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It started with a simple call. The 118 had responded to a motel fire. So far they hadn’t had any casualties and they were moving efficiently, clearing room by room just in case anyone had been rendered unconscious by the smoke that was spreading. Ravi and Rosen were checking the west half and Buck and Eddie were almost through with the right.
“Almost done, Cap,” Buck reported into his radio. “One room left.”
“Alright, double time it and get back here,” came Bobby’s reply. “And be careful.”
“Aren’t I always?” Buck teased with a cheeky smirk. Eddie rolled his eyes fondly and Buck could practically hear the groan Bobby no doubt emitted back at the truck.
“You’re gonna make him retire,” Eddie commented as they hustled to the final door.
“If I could do that, he would’ve retired like eight times by now,” retorted Buck. And okay maybe that was a generous number but it was off the top of his head.
Eddie took his turn kicking the door down and they both hurried inside. Buck took only a handful of seconds to scan the small room and froze at what he saw. There was a young woman’s body lain halfway across the bed, her eyes open and unseeing facing right at them. She was covered in bite marks, the most prominent of which was on her neck. An endless amount of blood had leaked out, staining both the bed and the floor. And most disturbing of all her right ear looked as though it’d been cut off.
They were used to gruesome scenes on the job, but something about the scene and the smell of death that permeated the room nearly made Buck vomit. Eddie had a similar nauseated look on his face, but was more present to grab at his radio. “We got a body, Cap.”
“They’re not breathing?” questioned Bobby.
“No Cap, a body body,” emphasized Buck, swallowing the bile in his throat. “Like dead before the fire started and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t an accident.”
“Both of you back here now,” Bobby ordered. The two didn’t need anymore convincing than that, rushing back out the door. Buck took one last look and could’ve sworn he saw a shadow pass by the window on the other side of the room, but he shook it off.
The police arrived just as they were finishing extinguishing the fire. Athena arrived first, as usual Bobby had called her to supervise and make sure his firefighters didn’t get harassed. Then Detective Marks was strolling up to them.
“Boys, I just have a couple questions before I send you on your way. Now you told your captain the woman was already dead when you opened the door?”
“Yeah,” Buck answered.
“And there were bite marks on her?”
Buck wanted to answer but was struck with a sudden image of the woman’s wide eyed expression staring back at him. There was a feeling of nausea bubbling up in his stomach. Eddie glanced over at him before turning to Marks.
“Bicep, right side, left hip, and left side of her neck,” he recited. “And one of her ears was gone.” Right, Eddie had been in the military. He’d seen way worse things than what was making Buck sick to his stomach.
“Seems like it might be your Dracula after all,” commented Athena. Marks’ eyes narrowed as Buck looked back and forth between them.
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
“We’re not at liberty to discuss,” Marks grumbled dismissively, only for Athena to raise a questioning brow.
“They’re first responders, Marks, not civilians. They can handle it.”
Marks sighed heavily. “I can’t give much detail and this does not get spread around, understand? This isn’t the first body that’s been found like this. Drained of blood and multiple bite marks. Been happening for the last month. It looks like some asshole has convinced himself he’s a vampire and he’s going after random people.”
“Like a serial killer?” Buck asked.
“Unfortunately yes. We’ve been instructed to keep it quiet currently so as not to cause a panic.”
“More like to spare the department some bad PR,” Athena countered.
“So was the fire today some way for him to cover his tracks?” questioned Eddie.
“Right now we don’t have any reason to believe so,” Marks said. “We’ll be briefing your captain and other members of the LAFD on a need to know basis just to be safe, but more than likely it was pure luck that you found her today.”
“Some luck,” Buck muttered.
Athena squeezed his arm comfortingly. “Why don’t you two go back to the truck? Marks will talk with Bobby real quick and then everyone can go back to the station.
“If you think of anything else that might be helpful, Sergeant Grant can pass along my number,” Marks told them. For a moment, Buck wondered whether the shadow he thought he saw counted as something helpful. But he wasn’t even sure he actually saw it or if he’d just lost his nerve at the sight of a body. The last thing he wanted was to be looked at like he was crazy. So he nodded at Marks and jogged off with Eddie.
The ride back to the station was quieter than usual. Buck always hated when it was quiet, his brain itched at the loudness of silence, yet in the back of his mind he registered that usually he was the one doing the talking and he didn’t feel up to it just then. It wasn’t the first time he’d been haunted by a dead face and the woman hadn’t even died because of anything he did. But that didn’t help him wipe the image away.
Eddie’s hand closed around his, the soft pressure keeping him from floating away too far, and he smiled gratefully at his partner.
He was glad to climb out of the truck when they got back, ready for the end of their shift to arrive. Everyone sluggishly changed out of their turnouts, the tension visible in their shoulders and the sharing of concerned glances. Buck turned back around only to almost run straight into his captain.
“You should schedule a session with Frank this week,” Bobby told him, it was phrased as a request but Buck knew it wasn’t one.
“I, uh… I know I should be able to just shake it off,” Buck replied, staring down at his boots. “Guess even with all the stuff we see I’m not used to something that gruesome.”
Bobby gently squeezed his shoulder. “You shouldn’t have to be, Buck. Go easy on yourself, alright?” Buck nodded, following Bobby up to the loft where the others had gathered around the table.
“So do you guys think all that stuff is true?” asked Chimney.
“What, you mean vampires?” Hen teased halfheartedly.
“Of course not,” Ravi chimed in, rolling his eyes. “Vampires aren’t real. Whole thing was popularized by Bram Stoker’s xenophobia anyway.”
“Maybe so,” admitted Chim, “but it can’t hurt to eat extra garlic bread just in case. Hey Cap, got any extra crosses lying around?”
“Sure, got a whole drawer full,” Bobby replied sarcastically.
“I don’t believe in that supernatural shit,” Eddie said. “But there’s a real nutjob out there who does and that’s what matters.”
“Eddie’s right,” Bobby said. “We’re just going to keep doing our jobs but be a bit more diligent for the time being. This team’s safety is my priority, understood?”
“Yes Cap!” the team responded in unison.
Buck stumbled through the last sliver of his shift, barely present and grateful that there weren’t anymore calls while his head was clearly not screwed on right. He went to go change back into his civilian clothes, letting his body guide him through the familiar routine since his brain didn’t want to cooperate. He finished tying his sneakers and grabbed his bag. As he spun around, he almost jumped out of his skin when he spotted Ravi suddenly standing in the doorway.
“Ravi, holy shit,” Buck breathed out with a chuckle. “Didn’t hear you coming man, you scared the hell out of me.”
“Sorry,” Ravi said, stepping out of the way to let Buck pass. “Just wanted to check in, I know that must’ve been hard to see.”
“Oh, thanks,” Buck replied. He was glad Ravi had forgiven him for his early hostility during Chimney’s absence, even if he didn’t deserve it the man was a good friend and they’d come a long way. “I’m alright, probably just sleep it off you know?”
“Right, of course,” Ravi said. “Just… be careful okay?”
Buck raised a brow teasingly. “And here I thought you said you didn’t believe in this stuff.”
Ravi scoffed, a good natured smirk on his lips. “Yeah, I’m not worried about vampires Buck. It’s people you gotta watch out for.” There was a flash of concern and Buck smiled, clapping him on the shoulder.
“I will, I promise,” he assured. “You too.” With one final wave to Ravi he continued toward his Jeep.
As he stepped out of the firehouse the sun was already setting. Normally he loved just watching the beauty of a sunset and he wished he wasn’t too distracted to enjoy it. Out of the corner of his eye, a sudden movement drew his attention. He craned his neck to try and catch it, but only saw a glimpse of a shadow moving out of sight again.
“Get it together, Buckley,” he told himself harshly, shaking it off.
Eddie was waiting for him at his Jeep. “You’re crashing at my place tonight,” he stated bluntly. “I don’t like the idea of you by yourself in that loft with everything going on.”
Buck wanted to put up even a playful protest, but the thought of Eddie being so protective over him made him feel calmer than he had in hours. He always felt safer with Eddie around and the reason why was becoming clearer each day. His gaze drifted down to Eddie’s lips, watching them move even without hearing what he was saying. It was so tempting to just lean in, to just risk it all.
“Buck?” Eddie’s voice snapped Buck out of it and he realized he’d been awkwardly standing there for several seconds like an idiot. A big dumb idiot with a schoolboy crush on his best friend.
“Well I wouldn’t mind seeing Chris,” he finally replied. “I just gotta run over to my place and grab some stuff, okay?”
“Literally everything important you could need is at my place,” Eddie said skeptically. That was true for the most part and the thought nearly took Buck out at the knees. A spare toothbrush, his favorite foods, some of his comfiest clothes, and even an extra heating pad and pain pills for when his leg flared up. Still there was one thing that hadn’t migrated over yet.
“My Wellbutrin,” he admitted. He still hated mentioning to anyone that he was on medication for his ADHD, which was ridiculous to even be ashamed about when everyone he was close to knew how much he’d struggled before finding something that helped.
Eddie softened, glancing down at his watch. “45 minutes and then I drive over there to drag you home,” he warned without an ounce of heat to his voice.
“Sir, yes sir,” Buck replied with a mock salute.
He raced to his apartment complex as fast as LA traffic would allow, eager to just be in and out so he could collapse on Eddie’s couch after a long day. Takeout and cheesy movies handpicked by Eddie’s questionable taste sounded like the perfect remedy for that last call. And if he happened to fall asleep on Eddie’s shoulder again, well that would just be a happy accident.
Up to his loft he went, bounding up the steps and into his bathroom. He grabbed the pill bottle and stuffed it into his pocket. Before he went back down he stopped at his nightstand and pulled the top drawer open, taking his dream journal Dr. Copeland had recommended for him out from its hiding place beneath his socks. He had a feeling whatever he dreamed tonight would be a doozy and maybe he could use that to distract Frank during their next inevitable session.
He was back outside in record time, fully prepared to gloat about beating Eddie’s little timer when he got there. As he fumbled for his keys, a shadow passed over him again. There were rapid footsteps and before he could react, something slammed into the back of his head and everything went dark.
*****
His head was throbbing when he started to come to. The room was too blurry to make out and his arms ached. He tried to rub at his eyes, only for something to prevent him from moving. He tried again, the clinking of chains around his wrists finally clued him in to the danger of the situation.
“No,” he whispered. “No no no no.”
“Glad you’re awake,” came a hoarse voice from behind him. Buck felt the cold shiver of terror down his spine, fighting in vain against his chains. Sweat dripped down his flesh and he realized his chest was bare.
“Who are you?” he asked. “What the hell do you want from me?”
Footsteps slowly shuffled around him, jagged fingernails caressing his side. His vision cleared enough to make out the face looming in front of him, pale skin, wild unkempt hair, and hungry eyes. Buck wriggled to get away from him, but his legs could barely scrape the ground.
“I saw you,” the man hissed. “You found my last meal. She was hardly skin and bones, but her blood was so sweet. Now you on the other hand… you’ve got plenty of meat on you. I wonder what your blood tastes like.”
“Just let me go,” pleaded Buck. “You need help, man.”
The man’s hand covered Buck’s mouth before he could bargain further. “I need food. I’m fucking starving.” That part Buck could at least agree with, the man was clearly emaciated and his ribs pressed against his skin. No doubt he hadn’t eaten much in the last month, deluded into thinking he could satiate his hunger purely off of blood and chunks of flesh.
The man grabbed a knife with his free hand, brandishing it for Buck’s fearful reaction. Buck shouted behind the hand, thrashing about until the chains had scraped his wrists raw. Undeterred, the man sliced down a line across Buck’s bicep. Buck bit down on his cry, trying to avoid giving his kidnapper the satisfaction. The man’s smile, however, only grew wider as he leaned forward and lapped at the trickle of blood leaking out.
“The first taste is always the freshest,” he practically moaned, licking at his crimson stained lips. “An appetizer.”
And yet the man hardly wasted any time savoring the first course before he was moving back in. The knife floated over his skin, teasing Buck with the anticipation before settling over his chest. The second cut sliced from his right pec to his stomach and he couldn’t help but emit a muffled groan this time. The man’s hand moved from Buck’s mouth to squeezing his throat as he once again brought his lips to taste the wound he’d made. He bared his teeth and without warning sank them into the flesh of Buck’s chest. Buck had no choice but to choke on the pain, his cries reduced to desperate gasps for air. Black spots danced at the edge of his vision and he had the urge to just stop fighting, to let himself pass out so he didn’t have to feel whatever came next. But the man wasn’t so kind, removing his hand and stepping back just before Buck passed out.
“Please…” he whimpered, blinking away tears. “Please stop. I won’t say anything I swear, I’ll say I didn’t see your face. I just want to go home.”
The man merely chuckled in response, the blood smeared over his face making Buck nauseous. “You sound so pretty when you beg. You’re such a beautiful specimen. And we’ve only just started.”
“Fuck you!” Buck shouted at him. “Vampires aren’t real! You’re just psychotic!”
The man fisted Buck’s hair and yanked his head back roughly. “Predators don’t concern themselves with the opinions of prey,” he growled. “But let me show you.”
The moment teeth clamped on Buck’s neck, he screamed the loudest he had since maybe the night his leg was crushed. There was no escape from the agony, every attempt to pull away only tearing at his flesh even more. The man greedily slurped at the blood spilling out, taking more and more. Even when he finally pulled away the bleeding didn’t stop, a fresh trail dripping down to his stomach. Buck could feel his pulse angrily throbbing and a disorienting dizziness spread through him, struggling to keep his eyes open.
“We’re not done yet, boy,” the man told him, tapping him on the cheek. “Now it’s your turn.”
Buck wasn’t sure if he was just delirious or if the man’s words weren’t making sense. “My… my turn?”
The man disappeared from his vision for a moment and Buck realized that he was in another rundown motel room just like the woman he’d found. When the man returned there was a cut on his own chest and a wine glass in his hand. Only it wasn’t filled with wine.
“Blood for blood,” he said darkly. “Open up, boy.”
“No, get the fuck away from me,” Buck muttered weakly. He clenched his mouth shut as the glass came to his lips, pulling his head away.
“So pointless,” the man growled. He pinched Buck’s nose shut, waiting until Buck gasped for air to shove the tip of the glass past his lips.
The foul warm liquid spilled down his throat as he tried to resist swallowing even a drop. After several mouthfuls the man pulled back. Buck tried to catch his breath, but couldn’t stop himself from vomiting the blood right back onto the floor. The man sighed as though inconvenienced by the mess.
“I suppose we’ll have to try again,” he said blankly. Buck vigorously shook his head, the thought of swallowing anymore blood worse than the pain of the knife. But the man was just as insistent as Buck was helpless. “Just a little more,” he cooed, pouring the rest into Buck’s mouth.
It clung to his throat and tongue, coppery and bitter and way too salty. No matter how much Buck swallowed the taste still lingered. It was all too familiar, dragging Buck back to a memory he thought he’d finally buried years ago.
Eddie dying on the street. Eddie’s blood on Buck’s lips. How was he supposed to live without Eddie? How was he supposed to tell Chris? How-
A firm pat on his cheek brought him back to his current reality and he was almost grateful. He was terrified, he was exhausted and hurting, but at least it was just him this time and not Eddie or someone else he loved. The man circled around him, appraising his handiwork, before retrieving the knife once more.
“You don’t have to do this,” Buck begged. “You already got what you wanted, please let me go.”
“Oh my sweet prey,” said the man. “This is the best part. Carving off a piece of you for myself.” Buck’s mind reminded him of the woman’s missing ear and tears began to flow freely. “Now what should we take from you? A hand? A nose? Maybe those beautiful blue eyes you have, I’ve never tasted an eye before.”
The knife pressed teasingly to Buck’s brow and he closed his eyes, refusing to willingly watch what was coming. Instead he conjured as many memories of his family as he could think of through the injured fog. He pleaded to these memories, hoping they’d listen where his tormentor would not.
Please let it be over soon.
Please don’t let his family be the ones to find him.
Please let Maddie and Chimney be able to survive losing another brother, let Bobby be able to survive losing another son.
Please let Chris have an amazing life and everything he ever could want or need.
Please let Eddie know how much Buck loved him, even if he’d never been brave enough to say it.
The blade went to press into his skin again, but then it was gone and Buck heard it clatter to the floor. There was a shriek from the man and then a decisive thud. Buck dared to open his eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing.
The door to the room had been kicked in. The man was held up against the wall, Ravi holding him aloft with one hand on his throat even as he kicked and screamed. This couldn’t be real, he had to have passed out when he closed his eyes or the pain had made him delirious. Only no matter how often he blinked, nothing changed.
“Unhand me, you vile pest,” the man screamed. Ravi glanced back at Buck, something dark in his eyes, before turning back.
“Pathetic little man,” he snarled. He drew the man’s face close to his own, baring teeth impossibly sharper than Buck had ever seen them. “Would you like to see how a real vampire feeds?”
It finally seemed to sink in for the man, whose eyes widened in fear and whose struggles intensified. Then Ravi was sinking his teeth into the man’s neck, tearing a chunk out and letting the blood pool into his mouth. The man’s resistance grew weak, his eyes rolling into his head. Ravi pulled away from him at the last moment, free hand moving to grip the man’s jaw. In one fluid motion he tore the man’s head clean off and tossed it to the carpet, letting his corpse fall beside it.
“Disgusting,” Ravi said, spitting out flecks of blood from his fangs. His eyes drifted back to Buck, fighting between horror and relief and too tired to decide a winner. Ravi’s eyes seemed to soften, but that wasn’t exactly comforting with blood leaking out the corners of his mouth. Maybe he’d just realized he could eat seconds for free.
Buck flinched away as Ravi approached, trembling and jerking against the chains. “P-please don’t.”
Ravi calmly cupped a hand on the back of Buck’s neck. “It’s just me, Buck. It’s just your friend Ravi. I’m not going to hurt you.” He snapped the chains from Buck’s wrists and Buck felt his legs give out, only held up by Ravi taking his weight as he lowered them both to the ground.
“What… what are you?”
“The important thing is that I’m here to help,” Ravi replied. He maneuvered careful hands across Buck’s body, examining the plethora of injuries. “You’ve lost a lot of blood.”
“Feels like it,” Buck slurred. “D-don’t think I can walk.”
Ravi bit into his own wrist, a thick black liquid oozing out. “You need to drink, Buck.”
Buck shook his head, trying weakly to squirm out of Ravi’s grasp. “No, no more. Don’t make me.”
“You haven’t lost enough blood to turn, but you’ve lost enough to bleed out,” insisted Ravi. When Buck didn’t stop struggling, Ravi gently but firmly gripped his chin and met his gaze. “Look right at me,” he instructed. A thin haze clouded Buck’s eyes, warmth spreading from his head down through his toes. Ravi continued softly, “Do as you’re told and drink. It will make you feel better.”
Buck nodded obediently. All he could hear was Ravi’s voice, Ravi’s eyes all he could see. And when Ravi lifted his wrist to Buck’s lips, Buck drank his fill. The strange blood felt like sludge as it coursed through him but the pain did start to fade.
“There we go,” Ravi praised as he pulled his wrist back. “You’re doing so good, Buck. Now let’s get you out of here.” With that he scooped up Buck as though he weighed nothing and carried him away from the carnage.
Buck was still out of it when they made it outside and Ravi set him down by the road. He managed to cling to consciousness enough to croak out “Thanks, Ravi.”
“What are friends for?” Ravi asked with a hint of a smile. “Help should be here soon.”
“What am I supposed to tell them?” asked Buck.
“Do you trust me?” Buck nodded, turning to Ravi. Ravi cupped Buck’s face in his hands, matching his gaze again. “Look right at me. I was never here. You don’t remember how you got here, you must’ve passed out from the pain. Vampires aren’t real.”
“Not real,” Buck mumbled sleepily, already putty in Ravi’s hands.
“Good. You’re going to rest now, Buck. Just rest and let the paramedics take care of you.” Buck’s eyes drifted shut as he fell limp against Ravi’s chest. Ravi ran a hand through his curls before laying Buck out as comfortably as he could manage.
Really he wanted to stay, but he couldn’t. He could already hear the approaching sirens in the distance and there’d simply be too many questions. Buck was safe, the vampire blood would stabilize him until help arrived, and that was enough so he retreated.
Of course Ravi had known that the killer wasn’t a real vampire. If his pathetic mockery of a feeding wasn’t sign enough, his most recent target was a dead giveaway. No true vampire would harm another’s claimed humans. The 118 was under Ravi’s protection and that meant the imposter needed to be dealt with. Besides maybe disposing of him would earn him some temporary good grace from the notoriously fickle vampires in Los Angeles.
LA certainly wasn’t his favorite place he’d lived in his 214 years of life, probably not even in the Top 5. It was loud and impersonal and so prone to disasters of every kind from the human to the supernatural. But he’d worked a lot of jobs as he constantly had to roam each time his youthful face began to draw suspicion from lack of aging, and the 118 had surpassed them all by far. There was a reason his companions there were the first group of humans he’d claimed in nearly a century.
Even Evan Buckley, who’d vexed Ravi for months when they first met, had become one of his closest human friends and he was dedicated to protecting the young man. Not that Buck made it easy, tonight only the most recent in the string of near fatalities he’d endured. It was as if he were drawn to danger and danger itself was drawn right back to him. This wasn’t even the first time Ravi had been forced to hypnotize him and it likely wouldn’t be the last if Ravi was continually required to intervene to keep him alive. He hated using his power each time he did it, there was such a strong urge to just let this secret go when he was around his friends. The strangest part was that they would probably understand, it wasn’t as if he was some ravenous beast out of the pages of a horror novel. But keeping several humans safe was already a Herculean task by itself and the few humans who were drawn into the hidden supernatural world rarely met pleasant fates.
He watched from a distance, keeping to the shadows as an ambulance arrived to collect Buck and transport him to the hospital. He’d placed an “anonymous” phone call with dispatch shortly before entering the building, ensuring he’d have just enough time to take care of things. No doubt he’d get a call in a little while from a member of the team telling him of Buck’s condition and he’d feign surprise and rush to the hospital to meet with the others. But first he had a call of his own to make.
He waited until the ambulance was completely out of sight before taking out his phone and dialing. “I found him in time, wasn’t hard to track him down all things considered. Thanks for filing the anonymous report.”
“No problem, I’m just glad he’s okay.”
“I should’ve gotten here faster, I could’ve prevented him from losing so much blood. Or killed the wretch that hurt him before he even had a chance to pounce.”
“The important thing is you saved him and that the serial killer problem has been removed, if I assume correctly.”
“You assume correctly. You’ll probably get the news from Maddie soon, so remember to act surprised.”
“You act like I’m a beginner. I have everything taken care of on my end. I’ll talk to you soon, Ravi.”
“ Sounds good. Thanks, Linda.”
By the time he made his way over to the hospital, it was already well into morning. Waiting long enough that it wouldn’t be suspicious instead of racing over was maddening, but such were the rules. A ray of sunlight passed over him as he exited his car. His fangs retreated, senses dulling slightly and the shine leaving his eyes. His power wouldn’t return until after sunset that night so there was no further risk of getting caught until then.
Just another human. Just another day.