Chapter One
Lucy and her four children were on their way to her father's home in Santa Carla. You see, after Sam was born their marriage slowly crumbled, until the final straw when Lucy caught Brian with his assistant. Lucy had enough and filed for divorce. The divorce from Brian was finally over, but it left Lucy broke and homeless. So she did the only thing she could think to do. She packed up her family and drove from Phoenix, Arizona to Santa Carla, California. Their SUV was stuffed full, as well as towing a trailer with all their belongings and Michael's dirt bike. The twins' motorcycles were shipped ahead of them.
Jade had leaned her head against the window, nodding off a little, with Kayla's head in her lap. Kayla is curled up into a ball with her legs in Michael's lap, a dark pair of shades covering her eyes. Lucy, Michael, and Sam were arguing over what station to stay on.
The family stopped for gas and to stretch their legs. Sam had walked his dog, Nanook so he could go to the bathroom. The twins went inside the gas station and got some water to drink. They ignored the cat-calling from sleazy-looking men loitering outside the gas station. Michael had pulled his dirt bike off the trailer and was going to follow behind his mom's SUV. Lucy was talking to Michael about the move, "Are you mad at me?" Michael mounted his bike, "I'm not mad at you mom, or the twins or Sam. Dad was out of line with how he treated you. Blaming everything on the twins lost any respect I have for the man. Please don't think I'm mad at you or the move. Okay, mom." He reassured her. She smiles at her eldest then walks back to the gas station attendant to get her change. Michael kick-started his bike and waited to follow his mom to their grandpa's house.
Lucy had given Sam some of the change to give to a couple of kids digging through the dumpster for food, and Lucy stated in a motherly tone, "Maybe call home too." The kids were quick to agree if only to appease Lucy.
The family continues on their way. Both vehicles drive up a dirt driveway to a barn-style home. They remember Grandpa was eccentric, but this was a little much. There were wooden carvings, totems, taxidermied animals, and a couple rusted cars scattered around his yard. Lucy pulled around the bend in the front of the house and everyone got out of the SUV, Michael shut off his bike before putting down the kickstand.
"Dad?" Lucy went up to Grandpa, who was laying on the porch looking dead to the world.
Kayla and Jade say at the same time as twins do sometimes, "Is he dead?"
Sam jumps a little at their eerie voices, "Don't do that, it's creepy. If he's dead can we go back to Phoenix?" Michael smacks Sam on the back of the head. Sam rubs his head, "Ow Mike."
Grandpa lifted his head, "Playing dead. And from the sound of it, doing a damn good job too." He laughs as Lucy helps him stand, "Oh dad."
The family enters the home with some of their belongings. The twins were in no rush to pick out a room for themselves. They always share a room, but they knew Michael and Sam would not. They fight too much as it is, only to get worse if they have to share a room. Michael was bitter because Sam had gotten the room he wanted. He chased Sam down the stairs after they had rough-housed a little. Michael caught Sam as he opened some sliding doors to Grandpa's taxidermy workshop. Grandpa had told Michael and Sam he would explain the rules when the twins came inside before he went out the front door.
Grandpa stops the twins before they grab the next load, "By the way, your bikes are in the garage next to my car. Mighty fine machines you got there."
Michael came out the door, catching the last sentence, "Yeah, who knows how they could afford them." He teased them about their bikes because they're better than his. Jade playfully jibed at her brother, "You're just jealous." Huffing and sticking her nose in the air imitating a spoiled brat before they all laughed at each other.
"Thank you, grandpa. Means a lot." Kayla hugs her grandpa.
The twins may be adopted but the family has never acted like it. When Jade and Kayla were seven years old, they noticed the differences between their siblings. Both the twins have light-colored hair, and 'strange eyes', as Sam would say. Lucy explained the best she could that they were adopted, and what it meant to be adopted. She never made them feel like they didn't belong in their family. Brian on the other hand would sometimes throw it in their face when he was angry. Lucy could not understand why he was so hostile towards the twins. She was even more confused when he tried to fight for custody of them, and not the boys, during the divorce. Luckily, the twins turned eighteen before everything was finalized so the choice was theirs. And they chose to go with their mother and brothers. The twins never fully felt like Brian was a 'dad' to them. They never felt truly safe around him.
After grandpa had explained the rules to everyone in the house, they split up to start unpacking. The twins had chosen the attic as their room. For an attic, it had quite a bit of room spanning half the house, just no door leading up the stairs. Not having the ability to close a door for privacy is why Michael or Sam didn't choose the attic. The twins didn't mind it so much. Three bay windows opened up to let in fresh air. One of the windows beveled out for a nook, perfect for sitting on to relax. The twins hung their hammocks from the rafters in front of the larger bay window. They have preferred suspended soft woven cotton over hard mattresses since around the age of thirteen. It was relaxing and helped soothe sore muscles after a long day of gymnastics or their more dangerous activity of parkour. The daringly, dangerous activity of running over rooftops, scaling walls then doing flips fed the adrenaline junkies where gymnastics wasn't enough.
Then the twins turned sixteen and decided they each wanted a motorcycle like their brother Michael. They just happen to get better models. Michael has a Honda MX 250cc. He got a job and saved up to buy his bike. The twins just showed up back home after school one day with their almost identical Kawasaki Ninja GPX 750R, only a slight difference in the paint jobs. Jade's Ninja was black with green pinstriping. Kayla's was black with dark blue striping. Brian was livid when they told their parents that they paid cash for both of their bikes. Lucy was a little mad but more confused about where they got the money, and of course, she was worried the girls would get hurt. She was just as worried about Michael but didn't stop her children from living their lives. All she asked is that they do well in school.
Hanging up the hammocks was the easy part, now they had to open their boxes and organize their clothes, shoes, books, and sketchbooks. There was only one wardrobe to share and a small dresser. A couple of bare bookshelves lined the wall by the stairs but it was big enough to fit everything. A small desk pushed against the wall next to one of the side bay windows, that's where Jade set her kits for jewelry making. They had finished putting their clothes away when Sam yelled for them to come down for dinner. It was a quiet affair, the only sound was cutlery scraping dishes. Nanook occasionally whined for scraps from Sam.
After dinner, Lucy and Michael did the dishes discussing their plans for job hunting. Sam was messing with the stereo system in the living room, going through their grandpa's album collection. The twins were walking around the property before checking on their bikes. As Well as the rest of their art, such as finished paintings, skateboard decks, and a box of finished jewelry pieces. Jade noted that her bike needed an oil change and a tune-up before she rode it. Until then, they would either ride with mom or share Kayla's bike. Grandpa had given them permission to clear out one side of his garage for a workout space. They planned on putting in stall bars for stretching and pull-up bars. There's even a space for a weight bench for Michael and Sam. Kayla had convinced Sam to work out with them sometimes so he wasn't so 'scrawny'. Jade's words, not Kayla's.
"Hey you two, you want to come with us to the boardwalk?" Michael yelled from the porch. He and Sam were thinking of taking mom's SUV to get out for a bit.
Kayla and Jade hurried back inside to grab their leather messenger bags and met Mike at the door. But not before putting a dab of their perfume on. Jade's scent smelt of Strawberries and Hibiscus. Kayla's perfume smelt of Vanilla, and Oranges. Sam was already in the passenger seat, so Kayla and Jade got in the back.
The boardwalk was alive and packed. Loud music, bonfires, rides, and vendors stationed throughout. The twins saw the empty spots for more vendors and thought to ask mom if they could set up a kiosk to sell their art and jewelry. The four teenagers pushed their way through throngs of people to watch a live concert. The crowd was dancing, headbanging, and just enjoying the sweaty, oily man with the saxophone. Michael and Sam stood near a barrel fire watching the performance. The twins had ventured closer to the stage, the louder the better.
Halfway through the song, Michael's attention was caught by a very pretty girl. She was walking at a pace consistent with the rhythm of the music. Her ankle-length skirt swaying behind her, barefoot, and only a cropped white camisole covering her torso. A small boy trailing behind her. She had, as Michael described later, 'glided' right past him. Mike could not keep his eyes off her, even with Sam trying to turn his head back to the stage. The girl caught his eye, smiled slightly then turned and ran from the crowd. Michael dragged Sam along with him, completely forgetting about the twins.
The twins stayed at the front of the stage until the end of the show. At one point they were headbanging so hard, Kayla almost lost her shades. Once the music stopped they tried to find their brothers in the audience. They pushed through the crowd, keeping an eye out for Mike. Once out of the crowd and back on the boardwalk, Jade spotted them by a comic book shop, Sam went inside and Mike kept walking. "I found Sam." Jade pulled Kayla along to the comic book shop. They spotted Sam being followed around by a couple of guys his age.
Kayla adjusted her sunglasses, "Hey Sam, who are your friends?" The two guys behind Sam turned and looked at the twins.
One of the guys sneered at Kayla, "We don't serve your kind here." He looked her up and down, stopping at her eyes that were blocked by sunglasses. The guy mistook her wearing shades at night due to light sensitivity for hiding her true nature. The Frog brothers were always suspicious of everyone. Thinking those with paler complexions or are unnaturally beautiful were some sort of supernatural creature. They automatically assumed the twins were supernatural creatures because of their beauty and Kayla wearing shades at night.
Instead of getting upset in Kayla's case, or mad in Sam's and Jade's, they decided to creep them out. Kayla prepared herself mentally for the headache when she is exposed to bright lights. Kayla took off her shades and stood next to Jade. Sam knew from their stance they were going to do that creepy twin thing that freaks him out. So he stood closer to the exit, waiting until the twins were done.
The twins stood shoulder to shoulder, facing the boys. Every motion is synchronized. They tilted their head to the left and slowly blinked. Just the fact that Jade's eyes were two very different, intense colors, and Kayla's were a different color around the iris was unsettling enough. The boys, who they learned were named Edgar and Allan Frog, took a cautionary step back. "What's going on?" Allan asked his brother. Edgar just shook his head. Then the twins tilted to the right, blinking a couple more times in slow succession. The Frogs almost leaped back when Jade and Kayla stopped blinking and changed the shape of their pupil from a 'normal' round to cat-eye. The action was quick but it freaked them out, "AH!" Allan yelled, grabbing onto his brother as they scurried away knocking into some shelves, comics falling to the floor. The siblings could hear Edgar's quivering voice, "Dude, they're not human." Inadvertently putting a target on the twins' backs.
The three siblings left the comic book shop to go find Michael. It was getting late and they didn't want mom to worry. They walked towards the parking lot and found him staring off in the distance. Mike had chased the girl only for her to climb on the back of some dude's bike. Sam lightly teased him, "Come on, she stiffed ya." Jade straight laughed in his face, loudly, "HA HA!" Mike turned a bright red and made a bee-line for the SUV. The three younger siblings trailed behind him laughing.
Once they got back to grandpa's house or home as it were, they each went into their rooms. The twins changed into nightclothes, stretched out their muscles, and got into their hammocks.
Earlier that night
Marko was not in a good mood tonight. He woke up with a new and strange sensation in his chest and a scent stuck in his nose. The sensation in his chest felt like he was being pulled towards something. It was racking his brain and making his cold dead heart twinge. The scent was sweet-smelling, like Vanilla and oranges. Like one of those creamsicles. He entered the main room of the cave where his brothers were waiting. He took a deep sniff, "You guys smell that?" He was subconsciously rubbing his chest trying to get the pulling sensation to go away.
The other three just looked at him before his best friend, Paul, broke the silence, "I told you not to eat those tacos." The other two, David and Dwayne chuckled.
Marko shook his head, "Nah, man. It's like someone spilled Vanilla onto Oranges. I started smelling it in my sleep, and it keeps getting stronger. It smells good, but it's like burnt into my nostrils." He pulled his hand away from his chest to bite his thumbnail.
Paul didn't want to say anything but he was smelling Strawberries and something flowery. He, too, was rubbing his chest trying to rid himself of the strange pulling sensation. The smell had crept up his nose during the day and had imprinted on his brain. He thought it was because of the weed he smoked before bed. But weed has never done that to him. Paul thought he was losing his mind until Marko said he smelt Vanilla and Oranges. He pulled a joint out of his jacket pocket and lit it, passing it to Marko. Paul gave his best friend and brother a knowing look. "Strawberries and some sort of flower." Marko's eyes widened for just a moment then he steeled his expression but Paul caught it.
David lit a cigarette and took a drag before giving orders to Star, "Star, take care of Laddie when we get to the boardwalk and get something to eat." It was an order to go with them but keep an eye on Laddie. David had kept Star in the cave for the past few days to hopefully build up her hunger enough to fully turn. She was fighting the urge to feed because she didn't want to be a vampire, so David wouldn't allow her to have any blood to quell the hunger in hopes she would finally make her first kill. Laddie, on the other hand, David wanted him to wait until he was older before he made his first kill. When Star had seen the boys feed she freaked out and ran. She came upon Laddie alone on the beach and attacked him, and nearly killed him. Star brought him back to the cave and pleaded for David to save him. It was Dwayne that had convinced his leader and brother to have Laddie turned into a half to save his life.
The four vampires and two halves headed out to the boardwalk on their motorcycles. Star rode with David and Laddie rode with Dwayne. They recklessly drove over the sand, around, or through the bonfires in Marko and Paul's case. People jumped out of the way so they didn't get run over. Each had their own unique style of terrorizing the population whether on their bikes or just walking around the boardwalk. David always led the pack, followed closely by his brothers. Dwayne loves to speed, feels like he is flying when he drives fast. Marko and Paul tend to circle each other, kick at each other when they get close enough or see how long they could hold a 'wheelie'.
Four motorcycles and their riders expertly rode up the boardwalk and parked in a spot they have claimed for themselves. The locals know to never mess with the Lost Boys or their bikes. Well, everyone except the Surf Nazis. They're the only ones stupid enough to mess with the Lost Boys. Usually ending in a bloody fight, coupled with bruised knuckles and broken bones. Only for the offending Surf Nazis to turn up later, washed up on the shore drained dry of their blood.
Star was quick to dismount from behind David and gather Laddie to get him some dinner. David and the boys stood by their bikes for a bit. Paul and Marko rough-housing like normal, while Dwayne stood against the railing. He was keeping an eye on the two blondes, making sure they didn't get out of hand. The two blondes were trying to act as normal as possible with the pulling in their chest feeling more like a chain yanking them. David stood near his bike and scanned the many faceless faces of the boardwalk, smoking a cigarette. David caught sight of a group of barely dressed women, shamelessly trying to get their attention. These women knew the Lost Boys were trouble, just not how much. "Come on boys, let's get a bite to eat." He pushed away from his bike and headed for the group of women, his boys following behind him.
Paul and Marko having a conversation amongst themselves, these new feelings and scents made them anxious. They didn't want David to hear anything. At least, not yet. "The scent is stronger. After we eat, we should go find it," Paul wanted to search for wherever the scent was coming from, but his hunger won out. Marko nodded in agreement, "It's so strong I can taste it." They continued to follow their pack brothers while keeping their senses open, hoping to cross paths with whatever or whomever the scent was attached to. The pulling in their chest may be coming from whoevers scent they captured.
Sometime after disposing of the bodies the Lost Boys made their way back to the boardwalk. David could feel how anxious Marko and Paul were, "Ok, what's going on with you two? You've been in a rush since we woke up." He lit a cigarette, waiting for them to answer.
Marko and Paul looked at each other, they knew they couldn't keep anything from their brothers. Marko exhaled heavily through his nose, Paul rubbed the back of his neck. "You know how Marko said he smelt a scent before even waking up?" Paul asked rhetorically. David made a hand gesture, 'go on', taking another drag of his cigarette. "Well, I started smelling a different scent before I woke up. Strawberries and some kind of flower. The scents got stronger now that we're here and we kind of want to go find it. And there's this feeling in my chest, like I'm being pulled to something." Marko nods along, not wanting to say too much in case David gets pissed.
David looked over his brothers, noting that they were fidgeting, constantly looking around, their nostrils flaring wanting to catch these scents. Throwing the butt down and stomping it out, exhaling the last bit of smoke. "Come on, let's go talk to Max." Spitting his name out like it was poisonous.
A Little While Later
"Mated! What do you mean, Mated?" David was losing his cool in front of his sire. Thinking there's no such thing as mates.
Max just sighed and continued to explain, "If you boys would have listened to me years ago, you would have known this. It's rare for us to find them but it happens. When a vampire finds their mate, they find the one person that completes them. It's like the bond you have with each other but stronger. Once the pair is bonded, they become more powerful, almost unstoppable. If what you're telling me is true then Paul and Marko may be in close proximity to their mates."
The boys are speechless. Dwayne thought over everything, he was happy for his brothers albeit a little jealous. Paul and Marko sat on the floor against the couch on either side of David inside Max's office at the video store, rubbing their chest as the feeling gets almost painful. David was livid. He didn't like the idea that his brothers were possibly mated to humans.
Max took off his glasses to rub his eyes, cleaned the lenses with the bottom of his shirt then put them back on. "It would be best that you find your mates and turn them. The last vampire who denied himself his mate went insane and stepped out into the sun." With that last statement, Max opened his office door and sent the boys on their way. Thinking to himself how lucky his boys were to have found their mate.
The Lost Boys made their way back to their bikes just as Star and Laddie rounded a corner. A guy following close behind stopped short when he saw Star get on David's bike behind him. The Lost Boys revved their engines as the guy's siblings caught up to him. A boy and a pair of twins laughed as they teased him. David didn't notice Paul and Marko stiffening up before relaxing onto their bikes. They caught their prospective scents and it was so close it was calming, but the pulling sensation became painful. After taking off and getting further away from the scents, the two blonde vampires started feeling irritated and anxious. Marko spoke to David as they rode off the boardwalk towards their home, "David, I think Max is right." Not wanting to push the subject any further at the moment, David gave a noise of agreement over their link.
They spent the rest of the night as they usually do. Paul getting stoned, occasionally sharing with his brothers. Marko tended to his pigeons. Dwayne is sitting on the couch reading or riding his skateboard. David sat in his wheelchair/throne contemplating how to snag these mates for his brothers. He didn't realize they were going to practically drop in his brothers' laps.