Flesh

FLESH

• This story contains adult material, and should not been read by anyone under the age of 18. If you are underage, then please leave this website. Otherwise, here is chapter two. Enjoy, and please send feedback to afro.hispanico@gmail.com. Thank you.

CHAPTER TWO

The dance was going as well as planned. I walked back to Jasmine's car to get stoned an hour after my chat with Kevin. I kept a close eye out for him, but it seemed that every time I searched for him, he was nowhere to be found. That seemed strange for a guy who didn't even attend the school. I didn't want anyone besides Dennis to know what my intentions were with Kevin, so I decided to leave the party and go for a small walk.

I know. Dumb decision, right?

I walked a half of a mile when I heard a voice coming from the side of the road. Being stoned and somewhat drunk, I walked closer to the voice to see if I could make out what it was saying.

"Someone...please...help...don't want to...die..."

I walked closer to see that there was someone calling out from behind a tree. I slowly crept around to see that it was Braxton Parker, a junior from my school. He had been bitten and his blood oozed from the bite marks on his neck.

"What the fuck? Braxton, what the fuck happened here?"

He couldn't move. "Someone....something...attacked me."

"Okay, that's all I needed to know. I've got to get you some help. I grabbed my phone from my pocket and called Dennis.

"Hey! Where are you, dude? Jasmine's been looking for you."

"Dennis, we have a problem. I'm about a half of a mile down the road. Someone's been attacked again."

"What? What are you talking about dude? Are you still high?"

"Damnit, Dennis, will you listen to me? It's Braxton! He's been bit! He's barely alive, so hurry out here. I'm going to call the police, and then I'll call you back."

"Wait a minute, dude! If you call the cops, and they show up, you could get arrested. Don't forget, you're drunk, and you're high. You're all fucked up."

"Trust me," I assured him. "This was a major buzz kill. I'll be fine. Grab everyone, and get out here as soon as you can."

"Okay," he said. "I'm on it right now."

I called the police, and within minutes, Braxton was on his way to the hospital. Officer Dayton, a friend of the family, stopped me before I could make it to Jasmine's car after she pulled up.

"Hey, are you okay? Did you see anything else out here?"

"Nah, just Braxton," I replied.

"Why were you walking out here at this time of night? You were supposed to be at the dance. How did you end up way out here?"

"I just wanted to walk, that's all."

"You've been smoking marijuana, haven't you?"

Shit! I knew I was busted. I really didn't want to deal with my parents. Seeing Braxton half-alive was one thing, but facing my angry parents was even worse.

"Look, John, let me explain..."

He put his hand up. "No need to. Did you forget I was your age once? No worries, man. I won't say anything to your parents, nor will I arrest you this time, but you shouldn't have been out here."

"Thanks, man. Do you know anything about these killings? Like, why are people being drained of their blood? Sounds kind of odd to me, right?"

"We're working on it, Terry. Until then, I don't want you walking around unsupervised or without someone around. That goes for all of you kids, ya'll understand me?"

"Yes, sir," we all answered in unison.

"Now, go home. We're going to head to the school to shut down the dance."

"No, wait!" Jasmine screamed. "I worked my ass off to get that dance up and running, and now, you want to shut it down?"

Officer Dayton looked pissed. "Look, someone almost died this evening, and we don't know who's up to all of this. Unless people leave that dance as soon as possible, someone else is going to be up against that tree next. Unless you don't give two fucks about the people around you, I suggest you do as I say and go home. Do you understand me?"

"Whatever," she mumbled. "All of my work, gone to waste."

"It wasn't waste," Kevin said softly. "The dance was a great idea, and I'm really glad that I got to meet you all. I don't want to be the next victim, so I'm going to head home. You guys please be careful, and I hope I get to see you all again."

"Sure thing," Lisa responded. "It was a pleasure meeting you, and yes, we will see each other again. Stay safe, and have a great night. Thanks again for coming."

"Thank you for having me."

I didn't tell my parents what had happened at the dance, and I had Officer Dayton's word that he wouldn't say anything as well. My parents always worried about me, afraid that I would become someone or something that they would not be able to save me from. I wished they could have thrown me a bone sometimes.

Jasmine took everyone home, and as soon as I got into my house, my mom rushed after me, as if she hadn't seen me in years.

"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?"

I looked surprised. "Mom, I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be?"

"Officer Dayton told me everything."

I figured that much. Snitch.

"Mom, I'm fine really. Braxton is in the hospital right now, and hopefully, everything will be fine. No need to worry about me."

Mom gave me a stern look. "Have you been drinking? I can smell alcohol on you."

I looked down. I knew that I was in trouble.

"Terry, how could you? I give you freedom to be with your friends, because I know that I can trust you, but if you're going to come home like this, then you can forget it! I am so disappointed in you right now, son."

I felt really bad, because she was right. She never saw me drinking. I could tell that everything else would go downhill from that point. I couldn't speak. There was nothing I could do or say to get her to forgive me for coming home. I wanted to go to my room, go to sleep, and forget everything that happened.

"Mom..."

"Don't. I know that you're almost done with high school, and I understand that you're becoming an adult, but I won't have a drunk in my house. I'm letting you off the hook this time, but only because I was seriously worried about my child. This was your first and only warning, so don't try this stunt again.

"Yes, mom. I'm sorry."

A smile formed across her face. "It's not okay, but I forgive you. Now, go to your room, and get some rest. I have to make some calls. There's got to be an explanation to what happened with your classmate."

I really knew what the deal was. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you too. Goodnight, baby."

When I walked into my room, I got undressed and paced back and forth, trying to piece everything together on what had happened earlier that night. I couldn't believe what was happening, and what really threw me off was that I was beginning to believe what Lisa had said about vampires.

Growing up, I was fascinated about the vampire life, because I knew at that time that they didn't exist. As an early teenager, I would dream of being a vampire. Hell, I remember when I wanted to be a superhero, but that never happened. Even if vampires existed, I didn't want to know them as killers. Either way, I was determined to solve the situation. There was a reasonable explanation as to what was going on, and I was going to find out. After several hours of nonstop thinking and planning, I looked outside to see that the sun was rising. I was super exhausted, but not sleepy at the slightest.

Monday morning was a dull start to the new week. I was an hour late to class, and honestly, I didn't care. After what almost seemed to be an eternity, lunch finally arrived. Jasmine and I had planned to meet at the cafeteria entrance for lunch, and after ten minutes of waiting, I became impatient. I turned to walk out the door, and ran straight into Lisa.

"Hey, watch it!"

My books had fallen to the floor.

"Sorry! Damn, what's your problem today? Did someone piss in your breakfast or something?" I realized that I had snapped for no reason.

"I'm sorry, Lisa. It's been an awful day for me, babe. Have you seen Jasmine, by any chance? We're supposed to meet up for lunch."

"No, sweets," she answered. "Sorry, but I haven't seen her today. Are you still shaken up about what happened to Braxton Saturday night?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. Have you heard anything on his condition?"

"Nothing new, but he did lose a lot of blood. I keep hearing that he will be okay, though."

"That's good news, at least."

"Hey guys," Jasmine called out as she approached us. "Sorry I'm late. Does Subway sound good?"

Lisa nodded. "Sure! I can work with that."

"Sounds like a plan," I agreed. "Let's get out of here."

My phone rang.

I didn't recognize the number, but I assumed that it may have been in regards to Braxton's condition, so I answered."

"Hello?"

"Hey. It's Kevin. Is this Terry?"

"Kevin? Oh, hey there! Sorry, I didn't know you had my number."

"Dennis gave it to me. I hope you don't mind."

"No, not one bit. What's up?"

"We need to talk."

I didn't know how to respond to that.

"Um, sure! Is everything okay?"

"For right now, everything is fine, but we need to talk. When are you free to meet up?"

The girls looked confused, so I mouthed Kevin's name to let them know who it was on the other line.

"Well," I started, "I'm free after school is over. I'm just grabbing some lunch right now with the girls, but I'm free this evening if you would like to meet. Just let me know where to wait for you."

"Does seven sound okay?"

"Sure, that's fine."

"Okay, great. Meet me by the school's entrance. I'll see you then. Thanks, Terry."

"No problem. I'll talk to you then." I ended the call.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, Jasmine. To my knowledge, everything is fine. He just needs to talk to me about something tonight, so I'm going to meet him here around seven."

"Um," Lisa uttered.

"What? Was I wrong to say yes?"

"Sorry honey, but that's not a very smart move on your part. Did you forget that people keep getting killed?"

"No, I didn't forget," I replied flatly. "I doubt Kevin will kill me."

"We don't know him that well, you know. Going with him alone just doesn't sound like a very pleasant idea, especially if he wants to talk to you."

I thought about that for a moment.

"Look, I can take care of myself. No harm is going to come my way, but if it makes you feel better, call me on my phone around eight to make sure that I'm okay. If I don't answer after the second attempt, come by the school with the police."

"Okay," Lisa agreed. "You heard him, right?"

Jasmine nodded.

"Like you said," she added, "if I don't hear from you after the second call, I will be bringing the police out here. Deal?"

"Deal," I promised.

Jasmine put her hand on my shoulder.

"You know that I worry about you, sometimes. We don't know this Kevin kid that well, and with everything going on, you have got to be careful about who you're around when your friends or family aren't present. You're my best friend, so please be careful."

"I know, Jasmine. Thanks for being such a great friend. You too, Lisa."

I knew that they were both right, but I didn't want to admit it. Somehow, I knew that I would be okay, and that Kevin would not hurt me.

Eight struck, and I waited for Kevin at the school's entrance. A couple of minutes passed until I saw a black BMW pull up into the parking lot.

"Sorry I'm late," Kevin said as he jumped out of the car.

"It's okay."

"Before we talk, I need for you to promise me that you will not tell anyone about what I'm going to tell you tonight, okay?"

I was becoming nervous. "Is it that bad, that I can't tell my best friends? They already know that I'm here with you."

"They will find everything out in due time, but as of right now, they can't know anything, so please promise me that you won't say anything to them. Do I have your word, Terry?"

I really didn't know what else to do besides promise not to tell anyone. Whatever it was, it had to be something dangerous.

"Okay, Kevin. You have my word that I will not say anything to anyone about what's going on. Now, what exactly is going on? Does this involve my friends or family?"

"It can, if you tell them what I'm about to tell you."

"Gosh, what is it?"

"Terry, you not see it coming right now, but you're in great danger, man. These killers are after you. The more people they kill will bring them closer to you, and they don't care who dies in the process of finding you. You see, they want you, because..."

I cut him off.

"Wait a damn minute! First of all, where did this come from? The killers that you're talking about...are you referring to the `vampires' I keep hearing about?"

"Yes," he answered.

"Well, answer this for me. How do you know that there is more than one of them? No one has seen them."

"I have seen them. They tried to attack me last night."

I was shocked. "What? They tried to kill you?"

"Yeah, but I got away."

"Why are they after me?"

"It's a long story."

"Well, I suggest you start explaining. I have all the time in the world to listen to something that affects my life."

"All I can say," He sighed, "is that you ask your family about your great-grandmother, who was a vampire. She was staked and killed just sixty years ago.

There was a long period of silence. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My great-grandmother was a vampire? She killed people, just like the monsters killing the people around me?

"How do you know this?" I asked.

"I did my research."

"Research? Research is bullshit these days, and always will be. What makes you think that I'm going to believe this, just because you researched it?"

"Look," he hissed, "I wouldn't be sitting here wasting my time by telling you any of this if it wasn't true, so cut the smart ass remarks. If you don't believe anything I've said, go home and ask your parents about your great-grandmother Mary.

"Didn't you ask me not to tell anyone about what you have told me tonight, or did you just change your mind?" I could see the steam rising from his ears.

"You might as well, since you think that my research is bullshit, so why even try to continue with this?"

"Gosh," I exclaimed. "Did I say something? I'm not trying to come off as an asshole or whatever. I'm sorry Kevin, but I just refuse to believe this until I get some legitimate proof."

He looked away. I could tell that he was frustrated. I put my hand on his shoulder, but he pulled away quickly.

"If you don't wake up and realize that you're in danger, then that is your problem, but you're sitting here, making me feel like a fool. If you want to die, then that's on you!"

He ran to his car, jumped in, and sped off.

-----END OF CHAPTER TWO-----