Chapter Text
1961 New Hampshire
It was the longest night of the year, deep into the month of December as fog rolled over the hills of the countryside. Evergreen trees towered high on either side of the winding highway, green pine speckled in white snow that was just beginning to fall. It was a cold night, made colder by an eerie chill that had settled on the valley north of the town of Larkspur. Off to the side of the road, high up in the trees stood a young looking man. The chill did not bother him, nor the white snow that gathered in steady piles on the dips of his body. He had been still for so long, nearly becoming part of the landscape.
The man’s blood red eyes watched the road, unblinking, unmoving. Not even a breath disturbed the air around him. He was starving. Hunger filled his every thought, every nerve of his being. He would have left days ago if not for being so cemently frozen in place, commanded to stay still until his release was given. He was drying out, blood vessels rubbing together like sandpaper under his skin. It was the first step into desiccation, an unpleasant precipice he had walked too many times before. He was on edge, senses focused onto every sound, every flutter of every wing, every footstep of every animal. He stared at the road waiting, endlessly waiting until his mind was so consumed by the thought of the hunt, of the kill, that he thought he might snap, but still, he stayed still. Then finally, a red Ford Thunderbird rounded the corner driving up the mountain. At the sight of his release, his body unlocked from its stasis, muscles engaging, heart beating once more.
In a matter of seconds he had scaled down the mountainside, ready in place as the shiny red car drove through the predetermined spot. The driver didn’t see him coming, swerving in shocked horror to miss the man that suddenly appeared in the road. Tires squealed on wet snowy pavement as the car came to a grinding halt, dipping into the dead grass and shrubs on the side of the road.
The driver, a man dressed in a brown, well worn suit, stumbled out of the car, desperately scanning the road through large wide rimmed glasses. “Stay in the car!” he shouted to a woman sitting in the passenger seat.
Bitter cold stung the man’s cheeks and fingers as he squinted into the dark, trying to see the road ahead. The only light available was from the red taillights of his car and the cold caress of speckled moonlight through the trees. He desperately searched for the man. Who would be out walking alone on these mountainous roads?
“Hello?!” he shouted but only the wind answered. He swerved his head as he heard a car door open. “Honey! Stay in the car!”
The woman took a step out and onto the wet dead grass, clinging to her jacket. “I didn’t even see anyone, Henry! Let’s just go!”
“I saw a man on the road. I swear! We can’t just–”
“There! Henry, look there!” The woman pointed and the man’s eyes went wide. A little down the street stood a man in an expensive looking pinstripe suit. He had bright white hair and he was slowly walking towards them. Despite the wind and the snow, two golden eyes shone brightly back, sending a chill through both of them.
“Get back in the car!” The man yelled, sprinting back to the driver’s side, but before he could reach it, a grip so strong ripped him back. Soon a shocking, searing pain pierced his neck and he screamed out in utter agony.
“Mo Guan Shan! Stop.” Harsh but firm words rang out, though the man didn’t register them, couldn’t with the white hot pain coursing through him.
The pain retracted from his neck but the grip remained. A growl rumbled behind him, deep and angry. His blood went cold, not just from the wind and the snow but it was a feeling, a dreadful knowing that death itself was right behind him.
“I’m sorry about my dog.” A sly, chilling voice said, and suddenly the man with white hair was right in front of him. “He’s on a tight leash but my influence only goes so far when he’s this hungry.”
“Who- who are you?” The man stuttered. He could feel the hot blood on his neck trickling down to his shoulder. “What do you want? Money? Please, I’ll give you anything just p-please.”
“I think you’ll find that you already know me, or, at least you know my kind. Isn't that right? Professor Henry Watkins?”
“Y-Your kind?”
“My name is She Li.”
The professor’s eyes widened with frightened realization, but he was quickly distracted by the woman who stepped further from the car. She looked terribly confused and kept her distance, remaining close to the vehicle. “Henry?! What’s happening?”
“Stay back!” The professor cried as tears welled in his eyes. The grip on him tightened.
“Careful,” She Li scolded with a mocking tone. “You’re riling him up. My compulsion is strong but as I said, he’s hungry. Starved even. Human emotions excite him. It’s part of the hunt, like a game. A game I doubt you want to play.”
The professor dared to look back and immediately wished he hadn’t. Two horrifying blood red eyes were staring at him, burning into his being with a beast like hunger. It was unsettling how unnaturally youthful the man looked, he couldn’t have been older than his own sons just starting to make their own way in the world. His skin was taut and pale, contrasting against orange red hair. Unlike the other, this one was dressed in nothing but rags, torn and bloodied. He smelled of blood, the stench of death was overwhelming. Was it a man or was it truly a monster? Blood dripped from his jaw and his grip was like steel cutting into him. The red eyed man snarled, baring sharp fangs hungry for another taste of his blood. The professor couldn’t help but cry out in fear, trembling and sniveling at his worst fears coming to life before him. The monster responded, eyes widening, jaw opening ready to take another bite.
“Enough!” She Li commanded, pupils dilating and shrinking as he stared down his pet. The professor felt the man, or rather the beast behind him shiver and sneer in submission. Soon the grip on his arm grew softer as the white haired man exuded his will over his lesser. “Behave for me, and I will let you feast on the woman.”
“No!” The professor immediately pleaded, pulling at the grip on his arm. He was filled with terror at the idea of his wife being mutilated. “She’s innocent, she knows nothing! Leave her out of it!”
“Ah,” She Li laughed. “So you know something? Where is it then? You know what we are, so I assume you know what we seek.”
“Just promise you’ll let my wife go, spare her!”
“Of course,” She Li smiled darkly. “My word is my bond. I won’t lay a finger on her.”
The man behind him growled, fingers gripping down once again, blood dripping from his mouth onto the professor’s neck. He could all but feel the blood stained breath inches from his neck. The white haired man raised a palm to his beast, warning him to back down. “Give me the information I’m looking for and no harm will come to her by my hand.”
The professor sniveled and cried, clinging to the desperate hope that his sins would not claim the life of his wife. “I-in my office, b-back at the university I have notes tracking down my findings, all of them are yours! My key is in the car!”
She Li frowned. “So you don't actually have anything.”
Desperate laughs erupted from the professor's twisted face, tears streamed down his cheeks. “No one has heard anything in years! My family is dying out, only a few of us are even left to care. I’m just a researcher! I did what they asked! Only what they asked!”
She Li scoffed, wiping back his silver white hair from his face. “We both know the role that you and your family played. You can try to pretend that you were a mere follower but I see through your lies, Professor Watkins.”
“Look, I told you what I know. Maybe my research will be helpful to you. You’ll, you’ll let us go now?”
“Let you go?” He laughed, so loud and long that it sucked the life right out of the air. It was as if his very voice was ice down their throats. “No. Your family’s work has led to the death of so many of my people and I’m nothing if not a just and fair leader. You will die, a slow, painful death. Justice for my little family. But first, you will experience the pain of losing your family, just as I have lost so many of mine.” He looked up and nodded to his fledgling.
The iron grip detached from him immediately, and the professor dropped to the cold paved ground, watching as the beast stalked towards his frail wife. She shivered and groveled, falling to the cold wet earth and begging for an explanation, a reason why.
“Wait! Wait, you promised!! You swore you wouldn’t hurt her!”
“I swore I wouldn’t hurt her. I said nothing about my companion here. And, well, I wouldn’t advise getting between him and a meal.”
“Run!!” The professor screamed, and watched as his wife clumsily got up and began to pitifully run towards the woods.
She Li hummed in amusement. “That’s good, he likes it when they struggle. I really should be thanking you. The entertainment does him good, keeps him well behaved. Eternal life can be so monotonous, boring really.”
The professor struggled to get up and help his wife but She Li shoved him back down, resting his foot on his back. She didn’t last long, tripping on the long drapes of her expensive dress, a gift he had bought her for her birthday. She screamed, wailed and pleaded for her life, for his life, but it meant nothing. Gnashing teeth and rivers of blood were next. Her cries faded as her life force drained away. The monster was all consumed, devouring her, ripping her skin with such force that it tore and bled. He ate so ferociously that her head was ripped from her shoulders and even then, the monster lapped at the blood, unable to stop.
The professor went numb, going into shock until those red eyes turned on him next. The red eyed beast stalked towards him, licking the blood from his lips. The foot lifted off of the professor's back as She Li stepped in front of him. “No sudden movements now,” he warned. “I need you alive, professor.”
The professor sat up slowly. Deep sadness, rage, and utter humiliation filled him. His hands shook and his tears stilled. All he could focus on was the deranged man stalking towards him. “What?! Was my wife not enough!!! Still hungry for more? You sick twisted creatures! You deserve what you got! You’ll all burn in the end!!”
Something sparked in the eyes of the bloodied monster, a glimpse of humanity perhaps shining through the consuming hunger.
She Li quickly approached and placed a hand on his fledgling’s shoulder, pushing his attention back to his golden gaze. “You’ve had enough now. This one is mine. Return to the house and wait for me there.”
The professor looked around. He was going to die. Here in the mountains where no one would know. All his research to uphold his family’s legacy, all his hard work, for nothing. No. He wouldn’t die for nothing. He wouldn't let his wife’s death mean nothing! With a leap, he jumped up and started to sprint towards his car.
The sudden movement was like a trigger. Instincts of a starving hunter took control, and before She Li could stop him, Mo Guan Shan reacted. He chased down the professor and sank his teeth into his skin. The professor screamed out, squirming and fighting for his life. But with every drop of blood that was taken from him, his drive and ability to fight was drained as well.
“Enough!” She Li commanded but Guan Shan did not respond, sucking, eating, devouring. Trying to satiate the incurable hunger.
“I said enough!” She Li grabbed his pet and ripped him from the professor, throwing him to the ground. The professor dropped as well, dead or soon to be. His wounds were far too great and he had lost too much blood to be healed now.
Riled up and angry about being stopped, Guan Shan flipped back up to his feet, growling and baring his fangs. Any lucidity or humanity was gone in that moment, it was all just the unyielding hunger. He immediately went for the professor’s body once more. There was still more blood to be had, it was going to waste!
She Li grabbed him harshly by the neck. He was older and stronger. An elite from an old family of which there were only a few left in the world. Guan Shan was but a fledgling in comparison. His speed and strength though incomprehensible to the human eye was nothing to She Li. “You will listen,” he hissed.
Guan Shan shriveled and whimpered under the compulsion, losing his will and his mind to the great weight that settled on it under She Li’s golden gaze.
She Li took in the scene with great disapproval before returning his gaze to the struggling man in his clutches. “You are proving difficult to break, but you will break. Even if it takes a hundred more years, we have all the time in the world. It’ll only get worse the longer you fight it. You know nothing of hunger!” he spat.
Sputtered, bloody wet coughs erupted from the professor lying on the ground, interrupting their squabble. “V-vampires. You’ll all burn.” More blood came pouring out of his wounds, out of his mouth. His voice was garbled, he was drowning in it. “You'll… burn.” With that he breathed his last breath and his body went cold.