Stalking the Gum Pond Killer
This article is a part of Spooktober 2023 and is still a work in progress. Written for the Stalk prompt."You're sure about this?" Arthur asked, not looking up from methodically reloading his revolver. From the backseat of the car, Darien nodded and scooted forward on the seat, not taking his eyes from the bulky form of the man that they were stalking. "Positive," he replied, a touch of a growl in his voice. "He smells like blood and death." "Wouldn't a butcher or a farmer who kills livestock smell the same way?" Willie asked from the passenger seat. The young Bigby Fork officer had his issued revolver in his hand, which was trembling minutely. "No," Darien replied, "there's a difference between the smell of indifferent slaughter and deriving pleasure from it." Penny looked at him with concern and asked, "Have you run into people like that?" He didn't look at her and instead just continued staring out the windshield. When Arthur whistled softly, Darien scowled and murmured, "More than a few in my life, Pen. More than a few." Willie turned to look at him and asked, "How long have you been alive?!" "Too long." Darien then nodded out the window and pointed out, "He's going around that corner. Are we going to follow him?" "Quietly," Arthur confirmed as he moved to get out of the car. "Joyner, you're with me. O'Connell, stick with Goodwyn." As the two officers of the law moved away, Penny looked up at the man and tilted her head. "Are we really going to stay back?" she asked. He frowned, glancing sideways at her, and then sighed. "No," he admitted. Holding out a hand, Darien continued, "Come on, Pen. We're going to go a different way and try to make sure this bastard doesn't get away." It said something that she didn't hesitate to take the hand of the vampire who had stumbled into her life.
Timeframe: 1954
Location: Bigby Fork, Mississippi
Event: FBI Agent Arthur North, Officer Willie Joyner, police secretary Penny Goodwyn, and Darien O'Connell stalk the man that they suspect is the Gum Pond Killer who's been haunting Bigby Fork.
Consquences: Arthur North and Willie Joyner get credit for the capture of the Gum Pond Killer. Darien O'Connell puts himself in danger to protect the mortals while taking down the Killer.
The third child of the vampire Ebio, he lost his memory of who he had been when he was turned in the 1660s and became little more than a killer driven by intense bloodlust. By the 1780s, he regained his memory and has since struggled to control the aftermath of his years of bloodthirsty killing and figure out a place to belong.
There are two sides to Penny Goodwyn's life and both revolve around Darien O'Connell: before she knew him and after. Before, she was just a young woman from a small Mississippi town working as a secretary. After, she knew about things that didn't seem possible and loved deeply for the first time in her life. In the end, however, the love wasn't enough. Though she married John Pittman and had a son David with him, she has continued to maintain her friendship with Darien O'Connell throughout the long years.
Originally a Chicago native, Arthur requested a transfer to the Memphis, TN, FBI office after the death of his wife. There he met and learned what Darien O'Connell was, eventually bringing the vampire in as a consultant. In 1954, they traveled to Bigby Fork when FBI help was requested and moved to the Jackson, MS, FBI office ten years later.
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