Sorry about being MIA, and just a heads up I will be for a while. This is the last post for a while. It seems you all like seeing Jim being a vigilante, so here's a bit more.

Warnings for possible triggers, mentions of rape.

Thank you everyone for your reviews.

Let The Chaos Ensue...

Chapter 8: Kelly

Jim walked down the steps of his house, hazily. Everything was blurry. His mom, Claire, and Toby were in the living room waiting for him.

He happily crawled over to them with his tail swaying freely behind him. He nuzzled Claire and was forcibly shoved off of her, "Jim, don't do that. I don't want you to act like a monster." She spat.

Jim cowered on his hands and feet, his tail curling around himself.

"He eats like a monster too." Toby glared.

Jim looked at his mom for help, but she stood and pointed to the door. "I don't want you if you are going to keep acting like this. Get out."

He tried to speak but all that would come were the familiar whines of his trollish vocal cords, but those meant nothing to his family.

He reached out to Claire with his tail, gently wrapping it around her ankle, and she stomped on it to get it off herself, then black.

June 15th, 6:25 pm, Fresno CA

Jim woke by landing on his head, and immediately an intense burning was felt on part of his legs and feet but the most intense was his tail. Like acid eating away at flesh.

He quickly and painfully jumped back into the tree under the tarp. He placed his back against the trunk and held it like a lifeline, his breathing quick. His tail was screaming in pain, he moved it in front of him and saw bits of grey falling off of it, as well as some glowing blue. He brought his knees to his chest and pulled the cloak around himself, and when he tried to wrap himself in his tail, snarled in pain. Jim let his tail sit carefully on the branch, not daring to put himself through that kind of pain again.

He whined to himself and sat as a statue, he didn't dare hang. And he didn't dare go back to sleep.

He was grateful for Strickler's cloak, it probably just saved his life. And although wearing a backpack with it was tricky, he resolved to leave it on for the rest of his journey.

The nightmare though, it was so real… Maybe it was real. Jim thought carefully, his mother had never outright rejected him, and Toby didn't see him as a monster. Claire did, and she still hurt him, but she still cared about him, right? He'd broken up with her, and she seemed upset.

No, it didn't matter. He was a troll now, there was no changing that. He'd figure out how to deal with life on his own.

Jim settled into a comfortable position under the tarp, away from the sun, and didn't move for at least six hours, till it was finally dusk.

The cool air brushing against his skin was what brought him away from his statue like state. He moved so his back was facing the setting sun, protected by the cloak.

He pulled his phone out, which he'd used up the rest of the charge from the battery pack and both would need to be charged again soon. He figured that Brad would have probably left for his trip, and pulled up his contact.

He pressed the call button and waited.

"Hello, this is Brad the butcher speaking how may I help you?"

"Hey Brad, it's Jim." he smiled.

"Jim! Hey, how are you doing?" He spoke with concern.

"Not sure, I have yet to decide. But I do have to say, looking for danger is kinda fun."

Brad forced a laugh, "Jim, you both amuse and worry me."

"Why would you worry about me? I might just be bulletproof, but I have yet to find out and don't want to test that theory, just yet." Jim said, tilting his head with a slight grin. He didn't know, but his skin was stone, so maybe.

"Uh…"

"That was a joke. I'm glad you worry, anyways. You said you'd be out of Arcadia this week, I was wondering where you're headed."

"Merced, It's a small county north of Fresno. You know it?"

"I do. In fact, I'm in Fresno right now…" in the distance Jim heard a scream echo through the grey sky. "...Hey, I gotta go. I'll meet you there in a few days. Text me the address." Jim said quickly, then hung up.

He jumped out of the tree, leaving his belongings, and dashed in the direction of the scream, barely keeping his tail from dragging on the ground. All of the buildings were tall, brightly lit, sky scrapers, that were way too tall for him to run on. Jim pulled his hood tighter, he ran quickly through the streets and back alleys, avoiding the bustle of the big city. He couldn't find anything, then…

"Help! Someone, helmfph…" a cry came from the next alleyway.

It was a building away and Jim arrived not a few seconds later. He came to a halt in the alleyway seeing a man, and a woman. The man, about twenty-five, had his hand covering her mouth. The woman was pressed up against the wall, he had the young woman pinned.

"I told you to be quiet," he spat. "Now, give me that pretty trinket you're wearing, and I might not rough you up too much."

The woman struggled against him, She was in a nice pair of skinny jeans, and a simple shit, but a large, bright diamond necklace sparkled around her neck. Jim picked up the familiar scent of adrenaline and cortisol. His eyes flashed a venomous red, he snarled loudly to get both of their attentions'. The man dropped his arm and looked at the figure standing just inside the dark alleyway, so did the woman. She said nothing, but her eyes pleaded for him to help.

Through a tight, growl Jim said, "Get your filthy hands off of her."

The man gave a dark laugh, "Or what?" he pushed harder against her.

"Or I'll rip them from your puny arms," He snarled. Jim's eyes glowed red in the dark, still covered by the brim of his hood.

Angered, the man loosened his hold on the girl, but not enough for her to get away. "Is it too dark for you to see or somethin'? I could beat you to a pulp." he yelled.

"Actually, I can see just fine." Jim lifted his head, revealing his glowing, blood red orbs. Indeed the man had large arms, but it's not like Jim couldn't handle him. He was just a human after all.

The man gasped and stepped back away from the girl, she was about to run away when he grabbed her wrist and the force knocked her to the ground and she hit her head against a dumpster.

"Now, let her go." Jim growled.

The man dropped her wrist, and rushed at Jim. Jim ducked into the shadows and avoided the initial attack, re-appearing behind him to guard the young woman who was no more than 20.

"Last chance, leave." Jim threw his arm in a 'get out of here' motion.

The man yelled in anger and charged again, throwing a fist toward Jim's face. The troll caught the punch and gripped the man's fist tightly, he felt subtle cracks and let go before he broke anything then kneed him in the stomach, he doubled over in pain. Jim swept his feet out from under him and the man lay moaning on the ground in pain.

Jim pointed at him and growled loudly, "Stay here. I'm not finished with you."

Jim pulled his hood farther over his horns and crouched down next to the young woman. She had a cut over her eyebrow where she had hit her head. He dimed his eyes, now the normal blue.

"Are you ok?" he asked, gently helping her to a sitting position.

Slowly she nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I think so. Thanks to you." She smiled up at him, her tousled hair falling in her face.

Jim moved her bangs out of the way and helped her up, making sure to avoid skin contact.

"I heard you scream. So I came running." Jim smiled.

"And I'm so glad you did. People kept walking past, even after they saw me. Thank you. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if you didn't help me…"

Jim laughed, "Then don't. I'm going to take this ass to the police station, but I don't know where it is. Could you show me where it is?"

The girl smiled and nodded.

"Perfect."

Jim's ears twitched and he turned and found the guy crawling away. Jim walked over to him and grabbed his collar. "You're not getting out of anything." Jim lifted him as he growled.

"A...are you ok, sir?" the woman stuttered.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" He tilted his head slightly.

"Your voice, it… it sounds like you're growling…" She moved forward cautious of the man in Jim's grasp.

Jim chuckled, "well, I kinda am."

"What?" she forced a small laugh, her brows furrowed.

The man being held by his collar moaned in pain, Jim glared at him momentarily. He returned his gaze to the young woman, "I am growling. See?" Jim forced his growling louder, then gave a snarl.

The girl jumped, "Oh my gosh!"

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Jim held his hand out in a staying motion.

The woman started looking closer at Jim, everything looked normal…- except he's really tall, and is he standing on his toes? And… Oh my gosh! Is that a tail?- She thought.

She started slowly backing up, "W… why do you have a tail?!" she shrieked.

Jim's ears folded back in response, "I don't know. It kinda just showed up one day." He laughed.

The girl froze and the panic that was there moments ago was gone. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Nothing. Let's get going so you can give your statement Miss…"

"Kelly. Just keep him far away from me."

Jim nodded, "don't worry, he won't dare. Or this time I actually will rip off his hands." he said darkly, directing it to the man.

The man was cradling his hand, and holding his stomach. "You broke it…" he moaned.

"One, I didn't break it, when you break your hand there's a very distinct snap." Jim stated matter of factly. "Two, I wouldn't have had to if you would have just left when I told you, or you didn't attack her in the first place." He growled.

"Well if you have just minded your own business…"

Jim punched him in the face, knocking him out.

"You should have just knocked him out earlier." Kelly said, staring at the limp man.

Jim nodded and lifted him so his feet were dangling above the ground and casually threw him over his shoulder, he stalked toward the mouth of the alleyway, his tail hovering carefully above the ground and looked back. "Are you coming?"

Kelly stared at his tail for a minute, and slowly walked forward. "Yea… yeah."

Jim followed her down the street, she glanced over her shoulder every few minutes. He made sure his hood was pulled down as far as it would go, and he walked with his knees more bent so the cloak would hide his feet. His tail was still burning from the sun, but it was healed enough he could keep it loosely wrapped around his waist.

They turned onto the street of the police station, Jim looked around at the surplus of trees and smiled. Kelly looked back at him, "soooo… why are you wearing a cape?"

They walked closer to the building, "It's a cloak, and it protects me." Jim supplied.

"From what?"

"Mostly, from people like you." he said without thinking.

Kelly was taken aback, "What is that supposed to mean?!"

Realizing what he said sounded bad, he tried to correct himself, "No, that's not what I meant. I just mean that if you saw me you would scream and run away. And I have nothing against you it's just that I don't think you or anyone else would take to seeing my face all that well." Trying to correct himself, and failing.

"Why? I mean, yeah you got a tail and that's weird but it's not cause to scream… I guess." she gestured wildly with her hands. "Then you've got that, um, growling thing you do."

"Yeah, well to you my face would be a lot worse than seeing my tail, or hearing me snarl a few times." he said, readjusting the man on his shoulder as they neared the front door, lights were still on and people were busy inside.

"What's wrong with your face?" she said, "oh, I'm so sorry. That sounded really rude."

"No, it's fine. And nothing's wrong with it. It's just that it doesn't look normal to humans…" with his free hand, Jim slapped his forehead, "And I just said that."

"Wait, what do you mean human?" they walked closer to the front and as they reached it a pair of automatic lights came on. The light hit Jim's features enough for her to see his tusks and blue complection.

The two figures froze, Jim looked slightly up to see her reaction. Which was a mistake, his face now in full view of the lights she screamed at the sight of him. Jim winced and folded his ears back, he dropped the unconscious body on the ground and dashed into the nearest bunch of trees.

Two officers came running out the door.

"Are you alright Miss?" one asked.

"Why is this guy knocked out?" said the second one.

"Why did you scream?" the first said.

"I… uh… I guess I saw something, it kinda scared me for a sec." Kelly said slowly, looking around for her inhuman rescuer.

"Are you alright now?"

"Um… yeah, uh, sorta. I had a…" she couldn't stay focused on the questions being asked, she was looking in the dark for the hooded figure.

Inside the building a phone rang, a small officer picked it up and answered accordingly, his face fell to confusion for a moment then he took the phone outside.

"Um, it's for you." the officer with the phone said, holding it out to the girl.

She took it and slowly raised it to her ear, "Um… hello?"

"My face isn't that scary, is it?" Jim said across the line, watching from the trees.

"Yeah it is, sorry." she frowned. Jim sighed.

The three officers watched confused, the third looked at the unconscious lump on the ground and poked him with his foot. Kelly kept looking around for Jim.

"Can't see me?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"Look a little to the left, I'm in a tree."

"It's pitch black over there, how would I be able to see any…" She turned her head and spotted Jim's eyes glowing brightly through the leaves. Kelly lowered her voice, "Are you even human?"

"No, not really." Jim mused, "Now hand the phone to one of the officers, please."

She kept her eyes on Jim and handed the phone to one of the men, "He wants to talk to you."

"What?" The second said as he took the phone, "Um, hello?"

"Hi, that man by your feet was assaulting and attempting to rob this nice young lady, her name is Kelly by the way."

"A...alright…"

"So, please consider this my statement. I was walking past when I heard a scream, I followed the sound back to a dark alleyway where I found him forcing her up against the wall and threatening her I ended up fighting this man and knocking him out. I fractured his hand and he may need medical attention. I brought him and the young lady here for you to decide what to do with. No, I will not be giving my name or anything else."

"Uh… ok, thanks?" he paused. The officer turned to one of the others and said, "Put some handcuffs on him and take him inside." Then he continued with Jim. "So, that's it? You don't want a reward or recognition or anything?"

"No, I just want people to be safe. And for assholes like that joker to get a clue." Jim stated.

"Yeah, that would make my job easier." the man laughed. "So, I've got your statement, is there anything else you'd like to say?"

"Only that Kelly doesn't say what I look like."

"Well, ok. Thank you, and have a good night."

"You too officer." Then he hung up.

He watched from the tree for a moment, "What was that about?" the first one said while putting handcuffs on the body.

"An unusual good samaritan." the second officer smiled. "But, uh, he asked me to tell you to not tell anyone what he looks like."

"Well, I don't blame him with a face like that." Kelly laughed.

Jim snarled from the tree, making Kelly jump and give a shaky laugh, "But I won't." she turned to the tree Jim was in and smiled.

"Alright, miss. If you could come inside and give your statement?"

"Of course, officers." She said following them inside.

Jim laughed to himself and jumped out of the tree, making his way back the tree he'd left his things in. He jumped up and packed up his bag, his phone was about to die, and he didn't have any way of charging it.

Quickly pulling up the nearest -cheapest- motel location he once again pulled his hood down and walked through the streets like a shadowy figure in the night. On his way he confronted two muggers, but those idiots were at least smart enough to run when they were caught.

One of the victims was a nice little old lady, she smelled like cats, and she gave Jim $20 bucks for being a 'nice respectable young man, unlike the halogen that just tried to rob me.' Jim chuckled at that then made his way to the motel.

The desk manager looked concerned that the tall dark figure with a hood was going to murder his face off, but Jim put on his best human voice while keeping his hood low.

"Hi, may I please get one of your rooms, it'll just be for tonight." He said.

The man visibly relaxed, "Oh, of course." the man smiled and pulled out a room key, passing it to Jim, who traded him for his debit card. The man stared at the thickly gloved hand before taking the card, swiping it, and handing it back.

Jim replaced it in his secure velcro pocket and left, "Thank you."

Jim found his room, plugged in his phone and battery pack, and curled up in his cloak on the bed. He moved his tail, coiling it like a snake on the bed in front of him. Carefully he reached out to touch it, a burning pain ran through his nerves. It was like a really bad sunburn, the kind that peeled away two layers of skin.

He began softly stroking his tail, bits of grey blue sand falling where he touched. Jim got up and headed for the bathroom, he turned on the water as hot as it would go, and prepared for his shower.

He tried to brush off his dead stone skin into the trash can before getting in the shower. The scalding hot water was barely warm on his skin. He used the soap provided and washed the scruff on his head and back, and carefully the scruff on his tail. The water washed away any residual sand off of his tail, leaving a brighter blue than normal. More raw, and not as calloused.

Over the sound of the running water, Jim heard his phone going off repeatedly. He figured it was Toby, not even two days after he left, Toby called him… repeatedly… like 23 times. Jim figured he wasn't going to stop and finally picked up. In anger, he roared at his stout 'friend' and told him off, leaving him with another roar. Jim felt bad for a little about it until Toby started sending angry texts every night.

Jim turned off the shower and shook himself off like a dog, he grabbed a towel and dried his horns and tail, and the rest of him. He got dressed and walked out to check the messages on his phone.

-Jim, I can't believe you left!-

-Uncool dude!-

-why would you just leave me?-

-Stop running away from things and come back-

-You shouldn't have broken up with Claire, now she's talking nonsense-

-Why won't you answer me!?-

-Jimbo, I thought we were friends.-

Jim stared at the screen, "Me to Tobes, me to." He sighed. Clicking on the settings icon, he blocked Toby's number. He couldn't stand the hurtful texts, and he didn't want to deal with them.

It would still be dark out for hours, but Jim's tail still hurt. And he didn't feel up to going out. He sat down on the bed and clicked on the tv. It was already on the news, and something caught Jim's eye. A picture of a chard Subaru Jutsy, sitting on its roof.

Jim leaned forward listening intently, "In other news, a Del Norte County family returning home from a trip crashed when the front right tire blew. The family rolled into the ditch on the side I-5 heading northbound. The family was pulled from their car by a mysterious young man before the car's gas tank exploded. The young man called the authorities and flead the scene before the first responders arrived. The family was interviewed, and claims that they never got his name or saw his face. Only that he's their hero, and wished that they could somehow repay him. Their injuries were limited to a minor concussion and a broken leg for two of the young children." The woman recited.

"That is incredible, things like that just don't happen now-a-days. And no doubt that they would have been killed had he not pulled them from that car." The male anchor said.

The woman nodded in agreement, "yes, and that makes me curious, who he is and why he didn't stick around."

"Definitely something to wonder about." The man said, then moved onto the next story.

The end of Jim's tail beat against the plain brown bedspread making bits of dust fly up. He couldn't grin wider if he wanted to. One, Amara and her family were ok and no one was severely hurt. Two, he was on the news! Away from any recognizable attachment. He flopped on his back, slightly giddy.

Andy had the worst luck the past week, he'd gotten stuck with all the AM graveyard shifts. Then on his way to his car, he got mugged! Held up at knife point, forced to give his wallet to a drunk.

What he hadn't expected was for someone to hear him yell, and to go after the jerk that stole his money, the money he needed for his sisters medication. And he expected even less for the guy to actually bring it back.

He said he'd caught the drunk, taken him to the police station and that the officer there wanted to talk to him in the morning. He'd tried to use his phone flashlight to see the man, but he freaked out and ran away. His only request wasn't money or anything, just that he 'pass on the good deed'.

What he couldn't figure out, was the picture. A dark blurr, an impossibly long tail, a backpack, and what he was almost sure were horns, running away on four legs.

Andy walked into the police station, finding a very tired officer Marks.

"Officer Marks, was it you who wanted to see me?" He asked, still dressed in his 7 Eleven uniform, he'd taken a quick nap and didn't change before coming.

"Was it you who got mugged and your money was returned by someone really strange?" He perked up, a half smile on his lips.

"Yeah… really strange. I even got a picture of him." Andy pulled out his phone.

Officer Marks ran over quickly, "You did?" He took the phone and studied the picture. "Oh my gosh." He breathed. "No wonder he didn't want me seeing him."

"You saw him?"

"Not really, I was just finishing up some paperwork when the phone rang. I answered it and he said he'd left a mugger in front. I came outside and then I heard him in the tree. I pulled out my flashlight to see him, but he jumped onto the roof. I never actually saw him, only his eyes. They glowed in the dark…" the man paused "Then he said he…" wasn't human.

"What did he say?" Andy pressed.

"Nothing…" Marks shook it off, -if he didn't want me seeing him he had a reason, if this was a picture of him that's probably why.- He thought. "Anyways, I need to get your statement."

He lead Andy back to his desk and Andy told him in detail what had happened, how he'd been asked to wait by the mysterious figure and when he'd showed back up with his wallet.

"Did you check your wallet for any missing money?"

His face fell, he quickly pulled out his brown leather wallet, and opened it up, he counted his money and looked up at the officer, bewilderment written on his face. "There's $20 more then there was before."

"What? Are you sure?"

Andy nodded. "I… I don't get it."

"What do you know. I guess there is some good left in the world after all." Marks tapped his fingers along the keyboard. "Hey, you should probably go. Your sister is still at the hospital, right?"

Andy nodded sadly, "Yeah. I've also got to go pick up her medication…"

"Alright, I know how to find you if I have any other questions." Marks gestured toward the door.

Andy stopped by the pharmacy and got his sister's anxiety meds, her stress had only gotten worse since she'd gotten sick.

As he walked through the halls of the hospital, he passed the gift shop. His mind wandered back to the extra $20 that the animal-like vigilante had left. He turned around and picked out a plushie. A small blue bear.

He walked to his sisters room hiding the bear behind his back. "Hey, Lily. how are you feeling today?"

"Andy!" The girl exclaimed, "you came."

The small child was wrapped up in wires and badges, she had oxygen and an IV. Her little face lit up the dark hospital room, her increasingly thin, curly brown hair sat on her shoulders around her frame fragile and she was no more than ten.

"Of course I came. I brought you your medicine. And I brought you a present."

He moved the bear in front of him and Lillian screamed for joy. "Oh my gosh! It's so cute. Thank you, Andy, thank you!" She reached out her arms and took the bear.

Andy gave her a gentle squeeze, not wanting to let go of his only family. He sat on the side of her bed, "So, whaddaya gonna name it?"

The girl studied the toy carefully, "Well, he's blue. So it's gotta be a boy's name. So… I'm gonna call him Tyler."

"Tyler?"

"Yep."

"Tyler it is then." he smiled and hugged his sister again.

Jim was packing up his things, he didn't sleep all day. He didn't feel like chancing it with more nightmares. He unplugged the battery pack and his phone, just as it went off.

It was a text from Strickler. No, a link. He opened it up and it brought up a video. Jim pressed play and waited, A microphone was held out to an officer, the same officer Jim had convened with in King County.

"A few nights ago, I received a strange call from an unknown number. It was around five in the morning. A young man had called, told me he'd left an unconscious mugger outside the front door. Sure enough, he was true to his word. He asked to stay anonymous, in fact I don't even know who he is.

"He'd found local, Andy Marsh, in the 7 Eleven parking lot after being mugged. He tracked down the mugger, retrieved the boys wallet and returned it to him. Around eleven that morning, Andy came in to report the mugging.

"Something, this young man who got the money back doesn't know, is that Andy's younger sister is in the hospital with cancer. And being short of money, would have devastated young Lillian Marsh's condition. Andy also found that the young man left an additional $20 in his wallet." officer Marks took a deep breath.

"Andy was unable to make it here today, but he asked me to publicly thank this young man for him. He said that the stuffed bear he bought with that little extra money, brought joy to his sister he hadn't seen in a long time, giving him hope for her future."

"Officer Marks, is it true that this young man was actually on the station grounds when he called you?" and unseen voice came from behind the camera's view.

"Yes that is true."

"Would you please elaborate."

"The young man was watching from a tree, over there. When he called. He was adamant that he would not be seen."

"A few days ago there was a roll over concerning a young man with similar conditions. Are you familiar with this accident and do you believe that it could be the same young man?"

"I did hear of the accident, and it very well could be the same boy. Although, I would like to say that he's given me hope, that maybe, not everyone is as bad as they could be."

The camera angle turned back to the reporter, "Hope indeed. The questions now plaguing everyone's mind is. Will we continue to see more of these acts, and is it really the same young man? Who has already done so much good, in the short space of four days. This is Kate Clark, reporting for California news."

Then the video ended.

A stunned Jim sat on the bed, his tail moving somewhat more naturally now he'd gotten all the dead stone off. He stared at the frozen officer's face. -The boy's name was Andy, who's little sister is in the hospital with cancer.- he hadn't though much of the extra money, just that the kid probably had a rough day and could use some cheering up. -the little girl had gotten a gift from it and it made her smile.-

The thought of the boy with a similar looking sibling in a hospital bed entered his mind. He imagined the look on the little girls face when she saw the stuffed bear.

A small smile passed Jim's lips as well, he knew he'd helped Andy, but he never would have thought anything like that would come out of it.

Jim pressed his lips together, and felt a small tear run down his face. -never would have guessed- he thought.

He stood and finished packing his backpack, he turned off all the lights after checking he had everything. And returned the key to the front desk.

He made his way to the freeway, and jumped on the first semi headed north.

"Merced, here I come."

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