Chapter Text
"Follow my voice! C'mon, man... I'll see you through," Zeke admonished as he watched Cole struggling out into the light. Smoke seemed to come from the exposed parts of his skin. Bloody Mary hissed as she poked her head out after them and, without further hesitation, he pressed the button.
Fire and heat burst through the door. With a scream, she was done. He turned to Cole with a grin that soon faded as he saw him curled on the ground, still burning in the sun.
The moment of panic passed and he pulled off his outer shirt, throwing it over Cole's arms and head. He watched as the smoke disappeared and his body relaxed. "...We need to get you inside..."
He knelt beside him, helping to keep the shirt in place as he got up. They hurried into the cathedral. Cole dropped into the last pew, Zeke's bowling shirt sitting on his head like a hood. Zeke sat in the next aisle, rubbing his tired eyes. He watched as Cole's head fell back and eyes closed.
They'd been too late. The thought made his stomach drop, but it seemed to be true. He'd seen the flames swallow Mary. Heard her wail. She was destroyed, he knew it in his gut she was. But Cole hadn't changed back. His skin still had the pallor of the dead and his eyes were still blood red. If he hadn't changed back by now...
He sighed, rubbing his face again. He was exhausted and he didn't want to think about what just happened. They always made it out okay in the end. Always.
**********
"Zeke."
He opened his eyes and jumped, falling off of the pew and into the floor.
"Jesus, Cole..."
"Sorry."
Zeke sat where he fell, a part of him too scared of the sight of his best friend standing over him to move.
"It's almost dark," Cole said, taking a few steps away.
"So it is..." He agreed as he looked around.
"I'm going out when it is." Didn't look at him as he spoke.
"...All right..."
"...Don't go out tonight, okay man?"
Nodded. Nothing else was said as they waited for the sun to disappear. As soon as it had, Cole walked out the door.
Shadows hung in a silent shroud over everything. Zeke stood, walking around the cathedral, hearing his footsteps faintly patting the floor. After sleeping all day, he was no longer tired. With nothing else to do as he waited for morning, he couldn't help but think about what Cole would be doing out there.
He was a vampire now and he knew what that meant. Last night, he had killed. More than once, drinking the blood of strangers with little remorse. It wasn't like Cole. He'd always been a good man. It just didn't seem possible for him to suddenly be this... monster.
Up at the altar, he saw a silver cross on a shelf. He picked it up and turned it over in his hand. It was thin and plain, a long chain attached to the top. After a moment of thought, he slipped it around his neck. Hell if hew knew if it'd give any protection in his situation, but it was better than nothing.
From somewhere nearby, a scream split the air and made his blood cool in his veins. He held the cross lightly in his hand. He told himself Cole wouldn't attack him, but he wasn't the only vampire out that night.