Disclaimer: As before, Highlander and any ideas associated with the show do not belong to me. Any character you don't recognize is most likely mine. Enjoy!
Author's notes: Thanks to the following reviewers: Aislynn Crowdaughter: Thanks so much! I actually based my character Sarah on a vampire I read in a novel once. It was Tara something, can't quite remember her last name. DumbOldDork: Thank you as always, and hey don't worry about. You are after all my no. 1 reviewer. Sorry for making you wait this long though. MorganaPendragon: Thanks for the review and I hope you're still interested after such a long delay updating. Don't worry though, I still haven't given up on this fanfic. Well people, I hope you all have a happy reading. ^_^
Chapter Eight
Richie walked his motorcycle off the track and headed towards the garage. From the look on his face, one would never assume that he had just finished an embarrassing 18th place in today's race.
"Hey, Richie!" a cheerful voice called out. "What are you smiling about, man? You just lost!"
The blond Immortal turned to see his friend Marcello walking toward him. Right on his heels was Joshua.
"I think it's been frozen in place," teased Joshua. "He's had that smile since last night."
"Oh, really now?" said Marcello. "So you finally got a little somethin'-somethin'. No wonder you couldn't keep your mind on the race.
Richie smacked his friend on the head with his helmet and was rewarded with a painful yelp from his friend. "It wasn't like that, you pervert." Gone was the smile on the blonde's face, but he still clearly remembered what Sarah said last night, right before she walked out the door.
[flashback]
Richie nervously eyes Sarah and rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey, if you're not doing anything tomorrow, maybe you can come by my race."
His heart pounded as seconds passed by with Sarah just staring at him. He felt his face go warmer at her scrutiny. Nice going, Richie, he chided himself. She probably thinks you're so lame.
Finally, Sarah took her eyes off him and quietly said, "I'm sorry, but I can't."
Richie's heart sank. "Oh." He couldn't quite hide the disappointment in his voice and almost kicked himself when Sarah jerked her gaze back at him. Dammit. Quick, smile, he ordered himself. He refused to look like the rejected suitor and bravely watched as she turned to leave.
She mumbled some sort of farewell to Joshua and opened the door. At the moment all Richie can think about was to make a dignified retreat and avoid further humiliation from his friend. Sarah looked back at him suddenly and Richie held his breath as her lips curved into a genuine smile.
"But hey, maybe I'll see you around."
[end flashback]
Richie saw Marcello give him and Joshua a confused look after hearing the story from the other racer.
"But," Marcello said, turning back to Richie. "She said 'no.' She flat out rejected you."
"I know she said 'no.' But she also said she'll be seeing me around." Richie smiled again and continued to push his bike towards the garage area.
Marcello once again looked at Joshua with a frown and quietly begged him to explain what Richie could be so happy about.
The other man just shrugged. "I guess you had to be there." He gave the confused man a friendly slap on the back and hurried after Richie.
"So," Richie said as he and Joshua packed up his gear. "Was Sarah busy today, that's why she can't make it?"
"Uh … not really. She kinda rest in the daytime," Joshua quietly mumbled.
"Rest? Oh, you mean she works nights, so she sleeps during the day?"
Joshua briefly thought about the question. He didn't like lying to his friend, but technically she does do all her 'work' at night. She needs to hunt for people's blood at night in order to live so I guess that's what she does for a living.
"Uh, yeah. She works the graveyard shift tonight, so she's resting up right now."
Richie nodded in understanding. "So how'd you two meet?"
Joshua gave a nostalgic smile. "I met her at the public library. At first I could tell she didn't like me. That's why I was surprised when she came to my rescue while some thugs mugged me." Actually 'surprised' was an understatement. That very same night, Joshua had found out that Sarah was a vampire.
"Anyway," continued Joshua more seriously. "how serious are you about Sarah?"
Richie quickly shot his friend a look. "Seriously? I'm not sure. But when I saw her, it's like… I felt like I've finally found something I've been missing. There are times when I get the sense that I've known her before." He blew out a frustrated sigh and shook his head. "I don't know, man. All I know is that it feels right to be with her, like I was suppose to have been with her way before."
Joshua watched his friend intently and saw that he was telling the truth. Richie really feels strongly for Sarah and Joshua didn't know how to break the news to his friend. He was still debating whether to tell him more about Sarah's nocturnal nature when Richie clamped a hand on his shoulder.
"I'll promise you this though," Richie said soberly and gave his friend's shoulder a slight squeeze. "You don't have to worry about Sarah. I won't give you a reason to beat me up."
With a final pat on his back, Richie told the other guy about meeting some friends at the local bar and left. Joshua sighed. I never said I was worried about her, he thought. I'm more worried about what might happen to you.
********
Night had fallen by the time Richie started to head for Joshua's house. With a final wave to his friends, Richie walked out of the bar and headed towards his bike. He was just about to put his helmet on when he heard a muffled scream. Looking around, he saw no one, but his eyes lingered on a narrow alley half a block away. Deciding to check it out, Richie peeked around the corner and saw a man pinning someone against the wall.
"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Richie yelled out.
He saw the man's back tense and the head slowly lift from its bent position. Richie saw a girl's form fall to the ground as the stranger let go of the trapped body. He then focused his eyes on the man as he turned to face him.
"What the…" Richie exclaimed s he glimpse a trail of blood drip from the man's mouth. He was doubly shocked when he saw two white fangs peeking out from its corners.
Richie barely had time to recover as the stranger pounced on him with a feral growl, a staff of sorts raised high. Acting on instincts he let himself fall back as he grabbed the man's wrists and used his attacker's momentum to throw him over his head. Richie quickly got up on his feet and crouched low as he faced the other man. The stranger whirled around with a snarl, but paused in his attack as he clearly saw Richie's face under the lamppost.
"You…" the man said in disbelief. "You're suppose to be dead."
Richie momentarily felt nervous as he wondered if the man saw him die for the first time, trying to save Tessa from a mugger. He quickly racked his brain fro a plausible excuse, but his thoughts came to a halt when something occurred to him. The guy was a vampire. Can he be the vampire Cyrus told him about. If that's the case, then he already knows about Immortals. Not bothering with words, Richie just took out his sword and let the weapon speak for him.
The stranger flicked his eyes over to the sword and gave Richie a knowing smile. "So, Stanton, you have become one of them. I'm quite surprised we have not crossed paths this pass century or so."
The Immortal frowned at the vampire's words. "I think you've been drinking more than just blood tonight, buddy. 'Cause you're not making any sense. I've never met you in my entire 24 years much less the pass century.
"I do not know what game you're playing, Stanton," the vampire said with narrowed eyes. "But I can see that my Immortality surprises you as much as yours surprised me. So the question is, what do you intend to do now?"
"I know one thing for sure. I won't let you kill that girl."
Amusement shone in the other man's eyes as he reached for the fall staff that Richie can now identify as a walking cane. The stranger twisted and pulled at the head of the cane, revealing a sharp rapier within its hallow confines.
"I would like to see you try." And with an agility that looked too familiar to Richie, the vampire lunged at the younger man.
Richie swung his sword down to block the strike before jumping away to avoid a fast kick form the right. He heard his opponent's sinister laughter before locking swords with him again. The Immortal gasped as the vampire's weapon slashed across his left arm and watched the other man circle around him. He had never seen someone move so fast like that aside from … Sarah. That's who he reminded me of, Richie thought. The way he moves is similar to the way she fought Cyrus.
"Come on, Stanton. Is that all you've got."
"Stop calling me that!" shouted Richie. "I told you, you got the wrong guy."
"Enough! I've decided I don't want the girl's blood anymore. I want yours instead."
Richie braced himself for another onslaught of attack, but could not defend himself long. A pained cry escaped his lips as the rapier again ripped through his flesh. His opponent took advantage of his state and in one move unarmed him. Richie fell on his knees in pain and watched his sword slide away from him. He started to lift his eyes towards the vampire, but stopped midway when he focused his eyes pass the other man's body. He forgot his own dilemma and shouted at the approaching figure, his voice reflecting his fear for the new arrival.
"Sarah, stay back! Get away from here now!"
Author's notes: I know I left you all hanging, but this is actually a part of a much longer chapter and that's why I decided to cut it in half. Don't worry, the second half is done, I just need to tweak it a bit. By the way, I've started e-mailing my readers for updates on my story so if you want me to e-mail you, please leave an e-mail in the review if you haven't written a signed review or just haven't left any. Be back soon!
