Vengeance: A Halloween Novella

Chapter 1

"What do you want with me?" Connor asks, his voice tight and high-pitched from the fear inside of him.

Tkachuk gestures about the air with his hands as he speaks, "Long story short here, someone killed me and my soul is trapped in this limbo place. I guess I'm able to return to Earth occasionally -- only when the moon's at its fullest -- in order to spook people. You know, all the paranormal shows on Travel Channel go through this kind of shit."

Connor cocks his head to one side, puzzled.

"Ghosts, haunting's, you know that stuff," Tkachuk explains.

Connor's dark blue eyes are still shimmering with confusion.

"As plainly as I can put it: when the moon's at its fullest, like it is tonight, I am allowed to return to Earth. I don't know all the details yet, though..." He rounds Connor, brushing a ghostly, glowing white hand across the young man's shoulders as he talks. "After all, I just recently died last year. But I'm thinking about seeing what would happen if I drain you of your blood -- kill you, so to say!"

Connor's blood runs ice cold and he finds himself unable to move.

Tkachuk continues with his speech, rounding the frozen Connor Zary still. "I've heard rumors from other limbo souls that if you drain a human's blood on the night of a full moon, when the paranormal energy is strongest...well, you get the picture, right?"

Connor finds the strength to be able to open his mouth and scream. However, Tkachuk dives down with an unreal speed, baring unusually long canine teeth. He is able to sink them into Connor's neck.

Connor finally finds that he can move and he kicks out at the ground and tries to shove Tkachuk off of him.

"You're my first victim to try the theory on. So, QUIT moving so damn much!" The Calgary Flame can see out of the corners of his eyes the color slowly beginning to restore him to his lively self. His feet hit the soft, lush muddy ground of the alleyway. It's working! The rumors are true!

He can also see the reverse effect occurring to Connor Zary. His kicking motions slow down and his skin pales over. Then he just stops moving and his pale, blood-drained body dissolves into the dark ground.

"ZARBU!" Quinn's voice rings out in the night air, followed by Orrin's.

There's footsteps nearing the alleyway where Tkachuk is feasting on the remainder of Connor Zary's blood like a vampire.

As soon as his body vanishes from sight, Tkachuk spins around as he wipes the back of his hand across his blood-stained mouth. He finds himself looking back at a wavy blond haired and light brunette man.

"Matthew Tkachuk? What are you doing here?" Orrin asks, skeptically, putting his hands on his hips. "Nice costume and eyeliner!"

Tkachuk can feel that there is light eyeliner (most likely black colored) around his eyes and he looks down at himself, realizing that he is wearing some kind of vampire-devil look: a black trench coat over an all black outfit (t-shirt and pants combo) with black boots. He reaches up, following the brunette, Quinn Schmiemann's gaze and touches a pair of devil horns that are on top of his head. Nice.

"I was in town. Some party, eh?" He brushes himself off, energy flowing through him like rapids in a river. It really worked! Now, according to the limbo rumors, he had a whole night to get to Vancouver and find Elias Pettersson!

"Have you seen Connor Zary? He's a light brunette man with wavy hair...dark blue eyes...he was with us in the yard and then when we got to the door, he wasn't there. We thought maybe he ventured off..."