Blood Bound

Part 9 - Left

I wish I knew how to pace fics

**

Brine zipped up his hoodie, pulling the hood over his head and fumbling open his sunglasses before looking back at the hall, where Steven and Caden were silently watching from the doorway.

"Oh, don't be so somber." He scolded them. "I'm coming back."

"I know you will," Steve said, but his tone implied otherwise. Caden said nothing, quietly petting the zonked-out kitten in his arms.

The previous night, Herobrine had received a call from a contact of his. Apparently there was an incident on the other side of the city, one that required Brine's specific area of expertise. So, he'd packed up his necessities with a promise to return as soon as the situation was dealt with.

The concern was, of course, the men that had attacked Steve before and tried to kidnap him. Steve felt safer with his competent killer of a bodyguard with him at all times. But Brine leaving also meant he had to take care of Caden alone. The kid was hardly a handful, but he was still a traumatized teen with the potential to lash out. At least, Steven mused, Brine leaving him alone with him meant that he trusted Caden not to shank him in his sleep.

"The freezer and fridge are full, and I should be back in plenty of time for your next donation, Steven." Brine pulled a mask over his face, obscuring his mouth and nose. "So you shouldn't starve, and you shouldn't have to leave the house. If all else fails, Caden knows how to make ramen."

Steven snorted. "I know how to make ramen."

"Yeah, but your ramen sucks." Brine told him. "I should be back no later than Saturday." With that, he opened the door, stepped out with a wave, then he was gone. Caden went up to the door and watched through the peephole as he walked away.

When Steven could no longer hear the retreating footsteps, he shuffled a step back, glancing into the living room.

"I'm going to heat something up for breakfast," he said. Caden just nodded, still looking through the peephole.

As the day went on, Steven tried to tell himself that his apprehension was just due to missing his friend. That he was worried something would happen. The feeling of being stalked, being watched, was just his anxiety acting up. It got harder when he saw Caden fidgeting, looking out the windows, looking distracted while he played with his cat.

Brine had left before. What was different about this time that made them both so uneasy?

Steven and Caden ended up on the couch together hours after dark, watching some mindless TV program to keep their minds off of Brine. Cinderella was a little ball of grey fur in Caden's lap, purring like a little engine as he scratched the top of her head. Neither one spoke, in silent agreement that they really should be in bed by now.

A soft sound came from the front door.

Steven and Caden both looked up, then at each other. Grabbing the remote, Steven muted the TV. "Did you hear that?"

"Mm." Caden nodded. Slowly, Steven stood, stiffening when the sound came again- a scraping noise.

"Hide." He ordered lowly. "Go." Silently, Caden obeyed, scrambling up and vanishing into the bedroom. Steven hurried to the kitchen to collect his biggest carving knife, then positioned himself by the doorway into the front hall, listening as the door was forced open with a small thump. A set of footsteps entered the front hall. Two, maybe three. Steven drew back the knife as they got close.

The first intruder stepped into view, and Steven hesitated only a moment before driving the knife into his arm.

The intruder shouted with pain, jerking back, and Steven lunged at him again to drive him away. The man was wearing a ski mask, obviously not someone he recogni-