Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You had lost most, if not all, feeling in your left arm as it hung from the car window. After hours of speeding down the unfamiliar road, it was bound to happen.

The sun was bright and cheerful. Something you used to love to bask in, but now with a new nervousness, gingerly allowed to warm up your skin. You didn’t know how much longer you would get to enjoy its kiss, and didn’t want to think about the burning demise you would soon have to worry about.

If that was true, of course.

That was one of the scariest factors in this whole situation. You didn’t know what was fact, what was myth.

You couldn't believe that this was all actually real. That this wasn’t a nightmare induced by that horrible incident, that you weren’t currently in a coma.

Oh, how you wished you were.

These waving grassfields were far different then the concrete streets you had grown used to. The tall and wise-looking oak trees packed on rolling hills were unfamiliar against your memories of skyscrapers and towers. All these mundane and quaint things, so strange and yet, were to be your new life.

You had never even heard of Letterkenny before your move. Then again, you had never thought you would end up in Canada of all places, so how would you?

If it hadn’t been for the scattered farms on the outskirts of the town, Letterkenny would have appeared from thin air. Old rusty trucks and red barns eased you into this new scene of convenience stores and small shops.

You bit the inside of your cheek. Hello, Letterkenny.

It was like any other small town. Pedestrians in blue jeans and caps walked the streets, greeting each other. Children played on the sidewalk or road bikes in groups. Everything was normal.

As you slowed down and entered town, you could see the townspeople glance at your unfamiliar vehicle. You avoided eye contact, keeping your eyes shielded with dark sunglasses and a ball cap pulled down low.

Don’t mind me, just cruising through. Just trying to get to the new abode…Nothing suspicious here.

As you drove, a specific sign caught your eye. MoDeans…MoDeans Bar.

Definitely going there at one point or another.

But drinking, an admittedly favorite pastime of yours, would have to wait. After a few more minutes of driving, you arrived at your final destination. Destination, not home. It wouldn’t be home for a long time.

A small yellow house as you pulled the car into the gravel driveway, turning it off and sitting for a moment. stow away in. That was the ‘glass-half-full’ view. It was going to be the new hole to bury yourself in.

You exhaled as you pulled the car into the gravel driveway, turning it off and sitting for a moment. You flicked the keys into the passenger seat, and continued gripping the steering wheel until your knuckles were white.

Alright, unpack. Unload and make this as comfortable as you can.

Taking off your sunglasses, you peered into your rear-view mirror. Your heart skipped a beat.

Yes, your eye color was still the same. A little dull from lack of sleep. But the whites of your eyes had taken on a new version of bloodshot…Nothing that lack of sleep could cause. A bright, fire-engine red engulfed your eyes. You gulped. How long before other signs began to show?

You opened your mouth, peering at your teeth. You quickly closed it.

Fuck.

It would’ve been better to have kept your mouth shut.

At this same time, in another part of Letterkenny…

You were sitting with your pals at the produce stand the other day…

The usual four chairs in front of the produce stand were one person short for the third day in a row. Wayne usually knew what his little sister was up to, but her strange absence the past few days had left him wondering. Sure, he’d seen her in the morning, but she was strangely quiet and by noon she had completely disappeared until bedtime.

What gives?

“I’s hasn’t seen Miss. Katys in a couple days, good buddy,” Squirrely Dan exclaimed, cracking open a fresh Puppers. “Where’s she been runnings off to?”

Wayne, ever-present stern expression on his face, stared off down the length of the laneway. “Off with those two nutsacks, I assume. Hasn’t bothered to tell me none, that’s for damn sure,”

Dan and Darry shot glances towards each other.

“You know what I don’t understand?” Wayne gruffly asked.

“What’s up, Big Shoots?” Darry replied.

“What’s so hard about letting the rest of your pals know where you’re going? Like it's understandable not to when ya go and disappear just for a day, but not just once, not twice, but thrice?” He gave a disapproving head shake. “Inconsiderate, I’d fucking say,”

Squirrely Dan shrugged. “Well Big Shooter, Miss. Katys is a young woman with lots to think about. Maybe she just needs some alones times,”

“I needs some alone time sometimes,” Dary mentioned.

“Leaving for three days in a row without explanation isn’t alone time,” Wayne interjected. “Alone time is when you grab a puppers, smoke a dart and see what’s on television by yourself. Being gone for three days is rude-”

“Hell I needed somes alones times last week,” Dan said, scratching his beard. “I was theres sitting at MoDeans when Mr. and Mrs. McMurray walks in. Fuck, abouts fours gin and tonics later I was hearing things that would makes a hooker blush,”

“What things, good buddy?” Dary asked.

“Some weird shit, Dary. Dary, it was some weird shit,” Dan’s eyes were wide as he stared down at the ground. “But the points is I wents and just sats alone for a little awhile to forget what I had heard,”

“Oh I’ve heard a couple stories thats made me need some alone time,” Dary adds.

Wayne sat silent for a moment. After rapidly blinking, he flicked his dart, dumped out the rest of the Puppers in the bottle and stiffly stood up.

“At the end of the day, you could just replace alone time with chorin’. Might as well be efficient if you’re gonna be alone,”

With that, he strode off towards the barn, long strides clearing the field in no time.

As he hauled hay bales from the right side of the bard to the left, his usually logical, and easy-going mind raced. To Squirrely Dan and Dary, this absence of his little sister wasn’t too strange. She was a well-known, well-liked young lady that also happened to be very beautiful. Of course she’d be busy: she was probably out with friends, on a date, hell on a run with Bonnie McMurray.

But, per usual, they disregarded a very important aspect about Katy. A secret that even though they knew and took part in, they would often forget to count it in day-to-day life. It wasn’t out of ignorance…Maybe. Maybe it was. But it was mainly because of their love and loyalty to Katy that they wouldn’t allow that secret to hinder how they treated her.

But Wayne had to. He was the older brother. He had to keep Katy safe…Along with the rest of Letterkenny.

Sweat rolled down his temples as he dug his fingers into the greenish bales.

A few hours later, Katy discreetly tip-toed through the front door. Under the cover of night, their house was nearly pitch-black, the only light being a very soft sheen of moonlight through the windows. It barely highlighted a sliver running on the floor.

But Katy saw clearly. She began to make her way to the stairs, when a presence hit her like a mac truck. She paused at the bottom of the staircase, looking to her right through the doorway to the living room.

Wayne wasn’t even standing in the light. His tall and solid figure stood in the dark, just out of the moonlight’s reach. Fingers hooked onto his belt loops, Katy could feel his cool, hard stare watching her intently.

She let out a sigh. “Shouldn’t you be in bed, Big Shoots?”

The large, shadowy figure shifted, taking long and slow strides towards her. The floor creaked underneath him. The sliver of moonlight hit his shoulder from behind, lighting the left side of his face. Katy saw her brother’s usual strong cheek and brow bones illuminated for a millisecond- they were sucked into an intense glare.

He was finally feet in front of her.

“Kaaaty,” He drawled, a warning tone at the end, “We need to talk.”

She placed her hand on the post at the bottom of the stairs, shrugging. “Can’t this wait until morning, Big Brother?”

“No.”

She sighed again, averting her gaze elsewhere. An uncomfortable silence settled between them. After a few suffocating moments under Wayne’s intense eyes, she stared back.

“Well? Pitter-patter.”

“Where the fuck have you been going, Katy?”

She groaned, rolling her eyes.

Wayne reached over, flicking on the hall light. “Don’t give me that. You're barely here in the mornin’, you haven’t been mannin’ the produce stand, and ya sure as hell ain’t chorin’,”

“Don’t start with me, Wayne,”

“You missed steak dinner, Katy. What’s going on?”

Katy turned away, marching into their kitchen. She grabbed a glass from the cupboard, filling it up at the sink. Wayne stood at her flank, arms crossed, as grumpy as could be as she gulped it down, keeping her eyes out the kitchen window.

“Katy, I wouldn’t be such a hardass right now if it wasn’t for what we have to worry about,” He paused. “Specific-lay”

Katy let the cup clatter into the sink to fidget with her the ends of her hair. “You have nothing to worry about, Big Shoots. I’ve been takin’ my tablets, drinkin’ my juice and eatin’ my beef. Haven’t felt cravins’ and haven’t hurt anybody,”

Her voice, almost bored and irritated, showed how tired she was talking about this subject. Wayne felt a pang in his chest…It wasn’t her fault. This curse, as some would call it, had burdened her since childhood.

He reached out, clapping a hand on her shoulder. Yes, it was as stiff as concrete, but he was being as gentle as he could.

“I didn’t mean to jump to conclusions…Even if I was right,” He had a well-meaning tone. “Tell me where you’ve been off to, Katy?”

Katy pursed her lips. The sad part about Wayne is, he usually was right. She was as quick as a whip, but Wayne always had his intuition when it came to her.

“I haven’t been really going anywhere…Just, sitting in the woods for awhile,”

Wayne blinked. “What?”

“It sounds fucking weird, I know. But I’ve been going into the woods to sit for the day, away from everything.”

Wayne stood in silence, nodding his sister to continue. She scratched the back of her head.

“For the past few days, I’ve been feeling…On edge,”

“Well shit, a Puppers could fix that right up,”

Katy snorted, allowing a small smile to break through. “Something a beer can’t fix. It started out of nowhere. Couldn’t get it out of my mind…I can feel it in my stomach, in my chest. It feels like when you get caught doing something you’re not supposed to. You feel almost nauseous,”

Wayne raised an eyebrow. “Well, it's nothin’ ya ate, that's for damn sure. You haven’t been eatin’ at all,”

“Wayne!”

Wayne jumped at his sister’s sudden burst. He scolded himself. “Go on,”

“It’s been getting more intense over the past few days. Out in the woods, away from town, I’m able to ignore it a little better. Until today,” Katy’s breath shook as she exhaled. “It smacked me like a truck hitting a deer. Something is here. In Letterkenny.”

She locked eyes with Wayne, who stood confused. “What do you mean, something?”

Katy brought a hand up to her neck, letting her fingers drag across the skin. Before she could even say it, Wayne’s mind clicked as he watched her.

“There’s a new vampire in town.”

Chapter Text

The next day after your official arrival, you more or less had your belongings unpacked. Clothes were in the closet, bed made, bathroom set up as close to the way it was at home as possible.

You gulped. Home.

You didn’t sleep a wink. The smell of home pressed into the fabric of your blankets and pillow…It clashed with the new scent of the house. It was familiar, something that should be comforting. It was heart-wrenching now. But your clothes and blanketing was all you had left now.

Literally. Besides the furniture that the previous couple had left you, there wasn’t much in your home. Disregarding the lack of decor, your fridge was empty as well. A run into town for groceries was the exact task needed to get your previous life out of your mind.

You allowed hot water to run through your hair and down your back. A warm shower…Not the cure for everything, but man did it make a difference in some cases. You felt your shoulders sag, an immense wave of exhaustion settling over you. Your eyes drooped.

You took slow, deep breaths. C’mon now…Let’s make it easy on yourself.

As you continued to wash yourself, an attempt to cleanse all the stress away, even for just a minute, you spoke to yourself gently.

Once we’re done showering, we’ll go have a cup of coffee. Coffee makes everything better…Then we’ll go shopping for goodies. Maybe some snacks? Snacks sound nice.

After comforting yourself until your hectic mind was able to calm and clear, you changed into a comfy and low maintenance outfit. Gray sweats, white sneakers and a crop top with your baseball cap again.

You were following the plan you promised to yourself earlier, when you realized…You didn’t even have coffee.

Damn, you REALLY needed to go to the store.

You found a new burst of energy, snatching your keys off the hook and strolling towards your front door. The moment your hand hit the handle though, you froze. Fuck, the sun.

Your eyes were still crazily bloodshot, but your sunglasses would easily shield that. Your teeth…that would be a little more difficult to deal with until you could figure out what was happening, if they could be controlled. But if the myth was true, disintegrating in the sun would make life a whole lot harder.

“Fuck,” You cursed.
Gulping, you cracked open the door. The sun bathed the front of your house and you quickly jumped out of the way of the sunlight piercing through by a sliver. Fuck fuck fuck. Please don’t fucking kill me.

You gingerly stuck out your index finger. The moment it caught sunlight, you snapped it back, heart racing. You immediately assessed your skin…Nothing. You allowed your whole hand this time, letting it sit for a few seconds…Nothing. Just the warm greeting of a new day. You exhaled in relief before leaving your house and heading towards the car.

You allowed yourself to aimlessly drive around Letterkenny a bit, taking in the new area. It wasn’t too difficult to soon memorize where you were- it wasn’t exactly the city by any means. You eventually found a small convenience store that could easily start you off with a few bare necessities of food. Parking and making sure your sunglasses were well on, you got out of your car and entered the store.

Besides the cashier and a few other customers, it was a peaceful and empty place. You grabbed a shopping basket and began to browse.

It was strange. Such a mundane thing, grocery shopping, but in this situation? It made it feel unreal. Like you were just acting out the part, which yes you kind of were, but c’mon now.

You were able to find some basic essentials- eggs, bread, a liter of milk. You splurged and grabbed a bag of your favorite candy, and began to make your way to the cashier. Your mind was at ease for the first time in a couple weeks, and you mindlessly turned the corner down an aisle.

You immediately knocked into what felt like a brick wall. You hit the ground bottom first, letting out a yelp as you held your basket up, trying to save the eggs. A broad figure towered over you, quickly turning to face whomever had bumped into them.

“Oh, my bad Ma’am,”

A firm grip appeared at your forearm and elbow, and before you knew it, you were lifted back onto your feet. You brushed yourself off and made sure your groceries were unharmed before peering up at the stranger.

“No, it’s my fault. I should’ve been paying more attention. Are you alright, Sir?”

You took a second to take him all in. The man topped your height by inches and stood firm, broad and muscular underneath his red flannel and jeans. He had strong facial features- a straight nose, a sharp jaw, and a set of eyes that could stop a train with a glare.

You tensed slightly at his solemn expression.

“Oh, I’m not too bad,” He said. His voice contrasted his expression greatly, and you eased up. His blue eyes seem to study you for a moment, before settling on yours behind your sunglasses. You tensed up again. I hope these glasses are dark enough.

“Say, I’ve never seen you around here before. Are you new to Letterkenny, Miss?”

You gave a tiny smile, mentally trying to choose your words carefully and keep your teeth covered. “Uh, yeah! I just moved in yesterday,”

You held onto your grocery basket tightly, heart beginning to race. He was a lovely man, you were sure- but you were not expecting conversation on your first day out.

“Well I’ll be damned,” The man extended a hand…A very large hand, notably. “The name’s Wayne. I hope you enjoy it here,”

You reached forward and took it. “Thank you Wayne, I’m (Y/N),”

Wayne shot a look down at your clasped hands before meeting your eyes again. “Well as sure as God’s got sandals, I’ll probably be seeing you around soon. You enjoy your day, Miss. (Y/N),”

“You too! Bye-bye,” You replied.

With that, you went your separate ways.

A wave of relief washed over you as you made it to the cashier. I think that went pretty well, you thought.

You were leaning into one with your pals the other day…

Wayne, Dary and Squirrely Dan were kicking back in the barn and having Puppers, Wayne twirling a wrench as he paced back and forth.

“Good Buddy you’ve been pacing for the past fifteen minutes,” Dary noticed. “What’s going on?”

Wayne shrugged, continuing his pacing. “You know who I met this morning down at the convenience store?”

“Who Big Shoots?”

“A new yankee that just moved into town,”

Squirrely Dan raised an eyebrow. “How’s you know it was a yankee?”
Wayne paused his walking, tossing the wrench off to the side and squaring up towards the outside of the barn. “Only yankees would walk around inside with their shades on as if the fluorescents would melt their fucking eyes, but hell I won’t trash someone elses yard before cleaning my own,”

Dan shook his head, “Fucking yankees,”

“She was kind enough though,” Wayne said, “Name is (Y/N), moved here yesterday,”

The other two nodded, mumbling small agreements to their friend’s opinion. After a moment, Dary got a mischievous smile.

“Was she a looker?” He asked.

Wayne scrunched his eyebrows. “What?”

“Like, could you be sweet on her?”

“I feel like it would be inappropriate to judge a young lady from a bump-in at the store, especially when the interaction was maybe twenty seconds,”

“Twenty seconds is long enough to see if you’d be sweet on a woman,”

Squirrely Dan waved a hand, “Now thats don’t seem very politically correct,”

Wayne took a swig of his beer, “Yeah it seems like we are about to cross a very fine line,”

“Well they say it takes a woman 7 seconds to decide whether or not she’d be sweet on you, so twenty seconds should be plenty enough for a man to decide on a woman,”

The group paused. Wayne blinked rapidly. “Well I don’t know about that,”

Dan scratched his beard. “Yeah it definitely depends on the settings,”

“Yeah, say you’re at the bar and after five Gus N’ Brus everyone and anyone is going to look a little cuter,”

Dary tilted his head, “Sure, I get that but you were sober at the store, right? And I was just curious as to if this new yankee in town is good-looking, that’s all,”

A second pause. Wayne blinked. He racked his mind for a minute. “Well…She had her sunglasses on and a cap, so I wouldn’t say I got a fair assessment,”

Dary and Dan both raised their eyebrows.
“But from what I could see she was a good-looking gal,”

Dan and Dary lightly mumbled.

They continued their conversation until Dan and Dary eventually stumbled home, Wayne returning to the house as the sun began to set. The sky spread out above the property, a beautiful mix of orange and pink. As he made it to the porch, he replayed the instance at the store in his mind.

He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he had found you beautiful from what he could see. Yes, the eyes, which are usually an important aspect on the face, weren’t visible, but the rest of you was very…promising, from what he could see. But why dote on it? You had just recently moved here and were probably busy getting your ducks in line. Plus, judging you from a twenty second interaction was rude nonetheless…But that didn’t stop your name repeating in his mind for a bit longer.

Eh, there’s no harm in it. He thought.

He entered the house, the smell of dinner gracing his nose. Katy was in the kitchen pulling a ham out of the oven.

“Hey Big Brother,” She greeted as Wayne entered, taking a seat at the table.

“Kenneth, how’re ya now?”

“Good, yourself?”

“Not too bad,”

Katy brought the ham to the table, a large knife and fork along with it. As she set it down, Wayne pulled it closer, beginning to slice it for the both of them. Katy fetched two Puppers from the fridge, setting them down before taking a seat.

“What’s the situation?” Wayne asked. Katy popped open her bottle, taking a deep sip.

“I can feel that they’ve arrived, that's for damn sure. But I can’t sense where they are exactly…It’s weird. Like sometimes it's overwhelming, other times it feels like they aren’t here at all,”

“Strange…you can usually pinpoint them,”

“Exactly,” Katy shook her head and stared off, concern written over her face. Wayne slid a plate of dinner across to her.

“Relax, kiddo. No need to get your undies in a twist right now,”

Katy reached into her pocket, pulling out a 2x2 inch plastic casing. To anyone else, it would look like a case of birth control. But as she clicked it open, rows of little red pills sat waiting. She took two, popping them into her mouth before shutting the case and putting it back into her jeans.

“Wayne, you know why we need to be worried. As of right now, all of the Letterkenny vampires are on the same page; adding a new one could royally fuck everything up,”

“It won’t,”

“You don’t know that,”

“Yes, I do,”

Katy rolled her eyes. “Bullshit. How do you know this one isn’t going to start picking off people once they get comfortable?”

Wayne took a large bite of ham, taking his time to chew as he got into a stare-down with his little sister. After taking a drink and wiping his mouth he confidently spoke, “I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen,”

Katy smirked. “Oh yeah? Toughest guy in Letterkenny against a blood-sucking vampire?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

They sat in silence after that. Wayne stopped eating, crossing his arms while staring down at his plate. Katy mirrored him.

The same memory flowed in each of their minds. Their family home, under the complete cover of night. It was different that time…There was no moon, no stars. The crickets weren’t chirping, no frogs croaked. The barn cat had run off.

Wayne felt goosebumps pepper his arms, the hair on the back of his neck at full attention. He snapped himself out of his memories, returning to his dinner.

“I know you’re worried, Katy. So what are we going to do then? What do you want to do?”

When he looked up, he flinched. Katy was in an intense stare once again…But not with her usual, doe-like eyes. The warm chocolate brown was gone- replaced with a burning orange. Her eyes were narrowed, and her nostril visibly twitched.

Wayne instinctually grasped his steak knife a little tighter. “Katy…”
“Shut up.”

Wayne glared. “Now, what do-”

“I said shut up!”

Katy abruptly stood up, her chair toppling behind her. Wayne copied, steak knife still in hand. He hadn’t seen those seering eyes in forever, and he wasn’t excited to see them again.

“Put the knife down, Wayne. I’m not going to do anything,” Katy’s nostril twitched again, exposing her teeth. The sharp fangs reflected the dining room light, almost winking at Wayne.

Wayne adjusted his grip on the knife for a moment, analyzing his sister’s movements. His heart seemed ready to burst out of chest. The fuck ya are.

“Wayne.”

Katy slowly made her way around the table. Wayne kept the knife in his hand, and outstretched his other to keep distance between him and his sister.

As Katy got within feet of him, she reached over, sliding the platter of ham to the opposite end of the table. As Wayne watched, he saw as his sister took rapid breathes, leaning in his direction.

“Are you fucking sniffing me right now?”

“Wayne, just shut the fuck up and drop the knife please!”

It was Wayne’s turn to roll his eyes, and he dropped the knife onto the table with a clatter. He allowed Katy within arms reach, still watching her closely. She took one last inhale, drawing it out, as if studying every aspect of it. Finally, she closed her eyes, visibly concentrating. Wayne furrowed his eyebrows.

“Can I speak now?”

Katy lifted up a finger. “Not before I ask you a question,”

Wayne crossed his arms. “What?”

Katy opened her eyes. If he looked closely, Wayne could see that her pupil had morphed into a thinner, slit-like shape. “Where did you go exactly today? Who did you see?”

Wayne tilted his head. “Well…I chored this mornin’, of course…Sat at the produce stand with a dart with Dan and Dary. I went to the store for some groceries and ice, came back and chored. McMurray came by and then fucked off after a bit,”
Katy followed each of his words carefully. “You didn’t see any of the skids?”

“No,”

“Tanis?”

“No…What are you getting at?”

Katy squinted, biting her lips. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it. Wayne groaned. “Pitter patter!”

She rubbed her temples, turning away and taking slow steps around their dining room. “Oh Wayne…The moment you walked in I thought I smelled something,”

“Katy, get to the point!”

Katy whipped around, gesturing to him. “You’ve met the vampire, Wayne. I can smell it on you,”

Wayne’s eyes widened, jutting his head forward in shock. “What?”

“It’s on your clothes. Faint, but definitely there…” Katy leered at Wayne’s flannel. “It’s murky. It’s mixed with something else,”

Wayne grabbed his bottle of Puppers, killing it on the spot. His mind reeled.

What could explain the scent on the clothes? The wind? No…a scent couldn’t just attach from a breeze like that. Neither had he hadn’t met with any of the Letterkenny vampires they knew of.

“Could someone have met with a vampire, then met with me? And the scent transferred?”

“No. I’m telling you, this scent is definitely attached to you and you only,”

Wayne sat silent for but a moment, before his entire expression fell into awe. Then he knitted his brows as if a migraine had struck him, closing his eyes to imagine a pair of sunglasses and ball cap. He kneeled down, head in his hands.

“Oh fuck,”

Katy kneeled beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “What is it?”

“(Y/N).” He said gravely.

Katy shot him a puzzled look. “(Y/N)? Whose (Y/N)?”

Fuck a duck, Wayne thought. “This yankee broad I ran into at the store today. I knocked her ass-over-teakettle by accident. We introduced ourselves before I left,”

Katy rubbed the back of her neck. “So our new Letterkenny vampire is a state-sider?”

“She just moved here yesterday, apparent-lay. That’s all I know about her,”

Katy sat pondering for a moment. Wayne put his head in his hands, cursing himself for not realizing. But once again, a light bulb flickered in his head.

“I didn’t notice what she was,”

“Yeah, Captain Obvious. Great job,”

“My point is I shook her hand today,” He reached forward, grabbing Katy’s. Her skin was chilled, noticeable upon anyone touching it for more than a moment. “And it felt completely normal. If it hadn’t, I would have noticed,”

Katy’s eyes began to fade back to normal as she thought. “But I definitely smell something on you. And that interaction sounds exactly what I’ve been watching out for today…”

She trailed off, gears visibly turning. All at once, she smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. “Oh my god.”

“Well, let’s hear it,”

Standing up, the younger sibling put her hands on her head, a dry laugh leaking from her lips. “Oh, I’m such an idiot. I should’ve remembered this sooner,”

“If you take any longer to tell me-“

“She hasn’t fully transformed,” Katy’s arms smacked her sides. “That’s why the scent is all mixed weird. It’s not fully vampire yet. She still has part of her human self.”

Wayne’s jaw set. “And that’s why her handshake wasn’t fuckin’ freezin’,”

The siblings sat there in shock, ham on the table getting cold. While across town, you had locked yourself in your bathroom.

Struggling within an inch of your life.

Chapter Text

After running into Wayne and taking some time at home, you had actually felt good about the interaction. It was a reminder of what life could be once you had everything figured out. Back to mundane, as simple as a run-in at a grocery store. It gave you hope…Who knows who else would like to get to know you in Letterkenny?

Dinner that night entailed a bowl of your favorite soup. As you began to warm it over the stove, you saw yourself in the surface reflection of the broth. Memories flashed: Cold nights, your mother over the stove cooking the same can of soup for you and your siblings. You as a small child watching your mom pick out small labeled vials of spices, holding them out to show you.

“Now this is the one,” Your mother’s voice rang in your ears. “The magic stuff. Just a little bit, baby, not too much! Too much spice and your sister will cry.”

Laughter echoed, your mother’s rich, low chuckle mixed with yours. The pot of soup in front of you blurred and your nose began to burn as tears began to form. You allowed your eyelids to slowly close, the tears rolling slowly down your cheeks. You quickly wiped them, continuing to make your dinner.

You were just about to sit on the small couch to eat when it hit you. First, it was a brain fog. Dizziness overtook you, and the bowl in your hands shook as you gripped it for support. Not a clear thought could form- your mind was going blank as a dull pain overtook your temples.

You laid a hand on the counter, setting down your soup as you tried to collect yourself. The brain fog was growing more intense by every second. You let out a low groan as the world seemed to sway around you. Your mind felt as if it was on a rollercoaster, not being able to ground yourself. Your cheeks and forehead grew hot: the need to shed your clothes smacked you as a hot flash overcame your body.

You trudged out of the kitchen and eventually to the bathroom. You practically tore off your top and sweats, now clad in your underwear. You laid down on the cool linoleum, sighing as it pressed against your skin.

An intense, aching pain shot up your spine. Your back arched at an extreme angle as you let out a cry in pain. Your hands contorted, as if possessed. The pain spread over your head, like tendrils snaking around to engulf your skull, making their way to your mouth. Shaking, your mouth opened as you felt a shock to your teeth. You reached up to feel with the tips of your fingers, but a sharp knick immediately made you recoil.

Holding up your hands, you watched as a drop of blood appeared from a small cut on your index finger. Another flash of pain ripped through you, the blood smearing down the side of your bathtub as you braced yourself.

You had never felt pain like this. It made a broken bone sound like a cake walk…Your eyes began to roll over, your vision going fuzzy. Your heart raced and a prayer rolled through your mind. Your vision began to tunnel, and soon your body became heavy, arms slumping onto the floor. Darkness overtook you, one last shock of pain ringing through before everything suddenly released.

You let out a shuttered breath before your eyes closed and your body relaxed, the pain strangely fading. Your heart continued to pound and beads of sweat rolled from your forehead. Mind blank, you allowed yourself to sink further onto the floor, fatigued from the previous episode. You fluttered your eyes back open, thoughtless confusion filling you as the sight of the bathroom took on a rosy red tint. You looked up at the bathroom light, usually a pure white, only to see a bright red glow glaring down at you.

Your eyes rolled back, closing once again, the world darkening until you fell into a deep sleep.

You were helping out a pal the other day…

After Wayne and Katy’s realization, the pair quickly agreed that action needed to be taken. They planned to start brainstorming the very next morning, but right as Wayne had come down the stairs to start his day, heavy work boots hitting the floor, the wall phone rang, loudly echoing throughout the house.

After a heavy sigh, Wayne reluctantly picked it up, a million thoughts already plaguing his mind. From you, to Katy, to the well being of Letterkenny, it felt like a world had been placed onto his shoulders. How would this all go?

He didn’t even get in a greeting when McMurray’s voice blasted through the receiver, hitting his ear like a bullet.

“GOD DAMMIT WAYNE I’VE BEEN FUCKIN’ AMBUSHED,”

“McMurray, how’re ya now?”

“SOME OUTRAGEOUS TOM-FUCKERY HAS OCCURRED, GET DOWN HERE AND-”

Wayne quickly tuned out the rest of McMurray’s violent rant, sneaking in a few agreements and filler expressions before ultimately promising to swing by the McMurray property. After hanging up the phone, he stood still for a moment, giving a few rapid blinks.

This was not what he wanted to be dealing with.

Gathering up Dary and Squirrely Dan, they made their way over to the property. As the truck slowed to a stop on the curb in front of the McMurray house, Wayne watched as McMurray himself paced back and forth, screaming obscenities as his wife joined in from their front porch, cigarette in hand.

“Well, they’s look pretty worked up.” Dan stated, eyes wide. Wayne let out a grumble as he stepped out of the truck, wishing this little visit was already over.

His friends fell in line behind him as they strutted up to the ticking time bomb of a man.

“McMurray-”

“Wayne! Thank god you’re here!” McMurray threw his hands as his icy-blue eyes seemed to bulge out of his head. “There has been a massacre of outrageous proportions. It’s a travesty, it’s-”

“It’s a goddamn assassination!” Mrs. McMurray hollered, swinging violently from a porch post. Now that they were closer, Wayne now saw the stressed woman held a drink in her hand. It was 10 a.m.

Wayne didn’t have time for this conniption fit. His jaw clenched as McMurray neared him, clapping his heavy, calloused hands on Wayne’s shoulders, a vein visible on his temple.

“We have to round up a posse…We have to string them up by their britches for what they’ve done, whoever the son-of-a-bitches are!”

A bead of spit landed on Wayne’s cheek. After an awkward step backward and a quick swipe of his hand to the face- he sighed.

“What seems to be the problem?”

Mr. and Mrs. McMurray let out a mutual string of words that would make a nun faint before gesturing for The Hicks to follow them. Going around the side of the brown house, Wayne suddenly felt the hair on the back of his neck rise as a pit formed in his stomach. What was his intuition trying to tell him?

As they reached the backyard, McMurray violently sweeped a hand at the scene.

“LOOK AT THIS SHIT!”

All three mouths of The Hicks fell open as Mrs. McMurray downed the rest of her drink in one go.

The McMurray’s used to have a chicken farm. Used to. The sight before them was no happy, successful farm: the grass was littered with bloodied piles of feathers, beaks, and feet. No individual would be able to tell any of the corpses were once living, breathing chickens. The back porch to their left was the only thing not splattered with blood or bits- the chicken coops had their front entrances blasted and splintered from the outside, as if someone had taken a shotgun to them. Dried blood had been scraped on the runs of each. Piles and piles of dead birds were laid out, not one being spared.

Wayne’s mouth ran dry. Whatever had done it had gone on a rampage…And was also strong enough to burst through the wood of a quality, McMurray coop. He could picture it in his mind, thoughts reeling.

He approached a corpse, kneeling down to gaze at it- he didn’t dare touch it. The bird didn’t have a single clean speck of white, which would have been impossible considering its injury. A large gap separated the head and the body, the neck completely gone. A large chunk was missing from its chest, which allowed Wayne to lean in closer and observe all the organs were gone.

“Poor things didn’t stand a goddamn chance,” Mrs. McMurray said bitterly. “I’d say the whole shitstorm didn’t last more than fifteen minutes.”

Wayne leaned back onto his haunches, eyes scanning from coop to coop. Each had a massive hole where the door would’ve been for the hens…Large enough for multiple birds to flee at once.

“I ain’t ever seen a wolf do this much damage to one farm,” Dary said, coming to Wayne’s flank. “There is always some stragglers left in the coops,”

Wayne stood to his full height, looping his fingers on his belt loops. “This was no wolf…”

He approached one of the coops, standing behind it and imagining it completely untouched, as it would’ve been before the attack. He imagined the front being forced through, possibly one or two chickens being swiped before whatever had grabbed it retreated. No animal or person could grab more than two or three at a time, especially with all the splintered wood. The other hens possibly took the chance to flee, dispersing into the yard. Wayne had heard the squawk of the obnoxious bird before- it would’ve been heard from the house, depending on if the McMurrays had been still awake. The corpses of the birds were confined only to the backyard- they never broke the line where the green, healthy grass met the maple trees surrounding the house.

“It was those Satan-worshiping Skids- I know it. They did some sort of goddamn ritual sacrifice in my very own yard!” McMurray raged. His face had gone cherry red.

“It wasn’t a human.” Wayne said, monotone as ever.

The group turned to look at him. Dan rested his hands on the straps of his overalls, worry flashing in his eyes. “What are you sayin’, Big Shoots?”

Wayne crept along the scene as he spoke. “The birds would’ve ran the first chance they got. The moment that something broke into the coop, they would’ve scattered. In all different directions,” He pointed his fingers at the different piles of feathers, some drastically far away from each other.

“And this happened over and over as each coop was broken into. And yet not one bird remains,” He looked at the McMurrays. “Right?”

The couple seemed entranced enough in Wayne’s thought-process that their faces had cooled down and the veins in their foreheads had disappeared. They nodded silently.

“What we are dealing with is something strong enough to break two layers of cedar and plywood, and fast enough to wipe out around twenty-four birds that are running in different directions with fatal blows,”

Dan and Dary shot a knowing look at each other.

Wayne’s eyes blazed, brow casting a dark shadow over them. A fearful look overtook the McMurrays.

“Wayne..you’re not saying-”

“I’m not saying anything right now, McMurray.” Dwayne said, voice low and solemn. “And neither should you. I’m sorry for your loss of poultry- but don’t mention this to anyone. Let me be the one to let this get out, little by little,”

Wayne set off in a determined stride away from the scene, towards the exit of the yard. “I’m going to have some words with some folks, and figure it out,”

Dary and Dan fell in line behind him, the McMurrays gawking as the Hicks strode off. Once back in the truck, an unsettling silence fell over the trio, besides the engine hum. Wayne gripped the wheel, knuckles white, face drawn in a stern expression.

Dary laid a hand on his shoulder, a rare occurrence. “Good buddy… What’s going on? Does this have something to do with Katy?”

Wayne pulled away from the McMurray residence, beginning to explain the story. From you, to Katy’s and his conclusion, up into the chicken massacre.

Silence filled the truck once again as his friends processed the bombardment of information. They entered the main strip of Letterkenny. It was going to be a bright, summer day. Their neighbors and townsfolk friends strolled the sidewalks, waving hello and greetings. The scene was in stark contrast to what Wayne felt on the inside.

He imagined those pleasant folks at the risk of another vampire, untamed, outside of the agreements and rules already put into place. He had seen what the creatures were capable of- much worse than some busted chicken coops.

“We have to find her first.” He said. “We find her, and..”

He trailed off, mind going blank like a TV that was shut off. Dan gazed at him.

“And do what, Ol’ Buddy? Should we call an Ag-Hall meeting first?”

“Hard no,” Wayne quickly answered. “This won’t be announced until we get her under control. This needs to be taken cared of quietly,”

Dary pursed his lips, heading tilting. “So how do we go about that?”

Wayne pulled the truck into a lot, gravel crunching under the tires loudly. Coming to a lurching stop, he shut off the truck and stared at the neon sign to their left. “We start by searching the most popular places in Letterkenny. MoDeans first, then we’ll search the stores, the main strip, and so on…We have to try and find her, at least see where she lives. From there…We’ll just talk to her.”

Dary and Dan nodded in agreement, before the trio left the truck and entered the bar. They sat at the counter as they usually did, and made it look like an overall casual visit, even if Gail had some questions as to why they were there before official opening time. Afterwards, they poked their heads into the multiple shops up and down the main street- but no sign of a state-sider anywhere. As they failed time and time again to find you, Dwayne felt his chest increasingly tighten. Yes, there was no direct confirmation on it being you who annihilated the McMurray farm, but the behavior of one going through the transformation was extremely fickle. He didn’t know what you’d do, let alone anything about you.

As the group defeatedly walked back to the truck, Dary and Dan chatting incessantly, images from long ago flooded into Wayne’s mind. Katy, her skin drained of all color. Her eyes, the color of burning coals, zeroing in on him as splinters dug into his fingers, the ax heavy in his hand. The blood that had been practically sprayed on the walls and floor.

“Wayne!”

Coming back to reality, Wayne realized he had been standing outside of the truck, still as a statue. Dan and Dary were already seated inside, confusion painted across their faces. He quickly joined them.

Though he pushed the thoughts out of his mind, the goosebumps lining his skin underneath his plaid shirt remained. No, something like that would never happen again. He’d be sure of it.

Chapter Text

The truth is, you weren’t anywhere near the shops or stores. You hadn’t even woken up in your own house.

Eyes still closed, you came to feel small jabs and pokes on the entire back of your body. Your skin felt like solid muck…Your hair stuck to your face and neck. You could hear the sound of running water…it sounded so distant…

No. Wait. It wasn’t.

The sound became clearer and clearer, along with the singing of birds. The wind whispering through the trees greeted your ears as well. A cool breeze flitted over you, it being the very thing to encourage you to open your eyes.

What the hell?

The pale blue sky was visible through a canopy of trees, branches dancing through your blurry vision. You rapidly blinked, desperately trying to focus. Slowly moving your arms and legs, you propped yourself up on your elbows, feeling twigs and earth rustle beneath you. Looking around, you had absolutely no clue where you were.

The woods, to be frank, is what anyone would have described it as. But your mind felt weighed down, as if attached to an anchor, falling deeper and deeper into an abyss. Your senses worked, but no information was truly being processed.

The running water called to you, and shifting, you saw a clear stream flowing swiftly behind you a few paces. Your mouth suddenly dried, throat scratchy. Water. You needed water.

You quickly attempted to rise. But your knees wobbled, screaming for you to lay back down. You hit the ground with a grunt, hamstrings and quads burning. As if you had run for miles. But that wasn’t going to stop you- digging your hands into the ground, you dragged yourself across the forest floor, rocks and kindling scratching at your stomach, until the cool air above the stream kissed your face.

Restraint fled your body as you dipped your face into the water almost immediately. The shocking cold was almost electric; the stream filled your ears and your nose, overwhelming you. You popped back up, sputtering, but more awake. Gasping and making a cup with your hands, you made yourself drink slowly from it, thoughts returning to your mind.

You hadn’t drank the night before- so what was this exhaustion? This sickness?

You summoned the strength to move your legs beneath you, sitting back on your heels. Your breathing ran ragged as you dizzily scanned the area around you.

Where were you even?

Had you been kidnapped?

Your heart skipped a beat…had you been found? No. Impossible. You had erased your existence back in the states. There was no chance that you had been found so quickly…

You quickly made yourself drop the memories of the past. Remembering such a thing will be of no help right now.

You needed to get home. Somehow. Although your legs felt as brittle as paper, you rose to your feet, searching for any evidence of where you had come from. C’mon (Y/N), you thought, get yourself out of this.

Nothing. There was nothing to even hint what direction you had come from. The earth was un-churned, as if you had just appeared out of thin air.

You allowed yourself to saunter away from the stream. What a hell of a way to wake up. None of these woods looked familiar, and you began to worry if you’d ever be able to find your way back to Letterkenny.

Reaching out, letting your fingertips graze the rough bark of the passing trees, your mind tried to retrace the events of what had occurred…

You had been making dinner, right? What had hit you, made you collapse…Heart attack? You wouldn’t be surprised. The stress of it all might have hit you, but your vision turning red? No, that was nothing medical you had ever been familiar with. Your back…You had never felt such immense pain.

You reached back, feeling the bumpiness of your spinal cord through your shirt. Besides a dull soreness, which could be felt everywhere in your body, there seemed to be nothing wrong. You pulled your hand back, rubbing your fingertips together.

What the fuck?

You paused, staring down at your fingers. A slick, oily sheen had washed over them, deep red in color. Blood.

Hands beginning to tremble, you looked down, your once blue shirt meeting your eyes. Patches of blood stained the front, and you twisted to see it had soaked through to your sides and back.

What the actual FUCK

An accident…You had to have been in an accident. A car wreck? Yes, that’s it, and you tried to crawl for help. You began to frantically search your body for wounds you hadn’t noticed yet.
Thiscouldn’tbehappeningthiscouldn’tbehappeningthiscouldn’tbehappening…

“It’s not your blood,”

Nearly jumping out of your skin, you whirled around, clutching your chest. A young woman stood a few meters away, leaning against a tree, a small smirk across her face.

You hadn’t heard her even approach, didn’t even feel her presence. Still clutching your chest, you could feel your heartbeat pound against your palm.

“Who are you?” You asked, “Where am I? Do you know what happened?”

The young lady shoved herself off of the tree, looking you up and down. You watched her cautiously as she approached. She walked almost too smoothly, her movements too fluid. She almost seemed to levitate, floating above the ground. You took a hesitant step back.

She flashed a small smile, holding her hands out. “It’s alright, I won’t hurt you…Just take it easy,”

You gave her a hard look. “Not until you tell me what’s going on, and who you are…” Your voice began to shake. “And what the hell is happening.”

The girl’s face began to soften as she realized how scared you were. She paused a few feet away from you, giving you some breathing room. “My name is Katy. I’m a local here in Letterkenny…I don’t actually live too far away. Can I take you back to my place? Get you washed up?”

You shook your head frantically. “No…No, I just need to go home. And find out what happened,”

Katy sighed. “Your name is (Y/N), right?”

Your face scrunched in confusion, a chill overtaking you. “How do you know?”

“(Y/N), I want to explain everything to you ASAP, but we have to get you somewhere safe and calmed down first,”

She took a step toward you, the crunch of the ground beneath her feet hitting your ears like a warning siren. No, no you’re not going with her. Not this strange woman who just appeared, who knows more than she lets on.

You clenched your fist and began to back away. “I’m not going anywhere, lady. I have no clue who you are, who you’re with.” That’s right…She could be working for him. Sent here to bring you back. No…No you weren’t falling for it.

“(Y/N), take a deep breath and-”

“No, Katy.” You snapped, putting a harsh emphasis on her name. “I’m not going anywhere but home. With no one but myself.”

You could hear your heartbeat reverberating in your ears, your blood rushing through every vein in your body. Like a circuit, it traveled every square inch underneath your skin. An itch began to spread across your person, setting you on high alert as every movement of Katy’s began to look a lot more pronounced.

“(Y/N), I’m just trying to help you,” Katy’s eyes locked onto yours, and you let out a haggard gasp. They gleaned orange, narrowed in irritation. It was as if hellfire had been captured in her eyes, and your heart skipped a beat.

“Come with me, and we’ll straighten this all out.”

You gritted your teeth and began to walk backwards at a faster pace. “What the fuck are you?”

The hair on the back of your neck stood on end. As if an alarm rang out in your brain, the urge to flee pulled your body away from Katy. Run, run…runrunrunrun.

Katy shook her head. “What you are becoming, (Y/N).”

It was as if something cracked- like the strike of lightning, the snap of a rubber-band, the crack in an egg shell…And you were gone.

The world flew past you. Hair flying behind like a shadow, the forest a mix of browns and greens, you charged in the opposite direction of Katy. Though your legs practically screamed in soreness, you felt a power surge through them like a shock. Your feet drove into the earth and carried you away, arms pumping like a track runner. You took off on an instinct, the same one that powered you forward, the one that took over your mind, disregarding all logical and coherent thoughts.

Survival. Hunt. Run.

Where? It didn’t matter. Katy was a threat. Your one job was to get away from said threat.

“(Y/N)!”

Your name echoed throughout the trees behind you. It fell on deaf ears. Your eyes were forward, burning against the air that hit them as you dashed away. Images flashed throughout your mind. The soup you had made the night before, spilled across the floor. The way the different buildings of Letterkenny whizzed by as you barrelled down the street. A brown, wooden house in the middle of the dead of night, the smell of prey wafting into your nostrils. The feeling of satisfaction filling your stomach and warming your body before you ran off into the woods to hide.

The path suddenly revealed itself in your head- your previous steps, what you need to retrace.

After a few sharp turns and pivots, dodging trees and low-hanging branches, you were confident in the direction you were heading. Katy had fallen long behind you, her calls eventually fading away.

You were taking a break with your pals the other day…

The search had spanned the entirety of the morning into late afternoon, and eventually the Hicks had decided that taking a break would be more beneficial than wearing themselves out.

Or, at least, that’s what Dary and Dan had decided. Even as he sat, chugging a Puppers, Wayne felt his hands itch and his leg bounce beneath the bar counter. The failure to find you that day was haunting him…He could feel it’s cold, dark hands squeezing his shoulders. Failure…It whispered. You think you can protect Letterkenny? Such a measly, pathetic human.

Gail must’ve seen the darkness in his face, and she plopped another bottle in front of him, clicking her tongue and looking him over. “On the house,”

“Thanks, Gail-er”

She grabbed a rag nearby, giving the bar top a few slow swipes. “Why the long face, Wayne?”

Grunting in response, he took an abrupt swig from his bottle. He kept quiet.

“Y’know, if it’s because you’re feelin’ lonely tonight, you could always take Ol’ Gail for a spin.” Gail purred, clicking her tongue and eyeing Wayne’s broad figure. “She’s always here to make everything better…Or wetter.”

The overwhelming woman proceeded to make the most atrocious slurping noise to ever reach Wayne’s ears. His nose crinkled as he fought back a grimace, trying to summon any shred of patience he might've had left after their fruitless day of searching. Especially with Gail.

The truth was, if anyone in Letterkenny understood Wayne and Katy’s situation, it was the horny bartender of MoDeans. That’s the thing about people who’ve made colossal mistakes or have gotten themselves into tricky situations – their experience sticks with them. Gives them compassion for those who find themselves in similar spots. And in Wayne’s opinion, that was the very quality that made Gail so special. So instead of throwing harsh words, like many others would have, he just gave her a hard look.

“Hard no.” He replied. Gail shrugged, letting the rejection slide off of her, continuing to wipe the bar counter.

Dary and Dan had fallen into some rambling conversation about something inappropriate, no doubt. Wayne couldn’t find the spirit to chime in. He rolled his beer between his fingers, running his perceived failure through his head again and again. How was he supposed to somehow negotiate- he wasn’t hopeful enough to say befriend- you if he couldn’t even find you? You had already been through a chicken farm…How long would it be until you grew a hunger for larger game?

When would you finally get a taste for hunting humans, the ultimate addiction for those cursed with the so-called ‘dark-gift?’ Who would you catch first?

Wayne nearly shuttered. Any innocent bystander could be taken out…A senior citizen. A child. He remembered countless examples drilled into his head by his father.

They know no mercy, Wayne. Get it through your fucking head. If it has a pulse, they’ll destroy it.

Wayne’s jaw clenched, beer suddenly tasting a lot more sour. No. No he wasn’t failing here.

He pushed his beer away, standing abruptly from the barstool. Dan and Dary looked at him immediately.

“Enough rest,” Wayne said. “Back to searchin’.”

Before the others could move an inch, the door to MoDean’s swang open. Katy stood in the doorway, breathless.

“We got her, Big Brother. We got her, and she’s locked in the barn.”