BlueK Dynasty: The 1st Seven Days (12 page)

“
This
guy is a character,” said Kosner out of the side of his
mouth.
  

Santino had had enough of
this crazy talk. “We have blood on our hands. I can’t just let you
go to the hospital and talk to God knows who. You have to
understand that you are one of us now.”
  

Leon believed Santino when
he said he was different. He felt different; he saw how these men
looked and knew he must look as they did. But he remembered what
they’d done to Mona back at his job. Even though they had given him
a way to avoid telling his girlfriend of ten years about his
infidelity with Mona, it still wasn’t right to go around killing
and eating people. He wanted no part of this group of thugs, and
the first chance he got he had plans to tell a police officer about
the events of the night.
  

“
How
about this? We take him on a hunting trip with us,” said VIN. “If
he passes up meat and is still on this holier-than-thou kick, we
let him go.” He stared directly into Leon’s eyes as he talked. “But
if you take the bait, which I believe you will, then you will have
to forget about hospitals and your old life, and you will have to
fully accept your new one.”
  

Santino liked VIN’s plan
very much. He wanted to add on to it, but then thought better of
it. He had to take baby steps with the new guy.
  

Leon looked scared and
cornered. He didn’t want to associate himself with these people.
They were murderers and carnivores who had low morals. However, the
door was blocked off, and Leon knew he wouldn’t be able to take all
of them at once. He gave in and hoped they kept to their promise
about letting him go.
  

“
Okay,
fine. I will do this stupid little test. But I’m telling you now
that I am not like you guys. I’m not even hungry, and don’t plan on
eating any human flesh. Let’s get this over
with.”
  

Santino looked at VIN, who
looked over to Kosner, and all three of them grinned. They knew
this guy was as good as theirs. They all had blood on their hands,
and now so would he.
  

10.

Eat to
Kill
  

The four men walked
against the dawn’s light. The city of Alexandria was slowly
awakening, and with that came the birds chirping, the hustle and
bustle, but most importantly, the Phantoms hiding in plain
sight.
  

“
I still
say a gym is too risky,” Kosner said. “We’re going to stick out
even more. We have on all these clothes, and the other people are
going to be in their fitness gear and running shoes, and showing
skin.”
  

VIN had suggested another
gym to the guys because he knew that kind of place would be open
early, if not twenty-four hours. “Kosner, you said an all-night
café. Everybody knows an all-night café will have cameras, and I
for one don’t want to be on camera doing what we
do.”
  

Santino had a better spot
in mind. He wanted an open place, outside where no one would be
looking and no cameras were rolling. He wanted a public area that
was out of the way but still had traffic flow in the early
morning—a common area like a park. He knew there would
be
 
people
out jogging in groups of twos or maybe even solo. One person was
enough to tempt Leon, and that was all it would take to keep him on
their side—and quiet.
  

“
I think
we should go down to that park over by Venness Lake. There are a
lot of runners and a basketball court,” he suggested. It fit the
bill perfectly.
  

VIN agreed, and Kosner
seemed to stop worrying.
  

Leon walked in front of
them, as Santino had ordered him to, and was told to keep walking
until they said otherwise. He caught some of their words but
remained quiet. He hadn’t seen any cops patrolling the area by
Trinidad’s gym. In fact they had walked at least three miles and
Leon had seen no one that might have been able to help him escape
the three men behind him. There’d been a bakery clerk who’d looked
out of his shop’s window but had quickly gone back to stacking
bagels and croissants. Leon had wanted to scream out to a taxi
driver who’d stopped at a red light but then lost his courage
because he saw the man was on the phone and wasn’t paying any
attention to him.
  

Leon was scared of what
the others were going to make him do. They didn’t have any weapons
to speak of; Leon was so scared of their sheer size and force, he
did as he was told. In any other instance he would have told them
off, but there were too many of them and not enough of
him.
  

“
So what
do you think about this guy? I don’t think he has what it takes to
be one of us,” Kosner whispered so Leon couldn’t hear
him.
  

Santino laughed at him.
“If I remember correctly, you were the one screaming and crying
your first couple of hours. But seriously, I don’t think he’s as
used to the idea as we are, and it’s causing a major
problem.”
  

“
Yeah,
he could spill the beans at any moment. I’m sure they’ve found his
girl back at that Goodwill,” VIN added. “I just pray they don’t
link that death with all those cops we killed back at that
apartment complex.”
  

Santino knew better. All
the cops had to do was identify the most recent deaths and compare
the causes and bingo—it was a clear pattern that all the bodies
were mutilated and masticated by something. Santino believed that
whoever was investigating the deaths would have more trouble trying
to figure out what had killed them.
  

“
Leon,
turn right onto MLK Drive, and the park should be on the left,”
Santino yelled up to the front.
  

Santino felt the stares of
the people in cars and on bikes as they passed, and was relieved
when he and his group reached the park’s entrance. Tristipher Lee
Park was known for its excessive bike tracks and its winding
jogging lanes. There were several tennis courts and two grand
basketball courts surrounded by bleachers on all sides. The grounds
could be reserved for parties, and several charity events were
thrown in Tristipher Lee Hall. The park had an indoor swimming
pool, a sauna, and a gym. Santino knew all of this because he had
spent many summers in the MYO program, which took inner-city kids
and introduced them to sports and activities.
  

“
I
thought we came here to hunt, not shoot hoops,” Leon said. “Seems
like a good time to play, though. The courts aren’t that
crowded.”
  

Santino looked at the
outdoor court and saw four guys playing a two-on-two
game.
  

“
You
seeing what I am seeing?” VIN asked the other
two.
  

Santino’s stomach growled
in response.
  

“
Remember,” Kosner said, “we eat to kill and kill to eat
unless someone wants to Phantom-sit a
newborn.”
  

“
That
was a good one, Kosner,” VIN remarked.
  

Santino said, “Leon, come
with me.”
  

Leon slowed his walk and
waited for Santino and the others to catch up. He felt his armpits
sweating and his heart accelerating. He could smell a scent in the
air but couldn’t identify exactly what it was. His eyed lingered on
the men on the courts. They didn’t look appetizing to
him.
  

Santino instructed Kosner
and VIN to go around the west bleachers and wait for him. “I need
to prep Leon for this one. I think I’m going to have to cut off the
pieces and spoon feed him.”
  

“
When
the action happens, we’ll be right there,” VIN assured him. “Do we
kill anyone who gets away?”
  

“
No,”
Santino answered. “We won’t be able to keep this secret up for
long, especially if Leon isn’t going to work with us. Let them go
if they run, all except one. We only need
one.”
  

“
Got it,
boss,” Kosner agreed.
  

The two men walked off
together and headed for the west bleachers to hide out from the
sun’s light. Santino turned to Leon and hoped his underling would
have enough sense to listen to his body’s needs. Leon had to be
hungry, especially with these humans around. Santino could smell
them and couldn’t wait to feed. He didn’t understand how Leon could
ignore it.
  

“
Leon,
it’s time, my friend.” Santino tried to make his deep voice sound
cheery. “I’ll attack, and all you have to do is eat if you want to.
If you don’t feel the urge to join in then you don’t have
too.”
  

Leon nodded in his in
agreement.
  

“
If they
try to attack you then you need to avoid them at all cost,
otherwise you risk turning them into Phantoms. If you don’t want
blood on your hands, do not touch the humans. If you touch them,
you must kill them. Understood?”
  

Leon put some bravado in
his tone. “Yes, I understand.”
  

“
Follow
me.”
  

Santino led him down to
the courts in broad daylight, feeling sure of himself now. He
didn’t want to kill, but he couldn’t repeatedly ignore his body’s
needs. He planned to take down the weakest-looking guy he saw. As
in the animal kingdom, Santino would spot the easiest prey and
feast.
  

He came around from the
south bleachers and walked onto the courts. He made quick strides
over to the guys and didn’t hear the game skip one beat. They were
so busy in their competition that they didn’t notice a
six-foot-three guy approaching them. Leon was right next to him.
Santino could easily catch him if he tried to run off, but he
didn’t.
  

Santino felt bad for the
guy with the Bulldog sweatshirt on. He singled him out because the
guy had skinny legs and knock knees; he wouldn’t be able to outrun
Santino. He took a deep breath and steadied his hands as he walked
directly into the guy’s path, reached for his neck, twisted, and
turned. Santino heard the neck pop and the muscles snap. The ball
bounced a beat and rolled away. Santino let the man drop under his
own weight and then looked at the three remaining guys. They looked
shocked and perplexed about what to do.
  

Santino felt Leon move a
bit, and he grabbed his arm to steady him.
  

Two guys lunged at
Santino, and the last one tried to pull his friend’s body away as
he screamed for help. Santino swerved around the two men and
reached the third one, who was
 
trying to steal his food.
Santino went for the kill. He had no choice. He shoved his fist
into the third guy’s chest and broke through the skin, muscle, and
bone to clamp his hand around the guy’s beating heart. He felt the
blood squish between his fingers before he pulled the red-hot organ
from its owner. Santino heard screams and shouts and saw the other
two men running away.
  

VIN shot out from the
bleachers. At the sight of the blood, his mind went crazy, and he
had to have some. But he didn’t want Santino’s kill—he wanted his
own. He didn’t want to share his food and wait around for the best
parts to be taken.
  

He chased after one guy in
sweats and caught up to him quickly. He could hear the guy’s lungs
heaving in and out as he tried to escape his doom. VIN reached out
and snatched the back of the man’s shirt, and pulled him into a
bear hug as he bit into the soft neck. The man screamed. VIN saw
the fourth guy running, he then looked behind him, stumbled, and
got up and ran off at neck-breaking speed.
  

“
Your
buddy left you to die,” VIN said as he chewed a mouthful. “Now
you’re all mine.”
  

“
Drag
him behind the bleachers,” Santino yelled to VIN, then picked one
of the men off the ground as Kosner pulled the other up from the
asphalt. Inside the bleachers everything was cool and dim. The
grass had a yellowish color because it didn’t get much sun, and
grew red with blood as VIN tore into his kill, oblivious to Kosner,
Santino, and Leon.
  

“
You
made it through the blood sport. How do you feel?” Santino asked
Leon.
  

Leon looked deathly white
and damp. The dark veins on his face made him even more grotesque.
Out of all of the Phantoms, he looked the worst. He felt so empty
and drained. He didn’t know if it was because of the stress or the
lack of food, but he felt like hell.
  

Santino opened his huge
hand and there was the heart, deep red and dripping blood. Leon
looked away, but finally realized where that intriguing aroma was
coming from. He wanted to cry, to throw something, to tear his
clothes off and run away. How could he go on living a regular life
if he secretly loved eating people? Just thinking it disgusted him.
Still, his head turned back to the heart as if an imaginary string
was pulling it. He whimpered in defiance. He was stronger than
this, stronger than them. He knew it.