Bebo

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	Lost and Alone
	April 4th, 3859, Noth, A.E There is darkness, only darkness. ‘Joe…’ A voice in the darkness, which turns into screaming… 'Help Me…' And something more… 'Joe!' Guilt lies heavy… ‘Help Me!’ Guilt fuels the actions of those who have nothing left… ‘Joe!’ Because they lost their loved ones themselves… ‘Why Do You Let It Consume You? Loved ones… ‘Joe!’ Those that have died… ‘Are You Even Human Any More?' Because of them! 'JOE!!' Joe woke up with a jolt, a cold sweat plastered to his forehead, neck and chest. Slumping on the stool, over the bar, he held his head in his cold, shacking hands. “Just another nightmare...” He kept telling himself. This Werewolf business was really taking hold. He'd just had his fifth full moon, since he was bitten, a few nights ago and so was still a bit out of it. So far he’d managed to keep clear of his mother’s long lectures about how much of an ‘outcast’ he was already in town, without being even more antisocial than usual. Shaking away those negative thoughts Joe had a look around to see where he’d wound up this time. Seeing where he was, Joe realised that he’d been drinking…again. The barman, that had served him last night and eventually tried to kick him out after 8 pints of lager, lay dead on the floor a few meters away from him. Everything was hazy and Joe felt like he was going to be sick. He disappeared around the back of the bar for a few minutes. Only the sound of dry heaves and retching could be heard. After a lovely reunion with his senses Joe staggered out the door, stepping over the dead barman and the pool of blood that he was lying in. Looking back one more time, Joe pulled his long, black, leather coat’s collar up against his neck and headed out into the centre of Noth. But even there everything had changed. When he had returned from that night in the forest, people had asked where Bill and Max were, but answer them he did not. The villagers of Noth had grown suspicious of Joe’s return and the other two boys’ tardiness and asked questions. Rumours sprouted up from the soil and swarmed all over the village like locus. Joe, having a hard enough time fitting in as it was, found life with these rumours even harder to deal with, for only he knew that they were true… Noth was quiet that morning. The shops were opening and the windows were being washed for a new day. But everyday was the same for Joe. He stank with alcohol and seriously needed a bath, or at least a thorough wash. Walking down the long main street, swaying ever so slightly, Joe felt the gazes of the shopkeepers, bakers and traders upon him. There was a deathly silence in the air, the sun, quite quickly beginning to be covered in clouds, was soon gone from the sky and a light rain began to fall. Joe pulled his black, leather coat closer to him and walked further down the, now shadowed, street through the rain. As he got up to the outside of his house, it began to pour down. Running the remaining distance to the front gate, leaping lightly over it and over to the door, he reached for the handle...but it never connected with his hand. There stood his mother, in her dressing gown, not looking too happy. “Err…Mom…you’re up earl-” Joe was cut off by one of his mother’s sharp slaps on his cheek. “How dare you. How dare you even think about coming home after what you’ve put me through. I woke up this morning, not only to find the house empty AGAIN, but also not even to a note saying where you'd gone. And now I find you running up to the front door in the rain, stinking of alcohol. You maybe nearly 18, but it’s still illegal for you to be drinking in public. And to think that you’ve been out like this…what will the neighbours think? Why can't you settle down and find a decent job?" She was silent for a few moments. Joe could tell from the look in her eyes that he'd finally worn her patience thin. He braced himself for the worst, which was yet to come. "Now...If I ever see you here again...I will call the police. Go on...be off with you. I’m already in a dreadful state as it is.” She cried as she slammed the door in Joe’s face, as he was still on the doorstep in the rain. Joe sighed, rubbing his finger and thumb over the bridge of his nose, trying to claim the splitting headache that was already holding his head hostage. Once he could raise his head without feeling light-headed, he departed the doorstep, walked back through the garden and down the street. He’d been expecting that lecture for a few months now and so already had a start of a plan. He walked aimlessly through the streets and back allies until he came to Noth Forest. He trotted down the slope, slipping at times and tripping over tree roots, until he finally came to a small gully. Wild ivy clung to the stonewalls, climbing up quite high. Joe felt around for a loose section of leaves. Once located, he pushed it apart and squeezed through the gap in the rock. Once inside, he reacquainted himself with the surroundings. It was an old childhood hiding place. Joe, Bill and Max had found it together when they were wondering around, looking for a place to hide from a storm one night a few years previous to...that night. From then on it had been a place to go if one or all of them, had gotten into trouble, or simply needed refuge. Joe had always seemed to be there a lot lately. Their deaths were still heavy on his shoulders. Many nights had been spent tossing and turning, reliving the memories in the cellar. The screams in his nightmares, the calls for help. Waking up in a cold sweat was a frequent thing the past few months for Joe. One he was growing tired of. Stepping further into the hollow, Joe squeezed through another crack in the rock, further in. Feeling blinding around his coat pockets, Joe finally found a lighter and flicked it open. The dark passage he'd just entered lit up in an orange and yellow glow. Following it deeper, he finally entered the Quoja cave systems. He'd never shown Bill or Max this place, mainly because Bill was always too afraid to ever go deeper into the first hollow, and Max was rarely there to see it in the first place, yet alone the first hollow. The sound of running water was faint within the rock above him. There had once been a spring of pure water that flowed through the rock, first creating the caves. But that was some years ago now, when the first inhabitants of Gorneth originally found it. Before the earthquake that occurred for no reason what so ever, and blocked the source of the spring, thus redirecting it and causing the rock to drain, giving birth to the cave systems. Joe walked for a little longer, before finally feeling tired and hungry. Since he was bitten, there was little he could stomach. Usually he got meat from the butcher, claiming it was for his mother, before hiding in a back alley and eating it raw. Shame all he could scavenge here was rats. Over time, the energy taken to run after and attempt to catch the few rats he found, caused Joe to go into exhaustion. Falling to his knees after failing to once again catch yet another rat, Joe slumped forwards further and slipped into unconsciousness… Once the horror of Joe’s guilt had penetrated his subconscious mind, sleep did not last long. The screams started up again. The sweat on his brow turned cold. The beat of his heart skipped in his chest, as Joe’s own scream voiced itself upon his brutal re-entry to consciousness. Rested his aching head in the palms of his hands, Joe panted harshly, as he tried to calm down. “It’s just a damn nightmare…why do they take so much out of me?” Joe ran his hands back, over his hair, sleeking it back, before dropping his hands in his lap, his hair falling back into place over his eyes. “Does guilt weigh heavily on your mind my young friend…?” An unfamiliar voice stated behind him, causing Joe to jump to his feet and back away. “Holy shit…who the devil are you?” Joe demanded, his heart racing, once again, in his chest. The stranger’s laughter echoed around the small space from the shadows. “Quite a lively one aren’t you…I can’t say the same for myself…” The stranger stepped forward, into the dimly lit space. Joe gasped at his appearance. His skin was deathly pail, even in the golden light. Eyes distant with age, yet dark with hunger, a mop of purple hair fell into these cold, emerald eyes, and down further to brush against a well structured jaw line. The pail lips parted to reveal two rows of white, pearly teeth. From each of these rows, two sharp fangs hung down, glinting slightly. By this time, Joe had backed up further, his eyes wide. “So…I guess Vampires do exist after all…” The sweat on his brow grew colder, as the stranger took one more step forward. “Of course…however my kind has only been wondering this planet for a little over 3 decades…” He took another step forward. “But in our world…we have wondered for millennia…” He was now but 2 feet from Joe’s slightly panting form. Sapphire met Emerald, as Joe looked the Vampire in the eyes. “So…what name do I call you, friend?” The Vampire out stretched his hand to Joe, who let his eyes flicker to it more a moment, before meeting the Vampires once more. “Joe…” The Vampire raised an eyebrow. “Just Joe.” This received a mocking roll of the eyes from the stranger, whom backed up a few steps in order to fiddle with his sleeves. He then placing a hand behind his back, and moved the other across to his other side in front of his, as he made to bow at the waist. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Joe, I am David.” He looked up from his spot in mid-bow and winked, “just David.” Joe was slightly taken back by this, but smiled at the jester. As David stood up right once more, he glanced at Joe once again, before frowning. “Does all of your kind smell this bad?” David grimaced to prove his point. Joe scowled at David and crossed his arms over his chest. “I wouldn’t have gotten into this state, if someone hadn’t kicked me out of the house for a week…” He cursed his mother under his breath. This did not go unnoticed by David, whom grinned to himself. “Well then, I guess it’s my responsibility to get you a bath, seeing as I can’t have you scaring away all the rats with your stench.” He winked again, to show he was teasing; however Joe’s scowl stayed in firmly place. David sighed and headed off down the tunnel, away from Joe. This received a sigh from Joe, whom thought was alone once again, until a familiar voice called after him. “Come on then, don’t stand there all night!” causing him to follow after David down through the tunnel. After travelling through what seemed a majority of the cave systems, David brought Joe to a cavern, some hours later. Within the cavern was a city carved out of its very stone. David led him down into the city centre where a small gathering met them. A woman was standing in front of the others, dressed in a tight, black leather corset, pushing up her breasts. With it she wore a long, black, satin skirt, which had two splits from the waistband to the bottom seam on either side. She also wore thigh length, high-heeled boots and had waist length flicked out brown hair. Her face was heavily made up; especially her eyes and lips. She strutted forward and it wasn’t until she got closer, that Joe realised she too was a Vampire, as her sky blue eyes twinkled with mischief. “Brought another down here, have you David…where did you find this one? I must say, he looks good enough to eat.” The tone in the Vampiress’ voice grew a little as she circled around David, moving her finger tips across his shoulders, up his neck and back down to draw circle on his uncovered, well toned chest. “This one is not for eating, if I brought him for eating…” He pulled the Vampiress closer, “…He would be DEAD ALREADY!” he shouted as he threw her to the ground. She hissed at him angrily, bearing her teeth, viciously, as she sulked back towards the others. David turned to face the gathering and made a statement that shocked the Vampires around him. “This Fleshy will not be harmed; he is strictly here on business…my business. And if anyone of you dares lay a tooth on him, they can see the sun rise, and be swept away by the wind as little piles of dust.” David led Joe through the gathering of hissing Vampires, towards one of the stone building. Upon entering, Joe saw a narrow, spiral staircase heading down. “Oh joy…more tunnels…” Joe groaned, as he followed David down into the darkness. At the base of the staircase Joe found a flame torch lit chamber, which a majority of was filled with water. On one of the walls on the far side, makeshift pipes travelled from where one end was submerged in the water, up to the ceiling, where they disappeared through holes to the upper levels. “It’s a water plumbing system. Got to get hot water to the upper bathing chambers some how.” David explained, having pulled off his shirt to reveal even more of his muscular chest. “Well, aren’t you going to bathe then? You did say yourself that you needed one.” David winked, once again, at Joe, whom in turn rolled his eyes and shrugged off his coat. He rolled it up while walking to the wall on the other side of the room, away from David, who had already stripped off and was now in the water, while Joes back was turned. Pulling off the rest of his clothes, Joe walked over and joined him, receiving a shocked look from David as he did so. “What? Never seen a man who is proud of his body before?” Joe winked, as it was obviously his turn to tease David now, as he wadded over to him. David scoffed and rolls his eyes as he rested against the side of the rim, as he watched Joe rub at his chest with a washcloth he’d just passed to him. He then rested his head back and deeply breathed in the steamy air as Joe continued to cleanse away the dirt that had covered him from head to toe the past week. With each stroke of the cloth, David watched as a streak of clean bronze skin was revealed. When the cloth was squeezed, water droplets dripped down the curves of the teen’s washboard abdomen. The movements of the cloth over Joe’s skin caused the rippling muscles to relax and contract. A sigh of contentment passing over Joe’s slightly parted lips. The playful glint within the teen’s sapphire eyes was enough to make any man groan with want. But fortunately for David, he didn’t manage to voice his thoughts. This reverie was rudely awakened when Joe splashed him with water some minutes later. David wiped the wet substance from his face and glared at his giggling companion whom was finally clean and no longer smelled abusive to any ones noses. “And I guess you thought that was funny?” This only received laughter filled nodded from Joe. “Right then!” David launched himself and Joe, pushing him under the water for a few seconds, before letting him up, them both getting thoroughly soaked all over again. Joe came up to the surface to take a breath, but was still laughing. This only received another dunking from David, whom may have been too proud to say it, but was definitely enjoying himself. After some time, David and Joe had gotten tired of playing around in the water and climbed out to get dry. David dressed before quickly leaving Joe, with a towel wrapped around his waist, in the bathing chamber. He had threatened the brunet that if he put on his dirty clothes again, after just getting clean, he would kill him, and so went to find him some clothes to wear. It was only a few minutes before David waltzed back into the chamber again with a pair of black pants and a grey vest for Joe to borrow while his own clothes were getting ‘washed’ - more like ‘burned to smouldering ashes’ to be honest. Joe bundled up his own pants and vest in his wet towel, before giving them to David, whom put them in a room linked to the bathing chamber. Pulling on his leather coat and boots, Joe followed David back up the stairs. “Um David…where exactly is this place?” Joe asked sheepishly, rubbing his hand around the back of his neck. David turned slightly and smiled, before facing forwards again. “As you know we are in the Quoja Cave Systems and a pure water stream cut through the rock to form the catacombs we passed through earlier. You should also know that just under 2 decades ago that pure water source was blocked, due to an earthquake, and the water emptied out of the systems, into the lower levels, leaving the hot springs we bathed in. What you don’t know is that a rift between worlds ripped open, being triggered by the earthquake allowed us to pass from our dimension, and into this one. Unfortunately, we were not alone in our transmission…” David’s words drifted off, as he became silent. “The Werewolves…they also passed through…didn’t they…?” Joe asked, as they began to ascend a large widening staircase to the get the upper levels. This received a nod from David. “But that doesn’t matter now…we’re here…you’re here…that’s just the way the world works…” David smiled and opened a door, leading Joe into a large chamber. Once the door was shut, it was a while before anyone came out again… For the past 2 hours, Joe and David had been talking quietly amongst themselves with a bottle of ‘red wine’. After Joe’s fifth glass, he fell unconscious on David’s bed, the alcohol taking its toll on his weakened body. So, being a gentleman, David had put him in his bed to rest, while he left to find someone to entertain him. By the time he returned with a Vampiress in tow, and locked the door again, Joe was already starting to stir. David crawled onto the middle of the bed on all fours, and lent over Joe. His head was cocked to one side, before it was titled to the other, as he waited for Joe to regain consciousness. When Joes tired Sapphire eyes locked with David’s Emerald ones above him, the teen was not half shocked. Jumping up, and away, from David, Joe looked around confused. When he spotted the empty bottle of wine and two glasses on the bedside table, the memories can back to him and he relaxed. By now David had pulled the Vampiress onto the bed with him so she was straddling his lap and was kissing and biting her neck gently. This earned a groan from a now quite flustered Joe, whom rolled over and thrust his head under a pillow. “David…do you have to do that in here?” called a slightly muffled, and rather agitated voice from under the pillow. This caused David to smile against the Vampiress’ neck and pull away slightly. “I don’t think I’ve introduced you to Scarlet yet, have I?” He kissed her neck again before wrapping one arm around her waist, holding her tighter, while the other stretched out and pulled the pillow off Joe’s head. “And don’t do that, you’ll suffocate.” This received a scoff off Joe, whom now sat up on his elbows to keep him upright. “So…how long have you and Scarlet been…?” He struggled to find the correct word. David laughed lightly at him, hitting him playfully on the shoulder. “No, you’ve got it all wrong. Scarlet’s my betrothed…we intend to be bounded next month.” David’s smile grew bigger, and Joe noticed something in the male Vampire. When Joe first met David, his skin was deathly pail, eyes distant and cold. But now that he saw him with Scarlet, laughing and smiling like that, he could see the hint of warmth in his eyes, from the love that had penetrated his undead heart, brightening them slightly, and the glow of his skin after being recently fed. Joe figured that David had gone to feed on some poor defenceless animal or human somewhere while he was unconscious. A knock at David’s door made Joe’s track of through stop and David rose from his bed to go greet the person at the door. A tall, nobleman entered the room, obviously a Vampire from his long silver hair and pale complexion. The Elder wore long, black, flowing robes, with embellishments of pewter. David returned to the bedside and became more interested in Scarlet, whom had stood as David answered the door. “Miss me, my lovely…?” David asked her, very flirtatiously, while kissing her neck, again, and giving it gentle nips with his teeth, and pulled her closer, forgetting the noble looking man who was staring at Joe. The teen in return felt a cold shiver travel down his spin, and swallowed uncomfortably. “David…do I honestly want to know what a fleshy is doing in your bed?” The Elder Vampire asked, cocked an eyebrow above a cold, grey eye. “Awww David…that’s my job.” Scarlet said, obviously teasing, while hitting him playfully. This caused David to roughly take hold of her waist and pull her closer before kissing her on the lips, leaving her breathless. “You should go easy on him; the poor dog’s been out in the cold all night.” David started at his father with, but stopped as Scarlet flinched in his arms. “What is it my darling? What frightens you?” David asked pulling her closer, if that was even possible. “He…He’s a…” Scarlet stuttered; before she buried her face into David’s neck as Lord Valdrek Spoke the words that made her shiver. “A Werewolf! I thought I could smell wet dog. Well, this changes everything. I was going to ask you to turn peacefully, but it seems our furry friends have gotten to you first…how very interesting…” Lord Valdrek’s cold, grey eyes burned into Joe’s, as he stared into the face of the boy in his son’s bed. Joe was blushing his head off. This did not look good. Obviously, David’s father had taken this the wrong way… “Now wait a minute, I can explai– what do you mean ‘Wet Dog’? I’m not a Dog!” Joe shouted standing from the bed in David’s borrowed vest and trousers, his leather coat and boots having long been removed. Lord Valdrek laughed again but David was too busy worrying about Scarlet to notice, although he heard it. “You fool! Do not think that you can hide your canine hide from me! You may be a Werewolf, but that makes you a dog none the less!” Lord Valdrek turned his head and left, leaving David and Scarlet alone with Joe. David left the warmth of his lover’s arms for a moment. Sticking his head around the door to silently call a guard. He then returned and leant against one of the four posters that ran up to the ceiling from his bed. Scarlet had come up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She peered over his shoulder to look hungrily at Joe, who had sat on the edge of the bed, holding his head in his hands. “David… What’s going to happen to me?” Joe asked, his voice shaking slightly from fear. David smirked back, in amusement. “Well, my furry friend. Seeing as things haven’t gone exactly…according to plan, I’ve managed to put up some accommodation for you.” David ushered Scarlet out of the room, then sat down next to Joe. “I am afraid that you will be unable to leave, now that you know the way here.” Joe nodded his head, understandingly, then dropped his hands and hung his head lower. A cold hand fell upon his scarcely clad shoulder. “Come. You will feel better after a good meal and some rest. “David led him out of the room and, in the company of armed guards, whom took him down to lower levels of the city. Half an hour later, Joe sat huddled in a corner of David’s ‘accommodation’. Yes, the Prince’s idea of cosy was a 5 by 5 foot prison cell, with a nasty draft and really bad food. As the teen Werewolf slowly counted his odds of getting out of there alive, he realised something. Without help from the outside…there was no escape…
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