Being Human

by Patricia Lynne

  “What the hell?” My brother jumped to his feet and his face turned a few shades whiter. “What happened?”

  “I got into a fight with another vampire. I was on his hunting grounds and he didn't like that.”

  “But you're ripped to shreds and.” He paused and moved closer. “There's no blood,” he whispered. “You don't have any blood in you.”

  “Why do you think I drink it? I need it to survive.”

  His hand hovered over my injuries. “I just figured you'd have something in you. Plasma or I dunno. Does it hurt?”

  “Yes, I think I almost permanently died during the day.”

  His Adam's apple bobbed. “I thought I felt something today. A weird, crawling feeling and it freaked me out. I didn't think of you, I figured you were resting safely.”

  “I was safe,” I assured him. “I was simply closer to death than I liked.”

  “Aren't you always close to death?” His lips quirked up.

  “I can be closer.”

  He shuddered and slumped into his chair, tapping his fingers. “Are you gonna be okay?”

  “I need to hunt and heal.”

  He looked at me out of the corner of his eye. “So you got your ass handed to you, almost died during the day and first thing you do, instead of fixing yourself, is come find me? Aren't I a temptation? I can see your fangs.”

  I shrugged, ignoring the pain. “I wanted to talk to you first. I'll survive and you will too.”

  “What if you were hurt bad enough? Would I still be safe?”

  I shook my head. “It wouldn’t be a choice, it’d be survival.”

  He gulped down a breath and weakly laughed. “Don’t ever put yourself in that position and if you do, do not come find me.”

  “I'll stay far away,” I promised with a laugh.

  “Don't laugh, it's freaky and double freaky because you look like you got into a fight with a razor and lost. The way the skin moves, bleh.” He shuddered again. “Don't touch it!” he added when I ran a finger along the lacerations.

  I dropped my hand. “I should go.”

  “Wait a sec, I have a crazy and stupid idea and I'm curious enough to try.” He darted into his tiny bathroom and back. “Hold still.” He instructed and pressed a blade against his thumb.

  Our eyes met when a tiny bead of blood appeared. We both knew what he just did was dangerous and insane, but he was safe. My need and hunger remained calm within me, the tiny bead of blood not enough to tempt me – not if the blood was my brother’s. I stopped my breath, keeping the scent out of my nose as an extra precaution.

  He pressed his thumb against my cheek, spreading the blood along a wound. Goosebumps covered his arms, his skin turning white, and sweat broke out on his forehead.

  “No offense, but I feel like I'm going to hurl,” he muttered between tight lips.

  “Why are you doing this? What are you trying to figure out?” A whiff of blood filled my nose and tingled on my tongue.

  “Because I've lost my mind,” he said with a forced laugh. “I wanted to see if this would heal you.”

  “I think I have to drink it.”

  He pulled his hand away to inspect. “Guess so. And now that I've filled the room with the smell of my blood while my injured vampire brother sits two feet away, I'm going to get a bandage.”

  I grabbed his hand, my eyes riveted on the tiny slice across his thumb. There was something else I was curious about. And even though I knew this was a crazier idea than what he just did, I drew his hand closer and opened my mouth.

  He gasped as I scraped my fangs along the side of his thumb. Blood burst onto my tongue from the shallow, twin cuts. I ran my tongue across his skin and injuries along my face tingled.

  “Tommy,” he whispered. “Should I be afraid?”

  I released his hand as an answer. He cradled it against his chest, his heart pounding and the smell of his fear thickened the air. I dashed to the bathroom, finding a box of bandages. He resisted when I pulled his hand free to wrap a bandage around his thumb.

  “I didn't mean to scare you.”

  “I wasn't scared, just shocked,” he replied, pulling his hand free.

  I looked at him, frowning. “Don't lie. I don't like it, especially if it's you. I can handle any truth you tell me.”

  “Even if you don't like it?” he asked and I nodded. “I guess I was afraid. Terrified is more like it. You had this intense look on your face and when you actually bit... I nearly pissed my pants.”

  “I didn't really bite. Made shallow scrapes; I didn't want you bleeding too much.”

  He rolled his eyes and I saw relief in the action. “Whatever. Your injuries look a little better.”

  “I need more to fully heal.”

  “And you're going elsewhere to get it?” he asked uncertainly. I scowled at him and he threw his hands up. “Just making sure. One day you might change your mind and have me for dinner. I’m too young to be dinner.”

  “You know I’d never do that to you,” I replied.

  We rose together, heading towards the window. He stopped me before I climbed through. “I’m glad you stopped, it was a real learning experience.”

  I rolled my eyes, repeating what he said when he thought something was crazy. “You’re insane, the humans should lock you up.”

  “Get out of here.” He shoved me. “And don't get into any more fights,” he called after me.

  ****

  I saw the questions coming, had figured out something about Fallen. She liked to ask questions. A lot.

  “How often do you kill? Is it every night? Because the belief is that vampires kill every night because they are always hungry.”

  I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. I also figured out why sometimes my brother sounded exasperated when I asked questions. It really was annoying. “I only hunt when I need to.”

  She stopped her skipping. “Need, you've used that word before. What does it mean exactly?”

  “It means what it implies. When I need to feed, I hunt. When you get hungry you eat, correct? You need to eat. I need to hunt.” I replied and glanced around. “Where are you taking me?”

  We were on the far side of the campus, in an area I never traveled through because of the amount of lights. They were everywhere, at each door, along the sidewalks and spaced out among the parking lot. There were few shadows for me to hide in and I felt exposed.

  Fallen glanced around as if she just noticed our surroundings. “I dunno, I wasn’t paying attention.”

  “That's how a vampire could get you.”

  Fallen shrugged. “If one does, I can only pray it is painless or I wake back up.”

  “Why would you want to wake back up? You'd be a vampire then; that's stupid.”

  “You woke back up.”

  “I never said I wanted to.”

  “Maybe it was a secret wish,” Fallen replied. “You can’t deny it. You said you forgot being human so maybe deep down you wanted to be a vampire.”

  “I had denial,” I retorted. My eyes snapped away from her, ears picking up the sound of fast approaching feet. “Someone's coming.” I disappeared up the side of a building before she could respond.

  Two humans hurried along the path of light. Their pace quickened when they spotted Fallen. They were her two friends who I had met on the football field. I often wondered why they never came with Fallen to see me. I wanted to talk to them; I liked the idea of having more humans to interact with.

  “There you are,” Risen panted when he reached Fallen. “We've been looking... all... over...” His voice faded, stopping both himself and Settle as I dropped down from my perch.

  I paused in my own tracks, confused. Didn't they recognize me from the night we met? I took a step forward, prolonging my smile. “Hi.”

  They didn’t reply as they inched closer to Fallen. When she was within arm's reach, Risen grabbed her and pulled her away. The distance between us was about the length of the parking lot when they stopped and began
talking.

  “Are you insane?” Risen whispered. “Do you want to die?”

  Fallen scoffed, her voice much louder. “Please, if he wanted to kill me, he would have done it the night we met.”

  “There were three of us!” Risen's voice jumped in pitch. “Vampires never attack crowds.”

  “That was hardly a crowd,” Fallen snorted.

  “Enough of a crowd,” Risen replied. “It could have killed you, then me or Riley. All of us could have died!” He leaned closer, lowering his voice more. “There's been some talk around campus. There haven’t been any deaths, but the college heads are thinking about calling VF. They don't want a vampire on campus, bad publicity.”

  Fallen scoffed again.

  Risen’s scowl deepened. “This is serious, you know what people will say.”

  “I don't care what people say and I thought you didn't either,” Fallen challenged.

  “I don't,” Risen said defiantly.

  “No one in their right mind wants to be seen as a sympathizer,” Settle said softly.

  “I don't want to be a sympathizer!” Fallen hissed.

  “We know what you want, Fallen. You've made that perfectly clear,” Risen snapped. His eyes narrowed when she didn’t respond. “Fine, if you’ve made up your mind. Guess we’ll start treating you like one. Come on, Riley.”

  “Find them first,” Fallen muttered as the two humans hurried away.

  I walked to her, watching her friends disappear. My chest felt crushed, the whispered conversation revealing. “They don't like vampires; they don’t like me.”

  Fallen scoffed. “That night at the field, they were too high to realize you were a real vampire. They said it wasn't possible, that you would have killed us instead of talked. They don't know anything, they don't know me.” She sighed, wiping the anger away and quickly changing the subject. “Halloween is coming up and there's this place I go every year; they have a party to celebrate the spirits. Want to come?”

  “Why?”

  “Why not?” she replied with a grin.

  “That won't work on something that pointless.”

  “Fine, because it's fun.”

  “Do I look like I care about fun?”

  “You'd do it if your precious brother asked,” Fallen muttered.

  “My brother wouldn't risk my safety by insisting I go somewhere with humans. In case you haven't noticed,” I motioned the way her friends had retreated. “Humans hate vampires. You should hate vampires.”

  “Why?” Fallen demanded. “Because you drink blood?”

  “Because if I was inclined, I'd kill you. It wouldn't bother me and I wouldn't feel guilty or mourn you. The only reason I haven't is because I like talking to you. I like having a...” My voice died.

  I finally understood a human behavior. Friendship. I understood why humans made those connections with each other. I didn't talk to my brother just because he was my brother. That was the reason I didn't kill him three years ago. I talked to him because I enjoyed his company. He was my friend and so was Fallen.

  A smile filled my face and I was sure my brother would be proud of my human discovery. “I won’t kill you because you’re my friend.”

  ****

  “Tommy.” My name drifted like a whisper in the wind. I froze and listened closer, hearing leaves softly rustle and cars driving in the distance. Around me, human heartbeats called like a siren. My name didn’t repeat, the voice falling silent.

  Fallen watched my frozen form, eyes boring into me. “Is someone coming?

  “Something's wrong,” I replied. Feelings churned in my chest, growing with each passing moment. Annoyance and anger bubbled, tugging at me. I let the emotions pull me, leading me across campus as Fallen hurried behind.

  “Tommy!”

  There was no mistaking the voice this time. It grew louder with each step I took, my brother calling my name again and again. His voice ended at the dorms, a group of humans filling the doorway of one and more clustered inside. A few were pleading with him, trying to convince him to go back inside.

  “Come on, Dan,” a short, stocky male I recognized said. “You drank too much and don't know what you're saying.”

  My brother jerked away. He wavered, almost falling, as he jabbed a finger at the short, stocky human's chest. “I know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm talking about my twin brother, who's a vampire.”

  “You don't have a brother,” the short, stocky human insisted.

  “Yes, I do!” my brother snapped, his words slurring together. “Whyou... why do you think I live with my aunt and uncle? Because my brother got turned and came back and killed our parents. He killed our parents and he can't even give me the decency of showing up on the night he did it. Tommy! Where are you, you leech bastard?”

  “You shouldn't say stuff like that, Dan,” a girl said. “It's not right.”

  “You're not right,” my brother snapped. “Why don't you go have a few more shots and kiss the next guy you see? It's what you've been doing.”

  The girl made an offended noise and anger flashed across her face. “Since you're drunk, I won't take you seriously.”

  “Whatever,” my brother snorted. “Why won't he come? I said his name. Can't he feel my pain? Doesn't he care what tonight is?”

  He started to sag, letting the short, stocky human grab him and maneuver him towards the door. “Let's get you inside and to bed.”

  “My room's open. He can crash there for a few,” another human offered.

  “Thanks,” the girl said. “We'll get him back to his room later.”

  My brother was led through the door, the rest of the humans following. They muttered and whispered as they piled through, discussing his behavior.

  “He always rambles about a brother when he's drunk.”

  “Tony said he never met a brother.”

  “Maybe the brother was killed by the vampire and he's in denial. They say it happens.”

  “Who knows, he's wasted and people say crazy shit when they're drunk. Probably won't remember what a fool he made of himself tomorrow.”

  Fallen pulled on my arm. “Come on, he's drunk. Let his friends take care of him.”

  I looked back at the dorm, at the scene through the glass door. Humans crowded the lounge, huddled in groups, cups in hand. The short, stocky human and girl rejoined the crowd. One by one, their voices halted, the loud music forgotten as the humans noticed what was among them.

  I had never been around so many humans, not in an enclosed area. I should have stayed closer to the door, giving myself a clear view of my only escape route. Pushing my instincts and nervousness back, I made my voice loud enough to be heard over the music.

  “I'm looking for my brother. He wants to see me.”

  No one answered and I wasn't surprised. Humans were thrown off when I let them see me. Even more when I talked to them, asking for help. But it didn't matter if these humans were struck speechless, I caught my brother's scent. I dashed up the stairs, footsteps following as a voice yelled in panic.

  “Don't let it find Dan!”

  It took me seconds to find the room that held my brother. I dashed to the bed, sliding onto my knees. “Danny.”

  His eyelids fluttered open. “Tommy, what… When did I get back to my room? My head is pounding, how much did I drink?”

  “You called me, you're not in your room and I have no idea how much you drank.”

  “I'm not in my room?” He bolted up. “Ow!”

  “What's hurt?”

  He gripped his head. “My head, sat up too fast. Damn. Why did you come? Are you nuts?”

  “I heard you call my name. You wanted me to come,” I replied weakly.

  “I'm drunk. I say and do a lot of stuff I don't mean when I'm drunk.” He looked sideways at me. “How many people saw you?”

  I glanced at the door full of fearful humans. I looked back in time to see his eyes follow. “All of them.”

  “All right,” he muttered and threw his le
gs over the side of the bed. He pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. “Did anyone call VF?”

  “No, we didn't want to get busted,” the short, stocky human replied.

  “Good, go downstairs and tell everyone it’s cool. He won't hurt anyone. He's like a pet tiger.”

  “Tigers eat people,” the short, stocky human said.

  “Only if you piss him off, so don't give him a reason.”

  Slowly, the humans disappeared. The short, stocky human was the last to leave, eyes darting between me and my brother. He dismissed the short, stocky human with a wave.

  He rubbed his face, groaning. “I'm still drunk and it's fading, which is good. Usually I pass out and forget what happened. I'll remember everything I said for once. Damn. You've never shown up before when I've gone on a rant.”

  “You've called me before?”

  “Yeah, we get talking about vampires and I mention my vampire brother and insist I can prove it. No one believes me, then I pass out and forget what I said until someone tells me.”

  “Did you really think I didn't know what tonight was?”

  He shrugged. “You don't pay attention to dates and you’ve never said anything about it before.”

  “I didn't think you wanted to remember. You always say anything related to Mom and Dad's death is tainted, so I figured the night was tainted.”

  He gave me a weak, tired smile. “You can mention that night. Aunt Dee and I always make a trip back home to visit the graves and lay some flowers. I always wished you could be there too.”

  “I like that idea.”

  “Mean it?”

  “Would I lie?”

  He snorted, then winced. Wobbling, he pushed to his feet. I grabbed his elbow to help keep him steady. “Oh this sucks, everything is spinning. Don't let go or I'll fall flat on my face.”

  “They're going to separate us again. Take you away and try to destroy me. What if I don't find you again?”

  He turned to me with a serious look. And fell forward. His face smacked into my shoulder, his hands flailing. For a moment he stood there, face buried against my shoulder, hands gripping me. Then he started shaking with laughter.