Nights were always the worst for Hal. Before, when he'd get any kind of hunger pains, all he had to do was go out into the city and pick a target. But now he had to live with this constant drone in his mind, a noise reminding him that food was just around the corner. Or, in this instance, everywhere. Leo had the misfortune of picking a flat that was surrounded by noisy neighbors. And Hal could hear all of them, even when it was something simple like walking across a room. Everything was echoed in his head, like a constant drumming.
It was his first night in Leo's flat, and Hal was starting to think that he wouldn't be able to handle it. He was tempted to try and leave again, but Hal knew that Leo was out in the living room sleeping on the sofa. And since his escape, Leo had carefully boarded up all the windows in his room.
He was stuck.
Hal sat up in his bed, restless. A million thoughts were going in his mind, but only one emerged above the others. He could play nice for a while, just enough to gain Leo's trust. Then he could run off when he least expected it. A clean break.
Morning found Hal just as rattled as the previous day. His hands were shaking from the withdrawal and he couldn't stop pacing the room. He went over to Leo's desk that was still filled by dozens and dozens of scattered matches. Even though he still wasn't convinced with Leo's tactics, Hal began to line the matches up in an effort to get his hands to stop shaking. Before long, he got them under control and he soon succumbed to a state of pure concentration. It suddenly became easier to focus and keep all manner of intrusive thoughts away.
Hal was so wrapped up in what he was doing that he almost failed to hear Leo open the door.
"Seems you've taken a liking to it" Leo said, who was regarding the table. Rows upon rows of matches were lined up with perfect precision, leaving almost no space on the desk free.
Hal flexed his now steady hand. "Seems that way."
"I'll be off to work soon, but I thought I'd give you this first."
Leo handed Hal an empty sheet of paper.
"What's this?"
"For the schedule I talked about yesterday. I think you're more than capable of drafting your own."
Hal took the paper and looked at it, imagining all manner of activities he could put down. It was weird, but he was almost getting excited at the thought of living a normal, boring day. A big, fat, ordinary life, just as Leo had put it. Maybe running off could wait a little while longer. Hal took his eyes off the paper only to see that Leo had long since left. It was just him and his new rota.
He had reserved his afternoons for exercise, but Leo insisted that the two of them spent that time in the quiet café. Even though they hadn't discussed it, Hal noticed that part of his decision to eat lunch there was because of the waitress who Hal had "attacked" mere days before. The vampire wasn't comfortable with dining in a place she worked, but Leo had been adamant. Seemed he'd taken a shine to her after only a few days. A sentiment which wasn't shared by Hal seeing as Pearl tended to talk. Quite a lot.
"... and then Mr. Digby told Samuel that he couldn't work here because of his attitude, and then once the job opened up I jumped in."
"You could say it was a luck break, then" Leo said.
"Oh luck had nothing to do with it" Pearl said proudly, "I've worked in four other places before here and I did a good job every time." She paused, thinking. "Well there was that one time I smacked a customer upside the head, but he had it coming."
Hal suddenly cleared his throat.
Pearl turned away from Leo and glared.
"I don't intend to intrude on such a fascinating conversation" Hal said, "but weren't you supposed to fetch us some tea, say, eleven minutes ago?"
"Oh, it's alright, Pearl" Leo said, "you take all the time you want."
Pearl made a face. "No, no, far be it from me to be late with Lord Hal's royal order."
She quickly stood off her seat and headed behind the counter, leaving Hal lost in his own mind. He suddenly found himself thrown into a memory where peasants referred to him as Lord Hal. Flashes of other moments, but this time much more bloody, danced in front of his eyes, and Hal found it hard to reach back into reality. He was pulled back by Leo's snapping fingers.
"Are you alright?"
He blinked a few times. "Fine. I'm fine. Just a few flashbacks."
"Seems you've attracted some attention."
Leo subtly gestured to his right, at a table where a man in a suit was holding up a newspaper. But the paper was all but useless because he seemed to be carefully listening in on everything around him. It was Crawford.
"He smells like a werewolf" Hal said after a moment. "Do you know him?"
"We only spoke a bit a few days ago" Leo whispered. "He seems to want me by his side for whatever reason. He kept talking about wolves sticking together. But to what end, he never said."
Hal lowered his voice. "He doesn't seem the trustworthy type. And that's not just the vampire in me talking."
Leo nodded.
"Maybe you should do it" Hal whispered, "pretend to go along with whatever he says just so you can see what he's really talking about."
"That doesn't sound too wise."
"I've done it plenty of times before. There were always moles within our vampire groups, and the only way to find out the rotten apple was by taking a risk. By infiltrating."
Leo thought it over for a moment. "It just sounds like we'd be looking for trouble."
Hal let the subject drop, and soon enough Pearl returned with two cups of tea.
"Here you are, your highness" Pearl said, setting Hal's cup in front of him. She shook her head and then looked at Leo. "I don't know how you deal with him."
"I could say the same about you" Hal said.
"Pearl" Leo said, lowering his voice, "what do you know about the gentleman over at that table?" He gestured to his right.
Pearl only moved her eyes to take a peek. "Oh, that's Mr. Crawford. Some of the girls say he's been coming here forever. Great tipper. He always eats alone, though. Some of us think that maybe he lost someone, cause he's always got that look in his eye."
"What look?" Leo asked.
"You know, like he'd like to strange someone, but he's sad about it."
"And that doesn't worry you?" Hal asked, frowning.
Pearl shrugged. "We get all kinds here. Some are just sadder than others. And, really, what's there to be happy about these days?"
"You're kidding me" Cutler said, disbelieving, "what do you mean he's gone?"
William shook his head. "I don't know, but we can't find him anywhere. So much for going out tonight. I'm really peckish right now, you know that?"
"Well he must have had a good reason for disappearing. I mean Hal wouldn't just leave us like this."
"Mr. Cutler!"
The two turned their heads and saw Henry, one of their newest recruits, running up the stairs from the cellar.
"One of our dogs is gone" Henry said, out of breath, "one of our best, too."
"What happened this time?" Cutler asked.
"I don't know, but the cell door was open and the shackles were just left there. Doesn't even look like he struggled to escape. It's kind of like someone let him out."
Cutler shook his head, refusing to believe what he was implying.
"What do you think the chances are?" William asked. "Hal was always kind of a loose cannon, wasn't he?"
"You're crazy" Cutler said, "the both of you. Hal recruited me. We went on dozens of rampages together, so I know he would never— Jesus, listen to yourselves. Aligning with a dog? He would die before that happened."
"But he's still missing" William said, choosing to take out his frustration out on a cigarette. "What do we do about that?"
"You could always recruit more of us" Henry said.
Cutler shook his head. "Hal isn't just some vampire we pulled off the streets. He's behind everything that takes place in this building. If anything, he probably ran off in search of that dog who escaped. Hal always said that wolf was a great fighter."
"We could go after him..." Henry said, his voice sheepish.
"Excellent idea" Cutler said, "William you take Henry along and show him the ropes. I know he's only been a vampire for a few days, but this a perfect time to take him out on a hunt."
William made a face and threw his cigarette on the floor. "Do we really have to go after him? I'm sure Hal can take care of himself. Besides, do you know how cold it can get outside right now? It's almost October."
"Yes, you have to go now" Cutler said, "before the trail runs cold. Since Hal's gone, I'm next in the line of power and I have to hold down the fort here." He leaned over and picked up the discarded cigarette butt. "And I told you to stop littering. We're vampires, not savages, William."
The sun was close to setting by the time Hal and Leo left the café.
"I still think I was right" Hal said "trying to get in this man's good graces could potentially let us in on some very valuable information."
"You'll have to forgive me, but I'd prefer to stay away from anything supernatural for the time being."
"Fair enough. I just think you could use your time more wisely than preparing yourself to ask out a waitress."
Leo stopped to look at him. "How did you guess?"
"Leo, you've dragged me down to that café three times in two days. Now, the question you should be asking yourself is: are you sure you want to bring her into our world?"
Leo thought for a second. "I could keep it secret. This curse only affects me once a month, so I can simply not tell her."
"But I would still be here."
Hal found himself surprised by the very words he'd spoken. For the first time since running away from his brethren, Hal was starting to think about his future life along with Leo.
"Maybe you're right" Leo said, "maybe staying away is the wiser thing to do."
And what was even more bizarre, Hal found himself caring that he could potentially affect Leo's happiness.
"Ask her anyway" Hal said.
"But what about what you said? How can I keep your affliction a secret?"
"It's worked so far, hasn't it? I just have to continue following my rota."
"Maybe we just wait and see how you'll feel the next few days" Leo said, "just to be sure."
Hal nodded. He now felt a bit better knowing that Leo's techniques were proving fruitful, and he continued focusing on anything else other than the people they were passing on the street. But in his effort to ignore everyone around him, Hal failed to notice that someone was following them.