Chapter Text
Eli held his firearm close, eyes open and ready for whatever beast may be lurking here.
He received a report from someone that they kept hearing someone begging from within the neighbor's basement, and it was speculated to be a vampire den with a blood slave.
Therefore, the big thing he had to do was kill the vampire and then get the heck out of dodge. The bad thing is that vampires are S class monsters and not easily killed when properly fed.
There also just weren't any signs of vampires being able to live in the house either. The doorknobs were all iron and the house of an old cedar wood. There was an air about the place as if holy water had been spilt all over and then dried into the floorboards and walls. Honestly the house was more of a death trap for any sort of beasts.
" This is fucking weird as Hell...Not even the werewolf clan would be privy to setting up such a thing. " Eli's partner for this mission, a fellow S tier hunter by the name Norton Campbell, noted absentmindedly.
The further they looked, the worse it got.
Deeper in, they could see silver wire strung up in precarious ways, such that if a vampire were to try sprinting through they might immediately get entangled by it. A door lay behind the trap, several strong bolts keeping it firmly shut.
" I think..." Eli began, shifting closer to the door.
A vision befell him, of pleading grey eyes full of fear and distrust. A strange sight but alluring in a way.
" I think the house is actually the vampire's prison."
Then they weren't here to kill it....
They had to be here to save it!
Eli slowly picked each and every lock, which took at least 30 minutes by itself.
Norton almost slammed the door in Eli's face to get it open and see for himself what was down there.
The sight that greeted the two wasn't pretty.
Attached by heavy iron chains to a wall sat a man not much younger than Eli. His form lithe and sickly; hunger-panged and scarred. The only clothing he bore was a soiled pair of underwear that was filled with holes;many holes. The same frightened eyes from his brief vision met theirs, pleading for freedom whilst afraid of the company kept.
The duo took a step forward, cautious of the creature in front of them.
Chains rattled as the boy pushed himself back into the wall. The iron chains ripped new wounds into pale flesh. The dark crimson that flooded from those wounds crusted quickly, showing that it was already stale to begin with.
" Hey...Hey. It's okay. We're here to help."
The effect that word had on the person was instantaneous. He stilled, calming to a point as he watched on warily. " H-Help?" He questioned, voice as small as a mouse but deep and somber sounding.
Most unsettling was the stitches assisting in keeping him muffled. They seemed to be made out of some sort of fishing line or wire, but it was difficult to tell. Each stitch was covered in crusted blood stains, rusting the metal the longer it sat.
Those had to have been there a while.
" Yeah. We're gonna get you out. Can you stand?" Norton pressed, grabbing his spare lock-picks out of his own packs. The scarred human made hesitant movements, cautious of any signs that the frightened creature would defend its ground despite the weakened state.
"S-stand?" Another question as he shrunk away, unused to being asked to do something.
Nothing was ever requested of him...only demanded.
"Yes. Stand. Though it should wait until we get all that weight off of you." It was possible that the vampire would go for the kill at any moment, but that was far-fetched.
Eli kept watch while Norton quickly went through the motions of lock-picking. Slowly, iron chains were disposed of and the creature freed.
It made no action, didn't move even after it had been freed. He just stared at his old bindings with a burning curiosity and wonder. The wonder-filled gaze then thrust itself upon his saviors, confusion also evident.
"Okay. We're gonna have to cover you with something...There's a trap outside the door that will hurt you if we aren't careful." Eli began searching for his packs for anything that might be of use for such a task. Bandages would help for maybe a second or two, but not long enough.
His spare blindfold could only cover so much.
Instead of speaking, the vampire tried to stand as had been asked of him earlier. He pushed at the ground, trying the force himself into an upright position.
For a moment, the person stood on two shaking twigs, upright for the first time in years.
The moment the figure tried to move from his position, however, he collapsed into a pile on the dingy and cold floor.
Eli and Norton assisted him with standing on the second try, helped him get those first few steps in.
With the brief period of time they gave him to recuperate and find his land legs, he found the muscle movements to semi-easily do it on his own accord.
" Now we have to get out of here, get you to Miss Emily so she can check you out and make sure you're healthy, and then get you something to eat. We have to do the first thing in broad daylight though and I know vampires aren't all that good with that."
Eli assisted with getting their new companion past the wire trap as best they could. The thin strands cutting into a couple places but not to a dangerous extent. They would have cut the strands if it was just a situation of a monster keeping a human locked up, but now they're trying to help a monster escape.
Humanity could be cruel, so they needed to ensure that they wouldn't find out all that easily. Keeping the offender in the dark as long as possible was key to the escape.
The boy's grey eyes constantly examined every surface. Wondered why the ground against his bare feet left a dull sting in its wake with each step.