Sanctuary

Chapter Five

It was silent in the bunk, Cahya and Raven curled up together. Sunrise wasn't far away, and the two were content to lie together, basking in the other's presence. Despite the tumultuous events of the night, the pair were relaxed and happy. Being with the other half of your world does that.

Without warning, Raven broke the calm silence, shifting so he could rest his head on Cahya's warm chest. "So... why?"

"Hm?" Cahya curled his fingers in Raven's hair, enjoying the calm feeling of his lover's presence. Warmth radiated from his partner, making the taller vampire feel sleepy.

"The kid." Raven gestured vaguely to one of the bunks, the view inside blocked by a heavy black curtain. "Why did we bring him back? I mean, I know what Daegel said at the bar but-"

Cahya sighed, stroking Raven's hair. "You think I'm going soft?"

"Of course not." Raven lightly smacked Cahya's toned stomach. "Look, we've seen a lot of terrible shit. Hell, we caused a lot of it."

"I know. But... couldn't you feel it Raven?"

The vampire frowned up at his lover. "Feel what?"

Cahya growled in frustration, unable to put the feeling into words. "I can't explain it, Raven. I know Dae and Nyx feel it, too, though. Jake... he's one of us. Don't you remember what it was like for you, when you were human?"

Cringed, Raven screwed his face up in an attempt to suppress unwanted memories. "Unfortunately. Not enough booze in the world to make me forget."

"Exactly. It was the same for me, and for Onyx, and for Daegel. The world hated us, still hates us, just for being different. Jake is just like us. You saw the scars."

Raven sighed and stretched, resting his head back on Cahya's chest. "I guess so." He gazed back over to the closed bunk. "We'll see if he lasts as an Outcast."

"Plus Daegel has the hots for him."

There was a moment of silence, then both boys burst into laughter, nearly falling out of the bunk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first thing that Jake was aware of when he awoke was that he was lying on something soft and wrapped in fuzzy warmth. Slowly, he opened his eyes, noting the small dark space he was lying in. No light pierced the space, so the exact size was unknown. Right then, he noted several things. First of all, a blanket was wrapped around him, a really fluffy one. For the first time in weeks he was lying on a comfortable mattress. And of course... he was still alive; this place was far too nice to be hell.

Stiffening, he was suddenly fully awake and taking in his surroundings. He was in some kind of bunk, cut off from the world by a heavy black curtain. And he was alive. Jake still couldn't quite get over that. They didn't kill him. Fuck, why? Instead they kidnapped him and shoved him in a bunk somewhere. For some reason, the breath seemed to not reach his lungs. Why did they let him live? Was he here as their snack? Was he going to be some kind of blood slave?

Cowering in the corner of the bunk, Jake could feel himself shaking in the blanket. What the hell was going to happen to him? What the fuck is going on? Slowly he edged toward the curtain and gently pried it open. The afternoon sun shone in through the windows of the bus despite thin curtains, illuminating the room enough for Jake to see other bunks, all closed off with heavy black curtains just like the one he was holding. His breath caught in his throat. They were sleeping there, he was sure of it. So vampires really did sleep during the daytime. Carefully, he edged off of the bunk, the blanket wrapped around his frame. Whether or not the vampires could be woken up Jake wasn't sure, so he didn't want to take the risk. His shoes, socks and jacket were gone, much to his horror. The blanket was the only thing he had to hide his horribly scarred arms.

Jake tightened the blanket around him and silently edged toward the front of the bus. It was... rather nice, actually. Like a nightliner tour bus, or an apartment on wheels. Very spacious, if rather messy. Bottles of alcohol on the counters, and even remains of food. Apparently they even ate human food. There was a large, black leather couch in the main area and a very nice flat screen with a PS3 and an XBOX.

The bus was stationary, of course, no one was awake to drive. Jake peeked out of the window. They were parked on the side of a desolate road, forestry on each side. Nothing but trees and more road in sight for miles. Jake doubted he would make it anywhere if he tried to escape. But still...he walked over to the door, stopping at the note taped up on it.

'Jakey,

Just to let you know, if you try to run, we WILL find you.

And it won't be pleasant.

So while you wait for us to wake up, feel free to relax. Watch some tv, eat or something. You won't wake us up.

See you at sunset!

Sincerely,

The Vampires'

"...Great." Jake grumbled and pulled the blanket tighter. He had no doubt that he would be tracked down. At the moment he had no shoes, was starving, and still quite tired. They had a bus and probably some kind of superhuman speed and god knows what else. He was fucked.

Jake looked around the bus, his mind racing. What was he going to do now? Maybe they weren't planning to kill him, yet. But why did they spare him? Why did they bring him onto their bus, their home? It made no sense and it made his head hurt... and he was hungry. Rummaging through the kitchen, Jake was mildly surprised by the amount of food. Though he knew next to nothing about vampires so he really couldn't make any kind of judgement. His stomach grumbled. When was the last time he really ate? He prepared something quick but filling, then sat down to watch television. For who knows how long he just mindlessly flicked through channels and movies, mind unable to really focus on anything. Even though it was pointless, he began to ponder and worry about his fate, about what they would do to him.

Then his mind wandered to Destroyer and his face flushed. Despite the vampire wanting to kill him the other night, Jake couldn't help but find him attractive. He was cute, cheerful, and that laugh of his was really sexy. Jake groaned and sank into the couch. Ever since he found out that he was gay, it only made Jake's life even more miserable. Never had a boyfriend, his first and only kiss ended in disaster. Not to mention all of the additional hatred once it got out.

Jake sighed, feeling even more miserable than before. Why couldn't his life be simple? Why couldn't have been killed last night? It wasn't fair!

"What's got you down, Jakey?"

Jake yelped and nearly fell from his perch as Daegel leapt over the back of the couch and sat beside him, grinning. How long had he been sitting here? The paint and make up was washed off of his body, giving him a more normal look. The fanged grin was still unsettling though.

"Whatcha watching?" Daegel took the remote from Jake's limp hand, flipping through and landing on some random movie. He looked back over at Jake, who wrapped the blanket tighter around himself and shrank against the arm of the couch. "Yeesh, jumpy thing aren't you?" He chuckled. "Relax, Jake. We're not going to eat you, yet." Jake cringed and he laughed again. "Geesus, I'm just kidding! Relax, kid! If we were going to we would have done it last night!"

"...Why?" Jake managed to whisper, jumping yet again as Onyx shuffled into the room, yawning and making herself some coffee.

Daegel smiled at him, making Jake's heart flutter again. "That's for all of us to discuss. When Cahya and Raven wake up, we'll have a talk. In the meantime, just relax." He leaned back against the couch, one arm wrapping around Jake's shoulders. Jake blushed and resisted the urge to snuggle into the embrace. Onyx walked over and settled into a chair with a mug of strong-smelling coffee. It was going to be an interesting talk when the others awoke, that was for sure...