He had ran out of options, backed into a corner. The only way out of the alley was blocked by the large man following him. The thug was just about to reach down and yank him to his legs when a voice reached them.
"I see you still haven't learned to play nice, Paolo." The words were followed by footsteps coming slowly towards them.
The leatherclad man sneered. "Should have known you would turn up. Always the knight in shining armour, aren't you?"
The young man on the ground twisted around, pushing himself back against the wall. Now he could see a tall, darkhaired man enter into the pale light from the street lamps. He was dressed in a pair of black jeans, a leather coat over a white, tight-fitting T-shirt. Even in the lack of light his eyes were clear, dark blue. At the taunting words, he smiled slightly. "I try."
The other man looked around. "Where's the rest of your gang? They're usually never far away..."
"Nervous?" The small smile stayed in place. "They're here too. In fact, they're right behind you."
Paolo spun around, instantly meeting three new figures coming out of the dark. One of them, a lean blond, strolled around the darker man, grinning mockingly at him in the passing. Turning his back on the older man he joined the blue eyed man.
"He's not very smart, is he," he stated, studying Paolo with a criticial look.
"No, he isn't," the blue eyed, darkhaired man agreed, encircling the blond's waist with his arm as the shorter man leaned into him. "Should have got rid of him a long time ago."
The blond's hazel eyes lit up. "Can I do it? Please, can I do it?" Aiming a pleading look up at the brunet, it turned into a beaming smile as the brunet nodded.
"You know I can't resist that look. Go and have your fun, babe." He cupped the smaller man's face in his hands. "But you come right back here when you're done, ok? I don't want you wandering the streets on your own."
"I will." Reaching up he pressed his lips to the taller man in a short, but intense kiss.
"Awe. I never get to have any fun!" a quiet, Southern voice drawled. "I want to help."
The young, darkeyed man still on the ground carefully turned to the last two of the four men, standing behind Paolo who was turning from side to side, looking paler by the minute.
The two of them were approximately of the same height, both dressed in mostly black as their friends. The Southerner was slightly pouting, an unhappy look in his emerald green eyes. In contrast to the other man, his hair was short, auburn coloured. His companion had sandy brown curls reaching just beyond the base of his shoulders. His blue eyes were amused.
"Poor baby, we're really mean to you, aren't we? If I say you can go help, you gonna be happy then? Yes? Off you go then."
Green eyes met hazel ones and two surprisingly similar smiles appeared. Paolo shrank back.
"You're not going to leave me with these two, are you?" His voice was tinged with rising hysteria. "I didn't mean it, ok? Was just going to have some fun with the boy, come on, they're going to kill me!"
"That was the general idea," the tall brunet commented. "I don't want you on my streets anymore. And frankly, you're starting to annoy me." Blue eyes turned deadly. "I trust you to make sure my boys have a good time, don't let me down."
"You're crazy!" Paolo was still staring madly at the blue eyed man. Then his gaze swerved to the two closing in on him. "You can't do this!"
"I think I already did."
The youngster by the wall had decided that it all had to be a bad dream, the surreality of the whole situation was making his head spin. As a figure crouched down in front of him, he startled, pressing himself further back.
Compassionate blue eyes looked back at him. "Hey kid, relax. I'm not going to hurt you. But you need to get out of here." A hand was reached out and hesitantly he took it. He was easily pulled to his feet. Over the longhaired man's shoulder, he could still see the two others and Paolo, and the tall, darkhaired man looking on with a nearly fatherly proud look.
"What the hell is going on?" he gasped. "Who are you people?"
"I'll tell you very soon," the reply came as he was lead away from the alley. The arm around his shoulder preventing him from looking back. "What's your name?"
"JD."
They had entered a corner, and the taller man stopped. "You're a runaway, right? You shouldn't be down here, kid. It's a dangerous place. You're better off going home again."
Before he could protest, the tall, darkhaired man had joined them. Narrowing his eyes John Dunne, most often known as JD, tried to pinpoint what it was that had all his senses in alert. Something deep inside of him screamed at him to get up and run, another part desperately wanted to know. But what is was, exactly, that he wanted to know, he wasn't sure of.
"The kid ok, Vin?"
"Yeah. Just a bit spooked."
"Good. Go see how the boys are fairing, would you? I'd like a talk with the young man here." He got a nod in reply and the one called Vin disappeared back into the alley. Lifting his gaze, JD met a strong, blue one.
"So what are you called, boy?" The voice was friendly.
"My name's JD. JD Dunne." JD repeated his name. "And you?"
"You can call me Buck. You already met Vin. You got some place to stay?"
He shook his head, looking down. "No. My mama died some weeks back, she was... We were..."
Taking in the defeated stance and downturned look, Buck sighed. It was clear that the kid didn't have a home, and he was probably all alone in the world. Maybe Paolo was right, he did have a sort of save the world-complex at times. Besides there was something about the kid, beyond the hurt puppy look and the worn and torn clothes.
In the mean time Vin was making his way back to Paolo who was the one backed up against the wall now. After the others had left the two left hadn't really done anything, just stared at him. It was obviously driving him insane. Keeping back Vin allowed them their time to play, quietly enjoying the show. A tremor of warmth shivered through him as he watched green eyes turn golden, a pink tongue darting out to lick a lower lip.
Paolo seemed to be hypnotized by the sight, like a rodent infront of a hunting snake. He never saw the one coming in from the side, he only felt the hand gripping his throat, squeezing forcefully. With a strangled splutter he tried to fight, only to have more of his oxygen supply cut off. Glimmering hazel eyes were suddenly close to his.
"I'm tired of playing," the blond decided. "And I'm hungry. Come on, Ez, we'll share him."
"Ok." The shorter man joined him. "He's not much fun anyway. Hope he tastes better than he looks," he added after a disapproving look at the older man, scrunching up his nose. "I don't think he's aware of something called soap."
"You're so picky," the blond sighed. Tilting his head to one side, he leaned in. Using the small, sharp fangs, he pierced the skin, increasing his hold as the captive man started to trash. The ruptured veins were pouring blood out onto the skin as he lifted his head again. "You coming?"
A small hand was placed in his as the other joined him, biting into the opposite side of Paolo's neck. Between them, it didn't take long before the large man was drained, his body going from fighting to limp and powerless.
Stepping back Ezra released his hold, watching their prey fall to the ground as a ragdoll. Leaving him there, he studied the blond. The golden eyes that met his held the same fire, the thrill of the hunt and the feeding. Their hands were still linked, as the matching set of satisfied smiled again showed. With a playful growl the tallest swept the other up into his arms, kissing him passionately.
"Having fun, boys?"
They looked up, eyes reverting to their original colour again. Walking over to him, Ezra let the blue eyed Texan embrace him. "Yes. Thanks for letting me help."
"No problem." Vin placed a sweet kiss on the tip of the upturned nose.
The blond wasn't quite as pleased. "Buck sent you to check on us, didn't he? I can't believe he doesn't trust me!"
"He does trust you, Chris." Vin's voice was calm. "He's just worried about you. He doesn't want you to get hurt." Hugging the Southerner that was snuggled up to him tighter, he met Chris' eyes. "You know how much he cares about you, he's just being cautious." Taking the other's hand, he pulled him along. "Come on now, let's go back and see how Buck's doing with the kid."
"What was that whole thing about anyway?" Chris complained, lagging behind. "It's just some street kid..."
"Now you be nice," Vin admonished him. A second later, he continued: "And stop your pouting."
"Am not pouting."
"Yes, you are. I can hear it. Quit it." He chose to overhear the grumbled reply. Meeting up with Buck, he deposited the taller man over into his arms. "One cranky blond, all yours."
Buck was smiling, tilting Chris' face up to his. "You giving Vin a hard time, love?" Gently he wiped a stray drop of blood away from the smaller man's chin. "You spilled a little there." Cleaning the spot properly with the tip of his tongue, his eyes shifted over to gold for a second, elongated corner teeth showing
A gasp told him that someone had seen the subtle change. Turning around he met large, frightened brown eyes.
"What are you people!?"
Nobody answered, the four exchanged a few looks.
"You're..." JD almost couldn't say it out loud. "You guys are vampires!" The world closed in on him, becoming a darkened, swirling mass. Then he blacked out.
When he woke up again, he was alone. The alley was quiet and dark, the silence absolute at first, then spiced with the faint sound coming from the nearby street. Pushing himself up, a small note of paper slowly danced to the ground. Carefully JD picked it up, unfolding it to see an elegant handwriting. All the note contained was a name and an address.
The Sanchez & Jackson Shelter
for
Homeless Children and Youths
Staring at the piece of paper, JD made his mind up. Crumbling the note in his hand he stuffed it in his pocket. Moving quietly and carefully as always, he headed back towards the street and was soon swallowed up by the moving mass of light and sound and people once again.
The End
