Bogeyman

The days had drifted by. Everyone was on edge, keeping their eyes peeled, peering over shoulders, never daring to go to places they didn’t know about. Truth be told, the pack were scared. They were terrified in fact. It was a fear that ran deep. The fear of the unknown. Nobody know who was committing these brutal murders. Sean couldn’t even be certain that Matt’s pack were the criminals in all of this. Nothing was set in stone, everything was up in the air, not normal.

Sean was standing at the end of an alleyway. His arms folded across his chest. He felt exhausted. He’d barely slept, his mind racing with nightmarish outcomes to all of this. He wondered why Matt seemed fascinated by him, and he wondered if the murders had stopped John thinking of his punishment. Then his mind would drift towards Emily. Her beautiful face, her voice like a sweet symphony. He liked her there was no doubt about it. His feelings scared him. He was frightened to see her again. Ian had made it clear that she was the one he must feed from. He could change her if he wished, but Sean felt it’d probably be kinder to kill her. He wouldn’t condemn another to this life. Not if it wasn’t their choice.

He wrinkled his nose in disgust as the scent of blood and urine reached his nostrils. He coughed as the scent hit the back of his throat, tickling his senses. Sean’s stomach churned. “Ian, hurry up for god’s sake! And why can I smell blood?”

Silence.

A frown painted it’s way across Sean’s face. He peered into the dark abyss of the alleyway. It was the perfect crime scene, but with their unnatural powers, they had nothing to worry about. Sean couldn’t be scared. He was a creature of the night. The product of a child’s nightmare. The real life Bogeyman. How could he be scared of the dark?

“Watkins, stop fucking with me.” His voice was clear, harsh.

“Oi, Smith, don’t get cocky with me!” Ian appeared from the darkness. His nose was dripping with crimson liquid. He wiped it on the back of his hand, before licking it off. He wrinkled his nose in disgust, the taste of himself wasn’t satisfying. “Sorry. That piss was like Niagara Falls.”

“Ever heard of the phrase ‘too much information’?”

Ian playfully swatted Sean around the back of the head. He grinned and the pair of them carried on mooching down the street. The night was moving slowly. Uneventful. Not much had happened. Ian had tried to cop off with a girl heading to a party, yet he’d been rejected straight away. His flirty nature would get him in all sorts of trouble in daylight, not that it didn’t in the darkness.

“I feel quite good, y’know. I’ve got blood running through my veins. I fed last night, so I’m all full and content and nobody knows about Matt and his cronies, and no one’s been killed for days. I think things are looking up,” Ian announced.

Sean raised an eyebrow. “I doubt it’s over, Ian. You of all people should know nothing in life is ever that simple. Even for us.”

Ian nodded. “True, and I don’t believe it’s the last we’ve heard of Matt. But I do think that things can only get better from this point on.”

Sean nodded. Ian had been strangely chipper these past couple of days. But Sean wasn’t about to complain. His friend was back to being his usual self. He flirted with the girls they passed, he’d fed and built up his strength. He was happy. Sean couldn’t deal with angst ridden and depressed Ian. He was much more vulnerable then, now he seemed much stronger and ready to take anything on.

The sound of heavy footsteps thudding against the pavement sliced through the freezing night air. The sound crashed through the once relaxed atmosphere forcing Ian and Sean to spin around, ready to fight whoever was about to attack. But the attack never came.

Instead, the person stopped before them. He bent double, panting. His breathing was uneven, taking long, ragged breaths. He glanced up at the two of them, both frozen, fists clenched, ready to strike if needed. The man’s eyes were blue. Icy blue. Strikingly beautiful. He composed himself, before straightening out and looking from Ian to Sean and back to Ian.

“Watkins, am I glad to see you again.”

Ian raised one eyebrow. His stance relaxed and he held out a hand, all civilised. “Gustav Wood. How did you find me?”

Gustav reached out and shook Ian’s hand. His leather jacket was ripped on the arm, exposing the flimsy fabric underneath. He pushed down his hood, exposing dirty dark hair. An ear ring glinted in the dim light from the street lamp.

“Luck, I guess. I just had to get away. To run like you did. Matt said he’d seen you. We all thought he’d killed you when you disappeared. Then it all became clear. You’d slipped through his fingers. His favourite, head boy, ran away.”

Sean’s jaw dropped open. “You were Davis’ favourite? His lap dog? Like freaking Phillips with John!”

Ian’s eyes narrowed at Gustav. “No, Sean, mate, it’s nothing like that. I wasn’t Matt’s favourite, I promise you.”

Gustav laughed, a bitter throaty bark. “Whatever you say, Watkins. But we all reckoned you were his favourite. You never got punished if you did anything wrong. You were an original, one of the few of us changed by Matt Davis-Kreye himself.”

Ian shook his head. “You know that’s not how it went.”

Gustav simply shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t know how it feels to be a favourite. She changed me. Promised me I’d be hers forever and always. I fucking fell for her. But then she ran off with him. I didn’t understand.”

A look of confusion washed over Sean’s face. “Can one of you explain to me what’s going on here, please? I’m lost.”

Ian sighed heavily, his shoulders relaxing. “Sorry mate, Gustav Wood, Sean Smith, vice versa. Sean, Gus is part of the pack I used to be in. He was one of those unfortunate one’s that was changed to build up the army. Although the girl that did it -” he shuddered, “- such a fucking tease. She changed loads of guys, told them all they were the one for her, that she adored them, then she ran back to her true mate.”

“Bitch,” Gustav scoffed, shaking his head. He spat on the ground bitterly.

“Gus, Sean’s part of the pack I joined. He’s not like us though. He wasn’t changed. He was born like this, but he’s half human. Pretty harmless and absolute shite at fighting.”

Sean’s jaw dropped open slightly. “I’ll have you know, Watkins, I’ve got it in me to kick anyone’s arse. Don’t get cocky with me.” He mimicked his friend, who gave his shoulder a rough shove.

Ian turned back to Gustav. “So what brings you here? Apart from Natalie obviously.”

“The bloodlust. And the fact Matt’s become a murderous control freak.”

That was all they needed to hear for their worst fears to be confirmed. Matt had to be behind the murders. And as the words from Gustav’s lips settled in the air between the three men, a blood curdling scream cut through the silence.