Jack Be Nimble *OPEN*

[Jack Knight]

"Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jump over the candlestick." Jack sang soft and slow, his voice sounded creepy and full of mischief. His eyes were filled with an unnatural excitement in anticipation of the evil deed he was about to perform.

The girl in the alley panted and tried to walk faster in her too high stelleto heals. He had followed her from the club where she worked. She wasn't a dancer or a waitress, no, she was a callgirl. She would spread her legs nightly for any horny man who could pay her prices just so she could eat BonBons and wear gaudy jewelry and perfume that smelled like rancid roses. Even her fragrance was gaudy. The smell of cheap perfume nauseated Jack.

He waited until she took her nightly shortcut. You see, Jack had been following her every night for the last two weeks. He knew her schedule intimately. He had been in her house, serviced himself on her sheets then rolled in it while lauging. It tickled him that she never even knew she was sleeping in his essence.

"All around the mulberry bush..." he sang softly. The woman could obviously hear him because she looked behind her with terrified eyes and had tears streaming down her cheeks. "The monkey chased the weasle..." he cackled lightly as his knife blade caught the light of the moon.

He looked up at the round bright orb just as something darted out of the shadows and grabbed the woman. The growl and smell of wet fur told him exactly who got her. "You bastards!!! She was mine!" he shouted without fear. "I give you the bodies when I'm finished!" he shook his fist in the direction of the screams. "See if I bring you dinner again!"

All that work for nothing and now a boner and nothing to do with it. "Fucking mutts, ingrateful wretches, see if I feed them the bodies next time..." he muttered.

"Jack, shut up."

"Who the fuck do you think you are talking to?" he snapped into the air.

"Oh, I would say that I think I am talking to a moron."

"Shut up or I'll do something you dislike." Jack warned in a seething tone.

"Nothing you do can bother me enough to make me want to stop playing my game."

"Oh yeah?" Jack lifted an eyebrow, "Last chance...are you sure about that?"

"Oh, I am definitely sure."

"Fine, you asked for it." Jack lifted the blade he had intended on stabbing the woman with and jabbed it deep into his thigh with an angry growl. "Oh GOD, that feels good!" he hissed through his teeth. He suddenly gave the knife a twist and growled again. Ah, self mutilation. It felt so good to actually FEEL something.

Being a sociopath, Jack rarely felt anything unless he was hurting someone, even more-so if he was hurting himself. It was the voice that taught him that killing others could make him feel excitement, lust, joy and the thrill of the hunt. It was the voice who saved his life and made him the man he was.

"Ok, Jack stop! I'll stop, but you have to stop that. I taught you how to feel without hurting yourself! That could kill us!"

Jack grinned when the voice begged him to stop hurting himself. He looked down at his leg at the fabric of his khaki pants turned read around the knife then quickly spread. "Oh shit..." he groaned and dropped to the ground. "I think...I over did it." he squeaked and sat on the ground with a thump.

"Jack you need to get up and get into public view. Say you were mugged or attacked by an unknown source. Jack, come on get up!"

Jack frowned and turned over onto his knees and pulled himself to his feet using the wall for support. His leg would not hold him. He used his other leg to support his weight and limped three steps before falling.

"Up Jack! Get up! It's not much farther.

Jack sneered, "Don't you ever stop being a bossy bitch?" he hissed but complied with the voices order.

"Not that I can remember."

Jack continued to stumble until he reached the edge of the alley when he fell out onto the sidewalk. He groaned and rolled over on his back. "With my luck, I'll find a vampire and they will eat me." he muttered and looked up when a pair of legs stopped beside him.

"Don't say that, we'll be fine.

"You'll be fine maybe." he muttered then offered a pained smile at the person looking down at him. "A little help?" he asked weakly.

[thanosdimitriou]

Thanos walked down the street at a leisurely pace. The evening spring air cooler now that the sun had been down for quiet some time. Many of the cities humans were still about as it wasn't quiet that late though. One hand in the pocket of his slacks the other ideally weaving a casino chip over and under, his fingers. From index to pinky and then back around again. It was a parlor trick really but it kept him amused.

The sounds of a seemingly one sided argument filtered into his range of hearing. He was about to pass it off till the rich scent of fresh blood reached him as well. That he wouldn't pass. His steps never quickened nor did they slow as he strolled. The heady fragrance of blood leading him to a human male laying on the concrete.

His cool grey eyes took in the man as he looked up and asked for help. Indeed.

"Run afoul with a sharp object have we?" He asked, his voice a rich blend of Mediterranean accent and sophistication. His lips pursed as he took in the look of things. It would never do, to leave a meal laying about the streets. Looking down at his slacks and leather loafers it displeased him that he may actually get mussed up.

Thanos really didn't care for disorder of any kind and a bleeding man laying in the opening of an alley was most definitely disorder. His teeth throbbed in painful reminder that he had not eaten in some time.

[Jack Knight]

Jack looked up at the perfectly chiseled jaw of the handsome man. As far as men went, Jack had a thing about those perfect square jaws. Whilst sex with women was good, he preferred them dead so they couldn't talk or make mewling noises. Not to mention, women were whores. Men on the other hand, were Gods. Especially men like the perfect vampire staring down at him. "Hi there gorgeous, Jack Knight, and what do you call your sexy self?" he flirted.

Stop it...

"What? I can't say hi?" Jack answered the voice in his head then turned back to the vampire. "Yes, I seem to have had an over zealous moment where I was a little too vengeful with my friend and had to punish him. The result was much more dramatic than I expected and now I seem to be bleeding to death." he answered the vampire then giggled. "It was classic."

Stop giggling you dolt!

"Touchy, touchy...I am just having a conversation with this nice vampire. Can't you pull the stick out of your ass for a change?" He teased his only friend then looked at the vampire quizzically. "If you plan on helping me, Mr. Vampire, I would suggest you move quickly for I am fading fast, you know, dizzy from blood loss and all that." he waved his hand about as if the whole subject bored him, "Or if you are going to eat me, I suggest, once again, that you move quickly before my heart stops beating." He pointed at the blood soaked portion of his upper thigh, "You're best bet is to drink from the wound, I am certain I severed a vein, if not an artery." he added in a matter-of-fact manner.

Don't invite him to drink from you! Are you mad?

Jack sighed, "You know perfectly well that I am mad as a fucking hatter. Why would you even ask me that?" he scolded the voice. "YOu must excuse my friend, Mr. Vampire, he is a terrible bore, but he saves my life from time to time." he informed him.

[thanosdimitriou]

Almost recoiling from the man, he couldn't help but stare at the blatant form of flirting. Did all humans have no self preservation when it came to their own mortality? "Thanos Spyr." Was all he managed before Jack grew quiet by turns, yet spoke as if speaking with another whom only he could hear.

He giggled. The man was practically bleeding to death and he giggled. While he enjoyed a good joke.. Thanos failed to see the humor in this humans precarious position. He was almost certain that while the blood was fresh it was laced with madness as well.

To hell with his silk shirt, Maximo could make new ones. Thanos pocketed his chip, before unbuttoning his shirt. He slipped out of it leaving his chest bare to the night's caress. "Very well, Jack. I fear you are most unwell. " he told the man as he fashioned a tourniquet above the wound. Steady fingers gripped the remainder of his bloody pant leg and neatly ripped it away.

Listening to tell tale rush of blood flowing within the mans body, he was aware that the man would not perish anytime soon. His fangs slid down threw his gums and he refused to just take the meal on the street like a common being. He had standards after all or did he. Hunger was an thing that could not be refused.

With nary any effort on his part, Thanos slid one arm under Jacks upper body and another under his knees and stood back up.

His eyes locked on Jacks as he held him and leaned down while lifting the mans legs up higher to his open mouth. Just a taste, he though. Teeth sank down into the ruined flesh of the wound and he drank the barest of swallows, before a kaleidoscope of flavor exploded on his pallet.

[Jack Knight]

Jack watched Thanos through blinking eyes as he spoke to him. “That is what my first doctor said back in London, before I immigrated.” He said with another giggle. He didn’t resist the manhandling at all. As a matter of fact, pain made him feel alive and he loved it.

Jack noticed the fangs appear and resigned himself to die by the hands of this vampire, although hew as not even sure if he could die at all. He was not surprised that the creature was able to pick him up so easily. He looked directly at Thanos as he bit into him. A small painful groan radiated out of his throat. “I am not sure if I will stay dead, my friend.” He said weakly. “So when you have killed me, please put me in a safe place.” He really didn’t care if he died or not other than the good work that he did for humanity. “Who will rid the world of the whores?” he murmured.

The feeding was erotic and pleasurable, even as the thoughts of dying invaded his consciousness. The voice had grown silent as it did when he slept or had sex. He wondered, would the vampire stop and take him to safety or would he drain him and dump him in a dumpster somewhere? That remained to be seen, but for now, Jack was perfectly happy and that blissful grin on his face reflected that.

[thanosdimitriou]

The man in his arms giggled again and he found himself frowning into the wound he sampled.
Thanos staggered a step or two back as his head came up. His eyes were glazed slightly and his chin dripped with blood.

Just what the hell did the man mean by he wasn't sure if would stay dead. Blinking he tried to clear his mind of the euphoric haze, never had he tasted the like before. Human cattle did not tatse this good. Nor had he ever felt so. A growing pressure within his slacks told him not only was he hungry for more of Jack's blood but other things as well. Licking his lip, to savor the last precious droplets he pulled Jack closer into his bare chest cradling the now limp man.

He would take him home. Listening he could hear the faint sounds of his beating heart though it had slowed. Thanos was not a healer nor did he have medical knowledge. It worried him that perhaps he may have done more harm then intended to the man. He turned about and seemingly disappeared from where he stood as he ran with Jack cradled to his chest protectively.

~~ Home~~

It was nothing to juggle the near lifeless body in his arms and enter into his small house in Little Brittan. Thanos had picked this spot as it was quieter then nearer to the main city, yet still apart. He preferred the quietness and solitude it afforded him.

He closed the door with his heel and headed down a short corridor deeper into the interior of the house. With an elbow he moved a sliding door into it's recessed pannel and headed down the steps it revealed. This was his sanctuary, a small work room was off to the left but to the right was his bedroom. Well below the ground and away from penetrating rays of sunlight.

With care he placed Jack on his bed amongst the black satin sheets he looked terribly pale. Ghost like even. Thanos sighed and undid his silken tourniquet. Fresh blood welled up but sluggishly so. Making haste he pulled off Jacks pants and tried to staunch the flow by covering the wound with another shirt and holding it there. 400 plus years as a vamp and he felt useless. What little he recalled of his childhood he tried to put to use. Master Ilyas would have cleaned it with water and wrapped cloth around it.. He set to doing just that and then looked at his handy work. Every so often he would listen for the beating of Jacks heart. Hoping that it would still be there and grow stronger.

[Jack Knight]

While to Jack, dying was merely an adventure he had yet to face, he was somewhat relieved that the vampire had released his wound. He was feeling terrificly light headed and somewhat nauseated with blood loss.

Somehow, being cradled in the strong arms of the gorgeous vampire brought forth both a feeling of safety and comfort. He wondered if he ever felt these two feelings before. Surely it was never something he felt from his parents who gave him life then left him to nannys and tutors. When his father caught his mother in a love affair, he had strangled her to death then ditched her body in a back alley.

Most boys would have hated their father for killing their mother but Jack knew she was a whore and his father became his hero. One of the reasons he became a doctor was to make his father proud. It was a victory short lived when his father took his own life out of guilt and grief. To Jack, that made his father a failure. He never took comfort in either parents and he could not remember ever being in a tender embrace as he was now.

Jack leaned into the man and let himself drift. He was aware that they were moving and the smells went from city streets to clean masculine scents and soon he was no longer in the vampires arms. The place where he now lay smelled strongly of the sculpted god and he nestled into the soft fabric. The man's attempts at first aid were valiant, yet Jack knew he needed more.

"Good sir," he requested softly, "If you perhaps have a needle and thread and some alcohol?" He could sew it himself, seeing as he was a medical doctor. Even if he got his degree centuries ago, stitching a wound had not changed much. "You see, I am a doctor." he informed the beautiful vampire weakly.

[thanosdimitriou]

His head snapped up as Jack spoke softly, needle and thread. Thanos frowned what ever would he be doing with such things. That was Maximo's tools. "I..." The tailor would curse him but, oh well. "I can get them." He stood quickly almost a blur, in his agitation. He would have to leave his tailor a big tip next time. "Would you not rather another doctor?" He asked puzzled, looking down at Jack. Did the man mean to sew himself back together. What madness had taken control of this man, he didn't know but surly it was just that. Madness.

"Just a few moments is all I'll be." He tried to be assuring. Though he wasn't sure whom he was assuring, Jack or himself. In a blink he was off. Racing to Maximo's tailor shop. Of course it was closed at this late hour being as Maximo was human. With a heaven ward sigh he jumped straight up to the roof. Thankfully the man had skylights that were nothing to pick and enter through. If Jack needed needles and thread he would just simply barrow some from the persnickety tailor and leave him a token of his appreciation.

Once within the shop he looked frantically for needles and thread. Seeing a red ball full of little silver sticks he snatched it up and promptly cursed as the metal bit into his flesh. Nasty little things. Next he pulled a large spool of black thread off of the wall. He had no clue as to how much thread Jack would require. Having taken what he thought and hopped was the correct items he left three casino chips for Maximo. That should cover his pilfered items and then some.

He was quickly on his way the whole trip only taking a matter of moments. He ran full out back to his small quarters where he'd left Jack. As he reentered his house he stopped at a black lacquered cabinet and removed his only bottle of alcohol. A very old and treasured bottle of Ouzo that he paid dearly for. Once crafted by the monks on Mt. Athos it was rare to find it anywhere since the end of the known world. Only when feeling very sentimental about his home country did he ever partake a small amount. A very small amount.

Making his way back down the stairs he called out to Jack. "I have what you asked. If it's not correct. I will take you to a doctor." That sounded odd really. Take a doctor to a doctor. He frowned over the oddity of it as he came up to the side of his bed and placed everything within reach of Jack. The red pincushion was full of silver pins and needles that glinted under the light.

[Jack Knight]

Jack didn't like other doctors. They always acted like he knew less than them. Especially the young ones. He had kept up with medical advances and was every bit as good of a doctor as they were, better even since he had been practicing for so long.

It was difficult being a serial killer in the days of modern technology, he had to put up fronts and pretend to be the good upstanding citizen that was expected of a young man in that era. He had to be careful of leaving evidence and disposing of the bodies. The apocalypse had done him a favor. He could kill now and not worry about leaving evidence, no one investigated when they thought a Lycan or a Vampire had been the one that caused the disappearance of his victims. Lycans didn't care if their victims just had sex or not so he didn't have to worry about DNA or bite marks he would leave behind. It was quite liberating.

He was lost in thought then the vampire returned and jumped as he snapped back into reality. "Oh, thank you, good Sir." he breathed and pushed himself up into a sitting position. "This is perfect." he said as he picked up the items. He looked at the bottle of Ouzo and cocked his head. He sniffed it and grinned. "I will be very careful not to spill one more drop than is necessary. Ouzo is something that I fear is nearly impossible to find." he betrayed his age, "It was even when I was a boy in the 1860's" he added as he carefully doused a needle with the stuff. He then pooled a length of thead in the palm of his hand and dropped another small amount over it. Carefully he put it back down and began to clean his wound. "The trick is to not think about it." he muttered as he threaded the needle. "I have done this so many times, I can't count them all." With the skill of an aged craftsman, he began stitching his wound without so much as a wince. "If you ever need a doctor, to patch up a feeding gone wrong, feel free to call on me, I can keep secrets." he spoke as he worked. "It's the least I can do for your assistance. "But no whores...I don't help whores...wicked creatures they are...home wrecking banshees." He rambled under his breath.

"Jack..."

"What?" Jack's eyes jerked up at the vampire."Oh, yes, I am going on and on." he smiled and went back to his stitching job, tying the last knot. "There, I believe I shall live, that should heal nicely." He snapped the last bit of thread and placed the needle on the side table. "How can I repay you? Sex? Blood? If you want blood, I think we may need to schedule something a bit farther in the future, yes?" he giggled softly, "But if it is sex, just be careful not to tear my stitches..." he looked at the vampire quizzically.

[thanosdimitriou]

Thanos could not keep the shock from showing on his face as this human. Knew what he'd given him. It had long since been lost with the apocalypse and it was even before that less common here in the America's. "How is it Jack that you are human yet so.. " he paused, searching for the right word without being insulting and failed. "preserved in a youthful state? " The question hung in the air as he watched fascinated. Jack was extremely diligent in his movements. It was like watching ballet almost, every movement precise and perfectly executed. The fact that the man talked through the whole ordeal was even more incredible to Thanos.

His brow furrowed as Jack mentioned whores. He was quiet adamant about his opinion of them. Thanos did not see the light skirts as home wreckers.. it was the quilt of two persons whom destroyed a home. He would be mindful not to bring up the subject though, he was not in the habit of causing upset. His life was simple. He liked it that way. He had his fine clothing. A tidy little home. A bite to eat now and then. Music when he could find it. Simple. Life since loosing his dear mentor had been a whirlwind of war and then emptiness. If he could help it that would never happen to him again.

Startled by Jack's sharp questions he blinked. " I didn't speak? Did I?" He asked puzzled, had he spoken during his own little musing. No surly he had not.Jack rambled on and he waved it off. The giggle, again struck him. It was perhaps endearing in away. So unexpected yet, fitting to Jack.

"Bold, as well as skilled. I have already tasted your blood, my odd little friend. As for sex.." he stopped and looked Jack dead in the eye. " I would much rather you be healed completely before attempting such a pleasurable affair." He stood and removed the soiled cloth that he used to bandage Jacks leg. The need to move about his room drove him to straighten things. They may not have seemed out of order to anyone else but to Thanos they were not perfect. It was a personal compulsion that everything had it's place and must be in it at all times.

"Just rest for now." he said and settled himself on the bed next to Jack.. It would be some time before the day light pulled him into oblivion. He would figure out what to do with him then. "1860's, how is it you survived the end of the world if you are not a vampire?" He asked his curiosity getting the better of him. It had been playing over and over in the back of his mind.

[Jack Knight]

Jack thought about Thano’s question. It seemed these days, being secretive about ones self was not as necessary as it used to be, especially with some vampires and Lycan’s. However it was prudent to choose carefully and to never tell a human. This vampire seemed like he might just keep Jack’s secret, and if he didn’t, he could just go back into his bunker for another 10 years until they forgot about him. He wasn’t alone, he had the wizard to keep him company, although, he would go through withdrawal again. That would be unpleasant.

“I do not age, good Sir.” Jack replied to Thano’s first question. To his second, that was a little more complicated. How did he explain the wizard to him in a way that didn’t leave him thinking him crazy. It wasn’t that he thought he was not crazy, in fact, he knew he was crazy. So, why worry about what the vampire thought. “I was talking to the wizard. You can’t hear him, only me. He lives in my head and tells me great and wonderful things. He also annoys the hell out of me with his constant babbling.” He made mock babbling motions with his hands.

He dropped his hands to the bed then thoughtfully placed one on his chin. “Very well, vampire. When you are ready for me to pay my debt, just let me know. I’m up for anything, even the kinky stuff.” He said as he settled into the bed and looked at the handsome vampire. “I have a hiding place. The wizard told me to build it long before the apocalypse, and then he told me when to go inside it. Saved my life, he did.” He answered the vampire’s last question. “I stayed there 40 years. It was difficult to go without my addiction but when I came out, it was worth it. I found a world where many creatures share a similar addiction. I found that I can endulge with little recourse. I do have to be careful for I am not registered. I do not feel they can make me register to live in a place where I lived before they arrived here.” He put on a stubborn face. “Besides. I’m sure they don’t want Jack the Ripper to be a registered member of their community.” He said then giggled again.

[thanosdimitriou]

Getting comfortable on his bed he relaxed, while listening to Jack answer his questions. Like any intuitive mind though the more the man spoke, the more questions he had. A wizard spoke thusly to him from within his mind. Intrigued he smiled slightly. "So then you are possessed of a spirit that enables you to continue your existence. I will honestly say that I have heard of such things and did not think them plausible." He said and stopped. With a sigh he shifted unto his side to better study Jack while he reclined beside him. His fingers drummed slowly on his hip, as his head rested on his other hand.

"Even the kinky stuff? Do you think that is what I will require of you to pay your debt to me?" He asked with a slight frown. While his sexual needs were a hunger he fed from time to time, it was not something he pursued at leisure. He did not want to become a whore himself. For him the pleasure of a partner was a commitment not a causal encounter. His emotions flared as anger filled him. Unable to quell the rising ire within he moved off the bed. Pacing a few times he stopped and looked down at Jack. Shaking his head slowly he continued.

" This perhaps was not a wise idea of mine to bring you here. You do have a place of your own, do you not?" He asked. So he was as fickle as the wind. Thano could care less of how confusing he must seem to the man. In a matter of hours the rising sun would pull him into his death sleep. What the hell had he been thinking. Loneliness had crept up upon him and lured him to venture out of his normal quite routine. The mans giggle ripped through him and he stilled. It was becoming most unnerving. Here he was face to face with a legendary villain that was the scourge of 1888 England. Just what did one do in such instances. He'd lost his own mind apparently at the taste of something different.

Thanos had never been one to be bold or compulsive today he had been both. And his anger was not truly at Jack but himself. Now he just had to figure out a way to extricate himself from the situation he'd placed himself in. "Yes. I think it best I return you to your own domicile. You would be more comfortable amongst your own things." He added with an affirming nod. He couldn't let the man stay here not while in his death sleep. A doctor would know just how to nullify a vampire.. especially one as old as Jack was. No this would not do at all. Thanos began to panic slightly as his own agitation escalated.

[Jack Knight]

Jack frowned just a bit. He had thought to make himself a friend but as always, his madness and the Wizard had kept him from it. He was not putting on the airs that he had perfected over time to charm. He could never be himself and hope to come out with someone who was not freaked out by him. Even a vampire, all vampires would judge him according to the way his mind worked differently. But he didn't see his preying on women any different than a vampire preying on the humans and using them as a food source.

Jacks frown was fleeting and only lasted for a moment before he smiled agian. "Yes, yes...I need to be getting back." he said and gingerly swung his leg over the edge of the bed.

"I am your only friend, Jack."

"Yes, I know wizard. I think I like it that way." Jack answered the voice. "Besides, my hunger has not been fulfilled. Bloody Lycan's and their greedy appetites, I would have given them the body." he mumbled and stood carefully. "I think I shall be just fine getting home on my own, vampire." he said and turned to look at the pacing creatured of the night. He could tell that the vampire was worried for his safety, even if it was unwarrented. Jack only killed female whores. Men could not help it if the seductresses led them astray. It was always the wanton woman's fault. He sighed softly but kept his smile. He limped slowly to the door and turned the knob, "It was my pleasure meeting you, good sir, and thank you for your hospitality. I know you can find me, if you desire, now that you have drank my blood. My offer to assist you in any way stands." He slowly limped out into the hall and pulled the door shut behind him.

"Come Wizard, let us off into the night." Jack spoke to the voice in his head. "We have work to do."

[Rome Dextaris]

***CLOSED***