School of the Supernatural

Akumu: Tattoos

I turn, my heavy eyes lightening up as I begin to awaken. I yawn, stretching, and sit up. I look down and see a green comforter. That's...odd. My comforter is red.

Then I get it: I'm in Abel's room.

I jump. When I look up I see him with his back toward me, searching his drawers for a shirt. I'm surprised to see tattoos on his back. On his right shoulderblade is a cross, and along the bottom of his back are the words Forgive me my trespasses. The words are from the Lord's Prayer, I know that much. But why are they permanently inked onto his back?

I call softly, "Abel?" He turns around to face me and I ask, "What does your tattoo mean? What trespasses do you need forgiven?" Abel pauses, lifting up a button-up black shirt. He slides it on and, as he's buttoning it, tells me a story.

"You're the first person I've ever told about this...please, don't let it affect our relationship. Back when I was younger, I did something I shouldn't have done. I was out in the human world, and a group of people approached me. I recognized them: they were a group of vampires that were kicked from SOS for misbehaviour and bullying. 

"I wasn't doing anything bad: just buying a Subway sandwich. Not illegal, not even slightly bad. Just hungry. They pushed me into an alleyway and the one in front said, 'Hey, look, it's the phantom.' They started spitting out painful lies and pushed me around, laughing at me. One pulled a knife out and growled, 'Let's see if phantoms bleed.'

"I don't know what happened. Something snapped inside of me, and...I don't know. It was like I came out of my body and someone else took hold of me. I killed all three in less than a minute. By the time I was myself again the alleyway was filled with blood.

"I ran. I ran back to SOS and went straight to my dorm, showering and burning my bloody clothes. I never spoke of it. Then, when I turned fifteen, I got this tattoo. It's helped me to get over it."

I look up at Abel's soft face. He looks horrified: it really scarred him. I grab his head and pull him into my chest, murmuring, "Oh, Abel...I wish you would've told me sooner." He sniffs and I feel a tear wet my shirt. 

When Abel pulls back I ask, "Do you have any other tattoos?" He gives me a grin and nods. "I have this on my wrist: it's Orion, see? I've also got this"--it's a tattoo of a broken arm bone on his inner forearm--"and this." The last one is on his thigh, and he pulls down his pants just far enough to show me the ink. It's a pair of cogs: one bronze, one silver. They fit perfectly with each other. Abel says softly, "That one's my favorite. I want to find someone who fits that perfectly with me as perfectly as these gears." I'm surprised by the deep meaning.

Abel looks up at me with those sharp green eyes and murmurs, "I want you to be that gear so bad, Akumu. I hope you are." With that he walks into the bathroom and I'm left, speechless, on his bed.