Blood & Grease

Capitolo Due

Benito's leg bounced anxiously as his nails dug into the arm-rest of his seat. He let out a shuddering sigh and fluttered his eyelids shut, attempting to relax himself. But his mind was buzzing, and even though he knew his body was immortal, he couldn't help but let fear swallow him whole.
Benito was vaguely aware of his friend nudging him from his side. Antonio leaned over to Benito and muttered, "What're you so worked up about?" There was a slight hint of annoyance in his tone.
Benito's eyes snapped open and he turned to face Antonio, who was still very close to him. He glared into the other vampire's ruby-flecked orbs. "I've never been on a plane, ok!" he hissed, trying to maintain his composure. "Give me a break!"
Rolling his eyes, Antonio reclined in his seat and let out a curt sigh. "And you think I have? It's illogical to be afraid of flying. We're livin' in the 20th century, what could possibly go wrong?"
This only made Benito feel worse. "Every time somebody says 'what could possibly go wrong', something goes wrong," he retorted harshly.
      Antonio completely ignored his friend's ramblings.  Soon, a flight attendant made her way over to where the boys were sitting, and Antonio flagged her down and flashed her one of his dazzling grins. 
      "Ciao, bella," the ebony-haired vampire drawled; utilizing his accent to appear extra charming to the young lady.  "Can I get some of your strongest, er, beverages to soothe my compagno over here?"
The woman batted her eyelashes and her cheeks flushed as a coy smile spread across her cheeks. "Of course, sweetheart," she cooed in a crisp American accent.
Antonio then turned to the other vampire, who was slouching in his chair with a grimace plastered to his face. "I've still got it," he said, more to himself than to Benito. His English was admittedly impressive, due to his half-English friend's intense teachings over the centuries.
Benito ignored his prideful comment. "I don't see how alcohol will help me," he snapped. "It doesn't have any effect on us, remember, smart-ass?"
Antonio swung a long, muscular arm around Benito's sinewy shoulder, and the smaller vampire attempted to shrug it off; to no avail. "Hey, I'm just tryin' to help ya, Benny," he used the same charming voice he had used on the attractive flight attendant. "Now just relax, we'll be in New York soon. I'm here for you, nothin' bad will happen."
"Don't call me 'Benny'," Benito remarked under his breath, but his companion wasn't listening; seeing as the flight attendant had returned with their drinks.

Benito struggled to hold all of their bags under his small arms as he and Antonio trudged up the stairs of their new apartment. It was a dingy building owned by an woman that could've possibly been even older than the two vampires. Mrs. Levitt was her name. She had been kind to the boys, inviting them in for a cup of tea before showing them to their rooms. The tea, of course, tasted of silt on their tongues.
"For God's sake, couldn't you have helped carry some of this?!" Benito spat through his teeth as another bag nearly tumbled from his arms.
Antonio shrugged. "How was I supposed to know the stairwell would be so long?"
Benito rolled his eyes and continued his stumbling climb until they both finally reached their flat.  The door opened with a whine and they slipped inside, shutting the door quietly behind them.  Benito immediately dropped their bags to the floor and slumped onto the nearby sofa. 
      "What now?" he sighed, running a hand through his bangs.
Antonio shrugged. Shrugging was a thing he did often. "Might as well go out and mingle with the locals, maybe look for work."
The two then made the long journey down the stairwell and out of their apartment building. The air was somewhat crisp, and the sun was blocked by city lights and smog. The pair began exploring the densely-populated streets of Brooklyn.
Their apartment building was nestled in an impoverished sector of Gravesend, surrounded by winding alleyways and other rundown tenements like their own. From there the vampires made their way through Midwood and all the way to Flatbush, without so much as breaking a sweat. Their fast feet carried them straight to the heart of Brooklyn in what to them felt like the blink of an eye.
They walked together fairly casually for the most part, not really bothering to stop and chat with locals, despite Antonio's original suggestion. They did, however, converse with each other; bickering over unimportant subjects like they always did. Just as Benito was deep in the process of lecturing Antonio on the pros of hairstyling (and more importantly why he should maybe give it a try himself), the smaller vampire collided head-on with a fast-moving pedestrian.
"Jeez, watch it, slick!" the person shouted.
Benito glared at the person, who he could now make out to be a small boy. He was at least a good foot shorter than Benito, despite the fact that Benito was quite small. He had hair the color of a peach; a color that neither of the vampires had ever really seen before on a human head. His features were soft and his big baby-blues glimmered with annoyance.
      Benito bristled.  He was just opening his mouth to snap back at the snarky kid, when Antonio interrupted him. 
      "How 'bout you watch it, punk?" the taller boy growled.  "How old are you, anyways?  Shouldn't you be runnin' back to your mama right about now?"  Antonio snickered at his own snide comment. 
      The boy fumed.  "I'm fifteen, I swear it!" he huffed, sounding less threatening than before.  He then spat out more quietly, "Ya nearly dented my 'do..." He ran a petite hand through his pompadoured bangs.
At this point, Benito was thoroughly annoyed with the entire situation - including Antonio's behavior.
"I can take care of myself, thank you very much," he hissed at his companion. "Besides, I wouldn't need your help defending myself against some shrimpy twelve-year-old."
"Fifteen!" the kid corrected.
Benito turned on him. "Hey, how's about you stay out of this?" He jabbed a thin finger at the boy's chest, displacing his oversized varsity jacket.
"How's about I don't?" the boy replied carefully, testing the waters. It was as if he just wanted to see how the two would react.
"That's a lot of anger packed into such a tiny kid..." Antonio chuckled, mostly to himself. He then said to Benito, "Come on, let's start heading back. Look's like the sun's starting to peek out."
Benito glanced up, noticing that the sky remained just as gloomy as it had been when they had started their trek through Brooklyn. He then turned his attention back to the little red-headed kid.  "Nah, I wanna see if this guy's bite is just as bad as his bark.  What's your name, kid?"
The boy hesitated for half a second, then answered, "Ren. Who wants to know?" His hands were tightly balled into fists.
This set Benito off. He grabbed Ren by the collar of his jacket and pulled him into a nearby alleyway, then flinging him into a cluster of tin trash cans. The cans cluttered as the small boy crumbled to the ground.
"What gives?!" Ren huffed, visibly livid. He sprang back up despite the blow, ready to pounce on Benito.
      Through the haze, Benito felt a gentle hand grip his shoulder.  Then Antonio's voice broke through the tense atmosphere.  "Come on, Benny, lay off.  What's gotten into you?"
      Benito cringed inwardly at the playful nickname, then replied, "I'm not gonna lay off.  This is new turf, the locals can't think I'm some sorta sissy."  Softly, he added, "And we gotta feed, Antonio, don't we?  You're the one who keeps reminding me of that, aren't you?" 
      Without waiting a beat for any sort of response, Benito lunged forward plunged his fangs into Ren's skinny neck.  The boy let out a shout and struggled to escape, but he was pinned.  The vampire's eyes rolled back into his head as he fed, relishing the familiar taste and feeling.  Ren's wiggling began to cease as more and more blood was drained from his small body.  From somewhere in the fog Benito was aware of being pulled off of his prey, and he soon came to his senses as he heard Antonio's frantic voice in his ear. 
      "We gotta go, people are starting to catch on," he hissed, shaking Benito to his senses.  "Leave him.  Let's go." 
      As the two hastily made their way back onto the streets and on the path to Gravesend, the smaller vampire glanced back over his shoulder.  He watched as a dazed Ren stumbled out of the alleyway and began hobbling down the street in the opposite direction.