AN: I do not own The Lost Boys.

AN: Ninjettey this is for you.

Chapter 17 - Torture

After all this time. Many lifetimes. Caligula was finally within his grasp. Well as he was known now-a-days, Max, was in his grasp. The little mermaid, Maria, had not known where he had lived but she did provide him with Max's place of business. Business? What a load of bullshit!? Had Caligula gotten so old that he was trying to have a normal domestic life? Like he was human? He had long ago sold that right away to Peter. Father Abraham couldn't help but scoff at the absurdity of the situation. A vampire trying to pretend to be human. And he was trying to get a bride. According to what little Maria could tell him, Max was after Ms. Lucy Emerson. But she had rebuffed his affections and had centered her focus on a very human, Jerome. Good for her.

A groan caught his attention and he looked towards Max. The ancient vampires' wounds were trying to heal. Van Helsing poured holy water on his wounds, reopening them. Hissing came from Max and then silence. The agony kept him unconscious. That made things easier for him. He had staked the hellhound when it tried to come through the window to save its master and then he had set fire to the house. Covering all the tracks. He had thought about doing it to the video store but that would have attracted too much unwanted attention. The seaside home was out of the way, out of town. Perfect for a distraction for the Police. It would keep them busy while he took care of Max.

Speaking of which; the sky was beginning to lighten in the east. It would not be long now. He heard the rustling of Maria beginning to wake. She had rested while she could. Now she would get to see Max get what he deserved so she would feel the fear of what was to come for her. Maria woke with a start. She began to sob when she realized that she was still captive. Then she quieted when she realized that he was there. Then she noticed Max.

"Max?" she almost screamed, "What did you do to him?"

He picked up a bottle of Holy water and shook it at her. She quieted. Even he did not know if she would be affected by the water. She whimpered and whispered Max. Time slipped by slowly and then the big sliding door opened and the other hunters poured in, closing the door behind them. They gasped when they say Maria in tatters and then surrounded him and Max. The excited energy buzzing around them recharged him.

"This is Caligula, the first ever turned Vampire." he announced, "He calls himself Max now and runs a video store."

"What's the plan?" someone asked.

"Gather intel from Max on the where abouts of the other vampires." Father Van Helsing said.

"Will he talk?" another asked.

"When the sun is baking him alive, he'll spill everything he knows." Father Abraham grinned broadly and held onto the big curtain behind him.

Maria was terrified. They were going to torture Max, and she would have to witness the whole event. He may not be the greatest, but he had always been good to her. Gace her a job when no one else would. Gave her a home when she did not have one. She would always be grateful to him.

"Paul!" she screamed in her head.

"Maria!" he yelled back.

"T.. They have M.. M..Max!" she said, "They're going to torture him with the sun. They want info about you all. Please hide!" she begged.

"We cannot. It is already to light outside." he said grimly.

Maria inwardly sobbed.

"I'll be here darling. I won't let you suffer this alone." he promised her.

And for that Maria was grateful. Paul tried to soothe her as she witnessed the horror before her. They slashed him and burned him with holy water. Branded him and baked him with the sun. Max was resilient though. He did not wish to give in to any of them. For hours they tortured him. When he would get to the precipice of going unconscious, they would withdraw. Give him some time and then start again. Maria was so scared they were going to turn on her at any moment. She did not have that kind resilience. She would die long before they ever got as far as they did with Max.

For days it went on. Maybe it was days. Maria did not know. It felt like forever. She was feverish from infection setting up on her back. One moment to the next was different. She would have her lucid moments. But she would beg to have her hallucinations when they started on max again. They did everything to wring information from him. In a moment of her lucidity what she feared the most came to fruition. The deranged priest cast his eyes on her. He wanted information and he was going to get it. Maria screamed when he advanced on her with a red-hot brand and a long knife. Her screams of terror tore Max from his stupor. He lurched around the best he could to see who the captive with him was. He had not known another was captured.

The red-hot brand seared into the flesh of her ruined back. Her scream was bloodcurdling. It bounced off the walls and could almost shatter glass with the pitch she had reached. Maria was in agony. This hurt far more than the whip. And it continued to hurt after he pulled it away from her flesh. Max was appalled. Maria was just human. Why were they doing this to her? She would not survive this torture. She was innocent in all this. All she ever did was know a few vampires. How was that a crime? Max struggled to force himself around. He was so weak. So deprived of blood on top of being tortured, barely had the strength to keep his head up. He had to do something. If this was how he was to die, then so be it. Maria did not deserve this. She was a good kid with a bad past. She deserved the best in life.

"P..pl...please leave h.. her be." he croaked out barely loud enough to hear.

Max was trying to connect mentally with David. He knew where they were. He had been all over Santa Carla. He knew every nook and cranny of the coastal town. He had to know. He was the head vampire. He had to protect what was his. And to do so, he had to know every structure. Every cave. Every person.

"David please answer me." he pleaded with him.

"Max." David stated simply.

"Please. Save Maria. We are near the wharfs. Hernadez's storage building for his extra ship parts." Max explained.

"Max, thank you." David said.

"Please hurry. He's using a branding iron on her." Max explained.

David said nothing more. But Max could feel the sheer rage that came from David's side. Good. Maria would get help. He only hoped it would be soon. He could not help her. He could barely stay awake any more. The sun was up so it was harder to be conscious. He struggled but lost the battle as the sun spell came over him. The last he heard was Maria's tortured screams.

AN: Well this was a hard one to write. I had so many ideas for this chapter.