March, 2019

"So you think then that some other creature with fangs is drinking blood? What other creatures drink blood?" Marli retorted.

With a shrug, I said back, "I don't know. We'd have to investigate."

But as Marli went on to rant, I couldn't stop my eyes from shifting to Ben.

He had been silent this whole time. There, visible for me to see, but ruminating.

When Marli came out blank despite all of her verbalised theories, eventually I turned to the British boy. "Ben?" I asked.

His head snapped up, eyes slowly focussing on me. "Huh?"

"Any ideas what it is?"

Because they were in London... if anyone was going to know what other creatures might be lurking—

"I have no clue," he mumbled.

"What did he say?" Marli demanded to know before I could even respond to him.

"He says he doesn't know," I told her before looking back to him. "No clue at all? What creatures have fangs?"

He shrugged. "I keep thinking your comment before that someone is trying to start a witch hunt is the best guess, but... Marli is also right. They wouldn't do that. No matter how many feuds exist in the mutant world, we don't out each other to humans and risk the collapse of our civilisations. Exposing one will ultimately expose all."

"Then—"

But Ben wasn't finished. "Whoever has done this is not in their right mind. It can't be a human. They wouldn't be able to medically pull off the extraction of blood with no struggle from the human or traces of tranquilisers to keep the human still. Meaning there's definitely magic involved. Maybe a witch?"

"A witch?" I repeated.

"A witch?" Marli repeated me. She opened her mouth to demand more, but I held a hand up as Ben went on, now pacing across the rock.

"But it's not in the nature of witches to do this. Sure, they could easily stun a human. They could remove traces of DNA... They could make puncture wounds and extract the blood. But they simply wouldn't. If vampires are assumed as real by the humans, then witches are some of the easiest to spot. One kid with slight talents will easily be labelled a freak... they'd never be able to function in society. Witches would be the first to be targeted. I wonder if this witch has some form of... delusion spell on them. Something that explains..."

But as Ben continued to go on, my mind drifted off, flashes of memories instead screaming at me now.

A long corridor with fluorescent lights above.

Windows looking in, but not out.

One door at either end of the hallway. Lukas's kind eyes turning around to check on me.

Our feet stopping at a room, glancing in to watch the once-humans fighting the cages, their skin greying, veins popping out, eyes bloodshot...

They were far gone from rationale thought. They only had one thing on their mind, one mission: to get blood.

But one memory, now sharpening as I recalled it, flashed through my mind. The most-gone test subject climbing the cage, screaming to get out... as his mouth opened to shriek in the agony of the disease that rotted his core, two long glistening canine teeth extended past his incisors.

"Made-vampires," I breathed, bringing both Marli and Ben to a halt.

"What did you say?" Marli beseeched as Ben turned ice-still, mirroring my own horrified realisation.

"Made-vampires," I said a little more loudly. "They were... Rüdiger's invention."

"What... why... how?"

Quickly realising she needed more context, I explained, "The reason I met Ben in the library is because he was looking for something to take out Rüdiger."

"Yeah, I know... you said that."

Ignoring her comment, I went on. "And the reason they were in such a hurry to find a solution—to the point that Ben stupidly rushed me to give blood and to the point we fled to Ireland to turn me into a fairy and that I trained the moment we got back—was because they knew Rüdiger was inventing something that would most likely harm the human race."

"And how did they know this?"

"Ben and..." I closed my eyes as I forced his name, like acid on my tongue, out of my mouth, "Lukas's fathers worked with him."

"What?"

"They're not a threat. It was more of a do it or die thing." Well, for Stephen at least... Lukas always seemed sceptical of his father. "Anyway," I went on, "They expected some form of disease to wipe out humans was being made. And when I toured the facility... sure enough, they had a flu of some sorts with high transmissibility making people very ill."

"Why do I feel like there's a but there?"

"Because... well... that was only the beginning of what he was making. He had all sorts of tests running at the time. The worst of which was... made-vampires. A disease that spreads through a human, makes them crave blood, and drives them to wipe out every human nearby... It was one of the many weapons he was designing to remove humans from the world."

Marli's face had turned ashen as she looked at me, eventually forcing out, "And if that was in his testing clinics... what makes you think—"

"Well... I recall one of them—the one most far gone—having fangs."

"But if you saw them in Germany, how—"

"On the day we killed Rüdiger... Ben's dad and Lukas's parents were held up at the facility. Supposedly... a test subject had escaped."

"And you think—"

I shrugged. "It's my best guess... If the disease mimics a vampire, then it's no wonder the humans don't struggle when they drink them. The venom makes the prey go limp... makes them almost desire it."

"And how do you..."

But I could feel my face turning crimson.

"Oh, gross," she mumbled, glancing away momentarily as my eyes flickered to Ben.

For the first time in a while, the corners of his lips had turned upwards, a familiar lust and love swirling in his gaze. And I almost remember the good times... almost...

"Anyway... there's nothing we can do about it," I concluded. "It's their problem." Though as the words left my mouth, a nauseous feeling echoed in my stomach... and the tattoo on my back burned slightly, my fairy evidently arguing with me.

Marli's hands were quick to move to her hips as she retorted, already going where I had gone, "Where on earth is your instinct to protect—"

"The magical crew in London can handle it, okay?"

"How?" she demanded.

"Um, they're a team of educated mutants with all sorts of abilities? And one..." I couldn't force his name out this time... "One is really powerful..."

"I don't give a shit if Lukas can shit rainbows. The truth is no one could take out Rüdiger until you—a Terra Fairy—showed up. They don't even know what these things are if it is them. You are designed to take down vampires, Ollie. To—"

"To restore balance, you mean. I'm not a vampire killer."

"No... but you're their biggest enemy, and they are your biggest enemy."

Heaving a sigh, I said, "And what exactly do you suppose I do? Taunt the made vampires with my blood?"

"Not exactly. We don't know if that would even work."

"Exactly. So—"

"But I do expect you to do your duty."

Almost throwing my hands in the air, I spat, "What is one lone Terra Fairy going to do against potentially two made-vampires? I have no understanding of them. I'd probably get myself killed."

"That's why you bring backup."

"What? Are you coming with me?"

With a scoff, she crossed her arms over her chest, a slight amused smirk tickling her face. "As if I'd risk Anjea."

"Oh, so it's okay to risk a Terra Fairy—"

"They already know about you."

"They?"

"The magical kind who live there... they don't know about me, but they know about you."

Ever so slowly, the pieces slipped into place. "Wait, are you suggesting—"

"You need their help just as much as they need yours."

"I can't see them again, Marli."

"Why not? They were your friends! One was even—"

"No!" I declared. "I will not go back and see them. How could you even ask me?"

"I just don't understand—"

"You're as bad as Ben," I muttered before I turned on my heel and started heading back towards the car.

But she wasn't done. "Ollie," she cried after me, a few steps back. "Ollie, talk to me about why."

"You should know why."

"I really don't. Please. Talk to me."

Whipping around with rage and sorrow consuming me whole, I implored, "What do I say to them, Marli? After all these months apart, how can I just show up on their doorstep and say, 'Let's forget it's my fault your best friend of nineteen years died because of me, who you knew for fuck all time, and join hands, sing kumbaya, and take out made-vampires'. Huh? How do I say that?" As her face began to fall into defeat, I said, "Exactly."

Feeling as though I made my point, I kept walking to the car.

Marli didn't open her mouth again the rest of the way.

She didn't speak on the drive home.

And she barely uttered a word as I got out of her car and stormed into the house.

Mum was quick to ask me how the walk was, but I mumbled my need for a shower and locked myself away in the bathroom, desperate to get under the water and drown out the pains of the past that were coming back in haunting echoes.

· · ───── ∘☽༓☾∘ ───── · ·

"You're wrong," Ben whispered into the darkness after we'd spent a whole evening not talking to each other. I knew he hadn't gone to the spirit realm. He had followed me around the house all night as I had dinner with mum, watched a movie with her to get my mind off things, and then laid in bed, awaiting for sleep to overcome me.

"Wrong about what?" I sighed, not ready for another back and forth about how he always knew 'so much more' than me. The truth was he knew nothing.

He thought I wouldn't stand a chance against Rüdiger, but I won.

He thought I wouldn't last out breaking the bond with Lukas, but I was right there too.

And he hadn't even seen the made-vampires in the lab that day, too upset about whatever stupid nonsense Lukas and I had going on at the time, to know how not even that would bring us together... The truth was, Ben didn't know people. He was a shut in before he met. So I didn't understand why he thought he could always narrate to me what was right and wrong when he never got anything right himself.

While I wasn't sure exactly what he was about to spew, he met my expectations nonetheless as he said, "They will never blame you for what happened in Windeck."

Heaving a sigh, I rolled away from the sound of his voice as I muttered into the night, "Oh, yeah? Have you guys faced loss in your group before that you had to overcome?"

"No..."

"Then what makes you think—"

"We may have not lost someone to death, but we've had heaps of betrayal in our group."

He had my interest for a moment. Glancing over my shoulder—even though I couldn't see him in the lack of light—I waited for him to go on.

"Jade and Ivan used to date, you know..."

"Did they?"

"Mhmm. And then Jade began cheating on him with Loren. And she thought she could hide it until they had a bond."

"But Loren and Ivan are great—"

"Friends? I know. But we don't let pain divide us. We only let it heal us."

I pressed my lips together. "A broken heart is a little different than a death."

"Maybe... But maybe not. Losing someone is another kind of broken heart. All I know is I've watched our friends jump over massive shadows before."

I let his words mull through my mind for a moment, almost considering them. But then, "It's been so many months though... Surely they won't forgive that."

"Lukas was... gone for six months."

"He was?"

Ben sighed. "He was with you all that time. He never really spoke to us of what happened... he didn't tell me until we were in Windeck."

"Until Windeck?" I retorted, a little too loud.

We both went still with that, waiting, listening to the sounds of the house to make sure mum hadn't caught on to me talking to myself.

When nothing stirred, Ben went on. "He disappeared one day, not long after rejecting the bond invitation with Erica because he felt awkward. We didn't hear from him until six months when I called him needing help because we heard from my dad about Rüdiger's invention."

"You... you called him? Just like that? Despite his silence?"

"Of course."

I went quiet for a moment before saying, "They haven't contacted me."

"You said you didn't want to be contacted."

"Did Lukas say—"

"He said he'd come back." Ben let out another sigh. "We always know our family comes back to each other... sometimes we just need some time apart to grieve."

"So you all just... let him waltz back in? Not a word spoken?"

"No words about Erica, that's for sure. It was all forgotten in the six months. Instead, we were all eager to know about why he seemed so... alive."

My heart thudded at that comment—and for once, I was glad Ben was dead. No longer did he have that vampire hearing that always noticed my betrayal the moment it happened.

But just as quickly as I washed with shame for what happened, I also became angry at myself. Our bond broke... why do I still feel so fondly...

"What..." I then breathed, unable to stop myself from asking. "What did he say?"

"That... he met a human. That it was a one and done thing... he hid a lot from us to protect you."

Protect me... It felt like acid washing through me to know the boy who seemed to always be on my side was actually just making up to me the whole time... probably to sway me from Ben.

"I can't face him, Ben," I finally said.

"You don't have to. But that doesn't mean you have to distance yourself from everyone else."

"If I go near them, I will end up crossing paths with him eventually. You know that."

And another sigh exited him.

"I know, you're sick of the same excuses."

"Not exactly... More that... I just wish you'd stop blaming him."

"How can I not?"

"Because it's not Lukas's fault."

"Fine. It was just mine that you died."

"No, Olivia. It's not yours and it's not his."

"Oh, let me guess, you're going to tell me it was fate's fault again that you died? Come off it, Ben."

"It's not fate's fault either."

"Then whose?"

He was quiet.

"Cat got your tongue? Oh wait, nothing can get your tongue because you're dead. Dead and in ghost form because I fucked everything up by trusting the very snake who—"

"I chose to die, Olivia."

End of Part 1...

Thoughts? :) Still with me?