The Wicked End

Once Nicky started to get a little older, his temper towards me grew out. He was at least tolerant of me, but still very much attached to Matt. He was growing at a rather large pace; he was only two years old and already he was wearing the clothes of a four year old. He could walk, could talk quite sufficiently enough. I went along with what Matt had said; that Nicky was just a smart boy. I mean, what else could it have been?

It was Nicky's second birthday. He was sat at the table as I brought his cake out to him, the candles all alight. He clapped as I placed it on the table in front of him. He stood on the chair, leaning over the glowing flames.

"Make a wish," I smiled. Nicky looked down at the flames. He sat there for a few moments before he stuck his hand out and placed it over a flame, letting the fire lick his hand.

"Nick, no-!" I shouted, reaching out to grab his hand. I was stopped short when Matt clamped my hand with his own.

"Wait..." he said quietly. "Watch." I watched Nicky, my eyes on his hands, both of which were immersed in the little flames. He didn't cry out, didn't even flinch. He watched himself in amazement and then started to giggle.

"Daddy, look!" he said, looking at Matt. Matt was... smiling. Nicky finally took his hands away and blew out the candles. Matt let go of my hand and I grabbed Nicky's in my own. He didn't even have a single burn mark or anything. His skin wasn't even warm. I was completely confused. The fire should have caused some kind of harm or damage, but it didn't. It did absolutely nothing.

I shrugged it off for a moment and cut a few pieces of cake, laying them on the table, one in front of Nicky. I grabbed Matt's arm and pulled on it. He looked at me. "Can you come with me, please?" I asked. He nodded and followed me to the next room. "What the hell was that all about?" I hissed, worry filling my voice. Matt let out a quiet laugh.

"I don't know but it was kinda cool. He didn't feel a thing."

"That's what I'm worried about. He didn't even get burnt. He had his hands there for at least two minutes. He should have gotten burnt easily!" I spluttered.

Matt placed his hands on my shoulders. Time to be quiet. "But he didn't and that's all that matter. Maybe he's.... special."

"Special how?" I asked. Matt just shrugged.

"I dunno. But maybe he is," he said, placing a hand on my lower back to usher me back into the kitchen. Nicky was leant over the table, the entire cake a mess because he shoveled through it with his hands. He looked at us like a deer in the headlights as he was in mid-reach.

"Oh boy..." I sighed and say down in a chair, placing my face in my hands. I felt Matt place a kiss on the side of my head.

"Don't worry, I'll get this all cleaned up," he said, and I nodded.

Later that night, Matt and I were sat in silence on the couch, Nicky asleep in his room upstairs. It had been awhile since either of us spoke. Matt sighed deeply, breaking the immaculate quiet.

"So, I was thinking...." he started to say, taking my hand and linking our fingers.

"...And?"

"Do you... wanna get married?" he asked finally, looking in my eyes. "I mean, I know this is really informal and all but-"

"Of course I wanna marry you, I love you Matt," I said, cutting him off before he began to ramble.

He smiled. "Really?"

I nodded enthusiastically. "Yes."

"Okay... Well then, you best go start packing. I've gotta call Brian," he said as he stood up. "What do you mean, 'go pack'?" I asked, not sure what vague idea he was working away at in his head. Matt smiled even wider.

"Well, we're moving to Vegas. Tomorrow. So you should probably pack up as much stuff as you can. And Nicky's things too. I'll take care of my stuff, and Brian will worry about his."

"What? Why are we-?"

"Don't ask anything right now. I'll explain a bit tomorrow. Just do as I ask, please," Matt butted in.

"...Brian's coming with us?" I asked, still not going anywhere.

"Yeah. I can't just leave him behind. We're the only three left. The other guys... well, Johnny is... And I haven't seen Jimmy since he ran off.... oh, three or so years ago, was it?" Matt asked. I nodded. "And you said Zacky's deranged in the head... who else is there let but the three of us and Nicky?" Matt reasoned. I nodded slowly, and he picked up the phone, dialing Brian while I went to go pack.

The next morning, I finished up packing the few things I had left out while Mat made sure all affairs were in order. We weren't taking any furniture with us; we didn't own it, and wherever we would move into in Vegas was bound to have stuff. Brian was already over to our place, his things packed away in the SUV we were taking (which was also Brian's).

"You got everything?" Matt asked once everything was packing into the vehicle.

"I'm pretty sure," I nodded, and then got Nicky buckled into the back seat.

Matt went up to get into the driver's side, Brian to the passenger's side. "Oh no no no... I do believe that seat is reserved for the Queen," I heard Matt say quietly to Brian. I was about to get into the back seat with Nicky when Brian hopped out of the front and beat me to it. I just stopped for a moment before sliding into the front seat next to Matt.

"Vegas, here we come," Matt smiled as he pulled onto the road and made his way out of town. While we were still in sight of the ocean, I turned and looked. There were still ships coming to shore, unloading more and more warriors after it had started six months ago. I sighed and faced forward again. Matt had turned the radio on, and I kept holding myself back from asking questions. Once we were outside of our home and hitting open highway to the northeast, I turned to Matt.

"So why are we moving away?" I asked.

"Because, you saw it yourself. Huntington was on the verge of being overrun. It's corrupted; the warriors were taking too much as their own. Soon there wouldn't be enough room for us, so we're moving inland," Matt explained, glancing back and forth between the road and me.

"But why Las Vegas?"

"It's Sin City, baby," Brian laughed from the backseat. Nicky started giggling too, and Brian high-fived his tiny hand.

Matt smiled at their antics. "Because it's an awesome city. And besides, you wanna get married, right? Do you see any preachers around to get the job done? No. So... all that's left is Elvis."

"Matt!" I said, hitting his arm.

He smiled again. "I'm kidding baby," he said, and took my hand in his. I signed and leaned back into my seat, deciding to get comfortable for the long journey that lay ahead.

Many long hours later, and the four of us were getting antsy. We'd only stopped for a break once, about fifty miles out of Nevada, and we were all restless, wanting to get up and walk around. We hit a long straight stretch of road in the middle of a vast desert, which only meant Vegas was a little ways off. The sun was already beginning to descend across the skit; it had, after all, been just about noon when we left.

Soon I could see the dot straight ahead, and it quickly became bigger and bigger, showing off the many buildings. We'd reached Las Vegas.

As we drove into the city, I looked around at everything there was to see. The streets were crowded with people walking along. The casinos were up and running, packed with customers.

"And now to find the best chapel in Vegas," Matt said, looking around for one we could stop at. He picked the second one he saw, and parked the car there.

"Wait, what about the rings?" I asked.

"Don't worry, everything has been taken care of," Matt smiled. The four of us exited the SUV and walked into the chapel. First off, we had to fill out a marriage license while we waiting, which wasn't for very long. We were then told to go into the ceremony room, where a man dressed as a Catholic priest was waiting. Matt took my hand as he walked to the front of the chapel, Brian and Nicky following behind.

"Are these two your witnesses?" the priest asked Matt and I.

"Well, he is," Matt said, pointing at Brian.

"Very well," the priest said, and began the ceremony. We exchanged the rings and just as the priest began to tell us to kiss and get the hell out of there, Matt stopped him.

"Hold on a second, I need to do something first. Do you have a knife?" he asked.

The priest looked baffled. "No, I'm afraid I haven't."

"I've got a pocket knife, Matt," Brian said, pulling it out of his back pocket.

"That'll work," Matt said, taking the pocket knife and opening it to the biggest blade. The priest gasped as Matt slowly cut a straight line across his left wrist. I was just as shocked.

"Matt, what are you doing?" I hissed at him.

"Give me your left wrist," Matt said, ignoring me.

"What? Why?"

"Just do it," he insisted. When I hesitated, he rolled his eyes and pulled my wrist toward him. He held it palm up, and brought the blade near my skin. I tried to jerk away but his grip was strong. He pressed the small sharp blade to my skin, dragging it smoothly across to the other side of my wrist. It didn't hurt like I had thought it would, but I was still confused as ever about what was going on.

"Okay, now, you drink my blood, and I drink yours. We've gotta do it at the same time," Matt said, pulling my wrist closer to his mouth, and putting his bleeding wrist near mine.

"Ew, Matt. That's disgusting. I'm not drinking your blood," I said, repulsed at the idea. The only blood I would ever drink would be my own.

Matt sighed and then looked at Brian a moment. The shared a few glances as if they were talking with their eyes, and finally they both nodded, Brian first and then Matt. He turned back to me.

"Okay then, if you won't drink my blood, I'll just have to drink yours anyways."

I sighed. "Okay, fine, just get it over with."

Matt brought his lips to the wound in my wrist and started to suck some of the blood out. It felt a little awkward, and I was almost waiting to feel two sharp incisors grow in his jaw. After a couple moments, Matt pulled away, the cut on my wrist completely clean. He wiped his mouth and looked from me to the priest.

"Is that all?" the priest asked, wondering if Matt had any other unnatural rituals to perform before the ceremony was complete.

Matt cleared his throat. "Yes."

"Very well... By the power invested in me by the state of Nevada, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride," the priest finished. Matt smiled and I couldn't help but smile in return. The one thing I'd waited years for was finally happening. Matt kissed me hard for a couple seconds and then pulled away. I looked down at his wrist; the blood was dripping on the white carpet, staining it black.

"So where are we going to be staying tonight?" I asked as we cruised the city. The sun had set already because we stopped at a casino; Matt and Brian just couldn't resist. They insisted that we take Nicky in with us. I was going to stay in the car with him, but the boys just wouldn't have it.

"I have the place already picked out, don't you worry about it," Matt said, squeezing my hand lightly in his.

Not even a few minutes later, we pulled up to a building that towered over us all. I stared up at it. "We're staying at the Stratosphere?" I asked as we got out of the car.

"Big building , Daddy," Nicky breathed out.

Matt hoisted him up. "That's right, and we're gonna be up at the very top in the penthouse suite. An entire floor all on our own to live in."

"We're staying in the penthouse?" I asked, my jaw literally dropping.

"We sure are. Everything's already been taken care of so we can get everything up there and get settled in. It's late and I think Nicholas here needs to go to bed."

"No, I don't want to sleep," Nicky whined. So that was what we did; we unpacked our things and moved into the very top of the Stratosphere. One more floor up and we'd be getting in line for the rollercoaster.

I got all my things situated and Nicky was put to bed, and I walked out to our personal balcony. Brian and Matt stood out there with me, the latter with his arms wrapped around my waist. "It's beautiful. We can see almost the entire city," I said quietly, looking down on all the lighted buildings below.

"This is one of the highest points in the city. We can watch everything that goes on down there. I hope you like it," Matt whispered in my ear.

"I will, but I'll still miss home."