Chapter Text
It all came in flashes. Intense heat beating against Michael's back and sending streaks of sweat to stain his shirt. Pure sugary stench that held an underlying metallic sting. Thick syrup flowing between teeth, filling him with soft warmth that settled in his gut. All of the agony inside was gone, anguish sated for a moment before the most mindbending pain of his life.
That was thankfully even more hazy, heavy walls blocking almost every detail. Dull pangs still rolled around his muscles, burning holes in flesh as though he had run three marathons back to back. A meek itch in the back of his chest stirred, shaking him awake. Fluttering open his eyes took effort, reluctant to be conscious but unable to slip back into tranquility.
He recognized the stinking mildew and stale smoke of his friends' home first, pupils requiring a moment to parse through dense shadows. Grumbling, he shifted slightly in his spot and brushed a cheek along something soft. Michael realized that his knees were held against his chest, spine surely resembling that of a shrimp's.
"Rise and shine," a familiar voice crooned.
In a daze, he peered over his shoulder to see David beaming, his light brown eyes sparkling. As soon as their gazes locked, Michael was lighter, confusion remaining but strangely less daunting. Tension lifted, lolling deeper into what Michael had now noticed was David's lap. Gentle fingers brushed curls of night off of Michael's forehead. Michael stretched out on the couch, moving to lie on his other side.
He took in a deep breath, his brain shaking off the cobwebs.
"Wha… what happened?" Speaking brought him to take note of this strange texture in his mouth. Michael tasted around, tongue clicking during his investigation. Whatever the film was was viscous and pungent.
David exhaled sharply. "I barely remembered my first too."
Michael furrowed his brow before memories blared. Standing beside a roaring bonfire, watching surfers soak the sand red. God, it smelled so delicious.
He jolted upright at the thought, heart plummeting. His palm scraped along his lips and it pulled away with smears of crimson. The room faded away along with David's touch. Heavy gasps boomed, dread crashing and currents of terror pulling him out into oceanic depths. Every nerve shut off, senses dulled into nothing.
"Hey, hey," David said softly, gently patting Michael's shoulder. "It's alright." He took Michael's hand; Michael turned to him with hollow eyes, sitting on his haunches. There was a ring of dull orange around his pupils, the only splash of color in his abyssal irises. It's been many years since he's seen a sunrise but recollection said this was a similar view.
He glanced down at the stained grooves of skin. Sure, he just ate but who was he to deprive himself of a little something extra?
Carassing Michael's wrist, he lifted it to his mouth and outstretched his tongue, lapping it up. The blood was a little stale, a bit dry but it went down smooth enough. Small tremors rattled Michael who had now taken to watching the middle distance.
"Michael." He balled Michael's hand into a fist and held it over where his heart once beat. "It's alright. I'm here for you."
"Mom… S-Sam," Michael mumbled, still a thousand miles away. "She… he's…" Even if David couldn't hear a pin drop, Michael's gulp would be deafening.
David stifled an eye roll. Ah yes, that must be the mortal brother he's heard so much about. It was hard to leave human family behind but after a few years, Michael will forget that Dan or whatever his name is ever existed. He has a new family now, one equally bound in blood.
"I- I…" Michael stumbled onto his feet, pale and staggering. "I gotta…" His knee buckled ever so slightly when he stepped backward. Though he wasn't making much sense, David knew already what he was planning.
"You're not gonna wanna see your old family, Michael." Humans and vampires— especially adorable, barely-in-control-of-themselves-yet fledglings— mix infamously poorly and if Michael ate his mother and brother, then he'd be so heartbroken for so long. Leaving them behind is hard enough but destroying them is an entirely different beast. It will take him ages to forgive himself. Beyond that, dawn is soon to break.
Michael went still; David stood up, holding the back of Michael's neck and shoulder. Silent commands rippled across their fresh ethereal bond, willing a sense of calm to descend over Michael. He took in a deep breath, the glint fading from his eyes as they finally met David's. There were still a good few trembles along Michael's side but with some proper rest, he'll recover fully.
"C'mon." Michael didn't fight David as he guided him back on the tattered cushions. As Michael settled down, David took off his coat. Carefully, he draped the sprawling navy fabric over Michael. With the desperation of a mewling newborn who couldn't be more lost and confused, Michael clutched onto the coat, closing his eyes.
While Michael fell into true slumber— the simulacrums of life shutting off and leaving him undistinguishable from a corpse— David reached around inside his skull. The smooth, deep blue beat he knew to be Marko was already on his way back home but Paul's steady and strong blinking maroon lights and Dwayne's jovially erratic flames were distant, trailing around on the other side of town. Once distant, Michael was now a clear sky buzzing with lightning right beside him. David couldn't deny the slight pang in his chest at how Star was still a bit obscured, only able to make out its color but not its detail.
"Boys," he whispered. An invisible hand tugged on well-worn threads, strumming out a singular, harmonizing note. Dwayne and Paul promptly turned back around while Star stayed in place. Though she won't burn in the sun like her brothers do, he didn't care for the thought of her sleeping all alone outside today. David fiddled with the bent hair sticking in his line of sight, a nervous tick that originated from when he was alive.
The splashing colors of his brothers dimmed into the background, all of David's focus laid onto Star.
"Star." She gave no response, far away as ever and probably still pouting over the news he shared with her earlier when Michael had collapsed. It was a little frustrating, how he handed her a gift and she refused to accept it. Michael had no struggle embracing it after he got his first bite in. Someday, when he comes to admit that no part of him is human anymore, he'll be a fantastic vampire. Star could be the same if she would just let go.
David sighed, kicking off his boots. Well, with Michael now finished with his transformation, Star has even more reason to take the final step. All it takes is one kill and she'll have him, family forever, eternal youth and freedom.
In the corner, the rusty elevator dinged, the light over the decaying doors flickering to life before quickly dying. Said doors creaked open and Marko stepped into the innermost layer of their home, frowning.
"I think this thing's starting to break again," he remarked, peeking at the soot stained control panel. "I could swear it nearly dropped me like twice."
David shrugged, waving a dismissive hand. "Well, it's Dwayne's turn to fix it."
Marko made a face and David hummed in curiousity.
"Is he gonna fix it the same way he fixed that?" Marko motioned to a gaping hole in the ceiling that was hastily sealed over with planks of wood. While they did live in the basement, the ironworks was destroyed enough that the sun would come right through during daylight. "All it's gonna take is a sneeze and we're all burnt to a crisp in our sleep."
David strolled across the cold metal floor, moving towards the strip of rebar that stood a good ten feet off the ground. "It's worked well enough so far."
Marko huffed but seemed content with keeping the rest of his trepidations to himself. As he took off his own shoes, he finally noticed Michael all tucked in and stock-still.
"How's he doing?" Marko leaned in, squinting at him.
"Eh, you remember Paul and Dwayne." David twitched the muscles in his legs and, suddenly, he was weightless, rising up like a bird albeit with much less flapping. With practiced ease, he willed himself to flip upside down and his body obeyed. "He's actually doing pretty good compared to them."
Marko chuckled at the memory, David cracked a smile. Paul got himself stuck on the ceiling for a good 4 hours after his final step and Dwayne entered a proper teething phase, gnawing on all of his catches for an entire month.
As they dwelled on the past, bones inside David's feet began to shift, muscles bending painlessly and toenails growing to points as sharp as the ones on David's fingers. What once were normal, human feet quickly became claws that latched onto the jutted out metal piece. His arms crossed over his chest, cradling his own biceps.
"If Star comes in, wake up me and Michael." His eyelids sealed shut and David felt his entire body shut off like a lightswitch, returning to death.
There was a lump about the size of Texas in Sam's throat, threatening to strangle him. Ever since waking up and seeing that Michael's bed was empty, his heart seemed to be trying to explode. He couldn't stop staring, studying how the blanket was crumpled into a ball, how the comforter was falling off the edge, the grooves of Michael's pillow from years of squeezing it. It resembled an open wound, waiting for something to seal it, make it complete.
Sam struggled to imagine an innocent reason as to why a teenage vampire wouldn't return home.
The weak knock tapping on his door made him jump, snapping his head to watch Mom poke her head in, giving a tired grin.
"Morning, Sam. Morning…" When she spotted Michael's barren mattress, she froze and Sam knew he needed to act.
"He's in the bathroom." He scratched his jaw nervously but strained his expression to be empty.
Mom pursed her lips. "Oh… I didn't see him come in last night. I wanted to talk before work…"
Sam forced a chuckle, getting out of bed. "I don't think he's coming out any time soon." Fingers played with the edge of his baggy t-shirt, a hand-me-down from his missing brother. "I, uh, I can take a message for you."
Mom shook her head. "No, I wanna… This is more of a face-to-face conversation but thanks, Sam." She turned on her heel to leave and this strange sensation stirred in Sam, pushing him forward.
"Uh, Mom?"
She stopped, waiting.
"I love you, Mom." Pressure welled in the back of his eyes; Sam prayed that tears wouldn't fall.
Mom scoffed, puzzled but touched by the seemingly random affection. "I love you too, Sam." She started straightening her VideoMax vest. "My shift's over at seven today."
Discreetly, Sam glanced at the alarm clock on his bedside table which informed him that it was currently 9:30. He has around eight hours to track down wherever the hell Michael is.
As soon as Mom left the room, he started walking the length of his bedroom repeatedly, tapping his chin as his brain churned. Potentially, he could be slumped in a dumpster somewhere, exhausted after a night of partying but honestly, the chances of it being that simple and clean were slim. Much more likely is the sinister, rumbling cloud hanging overhead, the worst possible explanation nagging at Sam, terror painting a picture of him drained in an alleyway or something worse, so grim that the thought couldn't even form.
Perhaps, he's just hanging out with the other vampires or just his freaky new punk friends.
Realization struck Sam like a truck, every piece clicking into place. He gasped from the deepest pit of his chest, spine going rigid. Of course. All of this started when Michael began hanging out with them.
Sam basically flew down the stairs, scrambling for the phone in the kitchen. Filled with the energy of a thousand kids on Christmas, he clicked in numbers that he had already committed to memory.
The receiver trilled, Sam couldn't stand still even after it stopped.
"Hello?"
Sam didn't know the high-pitched voice speaking to him in the slightest.
"Hi, uh, Mrs. Frog? I'm Sam-"
"Emerson!" she finished for him. "Oh, I've heard so much about you! Edgar and Je- Alan, they can't stop talking about you. You do not know how glad I am that they've made a new friend."
Sam's lips curled up, chest tightening. Yeah, he is their friend, isn't he. He's never really had one of those before.
Glad that Mrs. Frog couldn't see his warming cheeks, he cleared his throat.
"Are Alan and Edgar awake?"
Mrs. Frog laughed whole-heartedly. "They get up at five every morning. One second." Her end went silent, Sam bounced on the balls of his feet as he waited.
"What's going on, Phoenix?" Edgar asked, as deathly serious as ever.
All the joy was sucked out of Sam's sails. "It's… we've got a code red." He lowered his voice as if someone could overhear.
A beat of stunned quiet.
"Did your brother…" Sam could almost see Alan miming out a bite.
"I don't know," Sam grumbled. "He didn't come home..." He wrapped the phone cord around his hand, gripping it.
"We'll be there ASAP!" Edgar declared before the click and drone told Sam they had hung up. Sam placed the phone in the cradle and leaned on the wall, staring up at the ceiling.
Yet again, the growling dread returned. His shoulders rose, jaw set tight. He couldn't help but think of when he was younger, hiding in his room and playing with his action figures while pretending he couldn't hear the yells echoing down the hallways. Michael would make a habit out of staying in his room, messing around with Sam's things and getting every bit of lore wrong. Once, he tried to make Batman shoot fireballs at Superman to kill him and got a fifteen minute long ramble from Sam about how wrong all of that was. After minute three, he wasn't paying the shouts any mind.
Sam held his head a bit higher, resolve hardening. Mike spent all those years protecting Sam and now it's Sam's turn to save him.
Edgar and Alan will bring the tools so Sam will bring the wit. Knowing who the vamps are is only step one in the battle. Next comes deducing where they are. For the past while, Mike's been trailing black sand throughout the house. Surely, there can only be a few places with black sand around here.
Once they have that figured out, they'll go in and rescue Mike and he can tell them who the head vampire is. In the meantime, Sam has to simply wait.
After a good half hour of watching the clock, restlessly pacing around his kitchen, the back door burst open. Alan threw her bulging backpack on the kitchen table as Edgar took to watching the perimeter.
"You said your bro didn't come back home?" Alan inquired.
Sam gave a small nod, crossing his arms. "I had an epiphany, though. I think the band are the vamps we've been looking for."
Edgar and Alan went motionless, sharing glances.
"Right!" Edgar said, clearly surprised and attempting to hide it.
"The band!" Alan fiddled with her bandana. "Of course."
Sam bit back a remark, well aware this wasn't the time.
"I think their hideout is somewhere with black sand too."
Edgar listed the only places in town with such remarkable dirt and Sam recalled seeing one such band member with a tattoo that had written out the name of one such beach. The plan was concocted and all they have to do now is enact it.
Alan unzipped her bag, rumaging inside.
"The stakes are mine!" Edgar perked up. Alan rolled her eyes and Sam got the feeling this was an argument had several times before.
She then dragged out a sash stuffed with six separate carved sticks which Edgar gleefully took from her. Alan supplied a metal canteen and offered it to Sam.
"Holy water."
Sam held the water by his side and, as Alan continued bringing out weapons, the doorbell rang.
His heart skipped a few beats, hope rising. The Frog brothers watched Sam dash for the entrance, swinging it open and wishing with all his might that Michael would be standing right there.
A crack formed in his ribs when he saw a woman he didn't know the name of but he was aware of her face. This was that girl Michael was flirting with on their first night here. The girl with the band.
"Sam, right?" she pointed at him, solemn. "Is your mom home?"
He barely registered what she was saying, going pale. Intense nausea beat against Sam's skull, attempting to wipe him out. His lungs crushed themselves in and out. Nails dug into his palms, wrists shaking.
"Wh-what happened to Mike?"
The lady seemed truly interested in what the floor looked like.
"Did you guys hur-"
Her eyebrows shot up, attention square on Sam.
"No! No, he…" The lady whipped her head around before walking in, closing the door behind her. Electricity gripped Sam, sending him reeling back and tearing off the lid to his canteen.
"Stay back!" he screamed. The brothers held their stakes at the ready and the lady lifted her hands defensively.
"I'm not here to hurt you."
"That's exactly what a vampire would say!" Edgar puffed out his chest.
Her face was hard for Sam to read, composure settling. While she may be a creature of the night, she was a lot less bitey than he expected. Maybe not every vampire is a full monster; Michael wasn't tearing through innocent kids when his transformation happened. His hackles and weapon lowered.
"Ok, Michael, he- he took…" Whatever was on her mind was struggling to leave. She dragged a hand over her face.
"He took the final step."
Sam instantly understood in spite of the vague terminology. He laughed, humorless and constrained while adamantly shaking his head.
"No. No, he wouldn't."
"I'm sorry-"
"No," Sam repeated, much more stern before storming to the Frog brothers who were both just standing there. "We're going to save my brother. We already know where they are."
The lady approached. "Kid, you don't know what you're getting into. You're jumping into the lion's den."
"He'd do the same for me." The words came so easy and yet so strong. If Sam was in danger, there wasn't a thing Michael wouldn't do to save him.
The lady rolled her eyes. "What is with you Emersons?" Her tone carried all the exasperation of a person who's spent prolonged periods of time around Michael. "Fine, but I'm coming with you, got it?"
Sam didn't mind her tagging along. All he wanted was for this madness to end.