It was hours before Lucy stopped convulsing.
The tent that had been set up to house those at risk of lycanthropy was wide and open. Rows and rows of the injured lay flat on unattractive brown mats and did their best in making sure their wounds didn't touch the dirt and muck around them. Despite the open air, the tent stank horribly, so much so that the few doctors still around to take care of them had to wear the long, herb-infused masks that they had put away after the Black Death. The powerful stench of infected flesh and spilled blood kept almost everyone else away; the only people who remained were a few assistants that fetched water for the doctors and patients, a lone monk chanted as he strolled amonst the ill, and two worried girls standing by Lucy's side.
Lynn glanced at Haiku. One of the faceless doctors had told them that if they had to stay, then they shouldn't touch Lucy, and it was clear that his orders were only worrying Haiku more. She looked down at her sweating, panting younger sister, with all her clothes stripped off and only the barest minimum put on in their place, and she wanted nothing more than to hold her hand and tell her everything was going to be alright. Maybe everything wouldn't be alright, but at least she could tell her that.
Haiku sniffled loudly. Her lip quivered. She was struggling to hold back tears, and it wouldn't be long before she just broke down.
"Hey, hey," Lynn said softly. She hesitantly wrapped her arm around Haiku's shoulder, and when the librarian didn't shake her off, she drew her in for a warm half-hug. She didn't know what to say, but she hoped that the embrace would tell her what her words couldn't.
"Thank you," said Haiku. It seems it did.
"No p. I mean, um, no problem."
A scarce smile touched Haiku's lips.
"Where's Lincoln?" she asked Lynn.
"I don't know," Lynn answered. "He was with you last, wasn't he?"
"Oh… right. Yes, he was. He asked me a few questions about the w-werewolf that attacked us… whether it bit Lucy or not… and then he just ran off. He seemed like he had something important to do." She stopped, then hummed, thinking about it. "Do you think he went after Lisa?" she asked.
"Maybe. Probably. I can't imagine why else he wouldn't be here."
Haiku didn't say anything after that. She lowered her gaze back to her sister on the ground. Lucy's budding breasts rose and fell with every breath she forced herself to take, and her arms twitched violently from time to time. At one point, Haiku thought she saw one of her fingernails sharpen into the shape of a claw, but when she blinked, it was back to normal. She probably imagined it, she figured… or maybe she didn't.
I don't know.
Lincoln's words rang in her ears. He wasn't a doctor, he couldn't make a definitive statement; Haiku tried to reassure herself… but then again, he didn't make one. He told her that he didn't know, and that uncertainty scared her more than knowing her sister was going to die or turn. At least then there would be closure, instead of this cruel game of waiting.
"Lynn… you're a hunter assistant. I-If you can give me an expert opinion… do you think Lucy will be okay?"
Lynn seemed uncomfortably with the question. She huddled into herself and raised her shoulders like they could block her face. "I think it would be better to ask the doctor that," Lynn said. "All I know if that if werewolves bite someone-"
"It didn't bite her though!" Haiku said, her voice raising with frustration from all the non-answers she was getting. "That's why I don't know. So just tell me if she'll be alright!"
"Haiku… I could tell you that I know she'll be alright. But I also know you're too smart to believe lies."
Lynn's words hit her like a punch in the chest. Shivering and gasping, the worried sister seemed closer to tears than ever. Lynn looked at her, looked into her lost eyes, but she could nothing other than curse her own uselessness.
There has to be something I can do…
"-iku."
Both Lynn and Haiku gasped. They looked down at Lucy and saw her mouth quivering as it shaped her older sister's name. That was the first word she had spoken since she collapsed. Ignoring the doctor's wishes, Haiku dove to the ground and clutched her sister's hand to squeeze tightly. "Lucy, thank God you can still talk. Are you alright? Do you need anything?"
"Wa…ter..."
"Water? Water! Don't worry, I'll bring you water. It'll be okay, Lucy, don't worry."
She shot up from the ground like a geyser's steam. She rushed to the nearest doctor's side, said some things to him, and brought him to Lucy. In his hands was a tin cup, filled with refreshing water. He brought it to Lucy's lips, but made sure she didn't touch it as she drank. A small stream poured down her chin and onto her chest, but given how drenched that area of her body already was from the sweating, it only gave her cool relief.
"Thank you," Lucy said weakly. She rolled onto her right side, and within seconds she was asleep again. Soft snores rose from her, accompanied by the occasional wheeze.
The doctor nodded, then stood. He looked down at Lynn and Haiku, and with his tall height and monstrous mask, he seemed like the frightening bird giant from a story told to scare children. He took off his scary mask momentarily, and wiped his brow. "Don't even know why we're wearing this things," he grunted, annoyed. "It's not like you can breathe in werewolf curse."
He shot Haiku a sideways glance. "This girl… she's the one that didn't got bit, right?"
Haiku suppressed her librarian urge to correct his language and just nodded.
"Mmm. Well… we checked out a few of our books to see what happens when all that slobber gets in without a bite. And… you're not going to like this."
Haiku couldn't suppress her pitiful squeak of fear.
"It's good news and bad news. Bad news is that… well, she's very likely to turn into a wolf. Good news is that it's going to be a slower process. Days rather than hours. A lot of the guys and girls in here are going to be thrown outside the walls tonight. She, on the other hand, 'll be allowed to stay here for… three days, I think? Four?"
"And then you'll throw her out?"
The doctor nodded.
"You can't do that!" Lynn protested.
"Believe me," he said, "I don't want to. I don't want to throw anybody out there, especially not a little girl. But if we don't, then werewolves will be back in The Town and… well, look around. You want a repeat of this?"
"But… but..." Lynn growled, unable to argue. She shook Haiku's shoulder aggressively. "Come on, Haiku, this is your sister. You have to tell him why he can't-"
She stopped shaking when she saw the hopelessness on Haiku's face.
"I'm sorry," the doctor apologized. He put his mask back on, and went back to work, leaving Haiku as distraught as he found her.
"Haiku, I'm so-"
Haiku threw her hand off her shoulder, and rushed out of the tent without another word. Lynn watched her go, then sighed. "Can't imagine what it's like for her right now," she said to herself.
Part of her wanted to go as well, to get out of the tent and do anything other than stand around with people who were either dead or going to be dead. But another part of her couldn't bear to leave Lucy's side, even if her own sister had – especially since her own sister had. Lynn just stood there, staring at Lucy as she slept. She was so focused on Lucy that she didn't even notice Lincoln coming up behind her.
"Hey," he said.
She turned around. "Hey yourself," Lynn responded, slow and despondent.
The two of them stood together, side by side, watching down on Lucy like guardian angels. The worst kind of guardian angels; the kind that can't even do a half-decent job of keeping their ward safe. Their shoulders sagged under the weight of their combined guilt.
"Where's Haiku?" Lincoln asked, just to break the ice and think about anything other than his own incompetence.
"She was just here. She left in a hurry after… after the doctor told her Lucy wasn't going to make it."
"Shit. She has a few more days than the others, right?"
Lynn nodded, and Lincoln still felt like shit. But it was her turn to ask questions now: "Where have you been?"
"I was looking for someone."
"Lisa?"
He shook his head. "Luna."
"Huh. Interesting. Is she-"
"She's dead," he said. He said it so coolly and bluntly that Lynn couldn't help but shiver. When he continued, it was still in that dull and casual tone: "That place that Luan tried to hide her… the walls and ceiling were messed up. Rocks fell and split her skull."
"Jesus..."
"It's kind of funny, really," he said with a low chuckle. "Luan went through all that suffering for her… worked with Lisa to burn this whole place down for her… and she's dead. Just like that, dead. Like all of Luan's plans to keep her safe meant nothing. In fact… that… that might be her funniest joke ever."
He chuckled again, then let out a high-pitched giggle… then he started to laugh. He laughed hard. He doubled over with laughter. His sword nearly fell off his back from how hard he was bucking as he laughed. All eyes in the tent were on Lincoln as demented, hyena-like laughter spilled from him.
"Lincoln!" Lynn shouted. She grabbed him by his collar and shook him. "Lincoln, stop laughing! This isn't funny-"
She stopped shaking him and held him up straight, and that was when she noticed that his eyes were crying.
She let go of him, and lowered her gaze to the ground. Her tongue poked out of her mouth to kiss her lips. "Let's just get out of here," she finally said.
Before Lincoln knew it, he was back home. He didn't know how long it took to get home – the walk back could've been minutes or hours, time was hard to decipher now for some reason – but he didn't really care either. For years to come, people would talk about some of the miracles that had occurred on the Night of the Lycans' Raid, but the greatest miracle of all was that Lincoln and Lynn's home had been completely untouched by both the werewolves and the fires.
He was sitting at the table when he heard a thud at the stairs, and he jumped in fright. He looked up and saw it was just Lynn, who stared back at him with worried eyes. "It's just me," she reassured. "Don't worry, you know what kind of vampire I am – I only bite when you want me to."
She winked and gnashed her sharp teeth playfully, but Lincoln didn't respond. She coughed awkwardly, then descended down the stairs with something in her hands. He didn't realize what it was until she wrapped it around him. "Thought you could use a blanket," she told him. "I even got your favorite color."
He checked the color of the wool blanket. It was green, which was not his favorite.
"Thanks," he said anyway.
She flashed him a kind smile. She sauntered over to the other side of the table, sitting in the chair opposite to him. Then she smacked her forehead and stood back up. "I almost forgot… you want some coffee?"
"Coffee?"
"Yeah. You know… like when we first met."
In spite of everything, he couldn't stop himself from smiling. "We've only been together for a little while," he said, "and you're already thinking about when we first met. You're acting like a housewife."
"Hey, when we get married, I'm gonna be the breadwinner. No way I'm staying at home and cleaning all day. Bleh."
"When? Not if?"
Her cheeks flushed red. "I'll go get the coffee now."
He smirked as she left, but the moment she was out of view, he felt like he was alone again, and his amused expression shrank away. He started thinking about everything he had seen. Before he went to find Lynn, but after he had watched the doctors take Lucy away, he had went around The Town on his quest to find Luna. He saw a lot before he found her corpse. He went by the inn, where he found an inconsolable Lori weeping for a dead Bobby. Nearby he found Lana and Lola huddled in fear, refusing to go anywhere until Lincoln assured them that the werewolves were gone and wiped away some of their tears. And just as he was nearing Luna's resting place, he saw large swarms of black birds feasting on the bodies that were strewn about on the ground. One of them was picking at the eye of a fallen dwarf, and Lincoln was so repulsed that he had to lean on the nearest wall and vomit.
He had seen a lot. He had fought a lot. And now he was tired and scared. His instructors had warned him that his first few combat scenarios would have him reduced to a shivering wreck, and had taught him to steel himself with reassuring Biblical passages. But he didn't feel like getting up and reading the Bible. He felt like curling up in his green blanket and never leaving the house again.
I can't do that, he knew. I have to help Lucy.
Lucy… if there was anything striking at his nerves, it was Lucy. If only he had gotten there sooner… she was a sweet girl, and she didn't deserve her pain.
Groaning, he clutched his head. "I just wish there was someone who could help her."
Why can't that someone be you?
"What the hell can I do?" he growled to himself. "She has werewolf saliva inside her. She's infected with lycanthropy, and there is no cure. Never has been, probably never will be."
That's a very defeatist attitude.
"Well, what do you want me to do? Run around and hope to God that I can find a genie in the lamp and make a wish? Because that's the only way-"
"Only way to what?" said Lynn as she came back with two cups of coffee. Lincoln promptly shut up, and she gave him a look of confusion. "And who were you even talking to?"
"Just… thinking aloud."
"I see."
"I'm not crazy."
She set down the coffee mug in front of him and kissed his cheek. "I know," she said.
She didn't sit in front of him this time. She sat at the head of the table, by his side. She reached over and touched his hand, rubbing circles into his skin with her thumb. Lincoln lifted his head to smile at her, but when he did, she cringed. "Oh… whoops." She tapped her right cheek. "You got a little… blood. Right there."
He ran his finger over his cheek. She was right. "You bit me?" he asked.
"Sorry. Accident. Can't control these things, you know?"
He chuckled. "So coffee and you biting me… really is like our first time meeting."
"Yeah… I'm curious what you-from-the-past would think of you now. Sitting here with your vampire girlfriend… can't imagine he would be too happy about it. You were such a stern tightass when I first met you."
"I was also really stupid," he said. "Because I dedicated myself to hunting vampires, thinking they were all monsters… but then I met you."
Lynn nodded approvingly. "I am great, yeah."
He lightly punched her arm, then went back to his coffee. He took a hefty sip of the warm drink. It both energized and calmed him somehow. "So tell me, Lynn, now that you've bitten me, will I become a vampire too? Will I stalk the streets at night, screaming 'I VANT TO SUCK YOUR BLOOD' at random girls?"
He laughed lightly, but stopped when he saw Lynn wasn't. She had a strange look on her face – contemplative and thoughtful.
"Would it really be a bad thing if you did?" she murmured.
Lincoln cocked his head. "Lynn… what do you mean?"
Like a fish, her mouth opened and closed rapidly. She was searching for words, and Lincoln sipped his coffee as he waited for her to find them. When he lowered his mug, he noticed that his hand was shaking slightly, and an uncomfortable sweat broke out on his forehead. He was… somewhat certain that he didn't mishear, that she had just suggested that he become like her - a vampire.
She didn't want to repeat herself, though. She blushed and shook her head. "It's nothing," she said. "Forget I said anything."
"I can't do that."
"Lincoln, seriously, drop it." Her words were emphasized with a warning growl.
"If there's something on your mind-"
"There isn't, and that's that."
Lifting her face haughtily, Lynn grabbed her cup and started drinking. She emptied the entire cup in one slurp. She peeked her eye open, just to see if he was still staring, and she almost choked when he noticed his glower. She tried to ignore it, but the longer he glowered, the weaker she felt. She lowered herself meekly, then finally sighed and put her cup down.
"Please drop it, Lincoln."
It wasn't an order or a command. It was a plea. A desperate, frightened plea.
He reached to touch her hand, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. She looked back up to meet his eyes, and all her resistance broke.
"Did you see them back there, Lincoln?"
"See who?"
"Everyone. The people in that tent, all the dead people on the ground… everyone. They're all dead, Lincoln. And when I saw all those bodies, I thought of… you."
"Me? But I survived. There's no way a werewolf cou-"
"It's not just werewolves. Werewolves aren't the only things that kill humans out there. Snakes kill humans. Lions kill humans. Falling rocks kill humans. And even if you survive all that, it doesn't matter, because then you die of old age or sickness… you, Lincoln, you'll die. And… I'm scared of that. I thought about what it will be like when you die, and… and I'm scared, okay?! I'm scared!"
Lincoln's mouth gaped. It only fell harder when tears began spilling from her eyes. Lynn pulled away from him to wipe them with her palms, but soon she was just covering them as she wept. Her breaths shook with her body.
"I don't want you to die," she whimpered, "so I started thinking that… about biting you… turning you..."
"Lynn..."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be thinking about it… I'm sorry..."
In a way, he knew she was right. He'd toiled with the questions of a mortal romancing an immortal. But he never really thought about it from her perspective. She would have to live with the pain of his dying forever… living on and on with that pain in her chest, never truly disappearing. If the thought horrified him as much as it did, he couldn't imagine how much it mortified her.
Actually he could imagine. It took something very severe to make the strong, brave Lynn weep.
He reached over and pulled her close for a hug. His arms wrapped protectively around her. He felt her nuzzle her face into his shirt and continue to let out her tears on it. It felt wet and warm, but he didn't stop her. He ran his hand through her auburn hair. He wanted her to feel his touch, to know that right here, right now, he was alive and with her. It was a moment that transcended time, that stretched out into the twilights of eternity.
She raised her face slightly, enough for him to see her weeping eyes. He felt himself lean in, and she leaned upwards. Their lips connected, melded into each other, and when their kiss came to a natural close, the flushed Lynn had stopped crying.
"I didn't know you felt this way," Lincoln said quietly.
"I didn't know… how you'd feel about it. I mean, I know that you… don't like the idea of vamprism."
He didn't, honestly. The idea of turning into a vampire made him queasy. The idea of him allowing it to happen, queasier.
"I don't know," he finally said. "I've thought about living forever, but in the religious way. Like life in Heaven, you know? Staying down here, with all the monsters and wars and oppression-"
"You'd have me with you, by your side," she said. "I'd fight a thousand monsters by myself for you."
"So would I, for you. But what you're asking me is… it's a big thing."
"So you won't?"
"I'm saying I have to think about it. And I'm not really happy about the idea. I don't… want to change. Ever. B-But if it's for you, then… I could..."
He stopped speaking, then lowered his head. He mulled over things. Then, surprisingly, a smile happened upon his lips. "Hey Lynn… how old are you?"
"What? I don't know, a hundred and-"
"No, sorry, let me rephrase that: how old were you when you got turned?"
She blushed. A lady doesn't reveal her age, her mother had told her once. She ignored her nagging mother's ghost and answered: "Don't remember exactly. Fifteen? Seventeen? Maybe eighteen?"
"Then I'll make you a deal," he said. "Going by your human age, I'm just a little younger than you are. So what if… when I turn seventeen or eighteen, I can… think about it again?"
Her eyes shone. "Y-You would do that… f-for me?"
The hunter smirked. "Don't look so excited. I still haven't decided anything."
It was good enough for her. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on his cheek. "You're crazy," she said fondly.
"Says the vampire that wants to bite me."
Lynn giggled. "Yeah. I guess we're both pretty messed up," she said. "But at least we have each other. We can make it though this… we can make it through anything."
They smiled at each other, the spitting image of an impossibly happy couple. After everything they had been through in the last few hours, maybe they deserved a moment or two of bliss.
She grabbed her cup, and took his in her other hand. "Do you want another cup?" she asked. "I'll put these away if you don't."
He shook his head, so she went to the kitchen. Every step she took, she felt like she was walking on clouds. She couldn't possibly have imagined that Lincoln would've been so accepting of the idea of turning himself into a vampire. He probably wasn't, but he would consider it… for her, and only for her. Her heart pounded love for him throughout her whole body, and she shivered mightily, she was so in love with him. What happened with Luan and Lisa and Lucy… it all seemed like a distant, unreal nightmare. He was with her, they lived together… the sheer illogical logic of someone like her ending up with someone like him was so much more apparent to her now.
Whatever he chooses, I'll accept him either way. If he wants to join me, then my bite will as careful and tender as possible. And if he wants to die as a man, then I'll let him put his head in my lap as he draws his last breaths.
She was smiling and humming, those pleasant images in mind, when suddenly Lincoln burst into the kitchen. "LYNN!" he shouted. She was startled enough to almost drop the cups.
"Geez... you better have a good reason for scaring me like that," she said.
"I just realized… we were just talking about vampire bites and then I realized… Lucy! You could save Lucy!"
"What? What are you on about?"
He was waving his hands around frantically. He hopped in place from the excitement. "Werewolf saliva is what turns people into werewolves. It gets in the bloodstream, and then it infects. But Lucy still has a chance. You could suck all the infected blood out and save her!"
That… wasn't a completely bad idea. But Lynn didn't have to think about it for too long before she saw the obvious flaw. His smile was so enthusiastic that she felt guilty about telling him his mistake.
"Lincoln, I can't selectively suck out blood," she informed him. "I can't just choose to drink her bad blood and keep in the good. If I were to try this… I would end up sucking out enough blood to turn her into a vampire."
"Oh… b-but wouldn't that be better than her becoming a werewolf?"
"It would, yeah, but..."
"No, think about it. She's basically going to have to turn into something else either way. Doctors can't save her, which means this is the only way that Haiku gets to keep her little sister... the only way that Lucy can keep some piece of her humanity instead of just turning into a dumb animal. We could save her, Lynn!"
"I know, but… I don't know..."
She seemed hesitant, which confused Lincoln, especially seeing how she had just been pushing him to vampify himself less than a minute ago. Sensing his confusion, she sighed. "I just don't want to do to someone else want Cristina did to me," she admitted. "That's why I asked you. I don't want to… force myself on someone. What if she doesn't want it? What if she ends up hating me because of what I did to her?"
"I get that, but Lynn… it's either this or she turns into a mindless creature. Think about Haiku and Lucy. If you could tell them the truth, don't you think they would let you do it? To save her?"
A small, sharp fang poked out of her mouth and sank into her lower lip. "I don't know. I wish I could just ask Haiku, but… I can't tell anyone about my secret. And Lucy won't be able to either, once I do it."
"So ask her," he said. "Ask her when you can."
"I will," she said. She smiled lightly. "I will."
He sighed in relief, seeming pleased with himself. "Good. In the meantime… I think I'm going to catch some sleep."
She didn't realize until now, but the bags under his eyes were way darker than usual.
"You were planning on sleeping and let me serve you coffee?" she asked incredulously.
The towheaded boy could only shrug his shoulders. "I don't think the coffee will keep me up," he admitted. "I'll go drop by the Leader later… maybe tomorrow. I need to be rested up first. Good night."
"It's almost noon."
"It's night somewhere," he said. Then he turned and left. He had only taken a few steps before he stopped. "Lynn?" he said.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you… for everything."
Somehow, those four words made her blush harder than she would for the rest of the year.
Night fell on The Town, but even in the murky darkness, light and life continued. There were men out on patrol, flickering torches and sharp swords in their hands. Beside them were the men with long wooden carts with piles of bodies stacked in them. They'd stop at every corpse they could find and toss them onto the others. It disgusted the men with torches to see human bodies so disrespectfully handled, but the men of death paid them no heed. With so many people out, it was almost difficult for Lynn to make her way to the tent of the sick.
Almost.
As she leaped from shadowy cover to shadowy cover, she constantly changed shapes. One moment she was a mouse and the next she was an owl. It wasn't until she reached the tent that she took on her normal form. The stench from before had lessened, she noticed as she approached, but when she peeled back the cloth of the tent and stepped inside, she saw why: half of the people who were there in the morning were gone.
I wonder where they all went, Lynn thought.
A blasting salvo of new werewolf howls answered her question.
Despite the noise, everyone still in the tent seemed to be peacefully asleep. Snores and groans rose in the air as Lynn made her way to where she remembered Lucy being. She was thankful to see that no one had moved her, but was then dismayed to see that she wasn't as peacefully still as the others. She was squirming, and her face told a story of deep, deep discomfort.
Lynn took a knee and shook Lucy awake. "Lucy? Luce?"
The girl gasped as she awoke. She looked up at Lynn with surprise – like she couldn't tell if she was actually there or if it was just another fever dream – then said, "What are you doing here?"
"Shh, shh. Let's use our inside voices here. You're a librarian, I shouldn't have to say this to you." Lynn whispered.
"Sigh. What are you doing here?"
"I… I'm here to make you an offer."
"An offer?"
Lynn nodded. Her eyes were really reflective, Lucy noticed. Like a cat… or a vampi-
"The doctor's can't fix you, Lucy," Lynn told her. "In a few hours or days, you're going to turn into a werewolf. The only person who can make sure that doesn't happen is me. I can help you, but… it's going to cost you."
Lucy coughed violently. Lynn patted her back. When her coughing fit ended, she said, "Is it money? I-I don't know if-"
"Not money. It's something that will follow you for the rest of your life. Will you be okay with that?"
"I don't understand-"
"I don't have time to explain. Just tell me if you'll let me help you."
This wasn't what Lucy needed. She was dazed, and Lynn speaking so vaguely didn't help. She didn't know whether to say yes or no until… until her sister's face appeared in her mind.
"I saw Haiku crying earlier," she said. "It made me sad. Sadder than usual. If… if I take your offer… will Haiku stop crying?"
Lynn nodded.
"Then do it," Lucy said, without hesitation.
Again, Lynn nodded. She exhaled a brief, slow breath. "Okay. Close your eyes."
Lucy did as she said. She felt Lynn put her hands around her neck and lift it up. She fumbled for a moment, and just as Lucy considered opening her eyes to see what was wrong, she felt two sharp points sink into her neck. She moaned audibly; she felt like something was being sucked out of her. A strange feeling took over, like all of her strength and stamina was returning, but… not in the same way. She also felt like her whole body was loosening, like it would've turned into a puddle of goop had Lucy not intently focused on what she looked like. She wanted to open her eyes or cry out, but something stopped her from doing either. She was scared. Was she going to die? What was Lynn doing to her?
Then… it was over. Lynn dropped Lucy back down on her mat, and quickly wiped the blood from her mouth.
Lucy was gasping, wide and fully awake now. "What did you do to me?" she asked. "I thought I was going to die!"
"SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Lynn shushed. "I'll explain everything later, okay? For now… just rest. This might be the last time you'll ever need sleep."
Lucy didn't understand what she meant by that ('Last time I'll ever need sleep?' What does that mean?) but her suggestion to rest was taken to heart. She nodded and closed her eyes, putting her head back on the ground and drifting off to sleep.
The next day, the sky was gray and a light drizzle poured down on The Town. The rainwater washed the blood spilled on the ground away. The wounds that night had left on the people that survived it would never fully close, but for now, this was a good start for the healing process. In time, buildings would go back up, and a strange baby boom would replenish the population within a few generations.
But before any of that could happen, a white-haired vampire hunter went to have a meeting with The Town's Leader. He went up the broken steps and into the partially burned building that was surrounded by a moat with corpses floating in it. When he found the Leader, he saw that his modest throne had been devoured by the fires. Kotaro now sat on a humble mat, and when he saw Lincoln approach, he gave the young man a smile. Not a very convincing one – Lincoln could see pain in his eyes.
Lincoln bowed, then took a seat on the ground in front of him.
There was a long pause before Kotaro asked, "Where is your assistant? Is she busy?"
"Lynn's with a friend. Our friend was… injured, but I think she'll be alright."
"I hope she will be."
Another pregnant pause.
"I believe you had a report for me."
"Hmm? Oh, right, of course." Lincoln cleared his throat. "The reason the werewolves attacked was because one of their young was brought to The Town, and they were searching for it. I believe they also took the opportunity to feast and perhaps take some vengeance for the perceived kidnapping of one of their own, but it was not a random attack, and I doubt we have reason to fear them much in the future. I don't especially like werewolves, but they generally leave human settlements alone as long as they in turn are left alone. From now on, the only werewolf attacks we should have to worry about are children going into the forests unsupervised."
"I thought so," Kotaro said, "and I said as much. Unfortunately, there are young men who don't seem to want to listen?"
"Young men?"
"A group of young men have been calling for blood. They plan to go into the forest and kill as many werewolves as they can find, as payback for what happened. I can't say I blame them, but I know it'll only result in more useless death."
"Do you plan to stop them?"
"No." He shook his head. "In fact, I don't plan to do anything anymore as Leader. I plan to step down in the near future."
"Step down?!" Lincoln repeated, shocked. "Why?"
"I don't want to do this anymore," he said, with weariness pooling in his eyes. "Recent events have just proven that I'm not fit for the job."
"The werewolf attacks weren't your fault."
"No… but Lisa was."
There it was. The elephant in the room, laid bare for all to see. Lincoln had planned on tiptoeing around the subject of his adoptive daughter, but now that the taboo seal of saying her name had been broken, Lincoln sighed and said, "You can't blame yourself completely for how she turned out."
"I raised her like my own, hunter. For twelve years I loved her like she were my own flesh and blood. Even now, as I bear witness to all the pain and devastation she left in her wake, there's still a tender love I have for her that I can't suppress. If she were to come home tomorrow, I… I don't think I could turn her away. And that's why I must step down. If Lisa ever makes herself a threat to The Town again, I won't be able to fight her."
"I… I understand."
"Now there's only the matter of my replacement," he muttered. He crossed his arms and thought about it, before giving Lincoln a peculiar look. "Do you think that you might be interested in the job?"
"Me? Oh no, not me, I'm a terrible leader. Back when I was a student, I tried heading the student council. It was a week before I was overthrown in a coup."
Kotaro chuckled lightly in amusement. "Ah well… if you ever change your mind, the position is open to you. But for now, I'll try to find someone else that's fit for the job. Do you have anything else urgent to report on, hunter?"
Oh yeah, remember that Chandler tool you hired? Yeah, I totally killed him. I tore out his eyes and then let a werewolf eat him. Also Lynn's a vampire and she might've turned another one of your citizens into one. And have I mentioned that a lot of this could've been avoided if this place was more accepting of homosexuals?
"No," said Lincoln.
"Then you are dismissed. Thank you for your work. I know you saved many lives that night, and your bravery has been noted."
Lincoln smiled, got up, bowed again, and turned to leave. He was almost out of the door before he heard Kotaro behind him shout, "Wait!"
Lincoln turned his head.
"Do you think we'll ever see her again?" the middle-aged man asked. "Lisa, I mean."
"I doubt so. She's lost everything – her cover, her allies, her weapons – so I think she'll run far from here and stay away. She's smart enough to know when she's lost."
A strange look passed over the Leader's face. It was a paradoxical mix of disappointment and relief. Lincoln took that as his cue to leave the older man to his thoughts.
Still… I do wonder where Lisa is now, and what she's planning to do next...
Twigs snapped under Lisa's feet as she continued to flee through the forest. It had been days by now, but she somehow still wasn't any closer to getting out of the woods. Perhaps it wasn't surprising; she wasn't a fast person, she had always tired quickly, and moreover she was completely lost. For all she knew, she could've been going in circles. Some of the trees and rocks were looking a bit familiar, now that she thought about it.
She covered her face as several low branches came up, and she hissed as they scratched her delicate skin.
She knew that danger was all around her, but she had to chance it. She couldn't stay back in The Town… all because she had messed up.
Her foot caught in a gnarled root, and she tumbled to the ground with a cry. "My glasses!" she shouted as her spectacles flew off her face. She spent several humiliating minutes on the ground, her knees sinking into the mud, before she found them and put them back on her seething face.
How could it have all gone so wrong?!
Part of her wanted to pin all the blame on Luan, but she knew that wasn't right. It was her fault as well. She got too comfortable, too cocky… she underestimated her foe. Maybe Lincoln wasn't her intellectual equal, but he was much smarter than she expected, and had some brawn to back up his big talk with. To face someone like him, one must be on constant high alert, but she had allowed herself to get so wrapped up in self-worshiping rants that she didn't even notice him slowly getting closer and closer to his weapon. And it was all downhill from there.
Angrily, she slammed her fist into a tree. She would have her revenge. She would not be denied. That plan with Luan failed, but she had others. She just needed to recoup for now. Lick her wounds. The Town was still injured, and Lincoln and Lynn would always be vulnerable as long as they cared enough about each other to put themselves in harm's way.
"I'll never forget this, Lincoln," she snarled. "I will-"
She stopped when she heard something. She turned to the side to see a young bear cub growling at her. A sudden feeling of rage ran through her, and before she knew it, she had lifted her foot backwards and kicked the bear cub as hard as she could. The poor creature whined in pain as it fell, and a huffing Lisa grinned with satisfaction.
"HAHA! See?! That's what happens when you annoy the great mind that is Lisa! Stupid animal!"
The bear cub let out a growling whine, and Lisa felt the ground rumble. A large shadow encompassed her body, and when she looked behind her for the source, she found a giant mama bear with red eyes standing on her hind legs.
Her eyes flickered between Lisa and her injured child. She let out a mighty roar, and Lisa screamed.
The last thing she ever saw was the bear's mouth diving for her face.
"Lincoln!"
All thoughts of Lisa left his mind as he turned to look over his shoulder. He smiled as he saw Lynn, Haiku, and a newly healthy Lucy all rushing towards him. He stopped in his tracks so they could catch up to him. Lucy was the first to reach him, and he was taken aback when the normally shy girl threw herself at him and wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. A cry left his mouth as they fell on the ground together. Her embrace was surprisingly bone-crushing.
"L-Lucy..." he gurgled. "Someone… help… going to die..."
"Ah, come on, Lincoln," Lynn teased. "Lucy's just happy to see you. Did you know that she managed to make a miraculous recovery? It's amazing."
"I did." Lucy nodded viciously, her bangs bouncing. "And for some reason I have so much energy. Guess that's why I… tackled you..."
She looked down at the Lincoln she was pining to the ground, her clothed sex resting comfortably on top of his bulge, and just like that her reserved, unsure nature returned to her. Her face rapidly changed colors as she shot up with a scream and hid timidly behind her older sister. "I'm sorry," she squeaked.
Lincoln groaned as Lynn helped him off the ground. "It's alright," he said. "I'm just glad to see that you've miraculously got better."
"Well, she has changed a little bit," said Haiku. She tapped her own canines, and said, "She woke up with sharper teeth. The doctor said it might be the only side effect from the werewolf infection. Well, that and a temporary burst of energy."
"Haikuuuuuu," Lucy whined, "don't tell him about my teeth." She covered her mouth self-consciously, which prompted Lincoln to chuckle.
I'm so glad she's not a werewolf now, he thought.
The older librarian rolled her eye(s), then turned back to Lynn and Lincoln. "We can't stay long. We have to return the library and tend to the damages, both to the building and to the books. But I still wanted to see you to say… thank you. Both of you."
"For what?"
"Stop being so humble," she said with a fond smile. "You saved us from that werewolf that attacked our library, you saved The Town from Lisa and Luan, and you both showed so much concern for Lucy… I don't know how I could ever repay you."
Lynn seemed like she was about to suggest something, so Lincoln covered her mouth with his hand. "No repayment necessary," he said swiftly before Lynn could intercede. "Just doing our job."
Haiku gave them one last kind smile before her face felt back into its natural glumness. Now that she didn't have much to worry about, she didn't have much use for exaggerated facial expressions. "Come on Lucy," she said to her sister. "It's time to go back to the library."
Lucy nodded. She waved a weak goodbye, then went to follow her sister. Lincoln watched her go with slightly troubled eyes. He looked at Lynn, who was trying to get his hand off her mouth by licking it, and he sighed. "You didn't tell her about her vamprism, did you?"
"Didn't have the chance," she said once Lincoln removed his hand. "She said she remembered seeing me last night, but she thinks it was just a dream. The bitemarks on her neck healed really quickly, so I figured that I'd tell both of them later."
"How do you think they'll take the news?"
"Not well, but… beats being a werewolf."
A middling sense of guilt was starting to spawn in her until Lincoln wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "You did a good thing," he told her, kindly smiling. "And don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Not even yourself."
She smiled back. "You always have the best dorky things to say, Stinkoln."
"Back to that nickname?"
"It's a keeper."
Rolling his eyes, he started to walk, and Lynn walked by him down the street. There was a feeling of renewal in the air, as all around them people were returning to their old routines, and buildings were being rebuilt. He took a deep breath and the smells of baked bread and cooked meat entered his nose. Hell, he even saw Lola and Lana sitting by the inn, chatting up some sob story to an older man with sympathetic eyes. He considered warning that man as he reached for some coppers, but he just shrugged and decided to let the little girls have their fun. He turned to Lynn to say something about them, but was interrupted when he heard a call from behind him:
"Wait!"
Both of them stopped as Lucy rushed up to them. She stopped right before them and took a moment to catch her breath. Then she straightened herself and glared at Lincoln. Her face was redder than he had ever seen it.
"Y-Yes, Lucy?" he said uneasily.
She trembled with embarrassment, but took a deep breath to ease up. "I-I made a promise to Haiku to do this," she said, "a-and since I… sigh… since I nearly died, I want to do this now, while I have the chance. I n-need to tell you something, Lincoln."
"Sure, what is it-"
"LINCOLN, I LOVE YOU!"
Nearly everyone around them stopped what they were doing, and stared at the three youth.
A slack-jawed Lynn looked away from Lucy to the equally slack-jawed Lincoln. It wasn't that much of surprise, it couldn't have been… but Lucy running up to him and admitting, especially with Lynn around, now that was a surprise. The poor boy's mind went blank; words tried to come out of his mouth, but in the end only one lucky syllable managed to fall out:
"Oh?"
Lucy looked more mortified than ever.
Lynn came to her sense first. Surprisingly, she kept a level head. "Lucy, sweetie," she said, "do you mind stepping over here with me? I need to tell you something."
The petrified hunter watched them walk off. They whispered between each other for what felt like hours, then came back to Lincoln.
"Soooooo," started Lynn, "I told her about how I'm your girlfriend. And then we fought about it for a few more minutes, until she had an idea. And… have you ever heard of polygamy?"
Lincoln nodded. His friend Clyde's dad had four wives and a male concubine.
"Well, we're dating, Lucy is in love with you, and I think I read somewhere that vampires are encouraged to take sexual advantage of the people they turn – oh yeah, told her about the vamp stuff too, but that's not really super important right now, is it? - so… if you want, we can do something like polygamy, but with all three of us..."
The two girls looked at him expectantly.
"I… I..." he said when he found his voice.
"Come on, Stinkoln, you were surrounded by gross smelly guys for years. Don't tell me that during all that time you never fantasized about having two wives, you liar."
"I… I..."
"You know what I think he needs?" Lynn said to Lucy, a mischievously sultry smile coming to her face. "I think he needs a… demonstration."
It took the goth a moment to get what Lynn was suggesting, but when she did, she grinned evilly as well. She took one of Lincoln's arms, and Lynn took the other, and the two giggling vampires began dragging him back to his house… back to his bedroom~
Chapter was starting to drag on, and I hate making these too long, so I decided to cut the last part short and end everything on a comedic high-note. But we still have an epilogue, so make sure to stick around for that. Thank you for reading up until now!
