Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, me no own, so you no sue.

AN: Yes, I know, I haven't updated in a long time, but for once I have a valid excuse! I was given a rather irritating ultimatum by my mother. See, I'm supposed to audition for a play, and I was soooooooo happy about it, and I've been telling everyone about it for weeks and weeks and weeks, and then suddenly my mother tells me that I can't audition! I asked her why, and she said that I have to have a 4.0 by the time I audition….. SOOOO, I have somewhere between a 3.5 and a 3.8 right now, and I'm workin' my ass off to get my grades up by the audition…..BUT THE AUDITION IS ON DECEMBER NINTH! AGH! In short, my updating is gonna be really, REALLY flaky. Sorry again, guys!!

Chapter 9

*The Hunters, The Hunted, And The Seriously Annoyed*

"Anything?" A man asked his companion as they walked side by side along the sidewalk.

"Nope," the other man replied, "I don't know Auron, what makes you think they'd be around here?"

Auron furrowed his brow, saying, "I've just got a weird feeling about this place…"

Shards of glass in a side street reflected the sunlight and caught his eye.

"Adarr," Auron said, nudging his friend, "Check in there," he pointed the alleyway.

Adarr pulled a string with a smooth object hanging on the end of it out of his pocket. Said object, a milky white stone, slowly swung back and forth, its color beginning to change.

First its surface faded to pink, then shifted into a darker, then darker still blood red. The stone ceased its pendulum-like movement and the two men looked it over carefully.

"What do you think?" Adarr asked, handing the stone over to Auron.

"Less than two days, that's for sure."

Adarr nodded sagely.

"What do you think?" Auron asked, tossing the stone to Adarr.

"More than one," Adarr said, throwing the stone up and catching it again, "Two….There were two of them."

"Two vampires," Auron mused as Adarr pulled a wooden staked from his pocket.

Adarr twirled the stake on his finger, "Nothing we can't handle."

* * * * *

"Are you both from around here?" Tori asked the two guys seated across from her.

They were in a small bar, seated at an even smaller table, and Tori was having a hell of a time keeping her legs out of the way of Blink's roaming foot.

"I'm hard as hell," Blink said, tapping his foot somewhere around a thousand beats per second on the floor.

Tori visibly ignored his comment and once again attempt to make conversation, "Do you live in the city?"

"Do you have a friend for Mush?" Blink started, "Or are you going to do us both? If so, I'm first. I hate sloppy seconds."

"You're a man of principal," Tori said sarcastically, "Where do you come from?"

"We used to live in a small town in Jersey, real small town. We practically knew everybody," Blink replied.

"Do you live here now?" Tori asked.

"Fuck that," Blink said angrily, "This place sucks. Everyone talks with a stupid accent so you don't know what they're saying. In the winter it's too fucking cold, and in the summer it's too fucking hot! We were talking about taking off. Until we met you, that is."

Blink reached over and kissed Tori's hand, which she quickly retracted, grimacing slightly.

"So how long are you staying here?"

"Until you're ready to skip out and make with the sex," Blink said, leaning back in his chair and placing his hands behind his head.

Tori shook her head, "No, I mean, how long are you staying in New York?"

"We're leaving tomorrow."

Mush nodded knowingly. Tori glanced at him and wondered if he was ever going to say anything.

"Where are you going next?" Tori asked curiously.

Blink looked at Mush, "Jesus this broad asks a lot of questions!"

Mush nodded again.

Continuing, Blink said, "Back to Jersey."

"I see…"

"So," Blink said casually, "Do you do anal?"

"I didn't ask you out for sex!" She exclaimed.

"I'll take head," Blink replied.

Tori groaned and let her head slam onto her arm, which was resting on the table.

"I don't know why, but…" Tori lifted her head from her arm so her words weren't garbled, "I want to go with you."

"What, like steady? You want to be my girlfriend?" Blink shrugged at Mush, "Alright, but Mush has to live with us and you pay the rent."

"No, I want to go with you to Jersey," Tori clarified.

"Really?" Blink asked, surprised, "You're the only chick I ever met that wanted to go to Jersey. Most chicks try to get out."

Tori smiled, "When can we leave?"

"Wait a second!" Blink practically yelled, "What is this shit?! Are we going to fuck or not?!"

"You're going to lead me somewhere…"

"Me lead you?" Blink looked at her weirdly, "Lady, I don't even know where I am half the time. If we're not going to fuck then what the hell did you ask me out for?"

Tori sighed, "Someone told me I was going to meet you, and you'd take me where I was supposed to go. I didn't believe it until you said that thing in the parking lot."

"What the hell are you babbling about?!" Blink asked frustratedly, "All I know is we saved your ass from some angry fucking dwarfs and you promised us sex…"

Blink looked over to Mush for confirmation, "Didn't this crazy bitch promise us sex?"

Mush nodded matter-a-factly.

Blink spoke to Tori, "And now you're telling me that I'm supposed to take you somewhere, and you don't even know where it is?!"

Tori paused thoughtfully and chewed her lip.

She looked at Blink in an undecided manner, "Do you believe in God?"

Blink regarded her for a moment before gasping in horror, "Holy shit - you're a Jehovah's Witness! All the fine women in this city, and we gotta get the one Jesus freak!

"Let's go Mush," Blink said.

"No, wait!" Tori said suddenly, grabbing onto Blink's sleeve.

"I'll scream rape," Blink threatened.

Tori quickly let go of his sleeve, "I can pay you."

Blink's mind clicked at the word "pay" and he sat back down in an instant.

He licked his lips slightly, as if preparing himself for the word, "Pay?"

"For being my guide," Tori explained, "You were going to leave anyway; all I'm asking is to tag along and see where it leads. I'll pay a you a nice sum of money and all expenses."

"Sex?" Blink asked hopefully.

Mush rolled his eyes and muttered something to the effect of, "You're so hopeless."

Tori looked at him in surprise. He finally said something!

"No sex," Tori replied firmly.

"Alright, but let's say we're caught in a situation where we've got like five minutes to live, like a bomb or something is gonna go off - would you fuck us then?"

Tori looked at Blink, who sat waiting expectantly for an answer.

"In that unlikely situation?" Tori thought for a moment, "Yeah sure," she shrugged.

"Yeah?" Blink nodded his head and smiled widely, "What do you think?" He asked Mush.

Mush looked at Blink, then at Tori, then back at Blink.

"Why not?" He said nonchalantly.

"Alright," Blink said standing up, "But I still get firsts."

Tori glanced at the ceiling and silently mouthed the words, "Why me?!"

* * * * *

Jester hugged her arms around her as a cold wind blew about her.

"Aw, don't tell me that the little vampy-wampy is cold!" Gypsy taunted.

"If you ever, EVER call me that again I swear that I will claw your vocal chords out," Jester snapped irritably.

Gypsy shrugged and skipped around Jester in circles, purposefully humming very off-key.

"You really are the most annoying person to ever live, you know that, right?" Jester asked.

Gypsy stopped dead in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Oh don't tell me you're offended," Jester said laughed sarcastically, "You haven't been offended by anything I've called you for the past century!"

"Shut up!" Gypsy hissed quietly.

"Well, you don't have to take it so personally," Jester retorted.

"SHHHHHHHHH!"

Gypsy turned and placed her hand over Jester's mouth as the latter began to say something again.

Jester looked at her questioningly and pushed her away.

"What was that for?" She whispered angrily.

Gypsy placed a finger to her lips, signing for her to be quiet. She tossed her head in the direction of a small space between two buildings.

The two girls silently padded into the space and sat on their haunches, listening for something that only one of them had heard.

Jester poked Gypsy impatiently, saying, "What's going on?"

"Hunters," Gypsy mouthed.

She pointed her finger in the direction they were coming from.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" A man sang loudly as he danced down the sidewalk.

Jester covered her mouth to stifle a giggle as the man came into view, looking visibly drunk.

"They aren't like dogs, Adarr, you complete idiot," Auron reminded his friend.

"Pity," Adarr replied, "It would make this a hell of a lot easier."

"Who says it's not easy?" Auron asked.

"Well," Adarr said seriously, though his words were slurred from his excessive alcohol consumption, "Don't you ever think about what you're actually doing when you kill one of them?"

"What's that supposed to mean," question Auron in a gruff voice.

"I mean, you're ending a life," Adarr added as an after-though, "An intelligent life! Like a real person! Who's to say that we have that right?"

Gypsy and Jester raised their eyebrows simultaneously.

"You going daft on me boy?" Auron laughed, "They're monsters, no people! They feed off the blood of innocents! And you question whether or not we have the right to end their existence?!"

Jester frowned darkly and Gypsy pouted in a comic manner.

Adarr considered this, but then asked, "But what if one was to only feed on those that are already damned to hell?"

"They won't," Auron said simply.

"Why not?"

Auron smiled grimly, "The blood of innocents tastes better."

AN: Dun dun dun…….comments are tres bien everyone!

Comments (Happy thanksgiving everyone!):

FictionHobbit: Glad you like that casting! I thought they fit pretty well. Oh, and yayness that you're not quite as disturbed by the whole Racetrack and Dutchy thing. : )

Mondie: Frightened for America?! HA! Try frightened for human existence as we know it……..Argh, my brother is such a butt, in fact, he's here right now! Well, not here here, but he's in the vicinity, aka my house……….and he's being a jerk! Grrrrrrrrrr……oh well, pooy on him! I wuv u too! And you'll be in eventually I swear…….lol………..Oh, btw, Kimi told me to thank you for suggesting she read my story, so thanks bunches!

Cards: Bagels are the best, no?

Tiger: Yeah, that's a funny part in the movie.

Melika: Yay, glad you like the story!

Falco: Yah, I hafta go watch that movie again!

Ali: HAHA! Look who managed to update!! *hears mother's voice and hides meekly under her desk, pretending to study math*

Stef: …………………………………….hoooooooooooooooooooooooly shit, girl………………………………………………..you have WAY TOO MUCH TIME ON YOUR HANDS!!! Lol……..but I luv you!!! Smoochies!!! Kidding…..

Lisa: Yayness! Another person that likes my casting!

Kimimay85: Glad you like it so far!