Inspired by The Starlight Mints', "Eyes of the Night".

***///***///***

A loud shriek echoes outside, and the man beside him jerks like a marionette in response. The man's face grows paler, eyes wider – something that should be physically impossible for the man by this point. There you are though.

"Keep the fire going," He tells the man softly, keeping his eyes focused on the dark perimeter and the stream of water bordering it, searching for any movement, "And I'll keep the water running."

The man nods slowly, some of his old confidence returning for the fleetest of moments before the loud roar of a motorcycle rips through the air, followed by a gleeful shriek.

"I don't think I can take much more of this, Buffy," The man mutters, adding more paper to the base of the fire. "When is this going to be over?"

He should lie in this moment – but the man never spared him the truth out of concern for his feelings, and he's going to return the favor.

"When they turn out the lights," He says grimly.

He notices that the stream has slowed and he turns the faucet more, even though he knows it's pointless. Perry has frozen in spot, still holding a piece of kindling to the flame that grows ever closer to his hand, his eyes locked with the unholy bright eyes standing out in the dark perimeter.

He looks up as the sole bare bulb above them starts to flicker and dim.

JD curses himself softly.