Death Has No Friends

Many people who know me and what I've done say that I am one evil son of a bitch. Personally, I couldn't care less. However, the vehemence of my accusers sometimes gives me pause. They're so sure of themselves. They see themselves as the Heroes of the story and me as the Villain. He or she who must be destroyed for the sake of all that is good and decent in the world. That's fine in books and movies, but it doesn't work that way in real life. Without further ado, I will tell you my story. And when I'm done, many of you will agree with me. Because I did the only thing I could do under the circumstances. Is it a crime to want to stay alive? I don't think so.

My name is Christopher O'Leary. I'll be your tall and slender, biracial action hero for the day. I was born in the Caribbean Island of Jamaica in 1982. The son of an Irish-American businessman James Sanborn O'Leary and Elisabeth Argentine, a Jamaican national. They brought me to America in 1999. I was seventeen years old. I attended Hyde Park High School for about a year, then enrolled at Northeastern University in 2000. I graduated in 2004 with a bachelor's of science degree in Criminology. I wanted to become a Criminal Profiler. Work for the police department of a large city. That was my dream. Things didn't quite work out the way I planned.

You see, my parents forgot to tell me a crucial bit of information. Neither of them were exactly human. They were denizens of a secret society of intelligent nonhuman creatures who lived among everyday humanity, disguised as ordinary men and women. These creatures were everywhere. Demons. Angels. Monsters. Vampires. Werewolves. Ghouls. Zombies. Genetically enhanced Superhumans. Yeah, almost all those creatures you thought only existed in bad movies shown on Sci Fi on Saturday nights are actually real. Yeah, it's shocking. I know. That's how I felt when I found out the truth too. Talk about the kind of experience which turns your world upside down.

As you can imagine, I had a bit of trouble accepting this rather disturbing bit of news. Unfortunately, the world didn't give me time to adjust. You see, there is a secret society of otherworldly beings known as the Hunters. They find all nonhuman intelligent creatures and exterminate them. Sometimes, they hunt humans too, just for variety. And as a Half-Breed, I was considered fair game to them. Sucks, doesn't it? That's what I thought. So I began exploring this new world I didn't know existed mere months before my twenty-second birthday. I had to know the rules, if I wanted to survive. Otherwise I was easy prey not only for the Hunters but the hostile members of the inhuman community. My parents weren't exactly a big help. They have never been the nurturing type. And they certainly weren't going to protect me now that I was grown. My ass was on the line and I was on my own.

Things looked grim, until I met this guy named Campbell. I don't know why but the first time I saw him I knew he was different. Not that he looked it. At five feet nine inches and 150 pounds of slim, dark-skinned African-American male, he didn't seem anything out of the ordinary. Just a twenty-something guy with a shaven head walking down Massachusetts Avenue. Yet I sensed he was different. So I followed him. That wasn't a good idea. He surprised me in an alley and came dangerously close to burning me to a pile of ash. You see, Campbell was a Half-Breed too. The son of a Fire Elemental from another dimension and a long dead woman. He inherited his father's Elemental powers, and fiery temper.

Campbell asked me why I was following him. I told him I was just curious. I thought we were the same kind. I couldn't be more wrong. All manners of supernatural creatures both living on Earth and visiting from other worlds mated with ordinary men and women. The result of these unions were Half-Breeds. There were all kinds of Half-Breeds. What manner of creature begot them upon a human, that had a lot to do with what they became and what kind of power they had. I considered that. Made a lot of sense to me. Campbell wasn't thrilled with playing informant to me. So I had to placate him. I offered to take him out to dinner, if he would tell me more about creatures like us. When I flashed him my American Express Card, he relented.

We took the Green Line Train from Mass. Ave to Copley, then went inside the Mall's Food Court for a bite to eat. There, Campbell told me all he knew about our kind over some delicious Chinese food. I ordered shrimp-fried rice with orange chicken, chicken teriyaki and three egg rolls, super-sized. I washed it all down with some orange juice. Campbell ordered the same thing, except three helpings of every order. I had never seen a person eat so much in one sitting. Campbell wasn't exactly a big guy. When he ate, where did all the food go? He reminded me of a frail-looking Asian chick I saw chow down in a televised eating contest. She had skills. Her and some other Asian guy who became the contest's champion. Anyhow, his penchant for expensive dining at others expense aside, he was very informative. For example, he was able to point out several nonhumans he saw walking around the Mall.

I checked out a tall, fine-looking blonde woman with a big booty wearing a dark business suit who walked into Barnes & Nobles Bookstore with a tall, good-looking black man in a dark sports coat. They just looked like a regular albeit very good-looking couple to me, but Campbell knew better. He asked me to try sensing them by using my feelers. The same things I had used to detect him while he was walking on the street. I concentrated, and surely, I saw the tall black sportsman and the sexy blonde for what they were. They were both Vampires. Oh, man. Wow. I never would have guessed. Vampires walking around in the Daytime. They could function in sunlight with only slight discomfort. They allowed everyday humanity to think vampires feared the daylight while walking among them. What a clever trick!

Campbell laughed at my being surprised by such things. As we walked through the Mall, we saw many more nonhumans in disguise. A tall, good-looking black man in a business suit who helped a fallen youth to his feet was actually an Archangel. An actual Angel from Heaven! A big and tall Hispanic woman with a big round ass who looked damn hot in her security uniform was actually a Werewolf. Two skinny Asian chicks in varsity jackets who giggled inside the video game store were actually Demons. Actually, they were Succubi. The Most Elite Class of Female Demons. The chubby Asian guy who was with them happened to be an Incubus, a high-ranking Male Demon. A tall black woman in a Track suit who strode gracefully into Talbot's was actually a genetically enhanced superhuman, as was the tall black man who accompanied her. Two tall white men in State Police uniforms were actually Fallen Angels. And last but not least, three tall young black men in Ivy League blazers who strode through the Mall like they owned the place were actually Half-Breeds like us. They were Nephilim, the Offspring of Fallen Angels and Mortal Women.

Wow. I was amazed, folks. Campbell laughed, and told me to stick with him. He had lots more to show me. And thus we became friends. I learned a lot more about Campbell. This streetwise brother attended Berklee College of Music. And he knew just about all the cool people and places in the city of Boston. He became my guide in the superhuman world. He introduced me to a tall, lovely young black woman named Meredith Lawson, who attended Boston College. Like us, she was a Half-Breed. She could run at superhuman speeds. Unsurprisingly, she was one of the NCAA's top female Cross Country runners. She in turn introduced me to a fine-looking Asian guy named Theodore Chang who could generate electricity. They were good company. More loyal friends couldn't be found by anyone.

One thing puzzle me, though. What was my power? Campbell didn't know. Nobody knew. Until one night a Vampire attacked me at a bar. Nerissa was her name. She was a fine-looking young black woman I was powerfully attracted to. Until she tried to drink my blood while we made out near the ladies room. I struggled against her but to no avail. She had superhuman strength and speed. And like all Vampires, she was Immortal unless slain. While we struggled, something happened. I grabbed hold of her throat, and before my amazed eyes her entire body withered. Until only dust remained in my hands. I hadn't known what happened, or how I did it. Yet somehow, I destroyed her.

I wanted to tell Campbell, but he was unreachable. As were Meredith and Theodore. When I finally found them, all three of them in Meredith's dorm, they attacked me. I didn't know why. I begged them to leave me alone. Why were my beloved friends attacking me? I loved them. They shielded me from the darkness. They protected me. Why turn on me now? They didn't even explain themselves. With hatred and fear blazing in their eyes, they came for me. I didn't want to fight them. They were my friends. They couldn't betray me. Yet they had. For a reason I couldn't understand. Once more, I had to use my power. And when I did, three piles of dust remained, where once my friends had been. Afterwards, I fell on my knees, broke down and cried.

That was in 2004. It's been almost awhile since those days. I now understand why my parents abandoned me. I now know why my friends turned on me. You see, it's because they feared my power. I am a Reaper and Death has no friends. I was chosen by Fate itself to wield the ability to destroy any creature, human or nonhuman, living or undead, whom I touched. Nature created me to stand between those with powers and those without. In my world, I am Judge, Jury and Executioner. Human, nonhuman or Hunter, all were fair game. Anyone who broke the rules becomes my Prey. And I am fine with that. I embrace my duty. It's my destiny. I am Death and Death has no loves, no attachments and no friends.