Not All Monsters Get Along

I looked at the backs of the others. Adrian moved with purpose, Seth and Kennedy moved like predators, and Keith walked like he had nowhere important to go.

“Why don't you want to be like us?” I asked Don, and I felt him tense up.

“It causes pain, Ivy. I don't like killing people,” he said and I tried to wrap my brain around it.

“Adrian always said that we're not people. At least, not like the ones we kill,” I whispered and he chuckled, a cold and humorless sound that didn't sound right coming from him.

“We're worse than the ones we kill. We have no future, we have no love, we have nothing, so we take everything from the humans we kill. He never told you that, did he?” Gordon sounded bitter and angry and I didn't blame him.

He had been raised as a Soul-Eater. The rest of us understood not being able to get intimate with others, but his father, our leader, had tried to raise him as a heartless monster. But were we really monsters?

“No, he didn't.”

We didn't speak again until we were in a club. I had flashed my ID to the bouncer and we had filed in. Don went to the bar, not wanting to dance with the women in the club looking for a one night stand. A one night stand with one of us would be the last night of their lives.

I saw the others instantly pair up with humans, but I couldn't get a nagging feeling out of my stomach: someone was watching me.

I looked around and Keith separated from the girl he was dancing with to come over. Goosebumps rose on my arms when he leaned in close, so his lips brushed my ear.

“You look a little out of place, Ivy. Want to dance?” And so we danced.

We danced close together, as if the world beyond us didn't exist. We kept our eyes locked for most of the time. The flashing lights around us hide my blush when his hands pulled at my clothing and skimmed bare skin. I draped my arms around his neck, drawing him closer and closer, until he made the move and pressed his lips against mine.

The world fell silent. I no longer felt the boom of the music, no longer felt other people around me, just Keith and the warmth just under my flesh. It felt like there was a war between us, and I was trying to conquer him, but losing. My knees grew weak and soon all that was keeping me standing was his hands around my body.

Keith was suddenly ripped away from me, and someone was screaming. My vision cleared and I noticed Kennedy's arm around my shoulders. Don's hands were curled into fists as he gripped Keith's shirt collar, hissing things in his face. Keith's eyes were wide and he looked like he was apologizing over and over again, until Don let him go and the party returned to it's hectic state, the blow-up forgotten about.

“What happened?” I asked, but no one seemed to hear me over the music. Don turned to me, his eyes flashing to Kennedy, and then he dragged me away from the crowd. We launched through the crowd and he pushed open a door which led to an alley behind the club. He forced me out, and then followed me, slamming the door shut behind him.

The muscles in his jaw flexed as he tried to contain his anger.

“What are you so angry about?” I asked, lightheaded and still feeling extremely weak.

“I'm surprised Adrian didn't tell you why you can't kiss anyone. Ivy, you're doomed as this monster, we all are. Do you know what would have happened if I hadn't seen you two?” I flinched at his raised voice and he tried to shake out his hands. “You'd be dead, a pile of ashes, if you had kept going. Keith is stronger than you, because he's absorbed more souls, and he was just taking all of yours. Fuck! Ivy, don't be so naïve! If something doesn't feel right, stop!” He was screaming again and I crossed my arms.

“How was I supposed to know? You didn't tell me!”

“I thought my father, your leader, would!”

This was our first fight.

I staggered and leaned against the wall, suddenly out of breath. Don's face fell and he looked around. After spotting a young man further into the alley smoking a cigarette, he stormed over, apologized, and bashed the poor lad's head against the brick wall of the building. He did this twice until the young man went limp.

I watched with wide eyes as Don gripped his face and breathed in his soul. The faintly-glowing air that left the teen's lips made me shiver, and the way his skin looked after wards made me shake. When Don was finished, he released the empty body and it turned to ash at his feet.

Don turned back to me and I shrank back when he strode over to me.

“D-Don, why did you-”

He grabbed my face, not gentle about it at all, and pressed his lips to mine. I felt him breath into me and my strength was restored. My knees stopped shaking, my headache dissipated and my shoves against Don grew in power.

Don pulled back and went to his knees, dry heaving.

I stared at him, not knowing what to do as he gripped his sides in agony. It only took a moment to realize what he had done: he had taken a soul, and given it to me, so the damage done to me by Keith was repaired.

Don vomited and I stepped away from the dark liquid. He was vomiting blood.

“How long has that been happening?” I asked when he wiped his lips on the back of his hand.

“That's the third time,” he answered shakily, and I helped him to his feet. He looked pale and weak.

“Don, you need to-”

“I'm not going to consume someone else's soul tonight, Ivy,” he whispered and gently pushed me away so he could stand on his own. He staggered away, out of the alley, and in the general direction of his apartment.

I slipped back inside the club, and pretended nothing had happened, but my mind was racing.

This is what being a Soul-Eater was all about: protecting your own, even if it meant killing another living thing.