Bleed

Chapter 3
Welcome To The Family
The next morning, I woke up in my new bedroom I had woken up in the day before. Rubbing my eyes, I sat up & looked around. I got up out of bed & walked over to the door, opening it & walking down the hall to the main room. Zacky was sitting on the couch, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees & his fingers folded into each other, just staring into the quiet fire blazing in the fireplace. I walked over & sat beside him.
"Did you sleep well?" he asked, looking over at me.
"Yeah. " I nodded. He leaned back in his seat & sighed.
"Come with me. I want to show you something." We stood up & he led me into The Rev's lab. He walked over to a wall, pushed a wire tray of eight glass tubes down like buttons in a code like pattern. The wall flipped over, reavealing a collection of weapons. There was a few crossbows, arrows with different colored tips, pistols, shotguns, rifles, brass knuckles, & some other weapons I didn't recognize.
"This is our mini armory. The Rev created most of these. What he didn't make, we found scavenging other vampires after killing them."
"So is there a good & evil side?" I asked him.
"You could say that. Technically, we're evil, but our biggest rival is The Bleeders. Percy is one of them & he was your attacker." I couldn't help but laugh.
"Percy? Wow. What a name."
"I know right? Percy Cantrell. He's one of the smaller guys, but he's always trying to go out & find victims to feed off of. He's always trying to prove his worth which is shit." he chuckled.
"Why are the tips different colors?" I asked him, pointing to the arrows.
"Well, the red ones are the most lethal. They kill on impact. The end is covered in a special poison. The green ones are supposed to knock them out for a few hours. The yellow ones paralyze for a few hours. Then there's the purple ones. Those are extra special. The poison on those are explosive once they mix with the blood of vampires. They won't explode when mixed with human blood, though. All of the poisons, The Rev has created. He's also created the bullets for our guns. Well, most of them anyway."
"Whoa. He's pretty handy, huh?"
"Why thank you, Zoe. I must admit that I do make some pretty cool & useful stuff." The Rev chuckled as he walked in behind us.
"I was just showing off your creations."
"I noticed. Speaking of which, Brian & Matt should probably go to her living space & collect her things. They'll need to take some weapons for protection." Rev said.
"I'll go with Syn. Matt will not want to go. He's already pissed off about this shit as it is."
"Well, whoever ends up going, has to take weapons. We don't know what could happen. You know they're probably looking for her or us." Rev sighed, frowning.
"I know. We have to be extra careful now." Zacky said, frowning.
"You should probably get prepared to leave in a few hours before it gets dark." Rev told him.
"I'll go get Brian, tell him what's going on, then we'll pack our weapons & head out." Zacky sighed, walking out of the room & down the hall.
"You're going to have to stay here. I'm sorry. It's just too dangerous. Especially right now while The Bleeders are probably out there looking for you." Rev explained.
"I understand." I said, looking at the floor, uneasily.
"Hey. If it makes you feel any better, you can hang out with Johnny & I while the guys are out doing this."
"Yeah. It helps a little bit."
"Just stay out of Matt's way." Rev warned.
"Got it." I said, walking down the hall to the main room. About half an hour later, Zacky & Brian walked out.
"Well, we're heading out. We'll grab as much stuff as we can. Obviously, we can't get everything, though." Zacky explained.
"I know. Just grab what you can." I sighed.
"Okay. Move out." Brian said, walking towards a door that led outside. I watched them walk out & Zacky looked back at me one last time before he shut the door behind him.
"Come on. I can make a mean cup of hot chocolate." Rev smiled, putting an arm around me.
"Rev, here! Now!" Matt yelled from the main room.
"Shit. I'll be right back. Just head on into the kitchen with Johnny." Jimmy sighed.
"Okay. I'll be waiting." I grinned, walking away. Pushing open the door, Johnny was sitting on a bar stool behind the counter in the kitchen.
"Hey." I said, sitting next to him.
"Hey there." he grinned, looking over at me.
"Jimmy's talking to Matt then he's coming in here to make his hot chocolate."
"Oh, that stuff is so good. I don't know how he does it, but it's so yummy." Johnny smiled.
"Yeah." I whispered, looking down.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah. I just wanna go home."
"I can imagine. It can get really lonely here sometimes, but you'll make it through."
"Okay. We ready to drink some bad ass hot chocolate?" Jimmy sang as he walked through the kitchen door.
"I am! Ooh, pick me! Pick me!" Johnny hopped up & down in his chair, acting like a little kid. I couldn't help but laugh.
Meanwhile, Zacky & Brian are on their way to retrieve some things from Zoe's apartment...
"Why'd you rescue her, Vengeance?" Brian asked Zacky.
"Intuition, I guess. Something inside me screamed to help her. I couldn't ignore it. Not this time. This time was different."
"Well, this puts us in a really awkward position." Brian said as him & Zack made their way down a dark alleyway.
"Johnny & Jimmy are humans & they live with us." Zacky argued.
"She is a woman, Vengeance. That's a big deal. This isn't good." Brian scowled.
"You don't think I don't know that? I tried to fight the urge, but I couldn't do it. Damn it, Brian! Lay off." Zacky said rather loudly as he turned around to face Brian.
"Well, she's your responsibility from now on. You better keep any eye on her."
"I fucking know. Now focus on the damn mission." Zacky whispered, climbing a ladder up the side of her apartment building.
"Why the fuck are we even doing this?" Brian asked Zacky.
"Because she needs to have some things from her home. She can't come back here. She has to live out the rest of her life with us."
"You should have just let her be." Brian said, finally reaching the top with Zacky.
"& Let her die?"
"Our blood runs cold. Our hearts are as black as the midnight sky. We don't care. We're not good people so stop trying to act like you're a good person because you are just like the rest of us. Johnny & Jimmy are the only ones who have any good left in them." Brian growled, angrily.
"Have you ever thought, 'what is the point to being evil'? Really. You don't gain anything from it."
"You don't gain anything from being good, either." Brian snapped. Zacky couldn't argue anymore. He had to focus on the task at hand. There was a balcony below them, so they decided to drop down onto it.
"We need to drop down one more & that will be hers." Zacky said.
"How do you know?" Brian asked him.
"She told me earlier." Zack said, slowly climbing down to the balcony. Once they finally were on Zoe's balcony, there was a sliding glass door. Thankfully, it was open. They crept inside &, sure enough, no one was there.
"We're clear. Gather up as many things as you think she'll need." Zacky told Brian.
"Got it." Brian said, looking around the living room. Zacky took on the bedroom. He went through her dresser & started throwing clothes into a backpack he'd found in the closet. He found another backpack behind that one & started stuffing more clothes into that one. They were pretty big & she didn't have a huge wardrobe so he was able to put all of her clothes in the two backpacks without having to stuff them. After zipping them up, he brought them into the living room by the glass doors, sitting them down.
"Find anything?" Zacky asked Brian.
"Just books mainly. Some movies."
"Grab them." Zacky pointed. He then went to the kitchen to grab some food he thought she'd want. He found some cloth bags in the kitchen closet & started throwing food into it. It looked like she hadn't been shopping for a long time. There wasn't much left. Brian then went to the bathroom & grabbed a bunch of supplies, stuffing them into a cloth bag Zacky had given him.
"Okay. I think we're good to go." Zacky sighed, throwing on the backpack. Brian did the same with the other backpack. They picked up the cloth bags & double checked to make sure they weren't missing anything. Once they were satisfied, they left, closing the glass door behind them. The journey back home seemed longer than it was when they left.
"Finally. Home again." Brian sighed, kicking the door with his foot to knock.
"Who is it?" Jimmy called out.
"It's Zacky & Brian. We have the supplies." Brian replied. Jimmy opened the door & I saw Zacky & Brian walk in with a few bags & two backpacks full of stuff.
"Thanks, you guys." I grinned, thankful I had some of my things back.
"We grabbed as much as we could. We have food, clothes, & bathroom stuff. Oh, & some movies & books, too." Zacky said, sitting the backpack on the table.
"Where's Matt?" Brian asked us all.
"In the exercise room working out." Jimmy said, nodding towards a door.
"I'm going to go join him." Brian said, walking towards the gym door.
"I should, um, probably go to bed or something." I said, quietly.
"Why?" Zack asked me.
"I think I pissed off Brian."
"Brian & Matt are pissed about the situation. Don't worry about it. You're safe with me. Follow me." he said as he led me into his bedroom.
"So this is where you sleep?" I asked him, looking around the room.
"Yes. Well, try to anyway. I rarely get that much sleep. I guess that's what happens when you go vampire." he sighed, slipping a movie into the DVD player & switching on the tv.
"Could I ask you something?" I said, nervously sitting on the edge of his bed.
"Depends." he said, joining me on the other side of the bed.
"What happened? How did you...turn?"
"I figured you'd ask that at some point. Years ago, Brian, Matt, & I were were walking home from hanging out. We started hearing things in the trees. Thinking it was just bats or something, we kept walking. Next thing we know, we're all on the ground, screaming in pain. We had been attacked by The Bleeders. When we told Jimmy & Johnny, they were way more supportive & helpful than we thought they'd be. Ever since that night, The Bleeders have been our rivals."
"So what about your families?" I asked him, looking over at him as I laid on the bed, leaning my back against the headboard. His face grew solemn & he was quiet for a few minutes before he finally spoke.
"They killed them. They didn't want their secret to get out, knowing we'd tell the world. But now, we have nothing but each other. I'm gonna be honest, we're evil demons really. But I don't think it should be that way anymore. That's the main reason why Matt & Brian are angry that I brought you back here. I was supposed to kill you, leave you to die, or turn you & leave. To them, bringing you back here shouldn't have been an option."
"So they're heartless, basically?" I asked him.
"Basically. I used to be, but what's the point? I don't want to be a bad person. That's what people think of us anyway, but I want to change that."
"But you constantly live here & never come out, though, do you?"
"I can't. If the world saw me or us, they'd kill us. No questions asked. You remember what it was like that first night. That's what all humans think of us on a daily basis because of the image The Bleeders & Matt & Brian have put out there along with all the other vampires out there," he sighed as I laid my hand on his shoulder, comfortingly. "are you ready to watch this movie?"
"Yeah." I nodded.
He played the movie which was Night Of The Living Dead. His face lit up when he saw it because it's one of his favorite movies. I looked over at him for a few seconds & started to realize how good looking he was. He was so focused on the movie, he didn't notice me staring at him. After I finally turned my attention back to the movie, it was starting to finally get good. When the zombies started attacking, I pulled my knees to my chest & covered my eyes for a few seconds. Then I felt arms wrap around me. Looking to my left, I saw Zacky holding me close to him, eyes still glued to the screen.
"You looked like you needed someone to keep you safe." he grinned, looking down at me. I couldn't help, but smile a little bit.
"I've never watched this by myself, let alone without a cuddle buddy." I chuckled.
"Well, nothing will happen to you now that I'm here." he whispered. It was oddly comforting hearing him say that. We laid there, cuddling for the rest of the movie, but right after the last scene ended, Matt walked in, looking for Zacky.
"What the fuck is this?" he growled, glaring at us.
"We were watching a movie." Zacky said, pulling away from me.
"You don't need to cuddle her. She's not your fucking girlfriend, Zack. I don't want to see that shit. I don't want to see HER! You should've fucking killed her!" Matt yelled, storming out of the room. My eyes started filling up with tears.
"I'm going to bed." I said, walking past Zacky. He just sat there on his bed, zoning out. I walked out to the main room, grabbed my things Brian & Zacky had retrieved for me, & took them back to my room. After closing the door behind me, I changed into my pajama's & laid down to read a book. I eventually fell asleep with the book in my lap. I woke up in the middle of the night for no reason, so I got up & walked out to the hallway. It was dimly lit, but I could still see a little bit. I walked out to the main room. Everyone else was asleep. I sat on the couch in front of the almost dead fire in the fireplace. I heard some noises coming from the gym room, so I walked over to the door, cracking it open enough for me to see inside. Matt was beating the shit out of a punching bag. I was closing the door when it creaked.
"Shit." I thought. I started to run for my room, but then I heard Matt's voice behind me.
"What are you doing? Spying on me?" Reluctantly, I turned around to face him.
"I woke up & couldn't get back to sleep. I heard noises in the gym & I was just looking to see who was in there. I'm sorry." I said, nervously.
"Don't think you're safe just because Zack likes to protect you. You're a fucking human &, besides Jimmy & Johnny, we don't trust your kind."
"He told me what happened. I understand why you guys are the way you are. Why can't you try to be good like Zack? Evil will get you nowhere."
"What the fuck would you know about evil? What would you know about the lives we lead? Zacky only keeps you around to keep him company. We don't need you around here. He should've killed you or let you fucking die. I don't trust you & I never fucking will. You remember that. You better watch your back around here." he said, walking towards me. I just nodded quickly, backing away slowly & ran to my room, shutting the door behind me. I crawled into bed & pulled the covers close to me, shivering at the thought of what Matt or Brian would do to kill me. The next morning, I was almost afraid to get out of bed. When I finally gathered the courage to do it, I walked out to the hall. It didn't look like anyone else was awake. I laid down on the couch & stared into the now raging fire. I laid there for a few minutes & then decided to go explore around the building. Walking past the laboratory, I saw another door farther down the hall. Opening the door, I saw it was something like a rec room. There were a few guitars, a set of drums, a pool table, a fully stocked bar, & heavy metal memorabilia on the walls. I sat down on a stool & picked a guitar up. It was a red custom looking Schecter with the stickers 6661 along the bottom of the strings. I sat in a chair nearby after I plugged it into a nearby amp & started playing a little. I was really getting into it when I heard the door creak.
"Hey. Sorry. I was standing here watching you play. You're not bad." Zack grinned, walking in.
"I used to play when I was younger. I took lessons & I got really good there for a while."
"Yeah, that's my guitar actually."
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know." I said, sitting it beside me on the couch.
"No, no. It's fine, really. I enjoyed hearing you play. You play anything else?"
"I dabble in the drums a little." I chuckled.
"Get on 'em. We're gonna play something together." he grinned, sitting on the couch, taking his guitar & sitting it on his lap. I sat behind the drums & twirled one of the sticks in between my fingers.
"You ready?" Zack asked me, tuning his guitar.
"Ready when you are." I said, grinning. He started playing & I played along, trying to make it fit with what he was playing. We were playing for about an hour before we took a break.
"Wow. You're pretty good." he smiled, putting his guitar in its stand.
"One more thing before you officially quit playing." I asked him, still sitting behind the drum set.
"What?"
"Let me see what you got. Really lay it on me. I want to hear how good you really are." I said, standing up & walking over to sit on the couch.
"I think I can do that." he laughed, picking his guitar back up. He stood in front of me & I heard him start to play a familiar tune. I started bobbing my head a little until he busted into a wicked cool guitar solo. My jaw dropped. He made it look so easy. His fingers were flying all over the frets so flawlessly. When he was done, he sat his guitar back in its stand & took a bow.
"I finally recognize that song. The Dancing Dead. I love that song. Avenged Sevenfold is my favorite band ever." I smiled, clapping for Zacky.
"Really? I'm surprised you know who we - they are. I'm surprised you know the song." he said, tilting his head a little, shocked.
"Yeah, I used to listen to them all the time. I wasn't like other fans, though. I just listened to their music. I didn't google pictures or crap like that. Actually, I don't even know their names." I said, realizing my last statement.
"Yeah, they're pretty awesome alright." he said, rubbing the back of his neck, looking nervous.
"Hey, did I just hear a jam session go on in here without me?" Jimmy said, walking in playfully shocked.
"Yeah, man. We were rocking out. She was rockin' your drums & I was playing my guitar. She can play a mean guitar, too."
"Man, that brings back good memories of the old days." Jimmy sighed, smiling.
"Of what?" I asked, turning to look at Jimmy. Jimmy's eyes darted behind me really quick before his eyes suddenly looked confused.
"I used to be in a band. I used to jam out with some friends growing up." he chuckled, looking at Zacky.
"So what'll it be?" Jimmy asked me, jumping behind the counter, looking at all the bottles of alcohol.
"What about you, Zack? What do you drink? Wait, can you drink?" I asked him.
"Yeah. I drink all the time. All of us, too. My personal favorite is good 'ol Jack Daniels." he said, nodding towards Jimmy.
"Well, then that's what I'll have. Pour us some shots, Jimmy." I said, slapping the counter.
"Alright!" Jimmy cheered, turning around to grab the glasses. He poured us some shots & we downed them one right after the other. Zack & I were about three shots in when Brian & Matt walked in.
"Hit me!" I said, smacking the counter. Jimmy poured me two more shots & I took both, one after the other.
"You good?" Zack asked me, downing his two shots after me.
"Bitch, please. Bring it on!"
"You cannot drink him under the table if that's what you're trying to imply here." Jimmy chuckled, pouring another set of shots.
"Okay maybe not because I am quite tipsy right now. But I would venture to say that after taking these two shots, I will be at an awesome drunk rate." I giggled.
"Good decision." Zack laughed, throwing back his two shots. I took my two shots after him & started laughing again.
"Yup, she's done." Jimmy laughed.
"Come on, Jimmy. Hook us up, man." Brian said, walking up & standing next to me with Matt on the other side of him.
"Hey, guys." I slurred, waving at them.
"Hi." Brian chuckled while Matt ignored me.
"How ya doing, Zacky?" I asked, looking over at him.
"Awesome. Not quite as drunk as you, but not far off." he said, taking two more shots & pushing the shot glasses back towards Jimmy. I stood up & walked over to the couch to sit down & Zack sat beside me. He was wearing a black beanie with his black hair peeking out from under it. He had his Night Of The Living Dead shirt on with some black pajama bottoms & he just looked so cute sitting there beside me.
"You doing okay?" I asked him, slurring my words a little.
"Oh, yeah. I'm great." he chuckled.
"I'm probably gonna go crash." I sighed, standing up.
"Oh, are you sure?" he asked me, frowning.
"I probably should." my eyes darting towards Matt. He nodded in understanding.
"Night then." he said, waving as I walked out. When I walked into my room, I turned around to shut my door & Zacky was standing there.
"Oh my god." I gasped.
"I'm pretty quiet. Like a freakin' ninja." he laughed.
"What are you doing here?"
"Well, do you want to watch a movie or something?" he asked me.
"Actually, do you just want to hang out in my room? I'm pretty tired."
"Yeah. Yeah, we could, uh, yeah." he said, walking in & shutting the door behind him. I laid down on my bed, pulling the covers up to me as Zack sat down beside me on the bed. I wanted so bad just to kiss his lips & make out with him right then & there. Maybe it was the alcohol talking because, after all, he was a vampire. But I had some serious hots for him. Damn, he was gorgeous.
"So what was your life like before you came here?" he asked me.
"Not that great. I just got fired from my job. I was the best employee they had. The mayor's son had smacked my ass & I knocked him the fuck out. My boss had no choice but to fire me to save the company. It was total bullshit."
"Did you have a boyfriend or anything like that?"
"No. I worked too much to care." I sighed.
"Friends?"
"Not really. None that really mattered anyway. What about you?"
"I had a girlfriend, but The Bleeders killed her, too. Made it look like an accident, though. The investigation was open & shut I heard. I loved her so much. I was so depressed after all that shit happened. I never thought I'd get over it."
"Can I see them?" I asked him, nervously.
"See what? Oh, wait. You mean my fangs?"
"Yeah." He smiled really big, opened his mouth & they weren't too long. He could easily hide them if he needed to. You could definately tell that he was a vampire, though. For some reason, that added to his sexiness for me.
"It took me a while to get used to them at first." he chuckled, looking over at me. We talked to each other for a few hours before the alcohol finally set in & made us both pass out next to each other.

Notes