Carmyne Rodriguez stood on the stage of the nightclub "Faded". She looked out over the eager crowd, she could hear a few of the younger men whistling at her, but she paid no attention to that.

The jazz band behind her began to play as she stepped up to the microphone. It was quite crowded tonight. Most of the guest had come to see her perform, not the young group of teens who called themselves a rock band.

She would be singing the song that she had been writing for the past few weeks. Keeping the rhythmn in her softly tapping foot, she began her song.

"When I stare into your brown eyes..."

Her voice was mature for her age, and the high alto could be clearly heard, even at the back of the club.

"I realize... That I only need you in my life..."

She could already here the less mature boys screaming out rather uncalled for statements, such as why she stood so still on the stage. The melody of the piano was soothing, almost immediatly quieting the crowd as she carefully pulled the mic from the cradle at the top of its stand.

She walked toward one edge of the stage. "I can tell by the way you look back at me..."

She kept her footsteps light and gave her hair a flick to push it out of her sea-green eyes. Her long dress flowed gracefully behind her.

"That every word you say is nothing more than a lie..."

She turned quickly and walked to the other end of the stage as the band that played for her grew louder as they increased the tempo somewhat. She shot a quick glance over at them, the bassist the only one looking at her. When he noticed that she was glancing in his direction, he nodded reassuringly to her. She turned her attention back to the crowd.

"Make up your mind... Do you want me gone? Where did I go wrong?"

She stepped to the edge of the stage, where the more mature listeners simply looked up at her, nodding with the beat. One man smiled. Not a greedy smile that said he wanted her. Not a mishevious smile that only hinted at what nasty thoughts were going through his mind. It was genuine smile that showed that he was truly enjoying her singing. She smiled back at him, glad that one person appreciated her for her vocal talents.

"Do you want me to stay? Don't look at me that way..."

Carmyne Rodriguez was an attractive 21 year old. She only sang at these clubs to earn enough to pay the rent on her small apartment in the suburbs. She earned enough to supply herself with food and clothing. She was satisfied with the way she was living.

"Make up your mind. Am I worth your time?"

Many record labels offered her deals to put her voice on CDs and she was even offered a few movie roles in the past few years, but she declined them all. A life of fame and fortune wasn't what she wanted.

She wanted to use her talents in architecture and drawing to earn her a scholarship into a good school. She didn't want to sing and dance at nightclubs for the rest of her life. She wanted a good education, which is why she turned down many once-in-a-lifetime offers.

"I can't take much more of the same... Loving you even though you don't know my name..."

Because she never performed without her gold necklaces with rose quartz dangling from each of them, her growing audience have nicknamed her "The Rose Quartz Songstress".

Her thoughts were beginning to wander, but she still continued to sing, holding the high notes on perfect pitch, getting a round of applause from the audience. As her eyes quickly searched over her listeners, she caught sight of an interesting person...

"Let go of me! Get your hands off me you asshole!" The drunken young man squirmed in the bouncer's hands. "Let go! I'll kill you you faggot!"

"That'll be the day." The bouncer gave the boy a kick and he tumbled into the gutter, much to the amusement of the queue of people waiting to get in. "You're barred," said the bouncer. "Now get gone."

"FUCK you!" The drunk scrambled to his feet. "Fuck you all! I didn't want to watch that bitch anyway,"

The bouncer took a step forward and the drunk ran off down the alleyway, screaming "Come on then! Come on, faggot!"

The bouncer shook his head and turned back to the queue. "Asshole."

In the alleyway, the drunk fell against the wall and into a pile of empty fish crates. "Didn't want to see that... bitch... anyway..." he muttered.

"Lovely evening." A deep voice rumbled from a doorway across the alley.

The drunk climbed back onto his feet again and stumbled forward angrily. "Well who the fuck are you?"

Vitus stepped out of the shadows and grinned, his white teeth sparkling through the thick red beard. "A reveler like your good self. Out for a few laughs, a few good times a few... drinks..."

"Well you can..."

Before the drunk could finish his sentence a blade had torn open his throat and a bearded mouth was sucking was draining his blood and his life out of his body.
When his thirst was quenched, Vitus let the dead man fall to the alley floor. "My goodness," he said. "An interesting blood. Nearly 40% proof. I feel quite dizzy," he laughed and walked slowly towards the end of the alley. "I hear... music."

Outside the club, the bouncer let in the last few members of the queue as Carmyne's song drew to a close. He turned to find a tall, broad, bearded man in various militia wears standing in front of him, grinning. Blood dripped from his chin.

"Oh no," said the bouncer. "No way you're coming in. Not dressed like..." He opened Vitus' coat and saw the wealth of ammunition in his belt. "Jesus!"

Vitus shook his head. "Ha-HA! Idiot. Jesus never dressed like this." He headbutted the bouncer unconscious and entered the club, humming along with the chaneusse.

"Even though you don't know my name..."

Carmyne's song came to an end, the band holding the last note as the crowd broke into applause. Carmyne smiled, a blush creeping across her face. The reddish tone seeping onto her copper face contradicted with the blue eyes that rivaled that of the ocean.

Her brown hair hung on either side of her face. It wasn't in any fancy curls or sophisticated braids today. It just hung over her shoulders with slight curls dancing on the ends. The sheen and depth of the brown almost perfectly matched her tan skin.

The Latin woman bowed slightly as the crowd continued to applause. It was her last song for tonight. The group of teenagers who call themselves a rock band were up next. Carmyne checked her watch as she walked off stage. It was nearly ten.

"Damn..." she hissed. "I missed my show... I need one of those VCRs you can program to record at certain times." She was slightly upset, having to wait for three more days until she found out what happened in her favorite sitcom/drama.

The musicians who played for her all waved goodbye to her as she passed. She simply nodded in return, in a hurry to get back home. Walking down a narrow hallway, she opened the door to her dressing room. The large vanity mirror took up one whole wall, the lights on either side of it were dim and filled the room with a soft orange glow.

She walked up to the mirror, gazing into her reflections tired eyes and flushed face. She cleared her throat and reached for her water bottle. Her coat hung on the back of the nearby chair, which she snatched up as she made her way back out the room. Having left her purse at home, she didn't have to worry about much.

Hastily putting on the jacket, giving her hair a flick while taking a sip from her water bottle, she made her way out the back exit. She could hear the rock band start their first song as she opened the door that opened out to a well-lit alley between the club and a seafood restaurant next door.

The owner of the restaurant was out in the alley, tossing a bag of garbage out while feeding leftover catfish to the stray kittens that occupied the alley. He looked up when he heard the door open and he smiled when he saw her. His narrow eyes closed as he pressed his hands together and bowed slightly. "Have a nice night." he spoke, his Chinese accent rather thick.

Carmyne smiled. "You, too."

The man straightened himself out, walking back inside. Carmyne pulled her jacket closer to her as she made her way to the street.

Vitus left through the main entrance, his head a little clearer, sobered by the blare of the rock band. The bouncer was being loaded into an ambulance. Vitus clicked his tongue sadly and turned into the alleyway.

He could smell the woman. He could smell her perfume in the street. Curious. At his feet, a cat toyed with a piece of catfish. He bent down to it.

"Where did she go?" he inquired.

"How should I know?" The cat shrugged and darted off behind a dustbin.

Vitus straightened. "Damnable felines."

He went back into the street. A vendor was selling roses from a cart at $5 each. "Excuse me," said Vitus. "Have you seen a woman come past, latin features, attractive. Almost too attractive for a place like this, you might say?"

The vendor nodded and pointed down the street. "That way. Buy a rose?"

Vitus smiled. "Thankyou, I'll take a dozen."

The vendor wrapped a ribbon around twelve and held them out. "Sixty dollars, please."

"Eternally grateful." Vitus took the roses and placed a lit stick of dynamite in the man's palm.

The vendor squeeled and dove into the road.

Vitus started briskly down the street after Carmyne, singing loudly to himself.

"Libiamo ne' lieti calici,
che la bellezza infiora;
e la fuggevol ora
s'inebriì a voluttà.
Libiam ne' dolci fremiti
che suscita l'amore,
poichè quell'occhio al core
onnipotente va.
Libiamo, amore, amor fra i calici
più caldi baci avrà."

Behind him, the vendor's cart erupted in a ball of flame.

Carmyne walked briskly down the street. All of a sudden, the dark sky lit up and she could feel the heat on the back of her neck. "What in the world?" she almost screamed, looking over her shoulder to see something on fire a quarter of a mile away. "What in the world?" she asked again, looking around as the people on the street began to panic, some screaming about a terrorist attack.

She quickened her pace, not really wanting to get involved with any legal incidents if the police and firemen arrived. She tightened her grip on the bag she had over her shoulders before stopping at the end of the block, waiting for the light to change.

Many people were coming out of the stores trying to figure out what happened. Even some of the drivers were hanging out the windows trying to ask people what was going on. Carmyne tried to keep her cool, she knew panicking wouldn't help. Besides, she could already hear the wail of sirens far in the distance.

She glanced at her watch. "Just a minute past ten." she whispered. "If I don't get home in thirty minutes, I'm going to miss my other show."

The light changed and she walked across the street, her high heels scraping against the pavement for a second. Her blue eyes shifted from side to side. She had a feeling that someone was either watching or following her, but there were too many people on the street to think such things.

She just wiped a tuft of hair out of her face and continued on.

As Carmyne brushed the hair from her face, a stray strand came out and was caught by the wind, twisting behind her through the crowd.

And as the many men and women moved quickly in and out of each other's paths, a hand went out, and caught the single hair as it breezed past.

Vitus held it to his nostrils and sniffed. "Interesting," he smiled. She was a good fifty yards away, but never made it out of his sight...

Carmyne glanced up at the street signs. "23rd Street". She said outloud.

"I have to get all the way to 13th." She looked down at her watch. "In twenty-five minutes." She had to smile at her own haste, not even knowing why she was in such a hurry. They were only showing re-runs, but she loved the show too much to pass it up. Besides, it was one of the first episodes and she had long forgotten what happened in it.

She looked over her shoulder as fire trucks and police cars whizzed by, traffic tried to push itself on either side of the street so the emergency vehicles could pass. Part of the sky was lit up with the bright orange color of fire. Carmyne found herself stopping, curiosity taking over.

She turned around completely, facing the slightly orange sky. "Should I?" she asked herself, glancing in the direction of her home before looking back in the direction of the sirens.

"Nah." she said after a long moment of waiting, but she didn't get too far before she found herself turning around again.

So Vitus huddled closely to the lampost as his prey turned and made her way slowly back in his direction. Of course, there was no way that a man as tall and broad as himself could hope to be concealed by a lampost, but there he remained.

And when the woman walked past she paid him not even the slightest glance.

Till he wrapped his hand around her elbow.

"Dear lady...."

Carmyne was only three blocks away from the burning building. The policeman had blocked traffic on both the sidewalk and the road, preventing people from getting too close to the blaze.

She was about to join the small crowd of people standing on one side of the "Police Line -- Do Not Cross" tape stretched across the street when she felt someone grab her arm.

She was startled, letting out a short shriek.

"Dear lady..." came a voice.

She looked up, her voice getting caught in her throat. After a moment, she managed to speak. "May I help you, sir?" she asked.

"I wonder..." Vitus growled. His grip tightened on her arm. He held out the roses. "Flowers," he said, "For one of the most beautiful singers and I have seen many. It's Carmyne, isn't it?"

Carmyne's eyebrow arched upward slightly. She was flattered, but still...

"Thank you... They're beautiful... Yes. It's Carmyne." she said, her fear and nervousness was apparent in her voice and the way her sea-green eyes darted around.

There were too many policemen nearby for this strange man to try anything. She relaxed before returning her gaze back to the man, with a confident smile on her face.

This could go in many different directions, thought Vitus. Play it safe. Be a gentleman.

"I wonder if you would indulge me," Vitus' voice was a low purr, like that of a tired lion. "My name is Vitus. My friends call me Ginger. I am new to this town and I thought that a woman like yourself -so obviously exotic, almost other-worldly in her beauty - could appreciate that. Might you know of a pleasant spot in town to get a quiet..." His eyes flashed, hungrily, "Drink?"

Carmyne studied the other man for a moment, staring straight into his eyes. Her own eyes wandering long enough to glance over his rough and somewhat hairy face.

She glanced over her shoulder as firemen finally began combating the flames after they had confirmed that no one was trapped inside. Policemen were beginning to usher everyone away from the area.

Carmyne turned back to Vitus, not really knowing what emotion she wanted to feel.

"There is a coffee shop two blocks down." she stated.

Vitus raised an eyebrow and smiled broadly. "Coffee. Yes. That'd do." He loosened his grip on her arm and tipped his cap.

"If you would be kind enough to escort me?"

Carmyne nodded somewhat stiffly as she began leading him in the direction of her home. The sky was cloudy and hazy with smoke and part of it was still dusted with the red of fire.

Carmyne could already see the small building almost literally squeezed between two larger shops. She turned to look at Vitus. "That explosion was rather strange... I bet it was an overheated furnace..." Carmyne thought about it for a second. "Actually, that was way too big to be an overheated furnace... It must have been something else." she almost whispered.

Vitus turned his head slightly from Carmyne as they walked and wiped a touch of dried blood away from around his lips.

"Certainly it was something else," he boomed, "Explosions like that don't just happen. They;e made. This is a dangerous city, that much is clear. I shouldn't be at all surprised if some viscious lunatic hadn't thrown a grenade or set a charge of dynamite for no reason other than to cause chaos." He clicked his tongue, sadly. "What times we are living in. What an age of wanton destruction. To be frank, I must envy your courage. A slight, young woman, brave enough to walk the darkened streets of a place like this. Even I shudder when I think about what may be lurking around the corner and I am no small man." He laughed and protectively placed a hand on the young woman's shoulder.

Carmyne, even though she was with nothing more than a stranger, felt oddly comforted by the man's words.

She sang at clubs to earn money, since the rent for her apartment wasn't as cheap as it should've been. She was planning on getting a more stable job, like at a bookstore or restaurant. Although she loved singing, it wasn't what she wanted to do.

Despite her looks, she was a very intelligent woman and was trying to save up enough money to get into a good school. She sighed and ran a finger through her soft brown hair.