End
"Think Halloween night is the right time to get romantic with your girlfriend?" his sister, Chelsea, said from the door.
"Geez, Chelsea," Tommy snapped. "Don't sneak up on me like that."
Chelsea smiled and walked into his bedroom. "Aren't you even going to comment on what I'm wearing?" she asked.
Tommy turned to look at his sister. She wore a very elaborate pirate wench dress, complete with fishnet stocking and huge hoop earrings.
"Didn't you go to school dressed like that?" Tommy asked with a wry grin, to which Chelsea replied with a smirk. He held up two ties to his chest and said, "Green or red?"
"I think you'll look better in white," Chelsea said. "Change into your black shirt and wear your white tie."
"I don't have a white tie," Tommy protested.
"Then wear a white shirt without a tie," Chelsea suggested. Tommy looked at his sister cockeyed for a moment and scanned her face for any type of trick. "I know how big this night is to you. I won't mess with your head tonight."
"Jeans, or-?" Tommy began.
"Black denim jeans," Chelsea said. "With a white button up shirt, you'll look casual and elegant at the same time."
"Shoes?"
"Hiking boots."
"Hiking boots? Are you sure? I was thinking Eastlands."
"No, hiking boots," Chelsea assured him. "Trust me. It'll look good."
Teddy, the youngest Oliver child, appeared in the door to Tommy's room. He was dressed as a pirate, complete with a stuffed animal parrot on his shoulder. "Argh, mateys," Teddy said in a gruff voice. "S'time to walk de plank!"
"Cute," Chelsea said.
"Come on," Teddy complained. "All of the other kids are already out. All of the good candy is going to be gone soon!"
"All right all right," Chelsea said, getting up off of the bed. "Oh! Wait a minute."
Grabbing Tommy's bottle of cologne, she put a very small amount on her thumb and pressed it against the base of his neck. "Absolutely no more cologne," she told him. "Men do not know how to put on cologne. If you expect to get anywhere tonight, you'll have better luck if Harley Beth can breathe."
"Chelsea!" Tommy cried incredulously, although the smile she gave him told him she knew everything he had planned. Blushing red, he took the cologne bottle and murmured a thanks.
"Let's go, rugrat," Chelsea told her little brother.
"I'm seven years old!" Teddy protested.
"You're still a rugrat," was the last thing Tommy heard from them as they left the house.
Tommy quickly changed into the outfit Chelsea told him to wear. Looking himself over in the mirror, he smiled and said, "God willing, tonight is the night."
"If Tommy doesn't make the first move tonight," Harley Beth said to herself, "I'm going to. We've been dating forever, and he will not make a commitment."
"What are you two going to do?" her fraternal twin sister, Lindsey, asked.
"I guess we'll go catch a movie, first," Harley Beth answered. "Then, I don't know, find a nice quiet spot and.."
"See what happens?"
"Something like that," Harley Beth told her, smiling wide. She tucked a strand of dark auburn hair behind her ear and asked, "How do I look?"
"Beautiful as always," Lindsey answered.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous," Harley Beth whined. "I still can't figure out why Tommy Oliver is dating me of all people. He could have any girl he wants."
"He only has eyes for you," Lindsey told her.
The doorbell suddenly rang, followed by three trademark knocks on the door. "That's him," the two girls said in unison.
"Wish me luck," Harley Beth said as she ran to greet her date.
Tommy swallowed as Harley Beth opened the door. "Hi," he managed, unable to say anything more. She looked wonderful, as usual. Her dark auburn hair hung loose around her face, and she was wearing a pair of black slacks that hugged her figure quite well. A black silk shirt and the gold heart necklace that she always wore completed the ensemble.
"Hi," she returned. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah. Good night, Lindsey!" he called.
"Good night, guys. Try not to get into too much trouble!"
Tommy and Harley Beth were walking back to their car after the movie when the sound of loud music from a nearby warehouse caught their attention. "Hey, a party!" Harley Beth cried. "Let's go take a look!"
"I don't know," Tommy replied dubiously. "Some of these can get really wild. I'm not sure this is a good idea."
"Oh, come on. If it gets bad, we can leave. It's not like we're doing anything wrong, after all." Tommy sighed, but allowed himself to be dragged into the party.
The music was loud, but the party was actually fairly tame, considering. There were the usual drunks and drugged-out partiers, but they mostly stayed at the fringes of the room. Most of the people there were just having a good time. Tommy and Harley Beth danced for a while, then he drew her off to a quiet place.
"Harley, I've been thinking," he told her nervously. "I mean, we've been dating forever, and we've never really talked about where our relationship was going. I guess what I'm trying to say is," he turned to her, taking her hands in his. "Would you want to go steady?"
She stared at him for a moment, then threw herself into his arms. "Yes!" she replied, hugging him. "Yes, yes, yes!"
Chuckling, he pulled away from her and looked down into her face. Slowly, their heads came together and they kissed softly. When they finally broke for air, both were grinning broadly.
"Wow," she breathed. "That was really something."
"Yeah," he agreed. "Something."
"Excuse me," a low voice said. The two turned to see a beautiful woman, dressed all in green, smiling seductively at Tommy.
"Can we help you?" he asked, while Harley Beth bristled beside him.
"Oh, I think so," she chuckled, moving closer. "I am Nicola. I'm in need of a companion for the evening, and I was hoping you could assist. I can make sure you will be amply- rewarded."
Tommy didn't say anything, and Harley Beth darted a quick look at him. His eyes were glazed over, and his entire expression was completely vacant. That was not normal for him. She had seen Tommy's reaction to beautiful women before, and while he did have a tendency to get stupid in their presence, this was very different from that reaction.
"Look, lady," Harley Beth said, stepping forward. "I don't know who you are, but if you're trying to hijack my boyfriend, you're out of luck. Tommy's taken, and I don't intend to give him up to a two-bit tramp like you!"
The woman simply ignored her, still smiling at Tommy. Harley Beth huffed, turned, and kicked her boyfriend in the shins. "OW!" Tommy cried, snapping back to the present. "What happened? I just completely blanked out there."
Nicola merely smiled. Looking Harley Beth square in the eyes, she said coldly, "My apologies." With that, she walked away.
"Freak show," Harley Beth muttered.
"Man, that was weird," Tommy sighed.
"Let's get out of here," Harley Beth said. "That Nicola chick freaked me out."
"You want me to take you home?" Tommy asked dejectedly.
Harley Beth leaned close to him and pressed her lips lightly against his. "Did I say I wanted to be taken home?" she asked, smiling.
Tommy chuckled as though he were twelve years old and stammered, "Okay. Uhm, I know of a quiet place near here."
"Then let's go," Harley Beth laughed.
"Ooh, this is nice," she said as Tommy led her to a secluded spot in a nearby park. "But won't there be a bunch of teenage hoodlums or something?"
"Nah, they're out t.p.-ing the good neighborhoods," Tommy told her. "It is Halloween Night, after all."
"Of course," Harley Beth said. She and Tommy sat down on the ground. "Wow. You can see a lot of lights from here. I can't believe how clear the night is."
"Yeah," Tommy agreed, taking her hand in his. She looked at him longingly for a moment before kissing him passionately. He pulled Harley Beth into a tight hug and pulled her closer.
A pair of eyes gleamed in the moonlight just beyond them. Nicola gritted her teeth and stared at Harley Beth. "I will teach you to interfere with the baoban-sith!"
Tommy and Harley Beth were getting deeper into their kissing when the sound of rustling leaves made them pull apart. Both of them rose quickly to their feet as Nicola approached. "What do you want?" Harley Beth cried, exasperated. "I thought we told you that we weren't interested!"
Nicola continued to advance until she was face to face with Harley Beth, who stared up at her, unafraid. "I want, little girl, to teach you the penalty for interfering in the affairs of those you do not understand!" Out of nowhere, she produced a dagger, which rose and fell too quickly for anyone to react. Harley Beth staggered back, a huge wound in her chest. Tommy caught her before she hit the ground.
"Harley, don't you dare die on me," he whispered.
She coughed. "Sorry," she replied. Her hand went up to the locket that she wore around her neck. "Here," she told him. "I want you to have this." Awkwardly, her breathing beginning to become more labored, she unclasped the necklace and pressed it into his hand. "Remember- I love you," she managed. He held her a little tighter.
"I love you too," he managed. She smiled a little at that, then her eyes closed and her breathing stopped. Tommy lowered her gently to the ground and rose to his feet. His eyes were burning, mirroring the rage inside him. He welcomed it, using it to drive away the shock and grief he felt at Harley Beth's death.
"You," he growled. "You killed her!"
Nicola shrugged. "She was interfering. It matters not. Come to me, Tommy. I will make you forget all your grief."
Tommy clenched his fists, feeling the necklace in his hand. "I don't want to forget," he told her. "I want to kick your butt into the next time zone!"
Nicola smiled widely, and for the first time, Tommy got a good look at her teeth. Her canines were long and sharp. He stepped back, his face paling.
"What are you?" he gasped. "Some type of vampire?"
"Not exactly," she chuckled. "I am baoban-sith, of the ancient race of the Sith. Your people would call us fairies, I suppose. We are very ancient, and wise in the ways of pleasing a man."
Tommy fell back, shaking his head. "Keep away from me!" With that, he turned and ran, Nicola right behind him.
Breathing hard, he stopped and leaned against a tree. Nicola, baoban-sith, vampire, whatever unholy creature she was, was nowhere to be seen. He opened his hand and looked at the golden locket there. The imprint of a heart was plainly visible against the lines of his palm, due to his death grip on the object. It was quite literally his last link to Harley Beth, and that thought brought hot tears to his eyes. "Noooo," he whined, suddenly crying openly. "GOD, NOOO!"
"Don't cry, Tommy," Nicola said. She stepped up to Tommy and opened her arms. "I'll comfort you. I can make the pain go away."
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" he bellowed angrily, stumbling over his own feet in his frantic attempt to get away.
"Ohhh, Tommmyyy," Nicola sighed. "Don't be so afraid of me. I can love you in more ways than your motorcycle girl ever could."
"Harley Beth," Tommy snapped in a guttural growl. He started to run again but Nicola was suddenly right beside him. He bumped into her and took several quick steps back.
"Don't run," she cooed. She hurried up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
_What's happening to me?!_ Tommy screamed at himself mentally.
Nuzzling her face against his, she sighed, "Let me loooove you."
"No! Harley Beth," Tommy insisted, tears flowing down his cheeks freely.
"No," Nicola whispered in a voice with an edge as sharp as a knife. "Nicola." She pulled him down to her and pressed her lips tightly against his.
"NO!" Tommy bellowed, breaking away from Nicola. Despite his training as a martial artist, he drew back and punched her, square in the face, as hard as he could. Her face turned with the blow, but otherwise, she gave no reaction. She stood perfectly still for a moment, and then an amused smile turned at the corners of her lips.
"Nice try, my love," she chuckled. "I'll admit, you have spirit. Perhaps I won't drain you after all. What do you say, Tommy? Wouldn't you like to live forever?"
"Not a chance," he spat. "Not without the people I love, and certainly not with something like you."
She sighed. "Then I'll just have to send you to sleep with your love over there. Close your eyes, Tommy, and soon you'll be together again."
Tommy hesitated. Unlike her previous offers, this time, he was tempted. The idea of being with Harley Beth again, hearing her voice, her laugh, held a definite attraction. He was on the verge of giving in when the golden heart in his hand grew warm for an instant, then stopped. It was enough, however, to shock Tommy out of his stupor.
"No," he said, backing away. "As much as I miss her, I'm not just going to lay down and die. Too many people care about me for that. If you want me, you're going to have a fight on your hands."
"Then so be it," Nicola chuckled. "I haven't had a good challenge in centuries. It will be interesting to see how well you play the game."
Tommy turned and ran into the darkness, Nicola's laugh pursuing him.
Leaning against the wall of an alley, Tommy silently gave thanks that his sister had talked him into wearing his hiking boots that night. Nothing else would have stood up to the pounding that his feet had taken. Looking down at the gold heart in his hand, he swallowed hard.
"I promise, Harley, she's not going to get away with this." Clasping the necklace around his own neck, he began to think. _I can't go to the police, they'll think I'm insane. A vampire stabbed my girlfriend and is now chasing me all over the city? No, I'll have to deal with her myself. But how?_
Suddenly, a noise made him turn. He looked all around, but saw nothing. Then he looked up, and gasped. Nicola was sitting on a ledge, several feet above him. Her chin in her hand, she looked down at him in amusement.
"Where are you going, Tommy?" she asked. "You're not much of a challenge so far."
"Just wait," he shot back. "I'm going to make you sorry you ever messed with me."
"Well, I hope you don't mind if I amuse myself in the meantime." Nicola snapped her fingers. Suddenly, Tommy could hear movement in the alleyway around him. He began to look around warily, wondering what she had up her sleeve. Slowly, out of the darkness advanced a veritable army of cats. Tigers, tabbies, mongrels, all types of felines circled him, all with an evil light in their eyes. At the front of the pack, which had now surrounded him, were four huge black cats, with eyes as green as Nicola's dress. They hissed, and at their signal, the entire pack sprung at Tommy.
Tommy had barely enough time to grab a trash can lid before the press of furry bodies was upon him, biting and clawing. With the lid, he managed to protect his face and eyes, although one calico managed to get a lucky strike across his cheek before being batted away. The fight seemed to go on for hours, then Tommy got an idea. The cats themselves were not his enemies, Nicola was. Looking up, he saw her watching the fight with interest. He wound up and launched the can lid at her, as if it were a discus. When the steel lid touched her, she leaped to her feet, hissing in pain. Her concentration broken, she could no longer maintain her control over the cats, which promptly slunk off into the night.
Nicola looked at Tommy for a long moment, her eyes wandering all over him. He was covered with cat scratches and bites, many of which were bleeding, but he looked up at her in defiance. "Not bad, Tommy. The battle is yours, for now. But can you handle me?" She leaped down into the alley, advancing on him slowly. For answer, Tommy simply turned and ran.
Tommy suddenly felt the ground give way beneath him. With a cry, he plunged into an inky blackness. He suddenly landed on his knees in a pool of water. Glancing up, he realized what had happened. "Sewer," he muttered. "Bitch took the manhole cover off."
"Hey, lover," Nicola said as she looked down at him from above. "Ready to give yourself up to me yet? I can offer you eternity..."
Rather than waste his breath on an answer, Tommy turned and ran. Tommy suddenly heard skittering feet all about him. His eyes quickly adjusted to the dark, and he realized that Nicola had recruited yet another unholy army to do him in. "Sewer rats," Tommy muttered to himself. While some of the greasy gray and brown creatures were normal sized, a fair amount were as big as the cats that had just attacked him. A few were even larger.
The rats realized that Tommy knew of their plan, and they were immediately upon him. Tommy kicked his booted feet wildly as the carpet of rodents attempted to weigh him down. Although they weren't able to jump high enough to do any serious damage to his face and chest, they were quickly tearing through his jeans. He attempted to run forward, although there were so many rats, he couldn't get away from them all.
_There has to be a ladder someplace!_ Tommy screamed mentally. He could feel his pants getting soaked through, and knew that he was no doubt losing blood. He no longer felt their attacks, but he could tell from their frenzied screaming and hissing that they were still there.
Tommy suddenly felt a wall before him. "NO!" His hands danced across the surface, and his fingertips closed over a thin metal bar. _Ladder!_ He didn't know if it was a ladder or not, but he could definitely climb it. He quickly realized that it was a ladder, and climbed away from the hostile throng of rats. Hand over hand, he climbed. As he reached what he felt should be the top, he stuck a free hand up. A few feet later, he brushed against a moveable manhole cover. With a sigh of relief, he pushed it aside and climbed up.
Sitting on the pavement, he pulled his legs out and covered the hole back up. A quick examination revealed that he wasn't bleeding as badly as he had thought. His jeans were shredded in places, and there were, in fact, several bloodstains, but blood loss had been minimal.
Suddenly, a soft metallic whick came to his left, and he glanced over just in time to see moonlight dance over a switchblade. "You're in the wrong neighborhood, kid," a gruff voice said.
Something inside Tommy snapped. Standing slowly, he looked at the man in front of him. "Look, mister, I am not in the mood for this. Tonight I have seen my girlfriend murdered, been chased by the psycho that did it, fallen into the sewers, and nearly killed twice, once by an army of cats and once by an army of rats. You are nothing next to what I've run across tonight, and frankly, I don't feel like dealing with you. Now get the Hell out of my way!"
The man swallowed. Suddenly, he wasn't at all sure he wanted to tangle with the kid in front of him. Either he was psycho, or he was mixed up in something far more serious than a simple mugger wanted to deal with. Either way, the kid was too much to handle. Putting away his knife, he raised his hands. "Fine, kid. I won't give you any trouble." He watched, slightly shaken, as Tommy shot him one final glare and ran off.
"Cats, and rats," Tommy sighed, leaning against a wall. "What's she going to sic on me next, bunny rabbits?" Instantly he was assailed by an image of the "Killer Rabbit" sequence from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." Tommy couldn't help himself. He started laughing uncontrollably. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized he was on the verge of hysteria, but it did little good.
Suddenly the heart around his neck grew warm for an instant, and he slowly calmed down. That was the second time that the heart had seemed to shake him back to his senses. He couldn't help but wonder if there was something more than the obvious contained in Harley Beth's final gift to him. Taking it off, he examined it. Realizing it was a locket, he opened it and found two pictures inside. In the light of a nearby street lamp, he realized that the pictures were of Harley Beth and himself, taken at a school dance not long before. Fresh tears came to his eyes as he put the necklace back on.
"I swear to you, Harley Beth, I will not let this go unavenged. I will take her down if it's the last thing I do."
Nicola brushed her golden locks of hair over her shoulders. This muscular, attractive teen, apparently named Tommy, was proving to be very interesting prey. She had fully intended to kill him after she used him to satisfy her own sexual urges, but he was far too interesting to kill. He would make a very good companion - someone to haunt the night with her, a perpetual source of sexual energy, and... a friend.
She watched as the teen silently darted down alleyways and through sidewalks in bad neighborhoods. He thought he had escaped her, but she was always no more than a few dozen yards away. "You will be mine, Tommy," Nicola swore as she followed him, using the darkness to hide her. "Or you will die painfully in the process." A smile crossed her face as she saw where Tommy was headed. She saw the perfect opportunity to take some fight out of him.
"Hey kid," a rough yet soothing female voice said. "Aren't you in the wrong neighborhood?"
Tommy sighed as he saw the voice's source. Realizing she wasn't a threat, he ignored her and started to walk away.
"Come on, boy," she called after him. "I can make you a man!" She began laughing hysterically at her supposed joke.
Suddenly, four women stepped out of the darkness before him. He halted and stared at them. "Look, I don't have time for this," he said as politely as he could.
"I think that you do," a particularly attractive black woman said as she joined the throngs of women approaching him. They were quite literally coming from everywhere. Some were attractive, and with others, he would have been afraid to shake their hand. In a matter of moments, Tommy was surrounded.
"Hi, Tommy," an all too-familiar voice said from above. He glanced up to see the green-clad nightmare sitting on the bottom rung of a fire escape ladder. "Give the word, and I call them off."
"Never," Tommy said sternly.
Several of the prostitutes circling him began to produce edged weapons, ranging from simple pocketknives to switchblades to knives that were better described as daggers. "What do you say, Tommy?" she asked. "Love me, or die at my hands. The option is yours. Come on, Tommy. You've already seen the control I have over animals and people alike. Even if you survive this fight, there will be a worse one later on.
"Besides, it's not like you're going to suffer. We can have so much fun together. More fun than that human mind of yours can currently fathom. Eternal pleasure, Tommy. Whaddya say?"
"My mother would wash my mouth out with soap," he replied. "Has anyone ever told you that you are really bad at taking hints?"
She chuckled. "I just don't like taking no for an answer," she responded. The women surrounding Tommy closed in.
"Look, ladies," he told them, watching warily. "I don't particularly want to hurt you, and I'd really rather you didn't hurt me." He stopped, seeing that their eyes were blank, and that they probably didn't hear him. Sighing, he shrugged. "All right, if that's the way you want it." He dropped into a fighting stance, and they attacked him.
The odds were not quite as one sided as they looked. It's an interesting fact that only three people can attack you at any one time. Any more than that, and they run into each other. Tommy's training was more than enough to deal with three attackers, even armed ones. However, no sooner had he disarmed one than another took her place, and Tommy was beginning to tire. A lick of fire across his side told him that he was no longer able to keep his guard up, and his mind began working frantically, searching for a way out.
Suddenly, he spotted it. The ladies were slightly thicker on his left side than his right, trying to get him on his weaker arm. Faster than thought, Tommy threw himself to his right, catching the women there by surprise. Breaking out, he managed to trip two of them, slowing the others down long enough for him to get out of the alley. He ran until he found a convenient street lamp, where he immediately sat down and checked himself over for wounds.
Tommy winced at the sight of the large cut in his side, but was relieved to see that none of his other wounds were serious. "This is not working," he told himself. "I have got to stop running and make a stand. But where? And how?" Rising to his feet, he ran off into the darkness once again, still thinking hard.
Tommy smiled as a very familiar electronic bank sign came into view. He was at least out of the dangerous neighborhoods. The sign flashed the temperature and then the time, 2:27 AM. "My parents," he sighed. "They've probably called the police by now. Maybe I should just go find a police station."
"And what's the fun in that?" Nicola breathed from right beside him. He jerked in the direction of her voice and found the green clad beast standing not more than a foot beside him. His reflexes took over, and he ran off.
_I've had it,_ Tommy complained to himself. He couldn't hear Nicola behind him, but he knew she was back there someplace. _This stops now._
Still running, he made a mental note of everything he knew about Nicola. _Baoban-sith, some type of energy vampire, very sexual._ Furrowing his brow, he wondered if perhaps that was the key. Make her think he had given in, and kill her as soon as she was distracted. He didn't like the idea of sacrificing his innocence, for lack of a better word, but if he didn't kill her soon, she would kill other innocent people, possibly him.
He ran down side streets, thinking he had, in fact, lost her. However, he had thought that several times already, and each time, she proved him wrong. He suddenly found himself in LA's old business district. The warehouse where the party he and Harley Beth had been at was within eyesight, and was now quiet and dark.
_In a building,_ he said to himself. _Not a warehouse. Too much room for her to trick him in._ His eyes fell on a recently abandoned steel mill. "Perfect."
Nicola, still trailing Tommy, frowned as she approached the building. Even from outside, she could feel the steel within. It made her a little nervous. Like all the Sith, she was exceptionally vulnerable to cold iron and steel. Still, Tommy certainly couldn't know that. He had just trapped himself. Pushing her vague misgivings to the back of her mind, she followed.
Inside, Tommy was looking around. The place was a maze of catwalks, stairways, and unsold steel. If he wanted, he could make catching him quite difficult for Nicola. Turning around, he saw her lit up in the moonlight streaming through the window behind her. "Trick or treat," she laughed softly. Tommy swallowed. He had to admit, she was beautiful, even as dangerous and evil as he knew her to be. Slowly, she walked closer to him. "I'd have to say, you're definitely a treat."
"You're not. Anyway, it's after midnight. It's November first, All Hallows Day." He saw her shrink from that, and suddenly realized why. Religions focused and symbolized all that was good in the human spirit, and as a creature of darkness, a spiritual predator, anything associated with any religion was anathema to her. The fact that it was a holy day would only weaken her, and she did not have the specific weaknesses that a vampire would have, but at least she would not be as formidable a foe.
"It's the end of the line, Tommy," she told him, breaking into his thoughts. "You have nowhere to go from here. I'm almost disappointed. I thought you were too smart to trap yourself. Now, you have a choice. You can join me, and know unimaginable pleasure- or refuse, and know unfathomable pain." She took another step towards him.
"I choose option C. I'm not trapped yet." Turning, he ran into the darkness of the mill. Nicola hissed in fury, and slowly strode after him.
Hidden in a dark corner of the warehouse, Tommy watched Nicola's actions, frowning as he did so. She had been tracking him all night, seeming to have some sort of uncanny sense of his movements. Now, however, she was actually looking for him, having no luck, and getting more frustrated by the minute. What was wrong with her?
Nicola knew what was wrong. The steel in the mill, both in the catwalks and lying around, was interfering with her ability to sense Tommy presence. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down. Perhaps she couldn't use her sixth sense to find him, but she still had her other senses, far stronger than a normal human's. Closing her eyes, she listened, hearing as she did so Tommy's strong, slightly rapid heartbeat. Wafting through the air, she could smell his cologne, even in the small amount he wore. Turning, she opened her eyes and saw him, hiding on a catwalk in the shadows. Leaping up to the catwalk with ease, she began stalking towards him.
Seeing her come at him, Tommy quickly backpedaled, trying to get away. Unfortunately, he tripped over a piece of steel pipe that had been left behind and fell on his butt. Instantly, Nicola pounced, pinning him to the catwalk.
"Now," she purred. "You're all mine." She lowered her lips to his.
Color exploded behind Tommy's eyes, and he could feel his energy leaving him. Nicola's hands moved up and down his chest, as she ignored his frantic struggles to dislodge her. He seemed to hear a silvery voice singing, and felt as if he was sinking into deep green water. _Why fight?_ he thought hazily. _She's right, this does feel good._
Suddenly a warmth, almost to the point of burning, blazed against his throat. At the same time, golden light shot from the necklace that Tommy still wore around his neck. Hissing, Nicola backed up, shielding her eyes from the bright light. The warmth of the heart pulled Tommy back to the real world, and he shook his head. As his vision cleared, for just one second he could have sworn he saw Harley Beth smiling at him in the light. Then the light faded, and she was gone.
"He's mine!" Nicola hissed, to no one Tommy could see. "You're dead and gone! He's mine!" She leaped at Tommy, fangs bared. There was no more seduction in her gaze or manner. Now she was out for blood.
Without really thinking about it, Tommy reached for the closest thing to a weapon he could find- the length of steel pipe that he had slipped on earlier. Nicola's speed was too great for her to stop, and her own momentum carried her forward, impaling her on the steel pipe. For a second, both Tommy and Nicola were still, looking into each other's eyes. Nicola's bright blue ones were filled with pain, and Tommy's usually warm chocolate orbs were cold and black. Then he shoved Nicola away from him, burying the pipe a little deeper as he did so. Impassively, he watched as her eyes closed and her body dissolved into dust. Then his wounds, Nicola's energy drain, and the stress of the night finally caught up with him, and he sank into unconsciousness.
Tommy looked at the picture before him. "Harley Beth," he whispered. There was something inside of him that he couldn't explain. He knew Harley Beth was dead, and he no longer felt her as intensely as he had Halloween night. He still had an aching void inside him though, that had been there ever since she had died. He knew that the aching void could only be filled by love, and for a reason he didn't quite understand, he suspected that the move to Angel Grove his family was about to take was going to be a key step in filling that void.
The move had been, in part, precipitated by the events of his Halloween adventure. Tommy had awakened in the hospital, to find his family standing around him worriedly. A policeman on patrol that evening had found the door of the steel mill standing open and found Tommy unconscious inside when he went to go investigate. Tommy had retained the presence of mind to tell the police that a gang had attacked him and Harley in the park, although he had been purposely fuzzy on descriptions. She had died, and he had run, hiding from his pursuers in the warehouse, where he had passed out.
The police had believed him, but his reception at school had not been so pleasant. Most people seemed to regard him as being at least slightly responsible for Harley's death, and he couldn't really blame them. However, he couldn't stand attending that school any longer, and so his parents, who had been planning to move to Angel Grove anyway, had moved up their timetable.
He often talked with Harley Beth, holding her golden heart locket in his closed fist. It had yet to grow warm for him again, however, leading him to believe that it never had expressed any supernatural qualities that had given him the strength to fight Nicola.
With a heavy sigh, Tommy cast his eyes up at the cold, star-filled sky above him. "I'll never forget you, Harley Beth," he promised. "Ever." He knew that he had to go on, he knew that he had to find somebody else, but he couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling that in the process, he would be cheating on Harley Beth.
Suddenly and without warning, intense heat began to radiate from his fist. His fingers flew open, and he looked at the golden locket. It was definitely putting off heat. He touched it with his other hand to make sure he wasn't imagining it. "Still warm," he whispered.
For reasons he would never be able to explain, he knew what it meant. "I'll never forget you, Harley Beth," he promised her, "but I'll find somebody else. I promise you I'll be happy." Magically, the golden heart once again lost its warmth, and the sudden drop in temperature almost made it feel cold. Smiling, Tommy tucked the locket into his shirt pocket. He would find someone else. He would be happy again. Harley Beth wouldn't have wanted him to be alone forever.
The golden heart never spoke to him again.