Hey everybody- I'm back! You probably didn't even notice though, right? Right. Well, anyway, this is my new story, which I hope you all will enjoy. Somewhat...:)

Disclaimer: I own nada

The door opened suddenly, sending bright light out into the dark, empty parking lot. A young man's profile framed the doorway, but something wasn't right. He was staggering, stumbling. He dragged his feet out of the door frame and toppled, weak-kneed, onto the soft, green grass below him.

He lay there for a few seconds, gasping for air, before managing to pull himself up slightly, painfully. He could hear the people inside talking and laughing and having a great time, as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

But, he knew that something was very, very wrong. Feeling a terrible, gurgling sensation in the pit of his stomach, he managed to scramble toward a nearby bush in time and purge: one, two, three times in a row. He hunched his shoulders as he crouched on all fours, bringing his wrist up to wipe his chin clean.

Blood glistened from his wrist, and he coughed, spurting blood from his mouth and throat once again. He squeezed his eyes shut.

"God," he whispered to himself, a prayer to someone he hoped was listening. A stabbing pain shot through his gut again, and he hunched over, giving a small sob into his chest. The sweat still spilled down his face, and a small drop dripped off his nose. He was shaking.

"Please..." he hissed through his teeth. He gripped the grass below him with both hands and pulled hard enough to rip clumps of dirt right out of the ground. He gulped.

"...Please, kill me now."

"Hit me." Pam said confidently to the dealer.

The people watching her: Roy, Kelly, Dwight, and Jim included, all cringed collectively. Casino night was happening right now, and the warehouse was packed. Friends, neighbors, and office workers all chatted happily as they gambled and balanced fancy-looking drinks in their hands. Pam was sitting at a table and had accepted a challenge to play against Kevin. A challenge, she now realized, was stupid to take up.

Pam noticed all their disappointed looks, and deflated slightly.

"What?" she asked them innocently. She looked at Jim in particular, but it was her fiance who answered.

"Babe, you already have an 18! Are you crazy?" Roy covered his eyes with his hand and turned away, as if he were ashamed of her. Pam's face sort of crumpled as she stared at Roy's back. She turned slowly back to her cards. Kevin was chuckling to himself

The dealer at least was a little more sympathetic. "Ma'am, it does seem rather unwise to raise. Are you sure you would like to continue?"

Pam's confident look was long gone now, and replaced with a look of embarrassment. She tapped her manicured nails on the felted table as the awkward seconds ticked on.

"I-"

"Yes, she's sure."

Pam looked to her right, and noticed Jim suddenly sitting right beside her. He had a raptly serious look on his face as he looked at the dealer, but when his eyes drifted over to Pam's, he offered her a small wink.

Pam smiled gratefully at her best friend before turning back to her cards, confident once again. She shrugged, "What the hell, right? It's for charity."

The dealer offered her a small smile before finally flipping over the card: Eight of clubs.

The others, already knowing the fate of the hand, already began to disperse, mumbling amongst themselves. Jim just gave Pam a comically disappointed look.

"Damn. I had such a good feeling about this one..." he shook his head morosely.

Pam giggled, giving Jim a genuine smile, as if to say thanks.

Jim's lips turned halfway up into one of his famous one-sided smirks, knowing what she meant."No problem, Beesly. Just promise me you'll actually learn poker a little better before you play again, okay?"

Pam laughed, and was about to answer back, before a large hand suddenly cupped her shoulder and ended the moment.

"Yeah, don't worry 'bout that Halpert." Roy's voice seemed to boom loudly over their whispers. Pam instinctively winced, and Jim looked at her. "Once I'm done teaching her, Pammy will be kickin' all of our asses in Texas Hold 'em. Won't you, sweetheart?" Roy brought his other hand to Pam's other shoulder and squeezed affectionately.

Roy suddenly leaned down next to her ear, (to Pam's, and mostly Jim's, astonishment) and whispered, "How 'bout you and me can start practicing when we get home tonight, shall we?"

Pam whispered something back, and tried to wriggle out of his grip, while Jim stared at his hands uncomfortably. When Pam had protested enough, Roy finally walked away, grudgingly going to look for where Darryl and the guys had went.

Pam and Jim sat awkwardly at the table, silent. Pam finally spoke up:

"I'm sorry about him. It's the open bar, y'know..."

Jim couldn't help but grin half-heartedly. "No, yeah I get it. It's cool..."

Another short silence.

Jim cleared his throat. "So, do you want me to teach you some poker tips later? And I mean that in a totally non-sexual way..."

Pam snickered. "Really? Hard not to. Nothing's sexier than poker..."

"Yeah, I know. It's a total turn-on."

"Oh, absolutely. Like Kevin..."

"And Dwight." Jim smiled, and Pam cracked up.

"Yes Jim: and Dwight."

Jim grinned at her, and Pam felt that familiar twinge of affection low in her gut. Jim was always so sweet to her. When she was uncomfortable or sad or frustrated, Jim would always find some way to make her smile.

Thank God for Jim, Pam thought warmly as she stood up and motioned for him to come with her to the craps table, where some of there fellow office workers were cheering wildly. Jim happily followed her.

He heard the click-clack of heels quickly approaching him on the pavement, and the rustle of clothes as the woman, whoever she was, knelt down in front of him. He was hunched over on all fours, pain still coursing through his body. He felt a smooth hand rest on the small of his back, and he automatically tensed up.

She shouldn't be here.

He lifted his head to see a woman with thick, wavy hair and a look of worry on her face. "Hey," she whispered, her hand moving in soothing motions on his back. "Are you all right?"

She was very beautiful, and he may have known her from a past life. Looking at her was like looking at the face of a childhood friend he hadn't seen in many years. But that didn't matter, because she shouldn't be here in the first place. It was too dangerous. If she knew better, she would run.

He looked down again, and the girl remained where she was.

She remained, and his pain had suddenly turned into a rage; a burning rage he had never felt before in his life. It filled inside him, wanting desperately to escape. It focused all it's energies on the woman: only her...

The next second, his arm had snapped up and had seized her by the throat. She tried to scream, but all that emitted from her was a small sputter. Her eyes were wide with shock as she clawed at his hand and held as firmly as stone to her windpipe.

Red only pulsed in front of his eyes. It beat an agonizing rhythm as he slowly pulled himself up to stand, his hand never letting go of the girl. His body moved involuntarily, as if some sick, twisted puppeteer were controlling his limbs. His outstretched arm moved upward, above his head, until the woman's legs weren't touching the ground anymore. They flailed and kicked violently, trying to fight for her life.

"Help... me..." she gasped out quietly. It was all she could do.

He turned his head to look at her, and her wide, brown eyes stared into his with panic and fear. Her face grew redder and warmer as she violently fought for air.

He squeezed tighter.

The kicking and scratching and gasping got slower and less violent. After a few seconds, the woman finally went limp, her body succumbing to her inevitable suffocation.

Knowing the job was finished, he flung her away with a flick of his arm, yet another display of his newly obtained superhuman strength. Her body flew through the air like a grotesque rag doll, soaring under a streetlight and smashing right into it's pole. She then flopped uselessly down onto the cement, unmoving.

He stood in place for a second before turning and walking slowly over to her. He stood over her body, just staring at what he had done.

He knelt down beside her. The light from the streetlight lit his shadowy face, and his expression showed no remorse. It stared stonily at it's victim.

He turned her face-down body over so she was facing upward. Her brown eyes stared blankly toward the sky, glassy in the moonlight."Believe it or not..." he whispered to her, an unnatural soothing tone to his voice. He could finally, albeit vaguely, recognize the smooth and feminine face of Jan Levinson: the woman he had just murdered.

"...I just saved your life." Ryan Howard lifted his hand to her hair and pushed her bangs lightly away from her face. It was a beautiful face. Pity.

He got up and turned around, knowing that he had work to do. There were much, much worse fates that could have become of Miss Levinson than what he had just inflicted upon her.

She was the lucky one. And she would never know.

Kelly was wandering around the warehouse aimlessly, glancing around at the people with a small crease of worry etched in her brow. She eventually walked up to the craps table where most of her office coworkers were.

"Hey, has anyone seen Ryan?"

No one heard her at first, for they were all screaming happily that Meredith had rolled a four. Kelly wrung her hands together and glanced around the warehouse again, waiting for them to quiet down. She tried again.

"Hey, guys? Seriously, have any of you seen Ryan around?"

Several heads turned to glance over at Kelly. A giggling Pam was the only one who answered.

"No, I haven't. Why?" She pushed her curly, auburn hair away from her flushed face. Pam finally seemed to notice that Kelly's brown eyes weren't shining with laughter or gossip like usual, and her smile faded.

Kelly sighed worriedly. "He said that he was going out for air like an hour ago, but he never came back. I've looked everywhere for him, but it's like he disappeared into thin air."

Several of the office workers who were listening in on this conversation started giving each other uncomfortable looks. They all knew how Ryan really felt about his girlfriend, and how oblivious she really was on his attitude toward her.

"Um... Kelly?" Pam had unwittingly volunteered to give her the bad news. "Maybe he, uh... went home, or something...?"

Kelly, however, had an answer ready. She shook her head. "I don't think so, because we rode here together in my car. Look- these're my keys," She dug in her purse and extracted a clump of keys all connected to a bright pink rabbit's foot keychain. "How could he have gotten home? As far as I can tell, everyone is still here, so who could he have gotten a ride from?"

"He could've called a cab." Dwight suggested, but Kelly shook her head again.

"He didn't bring his wallet. Everything here is free- he didn't really see the need to bring any money."

Kelly looked desperately at her friends, who were glancing at each other. They were all clearly stumped about where the temp had gotten off to.

Kelly buried her face in her hands. "Oh God, I hope nothing horrible has happened to him! He was complaining that he was feeling really sick and that he didn't want to go tonight but I made him come anyway! Oh my God, I should have listened to him- this is all my fault..."

"Hey, hey..." Jim consoled, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure Ryan is fine. And I'm sure he's around here somewhere. I'll check the men's bathroom, okay?" Jim volunteered, and Kelly nodded gratefully. Pam and him exchanged a glance before he turned around and walked away.

Pam had just laid a comforting hand on Kelly's shoulder when Roy walked up to them.

"Hey gang- what's going on?" he asked them all cheerfully. He didn't notice Kelly's or Pam's somber expressions.

"We're looking for Ryan." Angela spoke up for everyone. "He's gone missing."

Roy's eyes glinted mischievously, and he smirked. "Well- maybe the temp just needed a little break from the old 'ball-and-chain', am I right?" Roy held up his hand, awaiting a high-five from one of the people from the group. They all just looked away uncomfortably. Kelly buried her face in Pam's shoulder, with Pam wrapping an arm around her while glaring at her fiancé.

Roy's arm lowered slightly. "What?"

CRASH!

A deafening smash sounded to their right, a sound loud enough to rattle the bones in their bodies. Everyone jumped, and automatically whipped their heads around to see what had made such a racket.

What they saw was a shocking sight. The fluorescent light that hung above the warehouse door that led to the shipment deck had fallen, smashing into thousands of pieces at the foot of a man standing before it all. The absence of light in that particular area only allowed those in the warehouse to see his darkened profile; the details of his face obscured by the shadows.

For several moments, there was dead silence; a mere staring contest between the entire room, and whoever had just smashed the light.

Pam's arm automatically slipped off of Kelly and hooked through Roy's arm for safety. She leaned into him and whispered shakily, "What's going on?"

Roy merely stared at the mysterious man, his face a pale, sickly yellow.

Whispers were thrown here and there; a nervous breath sweeping over the crowd. They all seemed to have the same thoughts: What's going on? Who is that? Should we do something?

Pam held on to Roy's arm even tighter.

Nothing could have prepared them for what happened next though. There was a loud, unearthly shriek, and the figure had moved forward, going so fast that Pam couldn't even make out who it was. He grabbed one of the metal bars that had held up the industrial-sized light and chucked it with tremendous force toward Pam and the group of people surrounding her.

Pam felt Roy's strong arm pull her down to the ground, barely avoiding being horribly injured. The thing shrieked angrily at the crowd, throwing anything it could reach. Everyone screamed, dashing toward safety.

Pam's mind was in a blur. What the hell had happened? Who was that mysterious figure who crashed their party? Why in God's name was she on the ground?

And, shit- did she just avoid death by about half a second?

Pam finally seemed to register the sounds around her. There was screaming and scrambling for the doorways and exits; to get as far away from the monster as possible. Pam, in a whirl of confusion, heard Roy's shout for her to 'get up, dammit!', and felt people jostling her left and right.

Pam suddenly felt two hands grab her shoulders and pull her up, and Pam blinked, thinking it was Roy. But it when she looked up, she saw Kelly's panicked eyes looking at her.

"Pam, it's Ryan! Something's wrong with him! It's him, look!"

Pam still felt completely bewildered. "What?" she asked, her eyes moving crazily around the warehouse, her mind still spinning.

"IT"S RYAN!" Kelly cried, and Pam just noticed that there were tears running down the young woman's cheeks. Kelly suddenly whipped Pam around, and faced her toward the monster.

Pam's eyes, though wide before, seemed to pop right out of her head when she saw it.

Or rather him.

Ryan. The temp, Ryan Howard.

But it wasn't him, Pam realized. Something wasn't right. His face wasn't what it was supposed to be, and that scared Pam more than anything. His eyes weren't his normal shade of blue, but rather an evil, dark blood-red. The color seemed to bleed into the whites of his eyes, his corneas quadrupled in size. His hair was tangled and wild; the veins in his neck bulging out and Pam could almost see them pulse. His suit, shirt, and pants were ripped and torn, no doubt from his own overwhelming strength.

And worst of all, his shriek. He opened his mouth and out came a terrible, demonic sound, unlike anything Pam had ever heard. It gave her goosebumps, and sent chills throughout her body.

Seeing this savage seemed to snap Pam to her senses. She grabbed a hysterical Kelly by the wrist and shouted only one word to her:

"RUN!"

The two women whipped around and sprinted as fast as their shoes would allow them. They ran and ran, dodging around fallen boxes and debris. They heard Ryan thrashing around behind them- crashes and screams, but they didn't look back. They pressed on.

They turned a corner, and saw several people running toward a nearby door leading outside. Pam breathed a large sigh of relief when she recognized the hulking figure of her fiancé running with the group.

He was there. She was safe.

"Roy!" Pam called out to him, out of breath. He kept running.

"Roy!"

One of the men in front, a man Pam recognized as one of the workers for Vance Refrigeration, flung open the door, and was motioning for the group to hurry up. They were pushing over each other, trying to get out.

The crashes and the shrieks got closer.

Kelly was slowing down, but Pam grabbed her arm and pulled her forward, forcing her to move. They were a good fifty feet from the door, and Pam was desperate to make it before it closed.

"Hold on!"

They were about twenty feet away now, and Roy was the only one not out the door yet.

"Roy- wait!"

Roy flung himself through the doorway, reached in, and grabbed the handle...

"WAIT!"

Pam skidded to a stop in front of him, but he ignored her, slamming the door shut behind him, leaving his fiancé trapped in the warehouse with a monster and imminent death at hand.

Please feel free to tell me if you don't like it, because I'm not really used to writing the scary stuff. Reviews are excellent if you do like it, however:)