Silas held a firm grip onto her jacket collar, trying to slide her farther away than he had already done. He coughed out and blood spilled from his mouth and onto her face and body. His head hung low with his hair falling right at his forehead, enough that Lunette couldn’t see his eyes.

From behind Silas, the creature screeched and tried to remove its arm from his chest. Silas gripped the monster’s arm with his other hand, pausing, and then twisting it with an uncomfortable grunt. The creature shrieked in agony from the broken limb and tore itself free from Silas.

Silas let out a sharp grumble and coughed hard, Lunette could feel the liquid from his mouth spray more onto her. Silas rested his free forearm on his knee and breathed heavily as the creature recollected itself.

Lunette started to sit up, her eyes staring blankly at the gaping wound in his chest. The pain from her own wounds fading away at a slow pace. “Silas –” she repeated but was afraid to receive a response. The creature wiggled from behind him, ready to fight. Knowing this, Silas turned his head up and Lunette finally saw a haunting and familiar set of black eyes.

No longer did he have mesmerizing blue irises. Now, Silas lacked any color within his eyes. Not even the whites of his eyes remained. Everything was as if slick black ink had spread over. Lunette stared in terror and spotted his canine teeth extended into fangs while his nails were a few inches in length. Instinctively, Lunette crawled backward, his grip on her loosened.

Silas flicked his eyes to her direction, his brows lowered slightly, and his nose twitched. He took a few quick whiffs of air and his mouth opened further. His lower jaw shook slightly, and his dark eyes narrowed to the now shallow wounds on Lunette. His head rocked from side to side, evaluating every detail of her figure, like a feline predator stalking its prey. When the creature let out another snarl Silas stood up. The monster immediately lunged for him, and Silas swung into its large jaw with his fist. With a pitiful wail, the monster fell to the ground, its head bouncing into the floor. “Weak,” Silas muttered and walked over to it as it struggled to stand. In one swift motion, he spun the creature’s neck far enough to where Lunette could hear the bones break.

She stared at the lifeless corpse for a few moments, the tongue sprawled past the jaw and teeth and onto the floor. “Is it…dead?”

“No,” Silas choked out, wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve. “The body needs to be burned...” His voice was hoarse. Lunette tried to stand up, her hands gripping onto her bed for support. Silas’ head flickered to her, his eyes still dark and focused on her; Lunette gulped.

Silas took a deep breath in, or, as deep of a breath as he could. His muscles tightened as he tried to hold himself in place. Lunette hobbled there in surprise until she remembered what she learned; Silas and his family were vampires. Her breathing waivered and she looked to her bloody figure. Automatically, she started to back away from Silas and he angled his head. It was only when there was a crashing sound from downstairs did either of them pull their attention away from one another.

“Tatianna!” Finding her sore body now running, she stumbled her way down the steps and over to her crippled aunt, her limp body slumped against the wall.

            “Tatiana!” Lunette repeated aloud now, her hands barely touching the body, afraid to cause any more damage. Her aunt had deep wounds across her arms and chest, blood still flowing. The older woman’s head hung down; eyes closed. “Tatiana…” Lunette’s voice wavered into a whisper. The tiniest bit of hope came from rising and falling off her shoulders; she was still breathing. “Help, please!” Lunette called out, her voice echoing throughout the now quiet apartment. “Help!” She whimpered once again, rubbing away stray tears.

            Her head shot back towards the stairs “Silas! Silas, please help me!” There was no response, “Silas…Dammit,” Lunette snorted in the accumulation of snot that filled her nose. “I’ll be right back.” She told her unmoving aunt, running back upstairs.

Her staggered breath reached her bedroom again, her palm wiping away her tears and mucus. Silas sat on the floor, struggling to keep his own breath. All her options to help her aunt were running out. She could call the police, but what would she say about the entire situation. And knowing East Port, there would be no way to get her aunt the help she needed in time.

            “Silas, please, help me. Tatiana is dying I – I can’t do anything I –” Lunette kept stuttering her words the closer she approached. Silas tried to focus his vision on her as she bent down, instinctively moving one hand to cover his wound. His eyes were odd now, neither like a normal human or pitch black.

            Instead, the whites of his eyes had returned, but his pupils looked as if they had popped and started to leak into his blue irises. There was a firm black ring around the outer portion of his eye, changing in size, extending into his sclera as he tried to focus. “Walter and everyone will be here…soon.” He breathed out heavily.

            “No!” Lunette’s eyes stung, and she bent down onto her knees. “She needs help now. Please, I’ll do anything.” Her eyes flickered between his wound and his eyes.

            Silas remained quiet, closing his lids, and coughed more. “She could live if she had my blood.”

            “What? Your blood?” Silas nodded, and his face scrunched uncomfortably. He let out what was supposed to be another cough of air, but instead red liquid spilled from the corner of his lips.

            “You just had some, and you didn’t even realize.” He forced an uncomfortable smirk and opened his eyes as much as he could manage. Lunette retracted her head a bit, never once recalling taking his blood. Without a second thought, she licked her lips.

            “E-Ew.” She gagged. Silas had been spilling his blood all over her this entire time. But it did make sense as to why her injuries from the creature seemed only skin deep. Awareness flooded over her, the image of her aunt downstairs stabbing into her mind. “Please, help me then.”

            Silas gave a sideways grin, “I’m a little down right now.” His throat tightened around his words. He lifted his hand to remind Lunette he too was injured. The girl’s mouth twitched uncomfortably as she watched his wound ever so slowly try to close itself.

            “W-What do you need?” Lunette started to reach out to him, “Please I’ll do anything, she’s going to die.”

            “Don’t touch me!” His voice suddenly became low and aggressive.

            Lunette’s breath hitched, her body flinched, and she hesitated. “Please…”

            Silas’ face scrunched even further, his top lip lifting slightly. When he relaxed his features, it seemed as if he was drained of energy. His eyelids hung low, though Lunette could still notice his gaze was towards the dried blood on her wounds.

            “M-my blood? You need my blood?” Lunette could recall Camila’s words from earlier, describing the benefits Lunette apparently had for them. “Take it!”

            “No.” Silas moved his head away from her.

            “What do you mean no?” Lunette shifted her hair to one side, her neck muscles tight as a rock as she leaned forward to him. “Take it.”

            Silas kept his head turned, like an infant refusing a spoon of food. “I won’t feed off of you if you’re not with us… its wrong.” He admitted.

            “Wrong? What?” Lunette looked to him with impatience, “I don’t care, please, just do this and I’ll do whatever you want. She’s dying Silas, please, I can’t go through this again!”

            Silas’ eyes flickered over to her now trembling figure. He remained silent, though now his eyes were fully open. Lunette had inched herself forward enough that she was in between Silas’ sprawled legs. When he turned his head, his shallow breath tickled her bare neck. Lunette felt the hairs stand up, waiting for the pain.

            Silas’ mouth grazed her skin, softly, but quickly. He took a deep inhale in and pushed her away with one hand. “W-wha – Hey!” Lunette tried to argue, but her hand was swiftly taken into his own. His fingers forcing her index digit to come into full view. Lunette watched him, bewildered by his actions. His eyes locked onto hers as he drew her finger to his mouth. “Ow!” Lunette flinched.

            Silas pressed an overgrown canine fang into the tip of her finger, pricking it enough to draw blood. Her breath wavered as he took the head into his mouth, feeling the pressure as he drew for more blood. She felt heat rise to her face and looked away, a mix of emotions and sensations running through her. She sensed him pull away from her hand, his lips delicately skating across her skin, and his tongue ran once more over the cut.

            Lunette didn’t have a moment to look at him as a strong gust moved past her, her hair fluttering in the direction of the door. Her head snapped to the doorway, though she did not stand. She cupped her pricked finger with her other hands, staring at it and thumbing over the small droplet of blood that had begun to form again.

            There was a frantic coughing sound from downstairs. “Tatiana?” Lunette was at her feet once more. The girl sprinted down the steps, nearly falling over. She watched as her aunt’s legs kicked, her mouth locked onto Silas’ forearm. “I-is she okay?”

            Silas nodded and turned his head to her, finally parting his arm with her aunt’s mouth. “She’ll be fine now; it was close though.”

            Once at her aunt’s side, Lunette held Tatiana’s head close to her chest. Lunette stayed hushed, holding Tatiana, and feeling the warmth come back to her skin. “…Thank you.”

            “Well, isn’t this cute.” A feminine voice rang out from behind Lunette. Lunette turned her head, her messy brown curls moving past the wounds on her skin and sticking to the drying blood. Vera stood at the door; her arms folded across her chest.

            Walter soon emerged beside the red head. “It’s done I’m guessing.” Silas nodded, his hand rubbing the closed wound on his chest. “Vera, clean up the body.”

Vera curled her lip up and squinted towards upstairs. Though there was apparent disgust and hesitance, the woman began making her way to Lunette’s room. Vera was still wearing her fancy attire, a long gold dress that met the floor that revealed a large portion of the pale woman’s back.

“Oh gross!” Vera yelled from Lunette’s room, “I always have to clean up the mess!”.

“Hello again.” A low voice greeted. Lunette turned, confused and meeting Walter’s gaze. “Seems like you’ve indeed had a rough night.” He gestured to her wounds and the apartment overall. “Not to worry, we will have everything as good as new.” Walter stepped towards her, motioning his hands to pick up Tatiana. Lunette hesitantly let her aunt’s body, limp and loose, be lifted into the air. Her head hung slackly over his forearm as he cradled her being.

“Where are you taking her?”

            “The hospital.” Walter spun himself to look at her, now at the front door. Holding Tatiana was as simple as carrying a teddy bear. “You humans usually go there after you get hurt in a break in, right?”

            “Break in?”

            “It’s an excuse Lunette. We can’t afford anyone in this town knowing a Wendigo was in their midst.”

            Wendigo? An odd word that somehow seemed familiar. She wanted to keep an eye on Tatiana, but Walter was gone. A large thump came bounding in the room as the body of the monster fell limply to the ground at the end of the staircase. Lunette jumped and let out a squeak.

            “Vera!” Silas scolded as the woman descended the stairs.

            “What? I didn’t come prepared for this. Not like I’m going to get any help around here. Or any blood.” The woman glared to both Silas and Lunette. She kicked the motionless creature one more time, allowing it to descend the last flight of stairs and into the shop.

            Lunette stood, shifting uncomfortably, and stared around the mess of her apartment. Glass scattered about the chipped floors, blood stained the walls and furniture, a red pool especially sunk in where Tatiana had been resting. She crossed her arms over her torso, her legs folding over one another as well.

            “They’ll clean it.”

            Lunette turned to Silas, “Yeah, okay.” Her voice became muted.

            “Let’s go.” He matched her volume, taking his steps towards the door. Lunette looked to her hand. No longer was there a blister, but instead an odd symbol.