After all the life was drained from her body, Ethan lifted his mouth. Blood cascaded down his chin like a slow dripping faucet. He backed away sobbing as he tried his best to get all the blood off his face.
Ethan looked up at Jesse with tears in his eyes. "Why are you doing this to me? To break me? To cause me pain? Why? Tell me why!"
"You're always the problem, Ethan. You stopped me the last time I tried to bring my followers back, got in between me and Sarah, and you always find a way to wiggle in. I am doing this as payback for sending me to limbo and causing my plans to fall to ruin. That is why I do this." Jesse explained, circling around him.
"My friends are there with me." Ethan pointed out.
"They are, but you're the leader." Jesse whispered. "Without a leader, a team will not last. You might not see it, but all of them look to you for a plan, to lead."
Ethan muttered under his breath. "I am no hero."
"When I'm done with you, that statement will be true." Jesse said, starting toward the door.
"You're leaving?" Ethan asked
"I have some business to take care of. I want you to stay in this room until I return. Enjoy your stay while Rory keeps you company." Jesse said, leaving the room.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Rory stepped forward trying to talk when Ethan backed away. His motion hurt Rory, but he understood it. If the roles were reversed, he would've backed away too.
"Ethan I…" Rory began
"I don't want to hear it." Ethan said, getting to his feet and moving to lean up against the counter.
"I tried to stop him." Rory muttered
"Did you? Because if you had that girl..." Ethan said, pointing at Mandy's body, "Would still be alive."
"Ethan…"
"I killed someone, Rory! I drank every last drop from that girl's body and I liked it. I loved the feeling of her heart stopping, life stopping." Ethan admitted, sliding down the island to sit on the floor.
"It always feels like that, but you get used to it after awhile." Rory mentioned
Ethan's eyes met Rory's. "You've killed people?"
"Only a few times. You drink from bags as long as you can, but then someone cuts a finger or scrapes a knee. You smell that blood and it's all you want. I tried to fight it for the past week, but a few days ago a drunk girl bumped into me and I couldn't control myself. Now that you're a vampire, it'll happen to you as well." Rory admitted
"I won't hurt people." Ethan said with conviction.
"After I became a full vampire, I said the same thing." Rory explained, moving to sit down next to Ethan. "But I eventually realized there was no running from it. It's hard, but there are some perks. Like flying, running really fast, super strength, cool eyes, awesome looking fangs, living forever, and if you get good enough you can compel people to do what you want."
Ethan blurted out what was on his mind. "Rory, I know we haven't been great friends for a long time, but why did you join Jesse? You hate the guy."
"I didn't have a choice." Rory muttered with a sad look.
"You always have a choice." Ethan replied
Rory's eyes met his, "Maybe. But this time I didn't…"
*Flashback*
Rory rolled his eyes and finished the punch Erica had handed him, muttering under his breath. "Why am I always the one everyone leaves behind?"
Since Erica was busy and Sarah was already gone, he decided to head home. He had blood in the mini fridge in his room so he'd pop one open and play some video games like he did almost every night. He got to the edge of the parking lot when this drunk girl ran into him.
"Sorry I'm a bit clumsy." She mumbled
"No problem." Rory replied
Her eyes met his and a sloppy smile appeared on her face. She placed a hand on Rory's pec with a flirty smile. He looked down at her hand and he smiled as well.
"Would you like to get out of here?" She asked
His smile widened as his fangs extended. "I'd love to."
Rory headed to the back of the bar and the girl started kissing him. Her back laid against the stone as he kissed her neck. She wiggled in enjoyment as he continued to kiss her neck up and down. Then his hunger became too much and he sunk his fangs deep into her throat.
She struggled and tried to scream causing Rory to put his hand over her mouth so no one would find them. He drank and drank not realizing until he dropped her, that the drunk girl was dead. When he realized what he had done, his hands shook.
"What have I done?" Rory said to himself as he checked for a pulse. When he was doing so he didn't hear the footsteps coming towards him.
Rory closed the girl's eyes and knew who had approached without even turning around. "What are you doing here, Jesse?"
"I came here to find you." Jesse said with a evil grin. "I need your help with something."
"I am not helping you with anything." Rory said, starting to go back toward the party when Jesse grabbed his wrist.
"I wasn't asking."
With no warning Jesse pushed Rory up against the building. With one hand he held Rory down and with the other he pulled out the magical knife. Jesse looked it over with pride before shoving it deep into Rory's stomach.
*Flashback*
"So he's controlling you as well?" Ethan asked
"Yeah if I fight against him I get the same pain as you." Rory sighed. "What makes matters worse is he also got to Erica. Whatever plan the rest of the gang thinks of, she is supposed to report it back to Jesse."
"We need to get a hold of them. Do you have your phone?" Ethan frantically asked
"No, Jesse took it when he stabbed me." Rory replied.
Ethan felt around in his pocket and a smile appeared on his face. "But he didn't take mine."
He pulled his phone out of the secret pocket on his jacket. He searched through his contacts and found Benny near the top. Ethan just had to hope Benny would answer in time.
After Benny's grandma told them she knew how to get rid of the vampires, the crew split up to make their families safe. Sarah gave her parents and Ethan's family their necklaces. Hopefully convincing them enough to leave them on. After all their families had their necklaces, the group met back in Benny's room to go over the plan.
"So grandma, how are we going to defeat 219 vampires who are possessing people around town?" Benny asked
"It's actually very simple. Go up to a vampire or a group of them, open the Cubile Animus and say Fera corpus dissolvi, abi in malam pestem ubi non biberent (A wild beast's body to be dissolved, go to hell, where not to drink). That should suck all the vampires out of the human's bodies and return the vampires to hell." Benny's grandma explained
"How do we know for sure that the person is possessed by a vampire?" Erica asked with crossed arms. "What if they are just out and about?"
"You'll know. The eyes will be completely black. Oh and they will have fangs, trying to feed on those around them." Benny's grandma said
"Alright, let's go." Benny said, getting to his feet.
"You lost a lot of blood Benny, maybe you should stay here." Sarah suggested
"I am not missing out on an opportunity to fight evil vampires, okay? Besides, you need a warlock and here I am." Benny said, motioning to the entirety of himself. "I can do this."
"I'll get everything prepared, come down when you're ready to go." Benny's grandma explained with a worried look.
She shook her head and left the room. Erica and Sarah went downstairs as Benny prepared to leave. His phone buzzed in his front pocket. He pulled it from his jeans and saw who was calling, his fact lighting up instantly.
"Hello? Ethan?" Benny quickly asked
"Benny, is Erica in the room with you right now?" Ethan asked without even a hello.
Benny glanced toward the door. "No, she's downstairs. Why?"
"She was stabbed with the same knife Rory and I were stabbed with. She's being controlled by Jesse and is supposed to go to him and tell him of all your plans. You can't trust her." Ethan warned
"How am I supposed to stop her?" Benny asked
"Distract her and lock her up. If she gets away, any plan you guys think of will be destroyed." Ethan said, coming up with an idea. "Use your blood to distract her so Sarah can contain her."
"Okay, I can do that, but what about you guys?" Benny asked
"We will figure something out to try and get the knife away from Jesse. You focus on getting rid of those gaseous freaks. You have a plan, right?" Ethan asked
"Yeah. I think we can beat these gaseous freaks and then still have time to come and save you." Said Benny
"Focus on getting rid of these monsters...I don't deserve to be rescued." Ethan muttered
"Ethan, what are you talking about?" Benny exclaimed
"If everything goes wrong, I just wanted to say you're an awesome friend. You are the one thing that has always been a constant in my life and I thank you for that. Also can you tell Sarah that I…" Ethan said as the line went dead.
"Ethan? Ethan!" Benny yelled, no response coming from the line.
Benny was tempted to throw his phone, but he held back and shoved it in his back pocket. Just at that moment, Sarah came back into the room to check in on him. He grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the door.
"Ethan just called me." Benny whispered, Sarah eyes lighting up before getting worried by the look on Benny's face. "Erica was stabbed with the same knife Ethan and Rory were stabbed with. She is supposed to go to Jesse and tell him all our plans. So get something to lock her up while I distract her."
"How do you plan to distract her?" Sarah asked
Benny grabbed his swiss army knife from the drawer, his eyes meeting hers. "I need you to plug your nose and get out of here."
Sarah plugged her nose and ran from the room to find some chains. With that he took the blade to his hand and made a quick cut. He dropped the knife and yelled. "Son of a bitch!"
The scream caused Erica to come up to see what was wrong. She stopped at the door, her eyes catching sight of the blood dripping down his hand. Her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.
He sighed. "I wanted to get one of my own weapons. My clumsy ass left the blade open and cut my hand. It hurts."
Erica fangs extended as she pinned Benny against the wall with glowing eyes. One hand wrapped around Benny's throat and the other clutched his wrist. Erica's eyes locked onto his hand like nothing else mattered. Benny caught sight of Sarah climbing through the window with handcuffs and chains.
Erica's mouth neared his hand, just as Sarah took the heaviest trophy from the shelf behind her and slammed it into Erica's head, knocking her out instantly. Benny then helped her carry Erica to his bed, handcuffing her to the bedpost while chaining her body to the mattress. After that he put the trophy, which was now dented, back on his shelf.
"Did you really have to hit her with this one?" Benny whined, knowing that was one of the coolest trophies he'd won.
"It was the heaviest. Waiting any longer and she could've fed from you. Also, you might want to cover that up." Sarah said, plugging her nose, pointing at his bloody hand. "It's kind of tempting."
"Alright, I'll be right back." Benny said, cleaning his wrist and using a knee bandage to cover the wound. He came back into the room and started talking to Sarah, "Before the line was disconnected Ethan wanted me to tell you something."
"What did he say?" Sarah asked, perking up a bit.
"The line was cut before he could finish his sentence, but I have a feeling I know what he was gonna say. He wanted you to know, in case he never got to see you again, that he loved you." Benny blurted out
"He said that?!" Sarah exclaimed, blushing as much as a vampire could blush.
Before either could say anything more, Benny's grandma returned. She saw Erica and raised a brow. "Why is Erica chained to your bed?" Asked Benny's grandma
"Long story." Benny said, with a fake smile. "Is everything ready to go?"
"Yeah…" Benny's grandma said, shaking her head. "I've collected everything you need. Even wrote down the spell so it is said correctly, but I think I'd be better if I went. You're weak and now bleeding from multiple places. Stay here and watch over her so she can't get out. You can fight in the next battle."
"Grandma…" Benny whined
"Benny, she's right. Someone needs to watch over Erica" Sarah intervened. "Just stay here and we'll return with Ethan and Rory."
"Fine, but you owe me." Benny muttered, sitting in a chair next to the bed.
"Are you ready to go?" Benny's grandma asked
"Of course." Sarah said as they left Benny's room and collected the gear from the kitchen.
Back at Jesse's apartment, Ethan was in the middle of the call with Benny. Just as he is about to finish his sentence Jesse appears out of nowhere. With one quick movement he grabs the phone and sees who Ethan had called. With a glare he clutches the phone and crushes it into tiny little pieces.
"What did you tell him?" Jesse asked with annoyance.
"Just that you stabbed Erica with that magical knife of yours. Looks like you won't know their plans now." Ethan mocked
"Oh that's fine. I'll find a different way to get the information I seek. Besides, there is more important business to take care of." Jesse said as he went into the hall to grab someone. He came back with a vampire board member, Anastasia.
"Anastasia, what are you doing here?" Ethan asked with shock as he thought the board hated Jesse.
"She is under my control and Anastasia is going to help determine what you are. I have only seen one other red eyed vampire before, but never really knew much about them. Anastasia would you please investigate." Jesse ordered
Anastasia went up to Ethan, putting her hand on his face. She stared into his eyes with such intensity it felt like she was looking into his soul. She made him go vampire mode and studied his features. When Anastasia was done, she returned to Jesse's side.
"So?" Jesse questioned
"Ethan is a special type of vampire. When a Seer is turned into a vampire they drink blood, have fangs, run fast, jump high, live forever, fly for a short period of time, can walk in the sun, and holy water burns like every other vampire. Yet, they also have a few extra abilities" Anastasia explained
"Extra abilities?" Ethan and Rory asked at the same time.
"Vampires like you don't turn people when you bite them. The venom in your teeth doesn't inject right so instead of turning them they are in more pain, 10 times worse than a normal vampire bite. The only way for you to turn someone is to feed them your blood." Anastasia said with a sigh. "Once you give them your blood, they must die with it in their system."
"Like in the movies?" Rory asked
"Exactly, like in the movies." Anastasia repeated
Jesse was intrigued. "That's interesting, go on."
"You also have biokinesis. You can heal the sick and dying, but also stop hearts. Doing so drains you and makes you hungry. You can help a lot of people or damage hundreds. The red colored eyes are just a bonus." Anastasia explained
"So you're saying I can heal, but also destroy?" Ethan questioned, thinking of a plan.
"I'm sorry." Anastasia said with genuine worry.
Jesse whistled as two men came in and carried Anastasia out of the room. The second the door closed he set his plan into action. Ethan closed his eyes and focused on stopping Jesse's heart.
Jesse felt a pinch and then was on his knees in agony. While doing so Rory ran over and took the knife from Jesse's pocket. Jesse gritted his teeth and got back to his feet saying aloud, "Ethan you are not allowed to hurt me. Using a weapon or your own abilities."
This caused Ethan to fall to his knees in pain. He continued to try and stop Jesse's heart even though it felt like his was stopping. Yet he pushed through because it gave Rory an edge.
Jesse's eyes met Rory's with anger. He slowly walked toward Rory who was backing away from him. Rory came to a window and couldn't move back any farther. Jesse looked from the knife and back toward Jesse. "You really think you can use that knife against me?"
"I'm gonna try." Rory said as he got the knife near his hand.
Then the pain got to be too much and Ethan stopped hurting Jesse, which was not good for Rory. Jesse relaxed, stood up straight, and grabbed Rory by the throat, "That was very dumb of you, Rory!"
"I wouldn't say it was dumb, I'd say it was heroic." Rory gasped, struggling in Jesse's grasp as he mouthed run. Ethan nodded and ran for the door, only for Jesse to yell stop. Ethan had his hand on the doorknob, but couldn't get his hand to turn it.
"I'll take that." Jesse muttered, prying the knife out of Rory's hand.
"Let him go. You want me, hurt me instead." Ethan pleaded
"How cute, but you see, Ethan, I think it's time for Rory to take the plunge. Don't you think?" Jesse said, using Rory's body to break the glass in the window sill. He then dangled Rory over the edge about 10 floors above the sidewalk.
"I can fly Jesse, dropping me won't do a thing." Rory pointed out with a nervous voice.
"I know you can fly Rory, but I can take that away." Jesse said with an evil grin.
"Please let him go." Ethan pleaded, trying to move and help Rory, but his feet were glued to the floor and if he even moved a toe the pain was overwhelming.
"Rory, you are not allowed to fly or jump. You can't, not until I say so." Jesse ordered, his eyes meeting Rory's. "Goodbye, Rory."
With a smile Jesse let go of Rory's neck and he fell with a scream. Ethan's eyes filled with tears as he screamed just as loud. "No!"
"Don't defy me Ethan or the same will happen to you." Jesse warned as another vampire came into the room. He whispered something into Jesse's ear, causing him to smile. "Looks like we get to test out your ability on a few friends."
"I'm not hurting my friends, you monster." Ethan spat, tears rolling down his cheeks.
"You don't have a choice in the matter." Jesse said as he and Ethan vanished from the room.