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Demon In My View	By : Need2ScreamNow Category: Singers/Bands/Musicians > Avenged Sevenfold Views: 1968 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I do not know the members of Avenged Sevenfold. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
Zack woke up early the next morning, still tired and with dread filling his heart. He looked down at his wrist and the bracelet glinted maliciously in the bright sunlight. He stumbled to the bathroom and turned on the shower he stripped his shirt off and then the phone rang. He thought about ignoring it when a cold hand wrapped around his arm and jerked him toward the door. He snarled at the spirit and walked back to the bedroom and grabbed the phone.

“Good morning Mr. Baker! I hope you had a pleasant night; I’m just calling to remind you of our arrangement. Your flight leaves at twelve-thirty; if you’re not there then Mr. Seward is not going to have a very good day. I was told he was going to the beach with some friends and you know how easily people can drown.”

“Leave him out of this you miserable bitch!” Zack snarled as fear gripped his heart.

“Now, now there is no need whatsoever to become vulgar. As long as you do what you’re told everyone else will be fine.” She hung up; Zack stared at the phone and then threw it across the room and went back to the bathroom. He took a quick shower, he had to get to the airport before Jimmy came over; they were supposed to be going to the boardwalk to chill and maybe do some bar hopping with a couple friends. Zack got out of the shower and went back to his bedroom to get dressed. He ignored the one-way plane ticket sitting on his dresser. Once he was dressed Zack grabbed the ticket and his keys that were conveniently sitting next to it, and started to leave. He turned back halfway down the hall and ran back to his bedroom; he tossed the covers back on his bed and grabbed Stripes. He scribbled a note for Jimmy to call him and left it on the small hallway table where Jimmy was sure to see it and then walked out into the sunny day to his car.

Zack got a couple of weird looks as he got on the plane holding nothing but a ragged stuffed tiger but he ignored them and instead kept checking his watch. Jimmy was supposed to be over at his house at one o’ clock but he would probably show up early, it was only noon though when Zack looked at his watch for the third time in a minute. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back and tried not to get sick.

“Is this your first time flying?” a man in an expensive looking suit sat next to Zack; Zack opened his eyes and after a moment nodded. At least that would keep any questions about Stripes at bay. The man nodded understandingly, “I was scared to death the first time I got on a plane,” he pulled a duffel bag out from under his seat and opened it, “but good ol’ Bones here kept me sane through the take off.” He pulled out a stuffed dog that was even more worn than Stripes. “The take off is the worst part, the landing’s okay except for the bump, that can be a little rough, but when you’re in the air its kinda nice.” He smiled at Zack and Zack gave him a genuine smile of thanks. He gave Stripes a slight squeeze as the pilot announced they would be taxiing onto the runway in five minutes.

Jimmy pulled into Zack’s driveway and didn’t see his car, he didn’t think anything of it, Zack probably left him a note and he’d be back soon. Jimmy walked into the house and sure enough there was a note with Zack’s clumsy scrawl telling him to call. Jimmy flipped open his phone and dialed his number.

Zack’s phone vibrated, they had just taken off and the friendly business man next to him was busy talking to another person across the aisle. Zack answered the phone and felt a surge of panic and relief when he heard Jimmy’s voice.

“Where you at?” Jimmy didn’t sound concerned. Zack swallowed and looked around, no one was paying any attention to him, “I’m on a plane.” He whispered, the hand holding the phone shook and he squeezed Stripes against him. Jimmy was silent so long Zack thought the phone had gone dead.

“You’re on a…plane?” Jimmy couldn’t believe what he’d just heard, what the fuck was Zack doing on a *plane*?

“It said it would hurt Johnny.” Zack whispered, he sounded like he was fighting tears. Jimmy was completely confused, “What said it was gonna hurt Johnny? Zack what the fuck are you doing on a plane, where are you going?!” Jimmy went through the house, all of Zack’s bags were still there and it didn’t look like there were any clothes missing.

“The thing from the asylum. It never left Jimmy; it’s been torturing me for two weeks. It said if I didn’t go back it was gonna hurt Johnny.” There was a fearful tremor in Zack’s voice and then the line started to break up.

The line started to scramble and then suddenly it cleared and a friendly female voice piped in, “Mr. Baker if you’re trying to get out of your stay with us there will be consequences. Just to make sure you don’t get any cute ideas about a rescue we’ll keep Mr. Sullivan busy until you arrive at Wenely’s.” the line resolved into static again and then cleared and he could hear Jimmy still trying to talk to him.

“Jimmy, Ji-y, gt o-, get, ouse, ot.” Zack’s panicked whisper was completely disrupted by the static on Jimmy’s phone.

“Zacky I can’t hear you.” He sighed frustrated he started walking back to the front. There was a flash of clarity in the line and Zack’s voice came through with icy panic, “Get out, Jimmy get out of the house!”

Jimmy felt a chill creep up his spine and darted out the front door as his phone went dead.

“Jimmy? Jimmy can you hear me?” Zack was terrified the line had gone dead only seconds before and he had no idea if Jimmy had been able to hear him. He dialed Matt’s number, the line was busy. Zack whimpered and tried to calm himself down and then he called Johnny.

“Johnny, are you at the beach yet?” Zack felt relief flood his system when the bassist picked up on the second ring.

“No we’re not headin’ out there until later. Why?”

“Don’t go Johnny, please, don’t.” Zack pleaded; if he could get everyone to Matt then he would keep them safe.

“What? Why? What’s wrong with you?” Johnny sounded confused and worried. Zack took a deep breath and
looked around the plane again; everyone was lost in their own world and paying no attention to him.

“Johnny, the thing from the sanitarium, it never left, it’s been with me the entire time.” He faltered, he sounded crazy but he plowed ahead anyway. “Its been tormenting me for two weeks and it, it told me last night if I didn’t go back…if I didn’t go back to Wenely’s it would hurt you.” He finished hopelessly; Johnny was quiet and his voice was no more than a whisper when he finally spoke, “Where are you Zacky?”

“I’m doing what it wants…” Zack trailed off, maybe he did belong in a sanitarium, it sure as hell sounded like it.

“What!? You’re going back to that hell hole!? Zacky have you lost your fucking mind it’ll kill you!” Johnny’s voice was no longer quiet and Zack cringed at the fear he heard in it.

“I’ve gotta call Matt Johnny, don’t go to the beach, please.” He whispered a good-bye and then tried Matt again.

Matt picked up on the first ring, “What the hell is going on?” his smooth voice calmed Zack only a tiny bit.
“Matty you have to find Jimmy, he’s at my house-”

“No he’s not, he just pulled up, he called me five minutes ago to tell me you were on a plane freaking
out. Now what the hell is going on.”

Zack felt tension seep out of his shoulders when he faintly heard the door open and Jimmy’s agitated voice.

“I’m going back to Wenely’s.” Zack whispered, “It said if I didn’t go back it was gonna hurt Johnny.”

“You. Are on a plane. Going back. To Wenely’s Sanitarium.” Matt didn’t sound the least bit flustered but Zack was pretty sure there was an underlying hysteria in his velvety voice. Zack heard Jimmy’s loud ‘What!’ clear as day on the phone.

“Yes.” Zack answered timidly. Matt didn’t say anything for a moment and then Jimmy’s voice broke through, “*What the fuck are you doing*!” Jimmy definitely sounded a little hysterical.

“I have to Jimmy. It won’t leave me alone.” He looked down at the bracelet and shuddered.

“What the fuck are we gonna do!? We can’t just let him go back, it’ll kill him!” Jimmy was slowly losing his mind with worry for the small guitarist.

“Well obviously we need to get to the airport. Now.” Matt said calmly and grabbed his keys. The chat with Zack had ended not to long ago by a bout of static and he hadn’t tried to call back; as they were leaving Johnny pulled in with Brian.

“Alright, someone coherent tell me what the fuck is going on. All I got outta Johnny was that Zack’s doin’ something stupid.” Brian huffed glaring at the terrified bassist.

“Zack is on his way back to Wenely’s, and so are we. Now quit bitchin’ and get in I’ll tell you why on the way to the airport.” Matt’s voice was completely unruffled, and Jimmy looked at him in absolute awe. Brian went three shades whiter and without another word got into Matt’s car.

They got to the airport and had to wait half an hour for their flight to even begin loading, which nearly drove Jimmy insane with worry. Ten minutes before loading was supposed to begin Matt dragged Jimmy to the bathroom.

“Jimmy, I know it’s hard but you need to relax. If you try to get on this plane tense and jumpy they’re going to make this process even longer by putting you through every security check point they have. Got it?” Matt’s hands rested lightly on either side of Jimmy’s face and he forced the frazzled drummer to look at him.

“Zack’s flight has already landed, he’s on his way there now, and by the time we land he’ll almost be there…” his voice trailed off as Matt lightly pressed his body against his and his brown eyes began to glow a calm green before shifting to sky blue.

“Now,” he whispered, his lips brushing Jimmy’s, “you are going to calm down. We will get to Zack, we will bring him home and we will keep him safe. Breathe, our flight is boarding and we need to be calm when we get on board.” Matt’s hands trailed down Jimmy’s face to his shoulders and down his arms before they came to a rest on his slim hips. Matt’s eyes resolved back into their usual brown and he stepped away from the drummer.

“C’mon, we need to go.” He murmured and then slipped out the door. Jimmy blinked a couple times and followed him out in a strange daze.

Zack rented a car but didn’t immediately start driving to Wenely’s. He hadn’t had anything to eat all day and his stomach was begging him for some kind of food; he drove around the city for awhile looking for someplace to eat where he wasn’t likely to be messed with by either the living or the dead. He found a small diner back in one of the rougher looking parts of the city and walked in fearlessly. The elderly woman behind the counter gave him a kind smile when he walked in and he returned it as best he could. He walked up and sat at the cracked and yellowed bar to one side of her, she handed him a menu and he thanked her.

“What can I get for ya’ hon’?” she asked after a moment; she had a rich, mellow voice that calmed Zack as he looked through the menu.

“Um, what’s the ‘Chef Special’?” he asked looking up at her.

“Today it’s a hamburger with mozzarella, American, and cheddar cheese, three strips of bacon, fried onions, lettuce and pickles; and it comes with a side of steak fries.” She said promptly; any other day Zack might’ve felt a little ill even considering eating that but today it sounded heavenly.

“I think I’ll have that.”
The woman smiled and wrote his order down on a ticket, “it’ll be just a few hon’.”

By the time they finally landed the weird daze Matt had put Jimmy in had worn off and he was back to a complete and utter mess of nerves. They rented a car and with Matt driving took off toward Wenely’s at a break neck speed that really didn’t seem fast enough.

Zack had stayed at the diner for an hour before a cold hand had gripped his neck and tugged him toward the door. He had quickly paid and given his thanks to the kind woman that had waited on him and now he was heading toward Wenely’s in the glow of the setting sun.
His phone rang, without bothering to see who it was he flipped it open, “Hello?”

“Mr. Baker. If I didn’t know any better I would say you were stalling. If this behavior persists, your stay will be much less enjoyable than it has to be.” The phone went dead. Zack swallowed and began to shake. A few minutes later his phone rang again causing him to yelp and jump, he answered again, this time more timidly.

“Zacky! Where are you?!” Brian’s voice was frazzled and he could hear Jimmy in the background also having a minor panic attack.

“I’m almost to Wenely’s.” Zack said slowly.

“You’re not there yet?” Brian sounded relieved.

“No, I’ve been…stalling.” Zack shuddered and grabbed Stripes from the passenger seat and held him tightly in his lap.

“Fuck man we’re probably only an hour behind you just pull over and we’ll get you.”
Zack shook his head even though the guitarist couldn’t see, “I can’t it said if I keep stalling it’ll,” Zack shook violently, “it said it’ll make it worse when I get there.” He whispered.

“Well you’re not going there so it doesn’t fucking matter what it says.” Brian growled. Zack slowly closed his phone; if he let Brian talk him out of this then it wouldn’t only be him that got hurt. He turned his phone off and tossed it in the backseat where he couldn’t readily reach it. He drove in silence to the sanitarium with Stripes held against him tightly.

A quarter moon was coming up over the horizon when Zack finally pulled up to the closed gates of Wenely’s Sanitarium. He sat for a moment in the car shaking and trying to decide if he was supposed to climb the gates or is something was going to open them. Then he tried to decide if his decision-making time counted as stalling and shook even more. Just as he was unbuckling his seatbelt to get out the gates slowly began to creak open. In his headlights a woman dressed as a nun with half her face blown off waved him forward; Zack swallowed and drove into the deserted parking lot. Once he was in the gates creaked closed and a loud metallic ‘click’ signaled that they had locked. He turned the car off and sat in the dark staring down the long drive; a shadow darted across the path and up a tree, another weaved in and out of the underbrush, two more leisurely strolled across the drive and then dissipated once they hit the grass on the other side. Something heavy landed on the roof of the car, Zack screamed and then hid his face in his arms and drew his legs up into the seat with him and cried.

Jimmy was going to lose what little sanity he had left, Zack had either hung up on Brian or his phone had gone dead or…well fuck something had gone wrong and he didn’t know what it was. Brian had told them that Zack had been stalling since he landed, which meant he couldn’t be too far ahead of them but looking down the long lonely road he couldn’t see any cars. Matt seemed to be the only one that had totally lost it, he sat calmly next to Jimmy; but he was grinding his teeth and the muscles in his arms were tense, he was definitely worried.

“How do we know he’s not going to turn around and come right back when we get him?” Brian whispered. Matt growled and shook his head, “We need to get the haunting to stop, that’s what drove him back here. When we stop that he’ll be fine.”

“How are we gonna do that? I mean we couldn’t get rid of the bat in Jimmy’s attic and you want us to get rid of a ghost?” Brian sounded doubtful and worried. Matt let out a frustrated sigh and rubbed his temple.

“You know something don’t you?” Johnny asked; it was the first thing he’d said since they had gotten off the plane. He was staring hard at Matt trying to figure out the singer’s thoughts. Jimmy turned to look at him and at once saw it, what he had been taking as worry was actually Matt arguing with himself. The tense muscles, teeth grinding, he was beating himself up over something, and since he hadn’t told them what it was that meant he was considering not even trying it.

“Dammit Matt if you know something that’s going to help him you damn well better start talking.” Jimmy growled, he was *not* in the mood for Matt’s more secretive behavior.

“It’s not that simple.” He growled.

“What’s not that simple?! Whether or not you should do something to save one of your friends or sit back and let him die, that seems pretty fuckin’ simple to me!” Jimmy yelled, a small, cautious voice warned him that now was not a good time to piss Matt off, but he brushed it off. Either the singer was going to help Zack or he wasn’t, if he chose not to the Zack would more than likely die before they got out of the sanitarium. Matt snarled and Jimmy shrank back a little from the sound.

“Matty, what is it?” Brian whispered; Matt growled and didn’t answer immediately. They waited in a tense silence while Matt continued to argue with himself.

“Bonding.” He said finally; his voice was so quiet Jimmy wasn’t sure he’d heard it.

“Bonding? What the fuck is that?” Johnny asked leaning forward between the front seats.

“Its…” he sighed and started rubbing his temple again as he explained, “its how we, vampires, can ‘mark’ someone. In a very twisted and strange way it’s like a marriage, a permanent and everlasting marriage.”

“You’re going to get married to Zacky?” Brian said slowly; Matt rolled his eyes, “Not really, ah fuck it’s complicated, I don’t know how to explain it.” He sighed again.

“Are you going to turn him into a vampire?” Johnny asked confused.

“No.” he said, “What’s another way to explain this…” he muttered they drove in silence for a few minutes until Matt started speaking again.

“The bonding process isn’t complicated, its what can happen after he’s bonded that I’m worried about. Bonded humans can be easy targets and I’ve pissed off plenty of people in my life. Just because I save him tonight through bonding doesn’t mean I’ll be condemning him to a worse death later on *because* of the bonding.”

“What is a bonded human?” Jimmy asked still completely lost.

“A bonded human…for lack of a better term, a bonded human is vampire property. Once you bond a human to you, by society rules they are yours until you die.”

“A slave?” Now Jimmy could see why Matt was hesitant.

“No, no, not a slave, well some think they are, but anyway,” he shook his head, “going back to the original explanation; if you bond a human that signifies that they are important to you…and you can’t…no that’s not a good way to say it.” He growled as he tried to work out what he was trying to tell them.

“You don’t want to be without them.” Johnny supplied; he leaned back and snuggled against Brian.

“Yes, basically.” Matt whispered nodding his head.

“What do you mean they’re ‘easy targets’?” Brian asked wrapping his arms around Johnny’s waist.

“Politics, I swear there are days it’s easier being a human. It’s all about fucking politics.” Matt shook his head in disgust, “But since it’s a possibility…bonded humans are easy targets because of how close they are to us. Let’s say I was angry at someone for whatever reason, the easiest way to hurt them would be to kill any human or humans they’ve bonded with depending on how angry I was.” Matt kept his eyes on the road; Jimmy felt the blood drain from his face, “Is anyone mad at you?” he asked faintly.

“I’m sure there are lots.” Matt muttered; Jimmy shuddered.

“How is it so easy to hurt you?” Johnny’s curiosity usually got the best of him no matter the situation.

“There are deep emotional and physical ties that are formed during the bonding process. If I bond Zacky I’ll always know where he is, how he’s feeling, and if he’s close enough even some of his thoughts. If he’s happy or sad or nervous it’ll influence my mood as well, if he’s in pain I’ll feel it. If he’s in agony…” Matt trailed off, “Usually bonded humans are only attacked if the pissed off vampire isn’t strong enough to take on their opponent or if someone just wants to get a point across. It’s the easiest way to inflict pain without immediate danger of being attacked yourself.” Matt finished. Jimmy felt himself get a little light headed, “So if they aren’t strong enough to hurt you they’ll kill Zacky instead.” Matt nodded.

Zack’s phone rang, scaring him even more; he whipped around and looked in the back seat. He remembered turning the phone off, mostly to keep that bitch from calling him. The phone rang again; timidly he reached for it and answered.

“I’m so glad you made it to Wenely’s Mr. Baker, I hope your drive was alright. Now if you’ll kindly come up to the sanitarium we can finish what we started.” She sounded absolutely thrilled, like she was telling him he had just won the lottery.

“Fine, but I don’t wanna be messed with going up there. You’ve been tormenting me for two weeks; I wanna little bit of peace for a few minutes.” Zack barked.

“Of course Mr. Baker. We’ll see you when you arrive.” The line died; Zack sighed and closed his phone and took a deep breath and got out of the car.
Holding onto Stripes like a life ring Zack began the final leg of his journey. Just like the first time the chilling wind howled around him like a pack of hungry wolves, it ripped at his face and wormed inside his shirt to wrap around his skin like the loving arms of death. He gave one last despairing look at the gates and then Zack entered the dark tunnel of trees

Matt came to a sliding halt in the gravel, the gates were closed; they could see a car they assumed to be Zack’s parked a little ways in. Without wasting time they were out of the car, Matt walked up to the fence and easily ripped out four of the rod iron bars.

“Stay here.” Matt ordered.

“Hell no! We didn’t come all the way over here just to hang out by the fuckin’ gate.” Synyster growled; Jimmy was already jogging toward the tunnel of trees. Matt appeared in front of him and suddenly he was back at the gate with Johnny and Brian.

“If I manage to end Zack’s haunting it’ll just latch onto one of you. Now stay here.” Without waiting for an answer Matt was gone.

Zack timidly walked through the doors that led into the large entry hall, “What do you want me to do?” Zack whispered; he was answered with a chorus of shrill screams and hysterical laughter. Something crawled across the ceiling and then something grabbed him from behind, sharp pain ripped through his back and he screamed and stumbled away from his attacker. Something else, or the same thing, hit him from the front, he tasted blood as his lip split open and then he slammed into the wall. Bright stars of pain danced in his eyes when he hit the wall and he heard something in his chest snap. Zack slumped to the floor, breathing was agony and there was the now familiar feeling of his skin being ripped open. Weakly he kicked at whatever was attacking him and was rewarded when he was picked up and thrown against the wall again. He cried out in pain as his chest was jarred painfully again he fell to the floor and didn’t move.

Matt heard a strangled cry of pain come from the large entry hall and darted toward the sound. He found Zack pinned against the wall by an unseen force. He was bleeding horribly the sharp tang of his blood filled the room; blood dripped down Zack’s face and Matt could hear a faint gurgling sound as he struggled to breathe. An
infuriated roar ripped out of Matt’s throat and he was by Zack’s side in an instant snarling and snapping at to him something that was nothing more than air, Zack dropped down the wall and landed with a pained screech when his torso was jarred. Matt dropped down and covered him completely with his larger frame.

“Zack, Zacky, angel wake up. Wake up Zacky.” He whispered his velvety voice wasn’t the least bit ruffled by the horrendous shrieks and laughs surrounding them. Zack’s eyes fluttered but didn’t open, he whimpered in pain, and coughed violently as the gurgling sound bubbling up from his lungs grew louder. A warm spray of Zack’s blood misted Matt’s face when the guitarist coughed. Matt ignored it and continued to try and wake him up, “Zacky, you have to wake up, I’m not going to let anything hurt you, alright? You need to wake up, Jimmy’s waiting for you.”
Finally Zack’s eyes opened, they were dull with pain and unfocused, but he was awake and that was all Matt needed.

He moved so he could still cover Zack’s battered body and still have access to his neck, “Forgive me angel.” He whispered; and then he sank his teeth into Zack’s neck.

He was in pain, his mind was absolutely consumed with it, every breath he took felt like it should be his last if only to end the agony. He was being lifted, something was pushing on his chest and making the pain so much worse, he couldn’t scream because he couldn’t breathe; the numbness of death flitted at the edges of his mind but didn’t come in. Finally the pressure was gone and he was falling, he hit something hard and the agony flared again, he screamed, vaguely he could hear his strangled breathing, or maybe that wasn’t his. There was something on top of him, not pressing down like the other thing, just hovering over him and now there was someone calling his name asking him to wake up. He didn’t want to, death was closer, he could feel his limbs going cold and then numb, just a little longer and then all the pain would be gone.

“Jimmy’s waiting for you.”
He knew that name; he knew that voice, and that warm aroma of skin. He could barely breathe but when he opened his eyes he could see the bright blue/green of Matt’s eyes. Matt’s weight shifted and his soft lips were on his throat, “Forgive me angel.” There was more pain, a sharp sting, and suddenly it all went away; the pain, the loud screams, there was nothing left but Matt’s warm body on his.

Matt had no idea Zack’s body had been damaged so much; his blood should have been strong and hot, but it was thin, weak, and sluggish. He pulled back after a moment, afraid of putting to much stress on Zack’s weakening heart. He used one of his sharp nails to slit the base of his throat and pulled Zack up to drink.

Like all humans the guitarist resisted the blood, Matt caught a few drops on his fingers and smeared the red liquid across Zack’s lips. Zack’s lips parted hesitantly and he licked the blood off his lips, he shuddered and when Matt pulled him to his neck again Zack didn’t resist.

He drank Matt’s hot cruor feverishly; Matt sighed and tried not to press harder into Zack’s bruised body. The
feeling was intoxicating; he had never felt anything like it before. Zack’s soft lips at his neck, pulling his blood out into his waiting mouth, Zack’s heartbeat grew stronger little by little with every drop of blood that entered his system. As old as he was there were no words to describe the absolute ecstasy he felt, it was the closest he had been to an orgasm since he had been changed; he moaned softly as Zack pushed his warm body closer and suckled more passionately on the wound on Matt’s neck.

Matt felt himself getting lightheaded and finally he gently pulled Zack away from his neck, the guitarist whined when he was cut off. The singer waited a moment to regain his senses; once he was sure of himself he scooped Zack up and headed back to the others.

Matt’s warm body disappeared all to soon but he felt himself being lifted and he smelled something unfamiliar, something cold that made his nose sting. He shook his head and tried to get away from it, it was something bad, something he wasn’t meant to have. He was pulled away from the smell, but then there was something warm smeared across his mouth, something that made his lips sting. He licked his lips and then his tongue burned, he swallowed and quivered as the strange stuff made his throat and belly burn. He licked his lips again and then he was hit with a craving for the strange burning substance; he was lifted again and this time when the unfamiliar smell got to him he brushed it off. He wanted more of the burning stuff; he opened his mouth and sighed as it was flooded, with what felt like, fire.

His open mouth was flooded with a liquid he’d never tasted before, like the stuff that had been on his lips it burned like fire, but it was also cold. It made his heart speed up and he swallowed more and more of it. The fire in his mouth spread to every part of him, his cold limbs came alive and demanded more of the ice-fire. It was so good, thick and hot it rolled into his mouth and slid down his throat sending electricity into his body. And then it was gone. He was pulled away from the cold fire; he whined like a child that’s had its toy taken away, he wanted more. Matt’s warm body was still there, pressed close and after a moment he was being lifted again and then he felt like he was flying.

Jimmy paced nervously back and forth by the gate, Matt had been gone for almost ten minutes. For a human they’d probably just be reaching the front door, but Matt was doing things at full speed, if all he had to do was grab Zack he should’ve been back by now.

“Should we go look for him?” Jimmy asked looking helplessly down the road.

“And do what? He knows what he’s doing Jimmy relax, Zacky’ll be alright.” Synyster answered shaking his head; a shadow darted across the road and from somewhere on the other side of the parking lot a woman screamed. Brian wrapped an arm around Johnny and held him close as he warily searched the parking lot. Another shadow ran across the drive and then two more followed, they were closer than the others that they’d seen. Jimmy backed up a little and moved closer to Brian and Johnny.

“Johnny, maybe you should get in the car…” Jimmy said nervously as yet another strange shadow slithered across the gravel even closer; Zack had been terrified something was going to hurt the bassist if he didn’t do what the ghosts wanted. Brian nodded, “Maybe we should all get in the car.”

Running at full speed Matt came to a sliding halt in the gravel when he reached the parking lot; Jimmy was lying on the ground motionless. There was the thick smell of blood in the air and Matt could hear a faint gasping sound as someone tried to breathe. Matt shifted Zack and rushed over to the silent drummer.

There was a massive gash on his forehead and blood poured freely out of the wound. His breathing was slow and even, he was only unconscious, aside from the head wound there was nothing else wrong with him. Carefully Matt set Zack on the ground next to Jimmy and looked for Johnny and Brian.

He found Brian pinned to the car by one of the rod iron bars he had snapped off. The bar was sticking out of his chest, a thick trail of blood trickled down his chin as he struggled to breathe; his pained, unfocused eyes sought out Matt’s. He whispered something to faint for even Matt’s keen ears; Matt carefully kneeled in front of him and tried to find a way to pull the bar out without the guitarist bleeding to death.

“John. Get Johnny…” his pained breathing was getting weaker by the second.

“I will, I’ll get Johnny, but I have to get you first Syn. You’re bleeding to death.” Matt whispered soothingly. Brian coughed and spit out a thick red and black substance his breathing hitched and stopped before it haphazardly started again. Matt snapped the bar off as close to his chest as he could and ripped open his wrist, he held Brian’s head still and let the blood drip into his mouth. Brian gagged and tried to pull away but like Zack, once the blood was in him he willingly drank more. Matt waited until Brian’s heartbeat was a little stronger and then he smoothly pulled the guitarist off the bar into his lap. He slit his other wrist and smeared blood over the wound in his chest. Finally Brian’s breathing became steadier and he slipped into unconsciousness. Once Brian was alright Matt took off again to Wenely’s to find Johnny.

Matt let a roar of fury tear out of him when he ran back into the sanitarium. The building was silent, he couldn’t hear Johnny, he couldn’t smell him, which meant he would have to search the entire building with the very real possibility of Johnny either being moved while he looked or dying. A small sigh came from Matt’s left he whipped around, more than ready to battle with whatever was torturing his friends, but instead he found a youngish looking girl with dark hair and no eyes.

“Where is he?”

The girl lead him too rapidly to the cafeteria, she pointed to the double doors and then disappeared. Matt burst through the doors and immediately smelled blood, Johnny was pinned to a table with almost a dozen knives holding his limbs down and sticking out of his torso. He gasped and blood dripped off the table to pool on the floor; Matt carefully started pulling the knives out. Johnny looked at Matt pleadingly, “Easy Johnny, I’m gonna make the pain go away and then we’re gonna go back with Brian okay. Then we’re gonna go home and forget this place even fucking exists.” Matt whispered; smoothly pulling out a knife from his chest. Johnny gagged; his whispery breathing was growing fainter.

“Johnny,” Matt brushed his lips against the hollow of his throat, “it’ll be alright.” Then he bit his neck.

Matt ran back to the car, the other three were exactly as he had left them; Matt grabbed Brian and then took both him and the bassist to the car. He went back and dropped to his knees next to Jimmy and Zack.

Jimmy’s head had finally stopped bleeding but he still wasn’t moving; Matt sighed and pulled Jimmy toward him. He tilted the drummer’s head back, his neck was almost pure white in the meager moonlight; Matt hesitated a moment and then sank his teeth into the pulsing vein in Jimmy's neck.

Matt was sick and dizzy, the bonding took a lot more out of him than he’d thought it would. He stopped twice to feed just so he could stay conscious. Finally they reached the city, he drove to the hotel they’d stayed at the last time, but parked further from the door and began the long process of trying to wake everyone up.

“Guys c’mon, you only have to be up long enough to get to the room and then we can pass out.” Matt said tiredly, his limbs felt heavy and he had a massive headache brewing. Zack was the first one to get up; groggily he shook his head and looked at Matt, “Where are we?”

“Some place safe. C’mon.” Matt pushed the door open and stumbled out.

“Matt,” Brian’s tired voice slurred out of the car as he tried to wake himself up, “they might be a little concerned if we walk in covered in blood.”

Matt swore, he had forgotten all about that, he turned and stared at the building trying to force his sluggish mind to come up with a solution. He was so tired though, he just wanted to lie down and go to sleep. His eyes began to close against his will, there was darkness closing in on his mind, and he slumped to the ground.

The first thing he felt was something thick and warm trickling down his throat. It was a good feeling; warmth spread through his belly and began to warm his frigid body. He groaned and pulled the warmth closer, he wanted more, he *needed* more of it. Gently he was pulled away from the warmth, he whimpered, but quieted when it came back. He pulled more of the warmth into him and clung tighter when it tried to pull away, it wouldn’t leave him again.

“Matt, let go. You have to let him go, Matty!” the voice was familiar, that voice was important.

“Matt you’re gonna kill him Let. Him. Go!” something was trying to pull the warmth away; he refused to let it go.

Realization hit him like a bolt of lightening; he cried out and shoved the warmth away from him. He forced his mind to work, he tried to wake up more; he was in a room, surrounded by the familiar smell of his friends.

“Matt are you okay? Matty?” Zack, that was who the voice belonged to, Zacky. Matt sat up, he was still a little dizzy, and he felt too heavy. He turned and stared at Zack half-asleep, “What happened?” he slurred; he was still exhausted and when his center of gravity shifted he didn’t have the strength to correct it and he tumbled off the bed to the floor.

“Matt!” Zack was by his side in a heartbeat pulling him up and trying to get him to form a coherent thought.

“Angel?” Matt whispered and then he passed out again.

Zack was scared, he’d never seen Matt that pale before, he whimpered in his sleep and he felt feverish.

“He needs blood.” Zack whispered, “We need to find some or he’s not going to make it.” He pressed the back of his hand to Matt’s blazing forehead.

“We don’t need to find it; we just need to give him some.” Johnny said; he reached into Brian’s pocket and grabbed his knife, Brian grabbed him before he cut his wrist, “Be careful, he’s not gonna know what he’s doing. Just a little and then get away from him.”

Johnny nodded and then slid the blade across his wrist. Matt didn’t stir, even when Johnny hesitantly pressed his wrist to his lips; after a moment Matt’s hand twitched and he groaned. He slowly reached up and pulled Johnny’s wrist closer.

“It feels…good, but weird…” Johnny whispered and gently pulled his wrist away; he whimpered pitifully.

“Here.” Brian carefully slit his throat and then lay down on Matt’s body. Matt wrapped his arms around Brian and pulled him closer.

“Guys…” Brian’s faint voice drifted over to them, “he won’t let go.” Brian tried to get up again and Matt pulled him even closer.

“Matt, let go. You have to let him go, Matty!” Johnny tried to pull his arms away but Matt wasn’t letting go; Brian’s struggles lessoned, his breathing was labored.

“Matt you’re gonna kill him Let. Him. Go!” Zack ran over and gently began trying to pry Brian’s neck away from Zack’s mouth. Matt’s eyes fluttered and slowly opened. When they did he shoved Brian off of him with enough force to send him almost to the other side of the room. Brian landed with a heavy sound and didn’t move; Johnny rushed over to him and checked his pulse, “He’s alive,” he sighed and pulled the larger guitarist into his lap, “his breathing sounds okay too, maybe he didn’t take as much as we thought.”

“What happened?”
Zack could barely make out the words; Matt sat up slowly and then, without warning, fell over and slipped off the bed. Zack ran over to him and pulled him into more of a sitting position; Matt was slipping back into unconsciousness.

“Angel?” his eyes were closing and the whispery word barely made it to Zack's ears and then the singer was gone again, slipping into a fevered dream.

“Angel? Who does he think he’s talkin’ too?” Jimmy whispered sliding behind Zack.

“Me. He used to call me angel all the time. I don’t know why.” Zack murmured running his fingers through Matt’s short hair, “How’s Syn?” he turned as much as he could to look at the pair on the other side of the room.

“Getting better.” Synyster said with a small laugh; Johnny nuzzled his hair and held him closer.

“I’ve never heard him call you angel before.” Johnny said looking at him curiously.

“He only used to do it when I’d call him at three o’ clock in the morning when I thought there was a monster or something outside the window.” Zack smiled slightly and shook his head; Jimmy snorted.

“How old were you when you stopped doing this?” Jimmy rolled his eyes.

“I still do,” Zack stuck his tongue out at him, “when we got that really big storm last month I called him,” he looked down at the singer and ran his fingers down his face, “mostly because I miss hearing him call me that.”

“Well, Matt’s gonna be out until at least tomorrow, Syn needs to sleep, and I don’t know about you two, but its been a long day and I’m beat. I say its bedtime.” Jimmy said after a brief moment of silence, he stood up and then helped Zack put Matt back on the bed. They hoisted a still very groggy Brian onto the other bed and then collapsed exhausted next to him.

Matt woke up the next day with a massive headache, a fever, achy joints, and a parched throat. He groaned and buried his head in the pillow.

“You’re awake?” Zack whispered; Matt nodded.

"Are you ever going to put that thing down." Matt asked groggily pulling his head out of the pillow to look at him; Zack looked at him confused and then looked down and laughed quietly.
"You're damn lucky I didn't let him go, or else we'd be heading back there right now to got get him." He snuggled Stripes against his chest and then lightly pulled at Matt's shirt, “We need to go; our check out deadline is in like twenty minutes.” Zack tugged at his arm again, “C’mon big guy you can get another couple hours of beauty rest in the car, and then even more on the plane and you can sleep for the rest of the week when we get home.”

Matt pushed himself up and shakily got out of bed Zack and Jimmy watched him closely to see if he was just going to pass out again. He didn’t, he took a moment to steady himself and then looked at them and nodded. Without a word they turned and left the room.

“Guys, I need…” Matt collapsed against the car panting and starting to slip into unconsciousness again. The short walk from the room to the car had started off alright but Matt's strength had waned quickly.

“You need what?” Zack whispered nuzzling under his chin and opening the door.

“I’m gonna change.” He slurred; Zack looked at Jimmy confused and then yelped in surprise when Matt suddenly became furry. Jimmy jumped back a step but relaxed when he saw Matt as well.

“Jesus, we need to get him better, soon.” He whispered looking at Matt’s rangy form.
Matt’s once lustrous black coat was dull and more bristly than before. Zack ran his hands through it as they piled in the car and started the long trek back to the airport. The outer was rougher than it had been but the fur underneath was still just as soft, Zack worked his fingers into it like he had before and started scratching; Matt’s tail flipped weakly.

“We’re gonna go home and make you better Matty, promise.” He buried his face into his ruff and inhaled his sharp wild scent.

They made it back to Orange County, Matt still just as weak; after a few minutes of arguing they decided Matt would stay with Zack until he was back to himself. Brian drove Johnny home and said he would stay with the bassist for the night so Jimmy climbed in the driver’s seat while Zack stayed in the back cradling Matt.

When they finally pulled into Zack’s driveway Matt was somewhat awake and looking around.

“Do ya’ think it’ll be easier to just carry him in?” Zack whispered scratching behind the wolf’s ears; Jimmy nodded and got out. He opened the back door and gently tugged the wolf into his arms; Zack jumped out and ran to open the door, “Put him in the kitchen, he’s gotta be thirsty or something.” Zack said once he had the door open.

“Can he have that?” Jimmy looked at him and then back to Matt worriedly.

“Well he ate the ham we tossed him, so I guess it’ll be alright. If he can’t he either won’t eat it or
he’ll just throw it up.” Zack shrugged helplessly.

Matt lapped at the water Zack put in front of him thirstily and emptied the bowl in seconds.

“Well I guess he can have water.” He said picking up the bowl and filling it again; again Matt drank it all quickly.

“Dude, if you’re drinking this to fast and you throw up something nasty, I’m not gonna be happy.” Zack said eyeing him as he filled up the bowl for the third time; Matt wagged his tail and shook his head. He looked a lot livelier than he had, his coat didn’t seem quite as dull. Zack shrugged and put the bowl down again, this time Matt drank with a little less zeal. Rummaging around in his refrigerator Zack pulled out a package of pepperoni and the rest of the ham, “Sorry man, this is all I’ve got.” He got down another bowl and put both meats in it; Matt woofed it down in less than a minute.

“Do you wanna go out and uh, hunt or something?” Zack asked amazed at how quickly the singer ate everything. Matt stood and wagged his tail and trotted over to the door. There was a lot more vigor in his step, his coat was starting to reflect the light again with its natural shine.

“Alright, but don’t eat someone’s cat or something, I’m really not in the mood to deal with pissy neighbors.” He opened the door and Matt darted outside.
A/N: Sweet Baby Jesus! I had no idea this chapter was going to be this long. At first I was like, ‘oh it’ll be like ten pages’ and then it morphed into this beast. But hey, I promised a longer chapter and longer it is. ^_^
Love and hugs for your reviews =)
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Demon In My View