More Than Just One Curse. (Chapter 1)

"Another double scotch for my brother here. He's had a rough week." The slap on the back brought Andrew back down to earth from whatever cloud he was on. In his head, he had probably rehearsed the speech a million times and gone over every reaction possible. In his heart, he knew he will never get to make it. That never stopped him from repeating it.

"Come on bro. We came here to have fun and you promised you wouldn't sulk like you've been doing for the past week." came Sam's voice in his ear. A fresh glass full of ice was slammed in front of him on the bar and the bartender started to pour the whiskey into it. "Now hit this glass quickly and let's get to the VIP box. The guys are waiting for us up there."

He was right. Andrew had promised earlier that he would try to enjoy his time and here he was at the bar daydreaming in front of a glass of whiskey. He grabbed the glass of whiskey, swirled the ice inside of it for a second then gulped the contents down. The second the glass left Andrew's hand, Sam pulled him and they pushed and shoved through the dancing crowds towards the elevator that led to the VIP room.

Andrew and Sam were cousins but they were opposites when it came to personality. Sam was the reckless type. He was the type to party hard all night and then never wake up sober enough for college the next day. He had slept with more girls at school than anyone could count and he had a reputation for being a bad boy. Andrew was different. He wasn't exactly shy but he wasn't very social. He was athletic and in good shape but he was never on a sports team before. But what truly set Andrew aside from his cousin was his commitment to academics. Perfect attendance, top of his first year at med school and a small decent job that left him with enough money for his needs. He was the stereotype nice guy that they say always finishes last.

They got into the elevator and the doors slid shut. The elevator was glass but it was sound proof. Only sound was that of the ring that sounded with every floor they passed. Sam turned to Andrew.
"Look dude. I know you love her and she's your first girlfriend and all but she's gone. You can't have her. She's getting married in a few months and there's nothing you can do but move on. Besides there's tons of girls around who would die for a guy like you. How many girls have asked you to dance tonight and you've rejected? Seven! I'd know because I sent them your way. Hot girls with everything to offer and you said no. Look down there. This place is packed with drunk young babes just begging for us to take home so snap out of your moping self and enjoy your time. And for the love of all that's good in this world look alive. I dressed you to kill but you're acting like a puppet on strings." Another ring sounded and a voice from the speakers announced that they have arrived to the penthouse floor. "Okay we're here. Don't embarrass me in front of my friends okay?"

Sam wrapped his arm around Andrew's shoulders and led him forward out of the elevator. There was a huge muscled man standing at the door to the penthouse and when he saw Sam he nodded and opened the door for them to go through. The second they stepped through the door, everyone screamed surprise and cheering erupted. Everyone got up and started clapping and moving towards the two of them. Sam let go of Andrew and started to hug,high-five and shake hands with everyone in range. Leaving everyone to shake hands and greet Andrew,he grabbed a champagne bottle from someone and jumped up onto a coffee table.

"Settle down. Settle down. DJ cut the music for a second. Ladies and gentlemen. And all you nasty motherfuckers. You all know why we're here today. We're here to celebrate my cousin Andy's birthday. Now he's had a fucked up week so let's make this a night he will never forget. Or in the least a night he won't remember when he wakes up tomorrow."

Sam jumped off the table and popped the champagne open. Everyone had their glasses ready and he made a round to fill everyone's glass to the top before he stood by Andrew's side with a glass of champagne which he handed to Andrew and a the bottle in his other hand. Raising the bottle he said "To Andrew and may he loosen the fuck up and enjoy his birthday party."

Everyone yelled "To Andrew." and they drank it all up. The DJ raised the volume again and everyone started cheering and dancing. Sam grabbed Andrew by the arm and dragged him to a black leather couch with a huge round table in front of it. Everyone moved over and Andrew was sat in the middle of the couch in front of a big cake with the words "Happy Birthday Andy" written in frosting.

Sam may be reckless and he may be a player and he is definitely a show-off but if one thing was certain its that he cared about Andrew. To go through all the preparation it took and all the money it took to get something like this together it meant something to Andrew and he made a mental note to thank Sam.

Truth be told he wasn't planning on celebrating his birthday this year. He had gone through a lot the past week and it left him depressed and exhausted. His girlfriend for two years who happened to be his first had left him. Not that she wanted to but what choice did she have? Her parents were forcing her to marry a man she didn't want to marry and no matter how much she begged they would insist that it was for her own good. Eventually she decided to give up and just go with her parent's desires. She told Andrew that they couldn't be together and no matter how much he begged her nothing could be done. Her parents had met Andrew before but they had no idea he was dating their daughter because Sarah was terrified that if her father knew he would get angry at her. Her father had been in the army his whole life and his father before him and Sarah's brother had enlisted a year ago and was shipped off to fight and die in a war far away from home. She was all they had left.

"Well come on. Blow the damn candles already so we can cut the cake." This was the second time Sam brought Andrew back from between the clouds and Andrew looked around at all the waiting faces. They had clearly just sung him happy birthday but he wasn't listening. He took a deep breath and blew all the candles out and everyone erupted in cheers. Sam reached forward grabbing the candles one by one and tossing them on the ground then he and the guy on Andrew's other side grabbed the cake and slammed it into Andrew's face covering him in chocolate and frosting.

"Don't worry cuz. This one's for show. Your real cake is here."

Andrew turned to look where Sam was pointing and he saw a giant cake being wheeled in. Easily the height of a man and the width of the table in front of them. Sam pulled Andrew off the couch and in front of the giant cake and when Andrew grabbed the knife to cut the cake, sam grabbed his hand and shook his head then moved away. Suddenly the cake split in half and from inside it a woman wearing a sheer black robe that barely covered her walked out and took off her robe throwing it to one of the bystanders. Underneath she was wearing nothing but black panties with the words "Special Delivery" written on them in yellow. She moved towards Andrew who was thunderstruck and pushed him onto the chair behind him that was being held by Sam. Sam leaned closer to Andrew and whispered "Happy birthday Andy. You can thank me later."

For the next half an hour all Andrew could remember was the stripper's body against his. Rubbing and hovering and teasing. It left him dazed and all the alcohol he had consumed so far had helped in dazing him even further. And then even when she was gone there was more to come. The gifts rolled in. Expensive things all of them. A few watches and wallets. Some expensive bottles of perfume. Nothing out of the ordinary and nothing too unusual. Slowly the crowd started to thin and people started to head home. Everyone shook Sam's and Andrew's hand and left. In the end the only people who remained were Sam and Andrew and two girls who stayed only because Sam asked them to. The plan was to take them back home but now that the party had settled Andrew's old thoughts came back and he once again succumbed to the repetition of the speech and all the thoughts he had hoped to block. The party downstairs was still raging when they left to get to Sam's car.

They took the elevator down to the back of the club and stepped out into the night. They were in an open space that served as the club's parking lot and it was empty of people but full of cars. Andrew and Sam walked towards the silver Porshe Cayenne that Sam owned,popped open the trunk then dumped everything inside of it. Behind them they heard the sound of footsteps running away from them. Turning around Andrew saw a girl running into an alley and even in the semi-dark of the parking lot he recognized her. She was one of his old classmates but he hasn't seen her for two years. Everyone said she left town with her parents when they got a job in a big city. From the look on her face and the way she was running it seemed she was scared of something that was chasing her.

Andrew began to walk quickly towards the alley she went into and Sam started to call after him but he wouldn't turn back. Something about the look on her face scared Andrew and he thought he could help her if someone's following her.

"One second ladies." said Sam to the two women standing by the car."My cousin isn't feeling too well. We'll be back in a second." And he chased after Andrew.

When he caught up to him Andrew was halfway across the parking lot.

"Andy where the hell are you going? We've got two hot chicks waiting for us next to the car. Let's go."

"Sam that girl that was running into the alley. I recognized her. She went to school with us. Senior year remember? Judy I think her name was. I think she's in trouble." replied Andrew.

Andrew then picked up the pace and ran after Judy into the alley and Sam was close behind him. What they saw when they rounded the corner was a little more than they expected. Judy was staring at someone who's face was hidden beneath a hood and she had her knees bent and her hands into claws and her neck bent and she was hissing at him.

"Is she hissing at him?" said Sam puzzled but Andrew didn't answer.

"Judy are you okay? Is he bothering you?" yelled Andrew.

Judy turned to look at the source of the sound and Andrew saw that her eyes were grey. Her eyes used to be blue according to what he remembers.

In the split second she turned to look at Sam and Andrew,the hooded man hit her across the face and she flew into the wall. Andrew ran straight at the hooded man and tried to rugby tackle him but the man just jumped into the air higher than any human could and Andrew hit the ground.

The hooded man turned to Sam and in less than a second he was next to him. He grabbed Sam and threw him to the mouth of the alley with such a force that seemed impossible. Everything about this man was superhuman. His speed and his strength and his reactions.

Judy got up and dashed at the hooded man. She was moving as fast as he was but even with her amazing speed he moved out of the way and she skidded to a halt next to Andrew. Sam was slowly getting to his feet on the other end of the alley. Judy grabbed Andrew off the floor and threw him at Sam and yelled for them to run away and leave her. Andrew collided with Sam who had barely gotten to his feet and both went down again. Sam's head hit the floor and he was out cold. Andrew turned around and saw the hooded man holding a silver dagger up to the light of the moon above in the sky. In the other hand he held Judy's arms behind her back while she struggled against him. Andrew got up and ran at the man tackling him and bringing him to the ground. He new he had managed to catch him off guard and that wouldn't happen again probably. Judy was quick to her feet and so was the man but Andrew wasn't. The man grabbed Andrew by the neck and pinned him to the wall. The man paused for a second and looked curiously into Andrew's eyes and at such a close distance Andrew had time to register that the man had eyes that filled with a red like blood before he felt a piercing almost soul-wrenching pain at his side. He looked down to see the dagger that the hooded man was holding embedded in his side down to the hilt. It was pain beyond anything in the world and Andrew closed his eyes. He heard a scream that could have only come from Judy and then the pain was too much for him and he just succumbed to a blackout.

Judy's scream woke Sam up and he looked at her and then at the heap that is his bleeding friend. He got up dazed and confused senses rushing back to him. He saw the hooded man. He saw Judy clawing at him and the man dodging her strikes easily. He saw Andrew on the ground with a dagger in his side. The hooded man grabbed Judy's arm while she swung at him and tossed her into a dumpster then he moved toward's Andrew's body and reached for the dagger. Once his hand closed around the dagger he screamed what seemed to Sam like a scream of pain and reeled away from the body grabbing his hand. Sam took that chance and dashed towards the hooded man but the man caught him with his other arm and raised him up. He said something that Sam couldn't understand and then struck Sam on the throat with his nails.

Sam fell to the floor and couldn't find his voice. He couldn't even breathe and the pain in his throat felt like it had been ripped in two. He couldn't even move his head and as he lay on the ground he could see blood beginning to pool around his face.

He heard yells and the sound of many people running but he was in too much pain to look around. Not that he could anyway.

Sam slowly succumbed to unconsciousness.