The life of a mountain vampire ch 5

Chapter 5

Forgiveness

                                                                 
The sun shown brightly, to brightly Xavier thought as he pulls the curtains back across the window and rolled over burring his face in the pillow.  "Why does it have to be so bright outside? It’s giving me a real headache.  It's too early to get up!" he moaned as Cleo hopped up on the side of the bed and nuzzled her nose against his cheek.  "Go away, can't you see that I'm still trying to sleep.  It's not fair.  You got a full night sleep and I didn't."  Cleo just looks at him and meows loudly, as if to voice her annoyance at her growing hunger.  She jumped off the bed as Xavier sat up and stretches, yawing.  Brushing his bangs from his eyes, he walks into the bathroom and stumbles over a pile of wet cloths that had been left by the door. Picking his foot up he just looks at them puzzled scratching his head.

"What tha....now how did these get here?"  Picking up the shirt he notices that it was soaking wet, but not with water, It was soaked with blood and it was still fresh.  The once clean and white tank top now was crimson and hung heavily from his hands.  The blood had soaked through and was still warm and dripping in the floor.  Gathering them up he throws them into the washer and starts it up.  Cleo meanwhile rubs up against his legs purring and meowing her growing frustration at being ignored.  Scooping her up he tosses her onto his shoulder and scratches her behind the ear.  "Alright, alright, it’s breakfast time.  You are really annoying at times you stupid cat."

He walks into the kitchen with her still slung over his shoulder purring contently and swinging her tail from side to side.  After fixing her breakfast he walks out onto the porch munching on a piece of left over pizza, and looks out over the mountains that surround the little valley where his folk’s house is.  Putting his hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun, he looks down at his parent’s house and notices that they were all gone.  Walking back into the house he figured that they must be out looking for a yard sale or something like that.  Sitting on the floor in front of the couch, Xavier turns the TV on and starts looking through the channels to see what was on.  He was off for the next few days and didn't have anything else better to do.  After a few minutes he came across the local news station and they were running a story about a recent murder that had happened not too far from town.  He turned up the volume and sat quietly, caught up in all the hustle and bustle that was going on there.  Pulling his knees up under his chin he smiles a cheeky little smile when they showed the barn, where just the night before he had some what messily dispatched Brad. 

The lady on the TV had described the scene as the site of a cruel and inhumane butchering.  She talked of the old style of punishment that was reserved for criminals from the Far East.  It was known as impalement, and from how she described it, it sounded like a most painful and slow way to die.  Xavier just smiled down at Cleo and bit his lower lip.  She said that the police were at a loss to how there was so much blood on the surrounding ground and in the barn, and yet there was none left to be found in the body.  They were also at a loss to what kind of animal could leave the type of bite mark that was found on the back of the victims’ neck.  Officer Stinson had remarked that it looked human, but the shape and placement of the teeth were more like those of an animal.  The officer had little else to say, stating that it was an ongoing investigation and that the name of the victim would not be released at this time.  Before the segment ended the camera man had managed to pan over to where the body was.  It couldn't be seen on account of the coroner had already removed it from the post and covered it with a white blanket.  The post however stood in plain site, and it was a grim site to see.  There were small pieces of meat and skin still hanging from its rough sides, and a small pool of blood had formed at its base.  An officer had seen them and tried his best to cover the lenses so it wouldn't be able to show the crime scene but the damage had already been done.  Near the post an officer was knelt down and putting something into a small baggy.  The news anchor described it as a small note that had been found around the victims’ neck.  She didn't mention what was written on it for the reasons of security and didn't want to taint the chain of evidence.  Xavier just smiles and scratches Cleo behind her ear. 

"We know what it says don't we precious?  That’s all that matters.  At least I know that it said murderer, because I was the one that wrote it.  Sighing loudly he scoops Cleo up in his arms and snuggles her lose to his cheek.  “I had so much fun last night girl . . . they shouldn't have done it to me . . . it was all their fault and every single one of them will pay for the crime they committed against me.  I bet you agree with me don't ya girl?"  He asks Cleo as he scratches her behind her ear.  He knew he could confide in her because she couldn't talk and she would always listen, and it was safer then writing it down when he did have to talk it out to someone . . . even if that someone was one of his cats.

After the news cast was over, Xavier stands up and stretches trying to figure out what he was gonna do for the rest of the day.  He had always found it somewhat uncomfortable to be out in the sun for long periods of time, even before his change, so he just sat out on the porch and watched the comings and goings of the cars that traveled up and down the nearby highway.  Not long after Cleo headed down to his folks house for her late afternoon feeding, he walks around his own house, checking to see if the storm had messed anything up.  His mom calls to see if he was gonna come down for dinner, and to just see how he was since she hadn’t seen him all day. He just laughs and says no, that he would grab a bite later on tonight.  She was curious at why he didn’t answer the phone the night before when she tried to call. He just bit his lower lip and explained that he gotten bored and went out to see an old friend and a late nights snack.  As they were talking he noticed that the sun was starting to set behind the mountain and he was starting to get restless.

"Well Mom, I guess I'm gonna get off here and head out for a while.  I don't know when I'll be home tonight, it might be pretty late.  Anything you need from the store?"

"No, I honestly can't think of anything we need.  Just be careful tonight.  You did hear about the killer on the loose didn't you?  Just don't stay out long.  You know how I worry about you."

"I will Mom, don't worry about me.  I'm just gonna look up some old friends and maybe grab a late night snack.  I'll talk to you tomorrow.  Love ya mom . . . bye."  He said as he hung up the phone then went to check on his clothes to see if they were done yet.

When his cloths had finished washing, he places them into the dryer and climes into the shower.  As he leans against the wall, the cool water runs over his shoulders and down his back.  He stretches and unfurls his wings allowing the soothing water to caress their delicate membranes.  He sways to the music of one of his favorite cds and lets the water run through his hair and down his slim thighs.  After his shower he lights a candle and climes into the middle of his bed, placing the candle in front of him.  He sits back on his knees, closes his eyes and begins to listen to the rhythm of his heart beat.  As the sound of its steady breathing fills his ears, he notices that it begins to slow and become more drawn out.  He had learned this little trick from a close friend he had met on the net.  His name was Sebastian.  Sebastian was a quiet guy but always willing to give advice and help if he could.  Over a time Sebastian and Jev had became close and decided to try and date online.  Sebastian lives in California and is still in school, yet he already knows more than some of the people who have already graduated around here.  It was the first time Jev had ever attempted this and for a time it went great.  He had taught Jev to use this method to calm himself and focus his emotions on a particular thought or event.  Now Xavier would use it to focus his hatred on finding Kevin and Chris. 

As his breathing slowed he felt a rush of emotions and memories that were not his own, they were Brads.  As he slowly opens his eyes he could see images of two of the guys that had kidnapped and tortured him.  This isn't right he thought.  Where is Brad?  There was Kevin and Chris but no sign of him.  Then as a new wave of emotions washes over him the images change and he now sees himself hanging beaten and bloody in the theater.  He looks down and there in a piece of broken glass notices his refection.  It came to him like a kick to the head.  The reason he couldn’t see Brad, was because he was looking out through Brad's eyes.

His screams fill the empty house, as the shock of what he sees causes him to loose his balance and fall backwards off the bed.  As he fell he managed to grab one of the curtains and pull it from the window.  He sits there on the floor a bit stunned and out of it, with the curtain partially covering his naked body.  A soft breeze blows through the open window and causes the candle to flicker and go out.  As the smoke drifted across the room he smiles widely and jumps up crabbing the candle and climbing back up onto the bed.  Relighting it Xavier once again takes his position in the middle of the bed and begins to slow his breathing and listen to his heart beat.  This time when the images came to him he, was more relaxed and able to control what he was seeing, at least to some extent.  The images flow freely around him and extended back as far as Brad himself could remember.  There was his first kiss with a girl named Sara, the big game against Tazewell, and many more.  He sorted through what he didn't need to see, and tried to recall the memories of where their favorite hang outs were.  He saw the old Richland’s High School gym, Broad Way Cinema the new movie place, an several other local place where they would go after school, or after a nights run of trouble makeing.  Then came the newest memories of the past few days.  Xavier can see once again his body hanging helpless in the theater, and could feel Brads excitement as he circles him with anticipation of what he was about to do.  Xavier gasps and shivers as he felt the pleasure Brad took from his torture of his helpless captive. 

It was strange, he knew that he would see what was going on, but had no idea that he would also be able to feel it as well.  As the feelings came over him, Xavier’s body began to react to what Brad was doing and how he was feeling.  Arching his back as he throws back his head he grabs at the pillows that he had pilled around himself, gritting his teeth in pleasure.  As Brad’s body reacted to what he was doing to Jev, so did Xavier’s.  As Brad finishes the waves of his pleasure wash over him, this in turn causes Xaviers body to also release.  Falling backwards onto the bed Xavier gasps and begins breathing heavily.  It was strange, and a bit exciting to feel this sort of thing from another’s point of view.  "OH MAN!  What a head rush!" he thought as he lays there smiling and stretching his arms over his head, with his eyes still closed.  A few seconds pass and the pleased expression on his face begins to change as a new wave of emotions and feelings come over him.  Grabbing the pillows again he screams as a bloody gash tares across his chest and stomach.  Sitting up quickly he knocks the candle off the bed and up against the wall, but it was too late though, he had gone to deep and was unable to break the link.  He falls against the wall and leans there crying and sobbing as several more gashes appear across his back and legs.  He screams and opens his eyes wide, but still could only see and feel what Brad was going through.  He now was relieving Brads torture.  Xavier thrashes on the bed as invisible blades and bobbed wire tare and wrap across his exposed skin, cutting deep and tightening as he moves.  He was almost to the point of being dropped onto the spike when the dryer buzzer went off and caused him to snap back to reality.

Xavier lay on the bed bleeding and sobbing, trying to recover from his newest ordeal.  As he begins to calm down, he rolls over onto his back, and closes his eyes once again.  As he lays there, the blood that had fallen to the bed begins to move towards him and reenter his wounds, as it did, the many gashes and tears begin to heal themselves and disappear.  The phone rang and brought him fully back from his delusions.  It was his dad; he was calling to tell him to turn the volume down on what ever horror move he was watching.  They could hear the screaming all the way down at their house and it was starting to get on their nerves.  He tries to laugh and says that it was over, and that he would keep it down from now on.  Sitting up on the side of his bed, he put his head in his hands and shakes his head.  He thought to himself that that too was a head rush, one that he could have lived with out.  After cleaning up the wax from the wall, he walks through the house and gets something to drink from the fridge.  Running the cold bottle over his forehead he smiles, from all those memories he thinks he has figured out where he could find the others. 

After taking the cloths from the dryer, Xavier gets dressed and pulls his hair back into a braid.  Walking through the house he finally found his cap under the couch and adjusts it to fit loosely on his head.  "It's time to go and see who I can find to play with tonight.  Cleo, be a good girl and I will see ya in the morning."

After letting her out, Xavier walks over to the edge of the yard and looks up into the star filled sky.  Spreading his wings he steps off the side of the hill and glides silently off in the direction of town.  This time he had somewhat of a direction to look in.  The closest place from his memories was the school gym, but at this time of night there wouldn't be anybody there.  With long steady beats of his wings he begins to circle around the school trying to figure out a new place to look for them.  Lazily he makes larger and lager circles as he gains in altitude.  A familiar sound soon caught his ear, it was the sound of someone sobbing and mumbling to them selves.  Turning in the direction of the sobs, Xavier silently glides over the roof tops in search of where it was coming from.  After a few minutes of circling town, he glides over the steeple of the First Methods Church and notices that someone was sitting on the steps up against the door. Banking back around for another pass, he takes a closer look and noticed that it was Chris.  Landing silently on the roof, Xavier leans up against the steeple and crosses his arms.  For a while he just looks down at Chris and taps his finger on his cheek, wondering how he could have fun with him.

"Man, I'm so sorry things went too far.  Damn it to hell, I should have stopped them, but what could I do?  There were two of them and I wouldn't have stood a chance against them."  Chris stands and kicks a rock across the courtyard then slumps once again back against the church door.  Burying his face in his hands he starts mumbling to himself and slams his elbow against the doors.

"You could have at least tried to stop them"

Chris looks up to see where the voice was coming from, but there was no one there.  Only him and his guilty conscious.  Standing up suddenly Chris cautiously walks out into the middle of the courtyard and starts looking around.  Leaves rustle and blow across the fence, but still there was no sign of another person to be seen.  "Who's there?  Jev is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me."

Stumbling back up the stairs, Chris tries to pull the doors open, but as he had discovered when he first arrived, they were locked tight.  Pounding on them he tries in vain to force his way in, but the old wooden doors resisted his advances as they had resisted the many years of weathering and storms that had beaten against their massive faces.  As he tries one last time to force them open, he becomes tangled up in his shoelaces and falls backwards to the ground.  Lying there in a ball he covers his head and tries to remain as motionless and as quiet as he possible.

"Having trouble with those laces there?  I can relate, it was the only reason I stopped and you guys snuck up on me.  As you can see now, I don't have that problem anymore."

Chris slowly opens his eyes and notices a pair of bare feet standing in front of him.  Each ankle had a unique piece of jewelry encircling them.  They were a pair of handcuffs that were eerily familiar to him.  Chris begins to scramble backwards across the ground, not daring to raise his head to see who now wore those accursed things. He manages to scramble back up the steps and huddles cowering against the door.

Xavier calmly walks up to chris and squats to his knees in front of him.  Softly he places his hand on Chris's head and repeats the question. 

"Why didn't you try and stop them?"

Chris begins sobbing uncontrollably and grabs Xavier around the waist, wrapping his arms around him. Xavier holds him close and strokes his hair. 

"Hush now and talk to me.  We can't have this; it will all work itself out.  The scales of justice will be balanced."

Chris pushes him away and staggers off the steps and out into the parking lot.  He stops just in front of his car and turns to face Xavier.  Standing up straight, he wipes the tears from his eyes and did his best to steady his voice.  "No it won't.  How can it work itself out when you’re dead?  Your dead and now your spirit is here to take its revenge.  Well I won't be a coward this time.  I'll face you and take what is coming to me.  I'm tired of being a coward and having to hang out with those guys.  They treat everyone like shit and they don't think that the rules apply to them.  I'm going to stand my ground while you take your revenge out on me.  I know they have to pay to but I won't run like they will."

Xavier readjusts his cap and walks over to where Chris was standing; he leans up against the car and just looks at him.  Without a warning he grabs Chris by the shirt and slams him up against the car door hissing.  "Do I look like a ghost to you?  Can a ghost do this?"  Xavier flicks out one of his claws and rakes it across Chris right arm leavening a long bloody gash.  Chris tries not to scream, but instead starts sobbing.  "I'll ask you again. Why did you not try to stop them?"

Chris squirms and twists in terror as he tries to get loose. Xavier just smiles and presses him tighter against the car. The pressure began to dint in the side of the door as a crack races across the front window.  Gasping for breath Chris tried to explain his side of the story, but Xavier just tilts his head and looks at him.

"Man, I tried honest.  But you heard what Kevin said to me, if I didn't help, then I would be up there with you.  I didn't want to die, there were a few people I was thinking about and I didn't want to leave them.  I was a coward and I tried to end it as quick and as painless for ya as I could, so you wouldn't have to suffer anymore.  Please believe me . . . I did what I could without the both of us dieing.  I have been trying my best to find a way to makes things rite.  I just didn't know how at the time."

Growling and hissing, Xavier garbs him by the arm and takes off into the sky throwing him across the roof of the church and back up against the steeple.  "If you didn't notice, I was half dead and not really in a position to here much."

Chris lies on the roof and begins coughing heavily from his lack of oxygen.  He again tries to explain things, but was hardly able to talk.  "I...I tried I swear.  I even went to the cops after we left, but when they got there you were gone.  They just laughed and thought we were up to one of our old tricks.  After they left Kevin beat the hell out of me and called me a trader.  Brad took over where he left off.  They said if I ever told anybody what really happened, that I wouldn't ever bee seen again."

Xavier turns and spreads his wings wide pouncing on top of Chris pinning him to the roof and growls deeply.  "We will see if that is what actually happened, or if you are just trying to save your worthless hide."

Grabbing Chris's right hand, Xavier extends one of his fangs and runs his index finger across it.  The razor sharp tooth cuts deeply into the finger as Chris clinches his teeth in pain.  Slamming Chris against the steeple, Xavier's eyes cloud over as he begins to sort though the memories that were held in the blood.  Chris's own life-force now flowed through Xavier’s veins, and he could tell his whole life stories and see all his darkest secrets.  This would be the first time he had attempted this, with Brad's blood it was by accident, till now.  Xavier had messed around a bit and became somewhat more able to control it.  As before, he saw through Chris' eyes and knew all that he had known, up to this point.  He heard the threats Kevin had made in the theater, and he felt the terror of what he knew would happen if he didn't do what he was told.  His eyes begin to tear up as the waves of sorrow wash over Chris's soul for not being able to do anything for him.  The agony of deciding to finally tell someone about Jev's murder bit deep into his heart, as did the fear of what would happen when he finally spoke out against the others.  Xavier stumbles backwards away from him as he felt the blows of Kevin and Brad's fists as they beat Chris for trying to get help.  He felt the sting of the rocks as they slammed into his head and face.  He heard the threats of what would happen if Jev’s body ever was found, and they learned that it was he that lead them to it.

Xavier broke the link and sank to his knees by one of the crosses that ringed the same corner of the roof where they were.  Sobbing he looks up at Chris who by now was cowering in the shadows of the steeple and cleared his throat.  "You were telling the truth after all.  I'm so sorry that you had to go through all that on my account. "

Walking back over to where Chris cowered in his corner Xavier slumps to the ground beside him and pulls his knees up under his chin lowering his head.  Pulling his cap over his eyes the two of them just sit in mutual silence.  Chris's nerves finally calm down and he sits quietly beside Xavier tapping a stick on the roof.

"What now?"

There was no answer, only the rustling of leaves across the open space.  Chris looks over at Xavier and just stares at him waiting for an answer.  Xavier just buries his head deeper into his knees and shrugs his shoulders.  What was there to do, Chris may have been a willing partner in the beginning, but a simple mugging he could forgive and over looked.  His rage spent, Xavier just looks up at Chris and shakes his head. "I don't know . . . at first you were a willing partner, but not in the theater.  To you it was just a prank and no one was going to get hurt.  It didn't turn out that way though.  You did try to save me, and now I just don't know what to do.  I'm sorry they put you through that . . . I just don't know what to do now."

Chris stands up and walks to the edge of the roof and looks out over town.  He crosses his arms with his head hung.  "I came here to ask God for forgiveness for what we had done to you. To see if he could still care enough about me to answer me.  As you can see he aint home, and it seems he isn't listening.  So now where do I go?  If God doesn’t love me then what use is there to go on?"

As he turns to once again face Xavier, he is met with a sharp back hand to the side of his face, knocking him to the side.  Xavier stands there glowering down at him fangs exposed, and wings spread wide.  "You stupid little idiot how can you stand there and tell me that God isn't listening, and that he doesn’t care for you.  I came out tonight with the express intention of hunting one or both of you down, to make you pay for what you did to me, and then to kill you."

Xavier takes Chris by the collar and lifts him to his feet, then walks to the far side of the roof and lean against the steeple.  Taking his cap off he brushes his bangs from his eyes and turns to face Chris again.  The church had recently had its sides and part of its roof redone so there were still bits and pieces of tile and rope lying around.  With the tip of his toe Xavier nudges a loose tile from the roof and watches as it crashes to the ground.  Turning to face Chris he readjusts his cap and walks back over to where he was rubbing his swollen cheek.  Xavier takes him by the chin and gently tilts his head to the right to examine the brose.

"If God wasn't listening to you, then you would be like that piece of tile over there.  I would have hunted you down like I did Brad and as you may have heard; he won't be meeting you or Kevin after school on Monday.  He . . . through me . . . has spared you, and if he can forgive you, then who am I to go against that?  Besides I now know that you had no real choice in the matter.  That there should tell you something.  You are forgiven and you have the choice to do what you want with life.  There is nothing more I can do.  You were an innocent part of all of this, unlike Brad and Kevin." 

Taking a piece of cloth that some one had left lying around, Xavier dips it into a cup of water that had collected over the last night's storm and carefully wipes the tears from Chris's face and places it over the now purple brose.  "There . . . that should stop the swelling and help it go down.  You are very annoying ya know that?  Here I had worked out how I was going to spend my night and YOU go and mess it up for me.  Thanks for noting dude'."

Chris takes the cloth and steps back a few steps.  He takes a long look at Xavier and starts to shake all over falling to his knees.  "It was you that killed Brad wasn’t it?  I mean I knew he had died last night, but didn't know he was killed.  They never told us what happened.  Only that it looked as he had been attacked by a wild animal. "

Xavier just looks at him calmly and nods tipping his cap.  "He chose his fate and he paid the price for it.  That's all that needs be said about it."

Chris steps back and stumbles over an old bit of wood and falls backwards, but before he could hit the ground Xavier had him by the wrist and pulls him back to his feet.  After regaining his balance Chris once again starts to back away from Xavier and stands at a fare distance from him.

"You were gonna kill me tonight, wasn't you?  I mean since you found me before Kevin.  Why didn't you go through with it?  What changed your mind?"

Xavier shrugs his shoulders and looks at the ground with his cap pulled down over his eyes.  He kicks another piece of tile from the roof as Chris walks up behind him and places his hand on his shoulder.  Slowly he turns Xavier to face him and gently lifts his cap to look him in the eyes.  Placing both his hands on Xavier’s cheeks he asks again. 

"Why didn't you?"

A tear runs down Xavier's left cheek as he just smiles weekly and tilts his head.  "Because I forgive you, that is enough to be said. "

Chris steps back and shakes his head, a bit confused and shocked by this answer.  He starts pacing back and forth on the roof randomly sorting through the left over construction material. 

"No . . . no . . . you can't.  I don't deserve it.  You have to kill me, it's what I deserve.  I have to pay for your death.  Please kill me, let it be over with."

Xavier just shakes his head and grabs Chris by the arm, pulling him back from the pile of broken glass and splintered wood.

"No . . . I won't kill you.  You don't deserve it.  You were forced to do what you did and I have no quarrel with you.  I'm ashamed to say that if I were in your spot I'd probably have done the same thing.  I know I would have done it.  I can't blame you, so you are innocent in my eyes and for that reason I won't kill you."

Chris breaks free of his grasp and begins again looking through the pile of leftover stuff.  He finds a long piece of rope and drags it out from under the mess.  One end of it seemed to be caught on something and wouldn't come free, no matter how hard he pulled on it.  A cold and distant look comes over his face as he turns and looks at Xavier.  A small smile parts his lips and he chuckles to himself.  It’s ok man I got this.

Without another word he steps off the roof and the rope curly tightened around his neck.  Xavier leaps after him and dives towards his choking form.  Spreading his wings wide and with a sharp downward push he grabs Chris by the arm and snatches him from death's cold grasp, just before his neck fully snaps.  Gliding to a soft landing, Xavier untangles the rope and throws if from the roof as he cradles Chris in his arms rocking him gently.

"You stupid idiot.  Why did you go and do that?  WHY? I forgave you!  What more do you want form me?"

Chris just smiles up at him and coughs up a stream of blood.  Weekly he raises his hand and brushes the bangs from Xavier’s face.  "There . . . that’s better.  Can't have the last thing I see a face full of hair."

He tries to laugh but instead begins to shake violently and spit up more blood.  Xavier tries to comfort him, but all he could is hold him down so he wouldn't hurt himself further.  Chris became still as he looks up into Xavier's face and tries once again to smile.

"Please help me now.  I don't want to go to hell, so I need you to finish what I started.  Please.  Don't let me burn with those two.  Help me now and let me rest at peace."

Xavier can’t hold back his tears any longer, as he slowly rocks back and forth holding his new friend's body.  Shaking uncontrollably he just looks into Chris' face and tries to smile a cheerful smile for his new friend.  "No I won't.  There has to be something I can do.  Something to save you."

Chris just smiles and gently pats Xavier on the cheek.  "You can't save my body, but you can save my soul.  Please help me die.  As a friend I ask you to do this one last thing for me."

They argued back and forth for what seemed like hours before Chris starts to violently shake all over again.  Xavier pulls him up into his lap and looks down into his eyes.  "Why?  I can't do it . . . there is no way I can bring myself to help you die.  I should help you live and I need to take you to the hospital now.  Don't die on me . . . and don't ask me to let you die or even help you."

"Please do it."  Chris grabs Xavier by the hair and pulls his head closer to his face.  “Please.”

"There has to be another way . . . tell me that there is another way.  I can't just let it end like this."

"The hospital can't do anything for me now.  Just help me and let me go in peace.  Please do it."

Xavier shakes his head in defiance as he tries again to come up with another way to save Chris.  I…I know.  I can make you like me, a vampire.  That way you won’t die.  Xavier opens his mouth and extends his fangs, but before he can lower his head, Chris puts his hand on Xaviers chin and pushes his mouth shut.

Chris just looks up at him and smiles weekly.  “No man, but thanks for the offer.  I don’t think I have the stomach for eternity.’  Chris looks off into the distance and sighs.  “Man I am so tired, but for some reason I can’t seem to fall asleep”

Xavier slowly nods and caresses Chris’s forehead.  Biting his lower lip and sobbing he looks down at him and smiles.  "Close your eyes and listen to my voice.  I will sing you an old lullaby that my Mom sang when I couldn't get to sleep."

Xavier, through his tears, begins to hum the long lost lullaby of his childhood as Chris closes his eyes.  Slowly Xavier begins to rock him, as the humming seems to break into many different voices.  The pain Chris had felt melts away and is soon replaced by a soft cool sensation.  As the voices swirl around them Xaveir gently places his hands on either side of Chris' head and sharply twists it.  There is a slight pop and then silence.  Chris breaths out slowly and his chest became still, all that moved was a few leaves that silently drift over the sky.  Quietly in a voice almost lost on the wind Xavier with a broken voice leans down and whispers in Chris's ear. 

"I forgive you."
   
Xavier pulls him close and kisses his forehead softly, brushing a few stray hairs from his face.  For a long time he just sits there holding him in his lap and rocking slowly.  As the sun began to rise, Xavier gently and carefully moves Chris' head off of his lap as he stands and walks over to the edge of the roof looking out across town.  Wiping the tears from his eyes he turns and slowly walks back over to where Chris is lying.  Kneeling beside him Xavier slowly unbuttons Chris’s shirt and gently pricks his chest with one of his claws.  After a few seconds a small pool of blood begins to form.  Xavier leans in close and gently begins to blow over the blood; it slowly hardens into a small red stone.  The stone begins to pulse with the rhythm of Chris’s fading heart beat.  After a few minutes of this the stone stops its pulsing and begins to shine faintly.  Carefully he picks it up and cradles it in his hands as he takes one last look at Chris and turns to face the rising sun.  As the first rays of the sun creep over the top of the church, Xavier steps back into the shadow of the steeple and folds his wings about him.  The sun bursts over the top of the mountain and shines fully on the spot where Xavier stands, but all that is left is a swirl of mist that fades as the sun continues its path across the sky.

Chris's body lay as if he had just closed his eyes for a short nap.  His left arm was arranged across his chest with a small piece of tile in his hand.  It had just a few tear stained words scratched on it.


                                                         
                                                          UNWILLING PARTICAPENT

                                                                    FORGIVEN