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“Ryan, come in. Can you hear me?”
“Yes, Patrick, for the five-hundredth time I can hear you. I have my earpiece on.”
“Alright, there should be one right in front of you. Female. She’s likely unarmed but-“
“She has fucking fangs, ‘Trick! Don’t let Ross think that this is a cakewalk!”
“…Pete, why ask me to be on intercom if you’re just going to take it from me?”
Ryan chuckled at that, ready for Pete to scold him for laughing while on the job. Ryan was one of the newest recruits that Pete Wentz picked for his vampire hunting group (Name still tentative, though Ryan had a million and one suggestions), and he had just completed his training. He spent the past few weeks in the hideout reading whatever books and records Patrick gave him, learning how to handle assorted weapons from Andy and Joe, and of course wrestling with Pete as a means to prove he had properly assessed the skills that he had been learning. Even after he could recite every fact from every book Patrick gave him, even after he knew how to use every weapon in the base, and even after he pinned Pete seventeen times in a row, he was still deemed not ready.
“Vampires are deadly, Ryan. If you slip up even once – one trip, one shot missed, one blink, you are done for.”
Ryan snorted as he heard Pete’s voice blaring in his head. He heard that one too many times. After constant badgering, Ryan had to use the only way he knew how to get what he wanted: He went to Patrick. Patrick was a pushover in every way, and as Ryan whined to him, Patrick gave in. He said he’d talk to Pete. It helped that Pete was his vampire boyfriend who would pretty much fulfill any request that Patrick had. A small conversation later and a few moments behind a closed door, Pete came out to tell Ryan that he was on patrol for the night. His reasoning was that Gabe, the newest hunter before Ryan, was out of town. However, both Ryan and Pete knew that it was because Patrick was very convincing with his lips, despite his seemingly awkward and shy demeanor. It also helped that Pete was a huge pushover when it came to Patrick. Ryan didn’t dwell on it much longer. He was finally getting out of the base and finally going to kill some vampires.
Ryan never imagined himself as a vampire hunter. That is, until one night when he and his best friend Spencer were walking and they were jumped by a group of vampires. The night played back in Ryan’s head too many times. They were an odd group of vampires, smartly dressed in suits and fedoras. There was one who seemed to be leading them. One glance at him, you would never guess that he was the leader. He was lanky, seemingly young, and he couldn’t stop smiling. It wasn’t a sinister smile, it was giddy, which perhaps made it even more unsettling. The one who seemed to be the leader circled around them both. He grinned at them, though his eyes locked on the pair. Ryan would never forget the look in his eyes. It was pure greed, pure lust, and Ryan never felt more vulnerable. The giddy vampire raised his fingers up and he snapped. The other vampires began to attack at Ryan and Spencer. It was overwhelming and intimidating. Ryan felt his body being dragged in multiple directions and fangs were coming at him from all directions. He managed to move away as best he could, but he knew they would not last much longer. Just as he thought they were done for, he saw a flash of red. Suddenly before them there was a man in a red hoodie, hissing and baring his fangs at the giddy vampire. The giddy vampire hissed back before he made a lunge at the small man in red. The man in red was much faster than the giddy vampire. He dodged all of his lunges effortlessly and shoved him into the hard brick wall of the neighboring building. The giddy vampire didn’t bother putting up more of a fight. He snapped his fingers and suddenly Ryan and Spencer were released. It was as though the giddy vampire knew he could not take the vampire in red, so he was giving up the fight. Just as Ryan looked to Spencer to celebrate their safety, the giddy vampire suddenly appeared beside Spencer and took him by the hand.
“I’ll be back for you, dear.” The giddy vampire whispered before he grabbed Spencer and suddenly they were gone, along with the other vampires that were fighting alongside him.
That was how Ryan lost his best friend. That was how Ryan met Pete Wentz, the vampire who saved his life. And that was why Ryan became a vampire hunter. He wanted to get that giddy vampire, wipe the smirk off his face, and save Spencer. Part of him was aware of the possibility that Spencer might be dead, that the giddy vampire offed him. But part of him still hoped that somewhere, somehow, his best friend was still alive. So he managed to convince Pete to take him in and train him. He knew Pete would understand, especially after Patrick told him Pete’s own story, of how he was turned by William Beckett, the leader of the Dandies. They both had a reason to fight, and both had a certain Dandy they wanted the head of. They should have been the perfect pair, if it weren’t for Pete’s nerves around letting Ryan out on his own. Ryan understood it was for his own safety, but he also knew he could not just sit back while that giddy vampire ran rampant through the streets. Not after what he did to Spencer, or what he had done to Ryan as well for that matter. Ryan was unaware how dangerous this was. He was far too emotionally invested in his cause, and it could very well come to hurt him if he wasn’t careful. And if there was one thing Ryan Ross wasn’t, it was careful.
“Target locked.” Ryan muttered into the earpiece as he saw a female vampire devouring the corpse of a man. He kept his footsteps quiet, and delicate, not wanting her to hear him. Though it was effortless, vampires had heightened hearing. Despite his being practically silent, she whipped her head around and turned to look at him. She hissed and bore her fangs, before she came at him to attack. Ryan raised the gun that had been made for him and aimed, getting her in one shot. She fell to the ground immediately. Ryan approached her corpse, shooting her once more to make sure that she was completely dead. As he had his first kill, he smirked proudly.
“Dead.” He said proudly as he turned his back to make sure there was no others in the area. He recalled his lessons from Andy: Always scan the area after you get a kill, make sure there’s not someone hiding. Once the cost seemed clear, Ryan began to walk again. “Where should I head next?” He asked Patrick, knowing he was scanning the area on his computer.
“Seems pretty quiet tonight.” Ryan sighed at that. Of course, the one night he gets to go out hunting and it’s dead silent. Perhaps that was why Pete let him out. Maybe he had a weird vampire sense he didn’t tell them about and knew that tonight was going to be incredibly slow.
“Well I’m not going back now, there-“
“Of course you’re not going back now!” Pete’s voice blared in his ear. He had obviously stolen the headset from Patrick. “It’s only midnight, do you know how many more hours there are until sunrise?”
“Yes, Pete, I did in fact pass the third grade.” Ryan said with an eyeroll. He heard muffling and quiet bickering.
“Head south, Ryan.” He heard Patrick’s voice again, assuming that Patrick managed to get Pete off of him. There was clear annoyance in his voice, though Ryan knew that it was not being directed at him. Ryan knew that Patrick absolutely hated when others, especially Pete, tried to do his job while he was doing it. Pete had the tendency to try and do everything, despite the fact that he would delegate particular jobs or duties to the others. Andy could be cleaning weapons and Pete would come along and tell him that he missed a spot and then start cleaning all of them. Joe could be showing how to properly shoot the gun that he designed and then Pete would come along and claim it was all wrong and demonstrate how to do it. And of course with Patrick, it was always taking over his intercom or research duties. Pete might be a brilliant leader and an amazingly talented fighter, but the guy could be a real pain in the ass sometimes.
“Did you get Pete to leave the room?” Ryan asked as he turned the corner.
“I told him to see how Joe’s gun modification design was coming along.” Patrick admitted, not sounding too proud.
“Aw, ‘Trick. Don’t throw that on Joe.” Ryan teased a bit. He heard Patrick let out a small cough through the earpiece, and he knew that he had made the other feel embarrassed. That was never a hard thing to do though.
“I’m picking up a large amount of corpses in the alleyway to your left.” Patrick explained. “There’s a high possibility that there is a vampire hiding in this area on a hunting spree. The stealth might be too strong for my radar to pick up. Proceed with extreme caution, Ryan.” Patrick warned. Ryan did not respond, not wanting to make too much noise. His footsteps were again light and swift, looking in every possible direction. As he drew closer to the alleyway, he again heard Patrick’s voice.
“Don’t go down the alleyway, at least not yet. This could all be a ploy to get you into the alleyway where you’ll be more accessible. Kind of obvious.” Patrick commented. It was tempting to go down the alley, especially if it meant getting another kill. The other one had given him such a rush too. But nevertheless, he opted against it. Patrick had been at this for longer than him, and he was quite the talented hunter. Plus he was dating a vampire. Not just any vampire, Pete Wentz, who was hard enough to deal with. Ryan would trust Pete for now. He walked past the alleyway, checking along the streets. It was dead and eerily quiet. It was almost like the area had been completely deserted because of the attack, which was extremely plausible. It all did contribute to heightening Ryan’s nerves. Who wouldn’t be nervous in the situation? It was after midnight, he was on a deserted block, just walked past a slew of corpses, and there was the chance that a vampire was watching him. He could hear his heart beat in each step he took, as well as the muffled sounds of Patrick typing and clicking on the computer via the earpiece.
“P-Patrick? What should I be doing now?” He asked softly into the earpiece. There was no response. “Patrick?” He asked again. He stood in the middle of the street to listen. The reception on the earpiece was all but gone. He took out his cell phone and checked to see he had no service. He was in a deadzone. His cell phone had no reception and it was clear the reception of the earpiece was also not working. Ryan suddenly regretted his pestering. He was scared, he was terrified. And he was utterly alone. He should not be out here at least on his own, Pete was right, he wasn’t ready. If he got out of this alive, he’d have to apologize a thousand times over to the guy.
Ryan did what anyone would do in the situation, the thing that Pete advised him to only do if there was no other option: Run.
“Running should only be if it’s the only thing you can do. There’s a chance you’ll die still if you run, but at least you can die while putting up more of a fight. Who knows, maybe you’ll get lucky and win?”
Ryan recalled Pete’s words as he ran. He wanted to get out of this alive, he wanted to get lucky. If there was any chance, any bit of luck that he could use, he wanted to use it now.
“Aw, you’re not going to stay and play?” A familiar voice echoed. Ryan knew that voice anywhere. The voice that haunted his nightmares and replayed back in his head one too many times: the vampire. The giddy vampire. He stood before Ryan, dressed just as dapper as usual and wearing that same smirk that Ryan remembered so vividly. Ryan stopped in his tracks and stared at the vampire. He was alone, which was good. He raised his gun and tried to shoot out of desperation, though the vampire raised his hand and suddenly Ryan could not move his body. He was being controlled by the vampire. The vampire smirked and moved his arm swiftly to the side. Ryan’s arms mimicked the movement and suddenly his gun was thrown across the street.
“I’ve finally got you.” He giggled as he took a few steps closer to the other. He was inches away from the other and reached out to run his hand across Ryan’s cheek. Ryan shuddered as he felt the touch. It was cold, as if his hand had been buried in ice for hours. It was colder than Pete’s hand too, despite the other also being a vampire. “You’re so beautiful, Ryan. Oh and darling Spencer has told me all about you.”
“Who are you!?” Ryan flinched as he tried to move away though his body was still completely frozen under the vampire’s control. “And what have you done with Spencer!?”
“Seems we’ve forgotten our manners.” The vampire commented before he flashed another smile at Ryan. “My name is Brendon, pleasure to make your acquaintance. Well, perhaps not much of a pleasure on your part.” He let out another one of those bone-chilling giggles. “And Spencer? Why don’t you ask him yourself? Spencer!” Brendon called out as he looked to the alleyway. Soon after, none other than Spencer Smith climbed out of the alley. He was dress in a similar matter to Brendon, except for the rather unsettling fact that his face was stained in blood. He hurried over to Brendon’s side, like a dutiful dog returning to his Master.
“Newborns are just so hungry.” Brendon said with a shake of his head as he looked over Spencer. “You’re a mess, darling.” He let go of Ryan’s face to take a hold of Spencer’s face. He moved his tongue along the other’s face, licking off the excessive blood. This sight alone made Ryan’s blood boil. Not only had he taken Spencer from him, he brainwashed him into a kiss-ass vampire. Ryan couldn’t bare the sight of it and he struggled to get out of Brendon’s control and get his best friend away from the other.
“Get away from him!” Ryan cried out. “What did you do to him? How could you turn him and make him like this!?” Ryan demanded of Brendon before he looked to Spencer. “Spencer, what are you doing!? It’s me, Ryan! How could you just sit there!?”
Spencer didn’t respond at all, he just stared at Ryan though it was not a welcoming gaze that he usually had for his best friend. His eyes were cold and lifeless. Brendon merely laughed at this and leaned his arm against Spencer’s shoulder. “You are so stupidly naïve.” He told Ryan. “The Spencer that you know is long gone. He’s drank too much human blood to have any sort of humanity yet. He’s a cold, dead vampire. And he doesn’t care about you anymore. In fact, he was telling me earlier about how much he wanted to see you. How he wanted to be the one to turn you. That’s why we made sure Mister Saporta was ‘out of town’ so you’d come in and take over patrol duty.” Brendon said proudly.
“Wait? You made it so Gabe was out of town? What…what did you do to him!?” Ryan said, worried that Gabe was in danger now also. Brendon giggled at Ryan’s shock.
“You really don’t know? Gabe has been double-crossing you fools for weeks now. Ever since he started sleeping with the leader, that is. William is very fond of Gabe, he’ll probably turn soon. Once we finish off getting rid of Pete’s little crew, of course.” Brendon said confidently. Ryan looked shocked, trying to find a moment to process all of that. Gabe had double-crossed them? Gabe was working with the Dandies? Gabe was sleeping with the vampire that turned his friend? And above all else, Gabe set up this encounter so that Brendon could come for him? All of the information was overwhelming. In a few moments, Ryan realized he lost his best friend, that he had been lied to by his comrade and friend, and that Brendon wanted him for some reason. The latter was probably the most intimidating at the moment, especially with the way that Brendon stared at him and with that smirk that was plastered across his face almost always. Ryan gulped as he looked from Spencer to Brendon.
“What do you want with me…?” He asked, his voice sounding weak.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Brendon asked as he circled around the other, before he stopped behind him. Ryan could feel his breath on his ear, he could feel his lips against his ears. “I want you, Ryan. I’ve wanted you since I first saw you. But I took Spencer first. I knew that would give you the incentive to come for me. And Spencer was a good little pet to have.” Brendon walked back over to the other, stroking his hair. “He was obedient, he was pretty decent in bed, and he got you here.” Brendon smirked before he grabbed Spencer’s chin and made the other face him before he kissed the other deeply. Ryan growled at that and tried to lunge again, though he was still frozen in his tracks. Brendon laughed as he parted, looking right back at Ryan.
“There’s no need to be jealous, Ryan. I told you Spencer doesn’t mean anything to me.” Brendon moved closer to the other, licking at his fangs as he moved in. “It’s you, I told you that…” Brendon hushed against his lips before he crashed them into Ryan’s. Ryan felt his eyes widen and he tried to pull away at first, but then he found himself kissing back. What terrified him more than anything was the fact that he didn’t need Brendon’s body control ability to want to kiss him. He was kissing him by his own will. He was kissing the enemy, kissing the man who kidnapped his best friend, kissing the man who led to his vendetta in the first place. And he didn’t show any signs of stopping.
“Ryan!” That got him to stop. Brendon parted from his lips, looking to the voice. Ryan did the same and he saw Pete and Patrick, standing on one end of the street. Pete was glaring daggers in his eyes, focusing them right on Brendon. Ryan looked to Brendon and watched as the other just wore his usual smirk. “Mr. Wentz, a pleasure as always.” Brendon said as he moved a few slow steps to lessen the gap between them.
“Never a pleasure with scum like you.” Pete snapped as he started to walk, giving Patrick a look that more or less read ‘Stay back, I don’t want you hurt’. “Stop messing with these kids.” Pete snapped at the other. “I met them because you were messing with them, and now I can see that you got your hands all over one of them.” Pete looked to Spencer, then glaring back at Brendon. “I’m not letting you have Ryan too, you can forget about it.”
“Then why was the boy kissing me? And don’t even say my body control, he did it completely on his own accord.” Brendon said with a smirk. Pete looked to Ryan in confusion, but Ryan didn’t look at him. He knew that the other would have to believe that was a lie, that it was not consensual. Ryan wasn’t even sure why he had done it in the first place.
“I don’t care about that!” Pete snapped at the other. “I’m destroying you here, once and for all!” Pete made a move to lunge at the other. Brendon remained calm, responding with his usual matter. He snapped his fingers, which Spencer responded to. Clearly, he had been conditioned to do so. The other made a move to attack Pete, though it was hopeless to think that a newborn could take down Pete, when Brendon didn’t even want to chance fighting him. Pete was clearly infuriated, meaning that he was not nearly as rational as he normally was. As Spencer came to fight him, Pete hissed and attacked him, ruthlessly. He beat the other into the ground, he shoved him hard and his animalistic side took over. A snap was heard and there was Spencer’s neck.
“Spencer!” Brendon cried as he witnessed Pete kill his best friend. He looked to Patrick, who also looked shocked. No one had seen Pete behave like this in some time, he was always much more controlled than other vampires, and he hated his kind. It was incredibly odd to see him behaving like a vampire, just like Brendon. Or even worse – William. Pete stepped away from the corpse, breathing heavily. Ryan could read the look of remorse from his face. He never really saw Pete mourn or saw the other regret a decision he made. He was always so confident, always the one to correct others, even on things that were clearly beyond him. If Pete couldn’t even fight it, the strongest of them all, why did Ryan think he stood a chance?
“A pity, isn’t it?” He heard Brendon’s voice in his ear. “It’s a vampire’s world. Even if you try and fight it, like your dear Pete, you don’t stand a chance. He killed a newborn. Even I wouldn’t do that. I was just giving Spencer his wish. He wanted to prove he could fight.” Ryan didn’t believe that for a second. It was obvious that he used Spencer as a ploy; he said that he didn’t matter. He brought him here tonight knowing that he was going to die, and he probably knew that Pete would come and kill him. Everything about this was planned, from Ryan being here instead of Gabe, to targeting him to an area with no reception. Even though Ryan could see all of that in his rational side, his emotional side was still getting the best of him. How could he stay with Pete when he killed his best friend? Heartless vampire or not.
“Come with me.” Brendon whispered as he extended a hand to the other. “You’ll die out there. I will keep you safe, Ryan. I would not hurt something or someone important to you, unlike some people.”
“Ryan, don’t believe him, he’s lying!” Pete snapped as he made a move to attack Brendon, though he disappeared and re-appeared at Ryan’s other side, which made it seem like the attack was being aimed at Ryan as well, which was convincing indeed. Ryan’s eyes widened and he looked to Pete with fear. He couldn’t trust Pete anymore. As his fear and emotions got the best of him, he looked to Brendon and made a faithful decision. He nodded in response, knowing Brendon would know fully what he meant by that. Brendon grinned at that and he brought Ryan to his side, causing the two to disappear.
Pete had made a lunge at the other, though only had air to catch. Ryan was gone. He had lost to the Dandies again. If only he hadn’t been so affected by Spencer’s death. He could have used that as a chance to attack Brendon. He could have showed Ryan that the decision to trust the Dandies was wrong. But Brendon knew what he was doing. He knew how emotional and impressionable Ryan was, and he knew that he could get the other to crack if he played his cards right. And he did. It was effortless. Pete had lost again. He fell to his knees and looked down at the ground. Tears ran down his face, something he thought to be long impossible for him. He couldn’t remember the last time he cried. His tears fell into a sob and he felt a hand on his shoulder. Patrick.
“I killed him, Patrick! I killed some kid that Urie turned. I could have saved him, I could have reformed him!” Pete cried. “And now I lost Ryan too. Brendon is going to turn him or just drain him of all his blood! It’s all my fault.”
“How do you think I feel?” Patrick mumbled with a sigh. “If it weren’t for me agreeing, Ryan would have never come out tonight. He would be safe, and Spencer would be alive. It’s all my fault, you were just fixing my mistakes. I’m so sorry…”
Pete looked up as he heard Patrick crying softly. He got on his feet and put his arms around the other, holding him tight. “Hey…” He mumbled softly. “It’s alright, ‘Trick. This was bigger than both of us. The Dandies…they were planning this for ages. And when a vampire sets their sight on something they want, they won’t give up until they get it. Urie wanted Ross, for whatever reason. And he manipulated him to get what he wanted.” Pete explained to the other.
Patrick looked up to Pete through his teary eyes. He sighed softly. “Why can’t all vampires be like you? Why do they all have to be so evil?” Patrick said with a sigh. “Next time, I’ll listen more. I don’t want anything like what happened to Ryan and Spencer…to happen again.”
The mention of Spencer made Pete’s bones chill. He didn’t dare look over at the corpse right beside him. He looked down and hid his face in Patrick’s shoulder for now. He didn’t have anything else to say. Tonight had been awful.
Patrick wiped away his tears and put his arm around Pete’s waist. “Let’s go home, alright?” Patrick said, knowing he had to get Pete home. Pete was quiet as they started to walk, though he stopped in his tracks. He wanted to look at his mistakes. He turned and looked at Spencer’s dead body, which he saw as a sign of his own weakness. He had been a vampire, and Pete killed plenty of them. But he had also been Ryan’s best friend. And he was still so young, he could have been saved. But Pete let emotion get the best of him, and that cost Spencer his life, and it made Pete lose Ryan’s trust. Pete clenched his fists as he stared.
“Pete…?” Patrick asked the other with concern.
“I won’t stop, Patrick.” Pete said as he looked back at the other. “We gotta keep fighting, regardless of what happened tonight. Even if we lost Ryan, even if Spencer is dead, we can’t call it quits. That’ll just let them know that they won. I won’t ever give up. Not even in death will I stop.”
Patrick couldn’t help but let out the smallest smile at that. He leaned in to give the other a quick kiss. “I’ll fight beside you. I’ll always fight beside you…” He promised the other.
The two finally left the scene, though the remaining terrors of the scene that just played out were still present. Ryan’s gun, broken and abandoned. Spencer’s body, lifeless and dead, his story abruptly concluded.