Taking Back the Life You Stole

Chapter 13

~2 Years before~

Mikey and Gerard usually went to the bar together, but tonight Gerard said he just wanted to stay home and watch TV, so here Mikey was, alone. He drank the last of his drink and set the cup back down on the bar. Within a few minutes he was able to flag over the bartender so he could close his tab for the night. He'd been there for a few hours by now, and drinking alone felt a lot more depressing than drinking with his brother. After he got his card back and put his coat on, it was time to walk home. It wasn't too far, only a couple of blocks, but it seemed much longer walking it alone. He lit a cigarette once he was out of the bar and started his journey, or what it should have been. He didn't make it very far, only to the edge of the building, before something caught his attention. There was a sound coming from the alley that separated the bar from a dingy apartment building. It sounded like a kitten crying, and there was no way Mikey would just ignore that. He took a few steps forward, cursing himself for not having a flashlight. He followed the sound around the back of a dumpster, but there was nothing there. He shook his head, confused, and turned to head back out of the alley.

His path was blocked by three people, Mikey was pretty sure they were men, but it was too dark to actually tell. "Hello?" He asked as they just continued to stare at him.

"You don't belong here," One of the men said, taking a step forward. There wasn't much light in the alley, but the street lamps behind the men briefly glinted on something in his hand. It only took Mikey a few seconds to know it was a knife.

Mikey took a nervous step backwards, just trying to maintain the space between them. "I'm sorry, I can go."

"It's too late now." The man took a few more steps forward. He was readjusting his grip on the knife.

"Please," Mikey whispered, he knew he sounded pathetic. He kept talking steps back with every step the man took towards him. It wasn't long before he hit the back wall of the alley. The bricks felt rough against his skin, but that didn't stop him from pressing himself against it as much as he could. He could feel the heat rushing over his face, and then the tears were forming in his eyes. He was going to die here, alone. "I don't know what I did."

"You didn't do anything." The man pressed the side of the knife to Mikey's neck. "But we gotta eat."

Mikey tried to scream as the blade bit into his skin, but there was suddenly another man there, holding his hand over Mikey's mouth, muffling any sound. The man with the knife had moved the blade out of the way and now had his face against Mikey's neck. At first, Mikey couldn't figure out what was happening, why he was doing what he was, but then Mikey felt the sharp piercing of teeth entering his skin, followed by the cold rush of blood leaving his body. The man covering Mikey's mouth bit down into the wrist closest to him. The third man was there in a moment, biting down into Mikey's other wrist.

"Please," Mikey pleaded when the hand was off his mouth. He was shivering, and he didn't know if it was from fear or the cold or the blood loss. He tried to fight the men off and scream again, but his muscles weren't cooperating. There was darkness beginning to creep into the edges of his vision, and he knew he would lose consciousness soon. He was able to whisper "I don't- please don't let me die," Before the man moved the knife again and plunged it into Mikey's stomach.

Mikey was on the ground, but he didn't know how he got there. Two of the men were gone, but the one with the knife was still there, crouching over Mikey.

"You're gonna wish you hadn't said that." The man said, before biting back into the other side of Mikey's neck.

This time it wasn't cold, it felt like fire was ripping it's way through Mikey's veins. His brain was too numb to scream, the pain was too much. It wasn't long, maybe a few minutes, and the man pulled away from Mikey. He swiped the blood of his lip with his thumb and stood.