Heaven Sent

I woke up feeling well rested. It was weird. I can’t remember the last time that happened. On top of that I had slept through the night. It was awesome. I felt invincible, like I could take on a great white and win. I just have a good feeling today. It was going to be a great one, and I could already feel my creative juices starting to flow.

I looked at my cell phone to check the time. 1:28; I had slept a long time. I shook my arms out to get them working a little quicker and set to work. You guessed it: I was painting again. And yes, it was a picture of the man. What else would it be? I was beginning to feel like a one-trick-pony. And if I was a pony I was definitely a Shetland. They’re spunky.

Somewhere along this train of thought, my mind wandered back to thoughts of that man. Don’t they always. But I suddenly had an idea and the perfect excuse to meet the guy. Why not give the painting to the man? It would be the perfect way to thank him for all he has done for me. It might be a little creepy, I mean, he’s never met me and I’d be handing him a picture of himself, but it’d probably be worth it in the long run. As long as he was flattered rather than weirded out I’d be fine. I decided this picture would be the one to give him. Now all I had to do was finish it.

A couple hours later found me putting the finishing touches on the painting. Next step: finding the man. And then getting him to take it. Maybe I’d throw in trying to convince him I’m not a stalker.

I don’t think this is going to be as easy as it sounds in my head. I don’t really think it sounds easy in my head...

I picked up my paints and washed my brushes in the sink. Leaving them sitting on the side to dry, I grabbed my painting with barely contained excitement and bounces out of my door heading for the park. I wanted to start somewhere where the man might be at this hour. I had never seen him in the alley this early, so I’d save that for last on my little excursion through the town. Meandering my way through the park turned out to be a little bit of a letdown. I was hopeful when seeing little signs of movement but it never turned out to be him. I saw an extreme Frisbee game. Plenty of people were reading under the street lamps. There was even a couple out for what appeared to be a romantic night under the stars. But the person I was looking for was nowhere to be found. So much for this being easy... I checked a few other places around town before exhausting all of my options. Might as well check the alley now.

On my way to the small side road I looked down every street, and small pass for a sign of the man in hopes that he’d be down one. My heart was beating fast with anticipation. I was rarely ever this bold about anything. Giving this painting was almost like screaming my attraction to this guy. In a totally artistic kind of way. You know he had a good face for modeling and had that whole mysterious vibe going on.

On this seemingly impossible mission I got bored of walking in silence and began to hum a song to myself. And to be honest I was feeling a little uncomfortable. You know that eerie feeling you get. That one like you’re being watched. Yeah? I had that now. I wonder if the man felt this way when I watched him and that’s why he had started visiting the alley less. I heard a noise and snapped my head toward the sound.

Go figure... It just so happened to be coming from a dark alley. Not the one I was used to seeing the man in, but one really close to it. So what did I do... yup went down the alley looking for the source of the sound. That’s obviously the smartest decision when by yourself late at night. Putting my unease behind me I pressed forward into the alley in search of my man...eh. The man.

“Should have brought a flashlight,” I muttered as I descended deeper and deeper into the alley. It was dark and I’m a wuss. Light always made me feel braver.

I heard something right in front of me. There was a pitter-patter of feet. A loud clang made me jump. The sound reverberated off the walls on either side of me, looking for a way out of this place. Maybe I should too... Whatever it was rolled a few seconds until it came to rest directly in front of my feet. It was a trashcan. Rustling was coming from inside toe metal bin. And then all at once the rustling stopped. The thing making the noise had sprung out of the trash and head butted my leg. Then it continued to weave in and out of my legs rub against them. It was small, furry and adorable. I’m so glad I came into this alley. I set my picture on the ground gently and crouched down to pet the animal that had caused all of that noise.

“Hey kitty cat, what are you doing here?” I smiled at the tiny gray fluff ball. It was beyond cute. After a few minutes of loving the cat had enough and scampered away. Just like that it was time to resume my search. I picked up my picture and headed toward the first place I had seen the man.

I was one short block away from my destination. My heart was fluttering in my chest and my palms were sweaty. It was like I was going to give a speech. Never thought I’d get so nervous about meeting someone. I guess I just really want him to like me. I turned the corner into the alley.

It was empty.

Oh great. I deflated. My whole body felt heavy. I had wanted to meet him, thank him so bad and he wasn’t here. I suppose I could just come back another night with the painting, but I really wanted to give it to him tonight. Don’t ask me why it matters so much. I don’t know.

I sat down on the fire escape steps and held the painting in front of me like a lifeline. Maybe he’d come through later? Yeah... I’d wait here for a while and he’d show up. I looked at my cell phone for the time. 12:22. Wow lots of twos... Maybe an hour. If he wasn’t here in an hour I’d leave.

I sat there staring out at the road forever. Wouldn’t it be funny if he came in from the other side? He’d probably give me a heart attack.

But he never came.

I was just about to get up and head home when I heard a commotion coming from behind me. Going with the theme of the night, I’d like to say it was another animal. This noise really didn’t sound like a harmless kitty cat. Maybe it was a dog. Yeah, that had to be it. And in the next alley I’d see a goat... or something. I heard a noise almost like sucking, slurping. Okay if it was a dog it was sick. I knew if I didn’t go see what was wrong with it I wouldn’t be able to sleep. I left my painting sitting on the fire escape steps and went to investigate a dark alley for the second time this evening.

I blushed.

It was a couple. In the middle of a heated make out session. I had just witnessed something way too private for my liking. They were really going at it. I averted my eyes not wanting to watch them but too afraid to move. Didn’t want them to notice me standing there and as of yet they hadn’t. I heard that slurping noise again. It was so loud it actually made me jump. My gaze shot back to the couple. I know there was some spit involved in making out but it just sounded way too gross.

Oh... God. Holy poop on a popsicle. They weren’t making out. The man was... Jesus. The man was tearing the woman’s neck apart. Blood was gushing from the wound. Each time the man bit down he dug deeper into her bloodied neck. There was a squishing sound. I felt sick. That hadn’t been spit swapping I’d heard but her blood oozing out from between his teeth. I gagged.

The man looked up from his meal’s neck and smiled, a revolting grin filled with meat and blood. Human meat and blood. I puked. I couldn’t help it. He was still looking at me as I watched the woman shuddering in his arms. She was still alive. And the way the man was looking at me, I’d be the next course. I tried to move, but was literally frozen in terror. I had always laughed at movies where the heroine would freeze up in life or death situations like this. It was stupid. But now I felt every bit the scared little girl they were. Maybe movies knew what they were talking about...sometimes.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away, couldn’t even blink. The man realized by now that I wasn’t going anywhere. His grin widened. A piece of flesh fell from his abnormally sharp teeth. Oh, God...

It was one of the creepy guys. The predators, definitely predators, from in front of Tim’s. The woman in his arms went limp in his arms. He gave a guttural chuckle and muttered, “Pathetic.”

I watched horrified as the man dropped the body. Apparently I was more interesting than the bloodied woman. I was in trouble. He started slinking toward me taking slow calculating steps. Come on legs, now’s as good a time as any. Work!

“Oh, is little Allen afraid?” the man jeered.

Afraid? No. I can honestly say I’m not afraid. I passed that a long time ago. I’m absolutely petrified.

Wait... He knew my name. Oh, yeah Tim. Thanks...

Good news though. At the sound of his voice my legs decided it was a good time to work. I slowly began to back away from him. He increased his pace.

I spun around and started running for my life. If I could just get to the fire escape... I smashed into something hard. Another guy. The other in this set of two. He wrapped his arms around me holding me in a vice grip. I’m totally and completely screwed.

“Where’s Tiearyu?” the one holding me growled.

Who? I was about to ask what they were talking about when I was spun around roughly facing the one who’s snack I had interrupted.

“Come on you little turd,” that one shouted. Spittle flew from his mouth landing on my face. It smelled like blood. I gagged. “It was uh... nice of you to save us the trouble of finding you. But you better tell us where that God forsaken man is. We know you’ve seen him.”

So Tiearyu was a man. I wish I knew something, anything to get these two away from me. “Let me go!” I screeched struggling against the arms around me. All that earned me was a punch in the stomach. The wind was knocked out of me and I gasped for breath. These guys were made of steel.

“Come on kid,” the man holding me whispered into my ear. “We don’t want to hurt you.” Somehow that would have been a lot more convincing before the punch to the stomach... and the dead woman. “We just want to know where that bastard Tiearyu is.” Who is Tiearyu?

“W-Who’s T-tiear, Tiearyu?” I managed to squeak out. It sounded a lot tougher in my head.

Apparently that wasn’t the right thing to say.

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me,” the man in front of me slapped a hand to his forehead. I winced. “Maybe a little sample Van? Might get the little fucker talking.”

My stomach did a little somersault before deciding to jump out my mouth again. There wasn’t anything else to throw up, and bile dribbled from the corner of my mouth. Neither of them even batted an eye.

“If you must,” the man holding me drawled out. And then I was free. He let go of me I was so stunned I didn’t move for a couple of seconds. By the time I started to move it was too late. I was pushed forward into the other man’s arms.

He grabbed my wrist tightly and began pulling it toward his mouth. I knew what was happening. I shouted something indiscernible and struggled like my life depended on it. Probably did. There was a sickening crack and my cry was cut off abruptly by another hand the other brother. I whimpered. Pretty sure he broke my wrist. “Make one more noise and I’ll gut you like a pig.” The one holding the hand over my mouth hissed.

By this point I gave up. The man was going to bite me. Tear into me like he did that woman. I’d die. Instead I was licked almost tenderly. I was shell-shocked. I was disgusted and even more terrified. Tender was bad. Tendered applied that there would be an unwanted adjective in front of the diagnosis of assault when someone found my body here. What would my parents think. What would the man think about his brooding spot?

All of these thoughts abandoned me when teeth savagely tore into my flesh. Very sharp teeth.

I cried out in pain. My wrist hurt more now than when they broke it. The sucking sound was back, but this time it was coming from me. My wrist. My blood. What had I been dragged into? The man was sucking my blood like a... like a vampire. Were they vampires? Or did they just have a sick fetish. Either way it didn’t matter. Knowing wouldn’t help me.

It hurt. As he continued to suck it became more and more painful. Each draw of blood feeling like thousands of needles coursing through my veins. I began openly sobbing.

Spots were swimming in my vision. I felt woozy. How long was this guy going to drink? Just when I thought I was going to pass out the one with a hand clamped over my mouth intervened.

“That’s enough,” the drinker didn’t listen. “Desoto, that’s enough. We need him alive for now,” he hissed. For now didn’t sound too good to me. The other ripped his fangs from my wrist. Oww.

He growled in disappointment, “But Van, that’s the sweetest blood I’ve ever tasted. If I can’t drain him dry, I say you do. After we get the info.”

Van seemed to like this idea. He gave a dark chuckle. I was spun around to face the other twin. Van. Desoto’s arms snaked around my waist while his brother’s grabbed either side of my head forcing me to look into his silver eyes. Predator’s eyes. I was dead.

And confused. So confused my sobs subsided. My heart was pounding with dread but the guy wasn’t doing anything. Not that I’m complaining... He was looking into my eye as if searching for something. Something he knew was there.

Pain. Like an arrow being shot into my eyes. It exploded in my head white and hot. It felt like my very thoughts were the target of this swiftly moving arrow. Nothing would be safe from it. My vision swam and all of a sudden it didn’t feel like I was with the two brutes anymore.

I was reliving my life-like a movie in my mind. Events flashed through my head all fleeting and out of focus. Learning to walk. My first kiss. Fighting with my parents. Getting my first painting in a gallery show. Moving to the city. Learning to talk. Finding the pickle on my Christmas tree. The strange guy in the alley.

That memory seemed to slow down, get more intense. It was as if my mind had locked into anything containing that man. That guy was picking my brain with a sledge-hammer. I lived through every moment with that man. Felt the emotions that I had experienced on each occasion. I realized then that my heart fluttered a lot when I was around him. Now I realize what that was. Attraction. Genuine attraction. Like, “I wanna date you” attraction.

Great. It takes vampires tearing my mind to shreds for me to realize I’m attracted to the guy. That I wanted to have more than a friendly relationship with him. I wanted an extra friendly relationship.

The thoughts stopped and my mind felt strangely blank. The sudden stop of pictures and emotions left me feeling drained. More so than I already was. My legs felt like they were made of Jell-O. My whole body was shaking, convulsing. I felt violated. They had seen my innermost thoughts and memories. Those were mine. What right did they have to see them? These men were nothing to me.

I crumbled in on myself my body no longer able to support itself. If not for the strong arms around my waist I would have ended up on the ground.

Van’s arms snaked around my waist, replacing his brothers, and pulled me uncomfortably close. “I love it when they crumble like little more than broken dolls,” he chuckled darkly. Is that what I was? What I looked like? A doll...

He ran a hand through my hair. I weakly tried to shy away from his touch, but I couldn’t muster up enough strength to even turn my head. I just closed my eyes. Hopefully it would all be over soon. “It will be quite a shame to kill this one. He is rather pretty. But, alas, we no longer need him. He was telling the truth. He didn’t know Tiearyu.”

With that said I was pulled even closer to the vampire. His head nuzzled into the crook of my neck and my heart leapt into my throat. I was gonna end up like that lady. And I was too weak to stop it from happening. He nipped and sucked at my flesh playing with my. Probably got off on making me suffer.

I let out a whimper as those teeth slid into my neck.

Time seemed to pass slowly. Each gulp painfully exaggerated.

At some point the other joined in biting into my left elbow.

I could feel myself fading fast. Panicking on the inside but able to do little. I tried in vain to get some control back over my body. The haze around my mind was growing thicker and thicker.

I remember them switching spots and biting somewhere else. But could no longer feel their bites.

I was just there.

I’m going to die.

So tired.

Maybe if I just...

I knew no more.