A/N: Hey all! Here it is! The prologue to a fic that's been five years in the making. This is a sequel to my fic "Spawn of the Asylum," so if you haven't read it, please do if you can!
As a bit of background, I started SotA back in 2013, then stopped updating in 2014. I recently dug it back up, re-read it, and did my research to finish it. In the process, I found my old plans for a sequel (this fic you're reading right here!). I enjoyed going back to this fic so much that I really, really wanted to continue the story. So I did.
I can't give an exact timing for how often I can update this, but at the very least, there should be a new chapter every month. This fic will also be posted on my Ao3 account, under the username kwhyloren.
Also! This story takes place after the episode "The Magnificent Seven" (S3 EP1).
Please leave some reviews if you can! I enjoy hearing from my readers :)
Bloomington, Indiana
Five Months Ago
Alice takes slow, deliberate steps across the floor of the ruined house, avoiding any spots that might make noise. The ceiling creaks above her, sending small bits of dust and dirt drifting. She tightens her grasp around the machete in her right hand, raising her other hand to signal to her sister.
In the next room, Mel stands ready, glancing around warily. She deftly makes her way over to Alice, expression grim.
"Three bodies in the dining room, two older, one fresh," she says softly.
"No bodies in the other rooms," Alice replies. "I think our vamp's upstairs."
Mel nods and opens her mouth to say something else, but Alice is already making her way quietly up the stairs. She can feel the waves of anger radiating off her sister, hear the rhythmic thumping of her heart. It worries her, makes her hope she doesn't make a mistake. Anger is dangerous, that much she knows from experience. The dull ache in her chest confirms it.
There's dried blood on the floorboards, Alice notices as she ascends the staircase. Bloodied footprints lead down the upstairs hall, something out of a horror movie. Either this vampire is too sloppy for their own good, or it's a trap. Regardless, there will be hell to pay, she thinks, a surge of anger coursing its way through her. People were dead because of this monster, and she intended to make sure they felt it when she killed them.
The first door on the right is open, leading into an empty bathroom. Alice doesn't even bother to investigate the inside; the stench of blood is so pungent here that it's obvious someone else must have died there. The bloody footsteps lead onward, to the door at the end of the hallway. She lifts the machete, readying herself for the kill.
"Shit," Mel whispers as she makes it upstairs. "This f***er's been busy."
She brings her own machete out of the holster at her hip, wrinkling her nose. There's something off about the blood in the bathroom, but she can't put her finger on it. It doesn't matter anyway, whoever is in there is dead— she can smell it on them.
Alice makes her way to the second door, a bedroom. It looks like a wild dog was set loose. The covers are hanging off the bed, feathers from pillows strewn across the room. She can see the outline of another body wrapped in the blankets. No visible blood, but the shape isn't moving. F**k, that's five dead now, she realizes. There must be more than just one.
"This might be a trap, Al," Mel says quietly behind her.
"I know. We'll hit the last room together," she replies.
"Same tactic as that house in Charlottesville?"
"Exactly."
Mel circles around her sister, starting towards the closed door. Alice follows soon after, weapon at the ready. They get into position, muscles tense. Mel glances at her sister, a familiar look of confirmation. Alice nods. She's ready; her arm's itching to bury the blade deep into the vamp's neck, saw through its flesh.
There's a loud crack as Mel's boot crashes hard into the door, splitting the wood. It comes free of its hinges from the force, falling to the floor with a dusty thump. The two are inside the room within seconds, machetes pointed at the only figure in the room, slouched against the wall.
He gasps, holding his hands up, eyes wide and panicked.
"Wait! don't hurt me, please, I—"
"Mel?" Alice interrupts.
Mel takes a breath, listens in on the silence. There's only one heartbeat that she can hear in this room, which makes the terrified looking man someone like her. Her eyebrows furrow, studying the fear in his eyes, confused at how this one could be their killer.
"Vamp," she states simply.
The man's eyes dart to Mel, and some of the terror in his expression dissipates. It's short lived, though. Alice takes a quick step forward while he's distracted, thrusting her machete through the gap between his hands to dig into the side of his neck and embed itself into the wall. He yelps, hands flying up to grasp at the blade, trying to stop it from moving any further into his neck. Dark blood seeps from his hands, eyes meeting Alice's pleadingly.
"No, stop… please, just listen to me," he begs.
"Where are the others?" Alice asks, unphased by his pleas. He's just a beast to her, inhuman.
"I killed them, you had to have seen. Please, let me explain—"
Alice attempts to push the blade in further and he desperately grips it tighter with his hands to stop her.
"Alice," Mel says.
She watches her sister's arms shake with the effort of struggling against the vampire's strength. It doesn't seem like she heard her.
"Alice," she repeats, stepping forward to put an arm on her shoulder. "Wait, let him talk."
Alice shrugs her sister's arm off her shoulder.
"Why should I? I bet he didn't even hesitate a moment when those people downstairs begged for their lives," she hisses. "He's a F**king liar."
"Some of the bodies smelled off to me, he might be telling the truth," Mel says.
The man's gaze moves between the sisters. He looks like a trapped animal, brown eyes wild with the desire to come out of this alive.
"She's right, listen to her. I'm not like them, I'm— I've changed."
Alice's eyes don't leave his face. Her gaze is still cold, calculated. She wants nothing more but to remove the man's head from his shoulders, rid the world of his existence. Doing so will anger her sister, though, and she has learned how dangerous that can be as of late.
"Go check the rooms. I'll hold him here," she finally says.
Mel lets out a long sigh. She gives the man a don't try anything look and heads out of the room, making her way into the bedroom. It's not hard to spot the body, and when she goes to lift the blankets, she finds the corpse is missing a head. She gives it a sniff, makes a face. Yeah, this one was a vampire. That leaves the one in the bathroom; the others downstairs were definitely human. She steps out of the bedroom and walks into the bathroom, flicking on the light. The shower curtain is half-open and spattered with dried blood. Sitting in the tub is another corpse, severed head teetering dangerously on the shoulder. The scent of it is the strange, undead stench she's used to when hunting those of her own kind. Looks like the poor man was telling the truth.
She heads back to the room where Alice is waiting, still staring down the vamp. He glances at her, looking relieved.
"He's telling the truth," she says. "There's a dead vamp in the bedroom and one in the bathroom."
"I told you, I killed them. I couldn't watch them kill any more people so I had to, I swear," he says, looking back at Alice.
Her grip on the machete is still tight, expression far from merciful. It almost disappoints her that he's not guilty. Well, perhaps he is— most of them have a little innocent blood on their hands. Mel included.
Mel watches her sister, knowing that she's not going to budge on her own. She places a hand on the handle of the blade, forcing Alice to wrench it away from the man. The second its removed from his neck, the man scrambles sideways away from them, leaving bloody handprints in the carpet.
The man stands, holding his neck. It only takes a few moments before it heals up. He looks at his hands, making sure the gashes in them are sealed before he runs them through his dark, unruly hair nervously.
"F**k, I thought you were going to kill me for a second there," he breathes.
"We still might," Alice comments.
"We aren't," Mel corrects, giving her sister a stern side glance. "Just tell us what happened here."
"The other two, they were okay for a while. We stole a car that had blood bags in it, and it kept us all fed for a while, but then we ran out and… well, they started bringing people here, draining them," he says. "It was awful. So when they made me drink from one of them, I kind of snapped. I had to stop them."
Alice sighs, wiping her machete off on the carpet before sliding it back into its sheath.
"You did the right thing," Mel says.
He looks nervously from one of them to the other, eyes eventually resting on Mel.
"What's your story?" he asks.
"I'm a vamp like you. I kill other vamps and anything else that likes to kill innocent people," she says.
"And… her?" he looks towards Alice.
"She does the same."
He nods slowly, taking in the information.
"Hunters… the others talked about people like you. Said if we weren't careful, we'd be hunted down."
"Yeah, well, some hunters aren't as nice as us. You're lucky someone else didn't come in here and kill your ass," Mel says.
"She's not nice," he says, looking at Alice again.
"She's my sister."
He looks startled.
"Oh. Sorry."
"Let's get out of here," Alice says, turning towards the door. She gives the man a look. "You'd better get gone. If we don't torch this place, the cops will get suspicious when they find fanged corpses."
"What am I supposed to eat?" he asks, looking strangely helpless for a creature of the night. "There's no blood bags left and I don't know where to go. I don't want to find more vamps like the ones I was with."
Mel takes a long look at him, thinking. Her sister will be mad, but she's not about to let this poor guy starve.
"Come with us," she says. "I can give you a few blood bags for the road."
She can already feel the waves of annoyance coming from Alice, but she ignores it.
"What's your name?" she asks.
He smiles a little bit, hesitant.
"Aaron," he says. "My name's Aaron."