There Are Vampires Out There!

[Calypso]

By the time the shouts were really rising in volume, Cade was already on his way home, and busy trying to sort out his own problems. He'd have to find a new emergency hideout, considering that Saladin - or the Vicomte, as he had been last time he saw him - knew where it was. That meant he couldn't risk going back there for anything, either.

He hadn't lost much, though. There'd only been the basics there: a change of clothes, a little money, and the knife, of course.

Thinking of that, he quickened his pace a little, wanting to get home and get changed. His clothes were somewhat bloodstained, and patches had turned stiff as it dried. He'd be glad of a wash as well. Get rid of that lovely, alluring scent of blood.

Shuddering, relying on years of practice to keep him from sweeping back into town and finding a nice mortal to satisfy the cravings of an appetite which Ryan's blood had only whetted, he shoved his hands into his trouser pockets, watched the street roll on underneath his feet, and focused on getting home.

He was startled when someone coming the other way bumped into him - literally. Pushed roughly aside, he half-turned, starting to speak up in annoyance, but the other person just kept walking rapidly away. He hesitated, staring after them as they vanished into the night, head kept down. He hadn't heard their footsteps. Not before they shoved past him, and not afterwards.

As he pulled his hands out of his pockets, a scrap of paper fluttered out and fell. Swiftly, he snatched it out of the air, and uncrumpled it to find the short message.

They've found you. Don't go home.

And he stood there, staring at it, as his life collapsed around him.

~*~

The Vicomte made no comment about Logan's aborted question. He followed the young vampire closely, only just registering the route they took, his mind now a careful, precise balance between himself and the one they referred to as Simon. Who would have thought the fool had enough strength to get this far?

Neither of them was fully in control at the moment. The Vicomte had strength of purpose and willpower on his side, but Simon was somehow aided by his acknowledgement of the others. He knew how to deal with more than one mind at once and still come out on top.

They raised their head and looked forward as the jail came into view, and one or the other said, "Take us in."

[RuThor]

OOC: *starts rooting for Simon* Go insane vampire! Go! ^_^

IC
It took Ryan a good while to calm himself down in the shower, scrubbing away at the blood that had long since dried until his skin turned red. He could still hear his parents' voices coming from downstairs as he shut off the hot water, no matter how hard they were trying to pretend that they were being quiet. Pulling on an old T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, Ryan retreated to his room, shutting the door silently behind him.

His bloodied clothes lay in a pile beside his door for the morning- which, he realized with a glance at his clock, wasn't too far off. Exhausted, he collapsed on top of his bed without bothering to pull the covers down, and flicking the light switch on the lamp next to his bed, fell asleep.

[glow=red,2,300]~~~~~~~[/glow]

Logan hesitated only a moment before he walked around to the east side of the jail, walking along the wall and counting the barred windows as he went. Six, seven, eight…

The jail wasn’t in the least bit a friendly-looking place. The stone walls were cold as Logan ran his hand along them, counting windows. Nine, ten, eleven...

There were twenty windows on three sides of the building. Logan counted until he reached the fifteenth, then stood on tiptoe, giving the bars that covered it a shove. It sure felt like more than two months ago that he had last shoved the bars away on a dare.

Glancing over his shoulder at Luc, Logan heaved himself up over the edge of the window and dropped down into the jail, looking up at the patch of outside he could see through the window. "There's a three-foot drop," he called back out, "then a bench. It shakes, so watch out."

[Ru'Thor]

OOC: YAAAAAAAAAAAY! ALL MOVED! WHOOT WHOOT! *dances the Funky Chicken* Much thanks, Lali.

[Lali]

OOC No problem, Ru. All in a day's work, right?
*eyes the post* Hrm. Don't bring dawn about just yet. I can tie up tonight for M'sieur/Simon etc. in another post after this, y'okay?


IC It took a few minutes before Cade could move again, swallowing hard against the lump in his throat as he clenched his fist around the note. Another few moments passed before he raised his head, blinking at the familiar street around him, and not recognising a single brick for a second or two.

Shakily, he shoved the note back into his pocket, realising that he couldn't risk standing here any longer. He was too close to home - that thought hurt - and there would be slayers keeping an eye out for his return if they knew who he was. So he turned around and started walking back the way he'd come.

He took two corners before he stopped again and sank back against a wall, closing his eyes. What could he do? He was utterly lost and alone. It would compromise anyone else's security if he went to another vampire for help - and if the slayers had found him, he couldn't guarantee that the others weren't discovered as well.

Go- Ch- Damn it all, how had they found him? Where had he gone wrong?

It had to be connected to Saladin, Laurence, whoever else he had tucked away in his mind. Until he showed up things had been going quite smoothly. He hadn't stepped outside his routine, or done anything unusual. He'd stuck to what he knew was safe. He should never have saved the poor mad fool. Everything came back to that. If he'd just let the slayers have him, his life would be fine, and so would Ryan's.

Ryan. The slayers couldn't know about him yet! He was the only person in the city who could help Cade.

He opened his eyes and gazed blankly ahead of him. He had one option there. But the only way to solve all this would be to find Saladin.

And kill him.

Straightening, he started walking again, with a little more purpose. The night was getting on, and he had to find a change of clothes before the mortals started turning out for work and caught him covered in blood. That was the first step. Then check up on Ryan, try and convince him to help. Regardless of the boy's decision, he would have to stick around until tomorrow night to find out if he had another obligation.

He prayed as he walked. Begged, really, that Ryan was still mortal. If so, then he'd be free to skip town and flee somewhere safer, just as soon as Saladin was out of the picture.

He tried not to think about Laurence, Raphael and Simon. It was unfortunate, but he couldn't let pity stop him. They would be innocent casualties. These things happened.

~*~

The Vicomte followed Logan, half-blind from the pain of fighting Simon. Abruptly, as he reached the fifteenth window, the struggle stopped. Simon gave up.

He stumbled a little, almost pitching forward from the sudden release of tension. Straightening, surprised but exultant, he smiled to himself a little, then followed Logan into the jail. It was difficult to be remotely graceful climbing through a prison window, and he didn't manage it at all.

His feet hit the bench, and Simon struck with all the force of the others combined - for what else was he but that? The vampire's eyes flickered blank for a split-second, and the bench shook. He slipped off, but easily dropped into a somersault and ended in a tense, wild-looking crouch on the jail floor, eyes darting around and finally coming to rest on Logan.

"This," Simon told him calmly, "looks horribly familiar."

With a sigh, he stretched back and did a slow, curling, backwards handstand to get himself back to his feet.

"Seen one jail, you've seen them all," he muttered, standing between Logan and the window, and bowed low. Rapidly, taking a deep breath first, he rattled off, "Pleased to meetcha, how ya doin', listen close now, somethin's brewin."

[Ru'Thor]

OOC: Okieday. I just won't post with Ryan for now, unless you like posts contianing 'zzzz's'.
Ryan: Zzzzzzz...
*cheers* Yaaay Simon!

IC
Logan stared, mouth open slightly, at the other vampire, one eyebrow raised. What on earth... ? "What are you talking about?" he asked, taking one uncertain step away from Simon. "Why're you acting all different?"

The sense of security went out of the window they had just come through to be replaced by doubt. Was Luc insane, after all? He had seemed all right enough, but still... did vampires go insane?

OOC again: I flinch from the shortness and suckiness. -_- I need to get more than two hours of sleep at night.

[Lali]

OOC *giggles* Poor Logan. I can just see the anime twitch-and-sweatdrop... ^_^ And more sleep is good, but your posts seem fine without. *patpat* No worries, hey?


IC Simon blinked at him for a moment, then put his hands on his hips and said sternly, "Pay attention, young man! This is important!"

He looked up at a corner of the room, blinked slowly, and softly murmured, "Pop goes the weasel."

Realising that he would have to explain things a little, he folded his arms, sat on the bench, stared straight at Logan, and said, "We're not M'sieur. Well, we are, but we're mostly everybody else."

With surprising tunefulness, he suddenly sang, "But the fool on the hill sees the sun going down, and the eyes in his head see the world spinning round!"

Abruptly he stopped, and nodded firmly. "That's us. See, we're absolutely nutty, to put it quite simply. But we don't like M'sieur, shall we tell you why?"

As if Logan had happily cried, "Yes, please, tell me more!" rather than standing looking slightly stunned and more than a little scared, he smiled broadly, and said, "Goodgoodgood, we shall then. See, the first time M'sieur decided to come out to play, he caused a little trouble in France. Late eighteenth century or something silly like that. Have you noticed how the century is always one more than whatever the actual year starts off with? You know - nineteen ninety eight is in the twentieth century and so on. One, two, miss a few, ninety nine, a hundred - coming, ready or not!"

He jerked back suddenly, as though he'd been slapped in the face, and shook his head sharply, saying, "Anyway, yes. And the last time he turned up was nineteen thirty-something. In Germany. He got us killed."

Simon pouted for a moment, then smiled again, humming, "Jack and Jill went up the hill, M'sieur le Vicomte got us killed," and giggled.

This time he actually physically slapped himself, and yelped, "This is serious!"


OOC *is still giggling* Ahem, sorry. I could wrap this up here, but I wanted to see how Logan would react, so I'm running away now. *blush* Oh, and I left Cade out because he's just away stealing some clothes, and he's been hogging all the limelight recently anyway. Miaow.

[Ru'Thor]

OOC: *cracks up* That's how I pictured him while I wrote that! I love Simon... the insane little nutter... ^_^

IC
“You’ve lost it.” Logan’s voice was surprisingly calm, given that he was still staring wide-eyed at this loon. “Lost it. Completely round the bend. Crackers.” He shook his head slowly. “So you’re not who you told me you were, you’re someone else, but you’re everybody else?” Logan groaned loudly and threw his hands hopelessly in the air. “Are you going to talk sense, or is everything you say in stupid rhyme?”

He paused, frowning. “And what’s-his-face- the one you were a few seconds ago but aren’t anymore- he’s not who he told me he was either?” He closed his eyes. “Oh, Go- gosh- I’m going insane now!”

As far as he could see, there were two explanations here: one, Luc/’M’sieur’/this nut were- or was- completely off their- or his- rocker. That one made his head spin more than it already was, so Logan took to the second one- somehow there was more than one person inside one body.

OOC: I gave myself a headache writing that one. XD

[Lali]

OOC Urgh. I had a lovely post nearly finished and we had a power cut. I typed up what I could remember on the laptop (battery power rules, okay!!) and I'm just going to run through it again and make sure it's okay. But it's not as good as it was. Mweh.


IC Simon smiled, nodding. “You’ve got the hang of this. We’re insane. Just keep in mind that Monsieur le Vicomte is even more insane than us, but he hides it better.”

He giggled again, and said, “You keep it in your mind. I’ll keep it in all of mine.”

Abruptly, he froze, blinking hard, fists clenching for a moment, then he relaxed again and looked back at Logan. With an uncommonly serious expression, he told him, “We really don’t have much time. So listen. We know M’sieur is dangerous, but you can’t run. He knows about your cousin with the slayers. There’s no way he’d let you get away and tell anyone anything about him. He’d follow you. He’d find you. And then…”

Making a noise like ripping paper, he drew one finger across his throat, and shuddered.

“Cade can stop him,” he whispered. “We can’t do anything. He hasn’t been out in decades. He gets stronger every time he’s out. All he wants is blood and death and slaves, and if he gets it there’ll be no stopping him. He’ll take over. He’ll be too strong. He’ll never go away. And we’ll disappear.”

The genuine terror in his eyes banished any trace of his former happy madness. He swallowed, and said again, “Cade can stop him. He’s the only one who can. The only one with the power. Please. Find him. And… and be careful. Don’t drink his blood. Don’t let him know you know. He pretends we don’t exist, so he shouldn’t know we got through. We…”

He hesitated again, then lowered his voice and murmured, “I don’t think I’ll be able to speak to you again. Just find Cade.”

He seemed to relax, and smiled a little. “Cade can fix it. He can control M’sieur.”

A shudder ran through him, and he stood up, climbing onto the bench and saying, “Be careful.” Then he bowed again, and, returning to form a little, with a wan smile, sang, “So long, farewell, we hate to say goodbye…”

Before Logan could say anything in return, he jumped up.

His feet hit the bench, and Simon relinquished his hold as the Vicomte struck with all of his growing power. The vampire's eyes flickered blank for a split-second, and the bench shook. He slipped off, but easily controlled it, stumbling only a little, and ended in a calm, composed stance on the jail floor, eyes darting around and finally coming to rest on Logan.

“Bien," The Vicomte told him calmly. "This will do, for now.”

[Ru'Thor]

OOC: Isn't that the worst? *patpat* I liked it. More anime sweatdrops and twitching.
Logan: @_@" *twitchy*

IC
What the bloody freakin' hell?

It was all Logan could do to keep from staring at whoever-this-maniac-really-was with his mouth hanging open. He felt that he could safely say he had never felt so confused in his life.

For the time being, he'd take the nutter's word- the bit of it that he was comprehending without serious thought, at least- and pretend that he didn't know about Luc- M'sieur- whoever's- multiple mind deal.

Inwardly, he groaned. The sooner he could sit down and think this through, the better. In the meantime he'd play along.

"Ah- okay." Logan's voice was quite normal, and he felt relieved to hear it so. "There's nothing in here, not really-" Except for a jacket covered in blood that probably stank like hell by now, he reminded himself with a shiver- "but no one's been here in ages." Also not entirely true, but what Luc didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

[Lali]

"Good, good," the Vicomte muttered, moving past Logan to investigate the place further. He inspected the corridor before turning and ordering calmly, "Replace the bars on the window. It wouldn't do for us to be followed in."

Expecting perfect obedience, he turned away again, and said, "Et maintenant, we wait. Rest. If you are correct, then we should be undisturbed here. Sleep if you require it, and we shall talk later."

After all, he was tired now. It took a great deal of energy to fight off all the others in his mind, and he was still relatively recently awakened after a decade of being dead. But he had succeeded this far, despite everything. He would probably have to kill again tomorrow night, he thought idly, but he would deal with that when it came.

The one thing he really wanted to do in the day-time was buy a newspaper.

Ah. Yes. He'd have to steal some money first. Oh well. He'd deal with that later, just like everything else. For now, he would sleep.

~*~

The slayers waited patiently - although with growing annoyance - until the sun was up above the horizon and the first stirrings of the day were breaking the dawn peace. With mixed fury and disgust, they abandoned their watch over Cade's house, rigging up an alarm before they went, and, somewhat spitefully, nailing a crucifix to all the entrances they could find.

They were enraged, though, that he had avoided the ambush. They knew what that meant - a traitor in their own ranks. Something would have to be done.

[Ru'Thor]

Logan didn't move for a moment, staring after the Vicomte as though thrown off. He shook his head quickly, climbed back onto the bench, and carefully replaced the bars in the window, pulling them into place tightly.

Getting down from the bench with only a few wobbles, he moved away from the window and squeezed into the nearest cell.

The prison beds had grown dusty from disuse, but the bedding had not been removed when the jail closed. Logan lay on top of the lower bunk, his eyes seeing nothing on the bottom of the bed above as he strained to sort out his thoughts.

Luc wasn't who he said he was, that much was for sure. He was some "M'sieur" person, that the nutty one from inside his head obviously feared. There seemed to be others, too, he recalled, as there had been a 'we' mentioned.

Luc's bad, he's not Luc, the insane one and whoever else is inside his head needs help. Right. It made no sense whatsoever, but it seemed to be correct.

But what about this Cade person? Logan assumed he was a vampire; he had to be. How was he supposed to find one person when all he had to go on was a name? Besides, it didn't seem as though Logan would be able to tramp around the city as he wanted trying to find him.

Logan shut his eyes tightly, head pounding. Couldn't the nut have been a little clearer?

He'd just have to keep an ear open for the name, he decided finally. He'd find this Cade person eventually- hopefully before Luc figured out what he was trying to do.

Having arrived at a decision- however vague it was- the young vampire rolled onto his side and let his eyes close gently. He could think things through again in the morning- evening- when he woke up. Now, with all of this new information that he would rather have been kept from him, Logan felt as though he would have been better off chancing a fight with Laura than asking for help.

[Lali]

OOC Mwurk. Health warning: lousy post ahead. Enter at your own risk.



IC Seven in the morning and Cade was waiting near Ryan's house. He'd been there two hours already, ever since it got light. The clothes he'd stolen - guiltily, from a bag left outside a charity shop - didn't quite fit, but they weren't too bad for all that. He shouldn't attract too much unwanted attention, less than he would with his other clothes, at least. He'd dumped them in amongst the rubbish bags along one street.

Now he was hanging around along Ryan's street, using a stone he'd picked up from the gutter to mark out squares and crosses near the manholes, pretending to be laying out a plan for roadworks whenever anyone was watching. Nobody really looked twice at him, and he was able to keep a fairly close eye on Ryan's house like this. The problems would be sticking close enough to him during the rest of the day, and finding an opportunity to speak to him.

~*~

Seven in the morning and the slayers had dispersed, returning to home and from there on to work or, in some cases, school. The policewoman, having ordered the three others to keep absolutely silent about their suspicions, called in sick and sat at home trying to work out how to find the traitor in their midst.

It could be anyone. It could even be one of those in charge. She would have to work alone until she was certain she could trust a few people. What would make it really difficult was that she only had three official contacts in the organisation - she wasn't supposed to know anybody else. That would slow the whole operation down to a snail's pace!

But, she sighed, she'd have to start with her three. There was no other way to get through everybody. God, this was going to take forever.

~*~

Seven in the morning, and the Vicomte was resting. Not sleeping, not quite. But lying still and silent on the stone floor of one cell, relaxed and calm, recovering some of the energy he'd expended fighting the others. They were quiet now. Deathly quiet.

And that thought brought a faint smile to his face. In - aha - light of his victory, perhaps he would venture out at noon. Logan might have enough money for a newspaper. If not he could steal one, or just dawdle enough to read the headlines.

He would have to lead the slayers to Cade's hideout somehow, as well... And his smile grew wider. Perhaps he could use the newspaper to do it. They were bound to have appeals for information about that girl's death, and if they'd found the drunk quick enough, perhaps him as well. Although his death was not nearly as newsworthy. Not enough gore for the papers, and not as pitiable a victim.

It was a thought. If he used a public telephone then he couldn't be traced, and it was simple enough to give false details if they asked for them. Ha. Cade would regret trying to interfere with his plans!

As would anyone else who tried to stop him.


OOC By the way Ru, I adore your avatar.

[Ru'Thor]

OOC: Thankies. ^_^ I'm basing Ryan's portion of this post on my own schedule, don't know if he'd really need to get up that early or not. *is sooo stealing the seven-in-the-morning pattern, because her mind is so dead that she can't think straight*

IC
Seven in the morning, and Ryan was still as exhausted as he'd been an hour ago, when his alarm had woken him with its shrill whine and he had felt... well, just as exhausted as he'd been the night before.

He stifled a yawn as he squeezed his way silently through the small kitchen, a piece of buttered toast in one hand and a book bag slung over one shoulder. He had managed not to wake his dad as he readied himself for the day, he noted, as he slid past the living room and saw him deep asleep on the couch. Thank God.

Ryan quietly pulled the wooden door shut behind him as he stretched out with the other arm to hold the screen door open, slipping outside into the morning air. He didn’t seem to see Cade as he took the two steps from the door to the sidewalk in one bound, glancing back for a moment to be sure that the screen door shut behind him.

~~~~~~~

Seven in the morning, and Logan was still asleep on the prison bed, sleeping well for the first time in quite a while. It was only reluctantly that he allowed the light that filtered in through the window to wake him, giving a wide yawn before rolling over and nearly falling off the edge of the bed.

He sat up, blinking several times to make himself wake up before he stood and left the cell, shutting the door with a soft clang behind him, shivering. As often as he had been here before, the place still gave him the creeps.

[Lali]

OOC I remember I only used "Seven in the morning" because I was trying to avoid starting everything with "Cade..." or "The Vicomte..." and I liked the sound of it. ^_^

By the way, profuse apologies for not getting this done before you left. Or while you were away. *blush* I haven't been online much. At all, in fact.



IC Out of the corner of his eye, Cade saw Ryan exit his house, and kept close to the ground for a few moments. It wouldn't make things any easier if he was spotted so soon. A confrontation in front of Ryan's home would hardly be inconspicuous, and he needed a little more time to work out what he was going to do. Once he knew which Ryan's school was, he'd be able to scout around a little and try to find somewhere to stay. He couldn't ask that of Ryan.

What he could ask, though, was for help. He could set Ryan on the task of finding Saladin, enquiring with the police perhaps, for any information on his "attacker". Anything that required him showing his face in public, he could get Ryan to do. Preferably with Ryan willing, but if it came to it... he might be desperate enough to use the blood-bond to force him.

He expanded the squares on the pavement, kept an eye out to watch where Ryan went, and used five thousand years of experience to lurk in the shadows cast by the fresh, low sun.

~*~

At the sound of the cell door shutting, the Vicomte switched instantly from dozing and dreamily plotting to being completely alert. He didn't open his eyes, but listened for footsteps or other sounds, waiting to discover just what Logan was up to before he moved.

Of course, it could be a completely innocent move - a call of nature, for example - but assuming so would do him no good. Far better to be suspicious and wrong than trusting and dead.

He would have to make certain the boy would obey him. Before night-time, he resolved, Logan must be completely under his control. He was too connected to the potential threat of the slayers to be left free much longer, besides which, every time in the past that he'd been killed had been because of someone he should have enslaved sooner.


OOC Mwow. Apologies. Short post. Not much happening. Mweh.

[Ru'Thor]

OOC: Sorry for the wait... and suckishness...

Given the fact that the street was nearly deserted, Ryan would have noticed Cade sooner or later if it hadn’t been for the people who joined him then.

“Ryan!” The call came from a little ways ahead of him, and Ryan looked up to see three people, a boy and two girls, sitting on the sidewalk and waiting for him. “Hurry up, you’re gonna make us late! Slowpoke.” Ryan rubbed his forehead, trying to make himself look more awake than he was, before he hurried forward to meet his friends.

Almost as soon as he’d joined them, the three stood and began walking, going down the sidewalk as they talked animatedly. Ryan fell into step beside them, listening only with half an ear. His thoughts were still on the night before, and they weren’t exactly comforting.

~~~~~~~

Logan’s head was still buzzing frantically, he was dismayed to discover. His rest hadn’t helped matters much, except perhaps to let him think a little more clearly.

Thankfully, only a little light filtered through into the jail, and Logan wasn’t bothered by it as he moved down the rows of cells, his thoughts on the events of the night before more than where he was going. It felt good to stretch his legs while he thought, and the last traces of his exhaustion were gone.

He’d considered forgetting about what the insane vampire had said, but somehow he knew that would be a mistake. There was no doubt in his mind that the nutter wasn’t making it up. But the question was, how in the world was he supposed to help?

Logan groaned softly, rubbing his eyes slowly.

[Lali]

OOC SO SO SO SO sorry about that... *guiltyguilty*


IC Cade glanced up sharply as Ryan met his friends. None of the others were familiar to him, and they probably wouldn't recognise him if he happened to wander past them once or twice - or more. But knowing his luck at the moment, they'd turn out to be slayers, whip out a couple of crucifixes and stakes and leave him a pile of dust on the pavement.

Why are you doing this to me now? he thought a little bitterly, glancing up at the sky. I'd just got used to safety.

Looking back down, he saw that Ryan and his friends were a fair distance from him. Cautiously, he got to his feet and followed, ready to duck behind parked cars or hedges at a moment's notice. In daylight, though, he couldn't really move faster than mortals - not that he was vastly superior to them even at night. But every little bit helped.

It was at this point that he started to wonder what he was actually going to say to Ryan when he managed to snatch a moment. He couldn't expect the boy to just help him spontaneously, once he'd explained the situation. He owed Cade nothing - it was all the other way around.

Thinking hard, he kept on Ryan's trail, letting him get a good few hundred metres ahead.

~*~

The Vicomte got to his feet easily, black trenchcoat swishing a little as he moved. He paused long enough to pick up the knife from where he'd left it on the floor beside him, and tucked it back into his belt, making sure he could snatch it free easily. He'd be needing it today. Then he moved to the cell door, just as Logan groaned.

"Bon matin, Logan," he said calmly, leaning against the door and looking up the corridor at the young vampire, who was only a couple of cells away. "And was your sleep restful?"

He didn't bother to wait for an answer, smoothly moving on and away from such formalities and small talk. There were more impotant things to discuss.

"Eh bien, now you are awake, there are things we must do," he continued. "It is necessary that we venture out today. Where are the nearest shops?"

[Ru'Thor]

OOC: I... love... your... av.... DONE! *wince* Logan sounds like a store clerk. XD

IC

The conversation between the four- three, really, as Ryan was doing little more than nodding his head and murmuring a "uh-huh" when it seemed appropriate- turned from hockey to band to homework as they made the short walk to Jackson Memorial High. There were already a good number of people there, talking in groups in the courtyard as they awaited the first bell.

"Ryan!"

Ryan looked up, blinking, as one of the girls, a brunette named Miki, practically shouted his name in his ear. It took him a moment to realize that she must have been trying to get his attention for a minute or two. "Sorry- what?"

"I said, did you finish Atkison's essay?"

Ryan nodded, then cut himself short- he'd finished it, but the paper was currently open on his computer. The talk, getting mad, going outside... and all of that. He shuddered inwardly. In the events of last night, he'd completely forgotten about it. "Left it on the computer," he said sourly. "I got mad at my parents last night. Forgot about it." It wasn't entirely a lie, but still, Ryan felt a guilty twinge at not telling his friends the whole truth.

The other boy, Trevor, shrugged. "I didn't do it. It doesn't matter. I was always going to flunk history anyway."

As the other three continued the conversation, leaning against the brick wall that separated the courtyard from the sidewalk, Ryan sunk back into his own thoughts.

~~~~~~~

Logan nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden sound of the Vicomte's voice, and he turned around quickly. The older vampire had taken him by surprise, and he quickly calmed himself. There was no need to worry about him just yet- or, at least, Logan hoped so.

"Er- there's a whole group of shops not far from here," he said, trying to mask his start. "Grocery, pharmacy, a Hallmark, general stores..." He hesitated, then inquired, "What are you looking for?"

OOC: Just a note: Miki is pronounced like Mickey Mouse. One of my best friends is named Miki, and when she writes it people pronounce it like Mikey.

[Lali]

OOC *grovels* *offers apology cookies* Awk. *says no more... too guilty*



IC Across the street from the school, Cade watched Ryan enter the courtyard, surrounded by his friends and peers. He was effectively out of reach, but, equally, contained for the day. The wonderful thing about school was that for a few hours of the day, in theory, one knew where the children were. So unlike his own childhood.

He could wait until Ryan's lunchtime to speak to the boy - and he could use the four hours or so between now and then to gather some money and information. Perhaps he could speak to the vampire in the slayers, though that was a very risky move, and had technically been forbidden in order to protect her cover. Surely, though, the danger of the Vicomte was important enough to risk even their best source of information on the slayers? They'd managed to protect themselves against the slayers before, but the Vicomte was just as dangerous.

Perhaps more so. Laurence had told him that he was over four hundred years old - many of the vampires in the city were much younger than that. They would be at risk from the blood bond, among other things. And if he enslaved even a single one of the younger vampires, he would become a great threat to all of them.

That argument might justify his contacting the informer, and he could rely a little on the awe in which he was held by some of the vampires who knew his age, but if the informer was discovered passing information out of the slayers, none of them would regard his actions with any sort of sympathy. He would simply be the one who had lost them their best protection.

Knowing that, realising that all his past efforts to help the others would be forgotten in the face of a single failure, he turned abruptly away from the school and stalked down the street, no longer bothering to hide. Money first, whether he had to beg, borrow or steal it. Then he was going to go straight to the informer and force her to help him if she wasn't willing. While she was working on it, he'd go and buy some more necessary things.

A stake, for example.

~*~

"The news, of course," the Vicomte said lightly, immediately put into a good mood by Logan's nervousness. "We must discover what is known by the general populace."

He would keep a careful eye on Logan during the trip out, of course, and as soon as they got back he would enslave him. Simple.

Somehow he managed to keep his smile off his face, and added, "I'm afraid you'll have to buy our newspaper - I no longer have any legal currency."

But then, that was what being dead for more than thirty years did to you. Especially considering that those kind enough to liberate him of his life had taken the opportunity to liberate all his possessions at the same time. As that thought crossed his mind, he wondered briefly if the murdering scum were still alive.

Regrettably, however, he had little time for such old vengeance. There were more pressing problems at hand.

[Ru'Thor]

OOC: Don't worry. ^_^ I'm just glad to have something to reply to! *patpat*

As Cade turned from the school, a bell sounded somewhere in the building, and the mass of students began to trickle inside. Ryan drew in a deep breath as he and his friends joined the throng. The rest of the day wasn't going to be as easy as this, he knew. There were more people to deal with, people who wouldn't allow him to have an 'off-day' where he didn't feel like talking to anybody.

Namely, teachers.

For one of the few times in his life, Ryan wished that he was like Trevor: never afraid to skip school for whatever reason that popped into his head.

With that thought bouncing around in his head, Ryan trudged inside behind Miki, glancing once over his shoulder at the courtyard. This was going to be the longest day of his life.

~~~~~~~

"But I don't have any-" Logan cut himself off abruptedly. He didn't have any money on him, but there was surely enough for a newspaper in his jacket, unless someone had removed it in the two months since he'd last been here- something he highly doubted. The issue would be getting to it. As far as he'd told the Vicomte, no one had been here in ages. It wouldn't be as simple as that to go and find it, not now.

"I don't have any money," he finished finally, rather sheepishly.

[Lali]

It had been a while since Cade had turned pickpocket - and times had greatly changed since then. But, thankfully, it seemed that it was a skill that, once learned, was never to be forgotten. And his plight was much too urgent to leave room for guilt.

Despite the early hour, he'd gained a fair amount of money, in cash, before long. He left the credit cards and other personal items in the wallets he'd taken, removing only the notes and coins, and then leaving the three leather cases on the step of the police station, slipping away again as fast as possible, and keeping his face hidden from the cameras above the door.

Seeking out a public phone box, he shoved a few coins home, rapidly dialling the number he'd memorised, but didn't dare have written down anywhere.

Leaning against the glass, waiting for the call to go through, he prayed fervently for some hope in all this disaster. The vampire he was calling would have laughed herself silly if she knew that she was the answer to his prayers.

~*~

The Vicomte shook his head with mild annoyance, reflecting that it might have been better to have turned Logan's cousin and brought her along instead. Never mind, though. If nothing else he could enslave the boy, have him rob a bank, and let him be the one labelled a criminal. Now there was an idea - all immediate financial problems would be sorted...

But he was getting distracted.

"Eh bien," he said, spreading his hands a little, "then we will steal one. Show me to the shops."

After all, even the grandest of evil plans had to start somewhere.