Chapter 6: Kalel

After my weird paint experience with Soubi, I decided to stay in Kio's room until Bloodless came for me. Kio's room is really a crap pit. Everywhere I look there are papers, exams, paints, and sucker sticks. Dammit, what a pig! I mean, I don't mind a little mess, but this is just gross! On the floor he leaves garbage. In his closet he leaves trash. Even his bed is stuffed with his crap!!

Of course, I'm not going to live in Kio's filth, so I took the liberty of cleaning his room. After all, I was going to be living there for a while, at least until my partner came for me. While hunting for a wastebasket, I spotted a rather small refrigerator in the far corner. I opened it, and I found stacks of beer cans as tall as the fridge itself! Holy crap!

"Whoa," I gasped. All this time Kio had been holding out on me and Soubi! I immediately snatched one of the cans, careful not to bring the whole stack crashing down. I popped open the lid. Ooh, what a refreshing sound it made… ah. So sweet! I haven't drank anything like this for a long time. Kio must be a sweet tooth. Oh, duh. I gulped down the beer, letting the cool taste linger on my tongue. Once I emptied the can, I tossed it into the waste bag I had began while cleaning. If Kio's got an entire mini-fridge of beer in his room, he's gotta have a sucker stash hidden somewhere else. I wonder if he has vanilla flavored.

I continued my cleaning, slowly sipping another beer as I moved around the room. (What? Kio's not drinking it, so I might as well.) I found hundreds of sucker sticks, but not a single whole candy (Trust me. I've found a couple half-eaten ones already). Kio's more clever than I give him credit for. By the time I finished cleaning most of the room, I still hadn't found where he was hiding his stash. I didn't think he'd hide the candies under his bed. It's too creepy under there, even for someone like him. I dug around his closet, and I even tapped the floor for trapdoors. (Soubi's on the second floor. How did I come up with that idea??) Still, there were no signs of any candy, whole or not.

After my twelfth drink, I struck gold! Well, not literally. Oh, you know what I mean! I finally found Kio's sucker stash. He has so many! They're all different colors, and flavors, too. The smell of them all filled the room as I dragged the candy-filled paint bucket out from beneath Kio's dresser. I couldn't wait to get my hands on some real food! Kidding, kidding…

I slipped my hand into the sea of candy, searching for the right sucker. I tried several times before I got the flavor I wanted. But, I kept pulling a pudding or cola flavored sucker before I finally found a vanilla flavored one. Ha ha! Suckers and liquor! Not a good combination.

I stumbled out into the hall, chewing softly on the vanilla candy in my mouth. Damn, I was so dizzy. Maybe twelve drinks was too much. My head began to feel light. My vision blurred to the point where I could hardly make out distinct shapes. Rubbing my eyes, I slowly stepped forward, trying to find the bathroom.

"Aspirin," I muttered. "Jorele, get me…some…damn aspirin." As I fell to the floor, black edges closed in on my vision. I remember Soubi calling out my name and running toward me, and then darkness took over.

Jorele, I thought, you better be here when I wake up, or I'll kick your ass.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

When I woke up, the light outside the windows had already grown dim. My head felt less light. My forehead was wet. What the hell happened to me after I fell?

"Good. You're awake." I gasped. Could it be? No, it couldn't. "You took a very nasty fall," Jorele informed me. Oh my god! Jorele! He finally came!

"Jorele!" I cried, rapidly sitting up. Jorele gently grasped my shoulders, and he laid me back against the pillows I had been sleeping on.

"Relax, Kalel," he soothed. "Your bruise has stopped swelling, at least." He removed a damp cloth from my forehead, and he set it aside by my head. "When I arrived," he explained, "Kio and Soubi already had you propped up on pillows. At first, I thought you were terribly sick. But this-" He held up an empty beer can, the one I had been holding when I fell. "-proves that you only had too much to drink." I wrapped my arms around Jorele's waist. He's so warm to touch. I can never really believe that he's one of the Living Dead, a vampire.

"Where were you!?" I asked. "Why didn't you come for so long? Jorele, tell me. Don't give me that damn grin again. I want to know!" Jorele smiled at me. Dammit, he won't tell me. But, his face...God, don't ever let anyone permanently hurt his face.

"I'll explain later," he whispered, "but, now-" He leaned closer to me until I could feel his breath on my cheek. "-I need you." Poor Jorele. He hadn't taken any blood for several days. I could see in his face how desperately he needed my blood.

Pulling back my collar, Jorele slowly bared his teeth. Fangs. He softly pressed his mouth against my neck, slipping his fangs into the holes above my Name. Warm blood began to flow from my neck, and I began to feel dizzy again.

"Jorele…" I cringed as Jorele began to drink his fill. The sound he made, the frantic sucking on my blood, always scared me. He didn't sound human. He sounded like…a monster. No! Jorele isn't a monster. He's my partner, and he's a vampire.

"It's alright," Jorele whispered between swallows. "I promise to not take as much as last time."

"OH MY GOD!" Kio cried. "What the hell is going on?!" Jorele tore away from my neck, blood slowly trickling down his chin. Kio pointed at Jorele, his hand shaking. "Who the hell are you?!" he snapped. "What are you doing here?!" Jorele calmly wiped the blood from his lips.

"I've come for Kalel," he replied. "Leave us be, and we'll leave your home in peace." I buried my face in the pillows. I can't believe Kio saw us! How embarrassing!