Boy in the Mist (Vampire BoyxBoy)

Undead

Throughout the next day or two, Andy ignored Isaac. It made things uncomfortable every time Isaac stopped by, and he could tell that James also felt that way. He would pull Andy to the side and whisper to him, only for Andy to pull away and practically run to the back room.
"I just don't know what I did," Isaac said a few days after the incident, standing outside the store with James. "If I offended him, I want to apologize."
"Yeah, uh..I just don't want him to hear me say this. He has the right to be concerned right now, but you also had the right to not be worried. If this is a regular thing, then-"
"I think this has elevated past a simple occurrence. It's been three days, and no trace of him." Isaac hunched his shoulders forward. "It's my fault I didn't look for him soon enough. Andy's right."
"I gotta question for you."
"Okay."
"All shitty teasing aside," James paused, "I didn't think you two were so close."
Isaac's face flushed. "We're..we're not really that close, I think. I mean, we talked, and I want to know where he went. That's all."
"I can tell how worried you are. And how awkward you get when I bring it up." James smirked and gave him a playful nudge. "You can tell me if something's up. I won't judge you."
Isaac wished he could tell the full story. It would make James understand why and how they got close so quickly. But nope, he was cursed with keeping this secret for a long time. No one would believe him. No one. At least, not until they saw proof.
"We've kissed," Isaac finally said. "That's all."
"Huh. Alright." James shrugged. "So he really isn't just some stranger, huh? You're closer than you said."
"I miss him. He likes to stay in my bed."
"I think by now, you should go to the police."
Isaac froze. The police never crossed his mind. "They'll wonder why I waited so long to report it," he said.
"Tell 'em what you told me, then. It happens a lot."
Isaac didn't want to admit the real reasons he couldn't go to the police. One, what if they found Raymond with bright red eyes and fangs out, and two, Isaac was petrified of police officers.
"Can..can we go look for him first?" Isaac suggested. "I just don't want to get lots of people involved in case he's right around here."
Silently, James nodded. "Sounds good. Might wanna make up with Andy first, though."
"Of course." Isaac scratched at his arm. "So..you're really okay with it? Me and Raymond, I mean?"
     "Why wouldn't I be?"
     "I dunno. Everyone else here wouldn't be."
     "You just gotta be careful. There's still a lotta..controversy surrounding that kind of thing. I'm okay with it, though."
     "Thanks, James."
     James patted Isaac on the shoulder and lightly pushed him towards the store entrance. "Let's go talk to Andy."
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     Raymond saw spots when he opened his eyes, and his head pounded mercilessly. The sound of the birds and wind were muffled, and a slight ringing noise echoed in his ears.
     Where am I? He thought. I'm supposed to be dead. Is this heaven?
Although it was difficult, Raymond was able to sit up. He was in the same forest, in the same spot. The grass around him was covered in blood, and a lot of it. He shuddered. Was that his?
     He turned his head and saw a bottle in the distance- the same one from before. He slowly crawled over to it, picking it up and inspecting the liquid inside. It was thick and red, the same crimson red as the blood in the grass. He picked up the little paper attached.
Drink this, the paper said. It's all you're going to have for a while.
Confused, Raymond opened the bottle and smelled the liquid inside. He scoffed. It smelled horrid. He wasn't going to drink this. He couldn't.
He moved to bite his lip and gasped lightly at the pain it caused. He brought his hand up to his mouth and felt his teeth. His canines were sharp. Sharp like ones of a wolf. He felt his neck, which still throbbed from pain, and felt two wounds in it. They were almost like holes- like a bite. He also felt slight indents of other teeth.
What had happened to him?
     Raymond suddenly shivered as a gust of wind blew on him. He was so cold. And..so hungry.
     He averted his gaze back to the bottle. Picking it up again, he slowly took off the cork and smelled the awful mixture once more. Hesitantly, he brought it to his lips and took the tiniest sip he possibly could.
     It was delicious.
     It was thick and savory, and swallowing it gave him a slight burst of pleasure and strength he had never felt before. He smiled, but that soon faded when he remembered the substance on the grass. Was this the same thing? Blood?
     He crawled back over to the puddle and touched some of the liquid with his finger. Upon tasting it, he frowned. It was a little more sour, but it was the same liquid. He had just had blood to drink.
     He thought back to the stories his friends used to tell, the legends that always kept him up at night when he was young. He remembered the wolf-men, the ghosts, and more undead creatures that he couldn't think of. He wasn't a wolf man, and he definitely wasn't a ghost. Although, he had experienced death.
     He thought about the undead. They never had names, but he recalled a friend telling his group about a creature with large fangs and red eyes, one that stalked through the night stealing blood from people for him to drink. He had the fangs, and the blood. He wasn't sure about the eyes, but was two out of three enough?
     If he had already died, could he die again? Was he cursed to live in this way for eternity, or could a simple bullet kill him like any other man?
     For the first time, he felt helpless. Hopeless.
     Afraid.