"I Made A Terrible Mistake."

    Everything around him was growing cold. The concrete beneath him was sapping his warmth quicker than his wounds were. 

"So this is it," he thought. The blood leaking from him became cold under him. Who would've thought he would die alone in a dingy back alley? Not him. 

Maybe he could get up? He tried gently rolling onto his side, but the sharp pain from his abdomen cut that idea short. 

"Well, fuck," he croaked.

He heard footsteps coming toward him. Whether or not it was help in the way of ending him or saving him, who even knew. 

"To hell with it," he sighted to himself. 26 seems to be a good age to die.

The footsteps suddenly stopped and he saw a blurry shape lean over him. 

"Hey, man...are you alright?"

Blood bubbled him his lips as he laughed slightly. 

"Do I look like I can dance right now?"

The shape focused in front of him and what he saw stopped his laughing for a moment. What was staring at him was a brown skinned man with long locs staring back at him. Were his eyes red..? No, they were grey. The hell, he thought. Dying really makes you hallucinate.

The mystery man seemed to ignore him and inspected his wounds. His eyes were traveling up and down, taking note of every gash and bruise. 

"Oi, what's your name?"

Did he hear him right? "My name?"

"Yes, your designation. What is it?"

"....James."

The man nodded and fished some linen from his bag. "James, huh. Good name. I'm Hadrian. Nice to meet you. Now, if you would...hold your breath for a second."

James looked at him quizzically, but he hasn't killed him yet...so why not.

He took as big of a breath as he could muster and held it.

Hadrian's hands were a blur around James' body. James felt his injuries slowly get warmer and the areas feel a bit tighter. 

In what felt like seconds, Hadrian gently tapped him on the forehead. "Okay, breathe out. You're good for now."

James relaxed his breath and with that bit of care, he felt a little better. Still three shades away from death, but still a bit better.

"So why are you even helping?" Hadrian looked at him like he asked why the sky was blue. "Well, why wouldn't I help someone who looks like they need help? Isn't that the decent thing to do?"

James laughed, but the pain curbed the merriment. 

"Right. But what if I was a shit human being?" 

Hadrian still looked at him. "Then that's a risk I took."

James was stunned. A person doing good for the sake of doing good. Not a lot of people like that in the world. "So, you saved me. Now what?"

Hadrian leaned in close to James and whispered. I'm gonna need you to hold your breath again."

James was prepared to ask why, but something told him to continue trusting in this altruistic weirdo.
He held his breath, felt warm and everything went dark.

He woke up slowly and realized he felt a little more comfortable than before. Opening his eyes, he took in his surroundings. It looked to be a remodeled church sanctuary. James looked out and saw a few salvaged pews in the room, all pristine. He sat up and realized that he was on a queen sized bed. Letting his feet hang over the side, he realized that the bed was slightly above. 

"Oh...the dais."

A door from the far side of the room creaked open, and in strode Hadrian. He was wearing black slacks and a matching blazer and tie with a white shirt. It would be generally unremarkable, but he was also wearing high heeled boots and a white robe on his shoulders. 

He noticed James and smiled slightly. 

"Oh, you're awake. I was worried."

James tried to get up from his bed, but pain lanced through him. He collapsed back onto the soft bed, hissing through his teeth. 

Hadrian ran up the dais and sat near James. 

"Since you're lucid, mind telling me how you got into this state?"

James stared at the high vaulted ceiling of the church, letting his mind drift away in thought. 

"Good question."

He plucked at the edges of his blood-stained hoodie and sighed. 

"I was walking home and I thought I would cut through the alley since that was the quickest way home. I happened to bump into someone. It was kinda hard to see his features, but I do remember some things about them."

He hesitated a little. "His nails. They were long and sharp. Ask me how I know." James chuckled mirthlessly and coughed. Blood dribbled out the corner of his mouth.

"There was something else odd about them too. There was a large black ring with a red stone set in it."

James hesitated and kept going. 

"Funny the things you focus on when your life is slowly being taken from you."

He glanced over at Hadrian and his breath caught in his throat. He looked absolutely livid. Hadrian's fists were balled up, knuckles white with tension. 

Hadrian did speak, but it was only one word. "Shit."

He leaned a little closer to James, but only just so. 
"Is there anything else you remember?"

James thought for a second, and his eyes widened in remembrance. 

"That smile. A smile of crooked and rotting teeth, but all sharp as their nails."

James shuddered involuntarily. 

Hadrian stood up slowly, smoothing out his trousers. 

"I've decided to help you out a little more, if that's okay."

James looked over in surprise. He was already going out of his way to take him someplace safe and dry, but now this?

"Wha..."

Hadrian looked over at him, grey eyes shining brightly. 

"Say that I know who did this to you. And say again that I had the ability to help you. Would you believe me?"

Hadrian's eyes shifted from a placid grey to a deep crimson. 

James wondered if it was best if he died in that alley.