Shadows of the Night

ok, so here goes. this is all my imagination here. the characters and situations are mine. this is also a touch dark, so if you are easily offended or grossed out, please do not read. this is the warning part of the show folks, best if you take heed.

also, if you like it, please feel free to let me know. if you think it needs som help or work, let me know. just please be nice about it.

Chapter Three: The After Effects
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His hands smoothed over her belly, the slightly rough texture of his fingertips teasing her. She was as aroused as she\'d ever been and she wanted nothing more than for him to sink himself into her wet and pliant flesh and make love to her until she died from the pleasure of it all. Her breath hitched in her throat when she felt his fingers work their way between her thighs. Two of his long digits slipped between the moist folds to drive up into her core easily. She moaned, her back arching, pressing her hips closer so that more of his fingers were buried inside of her.

His mouth lowered, his lips wrapping around one of her turgid nipples. He sucked it hard, drawing it deep into his mouth. She could feel the suction distending it, stretching it painfully. The small amount of pain only served to make her hotter and wetter. She could feel herself swelling open to his fingers. He slipped another in, then another. The fit was tight, his four fingers pressing against the muscled walls of her clenching pussy. She writhed under him, her legs splayed wide across the mattress.

She felt his thumb curl into his fingers. His fist was huge, pressed up against the opening of her body. He pushed hard and her scream tore through the room. She could feel flesh tear and rip as he forced his fist deep within her. And yet, her hips arched up, begging silently for more. He gave it to her without comment, pushing until his doubled fist rested against her cervix. Her muscles rippled around him, sending little aftershocks of pain through her system. He stared down at her, silent and waiting. She blinked, her eyes large and wanton in her face. Then he drew back until his fist was about to pop out of her.

She stared up at him, wanting to see his face when he did it. Wanting him to see her face when he did it. His eyes locked to hers and she felt his muscles tense a moment. She screamed again as he forcibly fed his fist and part of his forearm into her body. She was tight around him, her muscles clenched down around him so hard that he could barely move in and out. He drew back and shifted forward again. Her body convulsed with the action, her orgasm breaking on a loud cry as he thrust his fist into her again.

\"I want to feel you inside of me,\" she whispered softly, her hand reaching up to circle the thick circumfernce of his shaft. \"I want this inside of me. Now....\"

He said nothing, merely nodded. She shuddered as his arm drew back, his fist popping from her painfully stretched pussy. Before she could catch her breath, he was shoving his cock inside of her. The fit wasn\'t as tight around, but he was so impossibly long that his head hit her cervix long before he was fully imbedded within her. She looked down the length of her body, watching him as his hips drew back slowly. Her eyes were riveted to the slick length of his dick as it pulled free of her. It glistened in the light, covered with her own pearlescent juices.

He drove back in, his thrust impossibly hard and fast. Her eyes remained locked to where they were joined, looking as his unbelievably long member filled her again. This time, her cervix didn\'t stop it. The force of his thrust saw him pushing past it, his cock head bursting through into her womb. The pain was so overwhelming. And yet, even as she screamed with the waves of agony that rode her, a kernal of pleasure flared to life. It fed on the pain and grew until the two were equally matched. The pleasure and pain became one and her body arched and writhed beneath his as he pounded himself into her mercilessly.

The combination of feelings simmered and boiled within her, tightening all her muscles and pushing her ever closer to a second orgasm. She groaned, her hips rocking up into each of his penetrating strokes. She couldn\'t take her eyes off the sight of him as he pistoned in and out of her body, couldn\'t ignore the feel of her body clenching down around him to almost painful degrees. The moans that rolled up out of her throat were almost animalistic and she didn\'t know them as her own. She\'d never made a sound like that before in her life. All she knew was that she wanted him to cum, that she needed him to cum inside of her and fill her up.

She wanted him to hurt her and make her scream, wanted him to make her bleed. His thrusts became faster, deeper, harder. She watched him, unable to tear her gaze from his cock as it continued to push into her. The pearlescent fluid was no longer white. Now, it was tinged pink and she thought briefly that it meant she was bleeding internally. He\'d obviously hurt her in some fashion. But the thought was driven away by the incessant pounding of his cock against her flesh, into her body deeply.

A growl rolled up out of his mouth, his lips opening wide to show off the length of pearly white fang. There was an answering growl from her own throat and she felt the need to bite him rise up in her. Her tongue ran over her teeth, feeling the pointed tips of extended canines. Her eyes lifted slowly up over the length of his chest, noting the defined, rippling muscles that bulged slightly under his flesh. The vein at the base of his throat was throbbing with life, pulsing as blood gushed through it. She wanted to bury her teeth, her fangs, into that vein and drink the life from it. She wanted to suck him dry.

She screamed when he pushed into her one last time, burying himself so deep that she thought he would never come out again. His fangs burst through the skin on her neck, sinking into the warm wetness of the vein. She felt the pull as he sucked at her blood, felt the fire rush through her. Her cunt clenched hard, holding him in place. He swelled within her, his cock growing and pressing on the walls wrapped so intimately around him. Going up on his knees, he used them as leverage and shoved himself further into her.

The scream was primal this time as it tore from her throat. His cock was shoved deeply into her, throbbing and pulsing as he shot his seed directly into her womb. She could feel the hot, thick ropes splatter against the walls of her womb. That feeling combined with the fire that coursed through her veins as he drank of her. It brought her orgasm to the front. It was as if she shattered, falling into and out of herself all at once. Her body spasmed hard around him, then she saw the darkness creeping up on her.

\"We have made a child this night,\" his voice whispered into her ear as his fangs slipped from her skin. His large hand covered her belly, a gentle caress after the violence of their joining. She looked up at him in wonder, a smile curling her lips up as her eyes closed, sleep settling over her like a soft blanket.

Kat woke as a loud moan rolled up out of her throat. Sweat coated her, her nipples tight and aching in the confines of her rumpled clothes. She felt the muscles in her pussy clenching tightly, fluttering with the feeling of the dream cock buried inside of her. Her panties were soaked, her skirt bunched up around her waist. One hand was tucked between her thighs, the other still clutching at the bedding. Her entire body quivered, telling her the orgasm had been more than a dream.

Sitting up, she looked around the small bedroom she was in. Sunlight poured in through the part in the curtains pulled over the window. She glanced around, staring at the rumpled sheets on the bed. MacKenzie was gone. Not that she had expected to see him there. He was a vampire and he had to stick to darkness and shadows. Still, it had been nice to be held in his arms last night. It had been nice to fall asleep in his arms and not have to worry about the dreams that had haunted her since the attack.

Kat started. The reminder of the attack brought back memories of the day before. The scene she\'d made at Jeremy\'s funeral. The trip to the bar, where she\'d gotten herself so drunk she hadn\'t known her own name. The man she\'d picked up and the woman in the park. How close she\'d come to being bitten. How she\'d been saved. And finally to MacKenzie. His gentle nature and his concern for her.

She knew he didn\'t understand why he wanted to help her. She couldn\'t really understand it herself. But he had helped her. When she\'d been in danger, when she\'d been sick, when she\'d been in pain. He\'d touched her with gentle hands, with careful fingers. Made love to her with slow, deliberate caresses that had seen her mindless and wanting more. So much more. His words, softly spoken to her, with which he could take away her pain.

And he had.

Even now, as she sat in bed and marveled at her dream, she noticed finally that the burning pain that had plagued her for the last week since the attack was gone. She stood, moving slowly, afraid that she would bring it roaring back to life if she wasn\'t careful. But the pain stayed hidden, lying dormant somewhere in her body. She somehow knew that this was only a reprieve, that it would return. But it felt wonderful for the moment, the fact that she was free of the pain and moving so easily.

Kat stood, looking around the room once more. There was nothing in it to suggest that it was someplace anyone lived in. A chair in the corner supported her coat, folded and lain over the back. On the seat was her purse, her shoes under the edge of it on the floor. A piece of paper was propped against the back of the chair and she moved over to pick it up.

The paper was thick vellum-like material. She could tell it was expensive just by looking at it. The words were written in a scrawl that was masculine, yet distinctly of the Old World style. Kat smiled, reading it over.

Katya

This is my personal haven from the stresses of my family. If you ever need to get away, please feel free to come here. You are always welcome here. I have taken the liberty of tucking a key into your bag. I will be here for you if you need me. For anything. All you need do is simply call to me.

M

Kat couldn\'t help the smile that curled her lips up. She knew nothing about this man who called himself MacKenzie. And yet, she trusted him as she did no one else. He had given her something that she could get from no one she knew. Relief. Simple relief from the pain that plagued her. And an explanation. That meant more to her than dulling the pain. Now, at least, she understood why she was in constant pain. And she also knew that it could be taken away.

Kat slipped her feet into her shoes, lifting up the jacket laid over the back of the chair so that she could pull it on. She grabbed her purse, clutching the strap in her hand. As much as she wanted to stay in this haven, she knew that the real world wouldn\'t wait for her to surface. Not to mention that she would have to face her friends and apologize to them. She could see now, looking back on it, that her behavior yesterday had been atrocious. She needed to let Terry and his parents know she was alright and she needed to try and explain to Tami what was going on with her.

~*~*~*~*~

\"Where the hell have you been?\" the voice was angry and full of concern. Kat glanced up as she shut the door behind her. Tami sat on the couch, her eyes wide and rimmed red. She\'d obviously been crying. Hard. She wasn\'t the one who had spoken, though. Instead, Kat saw Terry standing by the window that looked down over the small park behind the apartment building. His face was a mask of anguished despair and grateful relief. \"Can you even begin to imagine just what the fuck we were thinking after your little show at Jer\'s funeral yesterday? Tami thought you\'d gone out and killed yourself!\"

\"We didn\'t know where you\'d gone or what you\'d done,\" Tami whispered, her voice hoarse. \"When you didn\'t come home right away, I could only imagine what you had done to yourself. You\'ve been acting so strange lately and I just didn\'t...\"

Kat stared at the two of them, watching as Tami shook her head, more tears slipping down over her cheeks. Terry scowled at her. If looks could kill, he would see her dead with his eyes alone. He stepped away from the window, stalking across the room toward her. \"Mom and Dad are beside themselves. They\'re as worried as we were. Mom made me go out looking for you last night. Not that I wouldn\'t have done it anyway. But you scared the shit out of all of us.\"

Kat felt the euphoria melting away in the face of the verbal attack. She stared at them both, wondering which way would be the best to handle this situation. Either with anger or with remorse, she decided . When she didn\'t answer him right away, Terry continued on. \"Damn it, Kat! How were we supposed to know if you were alright or not?\"

\"Well, pardon me for being confused yesterday!\" she snapped back. \"It wasn\'t bad enough that I was attacked and pretty much watched Jer get killed! It isn\'t bad enough that I ache constantly. No, none of that is bad enough! You had to top it off by telling me that Jer planned on proposing to me. At his funeral! How do you think that made me feel?

The two of them stared at her, eyes wide with disbelief. \"I left the funeral, went to a bar and got drunk. Then I met an old friend and went home with her so that I could have some peace!\" Kat knew that the lie was wrong, but she needed them to understand that she hurt as badly as they did. That she blamed herself for the whole thing. If she hadn\'t asked him to stay and help her with the ad for the new clients the agency had landed, he would have been home and safe.

She felt the tears well up in her eyes, felt them slip over the edges of her lower lid and down over her pale cheeks. She didn\'t care. She was seeing it all again, as if it had only just happened. She could hear the sounds of that thing as it tore open his throat, as it ate at him like he was a steak. She wrapped her arms around her waist, cradling herself in them as she stared at the two people watching her. \"You don\'t know what its like! To see him die over and over again in your head. To dream so vividly that you want to retch first thing in the morning when you get up. Jeremy\'s dead and its all my fault!\"

\"Kat,\" Terry shook his head. \"You\'re not to blame for Jeremy\'s death, honey. You didn\'t...\"

\"Yes, I am!\" Kat shouted. \"If I hadn\'t have asked him to stay and help me, he\'d have been home with you, Terry. He\'d told me that he\'d planned on seeing if you wanted to come over and watch movies with him. But he stayed to help me instead. And because he did, he\'s dead!\"

\"Katy,\" Terry crossed the few feet between them to drag her into his arms. She struggled against him, but he was stronger than she was and simply pressed her closer to his chest. \"You are not to blame for Jeremy\'s death, honey. Whoever it was that killed him is responsible. If he hadn\'t have been there, you would be the one dead. And none of us wants that any more than we wanted to see it happen to Jer.\"

\"Not whoever. Whatever. It was a thing. Not a person. It ripped his throat out and ate it. I was there. I saw it. It killed Jeremy, fed on his flesh, then looked at me and tried to fuck me. It hurt me. It could have killed me by having sex with me. I don\'t understand how I survived the attack. And now there\'s this burning pain inside of me that doesn\'t stop and doesn\'t lessen and doesn\'t go away,\" Kat told them, her voice soft in the silence of the room.

Terry looked at Tami over the top of Kat\'s head. Their eyes met and neither one was certain they wanted to believe what they were hearing. They both thought that the attack had damaged Kat\'s mind. Jeremy\'s death had been enough to drive her over the edge. This seemed to be the proof of her deepening madness. Neither one knew what to do to help her, as she sounded so sincere about what she was saying. But they felt it obvious that Kat needed some kind of help. They had discussed it when Terry had gotten back from looking for her and they\'d decided that she needed to speak to a professional about her feelings. What she\'d just told them only confirmed their suspicions.

\"Honey, you have us worried. I\'ve never known you to be so....\" Tami stopped as she fumbled around for the right word. Kat heard something in her voice, though. She pulled out of Terry\'s embrace and stared at the two of them.

\"What? Psycho? \" she asked them, an edge to her voice that told them her temper was taking control once more. She looked between the two of them, noting the guilty expressions on their faces. \"You do. You think I\'m insane. You think I\'ve gone over the cliff. You\'re trying to decide if you should call the funny farm or take me there.\"

\"It isn\'t like that, Kat,\" Terry turned her to face him, his warm hands resting on her shoulders. She jerked back from him, giving them both an accusatory glare. \"We\'re just very concerned about your mental health right now. You have to admit that you...\"

\"I don\'t have to admit anything!\" she shot back, her voice now more strident. \"You don\'t understand what the hell is happening, do you? There are things out there that most people don\'t even know exist. I\'ve seen them! I know they\'re there. One of them killed Jer and nearly killed me! I am not insane and I do not need help! I know what I saw! It was not human!\"

\"Katya, please. We don\'t mean that you didn\'t see it. We just think that you...\" Tami stood, moving closer to where she and Terry stood. Kat scowled at them, edging back toward the door.

\"Don\'t come near me and try to soothe me. You\'re both trying to tell me I\'m insane. I\'m not. I know what I saw. I thought maybe my friends would understand,\" she snapped, her hands clutching at the knob behind her back. It twisted as she turned it and she practically fell into the hall when the door opened. Kat stumbled to her feet, standing in the hallway as she stared at them. Both Tami and Terry watched her in silent concern.

\"Katya, please. This isn\'t like you. You\'ve never acted like this. Not until...\" Terry began, then stopped. She was glaring at him, her body tense with her anger. She looked from one to the other, the hurt and anger plain to see in her eyes. Then she turned and practically ran up the hall toward the elevator. Her finger stabbed at the button vigorously, her gaze locked on the two of them until the little ding announced the arrival of the car. The doors slid open and Kat threw herself into it. She didn\'t relax until the door slid shut on them.

~*~*~*~*~

The coffee house was nearly empty, a fact for which Kat was very grateful. She ordered a cup of hot chocolate and paid, taking the very warm and relaxing paper cup with her as she moved to the stand where a selection of newspapers were located for the patron\'s reading pleasure. She picked up the section containing the comics and moved to a table. A television was on, tuned to a station running the news. She settled into a chair at one of the tables and opened the paper to the first page of comics and started reading. The sound of a news caster\'s voice caught her attention.

\"The body of thirty-seven year old Jimmy Dalton was discovered in a secluded section of Blaine Park early this morning by a jogger who happened by.\" The picture flashed from the man reporting the story to a scene of strobing lights and cops milling around. There was an ambulence in the background and the image of a very pale woman who was shaking, wrapped in a blanket and shaking violently. There was a paramedic with his arms around her, speaking in her ear. There was a brief image of what could be a body covered by white opaque plastic. A dark stain could be seen on the bround nearby. Then the image was gone and the news caster\'s face came back on the screen.

\" Police have not released any details as to the cause of death, but sources have informed Channel 6 news that massive trauma and blood loss are to blame. It is believed that Mr. Dalton had spent his evening at O\'Malley\'s Bar where witnesses say he left with female company.\"

The front of the bar was flashed and Kat felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She could vaguely recall the front of that bar, though it was fuzzy and distorted with alcohol. The exterior shot of the bar was replaced with a photo of the man they were speaking of. He wasn\'t an ugly man, though he wasn\'t what she would call handsome, either. He was of moderate looks, with long brown hair flowing past his shoulders. Her heart stopped beating a moment. That face swam before her eyes and she thought for a moment that she would pass out.

\"Police are looking for the woman witnesses have described as attractive and young. At present, they state that they are only seeking this unknown woman in order question her about the victim. If you have any information, the detective in charge of the investigate, Bill Freeman, asks that you call this number...

The words faded as Kat stared at the sketch that a police artist had done of her. It was a close likeness and she suddenly felt as if she was suffocating. Her head spun a little more and she had to put her hand on the table top to keep from falling out of the chair. The man was dead and she knew who did it. She should go to the police and tell them. But they wouldn\'t believe her. Just as Tami and Terry hadn\'t believed her about her mental state. Vampires were creatures that didn\'t exist except in the movies and in horror stories. In people\'s minds. And this thing... this shapeling as MacKenzie had called it. Things like that were the stuff of nightmares. No one would believe one existed unless they saw it, and even then it wouldn\'t be a given thing.

Jimmy Dalton. He had a name. And she\'d lead him to his death. That woman, the vampire called Niki, had wanted her. She\'d almost had her. But MacKenzie had saved her from that fate. And Jimmy Dalton had paid for it. Had died because of her. Kat squeezed her eyes shut and fought back the tears that threatened to spill down her face. She clutched blindly at her hot chocolate, picking it up to take with her. She needed to get out of here, needed to find some place to go and be alone. Only one place came to mind. She pushed the chair back, shooting to her feet and turning for the door. It didn\'t take her long to find herself out on the sidewalk and she determinedly made her way up the street to her car.

~*~*~*~*~

The clouds were rolling in as Kat made her way across the soggy ground toward the fresh grave. Of all the places she could go, the cemetary had been her first thought. It would be quiet and peaceful. She knew she could talk to Jeremy here without fear of being thought crazy. And it would give her the opportunity to let go of some of the emotions that had been building inside of her all day long. The trip to the coffee house had been the capper to it all. She clutched her coat tighter around her body as the wind picked up and blew hard around her.

She was thankful for the silence that permeated the vast cemertary. She didn\'t think she could deal with the noise of other people at the moment. Her mind was still stuck on the vision of the man she\'d picked up in the bar last night and the woman from the park. Jimmy Dalton was dead and she was completely certain that it was because of her. Jeremy was dead and she knew that was her fault. People were dying and somehow, she was the center of it.

She found the grave, the dirt still freshly mounded over the top of the hole that now contained the casket and Jeremy\'s body. Kat dropped to her knees next to it, the strength leaving her body in the face of reality. A headstone had been added already. It was pale gray granite, tall and sitting like a ghost before the mound of freshly turned earth. She stared at it in the dimming light, her fingers reaching up to run gently over the words chiseled into the smooth, glossy surface.

Jeremy Pillings
Beloved Son and Brother
born: 12-March-1975
died: 4-September-2004

You are my sunshine
and I know that you
will be shining down
on me from Heaven

Kat sobbed loudly, then let go of the tears. They rolled down her cheeks in small rivers, soaking into the collar of her jacket and the shirt beneath. The guilt washed over her once more and she buried her face in her hands. She bent over her knees, laying over them as she cried. She was drowning in her tears and guilt and sorrow but she couldn\'t seem to stop herself. It was her fault that Jeremy was dead. Before she could stop herself, she was once more reliving that night.

She could clearly see how that thing had looked at her. There had been a look in its eyes. A look of knowing, of understanding. It had known... No, he had known what she was and he\'d planned on using her for his own means. She\'d not seen it all that night, as it had happened too fast. But she could see it now as the events played out slowly in her mind. He\'d turned from Jer\'s body, blood dribbling from his muzzle, to look at her. There had been human intelligence in his eyes as he\'d looked at her.

He\'d scented the air before he\'d come at her. He\'d known she was a woman. That much had been visible in his eyes. His erection had started almost immediately and then he\'d come at her. She could recall how it had felt to have his claws rip into her abdomen. How it had felt to have him shred her clothes from her body. She gave a loud cry when she recalled the feel of him as he\'d shoved himself inside of her.

In her mind, she could see it all clearly. She could see that he\'d had a knowing look in his eyes. A look that told her he knew what he was doing. That he knew something. The shapeling hadn\'t attacked her randomly. He\'d had a reason. Of that, Kat was sure. It was a sobering thought and she decided that she would need to mention a few things to MacKenzie when she next saw him. Especially when she thought back to Tami telling her when she\'d been in the hospital about the hemorrhaging that the doctors had at first thought was a miscarriage.

Kat groaned at that, squeezing her eyes shut so she could push such thoughts from her mind for the time being. Instead, she focused her attentions to where she was. That brought the tears back to the front and she felt them once again trickle down over her cheeks. She made herself focus on the headstone and the words chiseled into the face of the smooth surface. \"I\'m so sorry, Jer. This is all my fault,\" she sobbed, staring forlornly down at the rectangular plot of land that lay before her.

Kat didn\'t notice the clouds as they moved stealthily in over the blue of the sky and the shining sun. She didn\'t feel the wind pick up and toss her clothes and hair around. She only knew the overwhelming grief of loss and guilt as she stared at Jeremy\'s final resting place.

~*~*~*~*~

The Meeting Hall at the Lair was empty, save the naked figure sprawled lazily in the large chair that resembled an old and worn throne. This time, there was no woman and MecKenzie was surprised to find Templer alone. Templer was a big man, standing nearly seven feet tall with black as sin hair and deep green eyes that could entrance even the most cautious of people. The thick mane of inky tresses hung just past his shoulders and was always neat, no matter what he was doing. Scars in pale white and pink traced lines over the muscular torso and bulging thighs. His eyes were closed, his face a perfect mask of non-chalance. MacKenzie knew better than to trust the little-boy looks Templer wore like his own skin.

MacKenzie storde forward until he was three feet from the chair Templer lounged in, then stopped and waited. He knew that his leader would speak when he was ready. One thing MacKenzie had learned over the years was that Templer worked at his own pace and forcing him to do sometihng when he wasn\'t ready would only prove deadly in the end. So he stood in silence and waited. It wasn\'t long before those piercing green eyes opened and Templer looked at him. \"Well?\"

\"You were right. Niki is hunting her,\" MacKenzie said.

\"Damn that bitch!\" Templer swore softly, his gaze locked onto where MacKenzie stood.

\"Had I not stepped in last night, Niki would have taken her then. As it is, the human\'s death reported on the news and in the papers was her doing. She is growing more unstable as the days pass.\"

\"She knows how I feel about her making toys to play with. After Tolly, I would think the stupid cow would have learned,\" Templer snorted in disgust.

\"She believes Tolly was weak. She doesn\'t see that she was the one responsible for Tolly\'s madness and her rampage,\" MacKenzie sighed. He\'d advised Templer years ago that Niki was dangerous and should be done away with. Templer\'s arrogance had stayed his hand despite the evidence that Niki herself had brought before the Family. And it was his arrogance that was ultimately responsible for the mortal\'s death. For the mortal\'s would die until Niki could have what she wanted. And she wanted Katya. MacKenzie didn\'t know why. He only knew she wanted her.

\"She was told she was forbidden from making herself any more toys,\" Templer said in a tone that suggested Niki would listen purely because he\'d said it. MacKenzie bit back the sigh and kept his face a blank mask. There were times when Templer was such a child concerning the others and his orders. He honestly believed that the Family would do as they were told simply because he told them to do it.

\"This I know. And I know that Katya is in danger until Niki finds something else to occupy her mind. When she finds something new to be enamored of, she will leave Katya alone,\" MacKenzie told Templer. \"I would ask that you allow me to continue watching over Katya until we can be assured that Niki no longer hungers for her.\"

\"I believe that would be wise. This woman can be of great use to us. She is able to speak to our kind in her mind and she has survived a physical attack by a shapeling. She is strong,\" Templer spoke softly, his voice full of smug superiority. MacKenzie kept his face a mask of indifference. There was no reason for the other man to know how MacKenzie felt about the idea of using Katya for personal gain. It was a twist of fate that had brought her to their attention and he hoped that he could keep her away from them as much as possible. \"Seek her out and make sure that Niki doesn\'t turn her.\"

\"As you command,\" MacKenzie gave a mock bow, then strode from the hall. He had no idea where to find Katya, but he would start with the obvious place. Her apartment. He had taken the liberty of checking her purse for identification. He knew her address, had memorized it and it was there that he would start his search for Katya. He only hoped he found her before Niki did.

end chapter three.
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any mistakes found here in are my own. i am my own beta and even i am a mere mortal. so yes, i do make mistakes. maybe. possibly. ok, i don\'t. its the computer\'s fault. so smack it around and tell it to get its boxy arse into shape. i\'ll have no mucking about here....

anyway, i hope that you like this. please feel free to leave me a note. be kind about it, though. i really am a gentle soul! ~snerk~

and, finally....

to Alexx the Hopeless: sick and twisted? psychopathic? i think i like that! thank you so much. here\'s the next chapter. i hope you enjoy.

to DarkMystic: i\'m glad you like it. this is my first attempt at something like this. i can only hope that it doens\'t go sour or anything. and i hope this chapter helps.