"No, no… man… it's not like that. It's not like… I don't appreciate what Zeppelin did for the rock industry… it's just that…. Fuck man, their music goes on and on and on. I mean, you gotta be high to appreciate it then, but when… when you're sober it just gets too fucking… long."

The kid's face had warped, his forehead sticking out farther than it should have been and his eyes becoming large and alien like as they stared out from his exceedingly vibrant bangs. A part of me wanted to reach out and touch them, wondering if they would float away if they became detached from his head. Instead, I sat back and watched the flames flicker back and forth like an angry cobra, listening to the soothing sound of Robert Plant's voice as he spoke of the forbidden lands of Mordor.

After a moment, I managed to nod in agreement. "Well, it's not like they were sober when making the music… I mean, half of their shit is based on the novel the Hobbit. Fuck, I could never make it through that book," I said, feeling the words more than I really heard them.

"Man, you are so fuckin' smashed," Paul laughed and leaned forward to stub out the rest of the oddly colored joint.

He was right, I hadn't felt this relaxed since… well, my last hit from actual weed that was sometime within the last three years. At the moment, I couldn't really remember. Nor did I care.

Shit, but there was something I was suppose to remember. Something I was suppose to be doing…

"Do you believe in vampires?" I blurted out.

The silence should have been enough to set me on edge, but again… I'm a retired druggie. I should have been able to handle my high but the shit that I had just inhaled into my body was something that obviously hadn't been around in my day. Some kind of Wonder Weed that was far more potent then the supposed chronic we were smoking on a regular basis in our parents basement.

Paul stared off in my direction for a moment, weaving back and forth before blinking slowly and grinning. "Yea, I do. Why?"

I could feel it, the world starting to unravel around me. My cover blown and this kid realizing that I knew everything from the fire in the trailer to the snapshots of him on the beach with his cronies. Fuck, just say something someone really high would say.

The thought made me laugh. "Dolly likes 'em."

Thankfully, Paul bought and nodded with that grin. "Yea, I gathered. And if you don't mind me saying so… she's fucking hot, dude."

I felt a strange warmth suddenly coursing through my body at her mention. Not a sexual feeling…not exactly. But it was another thing I should have been aware of at the moment, where the hell she was and where Dwayne had gone as well. No doubt they were together, but I couldn't sum up the strength push off from the couch just yet, and look for them.

From the chair, Paul scowled. "Fuck, it's gone already."

I glanced back and caught sight of those sharp eyes, glaring dangerously at the flames of the flickering candles before us. I shook my head, confused. "What's gone?"

He looked up in my direction. "My high. It doesn't last as long as it use to. I guess David was right about that more you feed, the stronger you become, shit."

I tried to wrap my mind around his words. "What?"

He kept his eyes locked to my own, the smile on his face far from charismatic jeer I'd seen before.

"Nothin' man. Just need something to drink."

"So… why live here? Why not get a place closer to town?"

They'd headed into the deeper portions of the cave, stumbling past numerous boulders, deteriorating hotel debris and a numerous articles of furniture that were all in states of decay. Some of it, however, looked to be recently used and Dolly could only imagine what it might be like to spend the night in a place like this. Nothing but the sound of the ocean and the fear of rats and other bugs crawling along one's body.

She couldn't help but grimace. Here she was, having just taken a wild ride with a kid---a supposed vampire---she had just met on the beach and was now following him into the dark recesses of some forgotten cave that rested on the edge of a steeping cliff. And she was worrying over seeing a rat or cockroach.

Dwayne seemed to sense her concern as he placed a protective arm around her shoulders and gave nothing more than simple shrug. "You get use to it, after awhile."

It still didn't answer her question but for the moment, she kept her mouth shut. It was obvious this kid wasn't one to freely give away any secrets or mysteries about this place or himself for that matter. And she could sense the pleasure he received from such secrecy; a deeper knowing locked within those brown eyes that seemed to watch her every step.

Nothing had ever felt so good and so… dangerous, at the same time.

Soon enough, they reached the end of the cave and came upon a pale shadow that was imbedded within the massive rocks. At first, she couldn't tell what it was as she leaned close, feeling the smoothness of the stone beneath her fingertips and attempting to see up into the blackness that surrounded it. The arm around her shoulders released and, jumping with all the ease of a cat upon one of the big boulders, Dwayne reached into his pocket and pulled out the lighter he had stolen from her purse.

The metal snicked and suddenly she found herself staring up into the face of a man.

An angel.

The statue was at least three times the size of any human, carved out of white marble with seemingly soft wings rising out from it's back and a halo resting upon the crown of his head. Both arms had been broken off at the elbows though at one point, she could imagine that he'd been raising them up to the sky in unknowing terror as the building around him collapsed and forever encased him in darkness.

For a single moment, she was speechless.

The intricate details of his body had been chipped away, but enough remained upon that face to stare down at her with those large, sorrowful eyes. Beautifully curved lips were parted, almost as though he were going to speak or sing a song. Hair that had once swept upon his neck and shoulders had been crushed into an ugly crop and crack lines had formed along his once smooth, almost boyish chest and torso.

After a moment, she managed to find her voice. "It's beautiful…"

Dwayne nodded, letting the flame die. "I know.. I found it when we first came here. None of the other guys know about it and if they did, they would probably destroy it."

Grimacing slightly, she nodded. Though she hadn't met the other two boys, it was easy to imagine that Paul would take a can of spray paint to the thing, defiling it in the name of music or drugs or whatever the hell the kid worshiped.

Turning, she was instantly met with the cold press of Dwayne's chest as the kid appeared right before her eyes.

"Jesus! How the hell do you do that?" she asked, clutching her chest lightly and pulling back just enough to see his grinning face.

He smirked, wrapping those arms around her body once more and pulling her uncomfortably close. "Practice."

Her body trembled, feeling the kid's own through that soft mesh shirt as his leather jacket fell from those weakening shoulders. Every fantasy she'd ever had (though the background might have been different) was starting to come to life. To be taken up, held in another's arms closely and to feel the whisper of his breath along her cheek and neck, sending erotic chills through her spine.

"Dwayne… don't.." A hand came up to press against his chest.

His smile was patient, though it held the likeness of a cat sitting in front of a mouse hole and cleaning it's claws as it waited for the poor creatures to scurry out.

She shook her head and tried to push away once more. "I can't, I have a boyfriend. Actually, I should probably get back out there and make sure he's not--"

The kiss was sudden and entirely unexpected.

Unlike the rest of his body, lips were hot and they pressed forward, meshing tightly against her own. He was gentle at first, letting her get use to the sensation for a good two seconds before teeth began to scrape slowly along her lower lip and body was forced back against the boulder he'd been standing on only moments before.

For a single moment, she forgot. The story, James sitting in the other room, smoking weed with Paul, her parents, their expectations and how she had failed each and every one of them. All lost as the kiss enfolded her in that welcoming darkness.

The kid hid his secrets well, letting those hands rake along her arms and clutch wrists that were rising up to press along his chest and hair. Agonizingly keeping her at bay while a thumb pressed forward, letting a surprisingly sharp nail grind against the flesh of her palm. A whimper was met through their kiss, parting her lips and allowing him full access inside that panting mouth. The pain in her palm worsened, however, suddenly growing warm with a wet sensation that began to trickle down her wrists.

Blood.

She didn't know whether to be repulsed or drawn into the sensation that he was creating within her body. A deep pulsing of pleasure, echoing like the sound of waves crashing against the side of the cliff or… the beating of a human heart.

"Dwayne… stop. We can't do this…" The words were only half-hearted and desperately, she tried again.

"I have a boyfriend who will freak if he sees me--"

"He doesn't have to know.." Spoken in a whisper along her cheek before that face pulled back just enough to stare into her eyes. The bleeding wrist was taken up and for the first time that evening, a sense of true horror began to sink in.

She was bleeding… badly. He'd cut clear into her palm and it had felt like nothing more than a simple pinprick against her flesh. A moment was taken to study the wound, smiling in that quiet way before raising the wound to his lips and---

SLAP!

The sound was startling, even to her as the flat of her unwounded palm came to smack against the side of his face. For a moment, it stunned them both but Dolly was quick to recover as she jerked her bleeding hand away and took off for the main room of the cave.