Sanctuary

Chapter Two

"Hey! Get us a bottle already!" The shirtless man pounded the table top with his fist, laughing as the nearby waitress jumped at the noise. At a glare from the owner she scurried back to the bar, leaving the strangers laughing behind her. Shrinking further into the booth, Jake tried to keep his eyes off of the cute one and remain unseen. Initially, he had felt excitement at the sight of the leather clad young adults, a kind of joy or hope at finally seeing others who dressed as he did, who on the surface at least seemed to be just like him.

But as he watched them laugh with one another, watch them lounge in their chairs and gaze around the bar, those feelings soon morphed into fear and anxiety. These people were very dangerous. Something about them screamed 'predator,' a frightening vibe that was making everyone nervous. Even some of the rougher patrons looked anxious and fidgety.

"Damn it woman bring us some fucking whiskey!"

The weeping jester chuckled. "Jesus, Deviant. Show a little bit of patience." Deviant glared at the leather-clad girl from beneath his hat. She didn't even flinch, though the people watching averted their gaze at the withering look.

"Naw, he's right! The service here suuuuuucks!"

Jake's throat tightened when his crush- could he call it that? In truth he really did find the man attractive, so maybe just in his head he could -spoke. Despite his intimidating appearance, his voice was surprisingly cheerful, it even made Jake crack a small smile.

"Maybe if you two didn't harass the staff-"

"Awww, don't be such a wet blanket, Mystic." Bandana- Jake couldn't call him his crush even in his own head, that was just too weird -leaned back in his chair, smiling widely as his comrade rolled her eyes. "We're here to have some fun!'

"If only we had something to drink." Deviant grinned, white teeth glinting in the murky light of the bar.

"If you-"

Whatever Mystic was about to say was cut off as the tall one straightened and turned to the bar where the owner and the waitress were cowering. He turned his steely gold eyes to the woman and beckoned her over. "Bring us a bottle, would you dear?"

Jake nearly fell out of the booth. They were all so young looking, the tall one especially. But the voice that came from his throat was more befitting a demon than a handsome young man. It was deep, almost hypnotic, and completely unexpected from the body that bore it. A face of an angel with the voice of a demon. But it had quite an effect, as the waitress had grabbed a bottle of Seagrams and was hesitantly taking it to the table. Deviant smirked and wrapped his arm around the woman's waist, taking the bottle and pulling the frightened woman onto his lap.

"There we go, much better." Devilishly, he smirked at her, eyes glinting like coals. "Friends, whiskey and a lovely woman. I don't know about you guys, but my night's looking up."

Bandana took the bottle from Deviant, downing some of the liquid with a howl. "Hell yeah! That's the stuff!" He crowed, earning an eye roll from Mystic and Deep Voice.

Upon reflection, Jake should probably have made a stealthy escape, trusting his gut feeling that these people were bad news. But he didn't, he simply watched the four as they proceeded to drink, laughing and joking as they did before. Deviant kept the woman in his lap, making her uncomfortable with touches and whispers in her ear that made her cringe. Once more they ignored the stares they were getting from everyone, acting as though none of them even existed. This went on for several minutes before one of the larger men stood and stomped over to the table, glaring down at them.

Deep Voice looked up, not even fazed by the burly man. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah! You can get your faggoty asses out of here, that's what! This is our place, and we don't like your kind here!" He shouted, his friends joining him and surrounding the table, inspired by the foolish confidence.

The four didn't look the least bit intimidated or concerned. Deviant carried on with the woman while Bandana and Mystic looked at the men, seemingly amused. Deep Voice smirked. "Is that so? Is your name on the bar? Don't answer that, because I really don't give a fuck. Now fuck off." He turned to take a drink from the now mostly empty bottle when the burly man grabbed him by the back of his jacket and yanked him to his feet.

"I'm gonna teach you a lesson, you freak!" With that the man went to punch him, aiming for his face.

Jake choked on air as the atmosphere suddenly changed. The tension thickened and it seemed as though all life and movement had ceased. Mystic and Bandana had lost their smiles and were staring at the men with dangerous expressions. Deviant had ceased his unwanted attentions with the woman, his smile turning predatory.

Deep Voice calmly held the man's fist in his hand, effortlessly stopping the punch while the man struggled to move his arm from his grip. Faint popping and cracking resounded through the silent bar as Deep Voice tightened his grip, the man's hand yielding unnaturally.

"L-Let go of me! Freak! Asshole!"

Deep Voice smirked, his lip ring glinting. "Alright."

The events after that went by so fast Jake nearly missed it from his vantage point. The man who had tried to punch Deep Voice was tossed clear across the bar, making an alarming cracking sound as he hit the wall. He slumped to the floor, unmoving. Mystic and Bandana had also risen and the man's friends now lay on the floor, groaning in pain. For all the world, it looked like it had been a fast and efficient bar brawl with very obvious victors.

Then the woman screamed and Jake took another look, hands clamped over his mouth to prevent himself from crying out. The men on the floor were bloody and twitching, one having his throat torn clean open. Bandana's mouth was smeared with blood. Mystic was gripping something that looked suspiciously like a spine. The woman screamed and squirmed in Deviant's iron grip, sobbing in fear.

"Aw, now look, they made a mess." Deviant laughed, downing the last of the whiskey. He nipped at the woman's throat. "I guess this drink's on us... no, wait," His smirk widened and he dropped the bottle. "This one's on you."

Jake watched in fascinated horror as Deviant grabbed the woman's hair, yanking her head around and sinking his teeth into her neck with an animalistic growl. The woman screamed in pain, struggling before going still, blood pouring from her neck. Eventually Deviant dropped her corpse, blood painting his lips. He ran his tongue over the fangs that Jake could now see.

"Knew she'd be a good time." Deviant his head tipped back and laughed.

Mystic licked her hands clean, fangs glinting in the light while Bandana lapped at the blood around his mouth, exposing his own set of sharp teeth. "Anything with a pulse is a good time for you, Deviant." Deep Voice smirked at his companion, calmly walking over to the cowering and screaming owner. He lifted the man out from behind the bar by the throat and snapped his neck like a twig.

"Don't spoil my fun, Prophet. It's not like I'm the only one, right Destroyer?"

Bandana-Destroyer-let out another laugh, the cheerful sound out of place amongst the dead bodies. "Too right my man!" He high fived Deviant, the two smirking at one another.

Jake pressed himself back in the booth, as far into the dark as he could while staying completely silent. Breath wasn't coming as easily as it should. What the fuck he was supposed to do now, he didn't know. These people, these creatures...they weren't human. They couldn't be, not with what Jake had just seen with his own eyes. It was impossible, yet the bodies and blood told a very different story than what his logic was spouting.

Vampires. What other explanation could there be? Maybe Jake was losing it.

"That was fun, I'll admit." Prophet walked back over to the table, licking his hand clean of some blood. "Best of all, it's not completely over yet."

Jake's blood froze when as one, all four turned to look directly at him in his darkened booth, fangs exposed and a predatory glint in their eyes.