Chapter Text
“Doc?” Abolish poked his head around the corner, rapping politely on the open laboratory door.
“Hmm?” Legundo looked up from his brewing stand, “Oh- Abolish. Is there a problem?”
“I’m not sure,” Abolish said, stepping into the doorway, “I’ve just had a message saying that some…” He paused, choosing his wording carefully, “…one’s come to the organisation looking for their friend.”
“Okay… and why exactly are they calling for us?”
“Because their friend went missing…” he took a deep breath, “In… Oakhurst.”
In the year that they’d been working together at the organisation, Abolish had gotten to know the doctor quite well. The bonds between a vampire and their fledgeling are strong, and the bonds formed side-by-side in combat are stronger, and even besides all that, Abolish was good at decoding people.
But the doctor’s expression at the mention of Oakhurst was completely unreadable.
Slowly, with the steady, controlled hands that made both the surgeon and the marksman what he was, Legundo set down his equipment. His eyes didn’t meet Abolish’s, instead staying focused on his own movements.
Abolish had witnessed the rage that had been unleashed when Legundo had been turned, what had been lurking beneath the skin of the calm-faced doctor for decades. He had felt it in himself when he’d first felt the vampirism take hold- all that anger towards the things that had killed his parents, the frustration that he had to be civil with them, that he now was one- everything he’d suppressed for years being dredged up, and he’d had to fight to force it back down. And he’d succeeded- he was able to keep it behind a taciturn demeanour, at least around other people, because he knew it was irrational.
But the doc had not had that luxury. His turning had been violent, and cruel, and had been designed in a way that was supposed to bring out the worst in him. It had taken a lot of work for him to re-learn to keep that anger in check, which is why his seemingly calm response to the mention of the place he had died set Abolish on edge. He’d seen what was concealed beneath it.
The doctor turned slowly in his chair to face his fledgling, “And is there anything else?”
The voice was calm, measured. Even with vampiric hearing, Abolish could not detect a single falter in the doctor’s tone. The control he had was concerning to Abolish- he knew that there was something the doctor had to hold back.
“Yes.”
Legundo raised an eyebrow.
“Oh- I don’t know what. There just seemed like there was something they weren’t telling me.”
“And they want both of us?”
“They specifically mentioned needing a medical examiner.”
Legundo glanced back at the equipment on his desk and inhaled deeply, “Right. Duty calls, I guess. Just let me pack this up and I’ll be right with you.”
They made their way through the winding passageways of the mansion. They had a long way to go; Legs’s lab was in the lowest part of the basement, and the messenger had said that the visitor was having their statement taken by an intern in one of the offices on the second floor before they’d mentioned Oakhurst and Abolish was summoned.
Abolish didn’t like it, but he had to admit that it was probably the right call. Nobody in the organisation knew more about that place than him and the doctor. That town had certainly left a curse on his life. He’d never be able to escape the paperwork.
They walked past stained glass windows, watery light filtering in through the coloured panes. Abolish’s skin itched slightly when he passed through it. It wasn’t as bad as direct sunlight- enough vampires worked in this place that there wasn’t any of that around- but still, it was one of the parts of life made that tiny bit worse by his little souvenir from Oakhurst. He’d liked it when his office had been on the fourth floor, with a beautiful mullioned view of the estate grounds, but it had to be moved to the basement after he’d been turned. It was disappointing, but he figured he had to deal. It was easier to get work done down there for him now.
The ground floor was crowded and the corridors were narrow, so they would’ve had to walk slow even without the daylight. Abolish didn’t mind- it gave him time to think about the circumstances of their summons.
From what he’d gathered, the person who’d come to them had come in some sort of strange state. The poor intern who’d knocked on Abolish’s door had stumbled a lot over their words, and had had some difficulty describing who this visitor was. Abolish had asked if it was someone the organisation knew. They’d said they weren’t sure, that it was hard to tell. He’d asked if they were human or vampire, and they’d just stuttered for a bit, then shaken their head and told him to come quick.
Abolish really didn’t like going into missions blind, but he figured if the intern was that flustered then it was probably best that he saw to it himself.
He wondered why they’d specifically asked for a medical examiner. It made sense if they’d wanted Legundo as the only other survivor of Oakhurst (although he used the term “survivor” with some uncertainty). That was definitely the reason why they’d asked for him instead of any of the others on the lab team. But they’d specified that they would need his medical expertise. When he’d asked why, of course, the intern hadn’t said.
Typical. He had to do everything around here.
They had, at least, told him one key fact.
Someone had gone missing in Oakhurst.
This. This was something Abolish had a lot of questions about.
When had they gone missing? Was it before or after his mission? Cleo and Pearl had kept the place pretty well-guarded since his departure. If they’d found someone there, he would’ve been notified. It was very probable that they’d gone missing in that general area before his time, but Abolish was pretty certain that him and the other eleven humans had been the first to set foot in there since Owen’s massacre.
And there was also another possibility, the one that seemed the most likely.
They had gone missing during Abolish’s mission.
The organisation had cleared up those disappearances- or at least they were supposed to. But it was a lot of administrative work, and most of it had fallen on Abolish’s shoulders, and, well… he’d already had so much paperwork what with being turned in the field, documenting all the new vampires, faking Legundo’s death and everything else he needed to do to enlist him into the organisation, that he’d kind of just… put off doing that particular bit.
And now, knowing his luck, a year’s worth of procrastinating had just come to bite him in the ass.
They had arrived at the office.
Abolish paused before the doorknob, and glanced at Legundo. Legs nodded to him, a non-verbal confirmation of a long-standing silent agreement. You take the lead, and I’ve got your back.
Abolish opened the door, and it was immediately made clear the answers to at least half of his questions.
Sitting in one of the armchairs, wringing her hands in her lap, was a woman.
She looked to be in her early twenties, with short blonde hair and a hardened look in her eye.
Another thing to note- she was also half demon.
The left side of her face and body were covered in black scales, and a small horn grew out of her forehead. One of her eyes was yellow and snake-like. Abolish regarded her with a mildly surprised expression.
She had an air of confidence about her- although she was clearly worried. She seemed relieved to see them walk in.
“Oh thank the fates- I’ve been waiting for so long.”
“Yeah, sorry about that, we came as soon as we could. We want to make sure this is handled by the right people,” Abolish stretched out a hand as he lowered himself into an armchair, “I’m Special Agent Veylocke, and this is Dr Legundo, he’s part of our research team.“
She stood up to shake his hand, “Elle.”
Abolish noted how she settled back into her chair with a sense of self-assurance, although she seemed to hold respect to the fact that she was a guest in the place, crossing her legs and resting her hands on the sides of the armchair.
“I’m told you need us to help you find someone?” Abolish said.
“Please- I’ve been looking everywhere for the past year. Your organisation is my last hope.”
“Well, you’ve come to the right place,” Abolish told her, “Our agents are specially trained in supernatural disappearances, and the doctor and I both have experience in the town where you say your friend went missing,” Abolish explained.
“That’s the thing- I don’t know where he went. He just ran off and I assumed he’d done something stupid like seeking revenge on whatever it is that-“ she inclined her head slightly in a sort of half-nod, towards the inhuman side of her body, “Well, y’know.”
He took a few seconds to process this information, “What was your friend’s name?”
“Avid.”
Abolish met the doctor’s eyes. Legs didn’t look surprised, either. They’d both had their suspicions, and they were correct.
“What?” Elle said, noticing their shared glance, “What do you know?”
Legundo took a deep breath, “Well, the good news is: we know exactly what happened to him.”
“Oh?”
“The bad news is: he’s dead,” Abolish said.
Elle’s shoulder’s slumped, although she didn’t look that surprised, “I… I figured that was the case,” tears started to well up in her eyes, “But I guess it’s confirmed now.“
Abolish shot a glance at his sire, “Can you handle this?”
Legundo nodded. Abolish was grateful to be working with the doc. He’d had to deal with doing the “bedside manner” thing for years, and had hated it. Legs, however, was a pro.
“It happened about a year ago now,” Legs told her, his voice gentle. He took a pause, seemingly deciding what to say, “Oakhurst has a history of violence. Something in the air- magic, curses, I don’t know. Something always happens there once every 200 years, or at least, that’s how the legend goes. Abolish- Agent Veylocke, I mean- Avid, and I, along with a couple of others, happened to all have reasons to travel there at the same time, which… also happened to be on the bicentennial of the last big massacre. We managed to make it out- sort of- but Avid… wasn’t so lucky.”
Elle put a hand over her mouth to stifle a sob as she listened to the news. Tears were properly streaming down her face, now.
“Sorry, there was no comforting way to phrase that, was there?” The doctor remarked with an apologetic expression
“He’s definitely dead?” She asked.
Legs’s mouth set into a line, “I never saw a body,” he admitted, “But when you’re living in Oakhurst, there are things- whispers on the wind, sensations, gut feelings- we all felt him leave this world.”
“But that’s a just feeling, that’s not-“
“We also heard the killer confess to murder in front of a crowd of people,” Abolish added, “And we were told by the people who buried his body.“
“But, hold on-“ Legundo leaned forwards in his chair, “We thought you were dead. You were his partner, right? The one he thought was attacked by a vampire and staked through the heart?”
“Yeah?”
“If you were afflicted by the same thing he was, and you came back-“
Elle wiped her eyes and looked up and the doctor, “Y-you think he could somehow’ve survived?”
“I think it’s possible.”
“But I woke up pretty quickly after I was staked. It’s been a year- surely Avid would’ve come home by now.”
“Unless he’s trapped,” Abolish looked up at Legundo, “Do you think the beacons-“
“They’re unholy,” the doc pointed out, “I doubt it would keep him in if he was changed. Besides, Cleo and Pearl-“
“Then maybe it’s the vampirism? Maybe the demon couldn’t take hold? Or maybe it’s just slowing him down-“
“What the hell are you guys talking about?”
“We’re going to have to do some investigations,” Abolish told her, “I need you to tell me everything you know. About Avid, about your life before it all happened, about what attacked you both- all of it. We’ve never encountered this type of demon infection before. We know nothing about it, what it’s doing to you or Avid, where it comes from, how it works- I suspect that’s why they asked for the doc.”
“It’s lucky that you’re here,” the doc said, “If we assume that this infection is working the same for Avid as it is for you, we might be able to predict what he’s doing. We can’t just have a demon on the loose that we know nothing about.”
Elle’s fingernails dug under the scales on her arm, “I’m not being your little guinea pig, if that’s what you’re asking-“
“If it would help us find Avid-“ Doc stopped himself, and took a deep breath, “Look, I know it might require a lot of trust,” he said, his voice resuming its reassuring tone, “But we were Avid’s friends. We’re the best people to help you.”
Elle seemed to relax, but only a little.
God, the doctor was a good liar. It was honestly one of the main qualities that Abolish admired in him. And while Abolish couldn’t dispute the fact that they were probably the best people for the job, Avid had definitely not been their friend, especially not to the doctor.
“So what do you need to know?” Elle asked.
“We’ll get to that in a bit,” Abolish told her, “But first I think we need to bring you up to speed.”
“The curse. The massacres. We were all part of it,” Legs explained, “Twelve humans entered this abandoned town for the first time in 200 years. No one made it out of Oakhurst alive.”
“But I thought you said that you guys were there when-“
Abolish rolled up the end of his glove to reveal two puncture wounds on his wrist, the skin raised where the scar tissue had healed around it.
“Oh,” Elle shuddered and leaned back heavily in her chair, “Right.”
“Avid actually missed the worst of it. His death was only a catalyst to the bloodbath that came after,” Legundo rubbed his neck, his fingers tightening around a scar he kept hidden under his collar. Abolish knew he was thinking about his own violent death and everything his sire had done to him, “In a way, he was lucky. It was quick. He never got to properly know of the world that was built on brutality and desperation.”
Elle wrapped a loop on her belt around her fingers and gripped it tightly- Abolish assumed it was where a weapon would’ve been if the organisation allowed unauthorised ones on the premises. “Tell me,” She said, through gritted teeth, “Who killed him?”
“Two vampires. They’re both dead now.”
“Are you sure? Because evidence seems to suggest that everyone in this situation hasn’t stayed dead for very long.”
“Trust me,” Abolish said, “They’re definitely dead. At least one of them, anyway. I saw to it myself.”
“And even if he somehow did come back,” Legs muttered, “He wouldn’t be around for long.”
“How can you-“
“I promise you, you’re not the only one who’d like to get revenge,” Legs’s words were measured and calm, but in a way where Abolish could tell that he was just barely holding back a snarl, “After Avid, he got me.”
“I’m… sorry,” Elle said to him. It was genuine. Abolish saw it in her eyes, the way she rubbed her scaly arm with her humanoid hand- she knew how it felt, “And the other vampire?”
“Got his comeuppance, too,” Legs said, “Avid made quite a few friends in Oakhurst. Friends that weren’t too happy about his death.”
“Wait- that reminds me-“ Abolish turned to the doc, “Do you think Goldsmith and his gang would know anything? If Avid did make it out of Oakhurst without Pearl and Cleo noticing, where else would he go aside from back home?“
“Where are they now?”
“East Coast.”
“Then I guess we’re taking a trip.”