Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of Third Watch
Author's note: Thanks for all the reviews...Happy Halloween.
~The Dead Of The Night~
~One year later, Halloween
[Roll call]
Lieu is debriefing the crew of the third watch. "As you all know, it's Halloween once again." There is a nervous...kind of dark mood in the room. "I want all units to be visible, and to patrol the neighborhoods where there will be trick-or-treaters. Keep your eyes open for any vandalism...and please...eyes and ears open." He glances around the room but his eyes hang for a second on 55-David. "Any calls that come in I want everyone backing each other up. Ok...that's it...be careful out there."
The officers all head out to their RMPs, and Sully walks over to 55-David's RMP as they settle into it, and says, "You two be careful tonight. Don't answer any calls involving transients, or as Bosco labeled them...the 'living dead'" Then he walks on, his eyes troubled, his shoulders slightly slumped.
"Ok...thanks Sul." She says politely. Then shakes her head.
"I'm sick of everyone carrying on about this crap, just because of what happened last year." He tells her, annoyed.
"I think it's kind of sweet. They care about us...they're worried." She says, buckling her seat belt.
"I'm not a victim in a horror movie...I hate being looked at like we're part of a spook legend." He starts the car and drives off rather quickly, to emphasize his anger.
"Knock it off will ya. You've been in a bad mood for a week now. Give it a rest. I hate when you're like this."
He shoots her an angry glare but lets it go. What pisses him off the most is the fact that everyone is acting like they can't take care of themselves. He resents the fact that everyone thinks they need to watch over them.
[9:39]
The first half of their shift ends quietly, they make it through their meal period uninterrupted, and they have just called back in as 10-98 when they get a call.
'55-David...we have an assault on the street...1202 Lexington'
They respond back and head to that location. A crowd has gathered on the sidewalk and a man approaches the car as she climbs out.
"They're down there..." the man says, pointing down an alley. "they're still in there...I'm sure of it."
"Hold on sir...tell me what happened." She says.
As he climbs out of the driver's seat, he surveys the situation. There is a man down on the sidewalk, his head bleeding badly, and there is another man kneeling over him comforting him to the fact that help has arrived. Standing near the man is a young boy crying, and woman holding his hand and trying to console him. He calls for a bus, and listens as his partner gets the details of what went down.
"I was taking my kid around trick-or-treating with my neighbor and her kids. We were across the street, over there. Then these two lunatics, these crazy street people, came out of this alley, and grabbed the candy away from his son...the bastards...and when he tried to stop them, one shoved him back and the other went after him with a war club."
"They were transients?" She glances at her partner nervously. "What do you mean by 'war club'."
"You know...a club like yours...he was real good with it...real fast...beat him badly...and then they ran down the alley as we all came running up to help. The alley's a dead end...no way out. They're still in there. You gotta get those animals off the street."
They can hear the sirens approaching. The EMTs are close, so they tell the man to stay with the vic until the ambulance arrives while they check out the alley. She calls for backup, and he shoots her an angry look, which she ignores...this is no time to be stupid.
They turn on their flashlights and draw their weapons, then slowly... cautiously, head down the alley. There is plenty of garbage piled up, plenty of things someone can hide behind, but as they near the end, they have come up empty. They've checked all the doors on their way down, and they are all locked. There is just one thing left to check...a dumpster.
They approach it quietly, and from inside, they can hear rustling. He points to her, motioning for her to take the left flank, while he grabs a box to stand on, positioning it in front of the right corner. She holds her light on the metal container, while he climbs on the crate and steadies himself. He motions to her with a flipping motion of his thumb, that she is to fling the top open. He stands poised, holding his gun with both hands, pointing it in the air just to the right of the lid, so that as soon as it opens, he can swing it around, and point it down inside.
Staring intently at the lid, he takes a deep breath and nods to her. She grabs the top, and pulls it quickly up, but it only opens a foot, and something pulls it back down forcefully, throwing off his timing. He swings his weapon over the box, but the lid has closed and then it flies open again as quickly as it slammed shut, hitting his hands in an upward motion, knocking him off balance, and throwing him backwards off the crate.
His partner is stunned. She freezes, taken aback by the figure hurdling itself out of the open dumpster, swinging its legs over the edge, and landing in between them, a dark silhouette hunched within a threatening facade, and wielding a weapon above it's head. Without hesitation, it spins it's night stick like a baton, it's long dark hair whipping around it's face. As the downed officer struggles to his feet, the ominous entity pummels him four times in the blink of an eye.
She spins towards the figure, trying to regain her defensive stance after opening the lid. She tries to point her weapon, but before she can, she is attacked from the side. A second figure, thin and stealthy, pounces on her from the dumpster, knocking her to the ground, and beating her with it's bare hands, clawing her face and gouging at her eyes. Then, just as quickly as the attack started, it was over, as the two figures simultaneously stand and run back out of the alley towards the awestruck crowd.
As all of this was happening, 55-Charlie arrived as backup and is yelling for the crowd to move away from the alley. They enter and assess what is happening. Davis yells out, "Are you alright?" to the fallen officers, behind the two figures running towards them. His flashlight sweeps across them, briefly confirming that the primordial looking figures he sees approaching, are indeed human.
Sully yells, "Oh my God! Faith..."
Davis takes a stance and points his weapon at the figures that are nearly upon them. He has only a second to make a decision of whether or not to shoot. He hesitates. Sully yells "Stop!" but it is too late. One figure lunges at Davis, tackling him around the waist, driving it's head into his stomach and slamming him backwards to the ground knocking the wind out of him. In one smooth motion, the figure rolls off of Davis to the side, and bounces to his feet and keeps running.
The other one, a woman, runs straight at Sully, slamming him hard in the chest, causing him to stagger backwards a few steps. He is horrified, staring wide eyed and yelling "Oh my God!" He lets his gun slip from his hand and grabs for the tattered clothes of his assailant. The figure puts her hands against his chest and heaves him backwards, releasing a half grunt, half growl. Sully hangs on tight, pulling her over with him. For a moment they fall, seemingly hung in slow motion, her nearly white hair draping over his head like blinders and locking them face to face, his eyes wide in shock, hers wild and a cold, gunmetal blue.
The male figure runs back and grabs her, tearing her out of Sully's grip. They run towards the crowd, which backs away to give them clear passage, and they disappear into the darkness.
The onlookers, along with Kim Zambrano, run to the officers. Davis is already to his feet, and is bent over trying to catch his breath.
"Are you alright Ty?" Kim asks putting her hand on his back and bending over to make eye contact.
"Yah..." his voice breathy. "Gimmy a sec...it just knocked the wind out of me. Check Sul."
Sully is struggling to his feet as she takes him by the arm. He looks pale and disoriented. She tries to get him to sit back down on the ground, but he pushes her back.
"Did you see them?" He says excitedly. "Oh my God! Did you see...?" He starts to walk out of the alley, with Kim trying to restrain him. "Where did they go?"
"Sully I need you to sit. You're in shock."
"Let me go. I have to get them. Didn't you see them?" He pushes her away.
"Sully...you need to sit..."
"Get the hell away from me! Go help Maria and Dale." He barks at her. Then he turns to the crowd. "Where did they go? Any one see?" They point up the road but no one really knows where for sure. Sully looks around desperately, but the two figures are gone.
Kim heads over to help 55-David. Dale Martin is laying unconscious on the ground in front of the dumpster, and his partner, Maria Lucas, is kneeling over him, her face scratched and bloody, with welts already beginning to rise on her face.
Davis staggers up to Sully. "Are you alright man? You don't look good."
"Did you see them Davis?" he asks, placing a hand over his mouth in dismay. "Oh my God." He whispers.
"Hell yah I saw them...up close and personal."
"We gotta find them...find out what the hell..." his voice trails off. "I can't believe it." He says, his gaze far away.
"Relax Sul. I think Kim's right...you need to sit down."
"Davis we have to start a search...have to find them."
"What the hell are you talking about Sul?"
"Faith and Bosco...you saw them, Davis...right? It was them."
Davis raises his eyebrow. "Sul...c'mon you're in shock. Faith and Bosco are gone. Been gone a year. You're mind is playing tricks."
"No Davis...that was them...that was Faith...I saw her...she..."
"Sul...it's Halloween...they disappeared a year ago today...they've been declared dead. Those animals were not them. You're in shock."
"Davis...I know what I saw."
"You just have them on your mind because Dale and Gina are now 55-David and the coincidence of them starting tonight...in Faith and Bosco's squad...on Halloween...everyone feels weird about the coincidence, and then getting a call involving the homeless...but...they're gone Sul they're probably dead."
Sully stares at him, bewildered. Sure of what he saw and then not sure at all. "Ty it was Faith...I looked in her eyes...they were crazy but ..."
"Sul...you're just feeling guilty...because we didn't act on the homeless guy that had her badge. It's not your fault that we didn't figure it out in time. You've been looking for them in every alley for a year. If they were still alive...we would have found them by now. You've gotta stop looking for them, you're gonna drive yourself crazy."
Sully looks around to all the officers that have arrived now, and they are all looking at him like he's nuts. Maybe Davis is right, he needs to let it go.
***
The two figures slink around in the shadows, slipping down darkened alleys, working their way back to their coal basement...unnoticed.
Months of living on the brink of death, deprived of family, sleep, food, and all the comforts they once had...months of living in the cold, the damp, the dark...months of torture by these lunatics, depending on them to live...forced to survive. Afraid of the light...too fragile to see what they've become...
...Davis was right...Faith and Bosco are dead...they are the dead of the night.
*** The End ***
Author's note: Thanks for all the reviews...Happy Halloween.
~The Dead Of The Night~
~One year later, Halloween
[Roll call]
Lieu is debriefing the crew of the third watch. "As you all know, it's Halloween once again." There is a nervous...kind of dark mood in the room. "I want all units to be visible, and to patrol the neighborhoods where there will be trick-or-treaters. Keep your eyes open for any vandalism...and please...eyes and ears open." He glances around the room but his eyes hang for a second on 55-David. "Any calls that come in I want everyone backing each other up. Ok...that's it...be careful out there."
The officers all head out to their RMPs, and Sully walks over to 55-David's RMP as they settle into it, and says, "You two be careful tonight. Don't answer any calls involving transients, or as Bosco labeled them...the 'living dead'" Then he walks on, his eyes troubled, his shoulders slightly slumped.
"Ok...thanks Sul." She says politely. Then shakes her head.
"I'm sick of everyone carrying on about this crap, just because of what happened last year." He tells her, annoyed.
"I think it's kind of sweet. They care about us...they're worried." She says, buckling her seat belt.
"I'm not a victim in a horror movie...I hate being looked at like we're part of a spook legend." He starts the car and drives off rather quickly, to emphasize his anger.
"Knock it off will ya. You've been in a bad mood for a week now. Give it a rest. I hate when you're like this."
He shoots her an angry glare but lets it go. What pisses him off the most is the fact that everyone is acting like they can't take care of themselves. He resents the fact that everyone thinks they need to watch over them.
[9:39]
The first half of their shift ends quietly, they make it through their meal period uninterrupted, and they have just called back in as 10-98 when they get a call.
'55-David...we have an assault on the street...1202 Lexington'
They respond back and head to that location. A crowd has gathered on the sidewalk and a man approaches the car as she climbs out.
"They're down there..." the man says, pointing down an alley. "they're still in there...I'm sure of it."
"Hold on sir...tell me what happened." She says.
As he climbs out of the driver's seat, he surveys the situation. There is a man down on the sidewalk, his head bleeding badly, and there is another man kneeling over him comforting him to the fact that help has arrived. Standing near the man is a young boy crying, and woman holding his hand and trying to console him. He calls for a bus, and listens as his partner gets the details of what went down.
"I was taking my kid around trick-or-treating with my neighbor and her kids. We were across the street, over there. Then these two lunatics, these crazy street people, came out of this alley, and grabbed the candy away from his son...the bastards...and when he tried to stop them, one shoved him back and the other went after him with a war club."
"They were transients?" She glances at her partner nervously. "What do you mean by 'war club'."
"You know...a club like yours...he was real good with it...real fast...beat him badly...and then they ran down the alley as we all came running up to help. The alley's a dead end...no way out. They're still in there. You gotta get those animals off the street."
They can hear the sirens approaching. The EMTs are close, so they tell the man to stay with the vic until the ambulance arrives while they check out the alley. She calls for backup, and he shoots her an angry look, which she ignores...this is no time to be stupid.
They turn on their flashlights and draw their weapons, then slowly... cautiously, head down the alley. There is plenty of garbage piled up, plenty of things someone can hide behind, but as they near the end, they have come up empty. They've checked all the doors on their way down, and they are all locked. There is just one thing left to check...a dumpster.
They approach it quietly, and from inside, they can hear rustling. He points to her, motioning for her to take the left flank, while he grabs a box to stand on, positioning it in front of the right corner. She holds her light on the metal container, while he climbs on the crate and steadies himself. He motions to her with a flipping motion of his thumb, that she is to fling the top open. He stands poised, holding his gun with both hands, pointing it in the air just to the right of the lid, so that as soon as it opens, he can swing it around, and point it down inside.
Staring intently at the lid, he takes a deep breath and nods to her. She grabs the top, and pulls it quickly up, but it only opens a foot, and something pulls it back down forcefully, throwing off his timing. He swings his weapon over the box, but the lid has closed and then it flies open again as quickly as it slammed shut, hitting his hands in an upward motion, knocking him off balance, and throwing him backwards off the crate.
His partner is stunned. She freezes, taken aback by the figure hurdling itself out of the open dumpster, swinging its legs over the edge, and landing in between them, a dark silhouette hunched within a threatening facade, and wielding a weapon above it's head. Without hesitation, it spins it's night stick like a baton, it's long dark hair whipping around it's face. As the downed officer struggles to his feet, the ominous entity pummels him four times in the blink of an eye.
She spins towards the figure, trying to regain her defensive stance after opening the lid. She tries to point her weapon, but before she can, she is attacked from the side. A second figure, thin and stealthy, pounces on her from the dumpster, knocking her to the ground, and beating her with it's bare hands, clawing her face and gouging at her eyes. Then, just as quickly as the attack started, it was over, as the two figures simultaneously stand and run back out of the alley towards the awestruck crowd.
As all of this was happening, 55-Charlie arrived as backup and is yelling for the crowd to move away from the alley. They enter and assess what is happening. Davis yells out, "Are you alright?" to the fallen officers, behind the two figures running towards them. His flashlight sweeps across them, briefly confirming that the primordial looking figures he sees approaching, are indeed human.
Sully yells, "Oh my God! Faith..."
Davis takes a stance and points his weapon at the figures that are nearly upon them. He has only a second to make a decision of whether or not to shoot. He hesitates. Sully yells "Stop!" but it is too late. One figure lunges at Davis, tackling him around the waist, driving it's head into his stomach and slamming him backwards to the ground knocking the wind out of him. In one smooth motion, the figure rolls off of Davis to the side, and bounces to his feet and keeps running.
The other one, a woman, runs straight at Sully, slamming him hard in the chest, causing him to stagger backwards a few steps. He is horrified, staring wide eyed and yelling "Oh my God!" He lets his gun slip from his hand and grabs for the tattered clothes of his assailant. The figure puts her hands against his chest and heaves him backwards, releasing a half grunt, half growl. Sully hangs on tight, pulling her over with him. For a moment they fall, seemingly hung in slow motion, her nearly white hair draping over his head like blinders and locking them face to face, his eyes wide in shock, hers wild and a cold, gunmetal blue.
The male figure runs back and grabs her, tearing her out of Sully's grip. They run towards the crowd, which backs away to give them clear passage, and they disappear into the darkness.
The onlookers, along with Kim Zambrano, run to the officers. Davis is already to his feet, and is bent over trying to catch his breath.
"Are you alright Ty?" Kim asks putting her hand on his back and bending over to make eye contact.
"Yah..." his voice breathy. "Gimmy a sec...it just knocked the wind out of me. Check Sul."
Sully is struggling to his feet as she takes him by the arm. He looks pale and disoriented. She tries to get him to sit back down on the ground, but he pushes her back.
"Did you see them?" He says excitedly. "Oh my God! Did you see...?" He starts to walk out of the alley, with Kim trying to restrain him. "Where did they go?"
"Sully I need you to sit. You're in shock."
"Let me go. I have to get them. Didn't you see them?" He pushes her away.
"Sully...you need to sit..."
"Get the hell away from me! Go help Maria and Dale." He barks at her. Then he turns to the crowd. "Where did they go? Any one see?" They point up the road but no one really knows where for sure. Sully looks around desperately, but the two figures are gone.
Kim heads over to help 55-David. Dale Martin is laying unconscious on the ground in front of the dumpster, and his partner, Maria Lucas, is kneeling over him, her face scratched and bloody, with welts already beginning to rise on her face.
Davis staggers up to Sully. "Are you alright man? You don't look good."
"Did you see them Davis?" he asks, placing a hand over his mouth in dismay. "Oh my God." He whispers.
"Hell yah I saw them...up close and personal."
"We gotta find them...find out what the hell..." his voice trails off. "I can't believe it." He says, his gaze far away.
"Relax Sul. I think Kim's right...you need to sit down."
"Davis we have to start a search...have to find them."
"What the hell are you talking about Sul?"
"Faith and Bosco...you saw them, Davis...right? It was them."
Davis raises his eyebrow. "Sul...c'mon you're in shock. Faith and Bosco are gone. Been gone a year. You're mind is playing tricks."
"No Davis...that was them...that was Faith...I saw her...she..."
"Sul...it's Halloween...they disappeared a year ago today...they've been declared dead. Those animals were not them. You're in shock."
"Davis...I know what I saw."
"You just have them on your mind because Dale and Gina are now 55-David and the coincidence of them starting tonight...in Faith and Bosco's squad...on Halloween...everyone feels weird about the coincidence, and then getting a call involving the homeless...but...they're gone Sul they're probably dead."
Sully stares at him, bewildered. Sure of what he saw and then not sure at all. "Ty it was Faith...I looked in her eyes...they were crazy but ..."
"Sul...you're just feeling guilty...because we didn't act on the homeless guy that had her badge. It's not your fault that we didn't figure it out in time. You've been looking for them in every alley for a year. If they were still alive...we would have found them by now. You've gotta stop looking for them, you're gonna drive yourself crazy."
Sully looks around to all the officers that have arrived now, and they are all looking at him like he's nuts. Maybe Davis is right, he needs to let it go.
***
The two figures slink around in the shadows, slipping down darkened alleys, working their way back to their coal basement...unnoticed.
Months of living on the brink of death, deprived of family, sleep, food, and all the comforts they once had...months of living in the cold, the damp, the dark...months of torture by these lunatics, depending on them to live...forced to survive. Afraid of the light...too fragile to see what they've become...
...Davis was right...Faith and Bosco are dead...they are the dead of the night.
*** The End ***