Trigger Warning: This is a One Direction/Vampire AU. There will be extreme violence and death in the majority of the chapters. If you are squeamish, I would not suggest reading.
Author’s Note: This is an edited version of a popular fan fiction I posted in 2012. It was originally posted on my personal blog mashedpotatoes-withhazzasgravy, the plot is still the same for those who have read it, but grammatical changes have been made. Please enjoy!
I had just gotten off work, and I was on my way to Ms. Cromwell’s house. She was a lovely older woman in her late seventies who always came into the bakery I worked at for some bread. Her two sons Henry and Edward both died in the past year from consumption, we were having an outbreak of it in our small town. Almost thirty people had died of it that year, including my Father.
Ms. Cromwell didn’t have any help bringing bread home, and I had always felt guilty having her walk all that way from the bakery to her small cabin. So, I started bringing her some bread and sneaking out some pastries for her on Sundays after I got off work. Her and I bonded over it and she had become a great friend of mine.
Times had been extremely rough for me and my family. After my Father died, my Mum had to find work. That wasn’t exactly easy for a woman of her age. We had always been middle class and had been able to afford a comfortable living, but after my Father died we were getting zero income. Me and my Mother were forced to find work, and my sister, Katherine, had been trying her best to find herself a suitable husband. My Mother didn’t get much money cleaning houses, so it was pretty much my job to bring in the pay roll. I was fine with that, I loved taking care of my family, but my job didn’t make enough. I hadn’t been able to pay our maids in almost two months. They had all deserted us except for Charlotte.
Charlotte was the daughter of mine and Katherine’s nanny that had died the year before. She grew up with us and I didn’t think she would ever leave us. I gave her a small purse whenever I could, but I knew it wasn’t enough for her. I was just happy she understood our situation, and I was forever indebted to her.I had this strange feeling that our misfortune was going to change soon. I also had a feeling that Michael was the one that was going to change it all for us.
Michael was a gentleman that had been courting my sister. He was extremely wealthy. Not exactly royalty, but pretty close. He had already helped us a bit, he was actually the man that had gotten me the job at the bakery. He owned it. Every now and then he would give me and my Mum some spending money, it was very little, but considering he had only known my sister for a small amount of time it was very generous. He was very smitten with her. He bought her all kinds of lavish gifts. Jewels, dresses and other pretty things.
Since I was now the man in the house I had already had “The Talk” with the two of them. Call me old fashioned, but they were a bit too touchy for my taste. I was brought up in a very religious family and I believed in abstinence until marriage, even for men. It’s just respect, respect for your future spouse and for yourself.
I was almost out the bakery door when I decided to bring some short breads with me. I knew Ms. Cromwell liked them so I got a few and went to the register and put in a few pence. After I did that, I grabbed a few loafs of fresh bread from the scullery and was out the front door. I was always excited to see Ms. Cromwell. My visits always seemed to make her day, and to be honest they made mine too. I didn’t have a lot of friends, and she was kind of the closest thing I had to that. Plus, she knew how to make a good cup of tea.
I walked outside and to the alley where I had left my bike. I put the bread and pastries in the basket and then hopped on. We had lost too much money to afford our own cart, so I took up cycling whereas my mother and sister took the horse drawn tram whenever they came to the village. I liked cycling better than being in a tram though, I had more control over what I was doing, and I could enjoy my surroundings better. It was a nice way to clear my head.
After I got to Ms. Cromwell’s small cabin, I hopped off my bike and grabbed my basket. I walked to her door and tapped gently three times. It took a moment but soon enough the older woman opened the door with a familiar warm smile.
“Oh Henry! I can always count on you to bring me my bread! Come in.” She gushed. Her older son’s name was Henry, and she had always said I reminded her of him. So, whenever she called me Henry instead of my actual name, Harry, I just brushed it off. At that point I was used to it and considered it her nickname for me.
I smiled politely and stepped inside of the warm cabin. I looked around the comfy home before turning to Ms. Cromwell and giving her a peck on the cheek. I turned on my heel and walked towards the scullery. “So how has your night been miss?”
“Oh, just fine. Lonely as always but fine. You should come visit me more often Henry, I would love to have you and your sweet Mum over for dinner. You could even bring a lass if you wanted.” I blushed and put the bread on her scullery table.
I wasn’t about to discuss my love life with someone who was like a Mum to me. Especially since there was never really anything to discuss. I had never courted anyone before, I hadn’t even kissed a girl. It was kind of sad. I was eighteen. When my father was my age he already had a wife and two children, which was a great accomplishment in this life. I should’ve already been married and had sons, but I just hadn’t had the time. Besides, who was going to marry their daughter to me when I had nothing to offer them?
I decided to change the subject. “Where would you like me to put this miss?”
She pointed at something behind me, “In the safe away from the fire place please. Have time for some tea?”
I nodded and as I placed her goods in the chest. I walked to the kitchen table and pulled out a chair. She placed a cup of tea in my hands and sat in the chair across from me. “Henry! Have you heard about the murders?” She asked.
She nodded violently and then lowered her voice as if we weren’t the only two in the home. “Yes, loads of people have gone missing. Oh! And Mr. Foyer, you probably heard about his disappearance it was in the paper, he was found this morning, and his throat was ripped out. The bobbies say it was something that an animal would do! Can you believe that?” Her eyes were wide, and the wrinkles on her forehead were beginning to stretch out.
“No Ma'am I can’t, who do you think would do such a thing?” My heart fluttered a bit. Mr. Foyer didn’t live too far from mine.
“I don’t know Henry, but his poor wife and children.” She frowned and her words sent chills up my spine. Just thinking of something happening to me, what would my Mum and Kat do?
I shuddered at the thought and stood up from the table.“Thank you for the tea miss, but I’ve got to be on my way now.” I turned and walked to the front door. I was just about to walk through the threshold when I felt something tug on my apron.
“Here you go doll.” She smiled. She opened my hand and put a small purse in it. A small purse that was extremely heavy.
“Miss I can’t take this.”
She cut me off.“Oh boy you shush. You work yourself too hard for very little. This is the least I can do. Now you take that and give your Mum and sister a good Christmas!”
I bit my lip as I looked at the velvet purse. I wanted so much to decline her generosity. I knew it would be wrong to take money from an old woman who couldn’t even afford to invest in electricity, but I needed the money. Greed took over, and I wanted so much to give my family a happy Christmas. So, I took the money out of her hand and put it in the pocket of my apron. “God bless you miss.” I smiled.
“You too boy. Now you be on your way. Have a Happy Christmas!”
“Yes Ma'am.” I gave her a peck on the cheek and then jogged to my bike, I gave her one final wave before kicking off.The streets were empty, and it was already so late that the lamp lighter had already came around the village and put out the street lamps. I felt very uneasy. I had this pit in my stomach telling me that something bad was about to happen. Something was telling me that I shouldn’t go home. I felt stupid for even thinking these things. My Mum and sister were waiting for me, they were probably worried sick. Our maid had probably already made supper. I should have just brought Ms. Cromwell’s bread to her in the morning. Then again, if I had she probably wouldn’t have given me such a big purse. I knew my Mum would forgive me for being late when I showed her what a great job I did. I thought she’d be really be proud of me.
I finally arrived at our house and sat my bike up against the old Victorian building. I knew my Mum was going to be upset with me for being late, so it was best I run up to my room, take my bath then run back downstairs and help them clean up. I might have been considered a man, but I was still eighteen, I was still aloud to get scolded by my mother.
I opened the front door slowly and stepped my way through the threshold. I shut the door and then bolted up the steps and into our bath. I shut the door behind me and began to undress. I took off my apron and cap. I shook out my long curly hair and brushed it to the side. My mother always pestered me to cut it, for fear of lice, but I liked my long hair, and those parasites had never been a problem for me. I unbuttoned my shirt and let it fall to the floor. I then took off my shoes and belt and sat them on the stool next to the bath.
I couldn’t very well fill up that whole thing by myself. Some of our neighbors in Church Hulme could afford plumbing at the time, but we couldn’t have plumbing and electricity. It was too pricey. We had to choose one or the other and when my Dad was alive he chose electricity. I should’ve been thankful we had that.
“Maid?” I repeated but she still didn’t respond.
I began to become impatient. “Girl? What is taking you?”I didn’t mean to sound rude, but my back was aching, and I needed my bath. I picked my shirt up off the floor and folded it on the wooden tub. I opened the door and walked down the hallway shirtless and my pants unbuttoned. When I poked my head in all the rooms, she wasn’t in any of them. I began to become concerned. Where was she? It was her shift after all.
I began to think the worst. Charlotte had abandoned us like all the others. “Mum? Where’s Charlotte? Please don’t tell me she has quit too.”
I was beginning to panic. I ran down the steps and into our entertainment room. It was empty. I then ran into our scullery. Empty. Where was everyone? Where was my family? And at that hour? It was dark and cold outside and if what Ms. Cromwell said was true about the disappearances than women, or anybody for that matter, should’ve been indoors.
I ran to the coat racks by our front door and put on one of my father’s old wool coats. I put on a pair of snow boots before rushing out the front door. Something was wrong, and I could feel it. My Mum and sister wouldn’t just disappear without leaving a note, and they wouldn’t take our maid with them. I wasn’t just going to sit here and wait for them to come home though, I was the man of the house, and I was going to go out and look for my family.
When I ran outside the cold hit me like a ton of bricks, it was then that I realized I never put a shirt back on, nor did I button back up my pants. I had so much adrenaline rushing through my veins that I hadn’t even noticed. Between the time I entered my home and the time I came back outside a thick layer of snow had blanketed the ground. I ran to my bike and hopped on, I was about to speed off when I noticed something on the side of our house. I got off the bike slowly to investigate the small red print. When my suspicions proved to be true, I could feel my stomach twist and turn, and the hot bile build up in my throat. It was a small handprint pressed up against our house. A small bloody handprint.
I let out a small gasp and froze in my spot. I looked down at the ground and everything started to get much worse. Drops of red stood out on top of the white snow, it was almost pretty in a strange way. The perfect red droplets made a little path to our garden. I followed it slowly, praying that I wouldn’t find one of my loved ones there. My prayers were not heard.
The bile that threatened me before burned my throat and spilled out of my mouth. Tears stung my eyes as the vomit mixed with the snow. I gagged as I looked back up at the horrid sight. It was Charlotte. She was in pieces.
I only knew it was her because of the familiar attire that all of our maids wore. My stomach churned, and I felt like I was going to purge again. I chocked it down until I saw the next body.
I sprinted to where her stiff body was propped up against our house. She sat perfectly, her body straight, her dress neat, and her eyes open just slightly. She looked like a porcelain doll. As I looked over the scene once again I noticed even Charlotte’s remains were scattered almost artistically. It was like someone had staged the whole thing, like some sick son of a bitch was putting on a show. A show just for me to come home to.
I pulled my Mother’s body in my lap and shook her for any sign of life. There was nothing. Her skin was pale, blue, and she was cold. I could tell she had been gone for some time. I noticed a thick purple and yellow bruise around her neck where it had been snapped. I sobbed into her hair. I rocked her lifeless body back and forth as I screamed at the top of my lungs. “No! Please God no! Mum please come back to me!”
My head snapped up immediately when I heard an earsplitting scream coming from my house.“Help me! Somebody please help me!” It was my sister’s scream.
I bolted up. Leaving my Mother’s body lying in the snow. I ran to the front yard and towards the front door. My body was shaking, my vision was blurred as I ripped the door open. I ran inside and bolted up the steps as fast as I could.
As soon as I reached the hallway I ran to her bed chambers. I ripped the door open and stood in shock as I looked in the room. What I was seeing couldn’t be real. I had to be dreaming. Monsters do not exist.The thing that stood in front of me was not human. Far from it. It was some kind of demon, something that came from the deepest parts of hell. It had my sister by the throat and was looking at me with a sadistic smile. It threw her on the bed and decided to pursue me instead. As it got closer I could make out some features even more, they were contorted like I had never seen before. Its nose was more of a snout and his eyes were black. Fangs protruded from its mouth and its veins stuck out in his face making its skin almost translucent.
I looked at my sister and looking at her state turned my fear into rage. Her dress was almost in shreds, and her hair was matted. There was so much panic in her eyes that she didn’t even look like my Kat anymore. Her body was covered in bruises, and something else that I couldn’t quite make out. I know now that they were bite marks.
This thing killed my friend, my Mum, and had tortured my sister. It was going to suffer. I barged at the demon and attempted to tackle it with all my force, but it was no use. The demon picked me up like a rag doll and threw me to the ground. I cried out in pain as my back hit the floor.
“Please stop! Leave Harry be, just take me!” Katherine screamed.
The demon looked at her and laughed. It walked towards me once again and when it was close enough I saw it as my chance. I sprang up as quick as I could and hit the demon in the jaw. Only it worked more in his advantage than it did in mine. When my fist collided with its jaw, it was like hitting steel, I felt every bone in my hand snap. The pain shot down my arm and I fell to my knees in agony. This only made the monster laugh harder.
It picked me up by the neck chocking me. It threw me with all its might up against the hard wall. It began walking towards Katherine, something dark and twisted in its eyes. Her loud scream made the adrenaline pump through my body and that was enough to bring me back to my feet. I ran to the demon and jumped on its back. Ignoring the pain in my arms as I hit it as hard as I could with both hands. The demon pulled me over its shoulder and slammed me to the floor effortlessly. I felt something in my back pop, and then everything from the waist down went numb. The demon smiled at me with its yellow fangs.
“You try to fight me when you’re nothing but a man. You are very brave for that. Do you want know what I have learned about brave men in the past five hundred years?” Its voice was deep and chilling. His breath smelled of rotten flesh.
It picked me up by the throat and held me in the air, my feet dangling off the ground. When it spoke, it was a loud roar, “Brave men are fools!” Its face was close to mine and then before I knew it there was an intense pain shooting through my abdomen. I looked down to see that he had ripped my stomach open, to leave my insides to fall out onto the floor.
“Another thing I learned is how to kill a man, just the right way, so he can live long enough to see someone he loves die.” It laughed sadistically.
It let me fall to the ground and I went face first. I laid on top of my own intestines and gurgled on my blood. I tried to move but my lower body was stiff, and I could feel myself quickly becoming cold. I could feel the warm blood coating the floor around me. The pain stopped very soon and then all I could here were my sister’s screams. All I could focus on were her cries and pleas. I tried my best to get up, to shove my insides back into the gaping hole in my stomach and save her from the beast that was ripping her apart limb from limb, but my body wouldn’t move. Then then before I knew it, it was over.
My sister’s body was scattered all throughout the room. Then the demon was gone. Just like that. My vision was fading, and my body started to get colder and colder. I knew that death was going to take me. I was okay with that. I accepted death. I was happy to be taken in the arms of God and his angels. I had no reason to go on in this life. My mother and sister were gone, and it was time for me to join them in heaven. It was God’s plan.
Before I left I knew I had one last thing to do. I had to give my one last prayer to God.“Hail Mary full of grace, the lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus, Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death…” My body lurched as I continued coughing up blood. The coldness started to become overwhelming. I knew this was it.
I shut my eyes and then a crash erupted through the house. The door to my sister’s bed chambers was broken down. I felt something roll me over and as soon as they did I felt something thick and hot rise up in my throat. I vomited pure blood onto the floor and laid on my back as I tried to push my insides back in my body.
I looked up to see the man, or should I say, boy standing over me. He had a shaved head, and kind brown eyes. He smiled warmly at me, and the first thing I noticed were the birthmarks he had on his neck. He looked at me sadly and a red tear ran down his cheek. I remember thinking that it was peculiar that an angel would cry blood.
“You poor soul.” He frowned.
“Are you here to take me to heaven?” I whispered, I didn’t even know if he could hear me. I thought that he had to be an angel, what other business would he have in that place?
“Sorry brother. Afraid not. Please forgive me for what I’m about to do.” The boy’s eyes turned black. Purple veins erupted from his face, and fangs fell from his lips. I tried to scream but I couldn’t manage the sound. Blood was thick in my throat and I was going in and out of consciousness. The boy ripped the skin of his wrist open with his fangs and forced his blood into my mouth. I had no choice but to swallow it.
“Oh God I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He cried.
He put both hands on either side of my face and then snapped my neck. There was nothing left but darkness. No more pain or fear. Just darkness.
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