Chapter Text
March 27th, 2019
You thought he was just a normal live action roleplayer like you. Granted, he didn't seem very invested in the roleplay, but you just figured he was shy; that he was still getting used to the group and needed time to adjust. He always seemed on edge. Always tired. (Did he ever get a chance to rest?) You wondered if he had an anxiety disorder.
You would sometimes catch him staring at you, his brown eyes peering at you from behind his glasses. They were deep. They were intense. They were dark. It was almost as if he were trying to peer into your soul, as if ripping you apart to find out... Something. He seemed quiet and well-mannered, but something about the way he stared at you every so often... It both scared and intrigued you. Maybe he had a crush on you but was just awkward about it.
That's what you figured when he asked you to a party seemingly out of nowhere. You've barely talked up to this point. You politely turn it down, and he seems surprised but lets it go. A few others decide they want to go.
They don't return next week.
But he does.
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August 24th, 2021
Your LARP group has completely fallen apart because of the COVID-19 pandemic. You haven't seen many of them since March of last year, and some of them haven't even been online. (What were they even doing during quarantine if they weren't online?) You missed your friends, but they didn't seem to miss you. Dismayed, you close out Facebook and open your e-mail instead.
It's mostly the usual spam. A coupon for Chess Burgers here, an old e-mail verification from yesterday. There is, however, a notification from your library. You open it up to see big bold letters;
NEW DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS CLUB
GROUPS FOR KIDS, TEENAGERS, ADULTS
You hope you can make some friends in the adult group.
The first meeting was in a few hours. You had nothing else to do. You decide to show up and see what happens.
You walk into the room and look around; the usual assortment of nerds, geeks, and dorks that you prefer to associate with. You don't look like you fit in, wearing ripped jeans, a leather jacket, and round sunglasses. A lot of people are surprised to hear you're into things like DnD or LARPing, but you've found the roleplay community very welcoming and kind.
You sit down on the chair backwards, striking up a conversation with some of the other people about to join you on your fictional journey. You learn their names (Beth, in pre-med at college who wanted to be a doctor after catching and surviving Covid; Johnathan, avid collector of model planes who started when his grandfather left him his collection in his will; Sarah, nonverbal and using a keyboard to speak and knew way more about the ocean than you could ever hope to know). You felt like you could get along with this group.
The door opens as you finish introducing yourselves. You look up to see someone familiar;
"Hey," you say. "I know you!"
He freezes. A flash of fear shows over his face (or did you imagine it?)
"You do?" He asks.
"Yeah, you're the guy from our LARP group a couple years ago." You never forget a face.
"Oh," he mouths, before repeating it with sound. "Yep, that's me. Just a big ol' roleplaying nerd."
He flashes a smile at you. You're not quite sure if you remember his smile being quite that charming (or if he smiled at all). He did seem different, though. Something about him had changed, although you couldn't quite tell what. His grin was brighter. His eyes, however, were darker.
"Good evening, everyone!" comes a voice from the door. It's the supervisor of the club. "Glad to see you're all already introducing yourselves. Who's ready to fill out character sheets?"
You all take the full three hours fleshing out and discussing your character sheets, with the occasional dorky joke here and there. You all never laughed so hard in your life as when Sarah jokingly named their character after the Dungeon Master, calling it "The REAL Carol". It ended up becoming the running gag through the rest of the meeting. Even the person you met from LARPing joined in on the joke. Something about him felt more inviting. You end up joking with him the most.
Time flew by quickly and everyone went home. Some picked up by parents, some biking, some driving. You lived a little ways away and couldn't afford a car, so you had to call a rideshare. You pull out your cellphone as you wait by the door to call the car. Before you can hit confirm, a shadow blocks the florescent library lights.
"Hey, do you have a ride?"
You look over to see the man again. His face was soft and gentle as his voice (even if his eyes were as sharp as ever).
"I'm calling one now," you say.
"You know," he says. "I could give you a ride instead."
"Sorry," You quip. "I don't accept rides from people who don't even tell me their name."
"Guillermo," he introduces himself.
"Guillermo, huh?" you smile. "Well, I'm [Y/N]."
"So now that we're introduced," he starts.
"Yes, you may drive me home," you finish.
You're always cautious when entering someone else's car for the first time, but on the other hand you were a little low on funds. You already spent 15 dollars to get to the library, so another 15 dollars back would've been a lot. You look over to him and see he's focusing intently on the road and the mirrors. He hasn't said much since you have both gotten in the car, making you feel a bit awkward. He seemed much friendlier earlier.
"So, you must be really into roleplaying, huh?" you ask.
"You could say that," he responds. "I've... Just started getting back into clubs again."
"That's pretty exciting," you say. "I've just started getting back into clubs again, too. I've missed being able to see people in person."
"Yeah, same here." He sounds tired. You have been, too.
Quiet again. You sigh. He wasn't quite as conversational as he was at the club. He seemed much more charismatic then, but now he seemed solemn. You lean against the window, eyes half closed. You couldn't make him talk if he didn't want to, after all. You look down and see little dots on the door's fabric; small brown, dry stains all over. You wonder briefly for a moment what kind of stains they are. You squint before your blood runs cold.
"...Guillermo?" You start, but the van suddenly swerves out of control. It crashes on his side against a pole. You're frozen in place in shock.
"Mierda!" he breathes sharply. He brushes some of the glass off his lap and you notice his window had broken.
"Holy fuck, are you okay?"
He pulls a medium-sized piece of glass out of his hand before sucking the cut on his thumb. "Fuck," he mutters, jaw clenched. "This isn't good."
"No shit," you exclaim. "You're bleeding!"
"We have to go," He says. He quickly gets out of his side of the car before opening your door.
"Shouldn't we wait for, like, a tow truck or someth-" before you can finish your thought he grabs your hand and runs with you.
"What the fuck?" You ask. "Why are we running?"
You look back to see a few bats hovering over the car. One of them lands on top and you could swear it was looking right at you. It gives you a chill down your spine. Before you're even able to ask, it transforms in a puff of smoke, turning into a person, along with the others who are now all running towards you.
"G-Guillermo?" You stutter.
"I'm sorry, this is not how it was supposed to go," he apologizes. He pulls back his trench coat to show several bottles of water attached to his left side. He grabs one, pulling the cork off with his teeth before throwing it onto one of the people, smoke rising from where it touched.
"Guillermo.. Are those-"
You are shocked into silence as he pulls a wooden steak from his right side and slams it directly into the chest of another person, as they fall over screaming. You fall onto your knees as you watch the bloodbath before you. You want to run but your legs won't carry you. You want to scream but your throat won't make a sound. The final body falls and his blood-covered face looks towards you.
"There'll be more soon," he tells you. He holds his hand out to you. His thumb is still bleeding profusely, but it's hard to notice with the rest of the red staining his skin and clothes. You can't bring yourself to move, let alone take his hand. When he sees you frozen he scoops you up and carries you instead, running. "We have to find shelter."
Unfortunately your car crashed on a mostly empty road, except for a park. He tells you there's a shortcut to his house from there, where you can stay until it's safe in the morning. He's cautious of every person who passes by. None of them looked unusual to you, but Guillermo tells you that you can never be too careful. You tell him you can walk from here and he sets you down.
"So those were... they were..."
"Vampires," he finishes for you. "Yes."
"They're.. Actually real.."
"Yes."
"Are you one?"
"No, just.. A famil-.... A hunte-...." He pauses, as if in deep thought. "I'm a human."
"Well, 'Guillermo the Human', I-"
"Shh, someone's coming," he whispers.
He pulls you behind a group of trees, pinning you to one of their trunks and shielding you from sight. He peers around, pressing you to the surface. The only sounds you can hear in the dark of night are the crickets and quickened beating of his heart (or was it your own?) He's not paying much attention to you so much as his surroundings, but you can't stop looking at him. Who is this person?
"I think the coast is clear," he whispers, looking towards you. Your heart skips a beat, although you're not sure if it's fear or something else. "We should keep moving." You nod in response. The blood on his clothes is now soaked into yours, but you can't seem to bring yourself to care right now.
"Why are they after me specifically?"
"I don't know," he says. "Probably because they liked the smell of your blood. But they were waiting outside the library for you. That's why I thought I'd offer you a ride home. That plan is going to be... delayed, though."
Before you can respond you suddenly hear screaming to your right; Guillermo had thrown a wooden steak into another vampire. It laid squirming on the ground like a dying insect before you even noticed it.
"Come on," he says, pulling you along.
You have a feeling this is going to be a long night.