Prologue

Prologue
The screams could be heard throughout the large sleeping carnival. In the barred carriges, the male lion roared and marched across the bars of his prison. Monkeys dressed in red vests lined with gold designs jumped and flipped in their own smaller cages. The white horses in their stables threw up their heads and grunted, because the screams were terrifying, almost unearthly.

A man, wearing nothing but his dirty white wife beater and torn slacks, crawled out of his tent with a half drunk bottle of whiskey. His face held the white, red and blue clown make up smears. He stumbled to stand up straight. The few strands of brown hair on his balding head swayed from the heavy storm wind that started to appear. He glanced to the sky and saw the heavy thick clouds rolling in and gulped down another swig of his whiskey. "The ring master." He said in his Italian native tongue.

In a tent, two yards away from the clown's, sitting next to a red painted trailer marked with the crude hand painted picture of a trapees act. There, in the thick tarp man made tent came the ungodly screams.

Inside the tent, a young woman, no older than sixteen, was laying on her back. Sweat poured out of her forehead as she gnashed her teeth and held her legs spread open. She was dressed in an already blood stained white night gown. Beside her, holding her hand, was an older woman with a long brown beard. The bearded woman glanced down at the young woman with a look of remorse as the woman screamed in agony.

In between her legs was a woman with skin filled with tattoos of snakes and other reptile creatures; her long green painted hair was pulled back into a pony tail and held together by a piece of twisted rope.

"Come on." The snake woman said with a fearful voice. "Push."

The young woman gnashed her teeth and closed her eyes tightly before she screamed again. Her hand tightened a grip on the bearded woman's hand. "Where is he?!" The pregnant woman demanded.

The bearded woman looked at the pregnant woman for a moment and then darted her attention to the snake woman. "The ring master should be here." She said in a kind voice.

The snake woman shook her head. "He wasn't at any of my birth's, why would he be here for her?"

The woman began to sob. "But ... He said he loved me."

The snake woman snickered. "He tells everyone that, dear. Now, push one more time. I can see its head."

The woman gave one last heavy push, gnashing her teeth and gripping hard on the bearded woman's hand.

The snake woman pulled out the baby from the woman and sat it down in a pile of bloody blankets. She looked down at the baby with kind eyes for a moment, but as the baby began to cry with a hissing sound followed by a chirping almost similar to crickets, her eyes widened with fear and her mouth dropped in shock.

"Oh my god." The snake woman exclaimed.

The young woman lay flat on her back with a look of relief on her face. "Is it a boy or girl?"

The bearded woman looked at the new born with confused eyes. "Maybe it just needs a good cleaning." She suggested to the snake woman.

The woman, sitting in front of the baby, shook her head. "I don't think so, its skin is naturally that color. And ... What about the horns?"

The new born coughed and then continued to cry with a hissing sound followed by the sound of chirping coming from within its throat.

Chapter 1

Chapter One
He snorted himself awake. The brown eyes adjusted to the sunlight shining through the windows into the purple colored room. The rows of black silk cloth hanging from the ceiling down to the floor fluttered just slightly. He squinted and pushed himself up on the bed. Laying beside him, on the black and purple colored covered bed was the Asian woman named Kat. She was fully naked and was laying on her stomach, her back seemed to have bruises along with small scratches.

Richard ran his hand through his hair and took in a deep sigh. It was then that he glanced down to the thick covers that covered his bottom torso. He lifted the covers slightly and gave a shocked glare before pulling the covers closer to his naked chest. A look of panic covered his face as he darted his eyes around the room.

On the night stand beside the bed was a black night gown. He quickly snatched the night gown and started to slip it over his head.

"What are you doing?" Kat asked without moving.

"I ... Um ... I hope you do not mind, Kat, but I am going to wear your night gown for just a moment." He slipped his arms through the arm holes of the gown. "You do not happen to know where he put our clothes, do you?"

Kat gave a sleepy giggle and pointed a finger to the window. "He thought it would be funny."

Richard scoffed. "Of course he would." He continued to slip the night gown over his naked body.

Kat slid her hand across the bed, under the covers, over to Richard. "You know, I am still kind of in the mood and it wouldn't be consider cheating..."

Richard's eyes popped open wide as he felt Kat touch his left thigh. He jumped out of the bed and landed on the black wooden floor. He sat on the floor for a moment in silence.

Kat giggled. "Too modest."

"I ... Um ... That sounds really kind of you Kat, but I have to go to school." He pushed himself up and walked over to the door to the bedroom. "He didn't happen to leave me any messages, did he?" The British young man asked.

Kat moaned. "I can't remember. We had some drinks and then retired after the club closed. The chances of that animal doing his responsibilities is a joke."

Richard nodded and continued his stride over to the door. His right hand grabbed the door handle and twisted it. He stopped and licked his lips. "Kat? Did Bugsy do that to your back?"

Kat gave another sleepy giggle. "I like it rough and I did a number on him too. I think I broke his nose."

Richard gave a confused look to the door knob and reached up to his own nose to feel it. He shook his head and opened the door.

As he walked along a long hallway, floor covered with a deep red carpet and walls painted white with ceramic angels protruding out of the walls holding candle like lamps, Richard guided himself with his left hand on the wall beside him.

"Sometimes I wish you could have my glasses handy, Bugsy." Richard whispered to himself.

With his hand on the wall to guide him, Richard rounded a sharp corner that led him further down the hall. In this extention of the long hallway, there was a single door that sat in the hall wall. He approached the door and opened it.

Inside was a concrete room, even the walls were a gray smooth concrete with minor cracks. The room was very large with strange abstract art pieces hanging all over the walls. In the center of the room was a king sized bed that was clean and pressed with a matched color set of red. The bed frame itself was made of a thick dark wood and matched the television stand that sat by the door, as well as the dresser that sat on the other side of the door. Behind the head of the bed was three large, tall pane windows with a black iron bench stretching underneath all three windows. In front of the bench was an painter's esel with a half finished canvas; an abstract painting in the form of trees. Beside the esel was a portable table filled with paints, brushes and other tools for the artist. On the far right of the bed was a small dark wood piano with a red seated stool underneath the keyboard. Sitting ontop of the piano was a black acustic guitar. At the foot of the bed was a large dark wood desk with a red coated laptop whose screen filtered between images of art.

Richard closed the door behind him and he stumbled pass the bed to find his way to the bathroom door on the left side of the room. He entered it and took his shower. After his shower and shave, Richard entered the room again, running a towel through his wet brown curvy hair. He followed the left wall to another door that sat in the corner of the room. Once he opened the metal like door, Richard stepped into his long walk in closet and turned on the light by pulling the string on the over head lamp.

The closet itself was not filled with clothing. There were a few shirts hanging along with a few pairs of pants. Only one brown casual leather jacket sat among the shirts and a pair of black and red skateboard sneakers sat on the floor. He selected a rock band logo gray t-shirt, a pair of acid wash jeans and a white shirt with gray checkers. He slipped on his clothing and then slipped on his shoes. On a small shelf on the right side of the closet, just under the shirts, was a box filled with six pairs of glasses; each designed differently. He selected a thick black framed pair and slipped them on.

Richard sighed before removing his brown leather jacket from the hanger and left the closet, turning out the light as he did.

The young man with curly brown hair, still wet, walked over to his computer desk and tossed his jacket on his bed. He started to type on the laptop keys and then opened the web camera video recorder. He selected record on the program and cleared his throat before speaking into the web camera.

"I am not certain what happened last night, but I am thankful you kept our deal." He glanced to the laptop's clock and then turned his attention to the camera. "I think it is fair to warn you, Victoria is working on a formula to help us during sleep. I don't know about you, but I have been having some awful dreams here lately. Martha says that it is because we are under going a memory transferance. Meaning that are dreams are fusing together into one pool." He coughed. "This new formula is designed for dream suppression, so we will not be having them anymore." He glanced over his shoulder to look at the door and then returned to the screen. "Be careful with Kat. I saw what you did to her and I know we agreed about staying out of each other's lives, but I only show my care for her because she is a dear friend. You and I can heal from anything she throws at us, but she can't, so remember that."

He stopped the recording and uploaded it to his email. As the email was uploading, Richard opened the top left drawer of his desk and pulled out a tablet incased in a red colored case. Then, from the same drawer, he pulled out a black smart phone and powered it on. Richard glanced to the screen to see that the email's upload was complete. He sent the email and shut off his laptop. The young man stood up picking up his tablet, slipped the phone into his right jean pocket, grabbed his jacket and left the room.

As Richard closed the door behind him, his phone began to vibrate in his pocket. He slipped the phone out of his pocket to read the caller name: Zach. Richard gave a small grin and answered the call before holding the phone to his left ear. "Good morning." He said in a cheeful voice.

"Same to you, my friend." Zachary's boyish cheerful voice said on the other end. "I wanted to call you before coming down there. Are you avalible?"

Richard nodded with the phone in hand. "Yes."

"Good." Said Zachary's voice from beside Richard.

Richard turned to see the smiling Zachary Taylor, dressed in his usual torn jeans, expensive black boots, black shirt buttoned up to his collar bone with rolled up sleeves.

Zachary smiled, exposing his pearly white teeth to the daylight that escaped from the ceiling windows overhead. His red iris eyes twinkled at Richard as he slipped his own cell phone into his pocket. In the daylight, Zachary's pale skin was similar to paper. He leaned his left shoulder against the hall wall and his blond hair was messy looking. "I received those reports you sent, I must admit, wonderful budget ideas."

Richard nodded, shoving his phone into his pocket. "I had some help from Bugsy."

Zachary leaned away from the wall and shoved his hands into his jeans. "He hasn't been giving you any trouble, has he?"

Richard shook his head. "Not really. With the threat of the new Prantex over his head, I am certain that Bugsy won't give me much trouble. How was he last night?"

Zachary shrugged, giving his usual boyish gring along with a large dimple in his cheek. "He was Bugsy, if that tells you anything. Do you have time for breakfast? I grabbed some donuts on my way in this morning."

Richard shook his head. "Thank you, but no, I am usually not hungry after a change. I'll grab something at the school."

Zachary lifted his left wrist to his face to peer at his expensive silver wrist watch. His red eyes widened. "Yes, it is about that time. I'll walk you out, there is something I have to show you."

Zachary and Richard continued down the hall and carried on a conversation. Zachary walked beside Richard with his pale hand on the young man's shoulder. The sharp black nails looked like they were freshly painted.

"How is school?" Zachary asked.

Richard gave a grin. "It's great, I am excelling in art class."

Zachary laughed. "I would suppose you would. You know, I plan on redecoring this entire manor with your artwork, Richard."

Richard gave a scoff with a roll to his brown eyes. "Please don't, I much rather not have customers of Club Red see that horrible stuff."

"Too modest." Zachary said with a grin.

"During my shower, I was thinking about something." Richard mentioned with a serious look on his face.

Zachary looked at his friend with a joking grin. "I believe that is personal, Richard."

Richard chuckled. "I was thinking of how grateful I am to you and the others here. I mean, a month ago, when Martha and I stumbled on your doorstep, I thought I was done for. I can see now that there is a future for me and my cousin."

Zachary gave a half grin. "Well, from my memory, I stumbled on you at the bell tower. I am glad that you decided to stay."

Richard gave a smile, but as quickly as the smile approached, it vanished. "Have you spoken to Martha lately?"

Zachary looked at Richard in confusion. "Yes, but so have you, as I understand."

Richard shrugged, his eyes were glued to the passing floor. "There is a feeling I get from my cousin, like she is angry with me or something."

Zachary gave a large nod and then smiled. "You are worried that she is upset about your decision with Bugsy. You have to understand, Martha has been at odds with your darker half for years. She has been exposed to your father's dark side. It is only natural for her to feel betrayed just a little."

Richard nodded. "I hope she still knows that I love her."

Zachary patted Richard's shoulder before letting his hand slide off. "Of course she does and I know that she still loves you as well."

The two walked down the flight of red wood stairs that led to the front double doors of the manor. In the hallway that led from the doors to the club doors, Gabriel stood. With a flat head screw driver in hand, Gabriel was working on a thin box that protruded from the ground. From the casing of the waist high rectangle were wires and other electronic componets.

The long black hair of Gabriel rested on his thick shoulders and swayed as he stood up straight. His blue eyes stared at the two with a crooked grin. "Good morning, Richard. Are your ribs okay?" He asked with care.

Zachary shook his head.

Richard looked at Gabriel in confusion. "My ribs?"

Gabriel gave a smirk. "That Bugsy character forced me to throw a punch into his rib cage. I was hoping you didn't feel the effect of that."

Richard stepped down onto the ground floor and shook his head. "Um ... No." He rubbed his chest. "I feel fine, not even a hangover."

Gabriel nodded. "Good, good." His smile was filled with relief.

Richard pointed to the device protruding out of the ground. "What is this?"

Zachary shoved his hands into his pockets and gave a nod to the box. "An I.D swipe. We have been having trouble with minors slipping in here unannounced. So..." He pulled out of his pocket a thick plastic card to hand to Richard. "We designed a form of invites for the club doors."

Richard took the card and studied it. It was a black card, made of hard plastic. On the front was the red smiling fanged face; on the back was directions to the manor. Above the directions was a metallic strip.

Richard smiled and handed the card back to Zachary. "Why do I feel that Wally had something to do with this?"

Zachary chuckled and took the card away from Richard.

Gabriel scoffed. "That boy is going to cause us all kinds of trouble. If his father finds him here, we are talking about apocolyps."

Richard and Zachary gave a chuckle.

Richard patted Zachary's back. "Well, I will leave you two to it. I am afraid if I don't leave now, I'll be late."

Zachary nodded and reached into his other pocket. "Yes, but hold on for a second." He pulled out a necklace, made of strange wooden beads and in the center was a small triangle made from small bones. The bones were tied together by thick black twine and in the center of the triangle a cat tooth that hung from a single black thread. He held this jewlery out to Richard with a grin. "For Chloe."

Richard looked at the piece in confusion. "Um ... What is it?"

Zachary pointed at the necklace with sleepy like eyes. "A good conversation starter." He gave a wink.

Richard shook his head with a smirk. "I'm glad I can't read your mind."

"I wouldn't even I could." Gabriel said with a scratchy voice.

Chapter 2

Chapter Two


Richard rode on his red and white scooter through the town. Covering his head was a red rounded helmet and around his torso was the casual red jacket. As he passed the cafe, he waved to an middle aged waitress who was taking out the trash. She waved back with a smile.

As the scooter sped through the town, Richard glanced around him every so often to the morning risers opening shops around the town of Bridgewood.

The Bridgewood High School sat in the middle of the town, just a few blocks away from the Bridgewood University. It was a complete duplex of tall brown brick buildings. One was degsinated as a gym, while the others were for classrooms. The parking lot in the front was already filled expensive looking cars.

Richard parked his scooter next to a red sports car that had been restored from the nineteen-seventies. The convertable car had its top down and sitting in the driver's seat was a young man with a heavy set frame. Around his torso was a red and green Hawwian shirt and tanned cargo pants ran down to a pair of black and white sneakers. His hair was blond with black roots and his face was long, mainly his forehead was long and seemed to protrude out further than the rest of his face. A pair of silver framed round sunglasses sat on his face as his feet were propt up on the dashboard of the car. He leaned back with his left arm resting on the passenger seat.

Richard shut off his scooter as he smiled to the young man. "Good morning Wally."

Wally smiled. "You know something, you have spent way too much time with that Zach guy." He turned and lowered the glasses to the tip of his nose, exposing his dark blue eyes to the daylight. "Good day to you, kind sir." Wally said in a fake British accent.

Richard gave a snort. "Speaking of my home, I want to express a word of warning. They have installed an I.D system. So, you won't be able to go in whenever you want."

Wally sighed and pulled his feet into the car. "That's why I've got friends like you, Richie." Wally stood up in the car and jumped over the door. "You are my inside man and can get me in whenever you want."

Richard shook his head as he removed his helmet. "I thought you were my friend because of my charming nature."

Wally walked around the back end of the car, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from one of the many pockets on his cargo pants. "Oh hell no. Your charm is only good on my sister."

Richard gave a smile and watched Wally pull out a cigarette out of the pack to place on his lips. As Wally searched for a lighter, Richard pulled down his kick stand. "You really shouldn't smoke, Wally. It isn't good for your health."

Wally nodded as he began to puff on his cigarette. "Yeah, but then again, Twinkies are too, but that doesn't stop people from eating them." He pulled the cigarette from his lips and stared at it over his sunglasses. "I thought about trying out those electronic cigarettes."

Richard hooked his helmet on the side of his seat and stood off the scooter, pulling out the ignition key. His eyes darted around them. "Oh really? They have things like that?"

Wally nodded, puffing on his cigarette and waving to two girls walking into the high school. "Yeah, you haven't heard of them? They are crazy all over London."

Richard sighed. "I am not much of a smoker." He walked over to the side of Wally's car and leaned against it. "So, what is Chloe up to?"

Wally laughed, smoke shot out of his nostrils as he did. "Let me get the record straight, I thought you were friends with me because of my charm, not my sister."

Richard laughed and shrugged. "To be honest with you, I am not that attracted to you."

Wally laughed. "Good! Because all of this is for the ladies." He shrugged and sniffed before taking another drag off his cigarette. "I'd watch out for Chloe, she is going crazy about Halloween."

"Halloween."

"Yeah, the holiday. You remember."

Richard smirked. "Why? Is she a big Halloween fan?"

Wally snickered. "Yeah, its that witch thing."

Richard nodded and glanced to the school doors. "I still do not understand why you have a problem with Chloe's religion."

Wally shrugged. "Other than it is weird, it caused my dad and mom to separete. It hasn't been a fan favorite in my dad's house." He sighed and threw his cigarette to the side. The young man pushed his sunglasses up onto his face. "Plus, it isn't a fan favorite around the school."

Richard gave a chuckle. "I would believe being the Sheriff's son is not a fan favorite."

Wally nodded with a smile. "Not really, but it has perks. I know a lot of drug dealers." Wally glanced to Richard with a grin and then pointed to the young man's glasses. "Are those new?"

Richard gave a forced smile. "Um ... Yes they are."

Wally nodded with a frown. "What happened to your other ones?"

Richard shrugged. "I ... Well I broke them."

Wally raised his right eyebrow. "Dude, you are accident prone." He walked around Richard and started to strut across the parking lot.

Richard sighed and followed right behind his friend. "I was moving some furniture around and they fell off. It doesn't mean that I am accident prone."

Wally chuckled. "Richie, this will be the third pair I have seen you wear in the month you have been here. Trust me, you are accident prone."

Richard rolled his eyes. "And I am certain that you aren't." He said in a sarcastic tone.

Wally pointed to Richard as he continued to walk with his friend. A smile formed on his face. "Hey! I told you, she was wild. How was I suppose to know that my dad's handcuff's were going to come in the mix?"

As the two walked up to the brown double doors that led into the high school, sharing a laugh about Wally's joke, Wally stopped and stared forward at the doors. His body gave a quick shiver and his face ran pale. His eyes held the very image of fear. He gave a smirk and slowed his walk to fall right behind Richard.

Wally's sudden change in attitude was enough for Richard to notice. He gave a gentle chuckle as he opened his side of the doors. "What is it?"

Wally shook his head and pushed gently on Richard's shoulders. "Nothing, just keep moving."

The two quickly walked into the school hallway, decorated with tanned colored lockers. Framed notices of school events and warnings were posted on the walls between rows of lockers. The floor was made of a thick dark brown tile. Once inside the hallway, Wally walked around Richard and continued his stride on this friend's right side.

Richard shoved his hands into his pockets. "Did you see something?"

Wally shook his head. "Just let it go Richard."

"From the look of it, you were staring at that door like death awaited you, do you hate school that much?" Richard laughed.

Wally sped up his walking. His face was blank. "I told you to forget it. Someone just walked over my grave or something."

Richard skipped a step to reach Wally. With his arm outstretched, Richard gently grabbed Wally's shoulder to stop his friend. "Hey ... Hey wait." He said with worried voice.

Wally stopped with a sigh and turned to face Richard. "What? I don't want to talk about it."

Richard nodded. "What ever you did see, just remember, it cannot hurt you."

"That isn't it, Rich. Whenever I see those ... Things, I remind myself how screwed up I am." Wally said, pointing to the double doors.

Richard nodded and adjusted his thick framed glasses. "Well, those things are spirits of the dead." He said in a whisper. "They are lost and they are looking for people with your kind of sight to help them."

Wally scoffed and rolled his eyes before leaving Richard to head to his locker on the right side of the hallway. "Oh sure, let me get my tarrot cards and we can find a way to set them free. I thought I went over this with you and Chloe, I am not going to play Medium."

Richard lowered his head and ran his fingers through his hair. He slowly turned to approach his friend, when his eyes lit up and look of shock covered his face. "I forgot my tablet."

Standing in his open locker to pull out a set of textbooks, Wally pulled his wrist watch to his face. "You better hurry up and get it, class starts in two minutes."

Richard did not wait for Wally to finish his sentence; he was jogging towards the door and pushing himself through the double doors to the outside world. He passed the parking lot to run over to one of the two red saddle bags installed on the side of the scooter. He opened the small door on the left saddle bag. Inside were the contents of a phone charger, a half eaten bag of chips and his tablet covered in a protective case. Richard eased the tablet out of the saddle bag. As he stood up straight with tablet in hand, the sound of footsteps heading towards his back caused Richard to glance over his shoulder.

To men, one dressed in a loose V-neck t-shirt and a pair of dirty jeans, the other dressed in a black and white suit, pressed tightly; approached Richard quickly.

The man in the suit looked older than the man dressed casually. His brown hair was cut short and combed perfectly. The other, the casual young man, looked to be Richard's age and had long black hair.

"Richard Thomas?" Asked the man in the suit, who had a calm sense about his voice.

Richard darted his eyes to both men without answering.

The man in the suit smiled. "We mean you no harm."

"What ... Do you want?" Richard finally asked.

The man in the suit pointed to his chest and to the young man beside him. "I am Dennis Wingfield and this is Tim Powers. May we have a second of your time?"

Richard gave a small shake and swallowed hard. "I have class in about a few minutes."

The man in the suit, Wingfield, placed a large hand on Richard's shoulder. He gave a smile to him along with a wink. "It will only take a few seconds."

Tim looked over his shoulder with hasty eyes. He pulled out a small tazor gun and aimed it at Richard before returning his glare to the young man. "We don't have time for this."

Wingfield quickly laid a hand on the gun and pushed it down. "Are you crazy?! We can't have him changing here and now!"

Richard's eyes widened for a moment with shock. As they widened, his brown eyes faded into a solid black. His curly brown hair loosened and laid straight, turning into a solid black as well. His broad frame thinned and his nose grew more pointed along with his cheek bones rising. He smiled and exposed many rows of crooked teeth.

Tim looked at the changing Richard with shock. "Shit!"

Wingfield darted a glare to Richard and lowered his brows. "I take it ... You are the one called Bugsy?"

Bugsy smiled and tightened his belt to hold his large pants around his waist. He gently placed the tablet onto the set of the scooter and adjusted the large brown leather jacket. "The one and only, mate." He said in a crude voice and tapped one of his bony fingers on the tablet case.

Wingfield adjusted his suit jacket and cleared his throat. "We want to speak to Richard Thomas."

Bugsy cocked his head from side to side slowly, staring at the two with his black eyes like a cat would to a prey. He gave a large smile. "It don't work that way, mate. When Richie is out, I am in." He said, waving his long skinny arms over his frame. "You've been threatening my brother?"

Wingfield shook his head. "No, we just wanted to talk."

"Because, if I am here, then he must have felt threatened." Bugsy said, tapping a finger on his pointed chin. His black eyes darted to the tazer gun. "And by the look of that thing, you didn't come here just for a friendly chat."

Tim aimed the tazer gun at Bugsy's chest. "Shut up you freak!" He squeezed the trigger.

Moving at an heightened speed, Bugsy passed the moving electric rods flying at him from the gun and darted over to Tim. With a grin and with his large bony hands, Bugsy grabbed Tim's wrist in one hand and his elebow in the other. With a wink, Bugsy bent the arm, breaking the bone in the middle of Tim's forearm in half!

Tim let out a loud, pain filled scream.

Bugsy then threw his head at Tim's, colliding his skull against his victim's. Bugsy's hair became a mess, covering his face as he released Tim's arm and let the man fall onto the ground.

With a sinister chuckle, Bugsy turned around to Wingfield, who was pulling a small pistol out of a holster hidden within his jacket.

"You son of a ..." Wingfield blurted as he pulled his gun out to face Bugsy.

Bugsy quickly waved his arm through the air and grabbed the barrel of the pistol. Then, with his free hand, Bugsy threw a punch into Wingfield's throat. As Wingfield coughed, Bugsy twisted the gun free from the man's hand.

"You know, I am more of a fan of blades." Bugsy said, staring at the gun in his hands. He cocked the gun and aimed the barrel at Wingfield's head. He closed on eye and left the other black eye open to stare down the barrel of the gun. "Zach is going to like this." He squeezed the trigger, firing a shot into the man's head!

As Wingfield's body fell onto the ground, Bugsy aimed the gun over to Tim's head. He gave a grin.

Tim held up his unbroken arm with his palm exposed. "Don't ... Don't ..."

Bugsy squeezed the trigger three times, firing shots into the man's chest, head and hand.

"Oh God!" Cried out a voice from the doorway of the high school.

With gun in hand and large twisted smile, Bugsy turned to aim the gun at the voice. His black eyes twinkled in the daylight like black marbles.

In the doorway stood a very frightened Wally, who dropped his books and held up his hands. "Hey man, don't shoot. I won't tell."

Bugsy's smile faded and he cocked his head to the right. His black eyes stared at Wally for a moment before becoming a brighter brown. His black hair gained a brown color again and a heavy curl started to make his hair rise up slightly. The thing frame filled in the clothing and the nose and cheek bones shrunk. Very quickly, Bugsy transformed into Richard, who was still holding the gun and his glasses resting on the bridge of his nose.

Wally's eyes widened further as he dropped his hands. "What ... What did I just see?"

Richard darted his confused eyes to the gun in his hands. He quickly dropped the gun and looked around at the bodies laying around him. "Oh ... Oh ... God." Richard whispered.

"Richard?" Wally called out, running his hands through his hair.

Richard looked at Wally for one second before darted to his scooter. He tossed the tablet off the seat and sat down. He pulled the kick stand up and pulled the keys out of his pocket.

Wally slowly walked down the steps. "Wait ... What just happened?"

Richard shoved the key into the ignition with paniced hands. "Tell them I was sick or something." He said in a shakey voice. He started the scooter and placed into gear. With wheels rolling at top speed, Richard sped off the parking lot on his red scooter.

Chapter 3

Chapter Three


Dressed in a long red felt coat with black outlines around the lapels, Zachary exit the elevator with his arms folded behind his back. Over his red eyes were a pair of thick sunglasses. His expensive boots tapped on the concrete floors as he walked on the fourth floor of the Bridgewood University Science Building. His mouth was crooked with worry as he walked down a hallway filled with doors. With a sigh, Zachary stopped at the door marked: 314. He opened the door which led into a large white room with a single operating table in the center. On the walls, among the picutres of anatomy, were cabinets of medical supplies.

Richard sat on the table. His feet rested on the side and his right shirt sleeve was rolled up to his bicept. With his glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, Richard looked from the ground to Zachary with a forced grin. "Hello, Zachary."

Zachary gave a gentle grin. "Hello again. I hear you have quite a morning." He looked around the room and then back to Richard. "Where is Martha?"

Richard sighed and adjusted his glasses. "She ... Um ... She isn't happy with us. All three of us."

Zachary smiled and nodded. "I understand that, but where is she?"

Richard pointed to the door behind Zachary. "She ... She, um, went down the hall to get some supplies."

The pointed pale ears on Zachary's head pinned back. He walked away from the door with a heavy sigh.

The door opened and a frustrated looking Martha walked into the lab room with a tray filled with glass bottles and a seringe still in its package. Over her blue eyes sat a pair of large glasses lined with red. Her deep red curly hair was pinned back into a bun and held with a silver hair clip; only a few strands from the front of her hairline sat over her face. Around her slender waist was a red blouse that matched a black smooth skirt. Draped around her body was a lab coat with a name tag pinned to the right. Her eyes darted from Richard to Zachary, who stared at her with a boyish smile. For a moment, Martha seemed trouble with her emotions. It was as if the young twenty something woman did not know if she wanted to hit the blond young man, or hug him. Instead, she went back to her work and sat the tray next to Richard on the lab table.

Martha took out a cotton ball and placed it over an open bottle of rubbing alcohol. She dabbed the ball with the clear liquid and sat the bottle back down. "You are lucky that you walked away from this." Martha said, in a British motherly voice.

Richard nodded. "Yes ... Yes I am."

Martha continued her work by rubbing the cotton ball on a spot on Richard's arm and threw the ball back onto the tray before grabbing the packaged seringe.

Zachary cleared his throat. "Do you know who they were?"

Richard shrugged as he watched his cousin. "Um ... One called himself Dennis Wingfield, I belive, but I am not certain of the other one. I believe he was called Tim, or something like that."

Martha ripped the package and pulled out the seringe. She then quickly grabbed a glass container with the lable: Prantex. She shoved the needle through the nipple lid and began to drain some of the pink liquid into the seringe.

"Is this really nessacery? I mean ... He was only just protecting us." Richard tried to say without a shake to his voice.

Martha stared at the seringe as she filled it. "Not another word, Richard." She demanded.

Zachary made a cartoon like face with a frown. "Motherly instincts are hard to shake."

"I'll speak with you later, Mr. Taylor." Martha said, removing the needle from the container and placing the tool over the alcohol spot on Richard's skin.

Zachary gave a boyish chuckle. "Surnames? Well, I must admit, I didn't realize that we were on those terms."

Richard watched the needle enter his skin and stared at the liquid inject into his blood.

Martha sniffed. "After this, I want you to wait outside. Mr. Taylor will take you home."

Richard held his mouth tightly shut and nodded.

Martha placed a bandage over the area she injected the liquid into Richard's arm and tossed the seringe onto the tray. "After I have a word with him myself. Wait outside." She leaned her palms on the table next to Richard and stared down.

Richard rolled his sleeve down and looked at Zachary, who only nodded. Holding his breath, Richard grabbed his coat and left the room.

Zachary slowly removed his sunglasses and peered at Martha with his red eyes. "Am I in trouble?" He asked with a cold voice.

Martha sighed. "The Prantex is going to remove Bugsy for good. I have shown you graphs ... Charts and even trials and still ..." She glanced to Zachary with powerful blue eyes. "You continue to subject Richard to that creature?"

Zachary slipped his sunglasses into his left coat pocket and gave one simple nod. "Yes, I have. If you remember correctly, I am the mentor to the both of them."

Martha pulled her glasses off with rage. "Four people are dead now because of that maniac and you let him run lose?! Why?! What benefit is there?!" She gave a heavy sigh and closed her eyes for a moment. "There is no good in Bugsy, Zachary."

Zachary cracked a smile. "Of course there is, what do you think Richard is?"

Martha pulled her hair clip out of her hair and ran her fingers through her curly hair. "I have grown tired of these games, Zach. I never thought you to be a stupid man, but ..." Before Martha could finish her sentence, with one blink, Zachary was standing next to her and looking down into her eyes. Martha swallowed hard.

Zachary smiled with care in his red glowing eyes. "As you have said, I have seen the charts, graphs and recorded trials. Correct me if I am wrong, but each information I have received thus far of this Prantex has killed many rats. Even the formula that your father cooked up was killing not only Bugsy, but Richard as well." He placed a cold hand on Martha's shoulder. "Tell me, out of this time Richard and Bugsy have been placed under my care, has either of their genetics been harmed in any way?"

Martha closed her eyes and shook her head slowly. "No." She said under her breath.

Zachary smiled. "Everyday Richard grows stronger, in fact, more so physically and mentally."

Martha opened her eyes and stared into Zachary's. "So is Bugsy."

Zachary nodded, pulling his eyes away from Martha's. "Very true, a negative situation, but one that can be dealt with." Zachary's eyes met with the container filled with the pink liquid. His pale hands with black sharp fingernails gently grabbed the bottle with grace and lifted it up. "We have found a cure for that and it is a placebo. Both Bugsy and Richard believe that you have found the perfect Prantex." His eyes slowly turned to Martha's once again. "However, Bugsy is no fool and Richard's trust can only go so far. Once the two realize that the Prantex is not working, everything that I have worked for will fall a part." He sat the bottle down and smiled. "For now, the two must learn to live together and we must nurture that compromise."

Martha frowned. "And if that doesn't work?"

Zachary smiled. "It will. I assure you it will. What was it that I asked of you before you moved into my home?"

Martha looked at Zachary as though she were going to melt in front of him. "Trust you."

Zachary nodded. "And have I let you down yet? I care for Richard as though he were a brother to me."

"And Bugsy?" Martha asked in a daze.

Zachary gave a grin and patted Martha's shoulder before turning to walk towards the door. "A child that is in need of guidance. Believe me when I say, out of most monsters, I understand the darkside the most." He pulled his sunglasses from his pocket and slipped them onto his face. He turned and smiled at Martha. "Have Gabriel look over your paperwork. I know you do not feel comfortable with showing others, but he will be able to help."

Martha shrugged. "But he is just a manchenic, not a scientist."

Zachary scoffed with a smile. "Well, the man did construct his own body, he understands the human anatomy better than most. Also, ask Victoria to join in. She has some understanding of science outside the normal. They both can help."

Martha sighed and shoved her slender hands into her lab coat. "All the while you attend to this matter with Bugsy?"

Zachary nodded. "Yes, I will speak with Richard's brother tonight."

Martha smiled. "Be as rough as you can with him, Richard doesn't share the damage."

Zachary smiled and chuckled. "I am only going to speak with him."

Chapter 4

Chapter Four


Bugsy opened his eyes and glanced down to the ground. Hanging upside down over the night covered ground, which was eight stories down, his black eyes twinkled and he cracked a crooked toothed smile. "Oh ... The things I wake up to."

Bugsy's thin frame hung upside down from the roof ledge of the Taylor manor. The night sky held the half moon which glared down at his feet. Holding him in the air was a large white hand that had fingers that were double in length with black painted sharp nails that extended further than most human nails. The rest of the man holding Bugsy was held in darkness, only the red eyes glowed through the shadows with anger.

"You dare defy my rules?" The voice snarled from within the darkness.

Bugsy laughed. "Well ... Ha ... Ha ... I knew you were going to love it, Zach."

Out of the shadows emerged Zachary's pale face. The corners of his mouth were stretched from ear to ear. His sharp canine pointed teeth ran down to his chin. Zachary opened his mouth to reveal many rows of sharp pointed teeth that glistened in the moon light. A loud demonic screech flew out of his throat as he curled a long, lizard like forked tounge.

Bugsy cackled. "We both know you aren't gonna hurt me, mate. What of dear poor Richard?"

The monstrous Zachary tossed Bugsy's thin frame high into the air!

Bugsy's limbs twisted as he yelled out. "SHITE!"

Before Bugsy could fall an inch, he was captured in mid-air by the speeding Zachary and thrown down on top of the roof with a harsh thud!

Bugsy rolled and landed on his back. His neck was quickly seized by the large clawed hands of Zachary and he was held high into the air!

Zachary stared at Bugsy with his glowing red eyes. His forked tongue rolled over his sharp teeth. "We both know that I can rip out your heart and taste it without harming Richard at all, so do not play me a fool, dear boy!"

Bugsy gulped for air. "My ... What big teeth you ... Have."

Zachary pulled Bugsy closer to his face. "I ask only one thing of you and that is not to kill!"

Bugsy coughed. "Not even those bastards from the Cliff Organization? Because ... That is who was attacking us!"

Zachary threw Bugsy onto the ground. His mouth slowly became smaller; the sharp teeth shrank into a normal set; his long fingers and nails retracted to a normal size. "Explain." He demanded without his forked tongue.

Bugsy rubbed his throat and coughed. "What? You didn't find that out from Richard or your poor investigater friend, Reynolds?"

Zachary knelt down and cocked his head to one side. "Did I say answer in a form of a question?"

Bugsy sat on his knees with a grin. His black eyes stared at the red ones of Zachary. "Little Bro felt threatened by those little twirps, I figured it had something to do with those guns they brought. Naturally, they came from the organization, who happen to be after my beautiful arse." He grunted and rubbed his throat. "But you knew that, didn't you?"

Zachary nodded. "I suspected."

"And you still threaten me?" Bugsy asked.

Zachary stood up and held his arms behind his back. His eyes calmed from the anger seen before. "I thought we were in agreement about killing, even when you think it is nessecary. The police are after a man named Bugsy Clyde, you may have heard of him."

Bugsy grinned. "Sounds like a hell of a man."

"However, what if there was a time that Bugsy Clyde transformed into Richard Thomas? You do realize that the police have no idea both you and Richard share the same form? You do realize that I am the only median from keeping your brother from turning himself in, correct?"

Bugsy sighed and pushed himself on to his feet. He adjusted his black suit and unbuttoned three top buttons of his black shirt. "Didn't you get my thank you card? Perhaps it got lost in the mail."

Zachary stared at Bugsy with a coldness. "One day, if you continue this routine, all will become unweaved. You think that organization is after you now, think of how easily they can obtain both you and Richard if you are caged?"

Bugsy laughed. "That will be a perfect time for a hero like you to join in."

"What deems me a hero, Bugsy?" Zachary asked.

Bugsy cackled. "Why, you can't kill, or hurt a fly."

Zachary gave a half grin. "I choose not to kill, but I never said I cannot. Deciding a man's fate with my own hands is a God given right, Bugsy, be sure you do not waste it on a mere pissing match."

Bugsy held up both hands and nodded. "Aight, you are right, dear instructor. I'll keep my nose clean for my brother and ... Uh ... Try to remain on your good side." He sighed and threw down his hands. "May I go? Or do I have to spend the night in the corner?"

Zachary shook his head. "You miss the consequence you have brought upon yourself, Bugsy. We are admistering the Prantext to Richard."

Bugsy's black eyes widened with rage and his bottom jaw protruded out, exposing his bottom crooked teeth. "What?!"

Zachary sighed. "After tonight, you will be put into ... Shall I say, in the dark for a couple of days."

"I am no child!" Bugsy roared.

Zachary's eyes glowed bright red. "Careful with that tongue of yours, Bugsy!"

Bugsy took in a breath. "So, I take it, this isn't your decision then? It's that red head bitch's?"

"You cousin? No, it is our decision."

Bugsy cackled. "I wonder when you two will get married." He sighed and smacked his lips. "Is there a way for me to redeem myself before I am put under that shite?"

Zachary nodded. "For a full day, Richard will be withheld from school to lay low. You will not be allow out for the following night."

Bugsy gnashed his teeth, but kept silent.

"If you do not force a change and if you can keep calm, the Prantex will not be used." Zachary finished.

Bugsy sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine ... Deal." He cracked a smile. "But I can have fun tonight?"

Zachary nodded. "Since you did protect Richard from the grasp of the two, I shall permit this, but if you leave the property or engage in any behavor deemed unsatisfactory, I will lock you up in the basement."

Bugsy snarled with his upper lip. "I thought that was a one time deal."

"And I assumed you learned your lesson, but you did not." Zachary slowly stepped into the shadows. His dark covered framed dissolved into a thick black fog. The fog form twisted and flew through the air.

Bugsy gave a sinister smile. "Thanks, Daddy." He charged and ran across the roof; with a great leap, Bugsy jumped over the edge of the roof and landed on the ground on both feet! He squatted for a moment and then stood up straight. The grinning black eyed man adjusted his thin suit jacket and popped his neck.

As Bugsy slowly turned his grinning face to the front double doors, he saw Zachary, in human form, holding one of the doors opened.

Zachary's eyes burned through the dark covered night air with a powerful red glow. His pale face stood still, like a white marble statue.

Bugsy sniffed and walked over to his care giver with a stagger, swinging his arms from side to side and bobbing his head. As he neared the statue like Zachary, the ego driven young man lowered his head and stared at Zachary over his brow; a smile crept on his face which exposed the crooked teeth. "Thank you." He said with a curve in his crude voice.

Zachary said nothing and did not show any emotion, yet his eyes stared and followed Bugsy like a cat ready to pounce.

Bugsy slid into the small manor front hallway and Zachary followed close behind. The door slammed shut behind the two as they continued into the hallway.

Bugsy's black eyes darted to the black metalic stand that held an I.D card slide on the very top. He stopped and pointed a right bony finger at the device with a frown. "Getting technical around here? What's that?"

Zachary approached the stand and reached into his left coat pocket to pull out a small black I.D card. The front of the card held a red painted fanged smily face, the back held a magnetic strip. As Zachary slid the card through the plastic scanner and as a green light lit up on the device, he smiled. "A little change to our security."

Down the hall, just a few feet from the I.D scanner, two double doors coated in silver with door handles that connected to form the silver coated smiling fanged face, opened automaticly; the door handles split in the middle. As the doors opened, the loud dubstep music slammed harshly into the once quiet hallway. Red lights flickered in the open doorway as the smell of liquor slowly flew out.

Bugsy narrowed his black eyes on the doorway with a giant, crooked toothed, smile. "Home." He whispered with a snicker.

Zachary slid his card back into his pocket and followed Bugsy into the loud, dim lit Club Red.

The human heart shaped dancefloor pulsed with a red light as the crowd of patrons danced wildly. A few feet away from the dance floor was the round stage that held the large stand filled with electrical equipment. Behind the equipment was the little Irish boy named Eddie. He bounced and pressed the buttons that would allow a new beat to pound through the large speakers that were spread across the club.

To each end of the tall electrical stand was one dancer. The one on the right, a beautiful young blond with curly hair danced in a slimming red leather pant suit. Her face was painted with strange glowing makeup and she was twirling around a metal pole that held a large lit flame to each end.

On the other side was the gypsy like Ezra, dancing barefoot in a large purple dress. In her hands were two large rings that glowed brightly with a red tint. She threw one of the rings in the air, conducted a back flip only to stand straight and catch the ring before it fell onto the stage. She tossed the rings about as her long black curly hair flew through the air and bounced on her lose white blouse.

Across the dance floor was a fuzzy glass tiled floor that lit up with a different color to each beat that was played. On the other side of the room was the glass made bartop that held strings of red lights within the glass. Behind the bar were three women, dressed in matching uniforms: a black silk dress with a red leather corrset. Customers sat around the bar on the red leather stools and ordered new drinks.

Bugsy popped his neck as the doors closed behind both he and Zachary. With a stagger, Bugsy walked across the blinking glass floor and approached the bar. He stood in between two young men who were flirting with the bartender Kat.

"Come on Kat. Wouldn't you want some Mexican beef in your Kung Pow Chicken?" The Hispanic man snickered.

"Hey baby, what are you going to do when you get off work tonight?" The white man said in a drunken state.

Kat rolled her eyes as she opened two beers. She sat one in front of the Hispanic man and the other to the drunken white man before she glanced to Bugsy who stood in the middle. Her brown eyes began to twinkle as began to crawl onto the bar. With her right slender hand, Kat reached out and grabbed Bugsy's thin throat. Then, with a snarl from her throat, Kat pulled Bugsy in close to her mouth.

Bugsy's throat gave a short gasp as he flew inward to Kat's face. The two gave into a violent yet passionate kiss. Bugsy reached up and grabbed the back of Kat's long black hair; he pulled down on a handful strands. Kat gave a grunt as she continued to kiss Bugsy, her teeth latched down on Bugsy's lower lip and bit down hard. Bugsy placed a hand on the woman's chest and shoved hard enough for her to stumble backwards.

Kat giggled as she adjusted her corrset.

Bugsy gave a large wicked smile; blood dripped from the bite mark on his lower lip. He ran his wrist sleeve over the lower lip and glanced to the Hispanic man on his left.

The man looked at Bugsy with a slight drunken fear.

With a chuckle, Bugsy nodded his head back. "Scram."

The man nodded and grabbed his beer before walking away.

Kat gave a loud snif and turned to the many rows of liquior behind her. She selected a deep red bottle with a black lable marked with red letters: Blood Shot. With a half grin, Kat pulled out two shot glasses and sat down all three items in front of Bugsy. She placed her slender palms on the bartop and tapped her black painted nails on the glass. "Pour." She demanded as she raised her right eyebrow.

Bugsy's black eyes stared at her with a grin on his face. His bony fingers wrapped around the bottle and began to pour the two glasses full of the Blood Shot liquior. "Count Mary Poppins wants me to back off for a little while." He mentioned as he finished pouring the last glass.

Kat lowered her brow and grabbed her glass. "Doesn't surprise me. Word around the club says you killed two guys this morning." The Asian bartender scoffed before throwing the liquid into her mouth.

Bugsy gulped down the Blood Shot and snarled before slamming down his glass. "Wasn't my fault they were picking on my Dickie boy!" He sniffed loudly. "They'd be planning to carry him off if it weren't for the likes of me."

Kat folded her arms across her chest. "You know how Zach feels about killing. To be honest, you are very lucky he only has that one rule."

Bugsy rolled his eyes and reached into his jacket pocket to retrieve his small black electronic cigarette. "Yeah, yeah..." He started as he placed the mouth piece on his lips and drew in some vapor. "... Don't harm anyone unless they call for it." He puffed on the electronic device for a moment before snarling. "They called for it."

Kat pour the two glasses full again. "Very true, but you have to think about what Zachary thinks right now. You kill someone and turn back into your brother, guess whose face the cops will be looking for?" She grabbed glass and gulped it down. "That little whimp won't make it an hour in prison."

Bugsy's face twisted with rage. He quickly reached over the bar and grabbed Kat's hair again. He pulled her hair hard enough to twist her head and held her head close to his face.

Kat whenced in pain.

"Don't ever call him a whimp." He said in an evil whisper. "Richard has more back bone than you will ever have."

Kat gave a giggle as a tear rolled down her left cheek and ruined her eyeliner. "Of course ... Where'd you think you come from?"

Bugsy released his grip and took a puff from his electronic cigarette. Vapor flew out of his oval nostrils. "You people just don't get it, do ya? We are not sides, we are different people." He stared at Kat for a long moment with his black eyes, his face did not motion. "Scientifically, there isn't two sides to a person, there are personalities. You can be a night prowler and then a church holy roller at the same time, but you are still one person." He puffed on is cigarette, the end of the device lit up with a blue light. "I have many personalities and Dickie boy has his own. We are like twins he and I; we might look alike and have similar DNA, but we are two different people."

Kat adjusted her hair and sniffed as she wipe away the black tear from her cheek. "I guess people would think of you two as Jekyll and Hyde."

Bugsy smiled. "Oh, but Jekyll was a saint and Hyde was an idiot. We both know that I am no mere idiot and Dickie boy ... Well, he has his own demons to fight with."

Chapter 5

Chapter Five
Her brown leather knee high boots tapped on the marble steps. The sunglight caused her long straight hair to shine and the black hair band held back the bangs from her eyes. Around her short petite torso was a green sweater that sat losely around her frame, underneath was a solid black turtle neck shirt. Standing right above her knees was a grey skirt and just beneath the skirt was a pair of black tights that covered her knees. Her eyes were a strong deep green and covering them was a pair of thick framed glasses painted a dark green. Her eyes were large and wide, full of life. On her lips was a deep red shade of lipstick and on each ear was a small stud earring designed to look like a leaf. In her hands was a tablet that was covered in a red sleeve.

She walked up to the double doors of Taylor Manor and pressed down on the door bell button. The young woman, who looked to be in her later teens, adjusted her sweater and waited.

The left door opened and gypsy like Ezra opened the door. Her full black curly hair was pulled back into a pony tail and around her waist was a black painter's coat, which was stained with fresh oil based paint in many different colors. Just under the coat was a pair of jeans, which were also stained with paint. On her right cheek was a small smear of bright red paint. Her eyes lit up at the sight at the young woman and a gentle smile came onto her face. "Yes?"

The young woman smiled and nodded. "Hi, Ezra right?"

Ezra nodded with a confused smile. "Yes."

"I am Chloe, Chloe Reynolds." She held out her right hand to shake Ezra's.

Ezra took the hand and shook it. "Oh yes, the sherrif's daughter. Are you looking for Zachary?"

Chloe shook her head and held up the tablet. "Well no, I am looking for Richard Thomas actually. I was told he lived here with you guys."

Ezra's smile faded to worry as she released her grip. "Oh ... Well, I need to check with Zachary. I am uncertain if Richard can receive visitors."

Chloe's face fell into a worried look as well. "Oh, I was wondering why he wasn't in school yesterday and today. Is he ill?"

Ezra looked around for a moment and then forced a smile on her face. "Yes he is, but let me go check. Come inside." She held the door wider and stepped aside for Chloe to enter.

Chloe bowed her head and a smile and stepped into the manor hallway. Her eyes darted up and around the hallway in amazment. "Wow."

Ezra gave a chuckle as she closed the door. "What is it?"

Chloe turned to Ezra with a half grin. "I remember coming here when I was a little girl. It was big back then and it is still big to me now."

Ezra nodded. "We haven't had a Reynolds in the manor for quite sometime now."

Chloe gave a frown. "My Dad won't let me come up here, even though I have been wanting to come here for a long time."

Ezra nodded again with a smile of understanding. "I have great respect for your father, but some men just do not understand ... Well, let's say he just is very protective of his family." She glanced to the stairs on the right and then back to Chloe. "We really shouldn't have you in here, but I'll keep it a secret if you will."

Chloe gave a giggle and ran an index finger over her chest in the form of an X. "I promise."

Ezra bowed. "I'll get Zachary." She raised her head and started up the stairs. "Wait here."

Chloe nodded and watched Ezra go up the red wood covered stairs. As Ezra left her sight through the door on the balcony, the amazed teen girl turned her attention to the black coffin that sat behind the I.D card stand. She slowly walked on the hardwood floor, her boots tapped as she did. Once approaching the coffin, Chloe smiled at the billions of red glow sticks that sat in the black coffin. She gently picked one of the top ones up and gave a little giggle. From the glow stick in her hand, Chloe's eyes turned to the double doors at the other end of the hall. She stared at the silver coated handles in the shape of the logo for Club Red. She slowly walked to the doors with the glow stick in hand, which started to give off a bright glow as she neared the doors.

"Chloe?!" Called Zachary's voice at the middle of the stair case on the left. "Chloe Reynolds!" He said again with cheer.

Chloe turned in a daze to Zachary, dressed in a long red silk robe that was tied at his waist with a black sash. Over his eyes were thick oval sunglasses, almost like a weilder would wear. His blond hair was messy and his steps tapped with expensive brown leather boots.

Chloe's face filled with cheer as she saw Zachary head toward her. "Mr. Taylor? You haven't aged a day."

Zachary approached with an outstretched hand. "I cannot say the same about you."

The two shook hands. Chloe looked down at Zachary's hand in confusion for a moment, but returned her gentle eyes to his red ones.

"You were doll sized when I first saw you." He said with a grin. "How long has it been?"

Chloe shrugged as she removed her hand. "Seven years." She smiled. "Are you feeling okay?"

Zachary folded his arms behind his chest. "Why do you ask?"

Chloe shrugged. "Your hands are cold."

Zachary smiled, exposing his pearly white teeth and pale gums. "That is something I have always adored about you Chloe, your honesty. I have always wondered when someone was going to ask about my cold handshake, but most treat it as though it were nothing. I still see the wonder in their eyes." He chuckled. "Like mother always said, colds hands have a warm heart."

Chloe smiled. "You haven't changed."

Zachary bowed and then raised his head. "I take it your father doesn't know you are out here?"

Chloe's smile faded and her shoulders shrugged. She held out the tablet she brought with her. "Wally asked me to return Richard's tablet, I knew Dad wouldn't hear of me coming down here."

Zachary placed his right hand on Chloe's shoulder. "Well, we will keep it a secret for the time being. However, I know your father well and we have a promise to keep between one another." He glanced to the double doors that led to the outside and then he turned his mirror like sunglasses to Chloe. "But our promise said nothing about you to walk freely on the Manor's grounds during the daylight." He glanced to the stair way that he once stood. "Richard is on his way down."

On the stairs to the right, the sound of sneakers coming down the stairs was heard. Both Chloe and Zachary turned their attention to Martha walking down the stairs. The young red headed woman was dressed in a yellow sundress, covered in flowers. Her feet were covered in white sneakers and her hair sat on her shoulders with a heavy curl.

"Oh hello." Martha said in a proper British tone.

Chloe smiled. "Hi."

Zachary folded his arms behind his back. "This is Chloe Reynolds, a friend of the Manor."

Martha nodded as she slid her hand down the stairway rail. "I am Martha Thomas. Pleasent to meet you."

As Martha neared Chloe for a handshake. Chloe's eyes widened. "Thomas? You must be Richard's cousin."

Martha nodded with a confused smile. "I am."

Chloe giggled. "I go to school with Richard. Has he mentioned me?"

Martha looked at Zachary.

Zachary chuckled. "Our Martha has been very busy at the University. She is serving classes and an internship as a chemist there." He walked around Chloe to Martha's side. "To avoid embrassing Richard, he talks none stop about you and Wally. We are very grateful for the two of you taking him under you wings."

Chloe shrugged with a large smile. "I try my best."

Behind Zachary and Martha, Richard came running down the stairs, his white button up shirt half way tucked and his hair in a mess. He jumped off the last stair and stopped with a heavy breath to adjust his glasses. "Hey ... Chloe."

Chloe looked at Richard in amazment. "Feeling better?"

Richard looked at Zachary and Martha, who only looked at him in confusion. Martha looked at him with wide eyes.

Zachary turned to Chloe with a grin. "He has been going on and off here and there, my dear." He glanced to Richard. "Chloe here hasn't visited our Manor in quite some time now, would you be a gentleman and escort her around the grounds?"

Richard gave one nod and started over to the double doors. "Of course." He opened the left door.

Zachary smiled. "And Richard, tuck in your shirt good lad."

Richard glanced to the half untucked side of his shirt. "Oh yes." He said as he quickly shoved the cloth into his jeans.

Chloe gave a giggle and walked to the doors. She turned to Zachary and Martha. "It was good to see you again and it was nice to meet you, Martha."

Martha nodded. "Likewise."

With a nervous smiling Richard and a bashful Chloe, the two exit the Manor and closed the door behind them.

Zachary sighed. "Ah, to be young again."

Martha stared at the door. "I have never seen Richard like that before. He seemed so happy and excited." She glanced to Zachary. "Almost like a normal teenager."

Zachary chuckled. "Because he is a normal teenager."

Martha gave a grin to Zachary. "I just thought she was ... Well, I thought she was here for you."

Zachary gave a grin to Martha. "Do I detect a hint of jealousy in your voice, dearest Martha?"

Martha folded her arms over her chest. "Not in the slightest. That is just your imagination talking."

Zachary chuckled. "Between you and myself, I'd rather listen to the reality Martha than the one in my imagination." He turned to walk up the left handed staircase. "She is far much more beautiful than my fantasy."

_____________________________________________________________________

Chloe walked right beside Richard, just a mere few inches away from his left side. She held the tablet in her hands over her stomach and he shoved his hands into his jean pockets with a heavy shrug. The two walked off the marble stairs and started to round the right corner of the manor. Every so often the two would look at each other and opened their mouths as though words were about to come out, but then a blush of red would appear on both of their cheeks along with a nervous smile; the cycle would repeat until they reached the wall on the backside of the manor that held in the exotic garden.

"Wally wanted to see you, but he is scared of the place." Chloe finally said.

Richard gave a fake chuckle, a bit too loud for a normal one. "I do not blame him ... It is a kind of spoky at times."

"I love it here." Chloe said, looking around herself.

Richard smiled, but as quickly as the smile slid onto his face, it left and only a frown of worry appeared. "Did Wally mention anything about me? Like something weird or anything?"

Chloe shook her head and adjusted her glasses. "Not that I know of. Why?"

Richard shook his head. "It's nothing."

Chloe gave a scoff with a smile. "What is it with you? You act like you have something important to say but then change the subject. You leave me in suspense all the time, Rich."

Richard gave a shrug with a nervous grin. "I guess ... I mean ... Well ... Somethings are better not ... Said." He stammered.

Chloe stopped and grabbed Richard's left arm. "Wait ... Seriously, what did happen yesterday? Wally was freaked out and the guy sees ghosts on a daily basis."

Richard tried to avoid looking into Chloe's eyes. "Nothing ... I just left, that's all."

Chloe kept her gaze at him. "I don't want to pry it out of you, Richard, but something is up. I know we haven't known each other for a long time, but you can trust me."

Richard shrugged and pulled his arm away. "It isn't that I can't trust you, Chloe. In fact, I feel like I can do more with you than just trust you." Richard paused for a moment and blinked twice.

Chloe widened her eyes and laughed. "I'm sure you didn't mean what you just said."

A flush of red came to Richard's cheeks. He rubbed the back of his neck and gave a half grin. "Yeah ... I didn't." He lowered his hand and shoved it into his pocket. As his hand reached the bottom of the cloth in his jean pocket, Richard's eyes became confused and his hand started to search his pocket.

Chloe shrugged. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me. I really shouldn't pry into your business like that, but you can imagine how people feel about you. You move here a month ago, no past history and no family other than your cousin. Mr. Taylor takes you into his home that also has all kinds of stories surrounding it and then you don't tell me anything that is really going on." She placed a hand on her right hip and cocked her head to one side. "Really Richard, for a guy that is silent and mysterious, you can be a little goofy at times."

Richard smiled and pulled out the skeleton necklace that Zachary gave him the day before. He turned his eyes to Chloe and then became confused. "What were you saying? I am sorry, I forgot to give you this."

Chloe looked down at the necklace and her eyes lit up. "Oh my God! How did you know I love these?"

Richard shrugged and handed her the gift. "I don't want to lie, but Zachary told me to give you this."

Chloe examined the necklace with a large grin. "It looks authentic! I have only seen replicas, but never the real thing."

Richard gave a confused chuckle. "Zachary did say that it was a good conversation starter. What is it?"

Chloe looked up to Richard and adjusted her glasses. "It is made from the bones of an extinct cat, a rare one. You can tell it is real because the bones give off a purple glare in the sunlight." Chloe shifted the bones in her hands.

As Richard stared at the ivory bones, he noticed a purple sheen of them. "Wow."

Chloe gave a chuckle. "I don't know how he got this because you would have to own a museum in order to have one ... Or gathered the bones from the cat itself, but that would be impossible."

"How so?" Richard asked staring at Chloe more than the bones.

"Acient tribes would use these bones as jewlery, most have been lost to time and so have the species of cat." She giggled. "Did he tell you what they mainly used the jewelery for?"

Richard shrugged. "To be honest, Zachary doesn't tell me much unless he has too."

Chloe nodded. "Well, the tribe would pass these necklaces to the one they admired or ... Loved."

Richard's eyes widened and his cheeks flushed. "Well ... Uh ... He ... He didn't tell me that."

Chloe smiled. "Well ... Let's go with you just admire me. We can avoid the awkward walk back to the house."

Richard nodded quickly. "That would be nice." He glanced to the bones and gently took them out of Chloe's hands, then he held the bones up. "If you want, I can put them on you."

Chloe nodded and twirled around. She held her long hair up.

Richard placed the necklace around her neck and fasted the leather strand. "There."

Chloe turned around and smiled to Richard with a pose. "How do I look?"

Richard gave a half grin, his eyes glazed. "I think you make the necklace look beautiful."

Chloe smiled. She ran up and gave Richard a kiss on his left cheek. Both leaned back with shock and then laughed.

"As ... As ... As they say ... I won't wash this cheek ever again." Richard stammered with excitement.

Chloe giggled and glanced to her wrist watch. "Oh man, I've got to go. Dad is going to kill me if I don't report in." She returned her eyes to Richard. "Report in. I sound like a cop."

Richard gave a short chuckle. "I don't think you would make a good cop, Chloe ... You ... Everyone will fall in love with you too much and ... Uh ... You wouldn't be able to intimidate them."

Chloe gave a giggle and gave a gentle slap on Richard's arm. "Stop it. Walk me back."

The two walked side by side, closer than before. Every so often, Chloe would look down at the necklace around her neck.

As the two reached the marble steps, Chloe quickly turned around with excitement in her eyes, she grabbed Richard's arm again and leaned inward to him. "I almost forgot! Do you have plans tonight?"

Richard had to think for a long moment and then shook his head. "Nothing tonight, Zachary doesn't have any plans for me."

Chloe gave a large smile. "There is a carnival coming to town tonight. Carnival Rouge. It is more like a haunted house kind of thing. They are making a stop here tonight."

Richard's face became confused. "Haunted house so early in October? It is only the thirteenth."

Chloe nodded. "Yeah, but it will be fun. It is going to take place in the Bridgewood Asylum. The place shut down years ago, but it is a perfect place for a haunt.A couple of my friends are coming along. Everyone will be there ... Except for Wally; he doesn't go to three places: asylums, graveyards and hospitals. He is afraid he will see the ghosts there." She looked into Richard's eyes. "Please say you will come. Even though they are my friends, I don't have as much fun with them as I do with you."

Richard glanced to the manor's doors and then back to Chloe. "I will have to get cleared with Martha, but count me in."

Chloe kissed Richard's cheek again and handed him his tablet before running to her little black car. "Okay! I'll pick you up at ten tonight! Bye!"

Richard rubbed his cheek and smiled. "Okay."

Chapter 6

Chapter Six
"Aboslutly not!" Martha said to Richard with her arms folded tightly across her chest. Her face held the motherly anger that all children fear.

Behind her, Gabriel and Ezra played a game on the red billard table. Both exchaged glances of confusion and laughter.

Richard stood in front of his cousin with a sadden look. "Put ... Martha."

"The changes are happening too frequently, mainly when you are tired, overwhelmed and frightened. Tell me again where you are going?"

"A haunted house."

"Two emotions down and only the fear of tiring out to go." Martha said, tapping her left foot. "It is not going to happen."

Richard lowered his head and then looked to his cousin. "Bugsy has kept his promise so far and ... I don't think he can change on purpose."

Martha scoffed quickly. "Not now, but the stronger you get, the stronger he gets." She darted her eyes at her cousin. "What do you think will happen if someone threatens you there? Bugsy will leap out and kill someone!"

Gabriel sighed loudly. "Come on, give the kid a break. He has been trapped here for a month."

Martha rolled her eyes. "If you don't mind, Gabriel, I am having a conversation with my cousin." Her blue eyes rolled back to Richard. "I know you have feelings for this girl, but is it really worth it to change in front of her ... Possibly killing her?"

Ezra slammed her cue into a ball and stood up straight. "At least think about it Martha. The poor lad likes the girl."

Martha shook her head slowly.

Richard shrugged. "Alright, what if I talk her into seeing a movie or something?"

Martha scoffed. "And then turn in a theater? Understand me Richard, your teenager body is going through many changes, which bring on stress. Being around a girl is only going to strengthen those stresses and then the end result is Bugsy."

Richard gave a confused look to his cousin. "Are you saying that I can never see her again?"

"That makes me sound horrible, but yes that is what I am saying."

"Excuse me." Zachary said, walking into the room in his robe and holding a black folder. "I could not help but over hear that you are trying to stop a possible love interest for Richard, Martha."

Martha darted her angry eyes to Zachary. "I know you can hear a whisper in the furthest portion of the room, but that doesn't give you the right to spy, Zachary Taylor."

Zachary held up his hands and then removed his sunglasses. "Well, it is really hard to keep my attention on my work when a woman is yelling in the house." He glanced to the sadden Richard. "She reminds me of my mother."

Martha took the tips of her thumb and index finger on her right hand and squeezed the tear ducts of her eyes. "I know where this is going and I want to avoid it as much as possible." She sighed and removed her fingers. "You are going to make me the bad guy and suggest to let Richard go to the haunted house."

Zachary stared at Martha for only a slight second before turning to Richard with a stiff back. "Do you understand, and I mean fully understand, you will be faced with much more stress than usual? Do you, a man of his own right, feel that you can handle the terrors and frights of the haunted house with the knowledge that it is only for fun and that no one will harm you?"

Richard studied Zachary's face for a long moment and then turned to his cousin. "I do ... But ... Martha is right." He sighed and shoved his hands into his jean pockets. "There is too much danger going to that place." He lowered his head. "She understands much more about this whole Jekyll and Hyde thing than I do."

Zachary shifted over to Martha with a wink. "Then the problem is resovled. I believe Richard understands what he is capable of and he alone knows of his limits. If he doesn't feel that he can handle the spooks of the haunted house, then I suggest that he shouldn't go."

Martha stared at Zachary with shock. "But that still makes me into the bad guy."

Richard shook his head. "No it doesn't." He looked up to Martha with a smile. "You are just watching out for me and sometimes I misunderstand that. I ... Do agree with Zachary at times because I just want to be normal, even it means for a little while." He held his chest out with pride. "But I do understand what you are saying and I am making this decision for myself. I shouldn't go with Chloe tonight because I may not be able to handle the change."

Gabriel leaned on his pool cue. "How old are you son?"

"Seventeen." Richard answered, looking at the large man in confusion.

Gabriel laughed and glanced to Ezra on the other side of the table. "It took me twenty years to reach that sort of maturity."

Ezra grinned. "To reach? Dear, I think you are still trying to reach that maturity."

Martha stared at Richard for a moment, her eyes filled with remorse. "Do you think ... Do you think you can handle it without changing?" Martha asked in a hushed voice.

Richard shrugged. "I have to try, I mean, I can't hide from it all my life. Bugsy and I have to come to an understanding and so far, he understands. There are just some times were he gets out of control in order to protect us."

Martha nodded and looked at Zachary, who only smiled back at her. "If you think you can handle it ..." She returned her glare back to Richard and pointed a finger at his chest. "But if you feel any difference, you get out of there as soon as possible. Blame it on fear or some sort of sickness, I do not really care, but just get out of there before the change happens." She sighed. "I guess you can go if you feel that you can do it."

Richard's eyes lit up. "I'll think about it."

Zachary chuckled. "By the way you act, you have. I do not blame you, I would do anything for the affection of a young woman." He winked at Martha.

Martha scoffed at Zachary's wink and nodded to Richard. "And to make sure everything goes alright, I'll come along."

Zachary shook his head. "I do not think that is a good idea."

"If there is a change, I can bring Richard back with some Prantex." Martha said in a bold voice. "I will have to go because you won't allow the drug."

Zachary nodded. "And I do not think it is a good idea for you to go. Let's say there was a change and Bugsy starts running wild, he hates you Martha and ... I fear what he will do to you."

Martha smiled at Zachary with a sarcastic grin. "I thought that you were fond of the idea of Richard going out? I thought you believed he could handle the change? If he can, then I'll be alright." She smiled to Richard. "We know that only intense stress and fear will force a change, so as long as Richard is having fun, then he will be alright."

Richard glanced to Martha and then back to Zachary. "It will be alright ... I know it will."

Zachary nodded. "If you are sure, then I am confident."

Richard shrugged. "It is only one night that I will have to make up to Bugsy at some point and ... What could possibly go wrong?"