All of Them People

Ryan's parents' house was only a block or so away from the sports field. It was a tall and narrow house with three floors. The main floor lead out to a one way road lined with other houses like his and a few of the city's junkier motels. And the basement had a back door that lead to an alley way that could be followed down to where the Rugby game was held earlier that day. The house wasn't as big as it appeared to be on the outside and coupled with the fact that Ryan had two older brothers, one younger brother and a sister, the house felt even smaller than it already was. The only peace they could find away from the younger ones was if they locked themselves in the basement.

"HHHEEEYYYYY! DAD SAID YOU CAN'T LOCK THE DOOR!" A Girl-child's voice screeched from the other side of the door, followed by a loud and consistent banging that the door shook against, resisting the impact. The only reason Ryan's little sister was tolerable was because the house had the prime location for being close to sloppy unplanned high school parties like the one tonight. And the alley way right outside the basement door had become more crowded by the hour with teenagers wandering the streets.

Ryan didn't answer his sister and headed down the basement stairs back to his usual place on the couch beside Chase. Chase blabbered excitedly on his story about how Tawny had finally agreed to get them the money she owed. Steve half-listened, but couldn't help but note Cian's changed behaviour. The other guys didn't seem to notice or care, but it had been days since Steve's dad had introduced him to this new line of work that made one question and see suspicion in everything.

Normally Cian would be fidgeting, pacing around the room, interrupting the story with the most off-topic of things, or doing anything at all to output his energy. But he just sat there with elbows leant on his knees, and his hands folded over one another raised against his mouth. He looked tensed and his eyes stared intently ahead of him.

"We told her that..." Chase trailed off, snickering to himself. "It was-" He burst out laughing so hard that he couldn't even speak.

'Don't even breathe,' Cian thought to himself. The more he thought about it, the more he felt the urge to take in a big deep breath. And he wanted to so bad. To taste the bitter sweet tang of blood. To bite in and feel the red liquid rejuvenate and refresh. To feel it spread through his body, heightening his senses and allowing him to think freely again without the temptation of blood constantly on his mind. A flash of anger went through him as he silently blamed Gaia and Logan for this situation. He drank only a couple hours ago and they said he'd be fine. But. This. Is. Not. Fine. Thinking of the sealed plastic bags of blood made him salivate. He just wanted to bite into... something. He tested his teeth against his hand, wanting to sink in but knew that no satisfactory would come from that. Suddenly aware of the salty sent of flesh; the blood was so close... He snapped back to reality from a sharp pain in his hand, realizing that he had bitten down in his own flesh and tasted blood, although his own was putrid, it was still addictive. He jumped up from his chair and almost right into Steve, and noticed for the first time that the others were standing as well (Chase struggling not to keep laughing, and Ryan hiding a smile at Chase's ridiculousness).

Cian fell away from Steve, and backed into the chair, just catching himself from falling over. He looked up and found Steve watching him still, with an expression of concern. But his eyes were wider, and if it was anyone but Steve, Cian would have said he almost looked fearful. "Your just sick, right?" Steve tried to convince himself.

Cian dashed for the door, scared of what he might say, but Chase was blocking the way. "And we know she won't tell Adriene in case he takes it seriously," he laughed, swaying in the way of where ever Cian tried to move to find an escape.

"Get out of the way!" Cian hissed and pushed Chase violently against the wall, it used a lot of self control to make his fingers release their grip and let him stay there with all his fresh blood.

Finally outside, the door slammed behind him, Cian took in a deep breath to cleanse his mind with the night's fresh air, but his senses were bombarded with the smells of alcohol, flesh, and blood.

Glancing around frantically, he searched for a way out of the crowd of teenagers where there was none, so he chose a direction and ran. It was like a stream of people that Cian was being swept down that just got more dense until he was forced back to a brisk walk, pushing people out of the way. 'I'm looking for a way out,' he told himself. So much blood. "I'm looking for a way out," he tried to convince himself. There are people everywhere. And girls with flesh that smelled so sweet, that held blood even sweeter yet. He fell into step a short distance behind a blonde girl who was being dragged through the thinner part of the crowed by the hand of her friend. The blonde looked back and smiled at Cian, and it felt at if she was beckoning for him to follow. The crowd became more dispersed the farther they got, and Cian stayed locked on his target. The blonde girl turned a final corner, but just before Cian could follow in pursuit, someone new was standing in his way.

'That's fine,' Cian thought, 'you're a better target...' It suddenly hit him like a truck that he had no desire to harm this girl. The girl spoke with such an easy-going voice with lips that were so welcoming. Her long dark hair swayed in narrow dread locks right down to her hips. And the craving was gone, it was like a new addiction just to look at her.

He realized that she was talking to him, and tuned in just to listen to her voice. "Your going to get caught," she said.

People everywhere. Crowded and suffocating. Cian backed away, and his eyes fought back from looking away from her. "I'm going to get caught," his will-power finally won over and he managed to escape.