Chapter Text
"What's an Infra-Dead system?"
Tony Thompson had been wandering around the garage completely and utterly bored. Then the junk pile had beckoned.
Rummaging through old parts and curiosities Tony pulled free a retro-looking device. Like an old game boy but not. His thumb brushed against the title.
"Sorry, what was that?" The young mechanic who'd insisted on not being called Mr but just Maney popped his head up over the bonnet of the Thompson's car. The Transylvanian terrain often did a number on transport links, never mind those fancy hire cars from airports.
"Oh, that?" Maney laughed. Walking over feeling half his age. "That is a smart system that I created years ago."
Bright blue eyes blinked up. "I thought you fixed cars."
"I fix cars for a living, I invent as a hobby."
Tony scrutinised the device, heavy in his hands. "Does it still work? What's it do?"
Maney sat down his spanner and contemplated the pros and cons of telling the truth to a thirteen-year-old American boy. "It detects... things."
"Uh-huh," Tony deadpanned. "So like what kind of things? Aliens, right?"
Maney grinned like a mad man. "Don't get a lot of unidentified flying objects out here. But this," Maney took the device and smiled fondly. "Can tell you exactly what's flying around."
"Planes?"
"Much better." Maney leaned close and lowered his voice. "It detects the undead."
Tony felt a surge of excitement, "like vampires!?!"
"Exactly."
"That's so COOL!"
"Tony Thompson! What did we just talk about?" Tony's mom, Dottie sighed. Shaking her head at her husband who was still pretending to help fix the car. "You're distracting-"
"Not all," Maney intervened. "There's nothing wrong with being curious. I was exactly the same when I was his age."
"Sorry, Mom. We were just talking. It's no big deal."
Dottie Thompson smiled wryly. "About vampires?"
Tony rolled his eyes playfully. "Well duh. We're in Transylvania. What else is there to talk about?"
The bonnet of the car slammed making everyone jump, including Tony's dad who had only just saved his fingers. "This car," he called over. "Has a mind of its own."
Maney nodded, glancing out at pinks and oranges in the sky. The start of sunset. "Mrs Thompson, I'll be honest. I'm not sure exactly what the problem is. I need to run a few diagnostic tests, at no extra charge. That said it's not safe to drive the car whilst it's overheating and making a noise."
"The death howl." Tony corrected.
"Yes, that. I'll have to keep it overnight."
"I see," Dottie Thompson hesitated. "Is there a bus that could take us up to the castle? Or a taxi?"
"Nothing like that around here. But don't worry," Maney wiped his hands on his overalls. "I'm happy to give you folks a lift. It's not too far."
"We don't want to impose," Bob Thompson added. Joining his family lest he do more damage to himself or the car. "We could walk."
"Through the forest!?!" Tony's voice burst with excitement. "I bet there's a graveyard too!"
Maney mused. "There is an old graveyard before the castle."
Dottie Thompson was not impressed. "I'm not walking through a forest at night, there could be wolves and God knows what else."
Tony eyed the Infra-Dead device Maney had sat down on a workbench.
"The wolves mostly stick to the mountains, same with the bears and lynx populations. It's perfectly safe to explore the forest during the day. A very lovely walk. But not at night. Even if you stick to the road I would advise against it."
Bob Thompson wished he'd seen that sharp incline. Driving down it with everyone screaming had not been fun. "Well if you're sure..."
"I'm sure. Get your luggage and I'll grab my keys."
Bob and Dottie Thompson conversed as they walked over and proceeded to empty the car. Tony, however, remained transfixed. "When the sun goes down, does it turn on? Or..." Tony's tone dropped, "does it activate when Vampires are near?"
Swiping the Infra-Dead up Maney held the power button and the device lit up. Tony pushed onto his tip toes to see the sweeping scan. "Still works," Maney said to himself. Passing it then to Tony. "It's yours."
"What? Really!?! You're just giving it to me?"
"An inventor always likes to know his work is appreciated." There was a slight pause that seemed serious. "Transylvania is a great place, you and your family are more than welcome here. Just be careful at night, okay? I'm not trying to scare you or anything like that but no late walks, no open windows."
Deep into the story, Tony held the device close. "Don't you need this then? For protection?"
"Oh no, I've made improvements. I've got an updated system. You see that TV on the wall there?"
Tony glanced at the truly humongous flatscreen on the far wall. "Yeah."
"It's not a television," Maney bragged. "It's the latest Infra-Dead System. Keeps me and the shop safe."
"Whoa!" Who needed a creepy castle? Everything Tony wanted was in front of him. "Is that why you've got garlic everywhere?"
"I like to use it fresh when cooking. That and you can't beat good old fashioned folklore. Simple yet very effective." Maney chuckled. "That lot have been trying to get in here for years. For all the smart systems in the world, it's garlic that puts them off."
"Them?"
Maney scratched his chin, "ah well. It's mostly just Gregory. These days at least. But occasionally Ru-"
"Tony," Dottie Thompson's voice snapped them both out of the supernatural space they were in. Her tone left no room for argument. "Come help unload the car hun. It would be nice to get to the castle in time for dinner."
Grinning at the device with thanks to Maney Tony waved at his parents. "Sure thing mom!"
It's better than being dinner. Tony thought as he tampered his excitement for what the night ahead could hold. Staring past the glass windows at the setting sun.
Thinking, believing, even slightly hoping that somewhere out there, maybe in the depths of the forest or in the long-forgotten crypts. That something could be stirring from a deep, dreamless sleep.
If only Tony Thompson knew how right he was and how long one night could be.