The sun was rising. The first rays of the morning stretched the black reflections of the city's buildings, conquering what was once under the harsh dominion of the night; but the sun's real objective wasn't to distort the shapes of soulless objects, but to reveal the horrible deeds of a young man, and to bright to light the accomplices in them. The four of them were chasing the kingdom of the moon, desperately wanting to learn the art of hiding a secret as big as theirs; though the moon was too fast for them to reach, and too slow to escape the evil king of the sun kingdom, who threw the spear of light, piercing the moon's heart, leaving its cadaver slumped in the sky. Between the chasers, one was sleeping, resting on the shoulders of one of his mates, after a terrible night spent following the orders the moonlight imposed on him. They were running uphill, climbing their way up the street, following the directions of their guide to reach the promised shelter.
-How much until we reach it? Asked Freddy, heaving in as he let out each word.
-Not that long, just keep going like this, and we'll be there in no time! - James replied, untouched from the steep climb, as he was used to it. Franco continued his climb in silence, with his hands in the front pockets of his jeans and his eyebrows slightly frowned, unable to believe that they were helping him after the happenings of a few hours ago. The thing that troubled him the most was how lightheartedly his brother, Freddy, talked to him that night to convince him to come along with him, after that phonecall from James reached them. He was tired of the brother's pathetic attempts at convincing him, but nonetheless, he got dressed up and went with him later. He could still remember when their mother told him that catchy rhyme: "A brother is forever, a friend nobody is ever!".
And as he pondered himself whether it applied or not, they reached the summit of the hill. They approached the gate, with the morning breeze flowing past them, and waited for James to unlock it. A pair of leaves came off of the lemon tree planted beside the gate, following the breeze until they sat tired in front of Freddy's feet. The moment the big golden arch split, they snuck through the front yard and entered silently in the house. Freddy entered first and went straight to James's room. James entered last and closed the door. Its lock clicked, welcoming them to the big house. He turned around and faced the staircase: the early morning shines pierced through the colored stained glass window that towered over the entrance, scattering through the room, lightening the situation; they filtered through it, scaring away any little remnant of darkness that remained from the night before. Dust ventilated; free to fly around the room. Ever since the maid stopped showing herself to care for the enormous house, it had gone in decline, as nobody had the time to clean it. Hiring a new maid had gotten impossible, as word had spread around that James's father had gone mad over the last year. He would wake up in the middle of the night, take whatever surface was usable to write on, and scribble with his hasty signature complex formulas that not even his colleagues at the laboratory understood, not even his wife, the chief scientist of the government funded project they were working on, could comprehend those writings. He would scream, for that nobody understood his findings. His desperation would travel through the air and reach the ears of across the neighborhood, spreading the word even further with each consequent night.
In the meantime, as Franco was about to cross the door's edge, James heard muffled steps coming from upstairs. They came from his mother's slow, lazy walk. The slow rubbing of the soles of her slippers announced her coming. Panicking, he rushed to hide in the doll sized closet under the staircase, and hoped that his presence had remained unknown. He hid between all those dusty coats that he had never seen his parents wear, and closed the small door. The rubbing grew even louder as she was approaching the vicinity of the hiding spot; then, as they were at their loudest, they stopped. James winced, and covered his mouth with his left hand, while remaining immobile. Of the sound of the steps, nothing remained, only James's muffled panting. Endless seconds passed, as chilling thoughts rumbled vividly in his mind. - What if Lorenzo's father called her about the lunch they organized? Or even worse, what if she saw Freddy carrying Lorenzo in the room?
The only thing he wanted in that moment was to just wake up, and consider that just another weird summer dream to note in his dream journal. He counted his fingers to make sure, but no, five fingers stood right in both of his hands.
The mother, been standing still for a few seconds, rubbed her eyes, yawned, and proceeded with her walk to the kitchen. The steps gradually faded away as the woman reached her target. He pecked through the little space between the closet's doors, and, once assured that the path was clear, came out of his den, and tip-toed to his bedroom, finally closing its door.
-Where were you?! - Freddy audibly whispered.
-I'm sorry, my mother went to the kitchen, and being in her path, I had to hide.
-Let's cut short, what are you going to do with him? - Franco asked.
- Nothing excessive, don't worry: I'll first get a blood sample, as I need to see how his immune cells are reacting to the new environment; then, I'll get a fur sample, and inspect his epidermis. I want to see if he grew some new hair follicles or if his body hairs have grown in length and thickness. I'll get a hold of some medical equipment so to study better his insides, and of course, when he wakes up, I will help him get used to his new body, as to excuse myself for the mess. - He stopped for a moment to look away from the brothers. He couldn't stand their sight. Especially Franco's one. He then sighed and concluded exhaling: -that's all. - As James finished the long explanation, he looked away again from the both of them to stare at the place afflicted by the bite mark; but then his attention was called again by Franco. He was scanning James from top to bottom with a piercing look; his azure eyes glowed with resolution, and attacked James with some shrill whispers:
-You really aren't able to get a hold of the situation, don't you? You have ruined Lorenzo's life forever. Until he reaches his grave, he will have to hide constantly. The only time he'll be able to go outside will be late at night, in a forest maybe. And let's not talk about school, he'll remain with the education of a third grade high school student, all because of you!
- James looked down, frowning.
-I know, but you don't have much choice: you either hand him to the government, risking him ending up in some American laboratory in the middle of the desert, or to leave him to me, your friend, that you know will take great care of him.
- You're lucky we don't call the police. -added Freddy stuttering.
- I know. - James said languidly, still with his eyes glued to the ground, knowing his friends were right.
-But, who's to say, maybe someday I'll be able to create an anti-serum?
-It'd be best. -said Franco.
-Yes, I know. Though, you'll better to head home now. As you remember, we agreed to have lunch here. -Yes, we recall. They said impatiently. - Alright, cool. Now let's get you out of here safely: after having a little snack, my mother usually goes to her bedroom again to wake up my father. This should happen in approximately 45 seconds, one minute if she is getting coffee at home. After she gets back up here, you'll have approximately one minute to not get caught. - Franco with his arms crossed, looked at the door and exclaimed: "Then we'll better start listening!". Following that sentence, he approached the door and put his ear on its wooden surface. Freddy followed his suit and went to the door. While the brothers were listening for the footsteps, James remained still, breathing slowly, counting the seconds it took for his mother to reach the top stairs.
37...38...39...40... Even while not breathing, no sound arrived in their ears. The heart beats in they're chests felt stronger; in the penumbra, they could only rely on sound to know what was going on outside.
41...42...43...close creaks of the wood floor came through the door. They got closer and closer until they were able hear the mom's heavy breathing from the strain of going up such long stair case. Smoking got her the "cool kid" title in high school, but now she was to face the consequences of such behavior. - Damn, got it wrong by two! -murmured James, snapping his fingers. -Alright, now go, before it's too late! -He opened the door, and in an instant the brothers dashed through it. They went through the corridor and leaped from step to step. They danced through the morning sunrise and became light themselves; finally, they were outside, stepping on the concrete path, making their way to the exit. Under the gaze of the dawn, the dew on the strands of grass gave it the appearance of fine silk threads, dancing as the wind flew over it. Before the house was too far away, Franco looked back at it, with a slight smile on his face, then turned to his brother.
-Do you think we did the best thing?
-That was the only possible thing that we could've done without endangering Lorenzo; but still I'm still not quite sure, Franco. You're familiar with James as much as I am, you know how he is.
-Impulsive.
-Correct.
They were both walking in the center of the street, with a walk that made them resemble a pair of zombies. They were both tired to the bone. Once they reached home, they flung themselves on their beds and went straight to the dream realm.
Meanwhile, James was in the bathroom, patching up the bite mark; whimpering as he did so. An imprint of the mark had formed on the inside of the jacket. Little droplets had flown down on his arm, but stopped before reaching his forearm. He got out of the room and walked to his bedroom. He dropped himself dead on the mattress, with his face facing the ceiling, while pondering on the sheer strength that the poor, lean Lorenzo possessed. What had happened to his mind that night? Why the sudden aggressiveness? Did the act of attacking him represent a sort of vengeance on such an abrupt change of perspective, meaning that he had completely lost his mind to the new instincts of the flesh? For now, all left available to him was to close his eyes and drift until reaching the shores of tomorrow.
A rushing heat ventilated the room, the type of humid heat that only hardcore summer enjoyers could've gone through without ranting about the screeching heat. The shutters on the window moved rhythmically to the wind, occasionally bumping into the wall. Outside, the streets were devoid of people. The heat was unbearable. The cicadas outside sang festively under the sun; they thanked him for being always there for them. James's eyelids felt heavy as two lorries. Only the repetitive buzz of the intercom could've got him outside the bed.
-Damn it, they're already here! He jumped out of bed and started running around his room to find his clothes. Only to realize shortly after, that he had slept with them on, - Alright, then I'll just need to open the gate and everything will be on track; but before I do that, let me check on Lorenzo. Need to make sure he's still there! James rushed to the wardrobe, and open it to find the inert body of Lorenzo slumped on the wooden slap. He got closer with his face to inspect the body, but again, the guests made their presence known through that annoying electric buzz.
-Ugh, I'm coming goddamnit!