Mesmerized | ✓

1

Stonetown was a peaceful town where nothing remarkable ever happened. It was situated right by the sea and yet there were no tourists to aid the economy which in consequence had to rely heavily on the fishermen bringing in fresh fish and selling it on local markets.

James Francis was one of such fishermen. One cold morning he kissed his wife goodbye and went off to fish as per usual. They lived in a small house not too far from the shore, basically by the beach. James' loyal boat was peacefully floating on the water as he approached it holding his fishing rod in one hand and a flashlight to illuminate his way in the other as the sun was only starting to peek from behind the horizon.

The light flashed over something shiny in the sand making James stop in his tracks. He looked around hoping to find a piece of jewelry lost by some older lady who had decided to take a walk along the shore. But James quickly realized that it was not some priceless necklace.

It was a human body, half in the water, shining in the light from the drops of liquid covering the skin. A cold shiver ran down James' spine. "Shit." He muttered to himself imagining a murder investigation and police sniffing around his beach. They would surely put a stop to his fishing trips for at least a couple of days.

Reluctantly he walked over to the body to discover that it belonged to a young man or maybe rather a boy. James couldn't tell if he was already eighteen or not. What he could tell was that the boy wasn't breathing. His face was pale, nearly white and his lips purple. And he was completely naked with only long red hair falling in waves onto his shoulders and covering some of his skin.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." He kept muttering as his fingers struggled to reach for his cell phone to call the police. However, the phone fell out of his hand when he felt a strong grip on his ankle. James looked at the boy again and this time his eyes were open and fixed on him. And his hand was holding the fisherman's ankle. "A-are you okay?" James asked shakily.

But the boy remained silent with his gaze piercing through James. He wasn't blinking and if it weren't for the cold fingers James felt through the fabric of his pants he would think that the boy was still dead.

He mouthed something but the man couldn't make out what it was. James knelt down next to the boy feeling his gaze follow even the most subtle of his movements. It was unnerving. "What's your name?" He asked gently watching as the sun illuminated the boy's face. It started burning with colors, his green eyes reflecting the sunlight, his red hair catching the rays.

He was breathtaking.

The boy mouthed something again but James still didn't know what he was trying to say. The man lowered himself down, closer and closer until he could feel his faint breath on his face. The boy opened his mouth again but this time he didn't try to say anything. This time James saw sharp teeth and felt a pair of surprisingly strong arms wrap him in a deadly grip.

Before he could do anything the boy's teeth were deep in his throat, sucking on him, sucking the life out of his veins 

*****

Carl yawned propping his head up on his hand and doing his best not to let his eyes close. It was way too early to be working, especially on a Sunday and especially on a Sunday after the better half of the night spend partying. It was a small bait store, not yet shut down just because the owner had a lot of money and didn't particularly care whether the store was profitable or not.

Not that Carl minded all that much. He was basically given money for standing behind a desk and having all the time in the world to study for his classes (or rather lying to himself that he was studying and instead procrastinating by playing on his phone or scrolling through social media).

It was looking like yet another slow Sunday. Some customers would occasionally come and buy something but other than that Carl knew he would just be bored out of his mind. He glanced at his cell phone. A few minutes after 7AM. His first customer, a grumpy old man who would come each day without a fault, around this hour would surely soon stroll through the door.

And as if triggered by Carl's thoughts the door opened. He lifted his eyes and opened his mouth to greet the customer but the person he saw was definitely not the old man he knew. It was a boy around his age, maybe a little younger with long red hair falling onto his shoulders. That in itself would not be all that shocking if it weren't for the fact that he was completely naked. "Ugh, hello." Carl greeted him awkwardly.

The boy didn't say anything and instead looked around with curious wide-open eyes. He wandered over to the shelves and started touching everything, the rods, the nets, the clothes. "Fucking junkies." Carl said to himself and walked over to the boy, ready to push him out of the store by force if necessary. "I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."

The stranger finally looked at him and smiled. And his smile was so sweet, so child-like and innocent that it immediately melted Carl's heart. Suddenly he didn't want to shove him out. Instead he could somehow sense that the boy needed his help and protection. And Carl was going to do everything he could to help him. "What do you need?" He asked.

"A place to stay for a start." The boy said in a silky voice.