Truly Monstrous Luck [OLD VERSION, NO LONGER UPDATING]

The Start of the Worst Day of My Life

    I didn't think my day could get any worse. I lost my job after I got evicted when my landlord thought my testosterone was fucking heroine, my wallet got stolen - thanks, New York - and that meant my bus card and my money, So I have to walk from Manhattan to my brother's house in The Bronx, in the rain, without an umbrella. I thought this was the worst my day could get. Boy, was I wrong.
I was on 1st Avenue heading towards the Willis Avenue bridge, when I heard footsteps behind me. I didn't think anything of it for the first few minutes - it's New York, a lot of people live here. But these footsteps sounded like someone was wearing tap shoes, crisp and loud and menacing. It made me nervous, sure, but I didn't think they were dangerous. The only thing of any value I had on me was my phone, this shitty old Motorola Droid X I bought used when I was 13. Even if I did get mugged, I don't think anyone wants a 9 year old smartphone, so the worst that would happen is I would get a little roughed up. Big deal, I've dealt with worse.
But as I crossed 86th Street, the footsteps behind me sped up, and as I crossed in front of an alley I felt a pull from behind me. Then I started to really panic. A thousand horrific thoughts flashed through my head then as I was pulled into the dark alley, but none of them come close to what actually happened.
The person who had been following me was a guy who looked a little older than me, maybe 24. He wore a 3 piece suit with a golden tie and a pair of dress boots, and he held a solid black umbrella. He held me by the throat, pinned against the wall and out of sight of passers-by. I was shocked for a moment, unsure what happened - this guy was really strong. Inhumanly strong. After the shock settled a little, my mind was clouded with fear. Bad things can happen in dark alleyways, and I wasn't about to become another fucking statistic. I pulled at the man's hand, desperately trying to break free. But the man in the suit had an iron grip, keeping me firmly in place, several inches off of the ground. My fight or flight had already kicked in, and I was kicking at this man with all of the force I had, which was admittedly low since I had walked 15 blocks in the rain with a binder on, not a healthy combo. Combined with the pressure on my windpipe, I could barely breathe.
The man laughed as he held me there, weak and pathetic, fighting for dear life and on the verge of tears.
"It's worthless, little boy." He growled, and I saw now he had a pair of long white canines. "There's no escape now."
Oh, fuck no. No no no no, those things aren't real. Monsters don't exist. they shouldn't, at least...
"W-what do you want?" I wheezed, tears pricking at my eyes. I started feeling an overwhelming sense of dread.
"I might kill you. Drain your blood, leave you here for someone to find you." He starts, nodding his head from side to side as if weighing his options. "Or maybe I could turn you. Curse you with eternal life, give you the thirst for blood... which would you prefer?"
"I... I don't wanna die." I whimpered, not fully thinking what I was saying, tears streaming down my face.
"Unfortunately that's not an option, dollface." He smirked. "But I'll give you the next best thing." And with that, he plunged his fangs into my neck.
Up until this point, I had tried to convince myself that this dude was just some fucked up lunatic with coincidentally long teeth. But as soon as he bit me, there was no denying it. This asshole was a vampire, and I was fully about to die. Fuck, what am I gonna tell Justin? I guess nothing, he probably wouldn't believe me anyways, if I even survive.
I thought that getting bit would hurt a lot more than it did, but it felt a lot like getting a shot - not painless, but unpleasant. I could feel the life being sucked out of me, and the longer it went on the more hazy my consciousness became. I fully lost consciousness after 10 seconds. The last thing I remember is his breath on my neck as my humanity melted away.
I wake up as I feel someone grabbing me around the torso. My vision is hazy and I feel hungry. My mind is hazy, I can't manage to think of anything but death. I do my best to focus on what's happening, who's grabbing me, and slowly my vision clears and I can see that I'm in the arms of a hulking humanoid with green skin and an underbite with two giant protruding from its mouth. I start to panic all over again. What happened after I passed out? How long was I out? I start flailing frantically, trying to escape the clutches of this green-skinned monster. It notices me squirming, and holds me out at arms length by my underarms. Its silver eyes look me up and down, and as it seems to notice the fear in my eyes its own expression softens.
"Wh-who are you?" I manage to say as my mind fills with thoughts of escape, get away, kill whoever stops you and I hold back the urge to bite this thing. "What happened? Am I dead?"
Its eyes fill with a look of hurt and grief. "God, you're so young. Fucking monsters, doing this to a kid..." Its - their? - voice is gruff, but more in a butch lesbian way than an MMA fighter way. Their face lightens a little, forcibly, eyes still full of grief. "Sorry, where are my manners? My name is Yvonne, I work with a group that's supposed to stop shit like this from happening to kids like you. Fuck, these assholes get so damn confident on rainy days..."
"Why did you grab me?" I ask slowly, suppressing the overwhelming thoughts of death as much as I can. "Why didn't you just leave me there?"
They take a deep breath and go down to their knees and set me on the ground, still holding onto my sides, so we're eye to eye. "Fledglings like you are often overwhelmed by their desires. I can see the bloodlust in your eyes, kid, and you're doing a hell of a job suppressing them like this. But by the time the sun sets you will have drawn blood, and that has caused a lot of good kids a lot of grief the day after. The group I work for works to prevent things like this - vampirism and lycanthropy and the like - from being spread, but sometimes shit like his happens, someone gets infected, and we have a responsibility to contain those kids, give them resources for dealing with their passive urges, help them get their fix in a way that doesn't put anyone at risk."
"I am dead." I mutter, going limp in Yvonne's arms and start crying. "Fuck, the universe won't give me a break, will it?"
"I'm sorry, baby." Yvonne mutters, pulling me back towards their - her? - chest and holding me in a tight hug. "Shit, 10 minutes and I would've been there, 10 minutes and this wouldn't've happened to you."
"Wh-why do you care about me?" I whimper, curling up in her arms. "I... I'm just some stupid kid."
"Everyone deserves someone who looks out for them, baby." She sighs. "I wouldn't wish what happened to you on my worst enemies. This area is my responsibility, this happened on my streets, I need to make sure you don't think you're alone in this."
"Th-thank you." Is all I can manage, before the thoughts are back at full force and I clutch my head, keeping my head between my legs, my mouth away from Yvonne and my eyes away from any people. I hiss as the thoughts invade my mind like a plague. All I can think about is death, of blood, of killing everyone, of killing this woman who has just shown me overwhelming kindness despite never having met me before. I start crying even harder, trying to make the thoughts go away, when I feel a tap on my shoulder. I look up at Yvonne, a look of complete calm settled over her face - I wonder if she works in healthcare? - as she holds a small labelless juicebox.
"Cow blood." She says simply. "Helps with the urges."
I snatch the box out of her hand, poke the seal open with a fingernail, and chug the metallic liquid inside. It feels wrong, but my mind is so clouded with the need to drink that this seems like the greatest thing I've ever consumed. I feel a little dirty after doing it, but the thoughts are quieter.
"Can we leave?" I ask hesitantly. "I want to learn how to deal with this. And I don't want to be here anymore."
She nods, and stands up. "We need to get to Belvedere Castle. Do you have a way of getting home from there?"
I shake my head. "My brother lives in Mott Haven... and someone stole my wallet, so my only way of getting there is walking. All I have is my Motorola Droid."
She nods sympathetically. "Do you want to go to your brother's house first?"
I shake my head. "I don't know if I'll be able to do two subway rides in a row. Plus, I need to figure out... how to tell him."
She nods again. "You got a name I can call you, baby?"
"Uh, V-Victor." I respond shakily, everything that's happened in the past half an hour has me reeling and stressed and convinced that I must've just been pushed into oncoming traffic and this is a comatose nightmare, that a monster lady didn't just have to explain to me that I'm a fucking vampire now. Monsters aren't supposed to be real, they're not supposed to be able to walk through Manhattan totally unnoticed.
I'm not supposed to be one.
"Well, Victor, you good to walk the mile down to the park?"
I nod. "I... I have a binder on though... I can't walk very fast."
She looks confused for a moment, then realization flashes across her face. "That's good to know. We can get you connected to other trans guys at headquarters."
"Th-there are other guys like me?" I've never heard of a trans vampire before.
"Nothing says monsters can't be queer." She reasons. "My girlfriend is a lycanthrope."
I nod, a sense of lingering awe hanging in my mind. There are other people like me. This isn't as much of a death sentence as I thought it was. It's just another half an hour of walking to get to Belvedere Castle.
The rain is coming down even harder now, the clouds dark with the threat of thunder. I smile a little at that - I've always loved the sound of thunder. Vampirism isn't gonna fuck that over for me. Nothing can fuck up the pure joy the sound of thunder or sight of lightning gives me.
We head out, and I realize now just how hard it still is to breathe. My throat is burning, my binder is crushingly tight, and on top of that my legs feel like jelly. I do my best to keep pace with Yvonne, which is difficult to do without letting her know anything is wrong.
We get to Park Avenue before I have to pause and catch my breath. I tap Yvonne's arm as I wheeze slightly, leaning on a nearby building as I take as deep of breaths as I can.
"You good, baby?" She asks gently, and I nod in between breaths.
"Fine, just... drained." I mutter, not telling her about how tight my binder is. If she knows she'll make me take it off and that'll be worse than any broken ribs I might get.
"Take your time." She reassures me, leaning against the building and crossing her arms.
I mutter an unintelligible thanks, and take a minute or so to let my heart rate slow down and my lungs return to functioning normally.
"Alright," I sigh as my breathing returns to normal, "I'm good. Let's keep going."
She nods a little hesitantly, but makes no comment. I let out a tiny sigh of relief as we continue towards the park.
Lightning fills the sky by the time we reach Belvedere Castle. I smile wide as the flashes dance through the clouds, high above the highrise buildings of Manhattan. The water in Turtle Pond is constantly shifting under the barrage of the rain, warping the reflections of the trees and the castle above. Yvonne walks around the outside of the building, periodically knocking on stones as she goes, then walking into the castle and disappears as she rounds a corner inside. I trail close behind her, glad to get fully out of the rain. As I turn the corner where Yvonne disappeared, I find myself inside of a real, proper castle, walls lined with sconces fitted with lightbulbs and a giant chandelier hangs from the high ceiling. I run up to follow right at Yvonne's feet, as the dozen or so people milling about turn to look at us. I can feel the creeping eyes of all of the people around the hall watching me, and I grab onto Yvonne's shirt like a little kid following his mom. I have never felt less my age than I do at this moment.
"You don't have to be so nervous, Victor." She mutters, "Most of them won't bite you."
I snort at that, but her comment does little to stop the anxiety welling in my chest. Fuck, today is utter bullshit. It's not even noon.
Yvonne leads us down a series of hallways, and everywhere we turn there are more people turning to look at me as we pass. I bear my teeth at a few of them out of fear, before remembering that probably has very different implications now that I have horrible vampire fangs. I keep my head down after that. I can still feel all of the eyes on me, but I do my best to ignore it.
"Arthur!" Yvonne yells as she guides us into an office-type room. "We've got a new infected!"
A man walks out from a sideroom and glares over at her. "This fucking early?" He hisses, then he sees me poking around from behind Yvonne. His expression shifts from annoyed to sad, and lets out a deep sigh.
"Where?" He grumbles, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"86th and 1st." She mutters. "He showed a surprising level of self-control right after he woke up. But... I still didn't get there in time to stop it. The FUCKING train was late and now this kid's dead."
"It's not as much of a death sentence as you think, Yvonne." Arthur sighs, then looks at me. "What's your name, son?"
"V-Victor, sir." I respond quietly. This man is tall, maybe 6'2", with sharp facial features.  His hair is black, his eyes are dark green, and his skin is deathly pale. He's wearing a black leather jacket and a Queen shirt, and he looks like hasn't slept in a while.
"Well, Victor, I've been living like this for 50 years, and I'm perfectly fine... as long as I remember to eat..." he looks at me a little closer, squinting his eyes. "How old are you, kid?"
"Um... I'm twenty..." I squeak, getting a little bit of sensory overload at this point. I pop my knuckles to try and ground myself a little. My binder suddenly feels a lot tighter again.
"Jesus fuckin christ..." he groans, resting his face in his hand. "those bastards love to turn em young, huh?"
I nod a little, then things start to go out of focus. The room is spinning, my vision blacks out, and before I know it I'm on the ground. Fuck this spandex deathtrap.