Author's Note:
Hey guys! So this is a crossover fic I wrote with Smosh and a book called The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa. I really loved the book because it's got this awesome mix of zombies and vampires and dystopia, and it's been super fun to write a story set in that world. Anyway, I got challenged to do a crossover oneshot by my friend Art-Over-Matter, and I ended up liking what I wrote so much that I decided to expand it into a multi-chapter.
In case you're unfamiliar with The Immortal Rules, here's a quick intro: The apocalypse occurs when the Red Lung disease breaks out decimates a lot of the human population; things get worse when an attempt at creating a cure causes the creation of these zombie-like creatures called rabids. There are also vampires, who've created a dystopian-like society for humans where humans have to give blood every month in order to received food and protection from the rabids. That's a really bad summary, but hopefully it keeps you from getting too badly confused. If you are, feel free to leave a review and I'll see if I can clear things up.
Anyway, hope you enjoy the fic! :)
"Isn't it a bit past your bedtime, humans?"
Ian and Anthony froze in their tracks and Ian's blood ran cold as he shifted his shotgun into a ready position at his shoulder. He felt his heart stutter when he saw a figure slide away from the shadows at the side of the street and prowl toward them. Actually… shit. There were two figures coming toward them, and Ian could see danger in just the way they walked.
Vampires. Two of them. He and Anthony were so fucked.
The first vampire, the one who'd spoken, was a short, black-haired man with a cold, condescending smirk on his face. The vamp behind him was harder to make out in the dim light, but Ian could tell it was female.
Ian aimed his gun at the male vampire and kept a finger near the trigger. The vamp's smirk grew. "Think that gun's gonna save you, bloodbag? Think again."
Ian didn't respond. He was too busy internally panicking, trying to figure out how he and Anthony could avoid death.
Anthony hadn't wanted to go out in the streets tonight. He'd been too worried about meeting up with vampires or other reckless Fringers. But Ian had convinced him that it would be worth it; they were on their way to meet a man who was willing to trade weapons and ammo for food. Ian and Anthony had struck gold as far as food was concerned, so they were willing to make the trade. Or at least, Ian was. Anthony was hesitant about everything and it'd taken a lot of work for Ian to persuade him not to be.
"If we have weapons, we'll be able to venture farther outside the city without as much fear of rabids. Hell, some guns might even save us from vamps if it ever came to that."
"But I don't think going out at night is a good idea, man," Anthony said with a frown. "I mean, why the hell would this guy insist that we only meet him at night? Does he just want us to get killed before we meet up with him?"
Ian shrugged. "Probably. What's it matter? We'll be fine. We've got my shotgun to keep us out of trouble. And anyway, how often are there ever vampires in the Fringe? They've got better places to be. Trust me, it'll all be worth it if we can get another gun."
And now Ian's cocky arrogance was going to get them both killed. Ian might've deserved it, but Anthony sure as hell didn't. He'd only come along because Ian was going and the two had learned long ago that they had to stick together in this world.
Ian made up his mind as he watched the two vampires approach. It was too much to hope that both he and Anthony would get out of this situation alive, but it might be possible for one of them to escape. This whole thing was Ian's fault and he knew he'd never be able to live with the guilt of leading his best friend to his death. He had to give Anthony the chance to escape, no matter what it cost him.
Ian aimed his gun at the male vampire and then, without warning, fired two shots in quick succession. Both hit the vamp in the chest and sent him stumbling backward, shouting cusswords in pain.
"Anthony, run!" Ian yelled. "Get out of here!" He tried to shoot the second vampire, but she dodged out of the way and melted into the shadows. Ian could see out of the corner of his eye that Anthony was still standing uncertainly a few feet away. "Go, goddammit!" Ian told him, turning his head to meet Anthony's eyes.
For a split second, the two boys stared at each other and let a thousand unspoken things pass between them. Anthony's eyes were full of conflict and uncertainty and Ian tried to will his friend to leave with the weight of his gaze. That glance felt very final, but Ian supposed it had to. He was certain he'd never see Anthony again after this.
Then Anthony turned and sprinted back the way they'd come. Ian returned his focus to the vampires. The woman had disappeared from sight, but the man was still where he'd been a few seconds ago—on his ass on the pavement, his chest riddled with holes from Ian's shots.
Ian looked for the female vamp frantically, wondering if she might have gone after Anthony. Oh please, god, no. Anthony didn't have any weapons other than a knife, and that wouldn't be much help against a pissed-off vampire.
The male vamp stood and then, in a blink of an eye, was directly in front of Ian. He had a snarl glued across his face and murder in his eyes.
Ian tried to bring his weapon up and fire it, but before he could do so, the vampire had swung its fist into the side of Ian's face. Ian felt his jaw break and a sudden firework of pain. He stumbled to the side, almost knocked off his feet by the blow. As he tried to blink away the tears that had come to his eyes and recollect himself, he felt the vampire pull his shotgun out of his hands.
"Pathetic bloodbag scum," he spat. "I may be immortal, but I can still feel pain. Would you like to know how it feels to get shot in the chest?"
Ian tried to kick the vampire's groin, but he just stepped cleanly out of the way of the attempted strike and flipped the gun into firing position. Before Ian could even think of moving, the vampire had aimed the shotgun and pulled the trigger.
It felt like Ian's chest had exploded. He cried out and dropped to the ground, crippled by the pain. He'd never felt agony like this before. It was urgent, pressing, screaming at him to do something or he would die, but the only thing Ian could do was moan and writhe and dig his nails into his palms as he held back screams.
The vampire was standing over him now, sneering. "Feels good, doesn't it, little human?"
Ian couldn't answer—he'd started to cough, choking on his own blood that was coming from a wound in his lung. He just hoped the vampire would suck his blood and end it rather than leave him here to bleed slowly to death.
"Maybe another shot, hmm?" the vamp purred, bringing Ian's gun back up to his shoulder. "Since you hit me twice, after all…."
Ian flinched and shut his eyes, trying to force himself to be ready for the second shot that was inevitably coming. Please let it be enough to kill me.
"Enough," said a cool, feminine voice. "You've had your bit of fun and vengeance. Now either drink or leave him to me. Humans are pathetically weak—another shot would probably be enough to kill this one, and then what would we eat tonight?"
"You didn't find the other one?" asked Ian's tormentor.
"I didn't look." The female vampire stepped into Ian's view, revealing her tall, willowy form, red hair, and indifferent face. "After you let this one shoot you, I thought I should stay around and make sure you wouldn't need help."
The male vampire snarled at her, but he tossed aside the shotgun and strode away, calling back over his shoulder, "Go ahead. I don't want this piece of filth anyway."
The woman crouched over Ian, glancing at the bloody wounds on his chest with the same indifferent expression and dead eyes. "Quite a stupid thing you did back there, human, letting your friend get away while you distracted us. Now you'll die for that choice." She cocked her head slightly. "I didn't know you bloodbags had that type of humanity left in you."
The anger at hearing a vampire speak of humanity cut through Ian's pain and, disregarding his broken jaw, he muttered, "Of course we do. We're not monsters."
"Maybe not yet, but that tends to change quickly in a world where everyone does anything they have to in order to survive." She reached out and grabbed the collar of Ian's shirt, using it to pull him off the ground and into the hold of her other arm. Intense pain shot through Ian's chest at the movement and he swung a fist at the vampire's head, hoping to make her let go of him. She caught the punch long before it ever reached her. "You're quite the fighter. I can't help but be impressed. Maybe I shouldn't kill you after all."
Ian was beyond caring if she killed him or not. He was going to die one way or another and at this point he only hoped it would be fast.
The vampire had apparently made up her mind: she leaned over him and extended her fangs. Her eyes darkened as her pupils dilated and then those two dagger-sharp killing instruments dug into his throat.
The bite was a mix of pain and a strange euphoria that was a welcome distraction from the gunshot wound on his torso. He felt the vampire sucking away his life and his heart accelerating to try to compensate for the blood loss. His vision started to fill with little black dots and he couldn't quite think straight.
The female vampire pulled back after thirty seconds, her lips stained scarlet, and Ian watched in mild confusion as she sliced open her own wrist with her fangs and set the bleeding wound against his lips. He tried to turn away, but her free hand held his head firmly in place.
Somehow, some of the vampire's blood made it into Ian's mouth and he could taste the coppery tang of it and feel how thick and cool it was. The taste of the blood jogged his brain and he suddenly knew what the vampire was trying to do: she was going to turn him. He gagged and choked, determined not to swallow any of the blood, but when he opened his mouth to spit it out, more rushed in from the vampire's wrist. He fought for a few more seconds, squirming and gagging, but the vampire kept holding his head in place and her arm on his mouth. Finally, Ian felt some of the blood slide down his throat and he realized it was pointless to struggle. As his mouth continued to fill with blood, he just swallowed it, forcing his sluggish mind not to think about what he was doing.
The female vampire pulled her arm away after Ian had swallowed half a dozen times. "Now we'll see, human, if my decision to save you will be smiled upon by the fates."
"Save me?" Ian choked. "You just condemned me to"—he coughed weakly—"eternal hell."
The vampire smiled slightly and watched him with her dead eyes. "Perhaps. But hell could use a few more people like you."
Ian didn't answer. His pain was dying away, but so was the rest of him—his vision tunneled and his heart stumbled. All he could think as his body slowly surrendered to the numb grip of death was how much he hoped that these moments would be his last and that he wouldn't have to rise again as a monster.