Chapter 19: Chapter Fourteen Years Ago

June twenty ninth was a quiet day for most. Not a lot was going on that night, everyone paid attention to their own lives as they walked around and hung out. But for one kid, it would be the most hectic night of his life.

Kevin and Lauren Daniels had a loving son. After trying so many times, they were finally blessed to have him, Piercon Daniels. He was smaller than most, and was a little slow at learning, but the two parents loved him with all their heart. He was the spitting image of both his parents; having his father’s long black hair and his mother’s blue eyes. He had puffy, rosy, cheeks just like his mother did.

They were walking the streets together as a family, coming from a little house warming party. Pierce wasn’t tired despite how late it was. Lights kept him awake.

“Pierce,” his dad said. He turned in his arms, a smile on his face as he responded proudly to his father. Lauren giggled at how her son seemed so lively tonight. “How about we get some ice cream before we go home.” he suggested.

“I want ice cream!” Pierce clapped his hands as he laughed.

“Okay Pierce, we can get ice cream.” his mother said. Pierce was so happy to be with his parents like this. Since they both work, its hard to spend time like this all together.

Little did they know that they were being watched.

Five others stood around, spread out from the walking family. They seemed to be human but non the less were not. They were immortal, bearing the burden of killing just to stay alive. Vampires were following the family of three. It wasn’t uncommon to have people preyed on like this, it was just uncommon for families to be targeted. It was likely these vampires would pick them because there was no one else in sight in the empty yet bright streets. The lights shined brightly and they were almost near the city which indicated safety.

“I’m hungry. Can we just go?” One of them asked, impatiently. He was ready to jump off the ledge and attack without mercy but one of them stopped him.

“Lets find someone else.” another suggested.

“How about we don’t.” another said, more impatient than the rest. His eyes glowed red as he stood up. “All we have to do is not touch the kid, he’s useless.” he pushed the blond strands of his hair back to meet the rest.

“Dante says not-”

“Dante can kiss my ass.” he replied angrily.

“Kellin, there’s absolutely no reason to go for them,” a taller one said. He tried to plead to leave these people alone but Kellin didn’t buy it. He was too anxious, he was hungry.

“There won’t be anyone for a long while, do you want to die?” Kellin asked him. He looked away from him, giving in. They hadn’t found anyone to eat in days and were dying in fact; they had the choice to go with Dante and the rest but split up, thinking they would catch more people. But that didn’t happen. The other three carefully watched the happy family walk together.

“No one touches the kid, got it?” Kellin told them all. They nodded and headed off to go kill. This families happiness was about to end. Pierce was going to lose his parents and basically his future. He didn’t know he would lose to a bunch of vampires. He didn’t know anything. All he did was clap enthusiastically and laughed with his loving parents until the moment came that he was ripped away from them.

It was quick and barely any screaming until the two realized everything that was going on. They were dragged back while Pierce crawled on the floor. He ran after the sounds of his parents crying and pleading but kept tripping when his vision started to blur. His smile was gone, replaced with trembling lips as his eyes started to fill with tears. He called after them, trying to find where they were in the dark cause he couldn’t see.

“Pierce, run, don’t stay here!” his mother screamed before she was cut off. There was nothing else besides Pierce’s crying. He fell and stayed there, asking for his mom and dad like they were still present when they weren’t. Little did he know that his parents were dead and now he had no one. The vampires needed nothing else of the lifeless bodies so they were prepared to leave them there and go.

“Hey, what’s going on here?” Another vampire asked from above. They all groaned and murmured as they noticed their leader was here to scold them for doing what they were created for. “None of you ever listen to me. What the hell did I tell you about going for the families?” he yelled at them. They turned their heads to Kellin but he payed them no mind. Pierce was still crying but silenced himself when he saw the man jump from the building and land perfectly without a scratch. The man came over to Pierce and looked over him; Pierce was confused as he stared into his red eyes. Then he started crying again.

“Mommy, daddy,” he cried but there was no response. The man squatted down in front of the helpless kid and patted his head. Pierce felt how warm his hand was and thought he could help him find his parents.

“Listen kid, you can’t see your parents again,” he told him.

“Why?” Pierce sniffed and wiped his face with the sleeves of his shirt. The man had no problem telling the kid that his parents were dead because of a few idiots that stood behind him shamelessly in the dark, but this was still a kid and he had to be careful what he says because of how impressionable they are.

“They’re gone okay, I need you to not come back here.” he said. Pierce stared at his pale face for a moment.

“Mister, why does your teeth look like that?” he asked, curious. “Are they fake?” he asked. He did know of vampires from movies and tv shows but he never believed they were real. He just thought this man was wearing fake teeth. The man turned around, glaring at the five others that staggered away. They still couldn’t care less about what they had done but they felt bad for the kid. The man turned back to Pierce and helped him on his feet.

“I need you to do something for me, okay. I need you to run somewhere where you can find people and get help. Can you do that?” he asked quietly.

“Dante-”

“Kellin! Be quiet!” he hissed at him.

“Why do I need help?” Pierce asked.

“I can’t explain that to you. But someone will if you bring them here. Someone will help you.” he said as he got up. Pierce only looked up at the man.

“Where did mommy and daddy go?” Pierce asked him. For once, Dante felt horrible for his existence, he’s been alive for thousands of years and he has never felt an emotion this strong before. Regret. This kid only wanted his parents and he still wasn’t aware that they were killed. Dante took a breath.

“You shouldn’t stay here.” he told him.

“But I have to wait for them if they went somewhere. They always tell me not to move so they can come get me,” Pierce said just as he was taught.

“Listen kid, they aren’t coming back okay. You can’t stay here.” he said. Pierce’s eyes watered as he stared up at the man. They weren’t coming back. He didn’t believe it but he never knew something like that could happen. His parents aren’t coming back. He asked himself where they went and why they couldn’t take him with them. They were going to get ice cream but now he couldn’t anymore. It made him cry.

“Why can’t we take him?” Kellin suggested.

“And do what?” Dante turned around to look at him. “What are we going to do with a child? Certainly one of you will snap and kill him. How about we prevent something like that.” Dante sighed.

“Then what happens?” Kellin asked.

“You see, you always think you do something stupid. I always tell you, never go for the families.” Dante reestablished. Kellin looked at the kid, watching him cry and cry silently. He didn’t want to leave Pierce alone but he knew there was nothing he could do for him. He’s saving his life by leaving him alone. Dante was right when he said he couldn’t take him. Pierce would be dead in a matter of days. Turning him into one of them isn’t an option either because its forbidden; children can’t be tamed to control their hunger. The only option left is to leave him.

“Clean this mess up before the cops get here. Make it seem like an animal attack or something, do what you have to.” Dante said as he picked up the crying child. He intended on helping him find someone else that could take the kid because vampires could not raise a child. Pierce didn’t care, he just cried for his parents like they would hear him. But he doesn’t know anything about what happened. Someone will explain to him that his parents are dead and that he would have to have new ones if not go to an orphanage.

Pierce caught a glimpse of the seventeen year old vampire who pleaded to keep him. He stopped screaming to watch him as Dante took him away. Kellin wouldn’t see him again, he isn’t supposed to. Yet he wanted to help the kid out. He knows he won’t be able to do anything for the human boy but despite that he wanted to. Kellin wanted to be the one getting him help but Dante would only get suspicious if he asked. So he had to watch him take the dark haired boy away without another word.

The other vampires dispersed quietly, barely ashamed of what just happened. Kellin stood around only because he knew someone else was coming. A tall blond with red eyes showed up, completely aware of the situation that just happened; he stood on top of one of the side buildings, his hands in his pocket, as he looked down on Kellin. There was no surprise in his attitude because he knew Kellin. He knows how he ticks and how everything works. He knows about how he handles situations after it has already happened.

“You’re an idiot,” he said plainly. Kellin acknowledge that he did in fact say something to him but he was too occupied, thinking about the little boy. The blond found Kellin’s silence unusual, so he took a step off the ledge and landed next to him. Kellin didn’t move from him, he just stood there dazed. “What’s wrong with you?” the blond asked.

“Just thinking,” Kellin murmured quietly.

“You feel guilty,” he said.

“Why are you here, Layne? I thought you hate going against Dante,” Kellin snapped.

“I’m not doing anything actually. I’m just talking to you.” he said calmly. Kellin is known to lose his temper, no matter what the situation is. Layne doesn’t mind, he stays calm when Kellin isn’t. “Usually, you would be gone by now, doing something else that could probably cost you your life, or just killing.” he shrugged.

“It feels wrong,” Kellin said slowly, still thinking. Layne paused for a moment, a bit shocked because he knows what’s going on.

“Kellin, you can’t-”

“I know I don’t.” he responded quickly. “But-”

“No. Dante won’t hesitate to kill you.” Layne said sternly. Kellin looked away as he shoved his hands in his pockets. He wanted nothing more to hear from Layne, he couldn’t take it.

Vampires aren’t supposed to care for humans, whether it be in a parental form or just love its self. They are to be killed on the spot if a relationship with a human is suspected. Kellin didn’t know what it was that he was feeling but he knew that it couldn’t have been something for the human. He might felt a bit bad for making Pierce cry and scream so much but he didn’t think it was anymore than that. Yet he felt the urge to actually go and find him and snatch him away from Dante.

“We should go,” Layne said quietly.

“I’m gonna stay here, you know, make sure no one gets suspicious.” Kellin murmured; Layne knew he wasn’t just staying for that particular reason. Of course he wouldn’t though. But Layne let it go and left Kellin alone.

Kellin hadn’t left. He stayed the whole time, watching from above as the cops did their investigations on the two dead bodies below. Of course they did fall for the ‘animal’ attack trick like usual but Kellin still wasn’t compelled to leave yet. There were more people around, lights flashing, chattering, sobbing. Dante had came back with Pierce and made it seem like he found him some where. Now Pierce would be taken by someone who could find him a good home to stay in. Kellin only wondered what it would be like to take Pierce with him but he can’t just disobey Dante’s orders and break away. It would just get him killed.

So the best thing would be to leave Pierce alone and pretend this actually never happened. Kellin got up and walked away, jumping from the roof where he couldn’t be seen. He knew that he couldn’t see Pierce again, he’d get in trouble for it.

“Do not go after the kid, Kellin. Do you hear me?” Dante was behind him.

“I heard you,” Kellin murmured bitterly as he walked on.

Despite everything he knew about being killed for it, Kellin wasn’t going to listen to Dante. Instead he’s choosing the possible death threat just to watch over Pierce for how ever long he could keep it up.