(((GlitchNote: All of this is my AU. None of this is canon to Avid’s lore for his “past lives” or the Watcher or Listeners” from Martyn’s lore. I’m just having fun building with blocks they provide. Also there’s a part before this that is linked above. Hope you enjoy!)))
The earth beneath him was cold. But not as cold as the gravestone at his back. It was an odd thing to do but it had become a ritual that he did every year he visited Avid’s grave.
The first year he came alone. Drift and Shelby were upset with him about it. They wanted to pay respects to their friend as well. Avid after all was Shelby’s fledgling. It took some convincing but the next year he showed them where he laid Avid’s body to rest. Each year after they all made the trip together and would visit Cleo and Pearl who together rebuilt Oakhurst and explored the magic the area seemed to possess.
Leaning against the stone Scott closed his eyes and breathed in deep.
“I’m so sorry, Avid. I don’t know what came over me.”
The silence was deafening. He wished that Avid were alive, in a vampiric way, to yell at him. He rolled his eyes at the thought. If Avid were alive there would be no need for that since the situation that occurred never would have happened.
He plucked at the grass and thought out loud. “I wish you were here, Avid. I’d give anything to hear your voice one more time.” At that moment he grazed his finger over a stem that had a thorn, a drop of blood fell and landed on the ground of Avid’s grave. Scott quickly put his finger in his mouth, cursing under his breath in annoyance.
The wind started to pick up. He covered his eyes to keep dirt from getting into them. Scott was about to stand up when the ground underneath him started to shift. With the help of the gravestone he managed to get up into his knees. He held on tight to the stone as the earth began to crack. He was going to shift into a bat when a hand punched through the cracks.
Fingers curled and covered in dirt stretched out and reached towards the dark sky. Scott fell back onto the ground in shock. He wanted to yell out for help but his voice was lost. All he could do is watch as another hand punched more of the ground away so the body attached to it could break free.
Scott watched as a figure rose from the grave. Clothes tattered and covered in dirt, grim, and aged blood the figure stood and gasped. The person in those clothes should have been familiar in some way but when they lifted their face towards him he gasped at the sight.
Avid didn’t look like he had when Scott had buried him. Yes, being buried in a grave without a coffin would have done something to his body but not like this. Avid had grown a horn on one side of his head. The skin on half of his face and his right arm was no longer pale but looked as if he were burnt. His claws looked longer and jagged as if he had been clawing out of the grave for a long time.
Scott stood up and inched closer. Avid heard him move and looked up, his eyes had changed. Instead of the blood red eyes he remembered one eye was a molten yellow.
He reached out his hand as a peace offering. Avid looked at him and quickly took it and pulled Scott into an embrace.
“I actually escaped,” Avid sighed as he held Scott a little too tightly.
Scott’s mind was screaming to push away but his heart was forcing him to stay where he stood. Wrapped in the arms of the man he lost too soon. Time didn’t exist. All that mattered was that Avid somehow was here.
“Escaped,” Scott muttered.
Avid nodded. “It was a hellish nightmare.”
Avid let go of Scott and looked around him as if he was afraid someone else was listening. In a quiet voice he whispered, “Limbo.”
Scott pushed open the heavy oak door and shut it behind him. Rushing upstairs he didn’t stop to inform anyone that he had returned. In the back of his mind he knew he should have at least gone to speak to Pearl and Cleo who might know something about what’s happening but he just wanted to get back to Avid as quickly as he could.
Quickly he entered the room Cleo and Pearl designated for him years ago. Rich plush fabrics filled the room, a fire was lit in the fireplace, and a pitcher filled with dark crimson liquid was waiting for him on a tray on the table near the armchair.
He rushed to the window and pushed it open. Each second that passed felt like an eternity.
“Avid?” He whispered into the darkness.
Crashing into the side of the castle near the window Avid smiled, “Hiya!”
Scot grappled at his arms and pulled him in as he hushed him. “Shh! We don’t want them to hear you.”
Looking at him puzzled, Avid asked, “Why? Is something wrong?”
Scott closed the window and turned to look at Avid. He was covered in dirt, his clothes were ripped, and he had new features. A horn had grown and half of his face and his right arm looked charred. His eyes were no longer vampiric red, one was now golden yellow but somehow they still felt familiar as he gazed into them.
He pulled Avid into the room and had him sit in the arm chair. He took a glass from the tray and poured blood into it and offered it to Avid. He took it gladly and down the whole glass quickly. Blood dribbled down the side of his mouth and Scott instinctively reached out and wiped it away with his finger.
“Well it looks like you still have a taste for blood.”
Avid nodded enthusiastically as he held out the glass for more. Scott poured him another glass and he was about to chug it like the first but Scott gave him a stern look and he sipped it instead.
Words that Avid had said when they were at his gravesite echoed in Scott’s mind as they sat in silence.
Instead of asking questions Scott went over to his suitcase and pulled out clean clothes. True to his nature he brought more clothes than necessary. Pearl and Cleo had made updates to the castle but plumbing was still a work in progress. They managed to organize some modern plumbing in the lower levels of the castle but in the rooms upstairs they still had to use pitchers and water basins. At the moment he was glad for it. Taking the clean clothes, a few wash cloths that Pearl and Cleo provided, and the pitcher of water and its basin over to where Avid sat quietly he offered them to him. Avid smiled and took them happily.
“I’ll give you a moment of privacy,” said Scott as he headed for the door.
Avid was about to object to Scott leaving but he raised his hand to stop him. “I won’t be gone long. I’ll be in the hallway, don’t worry.”
Sighing Avid’s shoulder relaxed. Scott smiled at him and walked out to the hallway. Closing the door shut behind him he took a breath as if he had been holding it for hours. He was about to relax when he heard his name being called.
“Damn it,” he cursed under his breath. He had hoped that avoiding them and coming straight to his room was enough of a sign that he wanted to be left alone. But of course Drift would grow concerned and come to check on him.
Scott walked quickly away from the door down the hallway. He almost ran into Drift but managed to stop before they collided. Trying his best to remain calm and collect he smiled at Drift.
“Oh, there you are. Are you okay? You kinda rushed past us without saying a word.”
Scott took a moment to think. He could get away with it. They always treaded lightly around him after his visits to Avid’s grave. They still treated him like a grieving widower. It normally annoyed him but he was about to use it to his advantage.
“Just needed to be alone after my time with…” he pretended to choke on his words.
Drift nodded and offered her hand to him. He took it but looked away; acting as if the emotions were too much and that he was embarrassed for feeling them.
“Do you need anything? Cleo and Pearl had blood waiting in our rooms but maybe some warm blood would be nice. Help you relax a bit.”
Scott shook his head no. He didn’t want her coming back to look for him let alone finding him in his room with a very not vampiric type of dead Avid. “I just need some time to collect myself,” he sniffed. “I’ll come down later if I’m up for it.”
Drift didn’t let go of Scott’s hand. She held on until he moved it away. That was very much who Drift was as a person. She wasn’t going to let go or release you from a hug first.
“I’ll be fine,” Scott said as he walked back towards his room. Even with his back to her he could feel her eyes on him. The feeling didn’t stop until he was inside and had his back pressed against the door of his room.
Excepting to see Avid sitting in the arm chair he had left him in, he was surprised to see him rummaging through his suitcase.
“Is there something I can help you find?”
Avid jumped in shock of being caught. The yelp he let out almost made Scott crack a smile but his face remained stern. Avid hung his head in shame and held out what he had found. It was a photo album that he carried around with him when they traveled the human way. It wasn’t often but on the rare occasion they all seemed to enjoy a journey by train.
Abloish’s organization had managed to develop technology that was able to capture their images like an ordinary camera. The development was continuous but he was grateful that he was now able to capture memories without a painter.
Scott took the album. The leather was well loved. Hours upon hours of flipping through pages of memories left evidence. He looked up at Avid who was looking at him with apologetic eyes. He motioned for him to follow him back to the arm chair but instead of Avid sitting down he did and opened the album. Avid sat down next to him on the floor and earthly arched his neck to get a good view of the images the pages held.
The first page was a picture Scott had had a photographer take, with the organizations newest camera, of the day Drift moved in with him and Shelby. Avid lifted his hand and moved the book in Scott’s hands so he could get a better view.
“They don’t look very different,” Avid said as he traced the outline of the trio in the picture.
“It’s a vampire thing,” Scot said nonchalantly.
“I’m a vampire and my looks have changed.”
Scott didn’t know what to say to that. Shelby had shared that Avid was sick when he asked to be changed. In the back of his mind he couldn’t help but wonder if this was a side effect of that illness.
Scott closed the album. “You know that your transformation into a vampire had some side effects.” He reached out and touched Avid’s face. “It wasn’t visual then but it seems time has made some developments.”
Avid leaned into Scott’s touch. It had been far too long since he felt the touch of someone kind. “Can we continue looking through the album,” he asked softly. To Avid’s dismay Scott pulled his hand away and reopened the album.
Together the two filled through the photos. Pictures of places they’ve traveled to, pictures of what Oakhurst looks like now, photos of Pearl and Cleo, and even pictures of the gravestones of those who died.
Flipping through those pictures Avid noticed something. “Did Doc die too?”
“Yes,” Scott responded quickly.
“Then where’s his gravestone?”
Scott shrugged. “Cleo hasn’t shared that with us yet. We respect it.”
Avid was a bit confused but if Scott respected it so would he. He continued to look at the images as Scott tunred each page. Soon the images ended and he closed the album.
“You should take my picture!”
Scott’s mouth opened but his words were lost. His mind began racing with thoughts of how he could explain an image of Shelby’s fallen fledging in an album full of vampires and one vampire-werewolf. He couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up.
Avid smiled at him, “What’s so funny?”
Scott was about to meet his eyes when a muffled jingle was heard.
So many questions and not enough time to answer. Scott lifted a finger as he pulled his cellphone out of his pocket. Without looking at who was calling he answered the phone. The voice on the other end surprised him.
Quickly he turned away from Avid and walked towards the closet.
Avid, with confusion, questioned, “Where are you going?”
Scott didn’t answer. He just rushed quickly into the closet and closed the door behind him as he spoke into the phone. “Yes, I can hear you. Hi.”
“You sound a little panicked,” Jimmy laughed. “Everything good?”
Scott nodded even though Jimmy couldn’t see the gesture. “Yeah, the phone ringing just surprised me. It’s hard to get a signal where I am.”
It wasn’t a complete lie. Signal strength was spotty in Oakhurst. Cleo liked it and found ways to keep it that way. But also he had never had some try to reach
him while he visited his old home.
“Oh, I get it. It’s like that when I travel home. How are you enjoying your trip?” Jimmy said casually.
There was a light knock on the door startling Scott. A muffled voice came after. “What are you doing in there?”
Breathing in deep he placed a hand over the phone. “I’ll be out in a moment. Go back and sit down.” He waited to hear the sound of Avid’s footsteps walking away from the door before he returned his focus to the person on the other side of the phone line. “It’s going well,” he said in a sugary tone, doing his best to hide his panic. “Coming… home is never dull. There’s always a surprise.” It wasn’t a lie. Every visit for the past few years Cleo always had something new to share with them. Discoveries of the magic the area of Oakhurst possessed.
“That’s great,” Jimmy exclaimed and Scott sighed in relief. “I know you are probably busy with family and all but I wanted to give you a quick call and ask you something.”
“Ask me something? It can wait until I’m back in the city?”
Jimmy laughed. “It probably could have but I’m a tad impatient.”
Usually Scott would have found that annoying but oddly enough when it was Jimmy he found it endearing. He smiled widely at the sound of Jimmy stammering.
“Like I said I know you are out of town but I was hoping, if you are not too tired from traveling and you don’t have things to take care of, you know laundry and such. There’s always so much laundry after a trip home. At least I do. I don’t know about you. Or grocery shopping. Man, the fridge is always empty after the band gets back to the apartment after a tour out of town.”
Scott laughed as he interrupted Jimmy’s never ending list of possible tasks. “Jimmy!” Jimmy stirred but stopped talking. “What did you want to ask me?”
He couldn’t see him but he imagined that Jimmy’s face blushed. “Sorry,” he said as cleared his throat. “What I wanted to ask was if you would like to come to a show. Not this weekend but the weekend after.”
Scott wanted to tell him he would be back in the city but deep down he wasn’t sure. When Driff and Shelby had asked how long they were staying this trip he had just shrugged. He even packed as if he intended on staying longer than just the weekend. Drift had noticed and made a joke about how Scott couldn’t leave anywhere without options. It was true but deep down his subconscious was planning on staying until he left better, more like himself. Seeing Jimmy was not part of that plan. Jimmy was part of reason why he decided to stay longer in Oakhurst. He was hoping to speak with Cleo. They had been finding new things about the area and the past Oakhurst held. He was hoping they could help with the deja vu feeling he was having in relation to Jimmy.
Jimmy’s voice startled him. “Yes,” he stammered, coming up with a realistic excuse . “Just checking my date book.”
“Think you can squeeze me in?”
Scott laughed. He hummed as he thought so Jimmy could hear him on the other end of the phone line. He really wanted to stay in Oakhurst for a while. He felt deep down that it was needed. But he also wanted to see Jimmy. The pull he felt was undeniable.
The thought of flying there and back wasn’t absurd but the chances of getting caught and having to explain were high. He couldn’t chance it.
He sighed, “I’m sorry, Jimmy. But it looks like I won't be back in town for the show.” The disappointment in his voice was real. “I wish I could.”
Scott was pleased that Jimmy too sounded just as disappointed as he felt.
“I’ll call you when I get back to New York and we’ll make plans to get together.”
Jimmy hummed into the phone, “Sounds like a plan. I’ll be waiting.”
Scott giggled. “I’ll talk to you then. Bye.”
Scott closed his eyes as he waited for the beep of the call ending. He pressed his back against the door and slid down. The urge to call Jimmy back was eating at him but he had to get back to Avid.
Scott watched as Avid slept. The first few nights Avid tried to fight it but his body needed rest and he eventually gave in. So many things were different with him now. They didn’t spend much time together when he first changed but he was nothing like this or so he remembered.
A light knock interrupted his thoughts. He pulled the sheets up over Avid before going to answer the door.
Only opening in a crack he was greeted with Shelby’s smiling face.
“You coming down for breakfast today? Pearl and Cleo want to show us the town after.” Shelby tried to peek into his room but he managed to block her view. “You’ve been held up in your room for most of the time we’ve been here. A little tour of the new renovations of the time would be good for you. Get some fresh air.”
Shelby heard the voice that came from inside the room.
Scott was about to shut the door but Shelby shoved the door open wide pushing Scott further into the room.
From the bed a voice called out. “Shelby? Oh my goodness, Shelby, is that you?”
Shelby stood in the doorway shocked. She looked to Scott for an explanation but he refused to make eye contact with her.
Nodding slowly she walked towards the bed. “Avid?” Normally when she had spoken his name she knew that a response was impossible. Her first and only fledgling was dead.
Avid flung the covers aside and bounded out of the bed. His feet hitting the floor made a loud thud. He rushed towards her with open arms that soon were wrapped around her holding her tight.
He had just come from a warm bed but his embrace was cold. Colder than she was. As he hugged her she turned to look at Scott. His eyes were locked on them with a worried look on his face.
“I’ve missed you so much!” Avid squeezed her tighter.
Shelby eventually lifted her arms and wrapped them around Avid. Her mind was reeling. Her fledgling was alive. Avid, her friend, was alive and hugging her.
As much as she didn’t want to she let go of him and stepped out of his embrace. She looked at him and finally noticed the difference in his appearance from how she remembered him. She looked back at Scott and it was like he could read her thoughts. He shrugged. He didn’t have any answers for the questions that were running through her mind.
“This is why you've been hiding in your room this entire trip?” She asked even though she knew the answer.
“And why you’ve been acting so strange the past few weeks?”
He shook his head ‘no’. She looked at Avid and then back to Scott.
“That’s a whole other mess,” he sighed as he walked to stand next to Avid.
“I need to sit down,” said Shleby as she walked to the arm chair. “I can’t believe you’ve been keeping this a secret. From me of all people,” she exclaimed as she flopped into the chair dramatically.
“I wanted to tell you,” Scott looked at Avid who was just standing there happy to be alive in some way. “But how do you even begin to explain this?” He pointed to Avid who then looked insulted at the idea of anyone having to explain him.
“Hey,” he exclaimed as he stepped away from Scott to sit on the unmade bed. “Why would you need to explain me?”
He genuinely sounded confused which hurt Scott. Avid truly didn’t realize how different things were now.
“The horn, Avid,” Shelby excitedly gestured towards him. “And you look like you’ve been burned. Are you hurt?”
Avid shook his head. “I’m fine. Better even now that I’ve escaped.”
There was that word again.
“Escaped?” Shelby repeated.
“You mentioned that the night you rose from the grave.” He looked at Shelby, “Yes, he basically punched his way out.”
Shelby looked at Avid in awe and he just casually smiled with pride.
“Well I did. I had been running for what felt like years and then suddenly a blood red portal appeared and I went through it. The next thing I knew I was under a bunch of dirt. I crawled my way though and you were waiting for me at the top.” He smiled at Scott lovingly.
He smiled weakly back at him. “I swear I was going to say something,” he looked at Shelby with sincerity. “I was just…,” he paused.
Shelby looked around the room. Clothes scattered, unmade bed, blood stained glasses and pitchers that Scott must have snuck past them to bring up here; her unbeating heart ached at the sight of what looked like a honeymoon suite.
“This is why you’ve extended our trip out here this long.” It wasn’t a question. But Scott still nodded his head as a reply. She chuckled. “What was just supposed to be an overnight stay turned into something longer.”
“To be clear,” Scott began, “I never said how long I intended to stay. You just assumed it was only for the night.”
He had a point. “So what’s your plan?” She asked, truly wondering what plan Scott could possibly have.
Scott sighed as he buried his face into his hands. “My only plan was to talk to Cleo and ask if they had come across any findings similar to this,” His voice was muffled but both Shelby and Avid could make out what he was saying. “But his mentions of a limbo have me worried that Cleo won’t have answers.” He lifted his head away from his hands. His eyes truly expressed how he felt.
Vampires rarely ever look tired but Scott did at that moment.
“Won’t know until you ask,” Shelby stated matteroffactly.
“Do you think Cleo will know why there are so many of you sleeping?” Avid asked randomly.
“Excuse me?” Scott’s head snapped to face when Avid was. His face was quizative. “What are you talking about?”
“In Limbo,” he replied as if that was the most obvious answer. Scott motioned for him to continue. He rolled his eyes as he continued, “In the place I was at there were areas that had tubes that people were sleeping in.”
Shelby and Scott listened attentively. What he was saying seemed impossible but Avid himself was something that seemed impossible but there he was explaining what he had experienced.
“And those people looked like us,” Shelby asked, unsure if she wanted the answer.
“Yes,” Avid answered. “Just different.”
Avid looked at Scott and said, “You didn’t look like that. You almost looked like how I first met you but… more alive,” he laughed as he said that and turned to Shelby, “And Shelby looked like a clown.”
“Shh!” Scott hushed her. “The last thing we need is Drift running in here.”
Avid’s eyes widened. “Drift is here too?”
Shelby looked at Scott. “You haven’t told him much of anything have you?”
Embarrassed Scott said, “I’ve been enjoying my time with him… alone.”
She didn’t want to touch on the subject and in a way she understood. Avid had died long before Scott had the chance to fully understand the feelings he was having towards him. But deep down it still stung. He was her fledgling. To this day she grieved him.
“We need to go and talk to Cleo.”
Scott agreed. He looked at Avid and smiled. “You need to tell them everything about Limbo.”
“There’s not much to tell,” he shrugged. “But I’ll tell everything I know and what I saw.”
Puzzled Scott extended his hand for Avid to take, he did without hesitation. “What do you mean by that? There has to be so much to tell us about.”
“Those tubes were watched by hooded figures in masks. I could never get close. “He squeezed Scott’s hand. “I tried several times to get to the area that had the person who looked like you but I never could.”
“The voices told me not to.”
“Voices,” Scott repeated.
Avid looked around him as if he felt like he was being watched. “The Ones Who Listen,” he whispered.
Shelby stood from the arm chair and walked towards the door. “Okay, I’m ready to see if Cleo has answers to any of this.” She opened the door and stood beside it, "Are you two coming?”
Squeezing Avid’s hand the two walked out of the room with Shelby following behind them. As they walked towards the area of the castle Cleo had repurposed for their research they braced themselves for what was ahead.
(((GlitchNote: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Will there be a next part? I don’t know. I hope so. We shall see. But until then I’m starting my next project with my trio! I’m excited about it. It’s personas that have been sleeping and I’m excited to wake them up. So look forward to that. But until then I’ll see you lot in the next one!)))
