Bloodbound

It was blood red. My stomach churned, bile rising in my throat. From the moment the smoothie hit the table, my nose scrunched. The liquid sloshed inside the tall glass, thick, glossy, and far too red. Not cherry-red or strawberry cute, but deep, crimson. It clung to the sides of the glass as it settled, slow, syrupy, and oozy. Tiny bubbles clustered at the top, caught in a dark foam that looked less like whipped fruit and more like something you'd see in a lab beaker or a hospital tube. The straw stood limp inside it, already stained. A slow, sticky drip slid down the side of the glass.

"This is the raspberry bubble trouble smoothie?" Muttering, my eyes continued surveying the liquid in the glass. "Because it looks like someone just blended a murder."

Ebony and Quincy laughed. Of course, they did. To them, it was just juice. "Yeah, I'm not drinking that."

Usually, even if I didn't quite enjoy the taste, Summer's smoothies were eye candy.

Quincy chuckled before taking a big gulp of his. "Damn, it's actually good. Whoever came up with this should definitely get a raise. Try it, P."

I scoffed.

"I'll be the judge of that." Ebony gulped the disturbing liquid.

"Woah, he's right, Pop. It is really good. It's like raspberry but with a twist."

They both began slurping away.

Ugh.

"A twist? Like what? Blood?"" Once again, my nose scrunched in disgust as my eyes found the red disaster of a drink in front of me.

Quincy laughed, almost choking a bit. "Really, P?"

"It's obviously not blood, Pop. It's like fruity, but I can't quite place my finger on it. You should try it though. Come on. It's really good, I promise. Right, Quince? Your fear of blood is so depressing, like imagine not being able to enjoy a simple, normal drink. That's sad." Ebony quipped before pouting with fake pity.

I rolled my eyes playfully. "The colour wouldn't be so bad if the texture wasn't so gross, guys. I know it's October and Halloween's coming up, but this is a bit much."

"Now that I'm really looking at it, the texture is kinda sus" Quincy paused, then brought the glass up to his face. "But still, you should try it, P. I'll give you ten dollars if you don't like it."

"An extra ten dollars wouldn't hurt. I definitely won't like it."

"Jeez, just taste it Pop."

They both looked at me expectantly.

Sighing, I gave in. "Fine." Mumbling, slowly, I pulled the glass towards me.

Holding my breath, I examined the thick, grainy liquid; bits of some tiny white square thing caught my eye. What the heck were those? They did not go well with the texture; it only added to my disgust. One heartbeat, two, and then I took a sip, making sure not to look at the thing.

The cold hit me first, then the flavor bloomed.

It was sweet and sharp. Not at all what I was expecting. It wasn't overly sugary; like most smoothies, it had a richness to it, like raspberries bursting on my tongue with just a hint of tartness, and just as Ebony had said, it had a taste of something fruity but unfamiliar. I kind of liked it.

But then the texture registered.

It was too thick, like it had not been strained enough. Something pulpy slid across my tongue, and my stomach gave a warning twist. And worst the color. The awful, glistening red still clung to the straw, staining my lips faintly. I wiped at my mouth instinctively, already regretting it.

"Okay, I admit it's fine, but the texture is too weird. I can't enjoy it. It feels like I just drank someone's...ugh. Nope. Never mind. You can have mine. It just reminds me too much of a bloody mess." I grimaced, pushing the glass away like it might crawl back.

"Mine's a bit grainy too, but it's drinkable. It's on brand for Halloween, I'll give it that." Quincy added. His glass was half empty. He played with the straw in his drink, and then he reached for his wallet and handed me twenty dollars.

A huge grin spread across my face.

"Ten points for trying and ten points for bravery P."

Smiling, I thanked him before he gave Ebony a twenty too, who beamed with joy as soon as soon as it touched her hands.

"You know, if you're feeling even more generous, Quince, you should clear my book cart, and I would really like a car—"

"Don't push it, Eb."

We all burst out laughing.

Julia James and her sister, sitting at a couple of tables ahead, shot a nasty glare in our direction.

"That's what happens when your boyfriend dumps you for your best friend. Suddenly, everyone else's happiness becomes a personal offense." Ebony whispered before slurping her strawberry blast smoothie.

Julia threw another glare Ebony's way.

I chuckled and took a sip of my cherry blast. Now both sisters were eyeing me.

People deal with heartbreak in different ways, but most tend to retreat into quiet sadness or emotional withdrawal.

Not Julia James, though.

I mean, sure, I felt bad for her, but it's hard to stay sympathetic when someone's practically throwing daggers at you and your best friend just for existing. No one else in the diner even noticed us.

Just then, the doors of the retro, cozy, picturesque, chill spot flung open, and in walked Sean Lawson. He was your typical high school flirt, also known as Julia James's loser ex-boyfriend who dumped her after three years of dating for her new best friend of barely a week, Beverly, who, just to twist the knife, was now walking in beside him.

It was a seriously messed-up situation, one most people at school overlooked because of their undying hatred for Julia. In a flash, the James sisters were on their feet, ready to leave, but not before hurt slid across Julia's face, lingering as her watery eyes landed on the back of Sean's head. Then, she finally walked out the door.

All that time spent together, just to have it sucked into the deep abyss of heartbreak.

No matter how good you've been or how badly you want something to work, in the end, they always leave.

My vision blurred; memories I wished had stayed buried invaded my mind.

"Earth to Poppy... Poppy... hello?" Ebony waved her hand in front of my face, trying to get my attention. It pulled me from my daze.

"Uh...what?" I blinked quickly, willing away the blur in my vision, hoping she wouldn't notice.

"You okay, Pop?"

But of course she did. This was Ebony, my best friend, who could read my face like it was her favourite book and knew exactly what my silence meant.

His face crept into my mind, and I supposed it crept into hers too, because her brown orbs grew and glossy as we stared at each other in knowing silence and shared pain.

"Another animal attack without the actual animal being identified. Cody could have died that day. I'm glad he's alive, though, but he's going to miss the big game Friday. Damn. After all those deaths, you'd think people would stop going so far into the woods. That's crazy, man. I can't believe we still get tourists." Quincy's voice pulled us from our suffocating thoughts.

"Uh...what?" I asked, blinking, trying to pull myself back into reality. We were here to celebrate Quincy's accomplishment. For once, I needed to keep those thoughts at bay.

"Animal attacks. There's like three articles about them in here, bro, and not one name of the actual animal that did the attacking." He let out a deep breath.

Welcome to Ravenstead, the Gotham City of Wisconsin, as Quincy likes to put it.

Except, you know, without the superheroes. Okay, maybe Gotham is a bit of an extreme comparison. This town can actually look pretty good when it wants to. And we have got plenty of lore and culture. Ever since forever, strange incidents kept occurring, not quite Gotham-level crime, but definitely enough to keep people talking. It might sound exciting to mystery lovers or outcasts, but for me, this wasn't a movie. It was real life. And it didn't exactly make for a good night's sleep.

The name doesn't scream sunshine and rainbows either. I mean, come on, nothing says blackbirds of death and mysterious disappearances like "Ravenstead". I get why people still choose to visit, though. There's a certain charm to this place, a very strange charm, but home sweet home, I guess.

"Sometimes I swear this town is Dracula's playground. I mean, think about it. What if actual werewolves or vampires caused those attacks? Ebony whispered.

"Yeah, that makes so much sense, Eb. 'Werewolves are real, and I'm Batman.' Quincy chuckled, his head still buried in the newspaper.

A small smile snuck onto my face as I stared at the once skinny boy, who always sported a neat afro. His dark glasses and his shy smile were the only familiar things that remained. He spent all summer growing out his hair, which was now in neat cornrows. It would take me a bit of time to get used to this new look, but I couldn't lie; it suited him. His new muscles hugged his grey tee; he was still on the skinnier side, but now he looked stronger and more defined. He looked happier, and I loved that for him. After years of trying, the football team finally accepted him. This summer was rough on all of us, especially him; losing someone was never easy, but I was glad he was slowly finding his way back.

"He's right, Eb. Ravensted is home to a lot of weird stuff, but I don't think werewolves are one of them; I find it hard to believe that of all the weird charming towns in America, Dracula chose this one." I grinned, popping a curly fry into my mouth.

"Exactly, P. Time to give your imagination and books a rest, Eb." Quincy teased.

Ebony rolled her eyes. "Well, whatever our mystery animal is, I'll be the first one to break the story. Mark my words, I'm going to be the biggest journalist this town has ever seen. Why are you even reading that thing anyway? Don't you care about your sanity and peace of mind?"

I wondered too because we were all chatting when he glanced at his phone and then went to get a paper from the stand. We rarely read the town's newspapers unless there was something important or useful in them.

Quincy smiled, his face lit up, and he seemed genuinely interested in whatever he was reading. "It's Bianca; she and the girls from the squad are doing a car wash to raise money for a new charity supporting the homeless nearby. They're also planning to donate half of their prize money to a local animal shelter that's being built. Pretty dope, right? She just told me there's an article about it in here."

I nodded, rolling my eyes before agreeing. "Yeah, Quince, that's cool—“

"So she's not gaining anything in return?" Ebony blurted out, with a raised perfectly arched brow.

Quincy rolled his eyes. "Come on, Eb, not this crap again. Found it. Cheer Heroes: The local high school cheer squad hosts a fundraiser and generously donates to a good cause."

"Cheer Heroes. Who wrote that? A five-year-old. Look, all I'm saying is that there are better, more appreciative girls out there for you who wouldn't make you feel like shit for not being a part of the football team or for not having a six-pack." Ebony frowned, and her eyes found Quincy's. Ear-piercing metal music began blaring throughout the diner, which meant that Summer, the owner, must have gone out, and Sam, her brother, who was a bit of a troublemaker, was in charge for a while.

There were a series of groans from customers. Sam, of course, was nowhere to be found.

"Sorry, Quince, the fundraising thing is great and all, but I'm with Eb on this one." I chimed in loudly.

Quincy shook his head. Scowling, he snapped, "Not this again. Can you guys just chill? Why you gotta come with all this crap whenever I mention her name? You know I've wanted to join the football team way before I met her."

"Yeah, but after you started dating, everyone could see how she kept comparing you to her athlete exes and making you feel like crap with her shitty, not-so-subtle remarks about your lack of accomplishment, and don't get me started on the fact that she was still talking to her ex while you guys had just started dating."

"Woah, Eb, hold up. First of all, we weren't officially dating at the time—"

"Okay, but you guys kissed like three times, so that's still kinda shady," I pointed out.

Quincy let out a deep sigh and rubbed his temple. "Guys, for the last time, she and her ex were basically done by then. He was the one who kept pestering her and calling her phone—"

Just then, my phone rang. Dad was calling. Quincy and Ebony were really arguing now, loudly, I might add, as expected since that usually happened whenever the name Bianca came up. A few people started staring.

"Guys, tone it down." 'I shouted, heading to the counter, hoping Sam would turn the music down. He was most likely around the back.

"Sam!"

No answer.

I continued shouting a few times but got no reply.

Unbelievable.

Sometimes I thought long and hard about whether Sam was really an adult. With a sigh, I headed outside. It was 3:30 pm. Dad was probably calling to check on me, since I'd told him we were stopping by Summer's for a bit after school. Even though it was Friday, which meant we could stay out a little later, he was still going to be worried sick, like always. Outside, a gentle evening breeze brushed against my skin. The street was nearly empty, just a woman talking on the phone and a man and a woman arguing only a few feet away from where I stood beneath a large beech tree.

It must have been because of the town meeting today.

"Hey, Dad."

"Hey Popo. Is everything okay? I've been trying to reach you for a while now." Worry lined his weary voice.

"Yeah, Dad, we're fine. Sam's just annoying the customers again with his suicide-infusing metal music. The diner was loud, so I had to step outside. Is everything okay with you?"

"Don't be stupid, Raphael!" The woman yelled at the man, who quickly glanced at me. So quick that I thought I had imagined it. A slight uneasy feeling sprouted in me, but I shook it off.

"I'm a little tired, sweetie, but I'm good. Listen, there are a few errands I've got to run, so I'll be home late tonight, but I asked Sarah to keep your company and make you dinner. She'll be let off work soon, so sit tight and wait for her to call. She'll give the others a ride too."

"Okay. We'll be at the diner. See you soon. I love you."

"I love you too, sweetie. Be safe."

"You too, Dad. Bye."

I hung up my phone. One minute I was standing outside the diner, and the next, I was in the woods, back pressed to a tree with a hand over my mouth.

My eyes met the man and the woman who were arguing earlier. The man, whose name I remembered was Raphael, had his hand firmly covering my mouth with a cold expression on his face. But it was his eyes that really disturbed me; they did not look like eyes belonging to a person of a sane mind.

"Don't move and don't make a sound." Raphael said calmly, looking me dead in the eyes.

He removed his hand from my mouth, and I didn't make a sound, nor did I attempt to move even though I really wanted to.

Needed to.

Suddenly air was escaping me. Something tightened in my ribs and my knees turned to water.

What the hell was going on?

Why can't I move?