When You Screamed (PG-13) POV of Daniel, Prof. Ellis' TA

[francis]

Disclaimer: I don’t own Moonlight. I just play with the characters.
A/N: It was not easy to get into the mind of poor Daniel. I would rather write fluff, but my muse made me.



I stand guard. That’s what I always do Thursday nights when Christian invites someone new into his private studygroup at the basement of Chandler hall. I stay outside after the bigger part of the students are gone. They freak me out in their Goth-Emo look, black make-up, black hair, black clothes with velvet and lace. Christian makes fun of his "Halloween students" behind their back. I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing this crap, as I have a more adult approach to cultural studies. I wonder why they even chose this kind of thing if they arent serious about anthropology. Seems to me they just study themselves.

I make myself comfortable opposite the door to the basement. Sometimes I smoke, sometimes I read, or listen to my ipod. Today it’s still warm outside and I am in the mood to just stare into the air and think.

It’s important that I stay here. I make sure Christian isn’t disturbed during Tantric practice. He explained to me once that doing Tantra with a newbie sometimes was difficult, as the girls didn’t have their reactions under control the way he had. That made it dangerous for Christian, for he had once been falsely accused of sexual harrassment because the girl misunderstood or plainly lied. I make sure it doesn’t happen again. He doesn’t know, of course. He doesn’t see me at all. I run errands for him and do his paperwork, keep his calendar and answer his phone, but he never really looks at me. I would do anything to protect him.

He is a prophet, a master of vampiric studies, a dispenser of Pranic energy. I really feel energized when he talks. His teachings about how lifeforce is exchanged among people during ritual, sexual intercourse and the giving of blood make so much sense. His lectures are good for me. Look, all the other freshmen waste their time and energy on buzz and sex, sometimes even drugs. It destoys their Pranic energy balance and takes them absolutely nowhere. We, the disciples of Christian Ellis, use our energy to practice Tantra and certain rituals to enhance awareness and communication.

Most of his students are girls. That’s because most boys don’t have enough self discipline to refrain from any sexual activity for a longer amount of time. But I do, and it feels great. I have tons of Pranic energy now, but it takes lots of practice to get to a state of mind where you have the bliss without the sexual feelings. I still struggle with that sometimes.

It was me who made sure Kelly couldn’t hurt the Professor. When he stopped to practice with her, she ran into his office and screamed she would accuse him of sexual abuse. She was jealous of Chloe, I think.
He should know better, be more careful. He is a vampire after all, he should be able to sense if the girl is ready for Tantra or not. Partner Tantra sure isn’t for everyone, and it seems to be kind of addictive. That’s why Kelly couldn’t cope when Christian took another girl in to teach.

Of course every girl in the group is fascinated by him, he could have them all. How i wished to have that power Christian has. But he declined when I asked to be shown Partner Tantra or the blood rituals he lives by as a vampire. He told me i was too young and too weak, that I still lacked self control and self esteem. One day I will tell him about Kelly and Chloe, then he will agree to show me his secrets.

I practiced drinking blood. I drank a bit of Kelly’s blood, and a little bit of Chloe’s. I coudn’t stomach it at first, guess I’m not yet vampire enough. At chloes ritual we were disturbed when that man came into the closed diner calling for her. I had to run, but at least she cannot hurt Christian again. I was shocked that she went so far as to attack him at the funeral. When I hugged her close to keep her away fom him, I felt some connection to her. Later, thinking about it, I knew I had to kill her. She would go to the police, she was ready to talk.

Christian said at Kelly’s funeral that we are all linked by blood. Well, then Kelly and Chloe are not dead, they live on within me. I didn’t kill them, I gave them life by taking in their Pranic energy.

Oh, now I can hear Kate Nelson running upstairs. Something went wrong, or Christian would be with her. I have to act quickly now. Don’t give her a chance to escape and twist the truth to the police.
Christian really should be more careful, not invite a girl to Tantric practice that he saw in his readings only once. They need more preparation to understand the difference.

She runs out, tousled blonde hair, her top open to flaunt her nice black bra. They are all the same. She taunted him, and when he lost control she ran screaming. He is just a man, and vampires have needs too.
"What happened?" I ask, intercepting her.
She seems relieved to see me. "Do you have a cellphone?"
"In my car," I tell her and point vaguely in a direction. She takes off immediately, so it’s easy to prick her shoulder and push the plunger. She sacks against me on the spot. Good to have a brother who is a vet.

I carry her to my car. Now, where do I perform the cleansing ritual this time? I want it to be a public place like with Kelly, so she will be exposed to the world. They shall all see what happens if you betray the professor. But first I want to preserve her lifeforce, join her with myself.
The ritual will help to cleanse Kate of her evil deed towards Christian. She will pay with her blood. A sacrifice. And then she will be linked to me.

I head downtown after I buckled her in.
I have the veils to cover her in the trunk, the stab knife at my side, but I shouldn’t have left the wooden mask with Chloe. For one, it could be traced to Christian, as he gave it to me, and secondly the ritual will be incomplete. But I will take her blood, drain her life and give her what she needs, eternity by blood. Christian will be safe, and he will be so proud of me when I tell him about this some day.

She wakes up halfway to where I’m heading, still groggy, and starts to ask questions. Typical student. I explain it to her, the vampirism, the Tantra, so she will know what she did wrong. Finally someone who listens to me.
But she doesn’t understand, as always, and I get really angry. Girls are a waste of time.

Suddenly something big and black comes out of nowhere and crashes into my side of the car. What the hell?
It’s a man, he cracks the window and tries to take control over the steering wheel. In panic I let the vehicle sverve and manage to lose him, pushing his body against a parked pickup. He will not get up soon, I guess. But then I lose control over the car and crash headlong into a lightpole. For a moment I lose consciousness.

I have to hurry now, don’t need witnesses, don’t want her blood in my car. I get out and open her door to take her out, knife ready. I will do it somewhere around here and later when the police finds her it’s just by chance that she is so near to the site of my accident. Can always claim I had to evade the damned man who walked in the middle of the street.
But then I see him moving, he runs towards us. How can that be? He must at least have broken something.

I stab him, have to, he saw her with me, he would ruin everything. But he just looks up with an unreadable expression, pulls the knife out as if it were a splinter, grabs me and throws me onehandedly into the air. I land somewhere hurtful, and pass out.
Next thing I know police is there and paramedics, and she is gone. Some sergeant asks me questions. Obviously this guy called them, but took Kate away on his own. They call her Beth, and ask why I took and drugged her, but I wont say a thing. They ask why we crashed and how Mr. St. John found us. Devil if i knew that.
The Lieutenant is angry, because the witness left the scene, and shouts at St. John on the phone. He tells him to give at least a written statement in the morning, and asks why she wasn’t at least at a hospital to assess her injuries. Hey, i didn’t hurt her, yet.

I still cannot comprehend how he did it. Must be some kind of Superman to recover from the crash and the stab, and to throw me like that. But there’s no such thing as Superman, you know.

[jen]

Fascinating depth. We knew that Daniel was the killer, and he had his insane reasons for what he did, but you have spelled these out for us. Given the nebulous details focus and clarity.

Nicely done!

[francis]

Thank you, jen. That episode had the worst continuity and logic errors in the procedural for me. I wanted it to make sense.

[jen]

That it does! Thank you, Frances!

[allegrita]

Ooh, I like that you gave Daniel a voice. He really needed one... he needed someone to allow him to explain why he did the things he did.

He was really a perfect Renfield to Christian Ellis... and, of course, Ellis didn't appreciate his devotion.

[francis]

Thank you, alle, for bumping this up with your nice comment. This was one of my first stories. I needed this episode to make more sense, so I took on this character and tried to give him some backstory.

[Moonlighter]

Oh, he was just a bucket of crazy, wasn't he? He believed Christian's BS more than Christian did. Call the men in the white coats!

But there’s no such thing as Superman, you know.

LOL!! Great line!

[francis]

Thank you so much, Moonlighter. This was one of the first stories I wrote, and I'm still quite fond of it.

[darkstarrising]

Glad this story is getting some well deserved attention, francis

Daniel really is a sad character, a true disciple of a false god - Christian Ellis. And the voice you've given him shows just how devoted he is.

He doesn’t know, of course. He doesn’t see me at all. I run errands for him and do his paperwork, keep his calendar and answer his phone, but he never really looks at me. I would do anything to protect him.

Daniel desperately wants to belong, to be valued to be something more than what he is. Ellis really didn't see Daniel, literally or figuratively, or maybe he would have put the pieces together himself. I'll bet he became painfully aware of him when he was arrested.

[eris]

Oh, he was just a bucket of crazy, wasn't he? He believed Christian's BS more than Christian did.

The man in charge is infinitely less dangerous than the one who stands in his shadow, just close enough to have his ear and hear his words.