Free BlueK Dynasty: The 1st Seven Days by m.o mcleod Page A

as he
comes to, I’ll let you know. Eat something,
Santino.”   
    He   was   hungry. The scent of the
woman’s blood was intoxicating, and he was thirsty. “Alright,” he
agreed. “VIN, slide over.”   
    Santino dropped to his
knees and then on all fours. He dipped his fingers into the pool of
blood that had collected around the body. He bent his head and
sniffed. He took a long slurp and breathed the metallic smell in
deep. Next to him VIN slowed down his eating, and Santino pushed
him out of the way. VIN fell over like an overstuffed teddy
bear.   
    Santino inspected the
woman’s remains and saw there was a leg, an arm, and her torso
left. Everything else was a bloody mess. He went for the torso
first. He dug his sharp nails into the ribcage, reaching in to the
heart. It felt lukewarm and soft and squishy. Santino pulled it
from its dead owner and put it in his mouth. He chewed quietly,
savoring the flavor. He took another bite, wiped his mouth, and
smacked his lips.   
    “ Who
knew we taste so good,” said VIN, who had crawled off into a
corner.   
    Kosner and Santino looked
at one another and laughed, low at first, then more loudly and
nervously.   
    “ Hey,
hey, hey, this guy is moving.” Kosner stood up from the table and
backed away from the man.   
    Santino stood up and went
close. He could hear a groggy, deep voice and tried to make out
what the man was trying to say.   
    “ My
mouth, my head… It hurts so badly.”   
    “ Get him
on his feet,” VIN said. “That should wake him right
up.”  
    Santino and Kosner hoisted
the new guy up. “What’s your name?” asked Kosner. He slapped the
man’s face lightly. “Can you hear me?”   
    The guy’s head slouched
forward and backward, like a newborn babies. “Leon. My name is
Leon.”   
    “ Leon,
there we go. His name is Leon,” proclaimed Kosner with a goofy
smile on his face.   
    Santino rolled his eyes.
Kosner wasn’t the brightest of the bunch. “VIN, bring me a piece of
meat.”   
    VIN rolled over, big and
bulky, and pulled the woman’s leg from its socket, then brought it
to Santino.   
    Santino handled the meat
with care as he put it under Leon’s nose, waving it back and
forth.   
    “ Good
idea,” said Kosner.   
    Leon came too shortly,
sniffing and breathing in the smell. His eyes opened, and his neck
stiffened, steadying his head. He pushed Santino and Kosner away
and stumbled a bit on his own.   
    Santino watched Leon as he
stood up. Every time he saw one of his creations in the beginning
stages, he felt so proud, like a father who had taught his son how
to ride without training wheels.   
    Leon’s mouth hung open,
and drool clung to his chin. He had a crazed look about him; his
blond hair had fallen off in patches, and the veins in his face
were bulged. He took in his old office. He smelled blood in the
air, blood and sweat and tears. He felt bone-shivering cold, like
when he was a child growing up on Lake Michigan. He hated it. He
saw the desk lamp, the only light in the room. His eyes adjusted,
and he saw three men. Where was Mona? He tried to back away from
the trio, but his body bumped into something. He put his hands up
in defense and saw they were grotesque and
swollen.   
    “ It’s
okay. Just breathe deep, and slow down your thoughts,” Leon heard a
voice say.   
    His hands were claws. They
were white and long and thick, with razor-sharp nails. Black veins
ran up his arms as if his blood was made of tar.   
    “ What am
I?” he asked.   
    “ You’re
a Phantom,” replied Santino.   
    “ So
that’s what you’re going to call us?” Kosner
asked.   
    “ Do you
have a better idea?” Santino replied.   
    VIN and Kosner looked at
one another as they racked their brains for a cleverer name.
Neither one responded.   
    “ Exactly
what I thought,” Santino said. He turned back to Leon, who seemed
to be in shock. “You must be hungry. You should eat
something.”