On his phone in the parking lot of a cemetery, Aubrey watched videos on The Black Wraith.
"Top 10 scariest paranormal found-footage! Number 1, The Black Wraith."
Gosh, these videos are so stupid, but I can't help but watch them. Especially since I've gotten really popular, and I'm practically the poster child for them.
Aubrey cracked his back, continuing to watch the video until he heard snarling from the cemetery.
Oh, it's here.
Aubrey got up, walking away from his motorcycle with his backpack on, entering the cemetery as fiery paw-prints emerged from the air, a pack of five black dogs appearing before him.
In an instant, the temperature dropped drastically, as nature fell to his whims, snowfall harshly beating upon the granite gravestones.
The dogs were immense in their stature, only a foot shorter than Aubrey, with a long flowing mane down its back, their eyes a glowing red in the dark.
Aubrey took out the fire extinguisher from his backpack and sprayed the pack of dogs, blinding them.
That oughta cut off my scent as well.
The smell of chemicals filling the air, Aubrey activated his Stealth skill and rushed behind the beasts silently.
I've thought about this since I was a kid.
Aubrey took out a device from his pocket and pulled the pin, tossing it into the middle of the pack, the dogs howling and shaking their heads violently.
But isn't having super senses actually—
Aubrey tucked his head, closing his eyes as his hands covered his ears. The device—a flashbang grenade—went off, creating an absurdly loud noise which eviscerated the hound's ears, creating intense pain and a sharp ringing which would not leave their souls.
"—A really big weakness?" Aubrey finished his thought, taking out his hatchet and butchering the tail from a hound, taking it and chewing on it, gulping it down his throat and gaining a Trait.
For one such hellhound, it was grabbed by the collar it wore around its neck, Aubrey raising his hatchet and plunging the blade deep into its skull, killing it instantly. Its body vanished into nothing, and Aubrey butchered the animals, consuming as much of them as he could in his jaws and throat.
Unable to see, hear, or smell, the hellhounds were helpless to resist. Even if they tried to flail around, Aubrey kept them pinned with his Muscle-Boost ability. Those that ran were quickly tracked down by their smell, being blinded into running into objects which slowed them enough for Aubrey to catch up and finish the job.
And as such, it was a successful mission. Aubrey tried to test out a new fire-related ability, and found it so.
From his feet –though, technically his shoe – he could shoot out flames. They weren't strong in the slightest, acting more as a blowtorch than a flamethrower. But still, it would undoubtedly prove useful in some scenarios.
Aubrey got on his motorcycle and rode through the night.
…
The next day, after school, Aubrey and his friends hung out at the mall. Sam and Aubrey grouped up together, with Davis and Aubrey's other friend being together in response.
The young men walked around the mall, with Aubrey and Sam reminiscing about their highschool days in which they'd visit this mall somewhat often.
"Dude, that's the store where that one dude with a mental disability jumped out at us," Aubrey said, pointing at a store.
"Oh right!" Sam laughed. That night had been a fun one, filled with a lot of shenanigans. "And that's the store where that dude who looked like he had a filter over him IRL had a really hot girlfriend!"
Sam pointed, and the two shared a laugh. On the latter part, it had inspired Aubrey to believe that looks weren't everything when it came to a relationship—only 80% of it.
Aubrey pointed at a bathroom. "And that's the one where the kids said 'Bloody Mary' and got scared."
Sam raised his brow. "Wait, what? I don't remember that."
"Ah, y'know, put the pieces together," Aubrey told him, and Sam let out an "ohhh."
The group of boys continued walking, eventually deciding to enter the food court. They walked and walked until—
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Davis shouted. He had bumped into a woman, who fell down to her rear and looked up at him.
Aubrey looked down on her, his eyes narrowing.
Hm. She's attractive. But again, Sienna is just way better. To me, this woman is hardly even a "meh."
Aubrey looked away, continuing to walk. Sam stopped, however, and stared at the woman. Davis extended his hand, and the beautiful woman with dark red lipstick grabbed it. He lifted her up, and she bent down, kissing his hand.
Then,
"Egh, huh?"
Davis, reeling his hand back quickly, saw blood on his hand. His face already red from embarrassment, he looked down, seeing his wound.
The woman's pale blue eyes seductively made contact with his own as she walked past him without even a single word.
Aubrey turned back to see David bleeding slightly. His eyes narrowed, and Aubrey peeked back, seeing the woman in black walking away. Her skin was awfully pale, much like his own.
He lumbered over to the woman, grabbing her by the back of the neck and yanking her to him. He looked her eye to eye, staring intently without a word.
Her mouth was agape, showing sharp canines.
"...Vampire."
"Right on the money, half-breed."
"Aubrey, chill out!" Davis yelled. Aubrey turned back to see him waving his hand with a pink face and stupid smile.
Of course. She's hot; it's only natural he liked it when she bit him.
If Sienna bit Aubrey, he'd be quite happy, so he deeply emphasized with his friend.
Though, even still,
"What happens when a vampire bites a human?" Aubrey whispered to her, and she laughed at him.
"You'll see."
Aubrey looked around, clicking his tongue. It was a public area, so he couldn't lash out into a fit of violence. If he did so, then his ordinary life would come to an end. Dragging her to the bathroom wasn't an option, obviously, due to what it would seem like. As well, if she screamed, that would make everything worse.
"So get your filthy hands off me, worm," she spat, to which Aubrey shoved her away with one hand. He sniffed the air, getting familiar with her scent.
"..."
Having no other words for her, Aubrey put his hands in his pockets and cleared his throat. He practiced his smile and walked back over to his friend.
"Aw, man, you're lucky! I wish Sienna would bite me like that," Aubrey said, telling the truth but pretending it was a joke. His friends laughed, and the two kept walking.
The group sat down to eat, everyone getting their food as they ate.
"So, you guys still haven't seen Nico?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, it's weird. Should we even be out here doing this?" Davis brought up.
After all, a group of young men at the mall after their friend went missing—though not officially filed as a missing person's case—was odd.
"And what're we gonna do about it?" Aubrey said, taking a bite of a cookie. "He's not responding, and it'd be dumb to just go searching for him."
"Doesn't he live at home?"
"I think so. Since they haven't talked to us about it, he's probably staying with them for some reason."
And that was that.
But, when Davis took a sip of water, his face scrunched up. He spat it out onto a plate he'd made, getting the stares of everyone.
"Plegh, whatthefuck? Why does my water taste like a fucking hemorrhoid?"
The friend laughed, though Sam and Aubrey looked at each other, instinctively understanding what had happened.
"As a matter of fact," Sam said, getting up from the table, "why don't we go home, yeah? Our friend's gone missing, let's put out a missing person's case, and call it a day, alright?"
Aubrey nodded his head. "Yeah, that's for the best. C'mon Davis, let's go home."
They helped their friend up and quickly got out of the mall with him. Aubrey had tagged along in the car ride on the way there, and was grateful he did so, as it would let him keep on the likely transformed Davis.
Davis went pale, and his nails grew sharp. Aubrey looked at him, sitting in the passenger seat.
I would ask him why his nails are like that, but…
Aubrey looked at his own nails, which had turned black.
Yeah, I'd be a bit of a hypocrite.
Davis began breathing heavily, his skin turning pale white.
"Uh, oh shit, I'm not feeling so good. I'm thirsty."
Davis took a sip of the water bottle in his car, his body rejecting it immediately.
"Kgh, fuck, why—"
"Listen, easy, easy, easy—"
Davis pulled over to the side of the road in the middle of the night, getting out and vomiting. Aubrey's friend got out, laughing at Davis as he looked down at him.
"No way, dude, you good? Damn, did that bad bitch have aids or something? Huhuhuh!"
An obnoxious, stupid laugh emerged, as Sam and Aubrey tried to get over in time.
"Hah, hah," Davis whimpered, hugging his shoulders. "Thirsty, I'm so thirsty, thirsty for—ghhh…!"
Davis turned his head, seeing his friend's neck.
"Blood, blood, blood—I need blood!"
In an instant, the vampire leapt up, biting into his friend's neck, tearing off a chunk and drinking the blood from his body. Sam was too late, having avoided use of his powers to not reveal them. Aubrey stood over the scene, his eyes descending as he clicked his tongue.
"Tch."
Guess I was too late. But to pull that guy away would only make things worse.
"Shit!" Sam shouted, and Aubrey went over to him, patting him on the shoulder.
"Let it happen," Aubrey whispered into his ear, "if that guy survives, then he'll tell on us."
"But we can't just—what are you saying? I mean, I understand, but…"
"Just let it happen. There's no cameras out here, we're fine."
The blood leaking from the neck, quickly absorbed into the mouth of a weeping college student, helpless to control himself, Sam was disturbed by the scene.
"A-asghh, hghh, w-whuaa?? H-help, help, someone—!"
Aubrey walked over and kicked Davis in the back of the head, knocking his skull into the gravel ground.
"Shut up. Quit calling for help, it'll draw attention."
"W-wha…"
Davis, having swallowed and consumed his friend's blood, looked up with eyes red with tears. His eyes swam upwards with fright, looking up to see the face of his friend obscured by darkness, not allowing even the slightest trace of light be visible.
"A-ahh, AHH!" He shouted, pushing off the ground and ending up on his rear. His finger moved upwards, pointing at the figure of a monster before him.
"M-monster, monster! You're a monster! A-ah, a human being cannot—ghk, cannot look like that! Monster, monster! You have to be a monster!"
"Well, you're not wrong."
Aubrey crouched down, snatching Davis' wrist and pulling him closer. Davis could not look into Aubrey's eyes, as they were shrouded in pitch-black, not giving even the slightest detail.
"Listen man, I'd say you're a vampire now. What an unfortunate start, but that's fine. I'll help you get through it. Are you satisfied? No longer thirsty?"
"U-uh, um, y-yeah…" Davis hushed, his voice trembling before the inhuman monster before him.
"Good. Face it; you just killed this guy. You can't bring him back, but it'll be alright. We'll get rid of him, and you won't face consequences for your actions. You'll be alright."
Aubrey—or at least the figure of what Davis assumed was once Aubrey—got up, looking at the corpse by the side of the road.
"Sam, I think you should transport the body. With your speed and body, you can maneuver it. Bring it back to your apartment so I can hide his body in the Mirror World, that way it won't be caught."
"Aubrey—one of your friends just died!" Sam shouted, as Aubrey looked at him with an obscured black face.
"Hm? So?"
"So, you… Aubrey, how long have you known this guy?"
"Mm… I'd say about… I can't remember. We met at the start of this Freshman year, so…"
"You've known him for several months—he's been your friend for months, and you act like you don't care!"
"Uh, I do care. If I get caught, then I'm awfully darn screwed over. That's why I won't let us get caught. Actually, that makes me think."
Aubrey looked back at Davis.
"Drink more of his blood. Drink as much of it as you can so the blood-trail is less. He's going to disappear. Actually, I should also ask this, but Davis, will you snitch?"
"W-wh… no, I… I won't…"
Saying his words from a trembling heart, Davis told the truth. He did not even want to look at the figure of Aubrey, because even that was terrifying.
The figure of a man who had always seemed so normal, who had initially gone out of his way to help the young men when they needed it, the same person who would always be willing to lend an ear if his friends were struggling, was now that of a monster.
The figure of a monster who wore human skin.
—The definition of a wolf in sheep's clothing.
He got to drinking, as he was commanded to, also not wanting to get caught. Aubrey leaned against the car with his arms crossed, looking down on the scene without a visible face.
As Davis continued to drink the blood of a corpse through his tears, he heard a soft, gentle voice. Though it was soft, though it was gentle, the value and terror behind the words made themselves readily apparent in his mind.
"...Yeah, if it was three disappearances, then I'd probably get arrested. Gotta keep it to two, unless necessary."