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Once they were alone in an adequate room with a small twin bed and freezer, Beth pulled off her beanie and pushed her sunglasses on top of her head. Looking at Oscar who seemed to be acting as if it were business as usual Beth pressed her lips together tightly before saying, "What was that?"

Oscar turned to face her, "What was what?"

"There was a kid down there, Oscar, a kid," she stressed the last part.

"You should know by now not all vamps have the same moral code Mick or even Josef have."

"I know good vamps, bad vamps, but a child? How? Why does nobody say anything? I get that people are paid for their blood, but it's a child."

Oscar turns his back to her, he was disgusted with what his friend had become and he had no good answer for her. He started to take off his shirt setting it in a pile, "Not everything has a perfect explanation Beth. Things happen. You should get some sleep."

Beth turned as he unbuttoned his pants, she gave a huff and crawled into the bed taking off Mick's jacket and hugging it tight as she lay in the dark. Oscar could tell she was unsatisfied with his answer and that the child had truly bothered her. Part of him was glad to see her fired up about anything again, the other part knew it might only cause problems. He crawled into his freezer draping the hand towel over it as had been the compromise when he got naked to sleep. So she didn't get an eye full if she needed to wake him or even got up to pee. He settled back enjoying the feel of subzero oblivion, they would head out first thing after he fed.

*****

Beth found it difficult to sleep, her dreams filled with images of children being fed from, crying and begging for help. After waking the third time Beth was finished trying to sleep, she felt she had to at least try and help. Oscar was still asleep as she dressed; holding Mick's jacket over her arm it was a bit warm to wear spring was coming.

Beth knew Oscar would lecture her later about leaving his side she would just have to endure that. She walked out of the room shutting the door quietly behind her.

Wondering the unfamiliar dark hallways of an unfamiliar vampires place seemed like a bad idea even to her. Going to the first door with light under coming from the crack beneath she slowly opened it hoping to find the kitchen and not anything...else.

At first, Beth didn't see anything inside the room besides a large bed surrounded by a canopy of curtains. Realizing it was a bedroom and not the kitchen, Beth began to close the door, thankful she hadn't disturbed anyone, when a chilling voice made her jump, "Do come in."

Beth recognized the voice from when TJ and Oscar had exchanged words earlier. Unsure what to do, she stood in the doorway frozen. Did she go in and chat with the vampire who feeds from innocent young children without a care in the world, or did she run back to Oscar and hope that she is fast enough. Deciding that running from a vampire was probably had the least favorable outcome she stepped inside slowly looking around the room until she spotted TJ sitting back in one of the leather chairs with pen in hand.

"I didn't mean to disturb you, I was looking for the kitchen."

TJ set the pen aside folding his hands in his lap, "Not at all. I always have time for a beautiful young woman such as yourself."

Beth felt a wave of nausea wash over her, he made her hair stand on end, hearing his voice knowing what he did made her sick. She had to say something to him consequences be damned she knew she had to say something if she was going to be able to look at herself in the mirror after they left this place.

"You feed on children." It was blunter than she anticipated but she was too tired to care.

TJ gave a chuckle at her boldness, he could smell her fear and anxiety but yet she had a fierce determination to her. Oh, how sweet she will taste, he thought to himself as he sized her up. "I'm a vampire," was his only excuse.

Beth crossed her arms in front of her, Mick's jacket still hanging over them, "I may not know everything about vampires and freshies, but I know about the arrangement. You pay them to feed you, but children don't understand enough to make that kind of decision."

TJ burst into a fit of laughter pushing up from his seat and walking to Beth, he began to circle her. He could hear her heart rate increase the closer he got, but she showed no other signs of fear though, he was quite impressed. "I see you have only a small piece of the puzzle. I can take what I want without paying a dime, I can make them want me to feed from them. I give them shelter when the world has been cruel. These children you worry about had nowhere else to go, they came to me and I saved them."

Beth felt like a deer caught in headlights as he circled her, she wanted to scream for Oscar, to run from the room but she couldn't make herself move or speak. When his hand touched her shoulder and ran down the length of her arm pulling it up towards him she wanted to jerk it away but she couldn't. She felt as if she was watching what was happening from above, an out of body experience where she had no control over her body.

TJ held her arm up to his mouth scenting it, sensing not only his old friends scent on her but the fainter scent of another vampire, one who marked this one. He turned over her wrist and saw the faint pink scars of a bite left behind and caressed them with his tongue. Beth wanted to scream, his disgusting mouth touching her, touching a place Mick had touched. "See, you want this. I think you might even enjoy a new biter," he clicked his teeth.

Beth thought back to Mick, to the time in the desert when he was dying and she saved him. When they first made love, all the times they made love, all the times he bit her, all the times he saved her, as she felt the white hot pain of fangs sinking into her forearm. She knew what he was doing, but she couldn't look and kept her mind on Mick. He would save her from this, he always did; her guardian angel.

Time stood still and before she knew what was happening she felt the fangs leave her, hearing a crash in the space around her. Slowly she opened her eyes to see not her guardian angel but Oscar, her new protector. He stood naked with his back to her focusing his attention on TJ who with his blue/white eyes and blood dripping fangs seemed more menacing than before.

"If you didn't want to share, you should have told her...You interrupted my meal." He stood from the floor across the room where Oscar had thrown him.

"You know she's hands off! She is not one of your meals, she is under my protection." Oscar was vamped, his stance like a fighter ready for anything.

"She was offering," TJ retorted with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Bullshit, you thralled her like one of your yokes. Your blood slaves" Oscar spat out the word "What happened to you?"

"What happened to me?" TJ gave a piercing laugh, "I adapted, you have to learn to let loose and live my friend. Come on she is quiet scrumptious, rare flavor too."

"You disgust me."

TJ snarled, "This is my place, you no longer give the orders. TJ dove for Oscar. Oscar grabbed TJ close locking his arms around the torso while TJ propelled them into the wall. Beth barely even registered what was going on.

"BETH!! Move to the corner." Oscar yelled out as they slid to a stop. TJ shoved back, tripping Oscar. Growling he picked himself back up and lunged at TJ. They both started to roll on the floor, snarling as each tried to get a better grip. In the flurry of motion Oscar scrambled to his feet and lifted TJ up, feet in the air and head pointing to the floor below. Oscar lunged to his knees, bringing TJ's head down as well. TJ snarled and pushed back into Oscar, sending him back words. Beth stood back and watched, her eyes wide, she was still in shock from TJ's rape of her blood and her mind was desperately trying to process the scene before her

Oscar finally rolled so he had TJ's head between his legs slowly squeezing down.

"You've become like them…" TJ choked out. "WEAK!" The sound of bone breaking started to drown out TJ's voice.

"Not weak, better, and I was never like you!" Oscar squeezed his powerful legs harder and snapped TJ's neck. The sound caused Beth to look away and her eyes closed tight.

Oscar looked around for a weapon. He needed one before TJ had time to heal. Finding none, he quickly stood and speed to the kitchen. A quick search turned up a machete and he returned just as Beth opened her eyes. He twirled the weapon in his hand and then brought it down on TJ's neck. Beth didn't say a word; she just looked at the lifeless, headless body, and then slowly focused on Oscar.

Oscar looked up from his fight; Beth continued to be silent. (Delete it repeats a sentence above hadn't said a word the whole time.) Turning her he could hear her heart still beating rapidly as she stood silently in shock. Her arm still hung at her side bleeding he quickly jerked the curtain from the canopy and ripped off a long strand wrapping it tightly around her wound. She wasn't responding, he had seen shock too many times before.

He pulled his disposable phone from his pants and quickly dialed the cleaner, thankfully each area kept the same 800 dispatch number. He called in the information and hung up, he needed to get Beth out of here. "Beth, we have to go," Oscar tried to get through to her as he tied the bandage more securely.

Beth blinked back tears as she looked down to what Oscar was doing then to the room around them. It was no use the tears fell, poured actually as the thoughts raced through her mind like a living nightmare. TJ biting her, feeding from her as she stood their quietly and let him. Betraying Mick like that, letting another mark her, to take what she had given to Mick with love. "Mick… oh, god, Mick."

Oscar knew what was going on in her head, it didn't take an expert. He wrapped his arms around her to keep her upright as she began to fall to her knees, holding her up into his strong arms he told her she was okay and pulled her out of the room.

*****

After crying herself into a sleep (when there were no more tears) after having run out of tears, Beth opened her eyes once more to see they were driving again in yet another new car. She looked around quickly to see the flowers blooming and the green leaves of spring as the sun swept over the wet dewy foliage making it glisten.

Beth looked down to see her arm which Oscar had cleaned and re-bandaged with gauze. Oscar reached into the backseat and pulled a bottle of OJ from the cooler behind the seat and handed it to her. "Drink this."

Beth took the offered bottle and drank, trying to keep the images from filling her mind every second she closed her eyes. Oscar could feel the levels of guilt washing over her until he was unable to take it, "Beth, why do you feel guilty?"

Beth played with the cap and she screwed it on and off, before looking up to Oscar. "I let that… that… I let him feed from me. I didn't try and stop him. I let him mark me." Her words were muffled as she began to sob once more.

"Beth, listen to me, you didn't have a choice. He used his allure on you."

Beth stopped sobbing for a moment sniffling, "His what?"

"Vampires have allure. We can make you… want to feed us, lure you into a relationship. We don't control you, but we seduce our food..." Oscar grunted "parasit" - the accent was German, but the meaning was clear

Beth sat in silence, taking in all of what Oscar had just said. She wondered idly if Mick had ever used his allure on her before, had Oscar. What was real and what was an illusion Beth tried to play back ever moment of Mick in her mind looking for some sign of feeling like she had when TJ had taken what was not his to take.

"You have to practice to know how to use it, Beth, and you have to like it. You know Mick… would he influence you like that?"

Beth gave a watery laugh, thinking about all of Mick's fears of hurting her and how she had to demand that he feed on her. "No, I don't think he would."

He sensed his words help ease her some. She went back to staring out the window the blank and oblivious Beth was back, he knew what she needed but it wasn't safe for her to see Mick again. Maybe he could give her something though…

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