Warming Michael's Heart.

Chapter Four: Cold Blood

 Chapter Five: Cold Bloods

"People like us come in two different forms," Donny sat next to me during camp fire night.

 I didn't know it right then, but it would be the last time I'd ever see him. (Or more specifically, the last time he'd ever see me.)

"The hot bloods, and the cold bloods." He turned his head towards the group of older teenagers.

"Look at them. What do you see?"

As far as I could tell, they didn't look different. They looked like normies: laughing, nodding, socializing.

 "That's a trick you'll need to learn." Donny said.

We watched for a few minutes in our silence.

One of the older guys caught a glance at us and shot a glare at Donny.

"Look at this weirdo," The guy said, his blonde hair shimmering under the dim light. Some of the other kids laughed, and suddenly all the older kids were looking in our direction.

Donny readjusted his posture. I saw how his shoulders became straighter, taller. His brown eyes were relaxed as the guy began walking towards us.

"I don't want any trouble, Tim." Donny sounded cool and collected.

The staff members were all huddled around the younger kids, leaving me and Donny completely unattended. If these kids wanted trouble, I was especially fucked—you know, being 10 and all.

I could feel goose-bumps behind my neck, my body was trying to conjure up a sense of fear—but my mind was utterly incapable of producing that particular feeling. All I could focus on was Donny, who seemed completely unphased by the fact that this older kid was walking towards us, with his  mean glare and strong arms.

"What the fuck did you say to me?" He sneered at Donny. "All you do is hang around these little kids. You some fucking pedophile or something?" 

Donny didn't say a word. He just smirked for a second.

"You think this is funny?" The blonde kid was agitated by Donny's lack of response.

It didn't take long for the kid to throw a punch at Donny, sending him to the ground with a bloody nose.

His group of friends began to laugh. But to my surprise, the loudest laugh was coming from Donny. He stood up, and began laughing hysterically. Blood was oozing from his nose and mouth, staining his teeth a sharp red color.

The group of guys stared blankly in confusion. Tim looked like he didn't know what the fuck was happening, and for the first time—I found something funny.

It was weird, having this feeling wash over me. I found myself giggling at first, not understanding what was happening to my body. (I'd never thought anything was funny before) And now it was just me and Donny, laughing our lungs out.

Tim, who seemed utterly confused by our reaction, took a step back in bewilderment. "Fucking creeps." He muttered and then left us alone.

Donny sat by my side again, and everything returned to normal. He wiped the blood off his face with his shirt and gave me a look.

"Do you understand now?" He asked, and as I tried to calm my body from the unfamiliar laughter that had possessed me, it resonated in my brain:

"Hot blooded," I nodded at Tim.

"Cold blooded." Donny shot me a winning smirk and pointed at himself.

It was the last thing Donny ever thought me. "Hot blooded psychos draw their power from anger and frustration." He said,

"It makes them predictable,"

He placed his hand on his knees and cautiously watched Tim as he headed back to his friends. Anybody else would've taken one good look at Donny and dismissed him as a wimp, but in his deep brown eyes I saw the emptiness shimmer with excitement.

In essence, there's only one true difference between a Hot blood and a Cold blood: Hot bloods have feelings and feelings create a conscience.

And there are things in this world that a conscience simply won't allow you to do.

A few days later Tim's body surfaced up in the lake. The medics ruled it out as an accidental drowning. But only a cold blood like myself knew the truth. And Donny was never to be seen again.

"Another runaway," Dr. Waltz clicked his teeth and nodded his head in disappointment.

I had a feeling Tim's friends might've suspected what happened, but nobody said a word. Donny had instilled fear into them, even in his absence.

That night I found a note on my pillow:

Cold Bloods always win.