Surprises were no longer a novelty Donovan enjoyed. Or so he thought. His interactions with Gabriel were proving to be quite to the contrary and he wasn't sure if it was refreshing or an annoyance. He would have to ponder these new feelings as he dealt with the most recent problem in his city, unsupervised recently turned vampires.
Power, unfortunately came with certain responsibilities. As much as he might have preferred to relax this evening with a glass of blood wine and a good book. Shortly after Gabriel left his home, Donovan was forced to make inquiries. Though most were chafing with the unexpected law he had imposed upon his awakening, many were more than happy to inform on their rivals if it ensured Donovan might some day turn a blind eye to their own transgressions.
Now he found himself standing outside of an old abandoned warehouse. He could feel the creatures inside, hardly human but not vampire either. Too far gone into the hunger. If there was anything of their humanity left in any of them, he could at least glean who their makers were.
Fledglings were rarely made ‘accidentally’. Neglecting to finish a meal was simply against a vampire’s true nature. These creatures were a sick joke. A game. Someone was testing him. They felt comfortable enough to do as they pleased, making as many fledglings as they could. It was deplorable.
It wasn’t the sound of ripping flesh or animalistic growls that caught his attention once Donovan entered the building, nor the nearly pitch black darkness which he saw through far more easily than a human would. It was the smell. The stench of undisposed remains. They must have been here for weeks.
He sneered, moving forward, not bothering to hide his footsteps. Perhaps there was something left in their minds, of their personality, “do you not remember how to bathe?”
For all of the trouble of Donovan’s exceedingly polite introduction, given the circumstances, none of the things gave him any regard, except for perhaps one curious face, staring back at him from a pile of shredded clothing and--something dead and not entirely fresh. There was little recognition of his words, little understanding behind those eyes, but it was still enough for him to grasp something. A sliver of a thought, or an attempt at one, fizzling out in the fledgling’s brain. At some point, he might have been considered a young man. Maybe even a college student. Now he was nothing more than animal that needed to be put down. Perhaps he could salvage their creator out of that one. A few thoughts seemed to be connecting, the others were lost causes. Perhaps it was because of Gabriel or perhaps he had grown sentimental after his long sleep, but he would give them a quick death.
Some of them, and there must have been at least half a dozen, did seem to take note of Donovan when he approached the curious young man crouched on the pile of clothes. This was almost painfully reminiscent of an old friend of his. One he’d had to put down himself. He reached out, holding his hand to him, palm up. Donovan knew that he smelled like a vampire, knew they could detect that, and it was even possible that they knew he was older.
Instinctually, they would all know they were no match for him. If they’d wanted to attack. Barbaric or not, feral vampires could be surprisingly docile when they were well-fed. That was why Donovan didn’t have to force his will on the one in the pile of rags. The fledgling approached him willingly, if very slowly.
“It’s alright,” he soothed, “come, let me help you.”
It. ‘He’, Donovan was forced to remind himself, didn’t even have the mental faculties of a ghoul, so words were beyond him. Submissively, he approached Donovan, still crouching, ready to make a run for it if the older vampire made any sudden moves.
Slowly he slit his wrist, his blood would restore something. At least enough for him to get the information he wanted, “drink.”
Immediately, the feral creature was on him, or rather, on his wrist. It had some recognition that this was an offer, not a foolish sacrifice. Donovan could easily snap the thing’s neck, and it knew that. The blood seemed to draw the vampire back enough that maybe, just maybe, it would be able to form a coherent thought.
“What do you remember?” Donovan’s voice was soothing as he spoke, withdrawing his wrist.
Made docile by the rush of the master vampire’s blood, it was almost too much for the fledgling creature. Bits and pieces of thoughts, fragmented memories, rushed through what was left of his mind. Connected as they were right now, the force of those thoughts was so great that Donovan could almost see everything happening right in front of him. Someone, something had broken into this man’s house. Murdered his wife. It was all too eerily similar to what Gabriel must have gone through. Then a face came into view, and Donovan wasn’t surprised to see who it was in the least, one of the vampires responsible for his long sleep. He would have no trouble disposing of him.
The question was, did this fool have any idea how happy Donovan was to accept his challenge? Then there was the matter of what to do with the feral creatures. He could prolong their torment, attempt to fix them, experiment on them, or he could give them a quick death.
There wasn’t enough time in the world to help these things. Without some sentimental link, or bond, he might as well be attempting to tame wild animals. Usually experimenting on them would have held some appeal. Donovan had always prided himself for his--scientific interests, but the idea didn’t sit well with him tonight. He didn’t feel guilt, it wasn’t in his or any vampire’s nature, but perhaps it was a bit of sympathy for what they had become.
It didn’t take long. Their remains would be taken care of by the fire. While Donovan didn’t like disposing of his problems this way, there was too much evidence here. The last thing he needed to deal with right now was more hunters finding out about the massacres that had taken place here. As the fire burned he turned and walked away, heading toward home.
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“Got a bad feeling about this crap, man,” Wes complained, swirling the dregs of his beer can as he sat beside his fellow hunter on the hood of their beat-up Chevy. “Why can’t the son of a bitch ever meet us somewhere safe? Wouldn’t hurt him to buy some of the beer, too.”
You wouldn’t think they had much to worry about, comfortable as the pair were watching the rolling waters of the lake in front of them. Halfway free of the city, no sign of anything supernatural for miles. Helped that they weren’t far from a weed-claimed graveyard. Vampires could easily cross consecrated grounds, but they sure didn’t like it much.
Todd’s truck rolled to a stop beside them. Newer, shinier, with about half the mileage and none of the character their old Chevy had. The pair didn't care much for the Ford that Todd swore by, they loved their old truck, it was, in their opinion, more reliable than Todd’s.
“What took you so long? We been here for an hour already.” Wes glared at him, taking the last drink of his beer before tossing the can into the bed of his truck. Three more and they could make a buck on the metal.
“Had to take care of a few things. When do you two think you’ll be ready for the job?” Todd replied, remaining in his seat with his window half-cracked.
“What do you need us to do?” Jim asked, hopping off the hood and moving to lean against Todd’s door, “and where's our beer?”
Todd gave both of them a good, long once-over, way too judgmental for a man with a swollen belly of his magnitude, “never agreed to give you any beer. Was cash on the barrel, that’s what we talked about.” Even as he complained, his right arm was trailing over to a large brown bag in his passenger seat. This was a dance they’d done a few times before.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Both of them half glared at him, “come on, it's always part of the deal.” Wes said, crossing his arms over his chest as he moved to stand beside Jim.
“You boys need to learn some manners,” he complained, rolling down his window a little more so he could shove the bag in their direction. A paragon of etiquette, this guy.
Jim snagged it, moving back to the truck and leaving Wes to talk shop, “so, what's the job?”
“You already know we’re getting shark week started here, and I told you one of the local hunters had a little fang problem. Well, time’s running out and none of his folks wanna take care of him. I trust you two to deal with him before he loses it. Frankly, the kid’s got maybe one or two days left in him. Caught him looking at me this afternoon like a steak dinner.”
Wes nodded, “alright, we’ll get it done since they won't. Got an address?”
“Yeah. You know the place. Remember that apartment complex that used to have the poltergeist problem right off of Lamar and Staten?”
“Yeah, we’ll catch him outside, don't worry, we’ll take care of him.”
Todd hesitated, looking at his rearview mirror to adjust it, “just make it quick. This shit ain’t his fault. He was a good kid.”
Wes nodded, “as quick as we can, can't risk him fighting back. We’ll call you when it's done.”
“Make sure it doesn’t get back to me,” Todd warned, “my niece would hate me for the rest of her life if she found out I called you guys.”
Jim let out a snort, opening a can, “yeah, yeah, we get it, don't worry about it, Todd, we got this shit.”
“Yeah, you just make sure you do.” Todd started the ignition, clearly not planning to stick around for a nice little chat, “I don’t want this turning out like it did in Selma. Julie still isn’t speaking to me.”
Wes gave him a little salute, “totally wasn't our fault, besides, you won't be around here anyway.”
“You’re damn right I won’t.” He gave them both one last stern look to drive his point home. Would’ve worked on lesser men than Jim and Wes. The pair of them knew he was all bark and no bite, though, so it didn’t have much effect. The dramatic effect he tried to impress before driving off was a joke.
“Whelp, let's drink before we start hunting.” Wes snagged a beer before settling on the hood of the truck again, “cheers.”
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It hadn’t even been five minutes, and already Danny’s shoes were covered in mud and river gunk, pant legs soaked in water. He was beginning to see a pattern here, and he didn’t like it. Any minute now he expected a fish head to pop out of the river and start talking to him about negotiating swimming rights.
“Find anything?” Gabriel shouted at him from the other side, mercifully dry because somehow only Danny was capable of tripping or screwing things up.
“No!” He shouted back, “just a lot of mud.” He grumbled, his foot sinking back into the ground, “oh, come on, really?”
“Alright, I’m thinking maybe we need to go a little deeper,” Gabriel stuck his cigarette in his lips and began stripping off his t-shirt. He’d been smoking a lot more the last few days. With those shades on it just made him look like he was perpetually hungover. “You can swim, can’t you Danny?”
Danny scowled, eyeing the water, “yeah, why?” there was no way he was going in there.
“Just wanna be sure you’ll be able to pull me back if something’s down there,” Gabriel replied, looking back at him with a wry smile. “Go get the rope from the trunk.”
He nodded, starting to trudge back to the car, hoping he wouldn't lose a shoe in the muck. It took longer than he wanted and his thoughts continued to stay on Gabe. He had changed, more than Gabe had even realized. Gabe was different, the cigarette and sunglasses were minor in the grand scheme of things. The biggest change, at least to Danny, was his temper. Gabe had become so, negative, quick to react to even the tiniest perceived slight. He was in a good mood right now, but how long was that going to last?
“Danny! Hurry the hell up!” Gabe shouted, “I’m gonna freeze to death if we don’t get this over with fast!” Was that even possible?
Well, that change was fast. “I'm coming! There’s so much mud!” Finally he made it to the car, he'd have to hurry back with the stupid rope if he wanted Gabe to stay on a decent mood, if it wasn't already ruined.
“So we’ve got a good forty feet here, I think,” Gabe said, thinking aloud, “I can tie one end to my waist, you can tie the end to that tree behind you, keep your eye on the lead, and I’ll see if there’s anything in the shallows, man-eating ghost fish, river goblins, whatever. Just stay clear of the water in case they go after you,” it wasn’t exactly clear whether he was joking or not. “If there’s nothing on this side, we’ll just move the rope and try again.”
Danny made it over to him, without, thankfully, losing a shoe. His fingers were cold, didn't want to work properly as he looped the rope around a sturdy tree, tying it off, “alright, should be good.”
Gabriel took his own end and quickly tied it around his waist. He’d discarded his jeans and shoes by now, so he was just standing there in his boxers. It was a wonder he wasn’t turning blue, with how cold it was that afternoon. “Can I trust you with these?” Gabriel slowly removed his sunglasses, flinching a little before holding them out.
Danny took them, scowling before he spoke, “yeah, I'll take care of them,” he paused for a moment, “how are you not cold?”
“I don’t know,” Gabriel shrugged, “don’t want to think about it either.” He looked down at the surface of the river. “You know, it looks like the water’s moving everywhere but here,” he pointed at the water, “you see that? It’s like a huge circle right in the middle. Completely still.”
“I can't really tell, maybe micromovements? I'll take your word for it. Is that where you want to check first?” He put the sunglasses down with Gabe's clothes.
“Micromovements? What are you, a marine biologist now?” Gabriel scoffed, “how can you not see that?” He stuck one foot in the water, “look, see how the current is moving around my ankle here?” He took another step further into the river, “see, right there? It’s completely still. Stagnant.” Danny still didn’t see any difference.
“I believe you, I just don't see it.” He looked over the surface of the water, “yeah, not seeing it.”
“How the f--” Before Gabriel could finish his sentence, his next step apparently landed him in a steep drop into the water, causing him to fall forward and tumble clumsily below the surface.
Danny yelped, looking at the rope, his hands twitching with the desire to grab it and pull him out, “Gabe? Come on man, you alright?”
There was no response. Made sense, of course. Hard to hear someone when they were underwater. Ten more seconds. Okay, five more seconds and Danny would have to pull him back.
Screw it, he grabbed the rope and pulled as hard as he could. That’s when the tension suddenly grew tight, and the rope almost slipped through his fingers, leaving a raw burn in its wake. Something was happening. He had to get Gabe out of there, if he got rope burns from it, well, he could live with that. He grabbed the rope again and started pulling, hand over hand, he wasn't going to let Gabe drown.
Eventually Danny’s effort began to pay off, and slowly he was able to pull the lead in. With each tug, it became easier. Until finally Gabe surfaced, reaching out to grab Danny’s hand and brace himself as he climbed to the shore. He looked wide awake now, eyes dancing, not with fear, but excitement.
“Holy shit!” Gabriel shouted, falling to the ground on his back and shaking some of the water from his hair.
“What the fuck man?! What was that? Are you ok?” Danny's eyes went wide, “what happened?”
Gabriel reached for his sunglasses, shoving them on, “there’s someth--someone down there. I didn’t get a good look, I mean, kinda hard to see anything underwater, y’know? Wasn’t a goblin, though, or a fish, or a dead body. She was alive. Moving. Tried to shove my face in--well, I mean. Wow.”
“How are you not freaked out about this?!” Danny didn't know what to do, how could he be so calm about this?
“What?” Gabriel sat up, peering back at the water, “why should I be freaked out?” He looked back up at Danny, though it was hard to tell with those pitch black lenses, “she couldn’t hurt me. I didn’t see a stake in her hands.”
“Gabe, you’re still human! You could have drowned or she could have sucked out your soul, or something.” What was he supposed to do? How could his boss not see the issue with this?
Somehow, that seemed to actually get through to him, and Gabriel’s smile fell, “yeah,” he paused, reaching for his jeans, “I guess I was just excited. We’ll--” he licked his lips, “we’ll come back tomorrow with the others, see if we can pull her out. Sorry, Danny. Didn’t mean to freak you out.”
“I just worry about you. I'm glad you're alright, come on, I'll buy you dinner.” He slowly began to untie the rope from around the tree.
By now Gabriel was standing, buttoning his jeans, “I’m not really that hungry,” he leaned down to snatch up his shirt, “but you can buy me a drink.”
Danny gave him a small smile, “sounds good, let's go, I have some spare socks and shoes in the car, I knew I was gonna get muddy out here.”