Tough Kitten

It is the side of the highway in the middle of the night. Lights from a small town can be seen far away through the trees. No cars are passing on this lonely strip. The moon can be seen high and bright in the sky. The stars shine down brilliantly, the road reflecting the light brightly. It throws everything into sharp relief as like a floodlight. You can see all the details of the only occupant as though through the lens of a camera. A hitchhiker sits on the side of the road. A boy, barely fifteen, but he could pass as older, and is definitely trying.

At first glance he looks normal, quite attractive, but then other things come into focus. He is very pale and has bleach blond hair, almost white. His eyes are a little too bright and are deep set. They look odd in his face as though they belong to someone or even something else, and he is only barrowing them. Many times he has been told he has the face of an angel with the eyes and mind of a devil. Many times he has agreed, half heartedly, not wanting to admit his secret fear, the secret knowledge burning inside his mind like the hell fires that spawned it. “Not like other boys,” means a lot of different things, but he gives it a new meaning entirely.

He is dressed simply, a black tee shirt and black jeans. He could pass for an average kid until you got to the shoes. Platform boots with skull buckles. The kind people pay a fortune for at a specialty store. His long thin hands terminate in black painted fingernails with most of the paint chipped off. He looks like a kid trying to pass as normal. His hair is long and straight. It barely reaches his shoulders and has a gleam to it that attests to its care. He is attractive in that sharp way. The way that makes you think of razor blades and leather jackets. He has an expression on his face of complete boredom, though to a trained eye it is false. He has been sitting here for nearly an hour when a vehicle pulls up. He stands up quickly.

 It is a black car, one of those town cars that are made for old people but look like mafia sedans. The man driving has blond hair longer then the boys, skin as pale, and eyes as bright though their color differs slightly. He has a ready smile and beckons the boy into the car. The boy has a strange fleeting urge to run the other way, but he gets in.

"Domain Ventew." The man says as he shakes the boys hand. He has an exaggerated French accent that the boy barely believes.

"Dominic Fuhrer." He says a bit reluctantly, telling his real name wasn’t a good idea but he did it anyway. This man confused him. He was young, barely older than Dominic but held himself like a grown man.

"Nice to meet you Dominic, may I ask where you're headed?"

"Oh, nowhere in particular," He says, knowing it’s a bad answer. "Wherever I can get." Domain looks at him with a knowing smile.

"What are you running from?" The man asks. Dominic was tempted momentarily to tell the truth. Puberty was the thing that came to mind. 

"Oh nothing." Dominic said, it wasn't the truth, but neither was puberty. He could say family but that wasn't true either. His family was dead. They wouldn't come after him.

"So Dominic is a normal boy on the road, that true?" Domain had a keen eye. He had that look as if he knew he was being lied to. It was almost as though he could read minds. Dominic was scared.

"Yeah, what did you think, I had massacred my family in a moment of boredom, and was now running before the neighbors find out I am still alive?" He laughed nervously. He shouldn't have said that, it was bad form to scare your ride. But Domain scared him first. But all Domain did was grin and flash those all knowing eyed on him. Dominic shivered.

"Of course not. That doesn’t really happen, only monsters kill their families. Monsters who come out at the full moon. That was yesterday. But you wouldn't know that, normal people don't watch the moon." He was laughing and his teeth were white and strange. The canines were small and thin and there was a sharp tooth on the far side of them. On bottom and top. "No, that doesn't happen." he looked out the window at the clear night sky. So many stars, you never saw that many stars in the city, or the moon, except maybe once a month. But there it was as full as last night, but tonight it had a reddish glow.

He felt the car slow to a stop on this lonely country road. His first ought was that this man is going to kill me; this man is going to rape and kill me. He was going to be left in the woods to die. And he didn’t care because he deserved it. He almost wanted to die for what he had done. He heard his sister’s screams, and shook his head quickly. He felt the man's breath on his neck. It sent a shiver through him, not of fear but of pleasure. The man let out a small laugh.

"No you don't. You don't. It doesn't matter what you have done. I can smell the blood on you, despite the washing. And I can smell the fear, the guilt. I can smell your wanting too." He drew one sharp fingernail across Dominic’s neck, and Dominic gasped. "But its okay. You couldn't help it. I understand." Dominic looked at him as though he was the Devil and God all rolled into one. Or something worse, someone who knew his secret. Domain turned away and opened his car door. He walked around and opened Dominic’s door. He offered his hand and Dominic shrunk back. Then took his hand. He stepped out. He closed the door behind him and fallowed Domain in to the woods lining the road. They stopped after a minute. Domain sunk to the ground, and pulled Dominic down with him. He smiled and he moon above illuminated those startling teeth. 

"You're what is called a Kinded. It means you were switched at birth."

"Switched with what?" For some reason he believed him, mainly because of those teeth, he had them too. Teeth like a cat’s that dentists never understood. Also the eyes, the eyes were the same. And then there was that feeling, as though they had met before. Even his name was familiar, Domain, something told him it meant quiet, though in what language he wasn’t sure. Domain smiled.

"You are a printet. Do you know what that means?" he started to say no, but then thought about it.

"Cat child" he whispered. What language was this, he only spoke English.

"Correct" Domain whispered back. "A kinded printet is a printet that was switched at birth. Usually your urges, your powers will come out at around 7, but when kinded they wait till puberty. Then they show full force. That’s what happened to you. The full moon hit you and you killed those closest to you. You don't have to worry. It won’t happen again. I will teach you." It hadn't clicked till then that this man was what he was speaking of. He was a printet.

"Very good. A little slow but the conclusion is right. I am a printet. I am immortal. And now so are you. Most printets get to choose their age but you weren’t that lucky. You freeze at that moment you have your first blood. But it’s a good age, no mustache or pimples. I was about the same age. The smooth cheeks are what I liked best. And you speak Ventew. That’s our language, all vamporkeels speak it. Vamporkeel is just another word for otherworldly creatures. "

"So I’m a..a...printet? I'm not crazy?" Domain laughed

"You might be crazy. Most of us are to some extent.” He was still laughing; he pulled Dominic closer to him. His lips were on Dominic's neck and he was kissing him. Dominic wasn’t gay, but right now something inside said this was okay, this was right. Domain met his lips and he only resisted for a second. His lips were soft but his tongue had a rough texture like a cat. Domain laughed again as though he heard the thought, he probably had. He kissed Dominic’s neck again and started pulling his shirt off. As he did Dominic heard him whisper. "You're one of us now, little kitten. Now you have to learn the ropes."

 

Reviews

[Anthony Morningstar]

You really set this scene up well. Thanks for posting this.

[Dave Lounsbury]

I liked this piece, you painted quite the vivid picture with your words.
I also thought the dialogue was very natural and flowed well.
Nice work!