#TEW Chapter 1: An Emergency Call

[chanagun]

The Blood on Your Hands

Chapter Two: A Middle

Prem tried not to let the smell of it get to him. He had just fed, but the metallic scent of the blood dripping down Wad's leg was intoxicating.

Neither boy spoke. Prem had no idea what Wad was thinking, but he was trapped in a flurry of his own racing thoughts. He knew the hospital wasn't more than a few miles from where they were, but he was about to emerge from the woods with this bloody beaten boy. It's not the most conspicuous thing. And Prem was used to being invisible.

Prem unconsciously held onto Wad a little tighter as they reached the edge of the woods. Something felt off.

"Wad, your heartbeat..." He felt it against his chest. Heavy and slow. He was probably going into shock. His leg was mangled, so it wouldn't be surprising. Wad still didn't say anything in response, just groaned slightly. "Shit," Prem said under his breath, no longer hesitating as he walked quickly to the road.

Prem was grateful when a couple pulled over to help. He didn't realize how weak he still was until he didn't have to hold up Wad's body weight any longer. He collapsed into the backseat with Wad still cradled in his arms.

The woman in the front seat was in hysterics at the sight of Wad's leg. The man behind the wheel asked what happened as he sped to the hospital. Wad mumbled a response about a pack of wild animals and Prem inwardly winced. The couple didn't pry further. Prem felt his stomach churn when he realized one of those vampires probably broke his leg with their bare hands.

"It's okay Wad, we're almost there." He surprised himself when the words came out of his mouth in such a soft tone. Wad didn't respond with words, something Prem was quickly getting used to, but he had reached out and grabbed the lapel of Prem's jacket, holding it in his fist tightly. His head dropped back and his brow furrowed in pain. "Just hold on," Prem continued softly.

When they reached the emergency room doors, Prem pushed the door open and didn't think twice about leaving the concerned couple behind him as he made his way inside.

They were immediately bombarded by various doctors and nurses. They had Prem put Wad down on a stretcher, and he yelped out in pain as he did so. Prem wondered how he had kept his cool so well when he initially found him.

There was suddenly a flood of questions from the hospital staff directed at him that he didn't know the answers to. He stepped back and let the doctors do their job. Prem spared one last glance at Wad before he walked back out the door.

.

The couple had left, probably shaken up from the whole ordeal of helping the two broken boys who hobbled out of the forest. Prem wished he could leave. He couldn't make himself get up from the bench outside the emergency room doors.

"Your friend is in surgery." Prem looked up to see a nurse from earlier. His face looked too young to be in such a profession, but his tired eyes told a different story.

"He's not my friend. I just found him like that outside my house," Prem replied quickly.

He nurse a crushed up his nose, seemingly displeased with the comment. "If you aren't his friend, why are you still here?"

To make sure he's safe.

"I don't know, I just want to know if he makes it or not I guess," he shrugged.

"I don't know why you're lying to me. If you decide to stop sulking, you can come hang out in the family lounge." And he turned around without another word.

Prem looked back down at his clasped hands in his lap. He didn't want to care as much as he did. A part of him couldn't help but feel like this was a trap; an elaborate plot to gain his trust and then have those hunters take him out.

He'd been living in careful solitude for as long as he could remember. It was him and Knot and they looked out for each other.

And Wad. Wad was a hunter. Raised to kill creatures like him from the time they could hold a gun. He shouldn't trust him. He can't trust him.

He slowly stood, and started the trek back home.

.

"I've been calling you for DAYS! What happened? Are you okay? You look like shit!" Knot spouted at him as soon as he walked through the door.

"I didn't have time to grab my phone before I started running. I got caught up in some bad shit with that ... group of kid hunters. I think it's still in my car maybe-"

"What?" Knot interrupted. "Those hunters found you? How... how did you escape?" Prem pursed his lips.

"There was a window in the basement I was hiding in," He answered quickly, leaving out the chunk of story where he was on the verge of death. He wasn't going to mention Wad. He couldn't. "I holed up in the Sugar Pine cabin to recover."

Knot smiled out of what looked like relief. He brought his hand up and playfully smacked Prem's cheek. "I'm glad you're not dead." It was an endearing moment, really. Prem chuckled.

"Piss off," he teased. "I need to go find my phone. I haven't gamed in days."

"I don't understand your fascination with modern technology." Prem rolled his eyes.

"Whatever grandpa, go watch your programs or something." Knot laughed as Prem walked out into the garage. He felt a little guilty for not letting Knot know much trouble he actually found himself in. It isn't that he didn't think Knot would understand. Knot was very bright, and was a great friend, but he just couldn't bring himself to tell Knot that one of them saved him.  They were hunters and he and Knot were vampires. The whole principle is that they don't mesh. Knot would probably slap him upside his head and berate him for trusting a hunter for even a second.

Prem winced as a memory flashed before his eyes, the fleeting smiling face of Deer and then the cold, lifeless body they had found. Deer had guided them, mentored them, but he got caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was hunters that led Deer to his death.

If Knot ever found out about Wad, he'd never forgive Prem. And he would understand.

Prem inhaled sharply, moving to open his car door. He came out there to find his phone, and he shouldn't have let himself get so lost in his thoughts. Everything was how he left it a few days ago. The papers piled up in his backseat and the clutter on his middle console.

Prem huffed when he realized his phone was nowhere to be found inside his car. It must have fallen while he was running for his life, or when he was hobbling around the basement in the warehouse. He groaned audibly.

He quickly headed back inside to find Knot.

"Hey, man, I need to go buy a new phone." Knot looked up from the television, eyebrows raised. Faint applause emitted from the TV set from whatever game show Knot had been watching.

"Really? You're going back out? You just told me you got captured by hunters, you're not going to, like, give it a few more days?" Prem sneered.

"I'm just running to the shop. An in and out kind of deal."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No!" Prem answered too quickly. "I mean, I'm not a child. I'll be fine," he sent Knot a shit-eating grin and Knot just rolled his eyes at him.

"You better come home this time," Knot turned his attention back to the TV, "You had me worried sick."

"I will be back, mother dear."

.

Prem had to actively force himself to not think about him.

His drive to the cell phone shop was him blasting music and trying to drown out the urgent plea for him to please, get out of here, they'll kill you.

Inside, in line at the shop, he had Knot's voice in his head, pleading with him to stay away from the danger.

Back in his car, with the engine humming and his hands gripping the wheel so tight, his knuckles were white, he couldn't stop his mind from lingering any longer. The clock on his dashboard had ticked away, and he was stuck. The hours passed and his thoughts raced them.

Wad was sure to be in the hospital, unconscious and alone. Hurt. Abandoned. He abandoned him. He couldn't deny it any longer. They saved each other and they were connected. And Prem just... disappeared.

He couldn't bring himself to pull out of his parking spot. He felt like he couldn't move. He felt a twitch , a reaction to his own running thoughts. He released one of his hands and brought it up to his face. His cheek was wet.

"What the..." He was crying. Prem used the hem of his sleeve to wipe his face vigorously. He cleared his vision, took a deep breath, and threw his car into reverse.

.

He clenched his jaw. He glared at the double doors. He willed his feet to turn around and just go back home, but they walked forward instead of back.

The doors slid open for him with ease, but his mind, Knot's voice, the sight of Deer's body kept trying to pull him back.

He was over the threshold and immediately face to face with the nurse from earlier.

"You're back," he said, sounding genuinely surprised. Prem loomed over him, trying to act as naturally as possible.

"Is he okay?" The nurse's expression shifted suddenly, and he didn't look happy. He grabbed Prem by the wrist and started leading him somewhere.

"Okay," he started after pulling Prem around the corner, "You actually left. I really wasn't expecting you to come back, which means you aren't just a stranger. You came back at 1 am. I need to know who you are if you want to see the patient." Prem blinked slowly. The nurse was acting much more professional than he was anticipating. He glanced down at the name badge.

"Well, Tew, my name is Prem. I didn't just find Wad, I saved him and I would like to know if he's okay." His voice didn't sound as threatening as he wanted it to be and yet Tew's glare softened. Prem wished that he could say the Wad was a friend or anything more than a passing infatuation, but he couldn't. But Tew seemed to accept his answer.

"He got out surgery just now. He's still asleep." Tew placed his hand on Prem's shoulder. "I can tell you care a lot about him. Try not to disappear on him again, I'm sure he cares a lot about you, too." Prem almost scoffed. This guy didn't know them. But Prem let him make his assumptions because he turned to take Prem to wherever Wad was.

It was so quiet in the hallway. Their footsteps echoed against the white linoleum and Prem lost himself in his thought again.

The voices cease, stop cold, when he lays his eyes on the motionless boy in the crisp white bed. Prem blinked. The monitors around him beeped rhythmically as his feet brought him towards Wad.

Prem went straight to the chair next to the bed. He didn't hear Tew slink out of the room, but he knew that he did. Prem just let his eyes wander, taking in cast on his leg, the slight rise and fall of his chest, the IV in his arm and-

His hand.

Prem instinctively reached out, taking Wad's hand into his own. The cut was stitched up. The edges were jagged but it looked professionally sewn back together. Prem ghosted his fingers over the line. He still had trouble believing that what Wad did was real.

"I would do it again, you know." Prem jumped at the sudden voice. He was broken out of his trance and he looked up to meet Wad's gaze as he let go of his hand. Wad seemed to have a knack for being able to tell what Prem was thinking. Prem's eyes narrowed at him, still not necessarily believing his words. "I meant what I said," Wad continued, "you're different. You even came back." Prem couldn't speak. He felt like he was being choked. He buried his head in his hands, still overwhelmed. "Thank you. For coming back."

.

Prem came up with a different excuse to tell Knot whenever he left for the hospital.  He had to run to the store. He had to drop off his dry cleaning. Menial things, mostly. If Knot suspected he was lying, he never gave the impression he was onto him.

He and Wad became acquainted quickly. They had all the time in the world to just talk. The hospital room was a private place they could be themselves with no pretenses. They became friends in that small, pristine white room.

Wad liked to read, so Prem started bringing him books. He liked how the sound of the pages turning pricked his ears while he played games on his phone. Prem wasn't sure if Wad really enjoyed his company, but Prem found himself thinking a lot about Wad whenever he was home. He soon realized he even missed him.

The two also became friends with Tew. He was a nurse, fresh out of school, working the night shift. He was so close in age to the two boys that he often stopped in to visit on his breaks. Tew played a lot of the same games that Prem did, so a week or two into his visits, they exchanged numbers and gamer tags.

Prem couldn't help but enjoy the nights that Tew had off more, however. It was just him and Wad. They talked in hushed tones about anything and everything, except for who they were. They always conveniently glazed over the fact that Prem was a vampire and that Wad was a hunter. They talking about a comic book series they both liked and their favorite places in Bangkok.

It was rounding week four of Wad being in the hospital. Wad had drifted to sleep while he flipped through the pages of the book Prem had brought that day. Prem couldn't help but watch him. His sharp features softened when he dozed and Prem didn't think there was anything in the world more beautiful. He took the opportunity to bring Wad's hand into his own. He had gotten his stitches out after week two and so there was a raised, white scar across his palm. Prem couldn't help but trace his finger along the line. He smiled to himself. He was so grateful for the boy in front of him, he would often forget their star-crossed situation.

"Oh, shit, I can come back later," Prem looked up to the door, seeing Tew starting to backtrack.

"No, it's fine," Prem told him in a hushed voice, still holding Wad's hand gently, "What's up?"

Tew smiled and poked him head back in, "Just heard the doctors talking. His wound has healed up nicely and he's been doing great in physical therapy. He'll be able to go home soon!" Tew sent him a wink and shuffled back out the door.

Prem felt like he was falling.

Home.

Wad has to... go home. To his family of hunters.

"Prem? What's wrong?" Prem glanced to the now-awakened Wad. He tore his hands away and clasped them in his lap. Wad looked at him, groggy and confused.

"Nothing, I have to go." Prem stood quickly, ready to disappear again.

"Hey! No, you don't get to do that!" Prem stopped cold. He turned to see Wad had pulled himself up to a sitting position. Prem couldn't read his expression. "You don't get to just leave like that. I thought we moved passed the point of you disappearing." Prem felt a shiver run down his spine. He'd never get used to Wad being able to read him so well.

"You... you're going to be able to go home soon. You'll get to go back to your... friends and your life. We shouldn't have... I shouldn't have let myself get so... used to this."

"W-what?" Wad looked bewildered.

"You get to go back to your life! And I'll just fade back into the shadows and-"

"Prem, are you kidding me? This wasn't just... this wasn't a place holder. I like you, you're my friend! I'm not like the others. I can think for myself. Why do you think no one has come to visit me except for you? Prem, it's been weeks." Prem was taken aback, Wad usually was calm and collected. He looked frantic. He had never heard him talk as much as he was then, stumbling over his words and all. "Prem. I don't want to go back. Quick, can you grab the crutches? We can go to the cabin. If we leave right now, we don't have to deal with any discharge plans. We can call Tew and explain later--"

"Wad..." Prem didn't move toward the crutches, but he moved to stand next to the bed.

"--maybe if I go with you, they'll think I'm dead. And maybe that's for the best." Prem stared at him, mouth agape. He couldn't believe what Wad was saying. How could he believe him?

"Wad... you're a hunter. You're one of them."

"Not by choice." He snapped. "You're raised to believe a certain thing but sometimes it the wrong thing. Morals can change. And I trust you." He emphasized, once again practically reading Prem's mind. "You saved me too remember? There are no debts to pay. I just... I just want to go with you. I hate them, Prem." He seethed "I hate them." He met Prem's hard stare with soft eyes. "I trust you," he repeated "because I know you're not a monster." He shyly laced his fingers through Prem's hand that was on the bed. Prem bit his lip.

"What if they find you?"

"We'll cross that bridge when the time comes." Prem couldn't take his eyes off the boy in front of him. Their connection in this life was a short one, but it ran deep. There was something there and he couldn't turn him away. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed in the only number he had memorized.

"Hello?" Knot answered once he picked up.

"It's me. I'm about to do something you're not going to like. Meet me at the safe house in a half an hour."