Chapter Text
Neil’s breath was ragged, he felt sick to his stomach and his head spun. It wasn’t only because he hadn’t eaten in days, it was also because fear was an all consuming beast that tried to rob him of the last bit of strength his body was able to produce.
He knew fear for all his life, but this felt different. This felt like going into his father’s basement by his own choice. It felt like lying down on the metal table there and just waiting for the inevitable. It honestly felt like suicide or maybe worse. It felt like going willingly into slavery.
The homeless program wasn’t called ‘Last Resort’ for nothing, after all. It was a play of words, in the end, because the government tried to sell this program as some kind of vacation, a gift you should be thankful for, while everyone knew that no one gave a shit about homeless people. They could have called it ‘Soylent Green’ and no one would have done more than shrug. It would have been more accurate at least.
It was Neil’s last resort, though. He would be dead in a few days if he didn’t get anything to eat and even if he did, he wouldn’t survive the next drop in temperature.
The problem with this program was that no one cared to check in on the people. In theory, it sounded very nice and like a good deal: Homeless people could apply to be taken in by a vampire. The vampire would give them shelter and food and make sure they would stay overall healthy. In exchange for that the humans had to give them their blood. With additional supplements the government would sponsor the vampire, it was entirely possible that one human was enough for one vampire. There were special circumstances in which a vampire was allowed to have more humans, but that had to be specially requested.
Neil snorted at that thought. Yeah, like anyone was able to control vampires. Technically it was a win-win-win situation. The vampires were satisfied, the humans were cared for, and the government could tell anyone how great they were for getting homeless people off the streets and simultaneously relieve the pressure from the blood donation system. In reality no one ever checked if the humans weren’t murdered or tortured or held like cattle. Of course no one ever complained, but running from the clutches of a vampire was nearly impossible.
Neil hadn’t outlived his father to now be held captive by a sadistic vampire. But— and that was the important thing— he didn’t see another option. He was good at running, maybe he could outrun a vampire, if he needed to. For now his highest priority was surviving the next few days.
This stupid program led to a lot of shelters and soup kitchens to shut down, so… yeah… here he was now, standing in front of the house of his vampire. It was a good thing, maybe, that he was too exhausted and too delirious to run or make any good decisions. He wouldn’t have rung the bell otherwise.
A few seconds later, a guy with blonde hair and pale skin stood before him. Neil was a bit surprised that he had to look down. At five foot three he really wasn’t expecting someone to be shorter than him.
The next second his heart started to kick against his rib cage, somehow instinctively sensing the predator before him. His knees shook from exertion, though, so he couldn’t move, couldn’t run.
“Neil Josten”, the man said and Neil grabbed the piece of paper in his back pocket. He tried to stop his hand from shaking, when he gave it to the man, but it was futile.
“Yeah. Andrew Minyard I suppose?”
The man grabbed the piece of paper and looked it over. It was just an explanation that Neil was registered, and the one Minyard was waiting for. Nothing fancy.
“I don’t have an ID on me.”, Neil admitted and hoped that it was a myth that vampires could smell a lie. He possessed an ID. It just didn’t say ‘Neil Josten’.
Minyard looked up at him again and nodded, then he grabbed for something beside the door. A jacket.
“Can you walk two blocks?”
Neil blinked, confused: “Isn’t this your house?”
“It is. But I am not doing this here if I can avoid it. So can you walk two blocks or will you faint on me?”
“I’m fine.”
Minyard gave him a very flat look and okay… fair. If he had been fine, he wouldn’t be there. But Minyard didn’t say anything further, just held the jacket out.
Neil frowned: “I am not helping you into your clothes.”
He wasn’t a slave. He wasn’t. He wouldn’t let that stupid vampire make him into one.
“It’s cold out, moron. Put that on, I am not a fan of frozen blood.”
“I don’t need that. I have my own clothes.”
And he wasn’t the one standing there in a muscle shirt and armbands. Didn’t vampires feel cold?
Minyard mumbled something along the lines of ‘stubborn little shit’ and put the jacket away again. After that he closed the door behind him and started to walk down the street.
It was hard to keep up, because Neil’s legs felt like pudding, but he tried, anyway. He was stubborn and proud and didn’t want to seem weak. This vampire shouldn’t think he could abuse him easily.
They stopped in a small Bistro, which let Neil frown again. It seemed like he would do that a lot in the future.
They sat down, the waiter bringing two menus. Neil frowned… again. Minyard was very clearly a vampire, why did he need a menu? But whatever.
Neil didn’t touch his. He couldn’t pay for anything, and he was afraid that this was some kind of trap. It was illogical, but if Minyard let him order and then just dumped him here, he would get in a lot of trouble. Bad enough he was registered now.
His stomach clenched painfully when a waft of food smells drifted over to them.
Minyard didn’t seem phased by his behavior, he just stared at him until the waiter came back.
“Your ice cream sundae special and some of your vegetable soup. Chocolate milkshake and chamomile tea for drinks.”
Okay, well… if Minyard ordered, the people in here hopefully would give him the bill and not Neil. Or they would understand if Minyard just stood up and left that Neil had been played.
A man could dream, right?
Neil didn’t touch anything when it came, though he wanted nothing more than to eat. He just looked at his soup like it had offended him deeply.
Something in the back of his mind sprung to life and nearly choked him. A memory of him sitting at the table with his father and waiting for permission to eat. Then a view pictures of his father pouring the scathing hot soup over his lap, when Nathaniel had started to eat too early.
Fuck this, he thought. Minyard wasn’t his father. If he was abusive, Neil wanted to know early on, so he had more time to plan his escape.
He grabbed the spoon and slowly started to eat. He knew that if he ate too quick his stomach would hurt, or he would burn himself. And after that particular memory resurfacing, he was not eager for that kind of pain.
Minyard started to devour a gigantic mountain of ice cream that was covered under whipped cream and chocolate sauce. Neil didn’t look at it, he got sick from the image alone.
Only when Neil had finished the soup and the small piece of bread that accompanied it, Minyard spoke again.
Neil nearly jumped. While the movement in his peripheral view was a constant reminder of the person in front of him, Minyard had eaten so quietly that he had nearly forgotten that the vampire was still there.
“You are my first human from the Last Resort program, but you are not the first one I contracted so far”, Minyard explained and Neil tried just to listen, instead of asking him what had happened with the other person or people.
“Your health tests will be back in a day or two, they will send the results directly to me. I will review them and if you are too sick, the contract will be nullified. But you should know that already.”
Neil only nodded, because, yeah. If you had too many incurable illnesses, like AIDS, Hepatitis C, Herpes or cancer, your blood was basically ruined.
Vampires couldn’t catch those illnesses, but the body would be too strained, the blood not rich enough to be able to satisfy a vampire's needs.
“If your results are clean enough, I will bring you to my personal doctor, and he will discuss a healthy diet for you. There will be check-ins to see if your body can keep up with the blood loss or if we need to change the schedule or experiment with different food groups or exercises. It takes time to find a balance that works for the both of us.”
Neil nodded again, not trusting himself to say anything, because everything that would come out of his mouth now would be pure sarcasm or some other venom that would fuck up this whole deal.
“You can make this easier for both of us if you just tell me what is on your mind. Against all speculation, vampires can’t read minds.”
Neil pressed his lips together, still just looking into his empty bowl. He didn’t believe a word that the vampire said. Minyard just wanted him to sign the contract. His true face would uncover itself in the next few days.
“I’m fine”, he said and managed somehow to not sound resentful.
He couldn’t concentrate on a persona, his head still too fuzzy, and his adrenalin level too high because of his company. So he jumped back and forth between childhood Nathaniel, Abram, Neil and probably a couple other characters he had played in his life. It was exhausting and stressful.
“After you sign the contract I will be responsible for you. The contract doesn’t state what that entails, just that I get a problem if you fuck up your life even more or end up badly hurt or dead. So we will negotiate the conditions as soon as you are able to think straight again.”
Neil nodded. Minyard huffed, clearly annoyed, but didn’t say anything further.
Neil tried to gather his thoughts, his stomach full of warm soup making it harder. Minyard seemed very matter-of-factly, a bit cold maybe. Together with his overall black attire it made him the perfect poster boy vampire, except for his height. And he was a bit bulkier than the usual descriptions of beautifully sculpted creatures. He seemed to be pure muscle, but not like a cheetah. Instead of lean muscle to provide speed to hunt, he seemed to be pure strength. He seemed to be in his mid-thirties, but was probably much older. His eyes didn’t give anything away. They were closed off, all his life experience and feelings shut tight behind unbreakable walls.
So great… The being in front of him that was said to have inhuman amounts of strength was even more powerful than your average vampire. Perfect.
On top of that Minyard could be a psychopath and Neil had no way to see it coming, because his posture or face gave nothing away. He could be a statue for all Neil knew. Great. Perfect.
After a few more minutes of silence, and after they finished everything, Minyard flagged down the waiter and paid. The last time Neil had felt this kind of relief he had still lived with his father.
Minyard stood without another word and Neil followed, like the good pet he was. That thought alone nearly made him choke up the soup again.
When they arrived at the house, Neil stopped. Unsure of what to do. Minyard noticed and looked back at him:
“If you changed your mind, go. I won’t stop you.”
Neil swallowed around a thick lump in his throat, but just shrugged casually. He tried to not look as panicked as he felt. That was childhood Nathaniel again. There was a distinction between childhood Nathaniel and on the run Nathaniel. The latter was older and far more composed. He was indestructible, stubborn and only wanted to live another day, another hour, another minute. He could take anything. The childhood version was shy and whiny and fearful and all he wanted was to be good for his father. Childhood Nathaniel was what could break Neil, he had to get out of that persona as quickly as possible.
“You didn’t want me in your house before.”, he answered. Voice unwavering. At least he hoped it was.
“I never said that.”
Neil shrugged again, which caused Minyard to fully turn around and face him.
“I wanted to meet you on neutral ground. Mostly for your benefit. It doesn’t have to do with me wanting you in my house or not. I am required to let you live with me, I wouldn’t have signed up for the program if I didn’t want that.”
That was… considerate. But it didn’t stop his skin from crawling. Not yet. It could be just a lure, could just be fake until Minyard could be sure that no one would miss him or look for him. Neil was his first human from the program, maybe he was just cautious because he didn’t know yet how little anyone cared.
“That means you can come in”, Minyard clarified and Neil took a deep breath. Okay, then.
He stepped forward, Minyard opened the door for them and closed it when both of them were inside.
Neil didn’t know what he had expected, but not something that immediately felt as homy as this. The entrance had a light color on the walls and light wood as floors. It was real wood, Neil realized, which wasn’t that surprising. Most old vampires had money, because they had more time to save it up, even with not that good jobs. On the other hand they also had a lot of time to learn things and gather experience, so that they could land jobs that were well paid. There were a lot of vampires who had so much money they just worked for fun.
Or… at least that's what people said. Not that Neil ever had contact with a vampire. His father had searched for a vampire to turn him, so he would be immortal, but the Moriyamas forbid it. The Moriyamas were mainly the reason Neil would never trust a vampire. All these stories about hierarchy and power couldn’t come from nowhere, right?
A thick rug was placed over most of the wood, beside the door hung some jackets and coats. Minyard slipped out of his shoes and placed them in a low wooden shelf. Neil did the same.
They stepped forward into a big living space. A modern fireplace was placed on the far left wall, having fire in it but no wood, so the trademark crackling was missing, but the heat was clearly different from normal heaters. Only fire could give you that kind of heat.
Neil half expected to see heads of animals hanging on the walls, because besides this house being only a bit further than the suburbs outside of the city, it had the feeling of a hunting cottage. But there weren’t. Instead, the walls were decorated with pictures of landscapes.
Directly over the fireplace hung a portrait of Minyard himself. It looked old, the style not really modern, but not medieval either. Neil wasn’t sure if he had been a vampire back then already, but either Minyard had changed in the last decades (or centuries?) or the artist had been shit, because despite everything looking exactly like it should, something seemed off. Like this not being the same person.
More rugs were scattered over the wooden floor boards and two couches and overall three armchairs invited any guest to just lounge there and relax.
The light in here was soft and Neil suddenly realized that they had been out of the house in daylight. So that was a myth, huh?
A spiral staircase led to another floor, but Minyard stepped to the left instead.
While they went towards a small corridor, Neil could peek into a kitchen that seemed not too big but still modern, with an enormous fridge.
Right next to the kitchen was another door, but Minyard turned right in the corridor, opening a door to a bedroom.
It was spacious but sparse. Nothing personal here. Just a guest bedroom, with a bed, a night stand, a wardrobe, an armchair, and a desk.
“This is your room. You will stay on the first floor. You have your own bathroom opposite this room next to the kitchen. If you are a vegetarian or vegan tell me, so I can get you the appropriate food to stock up the fridge. I have a list of allergies already, if you need to add anything, tell me. I don’t care what you do in the kitchen, as long as you clean it up again and eat healthy enough. You have to tell me if you need anything. I have laid out a spare bundle of clothes in the bathroom and some towels. Shopping will not happen until you look more alive than your average vampire. Until then I will lend you clothes. I would prefer if you’d shower first, because you reek, but if you are too exhausted then just sleep. Don’t use the living room until you cleaned up, though. I won’t get that smell out of the furniture for ages.”