As soon she heard the the building door slam, Eli took a quick look out herself. What she could see did not match her expectation at all. She wouldn't have been surprised if Jack were muscular or huge or heavily tattooed or if his skin were as dark as her own. But no, the man she saw standing outside by the bins was well dressed, pale, and he couldn't have been more than half a foot taller than Eli. She was pondering whether or not he was really the infamous Jack, when she heard a shout. She looked back out the window, keeping her head low. Two men had seemingly come out of nowhere and flanked Adrian. He started to back away, but Jack must have said something because all of a sudden he stopped. He hung his head despondently and trudged along behind Jack as they began to walk off.

Eli's heart was in her throat. She didn't know what was happening but it couldn't be good. She couldn't go out at night. Adrian was in trouble. Everything that she'd gained in the past year could be at risk. She had to fight against her every instinct, all that she'd learned- keep your head down, don't get involved- but she followed.

They continued for nearly a mile, Eli staying at least two blocks behind the whole time, till they reached it. The building was unfinished, abandoned for years now and starting to fall apart. It was supposed to have been an office building, or maybe a nice warehouse, but it hardly mattered now. Construction equipment littered the floor, though anything valuable had been lifted long ago. They had marched right in and gone up to what remained of second floor. She crept up after them, there were plenty of nooks and crannies where she could listen without being seen.

Eli hid in the walls trying to catch what they were saying. It wasn't hard, Jack's voice had a casual way of carrying that stood out in stark contrast to his attitude.

"Now then, you're probably wondering what I've called you here for," Adrian struggled against his captors. Like he'd had a choice.

"Well, recently I'd heard the most interesting news from Freddy here. He told me that you've been skipping out on your deliveries." Adrian froze, yet Jack continued on like nothing had changed. "But when I went around asking, it seemed like everyone was still getting theirs. So I sent Freddy around to check things out. You didn't go out at all that night or the night before, yet everyone still got their pick-me-ups. Now why do you suppose that is?" Not quite a rhetorical question, he was waiting for Adrian's reply.

"I, I-I-I-I-" Jack rolled his eyes. "I've got someone else to do them." Adrian finally spit out. "I give 'em the addresses and they bring everything 'round. You don't have to worry about them skimping any off the-."

"Oh I'm not." He said with a sly smile. "I'm much more interested in how they managed to stay out of the sun." This was rhetorical, Jack already knew the answer and the problems it would cause. "I am curious though, how much of a cut were you giving them?"

Adrian couldn't bring himself to meet Jack's eyes. "Fifteen percent."

Fifteen percent?! What Eli got was only fifteen percent of the money Jack gave to Adrian? She would have been mad if she weren't already so scared.

"Really now." A bit of edge had started to creep into his voice. "You have a human willing to work for that." He scoffed. "I can't imagine it, not unless they were desperate or homeless, or both. And here I thought you had better judgement than to pick up someone like that, but then I think you're judgement has been off for quite a while now." He nodded to Freddy who picked up a long metal rod from the ground. Eli didn't dare breathe. Her heart was already pounding loudly in her ears. There was nothing she could do. They were going to kill Adrian and there was nothing she could do.

"Oh Adrian, I gave you one job, one simple, little job. But it looks like you've become too much of a coward to do even that." Freddy stabbed him. Adrian screamed in pain but did not turn to dust. He was impaled, the bar driven through his stomach and into the wall. Jack crossed his arms, appraising his work. "Looks good. I'm thinking this'll serve as a lesson to anyone else who tries to jerk me around."

Eli exhaled, this wasn't the worst they could have done- they could've just staked him. Maybe she could wait till they left and try to pull the bar out. Maybe even between her and Adrian it would work. She hadn't been paying attention to what they were saying while her brain mulled this over, that is, until Jack started to walk away. Eli snapped to attention, he had come dangerously close to her hiding spot. She held her breath. "...And I suppose you might even enjoy getting to see the sun one more time. You know, before you're burned alive." He nodded and Freddy, Ezekiel and Ryker followed. He was almost to the door.

But then he paused and turned around as though he'd forgotten something, some witty remark no doubt. "And one more thing-" His hand shot out, breaking through the plywood, so fast that Eli didn't have time to understand. She could only choke weakly as he gripped her throat and pulled her out of the wall.

"Eli…" Adrian murmured.

"I think it's only fitting that we wrap things up with your little accomplice as well, hmm? So that it doesn't go looking for anyone to scam." He smiled at her. Then he leaned down and bit her neck.

Adrian watched as she convulsed for a few seconds then went still, as Jack drained her. He dropped her onto the ground like a piece of garbage. Adrian hadn't even thought about her this whole time and yet she'd followed them all the way here, she'd hid and waited, she'd bided her time. And now she was dead. He could feel no guilt, it wasn't in their nature, but perhaps a twinge of grief. He'd gotten her into this after all. Even if it was her own decision to tag along- her own stupid decision. What could she have even done?

Jack wiped of his mouth, grinning a sly smile. Without another word he walked out, his cronies following. Adrian waited till he could no longer hear their footsteps, then frantically began to pull at the rebar stuck through his stomach. It wouldn't budge. Within minutes hands were shaking and covered in his own blood, which didn't help when trying to get a grip on the damn thing. If he were human he would have passed out by now- maybe that would have been preferable- but then if he were human, he wouldn't have had a time limit.

He wiped his hands on his pants and extended his hands to pull further down the bar. Nothing. He was pinned like a butterfly in a glass display. The shaking started to spread through his whole body, rattling through him uncontrollably. He was going to die here, slowly roasted alive. Already dawn approached, as though time were passing quicker just for him. The sun hadn't even risen yet and he felt like he was on fire.

It was Vietnam all over again. Or was it that night in the warehouse? He couldn't remember. The two events seemed to mesh together, even though they were nearly twenty years apart. Nearly thirty drums of gasoline- a weighty sum, and all it took was one spark to destroy him, to remind him of what he was. A failed soldier. A coward. Mortal. Heightened strength and speed could do nothing in the face of the flame. He'd spent the last ten years running, and yet here he was again.

Colors began to blur together as light crept into the building. He could hear something moving on the edge of his consciousness, but it didn't matter anymore. Then, the fever overtook him.