Over the Tracks (MxM)

4-

When Caleb woke up, he had somehow gotten back in his closet. That wasn't a surprise, nor was the fact that the door was locked. He just sat against the wall, staring down at his knees and lost in thought.

The door burst open, startling Caleb as he nearly jumped. Sabrina took a hold of his wrist, pulling him up and out of the room, toward the kitchen. When Caleb began to struggle, she just said, "Do you want your weekly meal or not?" Caleb cooperated the entire time after that, up until he had a small plate with food on it. It was more than the 'snack' he had after Treston's most recent torture session and enough to temporarily sate his constant hunger, although still not enough to fill his empty stomach. He was actually so content from the meager portion that he didn't put up his usual fight when he was held to the counter and his wrist was once again painfully slit over the scabs, since he had gone a few days and was considered safe as a food source again. His wrist was covered just before he passed out, leaving him to stay on the counter for a while rather than be thrown directly back into the closet.

To his surprise, when his vision cleared, Melanie was standing over him with a scowl. "You've been staying out too late." When Caleb remained silent, she leaned forward threateningly, hand settling over his throat, but not constricting his air flow. Yet. "If you want to keep going out, you better not spend as much time. Get him away from here, and that's it. Got it?" Caleb just nodded. She tightened her grip on his throat, making breathing start to become difficult. "Got it?" she repeated in a much harsher tone.

"Y-yes," Caleb croaked out as well as he could.

Melanie nodded, keeping her hand there a few extra seconds for good measure before releasing it, shoving him on the table. "Clothes are in the bathroom again. Change, and be back here in two minutes. Any longer, and you stay here."

Two minutes?!

It was the fastest he'd ever gotten dressed, albeit sloppily. He managed to be at the door in just under two minutes, panting from his rush. After checking him over and fixing the way his shirt laid on his shoulders, Melanie sent him out once more.

Caleb trudged down his makeshift path toward the train tracks, refusing to go back to the graveyard. He couldn't deal with seeing his parents' graves again. Or his own... It was bad enough to just think about it, let alone go back and look at the three. It sent a shudder down his spine, but he ignored it and kept walking.

He stopped at the edge of the tracks. It was the closest he's been to them in a long time, close enough to just bend down and touch the nearest bar of the metal. He refrained, retreating back a step into the treeline instead. He looked up and at the city. He always came here near dusk, and the city looked so different in daylight. He couldn't see any lights, except for the reflection of the sun on windows or other shiny surfaces.

"Caleb."

Hearing his name spoken, he whirled around, wide eyes searching for barely a second before landing on the man. Chris, he had said his name was. Caleb's heart pounded, not used to hearing his actual name be used. The vampires only ever called him halfblood, and in a derogatory sense. "H-hi," Caleb muttered.

Chris nodded, slowly walking forward to stand an arm's length away from Caleb. His gun was slung across his back, muzzle down, and his moss green eyes almost glittered in the indirect sunlight. "I apologize. I did not intend to startle you." Not knowing how to respond, since nobody's ever apologized to him, Caleb simply nodded before unconsciously staring at the ground. Chris continued. "It seems like you come to this spot a lot. Why?"

Caleb wasn't sure how Chris figured out that this was the place he always came to, but he had to give it to him; he had good perception. "I just.. l-like it, I guess," he said with a halfhearted shrug.

"It does give a good view of the city, doesn't it?" Chris moved to stand beside him, a hand guiding Caleb to turn around to face the city with him. Caleb nodded, looking up at the city again. "You don't talk much, do you?" When Caleb shook his head no, Chris shook his own in amusement at the mostly one-sided conversation. "Any reason for that?"

"I- uh, I- no, there's not." His stare returned to the ground, blinking slowly.

Chris leaned down and peeked up to get a glimpse of Caleb's sky blue eyes before Caleb averted them, focusing on the roots of one of the trees around them. "What's wrong, kid?" As Caleb opened his mouth to speak, Chris cut him off for just a moment. "And don't you say nothing, because it's clearly something."

Since he was just told to not say what he had been fully intending to, Caleb closed his mouth, keeping it closed as he tried to figure out what to say. "I-... I don't know," he mumbled. If he mentioned the vampires or him being a halfblood, it would likely get him killed, whether it be by the hunter or the vampires themselves. Well, killed or worse.

"If I had to bet my money on it, you do know. But if you don't want to talk about it, then fine. Just don't lie about it." While speaking, Chris lifted one hand to Caleb's chin, directing his face to meet his eyes.

Caleb swallowed unknowingly, wanting to look away, but not feeling the energy to resist the fingers on his face. "I don't want to t-talk about it," he whispered, relieved when the hand was removed from him. He finally looked up at him willingly, then flinched slightly as his keen ears picked up the quiet sound of thunder in the distance. Upon the man's questioning look, he hurried to explain. "I-it's going to storm."

"And you can hear the thunder already?" Chris looked up at the darkening sky overhead as another nearly silent rumble came. Caleb gulped when he realized that a pure human wouldn't likely be able to hear it yet from how quiet and far away it was.

"N-no, I- uh, saw the c-clouds," Caleb said, hoping that would cover it up well enough that he wouldn't be questioned further. For once, luck seemed to favor him as Chris simply nodded, glancing back at him, then the clouds again.

"Guess we both better head back to our homes then, huh?"

"I'll stay here until the r-rain starts," Caleb's mouth got out as quickly as possible, surprising even himself as his brain didn't process it until it was already said.

Chris seemed a little surprised by his response as well, hesitating before replying. "Then I suppose I will too." He sat down on a particularly large root, tall enough so he was only squatting. He patted a space on the root next to him, gesturing for Caleb to sit as well, which he did after a pause of consideration. "What are you doing, living out here, anyway?"

Caleb bit his bottom lip as he looked down before deciding to avoid the question entirely. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Alright then." Chris seemed to back off on the questions, sitting in silence and watching the sky. After it became clear that there would be little talking, if any, Caleb lifted his eyes, following Chris' stare to the clouds. They were nearly overhead at this point. "When did you last eat? And how much?"

Caleb was a bit startled by the sudden question, not even realizing that his stomach was growling until it was mentioned. For some strange reason, it always acted up during storms, resulting in him being overly hungry, and often puking as well. "Uh, this m-morning, before I l-left the house," he said quietly, just loud enough to be heard over the wind that was starting to blow. "And just a l-little bit."

"And before that?" Chris asked, watching him now. When Caleb returned his gaze to the ground, not saying anything, Chris leaned forward, one hand barely touching his right arm. Caleb flinched, but held it there as Chris felt the bone beneath the skin, having no fat and almost no muscle to surround it. His hand then traveled up and over to feel his protruding ribs, brushing against them just before Caleb pulled away. Their eyes met for a moment until Caleb quickly averted his. A few raindrops began to fall, saving Caleb from the required explanation. "Well, there's the rain. Guess you better go, then. I should too." Chris pulled his hand away to push himself up off the root, standing before offering Caleb a hand to help him up. Caleb accepted, and once they were both up, Chris turned around to start walking.

"Thank you," Caleb muttered before turning and running back toward the house, not wanting to get too wet. But by the time he got there, he was soaked and shivering. I'll definitely be getting sick. Oddly enough, he was able to go to his closet without being stopped by any of the vampires, him leaving his drenched clothes just outside the closed door as he settled his tired body to sleep.