Jelena all alone by the creek. He confronted her about Niko before pinning her down. She tried to scream for help, but he cupped her mouth and told her he'd slit her throat if she tried. He told her that no one would believe her and even if they did, they say she asked for it.

She was too paralyzed with fear to move as he forced her legs apart, continuing to threaten her with death if she said a word. Then she bit down on his hand causing him to bleed. She let out a long piercing scream, alerting half village. He pushed himself off of her, thinking he could leave the scene in time but he didn't know that Niko hadn't been too far from where they were. He didn't hear Niko running towards them until it was too late. Before he could react, Niko slammed his body into Damir's, knocking him off of Jelena. Damir had always been stronger than Niko, but that day, Niko fought like a crazed animal, never letting Damir get the upper hand in the fight and spilling blood all over the forest floor. Niko delivered multiple punches to Damir's face before grabbing a rock and hitting him with it, repetitively. When he thought that wasn't good enough, Niko held Damir's head in the water until he passed out. Damir had already lost consciousness after his head went under, but from what Darko had told him, the villagers had gathered around to witness the fight. His mother started screaming, Milica Bellic begged for Niko to stop, and Jelena laid on the ground crying while her sisters rushed to her side. It was only when Niko's father, Zoron Bellic, pulled him off of Damir did the fight stop.

After that, his neighbors asked Jelena what had happened. When she told everyone the truth, Damir was run off and Niko was seen as a hero. Shortly after that, Niko and Darko along with other boys from the village went to war. Damir, however, went to Italy where he stayed until the war ended. It was only when he got word that Niko was killed did he go back.

It was late when he came back. His target was Milica, but she wasn't home, plus her husband was still alive at the time, so he chose Vlada Bellic, Niko's aunt, and Roman's mother. Poor woman, she was so nice, so sweet. She didn't deserve to die, but if Niko was dead, then someone had to pay for his actions. He had to gag Vlada to stop the screaming and once he finished violating her, he slit her throat. He left Vlada there on her bed as the blood drained from her body.

That was his first kill. The first time he watched the life drain from someone's eyes and the day he discovered how arousing it was to dominate over a woman. When he went back early the next morning he watched Zoron and another man splash petrol on the side of the house. It was fascinating to watch as the house went up in flames.

"What do we do now?"

Darko's voice pulled Damir from his thoughts. His eyes flickered to his brother as Darko winched in pain. "First, we wait for you to heal then we begin our hunt for the exotic beauty."

Darko nodded and the pain sliced through him like a hot knife. This was getting too much for him to bear. He needed heroin. That always stopped the pain in more ways than one.

"Damir, do we have any more heroin? This hurts..."

Damir leaned forward in his chair and grinned. "You're hurting badly aren't you, brother?"

"Yes." Darko panted as the pain made it hard to breathe. "Please, brother. I cannot stand it anymore."

"But you are keeping something from me, are you not?"

Darko swallowed. His brother knew about the cab service. "The girl... she... works for… for.. Bellic Enterprises..."

Something flashed in Damir's eyes and a sinister grin form on his face. Darko knew he had sent that girl to her death. His brother reached for his laptop off the coffee table and began his search for Bellic Enterprises. Damir found the business's website and looked through it. There he found a picture of Roman Bellic standing next to one of his cabs along with a phone number and email address. So, the Bellic cousins were here in Liberty City and the girl worked for them. This was too good to be true.

Perfect… Damir thought. He couldn't go after the girl just yet, not while Darko had broken ribs, but as soon as he was healed, they were going for the girl. For now, he would just play mind games on both her and Roman. He created a new email account and typed out a message to Roman. Once he finished, he hit send and waited for the man's reply. After jotting down the phone number and address, he gave Darko his fix and left his brother to zone out on the couch.

The office was quiet as Roman twisted left and right in his chair, playing a game on his computer. He had to admit, Lily a decent taste in games, even if it was turn-based combat. He was roaming the San Andreas desert with his canine companion, Porkhound when the game went to a cutscene. Ambushed by Raiders, he quickly died. The screen cut to a pile of bones in the desert with one of his favorite actors narrating over the image.

The darkness of the afterlife is all that awaits you now. May you find more peace in that world than you found in this one…

Roman swore under his breath and exited out of the game. Oh well, he had enough of the original Radiation for one day. Personally, he preferred the third game.

He decided to check his emails while he waited for cab number nine to come back. Most of it was spam, as usual, so he went through the painstaking task of deleting them one by one until he came across a curious email. His cursor hovered over the delete button for a moment before he chose to open it. His blood ran cold at the words before him.

Vlada Bellic did not die the way you think. Your cousin lies.

Roman's mouth felt dry and his hands began to tremble. Once he collected himself, he typed out a reply.

Who the fuck is this?

Roman got up and poured himself a paper cup of water before going back to the computer. An hour later, he got his reply.

Let's just say I am an old friend. Go on, ask your cousin the truth. If Niko really cares for you, he'll be honest…

Roman felt the bile rise in his throat and he pressed the cold paper cup to temple. What was this person talking about? Why would Niko lie about something like that? He wouldn't! His cousin was capable of many things, but he would never lie to Roman about his own mama, but something deep down told him it was true. His stomach twisted into painful knots as he thought back to the day Niko called to inform Roman that his mother had died in a house fire. Enemy soldiers had razed a lot of places to the ground and she happened to be trapped inside.

His heart thudded so loud in his chest, he couldn't hear his own thoughts. He closed his eyes and counted to ten, trying to calm his nerves.

Come on, Roman, be reasonable. Niko would never lie to you like that. He's a good cousin. He looks out for you. He risked his life for you…

As the weeks flew by, his home and work life became busy, giving Roman very little time to focus on the strange emails that he received in his inbox. Still, they weighed on the back of his mind. He continued to remind himself that Niko would never do that him.

Unfortunately, the seed of doubt had been planted and it only grew as more strange emails arrived in his inbox.

Maisonette 9 was packed that night as usual. Business was good, Tony was cutting back on the prescription meds, and that sexy strawberry-blonde Luis hooked up with months had finally returned to the club. She was out there on the dance floor that very moment, dressed in a tube top and mini skirt, with knee-high boots.

He wished he wasn't working so he could invite her to the back for a little fun. It was strange but this woman had an effect on him that he couldn't describe. He wasn't ready for this, but she was here now and he couldn't deny that he wanted her more than anything. He must be getting old.

Static came over the earpiece, forcing him out of his thoughts. "Hello! Luis are you there?"

Joni.

Luis sighed. "What is it now?"

"We've got a problem. Some guy is creeping around outside and with that Night Terror on the loose, we can't be too careful."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll go check it."

Luis checked around outside the club for the creep but didn't see anyone. Dessie hadn't reported any strange activity, but he was busy arguing with someone. Idiots, don't they know it's members only?

He went around the side of the building and towards the back where he saw a figure cloaked in darkness moving around near the dumpsters. Louis walked towards the figure, prepared to fight if he had to.

"Hey, who's there?" Luis called out. The figure froze, then slowly turned to face him. Luis reached into his jacket and felt the pistol for reassurance. Why do I always have to deal with the weirdos?"Hey, asshole, did you not hear me?"

The figure stepped out of the shadows, revealing a blonde haired man with a badly scarred face. Without warning, he charged for Luis; Luis quickly withdrew his gun, and fired off two rounds, missing both times. Screaming could be heard from the front of the building and he swore under his breath. Tony wasn't going to be too happy about him scaring the customers.

The man tackled him to the ground, knocking the gun from his hand, and sending it skidding across the ground. The man pulled out a large hunting knife and plunged it into Luis's left shoulder. Luis slammed his fist into the side of his attacker's face and managed to kick him off. Pulling out the knife, Luis tossed it to the side and felt around for the gun in the darkness. By the time he found it, the man was running away. Luis fired off three more rounds. He wasn't sure if he hit the man, but he was gone now. The screaming still continued up front. Yep, Tony was definitely going to be pissed about this one.

"Luis, what the hell is going on out there? Luis! Luis!" Joni's frantic voice came over the earpiece.

Clutching his wounded shoulder, Luis let out a growl of frustration. "Do me a favor and shut up for a second. I've been fuckin' wounded."

"Oh shit! Get back in here."

Five minutes later, Luis was in the back office shirtless and being treated for his wound. The guests outside were told to leave, but those that remained inside had no idea what had just taken place.

"Oh my, God. Oh my, God!" Tony repeated as he paced the room. "Do you think it was The Night Terror? What if one of my girls gets hurt? This is going to be bad for business!"

"Relax, Tone, no one is gonna hurt any of our guests. We'll make sure of it," Luis replied as Joni bandaged his shoulder.

"Security is going to have to be tighter around here. Do you hear me? And that goes for Hercules, too!" Tony said.

"Don't worry, I'm on this."

A few weeks had passed and the paranoia over the creeper had died down. No other incident had been reported and guards stopped escorting women to their cars.

Cindy, the club's waitress, had finished her shift and decided to head home. She bid her co-workers goodnight and walked to her car. It was early in the morning, so darkness still shrouded the area, but Cindy had never been afraid. She had taken self-defense courses at a women's center last year and was feeling confident in herself. She wasn't afraid of some crazed maniac on the loose. One hit of pepper spray to the face and he was done for!

She finally made it her car and got inside, breathing a sigh of relief. As she slid the key into the ignition, her gaze drifted up to her rear-view mirror. Her eyes widened in fear the moment she caught sight of a shadowy figure in the backseat. Before she could move or even scream, cold leather was wrapped around her throat and constricted.

Cindy clawed at the belt that squeezed her windpipe. She thrashed about, hitting the horn twice. Her assailant held both her tiny wrists with one massive hand and soon her body stilled and the life in her eyes faded.

Damir pulled her body into the back seat and moved to the front of the car. It wasn't wise of him to go hunting while Darko was still healing, but Damir had grown tired of waiting and needed his prey. The girl he had killed moments ago would have to do. Most women who frequented clubs were sluts and whores. Filthy women who polluted the earth with their presents and teased him.

Just like that little whore who drove the cab. He wanted to run his fingers through her raven hair then chop it off so he could keep it forever. Most of the women he went after, he killed as soon as he caught them, but this girl… oh, this girl he was going to savor. He'd keep her a few days, down in the dark tunnels, and have his way with her, then he'd slit her pretty little throat. After that, he'd dump her body in the Hickey River with the rest of them, but he'd miss his exotic beauty.

He slid behind the wheel of Cindy's car and slammed the driver side door, started the engine, and floored it out of there to a more discreet location where he could play with his latest catch.

Lily and Janie were relaxing on the couch, watching the news, and eating cookie dough ice cream. The two cousins had not spent much time together and were trying to make up for it.

"You wanna watch a Rom-Com?" Janie asked.

Lily turned up her nose at the idea. "I'd rather watch an 80s action flick."

Her cousin rolled her eyes. "You and your stupid action movies." Janie flipped through the channels until they came across a classic comedy. It was one they both enjoyed and would occasionally quote.

"Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?" The white-haired man on TV said.

"This movie never gets old!" Janie said.

"Family Dad gets most of its jokes from this movie," Lily pointed out.

"Well, Family Dad is a rip-off of that other show."

Lily finished off her first bowl of ice cream and went for another. As she scooped out the frozen treat, she couldn't help but feel as if she were being watched. She looked out the kitchen window and saw nothing but pitch blackness in the backyard. She switched on the back porch light and felt a little better.

She came back into the living room to find her cousin looking forlorn. Janie had seemed rather troubled lately. She hoped it wasn't because of Calvin.

"Something troubling you?" Lily asked as she sat beside Janie.

Janie sighed and set her bowl on the end table. "I've been doing some thinking."

"Oh? About what?"

"About going back to South Yankton. The more I think about, the more I realize how important is for me to be connected to our culture. I know more about Irish culture than Lakota and my parents raised me Catholic when Ma should have been teaching me her beliefs! That and Jace offered me a secretary job up there that pays a lot more than the cafe."

Her heart sank. Janie couldn't move away, she was the only family she had in this city and what about the house? Where was Lily going to live? There was something else that Janie was hiding from her.

"There's more to it isn't there?"

Janie looked down at her lap. "Calvin won't leave me alone. He keeps calling me even after I've changed my number twice and he leaves threatening voicemails. I just want to get as far away from here as possible."

"Get a restraining order, move to Madison! My dad won't turn you away! Please don't go, Janie. I'll miss you and I won't have a place to live if you go."

"You've got Niko and a restraining order is just a piece of paper. He'll walk right through it and make me regret getting one. I'm sorry, Lily, but my mind is made up. Next spring, I'll be moving. That should give you plenty of time to figure out where you're going to go."

"If that's what you want," Lily muttered.

She stood up from the couch and took their bowls to the kitchen. She fought back the urge to cry, knowing it wasn't going to do her any good. Janie had spent her entire life in Liberty City. She would get bored in South Yankton, but if that was what she truly wanted, then there wasn't much Lily could do about it now.

Later that night, she was on her computer, making a LifeInvader page. After months of being stubborn, she finally decided it was time to join everyone else on the new social media website. She was almost finished when an unknown number called her.

"Hello?" she answered.

There was silence on the other end, then heavy breathing. A feeling of dread gnawed at her stomach when the person on the other end began to laugh.

"Who is this? Benny if that's you it's not very funny and I told you to never contact me again!"

"See you soon." Followed by more laughter.

Lily ended the call and tossed her phone on the bed. Of all nights, it had to be this one that someone would try to mess with her. Her heart lurched in her throat and she couldn't stop shaking.

Because she didn't know what else to do, she went back to customizing her LifeInvader page, hoping she could put the incident behind her. It was only a prank.

First the feeling of being watched, and now this. She couldn't stay in this house anymore, she had to get out of here. Grabbing her phone off the bed, she called the only person she could talk to about all of this.

"Niko, do you think it would be okay if I came over?"