Chapter Text
Ozza awoke on the couch of his home with Ellum at his side. The Werewolf was in his wolf form from hunting last night, curled up on the rug. Ozza glanced outside, seeing what time it was. The sun hadn’t risen yet, but the sky was turning slightly blue. Orange grazed the horizon. The sun would be up soon, Ozza figured.
The Escort sat up off the couch. He would run over to Ze’s in a moment to offer him blood vials from Ellum’s catch the night prior. In a cupboard, the vials hid behind some of the items the previous owner had. Though only half were filled, it would be enough to get him and Ze by - at least for the day. Ozza would send Ellum hunting again tonight.
“Morning, Oz!” The cheery voice of Vikram spoke. “How are you?”
“I’m alright,” Ozza told him. “Did you tell Junk that Ze plans on coming home soon?”
Vik scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, about that. Kara knows, but Junk can’t communicate with us right now.”
“What do you mean?”
“You still have his crystal. The crystal ball that Ze had isn’t working properly. They’re having difficulty talking with Kara sometimes, too.”
“Damn,” Ozza sighed. He’d forgotten to give the Godfather back the crystal necklace he’d offered. “At least Kara knows. That’s good, I guess.”
As he left his house, vials in hand, the first thing Ozza heard outside was loud, uncontrollable laughter. Wheezing and cackling amongst themselves on the next-door porch were Pasta and Wonton, sitting at a table. Ozza wandered over to say hi.
“Okay, okay! How about… five things you wouldn’t say, to a Jailor!” Pasta said, glee in her voice.
Wonton rubbed his hands together eagerly. “Okay, uh… don’t kill me, I’m sus!” He flailed his hands in the air, pretending to be evil.
Pasta laughed. “One!”
“Uh, I’m a Serial Killer!”
“Two!”
“I’ll jail you next night and see how you like it, bitch!”
Both Pasta and Wonton burst out laughing. “Three!”
Ozza stepped onto the porch. “Hey guys! What are you doing?”
“Hey Ozza!” Wonton waved. “We’re playing Five Things! Wanna join?”
“Yeah! It’s fun!” Pasta beamed. “You still have two more things to not say to a Jailor!”
Wonton snapped his attention back to the prompt. “Right! Ah… I’ll be your worst nightmare!”
“Four!”
“And… fuck! Uh… I’m a Juggernaut, here to wreck your shit!”
“Five!” Pasta cheered, laughing. “Okay, your turn.”
Ozza left the two of them to their game, smiling as he left the giggling behind. They’re laughter was contagious, enough to overpower any sadness that this town faced. Ozza would miss those two when he and Ze left.
The next house he passed was Sidearms’, where he and Speedy were having a conversation inside. Through the window, Ozza could see Side chastising Speedy about something, examining his arm. Upon meeting Ozza’s gaze, Speedy waved, almost embarrassed to have been seen with Side examining him. Ozza waved back, not stopping. He’d leave them to their own.
A loud cry from above him made Ozza jump. In the bushes to his left, something large landed heavily. Ozza ran over to see what had happened. He was startled to see the excited face of Cheesy poke out.
“Hi Ozza!” Cheesy smiled, not moving from the bushes. “How are you this morning?”
“Hey, Cheesy,” Ozza waved, looking around. “Where did you come from?”
Cheesy pointed up, where Ozza spotted a treehouse built up. Instead of taking the rope ladder down, Cheesy decided to… jump?
“Why did you -?”
“It looked fun,” Cheesy shrugged, sitting up. “The bushes softened my fall. I’m okay!”
Now covered in dirt and leaves, Cheesy ran off. Ozza just let him go, unsure why the blonde man wouldn’t just take the ladder. The height from the treehouse to the ground was a bit much; he could easily have hurt himself!
At the last house he passed on his way to Ze’s, Ozza nearly bumped into its inhabitant while he was looking after Cheesy. The person he bumped into let out a grunt as the collided, the faint flowery sent nearly catching Ozza off guard.
“Ah, I’m sorry! I didn’t see you coming!” Ozza quickly apologized. “I wasn’t watching…,” he trailed off as he realized who’d he’d bumped into.
Primrose shook off her dress, patting herself down. “It’s fine,” she spoke softly. “You had your head turned. I should’ve known you’d keep walking.”
There was something familiar about her voice that Ozza couldn’t place. As Primrose walked on, Ozza felt he recognized her from somewhere… where though? The face - though it was covered in ash - seemed so familiar… who was she? Unless that was his vampirism perhaps speaking?
“Hey, Primrose?” Ozza called out to her before he could stop himself.
The woman turned, raising a brow. “Yes?”
Ozza froze, unsure what to say. “Do I… have we met somewhere?” He cringed with how dumb he sounded.
Primrose, however, didn’t seem to think he was crazy. “Perhaps we’ve met. I’ve seen many faces on my journeys. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were among them, Ozza.”
His name coming from her mouth… why was her voice so familiar?! “Where do you come from?”
“Many towns, all lost to time, Mafia, and other beings beyond your wildest dreams,” Primrose spoke lowly. The tone she used sent a slight chill down Ozza’s spine. “I’ve survived so much out there. Too much happens, and you tend to forget the little details, no?”
“Yeah,” Ozza agreed. “Plenty has happened to me too.”
Primrose gripped his arms, sending him a sharp look. “Whatever you’ve seen, I guarantee is nothing like the hell I’ve seen.” Her voice turned cold. “I’ve been shot, stabbed, stalked, and hunted, and yet I’ve survived it all. I’ve been betrayed and backstabbed, abandoned and forgotten, all for what? To keep moving forward and avenge what I’ve lost.”
Ozza listened silently as Primrose removed a part of her cape. Underneath, Ozza nearly paled at the sight of several scars that lay in her chest and arms. There was crude stitching done to cover them, with several marks where bullets had pierced her shoulders. Primrose lifted her dress to expose her leg, which was a wooden peg instead of flesh!
“I’ve lived to see towns fall to the hands of evil creatures beyond what even the Mafia has in store!” Primrose whispered. “And I plan on making them pay. My enemies still linger here in Salem, and they’ve come to your little town. I just know it.”
Ozza blinked, scared and uncertain. “Wh-what happened to you?”
Primrose stood really close, keeping her voice low. She leaned her head in to whisper directly into Ozza’s ear, in a voice that made him shiver. He could smell the flowery scent that washed over her, covering up another scent that made Ozza want to back away: garlic.
“Vampires happened, Ozza World. They exist everywhere, and they’ve tried to kill me at every turn. I survived; they will not. I’ll see to it myself. For your safety and mine.”
Primrose marched away, leaving Ozza cold and afraid. The garlic smell lingered for a moment, making his nose itch with discomfort. He couldn’t tell where he’d seen her before, and that conversation didn’t enlighten him the way he’d thought it would. But he learned one thing: Primrose was a huntress.
A Vampire Hunter.
And she was looking for him and Ze.
Ozza quickly made his way to Ze’s, frightened by the information. Without stopping anywhere else, he knocked on his Vampire father’s door. Ze quickly answered, visibly exhausted.
“Morning,” Ze yawned. “I didn’t expect you so soon.”
“Ze, we need to talk inside, now.”
Alarmed, Ze ushered Ozza inside. “What’s up?”
Ozza handed him the vials with the blood they needed. Ze quickly uncapped them, downing them all within minutes. “It’s…” he paused. Primrose was a Vampire Hunter - she would have ears out for anything the two of them discussed. Even if they met in private, she’d be aware. She had the same eavesdropping abilities as Brood did. Fuck.
Ze tilted his head. “Ozza? What’s wrong?”
Ozza sighed. “It’s complicated to explain,” he began. “We have to be careful. We need to get out of here as soon as we can. I can’t explain why, but it’s too dangerous for us to stay here.”
Ze stared at him confused. “Ozza, I don’t understand.”
“Don’t say my name!” Ozza whispered. “She’ll know who we are.”
“Primrose is a Vampire Hunter, and she’s looking for you two, Ze!” A warning from Vikram came from above. “She can hear you two speaking, but she can’t hear me!” He almost teased.
Ze paled in fear. “Oh no… no, I can’t go back yet! I’m not ready…! What would I tell them?!” Ze panicked, pacing the room. “I can’t face them yet! Chilled, Skadj, Kara… I can’t do it! I need more time here!”
“Hey,” Ozza got his attention. “It’s okay. We’ll think of something to say on the way back. We still have a long journey ahead, and plenty of time to think.”
Before Ze could think of a response, a loud bell began to toll. Ozza recognized the sound, dread quickly filling his mind. Ze, already in a panic, clutched Ozza tightly, sensing his fear. Something had happened overnight. There was a town meeting being called.
“You didn’t visit anyone last night, did you?” Ozza quickly asked.
Ze shook his head. “You?”
“No.”
“Let’s go see what’s going on, then, I guess.”
Ozza followed Ze out of his house. The town was gathering around one of the houses to the right of Ze’s. The two made their way past the others, who were screaming, crying, and desperately trying to convince themselves it wasn’t real.
Ozza turned to Max, who he saw sitting alone with his head in his hands. “Max, what happened?”
The man pushed his glasses up, rubbing his eyes. “Ozza, you won’t believe it,” he shook his head glumly. “And we might be the first suspects, given that we were the last to arrive in this place when this happened!”
Ze had gone to take a closer look at what everyone was staring at. He had to back away once Side and Mindy carried something out of the house. What they were carrying smelt of death and fresh blood and made Ozza’s eyes shrink to the size of pinpricks.
Reeny had died to the Mafia last night. She was discovered to have been a Vigilante.
Ozza felt every part of him freeze, unsure what to do, other than the obvious: keep himself and Ze alive and find the Mafia before they found them.