The soldier slowed the SUV to a stop outside a modest apartment complex.
Adelaide looked out through the tinted window without saying anything.
She knew this building.
She had climbed those steps hundreds of times over the years.
She knew which stair creaked beneath too much weight, which apartment always smelled faintly of garlic in the evenings, and which elderly couple liked to leave flowerpots outside their door.
It had once been home.
Now...
She wasn't sure what to call it.
The soldier glanced back.
"We'll wait here."
Adelaide nodded.
"Thank you."
She stepped out into the cool evening air.
Rosaline followed first, then Evelyn, Cordelia, and finally Evangeline, who looked around with open curiosity before noticing Adelaide's expression and wisely remaining quiet.
The five vampires made their way toward the apartment building.
Adelaide's heels clicked softly against the concrete.
A quiet happiness lingered beneath everything.
She couldn't take Marcus with her.
Not yet.
Her parents would never allow it, and forcing the issue would only make everything worse.
But...
Eventually.
If humans and vampires continued proving they could coexist...
If enough time passed...
If enough people stopped looking at vampires as monsters...
Eventually she wouldn't be helpless in this situation anymore.
Eventually, she could simply ask Marcus if he wanted to come with her.
And if he did...
There would be nothing her parents could do about it.
The thought made her smile.
A genuine one.
Not particularly large.
Just...
Hopeful.
She climbed the final flight of stairs and stopped before the apartment door.
For a moment, she simply stood there.
The familiar scents lingered faintly.
Her mother's perfume.
Her father's aftershave.
Marcus.
She smiled a little wider.
They were all still here.
Or...
Had been.
The scents were already beginning to fade.
She could no longer judge how old they were.
Hours?
Most likely.
Longer?
Perhaps.
Being able to smell someone didn't tell her when they had left.
Only that they had been there.
She raised one hand.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Silence.
Adelaide waited patiently.
Nothing.
She knocked again.
Another thirty seconds passed.
Then...
Footsteps.
Light.
Measured.
Her mother.
Adelaide recognized the rhythm immediately.
The footsteps stopped behind the door.
The lock clicked.
The door opened.
For several seconds neither woman spoke.
Adelaide looked at her mother.
Her mother looked at the crimson-eyed vampire standing where her son used to.
Adelaide's eyes immediately wandered past her.
The living room.
The hallway.
The kitchen.
Searching.
Her mother's lip curled.
"Looking for someone?"
Adelaide continued scanning the apartment.
"...Marcus."
Her mother's expression darkened.
"You're not welcome here."
Adelaide slowly brought her attention back to her.
She inhaled once.
Exhaled.
A faint smile settled naturally onto her face.
"I'm here to see my brother."
Her mother's eyes narrowed.
"You killed people."
"I defended myself."
"You killed them."
"They came to kill me."
"You still killed them."
The words hung between them.
Her mother folded her arms tightly.
"And after everything you've done..."
She shook her head.
"...you still think you have a place in this family?"
Adelaide reached up almost absentmindedly and twirled a lock of her long green hair around one finger.
"I just want to see Marcus."
She smiled.
"I won't be long."
Heavier footsteps approached.
Her father.
He appeared beside her mother with an expression every bit as cold.
"We already contacted the police."
Adelaide's eyes shifted toward him.
"For threatening us."
She regarded him silently.
Then...
Her gaze drifted beyond him.
Still searching.
Still hoping to catch even the slightest glimpse of Marcus.
Nothing.
She sighed quietly.
"...May I see my brother?"
Her mother laughed bitterly.
"If you step inside this apartment..."
She pointed toward the hallway behind Adelaide.
"...I'll call the police immediately."
She took another step forward.
"A murderer has no right to enter this house."
Her voice shook with anger.
"...or pretend to be our child."
Adelaide's faint smile never disappeared.
"Mm."
She nodded once.
"I understand."
Then...
She stepped forward.
Both hands rested gently against her mother's shoulders.
There was no violence.
No shove.
No burst of strength.
She simply...
Moved her.
Her mother stumbled two small steps sideways in complete disbelief.
Adelaide walked past her as though entering any other home.
"What—"
Her father lunged toward her.
Adelaide turned slightly.
Her smile remained.
Only her eyebrows lowered ever so slightly.
"...What did you even think you were going to do?"
His hand reached toward her shoulder.
Adelaide caught his wrist effortlessly.
Her grip looked almost delicate.
She applied the slightest pressure.
His face immediately reddened.
A pained sound escaped him.
His arm stopped moving entirely.
"..."
Adelaide looked into his eyes.
"I don't want to hurt you."
Her voice remained calm.
"So don't make me."
Another small increase in pressure.
He grimaced.
She released him immediately.
His arm dropped against his side as he instinctively cradled his wrist.
Without another word...
She continued walking.
Her dress swished softly around her legs as she made her way down the familiar hallway.
Behind her...
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"Get out!"
"I'm calling the police!"
Their voices blurred together.
Adelaide ignored both of them.
She reached Marcus's bedroom.
Her hand settled on the doorknob.
She smiled.
Then opened the door.
The room was empty.
No Marcus.
The bed was made.
The desk sat untouched.
A game controller rested neatly beside the television.
The room still smelled like him.
But only faintly.
Old.
Not recent.
Adelaide slowly looked around once more.
"...Marcus?"
Silence.
She stepped farther inside.
Nothing.
No movement.
No voice answering.
No heartbeat.
No one.
Her smile remained.
Almost.
Only...
Something in her crimson eyes quietly emptied.
She turned around.
Her parents had stopped several feet down the hallway.
Watching.
Waiting.
Adelaide looked at her mother first.
Still smiling.
"If you don't have a very good explanation..."
Her voice stayed remarkably gentle.
"...you're going to wish you were dead."
The apartment fell completely silent.
Her father swallowed.
"...He ran away."
Adelaide blinked once.
"What?"
"He left yesterday."
She stared at him.
"He packed a backpack."
"He snuck out at night."
"We couldn't stop him."
"He left."
The hallway seemed strangely quiet.
Adelaide's fingers slowly curled into fists.
"...Yesterday?"
Neither parent answered.
She repeated herself.
"You mean..."
Another breath.
"...my little brother disappeared yesterday..."
She looked between both of them.
"...and you didn't think to tell me?"
Neither spoke.
Adelaide's smile finally became just a little smaller.
Not gone.
Just...
Less warm.
"You knew my phone number."
Silence.
"You knew I was alive."
Silence.
"You knew I came here because of Marcus."
Still...
Silence.
Adelaide lowered her head slightly.
"...You should have told me."
Her father looked away.
"We weren't about to contact..."
He hesitated before finishing.
"...a vampire."
Adelaide closed her eyes.
For several long seconds she simply stood there.
Perfectly still.
When she opened them again...
The warmth had disappeared from behind her smile.
She stepped past both of them.
Neither parent attempted to stop her this time.
As she reached the front door, she paused.
Without looking back, she spoke quietly.
"You'd both better hope Marcus is unharmed."
She opened the door.
"...Because if he isn't..."
A brief silence followed.
"...I won't forgive you."
The door closed softly behind her.
Outside, Rosaline, Evelyn, Cordelia, and Evangeline immediately looked up.
Adelaide's smile remained exactly where it always was.
Only her eyes had changed.
Rosaline was the first to notice.
"...Adelaide?"
Adelaide looked toward the stairs leading back down to the waiting SUV.
"My brother ran away yesterday."
No one spoke.
She continued walking.
"We're going to find him."
There wasn't the slightest hint of uncertainty in her voice.
Only resolve.
───
Marcus hadn't meant to leave.
At least...
Not at first.
He'd thought things would calm down.
That everyone just needed time.
His sister had become a vampire.
That was frightening.
He understood that.
He'd been scared too.
Not of Adelaide.
Of everything changing so suddenly.
He understood why his parents cried that first night.
He understood why they couldn't sleep.
He understood why seeing the footage on television made them upset.
He'd understood all of it.
Until...
They started talking about Adelaide.
Not as though she'd done something terrible.
Not as though she'd made a mistake.
But as though she'd stopped being Adelaide altogether.
Monster.
Murderer.
Thing.
Abomination.
The words became more common every day.
Marcus had argued.
Every single time.
"She didn't kill people for fun!"
"They were trying to hurt her!"
"You watched the video too!"
His parents never listened.
His mother would cry.
His father would shout.
Sometimes both happened at once.
The first time his father slapped him, Marcus hadn't even cried.
He'd simply stared back.
"She's still my brother!"
Another slap.
"Don't say that!"
Marcus had clenched his fists.
"She is!"
"That monster isn't your brother anymore!"
Marcus remembered those words perfectly.
Because something inside him had broken.
He hadn't shouted.
He hadn't argued.
He'd simply looked at both of his parents.
Then quietly said...
"...She's my sister."
Neither of them answered.
His mother had simply begun crying again.
His father told him to go to his room.
The next morning...
Marcus packed a backpack.
Five sandwiches.
A flashlight.
A bottle of water.
His phone charger.
A hoodie.
He'd written a short note.
I'm going to find Adelaide.
Then...
He left.
If his parents refused to admit Adelaide was family...
He would.
Even if he had to do it alone.
...
Marcus adjusted the backpack on his shoulders.
His stomach growled quietly.
Three sandwiches remained.
No.
Two.
He stopped beneath a streetlight and unzipped the bag.
"...Right."
He'd already eaten another one earlier.
Only two remained.
He sighed.
"I should've packed more."
He took a sip of water before closing the backpack again.
He'd been walking since yesterday.
Sleeping hadn't gone particularly well.
He'd curled up beneath the covered entrance of a closed laundromat for a few hours before waking when someone opened the business nearby.
Thankfully...
No one had bothered him.
People had looked at him strangely.
Some had asked if he was alright.
One elderly woman had even offered him something to eat.
Marcus thanked her.
Then continued walking.
He appreciated people trying to help.
Really.
But...
He wasn't lost.
Not exactly.
He knew what he wanted.
He just didn't know where Adelaide was.
The government residence.
That's what the news kept calling it.
No one ever said where it actually was.
Marcus wished they would.
He walked another block.
The city had changed since the Divergence.
Police cars seemed more common.
People glanced over their shoulders more often.
Whenever someone noticed his backpack, they usually gave him another concerned look.
He'd grown used to it.
His feet hurt.
His shoulders ached.
He still kept walking.
Eventually...
He reached a corner where several men stood talking beside the curb.
Marcus hesitated only briefly before approaching.
"Excuse me?"
The conversation stopped.
Five pairs of eyes looked down toward him.
One of the men smiled politely.
"Yeah?"
Marcus shifted the backpack higher.
"Have any of you seen a green-haired vampire?"
Silence.
The men exchanged confused glances.
"...Green hair?"
Marcus nodded eagerly.
"My sister."
Another pause.
One scratched the back of his head.
"I haven't."
"Me neither."
"I don't think so."
Marcus nodded anyway.
"Okay."
He started turning away.
"...Hold on."
Marcus looked back.
The first man frowned slightly.
"Kid..."
He glanced around.
"...Why're you wandering around at night?"
Marcus answered honestly.
"I'm looking for my sister."
Several expressions softened.
One older man sighed quietly.
"You out here by yourself?"
Marcus nodded.
"I've been looking since yesterday."
"...Yesterday?"
"I couldn't find her."
The group exchanged another look.
One rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Another looked away.
A third quietly muttered something Marcus couldn't hear.
Then...
One man stepped forward.
"Actually..."
"Now that I think about it..."
Marcus looked up hopefully.
"I did see a green-haired vampire."
His eyes widened.
"You did?"
The man nodded.
"Yeah."
Marcus grinned.
"Really?"
"Mhm."
He pointed down another street.
"If you come with me..."
"I can show you."
Marcus immediately tightened the straps of his backpack.
"Thank you!"
As he stepped beside the man...
He noticed something strange.
The others weren't smiling.
Instead...
They looked...
Uncomfortable.
Almost helpless.
Marcus frowned slightly.
"...What's wrong?"
One opened his mouth.
Then closed it again.
Another simply rubbed the back of his neck.
The man beside Marcus answered instead.
"They're just tired."
"Oh."
Marcus accepted the explanation.
He wasn't particularly suspicious.
Adults were strange sometimes.
The man smiled warmly.
"C'mon."
Marcus happily followed.
They walked through several quiet streets.
The man occasionally asked small questions.
"How old are you?"
"Twelve."
"Long way from home."
"...Yeah."
"Parents worried?"
Marcus looked down briefly.
"...Probably."
The man didn't ask why.
Instead...
He changed the subject.
"So..."
"This sister of yours."
Marcus smiled.
"She's really nice."
"Is she?"
"She always helped me with homework."
He laughed quietly.
"She wasn't very good at math."
The man chuckled.
"No?"
"No."
"But she always tried."
They walked another block.
Marcus kept looking around hopefully.
"Are we close?"
"We're getting there."
Five more minutes passed.
Then another.
Marcus noticed they weren't entering a neighborhood anymore.
Instead...
A familiar building came into view.
Blue lights.
Concrete steps.
Glass doors.
A flag.
"..."
Marcus blinked.
"...Police station?"
The man nodded.
"Yep."
Marcus looked confused.
"I thought Adelaide was here."
The man crouched slightly until they were closer to eye level.
His voice remained gentle.
"I haven't actually seen your sister."
Marcus's smile slowly disappeared.
"...Oh."
"I'm sorry."
"You lied?"
The man nodded once.
"I did."
Marcus looked down.
"...Why?"
"Because you've been wandering around by yourself for two days."
He smiled apologetically.
"And I figured your sister would probably want someone making sure you're alright."
Marcus didn't answer.
Together...
They walked inside.
The warmth of the station replaced the cool night air.
Several officers looked up from their desks.
One immediately stood.
"Everything alright?"
The man nodded.
"I found a lost kid wandering around outside."
He rested a gentle hand against Marcus's shoulder.
"Said he's been looking for a vampire."
A few officers exchanged glances.
"...A vampire?"
Marcus spoke up immediately.
"My sister."
One officer crouched in front of him.
"Your sister's a vampire?"
Marcus nodded.
"She has green hair."
The officer's eyebrows lifted slightly.
"And she's really nice."
The station grew noticeably quieter.
The officer smiled kindly.
"...What's her name?"
Marcus answered without hesitation.
"Adelaide."
The name lingered in the air.
Several officers exchanged another look.
One quietly disappeared into a nearby office.
Marcus watched him leave.
"...Do you know her?"
No one answered immediately.
Instead...
The officer smiled reassuringly.
"We're going to help you."
Marcus looked hopefully toward the office door.
"...Can you help me find my sister?"
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