FULL MOONLIGHT-Ch 1- The One Thing Any Predator Fears.PG-13

[lionsonleashes]

FULL MOONLIGHT-----Ch 1---- The One Thing Any Predator Fears.

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DISCLAIMER: I don’t own ‘Moonlight’ or any of its wonderful characters. I’m just taking them out for a run! No copyright infringement is intended.

SUMMARY: A multi-chapter action-adventure featuring Mick, Beth, Josef, Guillermo, Logan, Talbot, Simone, and a few really big werewolves, among others. Rated PG-13 for mild language and violence.

SPOILERS: Follows on from all 16 episodes of ‘Moonlight’, as aired on CBS. Follows on from Allegrita’s FanFic, ‘Presto Agitato’, Ch 1 & 2. (Mick and Beth ‘sealed the deal’, and are now lovers.) Follows on from Desdemona’s FanFic, ‘Silver’, Ch 1 thru 7 only. (Talbot finds out about vampires in general, and Mick in particular, the hard way!) Borrows, with Eris’ kind permission, her original character of ‘Karl’ from her many fine FanFics.

OK? Hold on tight! Here we go!

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The predator crouched on the roof of a five-story apartment building, patiently watching and waiting. He had chosen this vantage point because it was downwind from where his intended prey was most likely to appear. The majority of his bulk was concealed behind the decorative facade wall that wrapped the rooftop. His jet-black coat further enhanced his camouflage. He had waited, motionless and silent, for a long time….. and finally, his patience had been rewarded.

His attention was now focused on what appeared to be a pair of young lovers, nuzzling in an embrace in the alley beside a popular night-spot. The predator had watched them emerge from the Club a few minutes ago and proceed into the alley, right below his vantage point. His muscles had tightened, but he had not moved……not yet, he told himself….wait for it.

He knew the young couple was not what they appeared to be at first glance. These were not young lovers. This was a vampire and one of those humans who chose to feed vampires.

The predator watched them silently. The vampire was young in appearance, looking to be around 25 years old, but he was, of course, much older than he seemed. He was tall and well built, with sandy blonde hair, and casual dress…..Dockers. His human companion was a slender and attractive girl with long chocolate-brown hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a silky, form-fitting little dress.

The predator had watched as the vampire’s blue eyes washed out to silvery-white.


MLMLMLMLML********************

Bobby was being very careful, as always, not to hurt the freshie, and was doing his level best to make sure she got as good as she was giving. His pheromones formed and invisible cloud around them, enthralling the girl, causing her to feel relaxed and completely comfortable. Bobby’s fangs were razor sharp and he had gently punctured the flesh over her jugular vein with precision. Thanks to his thralling pheromones, she had experienced no pain at all. Then, powerful endorphins in Bobby’s saliva had hit her bloodstream like a drug, giving her a feeling of intense euphoria. She sighed and moaned softly, lost in the sensation. Bobby supported her weight in his arms, rocking her gently back and forth as he fed at her throat.

The Club they had just exited was a popular hang-out for vampires who were financially challenged…..those who could not afford to maintain their own Harem of freshies, and certainly couldn’t afford the high prices charged by most of the Freshie Agencies in LA. Not all vampires were rich. Many were, but many were like Bobby, with middle class jobs and incomes, needing to depend on places like this little night-spot. Places where human “friends-with-benefits” were available.

Not that the Club was a dive…..far from it, it was a very nice little night club. Good food for the humans, live music, cocktails, and dancing. The customers, both humans and vampires, came here by word of mouth. It, and other Clubs like it scattered across the city, were one of LA’s best kept secrets. Most of the humans, both males and females, who frequented the Club knew, at least on some level, that many of the other patrons were vampires. But, it was never discussed openly. The vampires, both males and females, who frequented the Club flirted with the humans, trying to determine who was receptive and willing, who knew….. and who didn’t. Mistakenly trying to feed from a human who was not expecting teeth could be disastrous…. and would likely end in a phone call to the Cleaner.

Bobby, and the other vampires who came to this Club regularly, shared the humans without territorial issues. They also had to be very good at making the donation process extremely pleasant and non-traumatic for the humans. Otherwise….they were unlikely to get fed again. Bobby was very skilled in this area and he never went hungry. The humans here didn’t charge money for their services, although it was an expected practice for the vampire to buy dinner and drinks for the human feeding them that night. But mostly, these humans fed the vampires because they enjoyed the experience.

The only time territorial issues arose among the vampires frequenting these Clubs was if a vamp got rough with, or otherwise injured, a willing human patron. That vamp was summarily banished from the Club, after getting the snot beat out of him, and blackballed from the other Clubs in the city. The food supply of the many vamps in each Club depended upon the human patrons feeling safe and appreciated.

Bobby slid his fangs out of the girl’s throat carefully, and licked the wound. His body reflexively released enzymes into his saliva now that promoted clotting and healing, as well as reducing the formation of scar tissue later on. He had taken about a cup and a half. It was all he needed, and she needed to be able to function and stay on her feet. He had sensed, before he had even selected her tonight, that she could easily give that amount without any ill effects. She was young and strong. Her body would replace the lost blood quickly.

Satisfied that the twin punctures had stopped bleeding, Bobby looked down into the girl’s face. “You OK, Ann?”, he murmured quietly, smiling down at her.

Ann returned his smile. “Yeah….I’m good. Thanks.”

Bobby kept supporting the majority of her weight until her head cleared and she was once again steady on her own two feet. Only then did he release his supportive embrace on her.

“You wanna go back inside?”, he asked, “I’ll buy you a nightcap.”

“No thanks,” she replied, smiling up at him, still a wee bit tipsy from those endorphins of his, “I’ve got to work tomorrow. I think I should head home.”

“Need a lift?”, he offered.

“No thanks. I drove myself…..I’m parked in the lot around back.”

“I’ll see you to your car then.”, Bobby said, slipping an arm around her slim waist as they walked further down the short alley leading to the small parking lot behind the Club.

MLMLMLMLML************************

Neither Bobby nor Ann was aware they were being watched from above. The predator looked on as they moved into the parking lot behind the little night-spot and made their way towards Ann’s car.

The vampire was younger than he had been hoping for, only a few decades old, judging from his scent. The older a vampire was, the more powerful they were, the more energy they contained. But, the predator was not surprised by this vamp’s youth. After all, most older vamps had amassed enough personal wealth to be able to afford a Harem of what they called “freshies”…..their human food source. Older vamps didn’t need to frequent Clubs like this one. So, the predator hadn’t really been expecting to find older, more powerful vamps, here. He had just been hoping.

MLMLMLMLMLML***********************

Bobby kissed Ann’s cheek and then held her car door open for her as she got inside. She rolled down her window to enjoy the summer night. It was just starting to cool off outside. They said goodbye and Bobby watched her car until she had successfully made her way down the alley on the other side of the Club and merged into traffic, headed home. She waved out her window as the river of cars took her away into the night. Bobby waved back. Ann was one of his favorites.

Alone in the parking lot, Bobby thought about going back into the Club, but decided against it. He wasn’t hungry anymore, thanks to Ann, and he also had to work tomorrow. He enjoyed his job at LAX. He worked swing shift as a Customs Officer. He enjoyed it because he got to use his nose. No smugglers got anything through on Bobby’s watch. He smiled….his co-workers thought he just had a knack for spotting the twitchy ones. Well….he could do that too….but mostly, he could just plain smell hidden drugs from half-way across the terminal.

Bobby turned and headed towards his bike, a Harley, parked near the back door of the Club. He decided to take the long way home, ride some back roads, and enjoy the night. It was a beautiful summer evening. Not a cloud in the sky. A bright full moon hung overhead. Yeah…..he would ride for a few hours, and then go home and hit the ice box before the sun came up. That would still allow him several hours of sleep before his shift started at LAX.

MLMLMLML*************************

On the roof of the adjacent building, the predator knew the time was now. Powerful muscles bunched and he sprang with cat-like grace over the roof’s facade wall, dropping to the alley five-stories below. Curved, razor-sharp claws clicked on the asphalt as he landed lightly on first his front quarters, followed a split second later by his hind quarters.

Bobby thought he heard something…..the rush of wind through thick hair? A soft impact and a clicking sound? What the……? Then he caught the scent….it was new to him…..a wild musk, smelling of fur and forest.
He turned and saw it….standing silently in the shadows of the alley that led to the parking lot, the place where he had fed from Ann.

For a moment, neither of them moved. Bobby couldn’t believe what he was seeing. His sire had told him such things existed, but this wasn’t the wilds of Montana or Alaska! This was the middle of downtown LA! His sire had told him such creatures only came into large cities for one reason……

Ah shit…..he was in big trouble.

The thing made a rumbling sound in its chest that sounded a lot like a chuckle. It took a few stalking steps towards him.

Bobby tensed, ready to run. Which way to break? Perhaps if he ran back into the Club, the creature wouldn’t follow him? Surely it didn’t want to be seen by a lot of people. Or, it might kill all his friends….no….running back into the Club wasn’t an option, he decided. He would try to lead it away from others and try to lose it somehow.

The predator slowly moved closer…..letting the vampire size him up. This initial moment of recognition never failed to amuse him. Vampires and their arrogance, even the young ones, he thought to himself. They liked to think of themselves as the top of the food chain, even though they knew of the existence of his kind. But, when they came face to face with one of his kind, their true position in the food chain became obvious to them, and the surprise on their faces was always priceless.

Bobby watched it moving slowly towards him. While his sire had told him about these creatures, he had always assumed she had been exaggerating. She hadn’t been…..at least not about the sheer size of the thing. The creature before him was huge! The size of a grizzly bear, but unlike a bear, it was lithe and graceful, with long legs. It was clearly built to run. Thick, jet-black fur covered it, and it stood on all fours, watching him with lantern-yellow eyes. Tall, triangular ears pricked forward, orienting on him.

Bobby hoped his sire had been wrong about the endurance of these things. He braced himself.

The predator snarled and sprang at him. Bobby went to full vamp-speed, dodging the attack and rocketing away down the alley, hummingbird fast, heading away from the Club.

The predator had expected this speed from his quarry. He knew they were faster than he was…..but he had the endurance, and he was pretty fast himself. The prey had been flushed. Now all he had to do was stay with him, keep him running, and wait for the vamp to tire. He turned and gave chase, accelerating as he ran, following the fleeing vamp’s scent trail. He would run him to ground.

Bobby was a blur to the human eye……shooting down side-streets and alleys. He could hear the creature following…..it was back there, chasing him, following his scent. Bobby veered and headed towards a major intersection, a place he knew there would be cameras. He was hoping the creature didn’t want its picture taken.

The predator slowed its pace a little. There was a lot of traffic up head, big intersections with cameras. He snarled. Clever vamp…..but he was only delaying the inevitable. The predator wheeled, veering down an adjacent route that would take him parallel to his prey’s course, still following, but away from any cameras.

Bobby shot thru the big intersection, dodging around and over vehicles in a blur of movement. None of the drivers noticed his passage.

A couple blocks up, and a few blocks off the main drag, a driver stopped at another light. When the light turned green, he proceeded into the intersection…..and yelled out loud as his peripheral vision registered something big coming at his driver’s side at tremendous speed. His first thought was that it was a horse, galloping straight at him, but he heard no hoof beats. He yelped again as the creature jumped across the hood of his car, hind feet impacting it and kicking away. His car, still rolling, bucked under the weight of the impact, smashing down into the asphalt and then rebounding upward. The thing, some kind of huge animal, cleared his car and galloped off down the cross street, disappearing rapidly as it veered down another side-street. The man was trembling as his damaged vehicle continued rolling through the intersection. He managed to pull over before the engine sputtered and died. He got out and shone his flashlight across the hood of his car. It was pounded in, like someone had taken a sledge hammer to it. And there were several deep gouges in the metal…..it looked like claw marks, big claw marks. What the hell? How was he going to explain this to his insurance agent?

As he ran, still a blur too fast for the human eye to pick up, Bobby felt his normally still heart begin to beat. Not a good sign….it meant he was running out of steam. A vampire’s circulatory system, like everything about them, is tremendously dynamic. The blood vessels themselves are quite capable of circulating their blood through peristaltic action. The heart becomes a back up generator, only needed when the vamp’s body is overtaxed. The same is true of their lungs. Vamps absorb all the oxygen they need through their skin, passively, from the air around them. And their systems are tremendously efficient, needing very little. They need to suck in air to speak, of course, but otherwise, their lungs are also a back up system.

Bobby’s sire had told him he could even absorb oxygen through his skin while underwater if he had to, drawing it from the water….. Bobby had never tried that option, so he didn’t know if she had been putting him on or not. But he did know he was in real trouble when he felt himself suck in a ragged breath, and then another. Yeah…..he was tiring fast…..and he could hear the creature behind him, still following. It was a few blocks back, but staying with him, following his scent. He could hear the sound of its paws rhythmically impacting the pavement. He could hear the occasional scrape of its claws against the ground. He could hear its heart beating and its unlabored breaths. It was loafing…..not even working hard to follow him. It was running him down.

The predator took another turn down a side-street at racehorse speed, his short tail acting as both rudder and balance-beam through the sharp turn. Once through the turn, he accelerated, running effortlessly down the empty street, past seedy homes and deserted apartments. He could run like this for hours without slowing, and the vamp’s scent trail was like a homing beacon. The predator smiled slightly when he heard the vamp’s heart begin to beat, followed by the first labored breaths. It wouldn’t be long now.

Bobby felt his temperature begin to rise to a dangerous level. He was wearing out, getting hot, burning up. He needed to stop…..he needed to rest in a cold place….his own metabolism would burn him up if he didn’t rest soon. And he was starving, his body having burned everything he took from Ann in its desperate bid for survival. It is said that time is the fire in which human beings burn. But for the vampire, it’s not time……their own metabolism is the fire in which they burn.

Bobby slowed…..the human eye could follow him now. Then he slowed further as he rounded a bend, heading into an alley between buildings that were all three or four stories tall. He stopped, leaning forward with his hands on his knees, sweating and shaking. So hot and so tired. So hungry. He was done. He looked around, taking in his surroundings. He was in a run down, and mostly abandoned, industrial park. It was many miles from the Club where the chase had begun.

Bobby could hear the creature closing on his position, loping effortlessly towards him, taking its time. He looked up at the roof of the closest warehouse…..jump to there? What would be the point? It would follow. Die up there….or die here. He had only a tiny bit of strength left. He chose to use it to fight. He was done running.

The predator rounded the corner and entered the alley where Bobby stood and then slowed to a trot. After a few bounding steps, he stopped, still several feet from Bobby. They regarded each other quietly. The predator had enjoyed the chase. He always enjoyed the chase. Vamps never failed to provide a challenge. But it was over now. He could tell the vamp was exhausted. He intended to make this a quick, clean kill…..provided the fellow would be good enough to hold still.

Bobby eyed the creature. He could feel and smell its raw power, its amazing regenerative abilities. He knew even a mouthful of its rich blood would be enough to give him the strength for another run. If he could just jump to its back and bite quickly, getting just a little…..then he could jump clear and run again. This time, he decided, he would head for the piers, not all that far away, and dive into the sea. He would test what his sire had said about being able to absorb oxygen from the water. He hoped she was right. He had no doubt that this creature could probably swim like a damn polar bear, and he had heard they could hold their breath for a very long time, but it would still need to surface to breathe eventually. He didn’t. He would swim out to sea, head for the ocean floor and sit there. The cold water would cool his fever, and he would wait the thing out.

It wasn’t much of a plan…..but it was the best he could do on short notice.
Bobby dropped into a crouch and sprang towards the thing’s back as it charged him. He landed astride it, and for a second or two, he was riding it like a bull. It snarled and whipped its head around, snapping at him. He avoided the jaws while clinging with both hands to the thick black fur. His fangs descended and he lunged forward towards the back of the creature’s neck.

The predator was astonished at the determination of this vamp! Trying to bite HIM?! Moxy….lots of moxy. The predator flipped, literally, going up on his hind legs and then right over backwards, crushing the vamp beneath his bulk.

Bobby heard his back break and his ribcage shatter under the thing’s weight. It hurt, but he was so exhausted and numb, it didn’t hurt that much. The creature rolled off of him and righted itself, standing over him. Bobby looked up into its gracefully lupine face. Under any other circumstances, he would have thought it a beautiful animal. Huge golden eyes returned his gaze. It snarled softly, and the jaws parted, revealing enormous fangs. With great effort, Bobby brought his right hand up and proudly displayed his middle finger in front of the creature’s face. He heard it chuckle low in its throat…..then the jaws gaped open and flashed downward towards his head. Bobby never felt a thing.

MLMLMLML******************

Guillermo leaned against a bank of metal doors along one wall. He was alone in the room. The stocky, olive-skinned vampire was contemplating his shoes while trying to work up the nerve to open a particular drawer on the opposite wall. He knew what he was going to see, and he could smell that the decedent had been a vampire. His co-workers had told him that another “mauling” victim had come in when he arrived at the morgue for his shift that night. “Mauling”…..yeah….that was funny. From what he’d seen of the previous two victims, also vamps, there hadn’t been enough left of them to call it a “mauling”. To be a “mauling”, didn’t you need there to be a body left over? He thought so….

Guillermo sighed and stepped forward, grasping the handle of the drawer and opening it in one motion. He took hold of the tray-table and pulled it out. There was no body on the tray. Instead, there was a plastic storage bin with plastic sheeting draped over it. It wasn’t a very big storage bin, taking up only about a quarter of the table’s surface.

For a moment, Guillermo just stared at the little plastic tub that contained what was left of some poor vamp. His mind abruptly flashed back to the old movie, Jaws. The first victim of the shark had been put in a little plastic tub like this….also draped in plastic sheeting, if he remembered it correctly.

Guillermo always told his friends that he went to the movies a lot for the air conditioning in the theaters. But the truth was…..Guillermo loved movies. He always had. He had gone to see the original Jaws when it first came out in the theaters. He was stunned by the effect it had on him. It had actually frightened him! Him… A vampire…..frightened by a big fish!? He would never admit it to anyone, but it really shook him up. The idea of some huge creature eating you like a cookie, well, it had given him nightmares, or daymares, whatever. He had always enjoyed swimming at night in the surf, especially on hot summer nights. But after seeing Jaws….it was fifteen years before Guillermo went near the beach again.

He reached out and lifted the plastic sheeting from the tub. He took one look at the contents and grimaced, looking away. He was glad he was alone. This would have been embarrassing otherwise. He was a vampire who worked in the morgue…..and he was squeamish, at least about this case, and the other two like it. What had done this? He had a feeling he knew, and that truly terrified him.

He drew in a breath thru his nose, getting whatever scents he could. A vampire, male, younger than he and Mick, but older than Logan. He didn’t recognize the scent, so it was no one he had known. But there was another scent on the body, a faint one. Guillermo inhaled deeply, struggling to sort out and identify the scents. Yeah….it was the same as on the other two victims. Fur, forest, and canine saliva.

Used to be, Mick would have been Guillermo’s first call when something like this happened. But that was before a feral vamp had sent two bodies to the Morgue…..un-cleaned-up bodies from messy, public scenes. He’d called Mick first then. But afterwards, Josef Kostan had called him and made it clear to Guillermo that, as one of the community’s oldest and most influential vamps, he expected to be Guillermo’s first call whenever something vamp-related hit the Morgue. Kostan had not been happy finding out about the rogue vamp’s rampage second hand through Mick. Ever since then, Guillermo had Kostan on speed dial. He was terrified of the elder vamp, and found it hard to understand how relaxed Mick seemed to be around the guy.

Guillermo pulled his phone out of the hip pocket of his green, standard-issue scrubs, and called Kostan. It rang a couple times and then Kostan picked up.

“Mr Kostan, sir…..yeah….another one, just like the other two.” Guillermo paused, listening to Kostan. “No sir…..the Coroner doesn’t know what to make of it and he doesn’t know…..our kind….when he sees it. But he did find canine saliva on all the remains. Tests can’t pin down what kind of canine though.” Another pause. “You want me to call Mick, sir?” He waited, listening. “OK sir….I won’t say anything, but……..you’re going to bring him in on this, right?” Guillermo paled a little, fearing he had gone too far. “Yes sir…” he stammered, “I mean, no sir! I wouldn’t want Mick to run off and do something stupid either! I just thought….” Kostan cut him off, and Guillermo listened. “Yes sir….I’ll let you handle it. Thank you, sir.”

Kostan hung up and Guillermo sagged with relief. He really wished he could call Mick, but Kostan had insisted he let him handle everything, including getting Mick involved. Guillermo had no intention of disobeying Kostan.

He looked once more at the small amount of shredded left-overs that had once been a vampire. There was nothing recognizable in the remains, no way to identify the guy, unless some vamp that had known him happened to wander in and recognize his scent. Failing that, he was John Doe, like the others.

“Rest in peace, man.” Guillermo said softly as he flipped the plastic sheeting back over the little tub and slid the drawer back in, shutting the door.

No doubt about it, he thought. They had a land-shark on their hands, one with an appetite for vampires.

And….they were gonna need a bigger boat.

[coco]

Very interesting beginning
Looking forward to checking out more

[lionsonleashes]

Very interesting beginning
Looking forward to checking out more

Hi Coco! Thanks for reading and commenting! I hope you enjoy the other chapters too. I'm posting chapter 16 tonight!

[wpgrace]

Hey that was good... I am delighted to discover a new fic!

Thanks Lions...

[lionsonleashes]

Hey that was good... I am delighted to discover a new fic!

Thanks Lions...

Glad you liked it wpgrace! Thanks for reading and posting feedback!

[MSJ_sunglasses]

Loved the references to Jaws and the bigger boat quote

[lionsonleashes]

Thanks Sunglasses!

[jen]

Wonderful start!

I really felt for Bobby. You had created a very sympathetic character. Caring, responsible, just getting on in the world as best he could and not wanting to hurt anybody in the process.

I really look forward to seeing where you will take this.

Thanks!

Jenna

[lionsonleashes]

Thanks Jenna!
I'm so glad you're enjoying it. My muse has been on strike lately.....but I've recently felt her starting to stir again.
Praise from a new reader is just what I need to get those creative juices flowing again!
Thanks again!
Lions

[jen]

Lions

I just came over to reread this first chapter again and just ike the first time I read it, the character of Bobby struck me. Poor guy. He was so average--using his abilities to just get by in the world, not wishing anybody any harm and doing the best that he could to not hurt anybody in the process.

One key detail you left right here, at the start, is the importance of age in the vampires. We know that with age comes power, so a vampires ability strengthen over time.

Fabulous start and I look forward to taking the journey again.

Thanks@

Jenna

[jen]

Lions

I reread this chapter and it is fabulous.

I have always loved the fact that you tie vampire abilities to biochemistry rather than the supernatural and this extends to the vampires blood circulation (love the peristalic action of the veins and arteries) of course, the pheremones and natural endorphins produced by the vampires body to numb the bite.

This is where I got all those great ideas!

Another wonderful facet of your vision here is potentially symbiotic relationship between vampires and werewolves that will be hinted at in later chapters, and I promise I will get to those later chapters soon!

Poor Bobby. He is such a positive character. I wish he had lasted longer. He gave a new face to the vampires we are used to hearing about-the ones like Coraline and Lance, who seem at times to be selfishness personafied; the rogues; and others. Bobby was a lot like Mick, trying to get by while using his abilities to positively impact the world around him.

Thank you!

Jenna

[francis]

I'm finally dipping my toe into this story that has been recommended to me again and again. I'll try to catch up. This is so fascinating, the whole chase was done in a way that had me see it like a movie. Love it.