Sole Scion - 2. Chapter Two: Birthday Surprises

Chapter Two: Birthday Surprise

Daniel was tired, so very, very tired but as his mother had not come back home he refused to let his eyes close for the night. He had done his best to clean up the apartment. It had taken him over an hour to take care of most of the mess from making his birthday cake. In the process of cleaning he had cut his fingers, palms, and wrists scooping up the shards of glass with his bare hands. If his father’s ghost was there he would tell his son to find his godfather, Dr. Labatt and leave this horrid place.

It had been three years since his mother had taken him away from his father’s old friend. Daniel’s mother almost blamed Karl Labatt for their present circumstances as much as she did her second husband Greg. No matter how hard his mother tried to implant the same bitterness inside her son, Daniel for his part didn’t share his mother’s anger. He didn’t care if Dr. Labatt had wreaked his parent’s marriage. He remembered his days living with the Labatts as some of the best and worst of moments of his short life. Back then all the comforts the billionaire could provide had done nothing to take away Daniel’s pain of having lost his father. These days his memories of his time with the Labatts felt as if they belong to an entirely different person. Beyond the feather beds and lavish meals what he missed most was Dr. Labatt’s son Andrew. Andy was the best of all friends and the only one Daniel had left after his father died. While the rest of the world fell apart with the meteor impact, their friendship stood out as the only constant element in his rapidly changing life.

At the very least Daniel wouldn’t have found himself wrapping his hands with thin toilet paper to stop his hands bleeding. When the bleeding had not stopped he knew he had to do the unthinkable. Going to where his mother kept most of the pills he opened every bottle and box until he could find his medicine. He didn’t want to think about what his mother would do to him if she found out. She would often go into a rampage when she couldn’t find her special medicine. While in recent years she hadn’t taken the effort to give her son his medicine, his real father had always warn Daniel how important it was to keep taking the medication that treated his hemophilia. He had even shown his son how to give himself the necessary shot on his own.

Since only 1-50,000 of those who had hemophilia had his form of disease the medication was notoriously expensive. Though Tara had the courts force the Dr. Labatt give Daniel back to her she didn’t protest when he insisted on continuing to pay for Daniel’s medicine. The arrival of each box was treated like a gift from Santa.

Finally finding the box Dr. Labatt sent each month, Daniel took it to the living room. Inside were 15 prefilled syringes. He struggled to remove the plastic packaging and needle cap but his father had made him practice many times. While Daniel’s mother had thought it foolish if not dangerous for Daniel to practice on himself, Avery would always tell her that there would come a situation where neither of them could give the injection. His father had insisted Daniel know how to give it to himself believing such knowledge could save their son’s life

Usually Daniel’s parents would give him the injection in his arm but with his fingers still bleeding holding the syringe was too painful. The easiest thing for him to do was give himself the injection in his belly. Now came the difficult part. Like any child, he had a natural fear of needles. When he had practice giving himself the injection in his arm he had not had to watch himself do it as he did now. As he tried to build up his courage he let the tip scratch up against his stomach. He would have kept it there if he hadn’t heard the sound of pounding feet coming up the stair leading to the third floor. More of a knee jerk reaction than anything else he quickly gave himself his injection.

Hearing his mother’s voice getting closer Daniel sat on the sofa that served as his bed, stuffing the used needle between the cushions. His eyes then froze on the door waiting for his mother to enter.

When the door opened, it was knocked off its hinges. A pair of bug-out brown eyes was the first thing Daniel noticed about the person who was forced through the door. The owner of those eyes was a tall man dressed in a suit and tie. Behind him was a strange man, his eyes a cold ice blue. The man with the blue eyes held Daniel’s mother possessively with an arm around her waist. Kicked forward through the broken door, the terrified brown eyed man fell face first on the worn stained carpet.

Sensing danger, Daniel hurried off the sofa and hid himself in the only place he knew he could hide. Ever since his mother began her long decline Daniel had needed his own special sanctuary. He had found one in the cupboard. Whenever the burden he carried became too much for him, he would retreat to the spot under the sink. There was something strangely peaceful about the tiny dark confined space. The way it muffled the lights and sounds of the city allowed Daniel to escape inside himself and imagined himself in a place where his father was still alive and protecting him. The only problem was that now being eight, Daniel had almost outgrown the tiny space.

When the shouting started Daniel did not care how hard it was to cram inside. He curled into a ball and shuffled in. Closing the door as fast as he could he, he didn’t leave a crack to peek out of to find out what was happening. Whatever horrible thing that was happening he was sure he didn’t want to know.

As he sat curled up in the dark cupboard his mother was going down a long list of how many ways the man had wronged her. Each listed crime was spat with enough venom to put a sour, bitter taste in Daniel’s mouth. Only recently had Daniel realized he was not like most people. His ability to sense the emotions of others was not a talent many people had. Behind the fake smiles of the social workers Daniel sensed the disgust they had towards his mother. During his mother's drug fueled moments of euphoria he could feel the immense pit of despair her soul had fallen in. As he hid he endured a storm of emotions, his mother’s burning rage, the terrified man’s urine scented fear, and the blue eyed man’s molasses smooth sense of triumph.

"I'm sorry Tara. I... I just couldn't live a lie anymore." Daniel heard a voice he recognized but could not place it.

"That I could have lived with... I lived with it with my first husband. I could live through it with you, but leaving us penniless, on the street! And AIDS! Admit it. You gave it to me!" Tara knew her first husband had been gay but one thing Avery had not done was cuckold his wife. It had to be Greg.

"I have no excuse I can give you Tara. I admit that... but to kill me for it? It was your old husband’s friend Karl who destroyed the firm and left me without a dime to my name. If you want anyone to blame for your present state blame the Labatts, not me. I’m certain if you offer to give Daniel back to Karl you two could reach some sort of understanding that will be to both yours and your son’s benefit.

Tara felt the fire of her new found strength rising in her. She grabbed Greg by the throat and lifted him off the floor. “Do not tell me what to do with my son,” she hissed through clenched teeth. She threw him on the sofa.

As scared as he was, Greg knew the only chance he had at surviving was to play on Tara’s love for her son. “You’re saying you want your son to grow up in this shithole with addict for a mother?”

Greg suddenly notice Tara’s eyes were glowing blood red. He now understood how low she had fallen. He begin back his way to the door. “You gave yourself over to the Plague to get back at me? Are you insane? You’re bloody vegetarian for god’s sake!" He didn’t know if he should run in fear for his life or spit in her face in disgust. No decent human being would surrender their humanity to get revenge against an old lover. It seem she had.

Daniel froze mid-breathe. He often watched the news reports. The Plague was turning every day men and women into monstrous killers. Like many things that happened soon after Azrael, the first cases of the Plague occurred just outside the blast zone in Western Alaska where his father had died. If his mother had fallen victim to the Plague, Daniel would either had to become a runaway or end up a Plague victim himself. While the death of his father would always be remembered as the worst moment in his life, his mother’s intentional infection was more real to him than what happened in faraway Alaska. When he felt the hot wet spot growing in his pants he knew he just peed himself. There was no helping it. He could only pray he didn’t end up some kid version of a mutated Mantis Warrior.

"Time and your betrayal can change a person," Tara grinned. She had waited for a moment like this for a long time. Looking at Greg she noticed he seemed to have been left well off after he had lost his job. The mixture of his fear and her growing lust had her salivating for more than mere blood.

Transfixed by her blood red gaze Greg saw his refection in her eyes had him appearing as if he was on fire. "What do you want from me Tara... my life? Is that it? I’ll like to see you try to take it." His false bravado fooled no one. Though the never ending night was freezing him to the bone he was soaking with perspiration. By this point his only thoughts were how to escape with his life. He couldn’t find one. His gaze could not look away from his ex-wife’s fiery red eyes.

"I want a little more than your life dear!" Daniel heard his mother say. Tara grabbed Greg by his tie and lifted him back on his feet. “How about we make a deal… you prove how much you still love me and I’ll let you go.” She let a slender hand massage his balls from beneath his Armani pants. “However, if I doubt your love for a mere second… I’ll make a midnight snack out of you.” She let Greg see her extended fangs. “So my dear… what is it going to be. The fuck of my life, or a table for one?”

Greg could not deny he could feel his cock hardening but he also knew how contagious the Plague was. If he fucked her he would be infected as well. In the end his desire to remain human outweighed his need to live. “I guess you’ll be dinning alone bitch.”

If he expected her to go into a rage and kill him quickly he was disappointed. Instead of screaming out obscenities, she silent unhinged her jaw and snapped it shut in side of his neck. It really hadn’t matter to her what her ex had chosen. She was going to kill him anyway.

Having been to the hospital many times with his mother, Daniel had seen death. Worse, his special talent let him know what a person felt when they spent their last moments fighting to live. It was like drowning in a frigid lake of nothingness. Feeling a chattering dead coldness encompass him, Daniel knew the man screaming outside his cupboard was dying. Becoming traumatized by the experience, Daniel squeezed his eyes shut and tried to hide within himself. As desperate he was to focus on something other than the screams still reaching his hand covered ears he could not block out the pain the man was enduring. Hot tears mingled with dust inside the cupboard, leaving dark smudges running down his face.

"See my dear... I've kept my promise to you." The deep voice Dmitri chuckled after the screams had died down. His once blue eyes now glowed a sun-like gold.

Tara tossed the corpse aside. Having already fed she didn’t bother to drain the body completely. "Yes you have. You have given all I asked for and more.” Daniel heard his mother reply.

"Good. Now for you to keep your end of the bargain." the deep voice man replied.

"I pay my debts,” Tara answered coldly. “Come out Daniel, everything is ok," Her voice was now saccharine sweet.

Daniel didn't want to leave his sanctuary. Somehow he knew that whatever was out there would terrify him more than he already was. Hiding his head between his legs, he hoped that he would wake up and all this being nothing more than another one of his bad nightmares.

"Where is your son?" The Dmitri asked between clenched teeth. There was a hint of impatience in his voice.

"Don't worry Dmitri... I'm sure he is just in his usual hiding place," Tara laughed with a nervous warble. "Come out Daniel... don't be rude to our guest. Mommy has a new boyfriend."

Trying his hardest to block out the outside world Daniel focused on one of those repetitive songs from the Sesame Street children’s program he would watch at Mr. North’s apartment. ‘One of these things is not like the other… One of these things does not belong.’ He was able to maintain that illusion until the door to the cupboard was yanked opened, his mother's blood covered face smiling down at him.

"Everything is alright Daniel. You don't need to hide yourself in here." Tara grabbed her son’s had so roughly that she broke open several of the newly formed scabs on her son’s right arm.

Daniel screamed as he tried to free himself. Against his mother's iron grip however he could only delay the inevitable. He was dragged out of the cupboard kicking and screaming across the tiled kitchen into the living room where he was thrown on the floor. Lying next to him was the ghostly pale body of the brown eyed man, a chunk of his throat missing.

Daniel finally realized who the person was. He wrapped his arms around the corpse of his stepfather. "Mr. Greg!”

Grabbing her son by his peanut butter stained t-shirt, Tara tried to pull him away, all she ended up with was Daniel’s torn t-shirt. "Daniel get away from him... he's dirty!"

"Let me handle this my love." As if she was nothing but a thick set of drapes he pushed Tara aside with a wave of his hand.

"Of course Dmitri but don’t forget. Daniel is my son. You can’t have him yet.”

Sitting in a puddle of blood on his knees, Dmitri lowered himself until he was eye level with Daniel’s emerald green eyes. The man’s intense gaze bore into Daniel’s mind like a drill through sand. As Dmitri’s gaze filled Daniel’s mind with a thick mental fog, Daniel’s grip on his stepfather's body relaxed. "That's it Daniel... everything is going to be alright," Dmitri cooed. He lifted the boy into his arms. Daniel, not able to shake loose of the man's stare, continued to gaze into Dmitri’s gold eyes. As the vampire caught the scent of Daniel’s blood, his suspicion that Daniel was the one he had been long searching for only grew stronger. Dmitri nuzzled his nose against Daniel's cheek. "What beautiful green eyes you have."

Tara watched with increasing worry. She stepped in front of Dmitri and tried to take Daniel into her arms. "You promised you would wait."

Dmitri opened his mouth wide, showing off his sharp teeth to Daniel. "I know what I promised. I also know that there is nothing you can do to stop me feasting off his blood."

A tug of war started Tara trying to take her son away from Dmitri while the tall red eyed man laughed. "Give me back my son!" Tara demanded.

"But he was the agreed price. Did I not give you back your health? Did I not let you have your revenge?" Dmitri had run out of patience. With a hard kick to the chest he sent her flying across the room.

Tara had been beaten by past boyfriends but with her new found strength she saw no reason to act timid. She leapt from where she fell to stand in front of her apartment’s main door. "He's only eight. I will not let you turn my son into a monster!” Regardless of her years as a drug addict her fear for her son’s life had given her a moment of clarity. She would not lose the one person who truly loved her so easily.

Tara was strong but Dmitri was stronger. He grabbed her by her oily unwashed hair and lifted her off her feet. "If I am a monster, so are you my love," he sneered menacingly.

"But not my son... not Daniel," Tara begged.

Dropping Tara, Dmitri ripped off the flimsy sheets of toilet paper wrapped around Daniel' hands. "Do not worry Tara... I do not plan on kissing your sweet boy. I am only going to have a taste."

Taking Daniel's cut up hand, Dmitri squeezed it, opening the wounds afresh until blood began to ooze out. Using his long tongue Dmitri licked the small boy's hand. "He's perfect..." Dmitri sighed. He took his time to slowly savor the taste.

Dmitri was licking his lips clean when at that moment a man half dressed in a stained white terrycloth bathrobe appeared in the hallway. "Damn Tara, can’t you keep the noise down.” Taking in the scene Tara’s neighbor Mr. North did not know what he was seeing at first. What he did see was Daniel in the hands of the blood soaked Dmitri. Mr. North felt no fear, only rage. The former cop pulled out a gun from his robe. “Let the boy go!" The retired cop liked Daniel. He was a good kid and Tim North would have been proud to call the little trooper his son. Tim had not liked that Child Protective Services refused to take Daniel away from his mother. But with more and more refugees pouring in each day, they considered Daniel lucky just to have a roof over his head.

Taking a risk, Dmitri turned his attention away from his prize. "Now this ain’t the least bit neighborly.” Dmitri chuckled. .

“Fuck… do I sound like Mr. Rogers to you?” Mr. North had a fascination with 20^th century American television. Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, an old public television program designed for children let him experience a simpler and more innocent imaginary period of ideal America. His cop friends could laugh at him as much as they wanted. It was his idea of psychotherapy.

Dmitri slowly put Daniel down. Bullets were no threat to one of his kind. His only concern was that the already doomed hero would accidently shoot Daniel. He turned to face the Mr. North. “Let’s not do anything rash." The vampire smile showed no teeth.

The ex-cop didn’t like the man’s snide grin. "Now step away from the boy and keep your hands up where I can see them," he demanded.

"As you wish Mr. Policeman," Dmitri replied with as much sarcasm as he was capable of. He walked a few steps to the side letting Mr. North see Greg’s corpus.

Tim kept his gun aimed at Dmitri while he looked at the boy’s mother. “I knew it… I knew you were trouble Tara, you and your druggie friends waking me up in the middle of the night doing crazy shit. Well this time you’ve gone too far…” Finally noticing the blood dripping from Tara’s mouth, his face paled. "Oh shit!” As he backed out of the apartment, he lowered his gun. It was at that moment that Dmitri leapt forward, tackling the ex-policeman to the floor, his fangs quickly ripping into the man's neck. The ex-policeman fired the gun but the bullet missed Dmitri’s skull, hitting the hanging light bulb that lit up the living room. The room was plunged into darkness. Tim, no longer able to see what he was shooting at, tried to kick the vampire off him but he couldn’t free himself from the creature fangs which were digging into his flesh Soon Tim’s screams turned into gurgles as blood filled his throat and lungs.

Daniel, free from the transfixing gaze of the stranger, ran to his mother's bedroom. Locking the door he stepped back until he was against the footboard of his mother’s bed. Mr. North was dead. His mother had tried to save him from the dead eyed man but she had also killed Mr. Greg. As terrified as he was he was more confused than anything. He knew the door could burst open at any moment but he didn’t dare move. Even when he felt the blast of freezing air touch his bare skin he didn’t budge an inch.

With the sound of fighting growing worse Daniel finally got the courage to turn around and look for someplace to hide. Just as he lifted his right foot to take a step he felt a massive hand slap over his mouth with stinging force. He attempted to run but whoever was behind him had vise like hold around his waist.

"Shhhhhhh little one. You’re safe now," A comforting deep bass murmured into the boy's ear.

Daniel could feel the hardness of steel in the man’s arms and soon gave up resisting. While he was terrified of the man, Daniel also sensed that the man had indeed come to protect him. Relaxing, Daniel let himself be lifted off his feet and spirited to the bedroom window and out onto the fire escape. After the broad man joined him, Daniel followed him up to the roof of the building two floors up.

"What is your name little one?" The man asked as he ripped the metal frame of the stairway off, sending the top twenty feet of it crashing to the street below.

"Daniel," the boy said at a near whisper. His father had warned him not to talk to strangers but then again his father had never had to deal with vampires.

Looking back at the boy, the man had a smile on his face. "Daniel aye? I am Logan... Logan Smith. I take it that you've had a rough night?"

Daniel nodded his head silently. Now that he was not running, his mind was starting to filter through all that had happened. His step-father was dead. His mother had become infected with the Plague. Whatever dreams he had imagined in the safety of the cupboard had been destroyed. Not surprisingly, tears were soon rolling down his face. Feeling Logan wrap his arms around him, Daniel cried against the man's shoulders. Lost in his grief he didn’t notice that he suddenly wasn’t feeling the least bit cold. He also didn’t notice they were flying. Super Dad might not have flown in to save him but some other sort of super hero had.

The special part of Daniel’s birthday had just arrived.