The Edge

Zacky:

Stab. Tear. Twist. Gouge. Repeat. Stab. Tear. Twist. Gouge. Repeat. Stab. Tear. Twist. Gouge. Rep-

Pause.

Wipe away the tears.

Drop the weapon.

Walk away.

Thu-Thump, Thu-Thump, Thu-Thump.

Hear that? That's your heart. Yours is still beating. Her's sure isn't. No. Don't look back. Ya, you wanna, but you can't. You know what happened last time. You know if you look back now, if you see those mangled and twisted remains, it's all over. You're a hunter, kid, and she was prey. Just prey. Get over it.

Get over it. Something you just can't seem to do. Who the fuck cares? She was homeless, she had no family. She was one of the ones born with the fate of being yours. Intended to be a new part of you. They mean nothing. Prey, that is all. A creature born so you may continue, so you may drive on.

No, no, stop thinking like that! She was nothing! No, she's dead. You saw her, no human could survive what you did. Don't look back, kid! Don't do it! No!

Shit. Run. Run! Run, kid! She's back! I told you not to look! God damn it, she was prey! I told you what happens when you look back! They reanimate. Fuck, fuck, kid, run. Run! Listen to me, dammit! She's closing in! Fuck, I'm going to have to get you out of here again, aren't I? You need to stop doing this. You need to learn, kid! You won't be able to hunt for yourself if you keep this up. You know, I won't be around forever.

Well, I will, but I won't be sticking with you.

Get it through your thick skull. These humans mean nothing. You are an ultra race, far superior. Yes, yes, you are nothing previous imagined. How do you live when you don't eat the humans? Of course, you don't need sustenance, you live for the kill. The blade, or rather, your hands sinking into milky flesh, tearing tendons and shredding mus-

Stop? Why? Don't you like the power you have? No, no, no, of course you don't. You're weak. Weak! You may have been able to kill, but that doesn't make you stronger. You feed on these dreams, on killing and shredding and mentally devouring the flesh of each victim.

No. You are nothing previously imagined. The super-race. I do not know that you have a name. When my father taught me these ways as I teach you, he told me we were called by many names, though he would never tell me any of them. For now, refer to yourself as a Seer. You are much more, son, but I do not know what to call you.

I believe I know the reason you remorse when you destroy. You are half human, I made a fatal mistake in breeding with what was supposed to be a victim.

I know of your feelings. If you make the same mistake, I will kill you myself.

~

I woke up to soft voice. Brian was pulling his jeans on, getting ready for school, and humming and singing to himself. I didn't like it when he left, but his mom was kind to me and when he got back he made sure to entertain me to make up for leaving me alone at his house all day. He was so sweet that way, it really touched me.

He turned to look at me, seeing me awake with shiny tears running down my face from my dream. I didn't wake up screaming at his house, but I always woke up crying. He finished doing up his pants before coming over and hugging me tightly. I relaxed slightly, scrubbing the tears away quickly, a smile spreading across my face as I realized he was topless.

“You alright? Anything happen?” He asked carefully. Brian never directly referenced my dreams, he seemed to think talking about them would make them come true or something...

I took the opportunity to press my face into his neck and trail my fingers down his back. He gasped lightly, shivering, His heart accelerated, but he didn't pull away from me. I moved one hand to his hip, pushing my fingers into his jeans.

Where was this side of me coming from?

His breathing hitched, but he abruptly pulled away from me, light blush creeping into his skin. He shook his head, not meeting my eyes and gently removing my hand from his hips. He swallowed and turned away from me, walking over to his bathroom and disappearing inside of it.

I felt sad. Sad that he was gone. Sad that I had scared him away. Sad that he didn't like it when I touched him. Oh well. He'd come around, I knew it.

~

When Brian was at school, I liked to watch the tiny fish he had in a glass tank on his dresser. It was blue and black and it had a tendency to randomly dart about like some kind of A.D.H.D fishy. I named him Beejie. Brian never remembered to feed him, so I always gave him a pinch of fish food when he looked hungry. In fact, the other day when Brian got home from school, he cussed the fish out because it was still alive. Oh well, I liked Beejie, and I'd keep feeding him as long as I was here.

Just as I sprinkled fishy flakes into his tank, there was a knock at Brian's door and his mom's voice asked if she could come in.

“Of course, it's your house,” I said, putting down the fish flakes and returning to the edge of Brian's bed. After a moment, his mom opened the door.

“Hello Zack,” she said, her brown bun of hair bobbing as she stepped into the room, “How are you feeling?”

“Fine, Ms. Haner, how are you?”

She smiled, her eyes crinkling. It was a similar smile to Brian's, I could see that he inherited much of his facial structure from her as well as his brown eyes, “Quiet well, but please, Zack, call me Grace. I was wondering if you'd like to bake with me because Brian is at school. I've been meaning to make him a cake for his birthday, but I haven't gotten around to it yet, and I sure would appreciate the extra help.”

I smiled widely. I never got to bake or do anything with my 'mom', so I jumped at the opportunity, “Thanks, I'd love to! I didn't know his birthday was coming up... I wanna get him a present...”

“Well I'm sure we can get out and get you one to give him. Would you like to start now, or wait?” She asked kindly.

“Hmm,” I pondered, “Now. I was bored anyway.”

Grace flashed me a smiled and gestured for me to follow her out into the kitchen, which I did. I still found it amazing how small their house was. Mere seconds had passed before we were in a bright, small, but bright, yellow kitchen, decorated with a soft floral pattern that almost melted into the wall and was easy in the eyes. She led me over to the island in the center where a bowl and several cooking utensils were spread out.

Brian's mother showed me how to add the right ingredients for the cake we were making, his favorite, red velvet. We mixed together all the ingredients until the batter was think and delicious. When Grace wasn't looking, I dipped my finger into the batter and tasted it. A small shiver passed up my body, it was very good, and I wasn't allowed sweets often.

Finally, it was time to put the cake batter into the oven to cook. It was supposed to take forty five minutes, but for the first ten, I sat watching the cake with wide eyes, hoping it would magically rise in front of me. Grace had set a timer and gone back into the living room to read, so I made my way back to Brian's room.

I collapsed onto his bed, snuggling into the thick comforter and sighing softly. I didn't want to go home. I liked it here, I liked being with Brian. For a while, I just sat there, inhaling his scent from the blankets. He smelled like something comforting, a smell I couldn't name but made me feel safe, but at the same time, the sharp smell of smoke was a faint underlay. I decided I liked the scent of the two mixed.

Not long after, I fell asleep.

~

“Zacky? You asleep?” A soft and familiar voice pulled me out of my unconscious state. My eyes fluttered open to see Brian sitting on the bed next to me, rummaging through his backpack and pulling out a notebook, which he set on his nightstand before shoving the backpack to the ground.

I pulled myself into an upright position, rubbing my eyes to try and make my vision less foggy. A soft “Aww” sounded from Brian, which I took as his approval of my cute antics, “Yup. How was school?”

He snorted, “Fine. I did manage to get all my homework done in study hall today, so we have more time to just hang out. Anything in particular you want to do?”

I crawled over to him and leaned on his shoulder heavily, sighing, “I don't know. Tell me more about you.”

“Oh, okay...” Brian said, looking momentarily startled. He placed a hand almost subconsciously on my lower back, shifting himself so he was more comfortable, “Like, what did you want to know?”

“Just normal stuff. You know, what's your favorite color, food, what do you want to do for a living, how much money would I have to pay you to be interested in me... nothing weird.”

He stared at me a moment before he registered what I said. I giggled as his face changed to one of astonishment.

“I was just kidding!” I chirped, leaning away from him slightly so he wouldn't explode. Brian dropped his gaze, finding a sudden interest in the patching on his black blanket and sheets. I shifted closer to him again, snuggling into his side, “I'm sorry! Disregard the remark, please, and talk to me! What's your favorite color?”

“The color you get when you mix light green and silver,” He mumbled, still not meeting my eyes. I sighed lightly, realizing I couldn't seem to win with him.

“Food?”

“My mom's home-made pizza. She's an amazing cook and an even better baker.” Brian finally looked at me, a small grin set on his face, “Even better baker. Your last name is Baker.”

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head before resting it on his chest, “Ya know what? Sometimes I forget which one of us is supposed to be twelve.”