AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a very busy chapter. A lot goes on kind of at the same time. I hope I translated all the events well. The shit has hit the fan in a big way this chapter and I hope it pleases those who have waited patiently for it :)

Chapter 8- Monster Blood

Four hours earlier:

"You see, I have hundreds of years of vampire myths to test out on you... and so little time."

The knife sliced through Shawn's skin like butter. It trailed almost all the way down his collar bone. Shawn's eyes changed to white in with a gasp of pain, he struggled to free his hands, but the rigging held tight.

"That is so cool." Ben gushed gleefully watching Shawn's pallor and eyes change color. "Can you control that?"

Shawn leered at him, panting from exhaustion and pain. "Come closer and I'll show you just how much I can control it." Dammit I survived over a hundred criminals I'm not getting beat by some amoral ass-hat!

Ben shrugged. From past experience he wasn't really expecting any truthful answers out of the vampire. He saw Shawn struggle to get his hands free but doubted the he would be able to escape. Zack was very good at knots. Speaking of knots…

Deciding that since Shawn wasn't going to be all that forthcoming with information, he'd just quit asking questions and stop the noise altogether. He grabbed one of the silk ties from the loot pile and, being careful to avoid Shawn's sharp teeth, tied it around his mouth. Shawn struggled but there was only so much you can do when the only thing you can move is your head.

"There, now I can work." It wasn't any quieter with Shawn yelling through the gag but at least he couldn't understand the snarky comments anymore. Glancing up, at the bright windows Ben got another idea. He grabbed Shawn's chair and started dragging it to a spot on the floor.

Shawn realized what Ben was doing. He shook his head and started shouting even louder through the gag. He struggled and bucked wildly, trying to rock the chair and impede Ben's progress. The chair almost tipped but Ben shouldered it back upright and before long Shawn was sitting in a square of sun shining through one of the windows. The sun wasn't immediately deadly to vampires at first, just an annoying glare but it quickly caused them to overheat.

Ben was a bit disappointed at the lack of reaction to the sun. He'd expected at least some flames, but Shawn seemed reluctant to be in it, so he figured there must be something to that. Sure enough Shawn started trying to cover his eyes and broke out in a sweat while moaning through the gag. He decided to leave him in the sun a while, and kept moving him back into it as the hours passed and torture continued. He was glad for the gag because they were in a pretty populated storage yard, and people would have heard the screaming.

They'll find me. It's only been a day. I've had worse… Shawn tried to keep his mind occupied as Ben poked, prodded and cut. So far he hadn't thought about silver, but it was only a matter of time. The cuts had started to heal slower anyway, and Shawn could barely lift his head anymore. His mind was also going out the window. Thinking coherently was becoming harder and harder. The sun had really done a number on him and he was sure his eyes had turned yellow by now. He'd had no sleep, no blood, and no hope for the last twenty four hours.

Shawn thought about Gus, Juliet, and his child. He'd never know if it was a boy or a girl. He'd never get to see the look on Gus' face when he apologized for insulting him… and never get the chance to give him a hard time about it for years to come. So much he wanted to do and couldn't. He growled low as he glanced up and noticed the smirk on the man in front of him. When I get out of this… he's toast, and not the delicious kind..

"Man, what a baby." Ben smacked Shawn in the head. The vampire hadn't been reacting all that much the last half hour and he was already getting bored. "I bet if I was a vampire I wouldn't be such a wuss." Ben chuckled then abruptly stopped and considered what he'd just said. He didn't think any of the other guys had even thought about it yet. What would it be like to be a vampire? Quick healing, strength and apparently they could go out in the sun, for a bit.

There were so many different ways the movies showed vampires being made. He'd already been bitten, but then there was the whole blood thing. He had to know. Walking behind Shawn he removed the gag so Shawn could answer him. "How do you become a vampire?"

Life seemed to come back into Shawn's defeated eyes at the question. "Like I'd tell you." He answered in a weak voice. He snorted, "You have no clue what you're dealing with Jack."

"Okay, how about this." Ben walked over to a table and picked up Shawn's deactivated phone and his wallet. He pulled out the Juliet's picture and waved it in front of Shawn's face. "You tell me how to become a vampire, and I won't find her and do the same to her that I've done to you."

Ben's tone was so straight forward and neutral that he could have been reading off a grocery list, let alone threatening to kill people. Shawn knew he'd do it. Without hesitation he'd do it. But, if he told Ben how to become a vampire he'd be unleashing a true monster on the unsuspecting citizens of Santa Barbara. Juliet was a cop. She'd never forgive him for putting innocent lives in danger to spare hers. Plus, he would love to see Ben get through Carlton, who was getting angrier by the hour. He felt it.

Shawn took a breath and met Ben's eyes. "Go to hell. I'm sure it's lovely this time of year."

It wasn't the response Ben was expecting, he punched Shawn in the face and made a frustrated noise. "Fine! We'll see who has the last laugh." He grabbed a cup and walked behind Shawn.

"What are you doing?!" Shawn tried to crane his neck around.

"Improvising…" Ben stated and Shawn felt the knife slice his wrist.

Shawn hadn't realized that he'd passed out, and had no idea how long it had been The last thing he remembered was Ben syphoning his blood into a cup. Not wanting to open his eyes, he listened. No heartbeats besides his own. Ben must have gotten sick of torturing him. Thank God… Shawn thought but then he started hearing voices approaching. He chanced opening his eyes and saw it was still light out. Also, Ben was sprawled out on the ground right in front of him, with slit wrists.

"That son of a bitch!" A voice yelled and came closer. The others were back. He didn't know whether that was a good or bad thing.

Shawn had no illusions anymore about his situation and knew he was close to death. Everything in him screamed for blood but he was too weak to move. Ben had practically drained him. Everything hurt and he was so very hungry.

As the two men approached, another heart beat joined theirs and it was growing steadily stronger. No… Shawn started to notice a tickle in the back of his mind. It matched the one that was already there and connected to Carlton. Whatever Ben did it worked, and the men returning would have no idea how much danger they were in.

Carlos had gone to see to Ben and Shawn could tell that Zack was checking him out. "Hhmmmm..." Shawn tried to speak but all that came out was a long groan.

Ben came around his front and asked him a question. Shawn's mind couldn't register the words. He just knew they had to get out, kidnappers or not, they didn't deserve what was coming. He struggled to get the word out and hoped they would listen. "Run…" Shawn's eyes fell closed again and he slumped forward too weak to stay awake any longer. Too tired to fight anymore.

After an exhausting search of the area around Shawn's car, Gus and Henry dragged Juliet back to Henry's house. She'd wanted to keep searching but they could tell she was getting tired. Running herself ragged at five months pregnant was not a good idea.

As appreciative as she was, it was getting frustrating for Juliet having to tell the men that she was okay every five minutes and deal with the fact that Henry still thought that Shawn had run off again.

"Guys, I'm fine." She said sadly as they arrived at the house. "Maybe you're right. I just need to rest." The whole day had been stressful and she had cried herself out within the first couple hours. Now she just felt numb and tired.

Maddie was waiting for them when they arrived. She enveloped Juliet in a big hug as she came to the door. There were tears in her eyes and Juliet saw how much she really did care about her son. "Oh sweetie I am so sorry." Maddie sobbed, keeping Juliet in a tight embrace. "I should have talked to him. This is all my fault." Apparently Maddie thought Shawn had left again too.

Juliet hugged her tightly back. "It's okay. He'll be fine." She repeated the words that everyone had been telling her all day, even if she had a hard time believing them. She knew it was dangerous for Shawn if he got captured as she believed he had. If people found out what he was, or if he became too hungry, it would be disastrous. She had to find him.

Henry and Gus hadn't gotten out of the car yet. Gus still had to get the Blueberry from the SBPD parking lot and needed Henry to drive him. "I'll be back in about a half hour." Henry called out to the women. He saw them nod and pulled back out of the driveway. The stress had taken its toll on Henry and Gus as well, both were at the end of their ropes. Henry was frustrated and Gus was feeling guilty.

Gus glanced at Henry and tried his luck, "Henry, we have to call Mick. He might be able to help..."

"I'm not calling Mick until we're sure. End of story. Tomorrow Shawn might come sauntering back wondering why we were all so worried. He's probably holed up right now feeling sorry for himself." Henry desperately needed to believe that, because the alternative was more than he could bear. Calling Mick was his last resort, not because they could use the help, but because it meant that someone had really taken his son. He didn't want to believe that. Not at all.

"You can live in denial all you want, but I'm calling Mick!" Gus started to take out his phone and Henry knocked it out of his hand.

"Just because you're feeling guilty doesn't mean you have to jump to conclusions Guster!" Henry shouted and gripped the wheel so hard his knuckles turned white.

Gus started open mouthed at Henry, "What is wrong with you? Are you so dense you're letting your pride stop you from contacting someone who can probably find Shawn in an hour?"

"You don't know what you're talking about." Henry grumbled.

Gus was sick of the charade, the longer they waited the more dangerous it became for Shawn and everyone around him. "Yes I do! I know Shawn well enough to know where he gets his temper. You're blaming yourself but you're avoiding the truth because you don't want it to be true. If he got caught or if he ran off it doesn't matter! He's your son and my best friend and we owe it to him to find him!"

Henry hung his head. Gus was right. He was acting just like Shawn, and with how much he'd scolded his son for the same thing... being too stubborn to see the big picture. "Okay Gus, call him." He relented.

Gus grabbed his phone and hit Mick's speed dial. It was answered on the second ring.

"St. John"

Gus glanced nervously at Henry, "Mick, it's Burton Guster- Shawn's friend. We have a problem... Shawn's missing."

"Zack!" Carlos screamed as Ben's eyes opened and his hand gripped his leg. "Get him off!" Zack sprang into action, ripping Carlos' leg out of the vampire's grip.

"LET GO!"

Ben released Carlos' ankle and they tumbled backwards as he sat up. He looked at his wrists, then quickly unwrapped his injured arm. All of them were healed. His broken nose didn't even hurt anymore. It was like he was a new man. Every sight, sound, and smell was overwhelming. "Wow..." He breathed out and stood up. Ben opened his mouth and felt his fangs. He laughed. "I can't believe it worked!" He looked over at his gang mates. They were scooting away from him in fear.

"Ben. What the hell did you do?" Zack looked back and forth from Ben to Shawn. No wonder the dude is in such rough shape.

"You can't believe how awesome this feels Zack... how-" He couldn't find the words to describe it. "-vampiric."

Carlos wasn't having it. It was bad enough knowing that vampires existed, but now that the craziest person he knew was one, it didn't take a genius to figure out how bad that was. "Zack, we need to go." He hissed through clenched teeth and pulled on his friend's arm.

Ben's eyes settled on Carlos and narrowed. He sniffed and a smell he'd never experienced was wafting around the area. He moved closer to the two men. "What's that smell?"

Zack held out a hand. "Back off Ben. We don't know what that shit has done to you. We need to talk to him." Zack pointed at Shawn.

Ben glared. I'm a fricken GOD now and they still want to talk to him. "You know what. I think we've gotten all we need out of the guy. Don't you think?" Zack moved over to where he'd set the stake.

"No! What are you doing!?" Carlos jumped forward and tried to stop him. Shawn was the only one who could tell them what the hell was going on, and maybe take out Ben if need be. Carlos grabbed Ben's arm and tried prying the stake out of it.

"Get off!" Ben yelled and swung his arm back, connecting with Carlos' midsection and sent him flying back twenty feet into a pile of loot. Clothes and various other items fell down around him.

Zack ran over to make sure Carlos was okay. Where the hell is Adam? Carlos wasn't seriously hurt, only dazed, and they really needed to get out of there. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Ben raise the stake and plunge it straight into Shawn. "Oh Shit! Get up man!" He grabbed Carlos under the arms and pulled him towards the exit.

Shawn's eyes popped open for a moment in surprise and he went stark still, slumping over in the chair. "Wow, that actually works."

Ben knew he'd have to remember that. He turned towards the door where Ben and Carlos had ran. He could still hear their footfalls as they fled. He paused, he wasn't usually very introspective but the situation seemed to call for it. They were really the only family he had, not that it mattered to him much. He only tolerated them for the fact that there was safety in numbers. Well, there was still safety in numbers, and he figured they just needed to realize how much more they could do if they were like him. Theft was just the start, as a group of vampires... they'd be unstoppable.

Grinning widely he followed his senses and tore off after the fleeing humans. They'd see it his way, when they were more like him. Besides, He thought smugly, I'm hungry...

Mick St. John, had his arm around his girlfriend Beth and was watching a pretty romantic movie when his phone rang.. He grabbed it quickly when he saw who it was. Shawn's friend Gus. He only ever called if it was an emergency, unlike Shawn's father who called whenever he needed advice on issues that came up with his son. He was happy to oblige the elder Spencer and found it touching how much he seemed to care about Shawn. "Sorry, give me a minute." He apologized to Beth before walking out of the room for some privacy.

"St. John." He answered.

"Mick, it's Burton Guster- Shawn's friend." He said as if Mick didn't know who he was. "We have a problem... Shawn's missing."

Mick's brow wrinkled in worry. "What do you mean missing? How long?"

Despite his try for privacy, Beth peeked her head around the corner and mouthed. "Shawn's missing?" Mick held up a hand.

"About twenty-four hours. He was investigating a bunch of thieves. He went alone and we haven't heard from him since. We found his car this morning but we weren't able to find anyone that saw which way he went."

"Great." Mick ran a hand through his hair. "What about Lassiter, has he been able to sniff him out?"

"No. He's been acting crazy all day. Even for him."

Mick understood. Sires and fledglings tended to have a symbiotic relationship. Fledglings needed sires to survive and sires often needed the eternal companionship that their fledglings provided. Not to mention it was instinct to protect each other. Sometimes that relationship goes sour though, and you get the explosion that happened between him and his ex-wife Coraline. It didn't happen often, but when it did, it was bad.

"Do you need me to come help?" His eyes rose sadly to Beth, knowing she'd understand but feeling guilty nonetheless.

"I think so, Juliet is worried, and I don't think he would just leave her, especially now. Something had to have happened."

His phone beeped at him. Another call was coming through. "Hold on one second." He told Gus and pressed the button to switch calls. "St. John."

"St. John, it's Lassiter. Something happened... and I need your help."

Ten Minutes Earlier:

Carlton fumed as he sat his desk. He'd gone home, on the chief's orders but he'd brought some of his more mundane paperwork home with him, needing a break from the search for Shawn. Carlton slammed his fist down hard on the desk, if it hadn't been solid oak he swore it would have broken the thing in two.

He'd sniffed around for hours after sending an exhausted Juliet home with Henry and Gus. He still came up with nothing. He wasn't the best tracker in the world, a lot of the different smells he was still learning, and picking out one from the hundreds of people on the campus was neigh impossible. He wondered how blood hounds did it so well.

He'd tried to send Shawn a few more messages, but gave that up, not really thinking anything was getting through anyway. Looking at the clock he saw it was about 6pm. "Damn it." He cursed and put his head down. He needed blood. He'd been in the sun almost all day and he was feeling like crap warmed over.

Heading to the fridge he grabbed a bag and started to tear it open when he felt what amounted to a thousand bolts of electricity shooting through his body. "Ahhh!" He dropped the bag of blood, splattering it all over his linoleum and his socks. He lurched forward and grabbed the counter to steady himself. It hadn't exactly been painful, but it was the weirdest thing he'd ever felt, and it was powerful. The feeling passed quickly but he was left panting and clutching the counter top.

"What in the name of sweet justice was that?!" He yelled to his empty condo. Banging on the wall signaled someone in the next apartment had heard him and wasn't appreciative of the noise. At that moment he didn't care. "SHUT IT!" He hollered and the banging stopped.

Ignoring the spilled blood he pulled out his cell phone and called the one person he knew would know what happened. It had something to do with his connection to Shawn, that he was sure of, but what did it mean? Is he dead? Did that mean he died? Panic set in, but he didn't want to call Henry or Juliet. It would just make them worry more. There was really only one other person to ask.

It took him a few times to dial the number with his shaking hands. He knew he should have taken Shawn's advice and just put the damn number on speed dial.

A few rings later Mick answered, "St. John."

"St. John, it's Lassiter. Something happened... and I need your help." Asking for help was always hard for him to admit, but with what just happened, he was willing to try.

"Could you hold on a second, I have Gus on the other line."

"Guster?" Apparently the pharmaceutical salesman caved and called for help as well.

"Yeah, one second." The two minutes Mick made him wait seemed like an eternity. Carlton was a bit testy by the time he came back on the line. "Okay, what happened?"

"I think something happened to Spencer. I felt a- well it was like a jolt. Straight through my body." Carlton hoped he wasn't going crazy. Every day as a vampire was like spinning a wheel of weird. He constantly wondered what kind of twisted crap was going to happen to him next... mostly because of Shawn.

"I have no idea what could cause that." Carlton heard him sigh, "Gus asked for my help. I'll be at Henry's in a couple hours, call me if anything else happens."

"You'll be the first to know." Carlton hung up and rubbed his hands over his face. It was going to be another long night.

Adam ended up finding Sam at a bar close to the storage yard. He'd most likely been there for a while and he was stone drunk. Adam lifted him under the arms and paid for his drinks. The smaller man had mentioned something about people getting in his head, but he was hard to understand and it had taken more than a little muscle to practically carry him back. He hoped that Zack and Carlos had the situation under control.

It wasn't like Adam really liked Ben all that much, but he'd been a part of the group and he'd known him for years. At least I won't have to punch him in the face anymore. He always felt bad, but he knew that Zack was right about it being the only way to keep Ben from murdering half the state, including them.

Sam found his legs once they got back to their building and went in first. Adam tried to stop him, Sam had always had a weak stomach and he hadn't gotten the chance to tell him about Ben yet. Not that he'd remember with how drunk he was.

"Don't Sam..." Adam started but paused as he found the ground in front of Shawn empty, and Zack and Carlos were nowhere to be found.

"Whoa!" Sam drunkenly slurred staggering forward. He'd noticed the piece of wood sticking out of Shawn's chest.

Adam came closer and gaped. The only conclusion he could come to was Zack or Carlos killed Shawn for what he did to Ben and were currently getting rid of Ben's body. He made the sign of the cross over Shawn and turned his back. He'd had enough gore for one day.

Sam however, didn't move. He pushed Shawn's body with a fist. "Not going to read my mind anytime soon eh?" He chuckled and grabbed the stake, pulling it out with as much effort as he could muster. He turned to Adam and waved the stake, "Hey. Hey we should... keep this for a souvenir."

Curling his lip in disgust Adam was about to yell at him for messing around with a dead body when he froze in terror. Shawn's head was slowly rising, his eyes blazing silvery white. Adam had gotten to see Shawn vamped out before, but there always seemed to be a spark of something there. It was gone now. What was left in it's place would put Ben's thousand-yard psycho stare to shame. It was the scariest thing Adam had seen in his entire life.

Sam didn't notice and kept making smart-aleck comments. "We should have taken some pictures when he was alive, kept um as proof... ya know?"

A loud snapping and popping sound made Adam jump and Sam spin drunkenly around. Shawn had ripped his hand out of his bindings, dislocating it and breaking more than one finger in the process. Shawn, who seemed completely oblivious that he'd almost just torn his hand off, roared and grabbed the front of Sam's shirt, pulling him down towards his sharp teeth.

Sam shrieked loudly, but it was cut off as Shawn bit down hard on his jugular. Arterial spray splashed his face and splattered the area before Shawn could swallow the first gulp.

"NO!" Adam yelled and pounced on Sam, trying to rip him out of Shawn's steely grasp. It was no use, Shawn was latched onto him too tight and Adam's attempt at tearing Sam away had only made the wound worse.

Shawn growled and held on tighter, like a predator guarding his kill. Sam went limp and Adam backed up quickly, not wanting to get grabbed himself. A couple seconds later Shawn dropped Sam to the floor with a sickening thud.

All the cuts Ben had left healed as well as his dislocated arm and wrist with another sickening series of pops. His eyes, however, stayed glaring and dangerous... locked right on his next victim. Right on Adam.

END NOTES: Oh yeah. He broke. I've been waiting to get to his chapter for a while. I have always wanted to do a truly feral Shawn. I've touched on it before but this is the big one.

I know it's only been a day in the story, and it may seem like Shawn went crazy really fast, but I really want to get across just how hard and how much willpower it takes for a vampire from Moonlight to stay sane. They can still be themselves yes, but they can lose it on a dime... let alone getting almost Buffalo Billed by a crazy person.

More fun to come!