Highlander After Taste

_Headless Bodies Found In South Side Park _

_Monday, at approximately 3:00 p.m., two boys, out for a day of fishing were startled to find a headless body floating under the boat launch at Johnson's Pond. After making sure that the body was real, Daniel Trotter, aged 13, used his cell phone to call his parents, while his friend, Jeremy Stats, used his to call 911. Police and parents arrived to find the boys standing guard over the body of a young Caucasian woman. The head, which appeared to be removed from the body while the woman was still alive, was found in a bush several feet from the lake. Police are not giving out any more details of this apparent homicide at this time, but have confirmed it is the third such body to have been found in the city in the last six months._

The boy quietly unwrapped the candy bar and took a bite, letting the chocolate melt slowly on his tongue as he read the headline. The man inside the kiosk looked down, snatched the paper out of the boy's hand and, in a sandpaper voice, said. "Hey kid, that'll be 75 cents, and 2.25 if you want this paper to go with it."

The boy dug into his pocket and pulled out a dollar bill. He held it out for the man, pleading silently with his eyes. The man squinted at the boy in front of him. "That all you got?" The boy nodded slowly, and looked as if he were going to cry. "Right." the man said as gruffly as he could manage. "Take it. But you come back tomorrow with the rest of the money, you hear?"

The boy smiled his gratitude and taking his paper, walked quickly away from the stand and around the corner.

Once out of sight of the newspaper stand, Kenny sat down the back of a nearby bench with his feet on the seat. He watched the people rushing by in the morning rush to get to the office and savored the memory of his latest kill. He had first seen her at the park, watching the children play on the equipment, smiling, no doubt with envy, at the mothers and their babies. Kenny recognized the regret of lost parenthood in this one. He knew she would be ripe for the picking. Running toward the equipment, he stopped short in front of the woman, eyes widening in fear. "Don't hurt me." he whispered, backing up.

The woman, who had at first been startled by the source of the pain in her head, softened, visibly letting down her guard. "I won't hurt you.", she said gently. Then kneeling on the ground in front of the boy, she slowly put out her hand and brushed the hair out of his eyes. "You don't have to be afraid of me."

The quickening had been short and not very powerful. She had been young, but oh so sweet.

Kenny had been working this city for almost a year now. There were two other bodies buried in that park, that no one had found. Balling up his wrapper and tossing it aside, he jumped off the bench and walked off in the general direction of the Greyhound terminal. This town had been good to him, but it was time to move on.

Once inside the terminal, Kenny wrinkled his nose at the smell of too many tired and dirty people pressed together in a small place. Taking an orange tipped key out of his pocket, he went straight to his locker and pulled out the duffle bag he kept hidden in there. Slinging the bag over his shoulder he headed to the men's room. Finding an empty stall, he quickly changed into a clean pair of jeans, flannel button down shirt, and a bulky pull over sweater. He exchanged the running shoes he normally wore for hiking boots. Stepping out of the stall, he waited until the room was empty, then examined himself closely in the mirror. The clothes were designed to give the impression of a teenager on his way to a legitimate destination. The over all effect worked. He was pretty sure he could pass for 14, maybe even as old as 16. He had only been 11 when he died the first time, but that had been a time when boys became men early, and he had lived to an age were men stayed boys forever. Satisfied with his look, Kenny picked up the duffle and walked back into the terminal.

Almost immediately, his senses were filled with the warning of another immortal. Quickly scanning the crowded building, he found a girl, who looked maybe 16 herself, looking around quickly. As he found her, she saw him, and her eyes registered her surprise. "You?" she said, as she quickly closed the space between them. "I felt you?"

Kenny quickly took in the particulars of the young looking immortal before him. She was not much taller than himself, had brown unkept hair, and wore a t-shirt and torn and dirty jeans that were at least one size to big for her. She looked skinny and tired. Kenny decided that she probably was young, not much older than she appeared. He slumped down a little making himself seem even smaller. Then he acknowledged the girl who was now standing in front of him. "I thought I was the only one. I mean, I've never met another kid before." He sighed heavily, allowing the girl see him relax. "When I felt... I mean I thought you were him."

The girl looked around the terminal, obviously nervous. "Who?" she asked.

Kenny grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her to a corner. "There was a man following me, hunting me, you know? I'm sure he was after my head." Kenny let his eyes follow the people heading toward the next arrival. "I'm pretty sure I gave him the slip, though. I don't feel him anymore." He held out his hand, offering to shake hers. "My name is Kenny, by the way."

The girl took his hand and shook it warily. "Katie." Then she smiled sweetly. "I really didn't know there were any of us that were kids. How old were you when you... when it happened?"

"I was 14." he lied, believing that if they seemed close in age, Katie would feel more at ease. "It was an accident. My parents died." He looked down, seemingly choked up. "I don't like to talk about it much."

Katie nodded. "I was 16. This man..." She faltered, looking for just the right words. "Well, he didn't want to pay, so... so he didn't" Katie bit her lower lip and looked at Kenny.

Kenny nodded, sympathetically. "Some times a kid has to do things, just to survive." He smiled suddenly and said. "Hey, my bus doesn't get here until 10:15. You want to go get a hot dog or something?"

Katie looked uncertain. "I don't have much money."

"Tell you what. It's on me." Kenny said, enthusiastically. "I can't afford much, but I think I can spring for hot dogs and soda in the park."

It was getting dark by the time the two reached the park. Kenny walked slightly ahead of Katie. "I know this great spot by the lake. No one ever goes there, so its pretty secluded. We could talk, you know?" Katie nodded and followed as closely as she could in the growing gloom.

Reaching the lake, Kenny gestured for Katie to sit on a large round rock, facing the lake. Then he sat beside her. They sat there silently, watching the water lap against the pier. Suddenly, Kenny put his hand on his head as if in pain. "Someone's here." he whispered.

Katie stood and started looking in all directions. "I don't feel anything."

Kenny put his finger to lips, to warn her to be quiet, then, in a quiet voice, said, "I'll go check it out. You stay here." Then he ran into the woods. He waited for five minutes, during which time he took out his specially made Roman gladius. This was all just too easy. He knew that right now she was imagining that every leaf rustling and stick breaking was the imaginary hunter come to claim her head. She would be so glad to see him come back, that she would run to him and into his sword.

When he thought he had waited long enough for Katie to begin to panic, he came out of the copse of trees in which he had been hiding. Surprisingly, Katie was no where to be found. She had left. Perplexed, Kenny was about to leave and chalk the whole thing up to a missed opportunity when he sensed her near. Before he had a chance to react, she was on him, blade point just barely piercing his back.

"Surprise, you little freak" she whispered in his ear. "You are one arrogant little man, aren't you. You really believed I'd just trustingly follow you out here and let you take my head without even lifting a finger to defend myself." She chuckled quietly. "I've been watching you for a while you know.

Kenny quietly tried to adjust the grip on his sword in preparation to attack. In response the sword moved from his back to his neck. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Why not?" Kenny asked, letting his growing irritation show in his voice. "You're going to kill me anyway, right?"

Katie laughed at that. "You make is so easy, you know. You were so busy hunting for the easy mark, you became predictable. Not a challenge at all." The blade moved a little tighter against Kenny's neck, drawing a thin bleeding line. "I watched you take those last three heads. I was going to take your's after the second one, but this way I get their Quickenings as well as yours." Katie reached down, and grabbed Kenny by the hair, pulling his head back.. "You know, Kenny." she said through her grin. "This is going to be quite the treat."

"Just do it, you bitch.", Kenny snarled through clenched teeth. Katie's only reply was to draw back her saber, and using one, clean movement, she removed Kenny's head.

After the effects of the Quickening had died down, Katie opened the duffle Kenny had brought with him from the bus station. Inside she found some clothes, a couple of books, an old newspaper clipping about a beautiful raven haired thief and a chocolate candy bar. Sitting on the rock, she slowly ate the candy, savoring every bite. When she had finished, she balled up the wrapper and tossed it aside. She looked down at the small corpse laying near the water's edge.

She smiled and licked her lips. "Now that was sweet."


End file.

Highlander