Gunshots rang through the hallway. Gunshots and screams. Gunshots and laughter. The laughter almost drowned out the other two sounds. The laughter was deafening, booming, and sadistic. The laughter was my brother's.


They said all teenagers scare the living shit out of me


I was shaking inside and out. Gerard told me not to let the enemy know anything, and that I was doing a horrible job. He'd said I would cause us to fail. He said I would be the first to die. I didn't care. "I'd rather be the first to die!" I said. I didn't want to be a part of this. I never asked to. Gerard recruited me into his scheme, one which made no sense to me at all.

"Just wait," he kept saying. "You'll see it happen. Before you know it, it'll happen," he said with a smirk curling his lips up.

"I hope you know what you're doing," I said, stepping onto the curb in front of the school.

"Relax, little brother," he whispered into my ear. My body shivered involuntarily at the sound of his cunning voice. "Just don't forget everything I told you." With that, Gerard sped off into the school ahead of me.

Don't forget what? He never told me anything! All he ever said was to "just wait and it will happen." What will happen? I had an idea. Gerard was planning something big. Something that would bring every student in the hell hole known as high school to their knees. "Revenge," he liked to call it. "It's all about revenge."

Gerard's vicious words echoed between my ears, back and forth, over and over again. They were only temporarily interrupted every time a school bell would ring.

I should have cut school the minute I got there. Gerard and I didn't have any classes together. What would he do if he found out? Would he still go through with it? I couldn't be sure. None of this was like Gerard. Truth be told, I was scared, not really for me, but for him. There was something inside of him, something different, as if it were controlling him.


They could care less as long as someone will bleed


By lunch, I could feel myself wanting to explode, or implode rather. I wanted to collapse in on myself and forget this nonsense. I went over everything in my head, over and over again. Nothing was making sense. Step by step to the lunch room... it was all just a blur to me until one sound snapped everything back into focus.

One single explosion from a small, single point. Everything froze in its path. It was as if the school had transformed into a wax museum, and every statue was formed into the likeness of the students, myself included. Who had fired the gun? Who had been the target? The answers were obvious, but the reasons were unclear.

Gerard held the gun.

And the target had been no one.

No one dropped to the ground. No blood painted the walls. Terror was plastered on every student's face, except for my brother's, whose expression was of pure amusement.

"Gerard," I whispered in shock. Suddenly his gaze shifted in my direction. It was like he had heard me, despite the fact that I was much farther down the hall than him. "Why?" I mouthed, hoping childishly to guilt some sense into him.

"It's time to raise some hell!" Gerard screamed towards the ceiling. He swiftly raised the gun and fired shots in front of him, behind him, to either side, and the museum came to life as teenagers ran, quite literally for their lives. Gerard laughed harder every time he pulled the trigger, laughing at the students attempting to cower. "Show some spine you bastards! Who's so tough now?"

"Gerard! What are you doing!" I shouted at him.

He spread his arms out as if to motion what was happening. "Take a look around little brother!" Gerard's expression was full of joy. "Take a look around!"

Hesitantly, I did as he said. I expected to see teenagers hiding. I expected to see them huddling in corners, or slamming classroom door behind them. I expected to see tears and fear. Instead, I saw chaos. I saw students fighting each other. Fists collided with heads. Knees collided with groins. Blood spewed from everybody as skin broke open and sanity was lost.

"Wh-wha--" I gaped. "Gerard! What have you done?"

"I told you Mikey. I told you I would bring this school to its knees. I raised fucking hell in this place. I swore everyone in this damn place would pay, and now they're paying for it!" Gerard's malicious laugh seeped through my skin and into my bones. "All I had to do was get them started." Gerard pulled his glare away from the violence and directed it at me. "And you're the last piece of the puzzle, brother."

"What?"

"You're the only one not fighting. The way I see it, you either help me," Gerard raised the gun and pointed it at my chest, "or I'll finish this school off by myself." I took a step back and put out my arms.

"Gerard, you, you..." I tried miserably at reasoning with him. His eyes squinted, shrinking to hazel slits between streaks of messy, black hair.

"Bang," he mouthed before he pulled the trigger.


So darken your clothes, or strike a violent pose


An explosion erupted from the metal barrel, signaling to me my final moment before death. My eyes snapped shut, and I could feel my face scrunch up, wincing from the pain I was sure to feel. A moment passed before I realized I didn't feel anything. I carefully opened my eyes. Students were still fighting to their deaths at either side of me, savagely destroying one another, filling the hallways with chaos. The only person standing still, was the black-haired boy barely ten feet away from me.

My eyes widened with shock.

"Y-y-ou missed," I stammered.

"Aim doesn't mean shit if you're using blanks."

"B-blanks?"

"Duh! All it takes is a little pandemonium, a little hysteria, to light the fuse and set everyone off! And then it spreads, like an infection, and it can't be stopped!" He chuckled and examined the gun, pleased with all the noise it had made. "No need to get any blood on my hands!"

My body trembled, sweat began to bead on my brow, and my hands clenched into fists. All of a sudden a switch had been flipped in my head. I was suddenly at the command of my instincts.

"Baby Brother," Gerard patronized me. "You know you want to!"

"Hurt," I spat out. Gerard flashed a toothy grin. "You!" I charged at my older brother, following a one-way path of thought. What else was there to do? Be sane? Be logical? Hell no! I wanted to see him bleed! And I wanted to be the one that made him do it.


Maybe they'll leave you alone but not me

I fought the urge to tear my eyes open. I knew that the moment I did, I would be faced with the truth. A truth I wasn't entirely prepared to greet. There was an edge of the impossible, of the unnatural, of the supernatural... so much that if I were to come to the conclusion that this outcome would be true... none of the outcomes were looking pleasant in any case.

Yet I could not deny that it had happened. The new sensations were consuming my body like flames... especially in my throat. The flames licked at my throat and I chose to ignore it, for the time being. Although how long that would last would only go on for as long as I could continue to feed myself the lies. Not long, I thought to myself. The flames that overwhelmed the rest of my body were less painful, and more full of longing... longing to do something that wasn't human. Longing to put the newly evolved senses and abilities to good use.

Already I could feel the air on my cool skin. I felt every molecule of air make contact with my arms, my face, my bare neck... Already I could feel a strength building up in my limbs, anxiously awaiting their first attempt at use. Their first brush with... a hunt.

It was inevitable. A hunt. Every little thing I was feeling would contribute... even the burning in my throat... the thirst. Even the senses I hadn't found yet. While the hearing... it was there, but it was only just then that I noticed the power of that particular sense. A cool breeze. A rustle of trees. A bird landing on a branch. A slight lap of water against a shore. Footsteps. Breath. Heartbeats. Blood gushing through veins.

No! I ordered myself, trying to keep my humanity intact. Trying to remember the morals and ethics I kept before my soul was ripped from my body in the form of a bite. Painful, fierce, almost deadly. And yet that pain was almost nothing compared to the thirst. Burning my throat, urging me to finally awaken from this transformation and begin my afterlife.

I would not allow it though. I could not allow myself to stoop to the level of my murderer. I could only imagine where he was off to then. What he was up to. Probably seducing another young woman, hypnotizing her with his glowing, ruby eyes accented by the gold tint. The pale, luminescent skin, which glowed in the moonlight, drawing her nearer until he could get his grasp on her, a firm hold that she would not be able to escape from. Holding her body, warm with blood, against his cold one, intoxicated by her scent. Feeding her lies about what could be between them; what would never be between them, all because of the undying thirst that dominated his existence. She would offer herself to him, in any way, only to be greeted, not by a kiss, but by sharp teeth tearing into her skin, ripping apart her neck, spilling the red liquid across her skin for the monster to feed upon.

And a limp body would fall to the ground... never to breathe another breath. Never to pump another beat of the heart. Never to see daylight again. Much as my story. And yet... they were the lucky ones, because they would never feel the thirst.

I was a part of the living dead, and that statement alone puzzled me. Stories swarmed about him and how he never left a victim alive, not even in the undead sense. Even though I had yet to open my eyes, I knew he had spared me just enough life to turn me... the unbearable transformation... with pain that was nothing compared to this curse I now felt.

And then I heard it. The scream. That was rare. Even I knew that was rare because an experienced vampire knew how to silence their victim before the kill. I didn't even scream, even when I knew I was losing my soul to some monster. When at that moment, I realized, it was my own scream... just then. I... was... thirsty...

My eyes snapped open and I found myself in the inevitable realization. Lies could not help me nor save me now. The night was pitch black but it appeared clearly to me. Every little detail was observed in every little thing. But the clarity of my vision was a minor distraction to the senses coming together as one.

A beating heart, maybe two city streets over, blood gushing through the poor, innocent soul's body. The thumping pulsated through the air. I could feel it pounding against my skin, giving my body the faint illusion of having a heartbeat. I picked myself up off the sidewalk and smiled at the thought until the smell overcame me. The sweet, luscious smell of the liquid that tied that being to life. I craved it. I could feel my mouth watering... had that been a possibility. Just my mind playing a trick on me as I lusted for that drink... a drink that could end the thirst.

"No!" I shouted aloud, grabbing at my head to cover my ears. It did no good. I could still hear the life around me just waiting to be ended. "I c-can't... I-I w-won't."

"But you will," a new voice stated nonchalantly. I recognized that voice all too well, yet it was so much more clear to my changed ears.

"W-why?" I stuttered, feeling unnatural in doing so, for words should have come more easily in my state.

"I'm afraid you'll have to elaborate, dear. There are too many 'why's' for this world to be answered before sunrise."

"Why did you... spare me?"

The vampire laughed and suppressed a snort at my question. "I did nothing of the sort my dear."

"I'm not dead. Not really, anyway."

"Trust me. Had I spared you, you wouldn't be standing right now. You'd be in a morgue with a sheet covering your head and a tag on your toe."

"Then why... did you make me... like you?" I faced the vampire and glared at his eyes. They were still shining ruby and gold, contrasting with his pearl skin. An overwhelming urge to touch that almost silky looking surface overpowered me. I took a step forward and raised my hand nearer to his face, only for my wrist to be clasped within the monster's icy fingers.

"Touch your own face from now on," he smirked.

"But... why? Why... me?"

"Because I know you, my dear. I know what you desire. What lied beneath your heart when it was still of use to you. You had desires, and the drive to fulfill them. I knew you would survive as one of us."

"So you cursed me? You're forcing me to continue existing as a murderer when you could have easily finished me off and offered yourself a full meal?"

"Now what would be the fun of that?" The vampire pulled my hand down out of the way, and touched my chin with his other hand. His gaze met with mine and I could see my own reflection in his glassy eyes. I drew back from shock, desperate to find a mirror. The vampire seemed to know what I was thinking and chuckled. I searched for a mirror, or a reflective surface at the very least. A large store window was my only source. A smile spread across the monster's face as he took in my expression. "Don't believe everything you're told," he answered smugly, taking in my amazement that I could see myself. However after the initial shock had faded, I was faced with an ugly truth. There was a problem in that though. I wasn't hideous. Far from it. A shocking beauty gaped back at me. What was ugly was what I had become.

Glossy, white skin stretched across my body, smooth as glass that could not be shattered. My eyes were a different kind of glass. A stained glass. Red, with gold flecks to match the killer behind me. Fangs. Those should have been expected. They did not creep over my lip though... they remained in my mouth, but with their length, they left me in an uncomfortable state when my lips pressed together. I had to keep my mouth open and my teeth bared... white, spotless teeth that shone in the pale moonlight. And another small detail, which you would expect to be overlooked in such a case... The drying blood staining my dress, starting from the neck where no teeth marks seemed to have ever been. My tousled hair and ragged clothing only seemed to add to the fierceness my new body possessed.

"Happy yet?" The monster behind me asked. "Or are you still not pleased?"

To someone who did not understand the situation would have assumed the two of us belonged to each other. Like we were made for each other. Or maybe...

"Did you make me... for you?" I asked, somewhat hesitantly. The vampire didn't reply, but his reflection smiled smugly back at me. I whipped around to face him again, landing but an inch from his face. "What do you want from me?"

"It's no longer what I want, my dear. It's what you want."

"A-and what i-is that?"

The monster spun me around to face the direction of the beating hearts. He rested his cool hands on my shoulders and whispered two words in my ears... "To kill..."

An unnatural shiver ran down my spine.  My eyes glazed over and I straightened my posture. A rush of adrenaline was sent through my entire body. Every limb ached with a new desire. There was only one thing on my mind then. I took a step forward, and another, and another. A piercing set of eyes watched me with approval.

All I wanted to do... was kill.