It's For The Bodies I Claim And Lose

Mikey fiddled with the envelope eagerly. His thin fingers burning to rip the thick paper apart and see what Ash left for them. There has to be a way out of this. But Mikey knew he couldn’t open it. Not yet.
After hearing that Brian had supposedly abandoned them, all the hunters were left almost broken hearted after his promise of safety and shelter. Oh well. Back to living life rough on the road. Somewhere deep inside them all, they knew there was no such thing a trust. No one could be trusted.
Gerard fidgeted in his seat, the feeling slowly returning to his entire body. After hours on end of drifting in and out of deaths grip, it felt like being born again. The feeling slowing seeping back into every muscle in his body. No one cared about his flinching as he shifted around in the small space. He was alive and well. All that was left to do was figure out what was going on and what they were going to do about it all.
“Who is Alex? And why do we need to kill him?” Frank spoke then, strong a curious, like the child he always seemed to be compared to the other adults. Lauren sighed heavily as she sped through the streets, keeping her speed even and trying not to attract too much attention.
“There are some things you guys need to know. Mikey, do the honours.”
“Gladly,” Finally his eager fingers broke through the paper and revealed a pile of important looking documents, along with five brand new passports. “What’s all this?”
Lauren turned a sharp corner before answering, never taking her eyes off the road, desperately trying to speed through all the lights and stop signs. “Code seven means Brian has left, and Ash and I presume it meets that now Ralph - the former head Vampire - is dead, some other scum bag wants the title as head,”
“What’s that got to do with us? What were those explosions before?” Ray chimed in now, and Lauren grumbled under her breath as she hit some lights and was forced to stop temporarily.
“It’s got everything to do with you lot. You guys somehow killed the head. And in case you didn’t realise, Brian is next in line for the title, which explains the explosions. Alex is the vampire trying to kill you guys and Brian to gain total control.”
“Shit.” Gerard uttered through the silence. Gradually the information was sinking in. “Do you think Brian left to distract Alex? You know, to lead him away from us so we can escape?”
“That’s exactly it, Gee. But we seriously need to get you guys away from America.”
“Wait,” Bob leaned in a little from his seat, holding Marie’s small hand as she rested on Ray’s lap. “Are you saying…we have to leave America? Like, go abroad?”
“Afraid so,” Lauren said grimly as she continued to speed through the streets, increasing the distance between the hunters and Alex. “To be more precise-”
“England! You’re shipping us to England!” Mikey exploded from his seat, the whole time he’d been inspecting the sheets of paper. Amongst the passports and other documents were five private plane tickets, one way, to England, UK.
“England? What! We-we can’t just leave! We have to-to stay and fight this!” Frank’s voice was strained, the stress of the situation was effecting them all, making the car feel even smaller, suffocating them all.
“Guys! You have no choice. You have to go. it’s the only place you’ll be safe. In the envelope you’ll find a new passport with a new identity for you all. Also you’ll find plane tickets for Brian’s private jet, so you’ll get over there without too much hassle - hopefully.”
“What’s going to happen when we get over there, where will we go?”
“Good question Ray,” Lauren turned another sharp corner. “In the envelope you’ll find a number for a trusted cab company and the address and key for mine and Ash’s old flat in Uxbridge, London.”
The second Lauren finished her sentence Gerard but in with a comment. “We’ll be living in London? That’s so stupid,”
“Why’s that?” Frank asked, the tension in the car had lifted slightly now that the Hunters had some idea of what was coming next.
“Because London is Vampire capitol! The place is crawling with ’em. If Brian’s trying to keep us alive he’s got a funny way of doing it,”
“Gerard, are you forgetting that you guys are the most skilled and powerful Hunters now. London will be a piece of cake for you guys. Brian had good reason for picking it. One, because of the empty flat, and two, because it’ll give you guys time to train and hunt and build up your skills. The new guys need some real training. Plus, you’ll be living there for a few weeks, until Brian is ready to take down Alex and end this. So you’ll have time to gather up your lives and minds and prepare yourselves for the biggest fight of your lives…”
“Weeks? Fight? Oh man, will this ever end!”

“Oh holy shit-” Mikey cut Frank off. They all turned to him, scared of more shocking news, only to see his face drain of all colour and his eyes widen as he stared out the window.
When he first spotted her, it took him a few seconds to double back and reassess what he’d seen. All at once the world seemed to slow down dramatically and all sound muted around him. The panic of the situation had tripled. Quadrupled. Mikey had never felt his heart drop so low in his life. It almost felt like it was hanging out his ass and he was sitting on it, restricting its pulse. A hard and metallic lump had founds its way to his throat as he stared at her across the street, simply walking-
“Mikey? What’s the matter?”
He mouthed her name: Alicia-
“Mikes, dude…”
His eyes couldn’t look away, one of her hands were wrapped around another. A man’s-
Seriously, Mikey! You’re scaring us!”
And her other hand…it was gripping tightly to that of a small child in a pram. A little boy with short, tufty, mousey-brown hair…
“Stop the car! Lauren, please! Stop!” Screaming like a mad man, Mikey clawed at the car door like a wild animal. He kept yelling over and over. “Let me out! Please!”
“We can’t stop Mikey! If we stop, you’ll be in so much danger!”
“No, you don’t understand!” Still clawing at the locked door, Mikey’s face started to reflect a look of sheer panic and insanity. Gerard tried to grip his little brother tightly by the shoulders, to stop him from doing too much damage. “Alicia! She’s there! Please, I have to-”
“Let him out. It’s OK. There’s a large enough alley way just there- look. We can stay there for a moment. Let him go,” Mikey stared at his brother then, a grateful smile spreading across his otherwise panic-stricken face.
“What? Oh you know what!? Fine.” Lauren pulled into the alley way and stopped the car. “If you guys want a death wish-”
“Unlock the fucking door!”
“FINE.” Finally the click indicated the doors were unlocked and Mikey was free to scrambled out of the car and sprint off towards his lost love. Just as he left Lauren turned round to address Gerard. “Who’s Alicia?”
“His old fiancée... When the vamps kills our parents, we agreed to leave our girls and head off on the road to get our revenge. I’ve always felt so guilty for taking her away from him, before you guys showed up, she was all he’d talk about… At least now if they talk, if only once, I can stop beating myself up so much about it all.”
“Oh,” There was a shared silence between them all, before Frank coughed and spoke up.
“Do you-” Frank coughed again, a forced sound. “Do you miss your girl, Gee?”
Gerard smiled lightly, thinking back to Lindsay. “Yeah. Yeah I do.”
“Oh, yeah. Of course. I mean…my girl was murdered but whatever,”
“Jeeze, let it go Frankie. She was going to kill you anyway. I saved-”
“You saved my life, I know. Thanks.”
“Yeah, now lets hang tight. Mikey will be back in a moment.”

Across the street, Mikey continued to sprint back to where he spotted her. “She has to be real, I couldn’t have imagined this! Where are you, Alicia!” In his head, Mikey was going insane. He had no idea what he was going to say to her when it came to it, but he’d been dreaming of seeing her again for over a year now. He wanted so badly just to feel her skin again, to kiss her lips, hold her tightly…
“Mikey?” Suddenly she was there, like she materialised in front of him. Just like he saw, she had a small boy with her, only now the tiny toddler was in her arms. The man from his observation in the car was gone. It was like he’d finally lost his mind and this was all a mirage of what his life would be like if he’d never left. Him, her, and a baby…
“Oh, shit. Alicia…”
Before the moment could fully register in his mind, her fist was flying towards his nose. Her knuckles collided with his face with a loud and crunching smack and Mikey doubled back, gripping his nose tightly as it started to trickle red. “FUCK. WHY’D YOU DO THAT?”
“A note?! Seriously! You got up and left me that night, with nothing but a note!” Mikey thought about this, and only then did he realise how unfair that must have appeared to her.
“I had to leave baby…I had no choice…”
“What happened to you that night, Mikey?” Alicia’s voice sounded calmer now, and the face of the small child didn’t look too frightened. Mikey stopped wincing and inhaled deeply. He couldn’t take his eyes off that child. Those eyes were so familiar.
“You know that - ‘hobby’, Gerard and I had?” Alicia nodded wearily, not certain of where Mikey’s story was going. “Well, we’re Vampire Hunters. We kill for a living…and these vampires, they killed our parents and we had to get even. So we agreed to leave and, well, get our revenge-”
“Mikey,” Alicia didn’t sound annoyed or upset, surprisingly she sounded concerned. “You’ve been all over the news, you and your brother are wanted men! I’m-I’m worried for you…”
“I know. We fucked up. And you can’t ever understand how completely sorry I am that I left. I’ve missed you so much, it physically hurts me to think about it-”
She closed her eyes tightly, as if she were dreaming this confrontation away. “Mikey, please. Don’t.”
“Who was that man I saw you with, before…”
“That’s my husband, Adam. We were just walking to the store for some milk. I saw you running and sent Adam on alone,” Mikey knew it was coming, but nothing could prepare him for it. He’d let his one and only love slip through his fingers, and for what? Some blood. In retrospect now, he closed his eyes tightly like she had, and wished himself back to a year ago, before the call from Gerard, before the note.
“I’m-I’m happy for you,”
“Don’t bullshit me Mikey, I can’t tell when you’re lying and I’m sick of lies.”
“You’re right. I’m pissed off that after one year you’ve so easily moved on and even-had a fucking kid!” He didn’t mean to lose it, but Mikey stepped back as he yelled at her. Alicia used her spare hand to pull the small child’s face into her chest to cover his ears from the profanity that was spurting from Mikey’s mouth. “Fuck. Alicia. I loved you more than anything. The only reason I never told you anything was for your own protection. I didn’t want you to get involved-fuck-I never stopped thinking about you-HOW COULD YOU JUST FORGET ABOUT ME!?”
By this time a small tear has escaped from her eyes, but she kept her strong outer shell. Not letting herself lose control around her small child. Alicia knew she had to keep strong for everyone.
“How dare you say that I forgot about you, Mikey. You fucking ass. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t forget about you Mikey. I saw you every fucking day in Jake. He’s your kid, Mikey. So don’t you dare tell me I forgot about you…I couldn’t forget…”
“W-What?”
“Jake. Is. Yours.”
“I thought…but the other guy…”
“A week after you left I felt so sick and everything made me want to vomit, so my friend suggested I take a test, but I told her it was just the after-effect of being abandoned by the man I loved. But, curiosity got the best of me and I took a test. And guess what. I was pregnant. I freaked out for days until I decided to keep it. But at the same time as freaking out, Adam started working in the school as a sub. He saw me freaking out in the staff room and we started talking…one thing lead to another and we ended up spending the night together. A week after we slept together, I threw up in the staff room and he caught on that I was pregnant…but before I could explain it was yours, he got all excited, thinking it was his. I couldn’t break his heart like that, so I went along with it. A month later and before I could say anything, he’d moved himself into our place, packed up all your old stuff and proposed to me…It was like you never existed…” Finally the flood gates opened, reliving the trauma of it all. She pictured in her mind the boxes of Mikey’s belongings, how Adam handled his things like he was some stranger who happened to have his things in Alicia’s place.
“Holy shit. Is-is this true-?”
Alicia wiped her tears quickly before snapping back “Of course it’s true you ass!”
“OW! Stop hitting me!…Can-Can I hold him?”
Mikey started to shake slightly, overwhelmed by suddenly becoming a father out of nowhere. Alicia glanced down at her baby in her arms and how she slept now, and her eyes drifted back towards her lost love. “Yeah, of course.” Slowly Mikey held out his arms, suddenly feeling really stiff and awkward. Alicia smiled lightly as she gradually placed the small child in his fathers arms. Mikey’s face instantly lit up as Jake stirred slowing in his arms. After a few moments of just holding his small child, Mikey used his finger to gently stroke the soft skin on Jake‘s hand, and like he knew what he was doing, Jake opened his tiny hand and gripped Mikey‘s finger tight, like his life depended on it, and Mikey let out a mesmerised laugh. “How does it feel?” It was a strange question to ask, but the beaming smile of Mikey’s lips said it all.
“It feels…amazing. Unbelievable… I can’t believe I’ve had a child this whole time…” At this sudden realisation, Mikey’s smile faded slightly. Alicia gestured to take him back, and eventually Mikey let go. He had to let go. He knew that any moment now he’d be running back towards the car and heading to England.
“I’m sorry this happened Mikey. I never imagined our lives ending up like this,”
“Me either, I-I think I should go now…” Reluctantly, Mikey turned to leave, but at the last second Alicia stepped forward and gripped his arm tightly, with purpose.
“Mikey,” She paused for a moment, to think about what it really was she wanted from him. “Where are you staying now? Maybe I could-”
“No Alicia. I wish you could, I really do. But it’s too dangerous. And now there’s a kid…here,” Mikey pulled out his wallet from his back pocket and ripped off an old piece of paper and scribbled down his number roughly. “Take my new number. I’m leaving now, but hopefully, soon, I’ll be out of trouble and free to come and see you and him.” Mikey softly touched the head of his baby, so scared of how much he instantly loved the small thing. It amazed him how much he’d attached himself to the child after only moments of knowing him. “I have to go, but before I go. I have to say it. I love you Alicia, so much. I hope that one day we can be together, a family, like it’s supposed to be…I have to go.” This time when he turned to leave, she didn’t stop him. Neither did she reject the idea of one day, them being a proper family. Alicia loved the idea.
“Alicia?” As if on que, Adam came around the corner, a bottle of fresh milk in his hands. “Alicia, who was that?” She didn’t take her eyes off of Mikey as she walked away once more. It took all the strength not to cry.
“Just, an old friend. C’mon, lets go home.” Adam nodded as he placed a loving arm around her waist and lead her and what he believed was his son towards their home a few streets away. Alicia didn’t once let go of the crumpled bit of paper with Mikey’s number on in.

A few minutes later and Mikey was scrambling over Ray and Marie to get back into the car, beside Gerard. They all just starred at him and the red patch around his nose as he starred blankly into nothingness. “Start the car? We’ve got a plane to catch. Remember.”
“Oh, right!” Lauren snapped back into driver mode and seconds later they were speeding once more towards the airport which was now within reach. They were so close to escaping. Only another hour and they’d be safe, flying towards the UK.
“OK, I can’t take it anymore. What happened? Did she hit you? What did she say?” Gerard was inspecting his brother’s blank face, trying to find any kind of emotion other than dead. Mikey finally swallowed the metallic lump.
“She’s married to a guy at her work. They have a kid, called Jake,”
“Oh Mikes. I’m sorry.” Gerard didn’t know what to do, he didn’t know how to react to it all because Mikey wasn’t showing any kind of emotion.
“The funny thing is…It’s my kid.” It was only after Mikey said this, that Gerard found the words to say…