Peace: Chapter One

The midnight hour struck with a deafening silence.  The streets were empty except for the last remaining stragglers who were roaming around like lost sheep.  Seeming to appear from nowhere came a small, slim man.  He had deep, green eyes like emeralds; his usual cool and calm physique seemed to be locked in a stature of fear and worry and he gazed at the people around with an air of authority and contempt.

Lucas James would very much consider himself a man of elegance and sophistication, but not tonight.  Tonight he was having to go against everything he believed in for the sake of his family and for the sake of the town in which he had grown up.  There was only one, obvious dilemma to him.  Was he going the right way about it?

As Lucas crossed the street and disappeared up a steep side alley he began to think more deeply.

Lucas was the ‘suffer on your own’ type of person, as he was not used to going to other people for help.  Especially when that person happens to be a friend from the past who doesn’t trust you, not one bit.  Although they have had their fair share of difficulties, Lucas was sure that his friend would put them aside for him; mainly because if the problem wasn’t sorted it could threaten the lives of many, many people.

He turned a corner, stopping at the end of a long and narrow street.  Two-storey houses lined his right while his left was bordered by a metal fence blocking him off from a park, dimly lit lamps worked their way into the distance and odd looking trees leant down to kiss the pavement.  Lucas looked over at a sign.  North Darlington Avenue.  He sighed with relief.

As he made his way up the street, avoiding the lights and even the trees, he hugged his jacket tighter around him.  It wasn’t just protection from the wind, it was protection from most of the outside world.  Most of the world that would call him...a freak.

He paused, composed himself and turned to his right, looking upon the house in which he had stopped in front.  It looked exactly the same as the others.  Brown and orange stonework, thin slatted roof and oak door front.  Lucas held onto the handrail as he climbed the three steps to the front door.

He didn’t have to knock.

The door swung inwards, revealing a young and beautiful woman, her golden hair pulled back into a messy ponytail.

“Alice.”  Lucas greeted, bowing his head slightly.

“What do you want?”  Alice greeted back, her voice full of scorn.

Lucas swallowed hard, his nerves overpowering him and for a second he couldn’t speak.  His jaw trembled and he looked deep into Alice’s eyes.  She looked away.

“A-Agnite.”  Lucas managed, regaining his ability to communicate.  “I wish to speak with him.”  Alice thought about what he said, analyzing him deeply from where she was standing, before she stepped aside to let him in.

The house was warm, lit only by soft lights in the ceiling.  There were stairs immediately to Lucas’ right and a long hallway in front of him.  He could just make out the kitchen, but Alice stepped round and disappeared in there; shutting the door behind her.  Lucas stood, idly on the spot, his coat still tight around him even though beads of perspiration were building on him.  He gazed up the stairs, his eyes tracing the whitewash walls before he tilted to the side to see into the room right at it’s peak.

“You?!  I didn’t expect to see you – ever again.”  Lucas stood up sharply to see Agnite appear from a side room just to the left of the kitchen.  He was wearing a suit; except it was untucked and his top button was unfastened, his tie was hung around his neck and his shirt was undone revealing perfect abs and a well toned chest.  Lucas could feel himself overpowered by this man already, and they hadn’t even started their discussion.

“Yes.  I-I come to plea for your help.  My son, Lawrence, he...he...”  Lucas couldn’t bring himself to say it.  His son was eighteen and had just passed his driving test.  He had wanted to go out, just to drive, he had seemed perfectly normal.  Apparently he had shut his eyes for one second.  Just one.  That’s all it took.  Lawrence crashed the car.  He had been lucky and had stumbled from the wreckage moments later.  Seeing the bodies of four people: a woman and man with two children, all oozing the sweet metallic blood, must of been hard to resist.  Especially when it was fresh.  There was no one around, maybe he could of got away with it.  If only the police officer hadn’t of turned up.  If only Lawrence had run.  But no.  His son wanted more; that family must of tasted nice but that police officer must of tasted better...

“I know about Lawrence.”  Lucas snapped out of his trance and shifted his gaze upon Agnite.  “I would be surprised if any Mutae out there doesn’t.  But I don’t know why you came here, there is nothing I can do for him.  By the way...where is he now?”

Agnite’s voice was stern yet calm and Lucas tried hard not to subject himself to pleading like a little school boy.  “The basement.”  Lucas said, closing his eyes and picturing his son’s face when he’d realised that his own father was locking him away.  “It was the only secure place I could find.”

“Secure?!”  Agnite spluttered, digging his hands deep in his trouser pockets.  “You think the basement of your house is secure enough to keep a strong Elusive like Lawrence enclosed?”  Agnite couldn’t help but turn the corner of his mouth up in a smile at the look on Lucas’ face.  “I didn’t think so.”

Agnite spun on the balls of his feet and vanished into the room he had come from.  Lucas followed apprehensively.

They were in a rather large living room now.  The walls were painted a dark ruby and the floor was a soft cream.  There was a fireplace on the opposite wall, a window to his left and a television just to the right of that.  He could see the park through the frosted glass and felt a shiver run down his spine.  The wall to his right had a door, which led to what looked like a dining room, and a three-seater sofa next to that.  While the remaining wall, occupied also by the door Lucas had just appeared through, had a two-seater sofa and a side table with a phone on.  Occupying the centre space was a large, glass, coffee table.

Agnite looked up enquiringly from his seat in the middle of the two-seater sofa.  “You still here?”  He asked, a hidden look of slyness on his face.

“Yes.”  Said Lucas sternly.  He was tired of being bullied like this; he would not let his son die.  “I need the cure.  There has to be someone out there who can help.  You...you’ll know who they are, where they are and how I can get to them.  I beg you, please, I need this for my son.”

“Do you?”  Agnite had turned back to look at the fireplace, but his eyes were narrowed slightly.

Lucas was a bit taken aback by the question.  “Wha... well, yes.  Of course I do.”

“Because you see.”  Started Agnite, leaning forward on his knees, but still keeping his eyes locked tightly on the fireplace.  “I've been gathering information.  My sources have come in useful recently.”  He dared a glance up at Lucas who was staring down at him meekly.  “It seems your son isn’t the only one who’s been murdering for meat.”  Agnite looked away brusquely, as Lucas’s wide eye look of shock had interested him and he didn’t want Lucas to realise this.  “I know about your little escapade last winter.  Making it look like a house fire.  Not exactly original.  I will give you props for the way you savagely murdered them though, that must have taken a new type of intellect.”  Lucas was fuming, and Agnite could tell.  “So, this implies the question: is it for your son...or for your own selfish needs?”

Lucas trembled hesitantly as Agnite’s head shot round to look at him.  For a moment his mind froze and he couldn’t answer.  How had Agnite found out?  Lucas had tried to keep that a secret for months, and believed he had succeeded.  He had silenced anyone who knew.  Yet, still the secret haunted him.  His moment of weakness, lack of thought and desire of food had pinned upon him more consequences than he ever imagined.  He swallowed.

“My son is what’s important; but if I could get enough blood for both of us then... then I will.  But Lawrence comes first, no matter what.”  Lucas’ voice trembled and he seemed to crumble under Agnite’s fierce gaze.  The man had such vivacity and conviction behind him that arguing against him was like trying to stop a hurricane by just standing in it’s path.  But Lucas wouldn’t just stand.  He’d hold out his arms and scream.

“So you won’t deny having the Illusion Disease?”  Agnite asked bluntly, a softness touching his eyes for a moment before he looked away.

“No.”  Lucas replied even more bluntly than his opponent.

“You know Lucas, you really do astound me.”  Agnite began, leaping to his feet.  “For one thing, I wonder whether you’re in the right state of mind.  I mean, leaving him locked in the basement!  Really, Lucas, even you’re not that stupid.  Lawrence has probably escaped already and is currently stalking the streets looking for more, weak and pathetic Humans to pray on.  Then there’s the fact of you actually coming here in the first place.  What with your son’s condition and I’m sure your wife is no better, why would you come to all this trouble just to see me, when you already knew.  You already knew the answer would be the same as it has been for the last few years.  There is no cure.  So, I am astounded that you would go through all this trouble, just to try and trick me into helping you with something that is impossible to help you with.”

Lucas kept perfectly still, his jaw tightening and his teeth clenching themselves together.  He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.  Agnite was basically telling him that there was no hope, and that he wouldn’t even try and help.

“How dare you?!”  Lucas shouted, stepping closer to Agnite.  The two locked eyes and Lucas could feel Agnite’s breath against the top of his nose.  “How dare you insult me in such a way?!  I care a lot for my family and I came here thinking that you might be able to help.  This isn’t for my own benefit; how could it be?  I accepted my fate months ago.  The Illusion Disease is well-known to my family and I do not fear it.  My son is young, he has a lot to learn and is willing to.  He knows he made a mistake because he told me himself, but right now he is consumed by the lust of Human flesh and meat and cannot control himself.  So don’t you ever tell me that I do not take care of my family, cause I've been trying as hard as I can to help them.”

Lucas was near tears but Agnite hadn’t noticed.  He just snorted instead.  “I never said you didn’t care for your family.  I just implied that you cared more about yourself.”  Agnite stepped round an irate Lucas and stepped out into the hall.

“So that’s it!  No help!  Nothing!”  Lucas hollered after him, pursuing him into the corridor.  “After everything that’s happened between us, you leave me and my son just to die!  But no, you couldn’t let that happen, we couldn’t just die, we had to get the worst disease imaginable!  How could you do this?!”

Agnite spun, this time he was livid and looked ready to eradicate Lucas with one strike.  “Don’t give me that!  The ‘After everything that’s happened...’ speech, Lucas really, that’s a last resort but for you there is none.  I did nothing, and do not try to pit the blame on me.  If you and your son hadn’t of been stupid enough in the first place then you wouldn’t be in this situation!  Now.  If you do not leave my house immediately I will get Craig to throw you out the window.”

Lucas glimpsed a tall and rather rugged man standing on the stairs and leaning over the banister.  “You threaten me?”  Lucas asked, sounding braver than he felt.

“That wasn’t a threat.  That was a promise.”

Lucas looked up at Craig again meeting his eyes and then perused over Agnite.  There was a long silence, one in which Lucas took all the time he needed to examine his old friend.

“Leave.”  Agnite’s voice sounded and Lucas took in a deep breath.  He strode down the corridor, opened the door, took a last look back and then disappeared.

Agnite let out the breath he realised he’d been holding and ran a hand through his coarse hair.  “What was that all about?”  Asked Alice from the kitchen.

“Nothing important; at least not for now.  Go on, finish what you were doing.”  Agnite said, smiling lightly at her.  Alice nodded, smiling unconvinced and vanished into the kitchen.  Agnite turned slowly to Craig.  “Follow him.  I need to know where he’s heading to now.  I have an idea but...”

Craig didn’t wait for Agnite to finish his sentence, but hopped down the stairs and grabbed his jacket.  A second later and Agnite was on his own.

He looked at his reflection in the mirror and ran a hand over his chin.  Then his eyes lowered and he looked at his body beneath the open shirt.  Shrugging, he did up the shirt and went back into the living room to catch some late night television.