Excerpt: Siren

“Big brother! Sora, wake up!” Small hands shake me roughly.
“Huh? Wha is it?” I rub the sleep from my eyes as I sit up and shake away the momentary disorientation. “What’s wrong, Ame?”
“I can’t find Eros!” I groan and flop back onto my pillow.
“He’s probably just wandering around.”
“No! I can’t find him in the area at all!”
“Well shit.” I climb out of bed and grab my pants. “Okay, I’ll look around for his stupid butt. You better get some sleep though. You look exhausted.”
“But-”
“No buts. We don’t want mom and dad finding out, remember? We can’t have you looking so worn out.” It’s only a partial lie. Her health means more to me than those two questioning why she’s so tired, that’s assuming dad even notices. “I’ll be back soon.” I grab a light jacket and sneak out.

It’s a clear night; the moon’s full and glowing like a second sun. No wonder she was so worried. You can see for miles in this light, and that idiot still won’t keep his clothes on half the time. He could get arrested if he wanders into the wrong place. Since Ame said he isn’t anywhere in the area, I start jogging down the beach towards the edge of town. It’ll be best to look there first just in case. At least if he went into the woods, he can’t get into too much trouble.

After twenty minutes of jogging and a two-minute break to get my breath back, I finally catch sight of him. My stomach twists into a knot. This certainly is not the scenario I had in mind. Him sitting on the sand and staring mindlessly at the ocean or staring at a random drunkard crashing under some newspapers maybe. Hell, holding a puppy even! But not standing under a rotting dock, being molested and having a thick blunt shoved into his face by some shady guys who look like wannabe-Yakuza rejects.

“Eros!” Okay, yelling for him probably wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done since I don’t have a weapon or anything and the odds royally suck. Four to one, perfect. Man I wish my buddy Iwata was here right now. He’s tougher than nails and razor blades and knows how to throw a punch to take down a gorilla. We could take them on no problem then. Shit. I’ve already committed myself to this. “You jerks leave him alone!” I run up to them and even manage to tug Eros away from their grubby paws. The heavy smell of pot makes my head ache.

“What do we have here?” A scar twists one side of the man’s lips into a permanent smile. It’s freaky looking as hell; it’s the Joker straight out of the Batman comics. “You his keeper, brat?”
“Maybe he wants to play too?” This guy is just plain ugly and creepy with how he keeps licking the blade of a long knife. The hair is standing on the back of my neck. This is really bad.
“You might be right. Whaddya say, kid? You and yer friend can hang wit us a while. We’ll treat ya real nice.”

“Fuck off. We want nothin’ to do with ya,” I growl, my speech slipping back into an old habit of street talk. I try to move away, pulling Eros with me, but the big guy of the group grabs Eros’s arm.
“Don’t be rude, ya lil fuck. We’re keeping this one. He ain’t complainin’ none.”
“He’s mute!” I yank hard and find myself flying backwards. “Oof!” I fall on the sand, scraping my hand while I’m at it. Eros lands right on top of me, knocking the breath from my lungs and making me wheeze.

The men laugh. That bastard did that on purpose! But this is our best chance to get away too.

I push Eros up and scramble to my feet, but those guys are already coming down on us. I shove Eros behind me. “Run!” I yelp when I’m suddenly yanked backwards. Eros takes a stand in front of me with his broad back straight and face blank. “What da fuck are ya doin’, asshole?! Run!” I grab his shoulder, ready to send him flying down the beach if I have to.

The big man shouts, “Stop with the bullshit dramatics!” His fat heavy hand grabs Eros by his collar, but Eros doesn’t even flinch. “C’mon, ya pussy! Think ya can take us on?”
“Let him go!” I jump forward, but Smiley intercepts me and I narrowly miss taking a fist to my stomach.

“You’re pretty spry, kid,” the short man says in a sickening purr that makes my skin crawl in all the wrong ways. “We’re gonna have fun with ya. You’ll scream yerself raw.”
“Fuck off, bastards!” I manage to kick him in the knee, making him howl, but I’m too slow to dodge Smiley’s elbow in my chest. The force sends me flying back into the sand, coughing and shaking my head to clear my vision.
“Get up, dumbass,” one of them taunts. I can’t tell which one, I think maybe the ugly bastard. They’re all laughing and I hear the big guy shake Eros around.
“This one’s such a wuss he’s not even movin’!”

As if answering his jeer, Eros opens his mouth. The most beautiful sound reverberates through me, through my bones, deeper than even that... It goes straight to the core of my being. The smooth, powerful baritone makes my heart tremble with an emotion that I can’t name. I swear I can feel the strange song wrapping around me like the wings of an angel.

Then there’s blood.

The hoodlums scream and puke, rivers of red pouring from their ears, noses, and eyes. One of their heads even explodes, spraying bone, gray matter, and more red. I fall on my ass in shock just as the other three keel over dead.

The music stops. The silence hurts my ears.
“Ar’ y`u all aight?”

To say the voice startles the shit out of me is an understatement. I think I almost bite my tongue when I finally notice a hand being held in front of my face. I look up to find Eros, his blue eyes boring straight through me with an intensity that makes me blush.

His eyes... they’re clear... aware. Not the flat and empty gaze of a porcelain doll like before. “E-Eros?”
“Tatsu. My `ame iz...” He shakes his head and tries again, his voice still thick with a foreign accent I can’t place. “My na-me is Tatsu.”
“What are you?” I shallow and mentally curse the tremble in my voice.
“A Siren.”