She sat comfortably  three quarters of the way to the top of the climbing rock.  She was wearing leather pants that laced up the outside of the legs, showing a lot of skin and allowing the normally hot leather to feel cooler.  Her leather vest had the same lace construction and almost modestly covered her breasts.  She looked good if out of place on a rocky perch one hundred and fifty feet from the path below.  No one was allowed to climb at night, but at this hour, no one was awake to be telling her she couldn't be there.  Besides, she hadn't really climbed to that point.  She just liked the view and on a balmy night, like tonight, it was just too damn nice to stay ground bound.

As nice as the view was, as bright as the moon was, as sweet as the breeze was, she was worried.  Sometimes you had to worry when things were going too good, because if you didn't, things would go wrong and you'd not be prepared.  Things always go wrong, so you might as well be prepared.  She still hadn't found a job.  Of course, if she'd actually been looking harder . . . Ok, if she'd actually been looking at all, who knows?  She still may not have found one.  Her bank account was surprisingly flush considering she'd not been "gainfully" employed for almost two months.  If fact, she had more money now than when she’d been let go from the project.

She'd gotten quite a reputation as the "guardian angel" of the working girl and an even better reputation among some of the luckier men.  Vicki needed a partner every now and then.  Now that paid really well and was fun too.  Three nights ago, Vicki had called an asked if she could double.  She'd been into the plum brandy and was feeling a little itchy and twitchy so she'd agreed.  When she got to the hotel room Vicki had called from, the guy was there fully dressed, seated on a chair near the bed and Vicki was on the bed naked.

For the first time in her life, Eliza saw Vicki blush.  Vicki waved her over and whispered at high speed into her ear, "Oh, Eliza, I'm so sorry.  I didn't know what he wanted.  I know you won't . . . . I know you can't . . . .  You just go . . ."

"Hush, Vicki!  Are you ok?"

"Of course I'm ok," she responded in a puzzled voice.

"Then what's wrong?"

"Oh!  He want's to watch.  I told him you wouldn't, but since you were already on your way here, he said it wouldn't hurt to ask!  But I told him you wouldn't."

"Vicki!  You are not making sense.  What does he want to watch?  What won't I do."  All of a sudden Eliza felt herself coloring and she straightened up.  "Oh!" she squeaked.  She bent back over.  "How much?" she whispered.  Vicki whispered back.  Eliza straightened up again.  "Oh my!" she exclaimed, eyes larger as she started undressing.

A sudden gust of wind made her tighten her grip on the outcropping of rock she was holding onto.  "Odd," she thought, looking into the night, "how, a little height and the wind seems so much stronger."  Thinking back to three nights ago, again, she knew that story would get around.  There didn't seem to be any secrets on the street.  For a large city, street life seemed to be a very small town.

She'd only been part of the street life for a little less than six months and she'd been accepted as if she'd been there all of her life.  Misfits, freaks, and weirdos come together and offer each other protection and solace.  A few have a very bad reputation and she'd been warned about them.  The straights wandered in, looking for something that life wasn't giving them, paid some money and then they went back home.  Sometimes wiser and happier, sometimes not, but never, ever with as much money as they had come with.  On the street, you do pay to play and there were many, many games to be had.

It had started to rain and the temperature had fallen at least ten degrees.  It was probably fifty-five degrees but Eliza had developed a real love for cold and wet weather.  She stood and spread her arms, allowing the rain and the cold wind to caress her.  Her leathers took on a sheen and hugged her body.  She'd allow them to dry on her so they would remain soft and supple.  The shower passed as quickly as it had come and she squatted on the narrow ledge, shivering slightly, but enjoying the sensation.

Just in time, as it happened.  Park patrol came around and a high intensity spot light was shone on the climbing spire.  Eliza froze, confident that her black leathers and total lack of movement would make her invisible even if the light was directed right on her.  She squinted just in case and then the beam bathed her body in a bright white glare.  She tightly closed her eyes, but even with her eyes closed, the light caused her pain.  She imagined she could feel the heat of it but that had to be her imagination.  The beam passed and she could breath again.

Slowly she opened her eyes and allowed the coolness and darkness of the night to ease the pain.  She was seeing spots and sparkles and realized that she was almost totally blind.  There was a brief moment of panic, but her vision cleared rapidly and she quickly dismissed the experience.  The moon would set soon and it would be very dark.  Her favorite time was the utter pitch darkness just before dawn.

She giggled as she realized one of the reasons she an Vicki were so compatible was that they shared the same sleeping habits.  Both of them would get up at dusk.  As night fell the would both be starting their daily routine.  By ten p.m., Vicki would be scouting the bars to determine which one had the most likely male selection.  Eliza would be scouting less frequented areas, looking for a snack.  Jesse had told her that frequent snacks would diminish her need for a full feeding and he'd been right.

The hunt had become a game and it was more than just food.  When you are suckling on someone's life, you are touching them in a very intimate way.  So intimate, that other intimate contact became almost a necessity.  After all, she was only "human."  She noticed, that if she was gentle and allowed herself to enjoy the experience, her donor seemed enjoy the experience too.  They could share a brief time of intimacy, and then due to the enthrallment, she could leave them none the wiser, but somehow, much happier.

She liked that.  That was good!  She had come to choose men or women to snack on equally, and she'd become equally sexual with both genders.  "Guess I'm really bisexual," she thought.  "Oh well.  That means I have twice the opportunity of a straight."  She giggled.  A few months ago, she'd have been horrified at the thought of touching another woman, but now, even remembering, she found her heart beating faster.

And then she thought of Jesse.  Now there was something to make her heart beat faster!  She realized how dark it had become.  Dawn would be breaking soon.  She stood and looked down, one hundred and fifty feet below.  She stepped off the ledged into nothingness.

As Jesse had shown her, she lifted her arms, cleared her mind and thought light thoughts.  A few seconds later, she felt her feet gently touch the ground.  She giggled.  That was fun.

The other thing about Vicki is that come dawn, she’d be preparing to go to sleep.  Thinking of Vicki, made her realize that she was going towards Vicki's apartment rather than her own.  She'd put down food for Toby before she'd left last night.  Since she was headed toward Vicki's she might as well drop in.  She jauntily set her course out of the park and towards Vicki's.

She never noticed the shadow dark form that slightly separated from the shadows nor felt the yellow eyes that watched her with intense curiosity.  Eliza was sensitive to malice but curiosity was the primary emotion here.  The gentle sniff delivered information and the shadow seemed to merge with the surrounding shadows, vanishing as if it had never been.

The faint glow of the sky alerted Eliza to the fact that she needed to move faster.  Her time of free movement was coming to an end.  Eliza accelerated her pace. She hesitated for a moment outside of Vicki's apartment to wait for a leaving man to clear the area.  Not that she was shy or worried.  She just didn't feel like interacting with a stranger.  She was in a weird mood.  She felt good, but she knew that she was bordering on depression.  As good as she felt, her thoughts seemed to have dark edges, and if she wasn't careful, she knew she could burst into tears.

Gently tapping on Vicki's door brought an almost immediate response.  The door opened almost instantly.  She heard no chain being removed, no bolts opening, no locks turning.  Vicki opened the door and met Eliza with tears running down her cheeks.  Seeing Eliza, she grabbed her and hugged her tightly, softly sobbing.  "He hurt me," she said.  "He hurt me.  I'll never do that again."

"Oh, sweetheart, are you ok?  Are you injured?  Should I get you to a doctor?"  She held Vicki for a moment, hugging her and then she pushed her back to arm's length so she could see her and check for the extent of the damage.  "It was the man I saw leaving as I came in?"  Vicki nodded.  "You stay here," she snarled.  "I'll take care of that bastard!"

"No! No!" Vicki cried.  "No, that's not how it was.  You can't hurt him."

"Huh?" Eliza grunted.

"He was a trick and I agreed.  He paid.  He gave me a code word but he offered a lot of money."  She leaned against Eliza.  "I'll never do that again.  It hurts."

Eliza hustled her to the bath room and stripped her.  There were welts, bruises and long bloody scratches, oozing blood from her neck to her mid-thighs.  "Damn," Eliza hissed.  "You let him do this to you?"

Vicki jumped as Eliza touched a bruise.  "It was a lot of money," she whimpered.  "But never again."

Eliza nodded.  "If you do let anyone do that to you again, you'll have me to deal with the next day."

Vicki nodded.  "Ok.  But," she said smiling, "he paid me every penny.  Eliza, I can pay every bill I owe and even save some of it.  I'm out of debt for the first time in my life."

Eliza grimaced and said "But that’s not worth enough in my book for what he’s done to you.  Look at these bruises and scratches.  You’re going to have to cover them up, if you want to work tomorrow night.  Some of them are still bleeding.  Go take a shower, get cleaned up and we’ll talk when you’re done.  OK?"

As she waited for Vicki to finish showering, Eliza realized she couldn’t "heal" Vicki the way she’d done before.  This time she was aware of the damage done, although none of it was as bad as the last time.  It would have to heal on its own, the normal way.  She hated for her friend to hurt, though.

Making herself more comfortable, Eliza found herself slipping into a light doze.  Knowing that shortly she’d sink into that deep, almost dead to the world sleep.  As she drifted, she thought of some of the things Jesse had taught her.  Smiling, she thought how she enjoyed that light as air feeling of drifting down instead of jumping and shocking the whole body.  There was definitely something to that.

Also, she thought about the way he could enter her mind, sending thoughts without speaking.  They’d shared some jokes at others expense by doing that.  Like that guy that had come in with the purple hair and the fake fangs, acting like he was a vampire.  Hah! If he’d only known that there were two real live vampires sitting in the same room, he probably would have soiled himself.  Some of these people were so bored with their lives, they needed to get a new one.

So deeply, was she thinking about Jesse and the people from the leather bar, that she was startled at the sound of the loud thump.  Jumping to her feet, she ran toward the bathroom where she’d left Vicki.  There was Vicki lying sprawled out on the floor, partway between the bathroom and the hallway.

Bending over her quickly, Eliza saw that she was breathing normally.  Feeling slightly better, she gently picked Vicki up and headed for the bedroom.  Laying Vicki in her bed, she pulled the light blanket up to cover her.

Vicki’s eyes fluttered open after a minute or so and she looked at Eliza with a confused look.  "Wha......what happened?" she asked groggily.

"I think you passed out, Vicki, but I’m not sure," Eliza said quietly.  "You seemed to be a trifle pale and tired.  Sleep now and we’ll talk tomorrow."

Making sure Vicki was covered with the light blanket, she tucked it in around her and made her way back to the couch.  Settling down, she pulled the afghan up around her and dozed off.  Her last thoughts were of Vicki as she slid deeper into sleep.

Awakening to the smell of coffee brewing, Eliza sat up and looked toward the kitchen.  Lying back down, she listened to Vicki moving around the kitchen. Stretching, she called out, "you don’t have to try to be quiet, Vicki, I’m up.  Coffee smells great, I’m ready for it."

A deep voice called back, "It’s not Vicki, Eliza, it’s me, Jimmy.  I let myself in, Vicki is in the shower. She didn’t look to good and felt even worse."  These damn Johns, he should be horsewhipped.  Do to him what he did to her.  I don’t care if he paid her good or not, he hurt her and that’s not right," Jimmy growled.

Seems as if I’ve been away too long, Jimmy, I seem to have missed seeing the signs.  How long have you too had a thing going," she asked.

"What thing, we’re neighbors and have always looked after each other," he said with a flush.

"OK, right Jimmy, I’ll believe you, when many won’t," Eliza said with a smirk.

Jimmy looked at Eliza and said with complete seriousness, "I’m not joking this time, Eliza, I do care for her, as much as or more than you do.  I always will.  We’ve been through some tough times together, where she took care of me and the reverse holds true.  Things you’ve never thought of.  You know we are both street, but that doesn’t mean we can’t care about each other."

With a look akin to shame, Eliza placed a hand on Jimmy’s arm and told him she understood, that she had just been teasing him.  She was glad that Vicki had someone else to look after her as she seemed more vulnerable somehow.  "Although not as much lately," she said with a little laugh.

"Just what do you mean by that, Lizzy," she heard Vicki ask in a joking tone.  "Vulnerable? Me?  Who you kidding," she asked.

Eliza went to wash up, calling back over her shoulder, "Hey you two, did you notice that the serial killings of us working people seem to have stopped?  I wonder why?"

Looking at Vicki as she went into the bathroom, it was all they both could do not to laugh out loud.

"Now what was that look for Vicki," Jimmy questioned.

"Remind me to tell you the story sometime, Jimmy," Vicki answered.

"Alright, I will, how about now," he said.

Just then there was a knock on the door.  Looking through the peephole, Vicki identified one of the detectives that had been here after the incidents of the break-in and the blood smearing on the door.

"Hello Miss, I just wanted to let you know that after having finished our investigation into your break-in, we know positively that the perp, was the guy we found dead in his apartment.  I know you’ve read about it in the papers, because we couldn’t keep it hushed up.  He was found under such weird circumstances, that of course, the news got hold of it," the detective told them.  Jimmy commented that he had read the reports, but that the actual facts were pretty sparse.

"Well, I wanted to tell you that the man that tried to make you another of his victims, is dead and can’t hurt you.  Seems someone killed the killer," he said.

Eliza emerged from the bathroom just in time to hear that comment.  Looking from Jimmy, to Vicki, to the Detective, she asked what had happened.

The Detective told her again what he’d said to Jimmy and Vicki, not noticing the look that passed between them.

"It’s an ongoing investigation, but I can say he won’t bother you anymore," he finished as he walked to the door.  "I can let myself out, ladies and gent," as he did just that.

Jimmy looked hard at first Vicki and then Eliza.  "Alright ladies, I saw the look.  Now spill the beans."

They looked innocently at each other, smiling and turned to smile at Jimmy.  In unison, they replied, "Spill what beans, Jimmy, we have no idea what you mean."

Looking angrier than either girl had seen him, he stalked to the door and locked it.  "Fine then, you can stay here until you decide to tell me what you are smirking about.  I know that look.  It usually means you two have planned, are planning or have done something.  Now tell me and be quick."