A.N. Hey guys, just something I want to address. A few people have been asking about Greek mythology and it's relation to this story. I made Zoe a hesperide, and made her the same as THE Zoe from cannon. That was more just a little wink and nod at the audience, but some people are asking questions about involving Greek myths and stuff like that.
The answer is no, for the most part.
This is a very Alternate AU. Alternate enough that I should've said this at the start, but, unless I directly reference it, you should leave all that Greek gods mythology stuff at the door. Consider the pjo involvement here just names I'm using, and if I do reference cannon, consider that a little Easter egg more than anything.
That being said, if you want to believe there are gods here, if that does something for you, then I'm not gonna knock your head-cannon. I'm leaving it vague, like a lot of things, so you can bring your own interpretation.
Was that the real Artemis? Who knows? Maybe it was. Maybe in my universe Artemis is a vampire. Or maybe it's not Artemis and just a vampire who took on the name at some point because it was advantageous. Or maybe it IS the Artemis from Greek mythology and she was always a vampire this whole time and just let the legends make her out to be a goddess. Isn't that much more interesting to think about than if I just made her go. "I am Artemis, from Greek mythology, and I was a vampire this whole time, lol. Oh, and all the other gods are real too, lmao."
I dont want to do that. I want to give you just enough details to come to your own conclusion, so you can make the story your own as you read it. Let your mind create the unnecessary details that I left out so it feels closer to you. That's why I didn't show Luke killing Gleeson's family. You don't need to see that, all you needed to know was Gleeson was a good man, and he killed them anyway, making you hate Luke even more.
The point of the Zoe scene wasn't to make you go "Wait a minute, are Zeus and poseidon and all the other gods going to show up?" Not even close. The point was to tell you two things. 1) This is how Zoe turned, 2) What Hercules did to her and what the figure said to her immediately after is what made her the way she is.
This isn't a story about the world, it's a story about the characters. Their struggles with what vampirism does to their mental state, and how they cope with it.
That was long, and a little ranty (rant-y?), but I hope that clears things up.
Song is by the Talking Heads.
Chapter 10: Once In A Lifetime
The ride back home wasn't as cold as it normally was.
It was still cold, at least as far as Percy could tell from the soft rain that dripped off his fingers, and from the fact that whenever he did breathe he could see a cloud of air flow from his mouth, but...
It didn't feel cold. Not anymore.
He tightly gripped the handlebars of his motorcycle, pushing the accelerator a bit as he rode off towards the den. His mind was... at peace. More at peace than it had been in a long time. Such a long time that he couldn't even remember when the last time he'd felt this at peace was.
He was at peace, and it was because of Annabeth.
There was something there. He'd been denying it since he'd met her, and had denied it when he'd talked to her at the bar, then he'd denied it some more at the library, and now he could barely deny it when he'd been standing in front of his grave with her.
There was something there. Something that made that dead heart in his chest swell with want. Something that made her face glow like an angel every time he looked at her. Something that had made him want nothing more than to hold her tight and press his lips to hers in that cemetery.
Something... that was making him actively think about what he'd wear tonight
Dinner. He couldn't remember the last time he'd gone out to dinner. The last time he'd gotten dressed and sat down and actually had a meal with a group of people. God, it had to have been before Rachel. She was never really a go out and have dinner type girl, was she? Or maybe he might've done something with Zoe, at some point in the years of nothing he'd wasted away, surely they'd done something like that, right?
He pulled the bike over on the side of the road whe he realized something.
Rachel and Zoe. He'd just thought of the both of them, one right after the other and hadn't felt a miserable dread fill his heart. All he could think about right now was the blonde haired girl next door and the dinner he was about to have with her. On one hand, he should've felt something. A bit of sadness, or at least something negative. He was still him. Still an unaging monster, locked in time for eternity. This thing, that he was, it was still ever-present, and it made certain that this thing that he wanted, with Annabeth, would only be temporary.
He knew it would hurt, when he'd eventually have to say goodbye... but that could wait. He'd earned a little happiness in his life, however fleeting it may be.
He went to start up the bike, letting his hand settle on the key, before he smelled something. Something familiar, and something that he really didn't expect.
Wet dog?
He pulled the key out of the ignition, easing off the side of his bike as he kicked out the stand. He stood up straight, letting his eyes run a path over the horizon and the slight sand dunes that covered it. He eyed up the small hills, and the errant shrubbery. He eyed up the numerous cacti that surrounded him. He let his eyes creep around and he took a deep breath through his nose.
The smell was stronger. Strong enough that he could just about taste it. There was something out there, something watching him, and he knew it.
He felt his body tense, his hands clenching at his sides as he took a more defensive stance. He held his head up straight.
"Is anyone there?" He called out to the darkness, in a tone he purposefully made sound a bit more cowardly than he needed, hoping it would draw this thing out.
It didn't, but Percy didn't really want that to be a deciding factor. He jammed his keys in his pocket and walked out into the dunes. He felt his spurs softly clink as he marched, not really concerned with being spotted. He wanted to be spotted.
He noticed a different smell coming from in front of him. One that was faint, but that he recognized immediately.
Blood.
He turned a corner and was caught off guard when he found the source. It was a car, a modern looking jeep Cherokee with green paint and bullbars. Two of the tires on the left side were flat, and from the looks of the wheel well, something had slashed them. Something sharp as hell. On top of that, the roof had a massive, gaping hole in it. Like something had ripped it open.
Besides that, the car was well put together. It looked... prepared, with luggage in the trunk. It was pretty clear that whoever owned this was going somewhere. Where to though? Who knew.
Percy approached the vehicle, watching as the rain softly dripped off it. No one was around, not for miles. If there was someone, he'd hear their heartbeat or smell their breath, but no, there was nothing.
Nothing but the smell of blood, the smell that got stronger when he cracked open the car door and found its source.
The inside of the car was just... soaked in it. There was so much blood that it had just about painted the seats red. Percy took a step back in disgust. Disgust that frankly kinda shocked him, it wasn't like he didn't like seeing blood, he was what he was, but...
This wasn't right. This was gruesome.
He approached the car again, looking around the vehicle to see if he could find anything. He eventually did.
A cellphone.
He reached in and grabbed the thing, turning it on and unlocking it and taking note that it already had an app open: Videos.
He clicked the first one and hit play, the screen immediately showing a video of a girl, taking it from selfie mode. She was a bit younger than Percy's age, with a frizzy head of red hair and round features and a smile that Percy thought looked a little too fake. She was making faces into the camera as the sound of the highway droned through the window.
"Nancy, would you cut that out?"
The girl frowned, looking away from the camera and towards the driver's seat.
"Oh come on, mom. What else am I supposed to do?" She swapped the camera from selfie to front facing and Percy got a couple more details when she did. It was night when it was filmed and there were two other people in the car, a woman with the same features as Nancy, and a man with a baseball cap tucked over a buzz cut head.
"Maybe you'd like to be on camera instead, hmm?" Nancy asked, pointing the camera at her mother's face who let a smile spread over it as she pushed the camera away.
"Knock it off, young lady."
The girl, Nancy, sighed, settling back into her seat. She pointed the camera out the window, watching the dunes go by, when both she and Percy noticed something in the distance. Something moving, as fast as the jeep. Something out there in the darkness.
Something with two glowing eyes.
The camera was knocked loose from Nancy's hand as the jeep suddenly swerved, the tires screeching as a string of curses spilled from the man's mouth. The jeep made the sound of it coming to a stop as Nancy grabbed her phone off the floor.
She picked it up and pointed it at her father, panic creeping into her tone.
"What the hell was that?" She asked as her parents stumbled words out.
"Relax, Nancy. We must've just hit a nail or something, sweetheart." Her dad said as he pulled loose his seat belt.
"Dad, wait." Nancy said in a panicked tone.
"What? What's the matter?" He asked.
She was silent for a moment, turning with the camera out the window.
"I saw something out there..."
Her father let out a soft breath. "It was probably just a coyote, sweetheart." She turned to him, and Percy could tell from the look on his face that she was probably worried sick.
"Alright." He said, leaning over to the glove box and popping it open, "If you're worried, I'll bring this too."
He held up his hand, brandishing a snub nosed revolver. Nancy let out a soft breath as her mother spoke up.
"Robert, I don't think that's necessary."
The man flashed a smile at his wife, "It's alright, Jess. I'll be fine, I probably won't even need it. I'll just swap the tires and be done with it. Quick in and out."
Jess let a breath out as she waved her husband along and smiled. He stepped out and Nancy rolled down her window, watching as her dad worked.
"How's it going, dad?"
The man was quiet, before he let out a nervous breath.
"Nancy, honey? Please close the window."
Nancy shifted the camera towards her father, who had a serious, slightly panicked look on his face as he slipped back into the car and licked the door behind him. She turned the camera back towards him, zooming in on the mirror to show his face.
There was panic in his eyes.
Nancy's mother already had fear in her voice when she spoke.
"Robert? What's wrong, why aren't you changing the tires?"
He turned back to his daughter, fear in his eyes for a moment, before he answered his wife.
"Jess... the tires..." He leaned in close, trying to keep his voice low.
"They were slashed."
They all stopped talking when a loud thump rang out, shaking the car. The girls let out soft screams while Robert quickly pulled out his revolver, thumbing back the hammer.
They stayed still for a moment, the phone pointed out the front windshield, before something came into view in the distance, way out where it was barely visible.
Two glowing orbs.
The entire family jumped and screamed when three sharp knocks rang out on the windshield. The camera turned to see it, and there he was.
Luke. Eyes half shut, grin pulling at his lips, leaned against the car. He made a motion to Robert to roll the window down, and Robert did just a little.
"Howdy." Luke said.
"Uh... Hello." Robert replied, nerves clearly shot. Luke let his grin spread into a smile.
"What're you folks doing out here, if you don't mind me asking?"
Robert took a breath, hand tightening on the wheel as he looked at the man.
"On our way out of town, to California." He steadied himself, probably gripping the revolver tight, "What're you doing out here, son?"
Luke let a hiss pass through his teeth as he leaned into the car, "Son..." He said, baring his teeth at the glass, "I hate when they call me son..."
Robert steadied himself, taking another breath.
"You didn't answer my question."
Luke let put a soft chuckle, letting his head shake a bit.
"Well, mister. Me and my compatriots are out here with something very particular in mind."
The man in the driver's seat shifted slightly, letting his grip tighten on the wheel.
"And what might that be?"
Luke let out another chuckle, looking down at the floor before letting his eyes snap back up to the man. His eyes that now flickered with light.
"Food."
The words had barely left his mouth before a hole was punched through the roof and a pair or clawed hands reached through, grabbing Robert by the head and dragging him out.
The phone fell, landing on its camera as a pair of screams rang out from the girls, followed closely by laughter from Luke and two sounds.
A sickening crunch, and liquid spilling.
That was enough for Percy. He shut the camera off and tossed it into the car, a still, vacant expression on his face. He looked at the car, and the stains of blood that he now realized weren't just on the front seat, but in the back seat too. He felt his fists clenched and his teeth grit as the rain slowly dripped off the car. He reached forward and grabbed the door of the car, feeling his grip tighten around the frame. He felt the steel bend, the frame crack. He felt it warp under the pressure of his fist all while he pictured his hand wrapped around Luke's throat instead.
He took a deep breath, calming himself. He took another, and felt his calmness evaporate in a second.
There it was again. The smell. The wet dog smell.
He whirled his head around, looking about as he drew deep inhales through his nose. He let go of the door and shut it, putting his back to the car as his eyes scanned over the dunes surrounding him.
It was out there. The wolf, the one he'd seen before. He just knew it.
He took astep away from the car, letting his fists remain clenched at his sides as he spoke, his voice a neither raised nor hushed tone.
"If you're here to kill me, then come on then. Give it your best shot." His teeth grit as he felt his fangs sharpen through his gums.
"But just so you know, I will take you with me."
He stood there for a moment, waiting with his body drawn taught, before he saw it, cresting over one of the dunes.
A wolf. Probably the same one as before. Still too far away to properly make out, but definitely with the same thick hide of fur. It stared at Percy, choosing not to bare its teeth or growl. No, this time it simply stared. Taking a seat as it's face stuck in Percy's direction.
There was a moment between them. A silent agreement that neither was going to make the first move, and honestly that neither wanted to. It was quiet, until the wolf faced the sky and let out a low howl.
The noise was low, and droning. It echoed over the hills as the rain continued to softly put down onto the dunes. The wolf kept the noise going for a moment, before its jaws snapped shut. It looked back at Percy, giving him one last glance before it turned away and ran out of sight.
Then there was silence. A deafening lack of noise thay accompanied the now lack of dog smell when he drew another breath. He sighed, turning back to the truck as his focus shifted from the hound and back to... this.
This mess. This awful, horrendous, inhuman mess. He walked back up to the car, daring to crack open the backseat and sifting through the bloodsplattered luggage before he found what he needed.
A long, thin, cotton sheet.
He ripped the gas lid off the side of the car, stuffing the sheet down into the tank. When it could go no further, he reached up and snapped off the radio antenna, using it to push it farther down.
When it was far enough, he fished out his lighter and lit the sheet, jogging away from the car until he was a safe enough distance away.
The flame flickered for a moment. Then it flickered again.
Then the jeep was ripped apart in an explosion that nearly blew Percy off his feet.
The jeep shook violently, before it settled back in its place, completely immolated and still flaming slightly. Percy knew how cars worked when they were on fire like this. The rain would put it out in no time, and even if it didn't, all the evidence of what had happened was gone. The blood was gone, the evidence was gone, the crime was gone. But that's not what was important.
What was important was that Percy was gonna go home and beat someone until his fists were broken.
He turned away from the wreckage, starting his way back towards the highway when he noticed something, something that stuck slightly the sand near a small stain of what Percy could tell was blood.
The revolver.
Percy grimaced, reaching down to pick the weapon up. He expected it to come free pretty easily.
What he didn't expect was the severed hand still attached to it. Wrapped around it in a steely death grip.
The severed hand that didn't look like a male's hand. The hand that looked like a teenage girls...
Percy felt a glare pull at his eyes and a scowl pull at his lips. He gently removed the gun from the appendage before he grimaced at it, taking note of the stick and poke tattoo on the wrist that read forever young. He threw the hand over into the fire of the jeep, hoping it would burn up before the rain put it out.
He tucked the revolver into his waistband as he made his way back over to his bike, starting it up and pressing forward on his way home, trying his absolute hardest not to carve some crosses into those bullets so he could give Luke a nice present when he got home.
It was afternoon by the time Percy got home.
He parked his bike by the caravan, kicking out his stand and wasting no time storming up the steps of the porch. Beck was out there, with Silena on the swing that hung over the porch. Beck caught sight of Percy's face, opening his mouth to speak, but closing it when he saw Percy's eyes.
There was nothing there but rage.
Percy stomped toward the door, practically ripping it off the hinges as he threw it open and marched in. He was focused, focused and angry. He marched into the kitchen, finding Zoe there, baking what looked like pie.
He'd be lying if he said that pie didn't almost make him smile. He guessed the roast he and Zoe had made the other night must've left an impression on her, because he really didn't expect her to do it again. Especially not a pie, not that he could complain though, he loved pie.
Well, he used to love pie, at least...
He shook the thoughts from his head as his glarheaame back. He walked towards her, eyes steely as he growled out three words.
"Where is he?"
Zoe was quiet for a moment, before her eyes fell and she slipped off her gloves.
"He's not here, Percy." She said in a quiet tone. Percy scoffed, pulling the revolver out of his waistband and slapping it on the counter. Zoes eyes flicked over to the gun as his hand left it, before rising back up to his. Percy clenched his fists at his sides, letting his teeth grind a bit as he spoke.
"Well when he gets back? You tell him that he and I are gonna have a nice, long, chat." He grabbed the counter and let his fury get the better of him, cracking the countertop in his grip.
"A chat about why we don't massacre townies and leave their bloodsoaked car on the side of the road."
Zoes eyes went through multiple emotions rather quickly. Shock, confusion, then anger. Cold, steely anger. Anger he found himself glad she shared.
"Did you handle it?" She asked, in a tone that was as cold as it was firm.
He nodded, "Sent it up in flames. No evidence. Not any that isn't burned to a crisp, anyways. Doesn't change shit though, Zo'. Me and him are talking, and I make no promises that it doesn't end with his head on a silver platter."
Zoe nodded, crossing her arms across her chest as her brow furrowed and her mouth straightened into a firm line. She was deep in thought, and had a look on her face that Percy... well he couldn't help it. He thought it was a little cute.
He closed his eyes, making sure he grabbed that thought and buried it deep inside himself.
She let her eyed snap back up to his, the thoughts replaced with a single, firm statement.
"I'll talk to him myself."
Percy wanted to let out a smile, or give her a nod, or something. But he didn't. He couldn't. Just because she said the five right words didn't make anything that had just happened okay. He turned away from her, facing the living room entrance as he spoke.
"You get that animal under control, Zoe..." He said, his voice a low tone as he shot her a look over his shoulder.
"Or I'll kill him myself."
Her face didn't change. Her eyes did, screaming a whole myriad of emotions at him, but get face remained the same. He wanted to say something else, something to ease the tension he felt he was making, but something distracted him.
Something that snapped his attention immediately. A smell. A new smell.
He followed his nose, walking into the living room and zeroing in on one of the couches that sat in the corner, and the two shivering girls that sat in it. Girls he recognized. It was the two girls from before, the ones he'd seen at the liquor store, who'd tried to get him to buy them alcohol. They were shivering from fear, their hands shaking as they laid in their laps. Their eyes were panicked, flicking around as they took labored breaths. He couldn't help but focus on their eyes, it was hard not to.
Their eyes were glowing. Just like his had in that motel, all those years ago.
He approached the girls, slowly making his way over to them. He made sure they saw him while he was still far away, letting his face sink onto their minds so they'd hopefully recognize him. From the wide eyes they had, they probably did. He got right up to them, right in front of the two before he took a knee in front of them.
There was a silence between the three of them, while the girls clutched their arms across their chests. Percy sighed, reaching up to the one right in front of him, the Asian girl. He gently held her chin in his hand, tilting her head slightly so he could check her neck.
There they were. Two holes, punched right into her neck.
He let out a soft breath and checked the other girl, softly taking her face in his palm and tilting her head to check for wounds. He found the same pair of holes on her neck, too. Percy let his hand fall to his side, and his gaze fall to the floor, before he lifted his eyes to the girls.
"What'd I tell you?" He asked in a low tone, "Don't come here."
The Asian girl collected herself as beat she could, swallowing slowly.
"L-Look mister. W-We just want to go h-home..."
Percy shook his head, a soft sigh escaping his lips. He looked at the girls, taking note of their terrified faces, taking note of their shaking forms, taking note of how they were young. Too young. Younger than Beck and Silena, even. He stood up, taking his full height as he towered over the two teenagers.
"What's your names?" He asked, turning from the Asian girl to the farmer, "...both of you."
"Drew." The Asian girl softly said.
"Katie." The farmer added, in an equally soft tone.
"Alright. Drew, Katie..." Percy began, making his tone as soft and unthreatening as he could "Do... do you understand what's happened to you?"
The girl on the right, Katie, let a sob choke out of her as she gripped Percy's hand.
"P-please. Please we just want t-to go h-home." She begged.
Percy held her hand, letting his face turn to one of sympathy, then one of anger.
"Katie." He whispered, in a soft tone, "Who did this to you?"
The girl met his gaze, the terror still evident in her gaze. She opened her mouth to speak, bit was interrupted when a voice rang out from behind Percy.
"Well there they are!"
Percy scowled as he turned around and came face to face with who spoke. Ethan. Ethan Nakamura. A lanky, slinky, slither piece of shit just as rotten to the core as Luke. He lounged in a lazy boy, kicking his boots up on the table in front of him as he eyed up the two girls.
"I've been looking for the two of you." He said, a wry smile pulling at his lips. He motioned them towards him, "Why don't you come over here, girls?"
The girls moved, though Percy knew it wasn't of their own volition. New bloods couldn't help but obey, especially when the one who had turned them spoke...
Percy held up his arm, stopping both of them and drawing a glare from Ethan.
"The fuck do you think you're doing, Jackson?"
Percy didn't answer, he just gave the girls a soft push back into their seats, knocking them out of whatever trance they'd been in. He walked up to Ethan, towering over the eternal-teen who looked up at him with glare.
Percy jerked his thumb at the girls.
"Did you do this?"
Ethan let a wry smile pull over his face again.
"Damn right I did. Come on now, Jackson. Don't lie. We could all use some young meat, now can't we?" He leaned forward a bit, "Considering how you've been chatting up that blonde, I'd say you agree..."
Percy didn't move, neither face nor body. He just let his teeth grind in his mouth before he put his hands on his hips and let out a humorless laugh. Ethan let a look of confusion spread over his face, which only grew when Percy started pulling off his boot.
"Young meat, huh?" Percy asked, hefting the boot in his hand "You wanna know what I think of that?"
Nakamura opened his mouth to answer, but couldn't get anything out. All he could do was brace himself before Percy grabbed a fistful of his hair and rammed the boot's spur directly into his eye.
Nakamura screamed immediately, thrashing out with his hands toward Percy who struck them out of his way, grabbing Nakamura by the collar and slamming him on the floor. He planted his other boot on his chest, leaning in as he dug the spur deeper into the teens eye socket, all while the boy roared in pain.
Any clan members surrounding the two immediately scurried out of the way, with the two girls on the couch frozen in place. They held each other, with the pair pointing matching glares at Ethan as he writhed on the ground, screaming in pain.
What made sense was the screaming. Being turned didn't make pain go away, especially not that pain. What didn't make sense was the smoke that poured out of Nakamura's face.
"Cast from silver..." Percy growled, as he held a fistful of Ethan's hair and gave the spur a twist, "Don't feel too good, does it?"
Nakamura screamed even louder as he clawed at Percy's chest, desperate to remove the pain. His movements eventually got slower, his breathing deeper, and his screams eventually turned to sobs. Percy gave the boot one last twist, before he took his sweet time pulling the boot from the boys eye.
He stood back up, slipping his boot back on his foot before he let his foot land back on the ground, the spur making an audible clink.
He glared at the boy, who had a hand over his ruined eye as he breathed deep, labored breaths.
"This goes for everyone here." Percy said, his voice a low tone as he spoke. "If something like this..." He pointed at the girls, "...ever happens again?"
He grabbed Ethan by the collar, pulling him to his feet so he could look him in his good eye.
"I'll pull both eyes out."
He stared at Ethan, waiting to see if the boy would speak, or make a sound, or do anything. He kept his mouth shut, his good eye a mix of rage and fear as it stared into Percy's green orbs. Percy threw him to the ground, letting him scurry away into a corner.
He let his gaze snap to his left, to the Stolls, who were seated on a different couch, eyes wide with shock at what had just happened.
"Connor, Travis." Percy said, watching as their gazes snapped to him. "Come here, both of you."
The brother got up, slowly and tentatively walking over to Percy who placed a gentle hand on either of their shoulders.
"Teach them." He said, gesturing with his chin towards the girls who were still holding each other on the couch, "Show them what they are, explain to them what this is. Get them acclimated. I trust the two of you to think with these heads..." He said, tapping them both on their foreheads, before he pointed to the fronts of the twins jeans.
"Not these ones."
The boys were still for a moment, before they looked at Percy with firm gazes and gave him even firmer nods. He have them a nod of his own, before he let his gaze go dark again.
"And if Ethan gets anywhere near them... you let me know. Immediately, got it?"
The boys let glares pull at both their eyes as they glanced at the one eyed boy in the corner, before they snapped back to Percy's gaze, softening as they nodded.
Percy let out a soft breath, clapping the twins on their shoulders as he walked back toward the entrance of the living room. He stopped though, turning slightly over his shoulder to address the room, and everyone left in it.
"If anyone's got a problem with what I just did, you speak up now, or don't speak up ever."
The room stayed silent, so Percy turned back towards the kitchen, taking note of the fact that Zoe was staring at him.
She'd been staring at him the whole time, watching as he'd done that, watching as he drove his spur into Ethan's eye, watching as he'd made it damn clear how things were gonna go.
He couldn't even pretend he didn't see how hard she was biting her lip, or how... hungry her eyes were.
He let out a sigh. He really hoped she'd just let the two of them go back to cooking, or back to dancing, maybe, or back to something. Back to anything that wasn't what she had on her mind, but he had to remind himself. This was Zoe. Didn't matter how much she pretended for him or tried for him, she was who she was and this thing they had was what it was. He looked at her, watching as her breath got deep, and dropped his head, walking over to her.
He got close. Real close. Close enough to feel her breath on his chest.
"I already know what's gonna happen..." He whispered, in a defeated tone as his eyes pointed at the floor, "So let's just get it over with, alright?"
He half expected her to pull his pants off right there in the kitchen, but she didn't. She didn't do anything. He let his eyes slip back up to hers and found that she'd closed them. She'd stopped biting her lip, and had crossed her arms over her chest, tightening them over herself.
"Just... just go upstairs Percy." She opened her eyes, looking into his as she raised a hand to his cheek and gave it a gentle stroke, "I won't do that today, alright?"
He was still for a moment, letting his mouth fall open as he blinked a few times. He looked away from her, in a bit of a daze as he wandered over to the stairs.
He stopped at the first step, taking a look back at her as she stared at the floor, eyes locked on the floorboards. She didn't talk, didn't turn to him, didn't make it seem like this was anything other than the blunt and honest truth that she'd just said. He stared at her for a moment.
He should've been happy. He should've been more than happy, actually. He should've been ecstatic. For once, in the fifty plus years they'd spent together, she'd taken the hint and let him say no. It should've plastered a smile across his face and made him sprint up those stairs like a kid on Christmas, but it didn't.
Instead, he slowly trudged up the steps, a million thoughts in his mind. Why did she do that? Why did she let him go? Was she gonna come up anyways? All those thoughts swirled in his mind as he swung open his door and landed in his bed. He laid back, tucking his hands behind his head as thoughts ran back and forth in his mind.
Mainly thoughts about Zoe. Thoughts that really weren't easy to think about.
Seattle, Washington State. 1994
Things were going well.
That, in and of itself, was a very subjective statement. Usually, to the clan at least, things going well just meant that cops weren't driving past wherever they'd set up every few hours. But besides that, things were going well. No one was fighting with anyone. A few new recruits had been added, ones who seemed content with this lifestyle. The pile of corpses they always managed to make had a nice deep grave in the woods. Hell, even the house they'd picked, a massive lumber frame home, already had most of the windows nailed shut before they'd even showed up.
Things were going well. So it was only natural that only Percy was upset.
He couldn't really help it, and everyone knew by then. Twenty straight years of glum and grim really left a heavy impression on everyone, and most of the clan let him have his alone time all the time.
Most. Save for a few people. Beck of course, and Silena too. They were always welcomed with a smile, especially when Percy busted out a bottle of their favorite champagne. He'd made it a habit to grab it every year for them, right around their anniversary. Just a little way for him to... well, feel normal, or make them feel normal or just to be nice. He liked being nice to them.
He liked being nice to someone else too. Someone who didn't seem to care if anyone was nice to him anymore.
Percy slipped out the back door of their den, shutting it tight behind him as he walked out into the morning sun. It was dawn, just barely, and Percy already had his sunglasses on his face as he walked out into the yard, towards the big oak tree that sat dead centre in the opening.
There was a figure, sat right under the tree. He had curly hair and a scruffy goatee and before he'd been turned, had walked with pretty bad limp caused by some degenerative disorder. Percy had never really asked him, he'd had more important things to tell him about. How to survive, how he had to live, what he had to do. Explaining these things took up all the time he could've used learning but the man, which was a shame, because now that he'd gotten a chance to actually talk to him... well, he was pretty cool.
His name was Grover. He was... a nature guy. Greenpeace, save the whales, stop deforestation. All that stuff. Percy didn't know who'd turned him and frankly couldn't care less anymore. All he'd known was that he'd been told to initiate him.
They'd bonded, once they started talking like people, and not like monsters, and pretty well too. They had a lot of things in common, especially music. Percy enjoyed the grunge bands Grover had taken great pleasure in introducing him to and it made Percy smile seeing how Grover's eyes lit up when Percy explained that he not only liked Jimi Hendrix, but he'd seen him live.
His eyes weren't lit up now.
None of him was. He was sat on the floor, under the oak. Dejected drawing lines in the dirt with his finger as the sun continued to rise, slowly getting closer and closer to Grover.
Percy stopped a good few feet away from him, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket.
"Getting some morning sun?" Percy joked.
Grover was quiet for a moment, before he shrugged.
"Maybe I am, Perce."
Percy let his lips pull up close to his nose.
"You should come inside, man." Grover didn't move, so Percy softly sighed.
"I just got a copy of Vitalogy, you know?" He said, a soft smile on his face, "Wanna see if Vedder's still got it?"
Grover didn't move, not an inch, he just let his eyes flick up to the man in front of him. All with a look on his face that Percy recognized. One that made him predict the words he was gonna say before they came out of his mouth.
"I don't want this anymore, Percy."
Percy felt his smile fall. He buried his hands in his pockets as he took a step toward his friend.
"It gets better, Grover. It does, I promise."
It was a lie, and a thinly veiled one at that. It only ever got worse, and Percy got the feeling that Grover knew that. Grover sighed, tracing a shape in the dust in front of him. Percy took a chance to look at it.
It was a face. A clear, very well drawn face. A woman's face, so perfectly shown it had to have been one Grover knew better than his own. Percy watched as Grover added a few details. Curls in her hair, freckled over her nose, a small scar on her cheek.
Grover finished, a soft smile pulling at his lips, before it fell and he looked up at Percy.
"She's younger than me, y'know?"
Percy felt his lip twitch slightly, and he wasn't sure why.
"Who is?" Percy asked. Grover smiled and gestured at the drawing.
"My girlfriend, juniper. I'm exactly 3 months and 4 days older than her. I always remembered that. 94 days. We always said it was a sign that we'd get married in '94..."
His fave fell a bit as he ran his hand through the drawing.
"We were going to, too."
He raised his gaze up to the sky, up to the branches over his head.
"Y'know... today's the day. I've been keeping track, marking it off in the little calendar in my brain. Today's the day, Perce..."
Percy swallowed the lump that had worked its way into his throat.
"What day, Grover?"
Grover scooped the dust into his hand, letting it fall to the earth as he watched it blow away in the wind.
"It's the day she becomes older than me. She's gonna wake up today and those 94 days, those three months and some change that we always joked about, that we always had, that have been counting down since I turned... They're gonna turn over to zero."
He looked up at Percy.
"And then she's gonna pass me by, as she keeps aging, and I just... stay. Stay locked in time, while she grows old without me."
Grover watched to his left as the sun continued to rise, passing over him and meeting his skin as he let out a sad smile.
"Kinda hoped it would kill me this time..." He mused.
Percy was silent. Silent and still as he tried to think of something to say, something that would change the words he knew his friend was going to say.
"Grover... it's not over for you. Beck. Beck and Silena, they're together. Maybe you and Juniper can-"
"Beck and Silena hate their lives, Percy." Grover said, cutting him off with a tone that was more honest than anything. "They hate their lives and they'd give anything to be human again. I'm never going to do that to Juniper. You know that, Percy."
He dropped his head, and for a moment, there was a silence between the two men. A silence that burned a hole in Percy's heart as he tried his best to hold back everything he wanted to say, to scream, and to cry out into the sky.
Grover put his hand on Percy's shoulder and reached into his back pocket, pulling something out.
A wooden stake. A long, thin length of lumber, probably about 8 inches in length and only about as thick in diameter as a hockey stick. It was small, and it was simple, but...
It was enough.
Grover grabbed Percy's hand, pressing the stake into it, and making Percy look into his his.
"Percy." Grover said, a single tear falling from his eye, "You know what I want you to do."
Percy was still, his hand white knuckled around the stake as he looked into Grover's eyes.
"Grover, please. Just... just give it one more week, one more day. Just please..." His gaze fell, along did his head, as the tears he was holding back spilled from his eyes.
"Please don't make me do this"
Grover squeezed Percy's shoulder as he laid his forehead against the other man's scalp. They were friends, that wasn't something he was going to deny, and maybe if life were different, if this wasn't what they were, they'd be friends long into their old age, listening to Nirvana and Pearl Jam while they sat together in a nursing home. But this wasn't how things were.
"Percy..." Grover pleaded, "... I can't live like this. I can't live without her."
Percy raised his eyes up to his friends, staring into them all while he stared back. Percy thought about the man in front of him, thought about how he wanted to tell him how excited he'd been to have found a friend like him to spend this eternal life with.
He thought about how when Grover had put those headphones over Percy's head and played "Smells like teen spirit" for him it was the first time he'd felt alive, or really anything in months.
He thought about how they'd talked about music for hours on end, late into the night. How Percy hadn't felt so eager to have a conversation in years, and it almost made him happy that this had happened to him, because he never would've met Grover otherwise.
He thought about how he'd been keeping track of Grover's favourite bands, and had bought a pair of Soundgarden tickets for the two of them. He thought about how he'd planned to sneak away from the den for a while with his friend, and go on a trip to Vancouver to see one of their favoutites.
He thought about how those tickets were in his pocket right now.
He swallowed his emotions, and his thoughts, and everything else that was telling him "No", and put on a firm look, giving Grover a sharp nod. Grover smiled, closing his eyes as another tear fell, before he let out a simple nod of his own. No words coming out, but everything that needed to be said, being said.
He kept that smile on his face, even when Percy drew his hand back and plunged the stake through his heart.
A.N. Yeah I know, always leaving you guys on a sad note.
Its a bit glum, but then again thats kinda fitting with the story, isn't it?
We're right at about the halfway point here, so I'm hoping everyone's enjoying things.
Not sure when chapter 11's coming out, but hopefully soon. Gimme like, I dunno, a few days? I'll get some stuff done, I always do.
Sorry if this A.N. is sparse. I'm tired, and can't really be bothered to write one out properly, but I still wanna let you guys know I'm appreciating all he support.
Lemme know how you're liking things in the comments. I read them all.
See you all soon.
Also, asmellysmell, yes. 100%. Honestly, this is more a near dark fanfic than a pjo one if I'm being honest.
-Bronzeandsteel