Sweet Death [boyxboy]

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen (Julian)

I woke up to the strong scent of blood.

It hung thick and heavy in the air, burning my senses and making my gut knot up. I could hear the faintest clinking of metal against metal, and it sounded like a record player was gently playing a smooth jazz song that you might hear on the streets of New Orleans just before Mardi Gras. My body felt heavy and weighed down, even my eyelids had trouble flickering open.

My vision was blurry and distorted when I first opened my eyes, but they slowly began to focus on a bright light that hung over my head, burning my eyes and making them tear up. I blinked them away and found myself staring up at a rusty lamp that hung from the rafters of an old warehouse.

I tried to shift my head, but I felt something strapped over my lower jaw, keeping my head in place. A small sliver of panic went up my spine as I tried to lift my arms, but found them buckled down by the wrist. I went to lift my legs, but they were also strapped down by the ankles and a strap also held me down by the waist. I tried to move my mouth to ask what was happening, but something was holding it open. It felt like two dull, wide hooks were tucked into the corners of my mouth, holding it wide open.

My heart started to pound violently in my chest and I sucked in sharp breathes of air, grimacing at the taste of blood in the air. It wasn't fresh blood, though. It was old and disgusting and it reeked. It mingled with other foul stenches, like feces and body odor. My lungs burned from the smells and I squeezed my eyes shut to try and block it out when I heard the sound of footsteps coming close to me.

I opened my eyes again when I heard someone humming in time with the music.

"You know," The raspy, smoke damaged voice spoke with a thick Southern drawl, "I was real skeptical when Wulf told me he found the prettiest man alive. I mean, I ain't real big on men. I prefer women, nice and soft, and pretty, with nice loud screams. But you're pretty darn pretty, ain't ya?" My eyes widened as the figure came into view.

Jack Reese leaned over me, flashing a pair of gleaming fangs. His eerie grey eyes glinting dangerously in the bright lights, his blonde hair bleached out from the sun. His skin was peeling a bit too, which meant he hadn't had much blood in his system lately. He wore the same green plaid shirt and blue jeans that the radio described.

My stomach sank further as Jack smiled down at me, reaching out to run his fingertip over my teeth. I tried to close my mouth, but the straps holding them open wouldn't let me and I groaned in distress, making Jack chuckle as he withdrew so I could only see him out the corner of my eye as he moved around the room.

"Now see, I was actually told to just kill ya if I was ever to run into ya, but it's such a waste. I ain't had much to drink since leavin' that prison out west. And none of these humans are makin' for a good feast," Jack explained calmly with a shrug, the sound of him messing with something metal clinking before he spoke again, "And then I find you, of all things. A ripe young pureblood just for the taking, and ya'll aren't real good at noticin' things, are ya? I'd been followin' you lot for about a day or so now."

I was having trouble focusing on his words. Right now, I just wanted to haul ass. I didn't like this situation at all. I was far to vulnerable and every muscle in my body quivered. He was going to kill me, slowly. I was already remembering all the things Seth had told me, and all the things I read on Orion's computer about this guy. He wasn't just going to kill me.

He was going to torture me!

I squirmed, trying to jerk my arms and legs free, but to no avail. Jack approached the side of the table I was on and the panic rose higher into my throat as I saw him snapping a pair of what looked like some kind of pliers. He snapped them in my face, a wide grin sweeping across his face.