Part Two

Fortunately, Natalie had her own car in which to travel to the crime scene.
Tonight had been filled with some very unusual conversation, and Nick was
pleased to have some time driving alone to clear his mind.  'What had just
happened in the loft?  What made Natalie react like that?' Maybe he was just
used to things not working out.  This was, after all, Natalie's first time
for failing at finding a cure.  Even so, she was acting very strange.  She
seemed to go from depressed to exuberant in only a few moments.  She
insisted on having more time.  What did she expect to happen during this
additional time? Maybe she just needed more time to adjust to the new
arraignment.  No, there was something else.  Something that she was not
telling him.  She had something in mind, and that was why she needed more
time.  Did she need the time to explore a new avenue?  It did not matter,
whatever she was contemplating would not work.  Nothing worked.  Endless
years had been spent in pursuit of this non-existent cure.  The vampire
within him was too strong, much too resistant to any therapy.  He would give
her the time she needed, and then she would have to concede just as he had
always done.  She would have to learn to live with what he already lived
with for centuries.  This was something that he could not change, something
that she could not change. Nicholas sighed and wondered how much longer
Natalie would need to know what he already knew.  Vampires stay vampires,
and nothing could change that.  He was so tired of fighting this battle to
regain his mortality that he had begun to re-evaluate his life recently.
Over the centuries so many things had changed, and being a vampire today was
very different than it used to be. No longer did he need to kill to feed his
hunger, and anything he wanted to do could now be done at night.  The world
did not stop after dark, there were always places that were open all hours
of the night.  Between the 24 hour non stop days, and the Internet, he found
that everything could be accomplished at any hour.  Aside from not being
able to get a sun tan, he could find this new world to be very comfortable.
  A lot of good work could be done with his powers.  Maybe LaCroix was not
completely wrong about life as a vampire, anyway he was tired of hitting his
head against a brick wall.

Nicholas reached over to turn on the car's radio, wondering what the topic
of the evening would be tonight.  There could not think of a better thing to
listen to than LaCroix while on route to a murder scene.

LaCroix's mellow words filled the car as Nicholas drove on the rain covered
roads through the darkness.

"I've a bed time story tonight my listeners.  This is for all of you who
wish to be something other than what was intended for you to be.  This story
comes from the Bible, so pay attention."

"It states in the Bible that when the sun and the moon were first created
that G-d made two great lights.  One great light to rule the day, and one
small light to rule the night.  But how can this be, you say.  Is this not a
contradiction?  First you say two great lights and then later one great and
one small.  The answer is my friends that originally both the sun and the
moon were the same.  But the moon complained that it did not want an equal
partner, and that only one can truly rule.  So G-d agreed with the moon, and
responded to its complaint by reducing its size.

This again upset the moon, and it began to protest.  "Why should I lose
because I was logical?"  So G-d gave the moon all the stars to keep it
company, but the moon was not satisfied.

The moral of this story my friend is do not complain about what you are or
you too may end up with less than what you started with.  Be satisfied with
what you have and be happy with what you are......  "

LaCroix's voice disappeared and was replaced by his usual selection of
haunting music, and Nicholas again reached over to the radio except this
time to turn it off.

Nicholas figured that this was LaCroix's way of telling him not to become
like the moon, complaining and ending up with less.  Nicholas looked up at
the moon through his windshield.

"Looks like we have something in common.  So is it so bad being up there
with all those stars?  I don't think you have it too bad.  No,
not...bad......at.....all!"

Nicholas pulled his car into the high school's parking lot which was already
filled with police cars parked in every direction.  The colored flashing
lights were reflecting of every surface that was still wet from the steady
all day rain storm.  Nick pulled directly behind Schanke's car and parked.
It  was good to see that Schanke had gotten his message, and was already
gathering facts.

Nicholas began to make his way through the maze of cars, just as Natalie
arrived.  Natalie was used to the confusion of the crime scenes, and it did
not take her long to add her car to the chaos.  Nicholas watched as Natalie
turned off her headlights, and got out of her car with her medical bag.
Natalie appeared very professional, and it was difficult to believe that she
was in tears in his arms only a half hour ago.

The static from a call from one of the police radios brought him back to the
present.  He decided to let Natalie do her job, and turned to continue
through the haphazard collection of parked cars.  A crowd had gathered
around the tape that marked off the crime scene, making it difficult for him
to get through. Schanke was talking to a couple of uniformed officers, and
he had to push his way past the spectators to climb over the temporary
yellow taped fence.  Schanke looked up and lifted his arm to give Nick a
short gesturing wave to come over to him.  Acknowledging Schanke's signal
with a nod, he approached the three men.  Nicholas noticed that Schanke was
visibly shaken, and he looked quite pale.  Getting close to Schanke, he
patted him on the back.

"It looks like the whole department is here.  What do we got Schank?"
Schanke turned away from the two other officers, and shook his head in
disbelief.

"Not much yet.  I just got here.  Nick, she's real young, not much older
than Jenny."  Nicholas could see the pain in Schanke's eyes.  The pain of
knowing that the victim could just as easily been his own daughter.  Schanke
pulled out a tissue to wipe some of the sweat from his face, and deeply
sighed.

"The school's janitor found her when he was taking out the garbage.  He's
over there giving Collins his statement.  He said he thought he saw a doll
under the trash bin.  We're still looking for her clothes."

Nicholas closed his eyes, and tried to calm the anger he felt building.
When he felt the beast ease up on him, he opened his eyes and looked towards
Schanke again.

"Did he see anything else?  Are there any witnesses?"

Schanke shook his head.

"He doesn't seem to know anything else, but I told Collins to take him back
to the precinct when he's done and get his statement in writing.  Oh Nick,
do you see that girl over there crying?"

Schanke pointed to a petite girl with long blonde hair who was wearing tight
jeans and a pink cotton T-shirt.  "She says she was just at the victims
house for a sweet sixteen party."

Nick stared at the small girl who was crying into a tissue on the other side
of the barrier tape.  This wasn't going to be easy for her, but he had to
see if she could provide them with some clues.  By the way she was reacting,
Nick knew that she had been close to the victim.  Nicholas brought his gaze
back to Schanke.

"Did you get a chance to talk with the first officers at the scene?

Schanke was just acknowledging the two other officers need to leave.  He
turned his attention back to Nicholas.

"I was just about to do that."

Nicholas gave Schanke another pat on the shoulder.

"I'm going to talk to the girl.  I'll meet you over by Nat soon.  Thanks
Schank."

Nicholas looked over the crowd that had gathered, and wished that they would
all go back to their homes and make his job a little easier.  He wondered if
any of them could have been responsible for the girl's death, and was
hanging around to watch all the excitement that was generated.  Carefully
scanning every face, he hoped to find something that would give the
perpetrator away. Nothing stood out.

His gaze drifted back to the crying girl that Schanke had pointed out.  He
had to speak with her, but he wasn't looking forward to it.  This looked
like the second murder that they knew of from this maniac, and they
desperately needed some answers.

Nicholas went over to where the girl was standing, and with a softened voice
said, "Hi, I'm detective Knight of the Metro Police, do you think we can go
to a quieter place so you could answer some questions?"

The girl looked up with red puffy eyes, and studied him for a moment.  With
tears running down her face, she gave him a silent nod.  Nicholas guided her
towards one of the empty squad cars that still had its flashing lights
throwing colors over the crowd.  Nicholas opened one of the doors, and
gestured for her to sit down.  She declined and instead rested against the
car in complete exhaustion.  Smiling at the young girl, he with hoped to
relieve some of her stress.  Maybe with this small amount of privacy, she
would feel more comfortable.

"My partner tells me that you knew the deceased?"  The girl angrily looked
up at Nicholas.

"Her name is Melinda, Melinda Pryor, and she's my best friend."

The tears began to flow heavily again as Nicholas tried to comfort her.

"Miss, excuse me Miss.  I'm sorry for your loss.  I want to find the person
that did this and make him pay for it.  I want to stop him before he does
this again to someone else's friend.  I know that you want that too."

The girl glanced back to where all the people were gathering around
Melinda's body, and she stood mesmerized by the sight.  Nicholas tried to
regain her attention.

"I know how hard this must be for you.  Just a few questions for now, Okay?"

Nick smiled reassuringly at her, even though he hated the idea of
questioning the young girl.  A young girl who should never have been exposed
to this tragedy.  A girl who should be talking about clothes and boys not
gruesome murder details.

Nicholas began again, "Did you give the officer your name and address?"

She pushed herself to answer as calmly as she could.

"Yes, to that man over there."

She pointed to Officer Salin who was taking statements from the neighbors.
She continued, "I'm Jennifer Linger."

Nick smiled warmly.

"Jennifer, can you think of any reason why Melinda would be here after
school hours?"

Jennifer thought for a moment.

"No, not really, but she might have come back to pick up some homework
assignments.  She wasn't in school today."

Nicholas quickly asked, "Was she sick?"

Jennifer thought for a moment again, "No, I don't think so.  She said she
had some place to go.  There's nothing else that I know."

Nicholas could see that Jennifer was about to break down again.  This would
have to be enough for now.  He moved away from the car and pointed to
officer Salin.

"Listen, I want you to tell that officer that Detective Knight would like
him to give you a ride home.  And Jennifer, I may have some more questions
for you later, but I want to thank you.  You have been a big help."

Nicholas's concern for her was obvious to Jennifer, and she weakly smiled as
she left to walk over to officer Salin and all the flashing lights in the
night.

Nicholas looked around, but he could not find Schanke.  Now would be a good
time to see if Natalie had any better luck than he had.  He again had to get
through the crowd and back into the taped off area.  He had not even seen
the victim yet.  Natalie must have had enough time to do some of the
preliminary work.  Maybe they would get lucky tonight and find that the
perpetrator had left them a great big clue - like his wallet - that would be
nice.  He wanted this guy.  He wanted to know why he did this.  He wanted
him to die.  Nicholas took a deep breath.  His anger getting the better of
him.  A luxury that he could not afford.  He had to remain in control, and
do whatever he could to solve this crime.

Nicholas could now see Natalie in the distance examining the victim.  As he
got closer, Natalie stood up and turned to him.

"Sorry Nick, Not much now.  Maybe when I get her back to the lab."

Nicholas couldn't believe it.  How could this monster not leave anything
behind that would point them in the right direction?  No one was perfect.
There had to be something that would give him away.

Nicholas sighed, "Anything Nat?  There must be something.  This is real hard
for Schanke,..... for me."

Natalie heard the desperation in Nicholas's voice, and she thought again.

"Well, there's not that much I can tell you now.  I'd say TOD was between
two to six hours ago.  She looks almost perfect.  No signs of bruising or of
a struggle.  But I did get a positive on the phosphate.  She was raped.  I
will not know if she was alive during the rape until I get her back for
testing. She looks almost perfect, like she just fell asleep.  Sorry Nick,
you're just going to have to wait."

Natalie closed her bag and looked up just in time to see Schanke coming
towards them.  Nicholas looked at the young girl who would never experience
life lying on the ground in front of him, and he softly said, "I know Nat,
it's just not much to go on."  Natalie turned to him and placed her hand on
his arm,

"It's a start.  Has anyone reported her missing?  Someone's waiting for her
Nick.  Someone's waiting for their little girl to come home."

Nicholas thought about what Natalie was saying, and knew she was right.

"Well, see what you can do so I'll have something to tell them when I see
them."  Natalie closed her eyes briefly and nodded that she understood.

Schanke was on his way over to Natalie and Nicholas, and was not so sure he
wanted another look at the murdered girl.  He told Nicholas that he would
meet him there, and this was their case.  He would have to push past all the
feelings that threatened to drown him.  Schanke saw that both Natalie and
Nicholas had seen him approach, and he got closer to see if they were
successful at getting some useful information.

"Hi guys.  Anything?"

Natalie sighed, "No, not yet.  How about you?"

Schanke just looked up to the sky, and folded his arms across his chest.

"Well, Salin said that he spoke with a woman who was walking her dog.  She
said she saw a couple around here, but that it was too dark to see clearly."

Natalie put a tag on the body as the morgue crew came to bring it back to
the lab.  She turned towards the detectives and said, "Well, I guess it's up
to me.  So I better get started.  Come by later I should have more."

Schanke watched as the body was being put into the Coroner's van.  "Nick,
who would do this?  I don't think that I'll ever understand."

Nicholas looked down at the ground.

"You don't want to, Schank."

Schanke nodded his head.  "Yeah, I guess so.  Hey Knight, they got a
positive ID on the girl.  We have some parents to talk to.  Do you think
that they can send over a couple of uniforms to do this?"

Nicholas looked down on the ground, then to where she was being loaded onto
the van, and then back to Schanke.

"Let's go Schank, we shouldn't let them wait longer than they have to."
Schanke nodded, and pulled his coat tighter around him.

"Let's go.  Man o man, do I hate this part of the job."

Nicholas stood quietly, he gazed up towards the stars.  This all seemed very
familiar to him.

* * * Flashback * * *

Nicholas had been all over London looking for LaCroix's latest fledgling.
The long eerie blast of the air raid siren caused him to reflexively look
towards the sky for enemy planes, but the only thing to see was a sky full
of brilliant stars.  He scanned the darkness of the park he had landed in
with his special night vision, and began to walk deeper into the park.
Daniel was nearby, he could sense him.  He and Daniel now shared a special
bond.  Daniel was not only a vampire, he was his brother.  LaCroix was
father to both of them.  The bond was strong between them even though Daniel
was unaware of it. He glanced back at the park's entrance to see if they
would be disturbed, but all was painfully still.  The streets were empty.
All the terrified residents were waiting in bomb shelters until the all
clear signal would be given. There were no lights in the city, not even a
candle flickered in the windows of the nearby homes.  No one would leave a
light that may be spotted by a bomber pilot.

Nicholas could not understand how LaCroix could be so careless about
Daniel's whereabouts.  It had been only a week since Daniel was brought
across, and both LaCroix and Janette were already bored and impatient with
their new addition to the family.  Daniel's youth, the very thing that made
him interesting, was now gnawing at LaCroix's endurance limits.  Although
Daniel was now a vampire, he was still a child.  He would remain a child
forever, he would never grow up physically or mentally.  Now, with his
increased powers, he was unstoppable.  Janette had very quickly lost
interest in him.  For as a vampire Daniel did not need a mother or sister,
he needed a teacher.  A teacher to guide him about not only being a vampire,
but being a vampire with the mind and behavior of a child.  LaCroix found
Daniel to be extremely annoying, and let him loose on the already terrified
citizens.  Daniel would not sit still long enough to learn the lessons of
the vampire.  He was a child, full of energy and impatience that was
heightened by his new acquired lifestyle.  LaCroix had no desire to chase
down the vampire brat.  To him this newly made vampire was no better than a
vampire that had gone insane.  In his experience it is better to allow the
crazed vampire to be eliminated by their own ignorance.

Nicholas knew that it would take Daniel a long time before he would become
acquainted with all the powers that he possessed.  Attempts had been
unsuccessful to try and teach Daniel of the dangers of being a vampire.  It
was not even clear that Daniel had heard him about the importance of
avoiding the sun, sharp sticks, and fire.  LaCroix should have taught him,
but he was more interested in the shock value of bringing one so young
across.  He was a novelty to LaCroix, and he rapidly grew tired of him.

Neither LaCroix nor Janette had helped Daniel with his first hunger, both
thought it would be more fun to watch how Daniel would handle this
overpowering drive to feed.  In this instance Daniel did not disappoint
them. Daniel soared straight to the orphanage that had abused him and
discarded him, and satisfied himself on the two caretakers that ran the
place.  Nicholas later found Daniel at the orphanage laughing and rolling
around in the undrunk blood of his victims.  It was up to Nicholas to clean
up after this child so that the code would not be violated.  He had left
Nicholas quite a mess in that orphanages office.  Daniel had nearly torn the
heads off this couple while viciously feeding from them.

Now, each night was the same.  There was no stopping Daniel.  He was out the
door the minute the sirens sent their warning.  If only the people knew that
it was far safer to take their chances with the planes than be on their way
to the fallout shelters with Daniel on the loose.  After his first hunger,
Daniel began to hunt children his own age or younger.  He always had his
pick during the confusion of the bomb raids.  He was a natural at luring
frightened children from their parents, and taking them to an isolated place
to feed. Nicholas was becoming exhausted with the nightly ritual of locating
Daniel, and hiding the mutilated bodies that he abandoned.  Daniel was
killing innocent children as they ran frightened from their homes.  He was
always there waiting in the turmoil to take advantage of the situation.

Now Nicholas could feel that Daniel was in this park, and he was hoping to
catch him before his next kill.  He stopped and carefully listened for
Daniel's vibrations to direct him to his place in the park.  Suddenly
Nicholas could hear laughter coming from the play area of the park.  He now
knew the direction to go, and he easily locked on to Daniel, but Daniel did
not sense him even with their close relationship.  Surely Daniel could feel
the vibrations as Nicholas approached, but he did not understand what they
meant. He did not realize all of his potential, and he did not realize the
nearness of his sibling.  Nicholas found him sitting in the middle of a
large sandbox. He was picking up fists full of sand, and pouring them over a
sand castle that he had created.

The scent of blood was everywhere, and it caused Nicholas to feel the
stirrings of the vampire inside.  He worked hard to ignore the hunger and
concentrate on the problem of the vampire child.  Daniel began to
hysterically laugh as the sand from his hand slipped through his fingers
onto the large crumbling sand castle.  Daniel's fangs were covered in fresh
blood that reflected red with each turn of his head.  Nicholas was quiet as
he approached Daniel.  It was not until he was directly behind him that
Daniel's vampire senses caused him to turn suddenly, and greet his brother.

"Hello Nicky, did you come to play with me?  It is the best time you know.
We'll have the whole sandbox to ourselves."  Then Daniel's voice got very
quiet and he mischievously whispered, "Everyone else is hiding."

Nicholas walked around the sandbox until he was standing in front of Daniel.
His expression was pained and solemn as he evaluated this youthful vampire
that played before him.  Nicholas scrutinized each of Daniel's words.  He
tried to analyze Daniel's behavior.  The smell of fresh blood again
permeated the air, but Nicholas could not discern whether or not it was
coming from Daniel.

He looked up at Nicholas with large brown eyes.  This beautiful child that
he loved was gone.  He was just as drained as his victims.  They were
drained of their blood, but he had lost so much more by LaCroix's hand.  His
goodness had lost its value.  All of his value purged by the thoughtless act
of LaCroix to make room for the vampire.  If only the inspiration would come
that would save Daniel from himself, but there was none.  Daniel was gone,
and in his place resided an animal.  An animal that satisfied himself on the
guiltless and the naive.

Daniel waved at Nicholas when he did not answer his invitation to come play.
His beautiful brown eyes began to glow, and his laughter stopped.  A
darkness seemed to fall over Daniel as a fanged smile spread across his
face.

"Have you ever had the blood of a child, Nicky?  You really should, they are
much better than grown-ups.  Did you know that?"

Nicholas closed his eyes half out of disgust and half to block out the
vampire that appeared before him.  There was only evil left.  Daniel the
perfect child had been distorted by LaCroix's thoughtless actions.  Nicholas
pushed aside his revulsion of what Daniel had become, and held out his hand.

"I've come to bring you back home.  The sun will be up soon.  Do you feel
the night calling you to find shelter?"

Nicholas remembered how LaCroix had taught him to perceive and use the
special senses of the vampire.  These were invaluable tools that Daniel
would need to survive.  Daniel did not reach for Nicholas's hand, instead he
defiantly turned back to the sand castle.

"But I don't want to go back there.  I want to play.  Come closer Nicky, and
see what I have done."

Nicholas looked down at the ground, and struggled with the words that would
convince Daniel that his actions were not appropriate.  He took a long
breath in, and gathered the strength to once again try to teach this child
that the freedom that he now felt was only an illusion.  Nicholas knew all
too well that the supernatural powers of the vampire were not true strength,
being in control of himself was the real power and strength.  No freedom had
been gained in this transformation.  This child had now become a slave to
the beast that invaded his body and soul.

"Oh Daniel, I am so sorry for what has happened to you, but you now must
learn a new set of rules in order to survive.  Your old survival skills
helped you conquer the streets, but they are no longer needed.  You now must
dwell in the world of the creatures of the night.  You must discard these
old lessons and begin anew.  You do not need to kill, it is only the hunger
that drives you to feed on others.  I will show you how to satisfy this
drive, and to control the lust.  Come, let's go home.  You have much to
learn."

Daniel became frightened as Nicholas turned to leave.  Tears began to fall
as he pushed himself further back into the sandbox and further away from
Nicholas.  He looked like the frightened child that he was.  His voice was
part anger and part fear as he fought to hold back the tears.

"Do not make me go back, Please Nicky.  They do not want me.  I heard them
making plans to leave without me.  I am an orphan again.  You are the only
one who comes to look for me.  It is only you who cares what I do."

Nicholas looked at Daniel, and felt a overwhelming desire to hold him and
tell him that everything would be all right.  He looked so fragile sitting
in the sandbox alone.  He was so frightened, and he needed him.  Maybe he
had said too much.  There was no need to hurt Daniel, and he was sure that
somehow they could work this all out.  Nicholas's tone softened.

"Whatever anyone has said or done, I can not change.  You are one of us now.
We share a bond for eternity if we are careful.  I have been told by our
father that this is a gift.  I think that it would be wise of you to believe
this right now.  You must always remember that being a vampire does not free
you from rules.  You have only taken on a new set of rules.  If you stay
with me, I will help you.  You need not fear.  I will not leave you."

Daniel's crying stopped.  Moving closer to his sand castle, he looked at it
with admiration.  He rocked his body back and forth as he patted his
creation. A calmness came over him, and he smiled at his work.  Suddenly, he
looked up at Nicholas and with renewed enthusiasm shouted.

"Come Nicky, see what I have done."

Daniel held his hand out to Nicholas, and he decided to accept.  The touch
of Daniel's hand confirmed what Nicholas had thought.  Daniel's hand was
covered in blood.  The sand was stuck to his hand as though the blood were
glue.  The scent was beckoning him to release his inhibitions and taste the
sweetness of its youthful owner.  He could tell that the blood had been very
young.  It was a young life filled with the unending energy of youth.  The
scent filled him, and caused him to tremble with pleasure.  He managed to
get control of himself, and tried to pull away from Daniel's grasp.  Daniel
had expected Nicholas's reaction, and used his new vampire strength to
surprise Nicholas and unexpectedly knock him off balance.  Nicholas stumbled
into the castle that Daniel was building, and Daniel began to laugh
uncontrollably again.  Daniel was laughing so hard that he found it
difficult to speak.

"It's a surprise Nicky.  She was so sweet that I wanted you to taste her
too. I have saved the last for you."

Nicholas felt sick as he realized that the blood he had been sensing was
right in front of him all along.  He frantically began to remove the sand
from the small child that lay buried in Daniel's sand castle.  He could
barely hear her faint heartbeat, and she was hardly breathing.  There was
blood everywhere, and the sand stuck fiercely to her soft skin.  Daniel had
been over-zealous in his feeding again.  Her throat had been torn to shreds
making it barely recognizable.  This was the blood that he had smelled when
he first arrived at the sandbox.  Daniel smiled as he watched Nicholas
examine the girl's damage.

"Go ahead Nicky, taste her.  Don't let her go to waste."

Nicholas was aware that the child was rapidly dying.  He could do nothing to
save her.  It was most likely her youth that had kept her alive until now.
He lifted the girl's body completely out of the sand, then placed her near
lifeless body in front of Daniel.  Nicholas glared at Daniel and demanded,

"Why Daniel?  You didn't need to take this young life.  You knew that I
would get you all the blood you need.  This has to stop!  You will no longer
kill!"

Daniel looked at the dying girl, and then at Nicholas.

"Of course I will kill.  I will kill them all.  I am what you are.  I am a
vampire, and I will be satisfied by their blood warm and sweet.  They will
fill me with their goodness.  I will kill, Nicky, and you will do nothing to
stop me."

Daniel stood up in the sand, then took flight.  Knowing that Nicholas would
not follow him, he left him the job of cleaning up again. Nicholas watched
as Daniel disappeared into the pre-dawn sky.

As the last shadows of night were fading, his attentions turned back to the
small girl.  She began to choke on the small amount of blood that was left
in her.  She gasped for her final breaths, and he could hear that her
heartbeats were almost non existent.  With great difficulty he watched as
she struggled to survive.  He knew that this was a battle that she would not
win.  He also knew that he could not take any chances that she might come
across. Settling near her, he lifted her body towards him as she began to
violently convulse.  Her mortal life was near its end.  It was time to put
an end to her suffering.  He quickly twisted her tiny head so that her neck
was broken, and she lay still in his arms.  He would hide her among the
other victims of tonight's raids.  He had to move quickly, the sun would be
rising soon.  There was no time to track down Daniel.  He indulged in the
thought that maybe Daniel would not make it home before the sun rose.  That
would certainly make life a lot easier for everyone.  Again he looked up to
the sky, following Daniel's path with his eyes.  Something would have to be
done with this vampire child, and it looked as if he was the only one to
accomplish this task.

He stood up with the girl's limp body in his arms.  Gazing up at the sky, he
took flight with the young body into the night's endless display of stars.

"Knight?  Helloooooo?  Is anyone home?

Nicholas broke the trance that was holding his gaze towards the sky.

"Come on Nick, it's cold and I really want to get out of here.  The family's
probably waiting, and the Captain will be waiting too."

Nicholas watched as the coroner's van pulled away, and then he turned to
Schanke, "Yeah, let's get out of here Schank."

* * * * * * * *

Nicholas had really wanted to stop at the morgue first, but he knew that the
Captain would need to hear their report from the crime scene.  Schanke and
he had taken extra time at this latest victim's home to try and break the
tragic news the best that could be done.  Melinda Pryor had wonderful
parents with a perfect home and two younger siblings.  She was an honor
student with many friends.  Somehow she crossed paths with a serial killer,
and it was his job to figure out how and why.  Schanke was right about this
being the worst part of their job.  They could do nothing to bring back
their daughter, and restore their once happy lives.  Their lives would be
changed forever by the inhumane acts of another.  They had a difficult new
path to follow.  A path that would only end when they themselves would die.
Nicholas could still hear the sobs of Melinda's mother in his head.  This
was a pain that no parent should ever have to experience.

How had this child been in such mortal danger, and no one had been aware of
it?  There must have been some connection between the two deaths.  He could
not believe that these girls were random targets.  There were just too many
similarities.  This killer was a hunter, and he set traps for his
unsuspecting prey.  This knowledge was more than a guess, it was an
instinctual feel. Having been a hunter, he knew all the signs.  He knew that
half the enjoyment came from choosing the right one, and waiting for the
right time. It was a game that his victims never realized that they were
playing.  This time however this little game of amusement was going to end.
This time this child murderer would be hunted himself by one who was well
versed in the sport of pursuit, and as his victims he too would be unaware
until it would be too late.  Nicholas knew that there had to be a clue
somewhere that they were overlooking.  Returning from the latest victims
house had taken a lot out of both of them.  Schanke was still shaking his
head as he walked into the precinct with Nick.

"How do they do it?  I mean how are they going to survive?  It's just not
supposed to be like this.  Life is so unfair.  Life is too short without
this crazy killing."  Schanke sighed deeply and sorrowfully.  "Life is just
too short, right Nick?"

Nicholas was still thinking about the best way to hunt a hunter, and he was
only half listening to Schanke's thoughts about their latest case.

"Short, right."

Schanke shook his head in disbelief.  He was starting to feel both ignored
and frustrated.  "I was saying how short life is.  Were you listening to a
word I said?"

Nicholas tried to recover.  "Yeah, a short life, right?"

Schanke just sighed and rolled his eyes, and Nicholas looked surprised.

"What?"

Schanke decided to give up on his shocked partner and change the subject
slightly.

"Cohen's probably waiting for us.  What do we got?  Two dead girls, and no
suspects.  She is going to be fit to be tied."

They both hardly reached their desks when Captain Cohen tore out of her
office.

"Knight..  Schanke...in my office."

Cohen didn't look happy.  But then again she never looked very happy.  She
had a difficult job, and rarely was the news good.  Not only did she have a
thankless job, she always saw the worst of humanity.  She never even glanced
at them as she summoned them into her office.  She was strictly business,
and she demanded nothing less from her detectives.  As she disappeared
through her door, Nicholas and Schanke exchanged worried looks.  She was not
going to be happy with what they had.  Hell, they weren't happy with what
they had.

By the time Nicholas and Schanke entered her office, Cohen was reviewing a
folder at her desk.  She looked up as they walked in.

"Did you both just get back from the scene?"

Schanke spoke up first, "Yeah, Captain."

"Well, what did you get?"

Schanke glanced at Nick and started, "Boy Captain, There's just noth......"
Nicholas knew what Schanke was going to say and tried to cut him off.

"There may be a witness" Cohen sat back in her chair and studied Nicholas
while Schanke stared at his partner in disbelief.

"We will check out her story.  Also Dr. Lambert.  I'm sure she'll have
something for us."

Cohen rubbed her chin, and took a few moments to answer.  "Good try Knight,
but what you're trying to not tell me is that you have nothing.  Is that
right?"

She pushed back her chair, and stood up as Nicholas and Schanke looked at
each other in silence.

"Okay.  Do what you can, and get back to me as soon as you have anything."

Nicholas nodded his head as Schanke breathed a sigh of relief and headed for
his desk.  By the time Nicholas reached his desk, there was a message from
Natalie.  Picking up the paper, he waved it at Schanke.

"Nat wants to see us.  Do you feel like taking a trip over to the morgue?"

Schanke stretched and rubbed his tired eyes.

"After everything else tonight, that offer doesn't sound that bad."

Nicholas picked up his jacket, and gave Schanke a knowing smile.
 

End Part Two

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