Warning: 18+ readers only; this blog is dark and full of terrors!
This story contains questionable religious themes of a sexual nature, as well as mild to graphic gore, and scenes of a very erotic nature. Do not read on if these are things that you may find offensive or upsetting!
The months after I met Kaleb passed like one big nightmarish migraine. Without my knowledge or input, the nature of my relationship with Elias had been circulating; it had started as whispers in the corridors months ago but became a full-blown scandal, courtesy of Gregor Mitchell who happened to be the brother of Elias's flatmate, Michael.
After piecing countless stories together, Michael, who had been wary of Elias since I'd come on the scene, had confided a lot with his brother about his suspicions. On the night of Elias's party, he had seen us hide ourselves away in the bedroom. He'd probably heard my small cries of pain, and he'd definitely witnessed the short, hurtful exchange between us afterwards. And so, he'd put two and two together.
It was late January when I heard that Elias was hospitalised after a brutal assault. I should've been more concerned, more aware of what was about to happen. But I didn't think the same would happen to me; I was bigger than a lot of guys in my year, and I was sure most of my classmates didn't really care. I could deal with whispers and giggles in the halls, the odd pencil thrown in class. That's all I'd been subjected to, and it was perfectly manageable. But when even those I considered "friends" turned away from me, I realised my carelessness; by not denying my sins I'd, therefore, confessed them. And by that time, it was beyond my control.
February was only the beginning; everyone I knew in my year, even some of those in the years above and below, shut me out completely. Those who weren't cat-calling in the hallways or throwing their food at me in the canteen just avoided me. It was like I'd contracted some highly infectious disease, and even I started to believe in it.
Thankfully as time passed, people forgot to ignore me or throw their food at me on sight or call me a fag. Some of my friends even returned to me, apologising, claiming it was for "survival". As much as I didn't want to, I welcomed them back into my life. Better to have shit friends than none at all, I'd thought. As suddenly as the bullying began, it stopped, and after a couple of weeks, it was as if nothing had happened.
And then Gregor surfaced.
He'd been with the rest of them, throwing food at me in the canteen and yelling in the halls. But when everyone else lost interest in tormenting me, he took it upon himself to make my life a living hell.
Greg was polite to me in class, the perfect student as he was known to be. He never spoke out when he saw me in the corridors or when we crossed paths in the toilets. But the minute I passed through the school gates, Greg would be there with his little group of Hartwood delinquents. Even if I lingered in the school hall until well after the last bell, he would be waiting there, anticipating the torture he was about to inflict: countless pebbles on the back of my head; torn up books; broken tennis rackets; a smashed violin.
There was nowhere to escape them; the bullies always found a way to torment me. There was nothing left in which to lose myself, either. The only remaining place of solace was the rooftop, but even that wasn't the same; not since meeting Kaleb and his fantastic eyes. And I'll admit, I'd not thought of him quite as much as I had done before, only when I passed the church and looked up at the steeple. It was as if he'd been a dream, buried amongst the drama permeating my subconscious.
March came and dragged itself painfully, slowly and depressingly over my forgotten eighteenth birthday, leaving a trail of my broken treasured items behind it.
On the days leading up to Easter break, there had been more frequent visits to the church for various things like Stations of the Cross, Ash Wednesday, etcetera. I couldn't avoid them; failure to attend resulted in an immediate suspension, with a pending investigation that could lead to expulsion, or so I was told. The sight of Father Clarke drove me livid, and I found myself praying for his downfall (little did I know then that it would come on him sooner than I thought). During these visits to the church, I could feel Kaleb's presence, however faintly, gradually drawing him back into my thoughts. I'd catch myself glancing around, expecting to see his beautiful, ghostly face, but I never did.
I started praying to my vampire instead of my God. I begged him to help me; help me overcome Greg, help me avoid Father Clarke. Over and over I chanted these bizarre "prayers" in the hope that maybe Kaleb might hear them. I could sense him so vividly, or I thought I could, and I believed he'd feel me too.
Something happened then. The night before the last day of term, he came to me in my dreams. I lay in a beautiful garden, surrounded by lush green shrubs and vibrant flowers, trees bearing sweet, ripe fruit. A statue of an angel with his hands together in prayer stood in front of me. It was entirely white without an ounce of ageing or moss. The garden was endless, continuing forever in bright colours and a sickly scent of lilies and melon. I walked passed the statue, towards a particularly inviting tree with green leaves and red apples hanging from its healthy branches. I reached up to pull down one of the fruits, but I heard an unfamiliar voice behind me say: "I wouldn't do that if I were you. He'll come and get you." I turned around, back towards the statue but it was gone, Kaleb in its place. He walked towards me, leaves and grass crunching beneath his bare feet and kneeled before me. He looked blushed and human. I reached my hand down and touched his warm face. He smiled, looking up at me and then sank his teeth into my wrist. A rush of pleasure erupted in me, charged by his mouth, pulsing in my blood and through my core, sparking my instincts and making me hard. Suddenly I awoke, once again in my dark and miserable room, my stiffness visible beneath the sheets and his silent words echoing in my head: Does it hurt?
After the dream, I couldn't fall back asleep again. It frustrated me intensely. Who's voice was warning me, and of whom? I didn't want to believe I should be scared of Kaleb. When the sun finally rose, and it was time for me to get to school for the last day of term, I had only one conclusion. It was Kaleb who I had to avoid. He was really dangerous, and I'd been foolish to be calling out to him like that. The dream was a message from God, warning me of the danger... it was all so very familiar; the garden, the apple. But as much as I tried to convince myself that it had been some kind of bad omen, I couldn't shake what happened to my body when he'd sank his teeth into me. Why that? Even as I walked to school, just the thought of it stirred up the feeling again. All through the day, I tried to fight it, but every time the same thing happened. I could hear his voice so clearly... Does it hurt? I found myself wondering... what would it feel like? What would his teeth feel like, penetrating my skin... drawing the blood from me?
Finally, the last bell tolled. Over the past few weeks, I hadn't seen Greg around school or at mass, so I felt no fear leaving at the same time as everyone else. It was nice getting to go at a decent time. I felt happy walking home without any doubt.
As usual, there was no one home when I got in the door, but there was no homework for me to do. I tried playing on my new violin - anything to take my mind off Kaleb - but it felt too new, too clean. I even tried showering to distract myself, but nothing helped. I was restless, in need of something to help expel my energy. By six, everyone was home, but since it was nearly Easter, I wasn't allowed to escape until after dinner. By half seven, I was on the school roof for the first time in almost a month.
It was a warm evening, the warmest it had been in quite a while, especially for the time of night. The sun was starting to set, and I stood at the edge to gaze over the town. I could still see bodies pottering around town, and I could faintly hear the sounds of a chorus coming from the church.
I had been staring a long time, the sun almost setting before I heard a loud slam from behind me. I turned, my heart jumping furiously. Someone had come through the door to the roof. I waited in silence as I watched a figure ascend the steps. I didn't have the slightest idea who it could be, or who I wanted it to be.
"So this is where you've been hiding."
Greg.
I froze, eyeing the baseball bat clenched firmly in his hands.
"Oh, did you think no one knew about it?" He laughed, passing the bat from one hand to the other. "I'm not stupid enough to do this during the term. I knew you were bound to come up here at some point tonight."
I was still silent, frozen in panic.
"You really thought it was over, didn't you?" Greg let out another sneer.
"How did you..." I tried to speak, but the question wouldn't come out. I was afraid of crying and showing weakness.
"I have the key, you dumb fuck."
He came slowly closer to me, but I suddenly became more angry than scared. "What makes you think you can come up here and threaten me?"
Greg glared at me. He looked a lot scarier in the dark; his long blond hair reminded me of an action film villain, and although he was the same height as me, he was much more built from playing rugby and other sports like that.
"How about... because I can easily beat you to death?" He grinned his flawless, white smile. I so badly wanted to break all his teeth then. He swung the bat over his shoulder, and his smile disappeared. "Jesus, what makes you think it's okay for you to even... exist? God hates all you fucking queers. It's perverse." He paused to wave the bat at me. "I will smash you all, one by one. Elias' has had his punishment, so now it's your turn."
"What, and you think I won't fight back?" I felt the anger building up even more. "You think you're special or something?"
He glares at me again. "You think I've not noticed you staring? It's so disgusting. So fucking disgusting." He spits on the ground, missing me narrowly. "Can't believe I didn't realise before."
"And you think that I'm staring at you because I fancy you?" I scoff, trying to hide the rising fear amongst my anger. "I'm staring because you're hideous!"
I regretted the words immediately. Greg's usually handsome face contorted into something of a gargoyle's mask as he lunged towards me. I closed my eyes, waiting for the impact but it didn't come. I felt a slight breeze beside me and looked up to see some cloaked being grappling with Greg on the concrete. It was so dark that I couldn't see much of what was going on, and it happened so quickly. Greg tried to hit the beast repeatedly, but it was much more agile than him. Eventually, it grabbed the bat from his hands and threw it across to the other side of the roof. I could then see there was real fear in Greg's eyes, and I knew who it was stalking him so murderously. I watched as he ran down the steps, the cloaked being pursuing him with inhuman speed. I could hear Greg's faint screams echoing into the night, and I felt a chill down my spine. Within a minute, the beast dragged his limp body up the steps and around the corner. I heard a long swish noise and a small thud. A few seconds later, the creature cautiously stepped its way back around to face me.
I stared at Kaleb then, my mouth ajar, words completely lost. He said something, but I didn't hear. I didn't care about whatever dangers my dream was trying to warn me about.
"Thank you," I uttered quietly, stepping a little closer to him.
He had saved my life, and nothing could stop me taking his hand.
"Thank you," I uttered quietly, stepping a little closer to him.
He had saved my life, and nothing could stop me taking his hand.
After we walked down to the river, delving deeper into each other, the closeness I felt towards Kaleb became so intense; as much as he tried to deter me, I felt all the closer. The images I saw, the death and carnage and horror... it didn't scare me anymore. I knew he'd chosen them because they were terrible people and he was helping rid the world of evil. He tried to hide it, but I knew what he wanted from me... or at least, what part of him wanted. I believed he could kill me with ease, but I wasn't afraid. I knew deep down, any desire for my blood he had would be overcome by his other desires for me. And I was right. When he kissed me, I could feel it. And I knew it would only grow stronger now.
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