Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Oakhurst was, if you asked Scott, dreadful. It was cold, and unkempt, and the town looked like it had been abandoned for decades, maybe centuries. And the handful of strangers he’d met there were odd and unappealing. Had he still had his horse, he would’ve kept riding to the next town, instead of being forced to interact with these peasants. 

He rubbed at his cheek, feeling the edges of a growing black eye. He’d seen his reflection earlier, and he’d almost been more upset about how he looked than the fact that he’d gotten robbed. He’d known he had a black eye, but he hadn’t expected it to look so bad. Scott’s pretty face was one of his most valuable assets, and they’d gone and taken that and his money and horse? 

It could’ve been worse, he supposed. He was pretty sure that they would’ve stolen the clothes off his back had he not pulled out a knife. Of course, that had earned him the black eye and split lip. And mud on his clothes.

If one more person in town asked him if he was alright, Scott was going to pull out the knife again. And if that paranoid vampire hunter accused him of being some sort of creature of the night again, Scott was skipping the intimidation stage and jumping to attempted murder. 

He sighed. At least the company he’d chosen for his nightly walk was decent. Pyro was the closest to his class–there was no way that Martyn fella was actually rich, no matter his claims of ancestry–, and while timid, they seemed to have quite interesting topics of conversation if one coaxed them out of their shell. Owen, on the other hand, was reserved, but his knowledge of this lands was appreciated. Though Scott could do with less comments about wolves, he didn’t need Pyro to get even more nervous.

“That must be the tower the doctor mentioned.” Owen said, speaking for the first time in minutes. Scott and Pyro had been talking about the town’s residents and their respective roommates, and he rudely interrupted Pyro.

Scott looked ahead, squinting through the darkness. “Do you think there’s another of those crystal objects in it?” 

“Probably.” Owen said, and left it at that as he kept walking.

“When do you think those were built?” Pyro wondered out loud. “There’s no record of their existence in the history books, but they look old.”

Scott shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“You said your family owned the land.” Pyro pointed out.

“Well, yes, but my family owns a lot of land.” Scott said, as they made it to the shore. They had to cross the water to get to the tower. He followed Owen as he hopped from rock to rock. He would not get his clothes wet. “And Oakhurst is one meager town in the middle of nowhere. We haven’t vacationed here since half a century ago, and I was certainly not alive then.”

Which is why Scott had chosen to come here. His parents would expect him to go hide in one of the coastal towns he’d visited as a child, not the forgotten town at the bottom of the long list of land owned. Of course, Scott hadn’t expected to be so ruined. He’d hoped he could use his authority to get someone to help him, but there wasn’t anyone around to ask for help.

“That makes sense.” Pyro said, oddly disappointed.

They climbed the tower in silence, other than Pyro’s and Owen’s pants. Scott had expected the latter to be at better shape, considering he lived off the land. Weren’t peasants meant to be stronger and rougher or something along those lines? Whatever.

At the top, they found the beacon. Its glass was shattered, a crack separating it into two halves, and there was… something staining the center, where the cracked seemed to have originated. It was too dark to be blood, but it smelt metallic. Instead of a pale interior, there was a mass of black rot inside. 

The closer Scott got, the colder it seemed to become.

“This is… what is this?” He asked.

“I have no idea.” Owen said. “It feels– it feels wrong?” He was approaching too much. Now that Scott paid attention, so was he.

Pyro was the first to reach out. Guided against his instincts, Scott did as well, at the same time as Owen joined them.

He touched the cracked glass, and his vision exploded.

The sword in his hand felt heavy. Scott looked over the lake as the sun set. He should be getting back to town soon, before Avid and his clique got any ideas.

He read the letter he’d found on his bed one more time. Yes, he was definitely in the right spot.

He waited, and soon enough, just as the sun dipped beneath the tree line, a bat flew towards him. He gripped his sword, ready for anything, but it turned into Shelby. Of course. He should’ve known. How foolish could he be?

“I’m sorry.” Were the first words out of Shelby’s mouth.

“When?” Scott asked. 

Shelby rubbed at her arm. “A few nights ago. Sausage said– he said I could write forever. Search forever. I– I wanted to say no, but…” She trailed off, staring at the waters of the lake. “It’s not so bad. Honestly, it’s pretty neat, I get to fly, and I see so much better, and I don’t have to feed on humans if I don’t want…”

“So you’ve joined them.” Scott said, feeling somewhat betrayed. It was his own fault, really, for getting attached. His parents had taught him better than to trust so easily. “And now what? You’ll let Avid masacre the town and watch from the sidelines?”

Shelby had the decency to look upset. “We don’t have to fight.” They said. “We can still be roommates!” 

“I don’t think the rest of the town will let a vampire into town, Shelby.” Scott said. He wished it wasn’t true, but Cleo had already kicked Drift and Apo out, and sure, Drift had attacked them, but Apo hadn’t done a single thing. It wasn’t their fault Pyro had died.

“You could– I could…” Shelby trailed off, before strengthening her resolve. “I can turn you. You’ll live forever, we can be friends forever!” She smiled, taking a step forward. “You won’t have to go back to the capital alone! We can take over your family, no one will be able to force you to do anything again! Or we can go travel! We’ll be free to choose!”

It was… tempting. And what other choice did Scott have? Stay in town, with its dwindling numbers and overrunning paranoia? Even if he survived this, where would he go? He had nothing but his name, and that had proved not to be enough around these lands. 

Shelby had been nothing but kind. Even as a vampire. Maybe, just maybe, they were right. Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad.

Scott dropped his sword. “Alright.” He said. “But I won’t join Avid’s little group.”

“That’s alright, I don’t like them that much.” Shelby admitted. “We can be a duo. Us against the world.”

“Us against the world.” Scott smiled. “How do I–?”

“Take your necktie off.” Shelby instructed. “And try to relax, it’ll hurt less.”

Scott rolled his eyes. “It’s called a cravat.” He muttered, as he listened. He took his coat off as well, not wanting to stain it.

Shelby’s fangs sunk into his neck with a pang of pain. Scott’s breath hitched, as he tried to relax. It was fine, it’d be over soon, he should just keep calm, it was fine–

It was not fine. He gripped at Shelby’s arms that were holding him still, struggling. It made the pain worse. “Shelby, stop–” numbness was spreading around him. Shelby ignored him, holding him tighter as his knees buckled. “Stop, I don’t–! Shel–!”

His vision went dark. Before he was fully gone, he could swear he heard his friend mutter an apology.

Owen really really hated his luck. After all these years, why was it this one that Oakhurst stopped being empty? He was done, he was ready to let go, to finally rest by his beloved, and it all had to be ruined by fancy noblemen on vacations and paranoid lunatics. 

He was so so tired. He couldn’t even slip out into the forest to search for Louis grave without two of them deciding to tag along! And there was no way Owen was taking them there. So he diverted his path into that tower the kind doctor had mentioned, and let them prattle on with their gossip. 

His plan of abandoning them while they consecrated the beacon was thrown out of the window once they got there. 

“This is… what is this?” The nobleman asked. Owen wondered if anyone was going to tell him that there was dried blood on his chin. Pyro seemed too busy studying the land to even notice.

“I have no idea.” Owen shrugged. He took a step towards it, and felt a shiver go through him. “It feels– it feels wrong?” He tried. That didn’t begin to describe the sensations.

Against his better judgement, he reached out to trace the cracked lines.

Owen stood by his grave. It was peaceful. Silent. He could almost ignore the ache in his bones, that itchiness of bandages that had been worn for far too long. He didn’t have any more to replace them with, and he didn’t have the strength to clean them, or himself.

Sausage had offered help, a few weeks ago. Owen wished he had taken up the offer before the man went missing. God knew if he was even still alive.

This was as good a place to die, Owen supposed. He hoped someone found him, and buried him next to Louis. He couldn’t wait to see him again.

Owen eyed the vial in his hand. He hadn’t thanked Avid for it, still angry at the kid. Now, Owen wished he had.

He uncorked the vial.

“Owen.” A voice called out.

Legundo stood, just a few meters away. For the first time in a while, his robes were clean.

“Doctor.” Owen said. He gave a sad smile. “Thanks for the kindness. I’ll be going now.”

“You don’t have to do this.” Legundo said, stepping forward. He stopped when he saw Owen retreat, hands reaching out in what was meant to be comfort. “I can help you.”

Owen sighed. “I don’t want your help.” He said. It felt like the thousand time they’d had this conversation. “I’m done. I’m tired, doc. I just want to stop hurting.”

“I can make the pain stop.” Legundo insisted.

“No you can’t.” Owen said. “Goodbye, Legs.”

He rose the vial to his lips, but the doctor was faster. In a blink, he was upon him, slapping the poison from his hands as he tackled him against the stone of Louis’s grave. 

Owen couldn’t even scream before there were fangs in his neck.

He threw himself back, hitting the stone of the tower. He was heaving, as remnants of pain faded from him. He blinked, looking up and locking eyes with the nobleman–Scott–, who seemed to be in a similar state, doubled over and grasping at his own neck.

Before any of the two could speak, Pyro screamed. Owen didn’t catch the words as first, as they turned to run down the obelisk. They threw themselves at the frigid waters, as they screeched out something about vampires and– was he accusing them?

It took both of them a few seconds after Pyro disappeared into the forest to get their bearings.

“You, eh, did you–?” Scott started, not as eloquent as he usually was.

Owen nodded, dropping to sit on the floor. “Yes, I– vampires?”

Scott let out a hysteric laugh, before he composed himself with a hand through his hair. Then, he turned away from Owen and cursed, before facing him again. “I can’t believe Avid was right.”

Owen couldn’t help but laugh too. “Maybe– maybe not? I haven’t seen Legundo do anything like what I saw–”

“What did you see?” Scott asked, joining him on the ground.

Owen swallowed. “I think Legundo turned me.” He looked up at the sky. It was nighttime already. They really shouldn’t be out there. “You?”

“Shelby.” Scott said. “Whatever do you think Pyro saw, to run away like that?”

Owen glanced at the waters Pyro had crossed. “Nothing good.” He settled for. “We should go make sure they haven’t gotten themselves killed.”

He struggled to stand. Scott offered a hand, and Owen, for some forsaken reason, accepted it before he could think better. He glanced back at the broken beacon as they descended. 

“We should let the others know not to touch that thing.” He said.

“Yes, I can’t say that was pleasant.” Scott agreed.

They made it back to town, glad to find Pyro had made it back as well. Less glad to find him accusing them of being vampires. A big crowd had formed, almost everyone was there. Pearl was missing, out in the woods somewhere, Cleo said.

Avid saw them enter, and instantly threw a clove of garlic at them. It hit Owen right on one of the areas of his arms that were currently filled with open rashes, making him hiss with pain.

“Guys, guys, come on.” Legundo said, stopping Avid. “Let’s give them a chance to explain themselves, I’m sure this is all a misunderstanding.” He looked at Owen and Scott, as if he was trying to decide whether to believe Pyro or not.

“I’m not a bloody vampire.” Owen said. “I don’t know what the beacon showed you, but we saw things too–”

“Prove it!” Avid squealed, interrupting him. “Prove you’re not a vampire!”

Scott swore that had Owen had something in his hands, he would’ve thrown it at the man. Scott couldn’t blame him.

“Fine!” Owen said, throwing his hands in the air. “You want proof, here!” He unwrapped one of his arms, revealing wrecked skin covered in rashes and was that puss? Scott took a step away from him. “Would a vampire be sick with this?”

Avid hesitated, looking a bit disgusted as well. “I– Maybe?”

“Vampires don’t get sick.” Cleo said. Scott eyed them, but they didn’t give any further information.

“So I’m not a bloody vampire.” Owen settled. “Now leave me alone.” He started redoing his bandages. The doctor opened his mouth, probably to ask if he needed assistance, but Owen threw a glare that had him closing it again.

“He did look… healthier, in my vision.” Pyro said, from where he was hiding behind Legundo. “And Scott didn’t have a black eye.”

“See?” Scott said, waving a hand towards them. “I don’t know what you saw, but I think it was some sort of trick by the beacons. My vision made no sense.”

“That still doesn’t prove you’re not a vampire.” Avid insisted. 

Scott groaned. “Fine, I’ll prove I’m not a vampire.” He said, because he was really tired and he wanted to go to sleep already. “What do I do?”

Avid threw a clove of garlic at him. “Eat this.” 

Scott stared at it. “Raw? Can’t I cook it first?” Avid shook his head, and Scott sighed. He peeled it, made a face at the smell, and threw it into his mouth before he could think twice. It tasted horrible. He forced himself to chew and swallow, only gagging once. “There.” He said, after the show was over. “Can I go to sleep now? There are actual creatures of the night out there, you know.”

Avid hesitated, as if he was waiting for Scott to spontaneously combust or something.

Behind them, Martyn scoffed. “This was a waste of time.” He said, before he turned to leave. Ren followed.

Little by little, everyone went to their homes for the night.

“I’m sorry about Avid.” Shelby said, as they got inside their home. “But you should’ve seen Pyro, they were really freaking out about whatever they saw.”

“We all saw something.” Scott said, getting his blankets. “You take the bed, I’m going to sleep near the fire tonight.”

“We can share the bed.” Shelby offered. “I don’t mind.”

Scott looked at her. He remembered the strength of her hold, the nails digging into his arms, and shivered. “Maybe another night.” He said, and pretended not to see Shelby’s disappointment.

Owen woke to an ache in his legs, and countless apologies from Pyro. The moment he left his and Sausage’s house, Pyro was trailing after him, trying to make it up, or something. Owen wasn’t paying much attention to them. Too early. He hadn’t even had breakfast yet.

Pearl, apparently, while lost in the woods, had come across enough berries for the entire town. Owen served himself a bowl of them, alongside a baked potato he’d stolen from Sausage, and figured that was enough breakfast.

He sat by the beacon building, watching as the people came and went. Pyro, finally quiet after getting his own serving of berries, was by his side.

Scott exited his house looking far more put together than the rest of the town. He’d somehow managed to erase the stains of mud that had been marring his coat yesterday. The bruises in his face hadn’t faded, though.

Owen glanced at Pyro. For a second it looked like they were about to stand and go trail after Scott to repeat the whole apology show, but then Abolish got ahead of them and stepped up to talk to Scott. Owen watched as he nibbled on his potato without much enthusiasm–it was cold by now. And kind of bland.–, as they turned to look at him and Pyro before approaching.

“Good morning.” Abolish said. “I wanted to ask about the visions you had.” 

“I already told you.” Pyro said. 

“You were panicking.” Abolish said. “I want a calm explanation, if you don’t mind.”

“I’m going to get breakfast.” Scott said, gesturing to the diminishing baskets of berries. “Do you want anything?”

Abolish shook his head. “Already ate.”

Scott shrugged. “Your loss.” 

Abolish sat in front of Owen and Pyro, without caring about potentially staining his clothes. He looked like the kind of man to have multiple sets of the same outfit. “So, the three of you stumbled across a broken beacon.” Abolish started. “And it gave you visions.”

“Upon touching it, yes.” Pyro said. “It was like you got transported to a memory, only far too vivid.”

Abolish nodded. “Did all of you see the same thing?”

“No.” Owen said. “Scott mentioned seeing Shelby, I saw Legs.” He hesitated before adding details. “He was a vampire.”

Abolish glanced at where the doctor was speaking with Ren and Apo. “I don’t think he’s one yet.”

“I saw you two.” Pyro said. “In the obelisk, but the beacon was fine, and you were arguing– it took me a while to realize you were talking about me and then you chased me down and–” They took a deep breath. “I think it was Scott who got me in the end.”

“Yikes.” Scott said. He sat down with a bowl of berries and a piece of stale looking bread. “I was going to ask what did I miss, but I don’t think I want to know.”

“What do you want?” Owen asked Abolish. “We touched a beacon, we saw weird dreams. There’s not much to do about that. Avoid it, before someone loses their mind again.”

“I want to investigate it further.” Abolish said, standing. “I believe it might help with what brought me here.”

Pyro frowned. “Weren’t you here to dig graves for your parents?”

Abolish brushed the dirt off his pants. “I’m here for multiple things. Will you show me to the beacon?”

“Can you wait for me to finish eating?” Scott asked, but the rest were already standing, so he sighed and followed, grumbling underneath his breath.

On the way out, Cleo and Martyn approached, expressing interest in checking out the beacon. Owen sighed, ignored the chatter that started around him, and led the group. At least Abolish was mostly quiet.

Abolish hadn’t expected his mission to be easy, per se, but he’d expected it to be more tedious than difficult. He’d barely settled camp before Pyro had arrived in near hysterics to the town, only worsening Avid’s paranoia.

Still, perhaps there was something worth checking out about this phenomena. Or maybe it was unrelated to his work.

Owen led them through the woods, towards a tower surrounded by water. They made it across, some choosing to get wet while other jumped over rocks. 

They weren’t lying. The beacon was broken, cracked and covered in blood that had belonged to a past vampire. It sent shivers through Abolish, despite his many layers.

“That’s what caused all this ruckus?” Cleo asked.

Owen nodded. “Don’t touch it.” He said.

“I had no plans to do so.” Martyn mumbled.

Abolish took off his gloves. “You said the visions came across with contact?”

“I just said not to touch it.” Owen said, but Abolish was already reaching forward.

There were only three humans left. Abolish found them quickly. All he needed was to finish them, and he could leave.

Invisible, he climbed the obelisk. The three humans and Owen were around the beacon, trying to neutralize it in a meager attempt to gain an upper hand. They had built a small platform so they could all stand comfortably. They had silver, and stakes, and they reeked of fear.

“–final resort.” The doctor was saying. “I don’t want eternity, and I certainly don’t deserve it.”

“It’s not about deserving–” Owen started speaking.

Abolish decided to put an end to his problems. He thrusted his sword through Legundo’s chest, dropping the invisibility and the body to the floor. Two humans left. There were several yells, and the consecration was interrupted. He jumped towards Scott next, who rose his shield in a desperate attempt of protection. Abolish clawed right through grabbing Scott by his coat before he could try to flee. 

A splash of pain stopped him from tearing into the man’s throat. He let out a growl of annoyance and threw Scott to the shore beneath. 

Drift stood, with shaky legs, and a sword she had never wielded before. To her credit, she didn’t let fear win, attacking without hesitance. And without success, too.

Abolish dropped her body below, and it landed next to Scott. One human left. He gasped at the sight of his friend’s clawed out throat. He looked up at Abolish, clutching his probably broken arm. For a second, Abolish wondered if he’d still try to fight. 

Scott turned, and ran. Disappointing, but expected.

He chased him down, slightly annoyed at his inability to bat. He didn’t need it though, catching up as Scott was halfway through the waters. He grabbed him, throwing him down. Before he could rise again, he pushed him down, beneath the water, clawed hands around his throat. Scott struggled, kicking, scratching and trying to get free with a desperation Abolish had only seen in predators turned prey. 

It took longer than expected for Scott to stop moving. Abolish waited for a few seconds, staring at those half closed eyes, before letting go. No humans left. All that was left to do was turn the remaining beacons, and leave.

He left Scott floating on the lake, and passed by Drift, avoiding the puddle of blood she’d produced. Climbing onto the tower, he found Owen, kneeling over the doctor’s body. So sentimental. That’s how vampires died. 

Abolish grabbed his sword back up, “Would you help me deconsecrate the town beacon?” He asked.

Owen turned to face him. There were bloody tracks down his cheeks. “You.” He seethed. “What gave you the right?”

“It’s not about rights, Owen.” Abolish said. “It’s about efficiency.”

That must’ve upset Owen somehow, because he threw himself at Abolish. Abolish sidestepped, rolling his eyes. He dodged Owen’s strike and grabbed his arm, using the momentum to throw him. He landed against the beacon, twisting around just as Abolish pinned him down. He stabbed down, through Owen’s chest, and into the glass encasing the beacon.

There was a burst of light, and Abolish found himself pushed against one of the obelisk’s pillars by a burning force. Upon opening his eyes, he found Owen gone–probably reforming somewhere else–and the beacon cracked open. Huh. Odd.

He pushed himself back to his feet, and brushed his clothes. Town beacon, and Pale forest, and he should be done. If he was quick, he might not even have to deal with Owen at all.

He caught the movement behind him too late. By the time he turned to face him, Legundo had already thrusted a stake through his heart.

Abolish threw himself back from the beacon, hitting Martyn. The man stopped him from falling over, and said something Abolish didn’t quite hear–far too busy trying to breathe, just breathe.

He climbed down the tower, almost falling, until he was on the shore. Owen was saying something to the others, and Cleo was asking him if he was ok and Abolish just needed a second to calm down– 

Scott looked at him with a frown. He had looked so scared, bubbles escaping him as he struggled, only one functional arm scratching at him–

Abolish turned away and vomited his breakfast.

He retched for a while, feeling someone rub soothing circles into his back. Once his body considered him done, he looked up at Pyro.

“That bad, huh?” They said, awkwardly trying to cheer him up.

Abolish swallowed, making a grimace at the taste of bile, and nodded. “That bad. No one touch that.”

“Don’t worry, Owen already forbade it.” Scott said. Oh, he was there too, standing to the side. “I’d say I hope you got your answers, but something tells me you did. And they were bad.”

“Let’s get back to town.” Abolish said.

He used the stones, and tried not to look at the water bellow. 

The four of them got together by Pyro’s house. Apo was out, she’d told him earlier that she was going to try find some pigs, so that Truffle wouldn’t be so alone and so they could actually eat something. Abolish had asked Cleo and Martyn to tell the rest of town not to touch the beacon under any circumstances, and, though reticent, they had all agreed to it.

Pyro quickly improvised two more chairs for himself and Scott while Owen took the only proper one they had in the house and Abolish paced.

“So?” Owen prodded, once he had regained his breath. “Who killed you in the vision?”

“The doctor did.” Abolish said. “Though I cannot blame him for it, I did murder him first.”

Pyro blinked. They looked around, but the others looked just as confused as them. “I don’t think I follow.”

“I assume you three were humans in your visions?” Abolish said, though he didn’t wait for an answer. “I wasn’t. I was fighting the remaining inhabitants near the beacon. When I went to fight Owen, and accidentally stabbed through the beacon. Then Legundo caught me unaware; I hadn’t realized Owen had turned him while I was busy with…” He trailed off, eyes shifting towards Scott and then away. “The others.” He settled for.

“Sounds bloody.” Scott remarked. Abolish only nodded.

“You’re not… one of those creatures now, are you?” Owen said, almost reticent to say vampire out loud. Maybe he didn’t want to sound like Avid. Pyro didn’t blame him.

“No.” Abolish said. “Not yet, at least.”

“Very reassuring.” Scott muttered.

Pyro stopped his leg from bouncing. “Do you think someone else is? We’ve all seen someone be a vampire–”

“Maybe the beacons just want us to believe there are vampires.” Scott theorized, cutting them off. “So that we all go hysterical and murder each other. Vampires might not even be real.”

“Vampires are real.” Abolish said. “My work involves them.”

There was silence for a few seconds. 

“I thought you were a butler?” Owen voiced what they’d all been thinking.

Abolish sighed. “Let’s call a town meeting. I’ll explain there.”

Abolish’s work sounded insane. Not only did it confirm that Avid was partially right–despite accusing innocent people–, something Owen loathed to give to the man, but it also started an argument between said man and Abolish over the nature of vampirism and the whole morality of it all. The doctor of course butted in, as did Cleo and that Ren fellow and Scott’s weirdo roommate. It all came to a halt when Pearl, who’d been lost in the woods, returned, only for Avid to immediately accuse her of being a vampire.

No one admitted to being a vampire. Owen still wasn’t sure there were any in town. The beacons themselves had been more of a threat than any of the people.
They separated after a while, and the doctor asked to speak with him. Owen shook away the fake memories, and followed along. He had nothing better to do, he had no plans to go searching for more beacons after this, and Sausage had more than enough wood to finish their house. The doctor was human, or at least, he behaved as such. As Owen expected, he talked about helping him, and pushed when Owen refused.

Doctors. Always the same.

It was a bit eery, to go back to routine after the revelations. Scott tried not to let it get to him, after all, this was still better than what he’d left back at the capital. Except for the part where he had to do manual labour. And the part where the food was kind of underwhelmingly bad. And the part where he only had one good change of clothes. And the part where Avid kept insisting he was suspicious.

Maybe he should’ve stayed at the capital, after all.

At least Shelby was good company. He could almost ignore the pain he’d felt when she’d bitten into him. They’d been alone several instances now, and they hadn’t tried any of the sort, so Scott was mostly certain they were human.

He was still far better than Pyro, who was still jumpy every time they met in the woods. Even if there was always other people around. 

Scott had felt the temptation to go back to the cracked beacon, but, upon giving into it after a few days, he’d found someone had taken apart the structure around it, leaving it floating in the air. Deciding he’d had enough of physic defying objects for an entire lifetime, he chose to forget about it.

He had some suspicions as to who was responsible for that, all of which were confirmed when he followed some odd noises to the center of town and found Abolish trying to stab the town beacon.

Scott stared for a while–Abolish looked oddly handsome with his jacket off and hair tussled, and Scott had always enjoyed seeing men at work–, as the non-butler tried different hits, all of which did nothing but bounce back on him. After a while, it became a bit pathetic.

“I’m not sure that’s going to work.” Scott said, once he got tired of it. “Why are you trying to break it?”

Abolish shrugged, pushing strands of hair back to their place as he got his breath back. “Testing something. I want to see if recreating the vision is possible at all.”

“A man of science.” Scott said. “Though I believe this is less science, and more the definition of insanity.”

Abolish snorted. “I must be missing something.” He said, mostly to himself. 

Scott shrugged. Before he could offer any ideas–of which, he had few to none–, Owen approached them.

“There you are.” He said. He looked gaunter than before. Scott didn’t think he’d make it to the end of the month. “All the pigs in Pyro’s house are dead, someone’s had a feast. People are freaking out about it.”

Oh, great, the only good meat around here and someone had gone and taken it all. Rude. “What about that pet– what was it called?” He asked.

“Truffle.” Abolish supplied.

“It survived.” Owen said. “The vampire must’ve had a soft spot for Apo and Pyro. They seemed close to tears when they returned from the woods and heard about it.”

“That’s good.” Scott said. Losing pets was horrible. “Except for the whole… cattle masacre.”

“We have enough food.” Abolish said. 

Owen scoffed. “Tell that to the others, they’re all up in arms about it.”

“I will.” Abolish said, sheathing his sword before leaving.

Scott watched him leave, before turning to Owen. “Did they at least leave the meat for the rest of us to eat?”

Owen shook his head. “Bones and entrails and little more.” He said. “It almost made Martyn puke.”

Lovely. Scott sighed and bid his goodbyes. He’d leave everyone to yell at each other about it and go try his luck at finding more wild pigs. Maybe that would get Avid off his back.

Pyro was starting to be concerned for their roommate. Apo had been a bit reserved since the beginning, but at some point after the revelations, they’d retreated into themselves. Pyro had thought of asking, but they’d barely known each other for two weeks. Maybe he had said something, or maybe he was overthinking it. Maybe Apo was just homesick. She had mentioned a partner several times. If Pyro had someone–or something– waiting for him back in the Capital, he’d also miss it.
She looked tired nowadays. Constantly moving, never staying still for too long. She went to sleep after Pyro, and woke up before him. Or at least that’s what he assumed, he hadn’t actually seen her go into her room.

They tried bringing it up on a morning stroll–for which they’d made sure to wake up early as to not miss Apo leaving the house–, but Apo had insisted nothing was wrong, and upon pushing, she’d rushed off and left Pyro all alone in the woods.

Had he not been worried, he’d be pissed.

And then he arrived home, and all his pigs were dead. All but Truffle. 

Apo came back while he and some other townsfolk cleaned up (and ignored Avid’s claims that someone had done this and they would probably attack humans next and bla bla bla garlic bla bla bla silver), and promptly rushed to check Truffle was alright. She took it to somewhere safer. Pyro would ask where exactly later.

That night, as Pyro made dinner later than usual, he caught Apo coming down to leave.

“Did you have dinner?” Pyro called, before Apo could think to flee.

“Yeah.” Apo obviously lied. “It’s alright, you eat.”

Pyro frowned. They’d cooked for two, there was no need for this martyrizing bullshit. “Is it because of the pigs? I know blood makes you nauseous, but you really should eat something. You can’t go off in adventures on an empty stomach.”

“I’m fine, Pyro.” Apo insisted, not looking at them. “I’m not hungry.”

“Come on, I made potatoes and omelette. It’s not the best, but you said you liked my omelettes.” Pyro insisted. He’d already set the table for two. He picked up the plate he’d served to show her, and grabbed her arm in an attempt to convince her. “You’ve got to eat something.”

Apo pushed him back. “I’m not– I can’t–” They shook their head, as if trying to get their mind clear. “I’m so hungry, Pyro.”

Pyro took a step back. “…so you’ll try my dinner?” He asked, though he already knew the answer.

Apo pounced. The plate shattered on the ground as Pyro bolted towards the stairs, but he didn’t make it in time before she was upon him, and fangs were sinking into him and he couldn’t breathe he was underwater again and Scott was laughing–

They came back to themselves with a gasp. They were lying against the stairs, and all was quiet. They couldn’t hear their own heart, and there was this pit of hunger inside them–

“I’m sorry.” Came Apo’s voice. Pyro looked up at her. There were tracks of blood down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, I was hungry– I didn’t mean to.”

Pyro stood with shaky legs. “It’s–” He paused, feeling the change in his mouth. Right. Fangs. “It’s alright.” He lied. “It’s alright, I’m not mad–”

“They killed all out pigs.” Apo continued. “They’ve taken most of the wildlife out, there’s nothing out there for me–they wanted me to hurt someone and I just did–”

Pyro interrupted them with a hug. “It’s alright.” He said. “We’ll figure it out.”

Apo hugged back, clinging to them like a lifeline.

Before Pyro could go to Abolish, or even Owen and Scott–he didn’t know why he considered those three his options. Perhaps the act of getting visions by a beacon had grouped them in his mind into a somewhat trustworthy group, even if he still couldn’t help but panic near Scott and Owen–, Drift and Sausage disappeared from town. Pearl claimed to have seen them in the castle by the broken bridge, desecrating a beacon with someone else.

Pyro had asked Apo who the other vampires were, and seeing them shout about how those two had to be kicked out made Pyro seethe. He’d met the Hand a few hours after being turned, who’d boasted about being so generous as to leave Truffle alive. 

Mid twelfth century to the late fourteen hundreds, if his speech patterns and terminology used to refer to people, once he dropped the act, were anything to go by. Pyro wondered where he’d found the clothes, and if those two had truly owned the castle or if it was just a convenient lie.

He hadn’t asked for Pyro’s loyalty yet, but they knew they’d be expected to fall in line as soon as the entire vampire group met up. Him and Apo.

Pyro had to do something fast.

Abolish had diverged his efforts to finding books, after his attempts at recreating the broken beacon failed. Maybe he needed blood for it to work, or perhaps some of the holy water had splattered into the beacon when Drift had thrown it at him. He’d tried human blood, just a bit, and that hadn’t worked. 

Hence the book hunting. After Sausage and Cleo had gotten odd powers from books, Abolish figured perhaps a book would provide him with the way to make holy water. Either that, or find a way to become an ordained priest in the middle of nowhere. So far, he’d found a few books, but none that had just what he wanted.

He’d even gone to the castle ruins a few times before Pearl came back announcing what she’d seen, but it had been mostly empty, except for a grand empty tomb with worn sculptures and rotted banners. Had it withstood the passage of time better, Abolish might’ve recognized the vampires who’d inhabited them. But he was fairly certain they hadn’t been neither Drift nor Sausage. Sausage had books published, for one, and Drift would have to be a hell of an actress to hide the kind of massive ego that was involved in the construction of such crypt.

He had a list of suspects, everyday getting shorter. 

It got even shorter the night he finally found a book that allowed him to make holy water. He’d been ready to call it a night, as the sun had just set and he’d been up for almost twenty four hours at that point, when something in the air shifted. The town beacon had changed.

Abolish exited his house at the same time as several other townsfolk. He eyed them, cataloguing who’d been leaving their houses at that moment–Pearl and Cleo from their house, Owen and Legundo from Owen’s, and he could see Shelby poking her head out of her window.

He arrived at the center of town only to watch a bat fly out of the broken structure and out into the night. No one else was near, but he saw Martyn and Pyro approach quickly from the other side of town. 

“What happened?” Pyro asked. 

Abolish took a look at the beacon inside. It was gray. “Someone was trying to deconsecrate it.” He said. “Who’s not here?”

Everyone he’d seen so far reunited. Shelby dragged Avid and Scott behind them, so that ruled those two out–unless Shelby was in on it and covering for them, though Scott had been off the suspect list a while now–. And Ren came in such a hurry he’d forgotten to drop his hoe. Must’ve been working on his and Martyn’s garden again.

“What’s happening?” He demanded, voice louder than the rest. “I felt some holy presence shift–”

“It’s the beacon!” Avid said. “The vampires were trying to change it.”

“Why would they try when everyone’s in town?” Owen asked, and Abolish had to give it him. There was no way they could’ve gotten it before people noticed, especially if it was one vampire doing it. 

“Where’s Apo?” Martyn asked. “They’re the only one not present!” 

Murmurs carried themselves throughout the group. Abolish sighed. This was giving him a headache. 

“Wait, no, she can’t have done it!” Pyro jumped to it. “She wouldn’t! I know she wouldn’t!”

“You’ve known her for a week, me laddie.” Ren said.

Legundo rubbed his temples. “Why don’t we go and ask her? May I remind you there are two other vampires out in the woods?”

“There was only one bat.” Cleo said. “And they’re not stupid enough to separate.”

Pyro struggled to find words, before just turning to rush to his house. Several people followed, but Abolish remained. So did Owen, looking at the crowd with distaste. Scott moved to follow Shelby, but Abolish grabbed his arm and stopped him.

Once everyone was more or less out of ear shot, he asked. “Did either of you get turned?”

Owen scoffed. “Do I look turned to you?” 

“Sadly no.” Scott said, and Abolish hoped he was joking. “Though I guess this is the better way, I would hate to be saddled with this hair for eternity. Especially when my roots are showing.”

“Why did you even dye it, then?” Owen asked, derailing Abolish’s conversation entirely. As usual.

Scott shrugged. “I figured it’d get me recognized less. Though it turns out it doesn’t really matter in backwater towns, because no one here knows proper manners, let alone proper families.”

Owen and Abolish exchanged a look. Owen tilted his head, hand coming to play with the axe strapped to his belt. Abolish shook his head. Owen pouted. Scott remained unaware of Owen’s murderous thoughts.

“So.” Scott said. “Do we reconsecrate that thing, or…?”

“I was actually hoping to deconsecrate it.” Abolish said. “But I need a vampire for that.”

Owen rested against one of the stone walls and slid himself into a sitting position. “Why do you want to do that?”

“The beacon I broke in my vision was red.” Abolish said. “I think that might be important.”

“Well unless a vampire just drops out of the sky, you’re gonna have a hard time with that.” Scott said.

Almost a second later, Pyro was joining the group, so quickly Abolish barely had a second to react before they were talking. “Apo’s getting blamed for this.” They started. “But I know they didn’t do it, because they would never hurt the town, it’s all of the others’s fault, they’re framing them because they didn’t want to swear their loyalty–”

“Pyro. Pyro slow down.” Abolish said. “Breathe.”

Pyro let out a hysterical bark of laughter. “They’re kicking Apo out of town!”

“Wish that were me.” Owen muttered. Scott kicked him. Owen threw dirt at him in retaliation.

“Is Apo a vampire?” Abolish asked.

Pyro frowned. “Does it matter? She didn’t do it!”

Abolish tilted his head. “Did Apo turn you?”

Pyro went quiet. They took a step back. “It was an accident.”

“Oh, good.” Scott said. “Now you can help Abolish with his beacon project.” 

Pyro’s fear was momentarily replaced with confusion. “His what?”

“I’m trying to break another beacon to understand better the side effects.” Abolish explained. “But I require it to be deconsecrated first. Would you be willing?”

Pyro hesitated. “And you won’t kick me and Apo out of town?”

“I can’t promise the rest of town won’t try, but I’ll try avoid it.” Abolish said.

Pyro thought it over, then nodded. He walked until he was next to the beacon, and knelt next to it.

Abolish nodded to the other two members of their impromptu alliance. “Help me build some walls around here, I don’t want us getting interrupted or questioned. Scott groaned, whining about manual labour again, but got to work. Owen stood with a bit of effort and joined in. They walled off the beacon, leaving a door only, and entered–silently as to not disturb Pyro’s work–. Owen placed his axe underneath the door handle, so no one could come in.

A wave of chest constricting panic passed through Abolish the moment the beacon was desecrated into deep swirling red. He breathed through it, letting it pass through, and pulled out his bottle of holy water. They didn’t have the time for him to hesitate.

“This better work.” He said, to himself, as he poured it over the beacon. It sizzled as if it was complaining. “I recommend everyone step back, maybe close your eyes.” He didn’t remember if there had been an explosion or not, in the vision.

Scott and Owen were already by the door, and they pressed themselves against the walls even more. Pyro moved to a corner. Abolish rose his sword, closed his eyes, and stabbed down.

He heard the glass break, and then he was thrown back into one of the walls. His back erupted in pain, and he fell to his knees. He kept his eyes shut tight for a few seconds as he waited for it to fade into a dull ache. He was going to be sleeping on his stomach for a while. 

He heard the others groan, and glanced around. Pyro had crumbled into the ground. Owen looked close to do so, and Scott was rubbing his eyes while sat on the floor. And the beacon was cracked open, Abolish’s sword stuck into it. What was left inside reminded Abolish of the charcoal remnants of a campfire. 

There were a few blissful moments of quiet. The horrible feeling of the deconsecrated beacon was gone. Abolish hadn’t died in the attempt. He was going to have to do so much paperwork, but he’d already accepted his fate. 

Would touching this broken beacon produce visions as well? 

Before Abolish could decide on how much of a bad idea testing that would be, voices came from outside as someone tried to open the door. 

As Owen picked up his axe to let people through, Abolish stood, slowly. His back was definitely going to file a complaint against his life choices.

And there entered half the town–Cleo, Avid, Martyn, Legundo and Shelby–. It was getting crowded in here.

“What happened?” Shelby asked, immediately going to her roommate’s side and helping Scott to his feet. “We felt the beacon get deconsecrated, did you catch who it was?”

“One of them, I assume.” Cleo said, examining every single one of them with little affection. “If not all of them.”

Abolish pulled his sword from the beacon. “I asked for it to be deconsecrated. I wanted to test something. And I succeeded, so I can assure you there’s no need to worry.”

“Is everyone alright?” Legundo asked, hovering next to Owen as if he was mentally restraining himself from checking for injuries.

“I’m fine.” Owen immediately said, stepping away.

“I definitely should’ve closed my eyes.” Scott complained, still blinking. “But I should be fine.”

“Only bruises, doc.” Abolish said, sheathing his sword. “No need to worry.”

Legundo nodded. He glanced at Pyro. “And you? Are you alright?”

Pyro’s gaze and focus snapped back. “I– yes. Yeah, I’m– I’m fine.” He stood, but didn’t separate himself from the corner. “I–I should get going. I want to find Apo and talk to her.”

“Apo’s a vampire!” Avid said. “She’s dangerous!”

“Not necessarily.” Abolish said.

Martyn examined each of them. “One of you is a vampire.”

“Duh.” Scott said. “Do you think beacons deconsecrate themselves on their own?”

“You would tell me if you were a vampire, right?” Shelby asked him. “Cause we’re roomies?”

Scott’s smile turned strained. “Well, not in front of these people, but hypothetically, yes.”

“I’m going to bed.” Owen declared. “If you lot decide I’m a vampire–again–, just set my house on fire while I’m asleep or something. I don’t care.”

“No one’s setting anyone’s house on fire!” Legundo said. “What is wrong with you people?”

“I’ll be going as well.” Abolish said, pushing past the crowd to leave the room. It was making him feel claustrophobic. He turned to glance at Pyro and Scott. “I’ll talk to you two tomorrow.”

“You know it would be much easier to trust you if you didn’t go around keeping secrets and plotting schemes.” Avid complained.

Abolish ignored him, and went home. He really wanted to sleep.

The trip to his grave was getting harder every passing day. Owen didn’t let that stop him, just like he hadn’t let the town’s paranoia over him going alone affect him, or the presence of two or more vampires of dubious morality scare him. If they wanted to kill Owen, he wouldn’t complain much. As long as they didn’t turn him.
He still made the trek, and he still stayed there, clearing the weeds that tried to grow around it. From time to time, whenever the last batch wilted, he collected flowers to lay by the headstone. Not this time, though. He’d gotten some wild orchids two days ago, and they were still fresh enough.

He sat down, and sighed. “Louis, everyone in this town is an idiot.” He said, leaning against the headstone. “I know, I know, I’ve said so already. You know I like to repeat myself.” He played with the orchids, feeling the fleeting softness of the petals. “They’ve kicked Apo out. The little soldier I spoke about. They’ll probably kick Pyro out as well once they find out he’s a vampire as well. At this rate, no one’s going to be allowed in town at all. And I know I complained about Sausage and how annoying he was to live with, but living alone is just… It doesn’t feel right. I don’t like being alone with my thoughts. Legundo comes by often enough, I guess. Apparently he’s taking my refusal to go to his clinic as a challenge.” He picked a pebble and threw it away. “But, as much as I hate to admit it, he has been the first doctor to ever give me something that works. It doesn’t take away the pain, not fully, but it takes away the itch. Turns out, not feeling the need to rip your skin off at all times helps avoid getting injured! Who would’ve thought…” He sighed. “I’m running out of bandages. There’s not a lot of cloth in the town, and I’ve already stolen Sausage’s old blankets for myself, I can’t rip them to make more bandages, I’ll die of hypothermia. I’ll have to try salvage some of the dirty ones, see if I can clean them. If I go out with bloody bandages, Avid is going to accuse me of murdering someone. Again.”

He sighed, staring at the sky that peaked in between the branches above. It was cloudy. Like always. He thought of complaining some more about Avid, but a noise nearby startled him.

Through the bushes, a figure appeared. Owen recognized it as Legundo almost immediately, though the man didn’t seem to have noticed his presence. He carried a wicker basket and he seemed to be too focused on sorting through its contents to look where he was going. How he hadn’t tripped yet, Owen didn’t know.

“Legs?” Owen called.

The man almost jumped in the air. His head shot up, and a hand went to his chest. “Owen!” He said. “What are you doing here alone?”

“I could say the same to you.” Owen said. 

“I was collecting some ingredients–I didn’t mean to intrude.” Legundo explained. “I’ll be leaving, now.”

Owen stood. “It’s fine.” He said. “I finished here already.”

Legundo eyed the grave, but nodded. “Would you like to return to town together?”

“Sure.” Owen shrugged, bursting the dirt off his pants. “Safety in numbers against the vampires, and what not.”

“I still don’t believe Sausage and Drift to be as much of a threat as everyone is making them out to be.” Legs commented, waiting for Owen to join him.

Owen walked across the clearing. “How optimistic of you. Didn’t take you for the naive idealist type.”

“It’s not naivety.” Legundo said, as they walked towards the main path. “I choose to believe people are good, until proven otherwise. The world would be too bleak any other way.”

“You sound like him.” Owen commented, before he could stop himself.

Legundo glanced at Owen, as if he was deciding whether to ask or not. “That grave…”

“His name was Louis.” Owen supplied. “I come to visit him every year. Didn’t expect to find other people around, nor get trapped with them.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Legundo said. It sounded genuine, for once.

Owen shrugged again. “Thanks.”

They walked in silence for a bit. Owen didn’t have to try to keep up with Legundo, unlike when he went with other townsfolk out. They were in no rush. The sun was setting, sure, but the town was just close enough that they could’ve taken their sweet time and still gotten there before the creatures of the night came out looking for targets to chase.

“I’m running out of bandages.” Owen commented, just as they saw Oakhurst’s walls appear. “Would cleaning some of my used ones be a good idea, in your profesional opinion?”

Legundo made a face. “If you’ve no other choice, it’s better than nothing. However, I can lend you some. It’ll be no issue.”

“You don’t have to waste them–” Owen started.

“I insist.” Legundo said. “It’s no waste if you need them.”

Owen sighed. No use arguing. “Thank you.” They entered the town, and Owen stood awkwardly. “I’ll, eh, I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Owen.” Legundo said, offering a kind smile.

Owen hurried to his house. 

The town, and by extension Pyro, woke up to screaming. The moment before panic set in, he felt annoyed at being woken so early, especially after he spent most of last night trying to talk Apo into going back to town with them, and trying to get Drift and Sausage to abandon the King’s side. He failed.

But the commotion outside only grew, and it made him sit up with an unnecessary gasp.

Apo? Was Apo back? Were they getting hurt?

They rushed out, not bothering to grab a coat, almost forgoing shoes, and headed to the town’s entrance were the noise was coming from. There was a person hanging from the arch of the town entrance, by their legs. Pyro smelled the blood before they saw it dripping.

He approached in a rush, almost crashing into the Doctor, who was doing the same.

It was Abolish. He was missing his jacket, and covered in blood, and swaying slightly with the wind. But it was undeniably him. 

“We need to get him down!” Legundo ordered. 

Pyro was climbing the town’s walls before anyone could react. They reached for the rope, grabbing it before they realized they didn’t have a knife on them.

“Does anyone–?” Cleo threw him a pocket knife before he could finish. He almost dropped it in surprise, but secured it. “Thanks.”

He cut through the rope, letting Abolish fall into the Doctor and Pearl’s arms.They lowered him into the floor, and Legs checked for a pulse.

Pyro jumped to the ground, already knowing Legundo wouldn’t find any.

“Is he…?” Shelby asked, watching from afar.

The doctor exhaled, mouth pressed into a line. “I’m sorry.” He said. “He’s dead.”

He still had his eyes open. His mouth was slightly parted, and if Pyro ignored the smears across his cheek, it almost looked as if Abolish was lost in thought.

Pyro ignored the discussion going on around him and kneeled down to close Abolish’s eyes. They’d have to make a grave for him. He hadn't even gotten to make one for his parents. Pyro didn't know their names, but he'd make them graves too. Perhaps a funeral for Abolish. Pyro had never been to one. Were they supposed to change Abolish’s clothes? They were so stained that the original white of the shirt was gone. Pyro was trying not to focus too much on the jagged wounds–were they caused by axe or claws?– that covered him.

A hand atop his shoulder broke his trance. People were arguing loudly around him.

“Martyn and Ren are missing.” Scott said, once Pyro got their attention on him. “Were they…?”

Pyro hesitated. “Probably.” He settled in.

Scott made a face. “Well that’s not good.”

“Guys!” Avid called, his shrill voice going over Cleo and Owen’s argument over where to burry the body. “There’s a note!”

Pyro and the others followed the madman out of the town, a few steps only. There was Abolish’s sword, dug into his broken shield. And next to it, a note. 

Before Pyro could get closer, Avid grabbed it, and read it out loud. 

“Pyro’s one of us.” Avid read.

All eyes turned towards them. Legundo snatched the paper from Avid, and nodded to the others. It did say that.

Pearl’s hand moved to the sword on her hip. “Pyro?” She asked.

“I didn’t–” Pyro started, glancing towards Scott and Owen. “I’m not– I didn’t do that–”

“Now, let’s not jump to conclusions–” Legundo started.

But Avid was already taking out his stake and Owen was already pushing him for that and Abolish was dead–

Pyro turned into a bat and fled.