somepoorsoul | (no subject)

The night is damp and chilly for May, but that has not stopped the university’s young revelers from stumbling about in drunken celebration, even past midnight. Athos only ever comes this far north to visit the stables, and it is strange to be here so late at night, amongst the older, more scattered houses, stuffed full of students nine months out of the year. Outside the university, neighborhoods fall away to countryside fairly quickly; it is no surprise that so many could so easily go missing.

Athos has spoken little during their late-night trek to the edge of campus, thoughts focused, as best he can, on the task at hand. Is he glad that Porthos agreed to come along, or nervous? He still trusts Porthos with his life, and always will, but he fears that the man has been guilted or coerced into this venture. Believing what he does (knowing what he does), why would he follow Athos anywhere?

But they are here now. Athos leans against a lamppost that leaves him half-illuminated. Celebrants are now stumbling home in ones and twos, and fewer of them seem out and about. If the vampires intend to strike tonight, it will likely be soon, now that most students have gone home, leaving the more foolish (and the more drunk) to venture into the darkness alone and vulnerable. He glances at Aramis, their "bait" for the night, and then, briefly, meets Porthos' gaze. “Still up for this?" he asks them both.

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From:

somepoorsoul

Athos huffs a laugh - yes, an actual laugh - and shakes his head. “After,” he says with a lift of his brow, and then, “Go. I’m right behind you.”

But he lingers a moment after Aramis’ kiss, his hand resting on the other man’s chest. He can see the panic in Aramis’ eyes, for all the man bravely tries to hide it, but he also respects Aramis’ pride. Athos will not insist that Aramis stay, waiting uselessly for them for the sake of his fears.

“Guard the way out,” he tells Aramis instead, turning away and going to dangle his feet over the dark tunnel. “In case any friends decide to come home late. Let’s not end up surrounded.” The plan is practical, for they still need to keep an eye out for any vampires lurking in the woods, but Athos also hopes that in keeping Aramis at the edge of the tunnel, he might calm the man’s fears.

From:

du_vallon

Porthos flexes his forearms, thinking longingly of all the kisses he hasn't had with Athos since all this began and how much he desperately misses kissing the man. He sets his feet in the dark, his eyes alight on the way forward and he forces himself to wait for Athos before he starts charging, lest he get out of his depth.

From:

afineseamstress

And then they are both gone. Aramis spreads his hand over his chest where Athos' hand had lingered, fingers pressed to the rosary beneath. He lifts it to his lips and forces himself downward, lowering himself into the dark below.

Even with the night above, the tunnel is dark, and it is difficult to see more than the shapes of Porthos and Athos ahead of him. Aramis grips his torch in one hand, his pistol in the other, and waits.

From:

somepoorsoul

Thankfully, the tunnel is not very long. Soon it widens out into a dark, windowless basement. The air is thick with the smell of blood; startled, Athos must cover his nose with his sleeve to stop from gagging. By Aramis' torchlight, he sees a stairway leading upward, and in the corner, a dreadful sight - a pile of bodies.

No, Athos realizes with horror, some of them are still alive. Huddled against their companions that no longer breathe, three of the missing students squint as the light hits them. Athos can see dirty bandages on their necks and wrists, and must again stop himself from gagging.

From:

du_vallon

Porthos' face falls, the horror showing in his eyes (though thankfully the dark obscures some of that) as he takes in the awful sight before him. He moves onwards to nod towards them, letting Athos try and tend to them while Porthos looks for their captors. He keeps quiet in his footsteps as he goes, but vampires still have that unnatural way of hearing. Occasionally, they have speed too.

He should've seen it coming, but all of a sudden, he feels strong hands whirling him around, fangs pricking into his neck. Unfortunately for the vampire, that little turn brings him face to face with a crucifix that he recoils at, giving Porthos an opportunity to dig out one of the wooden stakes. "I know I'm handsome," he quips, "does well for the ego," he says, using his boot to kick the vampire back enough to follow through with a stake to the heart.

From:

afineseamstress

Hearing a fight begin at the other end of the tunnel, Aramis starts forward anxiously, glancing between the place where his brothers have disappeared and the hole above him. That their escape could be cut off is a real danger, but so too is the possibility of Athos and Porthos being overwhelmed in the small space.

Aramis is almost grateful when choice is removed from him in the next moment, as two vampires - almost as if sensing their presence in their nest - drop through the hole to land before Aramis. The first hesitates at the sight of his crucifix and tattoo, but the other charges forward, forcing Aramis to get his sword up to drive him back.

From:

somepoorsoul

Unfortunately, Athos doesn’t have time to reach the trembling victims in the corner – at least not immediately. Hearing a door open on the landing above, he looks up just in time to see one of those creatures leaping down upon him. Athos falls to the ground, he and the vampire grapple as it tries to get its fangs into his skin. One of the poor souls in the corner screams, and Athos is almost glad for it – at least one of those students is conscious and has wits enough left to be frightened.

Fighting for what control he can, Athos manages to pull out his dagger and plunge it into the vampire’s heart. He hears something hiss when the silver blade sinks into flesh, and the creature lets out an animal scream as it falls back. Ignoring the way his vision still swims from the impact of the fall, he races for the stairway with his pistol out, ready to take on whatever waits upstairs.

From:

du_vallon

Porthos bites back the shout on the tip of his tongue, intending to scream at Athos to be cautious, but he's got people to help. Now that the area is cleared somewhat, he rushes to them to start trying to get them out of their miserable situation. "Easy now," he coaxes. "Shout if I need to kill anything behind me. Athos, Aramis, same goes for you."

From:

afineseamstress

Their voices echo down the corridor to him, and Aramis spares a dart of a glance to Porthos' shape moving towards him, someone in his arms. If he can't dispatch these new vampires, Porthos will be leading them from one feeding den to another, and he pulls out his pistol, firing two shots that strike each vampire between the eyes. It's not the sort of noise he wanted to make, but the need was greater than that of discretion.

"Let me see," he says, hurrying forward to examine the woman in Porthos' arms. "Leave her, Athos needs you," he says, helping her down to the floor.

From:

somepoorsoul

Even before Athos reaches the top of the stair, other vampires are emerging, surely warmed by the commotion in the basement. Athos fires his pistol at the first one, felling it – he may not be the shot Aramis is, but the distance isn’t far, and he has been learning to use these modern guns – and then throws his knife into a second. “Porthos!” he shouts, for there are more vampires still. He prays that Aramis is doing well enough on his own.

From:

du_vallon

Porthos hands off the woman to Aramis and hurries back, sprinting with all his bearing leaning in. He tackles two of the vampires to the ground, struggling when one of them manages to get atop him, but his blade makes quick work. The second, though, isn't quite so eager to go down. "Athos," he calls out. "Could use a shot," he suggests.

From:

afineseamstress

"Here, now," Aramis murmurs, doing his best to stay focused on the injured students before him. He's brought his kit and what supplies will fit in it, and he hands each a small bottle filled with water and electrolytes before he examines their bandages, exchanging old, dirty scraps for fresh, clean bindings after he's looked over each wound.

"Here is my phone," he says, handing his mobile to the most alert. "Call for help, I need to make certain my friends are alright." It's easier, now, to contemplate going deeper into the dark knowing that Athos and Porthos are still in the fight. "Does anyone know how to shoot?"

Aramis hands a pistol to the one boy who raises his hand. "These bullets will bring down a vampire, but use them sparingly, and be certain," he says. "I'll return as soon as I can."

And with that, Aramis steels himself and plunges forward into the tunnel, following the sounds of battle.

From:

somepoorsoul

Athos is kneeling to yank his knife out of one dead vampire; at Porthos’ call, he turns and fires, smiling grimly as the creature drops to the ground. Though he has always craved danger, he doesn’t like to think of himself as one who gets satisfaction from killing. And yet these monsters, with their evil hungers and soulless tactics, deserve only death. Athos is glad to see them gone from this world, and glad to have been the one to help them along.

The ramshackle building is finally quiet, and no more creatures emerge from the shadows. Slowly he rises to his feet, still too suspicious to declare victory outright, but prepared to say that they may have cleared the nest. “Porthos,” he begins, peering into the room’s dark corners to ensure that no more shapes lurk there, “Go check on Ar-“

Without warning, something tackles him from behind. Athos falls with a shout, his pistol flying out of his hand and skittering across the floor.

From:

du_vallon

"Athos!" Porthos shouts in panic, instantly turning away from the dust and corpses left when Athos' weapon goes scattering. He growls, a feral and dangerous thing as he cracks all his knuckles, hauling off the vampire. "Get off my boyfriend," he snaps at the thing, not a hint of mercy in him as he pummels the thing in, its fangs making his knuckles bleed. Finally, when he feels abject pleasure that he's gotten his delights, he drives the stake into its heart, sagging backwards.

"Please tell me that's all of them," he murmurs.

From:

afineseamstress

"Yes," says Aramis, arriving breathless from his sprint at the top of the stairs, "Do." He looks between them, going first to Athos' prone form, deciding that if Porthos is upright and able to pulverize vampires with his fists, he's the healthier.

"Are you hurt?" he asks, helping Athos up to lean against Porthos where he can look at them both, eyes sweeping up and down for injury. "I have the children stabilized downstairs, but we must get out of here."

From:

somepoorsoul

The fall knocks the breath out of him, but by the time the vampire is dead at Porthos’ hands, and Aramis is pulling him to his feet, Athos is recovered. He nods, carefully feeling his tender skull and finding a bump, but it’s nothing that won’t heal.

“How many are there?” he asks of the children, adding after a beat, “alive?"

From:

du_vallon

Porthos wraps his arm around Athos' waist to keep him standing, balancing him in place for Aramis to look after. "I think I saw two or three still moving and well," he says, grave given all the lives they couldn't save. "With luck, no one else will suddenly go missing around this area." He gives Athos a fond look. "You did good, researching this, figuring it out."

From:

afineseamstress

Aramis reaches ginger fingers over Athos' scalp, shining his torch in his eyes when he feels a bump. "We shall have matching lumpy heads," he assesses, "But we will survive."

Stepping back, Aramis turns for the stairs. "And there are three conscious, I must check the others for signs of life now that the danger has passed. An ambulance is coming for any survivors. Porthos, do not let him attempt the stairs on his own just yet."

From:

somepoorsoul

“I’m fine,” Athos feels the need to call after Aramis as the man descends the stairs. Nevertheless, he is inclined to remain with Porthos, leaning up against him, drinking in his warmth and his kindness. He isn’t sure he deserves either, but he is tired of resisting their call, whatever tensions might still exist between them.

“Tomorrow I will need to telephone the parents of those who were caught by these monsters - the living and the dead. They deserve to know what really happened.” His gaze flickers to Porthos. “Will you help me?"

From:

du_vallon

Porthos fusses a little with the hair around that bump on the head, giving himself a chance to inspect it and see how bad it is. He rubs a hand up and down Athos' shoulder for comfort, even if he might not think he needs it. "Of course," he promises. "Only, what is it you think we'll say? The truth about the vampires?"

From:

afineseamstress

"Say they were taken by some sort of predator," calls Aramis as he searches through the bodies, his forearm over his nose and mouth. "Heaven knows they bear every sign of it. And the hospital will alert their families that they are alive, at least." It's the calls to the dead children's families that gives Aramis real pause.

Examining still form after form, Aramis eyes are burning with grief and with anger when he stands, holding the ravaged form of a single girl, the only one among them all left alive. He strides with her to where the other victims huddle, not certain she'll even last another hour, let alone until tomorrow, but he won't let her die in this hole.

From:

somepoorsoul

“They were taken by some sort of predator.” Athos gently extricates himself from Porthos’ arms, however warm and inviting, in order to descend the stair and help Aramis. The sight below is still too terrible, too wretched. “They should know what sort.” Even if they do not believe us, Athos thinks. Better the truth than the lies the police and hospitals will feed them.

Pausing to give Aramis’ shoulder a squeeze of thanks for all he has done, Athos returns to the narrow passageway, and the opening to blessed fresh air. “Bring them this way,” he says. “I will lift them out."

From:

du_vallon

"No," Porthos replies gently, "You won't. You took a good hit to the head and I'm stronger, anyhow," he points out. "You can help me get them out at the top, but I'll do the heavy lifting." It is, after all, what he's best at.

From:

afineseamstress

The children are all exhausted, malnourished and bled, and Aramis is beyond grateful for Porthos' strength when they will nearly be dead weight. "Go on," he says to Athos, nodding down at the girl in his arms. Surely it is easiest if Porthos lifts them from below, and Athos pulls from above. "I'll remain here with her until everyone is out."

From:

somepoorsoul

Athos’ lips quirk into a long-suffering smile at Porthos’ tone, but he nods. They may be surrounded by misery and death, but by some strange magic, the man’s gentleness after weeks of silence now warms him. He enters the short tunnel and returns to the narrow entryway that gained them access to the basement. There – carefully, quietly – he lifts himself out, lifting his pistol as he scans the trees for any additional vampires that may be lurking. But all is quiet, save for the wind rustling leaves.

“All clear,” he calls back the way he came, putting his pistol away. His sword is still sitting on the ground where he left it, untouched, and he gratefully returns that to his belt as well.