Round One - Wrath

Near Death Experience

I could never understand the reasoning behind pride shirts before. Watching everything I had slip between my fingers because of something buried deep inside was no cause for me to be proud – I cried for days. At the time I was in my early thirties, and only then had I realised that women had no place in my life. Hearing people say that being gay is a choice still makes my blood boil for that reason alone, although then I didn't feel it so much.

Ironically it was coming out that proved to be my downfall. Almost a decade since the turmoil with my then fiancée, things had calmed down enough for all of us to get back to normal. After holing up with Joe's twin sister for a while, I eventually moved in with Alex, the guy who brought me out of myself in the first place. We'd become an item and he'd asked me to move in, and I quickly bonded with his alien daughters.

However, mine isn't a normal job. I'd managed to pursue my dream of acting and made it big. So big that in the end, weary from lying to everyone about my relationship with Alex and biting my tongue when confronted with questions about women, I decided enough was enough and blurted it out in an interview. I should have regretted it, but instead I felt relieved... until one fateful night when I was walking in the city late in the evening.

I can't even remember what I was doing there now, but I do remember hearing these noises from somewhere. Men began to creep out from the shadows, most of them wielding objects of some description. Baseball bats, pieces of wood, that kind of thing. Just noting that fact was enough for my pulse to race as adrenalin pumped through my system.
Time to leave, Gino...
“Where do you think you're going?!” one of them sneered.
“I took a wrong turn,” I offered, trying to edge past the crowd.
“Damn right you did,” was the last remark I heard before getting winded by a blow to the stomach.
The talk was over, at least it was for me. My ears could no longer distinguish any words being said as I heard my own voice drowning them out. All I could hear was “Stop... please, stop...!!”
I didn't know whether they did or not. The pounding was relentless, and after a while the nerves in my body were crying out from the overload of pain and shut down my body.

It seemed like forever before the darkness parted, not much but enough to allow slithers of light to shine onto my now aching eyes, as they now faced the task of adjusting to the brightness of wherever I was. A dull throbbing sensation could be felt in every limb, and I could barely move my head. My vision was badly obscured, to the point where calling it a letterbox view would be overly generous. I could see flecks of green, black and red among a seemingly pale background, but all I could rely on to give my location was my nose. Even that was hampered by a strange, almost coppery smell.
“Hello?” I checked.
“Gino?” a female voice replied.
I became alert as I tried to sit up, but something was holding me back. “Mum?” I asked, my hands instinctively reaching out but wincing as one of them also felt restrained, like there was something in my hand that was keeping it close by.
“Easy,” she said, and I could feel her grip on one of my hands. I would have welcomed it if it didn't feel so tender it complained at the pressure, however light.
Tears of fear and uncertainty welled at my eyes, but for some reason instead of stinging, they burned. “Where am I?” I half-slurred, feeling my jaw protest at the effort taken to speak.
“You're in hospital,” a male voice replied. He also sounded familiar, but my sense of hearing was exhausted from its torment earlier.
“Who's that?” I asked, confessing that I could barely see.
“It's Joe,” came the reassuring reply, “Evan's here too.”

Evan's my youngest brother at fifteen, and the reason he was up so late is because, like Mum and Joe, he's a vampire. He drove us all round the bend with what he'd been up to, but at that moment in time that was the least of my problems. My whole body was ablaze, or at least that's how it felt. I couldn't see, my hearing was hampered by shock, I couldn't speak without my mouth complaining with the effort, and my mind was racing with images of what had past. Despite my family being there, I was scared to the point where it was bringing tears to my eyes, although I badly wished it didn't as it brought more pain.
“You need to rest,” Mum said softly, “We'll be back tomorrow night, okay?”
No, please, don't leave me alone...
All I could do was nod gently, and wonder how I could rest with my mind going so crazy. Pain is exhausting though, and my lack of strength from it all ensured I wouldn't stay awake for long.

They were back the next night as she said, and there were some others there too, judging by the extra voices. The shock had subsided enough for me to be able to talk properly with them, although with what they had to say I'd be left wondering if that was a good thing.
“Hey sweetie,” a soft Italian voice greeted me in a hushed manner.
“Alex?” I checked, looking about me for a sign of my boyfriend.
“I'm here,” came the reply as I felt pressure on one side of the bed. I was past caring how much his touch would hurt, and bit the bullet as I felt the presence of his hand and clutched it. Almost immediately I felt safe and warm just through knowing he was by my side.
“What happened?” I asked anyone present, confident in the knowledge that with all these night creatures around, at least one of them would surely know the answer.
“We saved your life,” Evan uttered with a trembling voice.
I winced as my head jerked upwards, scarcely believing my ears.
“What??” I exclaimed, “Why? I don't even know those guys...”
“No, but they knew you,” Mum replied dryly, “It's all over the papers every time you blow your nose.”
“Yeah yeah,” I acknowledged, before frowning. “That doesn't make any sense though! Why would they go for a big name like me? Unless they're the kind of guys who think this s*** is cool...”
There was a significant pause. I looked about me expectantly in search for an answer, beginning to wonder what the problem was. It was a reasonable enough question wasn't it?
“You could put it like that,” Alex muttered angrily.
“What do you mean?”
“For a start, you can quit referring to them in the present tense, if you get me,” a deeper voice resounded.
I recognised the voice as Kieran's, the guy who started this vampire trend in the first place. On registering what he said, I scoffed knowingly in reply.
“Yeah, should have figured it was something like that.”
“Tell you what though,” he continued, “For tasting so bitter that had to be my most enjoyable meal to date.”
“Mm,” Joe acknowledged, before finally answering my question. “To be honest, it wouldn't have mattered to them how well-known you are... all they were interested in was the side of the fence you sit on.”
“Huh?”
“They were out to kill someone who's gay,” he continued grimly, “In fact my first concern was that it was one of my boys I'd find there...”
I lay there for a moment in stunned silence as I tried to digest what he'd told me. It took me a while to decide what to say next.
“I beg your pardon?!” was the best I could manage.
“I know,” Mum said, her voice rising in anger, “Sickening, huh?!”
“So if I was straight they'd have left me alone?”
“That's about the size of it,” Kieran mused, “Nice eh, just as we thought it was safe to flirt with our same-sex partners this happens.”
“Tell you what,” Evan growled, “Anyone else wanting to call it a choice will have me to deal with.” He then gave a little snort as he spoke again. “I've already threatened to eat one of my school-mates for slagging off Chris and Andy, which I gather they've been doing for a while.”
As we continued to vent about the slippery slope our so-called society was now on, I could feel my blood simmering even then. I'm normally a passive guy, but the remark Joe made about hoping it wasn't one of his kids in my place, coupled with the fact that it was happening at all, really got under my skin.

It was about a week or so later when I got to meet his kids. The swelling in my face had just about died down, enough for me to be recognisable and enough to regain my eyesight. I didn't know who they were until Chris, the paler of the two, introduced them both.

I thought then Chris was a really modest guy; when I told them the nice things I'd heard from Evan and their Dad, he tore into the bathroom with cheeks dampened by tears, leaving me with his green twin who wasn't much better.
“Oh, nearly forgot,” he said eventually, handing me a package, “I got this for you.” His face adopted his Dad's cheeky grin as he continued. “It's meant as a joke, from one gay to another.”
“Oh yeah?” I replied, a smile spreading across my own lips as I plucked a bundle of black, stretchy fabric from the bag. When opened it revealed itself to be one of those muscle shirts, and it had white writing across the chest.
“Good boys don't ask
Bad boys find out for themselves”
I couldn't help but chuckle at first. It didn't last long however, and my smile faded as my mind drifted.
Wouldn't it nice to be able to wear something like this without fearing for your life... enough straight guys walk around with “You've been a bad girl, go to my room” shirts... Where's the justice? What happened to live and let live?
Tears stung my eyes for a moment. Then Joe's words came back to haunt me again.
“At first I was worried I'd find one of my sons there...”
I began to feel thankful that neither of the twins were telepathic as I continued to drift.
So these guys would stoop so low as to take out fifteen year old boys?! Even a fully grown man couldn't defend himself against so many... No wonder these vampires feed on guys like that. What kind of person kills other human beings just because they prefer their own gender?! ... And these two boys are such nice people too... I couldn't let this happen to them, or anyone else for that matter...
“Are you alright?”
“Hm?” I replied vaguely, looking back at my green nephew. “Oh, yeah I'm fine thanks. Cheers for this.” In a bid to keep myself from going off again I decided to pose him a question of my own. “Go on, be honest,” I began with a mischievous grin, “Would you have the guts to wear something like this?”
He sniggered in reply. “Don't know,” he said, shrugging. “I didn't mean for you wear it necessarily, maybe hang it on your wall.”
I smiled at the thought, before eyeing the print once more. “Oh don't worry,” I murmured vaguely, “I'll find a use for it.”
I meant it too. I don't know why, but something in me was itching to put it on when I was well enough and put up a finger at the rest of the bigoted a***holes out there. That wasn't the last of my intentions that were forming either – in fact it was merely the first. The only thing missing was a vampire, but I only had a few hours to wait. It turned out to be Alex who filled the void that night, but thankfully he was alone. I had plans, and they didn't include spectators.

“Ciao,” he greeted before planting a soft kiss on my lips.
“Ciao bello,” I replied playfully, and we conversed in Italian for a while. Comes in handy having an Italian Dad sometimes.
After a while he spotted the shirt, and on reading the print he shook his head with a smile. “Who got you this?” he asked.
“Andy,” I replied, before my frame of mind changed. “That reminds me... can I ask you a massive favour please?”
“If I can,” he shrugged.
I eyed him purposefully as I spoke. “Bite me,” I said in a pleading manner, “Please.”
As I expected, his face fell. “Why?” he queried.
“Several reasons,” I explained, “The fact you have these guys for lunch for one. For another, being stuck here's driving me crazy. Also, I nearly died; I don't fancy leaving this place just to end up in here again later on. If it's here I wind up next time, it might be the morgue instead!”
I could feel my voice rising in my mounting desperation, and indeed I was getting more and more anxious about having my needs met. It was a need too, I was sure of that.
His face was heavy with concern, and I noticed sadness in his eyes. He was silent for a moment, and I wondered if he was listening in on my thoughts to test my sincerity.
“Please Alex,” I found myself begging, “I'm well aware of the dangers, but I can't let this s*** carry on. There's more where they came from, you know that as well as I do – it will happen again, and that terrifies me...”
“Because it might be you or because you want a hand in helping them out?”
“Both!”
Again a pause, but it was shorter this time. A huge sigh of relief escaped my body as he slowly nodded and rose from the bed.
“Thank you,” I told him with a smile.
He pulled up a chair and sat down, before taking a hold of the nape of my neck to pull me forward, sweeping my long hair aside as his head lowered, and I braced myself for what was to follow as I felt his breath on my throat, feeling a tingly sensation in anticipation. It turned out I'd under-estimated the pain when it did come, and I stifled a yelp as his little fangs pierced the flesh in my neck. It wasn't just pricks but more like I'd been stabbed, and it hurt! The pain subsided only a little and was joined by a strong sucking sensation, and I felt an odd sense of calm, at least in body. My mind however was pondering the now insane question of how Evan could have missed this!? The fact that he needed to be put in front of a mirror before he knew what had happened now sounded so crazy.

It seemed to last forever, and despite gradually losing blood I could have stayed that way. It didn't of course, but I was only barely aware of the stinging feel of his fangs leaving the fresh wounds in my throat as a strange feeling washed over me.
“Ohh... I feel weird,” I complained, feeling myself being rested against the pillow.
“You will do,” he said, “It'll take a few hours. You may well be ready to leave later tonight.”
“The sooner the better,” I murmured in rising contentment, “Thanks babes.”
“You're welcome,” he smiled, “I'll go fetch your clothes.”

He wasn't kidding either. It seemed to fly by, my head hazy at first, but frowning as my body seemed to ache more than usual. During the short time between his visits, I could feel the strength returning to my body with a vengeance, which after being incapacitated for however long it had been was very welcome. Before I knew it I was sitting bolt upright in bed, tugging at the tube in my hand before staring in wonder, both at that and the rest of my arm, smiling happily on noticing the lack of bruising. I then tugged the neck of my gown aside to look down at my chest, patting my face and giving out a huge, gleeful sigh at the lack of pain being registered.
Rest well my pain receptors, you've earned it.
I could contain my excitement no longer, and while waiting for Alex I burst into the bathroom with a new lease of energy, happily noting the lack of reflection in the mirror.

“You ready then?” a familiar voice asked.
I turned to see Alex with a bulging carrier bag, which I knew would contain my clothes. I grinned broadly, becoming aware of the extension to my canines as I leapt forward to place a big kiss on his cheek.
“Oh yes!” I beamed in reply, “Grazie mille bambino!”
Alex's chuckles faded into the background as I went back into the main room with the bag, hastily throwing on my clothes and spotting the shirt he'd brought along. I smiled knowingly to myself as I left it in the bag and instead tugged on the pride shirt Andy had got me. Again my mind wandered as I looked down at the print across my chest, before gazing at the landscape beyond the window.

“Now I can wear my sexuality with pride, just like all you straight guys out there,” I said to no one in particular, my tone hardening as my expression became defiant, “And the next time you wanna beat the s*** out of me for it, not even God will help you.”