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Laddie came running down the stairs yelling Star's name. It was over. He was human again. Star was breathing a sigh of relief, no longer able to hear everyone’s heartbeat. Michael wasn’t having nearly as good of an aftermath. He kept his face tucked down, preventing his family from seeing it. The ridges were still there. His fangs were still poking at his bottom lip. Nothing had changed for him. Sam was getting hugged by their mom, everyone was celebrating. Michael slipped away and back towards his grandfather’s workshop. David wasn’t there. 

If he could just put his face away, he could pretend that he was human. For a little while. He wasn’t mad that he could still hear their heartbeats. He was honestly mostly relieved. Becoming a vampire wasn’t a curse for him. Except for his concerns about hurting his family. If he could just be sure that they would be safe, he would have made his first kill. And then Star and Laddie came into the picture and they wanted to be human again. David would never forgive him. He wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to forgive himself for what happened to the others.

Michael forced himself to take slow, deep breaths. He needed to calm down. 

Grandpa came up behind him. “So, blondie isn’t here.”

“No.”

“You planning on doing something about that, kiddo?”

Michael refused to look at his grandfather, staring straight ahead at the antelope horns that were still glistening with David’s blood.

“You’d better fix your face, then.”

Michael slowly breathed out again. “Trying to, grandpa.”

“I’ll give ya 24 hours to think on it.”

He turned towards his grandfather, brow ridges gone, eyes mostly blue, but fangs still refusing to recede. “On what?”

“That vampire of yours isn’t going to wait forever before coming back to get his pound of flesh. You’re going to have to figure out exactly whose side you’re on.”

Michael turned back towards the horns. That was the problem. He didn’t know. He just knew that he was going to be dead at the end of this, no matter what he chose.

He finally got his fangs pulled back enough that his canines were only slightly sharper than normal when his mom and Sam wrapped their arms around him from either side. 

“We did it, Mike!”

Michael forced a smile on his face. “Yeah. It’s done.”

Grandpa grunted and left. Michael tracked his movements for a moment. He knew that wasn’t the answer the old man wanted.

He really only bought himself that one night. Those few hours after Max had been killed and dawn. With the sun rising, Michael collapsed into unconsciousness on the floor of his bedroom. There was no hiding it.

When he got up just before dusk, his family was already waiting for him downstairs. 

“Michael.” His mom sounded heartbroken.

Sam was more accusatory. “He’s not dead, is he?”

“No. He survived.”

Sam glared at him. “So, are we going to take him out at the hotel? What’s the plan, Mike.”

Grandpa sat in his armchair, still dusty from Max’s remains, sipping on a rootbeer. “What’s it gonna be, Michael?”

He needed an excuse. A reason to not go after David. Something that he could hold up as a shield to protect himself from the full, honest answer. “I can’t imagine he went back to the hotel, Sam. He’s injured. He wouldn’t want to risk it.”

“Okay, so where? Where is he?”

“I don’t know, Sam. I’ve been here all day.”

“Yeah. Asleep. Because you are still half!”

“What do you want from me? Huh? We killed Max. Paul and Dwayne are dead. You and your friends killed Marko at the hotel. Star and Laddie are human, just like they wanted. David must have been right when he said his blood was in my veins. Maybe it was both his and Max’s. I don’t know! I don’t know where he is.”

Lucy stroked his cheek. “Michael. It’s okay. We believe you. I just had hoped –”

“I’m sorry, Mom.”

Sam wasn’t letting it go. “What do you mean ‘like they wanted’? Do you not want to be human, Mike?”

And there it was. The question Michael couldn’t answer. For so many reasons he could list them all night. “That’s not what I meant.”

“So you do want to be human again?”

Michael side-stepped it as best he could. “It doesn’t really matter what I want. Without David, I’m stuck exactly as I am.”

Grandpa snorted from the recliner. “That’s not entirely true, boy, is it? You could make your first kill and go all the way. You thinking that might be in your future?”

Yeah, he wasn’t touching that with a ten foot pole.

“How those fangs treating you? Starting to itch?”

“Dad!”

“Just facts of the matter, Lucy. He’s got a whole extra set of teeth lodged in that head of his and the hunger to go with it. Isn’t that right, Michael?”

“I’m fine.” It didn’t sound convincing even to his own ears.

Michael woke abruptly. People were in his room during the day. He started to get up, but he was sluggish. Men grabbed him by the arms and legs and hauled him out of his bedroom. He didn’t know what was going on, but he didn’t think it was going to be good. He struggled and tried to get loose. “Let go!” He managed to get one foot loose and kicked at the one holding him. The guy rolled down the stairs and landed roughly at the bottom. Good enough. 

Feet now on the ground, he twisted his arms loose and hopped over the railing. He had no idea where exactly he was going to go. Two more men came in through the front door. Michael backed away and towards the rear of the house. He wasn’t sure if he could barricade himself in a room long enough for the sun to go down. 

Lucy and Sam came out of the kitchen. They didn’t seem upset about the strange men in the house. 

Michael glanced at them. “What’s going on?” He edged further into the shadow as the men formed a semi-circle in front of him.

Grandpa shuffled out from behind him. “If we’re gonna catch the vampire who turned you, we’re gonna need bait.”

Electricity sparked. Michael’s muscles seized and locked up. His head lolled to the side as the strange men picked him back up and carried him outside. They didn’t go too far before dumping him on the ground in the front yard. They left him in the bright daylight. He tried to get control back over his body and managed to roll over onto his side and cover his face with his arm. He needed to figure out what was going on. He was so tired.

He forced himself to sit up. Maybe they just didn’t want him in the house. If he could get to his bike, he could get to the hotel. If David was there, he’d definitely kill him when the sun went down.

It was hard to see past the harsh glare. He was in a fenced in area and there was what looked like chicken wire over the top in a dome. Grandpa, the 4 other men, his mom, and Sam were on the other side of the fencing. His mom looked like she wanted to cry. No one else looked too upset. 

“The thing about vampires is they are territorial. You belong to the blonde one. If you can’t get to him, he’ll come to you.”

Michael chuckled. “You think David is going to come for me? After everything we did? The only reason he’d come back here is to rip my throat out.”

Grandpa snorted. “He’ll come. It might take a few days considering the holes you put in him. But he’s not gonna let you go that easy. His pack is gone and the only one left is you.”

“Great. That’s just great. So, now what? You put me in a cage outside and hope he flies in to save me?”

“Vampires have a mental connection. You’ve felt it. The pull? Heard his voice in your head?”

Michael didn’t want to think about David’s voice echoing in his skull. The dark laughter. The seductive way David drawled his name. Whatever his face was doing must have given his grandfather all the answer he needed.

“It goes both ways. He knows where you are. He also knows if you are injured.”

Michael looked sharply at the men that had carried him outside. “So that’s it? You pick up where dad left off? Guess it’s not really abuse if it’s your friends doing it and not you?” He shook his head in disbelief before glancing at his mom. “You’re just going to let them do this after everything?”

“Michael,” Lucy’s voice trembled. “If this is the only way to fix you –” 

Michael sat down on the bare ground. He should probably try to put on a show of defiance. But, he would need all of his strength for when they decided to start in on him. “Why is it everyone always decides the best way to ‘fix me’ is with their fists? Or boots.”

Sam let out a small, distressed sound. He at least remembered seeing Michael limping back to his bedroom after their dad went a few rounds on him. He probably should have been a bit more careful with what Sam saw. At least he didn’t see the worst of it. Just the aftermath.

Michael squinted up at the unforgiving sky and the fragile dome of chicken wire overhead. “I’m not sure I want to know the answer, but what’s up with the wire cage?”

“Don’t you be worrying about that. Just don’t touch it unless you want one helluva burn.”

He nodded. Grandpa was crazy enough to make a vampire cage for his own grandson. It didn’t take much to come to the conclusion that it was coated in something nasty. No flying through that. Which was probably the point. He took another look around the pen he was being held in, checking for any slightly darker spots and found none. With a deep sigh, he pulled his jacket off, laid back down, and covered his face as best he could. It would have to do.

It was less than an hour before dusk when Michael was woken up with a sound kick to his ribs.

“My dad kicked harder than that shitfaced at 3am. You think you’re going to get David here with that?” Was it stupid? Yes. Did some dark corner of his psyche enjoy being an asshole? Absolutely.

Michael stumbled to his feet. Two of the men were in the cage with him. This time they didn’t have an audience. He could hear a number of heartbeats in the house, but they seemed to be steady. Maybe if he got to live long enough he would be able to identify a person by their unique rhythm. He doubted he would live another week.

“You know, I ended my last fight with my dad. Went after him with a bat.”

The larger man cracked his knuckles. “No bats in this cage.”

Michael smirked. “I don’t really need one anymore.” He rushed at the burly man. He didn’t expect to make much of an impact. His strength was still sapped from the sun, but every second he could feel it returning. 

The large fist that greeted his face, was significantly stronger than he remembered his father’s being. His nose met the dirt. And then a boot. He felt and heard the crunch from his nose being busted. There was a time when that would have had him groaning in pain. It did hurt, but the blood that dripped from the injury shifted something inside. When he looked back up, he knew his face had changed. He wiped the blood from his lip and licked his hand clean.

The next boot that came at his face, he caught and twisted. He leapt at them the moment they were on the ground. He managed to leave a nasty scratch across his face before he was grabbed around his waist and thrown off. The scent of fresh blood was on the air and the sun was quickly starting to slip below the horizon. 

“Oh, don’t be like that. Just a little bite.” He knew he was channeling the boys. If anyone came out, they would swear that he had already turned if it wasn’t for the sun still streaming across the ground.

The sound of the fight had finally drawn the humans in the house outside. He could tell when his mom and brother figured out what was going on by the change in their heartrates. Michael took advantage of the space he was being given while the two beefy men were gathering themselves in order to snap his nose back into place. He did groan at that. Thankfully, he could feel the cartilage starting to knit itself back together the moment it was set. The pain started to lessen and his features faded back to normal. 

“Come on. You’ve each got at least 50 pounds on me. And several inches. I’m never going to hit 6 feet. Scared of an 18 year old kid?”

“Hate to be the bearer of bad news, Barnie. It looks like your grandson is pretty far down the rabbit hole.”

“Yep. Seemed that way to me too.”

Sam latched onto his mom’s arm. “What does that mean?”

“Means he’s not fighting.”

Michael snorted. “Unless it’s escaped your notice, I have been fighting. Conan over here likes to use his feet.”

Grandpa came over to the gate and flipped the latch. The other two, still nameless, men stood on either side holding up hoses. Yeah, he wasn’t going to test that. He watched as the group reconvened on the other side of the fence. The sun finally sunk far enough down for him to feel completely awake.

“What’s the deal with these guys, Grandpa?”

He didn’t get an answer. But, he could probably guess. Some sort of vampire hunter. Definitely more experienced than the Frog brothers. He was half-surprised that they hadn’t turned up yet. With how they acted, he was sure that they would have been harassing these guys for training. Maybe Sam hadn’t told them what was going on.

The meeting of the minds was broken up by Lucy shouting, “You will not bring that man here! I don’t care what reasons you have.” She grabbed Sam to her chest and wrapped her arms protectively around him.

Michael only knew one person that would warrant that type of reaction. He got as close as he dared to the fence and the humans on the other side. “Have you lost the rest of your mind, Grandpa? That bastard beat the shit out of me. And before he had me to use as a punching bag, he did the same to mom. You want to bring that fucker here? You’re really going to put mom and Sam through all of that just to fuck with me?”

“It’s not going to be for long, Lucy. And he won’t be allowed to stay here. He’ll be at the motel with the other hunters.”

Michael couldn’t catch a break. “He’s a fucking hunter, too?”

One of the nameless goon squad finally looked over at him. “He’s gonna be real pissed that his son is a bloodsucking freak.”

“He doesn’t need an excuse to be a dirtbag.” Michael turned back to glare at his grandfather. He nearly hissed at him. “I swear, if he comes here. He’s not leaving alive. I will kill him. I don’t care if it’s in broad daylight and I burn to ash the second I’ve drained him. He will not lay a single hand on mom or Sam.” Michael felt the panic start to crawl up his throat. “Sammy. You promise me. You do not let him touch you. If he’s here, you lock your door and don’t come out. Barricade it if you have to.”

“Mike?”

“Michael?”

“Promise me, Sam. Right now. You promise me.”

Sam was deeply confused. “I promise. He won’t touch me.”

“Mom. You can’t let him near Sam. Don’t let him near you, either. He’s sick.”

Michael knew she didn’t understand what he meant by that. It wasn’t really important that she did. Just that she listened. 

“Okay, leech. That’s enough out of you. Get away from the fence.”

He felt a growl rumble through his chest. “You think I’m the monster? I’ve got nothing on him.”

If his grandfather was going for emotional distress, he had found the one and only button. He just didn't understand the hell he was bringing down on everyone. Only Michael had the full picture. He paced the fenceline, chewing at his nails. They kept growing back longer, so he wasn’t concerned about damaging them permanently.

“David, if you are actually listening, I promise I’ll make my first kill. Just let it be that bastard. If I don’t survive this, please murder him. Make it hurt. Make it last.”

He didn’t know if David gave a shit enough to listen. He hadn’t had the smallest of whispers in his mind from him. If it wasn’t for his current state, he would assume David was dead. Maybe it was his own wishful thinking. Or maybe it was the piece of David that was inside of him. He felt the quietest of laughs. There and gone. A figment of his imagination at best.

He figured he had a day, maybe two before his father showed up. Scenarios kept running through his head. If his dad arrived during the day, he’d most likely be unconscious for it. He wouldn’t be able to chase him off if that happened. If it was at night – well, Michael wasn’t sure that he would be able to stop himself from forcing his way through any amount of holy water hoses, or silvered chicken wire just for the chance to dig his claws and fangs into him. 

They probably already knew that. His mom definitely knew that he would not let anything stop him this time. 

Two days later, Michael was pissed that his dad arrived while he was asleep. Hours alone in the house with his family. He wouldn’t dare do anything to his mom or brother while the other hunters or his grandpa were around. But, it didn’t take long for him to lay a backhand across someone’s face in a secluded hallway. A whispered threat of violence to come the moment he had the opportunity.

The sun had gone down and the only hint that he had arrived was the old Ford pickup in the driveway. He watched from the front yard. Peering through the windows at the jovial scene. His dad got back slaps from the other hunters. Handshakes, laughter. Only his mom stayed out of arm’s reach, but she didn’t stop Sam from approaching.

Michael paced, never letting his eyes leave the house that had his father in it. Sam wasn’t barricaded in his room. Mom let the bastard hug him. No one ever believed him. Not when he was a kid, not when he had broken bones, not when he ended up in the ER, and definitely not now that he was halfway to dead.

Grandpa thought this would be enough to draw David out.

Michael knew better. Unfortunately for every human in the house, he also knew his father’s triggers. He was reckless. Arrogant. And loved to inflict pain on everyone he thought of as beneath him.

“Hey, fucker! You gonna tell them the truth? Or are you just going to continue to pretend that you’re the world’s best dad?”

Sure, yelling at the house felt pointless. He just needed his father to hear enough to come out and play.

“Come on! Tell Sam and Mom what you did. The shit that you told me to keep quiet about.”

Nothing moved in the house. A singular heartbeat tapped out a higher staccato. Not enough.

“You going to tell them what I got for my 13th birthday?”

Faster.

“I will. I have nothing else to lose. Just a little secret between you and me, right Dad? Don’t tell Mom. It would never happen again. Right?”

Michael couldn’t make out exactly what was being said. But there were questions being asked. 

“You gonna tell Mom that the reason you stopped sleeping with her was because you started FUCKING ME?”

A clatter. Raised voices. Lots of raised heartbeats. Michael smiled.

“Don’t worry, Dad. I kept your secret all these years. Unfortunately, I got some news about that you’re going to want to hear.”

A yell. Lots of yelling. A familiar roar of rage. The front door burst open, his dad’s chest heaving in anger.

“You shut the fuck up you little faggot.”

“Awww, Dad. Thought you’d never face me.” He grinned, fangs on full display.

He stormed down the stairs and stopped just shy of the gate.

The crowd of people from inside followed him out. Lucy had her arms wrapped around Sam, her face was pale, eyes blown wide in horror.

“Everyone knows that vampires talk nothing but shit!”

“Yeah, but you know. And that’s all I care about.”

His dad took a breath and laughed. “What are you going to do about it? Stuck in there like the freak you are?”

“Talk.” Michael stared directly into his father’s eyes as he baited him. “Yeah, you fucked me. Right up until my 18th birthday. That’s not all you did though, was it? Everyone knows that you kicked the crap out of me. Pretty old news. But how many people know about your little meth habit? How many people know about you sharing those dirty needles? I can smell the tracks on your arms. How long has it been since you last shot up?”

His dad tugged at the long sleeves covering the evidence.

“I never should have taken you to the bar. Thought you could handle becoming a man.”

“Is that what it was? Becoming a man? Pretty sure it was so that you could get a fix. Did you even pay attention to the man you shared that needle with?”

His father didn’t seem to know where this conversation was going. Michael reveled in the idea that he would be the one to deliver such devastating news. 

“Did you really not see the dark marks on his skin? The lesions? He’s dead by now, right? I bet you haven’t seen him in months. And no one even acknowledges the fact that they even knew him. An unmarked grave if he was lucky.”

Michael turned and paced the fenceline, enjoying the confusion amongst the humans. 

“He was sick. And you caught it from him. I bet you have been playing off the cough, the fluid in your lungs. I have to ask, any lesions on you showing up?”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“That sounded defensive. I should let you figure it out on your own. Let you get tested. Find out like I did.”

Michael switched tactics. Avoidance, playing the games the boys so happily demonstrated those few nights when Michael thought he might have finally found an out.

“After you took me to that bar, let me drink, offered me drugs, I took myself to the clinic.”

There was a sharp inhale from Lucy. Michael refused to look. Her reaction wasn’t what he needed.

“They just came out with a new test. Takes at least a month to get the results back. I kept the paper. My death sentence. That you gave me.”

The heartbeats were picking back up. Some of them were catching on. As they did, the humans started drawing back from his father.

“I gotta ask, Dad, how does it feel to know that you gave your own son AIDS? You won’t survive the year. And I’m already dead. You killed me long before I ever met a vampire.”

“LIAR!!”

That was it. He rushed the gate and burst through, leaving it wide open. Michael didn’t give a shit. He had what he wanted. His father was reckless in his anger, and no match for a half vampire at night. Michael dropped his human face the moment he got too close to realize his mistake.

Claws buried themselves in his stomach and flipped him up and over onto his back. His eyes widened as he figured out just what was about to happen to him.

“Fun fact, Dad. HIV/AIDS doesn’t kill vampires. And your blood can’t poison me any more.”

He yanked his father’s neck back as far as it would go and dug his fangs deep into his carotid artery. He let him scream. His hands slapped and pushed at Michael, trying desperately to save a life that was already lost. Michael held fast through the last gurgling breath, sucking down the infected blood. He could feel the moment his father died. It wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough. 

Michael wrenched himself free and screamed at the corpse, unleashed rage at the monster who had damned him before he had a chance to grow up. He dug his claws into the body’s throat and ripped until it came apart. The fury boiled over and he slashed at the body. Again. And again. Ribbons of flesh pulled back from bone. A chunk of organ meat flew and hit the fence. 

“I hate you. I hate you!” His voice was ragged. Something wet splattered on the corpse. Michael thought it was blood at first. He wiped at his face, smearing the blood on his chin further. His fingers roughly dragged across his cheeks and he found them wet.  

Michael fell to the ground, bent over the unrecognizable corpse. “I’ll see you in Hell.”

His heart was silent. He lungs stuttered to a halt. Senses bloomed around him. The night became vibrant. And he didn’t care. In the end, he saved his family from the monsters they knew about and those they didn’t. All that was left was to wait until dawn. At least it would be quick. A much better alternative to what he had been facing a couple of weeks ago.

The humans on the other side of the fence were silent. Then a sob, followed by another one. 

“Michael.”

He didn’t turn towards the voice. She was safe. Sam was safe. He had done all he could. It was his turn to rest now. 

“Let him out.”

“Lucy, he just made his first kill.”

“I don’t care.”

“He just killed his own father.”

“I’m glad. I wish I had done it first.”

Michael heard the gate open, but he didn’t care to move. A soft swirling of skirts swept the ground. His mom knelt down next to him and stroked his blood-matted hair.

“Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Michael kept staring at the corpse. “Why?”

“Because your clothes are covered in blood.”

He jerked away. “Shit! Don’t touch it.” He yanked his jacket and shirt off and tossed them on the body. His pants were destroyed, too. “Get some bleach. We need to make sure –”

Lucy let go and gave him space. “We’ll get it cleaned up. Don’t worry.”

Michael paused and looked up at his mom. “You have to get tested. I don’t know when he caught it. I don’t know when he gave it to me. I’m so sorry, Mom. I’m so sorry.”

“No, baby. You have nothing to be sorry for. This is my fault. There are so many things I should have noticed. So many things I should have done different. I never should have stayed. The moment he laid one hand on you, I should have left. You would still be –” 

The words alive, human, innocent hung in the air unspoken.

“I’ll get the bleach and we’ll get this all sorted.”

Sam came up behind them and held out clean clothes and a wet washcloth. “You’ve got –” Sam waved at his face and hands “– Dad everywhere.”

Michael took the washcloth and did his best to clean the blood off. He dropped the soiled rag on the rest of the contaminated pile and pulled on the clean clothes. “Thanks, Sam.”

He had barely finished pulling his shirt over his head when he felt his brother slam into him, burying his face into his shoulder. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I never – I didn’t know –”

Michael gently wrapped his arms around Sam. “I didn’t want you to know. You didn’t deserve that type of damage.”

“You didn’t either, Mike! You don’t deserve any of this.”

Lucy came back out with the Clorox. She glared at her father and the four hunters as she tied the gate fully open, daring them to say anything about it. She tried to focus on pouring the bleach over the bloody areas. She really wasn’t sure about how HIV spread. Or if it didn’t matter once the person was dead. No one really understood it very well.

“I don’t understand.” Sam was distressed, eyes scanning the ground as if an answer would magically appear from the scrub grass. “If he started doing that to you at 13, why – why did he never touch me?”

Michael whimpered in the back of his throat and pulled Sam back into his arms, holding him tightly, like he would shake apart if he wasn’t holding on. “Because I didn’t let him.”

He stared into his mom’s eyes as he explained. “He tried. Once. He got tired of me. Said I wasn’t fun anymore. He was outside your room. I –” Michael swallowed, keeping his mom’s gaze as he tightened his grip on Sam. “– I got on my knees and begged him to leave you alone. I sucked him off that night. He promised that he’d stay away if I kept it up.”

Lucy made a strangled sound and launched herself at the boys. She pulled Michael into her arms.

“No. Baby.” She frantically pressed kisses onto his forehead. As if it could somehow magically heal a hurt that was long past the ability to heal. “My son. You – this never –” she wasn’t sobbing anymore, but the tears were still streaming down her cheeks. “I wish I could kill him again.”

Michael let out a surprised laugh. “I think he’s not getting back up.”

“No. Good. You did the right thing. I don’t care what anyone thinks. You made the right choice. You survived. I don’t care if you’re a vampire. I don’t care about any of it. You’re here and he’s not.”

Michael pressed his face into his mom’s shoulder and let himself breathe. “It’s actually over.”

Lucy stepped back half a step and cupped Michael’s face in her hands. “Let’s get you cleaned up a little better. I guess we need to black out your room?”

“You’re going to let me stay?”

“You will always have a home with me. I understand if you want to move out. You’re 18, you can make that choice for yourself. But it’s probably best if you stay here until you decide what you want to do.” She rolled her eyes and gave a small huff. “I suppose I’m not enrolling you in school, though.”

Michael laughed. “No. I don’t think I can do that.”

“Well, I still fully expect you to get your GED, young man. I won’t hear a word against it.”

“Yes, mom.” Michael smiled softly. 

Lucy turned to face the other men on the front lawn. “And you –”

She didn’t get far before she was interrupted by lone clapping. “Well done, Michael. A little more – defacing – than we usually go for. But, deeply appropriate considering the circumstances.”

“David.”

“Not going to say hi to me, Mikey?” an impish voice asked from the opposite side of the house.

“You survived?”

“Stakes only work if you take out the heart. They got my lungs.”

“Terribly sorry we didn’t come sooner, Michael. Even a vampire takes time to heal from antelope horns through their chest.”

“Stay away from my family, David.”

David raised two gloved hands up in front of him. “That message has been received loud and clear. Little Sammy and your mom aren’t to be touched. I do wonder if your opinion on your grandfather has shifted after everything.”

Michael growled low in his chest, the sound resonating across the yard.

“It’s your call. Off limits unless and until you change your mind.”

“What do you want, David?”

“Well, I guess that’s up to you in the end. You know that you can’t live here forever.”

“You’d forgive me? Just like that?”

David rolled his eyes and deliberately jostled the hunters as he passed. Marko slid next to David and glanced at the largest one. “This the guy that kicked in your face?”

“You saw that?”

Marko shrugged. “Felt it. Not the best way to wake up when you’ve recently had a stake through your chest.”

David nodded at Lucy. “Ma’am.” 

She frowned back. “You waited until now to come help. Why bother when he doesn’t need you?”

David let his typical laissez faire attitude fall away. “There are 5 hunters here. And if I’m not mistaken, a bunch of holy water in those hoses. Probably a lot more traps. We already lost Paul and Dwayne. There was no way that Marko and I could handle this much of a challenge while injured. We had to heal. I’ve been watching from a distance once the sun went down. If it looked like Michael was going to be executed, we would have tried to stop it. Probably would have ended up permanently dead, though. This was a much better outcome than I was expecting.”

Michael sighed. “I can’t do this tonight.”

David shrugged. “Come find us when you’re ready. We’ll be heading out of town at some point, just hit us up if you want to come along.”

Lucy wrapped her arm around Michael’s waist and turned her ire back on the hunters. “Every one of you, get the hell out of here. If any of you show up, you’ll find out how decent of a shot I am.”

The hunters glanced at her father. 

“I need a root beer.”

“Later, Barnie.”

He didn’t respond as he climbed the couple of stairs on the porch and back into the house.

Michael knew he didn’t have long to spend with his family before his grandfather would find a way to clear him out. He vowed to savor the next few nights with Sam and Lucy before he left. “I’ll see you in a couple days, David.”

David and Marko nodded before vanishing into the darkness. The roar of motorcycles echoed from the bottom of the driveway.

“Come on, baby. Let’s black out your room. And maybe wash your hair?”

“I could go for a bath.”

Sam leaned into him. “You smell like death.”

Michael threw an arm around his neck and roughly messed up Sam’s hair.

“Ow! Mom!”

“Boys! Good grief. Get inside.”

Sam darted through the front door. Lucy lingered next to Michael. “You are always welcome home.”

Michael gave her a small half smile, his mischievous humor making the tiniest of reappearances. “Is that an invitation?”

Lucy smacked him on the shoulder. “Yes. That’s a standing invitation you ridiculous boy. Come in.”