Alejo [Vampire]

Alejo- Chapter 11

He had invited Augustus from down the street to come over and play that evening. The poor kid hadn’t expected what he’d seen when he climbed the tree house. He saw his neighbor huddled over Twitch. The bunny had been sliced in two, heart plucked out of it's tiny body and beating it's final beat in the other boy’s hands. For the initial second, Augustus had been rendered speechless. His eyes were wide and brimming with tears before the scream tore from his little lungs.

The boy had closed his eyes at the sound. He embraced it, held it close and savored the sweetness of it. He’d been nervous before. Worrying if it wasn’t good enough. But the first scream always spoke wonders. It was more than good enough. It was a perfect kill. He smiled at the child. Augustus seemed to lose his ability to breathe. His face scrunched up and he gasped for air, unable to tear his eyes from his mutilated bunny. His eyes were as large as tea saucers.

Now here the boy was, a week later, wanting to escape from his room before they came to take him to the hospital. He’d failed in the last part of his plan. He’d taken too long to savor the moment.

Augustus was not meant to ever make it back home. He was never meant to see his family again, far less lead them back to the boy’s tree house which was absolutely soaked and stained through the planks with blood.

The boy shook the bars again in a futile effort to empty himself of anger. Anger at his failure to complete the task. Anger at being scorned for his talents. Anger at being seen as crazy and not the blade-wielding genius that he was. And worst of all, anger at being taken away from his mama and pa’s home to stay with lunatics.

He stilled at the sound of wheels rolling over gravel. Heart in his throat he shook at the bars again. Heavy boots crunched outside and his anxiety tripled. He slammed his fist on the bars and then stopped altogether. It was as if someone had flipped the switch on him off.

His body relaxed. His fists unclenched. His young face was wiped of all expression. It smoothened into tranquil lines and his eyes lost the fierce fire.

He went over to the basin of cold water and wiped himself clean. He tugged off his shirt even as he heard his parents talking to people downstairs. The boy changed into fresh clothes after giving himself a good wash and eating some of the last of the grapes in the bowl. The footsteps grew closer. He combed his dark hair and peered at himself in the looking glass. The heavy wooden door swung open to reveal a doctor and three burly men. The boy paid them no attention, but continued to fix his hair.

“Alejo Veracci?” the doctor spoke up. The boy turned to him, dabbing at his face with a cloth. “We are authorized to take you to The Lennox House Hospital.”

The boy smiled the sort of smile that made you want to spoil him with all kinds of sweets and games. The friendliness of it was unexpected. The doctor blinked at him, stunned by the appearance of total sanity. The patients he usually came to collect were the biting, screaming, kicking and swearing sort. They wore torn clothes or had clumps of hair pulled out. Their eyes didn’t hold the normalcy that he saw in this child’s eyes. “Are you, him?” the doctor asked. The burly men exchanged a look with each other. This they didn’t expect.

“Yes I am he," was the lofty reply, "Good day sir, sir, sir and sir.” He nodded his acknowledgement to each man in turn.

“I – you – good day, young man. Did you truly do what they said you did?”

“I’m not sure. What exactly did the missus or sir say?”

“My, you’re well mannered,” he scratched his scraggly beard.