Ethan wiped his face of Carly's blood and made his way back over to Jesse. He had to make it look like he was completely heartbroken. If Jesse suspected Carly ws still alive, they were screwed.
Benny struggled against his captor. "What is your endgame?"
"My endgame is to punish this town. I've already done a ton of damage, but I think my final act will be to kill all of you." Jesse explained with a smile. "It'll be a satisfying end I think."
"You can't take all of us on at once." Erica spat
"Oh, I won't be. Ethan's going to do the honors." Jesse announced, pulling Ethan in close.
"Making Ethan kill us against his will is just monstrous." Sarah muttered
"That's the point, Sarah. If you haven't realized, I'm a monster and I'll always be one." Jesse said with a proud look plastered on his face.
"That doesn't mean you have to make Ethan into one." Benny retorted
"That's exactly what it means. He is the one that always gets in my way, taking him down a notch is a victory." Jesse said, pushing Ethan toward his friends. "Stop their hearts."
"I don't think I can harm that many at once, I've only used the ability once." Ethan replied
"Try."
Ethan wanted to fight this, but trying to not attack Carly took a lot out of him. With a look of sorry, he squeezed his hand into a fist. All his friends collapsed in pain, including Benny and his grandmother. He got them to the point of grasping, but couldn't kill them, he just couldn't. He lowered his hand letting them regain full working power of their hearts as Jesse grabbed the top of Ethan's head and pulled it down the wrong way.
"I'll deal with Sarah, you guys deal with Erica and the witch, and Benny is for Ethan." Jesse said to his group as Ethan tried to fight it, but gave in and started walking toward his friend.
"Please, push back against his control." Benny pleaded
Ethan's lit up like a Christmas tree. "I'm so sorry, but I can't."
Jesse's henchmen went for the others, Jesse himself heading straight for Sarah. Ethan had cornered Benny against a brick wall as he grabbed Benny's arms and pinned them beside his head. Benny was trapped with no defense and so he tried talking.
"Ethan, listen to me. I'm your best friend, okay. Don't do this, please. I've already been through enough crap the past few days, I don't need you killing me added to that list." Benny negotiated
"I can't fight against it, Benny. You don't know what this feels like." Ethan said, gritting his teeth.
"You're right I don't know how it feels, but I don't care. You've fought against zombies, dolls, plants, egyptians and god knows what else. Some little mind trick shouldn't defeat you." Benny said, looking Ethan directly in the eyes. "Don't let Jesse destroy you.
Ethan squeezed his eyes shut as they changed back to blue. He let go of Benny and took a step back. Pain smothered his features as he gritted his teeth. With a gasp he yelled. "Run!"
"I don't want to put you in more pain." Benny whined
"I heal, remember?" Ethan gasped pushing Benny away. "Run before I lose the will to fight back."
Benny gave Ethan one more look then noticed his grandma heading towards him. She was clammy and tired out from the fight, but she had strength in her yet. She saw Ethan crumpled up in pain a few feet from them and she became concerned.
"Are you okay?" She asked
"I'm fine, but we have to go back. I can't leave Ethan like that." Benny said, grabbing his grandmother's hand.
"We have too." Benny's grandma said with a shaking head. "It is safer to get away from the danger. Ethan will be fine."
Benny's grandmother grabbed Benny tight with her hand. Benny struggled against his grandma's grasp, but couldn't get free. For an older woman she had a strong grip on her.
"Thank you." Benny's grandma said, looking toward Ethan as she whispered a cloaking spell and dragged Benny into the darkness of a nearby alley.
"You're welcome." Ethan gasped, clutching the part of his chest his heart was in.
Benny and his grandma got about a block away when a vampire found them. The spell Benny's grandma put on them made it impossible for vampires to track them, but they were still visible if only slightly. The vampire knocked out Benny's grandma with a single punch and grabbed Benny by the collar, lifting him above the ground.
"Where do you think you're going?" Asked the vampire
"Just out for a midnight stroll, you?" Benny mocked
"Catching runaways." He replied with a stern tone.
"Oh that's fun. But you see…" Benny began, hoping he'd get a name.
The vampire understood and spoke with annoyance. "It's Harvey."
"Well you see Harvey, I think I might've left the oven on at home. If I don't check something bad could..." Benny said, poking Harvey in both eyes at the same time, "Happen."
"My eyes!" Harvey screeched
Benny dropped to the ground as he grabbed the Cubile Animus from his grandma and stuffed it in a hidden pocket within his jacket. It didn't really fit, but it worked well enough. His grandma was still breathing so he got to his feet and turned to look at Harvey. He was still rubbing his eyes so Benny started saying the spell to return him to the box, which really pissed him off. Harvey grabbed a hold of Benny's jacket and pushed his back against the nearest wall.
"You should pay more attention to the eyes of your opponent." Said the vampire as he opened his eyes to show glowing yellow irises. He wasn't a gaseous vampire so that spell had no effect.
"Crap." Benny swore under his breath, still hiding the box within his jacket.
"Crap is right." Harvey replied, dragging Benny down a different alleyway.
Meanwhile, Jesse and Sarah were attacking each other. One would attack and the other would dodge. This continued for so long they began talking.
"We could've been happy, Sarah." Jesse said, throwing a punch, only to miss by a centimeter.
"I'd rather stake myself with a garlic and holy water soaked stake then be with you." Sarah spat, kicking the back of Jesse's leg, causing him to fall onto his stomach.
"Am I really that bad?" Jesse asked, dodging Sarah's attempts to stomp on his head.
"Yes, you are." Sarah grunted, getting a clean kick on Jesse's stomach.
"Oh, really." Jesse said, kicking the back of Sarah's leg so she'd fall onto her stomach. He saddled her and pinned her arms beside her head. "Are you sure about that?"
"Positive." Sarah said, struggling in Jesse's grasp.
"How can you love such a weak being?" Jesse asked as he made her turn her head so she'd look at Ethan crumpled up in pain, silently screaming. "Even as a vampire he's weak. He can't follow orders, cries when he bites someone, and just cares too damn much. How is that attractive?"
"If you knew me, truly knew me. You'd know that's the kind of guy I like. The ones that care way too damn much." Sarah said, using her legs to kick Jesse in the back of head. It distracted him long enough for her to knock him onto his back and saddle him while pinning his arms down.
"You've gotten stronger." Jesse said with a smile.
"Where's the knife?" Sarah asked, holding his arms with one hand and checking his pockets with the other.
"Do you really think I would bring my prized possession to a fight?" Jesse laughed aloud. "I may be old, but I'm not senile."
"It wouldn't work if it was too far from you so that means…" Sarah realized, looking around the street. "It's hidden somewhere around here."
"Can you find it in time?" Jesse asked
Sarah raised a brow. "In time for what?"
"To save Benny." Jesse said as Sarah turned to see a vampire with Benny in a chokehold.
Rory saw Benny and Erica get captured by Jesse's men so he climbed up the side of a building looking over the fight. He made it to the top and peaked over the edge to see Ethan draining a girl in front of everyone. With his vampire eyesight he saw the skin heal back up, knowing Ethan must've healed the girl.
Rory got to thinking about where the mind controlling knife was. Jesse definitely took it with him to this battle but he wouldn't have kept it on him. It's hidden in a place no human or vampire could see where Jesse stood.
Rory searched the tops of the buildings around the street for anything that hit his eye. Suddenly he saw a glint on a rooftop a few buildings to the right. So he kept low and used the things he could find to get to the rooftop. Since jumping from rooftop to rooftop wasn't an option, he did what he could.
Once he reached the glinting object he found it was a box locked with a giant padlock. He tried to rip the lock off, but it was soaked in holy water, making it impossible for him to get a grip. Eventually he found a brick and tried with all his might to snap the lock. After a few tries he was successful and opened the case to find the magic knife covered in some cloth, also soaked in holy water. With a quick flick of his wrist, the cloth was thrown to the side to reveal the grand knife.
It was probably the prettiest thing Rory had ever seen and one time he saw a Star Wars first edition comic book, so he knew beautiful. The knife's hilt was covered in gems and intricate carvings. When he was stabbed and when he grabbed the knife from Jesse he never really paid attention to what it looked like but now he wished he had. Rory shoved it in his pocket and made his way over to the girl Ethan healed.
This time he tried something else and dropped off the building, only breaking one of his feet. He popped the bones back in place and hid behind a nearby trash can. Everyone was busy with the battle so Rory grabbed the girl by her arms and dragged her out of sight. She pretended to be dead the whole way, most likely thinking he was one of the bad guys. Once he knew no one could hear or see them, he got her to open her eyes.
"I know you aren't dead. I can hear your heartbeat from here." Rory muttered
This scared the girl to open her eyes, "Please don't kill me. I'm not important, I'm nobody."
"I'm not gonna kill you. I'm a friend of Ethan's. The name's Rory." He said, offering his hand to her.
"Carly." She replied, shaking his hand.
Rory smiled. "Carly, can you do something for me?"
"Will it kill that Jesse guy?" Carly asked
"Kill him, no. Get rid of him for good, yeah." Rory explained
"Then I'm in." Carly smiled
"Alright, here's the plan." Rory said, leaning in to whisper in her ear.
Ethan saw the vampire with Benny and painfully got to his feet. "Benny!"
This caught Sarah's attention so Jesse knocked Sarah off and as she rose to her feet he held a stake to her throat. Erica tried to go for Sarah but the vampires attacking her grabbed at her arms, trapping her in their grasp.
"Ethan, decide who you want to live. Your best friend, your love or your love's best friend." Jesse suggested
"I'm not going to make that choice." Ethan refused
"I don't think you have a choice in the matter." Jesse yelled
Suddenly a loud bang sounded from near Ethan. Everyone looked to find someone superhero landing on the top of an SUV beside Ethan. Everyone was shocked to see Rory and he looked as good as ever.
Jesse was unamused. "I thought I dropped you from a building."
"Yeah, you did. Luckily, I have friends who came to my rescue. Now its my turn to fight back." Rory said, revealing the knife from behind his back.
"Rory give me the knife!" Jesse ordered, sounding a bit nervous.
"Not gonna happen." Rory replied as the pain started up. Rory then pushed the button he found on the side of the knife earlier. After the button was pushed a needle came out of the bottom of the hilt.
"Rory I command…" Jesse began as a scream rang out.
Everyone turned to watch the vampire that had Benny in his grasp turn to dust. Behind where the vampire once stood was Carly holding a very sharp stake. Everyone was shocked because everyone, aside from Rory and Ethan, thought she had died.
"That was awesome." Carly said to fill the silence of everyone realizing she was still alive.
"I saw Ethan kill you!" Jesse yelled
"I healed her and she played dead." Ethan said, looking over at her with a smile.
"And she did perfectly." Rory said, stabbing the needle into his wrist.
"No!" Jesse screamed.
He let go of Sarah to attack Rory, but the others joined in and made up the plan as they went. Benny took out the Cubile Animus and stated the spell. The gaseous freaks left Erica alone and came after him.
While he distracted them, Sarah and Erica went up behind Jesse and each took an arm. They used all their strength to trap him in place. After the knife was filled with blood the bottom closed up and Rory jumped down from the SUV, making his way over to Jesse.
Just before Rory was about to stab him, Jesse yelled into the air. "Attack!"
Half of the gaseous freaks turned toward Carly and the others turned toward Benny. The 5 after Benny pounced on him as he was getting to the final part of the spell. They tried to rip the necklace off, but it burned their hands. So the strongest of the bunch ripped it off quickly and flew down Benny's throat out of the body he was already possessing.
"Carly run!" Ethan yelled
Carly tried to get away, but the freaks were too fast. They held onto her as black smoke went down her throat, making her unconscious. She fell to the ground as all the other freaks moved back watching Benny and Carly's bodies lay still.
"What did you do?" Asked Rory, putting the knife to Jesse's neck.
"I gave myself an advantage." Jesse laughed
Benny and Carly got to their feet, catching everyone's attention. Danger radiated off of them like poisonous smoke. The two began to smile in the creepiest way possible.
"Benny's gone." Benny said in a scary deep voice as he opened his eyes to show dark abysses where his eyes once were.
"And we run the show now." Carly said in the same deep voice.