Chapter 4

Chapter four

After a hot shower, Martha sat down at the makeup dresser and began to search the drawers to find some sort of hair brush, yet every drawer was empty. She sighed and closed the last drawer. Her eyes glanced at her reflection in the oval mirror. The blue eyes stared at the dark circles under them and at the faded pink lips which were cracked and dried. Her cheeks had sunken in and barely had any lush color to them. Although wet, Martha's red hair sat just a few inches passed her shoulders. The sound of the news on the television faded as well as the sound of Richard taking his shower in the bathroom. Tears began to fill her eyes and then for only a few moments, Martha sobbed. She rested her face into the palms of her hands and continued to sob uncontrollably. The red head sniffled and pulled her head up. She ran her hands through her hair and tried to wipe the tears from her eyes.

There was knock at the door and the sound forced Martha to her feet. She adjusted the waist strap on her white bathrobe and shuffled in her slippers over to the door. "Who's there?"

"Zachary, do you mind if I come in?"

Martha shrugged and wiped her nose. "I guess so. You have the key."

The sound of metal against metal was heard from the lock and the door opened. Zachary stood at the doorway with folded clothes in his right arm. His outfit had changed into pair of acid washed jeans and a red t-shirt that had a "V" cut in the collar. Still on his feet were the black boots he wore before. He smiled to Martha and walked further into the room and closed the door. His eyes seemed to be dazed as he looked at Martha. "I ... Um ... That is ..." He stammered for a little bit before he chuckled. "I'm sorry. I found some clothing for you and Richard." He walked over to the bed and sat the clothing down to organize them. "I found some clothing in my closet for Richard and one of my friends offered something for you."

Martha watched him as he sat the clothing down. Without warning, Martha threw a fist down into Zachary's back! She continued to slap and punch the man with as much strength she could find. Tears fell out of her eyes as she sobbed. "You are not going to harm him! I won't let you!"

Zachary turned around and grabbed both of Martha's wrists with a gentle strength. Then, with passion in his eyes, he pulled her towards his torso and wrapped his arms around her.

The child like Martha continued to struggle, but she soon calmed and fell into the grasp of Zachary. She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his left shoulder. Tears ran out of her eyes as she continued to sob. She felt Zachary's cold hand run through her hair. As she rested in his arms and allowed him to pet her hair, she could smell his cologne which was a sweet musk like smell.

Zachary's voice was calm and whisper like. "Shh, calm yourself little fighter."

"He doesn't deserve this." She cried.

"Nor you. I know that I cannot comfort your fears, but I offer my shoulder for all your tears." He kissed her cheek and gently pushed her away from him. His red eyes stared into her blood shot blue eyes. For a moment, the two just stared at each other. It was not peaceful silence, because there was a tension in the air between them. Martha's lower lip quivered and Zachary held the frail woman by the shoulders.

Zachary's left ear twitched just slightly like a dog would to a sound and released his grasp on Martha. He smiled to her and placed his left index finger to her chin. "The food has arrived." His hand left her chin and his torso turned just slightly to pick up the woman's clothing he brought with him. Gently and slowly, Zachary held the pile of folded clothes in between him and Martha. "Please, get dressed. I will return with your meal in a matter of moments."

Martha kept her eyes on Zachary for a long moment as though some slight confusion had baffled her once angry spirit. She took the clothes and hugged them tightly against her chest. "Thank you." She finally whispered.

Zachary smiled and started to walk towards the door. Before he left, Zachary glanced around the door just one last time. Once again, Martha and he locked eyes and stared at each other as though each expecting something to happen or to be said. Instead of breathing another word, Zachary closed the door and locked it.

Martha stood with the clothes in her arms as she stared at the door. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she gave a slight grin.

Chapter 5

Chapter five

Zachary slipped the key into his right jean pocket and sighed. "Bewitched again." He said with a smile. His boots began to tap on the floor as he walked over to the stairs and into the red sitting room. He stopped and shook his head before he took in a deep breath. Everything in the room gave off a soft fuzzy glow as he started to walk through it. The fire in the fire place stood still as a single flame broke off from the rest of the yellow and red flames. The sound of his boots echoed all around him as he walked through the hallway filled with the white staring statues, however the sound of the club music playing from under him had stopped.

He made his way to the balcony and down the stairs to the front door. Zachary stood at the double doors and let out his breath of air. The faint glow of the lights above him faded to a normal light and the sound of the club music was heard once again. There was a knock at the door and Zachary grinned as he opened the door.

In the doorway was a young man who delivered pizzas. Dressed in his blue and red uniform along with his hat, the boy held out two pizza boxes and a liter of soda as he looked up at the lion head hanging over his own. "Wow."

Zachary smiled as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his black leather wallet. "Hello there, thank for your rush."

The pizza boy looked down and nodded to Zachary. "Yeah...sure." He said in a daze. "Hey, isn't this that place? That club or something?"

Zachary smiled. "That it is, dear boy. How much do I owe you?"

The boy smiled as he stared at Zachary. "Hey! You're that guy ... Zach, right? Oh man, I've heard a lot about you."

Zachary smiled and nodded. "I hope all good things."

The teen nodded. "Oh yeah... I mean, I heard some other things too. Is it true that this manor is haunted?" His eyes lit up.

Zachary chuckled. "The fee, my dear boy."

The delivery boy looked down to the contents he held in his hands and shook his head. "Oh yeah, twenty-seven fifty."

Zachary chuckled as he counted out the money. "I'm going to assume that you are not eighteen just yet?"

The delivery boy nodded and shrugged with a frown. "Yeah, got two more years left." He looked up at Zachary and a figure caught his attention. As Zachary continued to count the money, the boy looked over Zachary's shoulder with wide eyes and closed his mouth tightly.

Zachary held out the money to the boy and started to take the pizza boxes and the soda. "Thank you very much." He loaded the contents onto and balanced them on his left arm along with his wallet. With a grin. "There is a ten dollar tip in there for you and my card. Stop by again in the next two years and you will have free admission to the club."

The boy took the money, still keeping his eyes over Zachary's shoulder at the figure standing by the coffin filled with glow sticks. "Okay ... Uh, thanks." He shoved the money into his pant pocket and rushed to his car.

Zachary chuckled and closed the door. "A smile wouldn't hurt." He said as he turned around to face the figure standing two feet away from him.

The figure was a large framed man, bulked with large muscles. He stood almost seven foot tall and his shoulders were very broad. His pitch black hair was pulled tightly back into a pony tail. Around his torso was a tight fitting white long sleeved shirt with the sleeves pushed up onto his large arms. A pair of brown slacks sat down over his white athletic sneakers.

The man's face was very strong with a dimple in his rounded chin. His face was horribly scared from large amounts of stitches that had once been in his skin. Circling his entire neck was a long crude scar. Around his large wrists were stitching scars. His eyes were a strong blue, almost diamond like. The bridge of his strong nose was slightly crooked and the left side of his face was scared from a horrible burn that he had healed from. Even with his scars, the man was not horrible to look at; he was indeed handsome to some degree, only his body showed years of battles and surgeries.

"What is the deal with the van?" The large man asked with a smirk. His voice was deep, very deep with a slight Hungarian accent.

Zachary started to the stairs. "Please follow me and I will explain."

The man followed and held onto the stair rail as he walked with a slight limp in his right knee. "I saw the video feed and you walked in with a couple."

"Cousins, actually."

"Either way, I said to myself, surely Zach will explain this."

"Odd, because I said to myself, I need to tell Gabriel about this." Zachary said with a grin.

Gabriel smirked. "Alright, spill it then."

Zachary sighed as he slowed his pace to walk along side with Gabriel. Every so often, the young host would look up to Gabriel with a smile as he recounted the beginning of the night with Richard and Martha. He told his tall friend about the dream that made him go for a stroll into the city and the events with Billy and Selena. "There is something in her eyes that oozes sadness, Gabriel." Zachary finished his story with. "And this Richard Thomas seems to be too good of a man to be a killer. Yet, his words captured my heart and stirred my fears."

Gabriel shoved his large hands into his slack pockets as he lowered his eyes to the red carpeted floor in the sitting room. "Not that I have ever argued with you, Zach, but you do realize that you are jeopardizing the club by bringing these two here. Not to mention the two hit men in that van."

Zachary nodded. "I do, but I also know we have seen many horrors and terrors in our day." His face lost the smile and grim look came across his face. "I know that we have stumbled on a few good years of peace here and I want to keep it so. This little fight is noting to us. All I am doing is stepping in to aid in the resistance. I take full responsibility."

Gabriel stopped and laid a hand on his friend's shoulder to stop him as well. His diamond blue eyes stared into Zachary's red ones. "You stood beside all of us when things got tough and you must know that we will do the same." He gave a crooked smile. "At least I will."

Zachary nodded with a grin. His pointed ears pinned back and he darted his head towards the stairs that led to the guest room he left Martha and Richard in. "Something is happening. A scream." Zachary dropped the items in his arm and took in a deep breath.

Gabriel had stopped moving, he became like a living statue as his hand was still kept on Zachary's shoulder. The items were stuck in midair and Zachary turned to charge towards the door that held Richard and Martha.

Still holding his breath, Zachary pulled out the key from his pocket and unlocked the door. He twisted the knob and shoved the door open. In his state of hyper speed, Zachary had to push hard on the door to open it. Once the door was opened, his eyes widened as he saw two figures on the bed.

There was a young man, dressed in a white buttoned up shirt that was covered with a long sleeved black sweater and a pair of jeans. He had not put on his shoes. His face was cruel with a large smile and his hands were wrapped around the throat of Martha as she laid on the bed! Her mouth was gaped open as though she were gasping for air! Some new stranger was choking Martha Thomas!

Zachary reacted as quickly as he could without losing his breath. He quickly ran over to the two laying on the bed and forced the man's frozen hands off of Martha's throat. Then, with all the strength he could find, Zachary grabbed the man by his throat and ran his suspended body through the air and slammed him onto the ground. With his hand on the man's throat and his knee in the skinny chest, Zachary let out his breath and the room came to life.

The young man looked at Zachary with terror in his almost black eyes. The thin black hair the man had fell onto the floor and his wicked smile switched to a growl. "Bloody hell!" The man said in a deep British accent.

Zachary's eyes glowed with red hot anger. "Who are you?" He asked.

The man gripped Zachary's wrist with his two hands and began to struggle. "Don't you think the question is, where did you come from? Because that is what is going through my mind at the moment!"

Gabriel stood at the doorway with confusion on his face. "Do you need help?"

Zachary kept his eyes narrowed on his prey. "Tend to Martha. Get her out of here."

Gabriel did not say a word. He ran over to Martha who was on the bed gasping for air. He gently grabbed her by the shoulders. "Please come with me."

Martha looked at him with fear and tried to speak.

Gabriel picked the woman up as though she were a doll in his hands and quickly escorted the gasping woman out into the hall. He stopped at the doorway and looked at Zachary and waited for further instruction.

"The key is still in the door, Gabriel. Lock it behind you. I will tend to our little friend here." Zachary commanded.

Gabriel nodded and slammed the door.

Zachary did not move until he heard the last lock of the door. He stood up and took his position at the feet of the young man.

The man rubbed his throat as he gasped. "Alright ... Clearly I am out of my league with you." He pushed himself to sit up and stare at Zachary. His black eyes wandered over the frame of Zachary like a cat would to a rat. His thin black hair fell back into perfect position with his bangs falling over his right eye. A wicked smile grew on his face which revealed crooked teeth. His nose was large with a small curve to the tip. His cheek bones were protruding from his face and his skin had an odd gray tone to it.

Zachary looked at the man for a long moment. "Who are you?"

The man laughed as he pushed himself up and ran his hand through his hair, which caused the bangs covering his right eye to be pushed to the side of his head. "Oh, I have been called many names. Some have been asshole or the Devil, but I didn't like most of em." He said in his off putting accent. "But most call me Bugsy."

Zachary lifted his left eyebrow in confusion. "How did you get into this room?"

Bugsy laughed with a cackle and adjusted the very loose fitting pants he wore. The clothing he wore was far too big to fit on his very thin frame. "What are you, a cop?"

"To you and I am the authority around here." Zachary said in a bold voice.

Bugsy held out his left hand and grinned as he tilted his head slightly back and his eyes grew wide. "I won't answer any more questions until I get a cigarette."

Zachary studied the hand for a moment. The fingers were long and boney and through the skin of the man's palm, blue veins protruded out. Zachary sighed and pulled out his silver cigarette case from his front pocket. He opened it and pulled out one of the three hand rolled cigarettes from the case to place into the hand of the stranger. He watched as Bugsy lifted the cigarette into his thin lips. Zachary then pulled out his silver cigarette lighter and began to light Bugsy's cigarette. The two did not move their eyes from each other. With the flame between them, Zachary's read eyes stared into the black ones of Bugsy.

Bugsy drew in a deep breath of smoke and blew it out. It was the first time his large cat like eyes relaxed for a moment and they even crossed as he exhaled. "Oh that is the good stuff. Hadn't had a cigarette in years."

Zachary held the cigarette lighter and case in his right hand as he continued to stare at Bugsy. "How did you get into the room?"

Bugsy let out a loud sigh and smacked his lips. "Always questions, questions, questions." He scratched his forehead. "Alright mate, I'll level with ya. I caught a ride into here." He glanced around the room with a wicked grin. "Whatever here is?"

Zachary's eyes were stern, which seemed to not bother the young man before him. "Why did you attack Miss Thomas?"

Bugsy laughed and sat down on the couch next to him. "Miss Thomas? You are old school, mate." He gave his wicked grin as his puffed on the cigarette. His black eyes flashed as though there were no soul in them. "The bitch tried to kill me."

Zachary tried to help the confused look on his face and kept it blank. "Martha Thomas tried to kill you? You can see how hard it is for me to believe that."

Bugsy scoffed as he leaned back into the couch and crossed his legs at the ankles, extending them out. "She wasn't killin' me like you think of killin'."

Zachary started to pace in front of Bugsy, like a lion would at a zoo. "Where is Richard?"

Bugsy's wicked grin turned into a frown with a confused look in his blank eyes. "Who?"

Zachary snarled. "Do not play games with me, young lad. Richard Thomas. He was in this very room with the two of you."

Bugsy shook his head and took in a puff of his cigarette. "Never heard of the guy."

Zachary let out a raspy screech and quickly grabbed Bugsy by the shirt and lifted him as high as he could. "I am in no mood for tricks!"

Bugsy looked around the two and laughed. "Oh wow, you are a strong one aren't you?" There was no sense of fear or terror in his face, only the wicked grin and the black eyes that stared at Zachary. "I'm excited to see what you are going to do next, Count Dracula."

Zachary scoffed and tossed the man onto the couch again. "You said you caught a ride into here, what does that mean?"

Bugsy shrugged and flicked the ashes of his hand rolled cigarette onto the black wooden floor. "Had to catch a ride in here, because I was knocked out. I don't know how long I have been out, but the last thing I remembered was that red head demon injected some drug into my arm. Then poof, I am standing in here at the foot of the bed with my hand zipping up my pants. Some idiot thought it would be funny to place these on my face." Bugsy reached behind the couch and grabbed something from the foot of the bed. With a wink, Bugsy held out this item to Zachary.

Although he did not take the item, Zachary studied it. It was a pair of wired framed glasses. Richard's glasses. He cocked his head to one side and suddenly turned to start for the door.

"Gonna lock me in, I see." Bugsy taunted behind Zachary.

Zachary turned around and stared at the strange young man sitting on the couch. "Of course. Do you really think I am going to let someone like you run around choking women?"

Bugsy waved his hand and smirked. "She wouldn't be the first person I killed, but she is the only one I would like to torture." He stood up and popped his neck. "Look, obviously, I do not want to piss you off. If you can move faster than I can, then I am outmatched. However, you are not the first person that has locked me in a room." He puffed on is cigarette and walked with a stagger over to the end of the couch. "So I am going to make a deal with you, I'll give you three hours before I find a way out of here." He jumped over the couch and bounced on the bed like a child would and smoked on the cigarette.

Zachary shook his head and knocked on the door. "Gabriel, be kind and unlock the door."

As the sound of the key in the door lock was heard, Zachary turned around to Bugsy who had laid down on the bed with the television remote in his hands.

"Hey, Dracula, does this have porn?" He asked as he pointed towards the television.

Zachary did not answer.

The door opened and Zachary pushed through it to walk outside into the hallway, where Gabriel stood guard over the door and Martha paced with her arms folded over her chest.

Gabriel closed and locked the door again.

Zachary walked over to Martha and folded his arms behind his back. "You can imagine the world of confusion I am in right now."

Martha stopped and started to bite down on her left thumb nail. Her face was filled with both terror and worry. "I knew he would come back. We were out of Prantex and Richard thought he was gone ... But he wasn't! I knew ... I knew."

Zachary sighed. "Where is Richard?"

Martha gave a small chuckle along with as scoff and rolled her eyes. "He is in there."

Zachary looked to Gabriel over his shoulder. Gabriel looked at Zachary with confusion. Zachary turned his attention back to the pacing Martha. "Because I did not sense him or see him, I am drawing a conclusion at the moment that seems so fantastic, that it must be true."

Martha sighed. "What is that, Zachary?"

He glanced to Gabriel with a smirk and then sighed. "Am I to assume that Richard has gone through a metamorphosis into that young man? Am I going to accuse the very idea that Richard is some sort of shape shifter and can turn into Bugsy?"

Martha stopped and stared at the ground as she removed her half eaten thumb nail from her mouth. "You can believe that?"

Zachary closed his eyes and then looked at Martha. "That is the only conclusion I have met." He did not seem surprised or shocked by the very idea.

Martha darted her eyes at Zachary and approached him with fear in her blue eyes. "The man is a monster!"

Gabriel walked to Zachary's side as he stared down to Martha with a very confused look on his face.

Martha shook her head and grabbed Zachary's t-shirt. "You have to help me kill Bugsy! We have to find some new Prantex!"

Zachary grabbed Martha's wrists and looked into her eyes. "We have three hours to find the answer to this problem. You have one hour to explain all of this to me."

Chapter 6

Chapter six

"Did you get it?" Selena asked still laying on her stomach. The inside of the van was very dark, only the full white moon gave enough light for her to see. Steam rolled out of her mouth as she struggled in the plastic straps that held her arms behind her back.

"Shut up." Billy hissed as he tried to pull a pocket knife out of Selena's left side pocket. He wiggled his back closer to her's and grunted.

"No funny business." Selena whispered with a sharp tongue. "I am having enough trouble not to vomit with you against me."

Billy rolled his eyes as his glasses began to fall off his face. "Oh please, it's not like we have never been this close to each other."

Selena paused as Billy reached into her front pocket. Billy slid the knife out of her pocket and opened it.

"Being drunk and taken advantage of is not being close, you sick idiot." Selena snarled.

Billy did not say a word, he focused attention on the invisible straps that held his arms behind his back. He used his fingers to wiggle the blade back and forth over the plastic and forced his wrists against the straps. Finally, after a few moments of effort, the straps snapped in half. Billy was free.

"Now, untie me!" Selena demanded.

Billy sat on his knees with the knife blade blazing from the full moon light. He looked over Selena who still had her back turned to him. His eyes were blank like his soul had been removed. Billy licked his course lips as his eyes ran up and down Selena's curved frame. Slowly, Billy touched the tip of the blade on her shoulder.

Selena tried to glance over her shoulder to Billy. "What the hell are you doing? Untie me."

Billy's dazed soulless eyes watched as the blade ran gently over her arm, onto her waist and over her butt. He licked his drool from the side corners of his mouth.

"Billy! You sick freak! Untie me!" Selena roared.

The pimpled covered hit man leaned down to cut into Selena's straps. His face knelt into her curly blond hair and he gave a loud sniff. He then rubbed his course pimpled covered nose over her cheek. "Are you still sickened by me?"

Selena looked around with wide eyes. "What are you doing?"

He smiled and stopped his cutting. "You know how much fun we could have if I leave you tied up?" He kissed her cheek and laid the blade down next to her hands. Billy turned and unlocked the sliding door. He gently opened it and stepped out into the cold air.

Selena wiggled in her straps and scoffed. "You idiot! Untie me! Untie me!"

Billy smiled and slammed the door behind him. He could still hear Selena's roars and demands muffled behind the door. The course hands lifted to adjust his winkled black silk tie before he ran around the van.

He walked quickly with a stern look on his face. Quickly, Billy pulled out a small pistol from within a concealed pocket in his overcoat. He cocked the chamber to allow a bullet to enter the barrel. Then, with quiet footsteps, Billy held the gun head level and walked past the front doors. His wild dark eyes darted from right to left, studying the unknown area he was in.

He walked around the house and glanced to almost every window he could see. Each one was barred with thick iron bars and bolted with heavy black bolts. He shook his head as he continued to walk around the house. "No way in." He said. He continued his search around the house.

Suddenly, a loud wolf like howl twisted with a moan of a human sliced through the night air! Billy turned and aimed his weapon to where he thought the sound came from.

A few feet from him was the dark forest that lined the property. Dead trees had lost their lives from the battle with autumn and lining the trees was a thick cable like fence that stood higher than he. Billy adjusted his glasses to see a yellow sign; from the distance he stood, he could not read what the sign said. "Electric?" He asked himself.

The wolf howl mixed with a human moan cut through the air again and Billy glanced around the woods with his fire arm pointed into the black wooden abyss. "What the hell is that?" He asked himself again. He shook his head and continued his search for an opening into the house.

Finally, Billy managed to run around the entire manor and made his way to the back side of it. Starting from the back wall of the manor, standing as tall as the large house, was a brick wall made from the same bricks that lined the outside of the manor and seemed to be like another wall to the house; the only difference, the only thing that gave away that it was some type of fenced wall was a missing roof.

Billy walked around the wall to the very back of it. There, he saw the electric fence bend from the woods, leaving an opening into the wooded area, and connected to a tall iron gate that stood the height of the wall. The gate seemed to be the entrance into the inside of the wall.

He studied the fence for a moment and shook his head. "Electric, more than likely." He kept looking around the fence and the gate. The wandering eyes that sat behind the glasses stopped on a control box that sat just on the other side of the gate, inside the wall. The box had a lever on it with a red knob.

Billy smiled and aimed his gun. He closed one eye and used the other to peer down the barrel. He fired a shot and missed the box. The bullet bounced off the brick wall beside the box. He grunted and aimed again. His finger squeezed the trigger and fired another shot. The bullet smacked the box and a small spark flew into the air.

He holstered his pistol and looked over the fence. "How to test it?"

Billy stopped and felt a sharp pain slice pass his right arm! He jumped back and tried to pull out his pistol. His eyes narrowed on the curved frame of Selena. She held the blade in her right hand.

"I'm going to kill you for leaving me back there!" She sneered, exposing her teeth like a wild animal. Her eyes began to ooze with the blackness of her pupils.

Billy laughed with a hiss as he pulled out his pistol. Quickly, he aimed his pistol at her and pulled out his dog whistle.

Selena lunged at Billy with her blade, but she was too late. Billy had placed the whistle onto his lips and blew hard on it.

Selena held her left hand over her ear as her face twisted in pain. "Damn it!"

Billy fired a shot at Selena's shoulder! She stumbled and hit the cable fence. The shot woman held onto one of the cables as she fell onto the ground with her black eyes rolling to the back of her head. After struggling against fainting, Selena finally let go of the dulled fence and fell onto the frost covered ground.

Billy smiled as he removed the whistle from his lips. "That will do."

Again, the sound of a moan human like wolf groaned in the distance of the woods.

Billy slowly turned to look over his shoulder. His glasses reflected the light shining from the moon as a smirk came over his face. "What in the hell is that?"

With a shrug, Billy started to climb over the fence and stumbled into the electrical cable fence hallway that led to the tall Iron Gate. He holstered his weapon and approached the gate with ease. Once at the gate, Billy examined it to see how it was locked. There, on the other side of the gate, was a thick latch that seemed to swing up and down. He stuck his hand and arm in between the iron bars and grabbed the latch to lift it. He struggled with the latch for a moment and lifted it just enough for him to open the gate. He stepped through the gate and closed it behind him. He gave one last look to Selena, who laid on the ground with her face down. "Good night, princess."

As Billy turned around to face what lay within the brick wall, he discovered that he was standing at the end of a vast garden. From wall to wall, the garden sat with odd looking exotic plants. Each were covered with frost and seemed to stand very tall. To one side of the wall was a small lattes that held a fat red rose bush, whose vines crawled onto the white lattes with thorns and red faces. Strange purple like flowers stood as tall as his shoulders and odd looking bushes stood even taller; these bushes were cut into forms like a lion or a woman like figure. Each plant stood in formation with the bushes lining a cobble stone walk way that led to the back of the manor. In the center of the walk way stood a fountain that held white marble statues of a lion sitting calmly under an angel who was petting the head of the lion. The angel was looking down at the lion with care as she held onto a small pot that leaked red tinted water.

Billy pulled out his pistol again and held it at the level of his waist as he walked with caution into the hallway of bushes. His eyes darted around him with fear as he tightened his mouth. The wind howled as it rounded his head and shoulders. The blood from his wound dripped onto the ground as he continued to walk with caution.

As the stranger walked out of the bushes, he found himself in a circled cobble stoned patio that held a matching set of black metal lawn chairs that were in Gothic design. Each chair held red cushions and a long swinging bench had a red cloth draped over it. The swinging bench swayed slowly with a ghostly like presence from the wind.

Behind the matching lawn set was the back of the house, which was an extra room made of all glass and black metal sides. Although very dark outside, Billy could see inside of the room due to a dim blue light inside. Inside the glass room was more plants that were tall and odd looking. Right in front of him was the glass door that led into the inside.

With a grunt of pain, Billy stepped quickly to the door and pulled on the silver door knob only to find that his entrance was locked. He stepped back as he bit on his lower lip and aimed his gun at the door knob. He hesitated for only a moment before he glanced to his left side and saw salvation. There, protruding out of the corner of glass portion of the house and out of the ground near the wall was a basement double doors.

Billy lowered his weapon and walked over to the doors made of thick metal. There was no lock on the outside latch and a light could be seen through the cracks of the doors. He slowly grabbed the left side latch and opened the door. With a thrust, Billy throughout his gun in case someone was behind the doors. A yellow dim light eliminated a pair of concrete stairs that led further into the basement. Billy held his gun ready to fire as he stepped down into the basement.

Once inside, Billy was standing inside a small hallway that lead only to the right. He slowly crept along the left wall of the hallway. He could see the light was coming from another room that the hallway lead into. The only sound Billy could hear was his own breathing along with his loud beating heart as he continued through the small hallway into the next room.

The room was vast, much large than a normal basement. Overhead were rows of lamps that hung down with the aid of chains. The walls were made of the same brick as the outside of the manor, only there were cracks. In some way, the walls looked almost dungeon like. There were tables off all kinds in the room; the tables were covered with all sorts of scientific equipment and relics of different religions. On the wall facing him was an ivory skull of a goat head. Around this goat skull was a red spray painted circle and in between the skull and the circle was odd looking symbols. Just below the skull was a long table that was covered with a long red cloth. On the cloth were rows of candles, still smoking from being put out just moments before his arrival. In the center of the white candles was a large wooden bowl and beside it was an incense tray that was still burning a stick of sweet smelling incense.

His eyes followed the table that sat on this wall and saw a set of concrete stairs leading up to a single wooden door. He aimed his weapon at the door and started for it. Billy's dark eyes twitched as he licked the corner of his mouth. His expensive looking black shoes slid across the floor as he made way for the door.

"You shouldn't be here." Said a whisper like voice.

Billy turned around and waved his weapon in the air! His eyes were wide with fear! "Selena?" He asked. As Billy looked around behind him, he saw no one. There was no sign of Selena or anyone.

"Who are you?" Asked different whisper.

Billy turned around again, circling around himself with his gun aimed. "What the hell?" His breathing became heavy with terror as he found no one was in the room other than himself and there was no place for anyone to hide!

"Sinner!" Screamed a woman like voice directly in front of him.

Over and over again, the voices murmured, called him names and asked who he was. Billy circled himself as panic set into his eyes. "What is going on?!" He waved his gun around wildly, aiming at thin air. By this point, there were so many voices that they blended together to make an incoherent chant of murmurs and screaming.

Billy started to back away with fearful confusion. "What do you want? What are you?" He fell back and bumped into one of the tables behind him! As he did, the table moved just slightly which made Billy loose his footing and he started to fall onto the ground. He waved his arm to brace himself on the table, which brought the whole table down on him!

Test tubes and metallic bowls filled with strange liquid fell onto his body, covering him with all sorts of different colored solutions. The liquid burned through his clothing and burned his skin! Like throwing his entire body into a large barn fire, Billy screamed as the liquid bubbled on his skin and eyes!

Chapter 7

Chapter seven

Like most rooms in the manor, the office was very large. However, unlike the many rooms in the great house, the color scheme inside the office was different. Instead of reds and blacks, the office walls were a perfect shade of blue with silver metallic panels hanging off the center of the walls. Lights behind the panels lit up and dim beams hit the ceiling. At the end of the room, where the door sat above a half circled set of wooden stairs, there was a desk sitting just a few feet away from the door. The desk was made of glass and lined with silver metal. On top of the desk was a brand new desk top computer and beside the monitor was a small printer. Behind the desk were three silver metal book shelves that stood five feet tall and held many blue binders that had white labels; each label was imprinted with blue lettered dates. On the wall that connected to the one holding the shelves were four tall filing cabinets made of glass and lined with silver metal like the desk.

Across the room sat two blue leather couches; one of the couches faced its back to the desk and the other ran along the wall that held the cabinets. In the middle laid a gray shaggy rug and on top of the rug was a large glass table. On the wall facing the couches was a large flat screen television that showed eight different divided screens. Each screen was from a security camera feed from each part of the manor. Four on top showed the outside of the home and four at the bottom revealed a club scene in different positions. Just under the television was a mini bar made of metal and glass.

Martha sat on the couch that lined with the cabinet wall. Her head was resting in her palms as she leaned forward onto her knees.

Zachary stood at the mini bar, pouring two glasses half way full with brandy. He glanced over his shoulder to the worried woman sitting on his office couch. With care, Zachary picked up the glasses and walked over to in front of Martha. He smiled and held out one of the glasses. "Here you go."

Martha removed her head and sat up straight with a sniff. Her eyes were blood shot. She adjust the back end of her black t-shirt and took the drink from Zachary. "Thank you." She said with a mono tone voice.

Zachary held out his drink and sat down on the couch opposite of Martha's. He crossed his legs and took a sip of the drink.

Martha took one sip of the brandy and then decided to gulp down the entire glass. She heaved just slightly and rubbed her throat. "Strong."

Zachary smiled as he removed the glass from his lips. "I guess you needed that."

Martha nodded and stared at the glass in her hand. "After three years of madness, yeah I guess I did."

Zachary leaned forward and rested his glass on the table. "Now, you must tell me about Richard and this Bugsy character."

Martha sighed and looked from her glass to Zachary. "Are you certain he can't get out?"

Zachary patted his knee and nodded. "Yes, even if he did, Gabriel is watching over the door. He is used to guarding ... People like Bugsy." He gave a smirk as though he were laughing at a personal joke.

Martha sighed and fell back into the couch. "Okay ... Like you said, Richard can transform into Bugsy, but not of his free will. It is like that Jekyll and Hyde story, but stranger than fiction." She sighed and smacked her lips as if she were going to cry.

"Seven years ago, at least what I gather from the records because I was only ten at the time and too young to recall what happened, I had an uncle named Wilmore Thomas. My Dad and Uncle Wilmore were both doctors, but Dad was part of the psychiatry and Uncle Wilmore was a genetic doctor.

Back then, Uncle Wilmore and Aunt Louis would come over almost every weekend. They started to do that when my mother passed during giving birth to me. They would help my Dad take care of me. In some way, they were like my second parents. I still remember how my Aunt Louis would laugh and how Uncle Wilmore would read me bed time stories when my father was out of town.

One day, I remembered seeing Wilmore and Aunt Louis argue over something. After that, things went downhill. Uncle Wilmore was missing most of the time. There was this one time he was gone for three weeks! Aunt Louis was the main caregiver to me at the time before Dad got a job closer to home. One night, I remember hearing some crying in our house. I got out of bed and saw my father holding Aunt Louis. She was crying hysterically and her face was beaten to a bloody mess. She kept saying, 'Why would he do that?!' I didn't know who she was talking about at the time, but I found out later that she claimed Wilmore had done this to her! My father did not allow Uncle Wilmore to visit the house or let him see Aunt Louis after that. Three days later, Aunt Louis found out she was pregnant with Richard.

When Richard was born, I was his baby sitter most of the time. He was more like a brother to me than a cousin. With a new baby, Dad allowed Wilmore to see his child and eventually Louis and my uncle moved into their house together. Uncle Wilmore wasn't the same though. There was something different about him. He would be in a daze most of the time and other times he seemed like he was in a panic. I couldn't place a finger on it, but he did seem ... Just different.

Right after my fourteenth birthday, my father got a call about my Aunt Louis from a detective. They had found her laying in her bed all beaten up and her head was almost severed from her body. The police report is more graphic, but that is the closest detail I can get to. We were all upset about the death, but Uncle Wilmore seemed unphased by it all. Of course, the police though his behavior was strange and did an investigation on him. The only thing that turned up was finger prints that belonged to someone that wasn't in their system. The killer was never found.

We, my father and I, took in Richard. Wilmore didn't seem that upset by the idea. Every so often, my uncle would visit the house, but he barely visited his son. He was so distant emotionally to most of us. He did seem the same, but it was more like someone was acting like him. I didn't have much evidence at the time that something was wrong ... Until the night he came into my bedroom and ... He ... Um ... "

Martha stopped telling the tale as she bit down on her lower lip.

Zachary looked at the young woman with remorse, his eyes glowed gently. "Please continue."

Martha sighed and nodded. "I didn't tell my father because Uncle Wilmore threatened to kill him. Two years of this passed before my father caught Wilmore in the act and he beat him over the head with a cricket bat. I had never seen my father like that before. He was always apologizing to me about what had happened. After that incident, Wilmore went missing for about six months. The police later found his body floating in a river. He had been shot through the head. They linked the murder to the murder of Aunt Louis, but I knew ... I believed that Wilmore was the killer in both situations.

My father took custody of Richard. It was then we started to notice something off about him. There were moments where Richard would be playing like a child would and then switch on a dime! He would be violent and used curse words that I had never heard before. After his violent outbursts, he would return as the kind Richard that he was and claimed that he had forgotten all about his violent fits. It was then that my father assumed he was going through a dissociative personality disorder, or split personalities.

As Richard got older, the changes happened more frequently. They were much stronger and my father had to pull Richard out of school to be put into a mental institution. Even then, Bugsy managed to get out of the facility to burn down the entire school!

There was much more than just personality changes in Richard; whenever Bugsy would emerge, Richard's curly hair would change color and he did not need his glasses. He would grow skinnier and his eyes ... His eyes ... They would be black ... Almost soulless.

At the time, my father was researching a new drug that he and his colleagues were working on. A drug called Prantex. This drug was designed to subdue any violent outburst that would occur in the human brain. He tested it on some prisoners and gained some amazing results. The only trouble was, the drug would wear off after some time. He would give the personality calling himself Bugsy minor dosages and the result was that Bugsy would change quickly into Richard! As long as Richard took the drug, Bugsy was never seen again.

All was going good. Richard was back at home and was alright. One day, three years ago, I was visiting from college when some men in black suits took Richard from the house. My father fought as hard as he could and I tried to help, but in the struggle, my father was shot and killed!"

Martha closed her eyes as a tear fell down her cheek. "When Wilmore was alive, he was working with an organization that dealt with genetic research of the illegal kind. They were experimenting on animals and were trying to link human DNA with that of an animal's. Wilmore's journals explain that he was trying to find the animal within man. He believed that he could make a man as strong as a gorilla or as fast as a lion. He was trying to make some kind of super-human. One journal entry says that he tried the formula on himself! He called it the next stage of human evolution. That was the last journal entry ... After that .... Pages upon pages of filth. Women being cut open; men being stabbed and horrible scribbling of cursing.

I knew then, Bugsy must have come from whatever Wilmore was working on. Whatever altered Wilmore's DNA must have created both Richard and Bugsy.

I spent a year after that to find a way to get Richard back. It wasn't easy, but I did it. After that, I have been using the supply of Prantex that my father created to keep Bugsy away. We have been running from London to France, to Florida and then finally to here..." She paused and smiled to Zachary. "That is when you found us."

Zachary lowered his eyebrows in thought as he looked away from Martha. He darted his eyes to her again and nodded his head to the back of the couch. "Then, I am guessing, those people in the van are from this organization then?"

Martha nodded and gave a short chuckle. "Yes ... As I said, they were experimenting on humans. Selena was one of them."

Zachary's sharp finger nails of his left hand scratched his chin. "I hardly believe that Richard and Bugsy could be so important, if they were creating telepaths."

Martha nodded with wide eyes. "They are! The telepathic humans they created were strong, but most of them died within a few weeks. Selena is the only one that survived the experiments. Even she has an expiration date." She scooted closer to Zachary on her own couch and held out a hand with excitement in her eyes. "Ever since he was born, Richard has never been sick! The doctors were baffled by it. No matter what he ate or did, it wouldn't harm him. He is the perfect human and if you were to cut him, he would heal from it in a matter of hours; no scars or bruises."

Zachary nodded. "And Bugsy?"

Martha frowned and leaned back into the couch, her excitement left her eyes. "When we tested him, if he was behaved, Bugsy showed signs of a high I.Q. The doctors said that his genius outmatched most of their tests. His speed, strength and agility are far beyond human limits." Martha rested her chin on her knuckles. "There is a problem though ... Bugsy is a parasite. He feeds off of Richard's health to remain strong. When Bugsy changes back into Richard, Richard gathers his strength and isn't that effected by it."

Zachary shrugged as he let down his right leg from his left knee. "And how is that a problem?"

Martha scratched her forehead as she continued to rest her chin on her knuckles. "I just don't like the fact that Bugsy is eating off of Richard. It isn't human."

He leaned back into the couch and let out a heavy breath through his nose. For a moment, Zachary sat silent in the office before he took in another breath. "You said Bugsy has killed once before?"

Martha nodded. "Yes." She looked at Zachary with confusion. "You don't believe me?"

Zachary shrugged and stared at the glass table in front of him. "It is my understanding that Bugsy and Richard were born at the same time, like twins. If that was the case, then there has to be some Richard in Bugsy."

Martha shook her head. "Not at all. In fact, Bugsy is entirely separate from Richard. If you were to try to match their DNA or finger prints, it would show up different. Granted, Bugsy has some similar strands of DNA like Richard's, but..."

"But that would validate what I just said." Zachary interrupted. "Bugsy and Richard might be different from one another, but each share a similarity somewhere in the blood ... Perhaps even in soul."

Martha scoffed. "Souls? Evil creatures like Bugsy don't have souls."

Zachary smiled and then stared into Martha's eyes. "Even evil creatures have souls, dear Martha ... I know that."

The two stared at each other for a long time in silence. Zachary's pinned back to his head and his eyes stared forward with fear. He quickly stood up and looked at the door.

Martha slowly stood up in confusion. "What is it?"

Zachary held his left hand out to tell Martha to stand still. "Gun shots."

Chapter 8

Chapter eight

Bugsy laid on the bed and watch a television cartoon of a rabbit running around the screen from a fat hunter holding a blunderbuss. He laughed with a cackle and waved his feet around like a child would.

"Get that rabbit, you fat bastard!" He yelled at the cartoon characters. The skinny bird face like man sighed and rubbed a finger over his upper crooked teeth. "Well," he mumbled, "three hours is way too long to wait." He grabbed the remote with his bony like fingers and changed the channel to a music video, which was made back in the seventies and had grown men with women makeup, dressed in tight leather suits. The music was old age rock and Bugsy cracked a smile. "Now there is some groovy music to dance to." He turned the volume all the way up as the television would allow. Bugsy tossed the remote to the side and rolled off the bed onto his feet. He stood up straight and bowed to an invisible person in front of him. "May I have this dance?" He joked. Without anyone in his arms, Bugsy pretended that he was dancing with someone. His smile was wide with wicked intent. Bugsy danced around the bed, the couch and through the room until he reached the one of the windows.

With a hum, Bugsy threw open the curtains in a dramatic move and leaned his head back. "My, what a wonderful night!" He pulled his head back and studied the window that held his reflection. "Hello beautiful." The black eyes shined as he looked through the reflection and studied the window and the bars behind it. He tapped his bony finger on the glass and frowned. "Afraid someone is going to shoot you?" His face cracked an evil smile. "Oh, I think I know how to beat you." He straightened his back and walked into the bathroom next to him.

Once inside the bathroom, Bugsy examined the contents in the bathroom sink cabinet. There he found five bottles of cleaning chemicals. He smiled. "Hello there." He whispered with a cartoon like voice as he selected three of the five bottles. Carrying the bottles, Bugsy hummed like a child as he entered the room and placed the bottles on the makeup counter. He mixed the chemicals together into one bottle and carried the bottle over to the bare window. With a smile, Bugsy splashed half the bottle on the window.

Slowly, the liquid burned through the paint on the window seal and started wither the wood into dust. The window itself began to sizzle and bubble as it began to melt away like plastic in a fire. Once half the window was melted away, Bugsy took the rest of the liquid and poured it onto the bars. With a frown and a nod, Bugsy sat the bottle down on the floor and watched the bars began to sizzle and bubble. However, the solution was not strong enough to burn through the entire set of bars. Bugsy grabbed two bars in the areas that were not covered with liquid and pulled them a part. He grunted as he strained to pull the bars with all his strength. Suddenly, the bars fell off the house.

Bugsy laughed. "Oh dear ... I think ... Ha ha! I think I broke it!" He poked his head out of the window and sniffed the air as he closed his eyes. "Mmm, that smell is so wonderful." He opened his eyes and glared into the dark night with his black eyes. With a smile, Bugsy jumped out of the window!

As Bugsy fell down the side of the house, he reached out and grabbed a small edge of one of the bricks that covered the house. He glanced down to the ground as he held onto the ledge of the brick with two fingers. "Going down!" He released his grip and fell down further. He positioned himself to land on his shoulder and relaxed his body. With a harsh thud, Bugsy's body landed on the ground. He moaned and rolled onto his back. "Ouch!" He waved his arms and legs on the ground as though he were making snow angels on the cold ground. "Nothin broken." His black eyes stared at the full moon hanging over the manor and howled like a dog.

He pushed himself off the ground and stretched. "Nothin like a good fall to wake up for the entire night." He dusted himself off and started around the corner of the manor. He stopped for only a moment to peer around the corner.

There, he saw the front doors to the manor open and a skinny man, no older than fifty, walk out. He was dressed in a stylish black suit with a red silk tie. He was stumbling down the stairs and laughing.

Bugsy smiled and walked around the corner with a loose stagger. Once he reached the drunk man, the man had almost fallen onto the ground. Bugsy quickly grabbed him before he fallen and patted his back with a wicked grin. "My good man, are you alright?" He said in a forced deep voice.

The drunk man laughed as he stood up straight. "I ... I am ... I am okay." His head swayed and his eyes rolled. "Ha Ha, who are you?"

Bugsy smiled and chuckled. "The man who is going to snap your neck like a twig and take your clothes."

The man laughed and slapped Bugsy on the right shoulder. "Well, you better do it before I wake up in the morning."

Bugsy gave a fake laugh and quickly punched the man in the throat. The drunk man held his throat as he gasped for air. He stumbled backwards and fell onto his back. Bugsy knelt down and rolled the man over onto his stomach. Then, after he stood up, Bugsy aimed his foot down on the back of the man's neck and slammed it down. A loud snap was heard and the man's gasping stopped. Bugsy looked up to the sky and let out a deep breath, steam rolled out as he did.

**********************************************************************

Bugsy walked through the double doors of Taylor Manor, adjusting his new black suit jacket. The stolen suit fitted him comfortably; he wore the black silk shirt buttoned up only to his chest and left the tie behind on the dead man's body. He walked into the hallway in front of the doors and stopped to look at the coffin filled with red glow sticks. He cocked his head to one side as the unblinking black eyes studied the sticks. "Hmm, strange." He lifted his head and looked at the red painted doors that held back muffled sounds of loud club music. A wicked smile grew on his face as he slowly walked through the hallway. The candles flickered as he did. Slowly, Bugsy grabbed the right side of the smiley fanged face door handles and pulled the door open. A beam of red light buzzed passed him through the opening of the door and flickered as he stepped through.

The room that Bugsy entered was at least the size of a two basketball courts, but half the height. The walls were painted a dark red and mixed with a strange type of glitter which sparkled when the red overhead stage lights beamed on the walls. Lining the walls were rows of large black speakers which blared loud music. The entire floor was a fuzzy glass tile that glowed red and blinked to every beat of loud club music playing within the room. One side of the room had a black painted sound stage that stood five feet off the ground. To each side of the stage were two stands that ran from the glass tile to the ceiling. Hanging from each pole was a swiveling light that beamed different colors. On the back wall of the stage was a thick black curtain that was pulled back to each side of the stage, revealing an entire wall made of LED lights. The wall of lights would flicker and change shape, but each animation coming from the LED lights would always form into the large smiling red fanged face. From the ceiling, the same types of swiveling lamp beamed down red lights and hung in between strange dome lamps that gave off a dimmed white light. In the center of the stage stood a large table covered with a red cloth and held mixing tables, turn tables and all sorts of computer equipment. Playing the equipment was a ten year old boy, wearing a red colored camouflage army coat with a skinny black t-shirt that had red stripes running across it. He danced wildly and banged his head, his long blond hair swayed. The LED lights behind him animated the face into a mini explosion and from the explosion the red letters formed a name: Eddie. In front of the stage, herds of people danced wildly next to each other.

On the other side of the room was a lounge area with red leather couches, tables painted black with matching stools and red colored small lamps sitting on each table. Behind the lounge area was a long bar top that formed into an 'L' shape and ran along the lounge area and curved to run by itself along the rest of the room until it hit the back wall. Stools with red tops sat on this side of the bar. The bar itself was made of glass and strings of red lights lit the entire bar up like it was a shining red ruby. The entire back of the bar was shelf upon shelf, each holding strange looking bottles and glasses of all sorts. The bar buzzed with action from customers and three bartenders, two females and one male.

In between, on the back wall, the bar and the stage were two doors that held one sign on each door; the sign on the right side door said "Women’s" and the door to the left said "Men’s". Above the two doors was a long sign that read: Restrooms.

The electronic dubstep swirled around Bugsy as his black eyes reflected the red lights that beamed down over his new suit. He gave a wicked grin as he lifted his hands to head level and started to thrust his pelvis slowly. He nodded his head and shifted his feet into the herd of dancers.

Once Bugsy stepped into the crowd and started to dance, he looked down and saw the dance floor. The floor was made of clear glass tile, unlike the fuzzy type on the other side. The glass was cut and shaped into a human looking heart, painted red and under the glass was water that pumped along with the beat of the music; red lights beamed through the water as it pumped in the heart.

A young Spanish woman dressed in a slimming red dress walked to Bugsy and wrapped her arms around his neck. She waved her long black hair over to one side and smiled at him. Bugsy in turn smiled back with a wicked grin. The two danced together, pressing their bodies closer to one another.

The music lowered and the boy leaned into a microphone that extended from one of the mixing tables. "Hello boys and girls." He said in a weak Irish accent. "Welcome to Club Red, where all wishes come true and you can escape from your daily gloom. I am Eddie, your host for the evening and we are going to have some real good fun. Get closer on that dance floor for a very sensual song from yours truly."

The song slowly faded into a set of violins and grew louder. As the violins stopped, the lights dimmed for only a moment, then suddenly a loud dubstep beat was sounded followed by the fast flashing of red lights overhead and the heart like dance floor lit up brightly.

Bugsy smiled to the woman dancing with him and felt a pair of hands run around his waist. He glanced over his shoulder with wild eyes to see a young African woman with tall curly hair smile at him as she pulled him closer to her and swayed her hips. There, in between the two women, Bugsy leaned his head back and cackled. "I love this place!"

Chapter 9

Chapter nine

Her eyes flickered for only a second before opening all the way. She took in a deep breath of air as her mind awoke from a deep sleep. A tingling sensation filled her chubby cheeks from the cold grass that sat underneath her. A cold breeze brushed passed her, wiggling her curly blond hair.

Selena laid just outside of the cable fence that was once electrocuted. A moan came from her throat as she moved her arms and placed her palms onto the ground. She pushed her upper torso up. The sleepy looking eyes glanced around the dark night that surrounded her. She rolled onto her back and grunted with pain on her mouth. "Oh ... Shit." Selena tried to glance at the wound and placed her hand over it. The wound was only a large scrape just below her shoulder. "A shoulder for a shoulder, huh, Billy?" She spoke out loud to herself.

The woman gathered her thoughts, and the weapon she used against Billy, Selena decided to push herself to her feet, careful that she did not rush in case she would faint again. Once she was on her feet, Selena decided to crawl through the cable like fence and started towards the gate that sat in between the brick wall. She held the knife out as she readied herself for anyone to jump out at her. As she reached the gate, the back yard garden lit up brightly from lawn lights that stood out of the ground! She squinted her eyes in shock and started to back away from the gate. The frightened Selena turned around and saw the wall of dark forest sitting before her. A large opening and a dirt trail appeared just in between the cable fence row. She glanced over her shoulder to the gate only once before taking in a deep breath and charging towards the opening that gaped open like a mouth filled with dark tree limbs and dirt.

Steam blasted out of her mouth as she ran quickly into the woods. Her legs slammed on the ground swiftly as she continued to run deeper and deeper into the woods. She stopped only once to lean against a tall pine tree to gather her breath and thoughts. "There has to be ... A way ... Out of here." She heaved. "Got to get to ... The highway."

Selena slowly continued to follow the dirt trail deeper and deeper into the woods. She glanced all around her; the moon light that hung over the woods would shine its beams through the tree limbs and the traveler could see thick piles of leaves and dirt. Pine cones crutched under her feet as she continued to walk slower and slower. Her eyes grew with fear, but she kept her determination as she walked deeper into the forest. She glanced to the dirt trail as she followed it with hope that it would lead her to the highway. Finally, Selena stopped and stared down at the ground with wide eyes; the trail had suddenly stopped and now she was wondering into the woods without a guide. "Oh shit." She exclaimed with a frustrated whisper. She kicked at the ground, causing some pine needles and dirt to fly into the cold air. "Why me?!"

A loud wolf like howl shot through the air and caused Selena to turn around while wielding the blade in front of her. She breathed heavily and steam rolled out of her nostrils as she licked her lips. Another howl was sounded, but did not sound like the first one. The second howl sounded more like a man groaning and howling like a wolf!

"What the hell is that?" She asked herself.

After a moment of standing in the cold, Selena turned around to continue deeper into the forest. She walked carefully and studied the area around her. She squinted her eyes into the dark areas and would stop whenever a sound was heard. Without looking on the ground, Selena felt a large object hit her wandering feet and caused her to trip.

Selena fell onto the ground with a grunt. Her face landed into the dirt and quickly she pushed herself away from the large object and pointed her knife at it. The object that caused her to trip was a carcass of a deer. Its stomach had been ripped in half and dark blood had engulfed its final resting place. Its eyes stared at her with frozen terror.

Selena squinted her eyes and started to examine the half eaten deer. "Oh man."

The howl sounded again through the air, the first one she heard before. It was wolf like, but more strange, like a bear growling with a wolf voice. Selena pointed her knife to threaten the darkness surrounding her. She turned to the right from the sound of a twig snapping nearby.

As she studied the darkness with fearful eyes, Selena's blond hair began to sway just slightly by heavy breathing coming from behind her. Selena sniffed the air and widened her eyes as the slight snarling sound of some sort of animal came from behind her. With her blade pointed in front of her, the woman slowly glanced over her shoulder and froze in her place.

Behind her was a large animal cover in white fur; it stood on four legs that were almost lion like. At its shoulder, the animal stood about five foot tall and was massive. The large head of the creature looked wolf like in nature, but its ears were smaller like a tiger. The yellow eyes stared at her with fury as it snarled, revealing long sharp, bloody teeth!

Selena let out a heavy breath and kept her frozen state. "Oh ... God." She whispered with fear in her throat.

The animal sniffed her for a moment, snarling at her with wild eyes. Finally, the creature slowly walked around her. It twisted its head as it walked completely around her and stopped right in front of her. The carcass of the deer sat in between them. The creature snarled once before turning its attention to the deer. It opened its jaws wide and started to consume the deer at on the back. It pulled the flesh off and pressed its left paw down on the dead dear to help it remove the furry skin. The horrible sound of the flesh being torn filled the air around them.

Selena closed her eyes. "Okay ..." She slowly started to walk backwards, keeping an eye on the creature. Careful to allow only small amounts of breath out of her mouth, Selena opened her eyes and watched the creature eat the already dead animal as she backed away. "...Just ... Be ... Slow."

The animal lifted its head and snarled its bloody lips and teeth at Selena. The small tiger like ears pinned against its head as the eyes squinted at her. Its growl was unearthly and sliced through the night air.

Selena stopped and her lower lip quivered as she held her breath. An eternity of minutes passed as she stared into the creature's yellow eyes. Tension filled the air around her as she waited for the creature to make a move.

The creature crept slowly over the corpse, drool dripped from its mouth onto the dirt. The paws gently touched the ground underneath them.

Selena slowly took on last step, the heel of her boot gently and slowly fell onto a small twig. The twig snapped in half and sounded throughout the forest.

The creature opened its jaws and gave an unearthly roar! It lunged forward at Selena!

Selena quickly swiped her blade at the creature, running the knife's razor edge across the animal's nose. She turned and ran as quickly as her legs would let her!

Time, it seemed, had suddenly slowed. Selena ran only a few steps before she was thrown onto the ground from a sudden, harsh, swipe from the animal's paw! The claws dug deep into the flesh of her back as she flew forwards a few feet and slammed onto the ground. Without knowing it, Selena's hand dropped the knife, her only protection against the creature.

Laying on her stomach, lifted her head just enough to search for the knife. Her hands franticly felt through pine needles and leaves for the knife. Knowing she could not search longer, Selena pushed herself up and tried to crawl onto her feet. As her head lifted further up, her eyes met face to face with the yellow ones of the wolf like animal right in front of her!

The beast snarled and stared at her. Drool dripped from its mouth as it sniffed her with its bleeding nose.

Selena's eyes ran black with the black ooze in her pupils. "Please work." She pleaded out loud.

The creature twisted its head back and forth. It lifted its ears and lowered its lips. The yellow eyes of the creature faded into white.

Selena looked up and down at the creature with her black eyes and gave a slight scoff. "Sit."

The creature did as it was commanded. It sat on its behind and stuck out its chest with pride.

Selena smiled as she managed to push herself up onto her feet. Her black eyes stared into the white ones of the creature. A smile slipped onto her face. "Strange, that only works on humans." She leaned in closer to the unmoving face of the tamed animal. "Now what exactly are you?"

Chapter 10

Chapter ten

Zachary flipped on all the switches that sat in the brick wall to the right of the door he came through. His red stern filled eyes glowed with a bright red. He stepped into the concrete room filled with tables. Each table held the pots of exotic plant life.

Martha stood behind him with a worry in her blue eyes. "Zachary ... What is it?"

Zachary glanced over his shoulder to the young woman. "I suspect some foul play on your friend’s part." He turned his head back to glare the red eyes into the room. He started to walk quickly through the room with angry steps.

Martha quickly walked behind him while glancing at the plants with confusion. "There is something I needed to tell you about Richard ..."

"Forgive me, Martha, but now is not such a good time." He said in a cold voice as he pulled out a set of keys from his front jean pocket. With the keys in hand, Zachary stopped in front of the double glass doors and unlocked one side.

Martha slowly stopped behind him. "What's wrong?"

Zachary quickly opened the door and stepped into the cold. Steam fell out of his mouth as he walked onto the cobble stoned patio. "You should go back inside."

Martha shook her head and followed Zachary. "I'm coming with you."

"I would advise you do not."

Martha kept her stride with Zachary as they passed through the hallway of strange cut bushes. Her eyes glanced up and down the area as she walked with a sort of grace.

Zachary and Martha made way to the Iron Gate facing the hallway of cable fence that led to the opening out into the woods. Zachary stopped and studied the fence. Martha slowly walked up beside him. Her eyes stared into the dark woods.

Zachary sighed and quickly grabbed the iron bars of the gate with one hand. His face went from stern to worry. "Damn."

Martha stared at Zachary and shrugged. "What?"

"This is usually electrocuted. It is lined throughout the rest of the fence, which means this portion of the fence is cold." He ran his fingers through his blond spiked hair.

Martha looked at the gate and then out into the woods. A loud howl sounded throughout the cold night air. "Zachary ... What is out there?"

Zachary grabbed Martha's arm and turned her and himself around to march back up the cobble stoned walkway. "Something dangerous, now if you do not mind, I need to get you to safety."

Martha gave a slight tug to his grasp. "Stop...Stop!"

Zachary released his grip and looked at Martha with worried glowing red eyes.

Martha stared at Zachary and pointed to the woods behind her. "What are you? Why can't bullets harm you? What was that howling in the woods?"

Zachary stepped closer to the manic woman and gently grabbed her shoulders. "You have to understand, like your cousin, there are many things that are not what they seem." He paused and let out a steam filled breath. "And most of those things live here. You have to trust me when I say, it is not safe out here."

Martha stared in Zachary's eyes for a long moment; her breath let out strong clouds of mist before her eyebrows lowered and a frown spread across the corners of her mouth. "This has gone on long enough. You refuse to tell me what is going on and still expect me to trust you? Your meddling in our affairs has cost us time and now Richard is no longer here with me." Her voice was strong and filled with anger. "I have not seen one ounce of evidence that you have mine or Richard's intentions in mind." Martha then took her left slender hand and quickly slapped it across Zachary's face. "Don't ever talk to me like I am a fool!"

Zachary's cold pale face did not sway from the slap. His eyes closed for a moment and his lips tightened together with a slight snarl. "I wish this could have gone better." He then opened his eyes. The once human looking eyes were gone; the red iris and black pupils had disappeared into a solid red. Zachary's eyes became glass like with a strong heavy red tint. Behind these red tinted glass eyes came a bright red light that glowed with almost unearthly tint. "You will do as I say without question." He demanded in a cold stern voice.

Martha's fearful eyes soon faded into a daze glare as she continued to stare into the bright red orbs in Zachary's skull.

"You will not fear for Richard or Bugsy at the moment and you will allow me to do as I wish with this current situation." He paused for a moment. A tiny drop of blood ran down his left nostril and landed on his upper lip. "Nod if you understand."

The dazed head of Martha slowly nodded.

"When the dawn rises, you shall be allowed your free will." He closed his eyes only once and after he opened the white lids of his eyes, Zachary's eyes returned quickly. The red iris had returned in both of his eyes along with the black pupils that expand and then shrunk.

Martha fluttered her eyes and placed a palm to her forehead. "Why do I feel dizzy?"

Zachary smiled. "You haven't eaten yet and with all this excitement ... Well, it is amazing you have not fallen ill."

Her blue eyes narrowed on Zachary's bleeding nose. A look of care crossed her face as she gave a frown. "Did I do that? I didn't mean to slap you that hard."

Zachary smirked and wrapped his arm around her shoulders to guide her back to through the garden. "It is nothing. You had a right to do so."

"No I didn't. All you are trying to do is help us and ... I guess I am just a little sleepy. I trust you Zachary with this. Just please ... Get me inside." Martha said with a shrug to her shoulders.

"Now now, everything is going to be alright ... You'll see." He rubbed her shoulders and smiled. "You are shivering, my dear. Let's get you warm and get some slices of pizza in your stomach."

Zachary guided the cold Martha through the green house with a worried look on his face. The two walked throughout the lower portion of the house without saying a word. Martha leaned in closer to Zachary and Zachary kept his comforting arms around her. The sounds of Zachary's boots tapped on the floor along with the muffled sound of Martha's borrowed sneakers touching the floors gently echoed around them. From the far off distance, behind the many layers of walls, was the sound of the mysterious club music.

The two walked into the familiar hallway that held the door to the guest room where Martha was once held captive. Gabriel rested his back against the locked door with his arms folded across his broad chest. His black pony tail rested on his large shoulder as he lowered his head to stare at the floor. As Zachary and Martha approached, he turned his attention to the two with confusion in his diamond like eyes. "Is everything alright?"

Zachary nodded. "Yes, how is our guest?"

Gabriel stepped away from the door and shrugged. "I haven't heard a peep out of him other than the loud music television he is watching."

Zachary stopped and pulled himself away from Martha. "Stay here for a moment, I am going to have a word with Bugsy."

Martha held onto his right arm for a moment. Her eyes stared at his face for a long moment and then nodded. "Okay." She said in a whisper. The frightened woman let go of Zachary's arm and began to bite down on her left thumb nail.

Zachary walked over to Gabriel, close enough for him to whisper. "If you would, hand me the key."

Gabriel glanced at Zachary's nose and then over Zachary's shoulder to Martha, he nodded his chin to her direction before whispering to Zachary. "Did you ...?"

Zachary nodded. "I had to, she was becoming rather unruling. The door please."

"What's wrong?" Gabriel asked as he turned his attention down to Zachary.

Zachary looked up at Gabriel with a stern set of eyebrows. "There have been some interesting developments after our departure earlier. It seems that there have been some failure in our electric fence system, due to some gun fire."

Gabriel’s blue eyes widened and his lips tightened together. "The fence?"

"It is down." Zachary said with a sigh. "At least half of it anyway. I suspect foul play on the other guests’ part."

"The ones in the van?"

Zachary nodded. "I am going to assume that they managed to escape, but I have no evidence of this."

Gabriel kept his gaze on Zachary, but his eyes shown a moment of daze. "Ezra." He whispered the name in despair.

Zachary nodded. "Yes." He smiled and placed a hand on Gabriel's tall shoulder. "Nothing we cannot handle, right my friend?"

Gabriel nodded and pulled out the set of keys from his slack pocket. He sighed and pulled himself away from Zachary to unlock the door.

As Gabriel unlocked the guest room door, Zachary turned to smile at Martha who was busy biting off pieces of her thumb nail with worried teeth.

The tall giant opened the door and stopped at the entrance with a frozen frame. "Oh no." He said with dazed eyes. He stepped slowly into the room.

Zachary followed and followed Gabriel's gaze to the hole burned into the window and the broken bars. The loud music coming from the television roared with heavy metal music as Zachary walked passed Gabriel. He walked over to the television a pressed down on the power button on the panel of the television. Silence fell over the room as Zachary stared at the hole. "Smart one, isn't he?"

Gabriel shook his head and licked his scared lips. "How can this night get any worse?"

"Oh my God." Martha exclaimed as she stood by the door frame. Her thumb slowly fell from her mouth as her wide eyes stared at the hole in the window.

Zachary quickly turned around and walked over to Martha with outstretched arms. "It is alright, we will find him."

Martha shook her head, her eyes stared at the hole in terror. "He has never been free before and ... And he will find me ... Others ... It is only a matter of time before he kills again!"

Zachary placed his hands on Martha's shoulders and tried to maneuver his eyes to look into her's. "Hey ... Hey, listen to me."

Martha glanced at Zachary and stared into his eyes. She watched as the human red eyes started to change into a transparent set of orbs with a red light beaming through them into her own.

"You are going to lay down and sleep. Dream of wonderful things outside of here. You will not give Bugsy another thought. Your free will and memories will be restored as dawn rises." Zachary said in a monotone voice.

Martha blinked once. Zachary blinked his eyes and once again, his eyes were normal. Small drops of blood ran down both of his nostrils. He placed a hand on his forehead and stumbled backwards. "Go now." He said.

The dazed Martha slowly walked over to the side of the bed. Slowly, she laid her tired body onto the bed with her face staring up at the ceiling. Then, without notice, the woman closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Zachary stumbled around for a moment. Gabriel reached out and grabbed Zachary's left arm with his large hand. The mighty giant held Zachary straight. "You need to be careful, Zach, that takes too much out of you."

Zachary nodded as he patted Gabriel's hand. "Thank you my friend."

Gabriel stared at Zachary with worried diamond eyes. "What now?"

Zachary stared at Martha laying on the bed like a mythical princess. Blood ran down his nose as his eyes glowed strong with red light. "I promised the both of them that I will care for them and I will do so."

"What of Ezra and the strangers? Should we call off the club tonight?" Gabriel asked as he removed his hand from the now stable Zachary.

Zachary shook his head and glanced to Gabriel for a moment before returning his eyes to Martha. "No ... No we shouldn't. A scare like that would cause quite a stir outside and Ezra is bound to attack anyone frightened. No, the safest place for our customers is in the club itself." He cleared his throat. "The first phase of collecting this ordeal is to obtain the fence. We need to get power restored. Second, we must find these strangers and call in Sherriff Reynolds for a solution. Third and finally, we must secure this Bugsy and make sure he does not harm himself, or others." He ran his fingers through his spiked messy blond hair and took in a deep breath. "After I clean myself, I will take care of this ordeal. I brought this on our home and I will take care of it."

Gabriel gave a scoff. "Now you know I will help you."

Zachary gave a crooked smile. "I do not deserve friends like you and the others." His red irises lost their glow as Zachary nodded with a stern look on his pale face. "We must restore order in the House of Red."