SOULBOUND
By Wes
Leigh
This is a work of fiction (or
is it?) intended solely for the entertainment of my readers; any resemblance to
any real people or places is purely coincidental. Readers who would like to chat are encouraged
to contact me at weston.leigh@protonmail.com.
This story is the property of
the author and is protected by copyright laws.
The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the
author's consent.
If you enjoy this story,
please support the Nifty archives today with a thoughtful donation by visiting https://donate.nifty.org/.
The vampire possesses strength that exceeds that of a natural
man. He is able to
move quickly from place to place, some would claim by transforming himself into
a bat, though that is mere conjecture. What
is not conjecture is a vampire's ability to control his victims by simply
staring into their eyes, working his magical arts upon their minds before
striking all memories of the violation, preventing all knowledge of his ensorcelment, save for a vague and uneasy recollection of
dark transpirings."
-- From `Conclusions on the Nature of Creatures of the
Night' by Fr. Ignatius Benedictus
Daniel felt his head getting fuzzy and the room going
dark. His last conscious thought was, `I
wonder if someone slipped something into my drink?'
The next few moments were the stuff of dreams, or perhaps
nightmares. He felt chills rippling
through his body, paralyzing him. He
couldn't move his head, his arms, his feet.
Only one part of his body remained unfrozen: his cock.
It began filling with blood, swelling up and jutting forward. It throbbed as icy waves washed over his body
from head to toe. An orgasm started deep
in his balls, straining against his frozen muscles, struggling to escape. He tried to groan, but his throat was
constricted, unable to suck in even the breath he needed to survive. Panic rose up,
replacing the icy waves of sexual pleasure, and the room grew dark around him.
He heard voices.
Shouting voices. But his mind
couldn't hold onto the sounds the voices made long enough to decipher any
meaning. There was anger. That much he could discern. And a fearful response. All as though the ones who spoke were far
away, or deep within a tunnel.
Suddenly the paralyzing grip on his body released. He gasped, filling his burning lungs with
precious air. He blinked his eyes and
looked down, seeing his erection jutting out of his pants. A strand of cum dripped from the end of his
cock, falling to the floor, where a pool of fresh cum had splattered. He shook his head, confused, unsure of what
had just happened.
He heard voices again, behind him, shouting.
"Who the hell do you think you are? You have no authority over me!"
"Fail to do as I say and you'll
find out exactly what authority I possess."
"What's your fucking problem, Xavier? We're all here to feed tonight. We have permission. Whether its him or the others, what
difference does it make?"
"I told you to leave him alone, Gregor. If you want to feed, go back to the movie and
rejoin the girls. There's plenty of time
left for you to get your fill."
"Maybe I don't want to dine on fear tonight. Did you ever think of that, Xavier?"
"I really don't care what your preferences are, Gregor. You'll do as I say. And that's that."
"Leaving you to enjoy this boy, I suppose?"
"Leaving me to clean up the mess you created, Gregor. And that's my last word on the subject."
Daniel struggled to make sense of what he'd heard, but his
mind remained fuzzy, disconnected. The
words didn't fit together in any meaningful way. The sound of someone stomping off and the
door slamming against the wall also didn't register with his confused
mind. He wanted to understand, to
penetrate the fog in his head. Somehow he was in danger, and he needed to comprehend what
was happening or else suffer harm, but he couldn't summon the will or the
strength to fight against the debilitating lethargy that gripped him.
He sensed someone walking up from behind. He felt a hand touching his neck, gently
squeezing. Lips brushed against his
ear. Breath caressed his neck as someone
whispered, "I'm very sorry for this ..."
͠ ͠
͠
Daniel blinked his eyes and looked around. He was alone in the restroom, standing at the
urinal. His cock was put away and his
pants were zipped up. He couldn't remember
peeing, nor did he recall putting his junk away or fastening his pants
back. He didn't even remember flushing
the urinal. Weird.
Looking down at the floor, he half expected to see ...
something ... there on the tiled floor. He
didn't know what it was he expected, but there was nothing there. The floor was clean and shiny. Spotless.
He turned around, looking for someone, but he couldn't
recall who it was he was looking for. The
room was empty, save for himself.
Daniel walked slowly to the sink, leaning over and turning
the spigots. He splashed cold water on
his face and dried off with a paper towel.
Something definitely must have been
wrong with his drink, he decided. He
wasn't feeling well and decided to skip the rest of the movie and head home.
͠ ͠
͠
August 20
I don't know
quite where to begin. So
I guess I'll just write down whatever comes into my head.
First of all, I don't fuck with drugs. I don't drink. And I'm sure as hell not crazy. But tonight, some stuff happened at the theatre
that makes me think I'm a strung out, drunk-on-my-ass lunatic.
Okay. Maybe that's a bit over the top, but I don't
know how else to describe it. When you
lose all memory of ten minutes of your life, you kind of start wondering if
someone slipped you some bad shit or you're maybe losing your mind. I know I went in that restroom to pee. But I don't remember going to the
urinal. I don't remember peeing. I don't remember zipping up. One minute I'm in the hallway with my bladder
aching. The next I'm standing there,
apparently with my business all finished, but no clue how it happened.
And there's
more. I know I was feeling kind of horny
when I went to the theatre. To be
honest, I was getting a little turned on by the flirty way that guy Xavier kept
looking at me. But after the freaky
stuff in the bathroom, I wasn't the least bit horny anymore. I just wanted to go home and climb in bed. I didn't feel like jacking off at all, which
just doesn't happen. Seems like I always
need to beat one out before I can fall asleep, but not last night.
Speaking of
Xavier, why do I keep thinking about him?
And wanting to be near him.
Wanting to talk to him and find out who he is. I'm drawn to him in a way I can't explain,
and it's beginning to freak me out.
And for some strange
reason, I feel this burning anger for that Gregor guy. I know he was a real douche, and I'm sure I
wouldn't like him if I had to hang out with him for very long. But why do I feel like he's some kind of enemy and I should punch him in the face if I
ever get the chance? I mean, what has he
ever done to make me hate him that way?
Writing in
this journal has always been a way for me to figure stuff out. Somehow, the act of writing down my emotions
and my frustrations has always helped me to sort out why I'm feeling the way I
do.
But not today.
Today, I'm
more confused than ever.
This just isn't
me. I've never been this way. But I can tell you right now I'm going to
figure out what happened. I won't stop
until I do.
Daniel closed and locked his journal. His parents were returning soon with food,
and then all three of them were headed for their new house to wait for the
moving van to show up. Maybe spending
the next few days unloading crap and emptying boxes and rearranging furniture
would help him forget the confusion swirling through his head. But he doubted it.
͠ ͠
͠
The doorbell rang.
"Can you get that, Daniel?" Judy shouted from the
kitchen.
"Yeah," Daniel yelled, tossing the remote for the television
onto the coffee table. As he walked to
the door, he mumbled, "Now that we're finished unpacking, I'll gladly return to
my job as butler." He opened the door
and found a tall woman standing there.
Dark gray business suit, an off-white belt, a pearl necklace,
sunglasses. Next to her, a teenaged boy,
dressed in black dress pants, black shoes and belt, black dress shirt, and a
blood-red tie. And sunglasses. Daniel immediately recognized Xavier, the boy
from the movie theatre.
"Good afternoon," the woman said, her voice soft and
professional. She held out her
hand. "Minerva Smyth, president of the
Chamber of Commerce." Daniel took her
hand, surprised by how strong her grip was.
She shook hands and nodded at Xavier.
"My son, Xavier Finton-Smyth."
Xavier held out his hand.
Daniel gulped and nodded.
When he and Xavier shook, he noticed Xavier's hand was cool and soft,
and he didn't squeeze Daniel's hand as hard as the woman had.
"Who is it, sweetie?" his mom called, walking up behind him.
"Oh. Ummm. Mrs. Smyth
from the Chamber of Commerce and her son Xavier."
Judy pulled the door wide and said, "Please come in. The place is still in a bit of disarray, so
excuse the mess."
Minerva smiled grimly.
"Moving can be such a hassle. We
completely understand and hope we aren't inconveniencing you."
"No, not at all," Judy said with a chuckle. "Please, have a seat." She motioned toward
the couch. "I'm Judy Anderson. You've met my son Daniel. And this is my husband, Mike." Mike had come into the room from the garage,
carrying a large box.
Mike set the box on the floor and walked up, extending his
hand. "Mike Anderson. Pleased to meet you."
Minerva shook his hand and introduced herself and
Xavier. "But please call my Minerva,
although I do appreciate your son's respectfulness in calling me Ms.
Smyth." She emphasized the title Ms.,
causing Daniel to blush. He'd simply
assumed she was married, but apparently she was one of
those women who preferred to be called Ms. not Mrs. How was he supposed to know?
Judy placed her hand on Daniel's knee and squeezed. "We've always tried to emphasize being polite
and respectful. Daniel has never disappointed
us in that regard."
"Yes," Minerva replied, removing her sunglasses. "He does seem to be an impressive young
man. Xavier has been telling me all
about him."
"Oh?" Judy glanced at
Daniel. "The two of you know each
other?"
"We, ummm, met at the theatre last
week," Daniel explained.
"You didn't tell us you'd made a new friend already," Mike
said, grinning.
Daniel shrugged. "We
aren't really friends. We just met, is
all."
Xavier had removed his sunglasses and was studying Daniel
carefully. He spoke up finally, saying,
"Daniel and I could be friends, I believe.
I'm guessing you're enrolled at the high school?"
Daniel nodded.
"You're fifteen?" Xavier asked.
"No, fourteen," Daniel replied. "I turn fifteen in a few weeks."
Xavier nodded his head slowly. "I'm sixteen.
I'll be going into tenth grade this year."
Minerva cleared her throat.
"We wanted to drop by and welcome your family to town. Xavier felt he might be able to help Daniel be
more comfortable starting school, if he knew someone from the start."
"Well, isn't that sweet of you?" Judy asked, smiling warmly
at Xavier.
"Why don't you show Xavier your room while we chat for a
bit?" Mike suggested.
Daniel stood up and motioned for Xavier to follow him. He wasn't sure how he felt about all this, or
about Xavier, for that matter.
͠ ͠
͠
"You play Halo?" Xavier asked, studying the giant posture Daniel
had tacked on his wall.
"Yeah. And a few
other games. But Halo is my favorite."
Xavier nodded and moved around the room, noticing the large
bookshelf filled with novels. He touched
the spines of the books, stroking them with one finger. "And you're an avid reader?"
Daniel grunted. "Uh
huh."
"Horror. Science fiction. Fantasy."
Xavier turned to look at Daniel.
"Quite a variety."
Daniel shrugged. "I
like different stuff."
Xavier nodded. He saw
the stack of Xbox games and glanced at the titles. "You also like variety in your games, I
see." There were first-person shooters,
NASCAR, pro golf, and FIFA soccer. "Are
you good at all of them?"
Daniel blew out his breath, exasperated. Why was this guy trying so hard? They barely knew each other, but he seemed to
be making a major effort to connect with Daniel, and Daniel couldn't figure out
why. "Why are you doing this?" Daniel
asked.
"Doing what?" Xavier asked.
"Trying so hard to get to know me."
Xavier smiled.
"You're very direct. No messing
around. I like that."
"You haven't answered my question."
"No, I haven't," Xavier replied. "But then, I'm evasive."
Daniel studied the other youth. The feelings from last week were still
there. A desire to get to know Xavier
better. A strange compulsion to spend
time with him, learning more about him.
And that made Daniel nervous, because this guy was someone he barely
knew, a guy he'd bumped into at a theatre one afternoon. And now he was here in Daniel's bedroom,
chumming up and chatting about stuff. Who
was this guy? Was he someone Daniel
could trust? Normally, Daniel preferred
to spend hours and hours with a guy, getting to know him, playing video games
or running around or ... just hanging out, and then if they got along okay, Daniel
would let the guy into his life and they could be friends.
But Xavier ...
Something about the guy made Daniel want to crawl into his
arms and slide his hands inside his shirt and touch that pale, white skin, slipping
his hand slowly down Xavier's stomach and into his pants, finding and touching
him ...
FUCK!
Daniel shook his head.
What the hell?! Why was he
thinking like that? And why the holy
hell did he have a boner now? Of all the
fucking embarrassing things to have happen!
"Be right back!" Daniel exclaimed. He rushed into the bathroom, shutting the
door behind him. Leaning back against
the door, he gasped and breathed deeply, trying to calm his beating heart. What the fuck!?
͠ ͠
͠
There was a light rapping on the bathroom door.
"Daniel?"
Daniel looked at the ceiling, frustrated. "What?"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Just fine."
"Can I come in?"
Daniel sighed. He
grabbed his pants and tugged the crotch, moving his cock around to a more
comfortable position. "Sure, come on
in," he said, moving over to lean against the sink counter and face the door.
The door opened slowly, and Xavier peeked inside. Then he looked down at the floor, as though
embarrassed. Xavier's voice was soft and
apologetic. "I didn't mean for that to
..." His voice trailed off, suddenly
unsure of himself. "Look, Daniel, I'm
sorry."
"Why are you apologizing?" Daniel asked. "I'm the rude jerk who ran out and left you
standing there."
Xavier nodded his head.
"I'm still sorry ... if I embarrassed you."
Daniel shook his head in confusion. "You didn't embarrass me. I made a fool of myself."
"No, you didn't," Xavier said, leaning back against the doorframe. "It was my fault. You see, I have this ... effect ... on people,
sometimes."
Daniel studied Xavier closely. What was the guy saying? This was certainly a different side of Xavier
than Daniel had seen before. The brash,
self-confident teen was gone and a nervous, tentative
kid now stood before Daniel. Daniel decided
to press his advantage. "You know, something happened to me at the theatre last
week."
Xavier looked up, surprised.
"Oh?"
Daniel nodded. "Yeah,
something strange."
"Indeed?"
"I had to pee and when I went to the restroom, something
happened to me while I was in there.
Something I can't remember. It's
like I blacked out. For ten, fifteen
minutes."
Xavier's eyes flicked from side to side. "Interesting."
"And afterward, I couldn't get you out of my head. I've been thinking about you every day since
then. Wanting to meet you. Wanting to get to know you. And then you just happen to show up at my
house. Amazing coincidence, isn't it?"
Xavier nodded. The
self-confidence was beginning to return.
"Yes, quite amazing. Since I'm
here now, we can get to know each other better."
Daniel shook his head.
"No, we can't."
Xavier's smile disappeared.
"We can't? Why not?"
"Because ... like I said ... something strange happened to me at
the theatre, something that involved you, Xavier. It's a mystery, and I don't like unsolved
mysteries. I want to know what happened
to me. Did you slip something into my
drink, Xavier?"
"What? No! Nothing like that!" Xavier exclaimed.
"Then what did happen?"
Xavier looked to the side, thinking, trying to decide what
to say.
Daniel frowned.
"Well?"
Xavier grimaced. "I'm
thinking."
"No. You're being
evasive. Again."
Xavier stared calmly at Daniel. "There are some things that are hard to
explain."
"I've got all the time in the world."
"Time isn't what we need."
Xavier reached behind him and opened the bathroom door. Then he slipped out and left Daniel standing
at the sink.
Daniel turned and looked in the mirror. "I guess we won't be friends, after all," he muttered.
͠ ͠
͠
But Daniel didn't count on how persistent Xavier could be.
The doorbell rang the next day while Daniel was toweling off
after a shower.
"Daniel," his dad shouted.
"You have company."
"Be right out," Daniel yelled back, wondering who it might
be. He hurried to pull on underwear,
jeans, and a shirt. Walking out into the
hall, he saw his dad talking with Xavier.
Xavier turned and looked at Daniel. He nodded his head and waved with one
hand. "Hello, Daniel."
Daniel lifted his hand and waved back. "Hey."
Then he nodded with his head for Xavier to join him, and the two of them
went in Daniel's room and sat next to each other on the bed, in awkward
silence.
"I think we got off to a bad start," Xavier said. "I was hoping we could try again."
Daniel turned to face Xavier. "We can.
If ..."
Xavier glanced up.
"If?"
"If you tell me what happened at the theatre."
Xavier sighed. "It's
not that simple, Daniel. I want to tell
you, but I don't know you well enough yet to trust you that way."
Daniel had to stop and think about that. After all, there were things about himself
that he'd never admitted to anyone else, simply because he'd never had a friend
he trusted enough.
Daniel nodded.
"Okay. I get it."
Xavier looked up, surprised.
"You do?"
"Yes. I have secrets
too. Things I've never shared with
anyone, because you have to trust someone completely before you share your
deepest secrets."
Xavier nodded.
"Exactly. I want to tell you, but
I need to know you better first."
"Fine," Daniel replied.
"I'm not letting you completely off the hook, Xavier. Just so you know. But for now, I'll give us both a chance to
get to know each other better."
"Really?
Excellent. How do we start?"
"Why don't you tell me something about yourself?"
"Like what?"
"I don't care.
Anything."
Xavier nodded.
"Okay. I like acting."
"Acting?"
"Yeah. You know,
drama. I've been in two plays here in
Agony. I played Puck in `A Midsummer
Night's Dream' with the community summer theatre. And I was in `A Christmas Carol' last year."
Daniel smiled. "Let
me guess. You were Scrooge."
Xavier snorted. "No. The ghost of Christmas Future."
Daniel wiggled his eyebrows.
"Scary!"
Nodding, Xavier replied, "I didn't have any lines, so I had
to make up for it with creepy hand motions."
Both boys laughed.
Perhaps they could be friends, after all.
͠ ͠
͠
Thirty minutes later, Daniel knew that Xavier was
intelligent, artistic, and had a very dry sense of humor. He wasn't into sports at all, though he would
be attending the school football games starting in a few weeks, since he'd be
playing trumpet in the band. He loved
the theatre and wanted to be an actor one day, though he didn't think that
dream would ever come true. His favorite
food was steak and baked potato. He
loved cool ranch Doritos and could eat an entire bag in one sitting. He liked Pepsi, only Pepsi, and he'd tried it
once with rum that he'd snuck out of his dad's liquor cabinet. It was okay, nothing special, so he wasn't
eager to try it again. And he didn't
have a girlfriend, although several girls were always hinting.
Daniel smiled when he heard that. "Like that Regina girl?"
Xavier frowned.
"Regina?"
"Yeah. In front of
the movie theatre. She had her hands all
over you."
Xavier nodded. "Oh,
yes. I remember now. Yes, Regina would enjoy having me as her
boyfriend. But that's not going to
happen."
"Why not?" Daniel asked.
Xavier was suddenly quiet.
He turned to Daniel and said, "We don't know each other well enough yet
for me to answer that question."
Daniel nodded.
"Okay. Fair enough."
"And you?"
"Me?"
"Yes. I've told you
all about myself. Now I want to know
what makes Daniel Anderson tick."
"Other than games of Halo and reading until late into the
night?" Daniel asked with a chuckle.
"Sure. And anything
else Daniel Anderson does late at night." Xavier glanced coyly at Daniel, leaving
his last comment open for interpretation.
Daniel blushed slightly, but jumped into a description of
his life, boring as it seemed to him.
Other than his games and his novels, he enjoyed slasher flicks and
sci-fi. He wasn't athletic either, being
too small for most sports. He also liked
cool ranch Doritos, though he preferred the original nacho flavor. He loved Chinese food (Xavier interrupted him
and said they only had one restaurant in Agony and it
didn't serve anything Chinese, making Daniel groan in response). He'd only tried alcohol once. A few sips of beer. Nastiest shit ever (Xavier laughed, agreeing
wholeheartedly). He'd never had a
girlfriend.
"Do you want one?" Xavier asked.
Daniel shrugged. "Not
really."
"Not interested in girls?"
Daniel paused and smiled.
"We don't know each other well enough yet for me to answer that
question."
Xavier smiled. "Touche', my friend."
Xavier stood up. "Can I show you
around town? Show you all the places
where kids get into trouble?" His lips
curled in an impish grin as he said that, and his eyes seemed to twinkle. He offered his hand to Daniel.
Daniel took Xavier's hand and allowed the tall youth to pull
him to his feet. "Sure. Let me get a jacket."
"It's not that cold," Xavier said with a smile.
"Yeah. That's
something else I've been meaning to ask you ..."
The two walked down the hallway, chatting like the friends
they were becoming.
The end of SOULBOUND, Chapter
Two