Perpetual Night

Enjoy :)

There were always people in the house. Strange men with instruments running up and down the stairs into her room which was never empty. I was never allowed in at those times so I'd sit on the stairs and watch them. Some of them would look at me as they passed. I hated those men. They couldn't make her better, none of them understood. When they had all left, which was a rare moment, I would go up the stairs, push open the door to Vanessa's room and sit on her bed. Most of the time she was asleep.

My mother often sat in the rocking chair beside her, crying softly or sleeping as well. One particular night when there had been many people in the room, my mother had stepped out to talk to my father in the shadows of the parlor. It was late, they thought i was in bed, though neither of them had bothered to check. Most ten year old girls got tucked in at night. But I was not most girls. Vanessa was asleep, looking very small in the bed and the white nightgown they'd put her in. She had new scratches on her left eye, but I was use to seeing marks appear on her by then. I had lost track of the months this had gone on for. I crawled into the bed next to her as was my custom, prepared to stay there until someone moved me. I heard her intake of breath and then her eyes opened. Sometimes her eyes looked different, like somebody else's, but tonight they looked like hers.

"Ava." The weak and fragile state of her voice no longer frightened me. I smoothed her hair comfortingly, letting her feel my weight against her side.

"It's okay Ness, you can go back to sleep. All those men have gone home."

"Stay with me until I fall asleep. It's lonely here." I curled myself against her side and silently agreed.

Pulling the trigger use to be hard. It used to yank my hand back and they would shake so much I almost missed my target. But I found when I was shooting something that mattered, there was no hesitation. Just a mechanism and my fingers. The bullet hit home, flying through the female vampires back and throwing her off Malcolm. She screeched in pain, but not for long. They died like any human would.

"Malcolm." He was face down on the floor, blood pouring from his neck where she'd bit him. I rolled him over and it was much more difficult than I thought, but he helped. His eyes rolled before focusing on me. "Hi. I'm here. It's gonna be alright," I said breathlessly.

"Ava?" he was looking at me like I was a vision in a dream. I nodded, looking around for something to press against his wound and stop the bleeding. Something moved in the shadows to my left and I raised my gun, already cocking it with my thumb on the trigger.

"Don't touch the wound." The man who looked back at me was human with a strong American accent. "It's infected. He's going to become like one of them."

"Who are you?" I demanded, my gun still trained on him. My eyes were adjusting to the dark and I could see the man's face clearly now. He was indian.

"My name is Kaetenay. I'm here to help you." He wasn't lying, but I still didn't lower my gun. If there was anything I learned in the last two weeks it was trust nothing that moved with a beating heart. Malcolm groaned beside me, his face screwing up in pain.

"Ethan!" the indian called and I realized the sounds of the battle in the entryway had stopped. Seconds later two people came rushing through the door. When I saw Cat, I finally lowered my pistol.

"What happened?" Ethan demanded, looking at the stranger who knew him and then resting his eyes on me.

"He was bitten," Kaetenay told him. "Help me get him up." I moved out of the way as the stranger and Ethan took one of Malcolm's arms and hoisted him off the ground.

"Are you alright?" Ethan asked, his voice muffled by Malcolm's arm. I glared back at him in response. Malcolm I was glad to see. Him, not so much. He was choosing now to come back? Now that everything had ended and we'd lost, now he was back to fix it. It was too late for him to be looking at me like that. They carried Malcolm into the parlor and Cat slipped her arm around my shoulders as we walked. For the last few weeks, it had just been just the two of us. We'd had to keep moving, not able to stay in one place for long before the vampires found us. But Cat knew what she was doing. SHe knew how to evade them and how to kill them and she'd taught me without question. We all had to be fighters to survive and it was me they were after. They set Malcolm down on the sofa and he looked more alert.

"I need a gun." I sat down next to him, trying to get a better look at his wound. But he wasn't looking at me. "The wounds from a bite, Ethan. You know what that means."

"No," I said automatically.

"Give him the gun," Kaetenay echoed.

"Hold on," Cat called over us all. "Men. Always so dramatic. Can I have a look, little bird?" I moved over so she could inspect Malcolm's neck. She was like a doctor, there was no emotion on her face at the diagnosis I was sure she'd come to. She went to the fire and picked up a poker, submerging it in flames. It glowed hot like an iron when she pulled it away.

"I have to cauterize the wound." The idea of Malcolm having a burning poker submerged in his neck was not a good one, but it was much better than the alternative. "What have you got to lose?"

"You trust this woman?" Malcolm asked me. The answer was easy.

"With my life." He nodded. Ethan and Kaetenay moved forward to hold down his arms and I got up, staying in Malcolm's line of vision.

"Don't try to stay conscious," Cat ordered him. He was looking at me. He screamed when she pressed the singing medal to his skin, but it was fast. His head drooped forward as his body shut down to protect him from the pain.

"Alright?" Cat asked me. I nodded. There was a time not long ago when I would have had to look away, when it would have made me feel sick. But I didn't feel those things anymore.

"Who are you?" Ethan demanded, looking from her to me as he tried to work out the relationship between us. As if he had a right to care.

"Catriona Hartdegen," she told him. "Miss, if go in for titles." Done with him, she turned back to me. "We really ought to fetch a doctor."

"No. We can't bring him into this," I said firmly.

"Ava, it doesn't look like we have much of a choice. And they'll be hunting him if they haven't found him already." Her perception never ceased to amaze me. She hadn't known me that long, but she knew exactly what to say to me to make me do what she wanted. I glanced at Malcolm's lifeless body and then the pistol I was still clutching in my hand. I could protect Victor, I'd have to.

"Fine." I didn't look at any of them as I headed for the door. Ethan called after me and I ignored him. But his legs were longer than mine. As I reached for the door handle, his arm landed across it.

"You're not going anywhere."

"Get out of my way, Ethan." He took a step back. The look on his face was not one I attributed with him when he was talking to me. It was fear and then silent shock. Like Victor one the street when I'd burned his hand. But it was gone soon and he recovered.

"Look. I know you hate me, but there's more to it than that right now. It's not safe out there for you and especially not alone."

"Well I don't want you to come with me and I'm the only one who knows where Victor is," I told him coldly.

"He's right," said a voice from the parlor doorway. Cat was leaning against the wall causally giving me a judging look I was starting to become familiar with. "It's suicide and I've risked my life far too many times for you. Leaving now would be a horrible time to repay me, don't you think?"

"It's not your fight," I told her.

"Well, I'm involved now. There's a hit on my head too. We have to find Vanessa. Are you really going to put this doctor's life above hers?" We stared at each other for a few moments. But I didn't hate her like I hated Ethan, which allowed me to listen and take her options into consideration. Backing down didn't make me weak. It made me smart. I wouldn't reach Victor before the vampires got to me and I couldn't fight a pack on my own. I moved away from the door.

"Bedlam. He's at Bedlam," It old Ethan without looking at him. Naturally, he would now take it upon himself to go and find Victor while I stayed safe in the house. I ignored the feeling of Ethan's eyes boring into me and eventually he gave up and turned towards the door.

"Wait," Cat told him. "Whoever you are."

"Ethan. Chandler."

"Right, well Mr. Chandler you'll need a mask. Something to filter the air." Her concern for his well being touching.

"I can handle the fog," he told her.

"That's not fog," she replied sternly in an effort to make him listen and stop moving. "That's what we thought at first. An especially dense fog mixing with the chlorine gasses from the factories. And then people started to die."

"At first it was by the dozens and then by the hundreds," I continued. "Last week, seven thousand people died just in London. It's a plague. And Vanessa's the only one who can stop it."

"And what is all of this?" he asked me with an edge to his voice that matched my own now. Impatience did that to men.

"The End of Days." We stared at each other for a moments before Ethan closed his hand around the door handle and addressed Cat.

"Keep her safe." I rolled my eyes, but he was gone too fast to see it.

"Come along now," Cat coxed. "Let's attend to your patient, shall we?" She slipped her hand into mine and I found I was slightly less angry. Ethan's indian friend, Kaetenay, didn't spare either of us a glance as he swung the door open again and walked out of it.

"Well then, it seems it's just us," Cat observed. I went back to the parlor and sat beside Malcolm. I wondered who had lit the fire. Cat had said this house was too dangerous, this was the first place they'd look for me. But we'd been keeping an eye on it in case Vanessa came home. It seemed like so much longer than two weeks. We'd been darting from place to place, sleeping in abandoned buildings, watching as whole families died in their beds coughing up blood from the fog. When I'd seen the amount of vampires coming into the mansion, I knew someone else was there. And then we'd found them.

"So you weren't close then?" Cat leaned against the back of the sofa as I watched Malcolm sleep. "You and Mr. Chandler?"

"No, we were." I had told her very little about my friends. There hadn't been time. Mostly we'd talked about Vanessa and Dracula and how to find them. I now knew more about vampire legends than I ever cared to. "But he left."

"Ah, I see," she mused. "And you feel betrayed." I didn't answer her, which meant she was right. "But is it really him you're angry at, I wonder?"

"What do you mean?" I reached for the blanket on the back of the sofa and folded it over Malcolm's legs.

"Often times when we're angry or scared we project those feelings onto one person," she explained in her 'I've studied death my entire life and I'm smarter than you' voice.

"That's not I'm doing. You don't understand."

"I understand being angry at the people who are supposed to protect you. My father never loved me the way that he should. He wanted a son and that was the one thing I couldn't be for him. It's really Vanessa you're angry at, isn't it?"

"She choose him over me." I smoothed the blanket over Malcolm's legs. "It's not fair." She put her hand on my shoulder, risking me shaking her off. I didn't.

"Life so rarely is, little bird." She only paused for a moment. Cat didn't like like lapses of silence and neither did I. "So what about this man? Malcolm Murray. He owns this house, but who is he to you?" I met her eyes, knowing she could come to the conclusion on her own,which she quickly did. "Oh. Well that makes sense then."

"What does?" She shrugged.

"The way he looked at you." I didn't question what she meant by that because she wouldn't' tell me. She settled into a seat by the fire and started poking it with the same interpent she'd burnt Malcolm with. It didn't take long for him to begin to stir. His hand went to his neck, which I'd wrapped a cloth around and he groaned as he sat up.

"Ava."

"I'm right here." I hugged his good side and was relieved when he reciprocated. "Took you long enough." He laughed, a low rumbling in chest. When we pulled apart, I could see the pain on his face. Cat held out a glass of brandy.

"For the pain. I imagine it smarts, rather." He took it.

"Who are you?"

"Catriona Hartdegen. I'm the one who-"

"Burned me," Malcolm finished.

"Safed you, some might argue," she grinned.

"Can we have a minute?" I asked her. She hesitated, not wanting to be left out of the drama, but then rolled her eyes lightly and took the entire flask of brandy out with her. Once she was gone, Malcolm stood.

"You should sit, I'll look at your dressing." I had already anticipated his response and the futileness of my suggestion.

"Ava, what is going on, what's happened?" I shifted uncomfortably. He had a gaping wound in his neck and I'd have to retell it all again when Ethan got back with Victor.

"It's a long story."

"Then tell it."

"I will. If you sit." I gestured at the seat beside me.

"Who is that woman? What's happened to Vanessa, where is she?"
"You're still standing," I reminded him. "Sit. Please." He finally did. I drew back the corner of the bandage and dabbed a bit of alcohol on a piece of cloth to press against the wound. It was tinted black around the edges but I didn't know if that was infection or burnt skin. I'd never wanted to be a doctor.

"After you left, something else started hunting her. Vampires. One in particular." He met my eyes. "He's called Dracula. He's the one who killed Mina. That woman, Cat, she's been studying him and those like him all her life. She studies death and vampires have a caused a lot of it. He's thousands of years old, he's pinned whole armies against each other. Cat knows more about vampires then I thought was possible. She's my friend, she's helped keep me alive."

"She taught you how to shoot a gun," he commented. "And well." I smiled lightly.

"Thanks. Maybe I get it from you." He returned the smile. It felt wrong to smile at him. We'd never had this. Then his face fell slightly. He reached up and wound his finger through the chain that hung from my neck. Mina's necklace. I hadn't yet taken it off. Malcolm's eyes darkened.

"And this creature, he has Vanessa." I nodded.

"She choose to go with him. That's why the world is ending. Like the prophecy said. Darkness." He put his hand over mine.

"We'll get her back. I'm here now." I smiled at my lap. "And so is Ethan." I pulled away. I could feel the walls coming up at the mention of his name. Malcolm had never been perceptive, but he could read this.

"You should give Mr. Chandler another chance." I noticed the change in formalities as he became more serious. "At least listen to his side of it. What he did he did for good reason."

"He left. There is no good reason."

"He thought he was protecting you. And Vanessa."

"No. He was protecting himself. He didn't want to see the disappointment on our faces when we found out what he did. He was sparing himself that pain." Malcolm lapsed into silence because we both knew I was right. The protector had run. He hadn't trusted that we'd stand by him. And he'd done the one thing that would make me reject him.

"He came back, Ava." I pivoted my body away from him. "He came back because he realized his mistakes and wants your forgiveness." I said nothing. He wouldn't see it my way. Malcolm was the one who did the abandoning, he didn't understand what it was like to be on the opposite end. I heard him sigh deeply and then he put his hand on my back. I could have read his mind, but found I didn't want to. Malcolm was predictable to me now, it didn't matter.

"I forgot how stubborn you can be." There was a lighter tone to his voice now. "I suppose you get that from me." For some reason, that comforted me. That a part of me was him. It made me feel less alone.

"What made you come to that conclusion?" I asked, turning towards him again.

"I came to it a long time ago. Sometimes when I look at you, I think I'm looking in a mirror." I raised my eyebrows. "A younger version of me," he rephrased. "I was like you once in more ways than you know." I had never seen Malcolm and I as being alike. Quite the opposite, actually. We lapsed into silence.

"I shouldn't have left," he said quietly. "I should have known that something would happen if I did." I put my hand over his.

"It's not your fault." It was the first time in my life that I meant that when looking at him.

"If I was here, would the monster have struck?" I didn't say no. But the same could be said for Ethan and that was were I let my anger settle.

"You had to bring Sembene home."

"It's my fault he was dead in the first place. No Ava, you can't absolve my sins this time." I found my thoughts shifting to Dracula. It was hard to believe that I would have believed anything he said. I would have let him take me anywhere. He was a stranger and I'd given him more trust than I gave my friends. Because he had known exactly what to say. He knew me better than the man sitting next to me who'd watched me grow up. Why was that so unfair? And how had I been so stupid?

"You're thinking about him," Malcolm observed. He'd learned some tricks in America. Normally he was awful at telling what I was thinking. "Tell me. I can't read your mind." He didn't understand the irony of that statement. I didn't think about the words I said next.

"I loved him." Malcolm hid his surprise as he shifted closer to me. "I would have done anything he told me to. I was so stupid. He told me what I wanted to hear, he became everything I thought I needed and I just trusted him."

"He's thousands of years old." Malcolm's voice was firm. "If everything miss Hargean says is true, he's seduced entire armies, entire races into destroying each other. And that was for his own amusement. Do you truly believe he would have failed in making a nineteen year old girl trust him? If so you're a fool and you think too highly of yourself." I leaned my head on his shoulder. There was a loud knock on the door that made us both jump and turn towards it.

"Don't move," Cat ordered. "Duck down." Malcolm got up.

"Stay," he said firmly. I watched around the top of the sofa as the two of them approached the door. My heart was pounding, but why would a vampire knock? A second after the door opened, I heard a familiar female voice.

"I'm looking for Vanessa Ives." Relief washed over me and I ran to the door.

"Dr. Stewart."

"Well for fuck sakes," she exclaimed, angry at me for not finding her and for showing up whenever I felt like it. I hugged her in response to her fierce look and she softened slightly. I was glad she was here. I hadn't wanted to put her life in danger before, that's' why I hadn't gone to find her. I'd thought it better to keep everyone away from me.

"No word, a letter, a smoke signal?" she demanded. She looked over my shoulder at Malcolm and Cat. "You must be Sir Malcolm Murray. You, I don't know." She pushed past all of us into the house and started looking around like an officer looking for a crime.

"She's not here?" Stewart asked me. I shook my head. Malcolm and Cat were watching us, Malcolm rather wearily. There were a lot of strangers in his house. I was starting to realize Stewart knew something I didn't. She could have come to the house before if she concerned. Something had changed.

"What's wrong? What happened?" I asked.

"She's in danger. More than you could know."

"Doubtful. I know a lot of things." We stared at each for a moment.

"If you want to save her, come with me now."

"Where?" Malcolm demanded, deciding he wanted to intervene. Dr. Stewart wasn't put off by his brisk manner.

"Amount the demons. Trust me." I did. I nodded at Malcolm, knowing Cat would follow. There was a trust between us. It was much easier to earn hers than Malcolm's. But I saw the consent finally in his eyes.

Of course it would be Bedlam. The world of the screaming and insane. I'd spent far too much time here for my liking. Ethan must have found Victor by now. They'd be waiting for us back at the house. Stewart explained to Malcolm and Cat as we walked unquestioned through the pestilence filled halls.

"His name is Redfield. He was my assistant. He said that Vanessa was with the master, the creature she called Dracula. I've got to get him to tell us where he is."

"And how do you intend to discover this information?" Malcolm asked. Cat pulled a face at the amount of dead bodies that had been left in their cells to rot. It wasn't a face of disgust, just silent acknowledgment, a raised eyebrow.

"Well, that comes down to Ava." I looked at Stewart. "You're going to reach inside his mind and rip it out, like you did with Vanessa in my office."

"That was different," I argued. "What I did with her, I can't just do it with anyone."

"Have you ever tried?" I shrugged. "Then you will. It's the only way to find her." A worker met us at the bottom the stairs to solitary confinement. "Is he restrained?'

"Yes Doctor. He was biting so I-" the peddler begin but Stewart had no time for him.

"Yes, yes, I know. Unlock it." the man fumbled with the keys. Redfield stood with his back to us, looking out the tiny sliver of window above him.

"Good evening, princess of darkness. You've brought friends. Should they be my friends as well?" So that was how were going to play it. Threats already.

"Turn around, Mr. Renfield," Doctor Stewart ordered. He did. They'd put him in a straightjacket might to keep him confined.

"Are you going to beat me sir?" he teased Malcolm, keeping his revolving animal eyes mostly on me.

"Would you like me to?" Malcolm challenged.

"Oh, very droll. But I've had more than enough of that for one day, thank you kindly." He smirked at Stewart. Then his eyes narrowed in on Cat. "Now you. You're more my thing." He took a step forward, the chain around his ankle rattling. I stepped in front of her, but she put her arm across me.

"Oh, you have no idea."

"It's not her you want to play with, it's me," I said firmly. We didn't have time for this, I wanted to know where Vanessa was now. "I like games." Redfield lost interest in the rest of them and had eyes only for me as I knew he would.

"And if I win?'

"You won't." He was very close to my face, his animal eyes boring into mine.

"Don't I scare you?" I felt the anger focusing in my eyes, anger like I'd used on the man in the alley, anger that had caused the flames to rise and burn Dracula. Redfield choked, backing against the wall, his eyes wide with fear.

"I could do away with you and half of your kind before breakfast love," I told him. My voice ringed in my ears because it was foreign and far away. Redfield was trying to gasp and inhale air but was choking on it.

"Where's my sister?"

I really loved this episode and how the show is going out on a high note. I'll be posting the last episode later today, thank you for reading :)