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Apo ran, like a coward.
Whatever Scott had done to her, with those sharp teeth and sweetened words, had messed with her in a way it made her too dizzy to even walk in a straight line, but she would have to push through it if it meant getting away from that place.
Avid and Drift were still talking, trying to make sure she was alright, which was an honorable sentiment but one she felt she didn't deserve right now. Scott had turned her. And she let him. Gods, what the hell was she thinking?! If anything, everybody should be hiding from her instead of helping. If they knew what she'd become...
They felt their breath (was that even a thing anymore? Could they even breathe normally?) pick up as they climbed the worn-down stairs to the top of the outpost, heart, or whatever was left of it, beating rapidly. What had they done?! How could they ever look at Martyn and Sausage in the eyes again, how could they ever look at her again if not through the eyes of a monster? Their life was ruined, and for what? They couldn't even finish one vampire off.
She felt her knees hit the rough stone, tears falling down her pale cheeks and onto the ground. A ragged sob tore through her, and she pressed a hand against her mouth to suppress it. "Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck!"
She didn't think she'd appreciate humanity this much right up until she had none of it left. Why didn't the silver axe kill Scott? It was supposed to work, all those stories Sausage and Shelby told had been excessively clear that silver should hurt them! What had been missing? She needed to discover how to get rid of them for good before they sealed anybody else's fate, just like hers.
Thoughts ran wildly in her mind. She believed she was protecting the town by doing everything on her own, protecting the people from horrible beings like them, but now look what'd happened. Nothing would ever be the same again, and she'd lost any upper hand she possibly could've had. Everything was in shambles, and she...
...She was so hungry.
It wasn't a hunger like they'd felt before; no, this was much deeper and angrier, like her insides were about to tear themselves open if she wasn't fed right this instant. It made her throat ache and fangs tingle, and she grit her teeth against all those sensations.
A bag of potatoes stood out to her in her inventory. Apo quickly grabbed one, feeling its familiar texture in the palm of her hands, remembering its taste that had once seemed appetizing, but now... All it made her think about was how foul it looked. Something must've gone wrong in their head for them to think an apple would feel better than this, an apple with its blood red skin.
She quickly shook that thought away, heart dropping. Blood red? What the fuck? What did the color of the food matter anyway, it wasn't like she was actually going to suck someone's blood, let alone the color red from an apple. She'd rather starve than feed on someone.
A sudden stab of pain in her stomach made her double over, gasping in surprise and agony - she did have to eat, though. Anything, potato, apple, it didn't matter. Just one bite and it'd go away. Surely. Because she wasn't like them, and she'd never give in to their nature.
Her teeth sank into the potato. It took everything in her not to throw up right then and there — one, because it'd be super gross and she'd have to clean it up afterwards, and two, because it wasn't supposed to happen. Potatoes were supposed to taste okay, not completely rotten. The small nibble they'd taken went down like a pile of ash and they swallowed it dryly, curling their fists into their dress, but managed to recompose themselves for another round.
At least, that was what she tried to do. She went for a second bite, but instead gagged and coughed before even getting it close to her mouth. The taste of lead stuck to the roof of her mouth and in a panic, she threw away the rest of the potato off the roof. She was left trembling on the ground, feeling empty.
And still so, so hungry.
With a shaky breath, they got to their feet. The world spun as they walked back to the stairs, ready to leave this forsaken outpost and its weakening beacon behind, and cold sweat slid off their back. They shivered, though it was only a reflex, since it seemed all their senses were muddled. They had to... Had to get somewhere. Somewhere where no one could see them, somewhere they felt safe.
Except... No. If she was turned, that could mean the others were in danger as well; she hadn't seen Martyn, Cleo or Legundo since they left for the castle ruins. They'd been gone for hours now, and no one seemed to bat an eye at it. With fear gripping her insides, she found herself transforming into something inhuman in a desperate attempt at getting to any of them faster. Hell, she didn't even know where they could be, but vampires be damned, she'd find out if it was the last thing she'd do.
Her small, unpracticed bat wings beat rapidly in the air, doing their best to keep her afloat. If her "human" senses felt slower, the bat's felt precise, zeroing in on details only the trained eye should be able to see. Of course, she used it to her advantage, flying above every mountain, cliff and lake trying to find the missing people.
Moving as a bat was odd, with wind coming at them from every direction in the air. Their body was lighter and smaller, which definitely contributed to the feeling of weightlessness they'd been dealing with even before turning into an animal. Despite being faster during flight, they knew one thing like it was an instinct that'd always been present: if someone shot them down from up there, they'd die.
They once again shook that thought away, refocusing on their task. It didn't take long for her to spot a bloody Martyn, fallen at the shore of the sea and looking every bit as dead as she felt herself. They immediately dived, transforming again once their feet touched the ground and hoping with everything in them that he was not dead, just unconscious and very, very beaten up. She didn't know what she'd do if it turned out one of her friends died because of her.
"Martyn? Please, please, no!" They hesitated over his body, afraid that touching him would be the last straw for him to crumble under their hands forever. They touched his face, pushing away hair that was hiding fresh cuts and blood, but the sight made them scramble away in a panic — Martyn's blood was smeared on his cheek, and it smelled divine.
She coughed, blinking away the red in her vision. Her throat was on fire, but she would not — could not — let her friend die because of her. So she took the deepest breath her vampire lungs could muster and hauled Martyn over her shoulder, stumbling only a little in the process. At least the extra strength came in handy, she thought to herself in an attempt to distract her mind from the overwhelming scent of food.
It would be a long way back to the town.
---
Martyn was okay. He'd been attacked by vampires and gotten away at the very last second, which unfortunately resulted in his current condition. Cleo and Legundo were still unaccounted for, but Apo would worry about them later, when she wasn't feeling like death warmed over. A saying that, ironically, might've been on point.
After making sure Martyn wasn't about to keel over, she ended up back at her house, staring at Truffle akin to a man longing for water in a desert. The pig's eyes stared right back, as if challenging her to make a move she'd regret. She hadn't noticed how much closer she'd gotten to it until Avid's shrill voice from outside made her almost jump out of her skin, terror making her blood turn to ice.
Their back hit the wall aggressively with how fast they moved backwards, claws — claws? — ripping up the wood behind them. No, no, they weren't thinking straight, they'd never ever hurt Truffle, never in a billion years. The pig still stared at them, thoughtless eyes boring into their own. They looked to the side, desperately breaking eye contact, at the same time a shuffling caught their attention.
Two pigs huddled on a hole on the ground, unaware of the danger that lurked above. Apo's throat tightened and before she could stop herself, both of them were dead.
It did absolutely nothing.
As she wiped her bloody mouth with her sleeves, the hunger that'd been satiated less than five seconds ago came back with a vengeance. Two pigs weren't enough, they'd never be enough, and Apo knew exactly what she needed.
With a whine, she huddled in a corner, fighting off the waves of desire and pain that had at one point blended into one single thing, until she heard someone knock. Before she could yell at them to leave, they opened the door.
Martyn walked in still looking all kinds of fucked up. Bruises littered his face and arms, and he had a limp Apo was sure wasn't there last time she'd seen him. Through the haze of her hunger, she watched as his eyes scanned her house, ultimately landing on her curled up on the floor; very much not a position she'd be in willingly. To his credit, he was quite quick to get to her despite his own myriad of problems, and he put a steady hand on her shoulders.
"Apo? Apo! What's wrong?!" His voice echoed in her ears, too much and too loud. She groaned as another stab hit her stomach. "Who did this to you?!"
"Martyn," she breathed. Tears welled up in her eyes. His scent was so strong from where she was lying, her sharp teeth were certainly poking out. "I'm so sorry, Martyn. I'm so sorry."
He laughed weakly, eyes scanning her for any injuries. He wouldn't find any unless he looked at her neck. "Sorry? For what? What could you possibly be sorry about?"
But she didn't answer. All she could do was weep, grieving for a life she would never get to live, for the person she'd never see again. For the townspeople, so easy of a target. "Martyn..."
His blood smelled delicious.
"I'm so hungry."
Martyn froze. He slowly let go of her. She didn't blame him, she would've done the same. He fell on his butt, staring at her like she had grown two heads. "W-what? What are you..."
"Silver wasn't enough," they whispered, as if sharing a secret. "I don't know what will be."
"Apo, no," Martyn shot right back, growing paler. He'd make a nice vampire, no one would realize because his skin was already so sickly colored. "We'll— We'll find a way to turn you back, I'll—" he took a deep breath. "Who did this to you?"
She scoffed, hatred burning bright in her eyes. "Who else? Scott." Her vision suddenly blurred, and she found herself tilting sideways. Someone stopped her descent, however, and she looked bleary-eyed at them. "Martyn," she gasped. "You need to kill me."
"No way! You know I can't do that." His words were said with so much meaning, but his face betrayed his true emotions. He looked at Apo like they were already dead, and they saw the way his hands trembled from having to stop himself from using one of the spells in his books.
"I didn't mean to end up like this," she confessed, silently, just for the two of them to hear. "We made a deal. If I brought someone they could turn, they'd let me go." A tear trickled down her cheek. "I couldn't do that."
Martyn looked at them with so much pity it hurt. They thought they finally convinced him to end their suffering, but suddenly, he dropped everything and pulled at his collar. The action snapped Apo out of their haze and they pushed back against the wall once more with renewed vigor. "What are you doing?!"
"I'm keeping you alive," he replied through gritted teeth. He tore up the fabric surrounding his neck and carefully, with both hands, turned Apo's face to look at him. Her breathing stuttered, eyes darting wildly from Martyn's face to his exposed neck. "If we want to kill the vampires, we need the whole group together." He smiled shakily. "That means you don't get to die."
"Martyn, don't—"
"Please, Apo." He closed his eyes.
It was like a switch had been turned in her head. All the instincts she was trying to bury bubbled up to the surface and in the blink of an eye, her teeth were already on Martyn's neck.
The taste. She would never forget the explosion of flavors that assaulted her mouth the moment that sweet, sweet blood started pouring in. Her body filled with a strength she hadn't realized she'd lost and she vaguely recalled snarling like an animal as Martyn slumped against her, growing heavier with each passing second.
She felt a tug on her arm, faint. Apo growled at whatever kept trying to pull her away fom her food, but when the tugs kept progressively getting weaker, she drew back with a sharp inhale, almost choking on the thick liquid. As she leaned back, panting as though she'd run a marathon, Martyn followed. He would've fallen face first to the ground had Apo not caught him before that could happen.
"Martyn?! Shit, what did I do?!" They shook him, adrenaline making everything seem too fast. "Help! Anyone!"
They tried to stop the blood from coming out of two previously neat holes on his neck, now totally smeared and the flesh mangled from the animosity they'd shown. If Martyn survived this, they'd be sure to punt him to the moon for making them do this — but that's a big, big if. She kept screaming for help and was about to go out and carry him herself, but at the last minute remembered to wipe her face clean of the red mess, almost getting caught as Ren stormed through the door with a silver axe.
Apo had half a mind to tell him it wouldn't work, but saving her friend was the priority at the moment.
Ren helped her get Martyn to their resident doctor's house (which, having one doctor was better than having none, even if he did have a few screws loose) and she stuck to the wall the entire time, shaking from head to toe. Legundo took one look at her and frowned — she froze, feeling like a bucket of cold water just got dropped on her.
He knew. She knew he knew. He knew and he was going to expose her, to tell everyone what a horrible monster she was and they'd all kill her and—
"Someone get her a wet towel and some water!" He abruptly yelled. Apo watched the townspeople move to do what he said (no Scott, Pyro, Owen, Cleo or Shelby, she noticed), only slightly hesitant. Oh, she thought. He doesn't know.
A towel was pressed to her hands by a very concerned Avid, and she took it with a weak smile. The blood on her arms and face was cleaned, finally, so she allowed herself to spare a glance at Martyn, laid down on the bed and now covered in bandages. The others left the room after a brief conversation and exchange of information, but she stayed right next to him, watching the shallow rise and fall of his chest. Grounding.
She pulled a chair, fully sinking into it and grabbing Martyn's hand. Apo could feel the subtle thrum of blood flow underneath the skin, an extra ability she guessed came from becoming one of them, and squeezed softly.
After a few seconds, he squeezed back.
Yeah, those vampires were dead.