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thepigeonking25 · 3 months

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{Juno R Reed and the blood red amulet}

(Original story with my OCs😀👍

Drawing of Arthur and Juno)

Chapter 1: “the idiot that believes in things that go bump in the night”

Some people call New York City the city of dreams ,but everyone that lives here can tell you otherwise. Yeah it screams fame and glamor, but if you look past the smoke and mirrors that illusion quickly fades. My job is to look past those exact smoke and mirrors, my name is Juno R Reed, I'm a private eye and there is so much smoke in this city that it can be hard to know where to look for a good case.

It's been a slow couple of months for me to get hired to solve a case and I was starting to get a bit impatient. I was having a smoke as I looked out of my window watching the quiet empty streets below. I glanced at the small clock on the wall and grabbed a small brown bottle from my desk. I take out two small white pills and place them in my mouth. I then took a sip of the now room temperature whisky that was sitting on my desk. All of the sudden my assistant Jessica bursts into my office holding a yellow file folder. I was so caught off guard and I started to choke on that same whisky I was drinking.

“What the hell Jessica?! God I swear if a random lowlife doesn't kill me, you will.”

“I'm sorry Mr Reed, I just have a surprise for you.” she said with a grin. Jessica Gold,...She's probably the only person in the world that can tolerate me, I still haven't figured out if that’s a good thing. She’s tall and has jet black hair that's put up in a neat ponytail. She’s wearing a simple white blouse with a long black skirt.

“What is it? I'm busy” I responded with an annoyed tone.

“Sulking around and being all gloomy isn’t ‘being busy’ just hear me out!”

“Ugh fine, tell me what this ‘surprise’ is. ”

“Well , I know you told me not to make any help wanted flyers ,but I couldn't help myself , so I made a few. Beyond all odds, someone actually responded!” Jessica said with an ecstatic tone as she held the yellow file folder.

“What? Well tell them no we don't need help, we are fine on our own”

“Look I love helping you on cases, you know I do sir ,but unlike you I actually have a sense of self preservation and I don't enjoy getting shot at. So I think it's wise to get someone that is also skilled in this profession like you”I hate it when Jessica is right, unfortunately for me she usually is. I sigh and reach my hand out for the folder. Jessica had a proud smile as she handed it over. I look through it as she continues to talk

“His name is Arthur Steel. He is 29 years old and he has a military background. And he has some…skills that can help us in this interesting case I found. It has a few odd murders in it and I just know how much you enjoy those type of cases”

I look up from the file at her as I raise an eyebrow

“How exactly are these murders odd?”

She gives me a smug grin. She knows exactly how to get my attention.

“Well all the victims had their throats ripped out with two deep holes in their necks. Some people are saying that they were attacked by a vampire”

“Absolutely not, Jessica, you know that I don't believe in that nonsense. We solve real cases, not some rumors that a bunch of people came up with in a panic.”

I threw the folder on my desk, not even bothering to look through the other pages. If this ‘Arthur Steel’ can ‘help’ in any way in this ridiculous excuse for a case, I don't even want to meet the idiot that believes in things that go bump in the night.

“Tell him don't even bother, we don't need his help and we will not be taking this case”

Jessica did a nervous laugh. I saw that look on her face and instantly knew that something was wrong.I rubbed my eyebrows in frustration.

“Jessica…don't tell me you already invited him to the office without telling me’

“well…I may have told him to…come down to the office today”

“What?!?! When will he be here?!”

She looks at the clock on the wall and nervously chuckles “Any second now haha…”

As soon as she said that, a loud car raced down the street and stopped in front of the building’s door. I ran out of my office with Jessica right behind me. I looked at the front door and saw a man with short light brown hair, fern colored eyes and an annoying smug smile. Everything about him screams irresponsible and unprofessional. He hasn't even said a single word and he already irritates me.

“Jessy hello!”

Arthur goes up to Jessica and hugs her. They both act like they've known each other for years.

“Mr Reed this is Arthur Steel, Arthur this is Juno R Reed” Jessica introduces us to each other.

“Juno R Reed, Jass here told me so many things about you. All good things I assure you haha. I hope that we can grow to become close friends,junebug ” Arthur winks as he holds his hand out to me trying to shake my hand. Of course I didn't take his hand and I just glared at him. God I hate that stupid smug smile.

“What did you just call me?”

“Junebug. It sounds like Juno. I give all my friends nicknames haha’”

“oh…Well It's…a pleasure to meet you Mr Steel but unfortunately my assistant made a mistake and we are not looking for help, sorry for the inconvenience and don't call me that.”

I tried to keep up the impression that I wasn't annoyed and waiting for Arthur to go back to whatever slum he crawled out of .

“Come on, I would be a perfect fit for this job. I assume you looked through my resume?”

“...yes. I definitely did” obviously I didn't but he doesn't need to know that. But unfortunately you can tell that I was lying just by looking at my face.

“...you know Mr Reed for a detective you're really bad at lying”

“Yes Jessica thank you for informing me” I said in a sarcastic tone

“And this is why we need Arthur, he is really good at lying. You would know if you actually read his folder instead of throwing a tantrum about the case. Hell if the whole vampire thing isn't real there is still a crazy mad cannibal ripping people's throats out…we need this case Juno.”

She's right. There is still a madman killing mostly innocent people and we know that the police are gonna do jack about it. I sigh as I scratch the back of my neck.

“All right…fine, Arthur you're only going to help us on this one case. got that?” I glared at him with a stern look. I really don't like this man but based on the info I glance at in his folder, he can be of some assistance in this case. Arthur nodded in agreement and said with a cocky tone.

“ Don't worry Junebug, I won't let you down. Matter of fact I already have a leed. There is a recent victim that has been attacked a few days ago and I've gained access to look at the crime scene.”

“How exactly have you gained access?” I asked if he was some desperate detective looking for any P.I with half the brain to let him help on a case. I doubt that he has much experience on the field , let alone having any contacts that allows him to waltz in any crime scene as if it's nothing.

“ Don't worry about how I got access. Just focus on the fact that I got access in the first place”

He bribed them. He probably thinks that I have no idea what he did but I've worked with people like him when I worked at the NYPD. I glance at the clock on the wall, it's 12pm. I sighed and grabbed my coat, “alright, if you have a leed lets get this case over with. Jessica, can you find information on the other victims?”

“You know I can Mr. Reed” She had a determined look on her face

“That's settled, come on let's go Junebug we have a vampire to catch ” Arthur excitedly walked out of the office leaving Jessica and me alone. Jessica looks at me with a little smile

“So what do you think”

“...I really don't like him…”

She chuckles as she patted my back.

“Oh I'm sure you’ll warm up to him.” I rolled my eyes, I highly doubt that me and that man would ever be close enough to be considered friends. I walked out of the office and saw Arthur leaning against this beat up 1945 black Ford coupe that obviously had had work done. He looks like he's ready to fight the world with some blind confidence. He says with a bit of a teasing tone.

“Hurry up, the crime scene isn't gonna stay fresh for long”

I took a deep breath, I just knew this was going to be hell.

Chapter 2: “You're glowing!”

The Blood moon hotel, it's a hot spot for stuck up rich people that use daddy’s money to get what they want and where very powerful people go to hide from the public to show their true nasty colors behind closed doors. So I'm not surprised that someone got killed here , it's quite fitting considering the name of this fancy hellhole.

When Arthur and I arrived, we stuck out like a pair of sore thumbs. I wasn't surprised that the hotel was still taking in customers. As we headed to the doors of the hotel I could see customers scoff at Arthur’s sloppy outfit and scuffed shoes, my worn out coat and unkempt hair that obviously hasn't seen a barber in a few months. I tried to keep a low profile and sneaked past the other cops in an effort to not get recognized. A customer mistook Arthur for a poor lobby boy. Arthur was about to accept a cheap tip ,but I had to drag him away by the shirt collar. When we walked in,we were almost blinded by the big glowing chandelier in the middle of the room.

“Wow, have you been to a place like this before, Junebug?”

“Arthur, I'm a P.I. that rarely gets cases and I need my assistant to pay for my bail everytime I get arrested for trespassing. What do you think?” I hiss back.

We headed to the elevator, the receptionist tried to stop us but I just pulled out my old NYPD badge and continued to walk without answering any further questions. We entered the elevator to go up to the floor where the victim resides.

“I didn't know that you have a fake badge” Arthur had a pleasantly surprised grin on his face.

“It's not fake, I used to work in the NYPD before… I was let go. I just took the badge out of spite” I shouldn't have told him that. Now he's looking at me with an interested look.

“Why were you let go?”

“Why should I tell you?”

“Come on Junebug, if we're gonna be partners we can't keep secrets from each other, it can affect our field performance” Arthur said as he playfully shoved my shoulder.

“We aren't partners, I'm just using you to catch a madman. That is all.” I said with a stern tone. I don't have to explain myself to him. After a few more seconds of awkward silence we made it to the 9th floor. There were two cops blocking the room that we needed to go into, room 217. I sighed in annoyance, unfortunately for me I knew both of those cops, they were just rookies when I left but now they have turned into bribe taking douchebags, great.

Of course Arthur walked in front of me and greeted them with open arms. I tried to stay hidden behind him,but it didn't work because I towered over Arthur.

“Hello gentlemen, how are you two doing on this fine evening?”

Both of the cops turned to Arthur, their expressions didn't sour when they talked to Arthur. I’ll give it to him. He is really good at talking to people, he knows the right tone to use while talking to a specific person. The right mannerisms to use, He has it down to a science. It's impressive .As I was analyzing Arthur a voice snapped me back to reality.

“Hey Keppler, is that Juno?”

One of the cops says as he crosses his arms. The other one says with a cocky tone.

“Yeah it is, wow Reed by the look of you, life has been nothing but cruel after you got fired” Keppler said as Jacobi chuckled. Arthur looked at me with a bit of a sympathetic glance. I didn’t blame him, he didn't know my history with them but I could tell that he was still curious about what happened.

“I would say it was a pleasure to see you two but I would be lying, We don't have time to deal with you two, now get out of our we have a job to do.” I said trying to keep my cool.

“Sure whatever you say Reed…Hey Arthur, Jacobi and I are going to lunch. Don't mess up the crime scene or else” Keppler said. I knew that was an empty thought so I paid no mind to it. As I headed in the room, Kelppler shouldered me as I entered. I tried to ignore it. Arthur followed suit and then closed the door behind him.

“Im sorry Juno, I didn't know that you had a bad past with them, if you want to talk about it-”

“Drop it, Steel. Let's just look at the crime scene” I knew that Arthur meant well but personal problems and grudges can't interfere with the case.

The room looked neat and perfect, besides the rotting corpse in the middle of the floor in a pool of his own blood, staining the once pure white carpet underneath. The victim's neck looked like a wild animal shredded it and left two deep gouges behind. His face looked completely drained from color, blue veins marking his body. And finally his gouged out eyes. Looks as if they were brutally ripped out of his skull. It was gruesome and gory, enough to make a rookie gag and consider quitting right there on the spot.

“The victim is Nathaniel Goldsmith, he was a popular jazz singer, he was notorious for going to night clubs and to gamble, A lot. Everyone liked him, if he didn't owe them money. What a shame, he had one hell of a voice. I liked a few of his songs, '' Arthur said as I examined the corpse. This was brutal but there weren't any signs of struggle. It looked like he did this willingly. Odd. Nathaniel was wearing a blood stained white button up with a untied tie and the three top buttons are undone, one button has fallen off. His shoes were haphazardly kicked to the other side of the room, near a small antique glass table that had two glasses with Romanée-Conti wine on top of it. One of the glasses was mostly empty compared to the other one, by the smell of alcohol on Nathaniel’s body it was obvious that he was drunk when he died.

As Arthur looked at the body I walked towards the table, inspecting the two glasses, Nathaniel was with someone, even if he was drunk when he was murdered there would still be signs of struggle. Suddenly a shiny blood red amulet that was on the floor next to the leg of the table caught my eye. I assumed that this amulet could belong to the murderer, for some reason there was a strange force pulling me towards this piece of jewelry. Without thinking I was reaching for it, as soon as I touched it I was hit with a sense of vertigo , I fell to the ground as a slight ringing appeared in my ears. I could faintly hear Arthur call my name. I felt calm, as if nothing could hurt me, then I felt a hand on my chest and I suddenly felt like I was free falling back to reality. I quickly sat up, gasping for air then I looked around but everything looked gray. As if the world got drained of its color. As my eyes began to focus and the ringing subsided, I could hear Arthut call out my name in a panicky tone.

“Juno! Are you alright? What the hell happened? Did you pass out?! Juno buddy answer me damn it!” I Looked at Arthur and like the rest of the room he was absent of any color except the fact that there was a glowing orb in his chest.

“You’re glowing!” I exclaimed

“What?... Junebug, i'm flattered but seriously are you ok?

“No No you're actually glowing, you look drained of any color and there’s a glowing orb in your chest!” I tried my best to explain to Arthur what I saw but I could sense that I was just making him more confused.

“Just touch this” I grabbed a handkerchief from my back pocket and picked the amulet then handed it to Arthur, Arthur grabbed it but nothing happened.

“Junebug, what is supposed to happen?..”

“You're supposed to feel dizzy and then you feel this falling sensation and boom, everything looks gray” The more I talk the more I begin to spiral. I had a sudden realization that I might be hallucinating. What if this wasn't real? I started to think what if Arthur wasn’t real, what if I was still in my office slowly losing my mind.

“No-…no I was getting better. No no no not again. I was better” I muttered under my breath as I was starting to panic. I looked through my coat pockets with my trembling hands for my medication to down the whole bottle. Suddenly in the corner of my eye I saw a figure crouched in the corner. It looks like a man. I look in the direction of this stranger and say with a trembling voice.

“Who are you?”

“Juno, who are you talking to?”

“Steel…Please tell me you see that man in the corner of the room?”

Arthur turns to look in the direction that I'm looking at.

“Juno, tell me what you see. Be specific”

He turns back and grabs my shoulders to make me look at him. This is the first time I've seen him this serious. I nodded and looked back at the creature.

“Well…it's hunched over. It looks like it is holding its neck with its hand. Its skin is ghastly white but with a dark red liquid dripping from its neck. Its spine is so defined that it looks like it could break the skin. ” The more I look at the thing in front of me I realize that it looks familiar. I glanced at the body of Nathaniel and then back up at the being.

“Good god it looks like a crude doppelganger of Nathaniel!”

As the words left my mouth the lights began to flicker violently and the room became frigid. The grotesque version of Nathaniel violently snapped its neck to face us. I stared into its empty eye sockets with a deep red blood dripping down its face for what felt like an eternity, waiting for the other to make the first move. The next thing I knew Arthur was dragging me to the corner of the room and quickly pulled out what appeared to be a piece of white chalk. The distorted version of Nathaniel charged at us, screeching as if it was trying to form words, but the more failed attempts it made the more red liquid poured out of its ripped out throat. I didn't know what to do, I was trapped in the corner of the room with Arthur who seemed to be drawing a symbol on the floor.

“Steel, what the hell are you doing!?’ I yelled out

“Just trust me!” Arthur continued to scribble what seemed to be nonsense on the wooden floor

“Trust you?! I barely even know you!”

It kept getting closer, so I reached for my gun, as I grabbed it, the monster

was inches away from us ,but suddenly it ran into an invisible wall that happened to be right in front of the random markings that Arthur made. It kept screaming and black tar splattering on the forcefield from its mouth. I tried to catch my breath as the thing kept banging against the shield that was keeping us from getting torn to shreds.

“There…ha…see I told you to trust me” Arthur said with a proud smirk on his face. I still tried to collect myself.

“...How?”

“I drew a few protection sigils . It's pretty sturdy so it's gonna hold up against our friend here”

“...so you can see that thing?” I looked at him with the small hope that i'm not the only one that can see that monstrosity

“Unfortunately no, but god I wish I could. it would make things much easier haha…but you can see it can you , Junebug?” He had a bit of an excited glint in his eyes that made me nervous.

“ Yes…I can see it…Thank god I'm not crazy…” I said in a bit of a whisper. “What the hell is that thing?!”

“It's a spirit, a vengeful one specifically. Normal ghosts are pretty calm and shy, it makes sense that Nathaniel’s spirit turned vengeful and violent based on the way he died.”

“...You're acting as if this is an average Friday night for you?!”

Arthur responds with a bit of a teasing tone.

“I'm a hunter, I deal with the paranormal and get rid of them. If you actually read my folder-”

“Yeah yeah I know, if I read your damn folder I would know that you can kill Casper the not so friendly ghost” I said with a hint of sarcasm.

“So what are we going to do with this…thing?”

“Don’t worry junebug I got this under control” Arthur pulls out a gun. It was a revolver with sigils carved into the handle. Before I could ask what on earth a bullet is gonna do to a ghost he already shot it right in between its eyes. Nathaniel’s vengeful spirit fell to its knees and then to the ground. It turned into a pile of smoke and ash as soon as it made contact. Arthur looked completely unfazed by everything that just happened. He turned to me and could see the blatant confusion on my face.

“The bullets are filled with gun powder and salt. Anything paranormal hates the stuff, it has the same effect as holy water” Arthur walked out of the sigils and turned to me expecting me to do the same. I started to head out of the corner but I bumped into that same forcefield that was supposed to be protecting me. My heart sank as the realization hit me. I placed my hands on it, a light blue glow appeared under my hand.

“I knew it!”

“Knew what?!?!” I yelled with a shaky tone.

“ you're a medium! Haha i can't believe i did the tracking spell right”

“...Tracking spell?”

Arthur pulled out a small white crystal on a string from his pocket. As soon as it got out it glowed white and it pointed to me. I could barely wrap my mind about the fact that a ghost almost killed us and now I was finding out that I am one of those people that can see the dead.

“I'm like that thing that tried to kill us?”

“Oh no, You aren't exactly like it but you both are paranormal beings. Hmm think about it as if you're just a superhero and one of your powers it to see the undead”

Arthur said it as if it was a good thing and it turned my fear into anger.

“Just get me out of here, Steel…NOW!”

“I will geez no need to yell” Arthur bends down and rubs the chalk off of the floor. I stepped out and shoved Arthur.

“The whole time you knew. THE WHOLE FUCKING TIME!”

“Hey calm down Junebug! In my defense I thought you already knew.” Arthur said. He didn't expect me to push him. Hell he didn't expect me to be mad. Arthur wasn't the one I was mad at. I was mad that my whole life I was completely sane. I never needed those damn pills and all those years of being in and out of psychiatric institutions for hallucinations was for nothing. I knew that Arthur could see that. He got up and gave me an understanding look.

“I have an idea of what you’re going through…” He took a deep breath. “Back in the war when I was overseas, a wraith attacked me. It almost killed me but my lieutenant saved my ass and then he told me that there are beings not like us…you’re taking this pretty well when I found out I was a complete mess, I was balling my eyes out and everything... Just know that you’re not alone.” He rested his hand on my shoulder trying to comfort me. I took a deep breath and a step back trying to calm myself. I didn't know what to say. I was taken aback by the look on Arthur’s face, people have looked at me with pity or down right disgust. But no one has ever gazed at me like that, with such empathy. It scared me when I realized the effect this man had on me, I was tearing up for god sake. I secretly tried to wipe the forming tears away. I suppose he's right. He's the only person I know that has a glimpse of what I'm going through. I pent up all the emotions that were riling up in me and attempted to act just like how I did before I entered this damn hotel.

“I guess I may have overreacted a bit. I'm sorry for pushing you”

“It's ok, Junebug ...If you don't mind me asking why did you take so long to realize that you're a medium? What I hear that most powers develop in childhood”

I should have known that he would ask more questions, I sighed and tried to remember back when I was younger.

“Fine i'll tell you, but you must promise me that you'll never tell anyone. Not even Jessica…”

“Don't worry, Junebug. I won't tell a soul”

“When I was born my mother started to lose it, on my 6th birthday she had a psychotic break. She was screaming about people with disfigured faces, my father had no other choice but to send her to an asylum. It was obvious that it broke his heart ,so when I started to tell him that I could see the monsters in the closet he instantly feared that whatever was wrong with my mother got passed on to me…the next thing I knew I was given pills and talking to doctors. After a while I stopped seeing things. Most of my childhood memories are pretty blurry now because of the medication”

“Jesus…I'm sorry you had to go through that Juno” I hate it when people say that. I wanted to change the topic before I got that same old pitty filled look. “It's not a big deal, now enough being sappy we need to focus on the reason why we're here in the first place. Is there anything else that you know about the victim?”

“umm..Sure Junebug. Nathaniel would regularly perform at a nightclub named The Last Drop nightclub. According to some witnesses they said that was the last time he was seen alive.”

“Well I guess we will be headed there next”

I turned to the door but Arthur called my name. I faced him.

‘What is it, Arthur?”

“Here you have to touch the amulet again”

Arthur said. I was so confused on why I had too.

“There is no way i'm touching that thing again with my bare hand”

“Trust me Junebug. Just touch it. Or do you still want to see the world in black and white?” he beamed. I just rolled my eyes and with a bit of a trembling hand I grabbed the amulet. I was hit with that familiar sense of vertigo and got a bit of a headache. The color quickly returned to my vision.

“Am I still glowing?” He with a teasing tone.

“...You knew what this thing did, didnt you?”

“Maybe haha. I knew that this type of amulet has some supernatural abilities because of the sigil on the back of it.” As Arthur explained it I turned the piece of jewelry over and saw the marking.

“I didn't know that it would have that effect on you. I just had a hunch that if you touched it again you would go back to normal” As I put the amulet in my coat pocket, I felt my pill bottle in there. I took it out and looked at it. I sighed and threw it in the trash can that was in the room. I turned to Arthur.

“Ok, let's go.”

“Yeah lets. You know I'm glad that you're back to normal but it's a bit of a shame, your eyes were a really pretty shade of purple” Arthur said with a smug smile on his face as he walked out of the room.

“What?...My eyes turned purple?!” I asked as I followed him.

Chapter 3: “Who the hell is making a ruckus at my nightclub?”

We had to drive to the other side of the city to get to the nightclub, the sun was starting to set and the city lights lit up the road. We didn’t know when this vampire would strike again so time wasn’t on our side. The Last Drop nightclub was where people forget about the hardship of life and indulge in the supposed ‘finer things’ like insanely strong alcohol that could make you throw up after the second shot and drugs that could convince you that you're about to enter a different dimension. I had a bit of knowledge of that place. It was considered dead for years after the owner named Mr Bouchard stopped appearing in public until recent years it has started to boom in popularity.

We got out of Arthur’s rundown car and headed to the entrance. There was a tall rugged man guarding the main door. Before Arthur and I could enter the building the bouncer blocked the door, I reached for my old badge but before I could show it to the man he said.

“No cops allowed in the nightclub without a permit.”

I quickly put away my badge. “Well…technically I’m not a cop”

Arthur quickly came to the rescue and stepped in in an effort to make up for my horrible lying.

“Hey, we're not cops, we're just here to enjoy ourselves with some good drinks and jazz , that is all” Arthur said with that same charming smile.

“I said you can't enter without a permit” The man was not budging. I could tell that Arthur was trying to think of a way to sweet talk our way in.

“Come on, I know the owner just let us in.”

Arthur took a step forward but the bouncer shoved Arthur back.

“Get lost.” I may not be the best at talking things out but I'm sure as hell good at resolving my problems with violence . I got in between Arthur and the bouncer. “Don't you dare lay your hands on my partner. We just want to ask a few- '' I hissed back but in a flash The bouncer punched me in the gut knocking the wind out of me for a second. Then we started to argue and yell at each other. Tensions were running high. I could tell that he was gonna strake another blow and I wasn't having it.

“That’s fucking it” I pulled out my gun and pointed at the bounser and he proceed to do the same. A few of the people outside waiting to get into the nightclub screamed. Arthur tried to calm me down but there was no way I was going to let this man talk to us like that. A voice broke through the chaos.

“Who the hell is making a ruckus at my nightclub?” Everyone got quiet and I quickly put away my gun. The voice came from a tall person with short curly hair and messy makeup. They were also wearing a slip dress with a big fur coat while holding a theater cigarette holder with smoke coming out of it.

“...your nightclub?...You're Mr bouchard?” I asked then Arthur gently shoved me as if telling me to be quiet.

“Not anymore sweetheart, Now what the hell is happening?" The bouncer whispered to them all about what just happened. They nodded a bit then took a long smoke of their cigar. “So why do you want to talk to my girls?” They asked me as they blew smoke into my face. I noticed all the other people looking at us. “Look can we talk about this somewhere more-”

“Arthur darling is that you?” before I could finish my sentence they cut me off. They rushed over and gave Arthur a hug which Arthur reciprocated with a smile.

“I was waiting for you to notice me, Mercury haha I was starting to think you forgot about me”

“Oh how could I forget someone with such a handsome face like yours” They purred as they gently grabbed Arthur’s face, almost examining it. I rolled my eyes out of annoyance.

“Can we please discuss this inside?” I tried my best to not sound irritated. “Oh of course, let's go boys come inside” They headed inside as Arthur and I followed. The nightclub was dim and dark with the only well lit areas being the bar and the stage with a band playing sweet jazz. There were patrons sitting at tables surrounding the stage enjoying themselves. Waitresses wearing slip dresses and having neat hair serving the customers' drinks. At the corners of the room were large tables where powerful people would usually ‘talk business’. It looked like your standard New York nightclub. Mercury was leading the way through the dark. I whispered to Arthur.

“How the hell do you know the owner of this place?” Arthur chuckled and responded. “They needed help getting rid of the ghost of their mother in law from an old vanity that they took. It was surprisingly really hard, she was a very stubborn woman” I nodded my head a bit but I could still see that same old dumb smirk on Arthur’s face. I just had to give in and ask. “What is it?”

“You called me ‘your partner’ earlier when you were arguing with the bouncer. I thought we weren't partners, Junebug” He teased

“We’re not, it just slipped out of my tongue. Don't dwell on it too much, don't want you to get a bigger ego.” Arthur laughed then gently nudged me. “Are you sure I'm not growing on you? I think we're becoming friends”

“absolutely not keep dreaming Steel”

“Oh Junebug, you have wounded me with your cruel words” Arthur said with a playful dramatic tone. I couldn't help but chuckle a bit and crack a small smile.

“Did you just smile? Wow Junebug i dont think ive ever seen you laugh let alone smile. I didn't know you could even do that. Im probably the first person to make you smile”

“Don't flatter yourself i'm just laughing at how stupid you look right now”

Arthur was about to respond with a witty comment but Mercury chimed in.

“Here, sit boys” They led us to one of those big tables located near the back of the nightclub. Out of everyone's sight, except for Mercury’s bodyguards. I knew that they were just a safety precaution, not because of Arthur of course but me. That was understandable so I didn't make a big deal out of it. Mercury obviously trusted Arthur more so I let him take the reins on this.

“So what do you boys need from me”

“Well Mercury, where here just to ask a few questions that's all”

“Hmm, Questions about what? You know I'm not involved with any “deals” that happen in my establishment” Mercury gave me a wary glance. Arthur looked at me asking if he should tell them everything about the case. I nodded, there was no point in lying to them.

“You know about the recent murders, Juno and I have reason to believe that a vampire is responsible for them, as you are aware there are supernatural beings that live among us so this isn't much of a surprise. The recent victim was Nathaniel Goldsmith, he was last seen alive here, we just need to question some of your staff to see who Nathaniel was last seen with” Mercury sat in silence for a second taking another long smoke. “That's a shame, It really is…All right. You two can go backstage and ask my girls and the performers all the questions you want. If there is a small chance that a vampire is still here I dont want it to hurt them.”

“Yes thank you, I promise that we will handle that monster…can we ask you some questions please” Arthur asked with a sweet smile. They nodded their head.

“You know everyone that works here, what was Nathaniel's relationship with the people here? Is there someone that might have wanted to harm him?”

“Hmm well my girls weren't very fond of him. He always pestered them, practically begging one of them to go out with him. And don't get me started on that man’s drinking problem. Of course the man had talent but his character was god awful. I couldn't stand to be in the same room with him. Some of the performers tolerated him, I have no idea how they would have handled it with the man’s ego…” So basically anyone was a suspect. An Arrogant alcoholic that would regularly harass the female staff then got murdered in a hotel room with two glasses of alcohol and the man was in the process of getting undressed. Our vampier is most likely a woman that works here or regularly visits. I glanced at all the waitresses, any of them could be the one we’re looking for.

“Can you give us the names of the people that would regularly interact with Nathaniel?” I questioned

“Well he hung out a lot with the band, Simon, Mick and Eiffel. They usually got drinks together after a gig. Catherine Crimson. She's an absolute doll, she has the voice of an angel I tell you. Those two usually do a lot of duets together. And finally Sasha and Melanie, Those two would get him ready for performances, you know like doing his hair and stuff. I would always hear them laughing and cracking jokes with each other ”

“Ok thank you Mercury for this information, where can we enter backstage?”I asked

“Just enter the doors that are next to the stage, Good luck boys”

Arthur and I left Mercury at the table as we headed to interrogate some of the staff members. Arthur asked “So has your detective brain narrowed down the suspects, Junebug?”

“I think so, The suspect is most likely a woman that had close ties to the victim, so the band is out of the question.” We entered backstage. It was a completely different atmosphere compared to the calmness of the outside. There was this controlled chaotic feeling in the air, some people speed walking to places they needed to go, others in costumes looking for the finishing piece for their outfit. If you didn't know where you were supposed to go, you would most definitely get trampled. Arthur and I stood there for what felt like hours just finding the right time to walk through this mess. As I was looking over this sea of people there was a short lady standing on a stool with a clipboard in hand yelling at people to hurry up. She's probably our best bet to find out where our suspects are. I took Arthur’s hand and guided him through the river of performers as we headed toward the woman.

“Hello madam I have a few questions about-”

“What?! What do you want, kid? Can you see I'm busy?! Come on spit it out I don't have all day” She snapped back, Arthur and I were a bit taken aback by this.

“Do you know where Sasha, Melanie and Catherine might be?”

“That’s all?! What do I look like to you? Do you think I know where everyone is every second of the night?!...Well you would be right. Little miss Catherine is in her dressing room getting all dolled up and the other two girls are in the costume room helping our onstage girls to get ready. Take a right and there's Catherine’s dressing room and down the hall is the costume room. Is that all you two bugged me for?”

“Yes madam, we appreciate your help” Arthur beamed. We took the lady’s direction and headed to the closest room that happened to be Catherine's dressing room. We stood in front of her door, I began to knock on it to get her attention. A few seconds passed before a short woman with long flowy dark red hair. She was wearing a nice pretty red dress.

“Can I help you gentleman?” Catherine said with a sweet voice.

“Hello Miss Catherine, we just wanted to ask you a few questions about your duet partner Nathaniel,” Arthur said.

“Oh dear what happened?”She gasped as she covered her mouth with her hand.

“Unfortunately he was murdered, we want to find out who was the last person he spoke with”

“That's terrible, just terrible…Alright I’ll try to be of much help”

“Thank you, When was the last time you saw Nathaniel alive?” I stepped into the conversation. She nodded and replied.

“The last time I saw him was last week, We just finished singing a duet like always. He asked me if I wanted to get a drink with him but I nicely declined his advances. I could tell that he didn't take that well and stormed off to the costume room to drink his bottle of wine that was left in there. After that I went into my dressing room. That's all I know” She didn't go with Nathaniel to the hotel, He might have asked Sasha or Melanie to go with him.

“That's okay, we appreciate any information you can give us. Well we’ll be off to question the other staff.” I asked as she nodded a bit.

“I really wish you two luck,” She closed her door. There is only one more place we need to go to get all the pieces to finish this puzzle. As we walked down the hall to head to the costume room I put my hand in my coat pocket feeling the chain of the powerful amulet. I pulled it out and looked at it. What if I could see who the vampire is with its help? In the corner of my eye I could see that Arthur had the same idea. I touched the ruby colored stone with my hand.That same familiar feeling washed over me, I leaned against Arthur a bit trying to push through the feeling. As I opened my eyes the world looked dead like the last time this happened.

“Junebug are you okay?”

“Yeah…don’t worry, Arthur” I looked at the people passing the hall and they all had that similar glowing orb in their chest like Arthur has. Suddenly a waitress quickly passed through the people to head to the exit door at the other side of the hallway. as I glimpsed at her I noticed that her orb was pitch black.

“Her.”

“What?! Who???” Without a second thought I grabbed Arther’s hand once again and tried to push through. She noticed that we spotted her and now she's on the run.

“Her! The girl with the short black bobbed hair that's headed for the fucking exit”

Arthur looked for the target I was referring to. He got on the same page as me and we both started the chase. I pushed the exit door wide open and was met with the crisp cold air on my face. The vampire quickly took a sharp turn into an alleyway.

“Junebug, wait!”

I completely ignored Arthur’s warning and was completely blind sided. All I could think about was that I needed to catch that vampire. I followed her. I made it into the alleyway but she wasn't there, as if she disappeared.

“I know what you are! Come out!!” I yelled, my voice echoing off of the walls. Arthur quickly followed and placed his hand on my shoulder “Juno stop, how do you plan on taking down a vampire in the first place!? We don't even have a stake to kill it with” He was right, I hated that he was right.I walked deeper into the narrow alleyway and stood there for what felt like forever. I sighed then turned to face Arthur, before a word could come out of my mouth I felt something fall on top of me and slammed my head against the cold floor. That same ringing in my ears came back, the already gray world turned hazy and I could feel something dripping on my face. The next thing I knew I was pinned to the floor with the vampire’s hand on the back of my neck. I accidentally dropped the amulet on the floor. The marking on the back of it was showing.

“WHY DO YOU HAVE THE BLOOD STONE?!” She screeched loud enough for it to overcome the ringing sound. She recognized the amulet but she didn't know it was missing? She wasn't the one that killed Nathaniel. She didnt work alone. I tried to think about who could be tied to this stone but the pain in my chest was too much. She was stronger than she looked, I could feel the pressure of her weight on my ribs. I was convinced that one of them was at least bruised. I could feel her sharp claws pirsing my skin, not deep enough to kill but just enough to draw blood. I could feel her squeezing down on my neck out of nowhere, Arthur grabbed a random broom that was on the floor and hit her with it. The broom snapped in half as it made contact with her face. She grabbed the end of the broom that Arthur was holding and hissed at him. I could see the rows of sharp teeth in her mouth, Almost appearing like the inside of a leech’s mouth but with two big prominent fangs sticking out. In a second she swung to the right, throwing Arthur into a brick wall. The vampire knocked the wind out of me as she jumped off of me and lunged at Arthur, quickly pinning him to the wall and stabbing his chest with her claws. Slowly moving her hand down drenching Arthur’s white button up with his own blood. Arthur tried to hold back his screams. He tried to stab her with the piece of the broom he had but she disarmed him easily. She opened her mouth and was getting ready to bite Arthur’s neck. As the world stopped spinning and I managed to catch my breath, with a trembling hand I got up and grabbed the other piece of the broom and while she was distracted I plunged it to her heart. She shrieked in pain as she got off of Arthur. Falling to the ground while holding her chest muttering

“No no no no no, One day you humans will feel the end of days, soon, SOON, the Ancilles of the crimson Hiereiai will rule!” steaming black tar was pouring out the wound and from her mouth. Her skin began to wrinkle and decay, in a matter of seconds she was nothing but a sack of bones. I quickly put pressure on Arthur's injuries to stop the bleeding, I couldn't stop staring at it and felt immense guilt. He told me to wait, to stop but I was just so caught up in my own desires to realize the danger I was putting us in. As I was in my thoughts I felt Arthur hand lightly brush against my bleeding head, I winced at the touch.

“I'm fine Arthur, I need to get you back to the office. I have a aid kit there”

“You most likely have a concussion and not to mention your neck is still bleeding…I'll drive us back don't worry Junebug '' Even now that we're both badly hurt in some dingy alleyway Arthur still managed to give me that dumb smirk. I hesitated for a moment then nodded my head in agreement. I took off my coat and tied it around Arhtur’s gashes to keep pressure on it. Before we left I picked up the amulet and in an instant the color returned. I held Arthur close to help him get to the car. On the drive back all I could think about was two things, who are the Ancilles of the crimson Hiereiai? And that I need to keep Arthur safe.

Chapter 4: “I am not a vessel for your good intent!”

As soon as we entered the office Jessica was there at her desk with piles of papers and news clippings. She glanced up at us as she was talking, she didn't expect us to be this hurt. “Hey guys how was- MY GOD WHAT HAPPENED?!” She quickly got out from behind her desk and headed to the storage room. “I’ll get the first aid kit!” I helped Arthur to the couch that was in the corner of the room. I took off his shirt, he had 5 deep gashes starting at his chest and ending at his stomach. It was still bleeding a bit. His body had a few bad scars here and there, I assume that he got them during his time in the war, it was obvious this isn't Arthur’s first time getting this hurt.

“You think the scar is gonna look cool?” Arthur joked a bit, I know he was just trying to lighten the mood but I couldn't help but feel responsible for all of this. I whispered and said under my breath.

“...I'm sorry..” Arthur couldn't quite hear what I muttered and before he could ask me to repeat myself Jessica came in with the med kit and started to take out all the things we needed.

“Mr Reed what the hell did the two of you even do?!” Jessica interrogated me as I started to clean Arthur’s wounds.

“A vampire attacked us. I guess you were right…”

She gave me a look as if telling me ‘I told you so’. She got a wet rag and started to clean the cuts on my neck. I hissed in pain and moved away.

“I’m fine”

“Bullshit, Stay still Mr’Reed” I huffed and just let her fix me up. I couldn't help but think about who the Ancilles of the crimson Hiereiai were as I started to bandage Arthur up. “The vampire recognized the amulet, She's definitely not working alone. There’s probably more vampires at the nightclub so tomorrow I should head back alone”

“No.” Arthur said with a stern tone which confused me.

“What do you mean no? We’re so close I can feel it. You're too hurt to go with me and there's no chance in hell i'm taking Jessica ”

“We could barely take one vampire, what makes you think that you could manage to kill one by yourself!? Junebug we’re both hurt, I can go with you. The cuts aren't that bad, i've had worse”

“No, you're staying here and that's final, I don't need your help Steel!”

At this point I could tell that Jessica was starting to get enough of us yelling at each other “Shut up! You two aren't gonna do shit, take a break. You two are way too stubborn and reckless for your own good” She said as she finished wrapping my head and neck with bandages, then grabbed the used towels that are soaked in blood and headed to the bathroom to get clean ones, leaving Arthur and I alone.

“I just want to help, I don't want to see my friend get torn to shreds by vampires ”

Why does he care so much? He only has known me for a day, That's it. It was my fault that he almost got killed. I can't let someone die on my watch, not again.

“We aren't friends, How many times ive had to tell you that! I've never needed friends and I sure as hell don't need some now!”

“God why can't you just allow yourself to let others help you!? Juno please. I know we've only known each other for a short period of time but I feel like you're the only person that just gets me, that has to deal with all of this . Just let me fucking help you!”

“ You don't know who the hell I am!” I snapped back but I could tell that Arthur wasn't going to back down.

“I want to know! I want to be there by your side!” Arthur pleaded as he put his hand on my shoulder, I couldn't look him in the eyes. This was for his own good. Everyone that ends up being close to me always gets hurt, so I must push Arthur away no matter how much it pains me to do so. I pushed his hand off of my shoulder and stood up “I know you mean so well…but I am not a vessel for your good intent, Steel!”

“Don't say that, you're a good person deep down, behind that heartless detective facade you always put up. No matter how hard you try to push me away I'll always come back!”

“Then you're a complete and utter idiot with a death wish!!” I turned and headed for the door, Arthur stood up from the couch holding his bandaged chest.

“Juno Stop, you're gonna get yourself killed!”

“That would be better than staying another second here with you!!”

After I said that I slammed the door. It started to drizzle outside…Great. I walked down the dark lonely sidewalk waiting for the opportunity to flag down a cab. A few minutes of walking and I managed to catch one, I opened the car’s yellow door and went in.

“Where are you headed, sir?”

“The Last Drop Nightclub…” When I finally arrived back I just walked in and headed backstage. I'm assuming at this point the other vampire noticed the dead body at the back of the building so most likely will be trying to keep a low profile. I'll start where I left off, on my way to the costume room I bumped in with Catherine.

“My dear what happened” She gasped, I sighed and tried to act as if I was fine. “I'm alright, Miss, trust me” She shook her head no and gently took my hand “Oh no, no come with me, in my dressing room I have something that can sooth the pain” She smiled softly as she led me to her room. I tried to protest but I just didn't have the willpower to do so. As we went in she sat me down on a chair in front of her vintage vanity. “Here darling have a seat…poor thing, you really took a beating” She opened a drawer and searched for the medication. “So where is your partner? Arthur was his name right ? I hope he's ok”

“He's…fine, I decided that it would be better if he stayed behind this time” I kept looking at my reflection, studying all my features, noticing the white streak in my hair and eyebrow how it blended with my black hair. How tired I looked with my deep eyebags. I sat there for what felt like hours,an endless loop of being stuck in my own mind, just spiraling. It all felt so surreal, I could hear Catherine speaking to me but it was all hazy then it hit me…We never told her our names…

“Ah, here they are.” In her hand she had my anti hallucinogenic medication that I threw away back at the hotel. My mind started to race. I tried to reach my hand out to take the bottle but I couldn't move. My breathing quickened and my heartbeat elevated.

“What’s wrong Juno? You look like you've seen a ghost”

“How…how did you get that?...How do you know my name?” I muttered, she gently tapped my forehead with her finger and I felt a rush of fervor overwhelm me. I wanted to scream, yell, do something but my body wasn't my own, at least my mind was still whole. She looked at me with a sense of curiosity, as if she was expecting something else to happen.

“ Juno, What do you desire the most?” Her voice echoed in the walls of my mind, feeling as if a hand was reaching into my subconscious pulling out feelings and thoughts I didn't know I even possessed. I couldn't even speak, She peered into my eyes as if she was reading my thoughts. She chuckled a bit.

“How interesting…not what I expected but I can work with that” she delicately grabbed my chin and smiled. “You're very powerful, you know that? A normal human mind would turn into putty just by looking into my eyes but you, you're still completely aware. Surprisingly I have to actually try to keep you from breaking free…now this new information requires me to add a few…modifications to my plan but that's alright, you're too perfect to let go” She sounded so nice and sweet as he said that. I tried to move but all I could do was to make my hands tremble.

“Oh don't worry darling, I'm not gonna hold you forever…just long enough until it's too late to…well I don't want to ruin the surprise haha” She patted my cheek and then walked to the door.

“See you soon Juno” She winked at me then closed the door behind her. I continued struggling to move any part of my body but I failed miserably. It felt like I was trapped on that chair for hours but looking at the clock on the wall only 20 minutes passed. My arms were feeling sore then I realized I could slowly push out the amulet from my pocket and touch it with my forearm. I moved my arm inch by inch trying to move it upwards,after a long 10 minutes I managed to make it so that half of the red jewel was poking out. I touched it and as predicted I was free, I fell out of the chair landing on my hands and knees gasping for air. I touched it again so that my eyes would stop having a purple hue to them. I had to tell the others. I rushed out of the Nightclub and into the now pouring cold rain. There was too much traffic to call for a cab so my only option was to run back to the office. The ice cold rain felt as if it was tearing my skin but I didn't care, all that was on my mind was to make it to Arthur and Jessica. When I arrived at the door of the office I was completely out of breath, I went to turn the knob of the door but I hesitated. Remembering all the things I said to Arhthur kept rushing through my brain. I took a deep breath and prayed that he wouldn't punch me as soon as I opened the door. My heart dropped at the sight of the office , it looked as if a fight broke out, paper and blood on the floor, a bookshelf broken and Jessica with a blindfold over her eyes as she's tied to a chair.

“Who’s that?! Get away! I don't know where he is!” She cried out. I rushed over to her and took off her blindfold.

“Jessica it's me!” I quickly reassured, My hands were trembling and she could hear the panic in my voice.

“Mr.Reed!?!?”

“Yes, Its me…Jessica what happened, Where is Arthur”

“They took him! The vampires broke in and Arthur and I tried to fight them off…They told us that they kidnapped you and they said that if Arthur came willingly they wouldn't kill you!” Her voice shook as she spoke. Of course he would do something that stupid and reckless to save me.

“Damn it Arthur…Do you know where they are?”

Jessica nodded. “You know that creepy abandoned mansion in the outskirts of town? They took Arthur there, I'm pretty sure it's a trap!”

“Oh it's definitely a trap…It's fine I'll save that idiot…even if it kills me” I grabbed my coat and a silver knife from Jessica's knife collection and headed for the door. “Mr. Reed, where are you going?! aren't you gonna free me!?” Jessica shouted at me. “I'm not gonna risk losing another friend to those damn vampires …I'm sorry Jessica”

“What!? Mr.Reed!! Damnit Juno!!! Come back here and free me!!!” She yelled as I took Arthur’s car keys that he left on the desk and walked out of the office.

Chapter 5: “It's a pleasure for you to join us darling”

I got into Arthur’s god awful car and drove to the vampire's den. When I arrived it was midnight. I tried to plan out how I would handle this, they knew that I was coming so sneaking in would be difficult, not to mention I was playing on their turf. They probably knew the grounds like the back of their hands. Also I don't know how many of them are in there, obviously the chances of me getting out of this alive was slim. Good thing I'm used to those odds. My main goal was to save my partner and get out without dying, Simple enough. The amulet is the only thing that could protect me from the vampire's mind control. I touched it one last time to activate my powers then I left it in a compartment in the car because there's no way I would let them get this amulet back.

I got out and made my way to the ominous building. I found an open window in the side of the mansion, the lights were off so sneaking in there is probably my best bet. The air was colder from the inside, as I walked around I could hear my footsteps echoing, It sounded as if the room was pretty big. I kept walking for what felt like a while.

“It's a pleasure for you to join us darling” That familiar voice scared me to my core. As soon as the words were spoken all the candles in the room set alight revealing that I was standing in the middle of a giant ballroom with a giant table in front of a wall covered with what seemed like hundreds of deer mounts on it with a big one above a lit fireplace. The table had a feast of food on it, the more I looked at it the more I realized that the food was made of human meat. Finally there were vampires sitting at the table looking at me with hungry eyes while Catherine stood in the middle. I quickly pulled out the silver knife and pointed it at her.

“Where the hell is my partner?!” I shouted but all she did was give me this condescending look.

“Aww ain't that sweet, You care so much for a man you just met. unfortunately dear you're a little too late”

“What the hell do you mean?” I tried my best trying to keep my emotions at bay.

“Dont worry dear, he was a lot of help! Without him we wouldn't have had this feast before us tonight” My heart sank as I glanced back at the food…that's Arthur. I felt sick to my stomach as I noticed that my hands began to tremble. “Hmmm do you smell that my loves, the fear and sorrow radiating off of our little sacrifice here”

This heartsick feeling turned into rage.

“YOU SICK MONSTERS!!” I screamed with tears in my eyes as I tried to stab Catherine but two vampires that appeared behind me held my arms making me drop the silver knife. “NO NO NO DAMMIT LET ME GO YOU BASTARDS!!!” Catherine just looked amused at the sight of me struggling. “That's no way to treat someone that has opened her home to you, that's not how your mother taught you” She's been in my head. She knows everything, absolutely everything. I started to tremble as I spoke out. “STOP…SHUT YOUR MOUTH, DO NOT MENTION MY MOTHER!!!”

“All the pain and suffering in your soul is absolutely delicious, I’m sure our god would love to devour you…I’m truly sorry..I know you didn't want to lose another partner, who was that bright eyed rookie you got paired up with when you were still with the NYPD? Ah yes Cecil Warren right, such a shame what happened to him. Thank you for being the key to the new world” I wasn't even listening to what she was saying at that point. She was right. All this is my fault, I was the one that got Cecil killed, I got Arthur killed and now I'm gonna bring the end of all days. I knew it was useless but I still tried to get out of the vampire's grasp.

“What? You don't have anything to say? All that fire in your eyes and you can't even utter a single word. What a shame, ladies can you please be a dear and hook him up on the altar ” She ordered, the two vampires nodded their heads and did what she asked. There was this wall of stone with two leather straps to hold my arms down. On the edges of the stone were markings engraved in it. On the floor were 6 bowls and a big sigil drawn with charcoal around the whole thing. The vampires tied me down as Catherine had a pleased smile on her face.

“What the hell are you going to do to me!?” I yelled and that just made her chuckle.

“Well if you must know we’re gonna drain your blood and draw a summoning sigil with it, then cut you open and put all of your organs in those bowls there and finally feed your soul to our god so that they can have enough power to crossover to us and bring the end of all…but we can't do that…not yet” She patted my cheek then grabbed my face digging her claws into it while looking at me with that sweet smile. “Where is the amulet Juno?...I know you have it, your eyes are a dead giveaway”

“I threw it away” I knew that the amulet was important, I couldn't let them know that it's right outside of the mansion. She looked a bit annoyed at my response. “Come on Juno I know you're an idiot but you're not brainless to do something like that. Tell me where it is..Or do I need to ask that cute assistent of yours”

“Don't you dare hurt her!!...I don't know where it is and neither does she I swear!!” She lets go of my face and thinks for a second. Catherine snaps her fingers and one of the vampires that was sitting at the table runs at her side, Catherine whispers something in her ear. The vampire nods her head and takes two other vampires with her then leaves the ballroom.

“Sooner or later the ritual will continue and the end will arrive and we-” unexpectedly a loud explosion sound could be heard in the west side of the mansion. All the vampires went silent and gave nervous glances to each other. They all waited for Catherine to give them orders.

“Don't be alarmed my loves, I assure you it's nothing” She ordered a small group of vampires to go investigate what caused the sound. As soon as the group of vampires left another explosion could be heard this time in the south side of the mansion. The vampires became more fearful. Catherine looked at me and hissed.

“What is this?”

“You think I have something to do with this?!” I snapped back, She ordered two vampires to watch me as she took the rest of the vampires to see what's going on.“Why is this guy so special?” the shorter vampire asked as she got right in my face studying me. “He's like a powerful medium or something” The other vampire responded. The smaller one smirked and said with an excited tone.

“What if we messed with him a bit! Please Jane, it would be fun!” The taller vampire sighed and nodded her head. The other one squealed happily and ran back to the table and picked up what seemed like a heart. My blood went cold as I began to wonder what she was gonna do with that. When she came back, she got close to me and held Arther’s heart closer to my face.

“Open wide! Don't you wanna have a tased of your partner’s heart haha”

Before it got too close a sound could be heard outside of the main entrance of the ballroom. We all froze for a second and waited for something to happen.

“Jane go see what it is…please”

“Abigail…you’re 200 years old and you're still scared of loud sounds…fine i'll go look at it, it's probably just a mouse or something” Jane goes out of the ballroom. Abigail returned her attention to me and giggled “So where were we? Ahh yes you were about to take a bite of this yummy heart haha” I quickly shut my mouth and looked away. She grabbed my face. “Come on, it's not that bad” she teased as she pressed the heart onto my cheek, I kept my eyes and mouth closed, out of the blue I heard a loud gasp and then gagging sounds. I quickly opened my eyes and saw black goo pouring out of Abigail's mouth. She fell on her side with a piece of wood in her back. I quickly looked back up and I couldn't believe who I saw.

“...Arthur?...” I said with a shaky voice

“Hey Junebug” he gave me that familiar dumb smirk I missed so much. I couldn't help but smile as he started to get rid of the restraints on my wrists.

“I thought that they killed you, How are you even alive!?”

“They just kept me in a cage, that's all” Arthur had a bunch of bruises and cuts all over his body, he had a piece of fabric on his bloody neck and arm. Once I got one hand free and gently touched Arthur’s face. “I'm sorry” Arthur smiled a bit then chuckled. “No, you save that sorry for when we get out of here alive, then you say all the sorrys you want over a couple rounds of beer” Arthur joked which made me laugh a bit. He was right, this is no place to start feeling self pity. Arthur was almost done freeing my other hand as a voice thundered through the ballroom.

“YOU, This was YOUR doing!” Catherine dropped her sweet act and was completely infuriated. She started to run towards us. Unexpectedly Someone threw a silver knife at Catherine’s face, hitting her in the eye causing her to screech in pain . I looked up at the balcony and saw Jessica.

“JESSICA?!?!” I yelled as Arthur finally freed me and then took my hand, we ran towards the main entrance. We locked the door behind us and then Jessica came down the stairs to meet Arthir and I. Before I could get a word in, Jessica shoved me.

“How could you just leave me behind like that?! I had to break my favorite chair to free myself, Juno!” Then she pulled me into a hug. Like Arthur she was also pretty beat up. “I'm glad you're ok…” Then a loud banging can be heard from the otherside of the ballroom door.

“I'M GONNA RIP YOUR EYES OUT AND FEED THEM TO YOU!!!!” The three of us jumped back and decided that we should get out. We ran around the mansion to look for the main entrance but the more we ran the more it became harder to breathe. The halls started to get filled up with smoke. We did have to fight one or two vampires on our way, once we arrived the whole area was blocked off by a wall of fire.

“Great who’s idea was to set up two bombs to blow up an OLD mansion mostly made out of WOOD” I looked at Arthur and Jessica but they both looked guilty. I sighed and thought about other ways we could get out of this mess.

“We could get out of a window,” Arthur suggested. Jessica and I agreed but to our surprise most of the windows were completely boarded up or were completely inaccessible due to the structure of the old mansion falling apart. The fire kept spreading and we were running out of places to go. Most of the vampires died in the fire or they just rushed past us in an effort to save themselves. It was getting harder to breathe and too hot to even think straight. “...When I was in the upstairs of the ballroom there was a balcony and right outside was a big lake! We could jump into the lake!” Jessica gasped trying not to inhale the smoke.

“It's risky but it's our only way out…I'm in” Arthur agreed, I nodded my head

“Then it's settled…lets go” We ran back towards the ballroom and headed upstairs. Jessica opened the big glass doors of the balcony taking a deep breath of the cold fresh air. She looked back at us with a bit of nervousness in her eyes. “ok…Here I go…” She stood on the railing as she looked down, She closed her eyes then jumped off. Arthur and I healed our breath hoping that Jessica was alright. A splash echoed, Arthur ran up to the railing and looked down to see if she was ok. Jessica appeared from the water with a gasp. “WOOOO ITS OK!!! COME DOWN!!!” Jessica exclaimed happily. Arthur Laughed then turned to me. “She actually made it! I guess it's my turn” He chuckles. I took a few steps closer to Arthr but in the blink of an eye something tackled me and knocked me off of the second floor and onto the support beams of the ballroom.

“ JUNO!!” Arthur yelled as he ran back into the mansion and leaned against the railing of the second floor. I opened my eyes and saw Catherine pinning me against an old wooden support beam that's right above the table full of human meat. She held me down by my throat, Her left eye was gouged out with black liquid dripping from it. Her hair and dress was a complete mess, ripped and covered in soot and ash. The fire finally touched the ballroom and it was spreading to the second floor. She bared her teeth as she screamed at me.

“YOU'VE RUINED CENTURIES OF PLANNING FOR WHAT?!?! YOU THINK JUST BECAUSE YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS MANAGED TO SLITHER OUT OF MY GRASP MEANS THAT IT'S ALL OVER!? OHH NO I'M NOT GONNA REST UNTIL-” A loud bang cut her off, I looked at Arthur and he had his gun pointed at her. She quickly snapped to face Arthur and growled.

“WHY YOU WORTHLESS WASTE OF SPACE!!” She glared at Arthur in the eyes and said with a calm tone. “Shoot yourself in the head… '' Arthur's expression changed from furious to an uneasy calmness in a matter of seconds. He looked down at his gun then slowly proceeded to point it at his head.

“NOO ARTHUR SNAP OUT OF IT!” I screamed out of fear, I noticed that she was distracted so I kicked her leg making her lose her balance then pushed her off of the piece of wood that we were on. She tried to pull me down with her ,but I grabbed onto the beam at the last second and kicked her off. She landed on the big deer mount above the fireplace, Stabbing her in the heart. She shrieked in pain and fury as that black tar flowed out of all the stab wounds. I was still there hanging on for dear life. Suddenly I felt a hand on mine, I gasped and looked up.

“Let's go, the building is falling apart!” Arthur pulled me up and we ran back to the balcony as the fire surrounded us . As we were standing on the railing I felt Arthur’s hand on mine and looked at me with a reassuring smile. I nodded and took a deep breath.

We jumped. The freezing water stinged as I made contact with it. A few seconds passed as I stayed under the water, there was this pure calmness surrounding me. As I went back to the surface I gasped for air. Arthur was laughing then playfully splashed water on my face.

“We're alive!!! Junebug we made it haha!!!” I Laughed then splashed him back, Arthur stopped and looked a bit nervous as he held his bandaged up neck. “Hey, I need to tell you-” Jessica cut Arthur off and yelled at us from the pond’s shore.

“Hey, what took you two so long? I was getting worried!” Arthur and I swam towards Jessica. “That vampire you stabbed in the eye attacked Junebug…but he took care of it” Arthur patted me on the back. I chuckled a bit.

“Oh my god…Did you just laugh!? Arthur, how did you manage to do that?” Jessica teased as I just rolled my eyes.

“It wasn't that hard, you can still teach old dogs new tricks”

“I'm only 2 years older than you asshole” I said as I playfully shoved Arthur.

“Ok ok calm down boys I've had enough fighting for the day..god I need a drink.” Jessica sighed as she rubbed the back of her neck.

“Ok let's get a round of drinks…my treat” I said as Arthur and Jessica celebrated a bit. We headed to Arthur’s absolutely horrific excuse for a car. We drove away as the abandoned mansion burned to the ground with all of the vampires in it. There was this sense of calmness during the drive. As if a weight has been lifted, but I have a feeling that this won't be the last time we'll encounter things not quite of the norm…I'm sure together we’ll be able to handle it.

The End

#my original characters #my story #they are so gay and so stupid #this is my first time writing something like this so sorry if it’s shit #yes most of the characters are named after podcasts characters I like🤩#oc drawing #little meow meow #drawing digital #gay vampires and gayer detectives #all they need is to talk

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