Disclaimer: A bark tree branch, a red hat, a shoe, and a Barbie: all of which I own, but none of which have anything to do with this story.

Chapter Sixteen

Owen made his way down the empty street, a skip in his step, a whistle on his breath. His mind told him that it had just turned midnight, and because of that, he smiled all the more.

He was good.

He had finished five minutes early.

Each guy had been worth approximately five thousand dollars, take or leave a few thou. That made the math easy. Four guys, times about five thousand each meant a lot of mullah. At least twenty thousand (take or leave some), would soon find its way into his pockets, and for that he was glad. It was way more than he needed, but he would make due with the extra.

However, hid mind didn't match the carefree-ness of his heart, it nagged him unmercifully. The last guy had gone down easily enough; A chase, a capture, a defeat. But it was something that this guy had said that left Owen unnerved despite the success of the "mission."

Flashback

Owen grinned, widely.

'Ladies and Gents, we had a wild one!' He watched the guy from the shadows. The vampire knew he was there, the wild fear in his eyes all but told him that much. However, it wasn't until Owen spoke out did the guy actually run. He ran wildly, putting up a good chase. However, from years of practice, the chase was no problem. Owen followed easily.

This guy was a newbie, he could tell. Although he seemed to have learned some of the vampire ways, (flipping up and over the 15 feet tall fence when blocked in instead of climbing it) (Running up the building wall instead of stopping when he found himself in another dead end) he didn't put it all to good use. He didn't know how to travel the Plane; that much was obvious. Otherwise, the chase would have lasted way longer than ten minutes, which was approximately the length of the chase all together.

It was a good chase; not great, but good. There were a few times Owen smiled at the guy's determination, but his execution were all wrong. It was because of those executions that ten minutes after the chase began, the man was cornered. He knew the man hadn't seen him yet, his prey running blindly from the predator. Owen grinned now, his eyes on the shaking body before him. The chase was over, his prey was now all his.

He had no where else to go.

He took a step towards the frivolously man, standing in the light for the first time since the beginning of the chase. However, the man's voice cut off his descent.

"Hey, you're nothing but a kid!" The man laughed then, as if he had just realized he was in no danger. However, Owen soon proved him wrong. In a flash, he was at the man's side, the sword moving just as quickly as he. A slice of silver into flesh, and it gave way. The man's arm withered and smoked as it fell from his body. The arch continued as the other arm found the first, withering until nothing remained. With a wide kick, and a sickening crack, he sent the man flying into the wall where Owen caught him before he could hit the ground. He held the man up by his hair, the sword to his throat.

"You were saying?"

Owen smiled smugly as the stumps the man had left oozed the dark blood of the undead.

However, Owen, once again, was not prepared for what happened next.

The man laughed, this time his voice like acid, the laugh harsh against the silence of darkness. Bleeding and about to die, the man laughed heartily.

Owen snarled, his grip tightening on the man's hair and the grip of his sword, but soon he relaxed.

This guy was clearly insane, which was the reason why he was getting hunted down anyway.

However, it was the man's next words that unnerved him, making him reconsider the vampire's madness.

"You're a fool, an utter and complete fool." The bloody stump of a vampire laughed, his tone mocking.

"What?" Owen voice was quiet but demanding, as he was completely taken back. His eyes narrowed. What was this guy talking about?

He did not have to wait long for his explanation.

"You are Owen, are you not?" He did not wait for an answer as he continued. "You're the one that refused Trevor's invite, and for that, you will die. With the coming of Drakoc, you will die, like the rest of this sorry world. Then and only then can the humans find their rightful place amongst us. They are our food, and as such, they will be treated as food. With their fall and with the fall of those that protect them, will we reign as kings in this sorry world, as our ancestors were meant to in the beginning."

The man breathed heartily, his grin wide and wild, the blood oozing from his stumps and from somewhere in his hair as Owen tightened his grip. The man looked down at Owen again, his eyes suddenly sad. "You could have been on the winning side, Owen. You would have reigned on high with us as well," His gazed turned hard once again. "But you refused. And for that, you will perish." His eyes were wild and glazed, the grin on his face speaking volumes about his mental stability. I should kill him now, Owen thought, but his words troubled him.

'Coming of Drakoc? Humans in their rightful place? What the hell is this guy talking about?!'

Reading's Owen confusion, the man laughed, that eerie harsh cackle echoing the dark alley once again.

"Having second thoughts, Owen?" The man laughed. This time his body racking with the harsh exertions. "Too little too late!" He ginned wider, his eyes a flame with the insanity of his mind.

"We have already won."

His laughter filled the alley, his eyes shutting at the humor of it all. However, Owen had had enough.

'That's enough out of you!' Owen finished applying the pressure on the blade. With a mere flick of his wrist, the man lay beheaded.

However, that did not silence him.

The head hit the ground with a sickening, "thunk," rolling once before lying still, the face still looking up at him. Once, twice, three times it blinked up at him, as the smile never left its pale lips.

"Drakoc, will come! We will make sure of it." The lips spilt into a wide, crazed grin as his life blood flowed from the base of his neck. "And when he does, your death will be inevitable." Owen watched on as the head smiled up at him, the life escaping him slowly. Finally, it lay unblinking, even though that horrible smile still grazed his lips. It was only then that Owen knew he was truly was dead.

Owen snarled once before replacing his sword. The blood would disappear just as the body was doing now, so he wouldn't have to worry about cleaning the sword. The body sizzled and cracked against a fire that was not there, withering until it was completely gone. His head disappeared the same way, sizzling into a lone skull before disintegrating completely. However, the vampire's words still haunted him despite his death.

End Flashback

As they did now. Owen looked up.

The abandoned building which he knew was anything but, stood before him now. He took a breath, taking out his IP as he did.

'Here goes.'

He stepped inside, letting out a measured breath as he did. He would find out what's going on, one way

Or the other.

-

Katrina yawned tiredly before standing up. Absently, she turned to her colleges, of which were all busily typing, just as she should have been.

"I'm taking my break." She stated simply before stretching.

"Don't be too long."

"Alright, just make sure you come back this time."

"We can hold it down, knock yourself out."

All three of them responded; two females, and a male. She smiled before stepping out from behind the desk for the first time in twenty four hours. However, that smile wavered as the door opened. Owen walked in as indifferently as he always did, only to stop at the front door. Katrina blinked, but froze when he began to walk…towards her!

Her heart fluttering as his eyes fell on hers. His soft white hair fell into his stunning face as he walked, the coat billowing dramatically behind him. His eyes bore into hers and she sighed, losing herself in his dark orbs of perfection. She watched as Owen stopped before her, his figure tall and slender. She would die willingly for a chance to kiss him right now, die for the feeling of his strong arms around her just once. She sighed one more time, her heart pounded wildly at the thought.

Meanwhile, Owen stopped, watching her curiously. Ever since he had walked in, she had been watching him awfully hard. It kind of made him self-conscious all over again. Absently, he ran a hand through his hair, which only resulted in making her melt even more. He watched her curiously.

"Um, do you want something?" He asked her. The way she was looking at him, it was a little bit too…hungry…for his liking. She blinked once, before finally looking at him regularly, and not like a piece of meat. She shook her head, but stayed silent.

He eyed her once more before stepping around her and making his way over the machines.

That had been his intended destination, but the way Katrina had looked at him made it seem as though she wanted to talk to him. But when he confronted her, she just stood there. He had to admit, it unnerved him.

And what was with that look she gave him? That was…unsettling…

'Well, you know, you have always had a way with the ladies.'

Yeah, a way to get rid of them. He couldn't bother with a relationship right now; it would only confuse everything more that it already was. So, why bother?

'Well, she likes you, that much is certain.' Yeah, that was obvious. It would take a blind man not see the way she looked at him every time he entered the building or spoke to her. He smiled a little, stepping into the booth for the second time that night. It felt good to know that he still 'had it' and that he could probably get a girl at anytime with no more than a look or a wink. The thought that he was still "desirable" even after all of these years made him swell with pride. However, he knew just as well as the next guy that he would dare not pursue those desires. He was just too busy right now, too side-tracked with too many things to even begin a relationship.

The vampire's words were one of them.

'The Coming of Drakoc? What did he mean?' Owen mused lightly as the IP machine beeped; his money coming out of the slot, landing into his outstretched palm.

However, His mind was elsewhere.

Who was Drakoc? He mentally searched his own memory bank and found nothing. He had no idea. He stepped out of the metal box only to find that Katrina had not left from her spot. Maybe she would know.

"Katrina?" He watched her turn, her gaze landing on him once again. He ignored the dreaminess in her stare as he spoke. "Do you know of a certain, Drakoc, by any chance?"

Ok. That was a dumb question, or at least, it sounded dumb when he asked it. Nevertheless, Katrina blinked once before answering, her brow furrowing as she did. She began to walk and Owen followed, eager for her answer.

"Well, that name sounds familiar, but I'm not sure." She had no idea, and his shoulders slumped because of it. He was about to walk away, but she stopped him again. "Why don't you try the library?" She offered, her gaze becoming light once more. However, before he could even question her about it, she was on the move. He watched her leave dejectedly. That was until, she turned, a hand on her hip.

"Are you coming or not?"

She turned back, not waiting for an answer as Owen bound after her. He finally caught up with the girl as she turned swiftly down a corridor, and then another.

"We have a library?" He asked. He struggled to keep her gaze as they both made their way down the hallway. "Since when?"

She turned one more time, ignoring his questions, only to stop at a dead end. He looked at her, expecting her to turn around, but instead she took out her own card and swiped it though the card slot on the bare wall. Unexpectedly, the whole wall gave way, opening from the inside out. He jumped back at the sudden movement, but she was left un-phased. Smiling at his antics she stepped through the open doorway only to turn back and eye the still Owen wearily.

"Are you coming, Owen, or are you too chicken?" Her eyes danced at the childish humor. He eyed the door once again before his gaze fell on her expectantly, his own eyes dancing at the humor as well.

"I'm not a chicken." He grumbled, as he stepped through the doorway. The small step seemed like such a small action, but if he had known how much that small step would affected the rest of his life, maybe he would have hesitated, or even turned back.

However, now it was too late. Fate had its course, and now it would play through.

The door shut automatically behind him. Following her through one last corridor, he stepped into the library and into the beginning of the rest of his life.

-

A/N: The whole head thing was creepy, if I do say so myself. What do you think?! Regardless, once again, I kept it plausible. After decapitation, the head will stay alive for about 20 seconds. Within those seconds it can blink and will even move its lips as if trying to talk. Believe me, I know. It's been proven. (Although not really, it's still debated where it is fact or fiction :p) Wanna know more or have a comment on the subject? Just review or email. I'll gladly tell you more about it if you want. (I'm not weird or morbid, I just find that kind of stuff interesting (medical stuff that is!))

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OK. That's over. Took no time at all! Hoped you enjoyed. R and R