Disclaimer:
All characters herein were borrowed, abused, and put back. Characters are
owned and copyrighted by Sony Pictures/Tristar Corp and were created by
James Parriott and Barney Cohen. I'm just borrowing them for awhile, I
promise to put them back in relatively good condition. No copyright
infringement is intended.  Any similarity to any real persons, living, dead
or undead, or any other fan fiction, is purely coincidental.  Also, nothing
in this story is intended to offend anyone. If I screw something up, please
let me know.   This is non-sequel-able.
Permission to archive by Mel on fkfanfic given.
All my FK fan fiction archived at
http://www.naturesong.com/raven/myfkfan.htm

Here's a Halloween treat...I'm saving my tricks for another time.

Time period:  circa 1972

Shot In The Dark
By Cousin Raven (raven@naturesong.com)
=======================================
Lucien leaned against a streetpole and sighed.  Of all the nights that had
passed since he became what he was, only this night had become irksome and
irritating.  /Halloween, indeed./ He thought.  /Children running around
having fun...in my day the pagans were bloodthirsty and took this night
seriously.  They've made of it a joke.  Still, the sight of so much young
and innocent blood does put my mind to other things./

---
  Out on the street I'm stalking the night
  I can hear my heavy breathing
  Paid for the kill but it doesn't seem right
  Something there I can't believe in
---

Lucien watched the children, intelligently walking in groups, with wonder.
After all, he was a vampire, but not a monster.  He wouldn't take a child
unless he had little choice, after all, there wasn't much blood in such a
small creature.

He watched the various characters and personifications file past with
longing.  He remembered then, he'd brought a flask for just this reason.  As
he took it from the inside pocket of his Armani  suit, he felt a tug on
his lapel.

Flask in hand, he stared down at the tiny child, no more than six or seven.

"Twik ow tweet!"  She exclaimed, her plastic mask and blond hair moving as
she spoke.  She was probably meant to be some cartoon character, a rabbit,
from the look of her costume.  He briefly thought of shooing her away, of
taking her into an alley and helping her to her death.  The possibilities
abounded.  He remembered his own child, Divia.  So many things had happened
since she'd been entombed.  So much blood.

---
  Voices are calling from inside my head
  I can hear them I can hear them
  Vanishing memories of things that were said
  They can't try to hurt me now
---

"Twik ow tweet!"  She said again.  Thinking better of his previous impulses,
he reached into his pocket.  There wasn't much, a few dollars, a button, and
some lint.  He picked the lint out and flicked it away in disgust.  He
carefully picked the button out of the cash and stuck it back into his
pocket.  He carelessly tossed the rest into the child's waiting bag.  She
smiled and shook her head, her mask moving in delight.

---
  But a shot In the dark
  One step away from you
  A shot In the dark
  Always creeping up on you
---

She turned from him and started back to a pack of waiting kids.  It was only
then he realized they'd all been watching him, flask in hand.  There were
almost a dozen kids, ranging in age from the small girl he'd treated to what
looked like a sixteen or seventeen year old.  The eldest wore make-up only
and appeared to be pretending to be a pirate.  He glared at LaCroix as if he
were death himself, and he supposed, in a way, he was.

After a few minutes of utter silence between them, the teenaged pirate said,
simply, "Thank you," and herded the rest the opposite direction.  LaCroix
watched them go and wondered what it would be like...to dress up as
something you're not, if only for one night.  The thought had temped him
more than once, but each time he yielded to the 'adult' in him.  Such things
were folly, foolishness.  He sighed again.  Perhaps it was, but perhaps
sometimes, one needed to be foolish, if only for a short time.

---
  Taught by the powers that preach over me
  I can hear their empty reason
  I wouldn't listen I learned how to fight
  I opened up my mind to treason
---

"Hey, look at the vampire!" He heard a shrill voice say.  Curiosity got the
best of him and he turned to see a small boy pointing from across the
street...directly at him.  His mother scolded him for pointing and ushered
him in the direction of the next house.

/An honest mistake.../ LaCroix thought, /After all, he couldn't really
know...it was just the Armani suit...and everyone knows vampires wear
black./  A smile lit his face.  The possibilities loomed over him...

---
  But just like the wounded and when it's too late
  They'll remember they'll surrender
  Never a care for that people who hate
  Underestimate me now
---

As the next batch of kids approached, LaCroix slipped into a shadow.  He
took the flask out and smelled within, allowing the bloodsmell to ignite his
vampire instinct.  It didn't take long.  Soon, his eyes had goldened, his
fangs had erupted.  He capped the flask and put it away.  Slowly, but with
an extreme anticipation, he stepped from the alleyway.  The kids were still
coming.  As they approached, he fixed his mouth in an evil grin (showing his
fangs) and in his best Bela Lugosi impression said, "Good Evening..."

---
  But a shot in the dark
  One step away from you
  A shot In the dark
  Not a thing that you can do
  A shot In the dark always
  Creeping up on you
---

Kids scattered everywhere, some screaming in terror, others laughing.  He
flexed his jaw and bared his fangs again, causing an instant squeal among
his audience.  He laughed evilly, and faster than they could see, he
sprinted to another shadow almost a block away.

Fangs still extended, after all the fun was just beginning, he watched them
pick themselves up and comment on his "good costume".  The littlest ones
suddenly decided they wanted to be vampires for Halloween next year.

"Hey, man."  He heard a deep voice say.  He turned and saw an older kid,
maybe eighteen or nineteen.  He wasn't dressed as anything as far as LaCroix
could see.  His beard was scruffy and unkempt.  He said in his deep voice,
"Treat or treat, man."

LaCroix glared at him, his gold eyes threatening red.  "Aren't you too old
to be trick or treating?"

The man faltered under LaCroix's powerful stare.  "Yeah, man, whatever," he
said and headed off in the direction of more houses, and presumably, easier
targets.

Briefly, LaCroix considered a more fitting punishment than not getting a
treat, but dismissed it.  It would spoil the fun of the evening.

---
  But just like the wounded and when It's too late
  They'll remember they'll surrender
  Never a care for the people who hate
  Underestimate me now
---

  His own question echoed in
his mind.  The irony tickled through him.

Looking up the street, he saw a new group of kids coming.  They were
chatting and laughing.  Perfect targets.  He swooped over and bared his
fangs.  Eeps and yelps came from them, then laughter.  He did his most evil
laugh and felt a tiny hand touch his.  He looked down.  It was the little
girl he'd given his pocket change to.  She was smiling and motioning him to
come down to her level.

Hesitantly, she reached for his mouth.  He feigned biting her, and she eeped
and pulled her arm back.  He smiled reassuringly and she reached out
tentitively again.  Her expression was one of concentration.  She touched
his right fang and he suppressed a shudder at the contact.  As soon as she
felt them, he concentration expression became a smile.  She ran her finger
on the tip and jerked as it drew blood.

"Boo, boo,"  She said.  She offered it back to him and said, "Kiss it
better."

---
  But a shot In the dark
  One step away from you
  A shot In the dark
  Not a thing that you can do
  A shot In the dark
  Always creeping up on you
---

The small drop of blood was a sweet perfume to him.  He drew her hand to his
mouth and kissed the small spot of blood away with a small sweep of his
tongue.  He shuddered as he tasted the raw innocence inside.

She looked completely surprised as she stared at the spot the blood had
been.  "Awl bwetter," she said and hugged him.  The call of her blood, so
sweet, so innocent was intense.  Finally she let him go and he stood up.

"Tracy...Tracy!" A young woman called.  The little girl looked over and
smiled.  She looked back at LaCroix.  "Gotta go now...bye!"  She headed for
the woman with zeal.

/Interesting.../ LaCroix thought. He'd have to watch for this "Tracy" in the
future.

==============================================================
<'Shot in the Dark' from "The Ultimate Sin" by Ozzy Osbourne>
==============================================================

Cousin Raven DarkSpirit (raven@naturesong.com)
Enforcements, NA, Unholy Trinity, DP
...because I'm evil!
http://www.naturesong.com

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