"Well that was fun," Dodger said. 'Fun???' Corey thought to himself, holding a hand to his chest as he hacked up some blood onto the sidewalk. "Now I'm hungry," Dodger continued.
"You alright, Orphie?" Corey wheezed. While he may have been used to ... being thrown around and beaten to a pulp, his father had never used anything but his fists, at least until that last beating...
"I'm fine, are you? He didn't do anything to me, but, uh... how's your chest?" Orphan said.
"I ... I've had worse," he answered, giving a half truth. Not exactly a lie, one solid blow from a metal pipe was considerably better than his father's usual hour or so sessions. Then, wanting to distract himself from dwelling any further on his father, he turned to his... new family. "Uh... are, um, are you two all right?" he asked, reaching for his sire's hand. Once he got a hold of it, he squeezed it once, then kept it in his grip.
"Urgh, yeah, yeah, I'm ... I'm OK, I'm good," Cole said, groaning as he tried to get to his feet. "Dodge? Do you need to go feed again? Shit... we're all gonna need to feed sooner than normal this month," he made his way slowly over to Dodge's side and leaned on him for support.
"Who were those guys, Orphie? Why did they wanna hurt us?" Corey asked, trying (in vain) to hide the severity of his injury from his protector. He heard Dodger whine a little, and almost pointed it out, but decided at the last second it would be a bad idea.
"Yeah, well, we need a shower anyway, so... as long as we still have time to get to that warehouse, let's do it. I'm getting hungry myself. But, uh... maybe Corey shouldn't join us for this. Gotta make his first time... special," Cole said, smirking in Corey's direction. That didn't sound so good to Corey, so he kept his mouth shut.
"I'll... stay with him, at the warehouse once we get there," Orphan volunteered. "I don't gotta feed yet, and I didn't get hurt. He did," he jabbed a thumb back in Corey's direction.
"I say he comes. He's gonna need to get used to it. It's the life. Better start sooner than later," Dodger said. Corey wasn't sure what, if anything, to say to that, so he decided to address his sire, instead.
"How... I was trying to... and... what... how'd you know?" Corey asked softly, reaching a hand under his shirt and wincing at the sharp pain. Oh yeah, he'd have a wicked bruise for a few weeks.
"It could be the fact there was a lead pipe about ready to decapitate Dodger, and then... the next second, there was you, hacking up a lung on the ground," Cole said, rolling his eyes. "Lemme see."
"N..." he started, but Cole ignored him, lifting up his shirt and poking at the bruise. "You'll be fine, you'll bruise a little but I doubt you'll need to feed," he yanked Corey's shirt back down. Corey protectively hugged himself around his chest, not caring how pathetic he looked doing it.
"Like I said, I've had worse," he said softly with a sigh. "I know I'll be fine, I always am," he said, before realizing how that might sound. He looked up at Cole and offered a small smile. "Thanks, Cole. I... just... thanks," he said, unable to properly explain that he'd never had anyone to look out for him. He hoped the older vampire could glean his meaning. He hacked up a little more blood, but considerably less then the last time.
"Uh... anyway, the um, the warehouse, it's... um, that way," he said, pointing behind Dodger.
"Lead the way," Cole requested. He and Dodger were leaning on each other, and he felt like total shit, but he sucked it up and walked off in the indicated direction, his sire walking along with him. Orphan was very quiet along the way, but... one thing he'd found out very quickly, his sire was usually quiet, so he didn't think too much of it. He just squeezed the older teen's hand again, and occasionally bumped into Orphan softly, all in an effort to make sure Orphan knew Corey loved him. He heard some whispering behind them, letting him know that Cole and Dodger were following behind.
"We... this... this is mine," Corey said after a few minutes of walking, pointing at the blood spattered on the sidewalk. "We're close."
"I think you dropped something over here, Corey!" Dodger said, sniffing the air. Corey frowned, then giggled, the perfect retort coming to mind.
"You can have it," he said, before walking into the warehouse and immediately going to claim the bigger office for Orphie and himself.
"You, newblood. Out," Doger said, hands on his hips as he narrowed his eyes.
"Finders keepers...losers weepers!" he sang with a smile, trying to 'charm' his way into keeping the bigger room. Dodger walked into the room, sneering at Corey.
"Yeah I can promise you'll be weeping..." he said, before turning around. "Cole! Corey took our room!" he yelled, then turned back to Corey with his fangs bared. Corey backed up, again unsure if Dodger would seriously hurt him for something silly like a room. 'Dad did for much less.' he thought to himself.
"FINE!" he yelled petulantly. "You have it," as he backed up even further, out of reach for the moment, not to mention scared out of his mind.
"Let them have it, Dodge." Cole said. He quietly led Dodger from the room. Corey slumped against the wall, his heart still racing. Orphan came in a few seconds later, understandably concerned, but Corey just smiled and shrugged.
"Where are we sleeping? Sleeping bags or anything?" he asked softly, pleased to see his prized suitcase in Orphan's possession. He grabbed the cash and buried it into the pocket of one of his jeans, hiding it from view.
"Tonight? Uh... guess we'll have to tough it out. Maybe tomorrow we can head to the store, pick up something," he said quickly, before stepping closer to Corey, hugging him softly. "How're you feeling? You okay?" he whispered worriedly.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Orphie. Like I said, I've had worse, this... this is nothing." He yawned loudly, suddenly extremely tired. "Wow... must be bedtime, huh? I've never felt this tired before."
"That's the sleep, babe, that's why you need to make sure you're inside, away from any windows or anyplace the sun can get you," Orphan said, hurriedly stripping down to his boxers. He followed his sire's lead, then they spread out some clothes on the floor to sleep on. He laid down first, then backed into his protector's body.
"I love you," he whispered before the Sleep knocked him out.
Over the next month, Corey learned a little bit from Orphan, Cole and Dodger, his new family, about what it meant to be a vampire. Honestly, he didn't miss the sun nearly as much as they said he should. His human life was never... the sun didn't matter to him. He felt safe, secure, and loved in his new life, something he desperately needed. The horrors of his first day in Darkness were thankfully never repeated, he never again had to watch... that.
His relationship with Orphan progressed, too. In public, the older teen still shied away from most contact, but Corey made every effort to attach himself to his sire's side, with modest results. Hand holding and kisses on the cheek were now permitted, sometimes. As for him, he realized Orphan was a private person who'd been hurt by everyone, just like Corey. But instead of ... beatings and stuff, everyone just ignored Orphan (his parents), or left him (his sire, Orphan didn't even know who it was).
In private, however, Orphan never failed to tell and show Corey exactly how he felt about him. He blushed as he remembered Orphan's gentle nurturing as they both worked to eliminate Corey's virginity, and then Orphan's. That night had been the greatest of his life, it truly felt for the first time that he was a part of something special, something that would last forever.
However, the past two nights, things had changed. He'd felt a terrible tremble in his stomach three nights ago, but ignored it. When the same thing had happened again the next night, he told Orphan, who told Cole, which led to their first failed trip to... to... hunt. Even the word sent shivers up and down his spine. Hunt, as if the humans were just... animals to be slaughtered. For two nights, he'd gone out with his sire, without results.
When he woke up, he was alone, and he panicked for a second, thinking Cole, Dodger and Orphan had already abandoned him, thinking he was too dangerous. He tensed up suddenly and his eyes flew open, as another huge wave of pain wracked his body. He curled up into a ball and grabbed his hair as he screamed out for his sire.
"OPRHIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" he yelled reflexively, wincing as the pain racked his small frame. "ORPHIIIIE please..." he trailed off. "Help me..." he finished in a pathetic whisper. All of a sudden, he was aware of his sire gabbing him tightly in a hug. "M-m-m-make it stop, make it stop, Orphie, please!" he screamed, blindly clutching at his lover, his whole body still tense. He pressed his face into his sire's chest, feeling himself cry as Orphan rubbed his back gently.
"It's hunger pains, babe, it means ya gotta feed... tonight. There's no way around it," Orphan said, letting go of Corey and heading for Corey's suitcase.
"I-I... can't just kill someone, Orphan, I-it's... it's not right, it just, it's not."
"I know babe, I know it's hard." Orphan said. He tossed some clothes at Corey, who put them on slowly, taking a deep breath as he did. "That's why Dodger will be taking you out to hunt tonight. He... he really helped me, my first few times, and..."
"D-D-DODGER!" Corey sputtered. "DODGER? He hates me! He'll probably leave me in an alley to burn in the sun!"
"Good luck," Cole said from the doorway, looking at Dodger, who pointed a finger at Corey. He reluctantly got up from the bed and trudged over to Dodger's side, making sure to stand a good distance from the older vampire. "Go get 'em, guys."
"Yeah... get 'em," Corey said, rolling his eyes as he followed Dodger.
"So, what'll it be? Robber? Drug dealer? Rapist? What tickles your fancy, newblood?" Dodger asked, even before they'd left. He looked back at his sire with a pleading puppy dog look on his face, but Cole just glared at him, so he turned back around and walked outside with Dodger.
"Um... Dodger, I can't just... kill someone." He said.
"My first time I had a drug dealer." Dodger said, completely ignoring Corey's protests. "You know you actually get high drinking their blood? I tried to kill my father, but Cole was being an asshole about it. I dream about his blood, you know? I think you should go for a drug dealer though, it calms you down after the killing..."
"How can you be excited about k-k-killing someone?" he asked, slightly disgusted that Dodger was discussing it so freely, as if he were discussing his favorite food. Then he realized what Dodger had said; maybe they did have something in common... "Why do you want to kill your father?" he asked.
"These are people who on some level deserve it. They'd end up overdosing or getting shot or being killed in jail. We do them a favor," Dodger explained, but his expression went cold as Corey asked about his father. "My father deserves to die," was Dodger's reply, his eyes narrowing into a glare at the thought. "He was so worried about his precious image being tainted that he told the public I was at boarding school in Greenland or something dumb."
"So he ignored you and stuff?" he asked, lighting touching Dodger's arm. "I'm sorry... I wish I could make you feel better," he said softly. He didn't expect what he got next, though, as Dodger shoved Corey away from him.
"I WISHED he had ignored me," Dodger said sharply. Corey took another reflexive step backwards, spying Dodger's hands... err, fists. "Pick something to eat now,"
He gulped and looked around, but didn't see anything... anyone... he felt like killing. "Um... the... only time Dad and Colin didn't... beat me is when... we were going to visit my uncle and his family here. I guess... they didn't want to... make anyone suspicious," he sighed, then pressed ahead, unsure why, but knowing he needed, and wanted, to make a connection with Dodger. "I... I just can't do to someone else what Dad did to me, Dodger."
Dodger rolled his eyes, making a soft 'pft' sound. "Believe me, after awhile, it's fun. Just pick someone with no future. It'll get easier every month. Think of it as you being in a movie or a videogame." He shrugged his shoulders. "If you want we can even wait and watch the slag hunters cut up the body."
"No, I just... Dodger, I can't just..." he trailed off, his eyes widening in horror as he quickly jumped behind Dodger. "I... I think... I saw... Dad. My Dad, what... Dodger we gotta go, I hope he didn't see me!"
"What?" Dodger asked, looking through the crowd. "Corey, stop being a pussy, stop hiding!" he exclaimed, putting his hands on his hips and narrowing his eyes at the still cowering blonde. "Let's go say hi."
"N-n-n-noO!" he exclaimed, memories he'd tried to bury for the last month rising to the surface with startling clarity. The last beating... the feel of that lamp cord biting into his chest... the sickening wet thwack... "No, Dodger, please, you don't... you don't... know what he did to me, Dodger! Please, I don't wanna see him again, unless it's his fucking dead body!" he exclaimed, a momentary fury rushing through his veins, and he swore he actually saw red.
"So... let's make it a dead body," Dodger said softly with a grin. "Do you really think you'll ever move on if he's roaming this earth? He will always have a hold on you, Corey. It doesn't matter that you're a vampire now. You will always be your father's little bitch."
"I know," he whispered, closing his eyes against the pain and helplessness he felt. "How can I kill him, Dodger? He's twice my size. Believe me, I want to, so badly... he deserves to fucking suffer for what he did to me, but... every time I tried to... to stop him, he just... he just hurt me more, so I... I stopped trying," he said softly. "I even tried fighting back once... I got... I... I scratched his face. He broke my wrist for that."
"You were human then, now... now you're ten times faster than he is. You're not a weak little boy anymore, plus... you have me on your side, or whatever. Just get him into an alleyway and I'll cover for you."
Corey nodded and stood up straighter, not that his 4'10" height was going to intimidate anyone, anyway. Still, he tried to exude an air of confidence as he walked in front of Dodger and called out "HEY DAD!!" sauntering closer.
"What the..." his Dad muttered, turning around. "You filthy, worthless little faggot, where the FUCK have you been!?" he screamed across the crowd between them, drawing stares from all directions. "You think you can run out on me? And now I bet you think I'll just take you home with me, give you food and shelter? YOU UNGRATEFUL PRICK!!" he stormed furiously toward Corey, drawing back his fist as he went.
"In the alley, Corey," Dodger whispered, harshly shoving Corey into the alley. Then he heard, "There you go, douchebag. Enjoy," obviously aimed at his Dad. He backed up slightly, drawing his father deeper into the alley. If Dodger was right... he was going to enjoy himself a whole lot.
Still, he couldn't help but feel a momentary flash of panic as his Dad charged him with his fist cocked back. However, he easily managed to grab the fist in his hand, before his Dad could even bring it forward. "He was right," he whispered aloud, a childlike grin of wonder spreading across his face.
"I usually am right," Dodger said. "Better start listening to me now."
Corey ignored Dodger, instead choosing to easily twist his father's wrist and bend it back until he heard the satisfying crunching of bone being broken.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Corey's Dad screamed.
"What a fucking pansy," Corey snarled, letting go of the wrist and stepping back. "I never screamed over a broken bone,"
"What... the fuck is this?" Dad snarled, throwing his other fist at Corey, succeeding in a left cross across Corey's face.
"I wish you hadn't done that, Dad," he said softly, feeling an anger he had never before felt. He suddenly propelled forward, bull rushing the man and slamming his body into the hard brick wall of the alley.
"YOU FUCKING RUINED ME!" he yelled, rearing his head back, wincing in pain as his fangs lowered for the first time. "I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU BEG ME TO STOP LIKE I DID ALL THOSE NIGHTS!" he screamed, shooting his head forward and simply biting off each one of his father's fingers. "YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT I WENT THROUGH!"
"You have ten minutes, Corey. I had to miss sex with Cole to take you out hunting..." he heard Dodger whine in the background. And he had the nerve to complain about Corey whining... Dodger whined at least twice as much as he ever did. "Plus we have to get you showered. So five minutes of torture, five minutes to feed, got it toughstuff?"
"WHAT ARE YOU?!?!?!??!?!" Corey's Dad screamed, trying to crawl away from the nightmare he found himself in.
"Will you fucking choke him? Someone is going to hear him!" Dodger yelled.
"Sure, Dodger," Corey grinned maniacally around a mouthful of blood. He turned back to his Dad, shooting his hand forward and cutting off the man's air supply. "I wanted to hear you scream, Dad, I wanted to hear your suffering, but... I guess I can feel it instead." He drew his fist back and landed harsh punches to his father's jaw, eventually dislocating it. His Dad struggled uselessly against Corey's strength, fighting only to stay conscious. As a last ditch effort, he attempted to drive his knee into Corey's testicles, anything to get him a second of breath.
"Fuck!" Corey yelled, slumping down against his father's body as he tried to catch his own breath. His hand slipped off the man's throat, but when his Dad opened his mouth to yell, no sound came.
"You're welcome," Dodger said, leveling a stare at Corey. "Now hurry up and finish him, I wanna go back to Cole,"
"Thanks, Dodger," he said, jumping onto his father's back and twisting one of his Dad's arms back, pulling until he dislocated the man's shoulder, then he grabbed the arm at the wrist and bent it totally the wrong way, taking pleasure in the man's immense pain as he snapped his Dad's arm at the elbow.
"You asked what I am, right, Dad? Well... I'm a vampire," he whispered. "And you're my first kill." He finally sank his fangs into his father's neck, sucking out the sweet life-giving fluid, still savoring the panic, terror and pain his father was exuding. Finally, after what seemed like both a microsecond, and an eternity, his father stopped squirming beneath him.
He got up, feeling strangely empty now that it was all over. Despite his having filled up on blood, the empty feeling persisted. It wasn't enough, he realized, it would never be enough. No matter what he had done to his father, it wouldn't have mattered, he would never get those 7 years of his life back, he would always be scarred from the horrors he'd endured.
"I always thought about this, about killing him, and... it's not enough, killing him a hundred times wouldn't be enough for what he did to me," he said softly, unsure of what to do now that it was over. He looked at Dodger, who looked... pretty pleased, and proud of what Corey had done.
"But it's something," Dodger said, looking out of the alley, then tugging off his hoodie and throwing it at Corey. "Put that on and let's go back to the warehouse. I'm sure Orphan misses you," he said. Corey nodded and put the hoodie on, noticing it was comically big, reaching his knees. He pulled the hood over his head and followed Dodger out of the alley.
"You know it'll get bl-blood all over it, right?" he asked, lightly touching Dodger's arm. "Thanks for... you know, making me feel safe," he said softly.
"It's Cole's hoodie anyway," Dodger said with a smirk before nudging Corey's shoulder lightly. "It's what I'm good at. I'm pretty good at making people angry enough to do what I want," he added. The walk back to the warehouse was faster, and when Dodge saw Cole, he grinned, running up to his sire and cuddled in his arms. "I got Corey to feed," he exclaimed.
Cole grinned at Dodger, then flashed Corey a warm smile, even though his eyes narrowed when he looked at the hoodie Corey was wearing. "Good work, kid, you might just make a vampire yet," he said proudly.
"Yeah, it was pretty easy," he said, before wrinkling up his face and spitting out a piece of his father's finger. "Yuck, maybe I shouldn't have bitten off Dad's fingers."
Cole's expression suddenly changed from warm to dark and angry in a second. "Dad's fingers? DAD'S FINGERS? You fed on your father? Dodger did you know about this? That his victim was his father? What were you THINKING?!"
"COREY!" Dodger yelled right on top of Cole's yelling. "I was too busy being watch out!" he said, as he took a step back from Cole. Corey wondered why he was lying, but he didn't mention it, he owed Dodger a lot for tonight. And maybe he could even help try and get Dodger out of this mess. "I couldn't have stop him if I wanted to!"
"Wait, what... what's wrong? Why is it bad if I fed on my father?" he asked, before adding, "And Dodger didn't know anything, like he said, he was lookout. I picked him and stuff, Dodger didn't know he was my Dad until after I was done."
"You went back to your past life!" Cole exclaimed, his voice dropping to an angry whisper. "Someone who would recognize you. Someone who could figure out what happened to you. What if he'd gotten away, huh? What if he'd gone to the police? I'm sure Orphan explained to you what happens if you let the humans find out about us. The elders hunt us down like dogs for exposing them. It's dangerous, Corey. And Dodge, don't lie to me, revenge against your father is exactly your style, you knew what was going on and you let it happen. You're just trying to turn Corey into some monster for your own sick revenge. Killing his father won't make up for his past, and it won't make yours go away, either."
Corey straightened up to his full height and said with passion, "You don't get it Cole! He was right there, walking down the street, and I got... well, scared first, and then I got mad, I kept... I kept reliving all the beatings... everything he did to me, and I just... I got mad, and I wanted to kill him! And why would it be different if I did it or another... one of us did it? And Dodger didn't MAKE me do anything, I did it myself. I'm not a monster, DAD was."
"I was giving him CLOSURE!" Dodger yelled, taking a step back from Cole. "If he wanted to kill his dad I wasn't going to be an asshole and stop him. So fuck you! This wasn't about me! Fuck you that your life was so fucking perfect, and everything was awefuckingsome. You're not his sire, you can't give him rules... and I don't follow yours anymore," Dodger's bottom lip quivered, but he turned away, hiding from view of Corey and Cole. "I'm finding somewhere else to sleep, so are you, newblood," he finished, grabbing Corey's arm.
Corey shrugged his arm from Dodger's grip. "What... about Orphie? I... I can't just... leave him here, Dodger, I love him."
"They're not my rules, and you know that." Cole said, putting a hand on Dodger's shoulder, stopping the other vampire from marching off. Corey took the opportunity to dart around the arguing pair and rush into the warehouse to find his own sire.
"Orphie..." he said softly, laying down on top of his sire and kissing him gently. "I did it..." he said, leaving out who he'd fed on, considering Cole's reaction. "But... now Cole and Dodger are fighting, and I... I think I'm gonna stay with Dodger and try to get him to calm down, kay? I love you," he said, kissing his savior deeply.
"COREY, HURRY THE FUCK UP!" Dodger yelled.
"WAIT FOR ME! ORPHAN IS MORE IMPORTANT TO ME THEN YOU ARE!" he yelled back, gazing into his lover's deep blue eyes. "You know that, right? It's just, Dodger helped me a lot today, and I feel like I gotta help him now. I love you, Orphie," he whispered. Orphan looked decidedly confused, not that Corey could blame him. Before today, he never would've stuck by Dodger under any circumstances.
"Oh... okay... uh, hurry back? Please..." Orphan said, taking a deep breath, before saying, "Bye Corey... I love you, I'll miss you. Find a safe place for the day, if you can't stay here."
"I love you, too, Orphie. You gave me a reason to trust again, you... you proved that I wasn't broken cause of my Dad. You're my whole world, I promise," he whispered, kissing his sire again. He slipped his tongue into Orphan's mouth, a neat little trick his sire had taught him, then pulled back and smiled. "I love you, you gave me a new life and you're my everything now, promise. You're the best ever, Joshie..." he said quietly, reluctantly getting off his lover's body. He mouthed a 'sorry' to Cole on his way out of the warehouse, then sprinted off after Dodger.
"I told you to wait!" he snapped after he caught up to the older vampire.
"Yeah and I didn't listen, get over it," Dodger muttered in an angry tone. "Find us somewhere to sleep since this is mostly YOUR fault."
"Yep, totally my fault you saw my dad, told me to kill him, then lied to Cole about it, and made me lie about it, too. How about we just go sleep under a tree? Or hey, we can bother Danielle at the runaway shelter, she's got rooms with no windows," he said caustically, already beginning to regret following Dodger. He decided he wasn't going to pull any punches tonight, and directly asked, "Is Cole right? Was this just about your Dad, not mine?"
"Just shut the fuck up!" Dodger yelled, turning around and glaring at Corey. A month ago, such a glare would've had him cowering, but not tonight, not after everything he'd done. "It was for BOTH of us. Does it even matter? He's dead... YOU killed him. Be happy YOU get that kind of escape because I never will!" he yelled, glaring at Corey. "And don't bring up Co-DUCK!" Dodger reached out to push him, but Corey backed away, and felt something sharp pierce his neck. He looked up in alarm at Dodger, before falling onto the sidewalk. His last two thoughts were "RUN!" and then "Orphan...I love you," before he fell unconscious.