He should have known his bloody luck would run out sooner or later. He could think of loads of ways it could have ended - in all honesty he was amazed he had lasted this long with his low impulse control and…destructive tendancies. He supposed maybe he just didn't give too much of a shit anymore. 119 years of living would drive anyone to a degree of apathy eventually.
This, however, was not a good way to go; he had decided.
Squinting through a swollen eye at his surroundings, Cassidy knew he was outside - as if the oppressive Texan heat pouring down on him despite being the middle of the night and the playful drone of night insects wasn't enough of a give away. The dry stillness caught in his throat, hampering his already struggling breaths and he let out a raspy splutter, gobbing flecks of blood over his dirty t-shirt. He tried weakly to lift his arm to brush away the collecting sweat beads from his brow only to be met with his own hoarse cry of pain - glancing down he concluded that arms were not meant to bend that way. Or legs for that matter. And it helps when your blood and stomach matter are mostly still inside your body.
Cassidy threw his head back against the hard concrete wall he was sat against and laughed - with that wide Cheshire grin revealing bloodied and cracked teeth - this was hilarious.
At least it was a first, he thought.
Now what in the name of fucking hell was he supposed to do.
Jesse Custer was rarely a man to worry. 'What will be, will be', that was his motto. Along with various other dubious mantras which may or may not be massively unhealthy to the psyche. Usually involving Hell or some such. Yet that night he found himself absent-mindedly worrying about Cassidy. Goddamn Proinsias Cassidy. He wasn't sure why - he had no outward reason to feel concerned about the crazy bastard; he'd been away on mad benders far longer than this before and always returned full of beans and with that shit-eating grin of his like the cat that got the cream.
So why was he sat here with his neglected bottle of whisky, sucking of a cigarette full of ash and kneading his forehead in the dark worrying about that stupid vampire? Cassidy was the definition of a wild card - a true chaotic who did whatever the hell he wanted whenever he wanted; assuming of course what he wanted wasn't in the middle of a shadeless field on a hot summer's day. Otherwise the man feared nothing.
Jesse might not have been a worrier, but he was a strong believer in the hunch; and right now his hunch was telling him to worry. So he decided to go and look for the dumbass.
He decided to start with the vampire's favourite haunts; the shady places always on the news for some kind of massive shitstorm kicking off usually, places he felt right at home. The whorehouse, the club, the seedy backalleys where drug peddlers skulked at night all claimed no knowledge of him. So he moved onto the numerous bars littering Annville, full of the sort of lowlife scum his friend took for company on his outings, but still no sign of him. And then he came to the last bar - the one, he realised, was the bar where the two had met, not as long ago as it seemed.
By this time the sky was beginning to bleach from inky and starless to the gentle reds and purples of dawn, bringing with it the first soft touches of the sunrise. Parking his car out front, Jesse stepped out and looked around him, straightening his collar absently. All seemed quiet - the place looked empty, and silence lay all about him. Yet he felt that somehow, something was amiss. Why was it so quiet? At this time there should have at least been the drunken dregs of the previous night, stumbling about with blood-stained knuckles and piss-stained jeans. Jesse's brow furrowed as he stepped towards the entrance suspiciously. A quick tug on the door confirmed that it was locked, so he decided to try the rear exit; circling round into the trash-littered alleyway leading to the back of the property.
As he approached the corner he began to hear a noise; a low whine, possibly with the hint of a groan underneath. Frowning, Jesse rounded the corner; and the sight that met him tore a gasp from his throat.
Cassidy lay haphazardly against the side of the building, eyes closed, his face and exposed arms all sorts of nasty shades of blue and purple. His left eye was swollen and his lip was busted all down his chin; though that was nothing compared to the amount of blood pooling from his stomach and onto the dirty floor around him to mix with already dried stains. Cassidy whined again under his breath and tried to shift himself slightly, sucking his breath in sharply as his mangled limbs throbbed and refused to move. Jesse covered his mouth, shaking his head at the wreck sat before him as he knelt down beside him gingerly touching his shoulder.
"Cassidy?" Jesse asked dryly, giving the bony shoulder a small shake. The vampire's eyes shot open, though his left only halfway, and he gazed dizzily up at the preacher. As his vision focused Cassidy grinned, his mouth stretched in a bloodied grimace,
"Fancy seein' you here Padre," he croaked in his thick Irish drawl, blood seeping from his busted lips, "You come here oft'n?"
Jesse smiled despite himself, shaking his head again.
"Now what do you think you're doing out here, looking like you've upset a heavyweight boxing champion several times?"
Cassidy grinned broader, coughing up more blood,
"Ahhh there's an' excellent question; but what I'm askin' is how God could allow this to happen to such a good guy ehh?" His voice was riddled with effortless sarcasm.
Jesse chose to ignore him.
"Who did this to you? Must've been a few of 'em to overpower the likes of you" Jesse said whimsically as Cassidy sucked in a painful breath.
"Ahh the usual, y'know, Group o' bloodthirsty asshole vampire hunters who t'ought it'd be a grand laugh to break every bone in me body, rip out me stomach and leave me out for a beautiful sunrise - make it really special for me y'know, lovely view…nice blokes, fair play to'em." he took another raspy breath, "But I guess the bastards didn't count on anyone givin' enough of a shite to come look for me I s'ppose." He wavered in and out of consciousness for a second, slumping a little further against the wall.
Jesse looks up around them; they'd really left Cassidy for dead here - the back of the bar where they were was facing out directly east; the flat plains would offer no cover from the sun as it rose, and the back wall was free of any overhanging shade or shadows to save him from it's rays. Not that he could get to shade if it was there in his state anyway. He was like a stuck pig waiting for the slaughter. His face didn't show it, but he must have been terrified. Jesse felt such anger at thought of those cowards.
He stood up suddenly, looking down in pity at the helpless vampire. Cassidy looked so fragile, the mirror opposite to the swaggering cocky posture he was used to. They'd really broken him.
"Cassidy, I'm gonna have to move you but it's gonna hurt." Cassidy opened his eyes again weakly, looking up at his friend.
"S'okay padre. I dun think a bit more pain's gonna make much difference a' this point." His eyes flicked off into the distance and widened considerably at what he saw, "though if ye don' mind could you make it pretty bloody fast?"
Jesse turned around and was greeted by the soft but bright glow of the impending sunrise approaching fast over the horizon.
"Aw shit." he whispered, and bent down to tug at the vampire's hapless form. After trying various angles he settled on wrapping both arms underneath Cassidy's and around his skinny middle, heaving him backwards towards the rear exit door, his dirty boots scraping noisily on the concrete. He was shittin' heavy for a bag of pale skin and bones, and left a slick trail of blood in his wake.
Halfway through the struggle, Cassidy made a strange, violent hissing noise deep in his throat. Jesse's eyes flicked up over into the distance, and the new day finally shone splendidly across the Texas plains. Cassidy's hiss became a hot shriek as the light burned into his face and arms; a thick hot smoke starting to billow from his neck and shoulders. Angry flames erupted on the surface of his skin; his face twisted in agony and the smell of burning flesh rose on the dry air.
Jesse moved quickly to block out the light, shifting around to shield the vampire with his own shadow, the sunlight boring harmlessly into his back. Cassidy whimpered as he still simmered, painful blotches and blisters sizzling on his exposed skin. It still amazed Jesse even in the knowledge of what his friend was that the sun could really do that to him, so quickly and mercilessly. He understood why Cassidy was so careful around daylight, and why he slept right through it whenever possible.
Jesse shed his jacket, using it to pad out the flames on Cassidy's arms and neck, taking the opportunity to snap the dislocated left arm back into place with a resultant yelp from it's owner. Jesse then used his still smoking jacket to cover the vampire's open flesh, placing it over his head and tucking his arms under as best he could; and still keeping him shaded by his shadow commenced dragging him sideways towards the safety of the bar's exit.
Upon finally reaching it, and discovering it unsurprisingly to be locked, a few forceful kicks was all that was needed to force it open, snapping the old rusty padlock and swinging the door open with a bang. Jesse dragged and half threw Cassidy inside and slammed the door back shut behind him, leaning heavily and panting against it.
Cassidy squirmed a little on the sticky, beer-stained floor, swiping the preacher's jacket from his face and propping himself up on his now-functioning left arm.
"Ahh jaysis…that were a feckin' close one, padre….thought I was gonna be the next Joan of Arc at that." he rubbed agitatedly at the sores on his neck and spat out another glob of blood that possibly also contained a tooth, "Do us a favour an' snap the rest of us back together would ye?"
Jesse gritted his teeth and winced at him.
"Don't think it'll be as simple as that Cass; you're in more pieces than a world championship jigsaw puzzle." he sighed. He thought for a moment, regarding his friend with a contemplative expression, finally walking forwards to kneel beside Cassidy.
"But I think I've got what you need to fix yourself."
Jesse reached for the pocket knife he carried with him, rolled up his sleeve and lifted it to his wrist. Cassidy choked out a splutter and tried to reach out and grab it.
"NO! No no no no no d-don't do tha', tha's a stupid thing to be doin' there, don' -" he gabbled, now trying to inch himself away from the preacher, fear lacing his expression.
"Well why not?" asked Jesse innocently, "we both know this is the best solution, and I won't have to hang around in this goddamn bar all day and explain to the owner about the mangled, sizzling Irishman in the corner bleeding out all over his floor. And it hella' beats shunting your heavy ass through all that sun."
"Not sayin' that, jus'-jus get me an animal, a rabbit or somethin', I'll -"
"Cassidy, look at the state of you; a rabbit!? A rabbit will not fix this." he gestured widely at Cassidy's twisted form before him, "I've seen before. You need more than animal blood to sort this one out, trust me."
In his heart, Cassidy knew the preacher was right. But he couldn't let it come to that, surely…
"No. I won' do it." the Irishman panted, turning his face away, dark eyebrows knitted together angrily.
"I don't understand, what's your problem with this? You're being a stubborn little shit, Cass."
Jesse flicked the pocket knife open and held it to his inner wrist, quickly slashing a short, deep line with the sharp blade. Thin streams of blood oozed from the cut, and Cassidy twitched, betraying a low growl from the back of his throat at the scent of blood in the air.
"Just get it over with and we can go, Cassidy." he said lazily. The other man didn't move, and so Jesse reached his other hand out to snap Cassidy's face towards him. "If you don't I will make you. Don't make it come to that."
"B-but -" Cassidy's eyes were wide and bloodshot, his gaze trained on the sluggishly bleeding gash inches from his face.
"Don't forget I can also stop you if I have to." said Jesse flatly, holding his bleeding arm closer to Cassidy's gaping mouth, feeling impatience starting to build tightly in his chest. "Just for the love of God get on with it."
Cassidy's eyes flickered from Jesse's back down to the enticing wound that would solve all his problems. But still…he had promised himself, on that first night where he saved the preacher's life, that he wouldn't let harm come to him. And he didn't make promises lightly, if he did at all. Could he bring himself to do it? He could see the vein starting to throb in Jesse's temple; knew that he'd be on the receiving end of that creepy-ass voice in a matter of moments.
And he supposed that if he was going to be forced to either way, he wanted to do it of his own free will.
Cassidy grabbed hold of the preacher's arm and rammed his mouth against the open wound, running his tongue roughly against slick, heated flesh and savouring the almost electrified spasm he felt in his throat as he swallowed. He felt his limbs jerk and shudder underneath him as he slurped and licked noisily, sucking down the hot, thick liquid, his hand tightening around Jesse's arm to the point of leaving painful indentations.
He could feel himself starting to lose it; the desperation he felt making the feral side of him surface like a monster. All he could see, hear, smell, taste was blood, Jesse's blood, and he wanted more. He NEEDED more. The rational part of him - the part of him that was still him - tried in vain to pull away, to stop himself…but he was too far gone for that now.
He let out a throaty, animalistic snarl which brought Jesse straight back to that awful room where his friend chewed on the mangled corpses of creatures looking like something from grotesque horror fiction, and Cassidy drew back. Jesse's wary eyes watched him as he bared his bloodied teeth and quick as a flash sank them painfully into Jesse's arm; and though his canine teeth were not sharp as a fictional vampire's would have been, they still tore a chunk out of the preacher's tanned flesh to astrangled cry.
The preacher's blood positively pumped now into Cassidy's gaping maw, the vampire chugging and gulping messily and making dreadful, inhuman noises that made Jesse shudder right to the bone.
"STOP." came the booming, ethereal voice from Jesse's raw throat; and Cassidy immediately obeyed, his head snapping back, eyes bulging and mouth agape, plastered with blood which dripped obscenely down his chin.
They stared at each other for a long moment - the only sound being the rhythmical drip-drip of blood spatting onto the floor. Jesse's dark doe eyes held an indiscernible expression , his lips parted as though about to ask a question; when his eyes suddenly rolled back in his head and he fell sideways into a heap, the jagged bite in his arm oozing dark blood into a pool around it.
"Aw shite shite shitin' hell…" Cassidy inched forwards on his elbow, beginning to feel the knitting together of his limbs and appendages as Jesse's blood worked through his system; the familiar burning tingling sensation like the most extreme pins and needles in history spreading through his body from his fingertips and to his toes; his skinny frame twitching as bone rejoined bone and tendons rejoined tendons, snapping his knees back into place and wrenching his other arm back the right way.
Though not fully healed, this was at least enough to allow him to raise himself to his knees and scoot forwards; grabbing Jesse's limp arm and holding his long fingers against his wrist in search of a pulse. "C'mon, c'mon…" he sighed as he felt a weak pulse through the skin, moving his other hand to wrap tightly around the gaping bite mark, feeling the shame welling up in his chest and tightening in his throat. He could taste the preacher's blood everywhere, and he angrily wiped his mouth with the back of his hand leaving wet red smear.
"I told ye, Padre, I told ye…" Cassidy shook his head and his red lips tightened into a painful line. He took a deep breath and stood up, guilty of how strong his legs now felt underneath him. A few minutes later he stood covered head to toe in mismatched outerwear scavenged from the back of the empty bar, hands tucked into the sleeves and hood pulled low on his slowly healing face. He reached for his friend. "Let's get outta here, huh?"
That night the pair sat together in the quiet church, a new bottle of whisky christened, gentle moonlight playing through the windows and leaving ethereal patterns across the wooden pews. That same light illuminated Cassidy's newly healed face; no trace of the scorched skin and bubbling blisters left to betray the events of that morning. Only possibly the scent of old beer and the flecks of dried blood that still tipped the strands of his messy hair. A thick makeshift bandage now adorned the preacher's wrist - an amusing homemade solution consisting of two sweat-smelling socks, five rubber bands and a thin beermat. Jesse had smiled at the sweetness of this upon waking up laid on his bed and had kept it on, very possibly against better judgement.
No words had been uttered between them as of yet - neither could think of a good sentence to start on, and so they drank in silence. Jesse had found Cassidy here after he left his room, his hunch once again leading him to his stupid, sock-less friend. Cassidy had had the look of a man who would rather have been anywhere else on earth when the preacher walked in, the pain almost palpable on his face as he regarded him. Jesse merely walked casually over and sat down beside him, allowing the silence to settle in the church, disturbing it only to fetch the whisky they now enjoyed together in the waning moonlight.
"So, Cass." Jesse uttered suddenly, and Cassidy jumped, almost spilling the glass he was holding.
"So…?" Cassidy answered uncertainly, uncomfortable that the silence he'd finally found some peace in was broken.
"So Cass….what do I taste like?" Jesse said absolutely straight, as if he was asking the time.
Cassidy looked over at him horrified for a moment before seeing the laughter lines creep in around Jesse's eyes and the two howled hysterically, the awkwardness between them escalating the humour and reducing them to tear-ridden hyenas. Cassidy wiped at his eyes, his mad grin starting to hurt the sides of his face.
"Like booze an' a mountain of tobacco, boyo; it was like suckin' on an oil spill" he downed his glass, leaning back on the pew to stare at the ceiling, arms spread aside lazily. His grin faltered, and he turned his gaze towards the preacher, "Y'know I'm grateful to ye' now though don't ye? I'm not one fer soppy shite but, y'know I'm grateful, padre." He looked back at the ceiling, tapping his foot in some half-assed rhythm on the floor awkwardly.
"And I'm grateful to you too Cassidy." replied Jesse, joining him in his sudden interest of the ceiling above them, "Grateful you patched me up like a 5-year-old playing hospital." He looked sideways and smirked. "Actually I think a 5-year-old would have done a much better job"
"A'right ye big eedjit" Cassidy considered for a moment. "I hurt ye. I know ye stopped me but I still did it. I understand if ye wanna part ways, padre. I don't want tha' to happen ever again."
Jesse regarded him gently.
"Then make sure it doesn't. And next time your hunters show up I'll tell them to eat their own nuts."
Cassidy looked over at him and frowned, "How can ye be sure y'll be there?"
Jesse smiled. "I'll follow my hunch."