Brothers of the Night

A Story by Aaron

A short story about a friendship that takes some unexpected turns.

It started just like any other night, yet it was a night that forever changed the course of my life. I was doing my usual routine; eating an ice cream bar on the swings, alone, and looking at the stars. I didn’t have many friends, especially in my neighborhood. Most of the kids around there were troubled, committing crimes like petty theft and tagging. Me, I was a nerd to the max you could say. You know, the type that read books, played video games and did cosplay. I never thought I’d ever make a true friend, especially with some things in common, until I met Sam.

As a kid there were two things that frightened me: spiders and dark, underground places. It was just my luck that the underground parking garage was on my way home. Every time I passed it I’d imagine the most horrible things coming out; big hairy trolls, witches, even giant bugs. Sometimes I would just run until I reached my door, other nights like that one I would just drag my feet and whimper. The peculiar thing was that it sounded like someone else was shedding tears at the same time. I felt bad that someone sounded like they were in trouble, but being alone at night made me leery of investigating.

I don’t know what compelled me, but something inside told me to check things out. The crying was coming from the bottom of the stairs leading to the parking garage. As I approached I looked in every spot, like the shadows, where someone could be hiding. It was also cold enough that frost covered everything, even a spider’s web. All I could think about was how stupid it was for me to be alone late at night. I imagined some monster with fangs, claws and red glowing eyes popping out or at least a strange man.

“Hello?” I called down, but got no response of any kind. My mom had taught me the importance of helping people, but this situation was iffy. What if it was a prank? What if it was a predator’s trap? The crying continued and seemed to get more pathetic. I took a deep breath, blew a kiss at my mom’s bedroom window thinking I’d never see her again, and put one foot forward. I also did the Sign of the Cross and I’m not even Catholic.

By the time I was halfway down, I felt a bit less anxious. Once I’d reached the bottom however, I froze right away. On the wall before me, in white spray paint, was the image of a cartoon vampire bat; it’s goofy smile giving me goosebumps instead of making me laugh. I looked away and that’s when I saw him; the little boy who was crying as hard as I was. He looked up at me with his big sad eyes, a sight I would never forget. I couldn’t tell if he was more frightened of me or me of him.

“Hi, I’m Alex. What’s your name?” I asked in my most friendly tone.

“Sam. Sam Cross,” the boy said while sniveling.

“What’s the matter? I hear you crying every night.”

“It’s nothing. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me,” I insisted.

“Well see it’s my dad. He means well, but…”

“But what?”

“He’s suffocating. I swear I can always feel him breathing down my neck, even when he’s not there.”

“Does he, you know, hurt you?”

“No, nothing like that. He just has a temper and is very protective of me.”

“Listen, it’s getting late and-”

“Wait! Please don’t go yet. Just stay with me for a few more minutes ok? Maybe we can play a game.”

I really did need to be getting home, but I felt sorry for Sam and so I stayed a while. We ended up playing a spirited game of hide and seek. The feeling of hanging out with someone like him was electric; I had goosebumps again and my heart raced. We made each other laugh, we did a little roughhousing and were just inseparable the whole night. “I really have to be getting home Sam, but before I go hold out your hand,” I told my new friend and wrote my phone number on his palm. He did the same for me, then waved and watched me leave with those sad eyes.

When I woke up the next morning, I told my mom about my new friend. I hadn’t had the chance to the night before since she chewed me out for being so late. It delighted her though and she even suggested I call and invite him over for lunch. As soon as I finished my cereal, I went to the phone and dialed his number. To my surprise, it just kept ringing until the answering machine kicked on. “He’s probably just out with his dad. He’ll call back soon enough,” my mom assured me.

I spent all morning and some of the afternoon by the phone. I played a video game and did some drawing to keep busy. I even did one of me and Alex in different situations together from camping to playing paintball. When my mom brought me some spaghetti, which happens to be my favorite dish, I turned it down for the first time. All I could think about was my new friend calling back. “He probably has homework. Why don’t you take your bath now? I’ll let you know if he calls,” my mom insisted.

The sun was finally going down, but still no call from Sam. Feeling awfully hungry, I heated up the leftover spaghetti. Sure enough, in the middle of my meal, the phone rang and I picked it right up. “Hey sorry it took me so long to call back. Meet me right outside the building,” Sam said, sounding eager to see me. I threw on my coat, gave my mom a kiss and was out of my apartment in a flash.

Like he’d promised, Sam was right outside the entrance to our building. He beamed when he saw me, even giving me a bear hug. Then he took my hand and led me right over to the playground. Since it seemed like he hadn’t had much fun in his life as of late, I followed his lead. We went on the teeter totter, we pushed each other on the swings and then we took turns scaring each other. To make things even more special, I brought some chocolate chip cookies my mom had baked. “Thanks, but I’m allergic to chocolate,” Sam told me, which I found odd, but was happy to have all the cookies to myself.

“So my mom told me I should invite you over for lunch. How about tomorrow?” I asked.

“That sounds great Alex, but I already have plans.”

“Like what kind of plans?”

“Oh just stuff. Father and son kind of stuff.”

“I see. Well, maybe some other time.”

“We could still do it tomorrow, but it would have to be dinner instead. Anyway I have to get going. Will you walk me back to our building?”

Before going inside, Sam gave me another big hug and held on for some time. He took his time going back inside, like he wasn’t ready to call it a night. Before I followed suit, I looked up to see a man staring down at me from a sixth floor window. The first thing I noticed was his perfectly chiseled face, which surrounded two piercing eyes. He was wearing a suit and his hair was expertly cut; he looked too upper class to be living in the suburbs. Slowly he turned and went back inside, not letting his eyes leave me until his head was completely turned around.

Since my mom hadn’t been feeling well the last few hours, I heated myself up a TV dinner. For some reason I decided to have it in my room, like it was fate. I took one bit of meatloaf when I heard talking outside. Without pause I went to my window and looked straight down. There were two men, one tall and one short, and they were carrying what looked like a large black trash bag. Upon further inspection I found it was a body bag. “No way. He wouldn’t do something like that,” I told myself when I realized Sam was the one carrying the legs.

Though I was absolutely terrified, I decided to sneak out and follow my friend and his dad upstairs. Sam dragged his feet, which got his father’s temper flaring up. “What’s the matter with you? You want us to get caught?” he barked. Next thing I knew, the door to their apartment was open and I could see inside the living room. I gasped and swiftly covered my mouth when I saw a coffin lying on the floor. It was ornate, it’s colors black and white, like it were the resting place of some European emperor; the style I later learned was Gothic.

After practically running a marathon down the stairs, I locked myself in my room. The images I’d seen repeated in my head like a slide show kicked into high gear. Tears flowed down my cheeks at the heartbreak I felt over what my friend had done. “He’s a murderer. They’re both murderers and I don’t think I can ever face him again,” I lamented. I then peeked through the crack in my door to make sure my mom was still asleep. Then I climbed under the covers, in tears, and drifted off to sleep and into the first of many horrific nightmares to come.

All my young life I’d been a good sleeper, but that night I tossed and turned like I were on a ship during a storm. I was drenched in sweat and shaking like crazy from the anxiety the next morning. So that my mom wouldn’t ask what was wrong, I took a few deep breaths and changed my clothes. Lucky for me she was too busy on the phone with my aunt to notice my distressed state. As I sat at the table picking at my eggs and bacon I thought, What am I going to do? I can’t fight this alone, but who’s gonna believe me?

One thing I was not going to do that day was sit around and worry. I kept myself busy by doing chores and playing video games; my mom was of course happy about the housework part and didn’t question it. All the while though, the only thing I could think of was Sam and what I would say or do the next time I saw him. No way could we continue to be friends unless his dad had intimidated him into helping out. It dawned on me that maybe he wanted out of the life of being a vampire. “Maybe I can help him. He’s been a good friend to me so far, so I owe it to him,” I told myself.

Nightfall finally arrived, but after leaving a voicemail and sending two text messages, I still hadn’t heard from Sam. I played on each piece of playground equipment so many times I’d probably set a record. It was freezing cold to the point I could see my breath and that puddles were solid ice. Every shadow I saw brought horrible images to my mind; the worst was the one of a wrinkly, fanged witch with a meat cleaver. Having had enough of the cold and isolation, I dragged myself inside the building.

The closer I got to my apartment, the clearer the noises inside it became. There were people talking and laughing, but I couldn’t tell if they were real or from the TV. I checked my phone one last time, but still had no text from Sam or my mom. My stomach grumbled, so I hurried inside for dinner. The moment I turned after shutting the door, I stopped dead in my tracks like a deer in the headlights. Sitting across from my mom, charming the pants off her, was Sam’s father. “Oh there you are. We were just talking about you,” Sam said cheerfully.

“Alex honey, this is Mr. Shearer. Jack, this is my son Alex,” my mother said proudly.

“A pleasure to finally meet you. Sam says nothing but nice things,” Mr. Shearer said while extending his hand.

“Well go on honey. Shake the nice man’s hand,” my mother insisted.

There was an awkward silence for some time after introductions. My mom seemed to be herself and Mr. Shearer was being very polite, but I couldn’t loosen up. Sam tried to get me to play a video game with him, but I turned him down each time. “I’m not up to it tonight. Maybe tomorrow,” I told him, which made him look rather sad. Then my mom threw me a stern look and I decided to humor him. But every chance I got, I glanced over at her as Sam’s slime ball dad put the moves on her.

“All right guys, time to wash your hands. We’ll set the table,” my mom announced. I washed my hands after Sam, who went and helped him dad set the glasses. It was then that I realized that was all they were setting. My mom suddenly took my arm and led me over to the head of the table. I looked up into her eyes, which then were like two deep wells of blackness. She, Sam and Mr. Shearer all smiled like a trio of sharks ready to feast on a defenseless school of fish.

“So I was thinking tonight we’d have something different for dinner,” my mom began.

“An old family recipe?” Mr. Shearer asked.

“You could say that,” my mom told him.

The three of them laughed heartily. I tried to follow suit, but mine just came out sounding nervous.

“What’s so funny? Guess it’s an inside joke,” I said.

Sam took my left arm and squeezed it. There was hunger in his eyes.

“It is an inside joke Alex. And after tonight, you’ll be in on all our jokes,” Sam said to me.

I didn’t believe it at first, but when I looked at everyone including my mother they all had fangs. I struggled, but to my surprise Sam had an iron tight grip on my arm. The three of them started closing in on me, their mouths wide open and reaching for spots where a vein was popping out. “Just think, we’ll all have the family we’ve been lacking,” Mr. Shearer said. I could feel his razor sharp fangs poking the skin of my right arm, near penetration. Next thing I know, he recoiled and wailed after I touched his face with a small metal crucifix.

A bit of smoke emanated from Mr. Shearer’s face and a cross shaped scar was left behind on his right cheek. My mom and Sam just stood there in shock and not a word was said for several moments. That was when father and son stood beside each other and slowly charged at me. Without thinking, I picked up one of the chairs and smashed it on the linoleum floor. Sam lunged at me, but came to a halt after I plunged one of the legs through his chest, which went through his dad’s as well. Sam looked at me with that same puppy dog face from the other day and a lone tear rolled down his cheek. “How could you do this? We were going to be brother,” he said.

After the pile of ashes was almost all gone, I went to my mom and took her hand. “I’m sorry you had to see that mom. I was hoping to do it in private,” I told her for comfort. At first she looked at me like I was some crazy person. Then she stuck her fingers in her mouth, finding her fangs were gone, and started crying. We embraced and stayed that way a while as the ashes blew away, though the open kitchen window, until they were no more.

My mom and I spent the rest of the night trying to forget what had happened. Not feeling like cooking, she made some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and we ate while playing a spirited game of Scrabble. In fact, it would be the first of many nights where we’d play games together. As much fun as I was having though, there was a lonely feeling inside me for a while after that night. I really liked Sam before I discovered who he really was and believed I could turn him. Ever since that night I’ve been careful who I got involved with and just take things slow.