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Scott sat alone at an altar.Blood-red beads slipped through his fingers, and he hummed slightly as the metallic clack of them hitting one another echoed through the high ceilings of the church. He didn't believe in a god- he wasn't praying to one. Over and over the pearls fell through, pulled toward one another. The rhythmic sounds played in time with the phantom beating in his chest, and Scott let out a breath. The silence in the chapel allowed his mind to exercise itself, and in turn, he could feel his muscles thrumming with activity as they kept his body still in his taught and quiet position. It was difficult to think with the others around. Sure, he enjoyed their company, but it did seem like conversation with a 20- something, unaware of the reality of life and still drunk on youth. The fledglings were fun, but he needed a break. He'd go back soon. Clack. Clack. Clack.
Shelby lent against a tree, picking blood from under her fingernails. Licking the taste of chicken blood off of her lips, she sighed contentedly as life thrummed through her empty veins. For just a moment, she felt almost human, and her mind cleared. Vampirism came with its tolls, and the feeling that you were missing something vital was one of them. It wasn't just your drained blood and sleep that eluded you. It was the state of mind those with their humanity still intact managed to uphold. While human, there was hope. Pleasure. As a vampire, every step you took reminded you of how you were out of place. You were a fault in the system, not alive nor dead, somewhere in between, a 2 in the world of 1s and 0s. However, the blood brought something of it back, even if the feeling was quickly swallowed up. Like a drug, it let you fly for one blissful second, before dropping you harshly back to the cold, dark earth. She would be seeking the sense of fullness for the rest of eternity. That feeling of satisfied hunger would forever elude her, and she would follow the unobtainable goal in every animal she consumed.
Avid stared at his nails in awe. He retracted them, and then pulled out his claws again. He had power in his hands- he was too far gone to go back now. Although he couldn't check a mirror to see if it was true, the other vampires had said his hair was growing paler and paler by the day. Suddenly, a flash of memory crossed him, of his very first day in Oakhurst. He had been happy. Then he had learnt of the vampires, and terror had consumed him. He had never considered the fact he might become one of them, in fact, he would have done anything to avoid the event. But here he was, his humanness pouring away as though through an hourglass. Draining him bit by bit until he was fully a vampire. Lifeless, with nothing left. Although he was now undead, he had never felt more alive. He was enjoying it.
Cleo waited patiently for nightfall. She was starving. Having to hold herself back all day and refusing food (especially Sausage’s new garlic stew, at which they wanted to puke) was exhausting. Now they no longer have to sleep, however, she can lay in bed until Pearl is asleep, and creep out of Oakhurst to hunt, kill, and eat. And if they found herself wandering over to the castle and talking with the other vampires, then, well, who’s to judge? She could do what she liked now. Cleo ran for the woods, the cold night air pulling at her clothes and stealing their breath. It felt surprisingly good to be free of the town’s walls, as though they were shedding her skin. Out here, underneath the crimson light of the moon and the dull, muted leaves, she could breathe deeply again, could run until their legs gave out, and howl up at the moon, because nothing was there to hold her back. She makes her way towards the castle, and a grin takes over their face. They won't be able to hide for much longer.
Apo let her legs flow in the cold water of the lake. The freshly turned beacon shed its comforting red light across its surface, and she let out a breath she had been holding in all day. Being a vampire was tiring, as it turned out, a lone one even more so. How she longed to give in and use up their supply of cattle, how easy it would be to just hand herself over. They might not even accept her- after all she’d done- but she had made her decision. Better alone than with them. The very core of vampirism was being alone, being separate from society, singularity. If they were trying to deny it, they could barely call themselves vampires at all. She wouldn’t associate with them, not till the day a stake was driven through her cold, dead heart.
Pyro lounged on his bed- one he didn’t actually need- and sneered at Owen, who sat politely on the edge of it. Tension stretched between them like a rope- one that was about to snap. They'd been fighting over Scott like schoolboys over some girl since day one, and they weren't going to give up now. Now that they had eternity, the two of them had silently decided that they would waste all the time in the world pining over him. Pyro barely cared that he'd lost everything he had, he just wanted to one-up Owen and wipe that smug smile off of his face.
Abolish mused as he stared out of his window. Those vampires, their fickle goings on, it was intolerable. He would have no more of it. Their presence had offset the very foundations of Oakhurst, a town he had tried so hard to rebuild, and had taken the solemn, tragic backstory of the place and turned it into this sick, twisted game. He would take them out one by one, even if it left him broken, hell, he’d kill every last one of them even if he himself got turned. He glanced over at the stake that lay on his shelves. It was time.
Scott got up from the altar, letting the beads fall from his fingers and clatter on the marble floors.
Shelby stalked back to the castle, her hunger kept at bay, for now.
Avid let his claws retract one last time, his blood slowly draining from his veins.
Cleo caught sight of a doe in the woods, and began to stalk after it, on the precipice of full vampirism.
Apo watched the moon’s reflection in the lake.
Owen got up and left Pyro alone, done with their fighting for today.
Abolish grabbed his stake, and slammed the door behind him. The vampires had no idea what was about to hit them.