Disclaimer: Hey, there STILL not mine, haven't gotten a chance to talk to my grandparents yet...hehehe...anyway, I can't think of anything else to say, so without further ado...

Call of the Blood

Chapter Three--"Moonlight Madness"

The harsh voice made Jamie's blood run cold, and he looked toward the sound, his eyes searching for the source of the sound.

He didn't have to look hard--standing about five feet away was a young man, with wild blonde hair and a scraggly goatee. He looked about twenty, dressed in baggy jeans and a tank top, his well-muscled arms covered with tattoos. The young man grinned at Jamie, showing off a set of pearly white teeth and warned Jamie of his not so nice intent.

"What do we have here?" The man asked the night, an slightly sinister smile pulling at his lips. The dark haired youth in front of him skin began to crawl. There were others--five, six at the most, a half forgotten voice whispered at the back of his skull. You can handle them...only weapons are chains, and one...one has a knife. You can handle them. Just...

A small sound from Caitie silenced the voice, and Jamie was suddenly reminded of the fact that he was NOT alone--and that he had to get Caitie out of her NOW, before something bad happened.

Taking a step back, Jamie tried to sense where Caitie was. He heard her take a step forward, and then she was there, her fingers clutching at the back of his shirt--she was afraid, but was determined not to show it. He felt, rather then saw her open her mouth, and he spat out the first thing that came to his mind, just to keep her quiet.

"Why don't you go find some one else to play with? We're not interested." Jamie drew his shoulders up, his dark eyes flashing with something that the man in front of him couldn't possibly understand or even recognize.

"Oh really?" The blonde's eyes slid from Jamie to Caitie, who was still hovering behind her friend, trying very hard to hold onto the fear that bubbled at the base of her stomach. "I think that this little piece is VERY interested..."

"You think WRONG, scum bucket." Caitie spat out, her obvious distaste coloring her words, no fear in her steady voice, though it was obvious she had to be scared. "I only go for HUMANS."

The blond man let his lips pull back into a snarl, and he lifted his hand, signaling the others, Jamie supposed. They certainly weren't professionals, he realized--he could hear them coming a mile away, and apparently, so could Caitie, her grip on his shirt tightening.

Suddenly, they were all there, five different men, surrounding the two teenagers like a pack of hungry hyenas. Jamie's eyes were black as coal as he surveyed them, and his anger was only heightened by the frightened, half muffled whimper that Caitie let escape from her lips.

"Why don't you leave us alone?" Jamie suggested, reaching back to put a comforting hand on Caitie's arm blindly. He could almost feel the fear that radiated off of her, and he swallowed hard, anger taking the place of the small pit of fear that had filled his stomach.

"Excuse me? I believe that WE are the one's giving orders here." The ringleader replied, his eyes flinty.

"Of course." Jamie relented, the pit of anger in his stomach bubbling over. He knew he could take these guys--all of them. Now, how to get Caitie out of the way so she wouldn't get hurt--or see anything she really shouldn't?

"Good boy." The blond snapped, stepping forward, the sinister smile still pulling at his lips. His gaze shifted from Jamie to Caitie, and the young man stiffened, a sick feeling rising in his throat. This bastard better not be thinking what I think he's thinking...

The man was closer to Jamie then he realized, the overpowering scent of his cologne making Jamie's eyes water for a minute. Before the dark haired man could clear his vision, a fist caught him unawares, dead center in the stomach, making him double over with a gasp.

Caitie couldn't bite back the scream that was ripped from her lips when she saw the older man hit Jamie, and her friend go down with a gasp. Oh God, they were going to die! The fear that had been coursing through her veins paralyzed her, and she cursed her own weakness, yelling at her stiff limbs to move, to help Jamie somehow.

"Grab her."

Rough hands were suddenly all of her, grasping her arms through the heavy leather of Jamie's jacket, and she tried to keep from screaming again, intent on holding on to what little compusre she had left to come up with some way of getting away from these men and help Jamie.

"NO!"

It was Jamie, she was sure of it, but it didn't sound like Jamie--at all. His voice was deeper, if that was possible, rougher, and raspier. Caitie forced her eyes to look at her friend, and was surprised to see him already on his feet, standing up straight, his eyes blazing with fury.

The ringleader turned back to Jamie, intent on showing off for his lackeys. An evil smile pulled at his lips again, and Caitie wanted to look away, scared to death for her best friend.

The blond pulled back his fist, intent on beating Jamie down again--and fell, flat on his back, bleeding from his mouth. Caitie gasped--she hadn't even seen Jamie's fists move, and the guy was down, possibly for the count.

The two gang members that didn't have Caitie dived for the young man, and Jamie smiled, his eyes a bit wild. He couldn't pull any punches--Caitie's life was at stake here, and so was his own. Something inside of him, something he had buried long ago, howled, and Jamie let his smile turn a bit feral.

The first man to reach Jamie was big and burly, with long, stringy black hair and a scar running down the side of his face. He aimed one beefy fist at Jamie, and swung at him. To Waite, it looked like he was moving in slow motion, and he easily dodged the blow, slamming one of his own into the man's chin. He heard the distinctive sound of breaking bone, and again, blood spurted from his mouth, spilling on to the concrete.

The second man grabbed at Jamie while his friend was having the lights beat out of him, wrapping to long arms around Jamie, pinning his arms to his side. The dark eyed youth smirked at the sad ploy, and kicked his booted foot backwards, connecting with the man's ankle. Again, the sound of breaking bone, and this man went down, same as the first.

By this time, the ringleader was back on his feet, and madder then a hornet. However, he'd also learned his lesson the first time, and was eyeing Jamie wearily. The dark eyed young man flashed him the same feral smile as before, preparing himself for another rumble with the leader.

Caitie's terrified shriek was the only thing that could have pulled his attention away from the coming fight. The two men that had a hold of her were discreetly trying to pull her away from the fray, but she was having none of it.

"Let her go." Jamie growled--literally. His lips curved back over his lips, his pointed canines looking more pronounced in the moonlight, the strange light bouncing off the pearly whites.

He smelled the ringleader's cologne coming closer, and, without even turning all the way around, clubbed the man across the face. The blonde went down with a choked, garbled gasp, telling Jamie that he was down for the count.

The feral grin once again pulled at his lips, and he stepped forward, his hands knotting into fists. Caitie could feel the other two men trembling, but they still held their ground, obviously deciding that she would be their insurance policy.

"I'm not going to say this again--let her go." He did not shout the words. He didn't have to. The expression on his face, the aura of power that surrounded him disregarded the need for heat or passion. These men would let her go, because he told them too--she was almost certain of that.

"No!" The more foolhardy of the two men declared, turning to run, and at the same time, twisting Caitie's arm at an angle no arm was meant to go at. The girl couldn't stop the scream of pain that ripped through the night, and she silently cursed herself through the haze of pain. Damn it, Roth, get a grip on yourself--all you've done is scream since this little testosterone fest began!

Jamie was true to his word--he did not tell them to let her go again. Slowly, he walked forward, until he was so close that Caitie thought she could reach out and touch him if she tried hard enough. They locked eyes for a minute, and she was suddenly flooded with the sense that everything was going to work out okay; he wasn't going to let anyone else hurt her. The feeling lasted but a instant, but it reassured her to some degree.

That reassurance was destroyed by what happened next.

The man that had tried to run, slowly turned around, his face blank and his movements jerky and mechanical. The man on her other side let her go, and Caitie nearly crumbled to the ground, relief flooding through her. She scrambled toward Jamie, afraid that the two men would grab her before she got a chance to get to the young man.

However, before she got to Jamie, the two men collapsed to the ground, holding the side of their heads, their faces twisted in silent agony. The girl gaped at them, before turning to Jamie--and froze.

Caitie had known Jamie for nearly six years now, since he had first moved to Kingsport. They had been friends from nearly the moment they had meet, the kinds of friends that knew almost EVERY thing about the other one. Caitie often prided herself on the fact that she could almost tell exactly what Jamie was thinking, just from the expression on his face.

But this...she had never seen his face look...like that.

The deepening shadows of the night danced across his face, making him look eerie, dark and...evil. By contrast, his teeth glowed in the strange half light of the moon, looking razor sharp and deadly. But it was his eyes--his normally beautiful deep brown eyes--that captured her attention. Fire flashed in his eyes, rage and agony and hatred and some many more emotions that she couldn't name. The depths of his eyes seemed alive with something that she didn't understand...something that, a soft voiced whispered at the back of her skull, she could never fully understand.

Caitie meet his eyes, and a wave of emotion, all the emotion she had seen boiling in his eyes, suddenly overtook her, slamming into her like a physical force. She cringed back, instinctually covering her head with her hands.

And then it was gone, and Jamie's warm, loving hands were supporting her as she tottered on her feet.

"Caitie...Caitie are you okay?! Tell me your okay!" The desperation in his voice was so plain Caitie could almost taste it. However, right at that moment, Jamie's worry was the last thing on her mind. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her vision, looking up at the young man she had thought she had know so well. She was suddenly shocked by the clarity of the realization that had just come to her, and she pushed away from his, her heart beat banging in her ears.

"How...how did you do that?"