Young Blood, Act II

With the first twinge gone and Henry having explained it away sufficiently, they had retired the online videos for the time being. Instead they took to talking about real world stuff. Namely relationships, and all of their positive and negative experiences with them. Henry wasn’t exactly well versed but he was a good listener and was still oddly wise, all things considered.

“--I mean, I like him alright, but not like-like you know?” Amy was saying as she regaled him of her current love issues.

“Well if he really is your friend, he should be able to take it if you let him down gently” Henry advised.

“You’re right… but man, I’ve heard some horror stories on the internet and--”

Before she could finish her statement, yet another surge of pain shot through Henry. This one looked far worse than the others as he nearly doubled over in his seat. Amy could only watch until it subsided as she didn’t know what else to do.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked once his body relaxed again. “Do you want me to get your parents?”

Immediately Henry shook his head and waved off her suggestion.

“No, it’s fine, they’ll call us when it’s time.”

Amy nodded, but it didn’t sit right with her. In fact nothing was really sitting right about how Henry’s parents had been treating him. Constantly moving him around while he’s sick, bringing in other kids and locking them away in another room. All of it just seemed a bit much and it all struck a wrong chord inside Amy.

Confirming this, she asked, “So you’re not online at all?”

Henry shook his head again.

“I mean I’m allowed to use the internet, I have to for school. But my parents don’t want me on social media, no. They said that, for now, it’s just better for me.”

Amy grimaced. It was that wording that really struck home at all of her worries about this situation. Biting her lower lip, she thought about how to best word this and not get them both in trouble… at least not right away.

“Now, I don’t want to be a bad influence. But I don’t know, don’t you think you should have at least some kind of contact with the outside world? Like, they have parental controls and shit that’d keep you off sketchy sites. I don't know, that just might be a bit better for you than… all of this.”

Henry looked at her in an expression that was hard to read. Part of it looked amazed that she’d even say such a thing. Another part, though, looked more like he was pitying her naivete.

“I mean, you’re not wrong,” he finally admitted. “At this point, though, I don’t even know how to begin that conversation.”

There it was; a bite, an opening, some way for Amy to try and wriggle in to help Henry out.

“Well if you’re friends with me already. I could always keep you out of trouble!”

Henry’s expression changed to one of shock. He almost looked bewildered that anyone could possibly offer such a simple thing. Almost immediately, though, his look softened and he averted eye contact entirely.

“You’d do that for me…?”

Amy beamed pleasantly at him.

“Sure, what else are friends for?”

Upon hearing the word “friend” a much meeker smile crossed on Henry’s face. Truly he seemed touched by her words. But under all of that… his smile also seemed a little bit sad.

#

The silence between Mark and Lucas was palpable. Once the ladies had gone upstairs, all the two had done was sit and stare each other down. Lucas couldn’t read an inch of what was on Mark’s mind at that moment. He still had that rather lazy, almost sleepy expression on. It almost seemed he was at peace with everything that was happening. Although the general atmosphere led Lucas to believe otherwise.

Part of him was certain he should call Amy up so she’d be ready to go at a moment's notice. The other part, however, was held back by the overall weight of the vibes in the room. He even felt a little bit guilty. There was the absolute possibility that they were overreacting and there was nothing wrong at all.

Regardless, Amy’s well being wasn’t worth that risk. So for now he had to keep things smoothed out rather than escalated.

“I’m really sorry about all of this… I’m sure whatever you guys are making is going to be delicious.”

Lucas had hoped this slight probe could have cleared up the lack of a distinct smell of cooking, or at the very least clear up any misconceptions in general. Mark didn’t take that bite however.

“Think nothing of it,” he said in a both pleasant but blunt tone.

Lucas had given up on trying to keep a pleasant conversation after that. He supposed he had to look forward to a few awkward days at the office after this one. Mark wasn’t quite done with him, though.

“Amy… she seems like a nice girl.” As he spoke his words came out slowly, almost wistfully.

Lucas nodded.

“Yeah, she really is,” he confirmed.

“Do you love her?”

Mark’s question came out a bit sharper and more sudden, like he was whipping out a switchblade. HIs eyes were practically burning into Lucas at this point. It was almost as if he was challenging him with what would otherwise be a no-brainer query.

“Of course I do. She means the whole world to me,” Lucas said without hesitation.

Mark smiled perhaps his only real smile the whole night. At that point he leaned forward and averted eye contact.

Then in a delicate voice, he said, “Good… I’m glad. I’m glad we have at least that much in common.”

In an instant he lunged across the coffee table and grabbed onto Lucas. Caught off guard, Lucas tried to fend him off. He grappled with Mark’s hands and tried pushing him away from him entirely. At some point Mark had procured a hammer and was raising it high above his head. If one had the time to guess, he had probably slipped it through the back of his belt when he went into the kitchen. However Lucas did not have the time for any such thing.

Lucas was not a strong man. He never was.

#

Upstairs, Clair was standing awkwardly behind Nancy as she shuffled through her medicine cabinet. There was almost a purposefulness in her meandering from bottle to bottle. This kept Clair somewhat on guard.

“Now I’m sure it’s in here somewhere,” Nancy mused in a sing-song manner.

Clair didn’t have time for this. She just wanted Amy out of this house and wanted this night put behind them.

“It’s okay if you can’t find it, we have plenty at home,” she said sharply. She was doing her best to make her annoyance as crystal clear as she could.

Nancy shook her head, but she did not face Clair.

“No, no… I want to help ease your pain…”

Clair wanted to say something else, however she wasn’t really given the opportunity. She heard a sudden clamor and shouting from downstairs. This caught her off guard as her head whipped to the door as she heard her husband’s alarmed voice. In that short instance of turning to the door and turning back to Nancy in sudden panic, the smaller woman had already closed the gap.

Realistically, Clair could have fought off someone like Nancy. There were just enough factors that made this impossible, unfortunately. That millisecond of her guard being dropped was all that Nancy needed. She clamped her hand over Clair’s mouth aggressively. Before Clair even had a chance to fight her off and push her back, a sudden and deep cold could be felt in her throat.

Then a steady warmth began weeping down her front. This weeping could only be matched by the tears pouring from Nancy’s eyes. It was impossible to tell when she started crying, but now her face was bright red and soaked with sorrow. In her hand was a butcher’s knife--that had been likely kept in her apron pocket--its silver blade now coated in Clair’s blood.

In a brittle voice she hushed Clair as she choked and slid down the wall.

“It’s okay…” Nancy ensured as her whole body trembled.

Clair tried desperately to clamp down on her wound, but she couldn’t keep herself from bleeding. Soon she wasn’t able to hold a breath, her vision blurred… and the last thing she ever heard was a voice racked with sobs.

“... It’s okay…”

#

Breathing heavily, his nice shirt now splattered in blood, Mark’s face was twisted in an almost blind fury still. The hammer now hung limply in his hand as he glared at the pulpy mess in front of him. Hot tears burned his eyes, which he attempted to wipe away with his cleaner sleeve.

“I invited you over… for drinks…” Mark snarled. He then tossed the hammer down at the ground aggressively before shouting at someone who could no longer hear him, “What else could I possibly have meant by that, you jackass!?”

He buried his face in his hands to let out a muffled scream. This only caused him to get blood all over one side of his face. Mark then trailed it over the top of his head as he ran his hands over his scalp. In his throes of anger he had not noticed his wife had come down the stairs. She was still wielding the knife that had taken Clair’s life, though she had wiped the blood off on her apron.

They both shared a look of utter horror with one another, especially at the sight of having seen each other covered in the blood of another. Mark then managed to finally get off of Lucas’s limp form. He crossed to his wife and put his hands firmly on her shoulder. He wanted nothing more than to hug it out and forget all about this. But they both knew that couldn’t be a case, so instead he smiled at her sadly.

Nodding in understanding, Nancy mumbled, “Dinner time…”

#

Immediately after agreeing to help Henry stand up to his parents, or at least negotiate with them, a final wave of pain washed over him. This one being the worst of the lot as he grasped onto his stomach and rolled off of his bean bag and onto the floor. With his face twisted, his mouth began to overly salivate, spittle dripping down his face.

“Damn it…” he whimpered.

Amy shot up both in panic and also with a slight twinge of anger.

“Okay, this is getting ridiculous. I’m getting your parents, you need to eat!”

She went to storm to the stairwell, but before she could even move from her spot, a surprisingly firm grip grabbed her by the wrist. Looking down, Henry was on his knees and was holding her back. His body was still trembling from the pain and he was looking up at her pitifully.

“Please… don’t go…”

A stab of pain shot through her own heart over him. He seemed so scared to be left alone. In that instance she knew his parents needed a firm kick in the butt. But not wanting to worry him further, she made her voice come out more gently.

“It’s fine, I’m just going to go light a fire under them.”

She was able to pry her wrist out of Henry’s grasp. As she walked away he fell to his hands as well. Then what he said next was so loud it filled the whole room, so much so the voice did not even sound remotely like Henry’s at all. Had she not seen his lips move, Amy wouldn’t have believed it came from him.

“Don’t go!” he demanded.

This shocked Amy in place, a very sudden dread filling her whole body. This was then followed up by the basement door finally opening. Amy hadn’t even heard the footsteps on the stairs until the last minute. Once the door leading into the game room opened, Amy looked back and screamed.

Seeing Mark and Nancy covered in blood had caused her own to run cold. The scream left the older couple completely unfazed as they stared ahead, unblinking, uncaring.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting” said Mark blankly.

Amy’s attention shot from the ever trembling Henry, the blood on his parents clothes, and the knife still in his mother’s hands.

“What… the fuck is this…?” she whimpered, backing away in terror.

Nancy’s eyes welled up once more as she drew a bit closer.

“Amy, baby… I’m so sorry…”

However Amy could only see the knife as the woman drew closer to her. In a flash, Amy had pulled her phone back out and started dialing 9-1-1.

“Stay away from me!” she snapped. “Stay the fuck away from me! Answer my question! What’s going on!?”

The two held their silence for a moment. Their eyes never left Amy as they kept a hard bead on her every move. Only after a moment did Mark avert his gaze. As he stepped forward as well, he scratched at the back of his bald head.

“Usually the parents just drink the wine. We serve from the same bottle, they think nothing of it and we just don’t swallow, or don’t drink at all. The poison is slow, but ultimately painless.” He then stopped for a moment, shaking his head irritably. “But a recovering alcoholic? We didn’t have a contingency for that one.”

Her fear and panic finally came to fruition. It all strung together painfully inside of Amy’s mind. Her parents were dead. They killed them in cold blood. She’d never see their faces again, never again be called “Sunshine”. As much as that all upset her, there was unfortunately a clear and present issue as they continued to try and encroach upon her.

“Stay away from me!” she said, hitting the call button on her phone. “You stay the fuck away from me, I’m calling the cops! I swear to god if you come anywhere near me--!”

She could not finish her threat. Because at the other end of the line there was no sound at all. Looking down at her phone she saw she had zero bars. In actuality she had no service at all, not even Wi-Fi to leech off of. It was the final blow when she had remembered the videos she had been watching earlier had all been previously downloaded. She then looked up to Nancy and Mark who didn’t seem all too surprised at all.

“We always put the game room where there’s the least service,” said Nancy weakly. “If there isn’t one… we make one.”

Having lost the only edge she had, Amy broke into tears.

“Why are you doing this…?” she asked miserably.

Before anything could be said, there was a sudden hissing sound. It took a moment for Amy to realize the sound was coming from Henry. She looked down to the heap on the ground she had nearly forgotten about in all of her panic. Unnaturally fast, the boy began to snap up into place. His arms and shoulders shooting up first before he found his way onto his feet.

She couldn’t get a good look at his face as he started sniffing the air, almost as if he were a hungry dog. This was the first instance Mark and Nancy noted their son at all. As they looked at them there was a deep sadness in their eyes. Their son moved over to them in an almost primal sort of way. He gripped on to his father’s shirt and began sniffing at the blood.

“Sorry bud, this isn’t the kind you like” said Mark in an oddly sweet and paternal fashion, considering what he was talking about.

In an instant, Henry reeled back and returned to the floor. He wretched heavily, but nothing came except for strands of spit. He then fell to his side entirely and went into a fetal position, his whole body shaking violently. Amy could only watch in confusion and horror as his parents continued to watch him sadly.

They then seemed to remember she was there and returned their attention to her. Then suddenly, they began spilling their guts.

“Five years ago… Henry was hit by a truck,” Nancy began. “The asshole wasn’t looking where he was going, and just like that… our baby was gone.”

Nancy bit at her lip, the tears running fresh for her again. Mark put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. He then took over telling the rest of the story.

“We were devastated. Henry’s a bright kid, he had so much potential… So when the time came and we were at our lowest, we were offered a deal.” A look in his eyes said he wanted to clarify on said “deal”, however with a sudden shake of his head, he must have decided it wasn’t worth trying to explain. Instead, he went on, “Our son could come back, but there’d be a catch. He’d need to feed on the blood of the living.”

Nancy found her voice again through the sobbing.

“We tried using grifters and people no one would miss at first. But it didn’t take. He needs the blood of those who were the same age as him when he was last alive…” She then broke down again. Through harder sobs she said, “We don’t know… maybe old blood has too much or too little of something young blood has. We don’t understand it anymore than you do… but it’s what he needs.”

Mark nodded solemnly.

“Finding kids who won’t be missed is a lot harder than finding adults who won’t be. So it had to come down to whole families having to go,” he admitted bitterly. “We stick to single child homes, we invite them over, poison the parents, and sacrifice the child.”

Nancy looked to Amy pleadingly. There was something all too desperate about the look in her eyes as she said the last bit of what was left.

“We know we can’t keep this up forever… we know. We’ve had to go to great lengths to even make it this far. But we can’t stop trying… I don’t want my son to die again.” Her voice grew more choked as she said, “We’re only telling you all of this, in hopes you understand… and hopefully find it in your heart to somehow forgive us for all this…”

Amy had nowhere left to run and was entirely cornered by the two adults. Her heart was pounding in her ears and her body was coated in a cold sweat. The outlook was hopeless… but Amy was never one to go down without a fight.

“Fuck you!” she spat. “You’re both fucking sick in the head!”

Nancy let out a full blown wail, her body trembling nearly as violently as her son’s. Mark, however, was completely unmoved. He sighed and patted his wife on the back before gingerly taking the knife away from her.

“Well… you can’t say we didn’t try,” he said plainly. “I didn’t think you’d understand… and you never will.”

As he approached her fully, unable to think of anything else, she threw her phone at him. It bounced off his chest as he hardly even flinched at her attempt at self defense. It then struck the ground as he finally reached out and snatched her by the arm.

“Get the fuck away from me!” she snarled.

Amy then kicked out and struck true right in between his legs. His knees knitted together and he nearly collapsed entirely. Unfortunately, he didn’t let go for even a second. Instead he used the last of his strength to bring up the knife and leave a decent sized cut on Amy’s exposed wrist.

“There you go Henry…” he muttered before falling down in pain.

Nancy had covered her mouth in shock as her husband fell. Amy was doing her best to cover up the cut on her arm as it started to bleed. As she did her best, the scent led to Henry’s hissing sound returning. Again he straightened up, vertebrae by vertebrae, and turned to Amy. His shaking had stopped as he sniffed the air in her general direction.

Very slowly he began lumbering towards her. Amy pressed her back as hard against the wall as she could, almost willing herself to go all the way through it. When that came with zero results though, there was only one hope left.

“Henry, please… you don’t have to do this” she said, her voice shaking. “We can turn this around. We can get away from your parents, then--then I can give you just a little bit of blood at a time!”

“You’d eventually grow too old, dear” Nancy retorted, her voice now as blank as her husband's had been. “Then what will you do? Let him die? Her promises are empty, Henry.”

“Shut the hell up!” she snapped, shooting Nancy a cold look.

Henry was finally close enough to grab at Amy again. His vice-like grip once again returned as he held onto her shoulders. She tried to struggle, but he was shockingly strong considering his frame. In fact, she could hardly move at all under his grasp.

“Please…” Amy begged. “We’re friends… right?”

Henry suddenly stopped at that. His eyes widened a bit and a glint of that life they used to have returned to them. He then hung his head and his body began shaking again. As this went on, he didn’t let go. A bit of sniffling could be heard as Henry struggled with his thoughts and his instincts.

“I…” Henry managed to choke out.

He then looked up to Amy once more. His eyes that had once been so warm and full of life were now pitch black. Tears were running down his face, but each tear had traces of blood in it, leaving red streaks going down his cheeks.

He then whimpered, “I’m so sorry…”

#

Cynthia finally put away the last bit of silverware in her new kitchen. It was nice to have a fully filled house again. Making do with such an empty house always left her in such a depressed state. It made what followed always all the more worse. Now though that all the worst of it was over, she could breathe easier again for a little while.

Stretching out her back she went out to her front room filled with all of her own furniture again, the walls decorated with pictures and art. Most importantly her bookshelf was available again. She slid her favorite book out and took a seat on the couch, trying to remember where she last left off.

“Hey, Mom,” called a voice from the other room.

She peered over her book as her special boy entered the front room. His cheeks were full and rosy, his eyes all a glitter. His hair was even back to its original volume and luster once again. He looked just the same as he had five years ago. Seeing that face always filled her with an unquestionable warmth and love.

“Hey you…” she said smiling. She got up and gave Henry a big hug, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling fine,” he said. Once she let him go he went on to say what he was calling her for in the first place, “I finished my homework. Think I’m going to play games for a little while.”

Cynthia gave his shoulders a loving squeeze as she smiled down at him.

“Go ahead, sweetie. I’ll be right here if you need me.”

He nodded and turned to leave. However, there still seemed to be something on his mind. He didn’t look at her for a moment, only raising his head back to her to ask his question.

“Are we bad people?”

The genuine tone of his question set Cynthia’s heart to ache. She knelt down to be more on his level for a moment before gingerly cupping his cheek.

“You still think about her, don’t you?”

Henry nodded before muttering, “She was nice to me…”

Cynthia bit at her lip. All she could do was pull him into another hug. She didn’t have the words to express how sorry she truly felt. Henry didn’t seem to want to chase this question much longer anyway, as once he was freed he excused himself to the game room. As she watched him go, she had to take a moment to regain her composure.

Thankfully a distraction came in the form of her phone going off. She picked it up to see the name “Mark” on the screen. She quietly swore at herself as she forgot to change her husband’s name out. Shaking her head, she knew she’d just have to do it after the call.

“Hey Abe, baby, lunch already?” Cynthia said, adding the name to help her remember.

“Yeah, just got on,” Abe said, his voice exhausted. “I just wanted to call you as soon as possible. I met someone at work today… a single mom.”

Cynthia’s breath hitched uncomfortably. She nodded, though she knew her husband couldn’t see it.

“Oh good… single… and her kid?”

“Younger than Henry now… but when the time comes, you know.”

“Yeah… and she drinks?” she asked nervously.

“Yeah, yeah… I asked. Apparently she’s a big fan of red wine.”

Cynthia sighed in relief and finally returned to the couch. She then breathed, “Good… glad to hear it.”

#

Henry sat in his new game room, but didn’t bother touching anything. He never could remember much of the nights when he ate. But he remembered her. She was cool, she was nice, and she wanted to be his friend. The words she said still had a hold on his heart. All he could otherwise recall between asking her not to go and the feeding being over, was her asking if they were still friends.

Quietly, he pulled a smartphone out of his pocket. Looking at its screen, it had more cracks than he remembered it having. Henry ran his thumb over the fracture sadly. This instantly brought the screen to life. He had done his best to keep it alive since he had managed to take it after his feeding, but the battery was officially on its last legs.

Henry had liked it at first, because the lock screen once had a picture of her taking a selfie with some of her friends. Unfortunately, he had not gotten to see that in some time. After a day, her phone started receiving texts asking her where she was and if she was okay. Not knowing how to unlock her phone, he had no way of making them go away.

He sighed and hit the lock button so he didn’t have to see them anymore. The question he had asked entered his mind yet again;

Are we bad people?

Henry sat and stared blankly at the wall in front of him, knowing for a fact he’d never get a straight answer to that question. In reality though, he knew he didn’t need anyone to tell him… because he already knew.

The End