Death Bite (Peterick)

Chicago, 1997

Pete's POV:

Forty-three years. A lot can happen in forty-three years. None of those memories I liked to recollect about. Not a single one, but to know the whole story you have to get into the  deepest parts, the parts you see and want to disappear.

Bill trained us. He trained us well in all areas of combat as soon as we were old enough to control our hunger, and we listened because what else did we have? Gabe was hesitant. He always was, and I didn't blame him. Our lives had been completely turned around in a way we didn't deem possible. 

William used more force on him than me because he wasn't as obedient. Gabe was rebellious in most cases of not returning at curfew or attacking stray animals instead of humans. It was a strict rule to never eat animals. We didn't know why. No one did, but if William said so there had to be a reason. Because of that Gabe was punished on most occasions. 

He never got to go out hunting with us, starving for days at a time, and he would be locked in our quarters to prevent him from ever leaving to explore the outside. I wanted to help him because I knew he was hurting inside. The love of his life thought he was dead, and I couldn't have imagined the amount of pain he was going through without her. William was relentless, and he would've killed him within a few years of his arrival had I not been close to Gabe. I was William's prize. There was no way he would risk losing me, so he kept a tight leash on my best friend. 

Although, Gabe had started to hate me for being William's favorite. I hated myself too, but I had to take advantage of the fact that I had some sort of power within the gang. Eventually, we all knew what happened to Erin. It showed up in the paper. She committed suicide, slit her wrists in the tub, but that was what William made everyone believe.

 He wanted to have control over Gabe, and he hung her death over him like bait. He used it to weaken the hardened shell Gabe had built for himself over the years, and it worked because he was a genius. He knew how to manipulate and fold someone until they were right under his thumb. I knew what he did because William told me everything. 

Did it anger me that he murdered Erin in cold blood? I wasn't sure, but I admired his wit and ability to get what he wanted. That's what I wanted. Gabe became his puppy in a way, always ready to leap at his master's word. There was a sexual turn that took place in that relationship.

He took advantage of Gabe's despair and made him his lover. That was when I began to realize how awful he truly was, but I was only second-in-command. I couldn't stand up to him even if I tried, so I put up with it until 1997. That was the year my whole perception of life changed before my very eyes.

I was dressed in my usual attire that day: baggy dark jeans and a plain black t-shirt. Keeping up with each era was difficult but absolutely necessary if we didn't want to raise suspicions when going out. William had already started keeping slaves for us to feed from to lower our chances of getting caught. It was rare if any civilian died at random because of our gang. It was probably the most peaceful time for Chicago because of this sudden change in rules. Sure, a person or two got kidnapped every few years, but that happened all the time everywhere. 

It never raised suspicions, so when we went out it was fun or leisure not survival. Gabe was occupied with William at the time I was leaving to scope out the town, but even if he wasn't he wouldn't have gone anywhere with me. There was still this strain on our friendship from all the years I was William's favorite. I still was, but Gabe didn't know that.  He was too blinded by dick to see it. 

I wasn't looking for anything when I went out. Well, perhaps I was looking for something, just some quiet time to myself. Being in a household full of other vampires wasn't always pleasant. We had our quarrels.