Living in Darkness (Bloodbreeders) (33 page)

Chapter One

As I stared down into Brandon’s lifeless face, it was clear to me which
choice I was going to make. Both choices would end in the loss of his life, but
only one held the possibility of bringing him back. My only problem was I
didn’t really have a clue where to begin. I could remember nothing after Martin
fed on me until the time I awoke in my coffin, so I had no way of knowing what
he did to finalize my change. Nevertheless, his words kept coming to my mind,
“We must take in blood to survive.”

I pulled back my sleeve and bit into my wrist, the same way that I
remembered Martin doing the first time that I fed. The blood started to flow
immediately. I held my torn flesh to Brandon’s mouth, praying that it wasn’t
already too late.

At first, the blood ran out the sides of his mouth, but then I could
see his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. That little sign of life was more
than I had expected, and once again my tears started to flow, only this time
from joy. “That’s it, Brandon,” I cried past the lump in my throat. “You’re
doing great.”

He swallowed a few more times. Within seconds his body was once again
completely still, with my blood still running freely down the side of his face.
“Brandon?” I whispered, shaking him lightly. “Brandon?” But there was nothing.
He was gone, and the only thing that I could do now was, wait.

I lowered his body to the floor, saying a silent prayer. I wrapped my
wrist in a piece of cloth, cleaned up the blood as best as I could and headed
back upstairs. As I emerged from the basement, the three remaining kids stared
at me in wonder, not one saying a word. I walked over to the fireplace and took
a seat next to them. Ashley leaned over, resting her head in my lap. I stroked
her hair absently. Nobody seemed to notice as the night slipped by in utter
silence.

Dawn approached quickly and I knew I needed to get back underground. I
asked that the others stay upstairs throughout the day, until I came back up
the following night. I didn’t want Derek to see his brother in his stay of
death. The sight of one’s dead sibling is not something easily forgotten. I
should know.

I made my way downstairs, and lay down next to Brandon’s still body. I
kissed him lightly on the head, and whispered, “Come back to me, Brandon.” I
then rolled over, not even noticing as my consciousness slipped away.

***

I woke the next night, not remembering what I had done until I moved my
arm and felt Brandon’s body lying next to mine. I sprang up, my memory suddenly
very clear. I placed my hand on his chest, looking and feeling for any sign of
life. But there was absolutely none. His chest was as cold and inanimate as a
block of ice. “No!” I screamed. I pounded my fists against the floor, sobbing
violently, that’s when I heard a stampede coming down the stairs.

“Renee, what happened?” Derek asked, breathlessly.

“He didn’t wake up.” I shook my head, unable to meet his gaze.

Derek’s eyes widened and he shot toward his brother’s body. “Brandon,”
he yelled, bolting forward. Bo grabbed him, swinging around but holding him
firm in his arms. Ashley collapsed to the floor, holding her face in her hands,
crying uncontrollably. Bo just stood there silently, holding Derek as he mourned
for his brother.

“What have I done? I knew better...” I said as I laid my head on
Brandon‘s chest.

“Knew better than what?”
 

I opened my eyes to see Brandon looking up at me, pale and confused,
but alive. I gasped in delight, and pulled him into my arms.

“Oh my God, you’re alive,” I yelled, kissing him right smack on the
lips. “You scared the hell out of me.”
 

Derek was so distraught that he never heard his brother, or me
speaking.

“Derek,” Bo said, smiling ear to ear as Derek continued to sob against
his chest. Bo said his name a little more firmly, “Derek.”

“What?” he asked obviously perturbed.

“Look at your brother.”

“No, I can’t.” He shook his head violently. “He’s dead. I don’t
want...”
 
He was interrupted by a sharp
slap from Bo.

“Look, at your brother.”

Derek very reluctantly turned toward Brandon, who raised his hand to
wave. Before he could completely get his hand in the air, Derek dove on him.
They rolled around, laughing and crying at the same time. We were all sobbing,
only now it was from pure relief.

After a few minutes Brandon spoke to Derek—

laughing
, “Hey, you’re getting snot on me.”

“Sorry,” Derek replied letting go of him. “You really scared me,
Brandon. I thought I would never see you alive again.”
 
When the sentimental moment had passed, a
giddy expression crossed Derek’s face. “Oh, let me see your teeth.”

Brandon put his hand to his mouth, exploring his newest asset in
amazement. His eyes widened, as a smile spread across his face. “It really
worked,” he said in awe. Then he bared them for the others to see. The room
filled with astonished chatter.

 
Then as always, Derek started
rambling on a mile a minute. “Did it hurt? What did it feel like? Is it...”

“Whoa, slow down little brother,” Brandon said with a snicker. “One
thing at a time.”

“Yeah, Brandon needs to feed,” I explained. “It’s the only way he’ll
build up his strength.”

“Do you want me to go find something for him?” Bo asked, grinning
devilishly, “Oh, no wait. I have a better idea. Who’s next?”

I took a deep breath, letting out a little chuckle, knowing without
having to ask, what he was insinuating and turned to Brandon. “How do you
feel?”
 

“A little weird,” he said. “But, great at the same time.”

“You’ll get used to the weird,” I reassured him. “Do you feel like you’re
ready to try and feed?”

“Yeah, I think so,” he shrugged, dusting off his pants.

“Alright then,” I said, turning to face the others. “Bo, I think it
would be best if you went next.”

“What?” Derek’s head spun in my direction. “Why Bo? Why not me?”

“Because I need you here with Brandon tonight,” I replied, knowing it
was only partially true, I needed Bo to go next. He and Brandon were the
largest of the four and I knew they could help me finish up with Ashley and
Derek. My body was only used to taking in three or four cups of blood at a
time, and after draining Brandon last night, I was already so full I was on the
verge of being sick.

“But...” he started.

“No ‘buts’, Derek. Please, just let me do this my way, okay?”
 

“Fine, I’ll probably be last as usual,” he sulked.

“No, you won’t, Derek,” Ashley said. “I want to go last.”

“Alright, whatever,” he pouted. “Doesn’t matter what I say anyhow.”

“Brother, I need you tonight,” Brandon reached over, putting his hand
on Derek’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t want to see this new world without you by my
side.”

“You really mean that?”

“Sure, I do,” he said, patting him on the back. “Now, help me up, would
ya
?”
 

 
Brandon let Derek help him to
his feet, although he and I both knew he could have done it on his own. It was
simply another small gesture to make Derek feel better. Once on his feet,
Brandon seemed to take on a
whole
new persona. He bent
his head from side to side, cracking his neck and then stared at Bo with a
slight tilt to his head. Brandon’s long brown hair hid half his face, but you
could see the raw hunger in that one grayish eye that meet the not so easy gaze
of, Bo’s.

“So, how do I do this Renee?” he asked, circling around Bo like an
animal stalking his prey.

Bo, who was almost a foot taller than Brandon, followed him
suspiciously with his eyes. “Brandon, don’t go getting all crazy,” he said, a
hint of fear tainting his voice.

“Bo, Bo, Bo,” Brandon smiled, walking behind him. “Would I do that to
you?”

Before Bo could blink, much less answer, Brandon had leaped on his back
and the
bloodbreeder
in him had taken over. He
struck, sinking his fangs into Bo’s carotid artery. Bo grabbed him by the hair,
yanking with everything he had trying to throw him off, but Brandon held tight.
Bo’s legs began to sway and his skin slowly became an almost bluish in color.

“Brandon, that’s enough,” I placed my hand on his back. “Let him
go.”
 

Brandon didn’t listen, his body heaving as he gnawed on Bo’s throat
like a wild beast. That’s when Bo collapsed to his knees, with Brandon still
holding tight. I grabbed Brandon by the shoulder and pried him
off of
Bo, throwing him to the side with more force than I
meant to use.

Bo fell onto his backside, blood spraying from the open wound with
every beat of his slowing heart. He pressed his hand against his neck, but his
life fluid squirted forcefully between his fingers.

“I’m sorry, Bo,” Brandon said, terrified and uncomprehendingly. “I
couldn’t stop. I tried, but I, I...” his voice trailing away, as he tried
futilely to clean Bo’s blood
off of
his face.

Bo didn’t respond. He leaned forward, and struggled to get back on his
knees. He looked past Brandon and straight up at me. “Finish it,” he whispered,
gurgling through the blood that was now seeping out the sides of his mouth. He
closed his eyes as he forced his legs to hold his weight and pushed his upper
body off the ground to stand on his knees. Bo leaned his head back, rocking
from side to side, blinking through tear filled eyes, waiting for this madness
to end.

I walked over and knelt beside him. I pulled his head to one side and
did as he asked. I drank. His body relaxed more and more, until eventually his
back was on the floor. I pulled away, turning to Derek and Ashley, who were
standing behind us aghast at what they had just witnessed.

“Straighten his legs,” I instructed them. As they did, I reopened the
wound on my wrist from the night before and put it to Bo’s mouth. “Brandon,
take them upstairs while I tend to Bo.”

Bo swallowed weakly a few times, just as Brandon had. He soon took his
last breath and I watched the life slip away from yet another set of innocent
eyes. When the others were out of sight, I covered Bo’s body. I tried my best
to clean up the blood, but the spray had gone everywhere. After a few minutes
of wiping up the mess in vain, I went upstairs to join the others.

As I entered the room, I could hear Brandon explaining his experience
to the others. When he saw me, he stopped. He got up and walked over to me,
with his head a little lower than usual. “Renee, I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I
really didn’t plan to...”

“
It’s
okay, Brandon,” I interrupted. “I think
we all react a little different to our hunger, and you just reacted by, well,
going a little wild.” I smiled to let him know I was sincere and he grinned
back. He put his arms around me, and pulled me into a hug.

“You’re my ma now,
sorta
,” he affirmed very
sentimentally. “And I will never leave you.”

“I love you too, Brandon,” I concurred. “I love each and every one of
you, but I want us to feel like equals. I don‘t think any of us need to be the
boss.”

“But we do need a leader,” Derek piped in. “And you’re tops on our
list.”

“I agree,” Ashley said. “Plus, you’re the oldest.”

“Well,” I said, putting my hands up in surrender. “My ma always told me
I’d have a brood of my own one day, and now I guess
it’s
official.” Then I began laughing and they joined in.

“Come on, let’s go out. I don’t want Brandon to waste his first night
stuck in this old house. I want to see his face when he experiences the world
the way that I do.”

           
“I can tell my bodies
not the same,” he gestured to his teeth. “But, I don’t even feel like the same
person.”

           
“You’re not,” I said,
patting him on the back. “Come on, let’s go.”

           
“Wait. What about Bo?”
Ashley asked, as we were getting to our feet.

           
“We won’t go far,” I
responded. “Besides, he’ll never know we left.”

           
As we walked to the
front door, we passed the fireplace, igniting a spark in Brandon.

“Holy shit,” he exclaimed. “Look at that fire.”

           
The other two jerked
their heads toward the fireplace, expecting to see something amazing.

           
“What?” Derek asked,
perplexed. “It’s just a fire. You sure you’re okay, Brandon?”

           
“I’ve never been
better,” Brandon smiled, unable to turn away from the blaze. “I can’t believe
you don’t see all the colors.”

           
Ashley looked at
Brandon, one eyebrow raised, then back at the fire. “Looks like wood burning to
me,” she said, unimpressed.