Chapter Text
Jimmy ran into another tree.
His vision was fading fast, and his feet just wouldn't stop tripping over each other.
He needed food. He needed blood.
Jimmy didn’t understand why he was always the one who ended up getting into trouble, even though this time it wasn’t even his fault. They had been fending off an angry group of townspeople before everyone got separated. From his knowledge, Lizzie had made it out before they got cornered, heading back to the coven for backup. But that left him and Mumbo to fend off the hoard by themselves, and Jimmy was already so hungry.
He stumbled forward again, being too weak to fly. He tried to figure out where he was, his sense of direction completely thrown off from tumbling into the woods and away from the burning light of the townspeople's torches.
They should have been able to fight them, it should have been easy.
Why did they seem stronger?
Something suddenly ignited in the back of his brain and the smell of fresh, flowing blood filled his nostrils. He stopped in his stumbling, tilting his head up to try and figure out where it was coming from.
He veered to his left, moving off of pure instinct as his mind slipped away into the hungry frenzy he had tried to sustain.
He was so hungry.
He forced his eyes to open, blinking away the fuzz to see a large, open field with a herd of cows in the center.
Jimmy lurched forward, running as fast as his failing legs could carry him before collapsing into one of the poor animals and sinking his fangs into the flesh of its shoulder. The herd erupted into chaos. The other cows started to scatter, the one in his grasp trying to follow. He held it in place with a strong grip, his ringing ears blocking out everything but the warm blood that had started to drip down his chin.
***
It was three in the morning.
Three in the morning.
Tango’s dog jumped up onto the bed, barking only inches away from his face. “What is it girl?” He grumbled, sitting up quickly and pulling on his boots that had been laid out next to his bed. She never woke him up this early. She barked again, clawing at the closed door of his bedroom. He let her out, following behind her as she practically ran through the house to the back door.
Tango could hear it now. His cows had started to freak out, which usually only meant one thing.
Something was attacking them.
He grabbed the rifle he had resting next to the back door, loading it as he opened the door and watched Torchie bolt through the backyard and out to the large field where the cows had been grazing.
He whistled for her, a quick, low note. He didn't want whatever was attacking the cows to get her too. She quickly came running back, staying next to him with her hackles raised as he marched forward.
His cows were scattered, and in the darkness of the night he could only see an unmoving lump in the middle of the field. Torchie barked again, and the lump moved. A pair of eyes now reflected back at him through the darkness, shining off of the dim light of his porch.
A coyote?
The silhouette stood up unsteadily, the shape of a tall figure rising from the ground. Tango felt a wave of fear rush through him, making eye contact with the creature before he fired. He assumed he hit it, because the eyes disappeared, being quickly followed by a too-human scream. Tango ran forward, loading another bullet into the chamber before stopping a few feet from the man.
Or…not man.
The creature was clutching his shoulder, which adorned a new bullet hole. His blonde hair fell over his forehead and fresh blood dripped down his chin.
Vampire.
Tango raised his gun again, this time aiming for the head.
Torchie crawled forward, resting her head on the man’s side with a quiet whine.
“What are you doing girl?”
She didn’t move, her tail wagging behind her.
“Come here.” He took another step forward, his gun still raised. Torchie only barked in response, half of her body resting on the vampire.
Tango slowly dropped his gun, a puzzled expression on his face. “Come here, Torchie.”
She didn't budge.
“Torchie.”
She whined and Tango looked at the creature again before taking a deep breath. “What am I doing?” He muttered under his breath, slinging the gun over his shoulder and crouching down. Torchie got up, her tail wagging as she made her way back to Tango's side.
The vampire let go of his injured arm, attempting to push himself back and away from Tango before wincing from the pain that must have been radiating through his arm.
“I won't hurt you,” He looked at the vampire's frightened expression, a small smile growing on his face despite their current situation. “More than I already did, at least. Sorry about that.” He extended his hand. “Let me help you.”
The vampire narrowed his dimming eyes, looking between him and Torchie before seeming to weigh his options and nodding, taking Tango’s hand. “I’m only coming for the dog.” He heard the vampire mutter under his breath, his voice a lot more tired and scared than Tango expected.
He pulled him up, smiling at his comment and letting the much taller vampire lean on him as he started to walk back to his house.
What was he doing?
Torchie ran around the pair for a minute, eventually stopping next to the vampire and walking so close to him that Tango was scared he was going to trip on her. They eventually got to his back porch, the vampire's steps becoming slower and slower the further they walked.
Tango opened the door and Torchie ran in first, securing her place on the armchair. The vampire slumped out of his arms, leaning on the side of the doorframe with a grimace. “You gotta let me in.” His hand was back on his shoulder, his face scrunched up in pain.
“I am letting you- oh.” Tango registered what he was saying. Vampires had to be invited in, didn't they? He was pretty sure he had read that somewhere. He opened his mouth to speak, but logical thought made his jaw snap back shut. Should he really be doing this? Why was he even doing this? Because his dog seemed to like the guy?? What if he decides to attack him the moment they get inside? The little voice in the back of his head answered.
Well, he hasn't attacked you yet.
Tango gripped his gun a little tighter, “Do you wanna come in?” He paused, watching the vampire's movements, “Did that work, or?...”
The vampire nodded, stumbling through the doorway. He stayed on the wall, using his uninjured arm to hold himself up and guide his way through the small hall that led to the rest of the house. Tango returned to his side, guiding him to a couch that he flopped down on, groaning as his head hit the pillow.
“I’ll get you something for that, I'll be right back.” Tango rushed away, leaving the vampire unconscious on his couch.
***
The large wooden door slammed open, Lizzie practically falling through the entryway. Bdubs rushed forward, helping her up from the floor.
“What happened?” He made her sit down in a nearby chair, rushing off to a cabinet as she started talking.
“A mob-” She coughed. Her light pink hair was tousled, a stark difference from the clean and kept waves she usually wore. Her face was paler than normal and she was covered in dirt and scratches. “-They came from the town, cornered us.”
Bdubs handed her a bottle and she frantically tore the cork off of it, chugging it down and he watched as the red liquid slowly drained from it before he took the bottle back, setting it on a nearby table.
“Thank you.” Her voice sounded clearer.
He nodded, becoming more frantic by the minute. “Where are the other two?” Lizzie had left a few hours ago with Jimmy and Mumbo on a scouting mission, and Lizzie had come back alone.
“I ran to get help, I’m not sure where they went.” She pushed herself up from the chair, a new fire in her eyes now that she was rehydrated. “Are the others here?”
Bdubs shook his head “They left earlier, i’m not sure where they went.”
“Alright. We can go without them.”
They ran out the door and Lizzie led them back to where she had left Mumbo and Jimmy with the mob. The ground was newly scorched and a few splatters of blood stained the unburnt grass a deep red. Some of the nearby trees were scarred where it looked like a claw or an axe could have cut through the trunk. A few flames were still alight, which Bdubs snuffed out with the heel of his boot.
“Do you think they-” Lizzie started, her eyes on a splatter of blood right next to her shoe.
“No.” Bdubs crept forward into the scene, tilting his head to the side. He hesitated. “You hear that?”
Lizzie paused, doing the same before she nodded. “It sounds like wings.”
They made eye contact before they both began to frantically spin, searching the sky for any sign of the vampire that was sure to follow.
“Mumbo.” He could see the small silhouette of a bat in the sky, flying towards the clearing with a bucket in his claws. His wings flapped in uneven intervals, nothing like his usual pattern, which tended to be very measured and paced. He dipped down into the small clearing, not quite landing before he transformed back and stumbled over his feet before catching himself on a tree at the other side. Some of the water that used to be in the bucket now splashed on the cuffs of his dark pants and the ground below.
“Mumbo!” Lizzie rushed forward, wrapping the much taller man in her arms. He jumped, probably only just registering they were there before he hugged her back.
“You’re alive!” Mumbo gave a relieved laugh, looking around the clearing before finally dropping the bucket. “Where’s Jim?”
“He’s not with you?”
“No!” His voice grew panicked, cracking throughout his sentence, “We got split up, I thought he would have found his way back!”
Bdubs cut in, “What happened, Mumbo?”
“Well once Liz left we decided to split up, and after a while I could see the smoke from when the mob left, so I started putting out the fire-” He kicked the bucket lightly with his shoe, “-Jim ran off in the direction of the coven, so I assumed he would have made it back.” He had started to fidget with his hands, clearly getting nervous.
“Well why would you assume that!” Lizzie yelled and Mumbo cowered back into the tree he was leaning on. “Have you ever met him?!”
“Well I-” Mumbo’s voice grew more pathetic. He shrunk in on himself, his dark eyes wide.
Bdubs didn't blame him, Lizzie was scary when she's mad.
“It's ok.” Bdubs cut in, pulling Lizzie away from poor Mumbo and flinching when her glare was instead directed to him. “We’ll find him, he can handle himself in the meantime.”
Lizzie sighed, looking between Mumbo and him before nodding, “Alright.”
“Let's split up, we can find him easier that way.” Mumbo suggested, standing up to his full height again, dusting off his suit and straightening his tie. He was always dressed to the nines, Bdubs didn't remember the last time he saw him without a suit on. It admittedly always made Bdubs feel a little bit like a slob.
“Great idea!” Lizzie returned to her usual cheerful state, running off into the direction of the coven, “I’ll go the way he ran, you guys go over there.” She did a little spin mid jump, pointing in two directions opposite of herself for them to follow.
Bdubs gave a salute, straightening his posture like he was in a military line up, “Yes, Ma’am.”
Mumbo laughed before heading off to the direction closest to himself, waving Bdubs a goodbye before he disappeared into the trees. Bdubs looked around one more time before sighing and making his way out of the clearing to start his search. He figured Jimmy would be fine, he had been on his own before he joined the coven and he knew enough that Bdubs trusted him to keep himself alive, at least for a little while. He could see why Lizzie would be worried though, the attacks from villagers had only gone up and they all could feel the tension in the air rise the last few weeks.
Bdubs jumped into the air, quickly transforming into a bat before he could hit the ground again. He weaved through the branches of the trees, watching the ground below for any sign of where Jimmy could have ran off to.
He didn't know how long he was flying for, but the moon had made its way across the sky far too quickly. The darkness of the night had already started to slip away, it was barely noticeable to anyone that wasn't looking for it, but Bdubs saw how the sky had grown lighter by a few shades, preparing itself for the vibrant colors of the sunrise. He needed to head back soon, with or without Jim.
He heard something moving through the air next to him, ducking just in time as an arrow grazed the top of his head. He was thrown off balance, running chest first into a branch that knocked the air out of him. He hit the ground after a few seconds of freefalling, human again. His ribs hurt and his head pounded but he didn't have time to think about that because another arrow was fired at him. Bdubs quickly rolled to the side, the arrow burying into the ground where he had just been. He looked up to see a man standing across the small clearing he had found himself in.
A hunter.
The man had stark white hair and a dark mask that covered the lower half of his face, his crossbow already loaded and ready to fire another shot, which he did without hesitation. Bdubs shot up back into the air, flying in erratic circles before the hunter shot again, this time barely grazing his already aching wing. He dove down while he was loading another arrow, transforming back a few feet above the ground to tackle the man to the grass below. They both fell, Bdubs digging his knee into the man's back. The hunter twisted, trying to free himself from underneath Bdubs.
“Effo!” A voice that didn't belong to the hunter startled him. Bdubs looked up to see another man about a dozen feet away. He had brown hair with a green streak running through it, his own crossbow now pointed at Bdubs.
The first hunter seized his opportunity, getting his legs underneath him and being able to push himself up from the ground, grabbing Bdubs by his arms and rolling him over his back and onto the dirt. The hunter was on him in a second, straddling his chest and bringing a glistening silver blade down to his heart. Bdubs transformed, slipping out from under the hunter with wobbly wings. The second hunter fired at him as he flew away, but he didn't exactly have time to deal with them right now - Jimmy was still missing and the sun had started to rise.