A note from CityCat: I dedicate this chapter to Caliwali6 (Cali) whose ideas and pure awesomeness have inspired me to write this one. I also give my thanks to Kara, who offered to be my beta-reader from this chapter on. Much thanks to all who reviewed; your wonderful comments always make me smile!
Narrator's POV
Twenty years past, Patches grew up—not physically, of course, but mentally with knowledge and experience. Ethan taught him everything he knew and got promoted from being his mentor to his best friend. The two of them drank together, walked together, and even did their chores together when they could help it. Patches had a knack for fixing electrical appliances, and dusting baseboards was twice as easy and fun for Ethan as a guinea pig. Through his work, Aro could see what a loyal guard he was and presented him with occasional gifts, mainly accessories for his room or new clothes for different occasions. Still, his rank never increased above a domestic of the Lower Guard. He couldn't fight offence—no matter how hard he pushed himself to try—and the nightmarish memories of his human past never left. The scars, both physical and mental, would not fade away.
Today, he was on mail delivery among other things. Most of the letters and packages were addressed to the leaders, but some leisurely magazines and books were ordered from the Guard. To humans, mail was for Christmas time and pen pals. To vampires who couldn't leave shelter to walk in the sunlight, mail was their only window to the outside world beyond their small city. Patches bundled up the letters in order and headed straight to the top where his masters would be in their separate studies. He stopped at Aro's room first, rapping quietly on the door. "Come in," came Aro's voice in a soft sigh. Patches entered with a smile; he always felt comfortable around the man who gave him this extraordinary life. Aro glanced up from a document he was analyzing and returned sentiments. "My, my, Patches. Is it mail day already?"
"Yes, sir." The boy counted off the letters and handed the stack to Aro who set them neatly on the corner of his desk.
"Thank you. By the by, how are you, dear one?"
"I'm fine, thanks. I've been busy."
"I'm very glad to hear it," Aro smiled warmly. "In that case, I shall not squander your time any longer. I'm sure the others are keen on their deliveries." It sounded like one of his fancy farewells, so Patches bid him goodbye with a swift bow and headed to Marcus's study next. He found him organizing his books on his private bookshelf and knocked twice on the open door.
"Mail delivery, sir," he announced with Marcus's letters at the end of his outstretched arm. Marcus turned around and gingerly took his parcels, laying them flat on his desk.
"Thank you, Patches," he said in an emotionless monotone. "Goodbye." The boy bowed his head and left, not surprised to be dismissed so quickly. Marcus, it seemed, was in his own little world most of the time and didn't have much to say or emotions to share. Patches didn't mind, only now there was nothing to distract him from visiting Caius. The belligerent blonde never forgave him for sitting on his throne on his first day and disliked him more than everyone else in the castle since.
"M-Master Caius?" Patches stammered between shaky knocks. To his surprise and dismay, it was Jane who answered the door.
"Caius isn't here," she snapped, her eyes a little aggravated to see him.
"Oh! Uhm, I-I have his mail," he said, pulling out a thicker wad of envelopes. Would you—" Before he could finish, Jane snatched them from his hand and slammed the door. "Right," he murmured to himself, taking one last look at the door before departing to find the rest of the Guard.
Patches' POV
It wasn't until I returned to my room when I knew something felt a little different in the castle. A certain smell wafted through a few corridors and I wondered if a human got lost from one of the tours and was floating aimlessly around somewhere. I asked Ethan about it as he selected a song from my growing record collection and set it on the phonograph. "Nah, she's nothing. Don't worry about her."
"Worry about who?" He laughed a little as if I was the last to know.
"Caius's little human female he brought back from an extensive mission a few hours ago. I don't know all of the details, but she definitely shows signs of a promising power he's interested in."
"W-Will she be turned? Into o-one of us?"
"Most likely, but Aro and Marcus will have to okay it. Until then, I think they're keeping her in the dungeon." He turned up the volume and a jazzy 70s beat known as "Disco Inferno" of the western culture filled the room. I sat on my bed, my head cleared of all errant thoughts as my arms and shoulders danced to the ironic refrain.
"Burn, baby, burn," I sang with the chorus.
"Dis-co in-FER-no!" Ethan joined in his louder, huskier voice.
"Burn, baby, burn!"
"Burn that mother down!" We laughed in spirit of the moment. Ethan's hands grasped mine and pulled me back up. He wanted me to dance with him. He had his arms out, bent at the elbow, and twisted himself down on one leg and back up in what I think was a disco dance. On the chorus, he bent one arm near his head and kept the other straight in front of him as if he was holding an invisible bow and arrow. Then he brought his wrists together and alternated motions with a pop. I was impressed! I didn't know many dance moves myself, so I swayed in a continuous two-step and bopped my head to the beat, hoping it was good enough for him. It wasn't until after the song ended that I remembered what I needed to do next. "Again!" Ethan declared, reaching for the replay button. My hand stopped him.
"Not now, I forgot that today's the day I mop the foyer. Others are getting annoyed at all the dirt the humans keep tracking in. You can play whatever you want." I smiled and opened the door to leave when I saw his hand beside mine on the handle.
"Not happening; I'm coming with you. We'll get it done faster between the both of us and then we'll play more music. Okay?" I nodded, thankful to have him.
"Thanks, Ethan." He grinned.
"Don't mention it, Patches." We walked downstairs and got our cleaning supplies from the hall closet before setting to work. Luckily, no one was around to interrupt us. Occasionally, a human or two would waltz right in without reading the "Closed" or "Visiting Hours" signs at the front while I was working and I'd have to take them to the dungeon to save for later. 'One good look' Master Aro says, 'and it's an immediate liability.' I thought of the human girl Ethan mentioned earlier and wondered if she saw too much and found out our existence before Master Caius saw her potential power, whatever it may be. Perhaps I could pay her a visit and ask her myself…but that was a silly idea. Humans were cruel and selfish, especially when they're desperate for something. Not too many simply accept their fate and die quietly.
I filled up a tub of water and splashed a little of it in small puddles on the tile so we could get started. "Ethan? Wh-What was your childhood like?" He was already a few swishes ahead, his mop as bright a yellow as his hair.
"Meh," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Mediocre, I guess. It was good right up until I accidentally turned into a cat in front of my parents, freaking out both them and myself." His smile disappeared, his voice growing deeper with a grave recollection. "When I changed back, I knew I had to run. They thought I was a demon possessing their son, never realizing that it was just me all along. On my way crossing the country, I found this place and was changed here. I never left since, not that I'd have anywhere else to go." I nodded, taking his history into account and locking it in my memory.
"I-I'm sorry," was all I could say. Ethan waved it away.
"Don't be. If it wasn't for them giving me a reason to leave, I would have never met you." I looked down and rolled my head around my shoulders, blushing as much as a vampire could. Neither of us said anything until we got the job done and put away the mops and bucket. I took one last look at the floor and used my power to evaporate all the excess water. It was getting better; now I could manipulate up to two elements at the same time. In this case, it was oxygen and hydrogen. As I took a breath of satisfaction, that human smell lingered again, only not as pungent this time. It was starting to annoy me. "Are you ready for another round of 'Disco Inferno'?" Ethan asked as we reached the stairs.
"A-Actually, Ethan, I-I think I'll just check something out really fast." He raised his eyebrow questioningly. "Y-You can start without me; I'll be right there." That seemed to appease him.
"Okay," he said, heading up the stairs. When he was out of sight, I traced the aroma of human blood to the dungeon. There was a vent tunnel I knew of that let me look down into all the rooms in the castle. I climbed up the entrance on the side and crawled through the vent system over the dungeon. Looking down, I saw a slim, lightly tanned girl wearing a baby blue dress that went down to her knees. I could smell her blood much clearly now; I could tell her blood sugar was dangerously low from the way it jumped up her veins. She looked frantic for something, but I couldn't tell what.
"My phone! Where's my phone?!" she whispered through clenched teeth. She searched herself, pulling at her clothes. At a closer look, I noticed she had red marks on her palms as if she just touched something really hot. There was a water bottle sitting next to her—at least she had something to drink. It wasn't long before she gave up and began to cry, tiny tear-pools forming in her teal eyes. She took the water bottle and savored small sips to preserve the rest. I knew sixteen ounces wasn't nearly enough, and I couldn't help but make a little electrochemical rain cloud above the bottle to fill its contents back to the top. She gasps with a start and glances around. "Who's there?" My body froze in silence. "Who's there?!" she demanded with a twinge of fear in her otherwise confident voice. "Show yourself!" I slowly backed up and retreated to the vent entrance without a word. "I can kill you!" her voice carried behind me. "I've killed two of your kind before, and I'll do it again!"
I paid no heed to her words. On the contrary, I wanted to help her. By our customs, every human prisoner must be properly nourished so that their blood will remain fresh and healthy for our consumption. I headed to the kitchen where I knew some human foods were stored. Looking through the pantry, I found peanut butter, graham crackers, corn syrup, sugar, and nutmeg spice. An idea came to me to mash the crackers into crumbs add some of the other stuff in with it and make a type of cookie dough to roll into bite-sized balls. This might taste good, I assumed. I sprinkled some powdered sugar on it for presentation and stuck them on some wax paper atop a plate. I draped a couple napkins over the plate to hide the food from view before I paced back to the dungeon and slid it over to the girl inside from under the crack in the door. I made sure to write a note on top of it that says: "It's not poison. Enjoy!"
I heard her move inside and pick up the note. "Of course not," she sighed bitterly. "You'd want me to suffer slowly." A moment later, I was in the vent again, curious to see if she liked the peanut butter balls. She was frowning in a corner, slowly chewing the food as if she had no other choice.
"Y-You don't l-like it?" I asked. She looked up, though I knew she still couldn't see me through the paneling.
"No, it's good," she said miserably. "I just want to go home." I nodded, not really able to do anything about her situation.
"What's your name?" I said in a quiet voice. She didn't seem to be all that bad, but I knew humans were also full of surprises.
"I'm Carly. And you?" One moment, she wanted to kill me; the next, she sounded genuinely interested in me. I rest my case. I honestly didn't know how to answer her question. It wasn't my Christian birth name, but "Patches" was the only name I could remember.
"N-No one important." This earned another sigh from the dungeon floor.
"If you're not important, then why can't I know your name?" A good question.
"I'm c-called Patches," I said, a little embarrassed. "I-I live here…a-and maybe you will too," I added with a smile, hoping to cheer her up. Instead, it had the opposite effect. Bright yellow and orange flames shot out of her hands as she pointed a finger in my direction. I felt my eyes grow twice as large. So this must be her special power!
"I am not living here! I'm going to get out of this place, and then I'm going home!" She screamed in pain and quickly rubbed the fire out of her hands, the red marks now more apparent. She seized the water bottle and doused her palms until there was no way more flames could follow. I could care less about her threat; from the years of observing human hostage behavior—with a little experience myself—such senseless threats are common to slip.
"See you later, Carly," I replied softly, simultaneously filling her bottle up again. I closed the vent tunnel as I climbed out, humming "Burn, baby, burn" all the way back to my room.
Another note from CityCat: I hope you loved this chapter as much as I enjoyed composing it! The song referenced in this piece is correctly titled "Disco Inferno" by The Trammps released in 1976. It's incredibly addicting, I tell you! Much thanks to Cali who originally created Carly and gave me the rights to include her. Don't forget to leave a review and have a wonderful day!