Page 3 of Bitten

“You stink to high heaven, boy,” the man murmured before spinning them both into the bedroom.

Reggie’s eyes widened as he saw another stranger… biting his older brother’s neck like some savage animal. Blood flowed from the open wound, coating Harry’s chest.The light from an old kerosene lantern danced around the room.

“Why?” barely came from Reggie’s lips.

He didn’t get an answer, just a better look at the man attacking his brother…

Not a man…

Reggie saw two long canines dripping with blood before the stranger moved with preternatural speed. He was on Reggie in a split second, moving as if he was a blur.

Nose to nose, Reggie gasped as he stared at the… vampire.

“You… you…” Reggie swallowed past the thick lump in his throat. Vampires weren’t real. They were make believe—for movies and Halloween.

The vampire facing him chuckled. “That’s right, boy… let that fear slide right through you.” He reached forward, pressing a clawed fingertip to Reggie’s throat. “It’ll make that blood of yours all the sweeter.”

Reggie let out a sob, his whole body shaking in fear. He stared at where Harry lay, his body pale and still.

“Man, oh man, does this one reek! You been rolling around in pig shit, boy?” the smaller vampire him asked.

“Manure,” Reggie sputtered, wondering if hauling fifty bags of manure that afternoon just might save his ass. “I’m covered… in manure.”

They wouldn’t want to bite through that, now would they?

“Fucking rednecks,” the vampire said. “Go toss him in that pool out back. Maybe that’ll clean him off enough.”

The big vamp behind him dragged him through the house and out the back sliding door. A full moon illuminated the night, allowing him to see almost as well as if it were daylight. His eyes had always seen better than others as it was. Now, he wished he hadn’t been blessed with that luck.

There, on the patio, was his mother. Her pack of Marlboro Lights and silver lighter beside her as she stared up at the starry night, her eyes wide.

Almost as wide as the gash along her throat.

Tears burned the backs of his eyes as he saw her. Another sob rose up his throat, knowing the only person who’d ever truly understood and accepted him besides his brothers was gone. They were all gone…

Before the crying could truly come, he was lifted like he weighed nothing and tossed into the above ground pool out back. Reggie hadn’t been ready. Hadn’t taken a breath. His lungs were already burning, and now they were on fire as he was pulled under, thrashing to figure out which way was up.

He shot back through the surface, gasping for air.

Not long after he popped up, he was grabbed and dragged from the pool. His feet barely touched the ground before the bigger vampire had him again. His back slammed up against a hard chest.

“Damn it. He still stinks.”

“Just hurry up and drain him,” the other vamp said.

Reggie felt the points of the vampire’s fangs piercing his neck, and he began to thrash in the creature’s arms.

“How many times have I told you? You have to glamour them first!” the smaller vamp yelled before moving closer in a blur and whacking the big guy in the arm. “Glamour him!”

The fang tips pulled from his neck, and he was spun to face the big vampire. “Sorry… I forgot.” Two red, glowing eyes pinned him with a stare. “You’re not gonna feel no pain. You’re gonna like it when I drain your blood.”

“The hell I will,” Reggie spat.

The vampire tilted his head, looking confused. He then narrowed his eyes before repeating the same two lines.

“No… I won’t.”

The vampire looked to the other. “It ain’t working. Just like the last time on that one that looked like him.”

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