As Dead as They Come

As Dead as They Come: Chapter [4]

For some reason, I expected to be elsewhere when I regained consciousness. Not sure why, but at any rate, I woke with my face pressed against the dirt I had fallen in upon fainting, two maniac murderers hovering above me. I groaned as my memory pieced itself together.

"Welcome back, Lionheart," Cyrus said, lazily fanning my face with the bandana from his head.

"...Wha?" was all I could get out at the moment, my head fogged by something that put even my cold to shame. The fanning picked up pace.

"There's more to this one than meets the eye, Mac. Isn't there, little man?" Cyrus nudged me with his knuckles at that last bit. "I think we need some explanation, here."

"I think... you... should call a- an ambulance..." Each word tightened the vice around my senses, but speech started to come easier. "I feel like... I've just died for a f- few days..."

"You've been out for-" Cyrus flipped his coat sleeve up to glance at a watch, "Four minutes. Which is surprising for a vampire bite, you should be soundly paralyzed by now. How're you feeling?" I swiped his bandana-waving limb out of my face as I sat up, only to teeter back to the dirt.

"I feel... Like shit. As I have all night." The look passed between Croft and his younger accomplice was subtle, but I caught the tail-end of it. "What the heck is going on?" I breathed, exasperated. Cyrus gripped my baggy shirt at the shoulder to hoist me to a sitting position.

"We're not entirely sure ourselves, little guy. What did the vampires want with someone like you?"

"What is everyone on tonight? Do you know how friggin crazy you people are...?" I fumed, my tone diminishing slowly as I subconsciously reached to touch a finger to the puncture wounds in my neck.

"As crazy as you are stupid," he grunts, watching my hand.

"I... I'm just confused..." I closed my eyes against the mind-splitting pain in my head, which had been accumulating since I came to. A hand rested on my shoulder.

"We are too..." Mac assured me, his tone much more gentle than Cyrus'. I cracked an eye open to measure his sincerity. "I think you should come with us. Back to The Academy."

"What academy?"

"It's... Where we all learn and live the trade. Our trade. It's a much safer place to talk, and we could give you stuff for that vamp bite," Mac said. I had had about enough of all this crap. My friends were inside, and I just wanted to lay down and hug something soft.

"No... No, I'm not leaving my house. Thanks, uh, for the help? I think.." Mac looked alarmed, and moved toward me as I began my great ascent to uprighted-ness.

“But-”

“Do me a solid and hold still,” I mumbled, grabbing onto a holster strap and using Mac as a climbing-post. Cyrus shot him a look that halted whatever protestation he was about to throw at me as he awkwardly tried to help me stand.

“Whatever you say, kiddo. Mac," he grabbed Nutjob Jr. by the scruff of his coat, hauling him back down the side of the house. I didn't stop to question their flight, but headed my own way around the other side of the house, my bed calling to me from the second floor like Juliet. I didn't spot the two gun-slingin' crooks once I emerged from behind my abode, and hopefully they actually did leave. I did run into Cara before I made it to the door, though.

"JJ!" she gasped, placing her hands on my shoulders as we practically run into each other. I hunkered my head down into my brother's hoodie, bringing up my shoulders to engulf my neck in nonexistence. "We were wondering when you were gonna come back inside! Feeling better after some air?" I nodded, hat falling down over my eyes, bite on my neck stinging.