A/U: Hay everyone this is chapter 4 re-done because I re-read it and hated the way it came out…yeah ok then. Anyway I am SO sorry for the over long wait on updating. I've had massive writers block and my life's been crap lately…I have had so few weekends its ridiculous. I have found however that the more stressed/pissed/depressed I get the better my writing is so I hope you all enjoy my torment! …..wow that sounded somewhat masochistic didn't it….ok then yeah anyway I'm sorry and I won't promise when the next chapter will be out, I SHOULD have it out by this weekend time allotting, but after that I make no guarantees. A quick note on 'Why me' ….um yeah I actually haven't updated that because…um I…well….forgot that I actually put it up lol yeah have I mentioned that I'm a scatter brain? Anyway please review and tell me how you like the revamped chap I'm not sure how it turned out

Disclaimer: don't own it

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Sarah ran blindly through the forest in a desperate attempt to escape her pursuer. Warm, sticky rivulets of blood began to run down her arms from where trees had ripped her flesh and one leg was beginning to throb from her fall…she could never hope get away...not in the condition she was in. The narrow path she was following took an abrupt turn to the left, it took her a split second to decide to follow it instead of crashing through forest that was who knows how thick and took her who knows where, if she got stuck in a matt of branches, or lost in an endless maze…she was as good as dead. The girl skidded into the turn, not losing a step and managing, by some miracle, to actually get a bit more momentum going…it was wasted. Even as she made the turn she saw her fatal mistake – or rather fates move against her – she came around the bend in the path, the thing tearing after her went straight through the blackened forest, ending up only a pace behind her. Hot, rancid breath beat down on her neck and she envisioned claws grabbing at her clothes…or did she actually feel them? She pushed herself harder, forcing her weary, human body against its limits to distance herself from the danger. Instinct to survive won over pain and fatigue.

Running at the breakneck speed she was, losing the feel of another body very close behind her, Sarah Williams had thought she had finally made some headway in her escape…it was not so. Something 

darted into the shadows next to her, seeming to melt into the forest at some times and be just a breath away from her at others. Like two marathon runners tied for first they ran like that, only in this race the prize was ether her life or its meal; the gruesome contest continued.

As they ran, side by side, Sarah managed to get several good looks at her pursuer "soon to be killer" her frantic mind added. He – at least she was assuming it was a he – was very tall, had long black hair, pure pitch black skin like it was made of shadow, and glowing red eyes. The way he was running said a lot as well, his legs were moving at a blur, faster than her eyes could comprehend and half the time he would just go right through a tree or bush that was in his way, like it was nothing at all, sending up an explosion of leaves, bark, pine-needles…and the sound it made deafened her, as if thunder had boomed right in her head. She was beginning to become more concerned by being killed by shrapnel than by that…whatever it was. That is until he turned his face to her and smiled. A row of inch-long, bright white, sharpened teeth decorated his mouth with the wicked grin and only then did she notice the set of matching – though notably longer – claws adorning his over sized hands. His face was one of pure amusement and she realized, with a tremor of fear running cold through her heart, that the only reason she was still alive was because he was having fun…he was enjoying the chase and he wasn't even tired!

She was beginning to stumble…her tired legs protesting the arduous run as well as the rough terrain, the very forest she had sought refuge in only hours ago now threatened to trip her up, to end that thing's amusement with her…to condemn her to death. Just when, in the last leg of her desperate race, she was about to lose her footing – and she was sure that in doing so she would be that things next victim – the forest ended.

With a cry of surprise and terror, Sarah stumbled out into the sun drenched park, arms splayed to catch her fall and instantly curling into a defensive position, ready, at any moment, for that thing to pounce on her and rip her apart. The forest was unsettled behind her, a cold wind rushed past her cowering form and then, as quickly as it was there, the danger was gone, there was a new feel to the world…a lightness to the moment and a pureness to the day…she was safe.



Sarah sat there, panting, for several long moments, unable to move her burning muscles and steady her racing heart. Her body inflamed with pain, all she could do was sit and watch and wait…nothing came. Only after her moment of rest and contemplation of the being that had been following her, did she realize that, with her entrance and her scream, she had attracted the attention of several of the park goers who were now giving her suspicious and concerned looks…strangely no one offered her any help. Sarah wasted no time then, in getting up and looking herself over. Dirt and sweat streaked her face and her arms were covered in bloody mud, it was clear, even through her socks and slip-ons, that her ankle was swelling and probably sprained. As if to confirm her suspicion a jolt of fire shot up the length of her leg and it took everything she had not to cry out…she knew from experience that no one would believe her…so it was best that no one know what she found... that no one was suspicious of what she saw… "I'll just drop an anonymous tip to the police that'll work…at least then they can identify the girl then…but that thing…what was that? What if it was still there when they went to check it out? Could they kill it? I can't tell them what I saw…no after the way dad reacted when I told him about J –…" she shook her head to rid the memory and the name…that week had been hard for her, it had taken all the acting and convincing skills she had to keep her father and step mother from committing her. she shook her head again in disgust. "'You can tell me anything' Right!... Load of crap…but…still…I can't just –"

Her thoughts were cut off by the whisper of the leaves behind her and a murky dread filled the core of her soul. Images of those clawed hands, reaching through the brush…grabbing her…cutting bloody chunks of flesh…taking her back into the forest to be slaughtered…all that and more rushed through her mind in the second it took for the being to emerge from gloomy depths of red wood. Falling back to the ground, arms protectively over her head, Sarah screamed.

At the scream the people who had, after deciding that the girl was just a lost hiker or something, disbanded and left her alone, turned to her once again, some scowling, some frightened and a few looking ready to jump to her defense…that is until they saw the well dressed, rather handsome young man looking curiously down at her. Once again the rubberneckers dispersed and this time distanced themselves as much as possible from the crazy girl.



"Um…miss…?" the voice was soft, concerned, confused, taunting…everything all rolled into one perfect, velvet, warm, lightly accented tone.

Frightened and gasping for breath, Sarah looked up at the stranger, then, gulping and blushing a bit, stood on unsteady and pained legs to her full height. Sarah craned her neck to look up at the black haired boy, even standing to her full height; he was still a good foot taller than her. She gulped again and took a shaky step back on her swollen foot, again pain consumed her and this time she didn't restrain the pained cry as she crumpled to the ground. Strong arms caught her on her way down.

"Whoa there! Hay miss are you alright? That was a pretty nasty fall you had back there…have you been injured all this time?" his somewhat accented voice was king and concerned, his smile was warm and inviting, his cherry-brown eyes were cold and void. With an involuntary shiver, she nodded and tried to stand on her own, again she winced and the boy's arms tightened around her waist. He grinned and the whiteness of his teeth awed her for a moment, then their eyes met and again she felt a cold shiver scurry up her spine. Something was definitely not right here.

Still supporting her, the boy grinned an amused smile…it never reached his peculiar eyes. "The way you were running one would have been lead to think you had seen a ghost…and certainly that you were in peek physical condition…not sporting a sprained ankle." He chuckled…the sound was stale as if it were a bad act, it did nothing to make her feel any better. And those eyes…she couldn't keep a steady thought in her head…she was becoming startlingly tired…and the pain…was it possible that it was getting worse? She tried to find logical solutions for this…she was tired because she had just run twice as fast as any human should run, she couldn't keep her thoughts striate because she was going into a state of shock or post trauma…and she was just now feeling the pain…that was all…and yet she could not convince herself of that. Suddenly her voice came to life again and her mind began to spin with new adrenalin "Wait he followed me…he followed me…he would have had to see what I did…he would have to have at least heard that thing following me…right…so why is it that he's so darn calm?!" She looked pointedly up at him, olive eyes blazing with an old fire.

"Did you see anything back there? Hear anything? Anything at all?!" she asked, almost frantic. The man looked at her puzzled and cocked an eye brow.



"Um….other than you falling no….was I supposed to?" He smiled once again…amused. That look was so close…no way impossible, she shook the thought away, there had to be a logical explanation…and she thought she was beginning to draw one. "That bastard wanted me to stay out of the woods…he hates it when he loses…he hates me…would Jareth really do that? What am I saying of course he would! That's all he did in the Labyrinth, taunt me, scare me…I was never in danger…it was all a trick…it had to be." She let no sign of her thoughts, or the new found comfort they gave her, appear on the surface as she continued her interrogation…she still needed some facts…she still needed reassuring. Her voice was more desperate than she had meant it to be.

"The blood? The thing? That girl? Didn't you see any of that?!" Sarah nearly yelled getting some frightened gasps out of a crowd of wandering mothers with their young children drifting about near her. Some of the mothers looked at her in disgust; others grabbed their children and rushed away from the yelling girl and her talk of carnage. Again the man looked at her questioningly, brushing a wayward strand of silken black hair out of his face. "Look sweetheart," he started putting a, strangely cold, hand on her shoulder, "like I said you had a pretty nasty fall back there, it's not impossible that you may have just imagined what you saw…you know like a hallucination." He offered her in his kind voice. He kept his hand on her shoulder.

All the pieces were beginning to come together…she was alright and that had never happened…this man had never seen a thing so he was probably right, either that or Jareth had somehow only affected her with the visions…trying to scare her…make her seem insane…it wouldn't be the first time he had pulled such a trick. Still the fear was very real…and so was the pain, the combination was threatening to make her sick and her head began to swim. Sarah put a hand to her forehead and began to wave on her feet as if she were going to fall, the man in front of her put a steadying hand on her other shoulder.

"Come you should sit…you may have a concussion." He furrowed his brow in thought and forcefully guided her to a shaded spot on the grass, away from the staring park goers. Sarah sat gratefully, her throbbing foot finally relaxing, her weary body relieved to be leaning against a sturdy tree. She sighed and looked striate ahead, her eyes devoid of any emotion, her thoughts a confusing torrent. "I don't think Jareth would sink this low…and even if he did…would he really hide it from someone else? Would 

he be able to? …if not then…then what? Was that really just my imagination? A hallucination? Am I going crazy…? No that's not it…this guys right it was just the fall…it and everything that's been happening just…made me freak out….that's all…that has to be all…" For some reason, her thoughts offered her little in the way of comfort now…and only seemed to stir up more questions in the search for such an emotion as calm.

Suddenly remembering the stranger staring at her with concern, Sarah looked up and forced a smile to the man who had taken a seat next to her, on further inspection he was a little too close but she was too tired to care. She sighed, trying to remember what he had just said so she could respond properly. "Um…yeah. Yeah you're probably right…I'm sorry about that…" she blushed remembering her outburst.

"Ha it's no problem at all –it can happen to the best of us–but you never did answer my question…are you all right? Do you need me to take you anywhere?" his face looked concerned but something in his eyes made Sarah's blood run cold in her veins, she smiled anyway. "No I think I'm all right…but thanks for everything you've done…um…" she stopped and looked at him.

"Nick" he offered smiling at her.

"Thanks Nick." She smiled back before moving to get up; a cold hand found her arm and held on with alarming strength. She gasped and looked at him again, the beginning of a glair coming to her eyes.

He smiled a bit bashfully, "Sorry…but I was sort of hoping to get your name as well? A beautiful girl like you should have an equally beautiful name, right?" Sarah looked at him for a moment and realized that she was being rather rude…although something deep in her gut told her that something wasn't quite right with the situation…she complied to his request. "My name's Sarah…sorry but I'm in a bit of a hurry…I have to get home…I'm expecting company for dinner and I should have already gotten the meal started." She lied.

"Well let me at least walk you home…your ankle is, after all, sprained and wewouldn't want you falling down again now would we." He laughed and to Sarah it sounded cold…she was beginning to get 

frightened. "I um…really appreciate that but I could never ask you to go out of your way…it's fine really I'll be okay getting home my foot doesn't even hurt anymore." She lied. He didn't buy it at all.

"Nonsense…I insist." He gave her a half smirk half smile and his eyes got notably darker; he rose to his full height, looking rather intimidating, and motioned for her to take the lead, grabbing her hand as he did so…as if he had known that she was thinking of running.

As she was walking, hand in hand with this strange new person, Sarah wished that something would happen…that someone she knew would walk up and give her some excuse to get away from this…this 'person'… she wished she had more strength, incase her instinct was right and she was in some sort of trouble…but ever since Nick first got close to her it was as if all her strength left her…as if she were nothing but a weak little child at the mercy of the 'boogey man.' At this point she was even considering wishing for Jareth to show up…at least she knew him…knew that she could fight him…and deep down, even if she wouldn't admit it…she knew that he would never hurt her. She sighed, as she looked up at Nick walking along side her, his eyes cold steel, there was something about those red brown orbs that chilled her, they were so much like the glowing pools of red that had glared at her in the woods, his smile was so much like the evil, amused grin that thing had given her…to much like that thing…even his aura wasn't right, and she was usually horrible at deciphering things like that. Yet she seemed to be the only one affected, every girl they passed gave her envious looks and him lustful ones…Sarah had to admit that he was very handsome with his messy black hair, white button up shirt that exposed a good portion of his neck and chest and flawlessly tanned skin…but nevertheless there was something very wrong with those eyes.

By the time they had made it half way to Sarah's apartment, he was all but carrying her. She was beyond exhausted and the pain in her foot had spread through her entire leg, despite her suspicions of Nick, he seemed ready and willing to support near all her weight and to give her a smile that said 'no thanks are necessary.' His grin still didn't reach his eyes though. Sarah realized at this time that she was walking through town, being half carried by a well dressed, very handsome, very strange man…and looking like a complete horror. Her hair was a mess, her face was dirty and blood streaked, her clothes were torn…and no one, not a person, asked her if she were ok. Somehow she had a feeling that it had too much to do with the fact that this strange man was with her…people in this little 

town where often very courteous and kind, they would mention if you had a small cut on your face and then spend the next five or so minutes asking if you were all right and how your family was doing…regardless if you were alone or not…it seemed very strange that – in the condition she was in – no one even so much as gave her a second glance to asses her current state…almost as if they saw nothing wrong with her at all…something was very wrong, and again Sarah thought of his eyes…those eyes that robbed her of her thoughts and hid something sinister…something she dreaded understanding.

As soon they had made it to her apartment building; she tried again to get rid of him. "Well this is my place." She smiled brightly. "Thanks for everything Nick. I'm sorry to have had you go so far out of your way for me." She leaned away from him a little…his grip didn't lesson.

"It was my pleasure Sarah…but my act of kindness is not quite over yet…what sort of gentlemen would I be if I didn't escort you to your door?" he asked smiling, the look in his eyes still giving her the shivers, and something in his smile was off…was devious. Sarah tried to yank her arm free of his grip. She glared up at him, pursing her lips in stubbornness, as much as she could muster that is, her strength being what it was. "Please let me go…I can make it to my door on my own thank you very much." She said icily, she was through being polite, this was going far. Nick just glared and tightened his grip, the over long nails of his hand digging into her skin and striking blood. Sarah cried out in pain and tried again to get him to release her, suddenly and with great force, he yanked her to him. Sarah rammed into his chest with such force the wind was knocked out of her and she was stuck there, trapped by his crushing grip. He started down at her, his eyes beginning to glow red, his hair beginning to lengthen, his skin was getting darker too...she had not been overreacting…she had been right on…and that made her feel sick. Fear shot, almost painfully, through her body. Tears of defeat, of frustration and realization burned in her eyes. Her heart began to beet fast as lightning and her breath failed her. she knew very well what was about to happen, she was going to die.

Eyes wide with her unbridled terror, mind clouded in fear and disbelief, her body began to fight – the need to live un-repressible – but to no avail, she was far too weak. Hysteria set in yet through its haze she saw her one escape, her one chance at life, her dark fantasy come back haunt her...she needed Jareth, the only question was whether he would come when she called.



"Let me go! Do you hear me?! Jar –agmfha!" just as her voice rose loud enough to gain some attention, just as she was about to summon her Goblin king, 'Nick' clamped a strong hand over her mouth, long white claws slicing at her face and neck, he lent down and began whispering in her ear in a strangely seductive way, his voice an evil hiss, there was a cruel sneer in his words. "Come now Sarah." He grinned and she was face to face with those inch long teeth as they glistened by her face. Ruby droplets shone on their immaculate surface and she realized there was a searing pain on her cheek just above her jaw bone. "He bit me! Oh God he bit me! Jareth please please do something! Please don't let me die like this. I'm sorry I didn't listen." Tears where running down her face now and stinging her new cuts, people passed across the road and barely gave them a second look…they didn't see what was true, she realized that now…they had no idea that she was in danger, what they saw –if they saw anything at all – was completely innocent. He chuckled. "You didn't truly thing you had any chance to get away from me did you? You got lucky escaping the forest when you did…but you should have known better little dreamer…nothing will stop me from getting what I want." He grinned again this time parting his fangs and biting hard on her shoulder. She screamed into his hand, her sobbing growing more frantic. Then, suddenly, the pain was gone and his light and taunting mood was as well. Nick glowered, his red eyes no more than slits, at the trees just opposite them, and hissed like a cornered cat. His body was rigid and he was trembling. Something had scared him. "Oh God! Now what?! What could scare him…?"

Suddenly he was talking in her ear again, but this time it was a hastened growl rather than a taunting sneer. He spoke fast, almost frantic. "Listen girl! And listen well, we are coming for you…and you will fall to us!" with that and a gust of frigid wind and smoke disappeared. Sarah hardly had time to register that her life had been spared, before she fell, bleeding, to the ground, her mind lost to a black fog.

Some hours later, Sarah awoke in her apartment, tucked into her bed. She had a headache and for some reason her face, neck and shoulder felt scratched. When she tried to move, her shoulder burned. She tried to think of what had happened to her but….nothing came, all she could remember was deciding to go for a walk in the woods and nothing at all after that, she didn't even remember 

getting home and going to bed. Still feeling pain, she got up groggily and was greeted by a gruff voice.

"Nice to see your decidin' to grace the world with your presents." Sarah jumped but recognized the voice and the old man sitting next to her, it was the same guy she had seen the night before. Wasn't he was the Janitor or something like that?

"Ohhhh" Sarah moaned as her head throbbed and her cuts re opened, blood pouring out on her clothes and bed. "What happened?"

"I rekin I don't know…just was commin' out here to do some cleanin' and saws you lyin' there on the ground lookin' like one heck of a mess. You had one mighty big bump on your head…and if ya had one your purse was gone."

Sarah shook her head dazedly…she hadn't had a purse but she did remember something…she had…she had fallen…yes that was it she had fallen, she must have gone out to take her walk but somehow fallen down the stairs…that was it she was sure.

"So tell me miss, hows you feelin' now?"

"I'll be all right, thanks for helping me." She smiled weakly and stretched, preparing to get up and make some tea…she needed tea.

"Wells that's good to know…I gots that tea kettle a yours on…I thinks it'd do ya good ta get somethin' warm in ya."

"Oh thank you! That was really sweet of you." She smiled brightly at him. He looked at the wall clock over her bed and sighed.

"Look kid, I gots ta go but ifs you need anything at all ya just give a hollor and ol' Jake will come a runnin.'" he said, standing to leave. Sarah thanked him once more and showed him to the door to prove that she was in-fact, okay, even though she was wincing and cringing all the way there. Still there was something nagging at the back of her mind…something that was making her worry.



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Perched on the tree just outside her apartment, a bloodied owl scowled as the conversation went on inside…he had gotten there, bruised and battered, just in time to see the creature leaving and the old man appearing, Sarah…HIS Sarah was on the ground, bleeding and in pain, without even a clue as to how lucky she was…had that thing not gotten his sent, it would have just killed her then and there, instead of giving her that pointless warning and whipping her mind and memory into nothingness…why had she not listened to him? Why had she gone into the wood when he had told her not to? … Why had she had to become a part of this? Her blood was on their minds now…they would stop at nothing to have her…and he would stop at nothing to protect her…the stakes had just been raised…and he was willing to take the bet…even if it meant he would sacrifice his life.