Fake Fan Fiction ❯ Silver Key ❯ Out of Time ( Chapter 2 )

Silver Key

Chapter Two

JJ's head lolled weakly as the vampire removed his mouth from his throat in order to speak. "And who the fuck are you? Find your own damn prey, huh?"

"I'm a SSK agent, you cocky little shit, so I really strongly encourage you to let him go."

JJ saw the gleam of a badge through dimmed eyes as the vampire dropped him and turned with terror towards the owner of the voice, a tall, black-clad man who, somehow, looked incredibly familiar.

"Ummm...I don't want any trouble, sir..." the vampire stammered, cowering slightly.

The tall man leaned in, eyes full of steely fire. "You know this is not allowed," he hissed. "Now, run, and I won't chase you...but I will remember you. And if I ever see you so much as steal a toothpick again...I'll kill you. I promise."

The vampire offered no response before running towards the subway on feet so swift that JJ's eyes could barely track him before he vanished around the corner. "Hnnh...uhh...thank you..." he breathed, trying to focus his eyes on his rescuer.

What's your name, boy?" the tall man said coldly, kneeling down next to him.

"Juh..JJ. JJ Adams," he muttered, feeling unsteady, as if the wall behind him might turn to vapor at any moment.

The man leaned in, his nose mere centimeters from JJ's face. "And tell me, JJ...are you familiar with the Mortal Restriction Act, by any chance?"

"Huh?" JJ groaned, beginning to find it hard to keep his eyes open.

"Where's your M-pass?" the man continued, reaching into JJ's pockets and beginning to search them.

"Huh? What're you talking about? Quit grabbin' me..." JJ said, fighting back weakly.

"Your M-Pass! Your ID, you know? What are you, touched or something?" He grabbed at JJ's back pocket and removed his wallet. "Since when do they give you money in the MR?" he muttered, rifling through the modest amount of cash in the wallet. "And credit cards...did you steal this from a museum or something?"

"N...no..." JJ whispered, feeling increasingly dreamy. "My..unhh..license is in there..."

"License?" the tall man said, eyes narrowing. He found the license and tilted it in the light, looking at it with undisguised amazement. "A...driver's license? From...before the Dying? But the dates are after the Dying..." He looked at JJ with something like fear in his eyes. "Where did you get this?"

"Ah...at the...DMV..." His eyelids fluttered, and he let out an involuntary gasp as black fireworks exploded in his vision.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, you living people are so annoying," the tall man said, pulling a small vial out of his pocket. "Here, drink some of this, you'll feel better."

JJ reached out and grasped the small glass vessel with shaking fingers. Raising it to his lips, he drank from it greedily, only stopping when the tall man lay his hand over his and gently pulled it away from his mouth. He felt a surge of vitality go through him, pulling him back from the brink.

"There, you're a little better now, eh?" the tall man said, offering a slight smile.

"Y-yeah. I feel much better, actually..." He looked up at the other man with fearful eyes. "I really don't understand what you're talking about, though, sir...I was just reading a book, and then I was here, and everything is weird...and was that guy a vampire?"

"Yes, he was," the tall man said with a small, rumbling laugh. "And so am I." He curled his lip, showing a long, pearlescent fang, giving another small laugh at JJ's look of fear. "Don't worry, I'm not going to bite you. Unlike that guy, I'm not a criminal lowlife. I'm sort of a cop, really." He smiled, hiding his fangs discreetly so that the smile was more pleasant than scary. "My name is Michael Slaiby," he said, extending his hand to shake.

"Umm...JJ Adams, like I said before," he said, taking Michael's hand as a sudden recognition came over his face. "You-you're in the book I was reading!"

"What?" Michael said, recoiling as if burned. "There's...a book about me?"

"It was this comic book called 'Silver Key'...I didn't get much past the beginning, but you were in it, and a girl named...Dressie, or something like that?"

"Essie. Or Dretta," he murmured. "She was my girlfriend, once." His eyes sparkled with sadness and curiosity. "What did it say about us?"

"Like I said, I was right at the beginning, but you were sleeping off a hangover from some big party you went to, and then Essie came to the door and surprised you...you hadn't seen her in years, but you were really happy to see her...you had a sex scene, I think, and then, when you woke up again, you were very sick, and she was trying to take care of you but you just got worse and worse...and then I don't remember any more...I would say I fell asleep, but it's like I fell here, instead of asleep..."

Michael closed his eyes, trying and failing to conceal his emotional reaction. "We just slept beside one another, actually, but I suppose this person is allowed her dramatic license." He stared at the wall about six inches to the right of JJ's head. "Essie was...so long ago...so many years ago..." His eyes glazed with tears even as his face pinched with disgust at the weakness this displayed. "Her ghost doesn't even come for me anymore..."

JJ looked away discreetly, guessing that the vampire would not want to be seen in such a state. "W..what year is this?" he asked, the absurdity of the question lingering sourly in his mouth.

Michael forcibly stopped his tears, a pensive look coming over his face as he considered the question. "130 years after the Dying...I think that makes it 2129, by the old calendars...there's not much use for time anymore..." He looked at JJ quizzically. "Why? What year do you think it is?"

"It's 2003...October 12, I think..." he answered breathlessly. "What the hell is going on?" he half-whimpered, the ill ease of the situation hitting him at full force.

"I don't know...but you're here, now, and there are some problems with that..."

Before JJ could answer, Michael caught his eyes in a hypnotizing stare, brilliant green fire seeming to gaze into his soul and relax him against his will. He felt himself beginning to fade, his vision clouding and turning grey as he slumped forward helplessly.

Michael gathered JJ's slumbering weight into his arms, lifting him effortlessly as he turned towards the entrance to the subway. "We'll talk about this some more at my place," he whispered into JJ's unhearing ear. "You adorable little thing..."

A/N: hi! *sweatdrops* I know it's still really confusing, but I promise there'll be some exposition in the next chapter that will clear some stuff up. Please bear with me *charming grin*

Thanks to the people who reviewed! I'll be working on this as much as I can, to get something out there that makes sense of it all :) until then...ja ne!