CURSED 1

HOW

Everyone went back to partying.

The music got cranked up louder, and insanity seemed to fill the air. I went

and sat on a giant log next to the bonfire. I looked over at Lena, who was still

standing with Atticai. For once, he didn’t have his arms around her. She caught

me looking at her, and gave me a look that suggested I had somehow been

accepted.

Did I even want to be accepted by these people?

That putrid drink was pretty powerful. I had a buzz going almost instantly.

Redheaded Ari walked over to me. Damn, she looked terrific. Her black lace

The dress looked pretty spectacular on her, too. That Rubidoux character had gotten

My testosterone was raging and now Sybaris' outfit was sending my hormones through

the roof.

“You had quite a night,” she said, sitting next to me. She sipped a bluish

drink in a clear glass.

“ What is drinking?” I asked. My voice, I noticed, was slightly slurred. It also

sounded distant, too, as if I had spoken from about ten feet away. Weird, I know.

“Oh, it’s my own peculiar blend. I call it ‘s*x On the Beach and Everywhere.

Else, Too.”

“Is that a joke?”

“If you want it to be.”

I looked at her. God, she was a bright light in all this Goth doom and gloom.

She smiled at me. I smiled back. I wanted to kiss her, until I reminded myself

that earlier tonight I had watched her drink from some guy’s neck. I said. “You

know, you guys are going to have to give me back. Kidnappings are illegal in this

state. And all other states, for that matter.”

“I’ll take you back any time you want. Do you want to leave?”

I thought about that. The party was raging around me. Bodies dancing around

the massive bonfires. There was a sense of excitement, of freedom, of hunger.

passion. The hungry part, admittedly, made me a little nervous, but other than

that, this was a pretty cool party.

“I guess not,” I said, shrugging. “At least, not yet.”

She smiled knowingly, as if she already knew what my answer would be. She

said, “We figured those guys would have thrown you under the bus once the

cops came. You were probably looking at about ten counts of attempted murder.

No joke.” She was probably right.

“Luckily, none of those assholes even knew my name.” I guessed I should be

more grateful that the Addams Family here took a liking to me. “I guess I’ll stick

around for a while, as long as no one tries to eat me.”

She laughed. “Cool. Let’s go for a walk.” Ari took my hand and led me off.

the Flatlands lot and into the woods.

I was quiet for a bit. I felt safe with her. I don’t think I have ever met a girl.

who could kick as much ass as me. “Who are you guys?” I finally asked. “Are

You all part of a band or something?”

“Why do you say that?”

“It makes sense. I thought maybe your band’s name was Con?”

“Con?” Yari laughed.

“The letters that are written on Atticism's back.”

“Those are initials. It’s an acronym for Children of the Night.”

“And what—or who—is that?”

“Us. Our clan. Our group.”

“All those people back there?”

“No, just mainly the ones who kidnap you.” Ari smiled at me again.

“So, what are you guys, then? A club?”

“Something like that. We’re just some people who have one or two things in

common.”

I guess biting into people’s flesh and thinking you were vampires were the

things they had in common, but I decided to keep that to myself. Instead, I said,

“Are any of those guys back there your boyfriends?”

Ari smiled at me. “Do you think if I had a boyfriend back there that I would

be out here in the woods with you now?”

“Probably not.”

“Besides,” she added, “I don’t do the boyfriend thing. Too much drama.” I

could feel her eyes on me. “What about you? Got yourself a girlfriend?”

“It’s been awhile since I had one.”

“And why is that?”

“I don’t have the time. And, like you, I’m not into all games.”

“I guess we have something in common, then.” Ari handed me her drink.

“I guess we do.” I took a sip. “That tastes pretty decent. Granted, that’s not

saying a lot, but I think anything would taste better than the crap Atticai gave

me.”

She smiled. “Well, despite popular opinion, I’m still very much a girl, and I

like girlie drinks.”

“Trust me, you are very much all girl—or all woman— from where I stand.”

“Are you flirting with me, Josiah?”

“Maybe,” I said.

We stopped walking, and I leaned up against a tree. Yari sat on a giant rock.

next to me. I looked down at Yari—and decided that we needed to get real. “So,

What the hell is all of this, Yari? And please be honest with me.”

“What is what?”

“You know, the ‘Hellbanger’s Ball’ back there. How many more guys like

Rubidoux, are you going to want a piece of me before the night is over?”

Yari stood up and walked over to me. She was pretty tall for a girl, just a

A couple inches shorter than me, which put her at about 5’8”. She looked directly.

into my eyes. Damn, she was gorgeous. “Well, I can’t tell you everything; at

At least, not yet.” She then reached out with her left hand and started to play with

my bangs. “But you do have that blond, surfer-boy thing going on. I guess you

stick out here.”

“You think?” I said, trying to sound casual and confident. I have to admit it. She

made me nervous in more ways than one. “I don’t exactly blend in. I might be

the most tanned dude at this party.”

Now she began to stroke my longish hair. Her red-painted nails scratched my

cheeks lightly as she did so. “You’re very cute, Josiah.”

“Thank you.” I said, completely thrown off my game. “You’re pretty throwing

yourself.”

“Cute, huh? Like a kitten?”

“Cute like a lioness.”

Yari laughed, but remained in control. “A lioness, huh? I just might devour

you, watch out.” Yari leaned her body up against me.

“Please, no more biting.”

“I promise.” Now Yari ran her hand up my thigh. “So, is it fair to say that you

like me, Josiah?” She was pressing all of her weight up against me now.

I swallowed.

“Oh, my,” she continued. “I think you do like me, Josiah. I can feel you.”

Yari’s hip had now pinned mine up against the tree. I stood my ground and

instinctively licked my lips.

“So, you think I’m going to kiss you, huh? And why would you think that?”

“I don’t know...maybe it’s because you’re pressed up against me so tightly.

that, by now, I’m pretty sure you even know if I’m circumcised or not.”

“Oh, you’re circumcised.” Yari winked at me. I felt myself blush, damn her.

She leaned in and gently pecked my lips. I gently pecked her back. That

seemed to be the invitation she needed. She moved in even closer and now

used the tip of her tongue to lick my lips. I stood there like a trained tiger. I

wanted to pounce, but I allowed her to play her game. She licked my top lip first

and then my bottom lip. She reached her hand down and slid it up my thigh,

stopping just short of touching my livelihood.

“I think I’m going to save some for later,” she said. She then eased me off.

“We should probably go back.”

“Really?” I said, completely shocked.

“It’s probably a good idea.”

I adjusted myself and hid the disappointment in my voice. “Hey, it’s your

party.”

She patted my cheek. “Trust me, when I tell you that it will be well worth it.

But I do want a taste.” Yari leaned in again and kissed me passionately. It was

the perfect kiss. She came in slowly and intensely sensual. Then there was a slight

build-up, with just enough passion that it ignited all my senses. Now my

Hormones took over. I pressed her up against the tree. I grabbed her thigh with

my left hand and slid my fingers slowly up her dress. I was just about to touch

her panty line when she grabbed my hand.

“Like I said, I want to save some for later.”

“I guess you’re the queen of this jungle.”

“That I am.”

“Wow...what a night.” I adjusted myself and did a little shake dance to get the

blood in other parts of my body.

Yari looked over at me. “You’re cute, Josiah. Almost too cute.”

“You should see me fight. In the ring. Against one guy. Trust me, there’s

nothing cute about that.”

“Someday, I will.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah, I promise.”

Yari and I walked back to the party, which had devolved into something that

looked straight out of Lord of the Flies. Shirts off and barefoot, people were

dancing around fires in a ritualistic way that raised my eyebrows and sent a chill

down my spine. Either that, or they were drunk out of their gourds. Also, there

seemed to be a lot of birds flying overhead. I hadn’t noticed that before. The

The birds were large and black, and they appeared to be ravens. Maybe they were

attracted to the fires? I didn’t know, and I honestly didn’t care—especially after

that amazing kiss. Hell, it was all I could do just to keep my feet planted on the

ground.

Still in a daze, we walked together to the same log I had previously sat on.

Atticai saw us and came over.

“Hey, Josiah,” he said, “Let’s have a little chat.”

Was Yari part of his harem? Did I just make a monumental blunder that

would probably get me killed? Yari patted my hand reassuringly. I wasn’t scared

of Atticai. Hell, I wasn’t scared of anyone. If that weird bastard attacked me, I

knew I was in for the fight of my life, especially with all of his friends around.

I reluctantly parted from Yari and followed Atticai over to his van. He got

into the driver’s side, and I got to the passenger’s side. He turned the key in the

ignition just enough to power up. He turned the radio on. “What’s your music?

choice?” he asked.

“I don’t care. Choose whatever you want.”

“I like classical. But the stations out here on the West Coast would rather go

under financially with some God-awful hip-hop station than to give Mozart and

Bach a chance.”

“I love classical.” And I did, too. I had a music appreciation class back in

high school and had been introduced to all the greats in classical and jazz.

Atticai said, “You don’t strike me as the classical music type.”

“You’d be surprised by what I like. Now about the real part of the chat you

asked. Let’s get to it,” I said.

Atticai looked directly at me. I found his stare slightly unnerving. After a

A second or two, he said, “I see Yari’s made your list.”

Oh great, now he was going to give me the low-down. “Look, Atticai, I meant

no disrespect. She wanted to walk, and quite frankly, I needed to clear my head.

If you see her—”

“Relax my friend, it’s not like that. I’m just letting you know that you might

not want to get too close to her.”

“Let me guess: for my own good?”

His lips peeled back into a dark grin. “Yeah, something like that.”

“Thanks, but I’m a big boy. I can handle myself.”

“Consider yourself warned.”

“Like I said, ‘thanks.’”

He nodded and put his seat back, and waved his hands in the air like a

maestro. He rolled his head in my direction. “So what’s your story, Josiah?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I’ve seen a lot of stuff in my time. But I can only count on one hand.

how many times I’ve seen someone like you?”

“There can be only one,” I joked, wondering if he would get the cultural

reference to Highlander. He didn’t.

He paused and I wondered just how old he was. He made it sound as if he

was ancient. He couldn’t have been more than a few years older than me. He

went on, “When we arrived to get Lena, there were five guys sprawled on the

ground, all beat to a pulp by you.”

I shrugged. “It doesn’t take much skill to beat up a few drunk, horny

assholes.”

He was staring at me again. Someday I was going to wipe that weird stare off

his face, but now was not the time. “Maybe,” he said. “But you also took care of

Rubidoux, too. Do you know how tough Rubidoux is? He’s no pushover.”

“I can fight. I don’t know what else to say. That is the one thing I do know.

how to do and do well. It’s my greatest passion, my lifework, my pulse. I live to

fight. I fight to live.”

“I like that. I like that a lot.” Atticai got real quiet. “Hey, check it out.” He

finally found a classical music station. He cranked up the volume real loud. I

didn’t recognize the piece, but it was classical, and that seemed to be all that was.

vital to Atticai. Presently, the long-limbed creature of the night seemed to be in a

trance. He clenched his fists and raised them to his forehead. With his eyes

closed, he tilted his head back and seemed to be experiencing each note.

individually. The music was doing something to him. It was ministering to his

soul. For a brief moment, I envied him. I envied anyone that could be moved in.

this way over anything. The song ended, and Atticai opened his eyes. He looked

at me. “That was pretty intense.”

“No kidding,” I said. “I guess you have a passion, too. I fight. You feel the

music.”

He was staring at me again. Amazingly, I was getting used to it. “I like you,

Josiah,” he said. He nodded, and then opened the driver’s side door. “Let’s head

back so no one thinks anything homoerotic is going on.”

“I would hope not.”

“Oh, you have no idea around here, Josiah. You have no idea. Just remember

what I told you about Yari.”

“Like I said, I’m a big boy; I can handle Yari.”

Atticai laughed. “Famous last words.”

We stepped out of the van. I once again headed back to the clearing and planted

myself on the same log next to the same bonfire. I looked around for Yari, but

She was nowhere to be found. Lena, however, walked over to me and sat next to

me on the log.

“What was that all about?” she asked.

“With Atticai? I have no freaking idea. I think he was just trying to feel me.

out.”

“Atticai is like that. He doesn’t trust anyone. He likes you, though. I can tell.

You have no idea how rare that is.”

“Well, one thing at a time. I’m still having a hard time digesting this entire

night.”

“Why? Did Yari freak you out? Don’t let her do that.”

Lena almost seemed a tad jealous. I looked at her. She was beautiful, too. No,

Not everyone is beautiful here. There were some real creepy-looking guys and

girls. Lena wasn’t one of them. So, how the hell did she get caught up in this?

world?

I asked, “So, is this what you do? Hang out with these people in the woods?”

“You mean from Eisenhower High?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

She shrugged. “More or less. This lifestyle isn’t the norm. I know that.

There’s a lot about this you’ll never fully understand.”

“What does that mean?”

“Trust me when I tell you that it is best not to know.”

Atticai, who had been talking to some guys near the van, highflier a couple

of them, and then headed over to us. No matter what, the man was striking

figure, and he seemed to command everyone’s attention. He was clearly the

King Goth in this party of Goths. Of course, that wasn’t saying much. Still, as he

headed over to us, just about everyone in the clan watched him at some point.

And as he approached, Lena got up immediately, and Atticai slipped a long arm.

over her shoulders.

“I should probably get you two back home,” Atticai said. “It’s going to be

sunrise in about two hours.”

I shrugged. “Sounds reasonable to me. I was just going out for a jog and

seven hours later... here I am.”

“You guys are going back?” a voice said, from behind me.

I turned around and saw Yari standing there. I had no idea where she went

from and why she would be behind me.

“Apparently, we’re leaving right now,” I said.

She smiled warmly at me. “Then I guess I’m going with you because neither

Atticai or Lena can drive.”

“Neither of you drive?” I blurted out, nearly laughing.

“Hey, I never got a license,” Atticai responded, shrugging.

Now, I did laugh. “Okay, now I’ve heard everything.”

If Atticai thought that I was laughing at him, he didn’t show it. A moment

Later, we all piled into the van, with Yari getting in the driver’s seat and me next.

to her in the front passenger’s seat. Lena and Atticai disappeared behind their backs

seats, in the space I had found myself in when I came to after passing out, post-

blood sucking. I took only a quick glance at them, but they appeared to have

disappeared under a blanket. What they were doing under the blanket, I didn’t

want to know, but I could probably guess.

Yari reached out and touched my hand. “Put the seat back and get some

sleep.”

I did as I was told, since I was utterly exhausted. And as I settled into the

cushions, Yari drove the van out of the flatland rocks and made for the highway.

As we drove, I found myself staring at her. She was acutely focused on the road.

No surprise there, since there was a light fog over the winding, mountainous

highway. She was an extremely fascinating woman. She was amazing

complex. I closed my eyes. I listened to the sound of the motor. The thrum of the

Pistons under the hood, in the absence of talking or music, were hypnotic and

soothing.

“Wake up, Sleepyhead. We’re here.” I had clearly fallen asleep because when

I opened my eyes, we were in front of my house. I said goodbyes to everyone and

stumbled out of the van.

Atticai called out, “Hey, Josiah?”

“Yeah,” I answered sleepily.

“When’s your next fight?”

“Next month.”

“Cool, I’ll check it out.”

I wasn’t sure what to think about that. A part of me was hoping that this was

It's going to be the last time I’d see any of these guys. That is everyone, but Yari. And

Maybe Lena.

I nodded at Atticai and turned around and trudged off toward my front door.

The van drove away, and I could feel many sets of eyes on me. As I opened the

door, something occurred to my sluggish, sleep-deprived brain.

How did they know where I lived? Okay, that’s freaky. Then again, so was the

entire night.

I shrugged. Maybe Lena knew someone from high school, who themselves

knew where I lived. Or not. I was too tired to care, truth be known.

When I unlocked the door, I found Tommy doing sit-ups in the living room.

Tommy had an incredibly strict workout routine and this morning there was no

different.

Tommy stopped in mid-crunch and looked up at me. “That was some run.”

“You have no idea.” I went to the fridge and grabbed the milk carton.

“You okay?” Tommy seemed concerned.

“I’m okay. Why?”

“You’ve got a bandage on your wrist and a hickey on your neck the size of a

basketball.”

I had forgotten about my injuries. Tommy got up from the floor and away.

over to the kitchen table and sat down.

“What can I say? It was a night to remember.”

“Jo, you need to take it easy on the partying. Don’t forget, we found out who

We’re fighting today.”

“This comes from the guy who partied away all his money,” I said.

“That was before, Jo. You know I have been working hard on getting myself

back on the right track.”

“I know. I just need to get to bed right now. I’m utterly wiped out.”

“So, you’re going to skip your morning workout?”

“As far as I’m concerned, it is still last night. Besides, I had quite the mix

martial arts workout last night.”

“Ah, hell. Don’t tell me you got into another fight.”

I was quiet.

Tommy added, “You know we could get sued if anyone finds out who we are.

We’re pro-fighters and we can’t just go around fighting ‘regular Joes.’ You’re

not fifteen anymore, bro, and you can’t just go around bashing people’s heads.

in.”

“I know. Trust me, I wasn’t intending to fight.”

“But let me guess: You just couldn’t help yourself, right?”

“Tommy, look, when I wake up, you can rip me ten new assholes, but right

now I need to get some sleep.”

“All right, bro. Go to bed.”

I laughed, which took my last bit of energy. “Thanks and good night.”

As I stumbled down the hallway on my way to my bedroom, Tommy called

out after me: “It’s morning, j******f, and you never even asked me about my

date!”

“You can tell me all about it when I wake up.”

Once in my bedroom, I plugged my headphones into my stereo and laid on

my bed. I had a Queen CD on the desk. Freddy Mercury seemed particularly

fitting, considering the night I had.

I closed my eyes, and I was out.

TO BE CONTINUED....