Never appear to be human. If God or Christ or even the man who came to be known as Buddha were seen as mortal and plain human beings, their names would not be known today for humans would never follow a simple mortal so much like themselves. Immortal, heavenly, enlightened, anything but what is common. The Mandate of Heaven, the Chinese emperors of the past; the pharaoh who was seen as a god himself; they are rulers that had almost an infinite amount of power because they were above humanity, idols, gods, something that could be followed just as billions of humans follow a god in their present religion. Kings and queens with royal blood, more than the typical human. Even the presidents, human but elite in some manner. Though the presidents are weak compared to the rulers of old, those who could wage wars, religious crusades, genocides with a roaring following marching in their name. Those that were believed to be more than human, were the most powerful men in history.

Walter C. Dracula rarely, if ever, appeared to be human before his subjects. He could wear masks, weave spells that made others believe that he was common so as to blend in with society, a ghost in the underworld of criminals. That's what his followers believed. Walter was feared, admired, idolized, even worshipped. If he asked for quiet in the midst of a blazing battle, the dying would stop praying, the crippled would stop screaming, the frightened would stop weeping, and even the remaining bullet casings that fell from the air would not make a sound as they hit the ground. Walter was god. Jake's father and other elite men who could not easily blend into a crowd, served as leaders below him. A younger group, Junior Leaders, mirroring the elite men, led the younger members. There was a treasurer in charge of money laundering and keeping track of profits, a man in charge of arms trafficking, another in charge of drug trafficking, another in charge of recruiting and social relations between the leaders and the other members, another in charge of keeping political influence and leverage on the law with information that could persuade legal officials, judges, and juries to look the other way, another for gathering intelligence pertaining to whatever was of interest, etc; and all of these men had members of descending rank below them that they could give orders to.

More than an average gang, Walter C. Dracula ruled over a government, an empire. His blood, the blood of a manifested god, was supernatural. The only individual to share a part of it was his nephew, a demonic being with white skin, flaming crimson eyes, and a way of fighting that was inhuman, beastlike, and terrifying. The demon did not cry out even once when he had been beaten in the parking garage. When looked down upon afterwards, there was an account that the teen had smirked with his hellish eyes swirling with fire from another world, blood painting his white skin red as it ran from a scrape on his forehead. There were even rumors that once a woman had seen the man's nephew on a dark street and she had given a cry and then died, clutching her heart. The blood of Dracula was the blood of a creature that had no share with humanity.

Those that could recall Vladimir Alucard Dracula as an elementary school and middle school student had lost the image of the boy in his younger days only to see what he was now. But, unlike Walter, they had never seen the boy make a grown man scream in fear and beg for mercy in the form of a swift death. Unlike Walter, Jake, a Junior Leader, and Jake's father, a Senior Leader who oversaw arms distribution and trafficking, knew that Vladimir was not a god. But, he was not a normal human, for unlike the Angel of Death, Hell Dog did not look like a human, the genetic mutations that altered his body changed his physical capabilities. Yes, the youth was a mutated lamb that could be seen to grow claws and fangs with which he would devour and slaughter the normal, helpless lambs around him. Even a child with flaring scarlet in his eyes and blood smeared over his face, dyeing his bared teeth red…even as a child, only a mutated lamb of an innocent nature, he could imprint nightmares in a mind. For everything that came to pass between Jake and Vlad, the pale teen was forever isolated in Jake's mind as being perpetually different

But from afar, any man may denounce a god. Walter was removed. Vladimir seemed to be growing more scarce, seen less of, heard less of, no orders from him to direct the others. Godly rulers in far away castles were absent in the minds of serfs, knights, and feudal lords. But when they are to be present, these rulers must not live among the common. They must be mysterious, able to disappear and make themselves known when they desired, ghosts in the underworld, chained to no single dimension.

A people without a god, a kingdom without their king, a government and country without their leader; who do they turn to when they lose their grasp on a rope leading them through the darkness?

They may find a relic to stand in the place of their god.

*~*~::..+..::*~*

It was quiet, the low hum of the motor sending the car down the road. The sky was dark with mountainous clouds climbing over the horizon, outreaching the trees. Highlighted by the moon, the curves and shapes of these clouds were whitened to a ghostly pearl that would seem to shimmer if observed from the starry night above them, but for the rain and the closeness of the clouds that blocked out the moon, the Earth could not view the effect of the moonlight. Any magnificence possessed by the clouds was blurred as cascades of angered water fell upon the windshield, a continuous flow of rain being parted and pushed aside by the windshield wipers, acting as the prophet Moses to allow the driver to see the road and direct their journey with less risk. Jake watched the road, oblivious to the black shapes that swiped through his vision, up and down and up and down, again and again and again, a beat that fought and coaxed the water running over the glass. Vlad's eyes were turned to his side window where the darkness gave him a shadowed reflection of himself and the driver, but he was looking through these false images to see past the rain that dribbled down the glass, seeing the darkness of the storm. He wondered if there would be a crack of piercing lightning that would illuminate the sky. But besides the darkness and the wind, the heavens were without an image or a voice.

Brown eyes caught a side glimpse of the teen with the storm beyond him, and then sought the road with the line of yellow reflectors that split the asphalt path down the middle. Restlessness came again to worry his fingers, shifting them over the taut leather of the steering wheel. His teeth were clamped together, his expression made plain as the stiff muscles were limited in what else they could produce, focused on keeping his jaw shut. The man blinked, his brow jumping and his jaw relaxing all at once. Jake let himself take a breath, preparing to confront the 'thing' that had erased the frustration Vlad had inspired. His eyes closed, for as long as they dared, and then opened to view the road with the yellow line of reflectors ahead. How should he begin? Another moment was wasted on this thought. He could say nothing…just surprise the kid, but he should tell him. It looked bad on his part not to tell. It would make it worse…so he would have to say something. Jake exhaled slowly and saw the yellow reflectors in his vision. "We're going to my place."

Vlad sat up a bit in his seat, his neck turning so that red could peer at Jake in the dimness of the car. There was a pause. "You need to get something?" The teen blinked and then shrugged, turning back to his window to watch the darkness. "I don't mind. You can drop me off after whatever you need to do." Basically, I'm just enjoying the fact that you're not chewing my ass off right now, Jack-bean. You're not mad at all… Questioning red flicked to Jake now as Vlad finally passed his thankfulness and registered the oddness of the quiet in the car, Jake's calmness. He watched the man and noticed when Jake glanced at him and then looked away quickly, not expecting Vlad's gaze. The man's face was blank. The quiet and dimly pulsing foreboding weren't out of place given the circumstances. Was he tired? Vlad felt his own fatigue settle as lead in his limbs. It had been a long day… His eyes had slowly resumed their search through the night while quiet had persisted for over a minute. Now it came to an end and Vlad's attention forsook the window when Jake's low tenor was heard over the hum of the car and the patter of the rain.

"We're not going to your place."

The teen stared at the man that was not nearly as much of a giant in the car as he was out of its confines, where he could tower above the little people. In here, he was above Vlad, but here, he did not tower. Vlad's mouth opened. It took two tries before he succeeded in speaking through a frown while his brow furrowed, unable to make sense of his friend at the moment. It has to be my fault. Can't let the Andersons know where I am now…maybe… "Why not?"

Jake focused on the yellow reflectors that rose up out of the black path when his headlights touched them, slowing to make a turn onto a branching road. He spoke while the car maneuvered through the twists in this new winding path. "You're gonna be staying at my place tonight… You're stuff's at my place."

Vlad's stare grew and he was close to gawking at Jake as he heard him speak "Why? -Why, I mean…yeah. Why would my stuff be at your place? Why do I have to stay there?" Vlad's eyes moved without a purpose when he turned away from Jake, facing forward, seeing nothing as his mind struggled to grasp what could have happened. Maybe he had fallen asleep and this all was a dream. He would wake up at Anderson's house, or in the hospital sitting with his uncle, or even back at his uncle's old place…where the man would shake him awake and scowl like always. Vlad's stunned mind wandered and Jake took a slow breath beside him.

"You got thrown out… Or you would've… It would've been trouble."

The boy was dumbfounded, watching Jake in an uncomprehending way, similar to the look a rabbit has when it jumps out of the wilderness and is caught by the fierce blazing, headlights of a truck that soon reduces the said rabbit to splattered guts and a tattered pelt strewn across the street. Vlad gaped at Jake and then looked around as he reached for a place to put his horror, finally finding his lap while his hands went to his cold, shocked cheeks. "Why the hell?" He breathed the airy words, missing the grimace that shot through Jake's features as he was consumed by his own misfortune. He blinked owlishly at his sweatshirt's pocket. Should he have put the presents or the container on his lap instead of in the back seat, he would have had something more to look at instead of his worn clothes. He blinked again and then jerked up hesitantly before peering at Jake from an off angle that was uncomfortable, but at the moment he could not fully straighten. "Why? Was I evicted? I-I was going to pay for the rest of the month. H-he knew that! That tiny bastard knew that I was going to pay him! Did he say why I was getting thrown out? Or-?"

Jake cut him off with a tired heave of a sigh. "You should've been there, Hell Dog. And you shouldn't have been at their house!" Anger strengthened the deep voice, sending a rolling growl through it. "Why would you go with them after- after all that? I mean, god! You can't be taught anything the first time, can you?" Jake threw a glare at Vlad but didn't see the boy's startled expression when he looked away again to scowl at the road, his voice rising to echo amongst the mountainous clouds. "WHY WOULD YOU GO WITH THEM AGAIN, ALUCARD?"

"STOP YELLING!" The ringing voices clashed within the trapped interior of the car, Vlad taking a deep, long breath as he watched Jake warily for signs of another outburst. When his lungs had been filled and nothing else was said, relief let out the teen's sigh. Pale lips tightened with the bright crimson eyes above them, watching Jake. "They came to me and took me with them. I told them to go away…but do you actually think what I say would matter to the Chief? Every time I go to their house, it's not my idea."

Jake looked at Vlad, his blank face asking what he did not say aloud.

Vlad lifted his hands, moving them as if physically placing down each sentence before him. "The first time, Anderson got me in his car and took me to his house, basically kidnapping me. The second time-"

"How many times have you been to their house?"

Vlad frowned with an irritated grit of the teeth. "Just listen. Okay. The second time, the Chief picked me up on the side of the road, walking home when it was pouring, and she kidnapped me, didn't even tell me she was taking me to her house, and I stayed the night there and Anderson drove me to school and then back to his house because my clothes had been washed there and they weren't dry in the morning…then, well." Vlad looked at the sweeping windshield wipers as he consented to tell more than had been asked for. He sighed and swallowed any anxiety he had. "He took me to some police holiday thing, a party at…" He chuckled, causing Jake to glance at him. "…at the fucking police station, the offices, not the jail. But, I mean, how goddamn stupid is that dumbass? I was pissed when he pulled up in front of it, but when the Chief came out, it all didn't turn out so bad. Then Anderson drove me home. The next time I saw them was when I was…er uh…trying to get that grocery job, and they came by to get eggnog or something. Then Anderson and his sister saw me another time just out and about and then they came back to see me again or something…and that's when they ran into you." The two looked at each other and then Jake shifted his eyes back to the road and Vlad's gaze unfocused, drifting towards the windshield. "After that… There was the fight, and the time I went to their house and everyone found out… The cops got me, that time… I went up the wall like usual but I guess cuz I was sick that… Well, I kinda passed out on the roof and the cops came and carried me down and I woke up and the Chief told me…that I wasn't going to get in any trouble but I had to go to her house and stay the night again to eat some food and rest. …but all that and then today when they came and got me again, is it. Nothing else except Anderson and I go to the same school, are in the same grade, and have art class first period together. And…I…bit the Chief that one time."

Jake's mouth opened and he stared mutely at the road, his memory reviving. "I forgot about that…" He glanced at Vlad questioningly with a sense of caution. "Does she know it was-?" He stopped when he saw that Vlad was already nodding, but then the teen's lips twitched into a dark smirk at the window.

"She recognized me without even having to see my face. Guess she's never run into someone as freakin' bleach white as me… Well, shit, other than freaken Michael Jackson. But that guy gives me the creeps. Good artist, but way creepy." Vlad shuddered, shutting his eyes and shaking the image from his head while Jake's mood eased into a state of numb annoyance as he saw that the boy was slipping off into his own world again. Vlad looked at Jake with a deep frown. "That guy's dead right?"

"Yeah." The man sighed, tiredly, blinking slowly as he followed the endless road. Light from buildings were beginning to congeal and clog the night with an electric glow.

"He makes me look bad." Vlad declared to the dashboard, willing to cast aside all talk about the Andersons, but a pain stabbed at him that forced him to clear up what he had said, reluctantly. "Yeah…but Jake, you know, well, I know it's still my fault, going with them and everything. And I'm sorry…again…for everything. I ruined your Christmas."

Jake closed with eyes with a sigh and then watched the road drearily. "You didn't ruin my Christmas."

"Yes I did, Jake." Vlad responded with an irritated twinge in his voice, glaring at the road as his arm landed on the ridge before the window on his door. "I ruined fuckin' Christmas, for everybody. I did, so shut up or I'll start calling you Jack-bean like I should."

"Call me that and you're sleeping outside, you little punk."

Vlad was quiet, his head turning to his side window where his eyes glimpsed his bruised face in the mirror with a passing flash of light from a building's window. "So, why was I kicked out? Can't be because I was at Anderson's…if it was that, I don't get why that bastard would get pissy about it."

Now it was Jake's turn to be quiet as he saw the sidewalk where his car was slowly preparing to park as his hands steered it mechanically. "I went to check up on you…" He felt Vlad watch him while he spoke, just pulling up to the sidewalk. He parked, leaving the engine running and his hands on the wheel. "And…the midget and I had a…confrontation."

Vlad stared, his throat jerking with a laugh at the reference before he let a cough/laugh come even after Jake's full confession. Jake stared at him dully, as if resenting Vlad's ability to brush this off as being nothing. Vlad laughed again, a short burst of humor that evened into a chuckle. "The midget and you had a confrontation…? Oh, that's beautiful, Jack-bean. You smashed my landlord into itty bitty pieces. You're a bona fide genius."

"Shut up, Alucard." The giant cut back, not willing to tolerate the teen's tone. He ripped his keys from the ignition and Vlad got out of the car and went to the back seat to gather the stacked gifts, shutting the door when Jake was standing in the street. The man shut his door and moved around the front of the car, growling through a scowl when he heard Vlad's chuckles of disbelief. Keys jangled together when Jake pointed at the sidewalk, glaring at Vlad's smirk. "Shut up or freeze your ass off. Your pick."

"I'm shutting up." Vlad nodded once, sighing with his smirk and then following Jake up the steps as the giant prepared to unlock his door. He stood behind the giant while the unlocking commenced. "So, is he dead?"

Jake glowered at the door, pushing it open roughly and then wrenching his keys out. "No." He shot back without looking for his target, stomping into the corridor and then tossing his keys on the counter in his kitchen. He split off to his room, leaving Vlad at the door with the duty of shutting and locking it. The teen set his tower of gifts on the tiles in order to do so. He took them up again and went to the mouth of the hall that led to Jake's room, finding it to be rather dark with the light turned off and the giant's door closed. Vlad passed it, flipping on the light for the living room area with his elbow before trudging over the carpet to plop himself down on the couch that he would call his bed for the night. Peering around the room without finding anything changed told Vlad where his uncle's possessions were, but he ignored the door he could see parallel to the couch he was sitting on, fixed to the wall behind the piece of furniture, and focused down at the gifts instead. Vlad took the plastic container from the top of the pillar on his lap, and lifted it above his eyes to check what food the Chief had given him. Bread stuff…good. A smile played with his lips as he set the container with the pink lid on the couch cushion beside him and grasped his first wrapped box, the smallest, tallest one. His thin fingers slipped through the crevices, peeling the tape from the wrapping paper so that he could remove it without damaging the paper. He was left with a shoe-box which naturally contained a new pair of black sneakers inside. A grin occupied Vlad's face now as he examined the shoes, taking them out from the folds of tissue paper that was packed around them. He put the shoes away and closed the box, folding up the wrapping paper and slipping it neatly inside before moving on to his next gift. A new black jacket with a soft, wooly interior. Thank God it was black. He could wear it, Vlad sighed with relief, setting it aside after providing the gift with an adequate amount of attention. The last box, when opened, revealed a new pair of jeans with a package of white socks keeping them company. Vlad was tossing the bag of socks in the air, just for the hell of it, when he heard Jake leave his room and come to investigate what the teen had been up to. When Jake's form appeared, it flinched, catching the package of socks when the bag was thrown at him. He stared at it, bringing it to his face. His eyes darkened a little, but he let it pass only to leave a frown behind. Vlad grinned at him despite this, taking it as a response to having had the socks thrown at him. Jake leaned forward and then walked towards the couch. "They got you clothes." He stated, looking at the boxes that declared this. Vlad nodded, also looking at the gifts.

"Pants, socks, jacket, and…black shoes."

Damn. Jake juggled the package of socks slowly, from one giant hand to the other, seeing the boxes. They got him everything, just about. The bag switched hands and then popped as a strong fist clasped it. Vlad started at the blast of sound and looked at Jake, but decided to pretend that he hadn't noticed. Jake did stuff like that without meaning too once in a while. It was nicer to not bring attention to it. Vlad's thoughts stopped as he saw a sock drop out of the bag to become a withered heap on the floor. The teen stared at it, his face expressionless though his eyes were slightly rounded. The guts were spilling out… Okay. Jake was mad. He was definitely mad. Vlad jerked to the side, seeing the bag that had been thrown hit the back of the couch and bounce to land on the seat cushions. Jake then turned away and went to the door Vlad had ignored before. It opened to reveal a humble closet with another door at its back wall. Jake stepped through the closet and grasped the handle of the next door, turning it before the well oiled hinges of the door moved soundlessly. Vlad felt his fatigue rush over him when he closed his eyes, wishing to escape to a better moment in his life.

*~*~::..+..::~*~*

Vlad's mind drifted. Space became more distant and then compact…

…

…

Jake stopped as he heard the sudden intrusion of his ringtone vibrating and chiming away in his pocket. He shut the door and stepped backwards out of the closet, pulling out the phone and flipping it open. Vlad watched quietly as the phone went to Jake's ear, and then looked down at the bag of socks he held in his hands.

"Hello?"

The caller was a mystery. No contacts in his cell phone, as was the rule for someone of his ranking. No iPhones so that the tracked history of where the phone has been would not be able to be used against them in court. No contacts, if the phone was lost or stolen, there should not be a bank of names and numbers and a labeled caller history along with messages that could be exploited by either a rival gang or the police. The phones were modified to not store any information. Memorization was needed in response. But this left the owner of the cell phone ignorant of the caller whose identity could own a certain level of importance that would dissuade the phone user from ignoring the call.

The distraught voice poured from the speaker, freezing the giant in place and widening his eyes. Vlad sensed the change in atmosphere and was left with nothing more to do other than stare at Jake, watching his brown eyes become black, as if a drop of ink had fallen into a container of shallow water, dispersing and altering the shade of the liquid, making it hostile in appearance. The giant said nothing for a long time, listening to the phone, to the voice Vlad could not hear.

"Don't let anyone do anything stupid. Do nothing for now until things get settled out and we can understand exactly what the hell is going on. Got it? Nothing. Let guys know, in case they mean to do it more than once-"

Jake's jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed, more ink bleeding into them. Red observed the reaction warily. The teen felt removed from the room at the moment, as unreal as a movie playing out on a screen, he was detached but fixed in place to see every action that would occur.

"Like I said, don't let anyone do something stupid. Call 'em, tell 'em to keep an eye out or get to their houses. Nothing else. Don't let them get it in their heads to start trouble if they see one of the bastards somewhere. That'd just make this-" Jake growled when he was interrupted, and his voice cut back at the speaker sharply. "Fuck! I know! No guns! We get guns and start shooting, they get their guns, and tonight's not a night where people are going to have the best- No. Rain, nobody knowing anything, it'll be a bloody mess, and the younger brats will probably get the wrong people. No trigger happy son of a bitches running wild out in the rain! Call them! Tell them to not do anything stupid. That's that. I'll call you if anything changes. …Too many of them don't know how to handle this. They don't know any better than to do something stupid, alright? Shit. Yeah, I'm sorry…I know it sucks, but it's the smart thing to do right now, unless be want to screw things up even more."

The phone snapped closed suddenly, Vlad flinching at the sound and then watching mutely as Jake strode into the closet and opened a door. He was gone for a few moments, too few sounds drifting from the closet to tell Vlad what Jake was doing, but the teen could guess. Vlad sat slouched into the couch, a mindless gaze resting on the carpeted floor. Numbed hands could not feel the forgotten bag of socks for a time, but feeling returned when the pale fingers twitched and found themselves restricted by the plastic that wished to hold onto his skin. Then his eyes gazed down at the bag, a hand slowly tilting it to the side until it rolled from his hand to hit the couch softly. Without the bag in his hands, Vlad waited for Jake to emerge from the closet, dull eyes lifting up to view the wall and part of the desk that was occupied by a computer. It was quiet except for the occasional sounds that made their way through the closet doors and reached Vlad's ears. He heard the giant's heavy steps returning, and Vlad closed his eyes so that he would not have to see what Jake brought with him from the place beyond his closet doors.

…

…

"Last night, a shooting occurred on D- Street at 11:05 p.m. Police say that a total of fifteen people, most under the age of 21, all of which had been drinking, were injured by bullets that shattered the windows of a residential house. The victims and neighbors have reportedly claimed to have heard what appeared to be repetitive shots of a semi-automatic weapon, too many to have been counted, possibly from more than one gun, and the sound of a car speeding away from the scene. All of those who could have served at witnesses, those who were not inside at the time of the shooting, were killed. Six individuals outside the house that had been the target of the shooting, were shot and killed. One man who was standing by his car in front of his house was also killed. Three juveniles that received no injuries are now in police custody for traces of illegal drugs or alcohol. Gang police say that this tragic crime was most likely the result of rival gang activity, as many of the victims have been identified as belonging to a street gang that exists in that area. They also believe that more shootings in retaliation will be expected should the police fail to-"

Anderson's eyes reflected the light of the television screen, staring at it emptily as the images changed, some showing photographs taken of the crime scene, displaying blood stains on an unkept yellow and green lawn, and red pools left on the sun bleached sidewalk. Yellow tape fluttered in the wind, visible trees rustling around what appeared to be a home that before the shooting had looked like any of the other houses in the area. Excited neighbors were interviewed.

"I heard the 'dun dun dun dun dun dun dun' of the gun just going off for forever! Just 'powpowpow', one right after the other, and it sounded like more than one person was shooting. But I remember the yelling and the gun just being louder than them. Then curses and the screech of a car speeding away and a few more shots down the street. Then it was dead quiet. Music had been pounding from the place before the shots, but after…it was dead quiet. Nothing moved. I know none of our family moved. Scared. Just damn right terrified. Then there were yells for help, and we all scrambled outside. I went to the phone and called. I think lots of people called the police. Then all night there were blinking, flashing lights from ambulances and the police. One –beep- of a Christmas, is all I have to say. –beep- those –beep- -beep- that are responsible for this –beep- mess. They'll have a judge to answer too, whether the police catch them or not. But this was a night none of us are going to be able to forget. No. Never. Not even if we wanted to. You just can't get that gunfire and those kids- Just… There's no reason that this had to happen."

Seras entered the room as the reporter claimed the screen again and the news shifted to the next report about drug activity in high schools in the county. The girl sat next to her brother, but he didn't even look at her. His face in his hands, elbows planted on his knees, bent over and seeing nothing. His hands slipped under his glasses, covering his eyes. Seras looked at the television and heard the familiar names of different high schools in the district. "Mom says Vlad wasn't involved. But she hasn't had time to check on him-"

"Then why can't we drive out there? It's not like it was near where he is."

The girl sighed to herself and let head lean into the back of the couch. "Mom says it's dangerous. Nobody knows what's going to happen. But it's a given that some gang is trying to provoke the other or something. She told me that there're threats spray painted over other graffiti that's supposed to mark another gang's territory, all over the city too. I can't believe…two houses shot at… The media's making a big deal out of the eight that died and the poor man that was shot for no reason. At least no one else died in the other place."

"One kid's in critical condition." Anderson broke in, fixing his glasses and sitting up to see the screen. "A seventeen year old guy from my school."

The siblings were quiet, chilled by the information that could easily be used to describe Vlad. But it wasn't Vlad. That was the only optimistic approach the two could find for the situation. Eight dead. 12 wounded. And two in critical condition… Not to mention the amount of drugs that had been discovered…

…

…

They stood outside the pharmacy. Just standing. Watching the passing bodies. Glances and frowns were given to them, but they either ignored the looks, or they returned the looks with their own. Black, blue, and white, they stood to the side of the door. Far enough to give the passerby a zone of comfort, but close enough that they were able to see each and every individual that went to the doors. In front of widely used stores throughout the city, black, blue, and white were visible. Vons, Ralphs, super malls, and this pharmacy with the large letters spelling Rite Aid on its front. Small clusters were present all day long, changing faces but keeping the steady presence of black, blue, and white. They looked like average delinquents, or just teenagers hanging out. No chains. No tattoos left visible. No weapons…that were visible. The clusters were not identified as being gang members by the everyday citizen. Should law enforcement happen upon a registered gang member, they would take note of them and those around the individual, but the clusters weren't doing anything to obstruct the peace of society. They were just standing and watching the passing bodies.

Vlad sighed, his body moving with the breath as he leaned back against the tan brick wall behind him that eventually ended with a wall of stucco as the material that reached the roof of the Rite Aid. The breeze kept the air crisp, but the sky was relatively blue with accumulating cloud cover coming in from the west with a few white, fluffy clouds hanging over them presently. Two other teens accompanied him. They were talking about something and one of them laughed loudly, but they took no notice of the other boy's sigh. A woman stared at him longer than what counted as being casual interest, and Vlad gazed back at the woman for a while. Her brow creased at him with her mouth hardening as well, but it was a look of disgust as she saw these teens wasting their precious youth doing nothing, and defacing their bodies with red contacts and piercings she saw in the other two that were talking. And they were unhealthy, the one with red eyes was as pale as a sheet and too thin for her approval. The woman shook her head and entered the pharmacy, the glass door sliding closed automatically behind her. Vlad lost interest in the woman when she was gone, so he turned his eyes to the parking lot again.

A figure became rigid when his eyes passed over it, so Vlad naturally looked at the figure again. He stared at it intently, from the other teen's shoes to the hat the stranger was wearing. There was another figuring walking beside the rigid teen. Both were wearing red bandanas. One wore the cloth around his neck and the other wore it under his hat. But they were there, they were red…and they were rival colors.

Crimson burned as a hostile glower that kept the two teens from approaching. The rivals glanced at the two that stood with Vlad and then gradually retreated, giving up when they saw they were clearly outmatched. Whatever they wanted or needed from the store was outside their reach. It was outside anyone's reach so long as they wore red and had the appearance of a gang member. The red usually came in the form of a bandana so recognizing the other gangsters was not that challenging, and neither was intimidating them.

They would be barred from entering stores within the city which were guarded by the clusters of black, blue, and white, until they handed over the ones responsible for the shooting. It had been three days. Their families wanted the goods that the clusters were denying them. Only a matter of days, Vlad thought taking another generous sigh as he watched the passing bodies dimly. Only a matter of days until they'll give in. Seeing how they're being right now, the shooting wasn't something all of them organized. A newly joined gang, not entirely unified. Eight deaths for no reason. And one boy was left crippled, at the height of his youth. There was no need, no reason, so many had said these words and Vlad found himself echoing them in his thoughts. It was a pity.

…

…

*~*~::..+..::~*~*

Vlad sat up sharply, heavy eyes moving with muddled alarm. The teen looked down at the couch cushions beneath him and then shivered, knuckles becoming paler as his fists clutched the end of a square cushion. Red moved along the couch, able to pick up on the shape of a folded blanket and a pillow, which were sitting on one of the arm rests of the couch. Still in the surreal state left behind by a complex dream, Vlad clumsily grabbed the pillow and pushed it into the couch, leaning on it to grasp the blanket which he unraveled when he dragged it over himself to block out his chill. With heat being returned to him now, Vlad let himself fall into the pillow and cushions to resume his sleep.

He dreamed of blood and guns and dead teenagers and drugs that ruined a number of lives and sent just as many to be locked behind bars. The dream was so real that his heart rate rose and sweat beaded on his brow as his body would sometimes jerk as he moved in his dream, his closed eyes seeing the image of baseball bats and guns and knives, blood dripping from corpses dangling from the ceiling on iron hooks suspended by thick chains, the blood building a sea whose waves grasped the teen and threw him into the murderous ocean to drown.

The teen woke up and stared at the ceiling, seeing the hanging bodies for a moment before the dim light of the morning entered his eyes and wiped away the vision. Now that he was awake, the dream seemed interesting and he tried to recall what he remembered about it. Vlad spent several minutes doing this, separated from fear as he saw the hazy images of dead bodies, no details left for a conscious mind. When he tired of this, the sneeze of a rat brought Vlad to the cage and he smirked at the excited furry faces that peered at him through the horizontal bars. The rats climbed up the side of the cage, investigating the new creature that had a familiar scent, and then checking to see if they could find the scent of food as well. They didn't, but they still saw Vlad and wanted him to take them out of their cage, so the teen obliged and soon held the weight of two rats, one on each shoulder. Thus, the lightened morning grew brighter when the beams of sunlight squeezed between the blinds over a window in the kitchen that viewed the street.

When the giant emerged, a tired scowl went to the teen petting rats that were crawling up and down his arms, but Jake didn't comment when he lumbered into his kitchen.

"Jack-bean."

"Jake." The man's irritated grunt retorted, fixing something to eat. Eggs, milk, and a bowl sat on the counter as he added butter to a heating pan. Vlad teased a rat with his finger, tricking the blonde and white beast into believing that it was possibly something edible so that its nose sniffed around in a circle, following the finger that would soon disappoint it.

The teen wanted an answer, so he nodded with his finger, making the rat nod for him. "Jake, do you have dreams often?"

The sound of activity in the kitchen filled a pause as the man sighed off his ill humored mood. "Sometimes, Alucard, but enough with the randomness in the morning, or could you keep it turned down? Not used to having to deal with it right when I get up, you know what I'm mean?"

Vlad didn't respond for a time, focusing on the blonde rat on the back of his hand. "I just had a weird dream, that's all. Not being random, or whatever you mean by that."

A fork scraped the side of the bowl, swirling the yellow and white together before Jake added water to the mixture. "Just as long as it wasn't the type of dream that would ruin my couch, I'm fine with dreams."

A startled Vlad gawked at the back of Jakes head from where he was sitting on the floor in front of the couch. His teeth clamped shut with an annoyed growl vibrating in his throat when he heard chuckles. "Talk about randomness in the morning…and maturity…"

Jake shrugged at the mumble, smirking to himself as he poured some of the yellow mixture into a pan. "Trying to humor myself. I'm not the best morning person, so be thankful brat."

"I'm sticking my tongue at you in my mature mind." Vlad's voice replied, earning a partially amused chuckle. The teen frowned at a rat, moving it to his other arm so that the two rats could be together. "My clean-couch dream was about-" Another growl broke off the sentence and Vlad raised his volume to overwhelm Jake's snicker. "Was pretty much about dead people hooked on those hanging hooks you see in one of those slaughter houses where the pig bodies are hung up when they're cut open and stuff. And before that it was about people getting shot and how we-"

"Hell Dog." Jake was looking over the divider that separated the kitchen from the living room, showing little expression other than slight disturbance on his face. The pan sizzled in the background. "That's messed up. –Now what do you want in your omelet, you have the choice of plain or with cheese. Not a chef, so I can't guarantee you won't find a piece of shell in yours."

Red blinked at Jake, somehow taken aback by what he was saying. "I can't take your food."

"I already broke the eggs so you've got no choice. I could give it to ya raw if you feel like being a pain in the ass." Vlad was staring at him blankly, so Jake gave up on him and turned back to the sizzling pan, folding the omelet over. "You got plain."

"…Thanks…" It was quiet until a spatula transferred the omelet to a plate and the sizzling ended. "I'm going to steal some ketchup."

Jake paused, holding the steaming plate in one hand, his other hand in a drawer fishing out a fork among the jumbled mess of silverware. "Ketchup?"

"Ketchup, Jack-bean. Pulverized tomatoes and people. That's how murderers hide bodies. Make 'em into ketchup, that's why it's red."

Jake made a sound of disbelief and disgust before placing the plate on the counter away from his working area. "Whatever, the ketchup's in the drawer, the packets."

Vlad searched the drawers and found the said packets, claimed a few, and then ripped them open to spill their contents onto his omelet. As he coaxed the remaining ketchup from the corners of the packet in his hand, he shrugged. "I like it. You ever tried ketchup and eggs? It's good."

"After your story…" The giant sighed, shaking his head over his cooking omelet. "…I'm not gonna be able to eat ketchup the same way again. You're getting messed up in the head. Dead bodies in a slaughter house, dead bodies in stuff people eat, it's like a bad omen."

With a mouth full of egg and ketchup, Vlad hummed and nodded at his food as he stood at the counter. "I see dead people everywhere Jack-bean, perfectly normal. But they're not nearly as interesting as the voices." Dark chuckles made Jake's features become heavy and he frowned at the stove.

"Guess you know how it feels to be me with you tagging along for six years, talk about annoying voices."

"Interesting voices, not annoying voices. Hell, it'd suck if they were annoying. Might have to drill a hole in my head to get 'em out."

Brown eyes twitched. "Okay, enough." He murmured over the plate he set aside with an omelet covering most of it while he poured out the remaining contents of the bowl into the pan. "Your sense of humor's damn sketchy sometimes."

The teen chewed in silence after that, watching his food with his arm on the counter so he was leaning over the plate. Jake was eating now and he looked at Vlad until the teen noticed.

"You're going to have to fix the mess you're in. You need to be more involved."

Flashes of his dreams shadowed Vlad's eyes and he watched his plate, only one bite remaining. He took that last bite with a nod.

Involved…in what? His uncle's specialties had been in theft, robbery, and killing for 'blood money', contract killing, things that required little collaboration and contact with the 'customer'. Both were done with complete secrecy.

Vlad didn't mind shoplifting. It was easy, didn't involve trespassing onto private property, and it was common. Teenagers and kids shoplift. A toy, a pair of shoes, a CD, or maybe something like an iPod; he could do, though the electronics were hard, those trigger alarms, but it was do-able. And it went down as a misdemeanor. He could steal things under a thousand dollars and it wouldn't be that bad. Drinking would be illegal, but again, lots of teenagers drink. Most teenagers drink. And then socializing isn't illegal, and socializing was important. It wouldn't be too bad, and he needed the money anyway.

*~*~::..+..::~*~*

Integra would hiss whenever the memory of Jake's appearance at her house came to mind, and her lips would scowl on their own whenever she recalled her father giving Jake permission to enter her home. She couldn't press charges for trespassing. He hadn't done anything illegal, other than the trespassing itself. There had not been a no trespassing sign that the man had ignored. And her father had given him permission to come into her house and she had not stepped in and refused, so she could do nothing. If he had returned, she could file for a restraining order and probably have an ex parte to fill the time it would take for the judge to determine whether she (and her family) required one. But Jake had been coming for Vlad. The one that would look bad if she tried to press charges…was her.

But the other pressing issue was…Vladimir had told Jake where she lived. That was a nightmare, in and of itself. With her children, her family, in possible peril…

God, was that a nightmare. But there was no waking up from it, if it was true.

Then…when she had checked on the boy, she had discovered that Vladimir had moved out of his 'apartment' completely, on Christmas Day…the same day the landlord fell down the stairs and was hospitalized with a mangled jaw and a fractured skull. It was fishy, but no evidence and the insistence of the landlord himself prevented the development of a case. So the woman was left with nothing, once more. Only Jake's criminal file saved on her desktop and the knowledge that Vladimir Alucard Dracula had yet to be registered as a gang affiliate and had yet to enter the system at all. So far, the boy's record was clean…nonexistent.

Days passed without an appearance from the pale teen.