The life of a mountain vampire ch 4

Chapter 4

The First Hunt


The full moon shone brightly as a soft breeze tossed a few clouds across the night sky. 
Stepping off the roof, Xavier spreads his wings and glides silently off in the direction of town. 
Learning how to fly was one of the things he should have thought through and learned how to
do before he stepped off the roof.  It didn’t come to him as easily as he thought it would.  His
first crash landing was on his parents roof. Thank god no one is home.  Knowing mom, if she
were home she would be heading up the stairs and trying to help dad investigate what had made
the noise.  I wonder what they would have thought if they knew it was him that had landed on
the roof.  My  being able to fly surely would have freaked them out.  Too busy thinking of what
he could have told them, he tried it again and almost hits the large maple tree that was in the
back yard.  Finally landing and taking a few deep breaths to calm down, he decides to take his
time and concentrate on what he was doing before he crashes into something or someone.
Taking off again he heads for town, this time he is more careful as he learns how to maneuver. 
Like a bat in search of its nightly meal, he goes in search of Kevin and his friends.

He figurers that the best place to start his search would be the local bar.  Xavier felt it was a
good place to look.  Knowing Kevin and his group they all would be here or at least one of them
would be.  Quietly landing outside of the bars main door, he could already smell one of them inside.  By the smell of it he guessed that it was Brad.  The colon he wore was unmistakable; it smelled like a mix of old spice and stale beer.  He thought to himself that was a smell that he wouldn’t soon forget.  Xavier looks around the place, letting his new séances do the searching for him to see if Kevin or Chris was there with him, but it was only Brad.  He could tell by the smell and sound of him that Brad was pretty wasted.  This could make my job a lot easier.  He thought while he waited for him to leave the bar. 

After a few minutes or so, Brad, half drunk stumbles out of the door and into the parking lot cussing and yelling because the bartender decided to toss him out on his ass for acting like a fool and being a little too friendly with one of the ladies at the bar.  As he stagers to his car, something knocked his keys out of his hands.  As the keys slide under the car, he stumbles up against the door.  Cussing he looks around to see if someone is there behind him.

"What the hell?  Who's the wise guy?"  Seeing nobody behind him, Brad mumbles a few choice
words under his breath and squats down looking for his keys.  "Where did those damn keys get to?"

"Hey Brad . . . lose something?"

Looking around startled by the quiet, grim voice, Brad squints his eyes trying to get a better look at where the voice was coming from.  As far as he could tell the lot was empty, except for a few cars belonging to those inside the bar.  "Who's there?  Show yourself . . . NOW!  I'm warning ya!  If ya don’t come out where I can see ya there's gonna be some real trouble."

"Oh what's the matter?  Can't ya see?"  Xavier chuckles as he passes within inches of Brad
unseen.

"Who's there?  I said for you to show yourself and I mean NOW!"

Xavier's voice swirled around him, taunting, teasing him.  Whispering, reminding him of what he
and the others had done.  As Xavier passes by him unseen, he would poke at him or claw him. 
Leaving small nicks and cuts on his chest and back.  Whirling around trying to protect himself from
the unseen attacker, Brad cries out "Who the are you?  Why are you doing this to me?"

Holding his bleeding chest Brad waits for an answer but there is none.  There is only the soft whistling of the wind through the trees.  After a few minutes he nervously walks over to pick up his keys.  Looking around the lot one more time and still seeing no one, he quickly reaches for the car door then looks up and sees Xavier squatted on the roof of his car just smiling down at him.

Tipping his cap, Xavier just says " Evening, nice night aint it?" 

With a look of complete terror on his face, Brad drops his keys again and begins to slowly back away.  His heart was beating wildly in his chest as if it would tear itself from his body.  "What the hell man?  No way!  You….you can't be here.  You’re dead!  Kevin said he finished you off."

Pulling a gun from behind his belt he takes a few shots, but Xavier is no longer there.  All that was left there were whips of mist and his fading laughter.  Grabbing his keys off the ground, he jumps into his car and spins out of the parking lot, heading off towards the edge of town.  After an hour or so of driving, Brad comes across an old dirt road that cuts off the main highway, leading back into a wide open set of fields known locally as the cow pastures.

"He'll never find me here."  Brad thinks as he pulled off the road and headed out into the open countryside.  Driving faster then he should over such unkept roads, Brad's car kicks up clouds of dust and tosses lose rocks behind it.  As he looked in the review mirror to see if he was being followed, he misses a curve and slam’s into a large oak tree just off the side of the road. 

After a few minutes he came to and starts cussing and holding his head.  His head ached and as he placed his hand to his forehead he noticed that it was bleeding.  After a few tries he manages to kick the door open, and stumbles out of the car.  Still holding his head he collapses on the ground and roles over on his back growling and spitting out curses under his breath.

"Oh you poor baby.  That looks like it smarts just a bit."

Wiping some blood from his eyes, he looks up.  There Xavier sat squatted on the roof of his car, just smiling down at him.  "What tha hell!  I thought I left you back there at the bar.  How in the hell did you get out here so fast?  It's not humanly possible."

Smiling down at him Xavier adjusts his cap and hops off the car to sit on the ground beside him.  "You’re right, it's not humanly possible.  But as you can tell, I'm not quite human anymore."  Pulling his knees up under his chin, Xavier just sits there with his head down looking at the ground. With his cap pulled down over his eyes he just looked at the ground, tracing his finger through some of Brad's blood that had dripped onto a small rock.  Lifting his hand he watches as the warm liquid runs down his finger and across the back of his hand.  "Ya know Brad, I kinda have you and the others to thank for this new life, or whatever it is that I have now.  Well, you and Nioby."

"What are you talking about?" Brad gasps as he tried to crawl away from the wreck.  "Who the hell is Nioby?"

Grabbing him by the left leg Xavier threw him across a fence and up against the side of an old near by barn.  “DO’NT YOU EVER SAY HER NAME AGAIN! . . . Understand!"  As Brad slumps against the wall trying not to fall to the ground, Xavier takes him by his right arm and spins him around so that his back is against the wall, allowing Xavier to look into his bleeding face.  "Now we are gonna have a little chat, you and me. And for your sake you had best have the answers I want to hear."  Looking deep into his eyes with no sign of emotion, Xavier asks a simple question.                           

"WHY?"

Brad didn’t answer, instead he gave him a mirthless smirk.  "Screw you.  You're nothing freak and I ain't telling you nuttin'!" 

Placing his hands on the wall to either side of Brads face, Xavier leans in close to him and smiles, then softly kisses him on his right cheek. As he caresses Brads cheek with his own Xavier whispers softly in his ear.  "You already have."  Without another word, Xavier throws him across the road and back up against his car, knocking the breath out of him.  Walking back over to where he was laying and bleeding against the door of the car, Xavier sits on the ground beside him readjusting his cap.  With his knees pulled up under his chin, he just watches Brad as he tries to crawl away.  Messing with a piece of metal that had fallen off the car, Xavier looks over to see how far he had gotten.  "Now where do you think you are going?  The night is still young and I'm bored."  Standing up and taking a long leisurely stretch, Xavier walks over to where Brad was and starts walking along beside him as he crawls up the road.  Still playing with the piece of metal that he had picked up off the ground, he sighs and tosses it to the side into some bushes.  "Well now, I guess we had better get to this.  I don’t have all night and I'm starting to get bored again.  So if ya don’t mind I think it's time to play."

Noticing that Brad had made it a fare distance from where he was standing, Xavier walks up behind him and grabs him by the left ankle, pulling him back down the road.  Brad starts to make what seemed like a crying sound as he claws at the ground, trying to keep from being pulled backwards.  When they reached the car again Xavier tossed him across the hood and smiled.  "Now how was it that you put it?  Oh, yeah, I remember."  Taking Brad by the throat he lifts him off the car and looks him in the eyes smiling a cold smile.  "Your mine now little boy, and I want to here you scream."  With that Xavier throws him through a barbed wire fence and back up against the side of the barn.  The wire having been so old and rusted just snapped and tangled around him as he went through it.  "What no scream?  Now work with me here Brad."

As Brad hit the wall, some of the barbs on the wire cut deep into his back, tearing small pieces of skin and cloth from his shirt.  He falls to the ground and as he tries to get up his hand was cut, deeply by more of the wire that had wrapped its self around his arm.  It stabbed him as he braced himself against the ground.  Cussing under his breath, Brad just looks up at Xavier and tries to pull the rusted wire out of his now badly bleeding hand.  A tear roles down his cheek as he scrambles along the ground and back up against the barn wall causing more barbs to cut into his back, but still he didn’t cry out. Still holding his bleeding hand against his chest he looks up at Xavier.  In cold and silent defiance he flipped him off and smiled.  He soon lost his smile as Xavier crossed his arms and frowned walking up to him.

"Be reasonable man, come on. I didn’t hurt you that much.  It was all in fun . . . ok?"

Squatting in front of Brad, Xavier leans in close, placing his hands on the ground to either side of Brads trembling body.  Like a cat that has cornered its pathetic pray, Xavier purrs loudly and takes a long deep breath.  Now that is the smell of fear he thought.  Closing his eyes he smiles, exposing the tip of his right fang. Brads pitiful cries continue as Xavier shakes his head regaining his séances.  "REASONABLE!!  Where was reason when I begged you not to do the things that you did?"  Taking hold of a piece of wire that was wrapped around Brad's waist, Xavier pulls him up close, causing the wire to tighten and cruelly cut into his stomach.  Covering his mouth so he couldn’t scream Xavier held him close.  "Was it reasonable to take a boy and torture him the way you did.  Was it reasonable to take away the only real gift that GOD gives us in this life?"

Shaking all over from the pain Brad manages to remove Xavier's hand from his mouth.  "What did I take from you man?  Tell me.  Kevin took your money, not me."

Letting go of the wire, Xavier sits back on his knees and just looks at him with a confused and astonished expression on his face.  Putting his hands on his head he just starts to laugh for a bit then begins to cry.  "What did you take?  What did you take?"

"Yeah man....You tell me what did I take from you?"

Grabbing Brad by the throat again, Xavier starts to squeeze digging his claws deep into his skin.  Wiping the tears from his eyes he looks at him coldly.  "YOU TOOK MY INNOCENCE!!!!"  Shoving him against the wall Xavier continues to squeeze as Brad gasps for air, desperately trying to pry Xavier's fingers from round his through.  "You took a part of me that I can never get back.  A part that I wanted to share with the one I loved, but now that's something that I can never do.  Now can I.  CAN I!"  After a few seconds, Xavier regains his composer and lets go of Brad's throat and steppes back a few feet. Adjusting his cap he just smiles and pulls it down over his face just a bit.  "Now where were we?  Oh yeah ...my scream.  I want to hear you scream."

Brad stares at him shaking all over and starts to cry.  It was either from the pain of the cuts or the thoughts of what Xavier would do to him next. Kneeling in front of him Xavier places the tips of his fingers to Brad’s trembling lips and shakes his head.  "NO . . . There will be no crying.  I want to hear screaming!"  Grabbing Brad by his shirt collar Xavier stands to his feet and a kick open the barn doors and drags him inside. Finding a roll of barbed wire by the door, Xavier picks it up as they pass by.  Brad meanwhile is sobbing and trying to undo his shirt in hopes of getting away.  "Now here we go, fresh rolls, now this aint likely to break so easy, now will it."

Letting go of Brad's collar, Xavier starts to clear a spot in the center of the room where he could work, or as Brad put it, have a little fun.  Gasping for air, Brad tries to crawl away but the cuts on his hands slow his efforts.  Xavier looks over his right shoulder and notices Brad's ill timed attempt of escape and starts to walk over to him.  "Where ya off to in such a hurry?  It's not time to go just yet."  Picking up a pitchfork from against the wall, he rams it through Brads left leg just below the knee and deep into the floor boards, effectively pinning him to the spot.  Brad screams out in pain as he tries to pull away.  Reaching behind him, he tries in vain to pull the fork out, but in the position he was in couldn’t quiet reach it.  Squatting beside him Xavier smiles and tips his cap.  "Now that should keep you still until I get ready for you.  Oh and by the way, that was an excellent scream there.  I knew you had it in ya."  Xavier pats him on the head and returns to his work.

A few minutes passed as Xavier finishes tying up wire across the wooden beams overhead and making sure it would hold.  Meanwhile Brad had managed to turn on his side and tries again in vain to pull his leg free. Sobbing loudly he looks up at Xavier.  "You’re crazy man, you can’t just kill me out here.  Come on Jev, I'm begging you here."

Xavier didn’t bother to stop what he was doing and just looks over his shoulder and smiled a strange smile.  "My name isn’t Jev, he's dead.  Thanks to you and your friends that is.  My name is Xavier.  Now, I think that should just about do it."  Stepping back he wipes a few specks of dirt and hay from his shirt and admires his handy work.

Walking back over to where Brad was pinned to the ground, Xavier just smiles down at him and taps his finger on his chin, as if he was trying to remember something important.  Pulling the pitchfork from the ground Xavier drags Brad over to the spot that he had cleared in the middle of the floor.  Breaking off a long piece of wire from the roll he binds Brad’s writs together and picks him up off the ground.  Tossing the wire over a beam in the ceiling Xavier begins to pull Brad's arms over his head and starts lifting him up off the ground. 

Brad was now hanging about a foot off the floor; the weight of his body caused the wire to cut deep into his wrists.  He starts to sob and beg as blood began to trickle down his arms.  "Come on man, this aint funny any more.  Please I'm begging' here."

After securing the wire to a nail Xavier walks over and stands in front of him.  He just looks up from under his cap and frowns.  "You’re begging.  What about when I was the one doing the begging, did that matter to you?  I think the time for begging is over, and besides it's starting to get on my nerves."  As Brad was about to answer, Xavier took another piece of wire and wrapped it around Brads head, making it into a gag.  Brad made a muffled scream as the wire cut into the sides of his mouth and the back of his head.  "Now that should shut you up, till I'm ready to play."

As he hangs there shaking from either the pain or fear, Xavier runs his hands under Brads shirt, he could feel the taught lean body that was hidden underneath.  Pulling him close Xavier places his head against Brad’s stomach and takes a long deep breath.  "MMMMMM... Nice......Real nice,  to bad that it won’t stay that way for much longer."  After a few minutes of standing there with his arms wrapped around Brad's waist, Xavier steps back and wipes away a few tears from his eye.  Not sure of what he should do now, he just stands there with his cap pulled down over his eyes looking at the floor.  The thoughts ran over and over in his head.  "What am I doing . . . This aint me . . . This aint right. . . 'YES IT IS' . . . No it's not . . . 'HE HURT YOU . . . HE SHOULD BE HURT BACK' . . . No . . . It's not right . . . 'YES IT IS . . . HURT HIM . . . MAKE HIM PAY' . . . No I won't . . . 'YES' . . . No!"  Holding the sides of his head, as if he were in excruciating pain Xavier begins to stagger around the barn.  Stumbling over a lose floorboard he falls to his knees, slumped over with his head on the floor he just sits holding his head and sobbing.  Brad could hear him mumbling and talking to himself, as if he were having an argument with some unseen person.  As he argued with the unseen foe he starts to claw at the ground leavening deep gashes in the wooden floor boards.  Brad could see that a pair of small wings unfolded from under Xavier’s shirt and began to flap wildly, as if they were trying in vain to gain some height off the floor.

"ENOUGH!"

The word was clear and cold.  Sitting up on his knees Xavier calms his agitated wings and readjusted his cap.  Taking a few deep breaths he looks up at Brad from under his cap and calmly smiles.  "Now it's time to play."  Standing to his feet he wipes the straw off his knees and unwrinkled the end of his shirt that has gotten tucked into the side of his belt.  He walks over to a small table in the corner and begins to sort through some of the old tools that were lying there.  Holding them up one by one, he looks them over making sure Brad could see each one.  If it didn’t suit his fancy he would carelessly toss it to the side and move on to the next.  "Now this will do nicely."  Turning back to face Brad he slowly pulls a rusty sickle from behind his back.  Smiling cruelly he looks up at Brad and began to turn it over and over in his hands, tracing his fingers along the rusted, yet still sharp edge.  "Now what can we do with this I wonder?  Any suggestions?  No."

Walking back over to where Brad is hanging, he circles him a few times, allowing the blade to drag along the outside of his shirt.  Stopping just in front of him, Xavier looks up and smiles a playful smile.  Taking hold of the hem of Brads shirt he places the tip of the sickle under Its edge and runs it upward, cutting the shirt open with one pass.  Brad screams in pain as the tip of the blade catches him just under the chin, cutting it badly.  Realizing his mistake, he pulls it out with one quick jerk, cutting a deep gash as it went, Xavier bites his lower lip and looks up at him with an expression of concern mixed with excitement and pleasure.  "Oops I'm sorry man, didn’t mean to go that far.  You ok there?"

Brad jerks and writhes in agony, his heart beating wildly while the blood begins to gush out of the wound with each pounding heart beat.  As the blood pours from the open wound, Xavier's mouth begins to water as he watches the crimson flow work its way down the center of Brad’s chest and over his washboard stomach.  Biting his lower lip hard, he closes his eyes and turns away.  Not yet he thought as the urge to sink his teeth into the tinder spot just behind the ear washes over him.  "No not yet. Still have to make him suffer a bit before I have my fill."  Driving the thought from his head he turns back and finishes watching the trickle work its way over his navel and disappear into the top of his pants. Peeking up at Brad from under his cap, Xavier smiles and taps his finger on his chin.  "Now I wonder where that went to eh?  Shall we find out?"

Sobbing and twisting his wrists trying to free them Brad shakes his head.  Not realizing that the more he moves the tighter the wire becomes and the deeper it cut. Pulling him close Xavier begins to undo Brad’s belt and slid it from its loops.  The wire cuts into Brads jaws as he tries to beg for him to stop, but only sprits of blood came out in place of the words. Kneeling down to untie one of Brads shoes, Xavier momentarily takes his eyes off of Brad.  Taking this laps in concentration, Brad manages to kick him in the side of the head, knocking him backwards to the ground.  Looking up with a bit of a startled expression Xavier smiles and rubs his sore jaw.  Standing to his feet he picks up his cap, smacking it against his leg to brush the dirt off.  Walking back over to where Brad was he just smiles and readjusts his cap.  "Now that was a good kick man.  If I do remember correctly, you were on the football team rite.  That would explain it then."  Brad just hung there with a defiant look on his face, trying not to start sobbing again. Shaking from the pain he tries again to kick Xavier away from him only to have his leg grabbed and twisted hard, breaking the bones just below the knee. Screaming through the wire he starts to cuss, but the words came out distorted.

"Well now if you won't let me do it the easy way, then I guess we'll have to do it the hard way and that suits me just fine."  Picking the sickle up off the ground Xavier begis to circle him once more.  When he came to either side, he swung the blade and cut the jeans down their length.  The blade being as old and rusty as it was made an uneven and ragged cut as it went.  Brad twists and squirms in pain as the blade cut through the fabric and his legs too.  The jeans fall to the ground leavening him in only his boxers, and revealing long bleeding gashes down both sides of his legs.  His legs swung wildly as if they were trying to aid him in his escape.  Xavier just looks at him and frowns.  "I'm gonna have to do something about that it seems."  He thought to himself taking more barbed wire he wraps it around each ankle and pulls them apart, tying each to a beam on either side of the room.  Brad twisted and screamed as the wire cut into his ankles.  "Now that will do just nicely don’t you think?  What?  I can't here you Brad.  You'll have to speak up."

Pulling on the wire that covers his mouth, Xavier tries to remove it, only to have it cut deeper into the back of his head.  Screaming Brad tosses his head back and causes the wire to snap.  When it snapped one side of it flipped forward and caught him in his left eye.  His eye bleeding badly now Brad begins to scream wildly.  It was a mix of cussing and begging, but not all the words were understandable.  Xavier walks back up to Brad and watches him as he thrashes about causing blood to sprinkle all over the floor.  When Brad finally became too tired to move about so much, Xavier looks at him and frowns.  "What to do?  What to do!"  He thought.  Trying to come up with an interesting way to amuse himself.  With the sickle still in his right hand Xavier Looks up at Brad and smiles a childish smile.  He takes hold of Brads boxers with his left  hand and starts to pull them down, but stops just shy of his groin.  A small tuft of black hair peeks over the edge, as if to tease and invite one to look lower.

Closing his eyes and lowering his head Xavier growls. "No this aint rite and I won't be like you."  Letting go of the boxers Xavier steps back and puts his left hand to his head.  Stumbling backwards as if someone had punched him in the head the voices begin swirling around him once more, urging him to finish what he started.  “DO IT . . . No I won't . . . This aint rite . . . YES IT IS . . . HE DID IT TO YOU . . .  NOW SHOW HIM WHAT IT IS LIKE TO BE TAKEIN' AGAINST HIS WILL . . . No . . . YES. . .I said no . . . YES . . . DO IT NOW!"  As he argues with the unseen and unheard voices he stumbles around the room swinging the blade wildly, trying to drive them away but instead he was gashing Brad deeply across the stomach and chest.  The blood spills on the ground and Xavier looks on in horror.  "NOW SEE, THAT WASN'T SO HARD, NOW WAS IT? Stop it please . . . I won't hurt anyone else. . .  OH I THINK YOU WILL. . .  No . . . YES . . . THERE ARE STILL TWO MORE TO GO AND YOU WILL HUNT THEM DOWN . . . No please don't make me."

Swinging the blade again he cuts across Brad's back leaving a long bloody gash. As the arguing persists he continues to stumble around swing the sickle, trying in vain to stop the voice in his head.  Suddenly he stops and just stares at the ceiling, his eyes wide, and his teeth clinched shut and shaking all over. A few heart pounding minutes pass before he closes his eyes and lets out a long deep breath, dropping the sickle to the ground and lowers his head.  Kneeling down he picks it back up and looks at Brad from under his cap.  He has an evil smile on his lips, and his fangs are fully exposed. "You’re mine now little boy, and I want to here you scream now."

Xavier throws the sickle and it drives deep into Brad's left shoulder.  As he screams, Xavier begins to laugh and walk in his direction.  Pulling the blade out he smiles again and wipes it across Brad's chest.  "Now that’s what I call a scream.  I wonder can you do it again even better."  Running the blade up Brads left side he could hear one of his ribs crack. Smiling, Xavier decides to do it again on the other side, like Brad had done to him not so long ago.  As the blade sinks deep into his body there could be heard multiple pops and cracks.  Brad writhes and screams as loud as he could, only to have Xavier cover his mouth and softly whisper for him to be not so loud in his screams.  That someone might hear and ruin his fun.

An hour or so passes with the sounds of Brad's screaming and breaking bones until Xavier steppes back and rams the blade deep into Brad's back just between the shoulders. The night was getting late and he was getting bored.  As he walks to the barns door he stares out at the emptiness of the pastures and sighs.  "This used to be one of my favorite places to come when I was a kid.  Can you see that tree over there?  My folks and I used to come out her on Sundays and have a picnic.  And over there, he pointed again; we would go fishing and swimming under that large willow tree.  But now how can I ever be happy here again?”  Looking back over his right shoulder he growls deeply. “I hope you are proud of the work you and the others have done."

Looking back at Brad's bleeding and mangled body Xavier smiles and wipes a tear from his eyes.  "It's time to finish this," he thought.  Walking back over to where Brad was hanging Xavier lifts his head and looks him in the eyes, well the one eye that he was still able to see out of that is.  Smiling he wipes a trickle of blood from Brads cheek and kisses it softly.  "Now be a good boy and tell me where the others are, so I can get this over and done with."

Brad looks up at him and smiles weakly, spitting blood in his face.  "Go to hell you freak.  I'm not gonna tell you anything."

Wiping the spit from his cheek, Xavier just frowns and shakes his head annoyed.  "Oh my boy, my beautiful bloody boy, you will go there far ahead of me.  I can promise you that.  Oh and be a good boy and give the Devil a message for me, won't you."  Pulling him close Xavier traces his finger down Brad’s bloody and mangled chest then looks up at him smiling.  "Tell him to make room for your friends, cause' they'll be joining you very soon."  Stepping back he put his hand on his chin and just looks at Brad.  "Well if your not gonna tell me, then I guess there's no reason to keep you hanging around then, is there."

Grabbing Brad by the throat Xavier rips him from the wire leavening small chunks of meat and pieces of bloody cloth hanging in his place.  Then without a word he throws him through the nearest wall, leavening a large blood stained opening.  Stepping outside through the hole, Xavier passes by an old unused fence pole.  Stopping briefly and looking at it he smiles and tapes his finger on his chin.  Picking it up and tossing it onto his shoulder he walks over to where Brad had landed and looks down at him.  His body lies crumpled in a bleeding pile against a large stone.  Xavier places the pole on the ground and kneels down to roll him onto his back, then carefully pulls him up onto his lap.  Ever so carefully he begins to pick shards of broken glass and pieces of splintered wood from his hair and face.  Softly he parts Brad’s hair in the style he always wore and wipes a small tear of blood from the corner of his right eye.

In a voice that seemed to care and so low as to almost be lost on the wind Xavier spoke.  "You idiot.  All you had to do was let me go home, now look at ya."  Wiping another bloody tear from his other eye Xavier looks down into Brad’s eyes.  Biting his lower lip, he tries to hold back his own tears but fails.  Brad could see a storm of emotions swirling in Xavier’s eyes, before he closes them and turns his head away.

For a while Xavier knelt there holding Brad in his arms and rocking him gently, humming some long forgotten lullaby.  It was still and quiet, all that could be heard was Xavier’s soft humming and Brad's irregular rasping breaths.  Suddenly, Xavier grabs the sides of his head and throws it back as far as it would go.  This sudden move caused him to lose his balance and fall backwards on to the ground.  He just lies there with his eyes shut tight and his teeth clinched, as if he were in terrible pain.  The suddenness of this action and the violence of his convulsions brought Brad back from whatever safe place his mind had escaped to.    After a few heart pounding seconds Xavier’s heart slows and an expression of calm comes over his terrified face.  Sitting back up slowly Xavier begins to gently move his head in a circular motion, causing the bones in his neck to make a cracking sound.  After making a complete circle he lowers his head and takes several long deep breaths.  Slowly opening his eyes he looks down at Brad and softly smiles exposing the tip of his right fang.  Brad looks up in horror, for now the storm of emotions that had once been swirling in Xavier’s eyes had now been replaced by a cold dark emptiness.  Pushing Brad from his lap Xavier stands and arches his back popping the bones along his spine and unfolding his wings,  allowing them to stretch in the bright moonlight. 

"Now where were we?  Oh yeah....My screams."  Taking Brad by his left ankle Xavier drags him back over to where his car had slammed into the tree.  When they reach it, he throws Brad's bleeding body across the hood and pats him on the head smiling.  "Now don’t you go any where, this will only take a sec. Ok."  Walking back into the barn he disappears for a few agonizing minutes, then reappears carrying another coil of barbed wire in one hand and the fence pole in the other.  Brad tries to crawl off the hood of the car and begins to cry uncontrollably, begging him to let him go.  "AAAAHHHHH now that brings back memories now doesn’t it.  I mean the crying and the begging."

Lifting Brads head up by the hair Xavier looks into his eyes and smiles.  "If you want to beg then I'll give you a reason to beg."

Having said this Xavier slams Brads head into the hood of the car once again, breaking his nose and knocking several of his front teeth out.  As Brad moans and makes what seemed to be some sort of choking sound, Xavier picks the fence pole up and walks to the edge of the road whistling and messing with his cap.  With a single push he rams the pole into the ground and looks back at Brad humming and chewing happily on his lower lip.  Brad meanwhile had managed to roll off the car and to the ground, breaking his left arm as he fell.  Crying and cussing, if that is what you could call the sounds he made, he then tries to crawl away.  Walking back over to where Brad was, Xavier walks along beside him unbraiding his hair and combing it out with his fingers.  "Now where do you think you're going'?  It's almost twenty miles to town and the nearest house is in the other direction.  Besides we're not done here yet."

Placing his left foot in the middle of Brads back Xavier presses down hard.  He could feel several ribs crack and the warm wetness of his blood that was pouring from the many cuts and gashes across his body.  Brad screams out in pain unable to move, he can only shiver and cuss under his breath.  Taking him by the ankle Xavier starts back towards the pole, dragging Brad behind him leaving a trail of blood soaked dust as they went.  As they pass the car Xavier picks the barbed wire up and starts happily whistling a song.  Noticing the wire in his hands Brad begins screaming and clawing at the ground, trying to wrench his leg free. His squirming only makes Xavier tighten his grip and dig his nails deeper into his ankle.  When they reach the pole Xavier lets loose of Brad's ankle and droppers the wire at his feet.  Stretching again Xavier pops his spine, as the wire hits the ground it rolls along and up against his ankle.  Xavier jumps and steps back hissing in surprise.  "Ouch that's sharp.  No wonder I got such good screams out of ya."  Kneeling down he runs his thumb across the cut and wipes up a few drops of blood.  For a few seconds he just looks at it and watches it run down and across his finger.  Placing his thumb in his mouth he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath lost in its sweet metallic flavor.  Noticing that he has forgotten something he again focuses on the present and grabs Brad by his neck, slamming him up against the pole. "I will ask you one last time.  Where are Chris and Kevin?  Tell me now and I might just leave you here still breathing."

Brad gasps for breath as he is lifted off the ground.  His feet dangle helplessly as Xavier just stairs silently at him with no hint of emotion on his face.  Brad's throat constrict as Xavier tightens his grip, causing small trickles of blood to flow over his fingers as they cut deep into his neck.  "I . . . I don’t know Jev I swear.  If I did I'd tell you . . . please let me go . . . FOR GOD'S SAKE PLEASE!" 

Slamming the back of Brad's head against the pole, Xavier tilts his head to the side and bears his fangs growling.  "My name is XAVIER!  How many times do I have to tell you that?  You and your friends killed Jev, now there is only me."

With a sudden upward leap they are both airborne, Xavier’s wings spread wide allowing the moon to shine through their deceptively delicate looking membranes. Brad tries to scream as he notices that he is now high off the ground and directly over the fence pole and its cruelly misaimed base.  With what little strength he has left he begins to beat on Xavier’s arm and tries in vain to free himself from his ever tight ting grip.  "If that is your answer then there is nothing else we have to talk about. Then I guess I will let you go now."

An expression of terror comes across Brads face as he hears these words and their true meaning becomes clear. He begins to scream as Xavier closes his eyes and releases his grip, allowing him to fall freely.  Brads screams reach a new height as the sharp point of the pole slides into his body between his legs and up through his torso.  The screams are cut short as the point comes out thro a spot between his head and left shoulder.  Brad makes a choking sound as blood begins to spill from his mouth as he tries in vain to pull him self free of the cruel spike.  He begins to sob slightly as he slides further down the pole, his feet finally coming to rest on the ground.  Xavier lowers his head and glides silently to the ground in front of him.  Folding his wings behind him he tilts his head and looks at Brad from under his cap, not sure of what to do now.  Walking around behind him Xavier runs his fingers along Brads shoulders and across the spike. Examining the nights work, he then wraps his arms around Brad's shoulders and nuzzles his nose against the back of his neck.  Whispering in Brad’s left ear that he was sorry for the excessive pain and violence. He then brushes the blood soaked hair that hung over the back of Brads neck aside and kisses the spot softly.  In a shaking, almost sobbing voice he softly whispers. "Let us end this.  I feel we both have suffered too long tonight, and it is time to go."

Brad just makes a soft whimpering sound as Xavier pulls him close, sinking his fangs into the tinder spot just behind his left ear.  As he drinks deeply the voices inside his head become less noticeable and his heart slows to a steady beat once more.  His body becomes alive with the sensation of the new blood that now courses through his veins.  All that Brad was and all that he would ever be now washed over him and that overpowering flood of emotions and thoughts knocks him backwards to the ground.  After a minute or two, Xavier rises to his knees; kneeling there beside Brads motionless body, he looks up at him from under his cap.  Brad shudders slightly and then takes a deep breath.  Xavier reaches up slowly and places his hand on Brad’s chest, feeling his heart slow with every beat.  As Brad releases his final breath his body becomes still and hangs limply over the pole.

As the blood drips from the pole that supports Brad’s limp lifeless body, Xavier runs a finger through the crimson pool that has gathered at his feet.  Purring softly, he traces his blood soaked finger over his lower lip and smiles softly.  Tasting the sweet warm liquid on his lips he closes his eyes and leans back against the post.  "Now that was a head rush."  A flash of lightning brings him back from his musings and he can hear the roll of distant thunder.  Clouds gather overhead and a strong wind began to blow across the empty open expanse of the fields.  He stands and closes his eyes, letting it wash over him.  Its many invisible fingers glide through his blood soaked hair, combing it out and causing small droplets of blood to fly free.  The thunder crashes closer this time as the sky is torn by a large white bolt of light.  The sound is almost deafening and causes him to cover his ears.  The rain begins to fall softly at first but in time become more heavy and relentless.  Xavier walks over to the barn to take shelter; he quietly sits on the floor by the door and just looks out over the loneliness of his surroundings. 

Running his fingers through his hair he watches as the now watered down blood runs across his hands and down his arm.  Standing he looks down and for the first time notices that he is covered with blood.  Taking off his cloths he walks out into the chill of the pouring rain and crashing thunder.  Running his hands through his hair he slowly walks across the open fields as he allows the rain to saturate his already blood soaked hair.  Standing in the middle of the open field he holds his arms out wide and lets the rain wash the blood and shame from his body.  As the cooling waters flow over him he falls to his knees and puts his head to the ground sobbing. His crimson hair flows out wide around his head as he slams his fists into the muddy earth he begins to cry uncontrollable cusses himself for what he has done.  Slowly he rises up sitting back on his knees and again closes his eyes, lowering his head.  He says a small silent prayer for the life that has been taken and asks that he be forgiven for what was done.  It had to be done, yet he was sorry for having to do it.  Standing he allows the rain to wash the mud from his legs then turns and begins slowly walking back to the barn.  As he enters he finds a pen and piece of paper lying on the table beside the sickle that he had used earlier that night.  He picks the rusted tool up and turns it over and watches a drop of blood as it runs down the edge of the blade.  With a smirk he drives it deep into the table and returns his attention to the paper and begins to scribble something down.  Picking his blood soaked cloths up off the floor he turns one last time to look at Brads lifeless body.  Spreading his wings he disappears into the sky with the next roll of thunder and flash of lighting, leaving behind a note hung from Brad’s neck that had only one word written on it.



. . . RAPEIST. .