Welcome to Wednesday Briefs! It's flash fiction, so this story will be presented in 1000(ish)-word chapters. I hope you enjoy it, and check out the many other flashers, whose links are below. You can also check out the Wednesday Briefs Blog for more info and to sign up for email notifications.
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for reading!
THE BOYS OF BELSMEADE
Chapter Seven
Not until I reached the street where the club was located, did I realize I was underage. Hopefully, Aramis had arranged something with the bouncer, or maybe it was an 18+ club. I parked in a garage and walked down to a non-descript brick warehouse with a neon "A" hanging over the door. Other than that, there were no markings. A line of people waiting to get in stretched down the sidewalk, and I was relieved to see that many of them didn't look much older than me.
The bouncer checked my ID and asked me for the password. It took me a second to remember it. "Eternum," I said. He jerked his head back in surprise and it seemed at first like I'd picked the wrong word, but he shrugged and let me in.
My eyes adjusted to the dark interior and I gazed in wonder at the scene around me. Guys were all over each other. Everywhere I looked, I saw couples in various stages of fully-clothed foreplay. Someone pushed me out of the way of the others entering and toward the dance floor. I wandered through the gyrating crowd and came out the other side, facing several round tables against a wall covered with deep red, velvet curtain. At every table, two—and sometimes more than two—guys were kissing, groping and grinding. Staring unabashedly, I moved down the row, until I saw a man with his head thrown back in ecstasy, gripping the shoulders of his partner, who was working his mouth on the man's neck and moaning. The one doing the kissing had his back to me, but I noticed a rather familiar head of stylishly-tousled blond hair.
I couldn't help but call out over the music, "Aramis?"
When he turned around, I staggered back in horror. Blood dripped from long fangs in Aramis' mouth. His eyes glowed an icy white that chilled me to the bone. A quick glance at his partner confirmed the nightmare: the man leaned against the wall with a dazed smile on his face. Blood still oozed from two puncture wounds in his neck.
"Oh fuck!" I screamed. Fighting the urge to vomit, I turned and ran towards the exit. The music died and everyone stopped to look at me, but I didn't give a shit. I had to get out of this surreal hell. I made it through the stunned crowd on the dance floor and was on my way toward the door, but Aramis suddenly landed in front of me. I tried to run around him, but strong arms wrapped around me.
I struggled, kicking and screaming. Aramis called out in some language, which I took to be Italian, and someone handed him something. He whispered, "I'm sorry, Eliot," and stuck a needle in my arm. The room spun and my mind went dark.
When I woke, my entire body felt sluggish. I opened my eyes and blinked under the harsh light. There were several other people in the room. Aramis was sitting in a chair with an older man leaning over him, yelling.
"What the hell happened?" the man boomed.
"Father, I told you, I have no idea. He doesn't even know what we are."
Mr. Ambrogi growled. "I gathered that much from his reaction. How could you do this?"
Aramis sounded desperate. "I swear I didn't invite him!"
"Yes you did," I croaked. Everyone turned to me. I clumsily dug for my phone and showed the text I had received.
Mr. Ambrogi grabbed my phone and shoved it in his son's face. "What do you call this, then?"
Aramis padded his coat pockets and gasped. "My phone. It's gone!"
"God damn it!" Mr. Ambrogi roared. He gave orders in Italian to the other men in the room. They disappeared through the door, leaving Aramis and his father alone with me. As the elder man knelt before me, I scuttled back toward the wall. He raised a hand to calm me. "Don't be afraid, Eliot. I know for certain that none of this is your fault. Do you feel comfortable speaking to my son?"
I nodded, and he smiled gently before leaving the room. Aramis slumped against the back of his chair. I cleared my throat, but couldn't keep my voice from shaking. "I… I am so freaked out. Is this really happening?"
"Yes," Aramis replied quietly.
"So you're really a…"
"Yes."
"They really exist?"
"Obviously."
"No!" I snapped. "There's nothing fucking obvious about any of this! I mean—what is this place?"
"It's a feeder club. Men with vampire fetishes come here and… donate. It's a safe environment for younger vamps like me to get what we need."
"A feeder club," I repeated, matter-of-factly. "That's completely twisted."
Aramis shrugged. "Necessity is the mother of invention."
I rubbed my temples to relieve the throbbing in my head. "So, you were… feeding from that guy? You weren't making out with him?"
"Yes to the first question. Technically, no to the second question. The problem is this: when we feed from a human, that human becomes sexually aroused. Their passion triggers a similar response in a vampire. Most of the time I can fight it."
The thought of Aramis with his—God help me—fangs sunk into some little twink's neck made me red with rage. I hopped up and screamed, "Most of the time? So even though you were coming on to me and making me feel all… whatever, and seeming like you were interested in me, you still had no problem macking on that dude's throat? Were you going to fuck him or maybe just take him in the back for a quick blow job?"
"Of course not," he said with a sigh.
"Bullshit." I went towards the door, but before my eyes caught his movement, Aramis blocked my path.
"Stop doing that!" I spat at him.
"Eliot, please listen to me. At least give me the chance to explain. I'm begging you."
"You've done nothing but lie to me. Why should I give you anything?"
"Because you are my mate." His mouth covered mine before I could respond.
The bouncer checked my ID and asked me for the password. It took me a second to remember it. "Eternum," I said. He jerked his head back in surprise and it seemed at first like I'd picked the wrong word, but he shrugged and let me in.
My eyes adjusted to the dark interior and I gazed in wonder at the scene around me. Guys were all over each other. Everywhere I looked, I saw couples in various stages of fully-clothed foreplay. Someone pushed me out of the way of the others entering and toward the dance floor. I wandered through the gyrating crowd and came out the other side, facing several round tables against a wall covered with deep red, velvet curtain. At every table, two—and sometimes more than two—guys were kissing, groping and grinding. Staring unabashedly, I moved down the row, until I saw a man with his head thrown back in ecstasy, gripping the shoulders of his partner, who was working his mouth on the man's neck and moaning. The one doing the kissing had his back to me, but I noticed a rather familiar head of stylishly-tousled blond hair.
I couldn't help but call out over the music, "Aramis?"
When he turned around, I staggered back in horror. Blood dripped from long fangs in Aramis' mouth. His eyes glowed an icy white that chilled me to the bone. A quick glance at his partner confirmed the nightmare: the man leaned against the wall with a dazed smile on his face. Blood still oozed from two puncture wounds in his neck.
"Oh fuck!" I screamed. Fighting the urge to vomit, I turned and ran towards the exit. The music died and everyone stopped to look at me, but I didn't give a shit. I had to get out of this surreal hell. I made it through the stunned crowd on the dance floor and was on my way toward the door, but Aramis suddenly landed in front of me. I tried to run around him, but strong arms wrapped around me.
I struggled, kicking and screaming. Aramis called out in some language, which I took to be Italian, and someone handed him something. He whispered, "I'm sorry, Eliot," and stuck a needle in my arm. The room spun and my mind went dark.
When I woke, my entire body felt sluggish. I opened my eyes and blinked under the harsh light. There were several other people in the room. Aramis was sitting in a chair with an older man leaning over him, yelling.
"What the hell happened?" the man boomed.
"Father, I told you, I have no idea. He doesn't even know what we are."
Mr. Ambrogi growled. "I gathered that much from his reaction. How could you do this?"
Aramis sounded desperate. "I swear I didn't invite him!"
"Yes you did," I croaked. Everyone turned to me. I clumsily dug for my phone and showed the text I had received.
Mr. Ambrogi grabbed my phone and shoved it in his son's face. "What do you call this, then?"
Aramis padded his coat pockets and gasped. "My phone. It's gone!"
"God damn it!" Mr. Ambrogi roared. He gave orders in Italian to the other men in the room. They disappeared through the door, leaving Aramis and his father alone with me. As the elder man knelt before me, I scuttled back toward the wall. He raised a hand to calm me. "Don't be afraid, Eliot. I know for certain that none of this is your fault. Do you feel comfortable speaking to my son?"
I nodded, and he smiled gently before leaving the room. Aramis slumped against the back of his chair. I cleared my throat, but couldn't keep my voice from shaking. "I… I am so freaked out. Is this really happening?"
"Yes," Aramis replied quietly.
"So you're really a…"
"Yes."
"They really exist?"
"Obviously."
"No!" I snapped. "There's nothing fucking obvious about any of this! I mean—what is this place?"
"It's a feeder club. Men with vampire fetishes come here and… donate. It's a safe environment for younger vamps like me to get what we need."
"A feeder club," I repeated, matter-of-factly. "That's completely twisted."
Aramis shrugged. "Necessity is the mother of invention."
I rubbed my temples to relieve the throbbing in my head. "So, you were… feeding from that guy? You weren't making out with him?"
"Yes to the first question. Technically, no to the second question. The problem is this: when we feed from a human, that human becomes sexually aroused. Their passion triggers a similar response in a vampire. Most of the time I can fight it."
The thought of Aramis with his—God help me—fangs sunk into some little twink's neck made me red with rage. I hopped up and screamed, "Most of the time? So even though you were coming on to me and making me feel all… whatever, and seeming like you were interested in me, you still had no problem macking on that dude's throat? Were you going to fuck him or maybe just take him in the back for a quick blow job?"
"Of course not," he said with a sigh.
"Bullshit." I went towards the door, but before my eyes caught his movement, Aramis blocked my path.
"Stop doing that!" I spat at him.
"Eliot, please listen to me. At least give me the chance to explain. I'm begging you."
"You've done nothing but lie to me. Why should I give you anything?"
"Because you are my mate." His mouth covered mine before I could respond.
****************************************
Don't forget to visit the other flashers!
Avery
Cia Nordwell
Chris T. Kat
JC Wallace
Jim Dunaway
Julie Lynn Hayes
Larry Benjamin
MA Church
Nephylim
Rob Colton
Sarah Hayes
Tali Spencer
Painfully short. Wednesdays just don't come soon enough.
ReplyDelete