WARNING: Character deaths imminent! Seriously, though, stop reading if you actually like characters. This will be painful; no holds barred.
Grimdark intensifies.
Lucy clutched the gurney in distress. Talon-like nails ripped into its padded mat. The stainless steel creaked and began to bend beneath the stress of her grip. Her master beckoned. All she could hear, day in and day out, were the heartbeats of her family members throughout the house, and the constant commands of her master.
Commands she dared not follow.
Commands she was powerless to resist.
Lisa had been by her side almost every hour of every day, observing her and keeping her company. The child prodigy was almost as tireless as Lucy, only catching a few hours of sleep each day through catnaps. She was completely dedicated to curing her older sister, doing her best to save her.
Save you?
The voice dripped with sarcasm and Lucy wondered if it was hers or her master's. The two voices seemed inseparable.
She's keeping you in a cage.
Lucy felt the metal of the gurney bend in her inhuman grip. She stood and approached Lisa, who was too absorbed in her data-scrying to notice. Lucy felt her lips peel back in a snarl, her extended canines slipping free as she opened her mouth. Silent as the grave, she approached her younger sister.
Lisa felt the presence and looked over her shoulder.
Too late, Lucy thought.
…
Lynn stared at the empty bed across from her own. The clock on their desk said it was 3:00AM, but the young jock couldn't sleep. Sighing in frustration, she got up to head to the kitchen. Perhaps a snack would help her? As she approached the stairs, she noticed Lisa and Lily's door open. Looking at the other doors, she noticed Lincoln's was, too. She shrugged, mind set on fixing a sandwich. Perhaps Lincoln couldn't sleep either, so he decided to approach Lisa for some sleep aid. Each of the siblings had gone to their genius sister for some kind of drug at some point or another – purely for health reasons, of course.
Reaching the kitchen and fixing her sandwich, Lynn tapped a foot while she enjoyed the disgusting "protein hoagie" she had created. She could care less what people thought about banana, raw egg, and red meat existing on the same bread – it put the proverbial hair on the chest. Halfway through her snack, though, she heard a loud bang from upstairs, followed by a scuffle, then silence. Worried, she put the sandwich on the counter and ran upstairs.
Lincoln was outside of his room, clutching his neck with one hand while trying desperately to get out from under Lucy. Lynn gasped, drawing the attention of both siblings. Lincoln was pale – paler than Lucy had ever been – and weak, his eyes almost glossed-over from blood loss. Lucy's face, once hidden by her black hair, stared at her in a snarl, fangs protruding from her lips. The amount of blood running down Lucy's face – fresh, living blood – gave the jock pause. Lucy's black clothing, her hands… she was drenched in the vitae. Too much to only be Lincoln's.
Lynn's eyes drifted towards Lisa and Lily's open door, horrified.
"Lucy," the jock whispered, "what have you done?"
"What needed to be done," Lucy snarled, picking up the weakened Lincoln and sinking her fangs into his neck to finish the job.
"No!" Lynn sprinted forward and shoulder-barged the vampire with all her strength.
Even with all the effort, and the surprise of the movement, it was only enough to make Lucy grunt and toss Lincoln aside, as easily as a child tossing a ragdoll. The goth sneered as she met Lynn's strength with her own. Lynn was easily the strongest of the Loud siblings. Even with her energy drained by Lucy's feeding, she could still bench-press 125lbs and run a mile in 10 minutes. Despite that, she was powerless against Lucy's unholy strength and speed. Every punch, every grapple, was countered and broken by the smaller Loud sibling.
"Not used to being the weak one, Lynn?" Lucy asked, uncharacteristically venomous. She prepared to bite into Lynn's exposed neck.
Suddenly, to the surprise of everyone, Lucy's head was slammed back with the force of an electric guitar shattering against her face. The loud sound reminded the semi-delirious Lincoln of the old character El Kabong from those kid's shows. Lucy immediately recovered, prepare to strike out against the sudden appearance of Luna and Luan, but the other sisters were already emerging from their rooms, various improvised weapons held in their hands.
Cornered, Lucy gave an inhuman hiss before throwing Lynn at Luna and Luan with enough force to send them tumbling back into their room. Lori and Leni tried to tackle the goth, but she jumped over their heads, latching onto the ceiling, and crawled away like a spider. She disappeared into the bathroom, the sound of glass breaking signaling her escape. The twins only gaped in terror, while their older sisters recovered.
"Lincoln!" Lynn ran over to their brother's side. He was too cold, and barely conscious, "We have to get him to-" she stopped and spared a look at Lisa's open door.
"What's wrong?" Lori asked, helping Leni up. At Lynn's weak pointing towards the door, Lori immediately understood. Steeling herself, she took charge. "Leni, keep the twins in their room. Luan, wake up our parents. Luna, call the hospital. No one go into that room until I come out, no matter what you hear."
Immediately her sisters protested, but Lori was put in charge for a reason. She stamped her foot down and browbeat them into obeying her.
"Just do it!" she snapped. Turning towards the door, she gulped. Why was it so quiet in there? Lily should have woken up by now…
The remaining Loud siblings got to work, each sneaking looks as Lori closed and locked the door behind her. Almost immediately, they heard her scream in distress, followed by horrified sobbing, but they respected Lori too much to disobey her during a moment of crisis. Besides, they were all old enough to understand the implication. Lynn cradled Lincoln's head in her lap, sobbing. Luna called the hospital, trying to fight back the urge to vomit. Leni shushed the traumatized twins in the safety of their room; even she understood what the scream had meant. Luan woke her parents up, unnaturally somber, from their deep sleep.
Within the hour, the Loud children watched the circus unfold. The ambulance took Lincoln away, their mother riding along with him, almost crazed with grief. Their father stayed with them, his face frozen and devoid of emotion as he clung onto a traumatized Lori, as much to comfort her as himself. The twins were being kept distracted by Leni and some police officers tasked with making the news easier. The remaining Loud siblings were questioned one-by-one, and each knew not to tell the truth – who would believe them about a vampire?
While Luna tried to hold back sobs and explain her own version of the story, Lynn looked at Luan. The comedian stared, forlornly, into the cup of coffee she had been given, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders in an effort at comfort. The officers had already quit trying to tell them things would get better. Lynn watched as the crime scene specialists finished their gruesome work, wheeling out two gurneys with body bags. Small body bags.
Lynn had taken a peek in the room after Lori had exited, against her wishes. She wished she hadn't. There wasn't much left of either of their youngest siblings. Lynn could barely imagine how much effort it had taken to find all the remains and gather them into the bags. Lynn was no longer sickened by it; merely stunned.
"How could she do it?" Luan asked, suddenly, snapping Lynn out of her reverie, "How could Lucy even… manage something like this?"
"She couldn't," Lynn shook her head, unable to believe her closest sister was capable of willingly slaughtering their siblings – of slaughtering an infant! Tears welled up at the memory of sweet, innocent Lily. No, she couldn't let herself fall apart. "She must have been controlled. Remember who the real enemy is – Lucy's a victim."
"A victim?!" Luan snapped, throwing her coffee onto the ground as she stood and rounded on the jock, "Lynn, Lucy murdered Lisa and Lily! She butchered them! She's an animal, and she needs to be put down like one!"
"Calm down, Luan," Luna returned from her interrogation just in time, standing between the two enraged teens, "We've just been through something unnatural and traumatic. Luan, you need to remember that Lucy would never have done these things in her right mind; she's sick, and she needs our help." Luan simmered, but didn't say anything, so Luna turned to Lynn. "Lynn, you have to start considering the possibility that… that we can't save Lucy. That this is what she is, now."
"I won't!" Lynn growled, "We can cure Lucy, I know it!"
"Too little," Luan muttered, walking away, "too late."
Luna felt her heart break again. Their family was falling apart. Thinking those words forced her to look at the grisly aftermath of Lucy's attack. Some of the family were falling apart in all-too-literal ways that made the rocker shudder. Already the police had intercepted the comedian and were asking her additional questions.
"Would she even mind being killed?" Luna asked herself.
"What?" Lynn gaped. Luna cursed herself for saying the thought aloud.
"I mean, if she had been forced to do it," she rubbed the back of her head, "if she had to go on living with the knowledge that her sisters died by her own hands, and she couldn't stop it… Well, could you live with yourself? I don't think I could…"
Lynn wanted to retort, but nothing came to mind. Her throat was clenched shut with emotion, anyway. She needed to save Lucy; she couldn't stand the thought of losing another sister! Luan ran back to them, panic written on her face. Before either Lynn or Luna could speak, the comedian was already sputtering.
"The police found my tapes!" she explained, hurriedly, "They're taking tonight's footage to verify our stories!"
Luna let out a string of very colorful words that gave even Lynn pause.
"They'll know we lied!" Luna hissed, "Worse, they'll know Lucy killed our sisters, not the creep we came up with!"
"They'll see her powers, though," Lynn interjected, "They'll believe the truth, now! Maybe they can help us."
"Fat chance," Luan huffed, "If they know anything about vampires, they've been keeping it secret – they'll probably hunt her down. If they don't know anything, then they'll probably try and capture her for experiments, or something."
"That's not funny, Luan," Lynn seethed, still angry at her older sister.
"Who says I'm joking?" Luan sneered, not over her own anger.
"Listen you two," Luna interjected, "we can't start attacking each other now. We need to work together. We're a family, and family takes care of family. That's how it is."
Lynn and Luan sulked, but at least they weren't attacking each other anymore. Luna led them to the rest of the family, who had gathered near the curb. Dawn was coming and their neighbors were watching the spectacle. It sickened the Louds, but would they have done any different in their shoes?
"I've asked the McBrides if they could let us stay with them for a while," their father said, hollowly, "I couldn't think of very many alternatives. Get in the van, kids."
"Shouldn't we pack our bags?" Lola asked, uncharacteristically weak. It was clear from the twins' red eyes that they had been informed of the tragedy.
"We can't, sweetie," Lynn Sr. forced a smile as he knelt beside his daughter. Now his youngest, he realized, almost driving him to tears again. "We're not allowed back inside, yet, but the nice officers will send us everything we need when they're done investigating it."
"When can we come back?" Lana asked.
"Hopefully never," Luan muttered, unwilling to return to the house. None of the others would say it, but they agreed with the sentiment. How could you keep living in a house where your loved ones were slaughtered? The twins almost seemed relieved at that.
"Come, children," their father forced some warmth into his voice, "Let's go meet the McBrides. Your mother and brother will be joining us, shortly."
…
Haiku had answered the master's call. The other children he had turned were with her, awaiting his proclamation. They were all outcasts enamored with the dark, easily drawn into the vampire culture. Several members of the Morticians Club were present, as were both the young boys Lucy was interested in. Maggie still rubbed at her neck, not over the shock that vampires were real, and standing amongst several of her friends. It was almost insulting that the master had targeted their demographic exclusively. Then again, would any child outside of their click probably wouldn't have gone into a vampire chatroom in the first place.
"What do you think he wants?" Rocky Spokes asked Haiku, "His command was very vague."
"He wants to show us something, obviously," Silas said with a sigh and a hair flip.
Rocky glared at him. Neither of them would admit it, probably due to their age, but they both were in an unspoken competition for Lucy's attentions. It was no secret she had a crush on both of them. The boys had been instant rivals when they noticed how much time Lucy spent with the other, even though neither of them seemed to show a direct interest in the goth girl.
"Doi," Rocky scoffed, "but what does he want to show us?"
"The question on everyone's minds, I sense," the master's voice echoed around the chamber, drawing the attention of all his beastly subordinates and new recruits. Every member of his coven looked up, entranced by his charismatic presence. He was beautiful – painfully so. "Ah, here she comes."
One-by-one, eyes drifted from their master towards the tunnel entrance. Gasps escaped from hoarse throats as a young girl trudged in. Even in the near-darkness of the poorly-lit sewers, the vampires' enhanced eyesight could see her drenched in blood, tears streaking her face. Every step was an effort that she resisted – she had no desire to enter this Hell! The vampires – new and old – parted before her approach like water before a ship. With obvious hate in her eyes, she was painfully forced to kneel by invisible hands, her knees sinking into old gore. The brownish stains on her stockings were coated with fresh, red ones.
Most of her fellow goths recognized her and wore mixed expressions of horror and surprise. They had never seen her in the coven, before, so they figured she had somehow missed the recruiting. None of them had fully fed, so seeing one of their fellow recruits drenched in gore was an unsettling reminder of the lifestyle they had chosen.
"Lucy, Lucy, Lucy," the master tsked, forcing the girl to look at him with his psychic powers, "Did you enjoy your feast?"
Lucy had a very short response, but it made her fellow neophytes flinch. The master's eye twitched as his smile grew taut.
"You wanted this, girl," he growled through the forced smile, "Your personal attachment to your cattle is a weakness. You would outlive them, anyway."
"They were my sisters…" Lucy sobbed. Haiku and her other friends made to approach her, but the glare from their master stopped them. "They didn't deserve that."
"Vampires are superior to mortals," the master raised his voice so all could hear, "Do not be blinded by weakness! Your attachments to your family will only destroy you! You must break these bonds, as Lucy did! You must show that your loyalty to me outweighs that to your families."
Haiku exchanged horrified glances with her fellow neophytes. What had the master forced Lucy to do? It was obvious, of course, by what he said, but the idea was too horrible for them to accept. Haiku couldn't believe her beautiful, perfect master would force any of them to… No, it was simply impossible.
"You want us to kill our families?" Rocky asked, outraged.
"Only if you are foolish enough to let them intervene," the master sneered, "as Lucy has. You should rule your cattle without them knowing, without them thinking for themselves. Lucy didn't enthrall them as her willing servants, nor did she feed on them in secret – and their deaths are on her head for not assuring their loyalty."
Despite his reasoning, and the charisma he exhumed, despite the subtle psychic manipulation easing his recruits' minds, none of them was entirely convinced. Sure, Lucy had been the only one to involve her family, but even that didn't warrant their deaths. Haiku had enthralled her parents; Rocky snuck out and fed on the homeless; Silas fed on his family, in secret. None of them had taken enough blood to kill, despite the desire to do so. The master's psychic commands were slowly shaping them to his way of thinking, though. It seemed reasonable that Lucy should kill her family, if she would not control them…
Haiku stared at Lucy, her heart going out to her good friend. She suddenly felt guilty. Wasn't it her efforts that had driven the master to recruiting children? Haiku felt a chill at the realization her master – her unrequited crush for so many years – wasn't who he had seemed. Sensing her sudden suspicion, she felt his gaze turn on her. A powerful psychic attack drove her to her knees, a mixture of pain, fear, and love that tore at her psyche. She couldn't leave him. He was incapable of doing wrong!
"Forgive me, my love," Haiku sobbed. Lucy spared a pitying look that cut deeper than any of the master's attacks ever could.
The other recruits looked disgusted, but didn't dare speak up. Obeying the master was no longer the surest way to avoid personal punishment; it was now the only way to protect their families.
…
It was obvious none of the children were going to school so soon after the tragedy. Even Clyde, upon hearing of what happened, was too hurt to attend. He was practically a second brother to the Loud siblings, and the news of Lily and Lisa's deaths hurt him as sure as it hurt them. Just as painful, his closest friend had been hospitalized.
Howard and Harold were talking to Lynn Sr., taking him aside to discuss the living arrangements. Despite how much they wanted to help the Louds, the McBride house simply wasn't large enough to keep the guests indefinitely. Lynn Sr. understood, of course, and thanked them for however long they could help them. He took the oldest four Louds aside and asked them if they could stay with anyone else for a time, until he found a new house.
"I know we should stay together at a time like this," he said, "but not everyone has a house large enough to hold so many people. They certainly can't afford the resources."
"I think I can stay with a friend," Luna nodded, reluctantly.
"If only Bobby were still here," Lori sniffed, "I could really use him, right now. I guess I could stay with my friends."
"Me, too," Leni sighed, drained by her efforts to keep the twins from collapsing into depression.
"My only close friend is Benny," Luan admitted, "I don't think you want me staying with a boy…"
"I don't want you girls leaving at all," Lynn Sr. said, "but the fewer people staying here, the more time I'll have to find a new place to stay. If we're not struggling to keep a roof over our heads, I'll be able to find a new place, sooner, which means we can all be back together."
"I could ask Giggles, but here mom might not want an older kid hanging around," Luan suggested, "It'd probably be easier than convincing Benny's parents to let me stay with him, though."
"You girls won't be away long," their dad assured them, "I'll get this sorted out. We'll find the man who did this to our family; we'll get Lucy back."
His daughters couldn't look him in the eye, couldn't even face him, as he walked away. They had to lie to him, of course. How could you convince your parents that your sister murdered and butchered your youngest siblings? How could you tell them she was a vampire? They'd never believe it, take it as some cruel joke, and likely lock you up in a psych ward. That didn't make lying to their parents any easier, especially when they deserved the truth.
"This will only be temporary," Lori said to her younger sisters, "Don't worry about the twins, Leni. Lynn will still be with them, and they love Clyde like a brother."
"We'll all be back together soon," Luan forced a chuckle, "Hey, when we go back to school, we'll all see each other, anyway."
"Yeah," Luna tried to smile, "Reunited, and it feels so good."
The sisters exchanged one last sad series of smiles before leaving to call their respective friends. Things would get better.
They couldn't get any worse.
Looking back on this… I may have made it a little darker than it needed to. This is what happens when you guys keep pressing for more chapters! Couldn't be satisfied with the happy-ending one-shot I made, could you?
):