The usual disclaimers apply. This story is fictional, of course. This is my first submission. I attempted to create a full novel with a complete plot. I have over 12 chapters written so far and will post more if there is interest.
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Just how old is Max? Well, read on my friend.
Chapter 5
Vampire? Sean's head was now swimming with that word. In only an instant he went over his entire time with Max. The boy was certainly more mature than his eleven year appearance; he was cool to the touch, and experienced. A smirk formed on his face when he went over the last hour, oh so experienced. Then he realized he'd never seen the boy eat, drink, or use the bathroom. But... what about the beach?
Max recognized the ring of his phone and moved off the man to seek it out. He found his pants and dug out the blaring device. What he wouldn't give for the peace and quiet of the past. And standing nude in the middle of Sean's bedroom he clicked to answer. His eyes darted to the man in bed and smiled, Sean was staring at him, his eyes full of questions.
Sean watched the boy, his head coming up with a hundred questions to ask. He admired Max's smooth skin and subtle curves, still hungrily eying the boy's cute package. He wondered, most of all, how long Max has been eleven. Eternal youth, eternally prepubescent, a part of his heart ached for the boy. To never journey into maturity.
But what was maturity? Time and experience? Max seemed to have both in spades. He had no pubic hair, true, (And Sean secretly thanked God for that.) but he didn't look old enough to get a license either. Then again driving was a rather new invention. Again his mind urged him to ask how long he'd been eleven.
Just before Max answered the phone he noticed the number on the caller ID. "Alice, is something wrong?" In just a few short seconds Max hung up the phone and began to dress. He tossed Sean's briefs to the man and continued donning his cloths.
Without words Sean pulled on his briefs and started pulling his own clothes on. Then when Max left the room and returned in seconds he finally asked what was going on.
"We need to leave. They are on their way."
"Who?"
"The monsters you rescued me from. They found your bolt cutters."
Sean's heart started to pound as he sped around the small apartment. "How long?"
"Thirty minutes at best," Max answered. He grabbed a duffel bag and tossed in what little Sean had bought him. He located his black bag and waited for Sean.
For his part, Sean didn't know what to do. He knew the people who were coming were not going to be civil or obey any social laws or standards. He located his most prized possessions, some cloths and family pictures. With another bag full the pair walked to the front door. Sean was surprised when Max handed him both bags.
"I need to do a last check," Max said, "Start the truck and wait for me."
Sean nodded and left leaving Max to do his thing. He felt a sense of euphoria while sitting in the idling truck, clarity of purpose. His life had been so directionless he wondered if his decision to stick by the boy gave him new hope or the threat of torture and death. Either way he was all in. Max appeared after about 5 minutes with his college backpack and by the sound from it there were no longer books inside.
Once Max was buckled in, a practice he found amusing, he looked at Sean and said, "Where's your phone?" And he held his little hand out.
Sean fished the phone from his pocket and gave it the boy. In a single squeeze of his hand Max crushed the phone into tiny fragments opened his window and tossed them on the car parked next to them.
"What the fuck?" Sean said. He loved that phone.
"Trust me," Max said. "We need to get moving and they can track phones."
Sean was only a little put out; he put the truck in gear and sped out of the parking ramp without another complaint. He was a little shocked at the show of strength by someone so young-looking. The boy had crushed the phone like it was a gum wrapper. He didn't feel afraid of Max, just more respectful.
Just before Sean drove the truck out of the parking ramp he noticed the sun was out. He quickly stopped the truck and looked at Max. "The sun's out, will it hurt you?"
Max shook his head, "No. That's a myth, besides I put on sun-screen."
Sean chuckled to himself, "Sun-screen huh? SPF 30?" He sped out of the parking ramp and down the street taking Max's quiet directions to somewhere safe. As he was driving he knew he'd never see his apartment again or any of his things. He was not concerned for the material things, just in a life that had to be lost. What was important was with him in his truck. It occurred to him that he may have to leave his truck behind soon as well. First though, he had to have an answer to the question that was nagging him.
"So how old are you?" Sean asked quietly.
Max smiled at the man, "How old do I look?" Both laughed at the repeated answer, Sean's nerves were a little on edge so he didn't continue the joke. Finally Max answered truthfully, "I was born in Athens, Greece to a widowed mason. He used me to bribe his way onto the Parthenon project."
"Used you? Like..." Sean let the question linger unfinished.
"Sold me," Max sighed. "Even now I am bitter about it."
"So wait, the Parthenon project to repair it? Like in the 80's?"
"No," Max smiled, "To build it. I was born roughly 520 BC by your modern calendar."
Sean could find nothing to say to that. That would make the boy... "You're 2600 years old!" So shocked he swerved off the road a little.
"Almost," Max answered.
"Wow..." Sean said, "I'm not sure what to say, that's... uh... a long time." He was trying to wrap his head around the centuries Max has seen pass. He was in awe over what the boy has seen. "You must have endless fascinating stories to tell."
"It's all history. I'm concerned with the present, are you okay?" Max looked at the man beside him.
"Yeah... I guess. For the most part. We so have to sit down and talk though."
"We will, soon."
As the minutes passed Max gave his instructions that wound them through densely populated areas. Sean had seen many movies and figured it would be harder to find them surrounded by many other people than if they were out alone somewhere. They stopped at a decent hotel and Sean easily got a room using some of Max's cash. Once inside Max destroyed Sean's debit card, credit card, and anything else that would be traceable. There wasn't any money in the account and the credit card was maxed so Sean felt fine.
Max made a phone call and within fifteen minutes a soft knock made Sean jump. Max answered the door and after some soft whispers he led a group of six into the room. Each had the tell-tale pale skin and flawless beauty that put Sean on edge. Two of the group looked familiar, the man and woman from the beach. The four others were strangers to Sean.
"Sean you already met Edward and Bella," Max gestured to the pair at the far right. "This is Jasper and Alice," Max gestured to the center pair, "And this is Emmett and Rose. Everyone this is Sean, as I said he decided to stick around. Sean, I have found, is very compatible with me and should be treated as a future member of the family."
Emmett reached out a hand and Sean took it out of habit. "Good to meet you Sean. Finally someone tamed the little devil." As Sean shook the hands of everyone it was only Rose who cringed when Sean touched her.
"Rose," Edward said, "He's older than all of us combined. Get over it." Sean was left without explanation. One thing the man did notice was each had the same deep gold eyes as Max. He seriously doubted it was a family trait. The group got comfortable in the room and began discussing the situation. The conversation moved to fast for Sean to follow.
First it was Jasper who spoke, "The pack found nothing but a burned ruin." Then the voices started to blur together.
"Carlisle is contacting his friends." "No scent or sign of them either." "Can you tell us anything else about this religion?" "Not all members were red-eyes." "Are you sure?" "Positive" And on and on the conversation went. It made Sean's head spin. He soon closed his eyes and sat back against the wall just listening to catch what he could.
In a matter of 10 minutes everyone but Sean was caught up. In short order every guest shook the man's hand before they left, even Rose, who seemed slightly more cordial. When Max and Sean were again alone Max joined the man on the bed, his head resting on the man's lap. Sean casually played with the boy's curly hair as they talked.
"You seemed like family," Sean started.
"Sort of," Max answered. "Our kind calls them Covens and normally they never get above two or three people."
"Why?"
"Constantly killing people strips what humanity a person has left. The leader of the group you met does things very differently. And it causes much controversy. I learned of him several years ago, he doesn't feed on people, no one in his coven does. And this allows them to stay a family. I sought them out and was quickly included. It is unlike anything I've ever experienced in all my years. It leads to a strong trust or bond between members. I was a quick convert," Max said.
"Is that why you're eyes are all golden?"
Sean could see a dimple form on Max's exposed cheek, "Yes, very good. And those who feed on people have unmistakable eyes. Blood red eyes. I doubt there has ever been a human who has seen those eyes and lived to tell about it. We are very secretive."
"You'd have to be," Sean said guiding his hand down Max's shoulder and side. Max rolled onto his back and Sean's hand finally rested on the boy's stomach. "If it got out you were real you'd have people either hunting you down or wanting in."
"There have been attempts at exposing us, but luckily they have been seen as fiction and attempts at entertainment," Max said. "What the Volturi are attempting goes beyond even this."
"Who are they?"
"An old and powerful Coven," Max said. "Over the years they have become our policing force. They grew so powerful no one could stand up to them."
"Like an army? Or powerful as in old?"
"Powerful as in their members have certain powers," Max said and had to explain that vampires can have powers. Some powers are dormant until they are changed, some show through even when they are human. Many do not have a power, some have more than one.
"I see," Sean was trying to absorb all this new information. "So, what's yours? Didn't you say the Volturi wanted you?"
"Good memory," Max smiled again. "Yes, I pose a particular threat to them. I can ignite the venom inside a Vampire. It's a little trick that has kept me alive." But then Max had to explain the concept of venom. The stuff that keeps him alive and allows him to change others.
"Wow, you're like a super hero. Pity you are all so secretive, you could help so many." Sean said.
"It is with that mind I knew you were good, different, and special. It's hard to see the importance of one life when you've seen millions come and go," Max answered. "But I get your point."
"It would go a long way to keep a hold of your humanity," Sean said. "I would try to help I think." That line of thinking made Sean realize a very important point. "Now that I'm all in, will you be changing me?"
"It is very hard to live in our world and not be one of us," Max answered honestly.
A long pause formed in the conversation. All that could be heard was the running of the room's heater. Finally Sean asked hesitantly, "Um... now?"
Max laughed and looked at the man, "No, we need to be in a safe place and only when you're ready. The change is a painful 3 days and only one person I know has come out the other end without being overwhelmed by the thirst. The first year is the hardest, usually, though Bella somehow overcame it. She might be able to give you tips." Max smiled.
Another ten minutes of silence enveloped the room. Max knew he'd found a perfect match for himself in Sean, he'd rarely seen another human so able to sit in silence. He enjoyed the feeling of having his hair twirled or stomach caressed and was content to sit another few hours this way. Though he knew Sean was working up another question.
"Rose didn't like me, did she?" Sean finally asked.
"Rose still sees me as a boy; Vampire children are rare and are, in fact, forbidden. The younger a person is when turned the less control they have over their thirst. The Volturi have destroyed hundreds of Immortal Children and would have destroyed me had I not been able to fight them off. That was almost two thousand years ago. Now I'm old enough where my thirst is not very strong and I pose no threat, other than to their power." Max realized he was a little off track, "Rose wants a child and sees me as a child. So she saw you as someone who preys on children and not someone who is with a 2500 year old vampire."
"2600..." Sean quipped then added, "Great, even in your world I'm just a red- ringer."
"She would never harm you, and will not disrespect you again," Max said sternly.
"What are their powers?" Sean asked.
"Good question. Emmett is just strong, Rose has no specialty (much to her chagrin), Jasper can feel and manipulate emotions, Bella is the strongest shield I've ever met, Edward and Alice are the diamonds of the group, though. They are what the Volturi want more than anything."
"Edward can read thoughts, even from some distance. And Alice, well Alice is a true oracle," Max said. "A seer of what could be or is to be. Though there are ways to counter her vision, and the Volturi know them."
Sean let out a low whistle, "Wow that would be handy to have in a battle. Or when buying a lottery ticket," Sean chuckled to himself.
"Yes, she is devilishly hard to catch as she can see you coming," Max said and added. "But like most vampires, money isn't a problem."
"I've noticed," Sean said his eyes glanced at Max's black bag by the TV. Silence drifted around the room again. Sean was content; he had a boy in his lap and purpose to his life. He couldn't help but jump when Max's phone blared out again.
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Authors note:
As you might have already guessed this story is meant to be a continuation of the Twilight series. I felt the canon had left potential for more and felt a boy love plot would fit nicely. All original characters of Twilight are copyright Stephanie Meyer. I tried my best to remain faithful to her characters.
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