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He looks up. The storm clouds are dark, and the sky is tinted green with the promise of rain and hail.
He looks at Adrian contemplatively; their own gaze is distant, looking out into the woods. Lauren?iu wonders if they’re thinking of changing into mist.
Or their father.
Their mother.
Their dead girlfriend.
So much.
They’ve been through so much, and Lauren?iu doesn’t want to add to that.
That night, once the night lets up, they hunt.
When it comes to other people, they are alone for miles, all except for that one reanimated person who seems obsessed with a plot of dead radishes.
But going deeper, there are encampments. Lauren?iu isn’t sure if they are normal people, militia, cannibals, or militaristic cannibals.
Doesn’t matter. Blood is blood.
They move silently through the brush; Adrian has learned how to move their feet so they barely touch the ground. They rush past three grazing does without disturbing them.
Eventually, they find a lone man picking wild blackberries close to a dirt road with a couple of posts and hanging electric lanterns.
Adrian is the first to tackle him and, before he can shout, dig into his neck.
Lauren?iu kneels and drinks in warm spurts of blood. Though Adrian prefers the heart, this close to the road, they stick to the throat and wrists.
Once they’re done, Lauren?iu lifts his head, both their lips and chin dripping with blood, and he basks in the companionable silence. The unusual bonding, made nicer by the warmth of a fresh kill.
Footsteps. Soft, a sole on soil.
They both get to their feet, and quietly, Lauren?iu goes to look over the brush to see who it is.
A lanky but fit older man dressed in dark clothes, with prominent silver streaks in his hair and a light beard; the silver is almost gold in the lantern light.
The man doesn’t see him; he’s walking down the path, as if on patrol.
He—
Lauren?iu goes cold.
He doesn’t remember the man’s name, but he remembers it being called out as the sharp pang ripped through his heart.
Anthony’s husband.
The vampire hunter.
His killer.
Behind him, Adrian whispers, in good humor, “You can’t still be hungry.”
Lauren?iu steps back in shock. “I’m not. Let’s go.”
Their eyes flicker over him, noticing his change in demeanor. “What is it?”
“We need to go. Now.” There’s no time.
