“No. No way Frank.” My response is immediate.

“It would solve a lot of problems…”

“You have no idea what you’re asking for.”

And he snaps, “I have every idea what I’m asking for! You don’t understand what it’s like to be me, Gerard! To have to be protected and chaperoned where ever I go…Sometimes I don’t even feel like your boyfriend. I feel like a pet. I mean, I’m not even allowed to make love with you. Do you have any idea what it’s like?”

At first I don’t understand the stream of water trickling from his eyes, but once the word crying registers in my brain I reach up to wipe them away. I pull him into a gentle kiss and allow him to cling to me for a while before speaking, “Frank…I don’t want you to feel that way. You have to understand that I’m only looking out for your wellbeing. Right now I have too many instincts and not enough control. One day I’m sure I’ll be able to resist them and then we can—.”

He pushes away from me, “It’s not just about the sex! Do you realize what it’s like…How crushing it is…To live every day knowing that the man I love is going to live forever…without me?”

I suddenly feel like I can’t breathe. Every day Frank is human….He’s in that much more danger of dying. I obviously knew that, but I’ve been shoving the implications away from my mind. If Frank dies, I’ll be alone. Forever. There’s no way I could find someone else after him. Nothing could replace this bone-crushing love, this desire to do nothing but protect him from all harm. And I have a way to do just that. But…

“Frank…I don’t know how to turn you.” It’s the truth. I barely remember what happened to me. Thinking a woman was harmlessly sucking on my neck. The pain that followed. The feeling of growing weaker before blacking out. Waking up with an acrid taste in my mouth, filled with the painful energy of the change. You have to die to change, and without the right information I could accidently leave him that way.

“But you…” He has a look of despair. He really wants this. And who am I to deny him?

“I don’t know, Frank, but I know someone who might be able to tell me.”

Confusion, “Really? Who?”

That’s right. He doesn’t know, “Well, as I was auditioning for Billie…” And I tell him all about Ava. Her flustered emotions about the bar owner, the way she seems so knowledgeable yet so innocent. The way she doesn’t kill, much in the same way that I don’t. When I finish he has a small smile on his face.

“I always knew there was something different about that girl.”

I nod, “I know you don’t work tomorrow, but we should go back to the bar. So I can get some answers.”

He nods and snuggles into me, burying his face in my neck. He doesn’t speak, but I understand his thank you clearly.

…

I leave Frank at the bar while I go to find Ava. There’s a different bartender tonight, so it shouldn’t be a problem. Unfortunately, I’m met with the sight of Billie’s closed office door. I sigh and reach up to knock, but the door pushes open instead and I’m met with quite the scene. Ava and Billie are locked in a kiss. It’s an innocent, simple kiss, but that doesn’t stop them from jumping apart and staring at me.

“G-Gerard!” Ava says, clearly flustered, “Frank doesn’t work until Friday…Why are you here?”

“Glad you asked. I need to talk to you,” I no more than get the words out when there’s a loud crash from the bar followed by a scream. A scream that sends chills through me at lightning speed. “Frank!” I yell before running out at full speed, not even caring who sees.

My worst fears are confirmed when I enter the main room. Everyone is crowded around the walls, and there, in the middle of the room, Mikey has Frank pinned to the floor by his chest. I can tell by the look on Frank’s face that it’s not the casual pain of someone sitting on you that he’s feeling. Mikey must have done something.

“Where’s your boy toy? Huh? Isn’t he coming to save you?” Mikey sneers in a cocky voice that makes my blood boil.

Without another thought I slam into him, causing us both to skid across the floor. I have the element of surprise on my side, though, and I’m able to pick him up and slam him against the wall. From the look of things, Frank doesn’t have much in the way of weapons on him. The only form of injury that is present is a steaming cut on Mikey’s left hand. Silver dust. And it’s healing fast.

“Yeah, you fucker, I am going to save him. You’re going to be sorry you ever even thought about laying a finger on him.”

His eyes widen in mock fear, “But Gee…You wouldn’t hurt me…Would you? You’re my big brother…” I’ll admit, that throws me for a bit. I’m not used to that attitude from him anymore. Then his face morphs back into his emotionless grin and he pushes back on me, taking advantage of the fact that my guard is down, “As if! You and I both know you can’t hurt me. Not bad enough to really get revenge. You feed too little and not often enough. I always have a full, fresh supply running through me. You’re powerless.”

“Maybe he is, but I’m not!” I hear a voice from behind me, and then there’s Ava, pinning him to the floor and pinning his hands behind his back. She has a look I’ve never seen on her before: hatred. I almost flinch when she turns her eyes on me, “What should we do with him, Gerard?”

And I know that I can do whatever I want. Struggle as he might, I know Mikey won’t escape her. She’s too powerful, a much older beast than him. I decide to take my time contemplating my options.

“Well…We could kill him like he killed Alicia. Leave him lying in a pool of his own blood, his nasty rotten heart torn from his chest…Or we could go for the clean snap of the neck. The possibilities are endless, really. We have him cornered, two on one.”

“No,” Frank coughs from behind me. I turn around to see him getting up. There’s a spot of red on his lip. Broken ribs. Punctured organs. Possibly something worse. I rush over to help him as he reaches behind his back and grabs something. It’s a five inch serrated blade. His favorite, I know from the conversations we’ve had.

“It’s three on one,” he chokes out, “Let me do it, Gee. It’s me he’s after anyway.”

I see the determination in his eyes, hear it in his voice. I have no choice. I lead him over to the spot where Mikey lays on the floor and lower him down. And he begins, wielding the knife and showing a side of him that I’ve only seen once before. The hunter side of him.

He takes his time, too. First he puts a gash across Mikey’s throat, but slowly. Very slowly. Then he does the same to his wrists. Mikey is screaming in agony, and I can barely watch. I’m glad Frank’s doing this. As much as I tell myself he’s gone, I can’t help feeling that it’s my brother down there being tortured.

Frank’s next move is to put an X on Mikey’s upper back. This he traces several times, “Gotta make sure it’s the perfect spot,” he winks at me, and then he plunges the blade directly into the center of the X.

We watch Mikey writhe for a while before Frank looks up at me again, “Your turn,” he says.

“My…what?” I feel like I could black out at any moment. This s all too much.

“You told me…You want to kill him, don’t you? I missed the direct blow, just for you. All you have to do is twist the knife and slash to the right.”

He’s right. This is my job. I have to be the one to end all of this suffering. My suffering, knowing some evil thing is out there wearing my brother’s face. Frank’s unending fear for his life. And Mikey’s, his most of all. I know he never wanted to become this. He’d want me to keep him from hurting any more people.

In a daze, I reach out and grab the handle of the blade. It sears my skin slightly, but I don’t mind. I follow Frank’s instructions exactly, and moments later I see Mikey’s eyes go dull. It’s like de ja vu for the third time. First, when Mikey died in my arms in the cold Jersey streets. Then again, when I held Alicia’s dying figure. This time is different, though. This time I have satisfaction, knowing it’s over.

“Gerard! Catch Frank!” Ava’s voice sounds muffled in my ears. I barely turn to look at her when Billie is beside me, holding up an unconscious Frank. Ava stands and looks at him, and then she looks at me, “I don’t think he can live long with those injuries,” why does she sound so far away? Like I’m under water… “Gerard, you have to turn him.”

“No,” I hear myself whisper, “No, get him to a hospital. You have to see what they can do first.” Because I don’t want it to be like this. When Frank enters into this cursed life, I want it to be because we both decided it was best. Because we both want the opportunity to spend eternity together. Not because circumstances forced it on us.

Notes

This chapter...uh...this chapter...I don't know what to say besides....FEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELS!!!!!!!!!!!!

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