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He heard of Oakhurst as many did, a town in Scotland that held ghosts more than it did people, a town where there were women who didn't age who watched over the town.
Then eventually he heard more an interesting tale about the town. Oakhurst wasn't just a haunted town that took in people looking for a fresh start, it was also a town that held cures that people searched for. Cures that were called impossible but found within the walls of Oakhurst.
Maybe he could find one.
He wasn't sure what cure he was searching for, but he knew it was important.
There was something about the town that told him it held a cure.
He just needed to find it.
Of course the time he went to find the town the train tracks were broken, stopping people from having easy access to the town and he hadn't brought a car.
He'd need to walk to Oakhurst from the nearest town.
That was alright.
That was fine.
He could walk to town. He'd be fine.
He wasn't sure how close he was to the town when he ran into a man with black hair leaning against a tree as if he was waiting for something or someone.
"Hello?"
The man looked at him, his head tilted as he pushed off the tree.
"Hello. Where are you headed?"
"Oakhurst."
"Not by train?"
"Tracks are broken."
"Ah. Why are you headed to Oakhurst?"
"It's the place of impossible cures."
The man raised an eyebrow, curious.
"Are you a doctor?"
"I am."
"Hm. Well clinic can always use another set of hands. I can show you to the town, if you want."
"If it wouldn't be too much trouble. Do you live there?"
"Sometimes. I travel a lot for work but I always come back."
He nodded. That made sense.
"Can I have your name?"
"Abolish."
"It's nice to meet you Abolish, I'm-"
"Come on Doc, we'll want to get to town before nightfall."
"Right."
The walk to Oakhurst was a quiet one until they came upon a set of ruins, Abolish stopping to stare at them for a moment.
"There might be a hint to a cure or something down here, lots of these ruins have books hidden in them. They seem to reappear in the mornings, never know what you'll get."
That didn't sound real.
How could that be?
"How?"
"No clue. It's just how Oakhurst works."
"Right."
"Want to check this one? It shouldn't take too much time away."
"I don't see why not."
He made his way down and into the ruins. Inside there was an old leather bound book. It looked old yet preserved, as if it wouldn't crumble in his hands as he read it.
Abolish looked at the book in his hands, his eyes widening for only a moment before he nodded.
"Looks like you got an old one. It might have what you need. Come on, let's get you to town."
It didn't take too long for them to get to town, for Abolish to lead him into a tavern with two rooms for rent. It didn't take long for him to sit in his bed reading the leather bound book.
His own hand writing stared back at him.
Log:
I've made it to Oakhurst. There are fourteen of us here. Myself, Cleo, Pearl, Scott Goldsmith, Pyro, Martyn Woodhurst, Renheart Dogmore, Shelby, Drift, Avid, Owen, Abolish, Apo and M Sausage.
Abolish?
Like the man who had brought him here?
The man who had led him to this notebook?
That couldn't be.
Could it?
No.
It couldn't be him. They couldn't be the same man.
He read as many logs as he could before he started to fall asleep. He could read more tomorrow, dissect the book more in the morning.
~~~~
Cleo wasn't expecting Abolish to run to her as if he'd been searching for hours, as if there was something he'd found that she needed to know the moment he found it.
"Abolish. What brings you out of your shadows?"
"He's back."
"Ominous. Who is back, Abolish?"
"The doctor."
No.
That couldn't-
Could he?
"He's been dead for three hundred and fifty years, Abolish. I killed him myself."
"And I just walked what looked and sounded so much like him to the tavern."
"Name?"
Abolish looked sheepish as he stared at Cleo.
"Abolish. What's his name? If you took him to the tavern you must have gotten his name."
"I didn't."
"Abolish Veylock."
"Just called him Doc. He's a doctor anyways, said he heard Oakhurst is where impossible cures are found."
"Do you really think-"
"I think I'd call Tim in if he'd seen Legs at all, ask if he could see anything of him in this man."
"…Call him anyways, he's seen things he shouldn't before. Where is he these days?"
"Back in London last I heard, keeping watch over the Magnus Institute."
"Why hasn't he burnt that place down yet? He's not got anyone left to lose to it."
"Because sometimes it's easier to watch evil than destroy it. Best he stops things from happening then losing track of the source of it. Plus, he won't survive another explosion."
"Right."
There was silence for a few moments before Cleo spoke.
"I'll have to welcome him to the town. You said he's a doctor?"
"He is."
"Well then he'll like the clinic. I'll see to making sure there's room for him there. Now, come inside, you still need to sleep and Pearl will want to say hello in the morning."
"You just want to tell your wife I forgot to get Doc's name."
"Maybe."
~~~~
His dreams were strange that night.
He dreamt he was older in a way, his movements fast but slower than now, only one of his eyes seemed to work, the other- the other felt as if it was missing.
He stared at someone in front of him, her hair a fiery orange color, her eyes green. She wore an old timey dress, though it looked right on her, like this was what people wore, not just when they were going to fairs or dressing up for balls, but every day.
"So my feeling about you is you were kind of…conflicted about vampires."
Vampires? What vampires?
His own voice greeted him, older in a way but still his.
"What do you mean?"
"You…"
They paused, as if searching for words, for what to say. What had he done? Was this him? A future that he'd need to know? It couldn't be the past when he seemed older than he was now.
"Didn't come in all gun ho helping us out…when we went after them."
Them?
Who is them? Who were they going after?
"And I can respect that. That's a moral choice. That's something."
His own voice returned.
"I promised myself a long time ago that I would never do that again."
Do what?
What had be done?
What would he do? It had to be a would, didn't it?
The person in front of him- he knew their name, he did, but he couldn't remember it. Like something blocked him from knowing her.
"Explain. What is that and what did you do, cause I need to know."
It didn't feel like a question, not from her. It felt like a statement, a command. There was no getting out of this without explaining. Yet instead of guarded and wanting to run he was calm, understanding, trusting.
He was ready to tell them.
But what was he telling her?
What is it that was so- that was so horrible he'd promised never to do it again.
What had he done? What was he going to do?
There was silence for some time before they spoke again.
"It's just you and me here Doc, and I'm not gonna hurt you."
His response was immediate.
"No, I- I'm. Of- of the people in this town believe me, I expect you to be one of the most capable to do so-"
Her laughter filled the area around them as he continued to speak, a small smile spreading on his face.
"You've proven that time and time again I have no-"
Her voice cut in as they shook their head.
"I'm brave and stupid, I am not good at fighting-"
"I wouldn't-"
"I promise you that."
"Call you stupid."
They talked over one another, as if they were more friends than they were anything else. Of course they were friends, he trusted her with his life.
…
Who was this person he trusted so much despite only seeing them here in this dream?
The dream him continued to talk.
"But- No. I- Do no harm. Do no harm."
It felt more like a motto than it did the oath he'd taken. It felt like it held more weight than many thought. It always had held so much weight.
"Hypocratic oath."
"Promise to myself. I- I used to be a soldier. Like Apo."
Apo?
That was one of the names from the log.
This-
Apo would be long dead by now, the date on the log was from 1806. Apo would be dead now, long dead.
This couldn't be the future, but why or how would it be the past, when these people were dead?
How did this man sound so much like him?
"Like so many others."
The person's voice cut in.
"Hopefully more stable than Apo."
He sighed, long and tired, like he'd seen people like Apo before, maybe he'd been like Apo once.
"Well. I did my time. I followed my orders."
"Oh."
"I did what was asked of me."
What was asked of him?
What had he done?
"I know what that means. Yeah. I'm sorry."
What orders had she followed? How did they know what it meant?
Why were they so sorry?
He woke up with more questions than he had answers.
He woke up with the book beside him.
Maybe there was somewhere he could sit while he read.
Yes, he'd go into town and find a coffee shop or a library and read these logs. If he was lucky he'd get to finishing the log book today.
It didn't take him too long to find the library with the directions from the tavern keeper, a kind woman named Gem who looked similar in hair color to the person from his dream, but who he knew wasn't them. The hair color was the only similarity he could see, that bright orange hair like fire.
The woman at the front of the library behind the desk wore a hijab with daisies on it. When she looked up at him he noticed her eyes, red.
…
No.
She couldn't be a vampire.
No.
He was just-
He probably just needed sleep.
"New?"
"Yes. Just- Found this book yesterday and I was looking for a quiet place to read it."
"Well, that's what we're for. If you need anything I'll be here."
"Right. Thank you…"
"Basira."
"Right. Thank you Basira."
"Anytime."
He moved towards a reading area in the back and opened up the book. He'd unlock it's mysteries.
~~~~
Cleo wasn't going to stalk this man who may likely be Legs reborn, she wasn't a stalker like Abolish. Instead they texted Gem to ask where he'd gone, only to learn that he'd gone to the library to read.
Alright.
This was fine.
She could do this.
"Cleo? Where are you going."
"I'm going to the library."
"Why?"
"The man who Abolish thinks could be Doc reborn is there. I thought I'd welcome him to town."
"Be careful Cleo."
"I always am, Pearl."
"Bullshit!"
Cleo laughed as she left, smiling as she made her way to the library.
This would be fine.
She'd be alright.
~~~~
There were only a few logs in the book and each one was short.
Talks of vampires, of friends who were human and turned, of enemies and a war, of what had been done in the war he'd fought in. There were logs that spoke of a man named Owen and wanting to help and help and help and not being able to. Logs that spoke of Cleo and their protectiveness of the Doctor and Pearl. Logs mentioning Abolish and how he seemed to be planned for war.
Logs that mentioned a cure.
Inside the pages was a cure for vampirism.
One that required the sire to die for someone to be cured.
Then there were the letters at the end. Every page that wasn't filled with a log from Doctor Legundo was a letter to him from Cleo, a letter talking about what she and their partner Pearl were fixing, a letter about how much he'd helped. Letters about the curse on Oakhurst and letters about her life fixing things up.
Letters that sounded like things a good friend wanted to tell someone they'd lost.
Letters that were informal things.
Letters that were never sent because Legundo had died, had sacrificed himself to free Abolish, to turn and have him cured so he could escape.
Why was he alive still so many years later, if it had worked?
~~~~
Cleo stepped into the library in the evening after speaking with the nurses and doctors in the clinic and ensuring they had space for an extra set of hands before she made their way to a nearby diner to get some food after texting Basira to ask if the man was still inside the library to be told he'd not left, that he'd barely looked up from the book he'd brought in with him.
That wouldn't do.
They entered the library to find him jotting things down in a notebook, Legundo's journal on the table beside him. Legundo's journal that had gone missing some time ago.
Oakhurst couldn't be-
Of course it was.
They sat down across from the Doctor and pushed the food towards him along with a bottle of water.
~~~~
Doc looked up to seeing the person from his dreams staring at him, their eyes flicking to the food that she'd placed in front of him.
His stomach rumbled as he looked at the food and it must have been audible, for they simply leaned back and raised an eyebrow, waiting.
"Thank you, Cleo."
Cleo because that was her name.
Cleo because even if their hair was white when it had been a fiery red-orange in his dream and her eyes were red when they had been green this was them.
This was Cleo.
This was his closest friend, the person he trusted with his life.
"Of course Doc."
No question on if he remembered, no, just a soft smile and kindness.
He opened the container and started to eat, ready to offer something to them when he remembered the truth. She was a vampire.
Anything he offered her besides his blood would-
…
"Are you hungry, Cleo?"
"No. I'm alright Doc."
They locked eyes and after a moment the realization of what he'd been offering dawned on them and Cleo laughed, a sigh of laughter as she shook their head.
"No Doc. I'm not going to drink from you. I have cattle for that."
"Right."
"You never change. Always putting others first. Go on, finish your food Doc. Then we'll talk at mine where people won't interrupt as they tend to whenever we try to talk one on one."
He remembered just barely trying to find a place to talk with her just them, a place to talk where there wasn't fighting or yelling or fire.
It did seem impossible. Even in an area as large as Oakhurst, even when there were only 14 of them and so much land.
~~~~
Cleo led Doc to their home, to the home that he'd never seen, to the house that had been built because of his sacrifice, because he'd done what was needed to stop the fighting and save as many people as he could.
She invited him inside with a smile, showing him to the couch.
"I'm sure you have questions."
"Several."
"Go on Doc."
"I had a dream last night. You were there, but your hair wasn't white, your eyes weren't red. I didn't hear the whole conversation, just a bit of it."
What conversation?
She didn't need to ask before he responded.
"I know now from the logs which one it was. It was the one when you told me you'd been turned."
Oh.
That one.
"That one."
"Yeah."
"Well Doc, what questions do you have?"
"What happened to the others?"
This would be a long story.
~~~~
Doc stayed in Oakhurst after learning everything. Cleo had asked if he wanted to leave after hearing the truth but he shook his head. He was alright here. This was his home, even if it was a tragic ending last time.
He joined the clinic, helping people in a way he couldn't before.
The dreams still came, yet now he could go to Cleo and Pearl when they did, talk about what he'd seen, what he remembered.
Eventually others came.
Abolish reappeared from time to time, sat with him and told him of stories from over the years, even brought him a dog once silently.
Shelby, Drift and Avid came next, laughing and smiling and telling him everything he'd missed while Avid's sister Elle added things in.
Shelby's brother of sorts Tim joined sometimes, looking at Doc as if he understood what he was, who he was.
Scott stared at him silently for a few moments the first time he saw him before he spoke.
"I've kept my promise, Doc."
"Don't stop doing so now."
"I won't."
"Good."