Chapter Text
Avid was scared…no, that wasn’t the right word. He was terrified.
All he felt was white hot pain and then…nothing. It was silent. He couldn’t hear his own screams or the words of the two older vampires.
And when he opened his eyes he realized…he had died.
Except, that couldn’t be right. Because well, how could he be staring at the town in the distance if he was dead?
He slowly looked down at himself. His skin looked…not as pale as it was before…Not as it was when he had been a vampire.
He looked at the tree again and reached out to it. He could touch it…feel it underneath his hand. He probably wasn’t a ghost then…then again, it’s not like he would know how ghosts work. He barely even understood what a vampire was before meeting one for the first time. Even then it took him far too long to understand.
Avid had a small epiphany and he began digging through his bag, his bag…which he shouldn’t have but he does.
He pulls out the mirror he keeps…no, that he used to keep on him. And the reflection was…expected yet also so shocking. His eyes were..purple. They weren’t red anymore. And his hair wasn’t white anymore, it was back to its usual dark color…not to mention the fact that he had a reflection at all confirmed his suspicions.
“Oh gods…” Avid muttered.
He took a breath. He needed to breathe again! His heart was beating loudly in his chest again! And the walls of Oakhurst weren’t burnt down and oh- oh no…no no no!
This couldn’t be happening. Avid had died again…a stake to his chest by the hands of two vampires he had thought he had earned the trust of…
And he was back…At least he thinks he might be back. To the beginning? Based on his supplies he would say so…but how could that be possible?
He didn’t remember hearing any mysterious voices when he died this time, but maybe the voice brought him back again? But why was he brought back in time as well?
No, more importantly, what is he going to do?
He has to assume that no one else is from the future like he is. That means that he won’t have any of the bonds he had before. Drift, Shelby…and Scott.
But, this also means that he won’t have made any enemies yet.
The thought of seeing Owen and Pyro again was chilling, but if this really was the past, that meant he could change things. Maybe they could be friends, or at least not be enemies.
He didn’t have to make enemies out of the vampires…and maybe he could also even befriend the humans.
It seemed maybe a bit too hopeful, to get everyone to come together in harmony this time. But…it’s something he very much wanted.
A more pressing issue was getting used to being human again. He also didn’t miss the way his neck ached when he moved it, incentivizing him to keep looking straight ahead.
Avid looked around. He would need raw meat for himself. In the past, he had hated the craving for raw meat that this infection gave him, but he was more used to consuming raw meat after doing so as a vampire. Plus, he didn’t want to run the risk of losing control of himself and attacking a friend, even if it didn’t happen in the previous timeline.
He’d have to start herding animals soon too. He knows that they had been running out of meat in the previous time line…and vampires had a hard time with breeding. He could do that stuff while he was human.
While he was human…right. He wanted to be a vampire again. He had already decided that when he joined the coven, that he would never change his decision to become a vampire, even if he could relive that moment. Though, he would prefer it if it was less bloody and violent. Not that he blamed Shelby. It was her first time turning someone and it seemed like her own turning wasn’t exactly calm.
Speaking of…Avid would love to be vampires with Shelby and Drift again, but they didn’t exactly have a choice in the matter in the original timeline. Even if they had enjoyed it, Avid wanted them to have that choice this time, if he could help it. Maybe also help Pyro too.
Avid began walking towards the town in the distance, slaughtering most of the animals he saw along the way and storing the meat for later.
What did he remember from the previous timeline? What did he want to change?
For starters, he wasn’t going to panic people about vampires. He might bring up their existence…but only to kind of prepare people for the inevitable reveal of the vampires. Maybe that would help ease future tensions between humans and vampires.
Then he also wouldn’t be accusing Scott and Owen of being vampires. He didn’t want to antagonize them again, especially not Owen, knowing that antagonizing Owen probably was what led to his death by Owen’s hands in the first place.
Apo shouldn’t be turned into a vampire. She hated Scott for it and tried to kill him. Plus from what Avid understood, Apo couldn’t handle the sight of blood.
Case in point, Avid should try to stop her turning from happening. Or at least, make sure that if she does turn, it’s completely her choice and she won’t have incentive to turn on the other vampires.
Cleo should be fine to turn. She apparently already knew about vampires. Avid would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little upset that she kept acting like he was crazy, despite knowing herself that vampires were real. Anyways, Avid remembered hearing that Cleo would join the winning side, but would also be on the side of Pearl. Apparently they were dating or something.
So, maybe turning Pearl would also be a good idea. Or at least, making sure Pearl wasn’t hurt.
Avid also heard that Sausage really wanted to be a vampire for some reason. So that meant a potential candidate that would be willing to join the side of the vampires.
That left Legs, Abolish, Martyn, and Ren.
Legs was probably a no go. Legs saw vampirism as a disease that needed to be cured.
Well, Avid could understand that mentality, but in Avid’s defense, he thought that the monster that attacked him was a vampire at the time…
Oh…come to think of it…if Avid went back right now, he could leave Oakhurst. Assuming that mysterious barrier wasn’t up yet, then he could go back home and bury Elle’s body like he wanted to.
But no, he wouldn’t do that.
Because that was in the past. If all worked out, then he would leave Oakhurst and go bury her body. But right now, he needs to help here. Plus, he was being a bit selfish with the desire to see his friends again.
Elle would understand. She was always the hero type, doing anything to help those she cared for. So Avid should at least try to do the same, if only for some attempt to make up for killing her. And to make up for all the antagonizing he did in the previous timeline.
Back on the topic of the people in Oakhurst.
Legs was an unlikely candidate for vampirism. Ren also seemed to be thoroughly against vampirism. Martyn might be convinced, but Martyn was close to Ren and trusted Ren. So it’d probably be difficult to convince Martyn unless Ren was also convinced.
Abolish might be willing. It felt like he wasn’t against vampires as a whole, so much as being against specific vampires like Scott.
Still, barring those four and Apo, if everyone else was a vampire…that would be the majority of the people here as vampires, even if not including Pearl. It’d be even numbers if Sausage also wasn’t included as a vampire.
Avid didn’t want to think about it like this. But given what happened in the previous timeline, he wanted the people he cared about to be on the side of vampirism if a conflict did break out again.
-
The walk to Oakhurst felt like it took hours, but at least Avid got a good amount of fresh meat on hand now. Maybe he could also use it to appease Scott and Owen, just in case.
Now he was at the run down gate of Oakhurst.
He could hear voices. Ah, he realized that he already changed something.
He took far longer to get to Oakhurst this time. It was later in the day then it was in the previous timeline when he had arrived at the town.
He probably wouldn’t have much time to chat with people before everyone started getting some rest for the night.
That also probably meant…that Scott was here already.
Okay, Avid would have to keep in mind the fact that he could show visible signs of embarrassment again. He didn’t want to be a flustered mess in front of Scott…so he took a deep breath before stepping into the town.
It all felt so surreal. Almost exactly like that first day…but everything would go differently this time. Everything had to go differently this time.
Avid turned towards the group of people.
Shelby, Scott, Abolish…and Pyro.
“Am I interrupting something?” Avid tried to keep the tremble from his voice. He hoped he just came off as being nervous to meet new people in a town rumored to be cursed.
Hopefully.
Scott was the first to look up. It seemed he had already noticed Avid’s approach. Avid knew it was because of the noble's enhanced senses as a vampire. Those pretty blue eyes looked at him. Those eyes looked even prettier when they were red…a deep crimson like the color of blood. Yet those eyes were also quite hungry…looking at Avid as if Avid was a meal to be devoured.
Avid couldn’t blame those eyes. He learned before that Scott had woken up from a long nap just earlier this morning. So of course he was hungry.
The other three took notice of Avid soon after.
Shelby smiled brightly.
“Hello! Guess you’re also new here in Oakhurst? Wow, there are a lot of people here for a town that’s meant to be abandoned."
Avid didn’t see anyone else around. He assumed they were on the other side of town, or out in the woods collecting materials for the night.
“Really? I didn’t expect people to be here either. I’m Avid, by the way.”
Shelby smiled. Avid couldn’t quite remember the last time she smiled quite so brightly. She had smiled all the time, but with war being waged between humans and vampires, her smile had become more strained in the days before Avid’s death. He hoped to protect that smile this time.
“I’m Shelby. This is Abolish, Pyro, and Scott!”
Avid exchanged greetings with each of the men.
“It’s nice to meet all of you. You mentioned that there were a lot of people. Are there others here?”
Shelby nodded.
“Yeah. Let’s see, with you I think that makes fourteen people in town now. Basically we’ve all coincidentally come here to this abandoned town at the same time. Personally, I’m here for the rumors. You know, werewolves! Maybe I’ll find Bigfoot too if I’m lucky.”
Avid smiled softly. It had been a bit since he heard Shelby talk about her passions like this.
“Bigfoot? I don’t know. I’ve heard rumors of vampires and werewolves in this region, but I don’t recall ever hearing of Bigfoot sightings.”
Shelby frowned.
“Aw man…but that doesn’t completely rule it out!”
Avid nodded.
“Yeah. Maybe Bigfoot is better at hiding than the rumors would lead you to believe.”
Shelby nodded quickly.
“Exactly! I mean, I’m sure not all of the sightings were actual sightings of Bigfoot, but that doesn’t mean that none of them are real! Who knows, there might even be multiple Bigfoot’s!”
Pyro looked between the two.
“Ah, I’m sorry…how can you be so certain that Bigfoot exists if you’ve never seen it for yourself?”
Shelby shrugged.
“People believe in God even though they’ve never seen him. If you ask me, a tall hairy guy with big feet is more believable than that! So, if Christian’s can believe in God, then I can believe in werewolves and Bigfoot! Besides, fiction is usually based in truth, which means there has to be at least some truth to the myths of Bigfoot and werewolves!”
Pyro thought about it.
“I guess you have a point. But doesn’t that also mean that Bigfoot could have just been a human with unique features as well?”
Shelby nodded.
“That could be the case, but I’ll never know if I don’t look!”
Scott hummed thoughtfully.
“Avid, you mentioned vampires, yes? Do you believe in vampires?”
Avid nodded.
“Yeah, I do. I mean, I’ve never seen one. But it’s kind of like what Shelby said. I don’t expect the rumors to be accurate, but there’s got to be some truth to them.”
Scott smirked.
“Is this what you peasants do with your free time, theorize about which in-human creatures are real?”
Avid flushed.
“That’s not all I do! If you must know, I also like drawing, and making music.”
Scott’s eyes were so piercing, as if he was trying to dissect Avid’s very soul.
Avid couldn’t take the stare any longer so he quickly changed the subject.
“Has anyone thought about shelter?”
Avid looked around. None of the buildings in this area looked to have been messed with.
Pyro hummed thoughtfully.
“I think that guy with the strange accent, and that emo dude were planning to try and at least patch up the preexisting buildings, just for the night.”
Avid almost let himself snort at those descriptions, but he caught himself just in time. He knew exactly who Pyro was referring to.
“Oh, that’s good. I was worried about how late it was. I kind of sort of lost my tent…”
That was true. Avid lost his tent just the previous night, running from a bear that had sniffed out the food he had on him.
Scott smirked. It would seem quite devilish to anyone else, but Avid just saw a beautiful expression on a beautiful face. So maybe he was smitten with the evil Vampire Lord.
“You could stay with me, we could even cuddle up for warmth!”
Avid did not remember Scott ever flirting with him like that. Maybe it’s because he was already acting differently? Maybe he was already changing more than he thought.
“Oh, that sounds nice.” Avid agreed, knowing full well that Scott wouldn’t even be warm. Though Scott’s icy skin might be calming against his warm skin…only one way to find out.
Scott seemed rather pleased. Avid could tell. He had dedicated his time in the coven to recording every single reaction from Scott. What made Scott unhappy and what made Scott happy. He knows that Scott likes control. So he’d take any opportunity to go along with what Scott said, since that would make the man happy.
Was that healthy? No. Did Avid care? No.
Scott was evil, Avid didn’t care. Well, not anymore. He himself actually enjoyed the rush of causing trouble. Though he would avoid causing trouble for the sake of his friends that he cared for.
Scott stepped closer. Such a powerful presence despite being only level one.
“Great!” He hooked his arm with Avid’s. “Let’s go find one of these cozy little poor excuses for houses to snuggle up in!”
Avid was red in the face, and he knew it.
Shelby giggled as Avid was taken away by Scott.
In the past, this would have scared Avid. But not this time. Even if Scott turned him, he wouldn’t be scared. Actually, Avid might like that more…To be Scott’s fledgling this time around. Not that he didn’t like being Shelby’s fledgling…but he wanted to be closer to Scott.
Scott and Avid did find a relatively intact house. Scott pulled Avid inside with a grace that seemed to be humanly impossible. Then again, Avid wasn’t sure if Scott’s grace came from being a vampire, or from being a noble. Maybe it was both.
Scott made a face, his nose scrunched up and Avid chuckled at the disgusted expression.
“This town is such a wreck. I can’t believe I have to stay here…Eugh.”
Avid smiled.
“Well, why don’t you go back to your castle, Mr. Noble?”
Something flashed in Scott’s eyes briefly. Suspicion. But it faded quickly.
“Well, my castle is quite far away…you can’t expect me to travel all the way there over night…”
Avid nodded, agreeing. He didn’t want Scott to know that he knew exactly who Scott was. That could cause problems, like being questioned as to how he acquired such information.
Scott leaned down a bit.
“So, what brings you here?”
Avid perked up. This was his chance.
“Well, to be honest, I’m here to die!” Okay, that came out…right actually. Maybe a bit too cheerful sounding though.
It’s not the first time Avid admitted this to Scott. His goal in coming to Oakhurst had been to find a quiet place to die, where he couldn’t harm anyone with whatever the infection was turning him into. If he was so lucky, he had also planned to look for the creature that turned Elle and kill it in a final act of revenge before his own death. Then both he and the monster would be dead and Elle would be avenged as she deserved to be.
Things didn’t exactly go according to plan.
Scott blinked, surprised. It was the same look he had when Avid kissed him back then…
“Oh. Well that’s quite something.” Scott held no concern in his tone or expression. Avid expected that. Even after joining the coven, Avid was never certain that Scott cared for him like he cared for Shelby, or even for Owen and Pyro.
“Sorry, was that too much? Ah, nevermind actually. Pretend I didn’t say that.”
Saying something like that was kind of stupid when Scott barely knew him. But he wanted to be open with Scott. To tell him everything…even if he couldn’t say everything that was on his mind.
Scott brought his hand up carefully, hovering by Avid’s cheek but not quite touching.
“No no, continue. I’m intrigued.”
Scott couldn’t place this feeling he had. Whenever he looked at Avid he felt a tightness in his chest, a feeling like grief. Except it couldn’t be his own grief when he didn’t even know this human.
Avid glanced at the hand. He wanted to lean into it, but figured that would be too much at the moment.
“Well. Basically, I’m kind of sick. Or infected with something.”
Scott’s eyes looked down at the bandages around Avid’s neck, silently asking if they were related.
Avid nodded.
“Yeah. It’s a wound that I got when I was a kid…it never healed. Basically, me and my sister were dumb kids. We went out into the woods and something attacked us. I was the only one that got scratched by the creature though. That wound never healed. So it’s still with me. It hurts when I move my neck, but it hardly ever bleeds anymore.”
Scott listened, pursing his lips.
“I see. Can I ask why you’ve decided to tell me all of this? We did just meet after all.”
It was a valid question, one that Avid just shrugged in response to.
“There’s just…something about you that makes me want to trust you.”
It wasn’t a lie. Even back then when Avid hated vampires, when Avid was more afraid and skittish. Even then, a part of him found that he trusted Scott. At the time, he did everything to squash that part of him, but it never really worked.
This time, he doesn’t want to hide from it.
Scott nodded, as if understanding.
“So, what then?”
Avid sighed.
“Well, we thought it was a vampire that attacked us.” Scott’s eyes narrowed at that. “Well, that was the only inhuman entity that there had ever really been rumors about in the area. So we experimented, trying to find a cure to my infection. Elle…she would go out all the time in hopes of finding a vampire. We thought that maybe we could use something like vampire blood to cure me. You know, like how snake venom can be used to make cures. She never was able to find any vampires though. Still, we experimented with different ingredients. The only thing that ever seemed to be of any effect was holy water, but that was difficult to come by and neither of us could make it ourselves.”
Scott seemed to grow more interested ever since Avid mentioned vampires. As expected…
“Well anyways. One day, Elle had come back from an outing. She had come out here actually, around the area of Oakhurst since there are so many rumors surrounding this place. She seemed ecstatic. But I was horrified when I saw the large gash across her arm…she had gotten hurt for my sake. She said she found the creature. She wasn’t able to get its blood, or confirm what it was…but she recognized it as the same beast that attacked me that night.” Avid paused. This was the most difficult part to admit.
Yet, he wanted to admit it. To Scott most of all. He wanted Scott to trust him, to know that this time, he was on the side of vampires.
Scott finally placed his hand on Avid’s cheek, a comforting gesture that Avid didn’t expect from Scott. He didn’t know if it was genuine, but he leaned into the cold hand anyway as tears threatened to spill from his eyes.
“Suddenly she- she stopped talking and then she bared her teeth and lunged. I panicked. I didn’t know what to do so I grabbed a stake I had been carving for her to use to defend herself…and I stuck it into her chest before she could hurt me. When I realized what I’d done, she was already dead. Cold and lifeless on the ground…”
Avid realized he was crying now, his voice shaky.
“I killed her…I killed my sister.”
Scott rubbed circles over Avid’s cheek with his thumb.
“That must have been hard. I can’t imagine having to kill close family like that. How long ago?”
Avid took in a breath before he responded.
“Three days. I never even buried her body. I just came straight here after gathering a few supplies.”
Scott hummed thoughtfully.
“So, what do you think? Was the thing that turned your sister and infected you a vampire?”
Avid shook his head.
“No, I don’t think so. The more I think about it, it doesn’t really fit the rumors of vampires, aside from being a creature of the night and having claws. Though I um…I have had cravings for raw meat since being infected, I haven’t had any cravings for blood specifically. Just the meat.”
Scott smirked.
“I guess that explains the strong scent of meat coming from your bag.”
Avid nodded.
“Yeah…oh, do you want some? I have plenty…I only got so much just in case I got the craving again…to satiate myself. It’s on and off. I can still eat human food, but it’s difficult to control myself when I get the craving for meat. I feel like vampires probably have more control than that, since they’re rumored to be able to blend in with humans.”
Scott nodded.
“I see. Very smart of you. So, let me guess. You feel guilty for killing your sister, and you’re worried that you’ll turn into a monster that will hurt people. Is that why you want to die?”
Avid nodded. Scott was always smart, quick to pick up on things.
“Yeah…well…I know that I already can’t control myself…and I feel like I’m running out of time. I think I’ll turn fully into…whatever scratched me…and I just know I won’t be friendly anymore.”
Scott hummed thoughtfully.
“You know Avid, I’m terribly hungry.”
Avid almost wanted to smile. There it is…the Scott he knew, taking every opportunity to feed.
“What would you say to a cure?”
Avid looked up at Scott.
“I’d be really happy. I mean, I think I should die…but I don’t really want to die…and a cure would mean I would no longer run any risk of hurting others against my own volition. So, I’d probably say yes.”
Scott smirked. He knew he’d get exactly what he wanted, and Avid knew it too.
“Even if you become something in-human? Even if…you live forever?”
Avid’s breath hitched.
He had known this would come. Being alone with a hungry Scott was most likely to turn out this way. Still, it sent shivers up his spine. He was lucky Scott didn’t just attack him as soon as they were alone. That would have been just as likely.
“As long as I can control myself. As long as I stay me. Then I don’t care what I become.”
Because Avid had been scared before. He thought that becoming a vampire would mean losing himself. Now he knows that’s not the case. Now he knows that being a vampire is the best thing he could ever have. Well…third to Scott being in his life and Elle coming back to life.
Scott grinned, showing off his fangs.
“Well, you asked for it.”
He leaned into the crook of Avid’s neck. His body was cold. Avid put his hand on Scott’s chest to support himself, worried he would pass out with how much blood was rushing to his face. There was no heart beat. Nothing there that would normally be a comfort. Yet Scott’s presence was still comforting.
Because Avid knew Scott would protect his fledglings, unless maybe they did something terrible against him. Avid knew that despite Scott’s evil, there was care in his heart. Avid knew that he would be under Scott’s protection again. This time, he didn’t plan to die. This time, he planned to stay by Scott’s side for eternity.
The pain was jarring, but not as bad as the pain of death. The two fangs slotted themselves into Avid’s neck, on the opposite side of the wound. Breaking past bandages and skin since Scott didn’t bother to unwrap the bandages at all.
It felt…way better than when Shelby turned him.
It was almost blissful. Avid could feel the life leaving him, but it wasn’t so painful.
Like floating on clouds…
Avid closed his eyes. He remembered that he was very fatigued when he was turned before. Something about being turned while being ill making it take longer to fully turn.
“Scott…promise not to kill me while I sleep?”
Scott pulled away for a moment, a rare chuckle passing his lips.
“I promise, Avid.”
With that, Avid couldn’t stay awake any longer. He let himself slump in Scott’s arms as Scott ‘s fangs slid into his neck again.
This was nice…
-To Be Continued-