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“Hey Colton! Come on man!” A young, black man by the name of Jay said as he gently slapped his friend on the back.
“I’ll be there in a second. I just want to check something out first.” The young man walked around the stone room for a moment, taking everything in. He has a deep love for history and strongly believes that those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it. His chocolate-brown eyes scanned every inch of the room before settling on a rotting door. He was consumed with curiosity as he went to the door. Opening the heavy wooden door with great strength that he himself was surprised he had. He was just a little skinny frame of a boy, how he managed to open a door that seemed to be swelling with water, age, and decay was beyond him. A small room immediately greeted his eyes with three portraits hanging on the far wall. The room was damp and sent shivers up and down his spine. His choppy, black hair falling over his eyes as he looked down folding his arms over his chest to find warmth. When his body adjusted to the odd weather change he moved closer to the portraits. They were paintings of people who seemed to live long ago. Their names were worn away leaving Colton to feel a great amount of curiosity for them. He looked at one of the portraits; there was a young girl with deep emerald eyes and red hair. She wore a golden necklace with a crest on it. The crest had an hourglass on it, and a snake with a head at each end of its body was wrapped around the hourglass. It said in very small letters, “Time will turn over, just like the hourglass.” Colton moved to the middle portrait and looked upon an older man, possibly the girl’s father. His eyes were the same deep emerald as the girls and he too had the crest on his breast. Colton’s eyes traveled to the final portrait where he gasped at what he saw. A man, an absolutely beautiful young man who seemed to be the definition of perfection. His hair was silver-blue and wisps of his hair lined his flawless face. The length of his thin hair rested gently on his shoulders. He was the only one smiling out of these pictures. His smile wasn’t happy or friendly it looked…sinister. His eyes were what struck out the most. They were golden and the pupils appeared to be snake-like slits.
Colton wanted to know more about them. Why were they in this room? Why not put on display? Did they live in the castle at one point? What were their names? So many questions flooded the young man’s mind that he felt as if he were drowning in his own curiosity. He smiled at his anxious mind and shook his head at himself. He adjusted his snakebite lip rings before turning back to the door. Yes the boy was quite fascinated with putting needles through his body. He had his ears gauged at a quarter of an inch with numerous piercings going up to the tops of his ears, his septum was pierced, and oddly enough he also had his navel pierced. Oh yes, Colton did love piercings.
“Dude where the hell have you been?” Jay asked as Colton finally met back up with the group.
“I saw another door in the room we were in before I went off. There are these portraits in there and they look really, really old. But one of the guys is really hot.” Jay laughed and ruffled Colton’s black hair.
“Dude, I swear, I can’t believe I’m friends with a flamer.”
“I think you’re cute Jay.” Colton said to make his friend feel a little awkward.
“You’re not really my type. Too many piercings and all that “scene kid” choppy hair thing, I like my men black anyways.”
“I’m too white for you? Isn’t that a little racist?”
“What can I say, I hate white people,” Jay teased. Colton giggled at his long-time best friend. It was amazing how the two got along so well. Jay was preppy and liked sports, Colton was into the “scene” look and absolutely hated sports, the computer, Myspace, and history were more of his things. They continued listening to their guide as they walked throughout the rest of what remained of the castle. After the tour was finished they were allotted fifteen minutes to do whatever they liked before having to be back on the bus. Colton grabbed Jay’s arm and hurried to the room where the portraits were in.
“Damn…this guy is scary!” Jay commented.
“I think he’s hot.”
“He’s dead.”
“Yeah but…I can still think he is. And I want to find out more about him. Like his name and shit.” Colton stood back to take a picture of the portrait, and got an up-close picture of the crest each of the people had on them.
“You necrophiliac,” Jay played.
“I can dream you know! And at least I don’t jerk off over Madonna, at her age and your obsession you might as well be a necrophiliac!”
“You know, he may be “hot” here but in reality he’s a decomposing pile of nasty!” Jay said pretending to not have heard Colton’s last statement. The raven-haired boy laughed at his friend before analyzing the portraits again.
“Do you think our tour guide would know anything about him? I mean…it would be way too hard if I had only this picture to go on,” Colton said not taking his eyes off the beautiful painting of a man he wished desperately to know more about.
“I’m sure you’d find many things you and that picture could do.”
“Okay, unlike you I don’t masturbate every few seconds. I can go at least two days!”
“Sexoholic.”
“Am not!” Colton crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. Jay laughed and pulled the frail-looking boy out of the damp room.
“Well, I’m not sure of their names but I do know what time period they were around. Most likely the 1600's. A very wealthy man and his two children lived here for only a few months before the castle caught fire. You see, we still don’t know why the castle was burned, but it obviously was. Most of the furniture was destroyed but these portraits were in perfect condition, well except for their names. Ash covered where their names would be on the portraits and when the Historic Society tried to find out who they were, the ash had hardened into almost rock. Pealing the ash off, the Society also pealed the names off. That’s all we know.” The red haired woman stopped talking as she looked at the crest on the father’s breast. “This crest is astounding though. No family has ever used a snake with a head at each end. The hourglass however is very popular. It signifies mortality. But these words, “Time will turn over, just like the hourglass,” they seem to signify that either history will repeat itself or that life can be restored. It is fascinating though!”
“Oh fuck! Dude if we don’t get out of here we’re going to miss our bus!” Jay pulled Colton’s arm as the raven-haired man shouted a thanks at the woman.
“Dude, you’ve been staring at your laptop for nearly three hours now. Give it a rest. Lets to go a bar or something. The drinking age is sixteen here, and we’re twenty!” Jay stated proudly as he sat down next to Colton on the bed. Colton looked around the room ignoring Jay for a moment. The walls were off-white and water damage was appearing in the corner next to the air conditioner. The building was made in the 1800’s giving the room an eerie feeling. There was a small television facing the two beds in the center of the room. Colton liked the room, but he did decide on a break. “Dude, seriously if you don’t get up I’m going to pull you up!”
“You know I like it when you take control.” Colton said seductively. Jay’s face flushed red.
“Aw stop that man and come on! I need to look at some boobs!”
“Well, let’s go out to a bar and get some girls drunk,” Colton said shutting his laptop.
“Girls?”
“Well, girl. I’ll see if I can find a boy.”
“We are in a somewhat rural area, Jay,” Colton stated as he rested his elbows against the bar. He sighed looking around the room, dark and nasty, a reoccurring theme. The only things Colton has seen since he got here have been dark and nasty. Well except one thing. Colton pulled out the picture of the man and stared at him. His beauty was unreal.
“I don’t care! There has to be at least some kids our age living around here!” Colton didn’t respond to Jay’s comment. He was lost in his thoughts of finding more about the mysterious man.
“Whatcha got there?” Asked a man from behind the counter. Colton looked around and what he saw took his breath away. It was him! The man! Those golden eyes, silver-blue hair! It was him!
“I…I…um…”
“Dude don’t be so gay.” Colton looked at Jay and then back to the man…he was bald? ‘Was I just seeing things?’ He thought.
“Oh sorry. You just startled me. You see I’m kind of on a mission to find out more about this guy but all I have is just this picture. I don’t even have his name.”
“Let me see him,” the bartender said. “Where was this picture taken?”
“At Castle Campbell,” Colton said. The bartender nodded.
“Maybe you should go ask some of the historians in Edinburgh. They may have some knowledge about him.”
“Yeah, I think I’ll do that.”
“Dude, you ok?” Jay asked.
“Yeah. Can I ask you something?”
“Anything…oh except if it’s about anal sex, sucking me off, or asking me out,” he joked.
“I don’t date black men, actually black men don’t date me. But have you ever seen a girl at a club or just out walking around and wanted nothing more than to at least know her name and started seeing her randomly? Like hallucinating her?”
“Um…no. Are you sure you’re ok?” The dark haired man sunk into his seat and sighed sadly.
“No. Last night I thought the bartender was him, but only for a moment. That’s why I choked on my words.” Jay put a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder and gently shook him to get his wandering attention. Colton looked up into his big brown eyes and he smiled.
“You’ve always been so curious. No wonder you’re a fag.”
“Hey!” Colton said defensively. “I can’t help it! I like having my ass fucked and sucking cock!”
“Oh way too much information! I do not need to know about your sex life!” Jay said as he pulled his hand away and sat back in his chair holding his hands out as if he were trying to stop Colton from attacking him.
“I’ve been curious about previous people before, but I at least had their name to go on! Maybe that’s why I’m so stressed out about this one. I’m afraid I’ll never know anything. And there’s so much I want to know; like his crest, why he’s smiling so sinisterly, his life…everything.”
“Dude…that’s what they call obsession,” Jay stated leaning his elbows on his knees and supporting his head with the palms of his hands. He was smiling jokingly at Colton. The smaller man rolled his eyes and looked out the window.
“I’m not obsessed!” ‘I’m lying.’ “I’m just curious.” ‘I’m still lying. I’m just sad that I’ll never get to meet someone so perfect as that man.’
“Colton, I’m saying this as your friend and brother of a different color…just forget about him before you go insane!” Colton stared at his friend for a moment, blinking. Jay has always supported his little peaks of obsessions before. Why in fact, Colton went on an obsession over Mark Anthony of Rome for the longest time and then switched to Charles Manson. It was just like that. Colton tried to convince himself that it was just going to be like those other bursts of fascination. Nothing more…nothing less. But Jay knew this one was different…and he feared for his friend. He didn’t want to watch Colton become crushed after failing, he’d seen it once before and never wanted to see it again.
“I can’t just give up man.”
“Well, when we don’t find anything about him in Edinburgh, you’re giving up, ok?”
“Sure whatever.” Colton lied. They arrived at the train station in Edinburgh and managed to get out of the crowds and out into the streets. Colton signaled for a cab and they climbed in.
“Where to?” Colton looked up at the cab driver and saw his eyes. Gold? Snake-like?
“Um are your eyes naturally like that?”
“Excuse me laddie?”
“Colton man! He can’t help it!” Colton blinked and saw the cabdriver had scar tissue around his left eye. It looked like it had been burned. ‘I was seeing things again?’
“I’m sorry! I thought you had gold eyes for a second.” The man grunted and turned around.
“Where to?” He didn’t sound friendly this time.
“The Edinburgh Historical Society,” Jay said. The drive was very awkward and Colton thanked God that it wasn’t a very long drive. He paid the angry cabdriver before running off, out of the rain and into the small Historical Society building.
“Just a moment.” The two waited in the foyer of the building. The white drapes were down blocking the already gloomy light out of the room. All the lamps were on but they didn’t seem to give off much light. ‘Why is everything so depressing around here? Or is my mind making it that way?’
“Is there something I can assist you with?” A man said. He looked like your typical historian. The sweater vest, black tie, khaki pants, white dress shirt.
“Yes, I took this picture of a portrait in Castle Campbell, I was wondering if you may have any idea on who this man is?” The man took the picture and looked at it for a long time.
“Castle Campbell yes?” Colton nodded. “It appears to me that by his emblem that he is of the Cain family.”
“Cain?” Colton asked surprised. ‘Cain is the name of Adam and Eve’s son. They had two, but Cain was consumed with jealousy of Abel cause he seemed to have more of God’s love. In vampirology, Cain is said to be the first vampire. If there is a connection or not I don’t know.’
