Ashton (Vampire Morsels)

by Michele G Miller

cat piss.”

  “That’s you, man.” Wesley laughed and smacked him in the back of the head, then he dropped into his newly claimed chair.

  Ashton moved away to slouch in a shadowy corner and glare. That was the reason he didn’t want to tell Loren about what he was. The first time Wesley smacked his little brother in the back of the head, he’d have to break his wrist, and then he’d be in the shit. Jessie and Wesley were tighter than a pair of Siamese twins. There was no way Jessie would let him get away with knocking Wesley down a peg – even if the fuck muncher deserved it.

  Wesley kicked his feet up and propped them on the arm of Jessie’s chair. “Yo, Jess, cut the concert and let’s do something, huh?”

  The singing stopped and Jessie slowly rolled his head face to the newcomer. “And what we gonna do, huh? You got any ideas?”

  Wesley smirked as if he’d been waiting for this. “Yeah, I do.” He raised his voice and shouted to unseen vampires, “Yo, bring her in!”

  The screen door banged open and closed, and feet shuffled through the house. Someone whimpered; a soft, high sound that made Ashton’s stomach clench. Two of the guys appeared through the doorway, lugging a fourteen year old girl between them. Her hair was strawberry red and hung around her face like it had just fallen out of a ponytail. Her clothes were rumpled and dirt stained, and she had only one shoe. Tears and dirt streaked her face, and traces of blood were smeared under her nose. It would have been bad enough if Ashton hadn’t known her, but as it was, knowing made it worse.

  The guys dumped her in a heap in front of Jessie. Their leader gave Wesley a look of surprised approval. Then he caught the girl’s head under her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. “Well, looky here.”

  The girl’s eyes darted fearfully around the room and Ashton hid in the shadows. Don’t see me, Jenny. Don’t see me.

  It seemed to work.

  “Please,” she whispered, her voice tiny, even as she begged the whole room. “Please, just let me go home. I won’t tell. I promise. I won’t. Please.”

  “You won’t tell, huh?” Jessie mused. “I tell you what, honey. You be a good girl and maybe you can go home in a little bit. How’s that sound, huh?” His lips curved into a smile and his fangs glittered in the light. At the sight, Jenny’s eyes grew wide and then, as the reality of her situation became clear, she screamed and tried to get away. Wesley grabbed her and hauled her up into the air. She kicked her legs furiously and shrieked.

  Ashton shuddered and tried to disappear into the wall. If he just closed his eyes this would all go away. Go away. Go away. Oh God, make it go away!

  But, when he opened his eyes he was still there. Wesley had Jenny pinned to the floor and Jessie and a couple of other guys hovered over her, their lips drawn back from their fangs as she flailed and pleaded. Goddammit . He had to do something.

  “What the fuck?”

  At his words the room went silent, and everyone turned in unison to look at him. He suddenly wished he’d stayed quiet, but it was too late, so he pressed on. “What the fuck are you guys doing?”

  Jessie straightened up and eyed him with semi-amusement. “What’s it look like to you?”

  Ashton forced back the fear and took a step forward. “Christ, man, she’s like fourteen. That’s just sick.”

  “You think so?” Jessie asked in what seemed like a reasonable tone, though something in his eyes was off kilter. “Anyone else think that’s sick? Huh?”

  No one moved.

  “Looks like it’s just you, loser.” Wesley snickered, but Jessie silenced him with a gesture.

  “Maybe he’s right.”

  No one knew what to say, Ashton included.

  “Maybe he’s right,” Jessie repeated. “Let her go.”

  Wesley started to argue, but then he held up his hands and backed away. Jenny jerked to her feet quickly. She swayed in place as she stared uncertainly from one face to another. Her gaze brushed over Ashton and he saw recognition in her eyes; recognition and fear.

  Jessie laid a hand on her head, ignoring her whimper. “I say you’re right, man. She’s just a kid. A fucking little kid!” He snapped her around and put her in a headlock. Her eyes went wide with terror as he shouted. “Just some fucking little kid you’re soft on. You too soft to watch, huh? You too soft to join in and have some fun? You know what? You piss me off. You always comin’ around here, ruinin’ the vibe, man! The vibe! You’re such a buzz kill, and I’m fuckin’ sick of it. We’re all fuckin’ sick of it, man!”

  He paused for them to agree, but everyone was speechless, so he bellowed, “You don’t want us to have some fun wi’ her, then we gonna have some fun wi’ you, you get that, shit face? You get that?” There was a loud crack as he snapped the girl’s neck, then he flung her aside like a discarded doll. “You got a five minute head start, then we comin’ after you. We gonna hunt you down like a dog, and if we don’t find you, then we gonna hunt down your brother instead. You read me, man? You better get runnin’. Run, bitch! Run!”

  It took Ashton a moment to digest the words, but once the meaning slammed home, he did just what Jessie said: he ran. He pounded out of the house and across the beach as fast as his legs could carry him. No matter how fast he ran, he couldn’t get the picture out of his head of Jenny standing there, her knees shaking and her eyes wide with accusing terror.

  He got to the house just as Loren was pulling in. His brother climbed off the motorcycle and unstrapped the grocery bag from the back. “Hey, I thought you-” but Ashton grabbed him.

  “We gotta go. We gotta go now.”

  Like the ever annoying movie sidekick, Loren blinked stupidly and asked, “What?” But, unlike the movies, Ashton didn’t have time to explain.

  “Just get on the fucking bike!” And before Loren could argue he was in the saddle and pulling his brother on behind him. He turned the key, flipped the kill switch, and kicked the bike into gear while Loren grabbed onto him.

  They peeled out of the driveway. Loren clung to him and screamed, “What’s going on?” but Ashton still didn’t have time to answer - or was it that he didn’t have the words?

  The road sped away beneath them, and the dark trees were a blur in their peripheral vision. Loren soon traded questions for screaming at him to slow down. Ashton ignored it. As he drove, one thing became apparent to him: he was going to have to tell Loren. No, not only tell him, he was going to have to change him. It was his only chance. There was no way he could fight them like he was. The change would take a full twenty-four hours to finish, but after that he’d be better. He’d be stronger; faster. They just had to get through those twenty-four hours.

  Ashton pulled off the gravel road into an abandoned lot. He parked the bike behind a weather worn shed. The skeleton of a burned house squatted nearby, but it offered no protection.

  He swung off the bike and Loren did the same. His brother stared at him, eyes wild and his curly mop of hair a windblown mess. “Can you tell me now what the hell’s going on?”

  Ashton glanced over his shoulder, paranoid, but there was no one there. “Look, I gotta do this the fast way. Jessie and the others… they’re not what you think.”

  “You mean they’re not a bunch of asshole tweakers?” Loren asked sarcastically.

  “Okay, they’re a bunch of assholes, but they’re not just tweakers. They’re not… they’re not even human.” Loren started to interrupt, but Ashton went on quickly. “Look, Loren, I’m sorry about this, a’ight? I never meant to get you involved. You know I’ve done my best since Mom and Dad got killed, but I fucked up. I fucked up bad.” He shifted from one foot to the other, and sought for words. “Jessie and the others, they’re-”

  “Holy shit! What’s with your teeth?”

  Ashton froze, his eyes wide. His first reaction was to hide it, like he’d been doing for the last three weeks, but he knew he couldn’t. Not this time. “It’s part of what I’m trying to tell you. Jessie and the others - and me - we’re vampires.” The word sounded m
uch sillier than it felt. It failed to pack the punch of cold terror that was twisting in Ashton’s gut when he thought about them.

  “Vampires?” Loren echoed cautiously. “Dude, what are you on?”

  “I’m not on anything!” Ashton insisted. “You have to listen. You know Jenny Willinger from down the road? They got her, dude. They got her tonight and they fucking killed her. I told them not to. Jessie was already pissed at me, and now he wants to kill me, and he wants to kill you, too.”

  Loren didn’t believe him. “Seriously? Look, let’s just go home and you can sleep this off.” He reached for his brother, but Ashton didn’t have time to convince him. No time, No time. No time!

  With a roar that was half anger and half impatience, he grabbed Loren and spun him around, so his brother’s back was against his chest. He forced Loren’s head to one side, exposing his neck. His brother shouted something, but he didn’t listen. He couldn’t. He had to act.

  Loren screamed when he bit him. He struggled, at first, but slowly he grew still and his body sagged back against Ashton. His blood was hot and coppery, and Ashton gulped it as though his life depended on it. He was doing it fast, maybe too fast, but he didn’t know, and he didn’t have the time to find out.

  No time. No time. No time.

  He lowered Loren’s slack body to the ground and quickly searched his pocket for a knife. Fuck! He didn’t have one! Then he thought of his teeth. It