A/N: Asnwerin stuff...Anyway...

MizzNite: lol. No, he did not kill kasumi. Read it again..it says he had killed a patient he had fallen in love with. ander, sorry for doin this to him, i guess...What can i say? It would be nice torturing something...i mean, oh, er, never mind.

Chapter 17: Dream

Karen Patterson moved down the hallway, her lips curved into a toothy grin, two milky white fangs were visible. She ran a hand through her auburn hair and pulled the hair tie out, putting it into her mouth as she pulled her hair up, tying it into a smart looking ponytail.

"Hola Miss Karen."

"Hello Camila." Karen mumbled, glancing down at the black-haired Spanish girl beside her. Camila smiled sweetly, her eyes were hollow and her face pale but she had no vampire fangs, making her look humanish.
"Buenas noticias?" Camila asked cheerfully. Any good news?
"Si." Karen muttered. Yes.

"Grande!" Camila exclaimed. Great.
They moved swiftly down the hallway. Karen was glancing to her right ever single time they passed a window, a flicker of light danced around her colorless face. A vampire's skin would have been started to burn now but no, hers stayed perfectly beautiful. She sighed, bored, rolling her eyes. Some vampires just have no fashion sense. This place is like, window, door, window, door, window, door, toilet, door, it was pathetic. If she ever ran this hell pit, she'd at least make it homey. The thought made her smile, she looked at the wall as she walked, picturing it in pink.

As if reading her mind, Camila replied, "Una exhibición del oso del teddy se parecería agradable, sí?"
Karen had learnt to speak the Spanish language. Not as fancy as anyone else but she knew the main words. Words that weren't too complicated. The puzzled look on her face gave away a hint that she didn't understand.

After a few seconds of thinking, she understood some of it, An exhibition of the bear of teddy would look like pleasant, yes?
"Oh," Karen sighed, "Si. Sería agradable."

They entered a dark room. It was more stylized than the actual hallway. It was bigger and ornately decorated, with the atmosphere of a church. A large vampire in a suit stood by the window, head held high. The walls were lined with shelves containing skulls of those killed. Those who were worth killing. Behind a desk all covered in blood, was a chair, engulfed by the shadows. It spun around to reveal a slim figure- a woman -sitting, relaxed, her arms folded. Her face was hidden behind the shadows.

"Nice of you to actually show up, Patterson." her voice was soft and beautiful but it also gave scared the shit out of people and vampires alike. "I understand you have news for me."
"Yeah, Jennifer. I've got news for you." Karen said smugly. …That you're a pain in the ass.
"D'Angelo Spencer is well taken care off. He won't be a problem."
"Is he dead?"
Karen's smile faded. That ungrateful, good for nothin' bitch!
"N-no." she stammered. "He's got lung cancer. He's powerless. Useless to stop us."

"Aww," Jennifer said in a motherly tone of voice which soon changed into a monstrous one, "I don't give a fucking shit!" she leaned forward, her nails digging in the arm of the chair. This surprised both Karen and Camila. She noticed their expressions and then leaned back, more calm now, "Don't you think I knew?"

"I"
"Of course I fucking knew you nit-wit!" Jennifer snorted, looking at the wall as if they weren't there. After a few minutes, she stated, "I want him dead"
"Pardon?" Karen asked. "I want him dead. Poison him…whatever." she waved her hand in dismissal.

"K-kill him?" Karen repeated. She held back a tear. The human emotion was her worst fear. It reminded her of her past…Once upon a time, she was one of them. A nightstalker. King and Spencer's good friend and Abby's best friend. She can't just kill him. She couldn't. She wouldn't.

"Let me get something straight here," Jennifer laughed and then her 'sweet' disposition fades, "Your job is to stay sane enough so that when I actually tell you to get off your sorry ass, you're not so brain-dead you can't function! I want you to kill him…"

"No, I can't." Karen shook her head. Jennifer leaned forward, face still invisible behind the darkness. "Wouldn't you want to talk to him before he dies?" she took a breath and held it, silent, waiting, waiting for an answer.
"Good idea." Jennifer sat back and folded her arms. Karen exhaled a sigh of relief.

"It would be our nice little reunion..."

Ashley heard a cry from the room across hers and she quickly rose from her place in the couch. She hurried over to the bedroom door and listened a moment. Silence. Maybe she had imagined it. As she started to turn away, she heard it again. She pushed the door open and peered inside. Spence lay in bed, silent, the tube was there again, helping him breathe but that didn't look like it did any good…

There was no one else in the room. His eyes were screwed tight shut against the horrors that stalked his dreams. His face was pale and sweaty. He moaned in agony. Ashley could see his labored breathing. She moved to his bedside, putting the palm of her hand on his forehead. He was burning hot…but that made no difference to anything. Ashley looked at him pitifully and ran her fingers through his thick brown hair. It was damp with sweat.

Why had they left her there?
Earlier that evening, Abby, Kasumi and Patricia had gone off to look for the runaway Ruby. King on the other hand, had gone off with Caulder on a special hunt. But that wasn't the only reason, it was to sort out their 'issues'. Ashley's eyes were fixed on the clear liquid contained in the IV-like cylinder. A liquid cloud of Spence's blood grows within. The viscosity of the fluid starts to thicken as Spence hyperventilates, trapped in some terrible dream…

Spence's eyelids flutter and he awakens. Looking around, he tries to get himself free. He lies on the cold platform, face up, spread-eagle, his wrists and ankles bound to the cold stone surface with leathery cords. Then, a woman comes over, another woman a few paces behind her. The older woman walked over to Spence and smiled.

He breathed deeply and focused on the one standing in front of him. "Karen? Karen! It's me! Spence!"
Nothing. The woman continued to smile at him.
"Karen!" As he continued to plead with her, he reminded himself, "Oh, this can't be real! This isn't real!" The other woman watched from the sidelines, she seemed to be enjoying herself. Karen sliced through Spence's clothes, exposing the flesh of his abdomen. Surprisingly, she talked, "Don't worry, this won't hurt…much."

Horrified, Spence struggled and continued to plead with her in increased urgency. Karen grabs his throat and traces the blade down the center of Spence's torso.
"Karen! Snap out of it! Help me!" he shouted in a desperate request. "Karen! Stop!" Karen cuts his flesh and dug her hand in his stomach, smiling sweetly as if she was enjoying a piece of cake.
Spence screamed. That fucking hurt!

"Help me! This is not real! Not real"
Laughing, Karen mimicked him, digging her hand deeper, "Not real. Not real."
Spence cries in pain, "It fucking feels real!"

The intensity of Spence's cries hit the other woman, there was a flicker of life in her eyes.
There was an awful noise that sounded like Karen fishing around inside the wound. A pale, sweating Spence tried to stay conscious. He will not go into shock...

Nothing felt normal. Every single thing was not normal. Whatever he did, he couldn't find out whether this was a dream or not. It seemed like some sick game!

But, whatever it was…

he was losing…

The woman walked over to his other side and looked down at him.

It was Ashley.