Antione
The fog smothered everything. Antione knew there was a scientific way to explain it, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching him. The light from the campfire soon vanished, and Antione transformed for heat and added protection. It didn’t make him feel safer.
Calm down. Bruno and Longnose said that vampires have an honor code. It doesn’t make much sense, but at least they wouldn’t let you come out here alone if they thought the vampires wouldn’t stick to their rules. As if to mock his thoughts, twigs and branches began snapping in every direction.
Antione whirled around but didn’t speak. He refused to start acting like a cliche horror movie character, especially when he should be the one other people run away from. A branch snapped directly above him, and he looked up before he could think twice. A teenage boy with lightly tanned skin, the worst dreadlocks he’d ever seen, and wearing a black hoodie over black jeans and sneakers that all looked like they came from a modeling rack grinned down at him, revealing pale white teeth… and two fangs bigger than the rest.
“Good evening.”
Antione fought the urge to groan. Is this dude for real? Is he going to say he wants to suck my blood next?
The boy’s voice was smooth, almost like warm caramel, with a thick European accent. “What’s wrong? Can’t talk in that form? Did you cross a cat’s path?”
He laughed, and Antione rolled his eyes. This guy needs to get a life. “I can talk. Who are you?”
The boy grinned almost ear to ear as he clapped his hands mockingly. “Oho, so you can. That’s great. That means I can do this properly.”
He stood up straight, balancing perfectly on the branch as he bent forward at the waist with one arm crossing his stomach and the other going behind his back, as he declared. “My name is Clay, from the Dragul line, and I’ve come to take your life!”
Antione blinked, certain he’d misheard as Clay flexed his hands… and his nails quickly grew into talons. “No need for you to introduce yourself. I’m bad with names, but I do hope you’ll make this fight worth remembering!”
His brain was still trying to catch up with this latest statement when the odd vampire disappeared. Antione jumped to the side and spun around in time to get a face full of dirt and rocks as the vampire landed inches from where Antione had been. And not even the fog was thick enough to hide the hole that formed around Clay’s fingers as he yanked his talons free with a grunt.
“Not bad. You’ve got some speed, at least.” Clay nodded approvingly as he shifted his right leg forward and raised his hands as if to scratch the air. “Let’s see if you can do it again.”
“Hold on a second–” Antone cried, but Clay was already moving. His talons were too long to make a fist, but it soon became clear that he didn’t need to make one as Clay swiped, talons barely missing Antione, but a small gust of wind tore at his chest. Antione’s eyes widened and he leaped again, but Clay moved with him and slashed his eyes, making Antione howl in pain as the vampire followed through with a kick to his stomach, sending the werewolf flying through several trees and landing in a river.
Thankfully, Antione’s healing abilities kicked in instantly, but his vision was still blurry as Clay appeared on the bank in front of him, licking Antione’s blood off his talons with a thoughtful hum. “Not bad. I’ve never had werewolf blood before. But it’s bitter. What have you been eating lately? Zombies?”
“I’ll eat you if you don’t knock it off and listen to me!” Antione bellowed. The pain quickly faded as his rage grew. I thought they were supposed to ask for my answer and maybe even take me to Robert. Why is this asshole trying to kill me?
Clay laughed mockingly. “What’s there to talk about? This is a fight to the death. Nothing more. Nothing less. There’s no need to be concerned. No one is going to hear us out here. So stop acting like a baby and fight me already!”
Antione’s eyes finished healing just in time to see Clay jump into the air. He started to roll away but stopped on his back as Clay came down, this time using his talons to try to pierce Antione’s chest and stomach. But the young werewolf was ready. He caught Clay’s wrists, wincing as the talons slightly pierced his left pec, and grinned.
“My turn,” Antione enjoyed the way Clay’s eyes widened in shock as he rolled them over, pinning the vampire beneath him. Fortunately, they were still close to the bank, so Clay didn’t have to worry about keeping his face out of the water. Unfortunately, nothing was stopping Antione from punching him in the face.
So he did. Antione’s werewolf form was muscular, a cross between a wrestler and a boxer. He easily kept Clay pinned while wailing on him with one arm. Clay tried to throw him off, but he only succeeded in splashing around, soaking them both and filling the air with his pained cries. It was almost too easy.
Antione didn’t know how long he kept going, but he finally stopped when he saw blood covering his hand, and the vampire’s face was so much pulp. “Oh shit.”
What did I just do? Did I kill him? He was going to kill me. He said so. So, this was self-defense, right? Wait, that doesn’t work for vampires. They’re willing to kill Robert even when he didn’t kill one of their own, so… Antione slowly lets go of limp wrists and tentatively checks for a pulse.
He doesn’t find one and laughs at himself. I’m an idiot. This is a vampire. Whoever heard of a vampire with a pulse? Antione stares at the body and softly calls out, “Hey.”
The body doesn’t react. The only movement around them is the ripples from the river, patiently flowing past them. He tries again. “Hey! Come on, man. All I did was beat your ass. You’re supposed to be a big-shot vampire. Whoever heard of a vampire dying from getting their face smashed? You’re an embarrassment.”
Still no response. Antione slowly rose to his feet, but the body remained motionless. He stared at his bloodied hand and hurled onto the riverbank. He didn’t think he’d eaten much that day, but it felt like his stomach was trying to rid itself of everything, including the acid. Antione braced himself, feet still in the water, and wiped his mouth.
That, that was…
A snort came from behind him. “Pathetic. Is this your first time fighting or something?”
Antione turned, mouth dropping open as Clay calmly sat up and wrinkled his now-fully healed nose in distaste at his soaked clothes. “If I didn’t already want to kill you… Do you have any idea how much these clothes cost? My mother is going to kill me when I get home!”
“Your… mother?” Vampires have mothers?
Clay stared at him with a dirty look. “That’s right—my mother. What? You got a problem with that?”
“With you… having a mom?” What the hell is this conversation? He’s the one who got his butt kicked. Why do I feel like I’m the one with brain damage?
Clay rolled his eyes and sighed. “Forget it. You obviously don’t understand what I’m talking about. It was my mistake for trying. Just forget it.”
Antione was officially done with this entire thing. “For a guy whose head looked like pulp, you sure are talking big. Do you want to have another go? I’m fine with breaking your face again.”
Clay snorted and rolled his eyes.“Please, don’t embarrass yourself. That was… I was going easy on you.”
Antione raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Yes. Do you honestly think you’ve bested me? I’m a son of the Dragul line. We eat dogs like you for afternoon tea!”
“Vampires drink tea?”
Clay glared and stood up, hands clenched slightly as he assumed a fighting stance. “Stop wasting my time. I need to drag your carcass in front of the others before dawn. Let’s go!”
Antione didn’t move. “Why the sudden rush? You can say whatever you want, but you’re gonna look pretty stupid when I catch you again. Let’s just take a minute and talk. I was told you were going to contact me. Why are you trying to kill me? That wasn’t part of the deal.”
Clay’s face went from pained scorn to confusion. “What are you talking about? I just saw you walking around by yourself and decided to use you for my training. There’s no way anyone would have told you about me…”
The vampire frowned, looking at Antione’s neck, and making the werewolf tense immediately. If he tries biting me… But Clay didn’t move as he asked. “Are you… someone’s donor? Is that why you’re out here?”
“What’s a donor?” The silence stretched as they stared at each other. Antione wouldn’t have been surprised if his face matched Clay’s incredulous expression. It would have been funny. Daymond would have laughed himself sick if he was here, but all Antione could think about was the growing certainty that Clay wasn’t lying.
He’s a vampire, but not with the same group that took Robert. Maybe he knows where they are, though? He said he was going to drag my body to the others. Surely, one of them must know something.
Antione raised his hands, palms up, hoping the gesture really was universal as he opened his mouth and almost screamed as a giant snout, all muck-colored scales and moss rose from the river and clamped around Clay’s middle, almost cutting through his waist as the vampire was lifted into the air and dragged under the water.
The werewolf couldn’t look away from the last spot he saw Clay. His fur stood on edge as his inner wolf howled at him to flee. Clay had tried to kill him. No one would blame Antione for leaving him there. The attack had happened so fast that he doubted Clay even knew what was happening. But if the vampire was somehow still alive…
Then, the other boy was truly suffering a fate worse than death. Antione watched as the ripples slowly faded into the river and jumped in. He didn’t have a plan. What little light came from the moon was soon obscured and gone as Antione’s powerful legs kicked, sending him deeper and deeper into the depths.
He’d never gone swimming at night. His mom always knew when he was trying to sneak out and put a stop to it. But he soon discovered he didn’t need to rely on his vision. The alligator hadn’t gone far; its bulk alone made reaching it a quick affair. But if Antione had any doubts that this was a bad idea they were quickly wiped away.
The alligator was waiting for him. Clay’s legs kicked weakly as blood mixed with the rising sediment caused by the alligator’s laze movements and circled Antione. He tried to remember if he’d been in a worse situation and failed. Nothing could have prepared him for this.
As if in agreement, the alligator lifted its head, jaws opening briefly to reveal Clay’s broken and bloody form before snapping its jaws, swallowing the vampire’s upper half, and leaving his legs to float away. Antione met the giant reptile’s eyes and snarled. His inner wolf knew a challenge when he saw one, and Antione was not about to let this go unanswered.
