Thank you to Silverheels12 for your review and GlassMasquerade for your pm! :)
Well, this is it. The final 3 chapters for Past and Present and the overall finale to the Santa Carla Undead series. A massive thank you to the following who have reviewed the final story:
Silverheels12, GlassMasquerade, Guest, Kaiyatethesilverwolfdemon, booklover457, Raindrop, snowflake2410 and lillisa34
And a thank you to everyone who has read, followed, reviewed and favourited the stories of Santa Carla Undead. It's really meant a lot and I'm glad you enjoyed them! I'm sure this won't be the last time I post fanfic. Maybe it'll be for The Lost Boys again or I'll try a new fandom. I have plenty of ideas for different stories and fandoms so I'll be sure to stick around. :)
Enjoy!
Upstairs in Sam's room, Star and Michael collected the weapons when they heard the bangs and saw a figure dart across the window.
"Michael," she whispered, reaching a hand out to him.
"He's brought more," Michael said. "Get downstairs. Now."
She nodded, clutching the weapons to her and they dashed out, yelling out when the windows in Sam's room smashed and they heard a deadly hiss behind them. Michael shouted at Star to keep running and she did, almost tumbling down the stairs as she held weapons.
"Those for the hunters?" Marko asked, suddenly appearing in front of her. She tripped, almost falling right into Marko and he pushed her back, allowing her to regain her balance. The weapons however had fallen from her grip. Behind her, Michael halted immediately, turning when he heard footsteps behind him and a female vampire appeared, smiling widely at him with her fangs bared.
"It's pathetic how we don't need anything to fight and you do," Marko sneered and grabbed her wrist.
"Get the party started, guys!" he shouted.
The demons descended.
There were echoes of growls, hisses and screams. Blurs of vampires leaping at the humans and Logan's pack who quickly began to move. Even Star made an attack. Marko had grabbed her bare wrist and when his eyes flickered towards the bannister, she had a sickening churn in her stomach telling her he was about to throw her off.
"Don't touch her!" Michael yelled. But as he moved forward, abandoning the weapons he carried, the female vampire that had appeared pulled him back. With one knock of her arm, Michael felt the floor disappear from his feet and he back flipped over the bannister, plummeting down to the ground. He heard Star's cry of his name but pain radiated through, almost sending him into a darkness that threatened his vision and consciousness.
Star roared out. Her eyes wide at Marko. She hadn't felt this much anger bubble up inside of her since the confrontation with Max. When she found out he was the Head Vampire and she was a foot away from destroying the only obstacle left to bringing back her humanity. Like the snap of a twig, she had seethed and grabbed the nearest weapon, no longer afraid of these vampires and ready to kill Max. Here, she felt the fury again. The wrath that made her fear of vampires disappear and helped her realise she had to fight. If she wanted her life back, she needed to act.
So she did. Just like last summer.
After the battle with Max's pack and she was human again she had moved in with the Widow Johnson. A kindly old lady who at some point in her younger years had her own reputation as a vampire hunter. A deadly slayer who had killed vampire after vampire in her youthful days. When Star first came to the Widow Johnson, she had straight away received a present from the old woman. A small cross for her charm bracelet. Small but deadly if she were to use it on vampires. Not kill them exactly but it would help ward them off.
Star lifted her right arm, the one with the charm bracelet on and she pressed her wrist to Marko's forehead. The cross welded to Marko's skin and he screamed, immediately letting go.
"I'm done being afraid," she whispered and pushed him, a gleeful laugh as he let his balance waver and he tumbled down the stairs. He managed to get control of his body as he flew up to the rafters just before he reached the last step. She took her focus away from him to spin around, grabbing a stake and thrusting it forwards to the hissing female behind her. It missed the vampire's heart, shooting straight through her stomach but it was a bad enough injury to make her screech and retreat back upstairs.
In the midst of the battle in the living room, Edgar had found himself fighting alongside his brother, of all people. It had happened without thinking. Both of them saw a vampire coming towards them. Alan reached for a stake that had rolled down from the steps after Star had dropped the weapons and, with a whistle, he tossed it to Edgar who caught it easily. Alan chose to stay unarmed, relying solely on the graceful, acrobatic moves he could now do and the strength from the vampire blood running through his veins.
Without speaking to each other, they moved to attack and defend themselves against the vampire as if it had been a choreographed routine. Completely in sync as Edgar would aim for the vampire's heart but the bloodsucker spun out of the way, only to be made to react quickly to Alan's attacks. The vampire, a red headed male, jumped to the side when Edgar lunged at him with the stake again and, at the same time, used his outer forearm to block a punch from Alan. He hoisted himself off the ground, tilting his body to the side as his legs kicked out. Alan managed to duck swiftly but Edgar was caught by the heel of the vampire's booted foot. He felt the impact of the hard shoe material against his cheek, a searing pain in his face. His vision darkened as he fell to the floor, hand up to clutch his tender and throbbing cheek. When he heard the hiss and saw the vampire throwing himself down to attack again, fangs bared for the lethal strike, Edgar lifted the stake up. A simple move that the vampire couldn't regain his balance in time to avoid. He was falling and he impaled himself right on the tip of the stake. The vampire squealed, arms flailing before he suddenly lurched up into the air and right into the ceiling where he exploded into a cloud of ash. His clothes floated down to the ground and Edgar felt himself lie back, eyes closing as he began to focus on the pain in his cheek. It already felt like it was swelling up.
"Nice work, bro," Alan said, extending a hand down. Edgar grasped it, shuddering once at the icy touch of his brother's skin but allowed Alan to help him up. His head spun and for a second he had to clutch onto Alan to stand up and keep his balance. But he forced himself to focus. To keep awake and keep alert. That was only one vampire out of the swarm Marko had just summoned to help.
"Interesting fighting skills you have there now," Edgar muttered. "But, uh, thanks for helping."
Alan nodded once before dashing past Edgar and targeting another one of Marko's pawns. Edgar clutched his stake and headed towards Lucy. She was trapped in the corner, fending off a female vampire with a cross as she tried to keep her father up. His head kept drooping, unable to help stop himself from slumping down on her. Edgar rushed over, grabbing the girl's long hair and staked her from the back. Her jaw opened wide in a silent scream before the injury paralysed her and she fell back, frozen as a screaming corpse. A grey tint swept over her skin and the amber glow of her eyes died, fading in colour.
"He took a blow to the head," Lucy said and her fingers hovered over an angry, red lump on her father's forehead. It had been cut open, now caked in dried blood.
"We need you two out of here," Edgar said and looked at the open door.
"I can't leave you all. Sam and Michael –."
"Can fight," Edgar said. "And your father's badly injured. I need you to take him somewhere safe."
Lucy opened her mouth to argue again. But she glanced at Sam and Michael, both facing a vampire each. She watched her two sons block hits and throw their own, moving as fast as they could, concentrating on the vampires they had leaped into a fight with. Her motherly instincts told her to wrap them both up in her arms and carry them out with her father. But they managed. Briefly she watched them manoeuvre around their vampires, targeting certain points of the bodies and blocking any swipes at them. It was almost like watching a dance. She could hardly believe she was watching her two boys. Two boys who not long ago were in nappies and learning how to walk and talk. At least, that's how it seemed.
Edgar gestured to Sam's father. "Lucy, take Mr Burke away. Get far away. We'll sort it out," he said.
"Jus' don't damage my damn house again," Grandpa muttered, eyes fluttering open.
"Oh, dad!" She flung her arms around her father's neck.
"Damn vampires everywhere," he mumbled, looking around.
"We're getting out of here," she said, lifting him and Edgar threw the old man's other arm around his shoulders to help. When Lucy had him balance and kept his weight up herself, Edgar grabbed a weapon that Star had dropped on her way back down. A silver knife with a wooden sheath. Perfect for werewolves and vampires and curtesy of Grandpa. Armed with a stake and the knife he guided them through the fight happening around them. Every vampire and hunter on his side had at least one vampire attacking them. The house was almost infested with leeches. More than they ever battled at once. There wasn't any hiding. No surprise appearances like David's pack had done. This fight was a desperate one. A final attempt on both sides to end it, once and for all without any careful consideration of the consequences.
It was that exact thought that had Edgar shaking inside. Struggling to keep up the persona of leader. The one who gave the orders, thought of their strategies and was responsible for getting everyone out alive.
Marko was insane, obsessed and willing to do anything to kill the ones who had wronged him. He allowed his anger to fuel his fighting and any icy chill down the back of Edgar's spine told him that he might actually get what he wanted.
Edgar managed to get Lucy and Grandpa towards the door, passing Lucy a weapon and ushering them out.
"Edgar." Lucy turned to the teenager and her mouth was turned down into a frown.
"I won't let anything happen to Sam and Michael. I promise," he said. "Please, get somewhere safe."
"There's a log cabin nearby, further into the forest," Alan said, appearing beside his brother.
Edgar wanted to throw up at the sight of his brother, eyes glowing and fangs on show. The cheekbones more defined and angular. Forehead smooth but prominent as it arched down towards his nose, creating a slight hood for his shadowed, amber eyes.
"When the trail towards you splits, take the right. It's a straight path and you'll find the cabin in a clearing." Despite his helpful suggestion, he grinned. "Don't mind the dead body in the living room."
Lucy couldn't say anything. Edgar saw her eyes widen, horrified at Alan's remark at the end. But it was a haven where she could take her father.
"I'll go there then. But then I'm coming back."
Edgar sighed. "Lucy –."
"I'm coming back. You need numbers."
Without waiting for an argument, she turned and led Grandpa down the path towards his car. Edgar glanced at Alan and cleared his throat.
"I'm guessing that dead body is Blake," he muttered.
Alan shrugged before turning back to the house. Logan had kicked a vampire towards the door and the youngest Frog brother made a grab for him. Arms wrapped around the vampire's neck and forehead, holding him tight and Edgar drove the knife right into the heart of the hissing male. The vampire gurgled blood, vomiting dark red liquid before going limp in Alan's arms who dropped the corpse and stepped over it, moving towards his pack leader.
"Three more hours and it's daylight," Logan said to the brothers. "We need something to get rid of all of them at once if we don't want another night of this."
"Great minds think alike," Marko said. The three boys turned to see Marko near the stairs, hands holding back Adam's arms. Edgar was ready laugh. How a great Head Vampire was able to be stuck in the arms of a vampire who was younger. But then he saw the awkward twist of Adam's arms. When Marko let go, they hung down and Edgar saw the three places on each arm where the bones had been broken. Bones poking through the skin in disfigured lumps.
"Dad!" Logan stepped forward but Marko grabbed Adam again, arm around the neck, and reached for a stake that was on the floor. He rested the tip right against the material of Adam's shirt and smirked.
"I'll stake him before you can get over here, brat. Doesn't matter how fast you can move. I'm just as quick."
Logan halted, teeth and fangs bared but he stayed put. Edgar could see the boy's fists shaking before he focused on Marko.
Marko smirked as a vampire walked closer to him. A vampire that had been fighting Sam who now lay on the floor, not moving. Edgar's heart raced as he saw his friend's body but he heard a groan and Sam's leg twitched, stretching out.
"Maybe I won't get all of you tonight," he said and the vampire lifted the matchbox off the floor. "But I'll make fucking sure most of you don't make it out of this house alive."
With a flick of her wrist, the vampire who had joined Marko lit the match. Flames sparked, hissed and the flame on the tip danced eagerly. Edgar shouted a warning, diving for Sam who was near the petrol coated floor. The vampire dropped the match right into the pool of petrol.
Flames roared up.
Shrieks and screams shuddered through the house, from all sides. Some of the vampires on Marko's side had been standing in the petrol and as soon as the fire darted its way through the house, lapping up the trail of petrol, they were caught. Flames licked at their skin, coated them and they broke off their fights to scream and yell at the angry fire quickly enveloping them.
Edgar hadn't reached Sam in time. Fire licked and jabbed at his sleeve and he cried out. Edgar grabbed Sam, pulling him away and taking off the boy's jacket to get rid the flames that had latched on. He winced at the blistering redness to Sam's upper arm.
"What're you doing?" a vampire cried. One of Marko's and she turned to him, fangs bared as she watched some of her new brothers and sisters be swept up in the fire.
Marko shrugged. "Soldiers get sacrificed in a war."
"You don't care that they're dying? Save them!"
Ruby took advantage of the girl's distraction, sneaking up behind and clasped onto the girl's head.
"See? It's all a game of chess. And you're the useless pawn," she whispered before twisting the head clean off.
Vampires retreated. The ones who were clear of the fire saw most of their pack in flames and burning into ash. They were new and determined not to die so they fled. Flying out of the nearest exit with their frightened screams echoing.
"Looks like they've deserted you," Adam sneered at Marko. "A good Head Vampire watches over their pack. You've happily sacrificed them to get what you want."
"I never wanted to be a good Head Vampire," Marko said. "I just wanted to see a lot of dead bodies."
He plunged the stake through Adam's heart.
"No!" Logan screamed.
Marko laughed as he let go of Adam, watching the former Head Vampire fall limply to the floor. His body fell into the flames near them, being enveloped instantly.
Around them, Alan and Ruby were the only ones who flinched. Felt the shock of their Head Vampire dying, the connection snapping. Edgar frowned, glancing at Alan who glared at Marko with a growl rumbling in his throat.
If Alan had still been half, that would have been his cure, he thought. He'd be human again. But it's too late.
The fight could end between Logan and Marko. A few more vampire bodies didn't matter to him. It was time to get his friends out.
The fire stretched through the house, growing fast and determined. There was too much wood in the house that it had spawned into something monstrous. There was smoke filling up every inch, thick, grey smoke that stung Edgar's eyes. Making it harder to see.
"Bonnie! Michael!" he shouted. "Guys?"
"Edgar!" He looked to his left and saw a figure dashing to him. A female figure with thick, curly black hair and a long, shimmery skirt.
"Star, take Sam. Where's -?"
"Edgar, Michael's trapped!" Bridget shouted, pointing upstairs.
Michael was on the landing, backing away from the fire creeping up the stairs. He held an arm to his mouth coughing violently as he looked for another way out.
"Michael!" Star cried out, hands flying to her mouth.
"Can you get up there?" Edgar asked Bridget. "Please… if you can get up there…"
Bridget stared at him with emotionless eyes and for a second he actually thought she was going to turn her back on them. Go to her pack instead. But her features softened and Edgar could see that her humanity hadn't disappeared completely yet. She still remembered them and what they had meant to her in her former human life.
"Yeah. I can get him out of the window." She turned to Star. "Go round the back with Sam and meet us there."
Star nodded, helping Sam up and she dragged him through the burning house. Bridget flew up to the landing, grabbing hold of Michael's arm and they ran for his mother's bedroom.
"Edgar?" Bonnie ran over, grasping at Edgar's shirt with Bobby and Imogen following them. Beside Edgar, his small friend shook as she clung to him, tears streamed down her blotchy face.
"Leave them to it," Edgar said, nodding at Alan, Logan and Ruby who were getting ready to attack Marko. Yet he grinned, despite having three full vampire ready to launch themselves at his throat. "We're getting out of here."
"But if this is our chance to help Imogen –," Bobby began, arms wrapped around his girlfriend's shoulders.
"Bobby, the fucking house is burning down!" Edgar snapped. He began to pull Bonnie, beckoning Bobby and Imogen to follow. But there was a small hesitation as he looked towards his brother. Alan had run straight into Marko, stake in his hand and aimed to pierce right through Marko's heart. It was such a brash, determined move that was so much like Human Alan. Even after those months of vampire hunting, Alan would still have the tendency to snap and impulsively go for the kill. It was one of the reasons he ended up turned in the first place. Not just because Charlotte had her creepy obsession with Alan but he had done the stupid thing and chased a vampire by himself.
So it wasn't surprising that Marko had caught Alan and kicked him in the stomach so he flew back into Edgar and Bonnie. He yelped, Alan flying into Edgar, Edgar falling backwards onto Bonnie. The three of them ended up in a pile on the floor, groaning. While Edgar and Bonnie stayed down, taking a second to shake off the sudden collision, Alan was already on his feet.
"Keep going! Go on!" Edgar shouted at Bobby and Imogen. He waved his free hand as he helped Bonnie up. The couple had been close to the front door and Bobby took the command with no hesitation. He clutched onto Imogen and guided her out of the burning house.
Marko laughed as he dodged Logan's and Ruby's attacks. The female vampire paused, an irritated growl escaping from her as he dashed behind her. She turned, unable to keep up with his movements.
"Pathetic," Marko sneered. "Every one of you." He grasped Logan's wrist and bent it. The snap was sharp and Logan swore out loud, jerking away and backing up.
"You always said not to underestimate these hunters, Logan," Marko said. "Did you ever think about not underestimating me? When I want something, I get it."
As soon as those words left his lips, his gaze flickered to Bonnie who was back on her feet. It was a brief second before, to the human eye, he disappeared and reappeared behind her. She hadn't even realised he had moved until arms wrapped around her upper body, trapping her arms and she was being dragged over to the arched frame that separated the living room from the dining room. The fire roared and crackled behind them and she screeched, feeling the warm licks of the flames.
Edgar screamed her name. He had lunged forward, only to be pushed back by Alan and his hands flew at his brother.
"Don't you dare stop me!" he yelled. "She was your friend!"
"He'll toss her into that fire before you even have the chance to take the first step," Alan snapped.
"If you let her die, I will kill you. No more fucking alliance."
"Logaaaan…" Ruby whined, looking back at her old friend. He had twisted his arm back, setting the bones again. "What the hell do we do?"
Tears dripped down Bonnie's face. Her heart raced. Thundered against her chest. A part of her wanted to throw up. She was seconds away from being toast. Marko would do it. The dating period had been over a long time ago. When she made her choice to help kill his pack and return human that was officially the end of anything between them. The only emotions between them that were left were hatred and betrayal. Anger that only fuelled the desire for each other to die.
She had a sinking feeling in her stomach that it was going to be Marko who got his wish.
Last summer, she had casually flirted with a stranger. A blonde biker with a cheeky air of rebellion. He had asked her out. She said yes.
Her worst mistake in all her eighteen years. Now she was paying the price for the last time.
"Now, son, I don't know what kind of relationship issues you have. Frankly, I don't give a damn. But I think you need to let the little lady go."
"Mr Burke!" Edgar turned to Sam's Grandpa. He stood as tall as he could, scowling with a bow and arrow raised. He had it aimed, poised towards Marko.
"I told you to get to safety!" Edgar snapped at Grandpa.
"I ain't taking orders from a doddery old man," Marko growled.
"It wasn't an order. I'm making you do it whether you want to or not."
He let the arrow go. By the time Marko had pushed Bonnie away to catch it, he was already too late. He hadn't raised his hands in time, seconds wasted by letting Bonnie go and shoving her to the side. The arrow was nowhere near the heart but it did go clean through his throat. Blood gurgled out from Marko's mouth and his hands flew up to grab the tip, ready to pull it out.
Do it! Bonnie thought. It was the right time. He was distracted. Injured. And the weapon was already prepared.
With a guttural scream, she dashed forward. Arms outstretched. She grabbed hold of Marko's hands, clutching on as tightly as she could manage for a human. Her eyes were wide, teeth bared and the anger flooded her. The anger from the terror he had put her through last summer. Revealing himself as a vampire by killing two people in front of her. Threatening her to turn or die. Killing her mother. Bringing Logan's pack into his petty revenge. It had resulted in the loss of too many loved ones. The permanent deaths of Leon, Bernice and her mother. The death of Alan's and Bridget's humanity.
"I fucking hope there's a hell for you to go to," she whispered and pushed. Threw herself against him and let go before the fires could touch her. But Marko fell. Right into the flames and his howls echoed the house. Bonnie stayed put, wanting to see the fire envelope Marko and burn his body. She had to see it. So had to know for sure he was gone this time. But Edgar grabbed her hand and tugged her.
"We need to get out!" he yelled.
He was right. The flames spread. The more wood it touched, the faster it got. Beams creaked and one fell down in the kitchen.
They both ran. Mr Burke, Ruby, Logan and Alan followed. Around them the house whined and groaned. Gradually collapsing. Everyone was further down the hill, screaming for them to get away from the house.
"Dad!" Lucy ran to her father, arms around him. "I told you not to go back in! You could have died."
"Damn good job I did," Grandpa said.
"He saved my life," Bonnie said and reached to hug him once Lucy had let go.
"I thought you weren't coming out of there!" Bridget said as Alan came up. The vampires had kept a distance away from them, standing to the side as they came from the house. Bridget had dashed over to Alan, throwing her arms around his neck. He caught her easily, holding her around her waist. Muttered an arrogant comment about being too hard to kill followed by a kiss to her cheek. For a while they stayed like that. Still and embraced before they loosened their hold. One of Alan's arms stayed around her waist.
"Do you think he's dead?" Edgar asked as Sam came up to join them. He kept his right arm still, using only his left to give Bonnie and Edgar a hug.
"God, I freaking hope so," she whispered.
"Imogen, do you feel any different?" Star asked, stepping up to put a hand on the girl's shoulder.
Imogen frowned, pulling slightly away from Bobby. At first she wasn't sure. She was too busy shaking and feeling her bruises throb all over her body. But there was something missing that had been there before. And as she thought about it, she realised this would be easy to miss. It nagged at her constantly. She looked around, noticing there was a slight blur to her vision and the roar of the fire had quietened. With her vampire senses, it had sound like the thundering roar of an earthquake.
"Yeah," Imogen said. She glanced at everyone and smiled. "Yeah… I do actually. I don't feel thirsty anymore. My eyesight's blurry."
Bobby lifted a hand to her cheek. Her tone wasn't pale anymore. Her sun-kissed glow was back. The veins unnoticeable. When his knuckles brushed against her skin, her temperature was warmer.
"We did it," he whispered and she squealed, suddenly leaping into his arms. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he spun, both of them in fits of gleeful laughter.
"Oh my God! Thank you! Thank you!" She suddenly let go of Bobby, running over to Edgar and before he could even make a sound of protest, let alone move away, she had grabbed him into a hug. She squeezed him tightly as she thanked everyone again and again… and again.
"Yeah, okay, enough. Just doing our duty. I'll give you the bill at school," Edgar mumbled, trying to peel her off.
She frowned. "Bill?"
Bonnie patted her back and nudged her to leave. "Just go home and rest. He always threatens this. He doesn't mean it."
"I have to get paid for this at some point!"
"Edgar…ssh." Bonnie placed a finger on his lip. She smiled and pulled him into a hug. "We're all alive. That's the best payment you can get."
"Not quite everyone," Logan muttered. He had stepped away from Alan, Bridget and Ruby, facing the house. He wasn't the only one staring at the large home, slowly crumbling to piles of burnt wood. He wasn't the only one with tears in his eyes. Lucy and Grandpa stood side by side, holding each other as they watched their home burn to the ground.
Bonnie, Edgar and Sam were quiet. They offered no apologies. How could they? Adam had encouraged the revenge in the first place. Blending in and playing doctors as he learnt everything about them. Adam was another Head Vampire who got what was coming to him in their opinion.
"The alliance is over now," Edgar said, stepping forward. "We've killed Marko and Charlotte. They're no longer a threat. I want all of you gone." He glanced at Bridget and Alan. "You two as well."
Logan sneered at them. "Or you'll kill us? Just you three hunters?"
"More than three," Michael said, coming forward. "Don't touch my family or my friends."
"I'll happily fight you," Star added.
"Count us in," Lucy said and Grandpa grunted with a nod.
"Us too," Bobby said, walking closer to the hunters with Imogen.
"You really want to dive right into another fight?" Sam asked. "Keep this going? Because we can as well. I've had it with you fucking vampires and coming after my friends and family. Every time I'm threatened by you lot, I'm just more and more determined to beat you. But hell, if you want to reunite with Daddy, we'll happily help."
"Logan," Ruby whispered. She reached for him, pulling on his jacket. "I couldn't give a shit about revenge. Years ago, you gave me another chance to live. I'm not giving that up to continue fighting with the Brat Pack. Over my undead body. Come on, just… just leave it, okay? I want to have fun."
Logan gritted his teeth together. But he glanced at the burning house.
That was all Marko, he reminded himself. It was the result of a vampire who couldn't let things go. A vampire who was part of a young and reckless pack. This could have all been avoided if they stayed in the shadows but arrogance got the best of them. And this was the end of their path. The last of them burning alive.
"You got what you wanted out of it. You have two of them on our side and Marko and Charlotte are dead. That's enough," Ruby said.
"When did you become the voice of reason in this pack?" Logan asked.
She grinned. "I was always smarter than you."
"Okay," he said and added in a louder voice. "Okay, hunters. Truce. We've both lost soldiers. We're both fed up of battles. Fine. We're out. I'm sick of the sight of you saps anyway."
"Feelings mutual for once," Edgar grumbled. "And I want all of you out of this town, by the way. I mean, all of you." He looked at Alan and Bridget. She remained quiet, eyes averting down when he half expected her to snap and get angry. Maybe she was still human enough to be ashamed of her decision. But it didn't matter. She had finally chosen a side and it was with Alan. He gazed at his brother who stepped forward, eyebrow raised and his top lip sneering.
"The guy who tried to have me killed is the one telling me to fuck off?"
"You know the score," Edgar said. "We get rid of Marko and you leave. I'm fed up. I don't want another fight. I'm tired and too many people have died. Leon, Bernice, Blake, Mrs Casey… too many."
He clenched his jaw before sighing. With slumped shoulders and a hunched posture, he added: "Are you going to continue fighting and get revenge on me?"
For a moment, Edgar caught a frown on Alan's face before his brother looked away.
"I don't think I can," he muttered.
Edgar nodded sharply. "Then we never see each other again. We don't cross paths and we don't hunt each other. Get out of Santa Carla."
There were sirens in the distance. Red and blue flashes of light coming up the trail.
"It's over?" Edgar asked, looking between Logan and Alan.
Logan was the one to nod. "It's over."
"We'll go," Alan added.
There was a breeze and the echo of screeching. Logan and Ruby had disappeared from where they were standing. An illusion of teleportation when they had only moved too fast for the human eye to see. But Alan and Bridget stayed put. Staring glumly at Bonnie, Sam and Edgar. The connection was still hanging on. Not yet broken. The three of them were still important figures in their memories. Relationships that had yet to be buried deep into their minds.
Alan still frowned. Almost pained as his eyebrows furrowed. Edgar soaked in that expression into his memory. While he vowed to stay away, if he ever did accidentally come across his brother in the future, Alan may have completely forgotten him. He'd be just like the other vampires. Fuelled by bad memories and unable to remember what it was like to be human. Clueless of who he used to be and who he used to belong to.
Bridget chewed on her bottom lip, eyes glued on Bonnie. The two girls' eyes glistened. Their bodies tense but twitching on the spot, fighting to the urge to go and hug each other. They just couldn't. They were telling themselves that the other was on a different side.
"Sorry," Bridget mumbled to Bonnie.
"You're not really, but thanks anyway," Bonnie whispered. "Try not to come back."
The sirens grew louder and Alan took Bridget's hand. In the blink of an eye both had gone. And in the blink of an eye, Edgar had finally, and truly, lost everything. He stumbled on the spot, head dizzy and heart racing. Vehicles pulled to a halt and there was loud talking. Seconds later, he felt hands on his arms and he was being guided away. The face of a concerned police officer was in his view. Asking some question about being alright.
"No," Edgar whispered, shaking his head. "No, I'm not."