The chase was something that Geoffrey was well familiar with, following, pausing to listen and correcting his course, he wasn't used to seeing the blood splattered on the walls, seeing the pulsing view of the Skal in the distance, through the fence like a glowing beacon. He couldn't help the way his breath came a bit quicker, the way he picked up the pace, vaulting over the fencing and entering the fray sword first. The Skal shrieked at him, swinging with claws first but only catching the fabric of his coat as he pierced its shoulder. The smell. It struck the air, the same rotted, fetid smell that came with most Skals, magnified and cloying at his nose. But beneath that, after he'd struck with the sword, something sweeter, warmer. It called out to him like a siren song and McCullum suddenly had to swallow as his mouth flooded.
Why did it smell so good? It was a Skal, a beast, a leech. That thought didn't stop him when he lopped off its arm with a clean strike from darting forward to sink his teeth into its throat. And oh God… the taste… It was like nothing he ever could have imagined. It wasn't the blazing heat that he'd felt coming off of Ross earlier but it warmed his fingers and toes and blazed hot in his belly all the same. He couldn't think past the sluggish pulses in his mouth, he wasn't sure that he wanted to. The flood slowed to a trickle all too soon and the body dropped to the ground, no longer moving. Geoffrey followed, his feet collapsing out from underneath him, staring at his hands, at the blood coating them, able to make out the tremble in his fingers, even in the darkness. He could still feel the joy trickling up and down his nerves, was barely able to comprehend what he'd done beyond the euphoric shivers going up and down his spine. He felt like he could do anything, take on the world. No wonder they always lost themselves… This feeling… he wanted to chase it and chase it and again and again…
McCullum didn't know how much time passed by, just him sitting there with the quickly cooling corpse of a Skal, shaking and shivering and trying to take in what he'd done. He finally managed a shaky breath, unsure of when he'd taken the last one. It was an unsettling thought. Well, he supposed he couldn't pass this off as losing his mind anymore. That may have been the nicer answer. He looked at the body, blinking to clear his vision from the strange blood honed sight that it had been, noting how much of the tainted blood had spilled from the lopped off arm. He couldn't help but consider how much of a loss that was, a waste. The hunter grit his teeth and shook his head. It didn't matter, it wasn't like he'd killed it to eat it. Even as he thought it he knew it was a lie. He had wanted after its blood, he just didn't want to acknowledge it. Still not entirely with it he got to his feet, and wiped his sword clean on its filthy clothes and pulled the remains out of the shade where, when the sun rose, they would burn away down to the bones and dust. It had been long enough that the blood was beginning to dry on his clothes and on his hands and worst of all on his face, turning everything into a sticky, tacky mess.
Geoffrey took a deep breath, sheathing his sword at his side, he couldn't be seen like this. He was no stranger to being covered in blood but still being able to taste it on the back of his tongue and feeling reminders of the joy that came with it was not something that he was sure that he could cope with. He needed to get rid of this. He still needed answers. It had him frozen, staring into the edge of the garden he'd found himself in, uncertain of what to do. He shook himself, what was he doing? At the very least he couldn't stand here gobsmacked until the crows came. He needed to do something. Anything. Moving was better than standing still and if his guards found him, they would solve the whole thing for him and take him out of the picture.
In the meantime, he could take stock of his surroundings, see where he was. That would at least give him some guidance in what his options were. A glance around him told him that he was decently far from the command center, close to the cemetery. Geoffrey paused, he knew that the underkeeper had a small shack to stay warm in while on his rounds. The newborn made his way toward it, pausing and trying this time to allow his vision to slip into the strange reds and greys that it had been before. It was much harder to do on purpose than it was when he'd been craving the stuff so deeply. Eventually however he managed to think hard enough about the hunger still snarling in his belly, subdued but not gone and the colors around him slid away to the monochrome. Using this he was able to tell that the undertaker was out, he had no idea how long the man would be gone but he wasn't in the for the moment and he wasn't able to see him shining in the distance so Geoffrey had some time. There wasn't much in the shack but there was a small pump in the back. McCullum sent a quick thanks to a god that wasn't likely watching him any longer when the pipe wasn't frozen and water gushed out over his hands. It was icy cold but the blood was washing away and he no longer wanted to flinch when looking at his hands. Washing his face was harder, and colder and he cursed as a fair amount of water splashed onto his clothes where it was more likely than not to freeze. Not as though it mattered anymore, he was a dead man walking.
The only thing he was moving forward for was the idea that he might be able to find out how this happened, and why, and then he'd be able to die in peace. He wiped his face with a cleaner portion of his coat and took a deep breath, glad that it only shuddered on the deepest part of it. He was about to turn back to the pump when there was a howl from the graveyard. McCullum frowned, really? Right from one fight to another, but it wasn't as though he could leave them there. They might go after anyone who'd be crazy enough to go to the cemetery in the dead of night in the middle of a pandemic. Geoffrey slipped over the gate like it was nothing, like he was twenty years old again and he couldn't help the small smile at the thought before thinking about it again. It wasn't something to be proud of, it was a curse dammit. A horrible, awful thing that ripped men's souls from them and cursed them to a half existence of undeath.
There was no other way. Not with him, not with the damned doctor. He pulled out his sword and went to work on the monsters roaming between the graves, determined this time not to let the hunger get the better of him. He slashed with his sword and then kicked the creature off the blade, grinning at the feeling of bone grating on the metal. Just try to recover from that, he lifted his blade, about to strike again when he saw the shadows move from the corner of his eye and prepared himself for something else to enter the fray. What he didn't expect was for Reid to leap in at his side, clawing down a Skal before he could think to do anything else. The third snarled and immediately leapt for the doctor and McCullum decided not to look the gift horse in the mouth and instead took on the last one, fending off a couple of blows before lopping its head off with a solid swing of his sword. He didn't like how his vision flickered once and he could hear the way the blood spattered to the cobbles below far too clearly, but there were larger concerns, specifically, the vampire now standing behind him.
Geoffrey turned, about to give Reid a piece of his mind, to demand answers from him and maybe shake them out of him just for good measure. But the sight that greeted him was more than he had bargained for. The doctor had the Skal in his grip and was draining it, the sound of him swallowing and the deep growl that he could hear when he'd moved toward the leech had him spinning on his heel before he could consider it. The fangs that had receded some when he'd fed on the Skal previously were suddenly large and heavy in his mouth and he had to blink several times to bring color back into the world. Taking a deep breath was a mistake as the smell of the blood just made the problem worse and he shook his head, trying desperately to get a grip on himself before… well did it really matter if Reid knew? He probably already did, it had to be why the bastard had let him go. All the same he didn't want to appear desperate in front of the toff doctor. He could do this, calmly and collected. At least until it was appropriate to throw a punch. He definitely didn't feel prepared when he heard Reid's voice from behind him.
"Good evening, vampire hunter." Something about the way it was said, the amusement in the undertones, that just pissed him right off and he turned around, glaring at the man who'd turned his life upside down, again.
"Are you here to mock me Reid?" he snapped. He was waiting for the doctor to say something about what had happened, about what he could surely see.
"Not at all McCullum." Reid said calmly, in that infuriatingly soothing manner that he always seemed to have, "I'm here because I need you."
That gave Geoffrey pause. What could the doctor need from him? He'd already killed him, what more was there?
"Really? I'm intrigued… speak up then."
"I need the blood of a King. The blood of Arthur. I'm certain you possess it and I must have it." The vampire looked at him, the earnestness plain in his eyes, even if it clashed with the spot of blood that he hadn't gotten out of his beard. McCullum brow raised as he considered this.
"The Guard's most sacred and precious relic? Why would you… ah." He realized where Reid had been and what he was leading to "You found Marshal's memoirs. I should have destroyed that book." If only so he could keep other nosy leeches from looking through it and knowing of things they shouldn't.
"I need the antidote to save this city, McCullum." Reid insisted, eyes searching his face, yet for some reason he didn't say anything of what had happened. Had he not noticed somehow? Was he so focused on what he needed that it made him blind? What did he need the antidote for?
"It's within me to take your words as truth. I want to, but I must know more. What precisely are your plans?"
"I have found the carrier McCullum. The infection's source." he gestured as he spoke and Geoffrey found himself briefly distracted by the blood on the doctor's hands. "It may be science or some supernatural power that is responsible for all this." Reid continued. "But I will harness either or both to end this epidemic."
Reid's words and his own thoughts had him reeling at the implication.
"A vampire doctor. My God, you're a terrifying creature Jonathan Emmet Reid." He shook his head, somehow, Reid seemed to still be lucid enough to think he was going at the right thing. McCullum was still boggled at the power that this creature wielded, by all accounts, they should've been able to take him down with ease, he shouldn't be this powerful. And yet… here they stood, the doctor frowning at him, clearly not finding amusement in his statement.
"Do you not understand we wanted the same thing from the outset; a means to end this vampire epidemic!" Reid's face was so earnest, McCullum felt some of his resolve to confront the other man crumble. He wasn't wrong, there was something else going on here, and before, he'd been so, so certain that Reid and Swansea were behind it, that by ridding them of the picture they'd have a solution to their problem. He sighed
"Not enemies. Maybe that is so. Take it then; I see no other hope for this city." he rifled through his coat, thankful that the flask was still in there, that none of his men had cleared it out and locked it back with the relics where it normally lay. "If this is some trick," he warned, staring the vampire down, "you will be damned, Dr. Reid."
At this comment, the doctor actually looked amused, but he took the relic gently, tucking it into one of the many pockets of his own coat and looked back at Geoffrey, seeming to take him in for the first time since joining him in the fight. He opened his mouth, closed it and then said simply.
"Adieu, vampire hunter." Reid turned, about to walk away, but McCullum wasn't going to let him go without the last word.
"Until we meet again, blood drinker." He could've sworn that he saw Reid's shoulders stiffen at, though that could also just be the vampire deciding where to go as he disappeared with a wisp of smoke. McCullum stood there for several more moments, certain that the other man had gone, that he was truly alone. Alone and left to wonder… what now? Reid would be back, of that he had no doubt, but what should he do in the meantime?
Despite the fact that he now believed the doctor when he said he was working to save London, he regretted not bringing up what was happening. Had Reid not noticed or was he simply playing a more elaborate, cruel joke on him by leaving him in the dark about the whole thing? If he hadn't noticed he was either a fool or there was something else at play and Geoffrey wasn't sure which answer was more comforting. He huffed out a breath and picked up his sword from where he'd stuck the tip into the ground, trying to ignore the blood still pooling in the cobbles and the dirt around him. It was cold and slowly clumping and freezing and all the same it called to him like some perverted siren song and Geoffrey had to grit his teeth and walk swiftly from where he'd been standing before the urge to touch and taste finally faded. Would that ever get better? Would he live long enough to tell?
-Face your Fears-
Geoffrey found himself wandering the streets in the late night as it bled into early morning. There was no one in this part of town, no people, no patrols, no mad Skals shrieking away into the night. It was almost eerie, the silence that swept through the streets like a physical weight. If it weren't for the biting cold sweeping up and down the streets he would've thought that it was some sort of trap waiting to be sprung. The only trap the empty alleys contained however was the reminder that he was alone in his struggle. That no one was going to help him through this mess. He huffed out a breath, seeing it fog a little on the air, he wasn't getting anywhere by wandering the streets, his thoughts running in circles. Yet… he didn't want to return to base. Didn't want to face his men. Was… he afraid to die? Was that it? Was he afraid to face down his men and tell them just what had become of their commander?
Geoffrey stopped and looked up at the sky, covered by thick clouds and faint snowflakes, it provided no more answers than the empty streets but somehow… he knew. He knew that he wasn't ready to give up. He wasn't ready to roll over and die, to submit to the mercy he was certain that his men would give him. As much as it pained him to admit it he knew it was the truth and he knew that they weren't going to understand. No one would. Perhaps Dr. Reid but McCullum knew that he wasn't going to get any answers out of the man until he returned from whatever mad goose chase that had him hunting down cures from times long past. In the meantime… In the meantime what was he going to do? If he was going to continue leading his men, he needed to commit to it, he'd have to pull the wool even farther over their eyes. He still wasn't sure how they hadn't noticed already…
The hunter ran a hand through his hair, his mind was made up. He'd go back. He'd work amongst his men long enough to pick someone out, someone who would work with Lloyd to keep the Guard going strong but someone who wasn't going to just let the old man lead in their stead. If they figured him out before that, well he'd cross that bridge when he got there, but he wanted to say that he'd just submit to the mercy killing.
Walking back toward headquarters he started running through a list of candidates in his head, there were several who came to mind immediately and about half of that list he had to pitch right out. Matthews was too young and too full of hopeful ideals, he wouldn't be able to keep up with the brutality of the reality of the guard and Livingston was more apt to run everyone ragged into the ground than keeping the movement alive and well. You couldn't hunt leeches if everyone was dead, not that reminding the lad of that was doing much good. Miles and Hodge were definitely good choices but he'd have to work with them, see how their leadership skills panned out and Graham was a solid backup if he needed to work through his captains that quickly. He could certainly pick from his current captains, but most of them were his age or even remaining captains from Carl's time as commander and he wanted to set them up to succeed, to carry them into the future.
He was still mulling over the options when he rounded the block to where headquarters stood and nearly ran into a patrol who were laughing and shoving at one another. One of them started upon seeing him and they all quickly pulled themselves under a tighter discipline. McCullum would've found it funny if he hadn't been so deeply lost in his thoughts.
"Commander!" One of them, the shortest one, whose name had slipped Geoffrey's mind said, startled. The kid smiled then. "We were worried about you! It's good to see you up on your feet sir. We were just headed out to have a drink, Eddie just took on his first Skal and we thought it cause for celebration, would you be caring to join us?" the others in the group were staring at the apparent leader, clearly surprised that the lad had the gumption to ask their leader to joining them for a drink but McCullum just gave them a weary smile.
"I've got plenty work still ahead of me tonight lads, go enjoy yourselves, but take care, it's not dawn yet." he said, patting the kid on the shoulder and moving past them, feeling the hairs on his neck stand on end when he caught wind of fresh blood on one of them. Nothing serious but fresh and enough that he could pick it out above the other scents that flooded his senses. None of them seemed to take notice of his reaction and instead all wished him well and promised that they wouldn't have too much fun. With that they were on their merry way toward the pub, turning from soldiers back to the young men they should be. McCullum heaved a sigh, this was going to be harder than he anticipated, and continued his way toward what constituted as home these days. He'd barely made it in the door when he heard his name being called. He had to pause before responding, his mind wasn't ready to filter through all the various scents and sounds and how blindingly bright it was in here. It must've taken longer than he thought as Ross' face filled his view and he took half a step back, startled.
"Don't scare me like that." he growled, starting back toward the main area that served partly as a meeting space and partly as a mess hall for the men. There simply wasn't enough space here for them to have separate rooms for those functions and it was better with the area they'd been able to commandeer from the theater but they all knew that was a temporary solution. He shucked off his coat and tossed it over the back of the chair. He didn't like that he could still smell the blood amongst the wet wool but there wasn't anything to be done for it right now. Right now he had to deal with the fact that Ross looked like he was going to have a cow.
"Me scare you? Sir, we thought that you were delirious with fever out wandering the streets! Lloyd redirected several patrols to try to find you, we were prepared for the worst." Ross is as close to shouting as he ever gets, he's not an angry man by nature but Geoffrey has clearly pushed him past his usual limits.
"I'm fine." the hunter says, pouring lukewarm tea out of the communal pot before he can consider it. Habit was going to be a bitch when it came to this wasn't it? "I just couldn't stay in that room any longer without losing my goddamned mind." he said with a shrug, fighting the urge to take a sip of the tea, at least the biting, bitter smell from the cup was a deterrent.
"Yeah, tell that to Lloyd, he's about ready to skin you alive." Ross paused, glaring at him. "You do look better, I'll give you that but your color's still pretty bad, I'll see if I can't get whoever's on kitchen duty to whip up something hot for you." He turned before Geoffrey could talk him down and the hunter sighed, looking at the mug in his hands, at the dark liquid rippling inside of it. He couldn't help but wish it was something else. He gets to his feet before someone else can come find him and goes up to his room, he needs to change out of these damp clothes if nothing else and he's certain that Lloyd is going to have words for him. Better to have the fight in private than in front of all the other captains and rookies. Didn't really put up a good image if their commander was getting reprimanded by one of his captains, older or not. Geoffrey risked a glance in the mirror after he'd changed shirts and hung up his coat and blade. He looked… different, he still wasn't sure how it was getting past everyone else, but he certainly looked better than he had when he'd left that evening. His eyes were brighter than was normal and the veins around his temples were far too visible but the fangs weren't noticeable and the pallor could just as easily be illness.
He'd just managed to dump the tea out the window when there was a knock at the door, he opened it, already prepared for the stormy look on Lloyd's face as he came barging in.
"Do you have a death wish boy?" Lloyd snapped, glaring daggers at him. It was slightly detracted from with the tray he was carrying but Geoffrey still couldn't help but remember every time he'd been in trouble as a boy. If only the captain knew, he mused, coming back here was a veritable death wish…
"I needed to get out of this room." McCullum started
"And I can respect that." Lloyd conceded, setting the tray down on the table perhaps a bit harder than was strictly required, the dishes rattling on top of it. "But perhaps you could go downstairs, oversee some of the training if you were feeling real up to it, instead you go running out into the night to God knows where!" The older man was thankfully keeping his voice to a reasonable volume, they both knew that a shouting match would be heard throughout the whole building. "You didn't have to sit doing paperwork all night, goodness knows I'd be losing my mind too after such a thing, but you have got to take better care of yourself, I know you think that I can just pick up after you but McCullum, I'm not as young as I used to be." Lloyd sat down in the chair at the desk, looking his age for once, and despite the reasons that he'd had Geoffrey felt a ball of guilt curl up in his stomach and he sat down on the bed across from his captain.
"I know. I had a thought, while I was running around being a fool as you would say."
"And I'd be right." Lloyd interrupted. Geoffrey gave him a ghost of a laugh and continued.
"But I need to have someone at my side, someone who I can trust to take on things if the worst were to happen." Geoffrey paused to give the captain a chance to interrupt, when he didn't the commander sighed, "I'm not saying that I expect to get cut down anytime soon but it's not as though we have an easy job. The unexpected happens all the time to us." When he looked up the captain was staring at him and for a moment McCullum thought he'd finally been figured out.
"What?" he asked, anticipating Lloyd drawing his gun. Instead the older man just scoffed
"Did the fever drive you sane?" he asked. "I've been saying that for years and you've just waved me off as not having enough time."
Geoffrey rolled his eyes. "You're not as funny as you think you are, Lloyd, no if anything the fight with the doctor gave me a good hard truth."
"Silver lining I suppose."
"I suppose." Geoffrey paused for a moment before deciding to barge right on ahead. "I saw him."
"Who? The leech doctor?" Lloyd was staring hard at him. "You sure?"
"Yes. Hard to mistake him when he comes right up to you." McCullum said
"And you just let him go?"
"What was I supposed to do? Take him on alone and not up to full strength? I'm not an idiot."
"The past few days speak otherwise sir." Lloyd grumbled. Geoffrey pretended that he didn't hear that.
"He wanted to borrow a relic." he said.
"What on earth for? What use does a leech have for a relic?" the captain trailed off and McCullum could see the gears turning in the other man's head. "The memoirs, he must've seen them in the theater."
"Aye." McCullum nodded. "Starting to think it was a bit hasty of us to move so much in there." he said, Lloyd shrugged
"It was that or be inefficient here, pick your poison. What did he say he needed the old concoction for?"
"To take care of this epidemic, once and for all." Geoffrey said, he still was wondering what it was that Reid was thinking he was going up against.
"And you believed him?" Lloyd paused "You… you gave it to him didn't you?" the older man was staring at him in complete disbelief.
"I did." Geoffrey said. "Hard to explain why I believed him, and before you accuse me, no the bastard didn't mesmer me, I'm too good at resisting to go under it without at least knowing after it's done."
"You sure about that?"
"Certain. Test however you want." he spread his arms. He hoped that Lloyd wouldn't actually go through with any of the usual tests, that would be a foolish way to out himself. Lloyd continued to eye him but didn't pull out a cross.
"How then? Why?"
"He said that he knew where to go, that he found the source of the infection and if we're not going to believe that a doctor can find where this whole mess is coming from, who else are we going to believe?" Geoffrey ran a hand through his hair, he was still hoping that he hadn't made a huge mistake.
"And if you're wrong? You've just handed one of our relics to a vampire. Do you know what he could do with that?"
"No, but I'm not certain we knew what we could do with it either." Geoffrey countered. "I couldn't take him down with its power, and it will take us a considerable amount of time and planning to even have a chance at getting rid of him. I believe he's doing what he thinks is right, and if he can't get rid of what's plaguing the city, what chance do the rest of us have?"
"And if he isn't doing what's best for the city?" Lloyd asked
"Then we're all damned."
