Chapter Text
The night breathed with deathless whispers and crawled with the underlying smell of blood. Little wisps of the faintest hints of the metallic tang ghosted through the air at times, but swelled into a leaden blanket of the stench without warning. Taehyung wondered if the smell would go away, too. Or maybe the scent of blood had long since coated the inside of his nostrils and dripped down into his lungs.
“All done?”
Taehyung glanced up at the man and smiled faintly, gathering up the pile of paper thin, absurdly strong, lethal knives and dumping them in the case set open on the damp soil. He watched the velvet padding split open a few centimetres with the ease and give of water flowing around a rock as the tip of one of the knives caught on the material. He stared at the dull silver light winking up at him for a second longer and closed the lid, patting the case firmly.
“All yours.” Taehyung spoke, offering a much warmer, brighter smile, forcibly trying to invoke any semblance of true positive emotion. He straightened and drew in a deep breath of the cool, crisp night air, hoping the subtle clarity of it would help clear away the grungy film of detached listlessness clinging around his mind. Perhaps after this, he'd finally feel some sure footing after so long.
A bloodcurdling scream sounded behind them. Taehyung turned with minimal movement, flicking his eyes up to the single window flooded with light in the otherwise dark, lifeless and unassuming building.
“They've started extracting it? I'm surprised he can still scream with pliers down his throat.” Taehyung commented offhandedly, quietly, like he didn’t feel the usual burn of guilt twist in his gut. The man Taehyung had forgotten the name of - he was pretty sure he was one of the mentors that dealt with the younger ones - laughed a little, dismissive, uncaring at the single audible sob that sounded like it’d been ripped straight from the back of the throat.
“Oh no, not yet. Apparently he lost it and killed and completely mutilated a human a couple days back. Like, shredded it to pieces. They’re going through the silver platter treatment, I’m guessing. They usually give him like a shot, before extracting it. I don’t know about today though. They sound pissed.” The man sniffed disdainfully, tone absolutely devoid of any sympathy whatsoever at the torture going on upstairs and Taehyung could only offer a dry, empty smile in response. Yes, this was why he had to take a break. The real heartless, vicious and terrifying ones were humans. Why could nobody see that?
"It wasn’t me! It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me, I’m not fucking lying it wasn’t me-" The screams formed choked, crazed, agonised words muffled by the walls, but naked desperation lent strength to the volume so that they were still audible even to Taehyung standing outside. There was a loud thud. Taehyung glanced up and winced as he saw a silhouette of a body fling itself violently against the window, fingers scrabbling at the glass like it wanted to tear holes straight out of the window pane and jump out. The desperation at which he clawed at the window looked as if he was trying to escape a blazing fire, not humans. A gloved hand wrapped in a long coil of silver chain lashed out and grabbed the figure’s neck, provoking another ear splitting scream, and the person was yanked back out of sight mercilessly. Just before that though, Taehyung gazed upwards and thought for a moment, a split second, he caught the blood red, glowing stare locking with his own eyes.
“I kind of feel bad for him.” Taehyung murmured and the man snorted in disbelief, the soft clink of silver as he shifted making Taehyung turn back to him.
“Seriously? I feel like you of all people shouldn’t be saying that.” The man cocked a hand on his hip and Taehyung smiled obligingly, robotically, tilting his head up to the impossibly dark night sky, imagining he could see flakes of dried blood floating between the speckled light of the scarce stars that were visible. He took in another deep, slow breath, as if he was tasting the air, and gestured at the man.
“Well. Here's the replacement.” Taehyung tried for a grin and handed the man the small, flat silver disc, feeling the needle prick mark on his arm throb a little. The man took a step back and bowed to him, remembering his manners and proper procedure, before the ground began to glow. The man started and glanced up uneasily at the shadow figure that seemed to materialise out of nowhere, suddenly stepping through the veil of soft white light rising from the earth. Taehyung sent the man a look, who caught his gaze and nodded curtly, picking up the case and heading back inside. Taehyung turned to the figure and finally let himself relax into a genuine grin, small though it may be.
“Still big on the mysterious dramatic entrances, huh? You look like you just got summoned from the spirit world. It's almost like you're a sorcerer.” Taehyung greeted him flippantly and the person stopped before him, still cloaked in that eerie, smoky glow.
“I am.” The person deadpanned and they both laughed almost on cue, the old joke causing a wave of warmth to encircle the almost somber atmosphere that certainly wasn't helped by the ominous, otherworldly white light. Taehyung felt himself relax incrementally, even as the sounds of shouts and struggling were still shooting out through the cracks of bricks and the gaps between glass and window sill, into the night and showering over Taehyung and his visitor. Oh well, wasn't his problem after all, was what he'd like to think. But as the cries fell silent the volume of his conscience only grew.
“Well, I guess this is where I ask if you're sure you're gonna do this, and if you're ready and all that.” The guy spoke cheerfully and Taehyung rolled his eyes, breaking into a ready grin at the nonchalance and casualness radiating off of the guy like a reassuring, natural aura. Everyone else acted like they were sending him off - for good. He was only in his twenties, he wasn't even considering the concept of kicking the bucket if he could help it.
“Yes, and yes, let's cut the romance bullshit and get work done.” Taehyung declared, far brighter than he was feeling, but it was okay because the person’s sunny smile lightened his bleak mood anyway. He guessed he'd been a little nervous, at what he was going to even do after this, and if he'd ever really be able to shake off the second skin of blood that had encased him since a good few years ago. But this was nothing, really. Just a study leave.
“I would say I'm gonna miss you but it's not like you're actually going anywhere, so. Just school. Man I miss school.” The guy sighed wistfully and Taehyung couldn't help laughing at his overly contemplative expression, shoving him lightly and stepping forward within the circle of light that billowed lightly as he touched the edge, welcoming him in.
“See you around, then?” Taehyung grinned and the guy took a few lengthy steps back at his leisure, tilting his head in response, wide, bright smile not faltering for a second, bright even beneath the dark night sky. Taehyung kept his eyes steadily open, not letting himself blink as incantations were muttered, gestures were made, and everything went white.
~
“We are so late. You take so fucking long to get up I swear.” Jimin muttered as he shoved his books haphazardly into his bag and slung the thing spilling over with study notes and binders on his shoulder without even pausing to zip it up properly and tripping his way out the dorm door. Taehyung rolled his eyes and grinned despite the pounding headache rubbing at his skull.
“Who was the genius that made us marathon an entire season of a show I can’t even remember the title of last night? We may be college students but this is like my third all nighter in a row this week, I’m going to crash and burn if I don’t get some sleep soon. Well, almost all nighter. Two hours of sleep over three days is not enough, of course I didn’t wanna fucking wake up. Objects at rest remain stationary unless an external force acts upon them, etcetera etcetera.” Taehyung informed Jimin all in one rushed breath, tipping back his canned coffee and making a face at the taste, wincing as the pressure his expression exerted on his features just added to the pain in his head. Jimin flipped him off as they rounded the corridor and started down the stairs.
“I fucking hate physics.” Jimin stated passionately and Taehyung hummed his agreement, bursting out into raucous laughter that bounced off the empty dorm hall walls as Jimin tripped on a stair and stumbled and staggered the rest of the way down, the very picture of bedraggled.
“And it appears physics hates you.” Taehyung sang and grabbed a handful of Jimin’s shirt, yanking him upright and tugging him along. Jimin grumbled and groaned his grievances accordingly.
“How the fuck are you so energetic and happy all the time while functioning on two hours of sleep over three days? I will never understand.” Jimin griped and Taehyung shrugged, feeling the caffeine spark that kept him alive and functioning rush through his body. He didn't really know the answer to that. He just seemed… really accustomed, used to functioning on very little sleep. Almost like he'd trained his body that way. Even when he was tired down to his bones, he kept his wits about him, his eyes steadily wide open, feet light, as if some raw survival instinct was keeping him alert. For what, he had no clue.
“You're blessed to be about as energetic and happy as me on your non shitty days. What's up today? I told you you should've shoved off to your own dorm room instead of crashing at mine.” Taehyung replied airily and Jimin shot him a look.
“You were the one who made us stay up till six watching shitty supernatural sighting and theory documentaries. And please tell me my vague memories of starting Vampire Diaries is my brain lying to me.” Jimin spoke mutinously and Taehyung nodded thoughtfully, smile widening.
“Oh yeah, I remember that.”
“It was just… I can't even remember what happened, it was just… beyond unrealistic.” Jimin sighed, shaking his head and Taehyung snorted, raising an eyebrow incredulously.
“And you'd know, somehow?” Taehyung laughed and shoved Jimin who coughed before laughing, sounding a little forced. Taehyung snorted. “Do you happen to know any vampires personally? Is there anything else I should know about you?”
“Fuck off.” Jimin replied easily and Taehyung shrugged at the comment, fishing out his phone to check the time, almost dropping his notebooks and coffee in the juggling process.
“Eight thirty. Did our class start at eight thirty?” Taehyung wondered aloud, and Jimin visibly deflated, steps lagging a little.
“I think it started fifteen minutes ago. Whatever, I'm not awake enough to care.”
“What do you think it’s like, though?” Taehyung spoke suddenly and Jimin gave him an “are you serious” look.
“What, class? We’ve only been attending for around seven months now, I dunno how I could possibly know.” Jimin replied sarcastically, rolling his flat, unimpressed gaze over to Taehyung who just grinned in response, perhaps a little too amused at how cranky and disagreeable Jimin tended to become when tired. He sometimes came back to Taehyung’s dorm room at around four in the morning and collapsed at the foot of his bed where he'd refuse to budge from in the morning. When Taehyung would ask him where he'd been and why he was so tired his entire character flipped 180, Jimin would always give a half assed answer like “out” or “was with friends” and promptly fall straight back asleep. Taehyung assumed he'd just been clubbing or whatever, but he was admittedly curious to know exactly where Jimin went out to during the night. Maybe he'd ask sometime. Next time, if he remembered.
“Nah, I, like every other student, am unfortunate to know exactly what class is like. I meant vampires. Being a vampire. I guess I should've said what do you think they're like?” Taehyung pursed his lips in thought and missed the way Jimin almost tripped over his own feet at the question.
“Uh, what- what do you mean by that? Are you saying that you- think they actually exist?” Jimin laughed, sounding a little strained, something tight and thin about his tone, expression twisting into a vaguely unnatural looking bemused smile. Taehyung raised an eyebrow at him but shrugged, swinging his arms beneath the sun rays that just began peeking out from behind a barricade of clouds in a carefree manner.
“Well, I've never met one before. But that doesn't mean that they don't exist. What if they did, though? Do they wear capes? Do they transform into bats at night? That'd be so cool.” Taehyung mused and Jimin snorted, something in his posture relaxing, loosening just a tiny bit as tension drained away.
“Maybe. What'd you do though, if you met a vampire?” Jimin asked absentmindedly as he ran a hand through his messy hair, shaking his head once, violently.
Taehyung stretched his arms behind his back, closing his eyes as he felt the warm burn rush through his strained, cramped up muscles. He could do with a massage. And some sleep. “Assuming they didn't eat me on the spot, I'd try to make friends with them. Wouldn't that be something. Best friends with a bloodsucking monster. Oh but, how would I communicate? Do you think they speak human languages?”
“Well,” Jimin scratched the back of his neck, flicking his eyebrows and laughed a little uncomfortably. “I mean, why wouldn't they?”
“Fair point.” Taehyung conceded, giving Jimin a brief, questioning stare, at his somewhat weird behaviour, taking in the way his eyes darted away, focusing with a whole lot of unnecessary intensity at the peeling paint of the park bench they passed. Did the thought of vampires actually scare him or something?
“I sure hope you never meet a vampire. You'd be dead before you knew it. Most people would try to, well, you know. Run away? Stay alive? Not get bitten?” Jimin spoke dryly, shooting Taehyung a pointed look, who held a hand to his chest and tried his best to look offended.
“I'm surprised you can still compare me to most people at this point in time. I think I'm gonna need a new friend.” Taehyung huffed and Jimin just laughed, shaking his head.
“Well, when you meet your inevitable untimely death because you're an idiot, can I have your disc thing? That little circle that's like pure silver and really heavy, that thing with the red glass in the centre? That could probably sell for a lot.” Jimin grinned, nudging Taehyung in the ribs with his elbow and Taehyung smiled back, a little belatedly, a little unwillingly, thinking. That… that silver disc thing… he kept it on him at all times. Taehyung couldn't remember when he'd first gotten ahold of it, and he wasn't even sure what it was. It was plain enough, no bigger than a coin, a smaller circle of dark tinted red glass set into the centre of the disc. Plain though it was, it was somehow compelling in an eerie way - something about it drew Taehyung’s focus and sometimes he'd just stare at it for a while, and an odd sensation would weigh heavy in his lower stomach, something like a distant, detached sense of contrition. At times though, when he'd gaze at it, he could swear he’d see the red swirling ever so faintly, and glinting in darker and light shades that suggested movement of liquid.
“We’ll see. Pining after my worldly possessions already? Maybe I should start writing my will now.” Taehyung sniffed and Jimin broke into laughter again, considerably brighter and more awake than when they'd exited Taehyung’s room. Taehyung unzipped his stupidly tight jean pocket and rested his fingertip against the cool silver, rubbing the smooth surface lightly. The bright sunlight washing over them felt a little colder, somehow.
~
Jungkook felt his conscious forcibly dragged through the heavy, confining waves of sleep up to the surface, entire body weighed down with the cage of the sun’s vice-like grip. Maybe it was noon. Well, he didn't know, seeing as the house was pitch black as always. The force of paralysing pressure numbing his limbs and slowing his mind felt about noon, afternoon level, though.
He woke to the taste of blood on his tongue.
He pried his eyes open with immense effort, as if he was splitting a mountain rather than waking up. Though the hot, flowing blood trickling down his throat seized his mind in a frenzy, hunger and instinct bursting into flames that shot throughout his whole body, the sun’s chains ensured that he could only lift trembling, weak fingers painfully slowly up to the human arm hovering near his mouth, fighting against himself. He felt his canines throb.
He gave up on opening his eyes, as it caused his little remaining strength to ebb away as he did so, and used every nerve and fibre in his body to exert pressure on his unresponsive fingers and pull the arm closer. He tightened his lips around the wound on the skin and sucked at the sweet, warm flow of blood with the strength of a newborn kitten. Pathetic as it was, the pangs of hunger and the sluggish haze wound around his mind overrode any sense of his usual pride. As he drank more, the rich, delicious substance sliding down his tongue elicited a tiny, dull ache of pain at the back of his throat. He remembered himself with a flare of alarm and weakly pushed the arm away, fighting against his instincts that screamed and clawed at him to drink. He swallowed his precious last mouthful, wincing as the little teaser of a meal only served to aggravate his hunger to gnaw at him further, like lightly scratching an itch. He hadn't drunk in a long while.
“Seokjin, why…” Jungkook gathered all the breath he didn't need in his lungs to whisper, feeling his head loll to the side out of sheer tiredness. “I was… doing fine… Now I'm- hungry... again.”
“How did you know it was me?” The kind, placating voice spoke somewhere above Jungkook’s head and Jungkook struggled through the cloudy layers in his mind obstructing thought to form a response.
“Could… I could taste you.” Jungkook mumbled, the pull of the sun intensifying slightly and threatening to push him back under. He breathed out in relief when Seokjin moved his arm away and the tantalising scent of blood diminished.
“Fair enough. And I know you try and control drinking to an absolute minimum and I didn't want to cause you to have to fight against that restraint again, but… No matter how little, you need a bit of blood inside you to stay alive. You're starving yourself recently.” Seokjin admonished lightly and Jungkook would’ve snorted if he had the energy to do so.
“You know… what happens if I lose control and just… drink… till I'm full. I'm… training myself. It's going well. I only… need blood… once every month or so now…” Jungkook breathed, lips twitching ever so slightly, a phantom smile. Seokjin sighed.
“That might be okay if you were drinking properly every time you did, but you only take a few sips. I don't even know how you do it. You're not like Namjoon, who can survive off blood once every year or so, he's old enough to be able to. You're a few centuries younger, you need a proper meal at least once every week.” Seokjin murmured, tone stern but laced with worry and Jungkook exhaled slowly, inwardly smiling at Seokjin’s motherly antics.
“You know vampire lore better than I do. Don't worry… I'm fine. Really. Let me sleep…” Jungkook muttered before the black wave of sleep crashed back over his mind, tugging him under.
~
“Hi, Kim Taehyung? How's it going, I'm Jung Hoseok. You're here to donate blood, yeah?” A guy with a bright, sunny smile greeted Taehyung at the sterile, spacious and echoing hospital waiting room, like a splash of colour dashed within the otherwise grey, pristine, cold and unfeeling walls. Taehyung smiled and nodded, getting to his feet. The guy led him across the waiting room, the sound of their footsteps clicking against the polished floor plastic and stiff, like everything else. Taehyung didn’t let any of it bother him.
“Hey Dr Jung, can I call you Hoseok?” Taehyung asked cheerily and Hoseok lifted his eyebrows at the most likely unexpectedly friendly tone and pursed his lips, nodding as if to say “well, I don’t see why not”.
“If I can call you Taehyung, then yes, of course. Well, here comes the small talk. What’s got you in such high spirits today, Taehyung? Most first-timers look at least a little nervous.” Hoseok spoke brightly, offering a grin that exuded warmth and welcome, with the familiarity of an old friend. Taehyung wondered whether he was like this with everyone.
“Hm, I don’t know. I’m not particularly happy? Oh, but, I’m not sad or anything, I just… yeah. I’m here to give blood. That’s all.” Taehyung shrugged nonchalantly and Hoseok shot him a quick imperceptible look that Taehyung almost missed.
“What for? Ah, wait, don't get me wrong, as a doctor I highly encourage eligible people to donate blood to a good cause and all that, but I’m just curious.” Hoseok raised an eyebrow as he pushed open an office-like ward door. The room was a little off to the side from the main rooms of the hospital, a little in the corner, a little in the shadow, and Taehyung briefly wondered what that was about. Maybe donating blood required different rooms to the more prioritised or emergency wards for actual patients. Made sense. He couldn’t help thinking the area was little too excluded from the hustle and bustle of the white gowns and smart clipboards, though.
“Oh that’s because… because,” Taehyung paused, letting a frown tighten his expression, slight twinges of unease and confusion flickering in his mind. He actually had no idea. He just… he was just a registered blood donor. He didn’t really remember why. And how he’d remembered and ended up here at the hospital. When did he register again? Couldn’t have been too long ago, could it? Well, Taehyung was prone to making on the spot (sometimes rash) decisions that had Jimin face palming (and sometimes joining in). Maybe he’d just decided on this a while ago and forgot about it till now. “I’m not sure. Well, I’m here now.”
“Welcome. And yeah, no matter what reason, you’re here now, donating blood and saving lives. What a champ, go you.” Hoseok grinned and Taehyung couldn’t help but return it, relaxed and casual as if he and Hoseok were lifelong friends.
Dusk was setting in its shadow over the buildings topped with gold and lined with rays of the setting sun as Taehyung walked out of the hospital, and he rubbed his bare arms as he strolled through the empty streets, gazing up at the streaks of dull pink and vivid gold stretching over the sky. He wondered if Jimin was out again tonight. He’d texted Jimin saying he was out saving lives and had gotten no reply yet. Maybe this time he’d finally remember to ask which cool hideout Jimin was off to every so often, leaving his poor best friend behind at the dorm to sob over awful soap operas and heartwarming animal rescue documentaries alone.
He was around thirty metres away from the campus grounds when he sensed it.
It wasn’t really any sound or any sign of movement or anything. It was just… As the steel grey creeping across the sky bled into ink blue, something…
Something was there.
Taehyung wasn’t sure how he knew. He didn’t believe in the concept of a sixth sense for someone who regularly expressed an unabashed desire to communicate with life forms from outer space including rabbits on the moon, and he was pretty sure he wasn’t experiencing hallucinations here. He might’ve chalked it up to his lack of sleep playing tricks on his eyes but it felt like the opposite. His senses tingled with sharp, undiluted focus, his mind almost astonishingly clear, steady as he observed his surroundings, trying to pinpoint the source of unease. He closed his mouth and smoothed out his expression, adopting a casual, leisurely gait like he hadn't noticed a thing. The sky darkened more, the air seeming to draw in and compress against Taehyung’s back as he continued to take languid strides, trying to reach out with his senses to see if he could detect anything, keeping his posture relaxed even as his heart hammered in his chest, rattling against his ribcage as he continued to sense something right there.
He didn't really feel fully scared until the streetlight he passed under went out. As his vision was plunged into temporary blindness from lack of light, he thought he heard something behind him and whipped around, blinking his eyes furiously to try and adjust to the dark, heart leaping up into his throat.
“You're right. He doesn't have anything on him.” A brittle voice sounded about a metre in front of him and the streetlight flickered feebly, allowing Taehyung to see two figures standing before him, unmoving in an eerie way. Who were they? Were they talking to him? What did he mean by that? What did they want? Fear began pulsing in quick, steady beats and Taehyung found himself instinctively reaching for his back pocket for- something, blinking in confusion as if he was coming out of a trance as his fingers closed around nothing.
“Doesn't seem to have a clue either.” The other one replied in a nasally tone, taking a few smooth, almost oily steps towards Taehyung who immediately shifted back, footsteps free and light, effortless even though Taehyung himself was almost fainting in fear. There was something… a little off, about these two. About the way they moved. Or rather… the lack of movement. Like they were gliding rather than walking towards him.
“Lucky.” The first one murmured, quiet voice seeming to ring out unnaturally, disrupting the atmosphere in shockwaves. That was the only warning Taehyung got before he appeared right in front of Taehyung in a split second of blurry movement, unnaturally sharp looking, long fingers lashing out before his eyes. Taehyung felt something shut down inside him, and he let some instinct he didn't know the origin of take over, side stepping and sweeping an arm under, fingers stiff and straight, cutting down like a knife into the person’s stomach, barely flinching at the solid, almost immovable contact that sent little shocks up his arm. The person reared back, staggering, and Taehyung let out a choked breath he didn't know he'd been holding, taking hasty steps back, almost tripping over himself, blood roaring in his ears. How the fuck had that person moved so fast? How had he managed to react to it? What was going on? That was all he had time to think before the other one materialised before his eyes and lunged at him, hardly giving him any moment to breathe before he had to throw his head back to avoid the- claws? From ripping a hole in his face. The tip of one snagged on his lip and Taehyung felt pain explode in his lip and heat pour out as blood. There was no time to focus on it as the person’s other hand shot forward towards his chest like the thrust of a blade, and Taehyung caught his wrist right before his fingers made contact. His eyes darted down and he blanched in sheer shock and mind-numbing terror. Those were definitely claws, thin, horrifyingly sharp and translucent, outstretched and pointed right over Taehyung’s thudding heart. They would've shredded his skin to ribbons. His vision slid in and out of focus and he swallowed, entire arm shaking with the effort of holding those claws still, a hair’s breadth away from his body.
“What are-” Taehyung started uselessly, staring up into the silver glint of unnaturally sharp teeth winking from an otherwise dark face framed in shadow, tone dying away as if the air had been stolen from his lungs. They were staring at his mouth, or more specifically, the blood dripping down from his cut lip down his chin.
“Oh? A normal human would’ve died the moment I attacked. You sure?” The… the creature turned to its buddy who shrugged, the almost unsubstantial silhouette standing before the weak glow of the streetlight straightening.
“I mean, neither of us are dead yet, so-” The person’s voice suddenly cut off with an abrupt, quiet, wheezing exhalation like all the air had been driven from his lungs at once. Both Taehyung and Mr Claws in front of him whipped around to stare at the sound and saw the figure stiffen, frozen in a way that wasn’t quite the same as that eerie, nonhuman way before, more like a static image. A new person standing behind them tugged their hand back out of the limp body, letting Taehyung see a dark, thick spray burst from the split second of light shining through the hole that had been ripped clean through that figure’s back as it crumpled to the ground. He thought he saw a flash of mint green as the person disappeared and reappeared right beside Taehyung in the same instant, casually grabbing the person Taehyung was still gripping the wrist of and shoving him aside with the effort of pulling back curtains. Even though the person flew back a good two metres or so, groaning at the thud of impact against concrete as he landed. Taehyung stared up into a flat, startlingly bright amber gaze, gleaming in the reflection of the streetlight and the slightest hint of sharp teeth, and his heart, beating in overdrive, seemed to stop, blackness rushing up and engulfing him as he fell backwards.
~