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Avid plopped down onto his bed in his and Drift's house, using his hands to support his head. What had he done?! He opened his mouth into a grimace as if that would help somehow. He started breathing like he was about to cry but no tears came out of his eyes. That was another thing. His bed was in the basement, usually surrounded by darkness. He used to have to take a lantern with him whenever he wanted to head down there, but now, it was not necessary anymore. He could see in the darkness just fine. He wanted to lie and pretend thst his head was hurting from the darkness, but that was not the case. Physically, he was doing just fine. More than just fine, he was feeling amazing. He could no longer feel the wound on his neck, even if it might take a little more time to heal completely. HIs caught was gone as well. Yeah, physically, he was doing better than ever. Mentally however?
Being an impulsive person had come back to bite Avid in the ass a few times already, but it was never anything too serious. Broken bones, childish punishments and awkward explanations could never amount to what he was experiencing right there and then. When he first came into Oakhurst, it was because he was on a quest to find a cure for his little situation. He thought that if he kept the wound firmly wrapped and didn’t speak of it, it might disappear eventually, but so far, that had not happened to be the case, and it was starting to take a toll on him. The throbbing pain and the coughing was one thing, he could hide that by pretending to have a cold, but the- the hunger? How could he possibly justify that? ‘Hey!!! So I actually kill animals sometimes for umm- food! Out of the blue, don't mind me!’ Yeah, that was not going to cut it.
He had to get a cure, no matter what it took. There was no point in sitting around and waiting for the days to pass, Avid didn’t want to just give up like that! And that is why he went places, snooping around, trying to overhear conversations and potentially get himself right back on the track. He had been wandering for close to two months before he eventually made his way to Oakhurst, his journey without luck. He didn’t expect to find anyone in the ruined town, the fables and campfire horror story all said that it had been wiped out a little over two hundred years ago. Sure, they were just that, stories, but they tend to have a bit of truth to them, though Avid came to learn quickly that those people, just like himself, weren’t from around.
Despite his objective being very different from his everyday job, he was definitely not going to just ignore the very obvious signs of vampire activity that roamed the area. Or at least he assumed there were, because he was positive that he had clocked Scott right away. And he was right! Scott did turn out to be a vampire after all. His clothes, his manners, and his vibe, it all made sense. Avid hated vampires from all his heart. They were the ones who killed his best friend after all! Or so he thought. Turns out that he didn’t know even the little he thought was certain. The vampires of Oakhurst, they were nothing like El had been in her last moments. They- they acted human. They thought like humans, joked like humans and looked like humans. And maybe, Avid has let himself get fooled by it. For a while, he started actually believing that vampires were good! That they were not the monsters he was taught to believe they were! And finding out that vampirism could get rid of any and all illnesses and sicknesses? Especially now with the cure on the table, becoming a creature of the night sounded so very tempting…
For the better part of his life, Avid had been sick. Or maybe not sick, not in the general sense anyways, but he was far from healthy. The wound that had been inflicted upon him by an unknown source… It had affected the course of his life drastically. It was El that came up with the idea of becoming monster hunters, partially to kill whatever creature hurt Avid, she had always been braver of the two, and Avid, not wanting to get left behind, tagged along. He wasn’t so sure about being on the front lines like his best friend, so he settled to just help make the weapons. He got good at it. He knew a lot of things about a lot of monsters, which made his weapons all that more deadly. Still, none of the creatures he knew about matched the description of the one that had wounded him all those years ago.
It didn’t affect him too much at first, the only cause for concern was the wound not ever closing, not even after it had been stitched by multiple doctors. As the time went on though, he started feeling more and more tired. He knew it must have been his injury, the stinging pain was enough of a confirmation. It always got bad, and then it got better, almost like it had stopped existing vćompletely. Sadly, that never seemed to be the case as the pain made its way back eventually. He never told anyone. Not his parents, not El, not any of the doctors that tried to fix it. He kept it to himself, and he was glad that he did. His occasional trust for hunger, it wasn’t something anyone would take lightly. He would most likely be ostracised from his hometown, labeled a monster, the very thing he swore to destroy.
Maybe, he was becoming a monster. Maybe Owen had been right. He had tried to write the vampires off, put a stake through their chests, but he never once stopped to think that maybe, he was more like them than he initially thought, despite not getting a choice. With that realisation in mind, Avid stopped seeing the vampires in the bad light. He didn’t see them in the good one either per se, but it was progress nonetheless. Perhaps that was the reason why his thoughts jumped to getting turned into a vampire himself so quickly after he had learned that it had its perks.
Really, it was a simple solution, and it's not like it was irreversible. Not thinking too much about it Avid decided. He will become a vampire. No one would have to know, he wasn’t entitled to tell anybody. He could just live his life like he had up until that point, and no one would suspect anything! If he only drank blood when absolutely necessary and in secret, there wasn’t a way his appearance would change just like Scott’s or the other’s have! At that moment, it was the ideal solution. He’d cure himself of his sickness, then he’d cure himself of vampirism, and he’d be normal again. He’d be human.
Avid hated himself for his impulsiveness sometimes, and this was definitely one of those times. How could he have been so stupid? Were his beliefs really so weak that he didn’t hesitate to just throw them away the moment a cure was on the table? Were all those years working with El meaningless to him that he decided to switch sides on a whim? He couldn’t call himself a human. Partially because he wasn’t, but mostly because he didn’t deserve it. No, he truly felt like a monster. Not because of his fangs, not because of his claws, not because he couldn’t see his reflection, not because he had to sustain himself with blood, but because he couldn’t even stay true to himself, nor to anyone else.
Usually when something similar happened, Avid would just isolate himself from everything and everyone, and he’d talk himself through whatever was going on. Oftentimes, he locked himself in the bathroom and stared at his reflection in the mirror until it all felt less scary, but he couldn’t even do that now. The worst thing about it all; he only had himself to blame. Shelby had been kind enough to help him, brave enough to disobey the commands of her superiors so he could have a chance to live, and how did he repay her? By messing up. Half the people and vampires alike knew about him, they weren’t exactly happy about it and on top of all that, Avid regretted his choice deeply.
It might have been a good idea in theory, but definitely not in practice. There were so many variables he failed to think through. Looking back at it, he had no clue what he had been thinking. A vampire? Really? Dead would have been better.
Avid raised his head to look around the room. It was exactly the same as it had been on the day he built it. The ceiling was the same, the floor was the same, the sćhests and decorations, all of it, yet it didn’t feel like he belonged there anymore. Maybe he didn’t, it occurred to him. No. He truly did not belong where he sat right there and then. He had a different place in mind when it came to belonging, and it was not a pleasant one. Built by his own hands, for whomever necessary. He didn’t expect it to be him, despite lying about it to the vampires before. He didn’t expect himself to become what he had become. But still, he was different! He was different from the others! He had a reason! He had to become a vampire or he would have died! But so did Owen. His mind supplied unhelpfully. It wasn’t even a good excuse, just mere moments ago, he was saying the exact opposite.
In short, Avid was lost. He had no clue where to stand or what to do. He was stuck in the middle, an invisible force holding him there, not allowing any movement. He hated it. He hated himself.
Vampires didn’t sleep, did they? He really hoped that that myth was fake, as he really needed a break from everything, a break from his mind especially.
Hesitantly, Avid stood up and pulled the blanket away from where it had been neatly laid on top of the bed. He stayed immobile by its side for a long moment, staring at the bed as if it was an ancient object in a museum. Just a day ago, he would lie down immediately, the tiredness of the day practically begging him to, but he was not so sure now. What if he found out that he really couldn't sleep? Still, just standing there with his head down wasn't going to help, and so eventually, he did lie down and closed his eyes. He breathed out, the exhale slightly shaky. Just what had he gotten himself into?
Avid wasn't sure how much time had passed, but he knew that he was not asleep. There was a sound of footsteps somewhere from above, probably Drift coming back home from wherever she might have been. His suspicion was confirmed shortly just as he saw the trapdoor open. Where was she for so long?
Deciding that pretending to be asleep was the best idea, Avid quickly closed his eyes, listening carefully to determine what was going on in the room around him. He didn't suspect Drift to do anything secretive, he trusted her, but the mild shuffling and trying to determine what was going on was a nice distraction. Up until then, Avid had only kept turning in his bed, unable to fall asleep. He didn't feel the usual tiredness of the day in his eyes like he used to, and he didn't like it one bit.
A strange thing he couldn't help but notice, Drift didn't seem to be holding any source of light, yet she moved around the room like she saw exactly where everything was, almost like he would, were he to open his eyes. Was she- no surely not. She couldn't also be a vampire, that was impossible. Scott wouldn't just turn her, or let anyone else turn her, right after he had given them a speech about how he wasn't turning anyone against their will. Drift didn't have a reason to become a vampire, did she?
His eyes might not have been tired, but his mind certainly was. If it wasn't evident from everything else, it certainly was evident from those silly ideas of his. He searched in his memory until he remembered what he had been taught in the vampire hunter course: how to fall asleep on command. Hopefully, if nothing else worked, this would.
The next morning, Avid felt strange. Just as Scott had promised, he didn't feel any pain. Not in his back, not in his neck, not even his head was hurting! He couldn't say that he was well rested, but to say that he was tired wasn't exactly right either. Something in between perhaps? That was also not it. No. He was feeling like he had never before, indifferent to having just woken up. He had woken up though, which implied that he had been asleep, so at least there was that. When he looked over to the other side of the room, he could see Drift still asleep in her own bed. Doing his best to not wake her up, Avid carefully made his way up the ladder and outside the house. It was the only place he could enter freely, he realised. There were a few people awake already, working on the farm or on decorating their houses. He'd almost think that there was nothing going on, looking at the scenery in front of him.
He felt slightly better than he had yesterday, but he was still like a stranger in his own skin. He couldn't help but notice that his hands were colder, as well as paler. That is something he didn't notice yesterday in the chaos of everything. He was thankful that all the thoughts from yesterday didn't come back full force once he woke up, he really didn't want to go through all of them again.
Not having anything better to do at the moment, Avid decided to take a walk around the town. He greeted Cleo, but he didn't engage in a conversation. The one they had the previous day was enough. He was pleasantly surprised that they weren't looking at him any different from before, despite not being pleased about him becoming a vampire. That makes the two of us. Avid though. But was that really the case? It certainly was yesterday evening, but was it still? Avid looked up at the sky and squinted his eyes tightly. He wasn't sure himself. He didn't have a clue what he was doing.
Passing around the doctor's house, Avid could see something brewing from the window. It looked similar to the bottle of holy water he still had stored somewhere in his house, but it seemed to be thicker and slightly darker in color. Was it the cure? Or an attempt to? Was Legs getting closer to the result? If that was the case, it meant that Avid could achieve what he always wanted to, could he not?
The former vampire hunter ended up sitting at the fountain near the Eastern gate of the town. He used the water to wash his face and to get a quick drink. He was slightly taken aback by seeing no reflection, but he realised quickly why it wasn't visible. He sighed. He was playing a dangerous game, one full of variables and options that were yet unknown to him, but maybe with enough time, he could learn the rules.