Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"I'm so glad you came to meet me," Nova said softly. "My dad's just a little…overprotective."

Victor grinned, looking around the little clearing in the woods. It certainly was out of the way. But for her, anything. He really liked her. Nova took his hand tentatively, their fingers curling together.

"It's awfully remote out here. No one could hear you scream," Victor joked, then instantly regretted it, afraid he'd made her uncomfortable.

Nova just smiled, though her mood seemed to shift. He squeezed her hand tighter.

"Hey, what's wrong? You seem sad."

A large stick cracked nearby and Victor turned, instantly on high alert.

Nova grabbed his arm. "Hey, it's fine. That was nothing."

Victor's suspicions grew as he heard her heart rate speed up. She was lying. He took a step back from her, dropping her hand and distancing himself from the tree line. He caught the scent on the air, heard the steady thrum of a pulse, a moment before a large man stepped out from the foliage. He was carrying a rifle in one hand and a black bag in the other. Victor grabbed Nova instinctually, tugging her behind him as he backed away.

The man grinned and dropped the bag on the ground. "You did perfect my girl. Just perfect."

Victor tensed, sparing a glance behind him at the beautiful girl who had been so sweet to him. Who hadn't cared at all that he was a vampire. Who hadn’t feared him. He dropped her arm like it was on fire.

"What is this?" he demanded.

Nova looked at the ground in shame. "I'm sorry," she whispered, tears welling in her eyes.

Victor's heart sank. He didn't need to hear anymore; he was stupid to still be standing here. His muscles tensed, ready to run. But the man was surprisingly fast. Taking advantage of Victor's confusion, he raised the rifle and pulled the trigger; a tranquilizer dart sank into the boy's throat.

Victor's hand shot up, his fingers fumbling shakily as he pulled the dart out and dropped it on the forest floor. He stumbled back, staring in disbelief between the man who was grinning menacingly at him, rifle still raised, and Nova who was backing away, avoiding his gaze. Victor felt queasy and shaky as the sedative coursed through his veins. He tripped on a root as he backed up and almost went down. As he steadied himself, another dart hit him in the chest. Victor swayed on his feet. Panicking, he turned and bolted for the tree line. A third dart shot into his shoulder blade and he stumbled again, his legs giving out beneath him, bringing him crashing down, his face slamming into the dirt.

Victor lay on the ground, unable to move, his panic replaced with a sluggish, heavy resignation. He felt like he was going to throw up but he was too tired to do so. His eyelids fluttered as the world tilted sideways. Footsteps approached and then he saw booted feet step into view. He heard voices from high above, slow and distorted, as if they were being dragged through molasses.

"Can't believe it took three darts to take him down. He's not even a big one."

"How would you know if he's a big one? He's the first one you've ever caught."

"Hush Nova. Hand me that mask."

And then everything went black.

****

Nova's father, Barnett, nudged Victor with a booted foot and then rolled him onto his back. The boy's head lolled, red hair falling across his forehead. Nova bit her lip nervously and wrapped her arms around herself as her father knelt down and fixed a leather mesh mask across the lower half of Victor's face.

"There, now there won't be any nasty surprises. You can never be too careful with vampires Nova."

Nova shrugged. "He seemed nice," she said softly.

Her father spun on his heel, rising and grabbing her shoulders roughly. "He's a monster Nova. A predator. You can't trust him and you shouldn't feel sympathy for him."

"If he's so dangerous, you sure didn't have any problem using me as bait!" she snapped hotly.

Barnett scoffed. "This is the family business and you're part of this family. You can handle yourself. Now run ahead and open the truck for me sweetie."

He knelt back down, roughly zip-tied Victor's wrists together, quickly checked that the boy was still out, then slung him over his shoulder and rose with a grunt.

****

Nova pushed the door open to the makeshift lab under their house and flicked on the lights, looking around miserably. Her dad had been hunting monsters for years. But he'd only ever caught a couple. She had been younger then, and had no part in whatever it was he did down here. Studied them, he always told her. To make life safer, for everyone. She had never really questioned it. Never wondered what he meant by study. Never knew what happened to them after.

She had also never known any of the supposed monsters personally before.

Victor had seemed so nice, so normal. Were they all like that? Her dad said they were all predators, and that vampires were the worst and most dangerous of them all, because they seemed the most human. They could deceive you, charm you.

But Victor hadn't seemed that way at all. He hadn't seemed deceptive or charming even. In fact, he'd seemed pretty goofy and even a little shy around her. She'd had to pursue HIM. Was that the behavior of a killer stalking its prey?

Or just of someone sweet? Someone searching for a connection? Just like her?

Nova shifted uncomfortably, her gaze roving across the room, at the cages, the medical supplies, the table with the leather restraints. Her breath caught in her throat at the thought of Victor strapped to that table.

Behind her, her dad pushed through the door, the young vampire slung over his shoulder. Nova watched as Barnett none too gently lowered Victor onto the table and began tightening the straps across the boy's ankles, wrists and chest. She didn't want to watch this. She turned to go.

"Nova!" her dad barked out. "Help me over here." She reluctantly turned back around.

"Get the IV set up."

"I don't..."

"Hush, I’ve showed you how. Time to put all that work into practice."

Nova slowly walked across the room, trying not to look at Victor lying on the table. He was so still. She grabbed a saline bag, pole, and needle and brought them to her father.

"Three tranq darts is a lot, dad. Are you sure he's okay?"

"It. Not he. Don't go soft on me girl. These are things, not people."

Nova felt sick. "Well, is IT okay?" she asked, trying not to hide the bitterness in her voice.

Barnett stuck a pulse oximeter on Victor's finger, pushed a button on the monitor and barked out a short laugh. "Who knows? No heartbeat." He smirked at his daughter who gave a weak smile in return.

"Well then, how do we know?"

"Brainwaves I guess," Barnett said with an unbothered shrug. He rummaged in a drawer then pulled out some electrodes and stuck them to the vampire's temples and flipped a switch. A steady beeping started up, accompanied by a squiggly line on the second monitor.

"There you go. It's fine," Barnett said roughly, pushing past Nova to insert the IV.

"When do you think he'll, uh, it will wake up?" Nova asked hesitatingly.

"Well that's the first test isn't it my girl?" her dad said with a wink. "For now, leave it. Let's go rustle up some supper."

Nova's stomach roiled. She couldn't possibly think of going upstairs and eating when her new friend was tied up down here, unconscious, helpless, waiting to be tortured. Because let's face it, she knew that's what her father did to these things.

No. Not things. People. He tortured them. In the name of 'science' and 'safety.' She felt sick.

"Come on Nova," her father said sharply from the doorway. "Leave it."

Nova took one last look at Victor, lying strapped to the table in her basement. He had trusted her, been nice to her. And she had lied to him, lured him in, put him here. What had she done? Blinking back tears, Nova turned away and hurried out the door.

****

Nova had gone to her room after an unusually quiet supper. She had seemed upset , picking listlessly at her food, and Barnett was itching to get back downstairs so between the two of them, very little conversation had taken place. Now, it was finally time to get to work. The research was important, the hunt was fun, but this was actually Barnett’s favorite part. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on this little vampire. He’d never encountered one this young, and never had a chance to study any up close before. He was practically buzzing with excitement.

Shutting the lab door firmly behind him, Barnett turned towards the table, a taser in his hand in case of surprises. He was relieved though to see that the young monster was still lying unconscious on the table, mask firmly affixed to it's face. Barnett crept forward and prodded Victor’s foot. When the vampire didn’t react Barnett tugged on each strap to make sure they were tight and secure then he set the taser down on the counter and leaned in close, checking to see if Victor was breathing. He had always wondered if vampires breathed. He saw no rise and fall of the chest and when he held his hand over the mask, he felt no exhalation. A glance at the monitor showed the brain waves steadily beeping though. Excitedly he grabbed his laptop and started tapping out some notes.

Grabbing a penlight, Barnett then carefully lifted one of Victor’s eyelids to check pupil reactivity. The vampire’s eyes were partially rolled back and dilated, as was expected with this amount of sedation. Barnett had used tranquilizer darts designed for big game animals but these ones were also infused with a touch of garlic and silver, to cover all the bases. Not enough to kill a vampire, very low-level, just enough to mess with their central nervous system. It had definitely done the trick. Without it, Barnett was fairly certain the monster would have woken up by now. It was tricky truly determining the effects however, when there were no vital signs to check. He’d have to experiment with different doses later.

Because this was all just guesswork—he was writing the playbook here. His research was going to put him on the map. Other hunters would come to him for answers. So he had to be thorough. He had to do this right.

Barnett typed up a few more notes then grabbed a syringe to take a blood sample. This would be the true test. He could poke and prod this creature all night long but all the real answers would be in the blood tests he was going to run. Barnett chuckled to himself; how ironic that this vampire’s blood was going to help him find the answers to perhaps bring down all vampires. He would make the world a safer place for his daughter; for everyone. He would eradicate these monsters, and hopefully, one day, all monsters. The fact that this was just a kid, no older than his daughter, didn’t bother him, couldn’t bother him. This was too important.

****

Late that night, after Barnett finally went to bed, Nova crept downstairs and snuck into the lab. She pulled the door shut silently behind her, took a deep breath and turned around, afraid of what she’d see. She exhaled loudly when she saw that Victor was still in one piece, strapped to the table the same way she’d left him.

She crossed the room, pulled up a stool and sat down. She stared at her new friend, picking at her fingernails and hating her father and herself. Victor was so pale and still, the muzzle across his mouth an insult to his humanity. She wanted to remove it but was afraid her father would come down and catch her. So she left it. Instead she reached out a tentative hand and laid it on Victor’s arm. His skin was cold to the touch, though she wasn’t sure if that was from the poison and sedation or if he was always that cold. Had his skin seemed that cold in the woods when he’d held her hand? No, she didn’t think so.

Nova sighed and brushed a lock of hair off the boy’s forehead, ran a finger gently down his cool cheek. What could she do? How could she help him? Glancing around, she saw a row of blood-filled vials lined up on the counter next to her dad’s laptop. What if she smashed all of it? What if she freed Victor, got him out of here, and ruined all of her dad’s hard work? Her heart felt lighter for a moment, then sank back down as she realized she couldn’t get Victor out of here on her own. Not as long as he was unconscious.

Well maybe she could wake him up. She hopped off the stool. If she could just wake him, then she could get him out of here, somewhere safe away from her father. She began rummaging through drawers until she pulled out what she was looking for. Adrenaline.

Nova hesitated. Did she really want to do this? What if there was an adverse effect? She didn’t know what she was doing and she didn’t know anything about Victor’s physiology. What if she hurt him, or worse?

She stood there, fiddling with the injector in her hand, deliberating. Then she heard a thump from upstairs and jumped, nearly dropping it. Were those footsteps above her? With a last apologetic look at Victor, she slipped the device into her pocket and ran from the room.

Chapter Text

"Are you sure this is the place?" Zed whispered loudly, crouched by the garage door.

"Shhh," Addison hissed back. "This is definitely where the tire tracks led. I'm telling you, something's wrong."

Zed and Addison were traveling across the country in an RV for their summer break, just the two of them. They had met Victor a few days prior in Shadyside and they'd all become fast friends, excited to find that there were more people like them out there. Vampires, zombies, werewolves, aliens—they all had more in common than you'd think.

They had made plans to hang out that evening but Victor hadn't shown. For days, he had been telling them about this girl he'd met, Nova. He'd been so excited as he told them they were seeing each other again that afternoon, meeting secretly in the woods. When he never showed up at the RV that night, Addison had gotten worried.

And now here they were, skulking around a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night, on a hunch.

"I can't believe how good you are at tracking, boo. It's like a secret superpower."

Zed shrugged bashfully, crouching lower. "We have to find a way in. You know...if he's not here and this is just some random person's house we're breaking into, this could be bad."

Addison thought for a moment, brow creasing. "No," she said firmly, "I know something's wrong. I think he's here."

"Good enough for me," Zed said, giving her a quick kiss. "Alright, in we go."

****

The doorframe splintered with a crack that made Zed and Addison wince and freeze, waiting to see if anyone came running. After a long moment, they exhaled in unison and crept into the dark garage. Zed zeroed in on another door on the far wall, and they slid beside a large truck, moving as silently as they could. There was a padlock on this door but the key was hanging on a hook beside it. Zed grabbed it and turned the lock soundlessly.

The door swung open with a creak and Zed and Addison stared down into a dark stairwell. They looked at each other nervously. Addison reached out and squeezed Zed's hand, and then they descended.

"What IS this place?" Addison asked shakily when they reached the bottom.

A long dark hallway led to a single metal door. This one was locked too but again, the key was hanging beside it. Zed unlocked the heavy padlock, pushed the door open hesitantly and peeked inside, Addison peering around him. A bright overhead fluorescent light was on in here and it took a moment for their eyes to adjust.

When they did, Addison gasped. Victor was strapped to a metal table in the center of the room, unconscious, skin even paler than usual against his red hair, sensors stuck to his temples, a needle inserted in his arm. Worst of all was the leather muzzle strapped across his mouth.

Zed eased the door shut with a quiet click, then rushed to the table. His shaking fingers fumbled with the straps as he pulled the mask off Victor’s face and threw it across the room in disgust. Addison slowly walked to his side, a hand over her mouth in horror.

"What is going on here?!" Zed whispered urgently. “What kind of monster would do this?”

Addison stared back at him wide-eyed and shook her head helplessly. Zed grabbed Victor's wrist, pressing his fingers against the veins.

"There's no pulse!" he cried, panicking.

"Well. WOULD there be?" Addison asked logically. "He IS a vampire."

"Oh," Zed said, laying Victor's arm down gently back on the table. "Good point."

He placed his hands on Victor's shoulders and shook him gently. The boy's head lolled but he didn't react.

"Victor." He shook him again, a bit harder.

"What did they do to him?" he asked Addison worriedly.

He carefully lifted one of the boy's eyelids, unsure what he was looking for.

"Victor," Zed said again more urgently. Still no reaction.

"We have to get him out of here!" Addison said, looking behind her towards the door.

"Right." Zed nodded.

He smacked his Z-Band and zombied out, then ripped the chest strap right off the table while Addison calmly undid the ankle straps and gave Zed a look. Zed shrugged sheepishly and unbuckled the wrist restraints. He stared at the IV blankly, unsure how to remove it. Addison gently nudged him aside and eased the needle out of the crook of Victor's arm.

"Turn that machine off so we don't set off an alarm or something," Addison directed.

"Yes ma'am," Zed said, impressed by his girl’s calm competence. His hands hovered over the beeping machine for a confused moment before he followed the extension cord to the wall and unplugged the whole thing. Addison gently pulled the nodes off Victor's temples and tossed them aside.

"Okay Zed, grab him and let's go." She turned to head for the door and pulled up short as it creaked open. She jumped back with a small yelp.

Nova slipped through, shutting the door behind her and making a shushing motion.

"Quiet, my dad might hear you."

"Your dad?" Zed said as he rushed to Addison's side protectively. Nova startled and took a step back at the sight of him.

"What is this?" Addison asked. "Who are you? Are you Nova?"

"How do you know me?" the girl asked, shifting from foot to foot, eyes still trained nervously on Zed.

"Victor told us about you."

"He was really excited about you," Zed cut in. "How did he get here? What did you do?!"

Nova looked at the floor in shame. "It's my father. He's...a hunter. Sort of. I mean, he...it's the family business. And—look, it doesn't matter now. I have to get you out of here. Please, you have to help him."

"Oh, now you want to help him?" Zed whisper-shouted angrily.

"I'm sorry!" Nova cried, fighting back tears. "I made a mistake! Please, you're his friends, right? Just—help him. Please."

"Okay," Addison said, putting a hand on Nova's arm and smiling reassuringly. "We will."

She turned and gave Zed a nod. He glared at Nova for another few seconds then turned and hurried back to the table. He slid is arms under Victor's shoulders and legs, gently lifting him up and cradling him in his arms. Victor’s head tipped back limply and Nova had to suppress a sob at the sight. He looked dead, dangling in Zed’s arms like that.

This was all her fault.

“What did your dad to him Nova? Why won’t he wake up?” Addison asked as they all moved towards the door. Zed repositioned Victor so his head was tucked against the zombie’s shoulder and not at such an uncomfortable angle as Nova locked the door behind them and they started down the hallway.

“He shot him with specially designed tranquilizer darts. They’re for big game animals but my dad said these ones were also infused with a little bit of garlic and silver? Not enough to kill him or anything,” Nova clarified, ashamed. “I honestly think there’s just a lot of sedative in his system. It took three darts to take him down. He was really strong.”

“But he WILL wake up, right?” Zed asked as they hit the staircase.

Nova paused, one hand on the railing, and turned back, eyes wide. “Oh. Oh no, I’m sure he’ll be fine.” She bit her lip. “I’m sure of it.”

“No offense, but you don’t sound all that sure Nova,” Addison said worriedly.

“My dad knows what he’s doing,” Nova said firmly. “He always takes them alive.”

“He’s done this before?!” Zed whisper-shouted.

Nova clapped a hand over his mouth. “Please, PLEASE, you have to be quiet,” she pleaded.

Addison put a steadying hand on Zed's arm.

“She’s right Zed, come on. We have to get Victor out of here,” she said as calmly as she could.

Zed took a deep breath, repositioned the boy in his arms, then pushed past Nova and started up the stairs.

When they reached the top Nova peeked around the doorframe then motioned for the others to follow. Zed and Addison slid by her and headed for the exit while Nova locked the basement door behind them. They snuck into the night, keeping to the shadowy side of the house until they hit the driveway, then stopped, Zed panting a bit from carrying Victor.

He nodded his head in the direction of town. “We parked our RV about a quarter mile down the road.”

Addison turned back to Nova and grabbed her hand. “Are you coming with us?”

“No, I can’t. I can’t leave my dad. Besides…I have something I need to do before he wakes up.” She slipped the injector into Addison’s hand. “Here. It’s adrenaline. I don’t know if it would work, or if it would hurt him, or what. But...take it. Just in case.”

“Thank you,” Addison said gratefully, as her fingers curled around it. “For everything.”

“I’m just so sorry,” Nova said, eyes bright with tears. “This is all my fault.”

“You did the right thing now though,” Addison said reassuringly. “That matters.”

Nova took a step towards Zed and the boy cradled in his arms. She touched Victor’s pale cheek one last time. “Please take care of him.”

“Don’t worry,” Zed said softly. “We’ve got him.”

Addison squeezed her shoulder then joined Zed, and the girl and the zombie disappeared into the shadows with their precious cargo, the young vampire's head bumping against Zed's chest as they ran.

Nova watched them go, then took a deep breath and turned back towards the house. She was going to go back down to the lab and destroy everything. She had to. Her dad would know she’d had a hand in this. He would be furious. But she found that she really didn’t care. Let him scream, let him rage. She wouldn’t be complicit in any of this. Not ever again.

He was wrong. Victor wasn’t a monster. He was sweet and kind and deserved to be safe and happy. And Zed—he had clearly been some kind of creature too but he had been brave and protective and a good friend to come rescue Victor. He wasn’t a monster either.

They had gotten it so wrong, all of it. What else was her dad wrong about?

Chapter Text

Addison pulled the RV door open and Zed hurried up the steps and deposited Victor’s unconscious body gently on the couch before hopping in the front, starting the engine and pulling back onto the road. He watched the rearview mirrors anxiously for several minutes then at last breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled onto the highway. They had made it. No one was following them.

“How’s he doing back there babe?” he called back to Addison as he drove back to their campsite.

“Um, the same?”Addison laid a cool washcloth across the vampire’s forehead.

“Well, better than worse,” Zed muttered.

“We should take him home right?” Addison called up front.

“Do you know where he lives?” Zed shouted back.

“Oh.”

The sun was just peeking over the horizon when Zed signaled and pulled into the Shadyside Campground and RV Park, driving to the end of the road and parking under the shadows of a large oak tree. He flicked the headlights off and crawled into the back to join Addison.

“What can I do, what does he need?”

“I don’t really know,” Addison said fretfully. “I mean, I can’t even tell if he’s, you know, alive? Because technically I guess he’s not alive? I don’t know!” Addison wailed.

Zed pulled her into a tight hug. “It’s okay, Ads, he’s gonna be fine, we got this.”

Addison pulled back, taking a deep breath. “Okay.” She pulled out the adrenaline from her pocket. “Should we try this thing?”

Zed looked at it skeptically. “Maybe as a last resort.”

Addison nodded and set it aside then grabbed the washcloth and headed to the bathroom to wet it again. Zed kneeled down beside the couch and studied Victor’s face. There was no change; he was pale and unmoving. If Zed didn’t know any better, he would think that the boy was dead. But, he assured himself, that wasn’t the case. He was supposed to look like that. Right?

Suddenly Zed noticed something new. Victor’s eyelashes, dark on his pale cheeks, were fluttering ever so slightly.

“Ads, I think he’s waking up!” Zed took Victor’s cold hand in his, squeezing it gently. “Come on Victor, open your eyes. Wake up for me.”

Addison dropped to her knees beside him, the washcloth forgotten and they both anxiously watched Victor’s face as he struggled back to consciousness.

****

Everything was dark and cold.

Where was he? What was happening?

Victor tried to move his limbs but he couldn’t. His brain didn’t seem to be connecting to his body. And it was so dark. He tried to open his eyes but his lids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds.

From far away, he heard a voice.

“Victor? Victor, open your eyes for me buddy.”

He was trying, he really was. He wanted to tell the voice that, but he couldn’t seem to make his mouth work.

So cold. He was used to feeling cold but this was something else. Unnatural. It scared him.

God, his head hurt so bad. And it tasted like something had died in his mouth.

“Victor?”

A new voice now. Victor wanted to reach out and grab onto that voice, let it pull him back from the darkness.

His fingers twitched and he felt a pressure squeeze his palm. He sent every ounce of energy into his hand, tried with all his might, and—there! He squeezed back.

A crack of light. His eyelashes fluttered. He was doing it. He was crawling back from the other side. It wasn’t quite as cold now.

“Victor?”

The voices again, two of them, a boy and a girl.

Nova? Was Nova here? Was she safe?

Victor’s eyes flew open. Blurry faces swam above him. A green-haired boy and a blonde girl.

“Nova?”

Victor’s throat burned. His voice was scratchy and barely there. He blinked and his vision cleared a bit. It wasn’t Nova. It was Addison, and Zed, their faces bright with relief. Victor tried to shift, to sit up, but his body still wouldn’t respond.

He coughed weakly. “Is Nova okay? Where is she?”

Zed and Addison shared a look he didn’t understand.

“She’s okay Victor,” Addison said at last. “Are YOU okay?”

Victor shut his eyes, his headache intensifying. “What happened?”

“Something bad,” Zed said carefully. But you’re okay. How are you feeling?”

Victor groaned. “Pretty awful actually.”

He tried to think back, to remember what had happened.

Then it all came rushing back. Making plans with Zed and Addison, meeting Nova in the clearing, the strange man with the gun. And…Victor’s eyes snapped open. Nova’s betrayal. She had been on in it.

“That man…he…he shot me! And Nova…she…” Victor’s voice trailed off.

“You’re okay, Addison said soothingly. “That man was Nova’s father. He took you somewhere. But we found you. And Nova helped us get you out. You’re okay.”

“She…what? I’m so confused,” Victor muttered, shutting his eyes wearily. God, his head was pounding.

“She was really sorry,” Addison offered.

“Yeah,” Zed chimed in. “She was…a mess. I don’t think she wanted you to get hurt. Her family sounded…complicated.”

The RV was quiet for a while. Finally Zed spoke again

“Do you want to try and sit up?”

“I don’t think I can man. I feel like crap. And I can’t really move anything.”

“It’s okay. Apparently that guy really whammied you. But it should wear off soon. Here, let me help you.”

Zed sat on the edge of the couch and hooked his arms under Victor’s shoulders, lifting him into a sitting position and propping him up. Then he and Addison sat down on either side of him. Addison took his hand. Zed bumped a shoulder against his. It was comforting.

“What should I do?” Victor asked. “Should I call her? I mean—she set me up. Almost got me killed. Is it bad that all I want to do is call her?” Victor groaned, thumping the back of his head against the wall. “This is such a mess. What am I even doing? She’s a daywalker, I’m a vampire. It’s crazy, it could never work.”

Addison and Zed shared a smirk.

“Oh I don’t know,” Addison said. Maybe someday?”

They were all quiet again. After a while, Victor lifted his arm weakly, patting his pockets. “Where’s my phone? Do you have a phone?”

Zed leaned forward and pulled his cell out, handing it to Victor who grinned at him.

“I’m gonna call her.”