Shadows of the Night

this was supposed to be with the other half of the chapter, but for some reason, i couldn\'t get it to upload with the rest of it. so here\'s the rest of the chapter.

Chapter One: The Events That Shape Our Lives
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The rain was falling as she ran through the trees. She knew they were worried, but she wasn\'t going back. Not to them. It hurt too much to look at Aunt Teena and see her mother. She ran until her legs were tired and her sides ached and her vision was blurred. When she couldn\'t run anymore, she dropped into the long grass where she stood. Katya folded herself up into a small, shivering bundle of gangly limbs and cried. She cried until there were no more tears, and still she sobbed her little heart out. She finally cried herself to sleep, a small lump in the forest floor.

Hands grabbing at her pulled her awake, and she found herself being handed off to someone. She was hugged tight, the person holding her sobbing silently into her hair. When she finally looked up, she found herself in her Uncle Brett\'s arms. He was the stoic one in the family who never showed emotion, never cried. He was her Daddy\'s big brother. And he was squeezing her, crying silently into her hair. \"Uncle Brett. Don\'t make me go back! Please...\" she whispered in his ear.

\"Don\'t worry, Kat. I\'m never going to let you go,\" he whispered in her ear, kissing her just behind the earlobe. And she knew he meant every word he said.

The darkness pulled away from her and she struggled hard to go back. She felt safe in Uncle Brett\'s arms, where she knew she was loved and cherished. But she couldn\'t get back, no matter how hard she tried. Something was pulling her into the light. A moment before the light opened up into something else, she felt the pain rush over her in hot waves. She cried out for Uncle Brett, but she couldn\'t see him anymore. A curse her mother would be ashamed to hear come from her mouth spilled out over her lips.

\"She\'s back! We got her!\" the voice sounded triumphant. Kat blinked her eyes against the bright light shining directly into them. She tried lifting a hand, sending pain shooting through her body. She whimpered, shivering beneath the warm blankets thrown over her. \"Miss Fitzsimmons, I want you to lay there and rest. Don\'t move. You\'re torn up pretty bad, but we\'ve got the bleeding stabilized. We\'re going to get you on a stretcher, then into the bus. You\'ll be in the hospital in no time.\"

\"What about Jeremy?\" she asked, her voice sounding far too faint and raw for her own liking. Had she screamed that much? Where had all these people come from? She heard someone mutter the words \'poor bastard\' but couldn\'t find the one who\'d spoken. The EMT who was talking to her glanced away for a moment, then returned his gentle gaze to hers and shook his head. \"Jeremy? He\'s?....\" she stumbled over the words, couldn\'t force that one word past her numb lips.

\"I\'m sorry, Miss. There was nothing we could do for him,\" the man told her as gently as he could. \"He was gone when we arrived on the scene.\"

\"No!\" she screamed, rolling onto her side. Jeremy couldn\'t be dead. He just couldn\'t. They were supposed to be going to the movies on Friday. She was trying to drag herself to her feet when the hands pulled her down. She didn\'t know that she had the strength to do so, but she fought them. She tried to crawl away. She had to see Jeremy. She had to know for herself.

\"Someone put her out! She\'s going to hurt herself if we don\'t calm her down,\" a voice ordered loudly. She saw someone with a needle and jerked away. Pain shot up her body, sending her to the ground in a crumpled heap. Before she could make a second attempt at finding Jeremy, she felt a curious sensation coursing the length of her body. It was as if she were wrapped in a fluffy cloud. Her mind shut off, and she went limp as the drugs took control.

\"God damn it! Get her on the bus now and get her the fuck out of here!\" the head EMT snapped. Two sets of glittering eyes watched from the darkenss as the men and women on the scene scurried to do as they were told. The figures, one man and one woman, watched as the limp form was loaded onto the rolling cot and strapped down. The bag of fluids threaded into her arm with the needle was lain over her chest. The female figure licked her lips and nearly purred with a mixture of emotions.

\"She is so beautiful. I want her,\" she told the man next to her. He turned to look at her, wondering when it was the creature had gone mad.

\"You cannot have her, Niki,\" he told her firmly. She stared up at him a moment, then returned her attention to the unconscious woman as she was being loaded into the back of the ambulance. People were cleaning up the scene. The dead man was stuffed neatly into one of the black bags that belogned to the coroner, then loaded into a separate vehicle.

\"But I want her. Look at her. She looks delicious and...\" Niki\'s voice trailed off into the darkness for a few long moments as she watched the police officials search the surrounding area for any clues that would tell them what had happened in the parking lot. \"I tell you, she is mine!\"

\"You will leave her be. You recall what happened to your last toy?\" her male companion asked her, watching her as she stared out over the still active crime scene.

\"Tolly was weak,\" she retorted. He scowled at her, recalling how ruthless she had been with the slight girl.

\"You broke Tolly,\" he accused.

\"This one will survive,\" Niki insisted. \"I know it. I can see it in her.\"

\"I will not allow you to take this one,\" he snapped at her. She turned her icy glare on him. \"You know what Templer said.\"

\"I don\'t care what Templer said. I want her and I will have her!\" Niki spat in frustration. Men were so single minded. They always only thought about one thing.

\"You will leave her alone or I will turn you in to Templer,\" he replied, his voice low. His tone told her the subject was closed. His hand circled her wrist and he tugged her off into the deeper shadows. \"Come, we need to return. Templer is expecting a report.\"

\"Are you so mindless that you don\'t ever think for yourself?\" NIki asked him. \"Come on, Gus. Surely you have a brain in that skull of yours.\"

\"I do, and I wish to keep it there. So I do as I\'m told. Templer\'s temper is nothing to fuck about with, Niki,\" he warned her. She shrugged and followed him. She would let him think he\'d won. But he controlled her mind no more than Templer did. It was simply a matter of time, and she had plenty of that on her hands.

~*~*~*~*~

Templer watched his children come. He could smell the fresh blood on them. There had been something else, too. Something foul. A shapeling. The look on Niki\'s face spoke of triumph while Gus wore an expression of concern and surprise. They approached him, both averting their eyes from his meal. The girl was naked before him, her mouth working over his thick, hard cock. After he came, he would feed from her. It was the same nearly every night. Any of his children who stared at his meal for too long would find themselves without eyes. \"What is it?\" he asked gruffly, his hips thrusting up.

\"The shapeling is dead,\" Gus informed, his eyes looking at the floor.

\"You found it?\"

\"It attacked a human male,\" Gus nodded.

\"The human is dead?\" Templer asked seriously.

\"He is, but the woman isn\'t,\" Niki interjected. Templer\'s dark gaze moved to her and watched her closely. She was plotting, his little demon was. He knew the look in her eyes. It was one he\'d seen far too many times before. His gaze flicked to Damon, a silent order that the other man nodded to.

\"What woman?\" Templer asked, gritting his teeth in obvious discomfort. \"Bite me again, bitch, and it\'ll be the last thing you ever do. Do you understand me?\" There was some muffled noise from the vicinity of his crotch that he took as an affirmative. Dismissing his snack from his mind for a moment, he returned his attention to the two standing before him. \"Tell me of this woman.\"

\"A friend to the dead man,\" Niki shrugged. \"The shapeling almost killed her. But Gus saved her.\"

\"She called to me!\" Gus said in his defense when Templer\'s eyes snapped to him.

\"Called to you how?\"

\"I could hear her screaming in my head, begging for help, even though she wasn\'t using her lips to form the words. She was screaming in my head,\" Gus explained. Templer\'s eyes widened at this a bit, then he sat back in thought. The slurping sounds from the female between his thighs was a slight distraction, but he managed to push it away for the moment. He\'d heard of humans who could talk to others in their heads. There were people out there with true psychic abilities, but they were hard to find. And here Gus and Niki had found one that could do so. What were the odds of that? \"The shapeling was going to rape her. I couldn\'t let him do that.\"

\"He was going to rape the woman?\" Templer asked, seemingly especially interested in this. As long as he had known of the shapelings, he\'d never seen one that thought to take a human female as a mate. In point of fact, most humans, be they male or female, couldn\'t mate with a shapeling. The coupling killed them. The idea that this shapeling had thought to do such a thing was curious. Shapelings weren\'t known for their intelligence or their ability to think rationally. They were nothing more than mindless, supernatural rabble.

\"He had already started when Gus launched himself at the shapeling. He was inside her when Gus knocked him off the woman,\" Niki told him, her eyes glittering with the memory. Templer nodded, knowing by the look in her eyes that Niki was planning something to do with the woman.

\"And where is this human woman?\" Templer asked, his hands shifting down to hold the head between his thighs in place so he could force his cock into her mouth a little harder and deeper. He had to be careful, though. He\'d lost control in the heat of the moment and split more than one person\'s head in half with a thoughtless thrust.

\"The police sent her to the hospital,\" Gus told him. \"The man was taken away in a bag. His throat was ripped out.\"

\"Which hospital?\" Templer grunted out the words. His voice was tight with barely restrained need, the girl sucking on him making noises each time he drove into her mouth. Her hands were now curled into his thighs, her nails biting into the flesh. Small pools of blood welled up where she gouced his legs. It only served to incite his passions further.

\"County,\" Gus answered quickly. He was pretty sure what was coming.

\"Good work,\" Templer told them, slitting his eyes open at them a moment. \"Everyone out. Except MacKenzie. Stay.\" The room cleared out rapidly, every one of Templer\'s children wanting out of the room before he came. They didn\'t want to see him feed. It disturbed them all to watch him, with exception of MacKenzie. The man was his second in command and as stoic as death when the need arose. \"A moment,\" he groaned.

MacKenzie watched as his leader\'s hips flashed, his cock driving into the woman\'s mouth. She was moaning and writhing, her fingers sunk so deeply into Templer\'s thighs that her nails were swallowed up by his skin. The man\'s dark eyes closed and his body tensed. Then he gave a shudder, his hips halting. MacKenzie could hear and see the girl swallowing around the length of flesh crammed in her mouth. When Templer was finally done, he pulled back and looked down at the girl. She stood without being told to, then straddled his lap.

She slipped down over his shaft, still hard and ready, burying him completely within her body. Then she was shifting her hips over his while his mouth caressed the long line of her throat. MacKenzie knew the moment Templer sank fang into the girl. Her body exploded into orgasm, the scent of her release mixing with her other juices to tickle his nose. He\'d been too long without a woman, but he couldn\'t make himself give without taking. Take her body. Take her blood. Take her memories. When Templer was completely sated, he tossed the girl aside like a piece of dirty clothing then settled his attention on his second. \"You want me to keep an eye on this woman,\" MacKenzie stated flatly.

\"Of course. If she can speak to us with her mind, she could be useful. I want her when she is well enough. That is, if she survives,\" Templer told him.

\"You should let her alone. She\'s just gone through a horrid ordeal. She needs time to heal mentally as well as physically,\" MacKenzie told him.

\"Let me worry about that. Now go. I don\'t trust that bitch Niki as far as a mortal can throw her,\" Templer ordered. MacKenzie nodded then turned with a flourish and stalked from the room. He didn\'t like this at all.

~*~*~*~*~

MacKenzie stared at the small grouping of police officers milling about the hallway. They stood just in front of the door he needed to slip through. Not that doing that was any hard task for him. But experience had taught him that where a group milled about, there were likely to be more of them. He didn\'t want to slip into the room and encounter more police. The fewer mortals who knew he was here, the better. As it was, he\'d had to charm her room number from the night nurse. He didn\'t want to try and explain his presence to a bunch of men with guns and pent up testosterone just who he was in relation to the victim.

Leaning up against the wall and making himself look inconspicuous, MacKenzie did something he rarely did. He listened. Not with his hyper-sensitive ears, but with his mind. Something very few people knew about him. He\'d kept it a secret from almost everyone. Templer knew, naturally, but he was about the only one. Not every one in the \'family\' needed to know that there was more to him than just his name.

The three cops in front of the door were all thinking the same thing. They wanted to get out of there and go home. One wanted to fuck his girlfriend while another wanted to surf the net for kiddie porn. The third wanted to get home to his mother and.... MacKenzie left that one alone and let his mind drift to the gathering inside the room. There were four minds here, each of them in a different state.

The first he touched was a woman, either a nurse or the doctor. He could read that she was at the end of her patience with the two officers in the room. Both of them men, they were trying to question the victim. The older of the pair was thinking about his job and how he\'d never seen anything like this in his thirty odd years on the force. The second man, in his late twenties, was thinking that he wanted to get the hell out of there and never think about the mutilated body of the deceased male. There was a quick flash of what the young officer had seen, then nothing more. It was enough for MacKenzie to know that the shapeling had been one of the worst they\'d come across.

The fourth mind was slow and sluggish. It was easy to slip into it and see what the person was thinking. This was the woman, the one who had survived the shapeling attack. Her body screamed with pain, the intensity of it nearly bowling him over. She radiated it like heat, concentric circles of the feeling rippling out from her like the disturbed waters of a pond. She was recalling the event, the burning that had filled her when the shapeling had pressed into her. A spark of panic filled her as the deeper parts of her mind, not yet affected as heavily by the drugs they gave her, felt the prodding and reacted.

A low growl filled his head, then he was retreating from a large cat. It was black and sleek, muscles rippling as it charged at him. It was driving him out of the injured woman\'s mind. A Guardian. And a strong one, at that. The woman was indeed able to contact his people via a mental link. She would indeed be a great asset to Templer and the family. MacKenzie didn\'t like that one bit. The woman shouldn\'t be forced to deal with anymore of the darker side of life.

After standing there for several moments, hands slipped casually into the front pockets of his tight denim pants, MacKenzie noted that the police were moving away from the woman\'s room. One of the officers was tailing after the rest, complaining loudly that he didn\'t want door duty once more. Seeing the opportunity for what it was, MacKenzie slipped into the room on feet as silent as a cat stalking his prey. He wasn\'t prepared for what he saw.

The woman\'s face was pale. A reddened scrape covered her forehead. He could tell it was a burn received when she\'d hit the ground. He knew this much, had seen it in her mind as she\'d dreamt about it. A few faint bruises, marks that would darken with the passing days, already blemished her clear skin. Her hair lay tangled beneath her head. It was the color of freshly minted pennies, darkened with just spilled blood and caught in the light of a fire. The red was a shade he couldn\'t put a name to, all dark copper and and swirls of bloody flame. He\'d never seen the like on another living soul before.

Her arms were laying on the blankets, one of them taped down to a board. Two different needles were plugged into the limb, both connected to clear bags full of thick liquid. She was in a drug induced sleep now, her eyes barely flickering behind their lids. She lay on her back, the blankets hugging her form gently. Not that he could see much. He knew, from slipping into the doctor\'s mind, that there were several sets of nasty scratches that were bandaged heavily. He could smell the fresh blood that seeped even now from the wounds. They would scar when they finally healed.

MacKenzie studied the girl a bit longer. She was barely into her twenties, if he wasn\'t mistaken. Yet, there was an aura of long suffering about her, and fierce determination. She was not one who gave up easily. He knew that trait would come in handy for her when Templer finally had her in his control. And there was no mistaking that would happen. Templer always got what he wanted. There was a stirring of pity for the girl, but MacKenzie squashed it. He couldn\'t possibly start letting his emotions run wild. It wouldn\'t do him any good.

\"You...?\" the soft voice startled him, dragging his gaze back to her face. Her eyes were opened, staring up at him with clouded intensity. He was shocked to find they were a shade of gray, likely lighter than what he saw because of the pain clouding them. He could see she wanted to ask him a question, but she couldn\'t form the words. The drugs made it difficult. He stared at her silently, wondering if she knew what he was. If she really recalled what had happened to her. Two tears tracked down her cheeks, dropping into the pillow to soak into the material as if they had never been. \"Hurts,\" she gasped at him. \"So bad.\"

\"I know, little one,\" he whispered softly. She sighed with his words, her eyes fluttering as they fought not to close. \"Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do for you in this place. Too many people,\" he added, though he couldn\'t be sure why. Better the girl had died than to be forced to live through the attack and everything that would follow. His voice, when he next spoke, was deeper and melodic, lulling her battered senses. \"For tonight, I can give you a small measure of peace. Sleep deeply and dream not. Forget for a moment who you are, where you are, and what has happened. Simple sleep.\"

Her breathing evened out, her body relaxing as his words flowed over her. He knew the moment she drifted off to sleep. Even her mind was calm and drowsy when he slipped into it. A faint smile drifted across his normally blank face. In the morning, all would be as it was. For now, the girl would know a single moment of shining peace in the hell that would become her life. He was interrupted by the tread of work boots on the floor outside the door. The officer assigned to stand duty at her door was back.

Steeping to the door, MacKenzie took the time to \'suggest\' to the young man that he wanted to go speak with the night nurse. It would move the officer off around a corner long enough for MacKenzie to make good his unseen escape. He could feel the sun inching closer to the horizon, telling him that he needed to hurry and get back to the Lair. Templer was awaiting his report.

~*~*~*~*~

The Lair was cast in silence and shadows when MacKenzie stepped in past the guard at the door. The man barely looked at him, only nodded as he stepped into the near vacant Meeting Hall. A torch flickered in the wrought iron holder, casting dancing light over the throne that Templer sat. The chair was large and wide, with a high back and broad seat. It was covered with old, worn velvet that was blood red and threadbare in some spots. Templer still resided there, sitting still as a stone statue. The faint sounds of slurping broke the silence, telling MacKenzie that Templer hadn\'t finished with his snack yet.

The flames flickered over the girl\'s head as it bobbed up and down. Templer had an insatiable appetite for human whores and sex, and he spent much of his time awake strolling about naked when he wasn\'t dealing with political issues. In some ways, MacKenzie admired the man\'s attitude and his ability to push the guilt aside. In others, he was disgusted by how Templer used his power. The second kept his council to himself, though. Templer wouldn\'t care about his opinions, nor would he have patience for them.

\"The girl still lives?\" the deep voice asked, only the slightest hint of tension marking the act being performed on him.

\"Yes, she does. It seems that Gus was late in aiding her. The woman is in constant pain from the intrusion of the shapeling\'s body. He... burned her,\" MacKenzie finally told his leader.

\"Burned her? How did he burn her?\" Templer asked. He\'d never before heard such a thing. Any coupling between a human and a shapeling ended up with death. The woman, or male, usually fell dead from the contact alone. No one could explain it, but they thought it might have to do with the fact that a shapeling was an abomination. Half shape shifter, half ghoul, the creatures were born of rape and pain. The parent was usually a female lycan who was unfortunate enough to be stumbled upon by a male ghoul. The woman generally didn\'t die, as she was a supernatural creature herself. But the mating almost always ended with the woman giving birth to a creature of such horror and fear that any member of the Dark community was compelled to kill it upon site.

\"He took her. When he invaded her body, his flesh burned her own. I had a few brief images of the attack. She saw his face clearly. He took the time to scent the air around her. He knew what she was. I\'m certain of it. I think he meant to use her to breed,\" MacKenzie replied. His tone was one of such conviction that Templer had no reason to doubt him.

\"An intelligent shapeling?\" Templer asked, a brow cocked high in disbelief.

\"They have been finding better hiding places and avoiding our patrols. The packs report that they have difficulty locating the shapelings. It is as if the creatures are organizing themselves and thinking. This is something that hasn\'t happened in all the length of my memory,\" MacKenzie replied softly.

\"Tomorrow night, we\'ll meet and discuss it further with the Family. Then I wish you to continue to observe the woman. I want her as soon as she\'s capable,\" Templer ordered brusquely. MacKenzie nodded, knowing that arguing would be a waste of time.

\"If there is nothing else, I will retire,\" MacKenzie replies softly. A nod of the other man\'s head sends him off in search of his bed. There would be time enough at dusk to worry about a woman who shouldn\'t even concern him.

~*~*~*~*~

Kat\'s eyes slowly opened to birght light and low murmuring. Her body was pleasantly numb, as if she\'d over-exherted herself and driving every muscle of hers past pain and into nothingness. Stretching woke the aches and pains up, then the throbbing started. It was centered within the vicinity of her womb. At first, it only pulsed lightly. Then it spread, intensifying until it felt as if she were burning from the inside out. She squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip, trying hard to not to whimper with the pain. A cool hand covered hers. \"Oh my God, Kat. I was so scared for you,\" the soft voice gushed. \"When you didn\'t come home last night, that was scary enough. Then, when the phone call came.... I was afraid you would die!\"

\"I\'m okay, Tami. I swear it. I just... ache,\" she said as she opened her eyes to look at her roommate. Tami Dubrinski was a sweet girl of barely twenty-one who felt it her personal duty to look out for Katya as if the older girl were a child. Kat found it endearing, in a somewhat annoying way. But now, the familiar face was welcome, and she felt fresh tears spring to her eyes. \"Jeremy is...\"

\"I know, sweetie. Don\'t. I\'m sorry about him, but I\'m more concerned about you,\" Tami replied, covering her friend\'s hand with her own. Kat sighed, welcoming the gentle touch. So soothing to her battered senses. Like her dream from last night.

\"For tonight, I can give you a small measure of peace. Sleep deeply and dream not. Forget for a moment who you are, where you are, and what has happened. Simple sleep.\" Even hearing the voice in her head was enough to send more of the same calming peace into her battered body. And the man himself. He\'d looked like a combination of angel and devil wrapped up in one package. Not that she could clearly recall what he\'d looked like. She only knew that, when she\'d looked at him, she\'d known he was beautiful.

\"Have you heard anything about his funeral? Have any plans been made?\" Kat asked determinedly. Tami sighed and shook her head.

\"Not yet. I called his brother, but Terry didn\'t know anything yet. He still sounded as if he were in shock over the entire thing,\" Tami replied softly. Kat nodded, falling silent for a moment. The lack of conversation drew her attention back to the burning fire in her abdomen. She didn\'t understand why it hurt like it did. It was only a forced sexual encounter. With some kind of... creature. \"Mr. and Mrs. Pillings were here earlier. They brought you some flowers.\"

Tami\'s hand waved toward the vase on the bedside table. It was filled with a wild array of flowers. Roses and carnations, alstromeria and mini-poms. There were also a pair of dark red Gerbera daisies and a single stemmed Star-gazer lily. Both baby\'s breath and misty blue filled the vase, along with leather leaf and tree fern. It was a beautiful arrangement, a balloon proclaiming \'Get Well Soon\' in vibrant colors tied to it and floating above. It made Kat feel guilty, bringing more tears to her eyes. \"They shouldn\'t have,\" she whispered.

\"Now, stop it. They both wanted you to have them. They said that they know this wasn\'t your fault and that there was nothing you could do to help Jeremy. They don\'t want you to blame yourself, honey,\" Tami patted her hand.

\"I do. I should have done something to help. I should have stopped him. I should have...\" Kat dissolved into a fit of tears, sobs wracking her body sharply.

\"You nearly died. The doctor told me. When they brought you in, you were hemorrhaging. Badly. They thought you were loosing a child, it was so heavy. They can\'t explain it at all,\" Tami told her. \"Don\'t blame yourself. I\'m sure Jeremy wouldn\'t want you to. He wouldn\'t have wanted you to get hurt on his behalf.\"

Kat took in her words silently, finally nodding to let Tami know she understood. Yawning, she smiled up at her friend and roommate. Tami smiled back, the two of them past words and now determined to simply enjoy each other\'s silent company. After some time, the doctor and a nurse shuffled in, the elderly man smiling down at Kat as he looked over the latest scribbles to her chart. \"Well, Miss Fitzsimmons, how do you feel this morning?\" he finally asked.

\"I hurt all over,\" she whispered, grateful to Tami\'s presence at her side. Her friend squeezed her hand in assurance.

\"Well, my dear. That\'s understandable, given what you went through last night,\" he told her in a kindly tone. \"I\'m Doctor Perry. I just wanted to come and check on you. Let you know what\'s going on with you.\"

\"I was attacked and raped. I don\'t think I need to know much more than that,\" Kat commented dryly. The man\'s eyes goggled as he looked at her, the nurse behind him smirking faintly. Obviously, no one talked to good Doctor Perry the way she just had. Kat didn\'t care .She was tired and she hurt and she only wanted to get out of the hospital. With the amount of people she\'d had in the room in the last twenty-four hours, she felt like an exibit in a zoo, on display for the crowding masses to be gawked and laughed at.

\"Yes, you were. You were also losing blood rapidly. The EMTs said it didn\'t start until they had sedated you. Apparently, you\'d tried to get up and move last night,\" he replied in a more subdued tone.

\"My best friend had just been murdered. I watched what ever it was eat his throat out,\" she spat back angrily. The three people in the room with her stared at her with wide eyes. \"Pardon me if i seem a little out of sorts. When can I go home?\"

\"A few days observation are in order. Then, barring any problems, you can return home under strict orders. We need to make sure that you are physically able to leave here before...\" Doctor Perry rambled, only to have Kat interrupt him. She had no love for hospitals and doctors and she only wanted out.

\"Am I any worse today than I was last night?\" she snapped.

\"No,\" he shook his head, staring at her. Tami was staring at her friend, her hand held tightly over Kat\'s. She was aware of Kat\'s reasons for disliking the hospital, and she had known this would come sooner or later.

\"Am I any better?\" Kat asked logically.

\"Well, the bleeding has been stopped. It hasn\'t started again. You seem to be coherent and capable of understanding what happened. That would suggest that you are not slipping backward,\" he replied slowly.

\"Then why can\'t I go home now? I feel fine other than the aches. I only want to sleep in my own bed. I...\" she protested, then winced as the burning flared into something worse. Doctor Perry moved over to her side, setting the clipboard down to push her blankets down and press his hands with a gentle, yet firm, touch against her abdomen. Kat cried out, trying to squirm away as the pain shot through her. It felt as if lightning had struck and was carving into her like an electrified knife.

\"I don\'t like that, young lady. We did a thorough exam using all the latest tests and technology and could find nothing physically wrong with you. Yet, you seem to be very tender and sore. What could be causing it?\" he spoke mostly to himself, even though his eyes were locked onto hers. She shook her head silently, her eyes now clouded with pain. \"Bring her some morphine. It should help kill the pain. We need to discover just what is causing it. Until then, you will stay where you\'re at, young lady.\"

The nurse nodded and slipped from the room while the doctor took the time to monitor her vitals. He frowned at the way her heart pounded and her breaths came fast and shallow. They were clear signs that she suffered from some kind of debilitating pain. What it was and where it was located was beyond him, though. There had been almost no evidence to support that she was raped, but the police had received an anonymous call that had told them there was a dead man laying in a parking lot, along with a woman who\'d been raped. They had even asked her and she\'d told them that such an event had occured.

The curious thing was that no hair samples had been found on her body. No skin under her nails, though she swore she had fought her assailant. Even more unusual was that not a trace of semen had been found on her. Anywhere. The only physical signs of attack were the scratches on her that seemed far more animalistic than human. The entire case was full of odd instances that had no explanation. Doctor Perry was as much at a loss as the police were.

His nurse returned with a syringe, threading the tip of the needle into the small opening of the reservoir on the iv tubing. She pushed the plunger down slowly, feeding the pain-relieving drug into the girl\'s system. After several moments of waiting, her tension did not ease. He glanced at her face, noting that she was now sweating, her teeth clenched together in obvious discomfort. The morphine didn\'t seem to be helping. Even after waiting for a full fifteen minutes, the girl did not relax.

When he left her another five minutes after that, she was sobbing softly into her pillow, her friend holding her hand gently in an attempt to soothe her. Doctor Perry was at a loss still, not knowing what could be causing the girl such obvious pain. There was no test he could do to find it, or he certainly would try. If for no other reason than to see her stop crying.

end chapter one.
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i do hope that you like this. i know the prologue doesn\'t seem to fit with the first chapter, but it will eventually. i swear it.

this entire thing is without a beta reader, and while i try to be careful, i am nothing more than a mere mortal. any mistakes are purely my own, so please bear with me on them.

i would love to know what you think of this, as it is something of a new venture for me. just be gentle. i really do want to make this a good, believable story, and only you can help me achieve this.