by AJ Jarrett
“You’re so gross.” Colby shoved him in the arm, and Matt laughed.
They got back to work, and about an hour later his phone chimed with an incoming text. It was from his mom.
“Who’s that?” Colby asked not bothering to look up from his book.
“My mom.” Matt read over the message and sighed. “She wants me to come over for dinner. She made a roast and chocolate cake for dessert. Wanna come?”
“I can’t. Promised my gr—” Colby clamped his mouth shut and cleared his throat then said, “I promised my uncles I’d go to the movies with them. They’re in town for a few days.”
“No way!” Matt’s eyes widened. “Ash and Benedict are in town? Why didn’t you tell me?” Matt had met Colby’s uncles before, and they were not only nice and funny but so hot. Matt had dreams that involved him being the meat in an Ash and Benedict sandwich. It was wrong, but he was a horny twenty-year-old. Who could blame him?
“Because I don’t need to watch you drool over them.” Colby winced. “It’s really disgusting.”
“Jealous.” Matt sang out the word.
“You wish.” Colby closed his book and put away his things. “But seriously they just arrived today. I’m sure they’ll want to hang with you while they’re in town. Their old bones get off on a pretty young thing like you eye-fucking them.”
“They’re not that old.” If Matt had to guess he’d say that both men were in their mid-thirties. And in very good shape. God, his cock was starting to thicken at just the thought of them.
“Stop it.” Colby rolled his eyes.
“Stop what?” Matt asked innocently.
“Undressing them in your mind. It’s really unsettling.”
“Okay, fine,” Matt whined.
“Stop pouting.” Colby grinned. “It doesn’t suit you.”
“So bossy.” Matt walked Colby to his car.
“I’ll call you tomorrow.” Colby opened the driver’s side door and got into his car. “We can hang out with my fam then.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Matt leaned in to give Colby a hug. “Be careful, man.”
Matt waited until Colby had pulled his car out and drove away before heading to his jeep. Once there he tossed his bag in the back seat then started it up. The sun was lower in the sky and a nice, cool breeze whipped through the air. Matt rolled down the windows as he drove to his parent’s house.
The house seemed quiet as he pulled up the long drive. No cars were left outside, and the garage doors were closed up tight. That wasn’t unusual but something about the house seemed strange. It looked too still, as if no one was home.
Matt parked his jeep and climbed down. It was quiet, and not even birds could be heard singing or bugs buzzing around the open farm land. Matt jogged up the steps and was shocked that the front door was closed too and that no one had come out to greet him. Now, the front door being shut was odd. His mom kept that door open until the sun went down and they were going to bed.
Matt turned the knob and stepped inside. Once again it was quiet. No TV or radio playing. No one came running toward the sound of him coming through the door. The old wood floorboards creaked and groaned under his weight.
“Mom. Dad. Kevin!” Matt called out but no answer.
That strange feeling came over him, the one of being watched. He took a deep breath, but the air felt too thick to drag in a breath. Something was wrong, but he wasn’t sure what. His stomach coiled in knots as a cold sweat prickled up along his hairline.
A sound in the kitchen had him running down the hallway. He felt as if he had run a mile-long race. He couldn’t remember the hall being this long. He reached the corner, and he stopped in his tracks. Bile rose in his throat at the sight before him. His hands began to shake, and he couldn’t breathe.
“It’s about time you got here,” Hale said with a smile on his pale face.
Chapter Seven
Matt’s heart was pounding, and his eyes began to water. On the floor at Hale’s feet were his parents. Blood stained their necks, and their eyes were open wide staring at nothing. Matt didn’t want to believe what he was seeing. His hand shook as he pinched at his thigh but it was useless. He was wide awake. This wasn’t a dream but a living nightmare.
“Mom. Dad.” Matt’s voice cracked as he took a step forward. His knees gave out, and he fell to the floor reaching for his mother’s hand.
“Don’t worry about them, Matthew.” Hale made a clicking sound with his tongue. “They didn’t feel a thing.” He laughed. “Promise.”
“Oh my God.” Matt was crying. Hot, messy tears streamed down his cheeks and snot dripped from the tip of his nose. He leaned over to touch his father’s neck, but there was no pulse on him either. Matt looked, really looked at his parents to see two small puncture wounds in each of their necks. “No! No! No!”
This was Matt’s worst nightmare. He knew his parents weren’t going to live forever, but he never expected something like this happening. They were dead, and there was no coming back from that. Hale had murder his parents but why? What had he ever done to this man? He met him once. Once! How could he have made an enemy after one meeting?
“You poor thing.” Hale knelt down in front of Matt. He reached out and put one of his cold fingers under Matt’s chin to lift his head up. “You should never have messed with something that belongs to me.”
“What are you talking about?” Matt tried to jerk his head away, but Hale had a tight grip on his chin. He hissed in pain as the sting of nails dug into his skin. “I don’t even know you.”
“And you should have kept it that way.” Hale grinned. Blood stained his perfectly white teeth.
“Motherfucker.” Matt’s grief turned to anger. This man killed his parents and for what? Matt still didn’t even know what he was talking about. Matt jerked back his head and felt as Hale’s nails ripped the skin under his chin. He lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Hale’s back like he would on the football field, slamming him down on the ceramic tile floor. He sat straddling Hale’s hips and began to punch him in the face over and over again.
Hale lay there and laughed, taking each punch as if it were nothing but a gust of wind blowing against his face. It caused Matt to hit him harder. His fist landed on Hale’s temple which caused his sunglasses to go flying off.
“What the fuck?” Matt’s hand froze in the air, hovering over Hale’s cold yet handsome face. His eyes were black. Not just the pupil and iris but the whites of his eyes were a dark, inky black.
“Scary isn’t it?” Hale asked so loud it echoed in Matt’s ears. “I thought your poor mother had a heart attack when she saw them. But don’t worry. She didn’t have long to ponder it.” Hale opened his mouth and flicked his tongue over his sharp teeth. “Same for your father. He didn’t have much fight in him as it was. Once he saw your mother’s lifeless body on the ground, he barely put up a struggle. Weak humans.”
Matt didn’t understand what Hale was saying or talking about. But his words did hurt. It was like getting tackled on the football field, having the wind knocked out of you, lying there helpless. Matt couldn’t breathe. All he felt was pain tearing him apart.
“I’m going to kill you.” Matt sneered as a new wave of tears dripped from his tear-swollen eyes.
“I’d like to see you try.” The smile fell from Hale’s face, and he shoved his hands against Matt’s chest.
Matt went soaring through the air and hit the far wall hard. The pictures hanging shook and fell to the floor. The sound of glass shattering filled his ears. Matt slouched against the wall, trying to catch his breath. It hurt to breathe and the back of his head stung. He reached behind him to feel the sticky wetness that oozed from his head. Matt brought his hand back around to see the dark red blood covering his hand.
Hale stood with such grace. It was as if he were floating on air. He dusted off his black shirt and pants. He ran his fingers through his black hair and glanced around searching for his glasses. When he didn’t find them, he sh
rugged then walked over to Matt. Matt wanted to get up and stand like a man against this monster, but he couldn’t get his body to cooperate.
“Why?” That was all Matt had the energy to ask.
“Why what?” Hale asked. He squatted down and stared at Matt with those cold black eyes. “Why am I here? Why did I kill your parents? Why am I going to kill you?” Hale grinned. “So many questions but do I answer them?” He tapped his long pale fingers against his chin.
Matt couldn’t get over how pale Hale was or those black eyes. Was this man a monster or just a man hopped up on drugs?
“What are you?” Matt had to know. Those eyes were so inhuman and the coldness in which he talked about taking another person’s life. And the bite marks on his parents’ necks weren’t normal. Growing up, Matt had seen plenty of movies, and the only thing that kept coming to his mind was vampire but that wasn’t possible, was it? It was daytime, and he’d seen Hale out in the sunlight before.
“I think you know what I am but you don’t want to believe it.” Hale lightly caressed his fingers down the side of Matt’s face. “Unlike the shitty movies you no doubt have seen, vampires aren’t like that.” Hale hummed. “I can see why he likes you. Tall, muscular, blond hair and bright blue eyes.” Hale let his hand trail down Matt’s neck toward his chest. “All this tanned skin. You even grew up on a farm.” Hale barked out a laugh. “The all-American boy next door. Of course Colby would be attracted to you. You’re everything I will never be.”
“Colby,” Matt whispered. Now he was terrified for his best friend. What did Hale know about him? “You stay away from him.” The fight was starting to come back to Matt. He wasn’t going to lose his best friend. He had to fight to save Colby and…“Kevin.” In his anguish over seeing his parents’ dead bodies, he forgot about Kevin.
Hale smiled. He raised his hand into the air and snapped his fingers.
“Let go of me.” Kevin could be heard shouting. The sound of stomping feet had Matt looking to his right, and just then a big man with pale skin and empty black eyes like Hale’s dragged in his brother. He was tall and had shoulder-length brown hair that had a slight wave to it. He had broad shoulders that barely made it through the entryway. “Matty!” Kevin screamed when he saw Matt lying on the floor but the man holding on to him wouldn’t let go. He had one thick arm wrapped around Kevin’s waist, and the other hand raised to cup Kevin’s cheek.
“Don’t hurt him.” Matt was begging. “I’ll do anything, just please let him go. He has nothing to do with any of this.” Matt’s gaze landed on his mom and dad’s bodies. They too had been innocent, and Hale hadn’t spared them.
“Oh don’t worry about him.” Hale chuckled. “If I wanted him dead he’d be lying on the floor next to your parents. I mean, after all, he watched me kill them.” Hale looked over at a struggling Kevin, smiling with glee in his eyes. “But my friend there, Kayson, seems to have a hard-on for your brother. So he lives, but I’m not sure if living as Kayson’s play thing will be much better.” Hale tilted his head from side to side. “I’d rather die than have that fate bestowed upon me but hey, it’s not me.”
“You piece of shit.” Matt pushed off the wall and reached for Hale.
This time Hale was prepared for him and knocked his hands out of the way. Hale wrapped his fingers around Matt’s neck and slammed him against the wall again. What pictures hadn’t fallen the first time now lay shattered on the floor. Matt scratched at Hale’s strong hands, but he wouldn’t let go. Hale smiled as he lifted Matt up off the ground, his feet dangling against the wall. Kevin was crying and calling out his name. Matt turned to see the fear in his brother’s eyes and the redness of his face as he sobbed. Kevin was scared and in danger, and there was nothing Matt could do to help him. Or even help himself.
“I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Hale shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe. Maybe not. I really don’t care.” Hale tightened his grip around Matt’s neck. “What I do care about is you trying to steal something that belongs to me. Colby is mine.”
“He’s not a thing you asshole.” Matt grabbed and twisted at Hale’s hands, but they were like steel bands around his neck.
“Does it really matter?” Hale asked. He then leaned in close to sniff at Matt’s collar. “I can smell him all over you. It makes me sick.” He banged Matt against the wall again.
“Matty!” Kevin screamed. “Please stop hurting him.”
“Isn’t that the sweetest thing ever?” Hale laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world to watch Kevin cry. “He probably thinks you’re still going to find a way to save him. I was like that once, but I learned the only way to protect yourself is by doing it yourself. Others will only let you down.” Hale sneered so close to Matt’s face he could feel his hot breath on his cheek.
“Please, I’m begging you.” Matt turned his head just enough to look at his baby brother. Memories of Kevin as a baby than as a toddler flashed through his mind. “Let him go. You can kill me that’s fine, but please let him go. He’s just a kid.”
“So was I once. So was I.”
Before Matt could say another word, Hale was biting into his neck. The pain was massive, and he opened his mouth to cry out, but no sound arose from his throat. He could feel every suck from Hale’s mouth drinking his blood. The collar of his shirt grew damp, and Matt lost control of his body. He could no longer hold himself up. If it wasn’t for Hale’s grip on him, he’d be lying on the floor just like his parents.
As his life slipped from his fingers, a cold, numb feeling settled over him. He glanced over to see Kevin thrashing about trying to get to him, but Matt couldn’t hear him. A black haze started to cloud his vision. Everything seemed to stop. He blinked his eyes, and when he tried to open them, they wouldn’t budge. So this was it. He not only failed to save his folks but his brother, too. There was a special kind of hell for people like Hale, and Matt prayed the man got exactly what he deserved.
* * * *
The bitter stench of smoke pulled Matt from his sleep. He opened his eyes, and it was dark. Billows of gray smoke hung in the air, and the cracking and sizzling of burning wood had him rolling out of bed.
Matt looked around to see that he was in his bedroom at his parents’ house. Trophies sat on his dresser and shelves on the walls. A framed family picture on his nightstand.
“What’s going on?” Matt coughed as the smoke grew thicker in his room and his eyes were burning. “Oh no.” As the fogginess wore off, he remembered what had happened earlier in the day. Matt grabbed the doorknob and threw open the door. He then ran down the hall to his parents’ room, and there he did find his parents in bed. They looked as if they were sleeping. “Mom! Dad!” They didn’t stir, and Matt knew they wouldn’t, but still, a part of him was hoping they were alive and everything that had happened was just a dream.
Flashes of what had happened with Hale kept flickering through his mind. The house was groaning from the heat of the fire eating away at the old wooden house.
“Kevin.” Matt ran out of his parents’ room and toward his brother’s. He prayed that he was in there, but deep down he knew what he’d find in there. The bed was empty. “Kevin!” he shouted.
Matt rushed out of the room and toward the stairs. He skidded to a stop at the first step. Down below him, he could see the glow of the fire ravaging his home. Heat wafted up to him, but Matt ignored the sizzle on his skin and ran down the stairs. The front room was engulfed in flames. Everywhere he looked, he saw the glow of orange.
“Kevin, are you here?” Matt held his arm up to his mouth and ran toward the kitchen, the last place he saw his brother.
Just before he reached the doorway, a part of the ceiling fell and landed on Matt’s back. He could feel the fire burning his skin, but he pushed forward. If there was a chance that Kevin was still in this house and alive, he was going to find him.
The kitchen wasn’t in much better condition than the living room. Flames licked at the walls, and there was nothing in there tha
t hadn’t been touched by fire. A loud screech followed by cracking had Matt looking up. The ceiling was bowing downward, and he ran for the sliding glass doors and jumped through the glass. He landed hard on the ground. Shards of glass dug into his skin.
Matt rolled over in time to see the house crumble in on itself. He lay there and watched everything his parents had worked so hard for go up in smoke.
Tears streaked down his face, and Matt raised his hands to cover his eyes. He hissed in pain as a thick piece of glass stuck out of the palm of his hand. Matt plucked it from the soft tissue, and right before his eyes, it started to heal. The skin knitted back together, and there was no bleeding.
“What the hell,” Matt mumbled. He reached his other hand behind him to touch his back where his shirt had been burned and the skin there was smooth and didn’t hurt. “What’s going on?”
Hale had killed him. He was a vampire or at least that’s what Hale said he was. He’d bitten Matt. Matt felt real pain and felt as his life was slipping away. How was he even alive?
The sounds of sirens filled the night air, and Matt turned to see the lights flashing as the fire truck neared his home. Matt stared back up at the house and realized it was pointless. The house was already gone, and so were his parents. There was nothing in there to save.
Chapter Eight
It was just after six in the morning when Matt got released from the police station. He called a cab to drive him back to the college campus. He had to find Colby and talk to his friend. His parents were murdered, his brother was kidnapped, and the man who did it all was somehow connected to Colby. Matt needed answers and to warn Colby. If Hale was willing to do all this to him, no telling what he had in store for Colby.
When the fire truck arrived, they did their best to save his childhood home, but in the end, they had to let it burn to ash. The paramedics insisted on Matt going to the hospital. He wasn’t hurt, but he climbed up into the ambulance and did as they said. It was as if his body was on autopilot. He was going through the motions, but he wasn’t really there.