Static Reflections: Book 1 of The M... - Chapter 37: Chapter 37

Opening the car door and getting inside, Boris watched as the lemur opened their side and got in. He blinked. "You're really just fine getting in the car with someone who just tried to murder you?"
"Well . . . you can't," Pierce responded. "I just assumed I'm coming along to learn why."
"That's . . . not the answer I expected." Boris buckled his seatbelt. "Are you sure you don't want to try to run away or go home?"
Pierce leaned against the door. "Not until you explain what the hell you cut yourself for. And making me drink your blood? What was that about? And how's your arm?"
"Healed." Boris sighed. "It's certainly an interesting first meeting." He looked in the rearview mirror. "So . . . when were you bitten?"
"Bitten? You never bit me." Pierce wiggled their nose at the strange question.
"You haven't made the connection that blood healed you?" Boris asked them.
"I don't get what you're saying..."
"Don't you know you're a vampire?"
"I . . ." Pierce seemed to lose their breath. They blinked and felt around as if they didn't believe the car around them was there. They pulled the handle of the door and stumbled out, falling onto the ground below, panting. "You're joking!"
Boris watched, concerned. "Hey!"
The other animal was on their knees, palms pressed to the ground. "You're . . . you're joking, right? Th-that's not funny."
"I wish I was," Boris told them. "You already know that blood heals you, though. There isn't a scratch on you! And you know I stabbed you a bunch of times!"
Pierce's body shivered and they shook their head. "But . . . how? How?! I'm at home during the day and work at night! How . . ." They sniffled. "What will my family think?! Ohh . . ."
Boris sighed. "Pierce . . . Get back in the car. I know you're scared of this news but it will be okay."
"How?!" Pierce cried, laying down on the ground then and curling up, not caring about the dirt from the asphalt against their clothes. "I'm a freaking horror movie monster!"
The otter unbuckled and got out of the car, coming over and kneeling down beside them. "I know how you feel. I do. I'm possessed, actually. It feels weird to speak about casually, but it's true. His name is Absalom, and now that I've told you his name, you'll be able to see my reflection."
"I don't . . . know what you're talking about . . ." Pierce mumbled against the ground, feeling the rough surface of it on their cheek. "Wait, did I lose mine?"
"Your what?" Boris asked.
"My reflection! Vampires don't have reflections, remember?" Pierce then thought clearly for a moment. "No, wait . . . I saw my reflection while I was cleaning, so I still have it. Oh god, what's happening?"
Boris placed a hand on their back. "I don't know how this happened to you, but I do know that you should come back with me."
"You said it was a test . . . ." Pierce said. "So, did you know from the beginning?"
Boris stood up. "Absalom nor I knew that you were a vampire until I attacked you. I just said that so you'd come with me."
"Wait, then how did you . . . ?"
"Well, you couldn't die, and there are only a few things that would make that happen," Boris explained. "Vampire is the most common, according to Absalom."
"Didn't it hurt when you cut yourself?"
"Oh, I gave him control for a moment, so he felt it. I only saw it."
"You can . . . do that?" Pierce gawked.
"Well, he has to take control himself, but I didn't fight it," said Boris. "You don't recall anything that could have happened to you that would make this happen?"
Pierce shook their head. "Not at all . . . no." They sat up, looking around. "I didn't think vampires actually existed. Then again, did anyone?"
Boris nodded. "I'm sure there's someone out there."
The lemur got up, brushing themselves off. "I guess we can leave my car here. It's locked. Uh, I'll see it again, right?"
"Probably not for a while," Boris admitted, only trying to be honest.
"Then can I please park it back at my apartment before we go? Please?"
The otter exhaled. "Okay. But I'll be right behind you."
"Pfft. I'm not gonna try anything."
"I'll be right behind you."
Pierce exhaled softly before their ears perked. "Wait, wait, wait! I gotta do something!"
"Huh?" Boris blinked.
Pierce took their phone out quickly. "I should at least tell my subscribers I'm gonna be gone for a while."
"Subscribers?"
"Oh, yeah! I'm an indie content creator on MyTube! I have a channel called Pierce's Pier! I review music and horror movies, ya know. I've actually done a lot since I work at night! And I'm almost at 500 subscribers, too! I just gotta make a community post that I'll be gone for a while."
Boris just sat stunned for a moment. "You don't get it, do you?"
Almost right after he said this, the cellphone in Pierce's dark hands began to glitch, the screen flashing and the content on it multiplying. The lemur's brows furrowed as they tapped their claw against it over and over. "Huh? It's not working."
"That's because Absalom is controlling it somehow. Sorry, but we can't take any risks."
"But what about my channel?" Pierce blinked.
The otter groaned. "This is so much bigger than that!" He sighed. "Come on, let's just get your car to your place so we can move on."
The vampire pouted. "Okay . . . ."
After bringing the car back to their apartment, Pierce got back into Boris's fancy dark blue automobile. "Okay. Now we're all good. I won't have to worry about it getting stolen the entire time now."
"I doubt you would have even focused on that," answered Boris, waiting for them to buckle up and then driving down the road. "You're fortunate that you're a vampire," the otter said. "I would have killed you otherwise."
"So you are a killer," Pierce accused. Something else they noticed was that the otter's wounds were healed now.
Boris shook his head. "N-no. I'm-- I don't want to be. I just have to."
"Why?"
"Because!" The otter slowed the car to a halt at a stop sign, looking left and right. It was clear, so he took the car right. "Bad things will happen if I don't . . . ."
"What bad things?"
Boris looked into the mirror. What should I say to him? What should I do?
"Tell him that the world will end if you don't," Absalom responded in his head.
That's lying!
"You've lied enough already. He won't understand, otherwise."
Boris inhaled. "If I don't, the world will end . . . ."
"Really?!" Pierce looked astounded, hand on their chest.
"Yes . . . It's the only way," Boris stated, feeling terrible about lying but knowing that Pierce wouldn't think Boris's real reason was good enough. He was killing animals to protect the animals he loved. Was that so wrong? But they all had animals they loved, too. It was wrong. And yet--
"That's crazy . . . ." Pierce whispered. "I really stumbled into an end of the world situation . . . like in the movies. We got blood everywhere and even broke a mirror! Wait! What about Clive's? And I can't just disappear! They'll look for me!"
Boris waved his hand. "It will be fine, trust me."
"It's tough to trust you or believe anything you say. . . At least I don't have any friends that will worry about me, I guess." They leaned their head against the window, bringing a finger to their mouth and rubbing it against their teeth. My fangs don't feel any different, and they already look like vampire fangs. Hmm, but when did it happen? Who did this?
"That's good, at least," Boris grinned as the car's headlights illuminated the dark road in front of them. They passed by building after building with their lights on inside, but that was, nonetheless, closed. It gave this part of Austin a lively ghost town feeling as if there were animals out there hidden behind the walls, but if you turned to find them, there'd be nothing. It was an ominous feeling.
Pierce frowned. "Glad it's good, I guess . . . So where are we going now?"
"Downing Manor," Boris stated.
"Wait, seriously?! You're that Boris?!" Pierce gasped. Everyone knew about the Downings and their invention. They were in the news more often than not and, when Pierce had been in high school, all the students would talk about the lavish parties they didn't realize were open to commoners and imagined what went on there and how snooty the Downings were. Now, Pierce was in a car with one, and he was like this. So that's why the car was so fancy!
"Yes, I am," Boris nodded. "It's rather unfortunate, don't you think? To be known by so many and have to crawl around in darkness? Of course, I always scorned the limelight anyway."
"You did?" queried Pierce, scratching behind their ear.
"I never wanted all of those animals looking at me," the otter told them, taking a left in the road.
"Oh." The lemur continued to watch the world blur outside. "Huh." They felt strange. With Pierce's Pier, they were enjoying the compliments and attention their channel got. It might have been sad, but it almost felt like they had hundreds of friends. Animals genuinely seemed to care about them in their comments. And now, the fate of their channel was up in the air. Pierce tried to put a band-aid on the thoughts by telling themselves that all their subscribers were only strangers.
Arriving at Downing Manor, the two exited Boris's car and went to the gate, where Marx let them in at Gerald's son's request. Boris led Pierce through the lawn and around the house, down into the basement. The primate had some hesitancy following him into that dark abyss but soon went along, knowing he couldn't kill them by any normal means.
Boris took them out of the basement and into the fancy hallway with the red carpet and antique lighting; taking them to the elevator, they subsequently rode up to the third floor. Once the golden gate of the elevator opened and they stepped off, the door to Leah's room immediately opened, and she came storming out, wearing her pink pajamas that were akin to Boris's scarlet ones. She looked angry.
Leah approached, standing right in front of Boris like a stiff board. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"
"Me? What?" the otter frowned.
"You brought a vampire into a witch's home!"
Boris looked at Pierce. "You can tell?"
Pierce felt very awkward watching these two squabble. They did feel the need to speak up, though. "How? 'Cause I didn't even know!" Yet, they could feel a certain type of energy coming from Leah that somehow confirmed she was a witch.
Leah held up her hand. "Nice try, but you can't fool me, scumsucker. Now tell me, which brood sent you?"
"B-brood?" Pierce frowned, stepping back. "Are you going to kill me?"
She squinted at them. "I know how."
Boris stood between them. "Leah, shut your mouth. You can't say anything because you never told me anything about this."
"Vampires and witches are sworn enemies!" Leah explained. "We have a complicated and twisted history together!"
"And you thought to say none of this to me?!"
"I didn't know you were letting vampires hitchhike!" Leah tried to keep her voice intense but as quiet as possible. "Where the hell did you find him?" Her eyes scanned the lemur's bloody shirt. "What was he up to?!"
"I did that!" Boris revealed. "He was my next target!"
"Dumbass, don't you know you can't kill vampires by normal means?!"
"I didn't know he was a goddamn vampire!"
"THEY!" Pierce inserted, cutting the sibling's words to bits and letting the remains sprinkle onto the floor. "I'm not a he or she. I'm just me. Furthermore, neither of us knew I was a vampire! And I also just found out possession and witches exist, so I'm sorry if I'm a little overwhelmed!"
Leah huffed. "I'm trying to help you, honey, but you can't be bringing my immortal enemies here."
"Pfft. I'm not gonna do anything," said Pierce. "I just want to learn more about myself." They turned to Boris. "Maybe I can find one of these broods, where I belong."
Leah came forward now, sniffing him. "You reek of another, stronger vampire. How were you turned?"
"I don't know!" Pierce threw their hands into the air. "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know! I don't know anything about myself or what happened, and that's the whole reason I'm here! Don't decide I'm your enemy before I even do anything!"
Leah exhaled, closing her eyes for a long moment, then opening them. "You . . . seriously don't know what happened or that someone turned you?"
"I promise!"
". . . Hm. Are you even actually a vampire? Is there any proof?" Leah asked, crossing her arms.
"I already got proof," Boris told her. "He drank some of my blood, and it healed all the wounds he had received from me."
"They," Pierce corrected. "And anyway, you already had proof because you can smell me!"
"Well, I could also have just been smelling the other vampire on you," Leah told them. "My coven will burn me at the stake if they know you're here. You need to keep your powers on the down-low."
"Powers? You mean like turning into a bat and junk?!" Pierce gasped almost excitedly.
"Vampires can't actually do that," the witch said. "It would be rather painful if they could, and it would be painful every time."
"But . . . magic, right?" Pierce tilted their head.
"That's not how magic works. Magic is almost like another part of science in itself. There are methodologies and specifics to remember. Limits. No one has unlimited power. The universe balances it out. Some are stronger than others, but no one is the strongest."
Pierce kicked at the carpet with their quirky shoes. "Damn . . . so the movies were wrong?"
"Not wrong, per se . . . It's just not how real magic works," said Leah. She looked at Boris, then. "Well, what are you gonna do with them? What was your goal?"
The other otter shrugged. "Absalom told me to bring him here. What for, I don't know yet."
"Well, keep them hidden. I don't want my coven finding out about this."
"Why not just take me to a brood?" Pierce asked again.
"You don't want to go there," Leah sighed. "Broods are like the frat houses of vampirism. But worse. In fact, the whole concept of what a brood is has changed over time, and with the recent laws that say a vampire can't drink the blood from mortals, it's like a band of rebels now."
"Vampires can't drink . . . blood?" Pierce put a hand to their neck. "But . . . we need that to live, don't we?"
". . . I'm sorry," Leah said, looking to the side.
"Who made that rule?!" Pierce questioned furiously.
"The Mortal Guard," Leah said. "If we don't follow their rules, they'll capture us and take us to who knows where. Even if we aren't a part of it, they basically run the supernatural world with how powerful they are. If they really wanted to, they could find us."
"Like a . . . government?" Pierce was flabbergasted. All these things that existed this whole time right under their nose.
"Like a military force," Boris told them. "That's why I need to be careful out there. I committed a supernatural crime in public, once, so I'm already on their most wanted list."
"But if vampires can't drink blood, they'll die!" Pierce whined.
"I think that's what they want . . . ." Leah flattened out her pajama shirt as she spoke. "I hate to break it to you, but your kind is dangerous and uses their abilities to do terrible things. Since you're a fledgling vampire, it's good because now you get to decide if you want to be good or not."
"Vampires . . . are the bad guys?" Pierce looked down. "Oh . . ." So there was no hope of finding a family, friends like them, or even surviving long enough to meet any good ones. They were doomed. "I need to take a moment. This is kinda . . . everything."
Leah looked a little sad for them. "Hm . . . I'm sorry again. I'm going back to bed. Boris, we'll talk in the morning, okay?" She hugged him, then looked at Pierce one last time before returning to her room.
"Come on," Boris said, making his way to the end of the hallway and pushing the door open to his room, where a German shepherd sat on the bed, waiting for him with a rather upset face.
"Look who decided to finally show up," Tyler hissed.
"I swear I thought I'd be back by now," the otter responded. "I . . ."
"No. You left in the middle of the night and didn't even tell me. What were you doing?" Tyler's head looked at the lemur just a little behind Boris. "Who's this?!" He wiggled his head. "What if the Mortal Guard had caught you out there?! How would I know?! You have to communicate these things to me, Boris!"
Boris hadn't expected him to act this way when he returned, though he should have honestly known. "I apologize. I didn't realize you wanted to come with me on my killing sprees."
"Ugh, it's not that. You were out cold last time I saw you. And what the hell happened?! What the hell was all that after the song?!"
Boris sighed. "Pierce, you can sit down on the edge of the bed."
Not needing to be told twice, Pierce did just that, looking down at their shoes and tracing the outlines of symbols with their eyes.
Boris sat on the bed, sighing heavily. "Like I told you . . . I went somewhere. I was myself, but I wasn't, and there was a goat. Then I passed out and went back to Absalom's dream world, or whatever you want to call it. He didn't tell me anything about who the goat was, but he did tell me my next target." He gestured back to the lemur. "Pierce Tucker. So I went to kill them, but they didn't die. It turns out I was trying to kill a vampire with a knife, which was, of course, foolish. After everything, Absalom told me to bring them back here, but I don't know why."
"A vampire???" Tyler gazed in their direction, lingering there. "A possessed guy, a witch, and a vampire. Then there's me, the only normal one out of all of you. Just great. He's not gonna try and suck my blood, is he?"
"They," Pierce corrected, giving their head a 180. "And no, I won't because apparently there's a law against it."
"A law? What?"
"The Mortal Guard made it to kill off the vampires," Boris told Tyler.
"That's . . . fucked," the canine blinked.
"And apparently, vampires are bad guys!" Pierce complained. "It's a messy world."
"That's for sure," Tyler agreed. "So . . . what do we do now?"
Boris looked at both of them, then shook his head. "I genuinely don't know."