I do not own any American Gothic characters, this is a work of fan fiction. This story is a continuation of my previous stories and follows on from Self Control.

It was a cool evening in Trinity South Carolina, the temperature had finally began to drop from the summer months and the coolness allowed the Towns residents to be more active into the later hours of the evening.

Caleb Temple hid discreetly behind a large tree onlooking TJ's Junkyard, having fond memories of his adventure here when he gave in to his dark desires fully for the first time. When his real Father had died, his darkness took hold abruptly without his permission and reigned hell on the people that he held dear; however, when he had given in at TJ's Junkyard, the choice was made of his own free will and he still remembered how it felt to punish a man all by himself when he made his first kill, not requiring any help from his Father.

Caleb had not been here in a while, having no reason to since his parent's gifted him the truck he had stored his first victim in to ensure that it was on their property securely, and he was happy at his friends suggestion of playing here.

'We should go, it's gettin' late' Boone advised, not wanting to come here in the first place.

'You mean it's gettin' dark' Bobby corrected, sensing the boy's fear. 'You're such a wuss, I don't know why you're with us'

'He ain't a wuss, he's my best friend and you'll do well to remember that' Calen interjected, smiling at Boone when he nodded his appreciation for coming to his aid against the older boy. Boone was still wary of Bobby, that was understandable considering he was the smallest boy in the group; however, Caleb knew that Bobby did not intentionally mean to offend, it just came out every now and again due to his upbringing.

Bobby regarded Caleb confused for a moment, then realised he had been like his Father again and turned towards Boone. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean that and you ain't a wuss' he apologised, attempting to be better now that his Father was gone.

Boone stared at Bobby in disbelief of the apology, then smiled to show that he would not hold a grudge and forced himself to stand tall, knowing that they were going into the Junkyard regardless of whether he protested or not.

'That's the spirit' Bobby smiled and patted Boone on the back, then rushed to the metal fence and pulled himself over it with great effort, ripping his jeans on the barbed wire as he went.

'Why's he doin' that?' Boone asked Caleb confused.

'Beats me' Caleb shrugged, heading towards the opening in the fence that him and Boone always used to use then squeezed through effortlessly.

'Dang!' Bobby cursed when he spotted the two boys squeeze through an opening and shook his head in irritation at himself for being too hasty, tugging at his ribbed jeans in frustration.

'It's alright, my Mom will fix your jeans, she's at home all the time now these days and she likes you despite her better judgement' Caleb advised, laughing at the face Bobby was pulling and took the lead to go further into the centre of the Junkyard.

Boone watched as Caleb walked up ahead confidently with Bobby, trying hard to push down his resentment of his best friend. Somehow Caleb garnered respect from everybody, including their Teachers and Boone could not help but feel left out at times.

Caleb sensed Boone's thoughts and rolled his eyes, growing tired of having to pander to peoples childish moods. Boone was his oldest friend and he had been there throughout the worst years of his life; however, Boone had not really supported him and had more just hovered in the background.

'Ain't you sick of that boy's hoverin' and his incessant need to doubt your authority?' Malcolm whispered quietly in his Grandsons ear, being careful to keep himself cloaked from the other boys.

Caleb was sick of Boone's constant jealousy and the bitter comments that he was too scared to say out loud, it was all becoming very tiresome. Caleb felt the mischief radiating off of his Grandfather and chose to show that he was capable of more than just wandering around a Junkyard. Caleb signalled for Bobby to jump right when Boone was distracted, and decided to have some fun.

Boone glanced at a burned out car to his left momentarily, then stopped suddenly when he looked forward and his friends were nowhere to be seen. 'Guys?' he whispered confused, having no idea where they had gone a feeling the darkness become thicker around him now that he was alone.

'Come on guys, this ain't funny' Boone said a little louder, as he forced himself to move forward a few steps so not to seem like a coward. This was ridiculous, he knew that they had to be out there and he continued to survey what he could see of the area in an attempt to locate them.

Caleb could not contain his amusement, he felt pleasure at watching Boone squirm over something as trivial as being alone in the dark. Caleb had witness some truly horrifying things which would make any person afraid for life; however, he had not allowed himself to be scared, he always sought knowledge from the experiences rather than dwelling on the terror. Boone knew they were here, he just could not see them and his friends cowardice began to frustrate him.

Bobby watched Caleb closely from his position on top of a broken down truck, knowing from the first time he laid eyes on him at School that he was not as innocent as people perceived him to be. There was a faint glimmer of mischief in his eyes, Bobby recognised it from his own eyes when he looked in the mirror every day and people like them could only remain outwardly proper for so long. Right now, he saw the malice in Caleb's eyes and an excitement came over him. His other friends at School were weak, they followed him around pretending that they were like him; however, they were posers and he suspected that Caleb was capable of having some real fun.

Caleb sensed Bobby's thoughts and winked at him playfully, confirming his opinion of him was correct and placed a finger over his lips to instruct Bobby to be quiet. Caleb waited for Boone to come close to his position and when he was beneath the large car that Caleb was hiding on, he closed his eyes and released his darkness to have some fun.

Boone felt the air grow instantly cold and could see his breath from his mouth in front of his face. This was not good, he felt the hairs on his arms stand up and the air became thick, making it hard to take a full breath. Suddenly, he felt something brush against his shoulder and he shook his head frantically, refusing to believe that there was anything wrong. He took a step forward and this time felt a large hand rest on his shoulder, causing him to gulp and turn around slowly.

A large black figure with a long gaunt face and knotted grey hair stood before Boone and reached out for him maliciously. Boone let out a loud shriek and bolted out of the Junkyard, ignoring the warm patch of fluid that he felt running down his leg and soaking his jeans.

Bobby could not believe what he had just witnessed, the dark man was gone as quickly as he had appeared and Caleb was just laughing loudly across from him as Boone ran off. 'What the?' he started to ask, then closed his mouth when the words would not come.

Caleb could not contain his laughter at the look of fright on Boone's face and jumped down from the car, Bobby following his lead and joining him on the ground. 'You know what? I think this Halloween is gonna be the best one yet' he predicted, pleasantly surprised that Bobby was not pulling away from him scared over what he had allowed him to witness and patted the older boy on the shoulder, choosing to delve further into the Junkyard without Boone's judgemental presence.


Lucas reached down for the lever at the side of his drivers seat and yanked it back, allowing him to push the seat back to a more comfortable position. Things had been different recently since Gail quit her position at the Trinity Guardian, he had been required to guide his people more to ensure the newspaper continued to run as it should, whilst still having to take on his duties as Sheriff and not allow the rules in his Town to slide.

That was just his professional life, his personal life had been difficult to put it mildly. Gail had taken his attempt to remind her of what was important to her as a personal attack and her blatant act of disrespect to a landmark which was important to the whole Town, not just his Father, was irresponsible and unforgivable. Conversation in the Buck household had been limited to pleasantries around the children, and nearly none existent when they were put to bed. Neither Lucas nor Gail would back down from their stance and when they were together it was like being in a mine field.

Lucas let out a loud satisfied moan and felt fingers push roughly against his lips, preventing any further sound from being made.

'That's better, I don't need to be reminded of your enjoyment while I take what I need' Gail panted bitterly, annoyed at herself for requiring this from him to stop her from exploding and lashing out at her children when none of this was their fault.

'God forbid you be reminded of who you really need' Lucas responded flatly as he bit her fingers roughly, then moved his hands to her behind where he could grip her more securely.

'You wish that you're the only one who can give me what I want, you're just convenient' Gail said cruelly, biting her bottom lip to stifle her call as he slapped her behind hard before gripping her skin again.

Lucas pushed his hips up to force his hard manhood further inside of her and smiled at her pained moan. They had both been withholding from satisfying each other, both expecting the other one to cave first; however, they had called a temporary truce when he had to pick Gail up due to her car being serviced, choosing to take advantage of the rare moment of solitude from their children. Both children had been more active than usual since they had allowed them to take part in their business the previous month, and Lucas and Gail both required a proper release for their pent up frustrations.

'Careful, if you convince me enough that your statement is true then I might just go find someone more convenient and less maintenance than you' Lucas retorted sarcastically, enjoying the fact that they were speaking even if it was just with insults.

'Careful yourself, there are plenty of younger fish all around that I could set my sights on and I doubt they'd punish me for protecting my Daughter against her psychotic Grandfather' Gail advised cattily, running her hands down his chest and ripping his shirt open to give herself more access to him.

Lucas closed his eyes and licked his lips as she dug her nails into his chest, then dragged them down his skin roughly. 'Oh come now, that's not fair. Bein' a full time Mom ain't a punishment, it's your duty to be fully accessible for our little Cherubs and I didn't make you quit your job' he smirked, knowing how run ragged she was with his boisterous children.

Gail dug her nails hard into his stomach at the comment and began to ride him faster, placing her hand on the roof of the car to give herself more leverage. 'If it isn't a punishment then why don't you do it?' she asked, regarding him with irritation.

'Because I have an important job, just like you used to' Lucas responded amused by her irritation, then reached forward and smiled triumphantly when she could not contain her loud satisfied moan when he began to play with her sweet spot.

Gail cursed herself for making a rash decision which got her into this position, he had never liked her being independent and she should have been smarter than giving up her position to become the housewife which he had always wanted her to be. 'I hate you' she panted, unable to come up with any retort.

'No you don't Love, you just don't like adherin' to the order of things' Lucas advised as he brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and pulled her to him for a passionate kiss, not caring that he was the one showing true affection.

Gail slowed her pace momentarily, savouring the taste of his tongue in her mouth. She had missed this no matter how hard she pretended that she did not want him, and hearing his pet term for her caused her guard to soften slightly. 'Alright Soulmate, hate may be a little strong of a word' she sighed, then let out an aroused breath as he sat up to suck her neck and she began riding him hard again.

Lucas moaned loudly as she continued to take him how she needed, then pulled her to him as their climax hit simultaneously and they both had to bury their heads against each other to stifle their calls.

Suddenly the lights above the front door came on and Luke's eyes peered out as the door opened, holding his Sisters hand securely while they waited for their parent's to finally come in.

Gail gave off an exasperated sigh as the children began shouting excitedly for them, and shook her head at their inability to give her just an hour to breathe.

'You can't blame them for wantin' to spend time with you' Lucas advised, stroking her cheek affectionately.

'No, I blame you for giving them the expectation that I'm solely theirs for all the life long day!' Gail snapped, then manoeuvred herself off of her Husband and exited the car abruptly, straightening her hair and clothes before she approached her jailors.

Lucas watched as Gail took both children in her arms and hugged them lovingly, not allowing them to see her exhaustion or frustration with them and smiled. 'I should've done this sooner, who needs a babysitter when the children won't let her out of their sight and keep her in line?' he said smugly to himself, then exited his vehicle when Gail took the children inside and zipped up his pants before going to his family.

-To be continued-