The Young and Gifted

41. manners

Mason stormed towards the kitchen, having a sudden urge to eat. His eyes were crackling with hunger and anger at the same time and he didn't notice MG standing over the freezer of animal blood when he picked up two packets. He ripped into them and in seconds, it was finished.

"Dude, you okay?" MG asked with concern, watching with wide eyes.

Mason turned to him and narrowed his eyes. "This is not enough blood."

"We're only allowed 4 bags per day so you can have some more—"

"Animal blood is not enough," he hissed. MG's mouth was slightly open and Mason slammed the freezer shut. "There's a human high school party in town. You can come with me or can stay here and feed on this bullshit."

Mason stormed out of the kitchen in a hurry and MG contemplated for a long time before following after him.

Night had fallen and the two vampires made sure to stay within the shadows as the party in the woods grew. It was the typical party, alcohol, teenagers and PDA.

The two watched as a group broke off from the crowd and went further into the woods. Deep down, MG was uneasy. He didn't know why he followed Mason and didn't know why he was still there.

"There is a method to do this," he was saying to MG. "Snatch, eat, erase." Then Mason flitted to the first human, grabbing her shoulders and stared deep into her eyes. "Don't scream. Don't be scared." MG followed his lead, doing the same to the other guys that were trying to run. Mason's fangs pulled out and without warning, he sank his teeth into the girl's neck. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the dark twinkling sky. She couldn't even scream. Eventually, Mason pulled back from her bloody neck, wiping his mouth before he looked into her eyes. "Go back to the party. Forget any of this happened."

She nodded silently and began her march towards the bonfire. Mason turned to MG, who was still feeding on the teenage boy. He patiently waited but MG didn't let up. "Dude. Time to go." He wasn't listening. All they could hear was the ripping of flesh and the vampire kept slurping and slurping. Mason grabbed his arm to pull him off. "MG—" The boy fell to the ground, dead. Mason stared in horror.

When he finally pulled back, mouth downed in blood, MG rapidly snapped Mason's neck. Then he flitted to the other teenagers, ripping all of the throats out as he feasted in silence.

*

Kaura paced around the room, biting her lip anxiously. Every once in a while she would glance at the Prism, faintly pulsating as if it knew that it was stolen from its owner. Kaura sighed and sat on her bed, her leg bouncing. Eventually, she stood up and grabbed the stone and turned it over in her hand. She didn't even know how to use it. But when Emma said that it could stimulate a conversation with someone... It grabbed her attention.

"Hold it properly before you drop it--" Kaura jumped with startlement and the crystal fell out of her hands, bouncing on the carpet under her bed. The male voice winced. "And there it goes."

She turned immediately to spot a figure sitting in her rocking chair, swinging back and forth. He heaved himself to a standing stance and lowered to pick up the stone. He handed it back to her and Kaura took it slowly.

He grinned. "Sorry. Manners. I'm Kai. Nice to meet you."

Kaura's heart started to beat wildly in her heart and some tension released. Her lips trembled as she said, "D-do you know who I am?"

He sat back on the chair and crossed his legs. "Of course. You're my daughter. I also know that you don't know how to use that rock."

Kaura adjusted herself on the bed, completely disregarding his warning. "I've been waiting so long to talk to you," she said, her eyes twinkling with tears of joy.

"Duh. Who doesn't want to see me? I've got people booking appointments left to right," he snorted and scanned the room. "So. Why am I here? I don't remember going to high school."

"You're in my room," she stated. "I'm a student at SBS." And before she knew it, Kaura was explaining everything. The chaotic magic throughout her childhood, the self-burning, the notes she wrote to them and then Hope. Soon she fell asleep and for the first time in a while, she didn't feel trapped or suffocated with pain. And in her dreams of sunlight and warmth, all she could hear was Kaura, Kaura, Kaura Bennett-Parker.

"It's not real," a voice whispered in her ear and her heart jumpstarted her awake. "All of this is not real."

Kai was leaning over her with a signature smirk and a normal person would have been terrified. She gasped and scrambled to sit up on her bed. "What do you mean it's not real? You're here, you're talking to me," she huffed, gripping the crystal.

"I am a figment of your imagination, of your subconscious. I'm not real," he repeated and stepped back. Kai paced around the room, picking up irrelevant objects as he said, "I am an image of your memory. You see me now because deep down, you miss me. I sit and listen to your stories because you want me to sit and listen. I smile and laugh because you want me to smile and laugh. It's what you've always wanted."

Kaura swallowed, her grip on the rock intensifying. The room was starting to swell with heat. "Then tell me what I've always wanted you to say."

"You want me to say that everything is okay, that being the way you are isn't a curse or a sociopathic tendency. You want me to tuck you to bed, you want me to hug you and tell you bedtime stories. You want me to kiss your forehead, you want me to pack your lunch. But most of all, you want me to tell you that I love you. But I can't. Because I'm not-- "

She didn't want to hear the next words, didn't want to feel reality crashing back down on her. Her mind starts to fold on herself and she gripped the roots of her hair, stifling the urge to scream and rain destruction in her room. Her heart was beating restlessly and she felt uneasy. It's not real. Hot stinging tears burned her eyes but she didn't let them fall. Instead, she opened her eyes and her world stopped when she was met with an empty room. "Dad?" Kai was nowhere to be seen. She glanced down at Prism and gasped when she found it shattered. She threw the remains at the window and picked up her music player, drowning her frantic thoughts.

Because Kai was gone. Kai Parker was always gone.

~

"Yeah. Uh, don't worry though. Everyone here is dead."

try to guess who said it and don't forget to vote ;)