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The nightmares had been horrendous. I was really glad I'd isolated the place I sleep from everyone else here.

But I remembered. At least part of it. Who and what I had been before at least, even if that was more than a little uncomfortable given what I was now, and that doesn't mean the vampire thing.

I had been a man. Male. With all the drives and urges.

And I'd known most of the people who were helping me now.

Dammit! How, just how, was I going to handle that?

Epecially telling Zack who I'd been?

Life ain't easy, I know that. But dammit. Just dammit!”

Well, it wasn't like I was dealing with anything easy at the moment. Why should that be any different?

But now. Now. I was female. And in spite of the really outre look I had without the makeup and sunglasses, I was a female guaranteed to attract male attention.

Crap.

How to deal with that?

Answer?

I didn't know and would just have to roll with it and make things up as I go along.

Crap again.

I had no real clue about how to be a woman. Though I had been doing pretty well since I got here, I thought.

But then again, being female is a physical and mental thing. The physical I had even if I tried to deny it, had the look, the walk, the... Whatever.

I couldn't even remember how to walk like a male and something told me that if I tried, it would hurt.
And just be... Wrong.

Crap, Teresa and her cronies had shown me how to move, but now I couldn't conceive of any other way to do that now.

I tried to walk the way I remembered doing before I changed. I couldn't, and trying looked ludicrous. My hips were wider, my legs farther apart, my back was different. Walking like a male just wasn't going to happen now.

Worse? Watching msyself in a mirror, the walk and stances I took were just... Sexy.

Oh, gods. Kill me now. Please.

If you hadn't noticed, the mental changes were a bit slow on the uptake there.

This was going to take some work.

Okay, a lot of work.

Damn.

But I was what I was and somehow knew there was no going back to what was.

And I was damned if if I'd let anything, mental, physical, or from the outside, kill me.

I was going to live.

Other things? I'd work out later.

Like I had a choice.

On top of everything else I has this niggling sense that there was another one like me out there, and close. Plus the certainty of that one was not one I really wanted to meet. I'd felt his feedings last night. He was out there, feeding, cruel, and I knew I didn't want to run into him.

But I knew I would. No matter how much I avoided it, he was hunting me. He was out there, killing, not caring about that, and feeding. I wouldn't be able to avoid him.

So I had to prepare to confront him.

On top of everything else.

I also knew, how I don't know, that he meant to kill me.

That I would not allow if I had anything to say or do about it.

So while he hunted me, I decided to start hunting him.

Predators do not usually get along all that well when their territories are invaded. And mine had been invaded.

Oh, all right, it isn't nice at all, and I wasn't hunting in the area, but this one was intruding on my territory.

And I knew, instinctively, that without my permission for him to do that, I would find him, he would find me, and one of us was going to die.

What? What had I become?

That idea, and the things it showed me, were absolutely terrifying.

Especially with the anger, no make that real rage I was feeling just then over what had been done to me, and to others though I didn't recall any of that other than who and what I had been before. I was being hunted by a person or most probably persons unknown. Worse was what angered me the most.

Someone was hunting in my teritory without my permission.

I stayed in my room for over an hour getting that rage under control. What I saw in the mirror during that time was truly terrifying.
Once it had faded, I sat on the floor with my arms around my knees, rocking back and forth.

My room was a shambles again. Things broken, the matress on the narrow bed shredded, bits of foam rubber from the pillows scattered everywhere. Picking bits of that last from under my nails, and out of my teeth, I shuddered then let out a little sob.

Obviously, I wasn't safe for anyone to be around. At least not untill I was able to contol myself better.

A sense of lonliness I'd never experienced in my life rose up and I sobbed again.

A knock on the door pulled me out of that, but I wasn't in the mood for company just then.

“Go away, puh — please go away. I'm not safe to be around just now.”

Hearing that, and the sobs from inside the room, Zack answered. “You always say that. Have a bad one this time?”

“Yeah.” The answer faintly came back. “Really bad.”

“You going to hurt me if I come in?” He asked.

“Nuh, no.” The answer was hesitant. “I don't think so.”

“Well, that beats 'Go the Hell away or I'll rip your throat out.' Mind if I come in?”

“Why not?” She answered tiredly.

He entered, looked at the general destruction and moved to give her a hug. “Really bad one, huh?”

“Yeah.” She didn't move away from his hug, but stiffened a little. “Zack, I remember who I was — before this happened to me.”

“That's a good thing.”

“I don't know if it is or not, Zack.” She answered quietly while getting out of his hug to give him a forlorn, alsmost lost look. “It might have been better if I hadn't remembered.”

“Is it that bad?” He asked. “Were you some kind of serial killer or something?”

“No.” She drew in a breath, visibly gathered herself, and went on. “I was Shane.”

“What?”

“I was Shane Duncan, Zack.”

“No...”

“I was.” She insisted. “I remeber pulling you out of the gutter and giving you an address to the rehab and employment center.
“I told you, urged you, to take the chance, and that if it didn't work out there was always the bottle to go back to.”

“What happened to you, then?” Zack questioned, still not completely believing what she'd told him.

“I still don't remember.” She hugged herself and shook her head. “I got who I had been, or some implanted memories, but I don't remember how that happened yet.

“But there are people hunting me, and another one like me who doesn't restrain himself.”

“Are you saying there is another Vampire loose around here?”

“Yes.” She almost chewed the answer she was so clearly angry. “And he's hunting in my territory. WITHOUT my permission!”

“Back off, girl.” Zack held out his hands. “Or whatever you are. No one here is doing something like that.”

She hissed, and nodded. “I know. But he's out there, and working to draw me out by killing and leaving the bodies where they can be found.”

“How do you know that?”

“I don't know how I know.” She shook her head. “I feel him, and what he does, that's all I can tell you right now.”

“You were Shane?” He ignored that and looked her in the eye, which was disconcerting because she had no visible pupil, only pure white orbs to look back with.

“Yes.” She answered without saying more.

“Damn.” He shook his head and simply sat there for a bit. “That's a lot to get my head around, Zeph.”

“Try it from in here.” She answered while tapping her head with a long, slim finger.

“Point taken.” He nodded then shook his head. “Now what?”

“Same as usual, I guess.” She shrugged, then hugged herself tightly. “I don't know of any other way to do this right now. I still have to learn how to blend in, and at least look like a regular person. Other than that, I don't know just now.”

“Yeah.” He agreed, then looked up at her with alarm. “You said there is another one like you on the loose and killing people? How do you know that?”

“I don't know how!” She said with a force that showed it was the truth. “All I know is that I feel him out there, and at times see what he does. I can't explain it, it just happens.”

“Does this one feel your connection?” He asked in alarm. “Would he be able to find you through that? And how do you know it's a he?”

“I just know, Zack.” She answered tiredly. “I can't explain how, but I know. And I don't think the connection goes both ways since he's obviously trying to draw me out right now. But again, I don't know.

“I need to leave.” She decided. “My being here is more of a danger than I'd thought it was for everyone around me . I wouldn't, couldn't forgive myself if that one got loose in here.”

“You got anywhere else to go?” He asked bluntly.

“You know the answer to that one.” She miserably answered.

“So just what the Hell would you do out there, on your own?”

“I don't KNOW!” She shouted the last word then visibly calmed herself. “Would I survive? Yes. Would I like what I had to become to do it? Probably not. But Everyone here, everyone is in danger if I stay.”

“Okay, now I know you used to be Shane.” Zack sighed. “Always worrying about everyone else and not wanting to take help when someone offered it to you. You need friends now, you need to know that you aren't cut off from the world. Let us help.”

Against this what can any of you do to help?”

“Be your friends.” He simply answered then shrugged. “As for the rest? We'll make it up as we go along. Life is like that, especially around here. You don't turn away offers of friendship because sometime, somewhere, friends are liable to be the only thing that saves your ass. All of us here live every day knowing it could be our last one and there are people — now things — out there that could make that so.
“So you take the friendships offered, work to protect your friends as much as you can like they do for you, and get on with life as best you can.

“And don't even think about giving me that crap about you being a danger to us here. Hell there are people here being hunted by bad people for one reason or another and I can't even start counting them. That's why at least half of them are in this cesspool to begin with.

“We work together, Zephyr, or Shane, or whatever other name you decide to go by. We survive. We actually manage to thrive. You knew how to do that once. You need to relearn it here.”

“But...”

“No buts about it, hon.” He stopped that protest with a wave and the interruption. “We're all family in this place, we help each other, we listen to each other, we fight for each other. Simple as that.”

“You don't know what's coming.” She countered.

“We, all of us, know what we have here right now.” He said. “And have faith that you can handle whatever it is that is coming. We all know what you are, we all appreciate how you've worked to protect us from that even if we don't really understand what happened to you. But dont leave your family because you're worried about us getting hurt. We're a tough bunch, as you should know, and no matter how nasty someone is, they are always vulnerable in some way. Hell, people have already figured out ways that would hopefully kill you if you get out of hand with us, and I'm not talking idiot stuff like garlic or exposing you to sunlight.

“We're tough by necessity, the ones who aren't don't last long around here, you know that.” He grinned at her. “So don't run away from us because you're afaid we'll get hurt. We deal with crap like that every day and a bit more isn't a big deal.

“You got that?”
“But...” She was beginning to think that was the only word she knew.

“Just let us help.” He told her. “We have eyes, and ears everywhere in this part of town, and we want to help. If you'll let us do it.”

“You could all die.” She protested.

“Like that's something any of us don't look at almost every day.” He snorted. “The question here is will you let us help you, or go off on your own and probably get killed trying to take this other one you talked about down? And leave the rest of us to Him?

“Good intelligence is what wins most battles, you know.” He finished with a shrug. “And if you take it, the help, you have an intelligence network that covers half the city.”

“I don't want to make things worse.”

“Dammit, listen to me here!” He took her shoulders and gave her a little shake. “How the Hell could things get worse for most of the people around here? How?”

“They could die.”

“Been through that already.” He said with a little grin.

“That could happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Why is here that different?”

“Because, you're all, you're all, my friends.” She told him with a shudder.

“So take our help and try to keep us from dying, at least any more than usually happens around here.”

“Okay,” She let out a sigh and nodded before looking back up with a determined expression. “But I will NOT move back into the general housing.”

“Given your nightmares, and reactions to them,” Zack waved around the room and chuckled, “that's probably a pretty good idea right now.”

Zephyr laughed in response and felt a huge weight lifting from her when she did. “True.”

“So now what?” He asked.

“We find this 'other one' for starters.”

“Then?”

“I'm going to kill him.” Was her simple, chilling answer.

“Okay.” He spread his hands in a 'what can I do' gesture and nodded. “I can live with that.”

That time, she hugged him.

The room was almost nasty, but it was private, and actually had it's own bathroom so he wouldn't have to share that. His sensibilities screamed to douse the whole thing in bleach and not come back for a week, but it was private and even had a shower, though the water never went from anything but cold to really cold.

He had a bed that didn't collapse when he sat on it, even if the springs tended to poke at body parts if you laid on the wrong part. And a hot plate. All of which was luxury in this god forsaken slum.

It had cost him a hundred and fifty dollars, a small fortune in this area to get it, then the bribe to keep the manager from telling anyone about the guy who had enough to pay for all that and not flinch was another hundred. That would drop to probably twenty a month, but still...
Even in this hell hole, maybe especialy in this hell hole, money made the world go round and work.

But he was away from that damned Zoo and the things they routinely did to things that had once been human. And he was, hopefully, under Taggert's radar now.

Time would tell on that one, but as with any other living creature, the survival imperitive was strong.

He cringed at the idea of staying dirty, unsahven, and wearing the rags he'd found in some refuse bin earlier.

But, like all living things, William Stewart wanted to keep on living.

At least things hadn't reached the point where people would go after his family, though Taggert worried him about that. The best course of action was to hide, say nothing, and hope.

He was raging, inside. ut showed none of that to his subordinates.

The bitch KNEW he was out here, and killing. Drinking and leaving the bodies so they could be found. But she refused to show herself at all.

“Coward.” He breathed as he though of that. “I know I'm hunting in territory that should be yours. You should react to that.

“Come out, come out, you white eyed bitch.” He murmurred. “You won't hide forever, I know that. I share the same instincts you do. I'm hunting in your territory and if you don't stop me, I'll make it MY territory.

“So make it easy for both of us and come out to play.”