I heard her scream, and it wasn't the normal playful squeaks she normally let lose during one of their sessions. It was an actual, gut retching, agonised scream that pierced my own self induced denial and brought me spinning painfully back to reality. Not a second later Michael burst into the main parlour with blood pouring down his chin and neck. Even as I watched it dripped down his silk cream shirt, staining the light material a deep crimson red. His wolfish eyes settled on me and I heard him growl deep in his throat. He took two steps towards me and the spell was broken. I threw my hands up over my head, the reflective action giving me absolutely no comfort at all as I felt his huge presence loom over me. A cold marble hand ran through my hair, tugging lightly threw the tangles. I could smell her blood on him; the metallic tang was everywhere, clogging my nose, drowning out all of my other senses.
"You should get out." He said, his voice tight to the point of breaking.
He didn't have to tell me twice and even though it worried me to step outside his room I knew that staying inside would only lead to one thing. I got up slowly and edged my way carefully around him. He kept me in his sights the whole time, staring at me as if daring me to run. I tried not to let into my fear, it would only entice him.
When I closed the door behind me I had absolutely no allusions of safety. I had nowhere to go but the main hall. The prospect of going back there made me almost want to start clawing at Michael's door. If the smell of blood and the vivid memory of Michael's feral eyes wasn't so fresh I might have given into my cravings. As it was I made my way slowly to the main hall, dragging my feet the entire time. I wondered if I could just stay out in the hallways but it was a fleeting whimsy. If one of the other caught me loitering alone they would either take me back to Michael or do something else with me that didn't really bare thinking about.
A few of the gang members looked at me when I stepped into the main hall but I was thankful none of them tried to approach me. I wedged myself into a grotty corner and tried to make time speed up but it didn't take long for someone to waylay me, and fuck me if it wasn't the one gang member I least wanted to see. He had his chin held high as he sauntered towards me, that same cocky grin bright on his face. His two lackeys were trailing a little way behind him but they stopped a good ten feet from where I was sitting and eyed ne maliciously. I stood up cautiously as he approached and I wasn't really surprised that he only stopped when we were practically nose to nose. There was nowhere for me to go, with the wall at my back and him at my front I was thoroughly boxed in.
"Conner me boyo." He said with that soft Irish lilt of his. "You've been keeping yourself hidden away for a while too long. Tell me lad, where have you been?"
"I haven't been hiding." I said neutrally. I guess living day and night with Michael had made me pretty good at masking my fear. I looked pointedly back at the Irishman. "Can I get past?"
"May I get past?" He said stonily.
"Excuse me?"
"May I get past? Not can I. Remember your manner's lad."
I very nearly started laughing then. I'm not really sure why. I mean there wasn't anything funny about the whole big mess that was my life. It was just that it all suddenly seemed so stupidly absurd. "May I get past?" I asked icily.
He kept me pinned there a while longer but eventually he backed away slightly. He only gave me a very small amount of room to manoeuvre past him so I had to flatten myself up against the wall and edge around him. He stared at me the whole time, smirking slightly when I accidentally brushed his shoulder and flinched.
I was nearly past him when he reached out and snagged the back of my neck. The gang members were watching us now. Some of them started jeering when he grabbed me. From what I could see almost all of them were laughing. I shouldn't have been surprised but it shocked me suddenly that the people that surrounded me were in essence the same as me. We were all mortal, we were all human yet there was something inside these people that made them lust for death and violence. Where it horrified me it only seemed to entice them.
He started dragging me, pulling me back towards his room! I dug my heels in and started to fight him then. True I was useless at it but I had to at least try to stop him. I twisted in his grip but he was faster than me. He snagged my arm and pulled it painfully behind my back. I didn't care. Not going back to his room was paramount!
He was laughing at me, I was fighting with everything I had and he was laughing at me! He hoisted me up suddenly and threw me over his shoulder. I kicked and screamed and punched at the bastard and although I'm sure I must have hurt him he refused to let me go. He was performing for the crowd now, showing them how strong me was, how much he deserved to become one of the others.
I didn't stop fighting him, even when he opened his bedroom door and pulled me inside. He let go of me suddenly and I hit the floor like a rock. As my teeth rattled in my head he took the opportunity to kick me in the gut. The pain quickly doused the fire burning inside of me but when he bent down towards me it flared back up and I punched him hard in the face. I heard the bones in my knuckles crunch. I was sure at least some of them were broken. He staggered away from me, his lip already red and puffy.
"You're a fuckin Idiot! You know that?" he snapped as he prodded his face. "I wouldn't have hurt you boyo, not badly anyway. But you just had to make a fuss didn't you?" he reached down and grabbed my hair. "You raise your fucking hand to me again you stupid little fuckwit and I sweat to Christ I'll rip it off!"
He backhanded me and I crumpled. His hands were on me then, rough and intrusive as he rolled me onto my back and started tugging at my jeans. He leaned over me and I instinctively shied away. His bulk kept me effectively pinned and I was too freaked to try and fight him again. When he ripped my shirt off and pulled off my trousers I just went numb with terror. He was calling me all sorts of derogatory names. I tried to block him out but I couldn't ignore his clawing hands or his hot breath on the back on my neck.
It took me a moment to realise that someone was yelling my name. It seemed my aggressor was too intent in what he was doing to notice. It could only be one person and despite myself I was reluctant to call out to him.
The choice was taken from me in the end. The door burst open and Michael swept down on both of us. He grabbed Jonnie and threw him off me. His eyes passed over me for a moment and then he was advancing on the Irishman.
"Now calm down Michael," He said, raising both of his hands and retreating backwards. "I wasn't going to hurt him, I was just-"
"I know what you were just going to do scum!" He roared, causing both of us to flinch. "I should rip your head clean off you pathetic excuse of a meat sack! I swear if you ever come near him again it's going to take a lot more than Kerry to save you. Being potentially turned does not make us equals!" He was in front of me so quickly that I barely managed a squeak. "You, come with me."
He seemed so angry with me. I struggled to keep up with him as he swept down the gang quarters, dragging me behind him. A number of the others looked up at us as Michael rushed us through the main hall. I noticed a young gang member staring and as our eyes met she let out an audible gasp. I just stopped moving, staring at her in disbelief as she took a faltering step towards me. It only took a second before Michael's momentum knocked me flat. He dragged me for a few seconds more before he realised I'd fallen. I barely noticed when his arm wrapped around my waist and he tucked me under his armpit. I was staring unbelievingly at the young gang member. Her mouth worked silently.
"Conner?"
