Switchblade - 6
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A summer storm had drenched the streets during the day. Taemin walked along wet sidewalks, feeling entirely unsafe. He kept his hand in his pocket and near his weapon as he moved alongside buildings. Humans scrambled here and there, most of them whispering that they needed to hurry and get home soon. He heard one girl yell her friend's name, begging him desperately not to leave her alone.
I don't want to be alone..
In the distance, there was a scream that made mostly everyone freeze. Taemin kept moving along slowly. Sounds like this in the night were becoming pretty common. If he ran towards every scream he heard, he'd never stop running.
"I can't do this," he said in a quiet, tearful voice, "I can't do this by myself."
It happened so quick, the same as it must be happening for people all throughout the city. A man, slender and even short, walked up to Taemin and grabbed his arm with great strength, pulling him suddenly faster forward.
"What?" Taemin clutched his switchblade in his pocket, pulling it quickly out. "Let go of me!"
The man was wordless, just giving a small little laugh. Then they arrived at a narrow alley between buildings and the man shoved Taemin hard into it, out of sight. He shoved so hard that Taemin fell on his back.
Taemin's switchblade remained in hand, but the alley was dark. The man didn't even seem to notice it. He showed Taemin a knife of his own, and very swiftly dropped down onto Taemin's waist.
Taemin's blade jolted out of hiding. He didn't think. He just thrusted his weapon forward, until his blade pierced through the man's chest. The man gave a shocked, soft cry before collapsing down on top of Taemin.
Taemin made a disgusted noise as he turned the man over and off of him. His hand was wet with blood after accidentally touching the man's chest. Taemin looked at his own palm, for a moment thinking of course to wipe the blood off. A memory moved through his brain, though. There was a time when vampire blood...
He just barely touched his tongue to his palm, testing. It tasted horrible, but it made him feel strange. Prickly? Maybe that was just disgust. No, he knew better. It was just a tiny bit of what he'd felt before.
Taemin gave his hand a better lick. This time the energy moved through him pleasantly. In a moment, he was down on his knees, lowering his mouth over the man's bleeding wound...
"Cut yourself," Taemin demands through chattering teeth. His whole body is hunching a little at the cold, trying to find warmth within himself that isn't there. The gun he holds is now an after thought, that he just barely manages to aim at the vampire standing across from him.
Chances are that he couldn't look more unstable, and Joon appears thoroughly intimidated. "Okay. Alright. Where?"
"Any.." Taemin's body shudders violently and he coughs. This time he feels something wet come up through his throat, spilling over his lip. With a quivering whine, the gun falls out of his hand and his knees give out. Maybe the numbness in his feet simply spread to his legs. He falls forward on an icy sidewalk, barely catching himself on his hands. His arms shake. They're just as likely to give out soon. He cries out, helpless and in pain, feeling stabbed by the cold.
"Yeah," Joon dares to laugh a bit. "I thought you needed shoes."
Taemin looks towards the gun that's fallen next to him. He's lucky it didn't shoot when it hit the ground, he supposes. He reaches out for it, but his arm is too cold to move very fast. Before his hand is near the weapon, the back of his t-shirt is grabbed and he's heaved to his feet once again. His feet are on the ground, that is, but he certainly isn't supporting himself.
Joon guides him back against the building and holds him there, closely inspecting Taemin's face. "You're sick?"
Taemin coughs again. He sees the slightest speck of blood land on Joon's cheek and smiles. He really has been waiting for the vampire to bleed. "Give it," his words are briefly interrupted by another shudder and a cough before he can finish, "to me."
"Your knife?" Joon wrongly guesses, "No thanks. That thing can actually scar me, you know, even kill me. But you know that, right?" The vampire leans a bit closer to Taemin, taking a small lick of the blood on Taemin's face.
Taemin whimpers and tries feebly to pull away from him, but he feels so weak and slow..
Joon makes a face, shaking his head slightly, "The hell? That's vampire blood. Why do you have vampire blood?"
"Give. me. yours!" Taemin demands in breaths.
"Sick," Joon realizes, "This is like vomit, isn't it?"
"Your blood," Taemin pleads, "Blood, blood, blood, blood..."
"Miyeon!!" Joon calls. As if she'd just been waiting for a summon by the door, Miyeon quickly steps out of the hotel, pulling a coat on as she moves. "He's gone mental!" Joon tells her in a yell.
"I'll warm up the car," she tells him with a smile.
Taemin doesn't hear their words, not really, not over his own mutters and thoughts. His mind shouts at him to get blood, regardless of the fact that he's helpless to do so. "Blood," he keeps saying out loud, until blackness silences him.
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NOTE!! The reason that this is a short chapter is because I think that the next scene I have in mind should, perhaps, warrant it's own chapter. We'll see soon, won't we? For now I'm going to try to sleep longer. So sleepy~~~.
Oh oh, I also want to quickly give a huge thanks for all the amazing comments so far. Writing the original series was an experience I thought I could never have back, but getting comments from both familiar and new readers has been like.. ♥ ♥ seriously the best. Thanks so much.
Off to try sleeping some more...
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