A/N So the first chapter was recieved fairly well. I got five reviews, although one of them was just acusing me of stealing something from their story, still not bad. Someone submitted a review under Katy and asked how he didn't know what day it was if he knew it was New Years Eve. He knew it was New Years Eve, but he didn't know what day of the week because the Subway runs on different schedules depending on the day. This chapter is longer and has a lot of information to build a foundation, so bear with me.
January 1, 2058
I had grown to absolutely despise nighttime since living in this home. I had a lot more time to think, and that was never a good thing for me. I was also prone to remembering my time as a human, seventy-two years ago. Mostly the bad times. My fathering hitting my mother. My father killing my mother. My father hitting me. My father.
Particularly aggravating was that as a human I was very good at repressing these memories. Now it felt like my human life began playing on a real every time the two boys I shared the room with turned the lights out.
Now I was living in a foster home with five other children, and Mr. and Mrs. Carlen. I hadn't chosen to end up here; I was caught once on the street and been placed with the Carlens. I had been in a foster home once before, but only for a few months. One of the parents was abusive, and I promptly disappeared after telling the police. I could have killed him right there, but I knew that would just raise more questions.
I was the oldest. I shared this room with two twelve-year-old boys, twins, Eric and Danny. There was a thirteen-year-old girl, Karla, a ten-year-old, Eva, and a six-year-old named Bailey. We were all home-schooled since Mrs. Carlen was a retired teacher. Older kids helped to teach the younger ones as well.
Eric and Danny hadn't taken to me well when I had first come here when they were ten. They had warmed to me though; I let them stay up late, and let one of them have the non-bunk bed. Karla avoided me best she could along with Eva, who did everything Karla did. Bailey liked me, and for the longest time wouldn't let me go anywhere without her.
The rest of the inhabitants of this house thought I was Anthony, not Alexander. I was seventeen and had been placed here after my father had gone to prison for domestic abuse and the slaughter of my mother. I had poor health, including a leakage in capillaries surrounding my eyes that often made the color shift between red, black, and yellow and a sensitive stomach such that I barely ate, and when I did coughed up a majority of it.
My eyes were black now, and had been for three months. The blood of humans didn't particularly bother me. Never had. I had grown so used to the scents of the humans I live with it wasn't even a problem when one of them bled.
I looked over to the clock that hung above Danny's bed, and decided it was an appropriate time to be awake. I tried to keep hours expected of a teenager, going to bed late and waking up late. Last night had been New Years Eve, so I had an excuse to go to "sleep" later. It felt like the night had dragged on, as it did every New Years, lying in bed reliving the night in the subway tunnel.
Dressed in black jeans, Marilyn Manson shirt, and a large black sweatshirt, I walked down to the kitchen where Mrs. Carlen was struggling to retrieve a pot from the top cabinet.
"Morning," I said, trying to be cheery.
She jumped, surprised by my presence even though I had tried to walk loudly, and turned, breathing heavily.
"Anthony, don't surprise me like that," she scolded, holding the counter for support.
"Sorry, I try not to," I apologize, before reaching up to grab the pan for her. She thanked me and took in my appearance.
"Always so dark," she mumbled although she might as well just screamed it with my hearing, "Are you going out?"
"I have to pick up a CD. Can I borrow the car?" I had gone through the painful experience of 'learning' how to drive again, although it was worth the convenience of not having to walk everywhere.
"Of course. Will you be back tonight?" I looked into her mind to see what she was getting at.
Oh, I hate to always leave the kids with him. But Bill has that thing tonight…
"Yeah, do you need me to baby-sit?" I asked. I had done it so many times, it wasn't ludicrous for me to guess what she wanted.
"Could you?"
" 'Course,"
"Thank you," Mrs. Carlen reached up (and she really had to reach as I was nearly a foot taller than her), and smoothed my hair before turning into the living room.
Such a sweet boy. Never asks for anything, and always take care of the kids. I wish he didn't always get passed over by perspective parents. If only he wasn't so dark...
I smirked slightly before walking at human pace to the door, grabbing the keys off the hook. It only took me fifteen minutes to drive to the record store and get the CD. We lived in a small township just outside Port Angeles so there was abundance of forest around.
I hunted, drinking in surplus, as I probably wouldn't be able to go again anytime soon. As I was running back to the car, I heard noises that didn't belong to animals. I followed them silently until I saw them. They were in a herd of deer, and the two people were moving blindingly fast killing them off quickly. Other vampires.
I didn't wait for them to notice me. I ran off as quickly as possible back to the car. I wouldn't hunt there anymore
I was still unsettled when I got back to the house around two. I spent the rest of the afternoon listening to my newest edition to my CD collection over and over again. My now greatly outdated CD player still worked like a charm, despite being held together by electric tape.
It was odd to watch as records and cassette went out of fashion, and then CDs came about, and finally MP3s, then MP4s, now MP5s. It still took some searching to find a CD player, even though bands still put out records. Tape players were a rare relic only to be found in deepest nooks and crannies of e-Bay.
I found this a comforting subject to distract myself with and stuck with it until I could hear the Carlens preparing to leave around eight. I was downstairs in time to get money for pizza and have Mrs. Carlen give me strict instructions on how give Bailey medicine for the flu.
Once they were gone, I laid on the couch while the kids played round after round of a 120th anniversary edition of Monopoly.
I ordered pizza and set the movie up, watching Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark for the 236.5 time. I seriously regretted seeing it six times when it was first in theaters.
Around 10:30 Bailey came down, complaining of her fever. I gave her medicine and let her watch the movie until it took effect. She crawled into my lap and fell asleep ten minutes later.
By 11:45 everyone else had followed suit. I carried them all up to their rooms, making more trips then necessary as it would look odd if one of them woke up to find their scrawny house mate mysteriously able to carry five children at once.
The Carlens got home around 12:30 and Mr. Carlen quickly went up to bed, never being my biggest fan.
Creepy kid. Always just sitting in the dark…
Mrs. Carlen sat next to me on the couch.
"All of the kids in bed?"
"Yeah they fell asleep watching the movie,"
"How did you get them upstairs?" she asked. Crap.
"I carried them," I hedged, hoping she wouldn't look too far into anything.
He never ceases to baffle me.
"There's a social worker coming to house tomorrow," she said offhandedly.
"Why?" I never liked the workers who came. Too nosy. They all wanted to talk about my 'feelings toward my father'. I vented those feelings about sixty-five years ago.
"There are some families looking to adopt around these ages. Even some willing to look into taking twins,"
I breathed a sigh of relief. No one would need to talk to me then.
"There will be families coming in and out for the next few weeks to get know them," she said, slightly sad.
"You're sad to see them go," I didn't phrase it like a question. I could see in her mind imagining a quiet life, with just Mr. Carlen and me.
"Yes, but at the same time very happy," she sniffed lightly before getting up, "You should get some sleep. She's getting here tomorrow at 8:30,"
She bent down to kiss my cheek before walking upstairs. I slid into my room silently without waking Eric of Danny.
I looked up into the darkness, prepared to wait out the next seven hours.
I had grown to despise nighttime.
A/N I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Review lots please!
