The mayor stormed into the sheriff's office, his face red with anger. "Donovan, I've been hearing a lot about people getting killed or murdered, and the stories say it's an animal attack."
Sheriff Donovan stood up, his expression respectful. "Mayor, I wasn't expecting to see you today."
The mayor's anger didn't subside. "What's going on in this town, Donovan? Tell me the truth."
Donovan gestured for the mayor to take a seat. Once the mayor sat down, Donovan sat back behind his desk, his expression serious.
"At first, when we started finding the bodies of the first, second, and third victims, we thought it was an animal attack. But as the deaths continued, our detectives started to suspect it was more than just an animal attack, Mayor. We don't know what it is, but we're working on it."
The mayor leaned forward, his eyes urgent. "How long will it take to find out what's going on?"
Donovan glanced around the room, ensuring they were alone. "Mayor, I think I know what's wrong, but I'm hoping it's not… what I think it is."
The mayor's curiosity was piqued. "What do you think it is?"
Donovan's voice dropped to a whisper. "I think it's the vampire monsters that haunted our town years ago. I'm hoping the detectives' results will prove me wrong, but… I have a feeling it's vampires, Mayor. They're lurking around our city, and I don't know how many there are."
The mayor's face paled, his eyes wide with fear. "Vampires? Oh God, I hope not. If it's vampires, we don't know how many there could be. It could be more than one."
Donovan nodded grimly, his expression somber.
The mayor's expression turned serious. "What's the plan, Donovan?"
Sheriff Donovan rubbed his temples, his eyes tired. "Honestly, Mayor, I don't know. We're out of vervain, and we used the last of it years ago. Presently, all we can do is arm our men with wooden stakes, but I would rather not spread that information just yet. I would rather not terrify my men."
The mayor nodded understandingly. "Keep me updated, Donovan. If you need any more resources, I'll do my best to help. I'll also see what I can do about getting more vervain into this town."
Sheriff Donovan nodded respectfully, his eyes grateful for the mayor's support.
The mayor rose from his chair, his expression determined. "I'll be in touch, Donovan. Keep me posted."
With that, the mayor walked out of the office, leaving Sheriff Donovan alone with his thoughts.
Benjamin slowly regained consciousness, his surroundings unfamiliar. As he stood up, he realized that his entire surroundings were covered in vervain, which was making him weak.
"It's a good thing you finally woke up," Elijah said, his voice calm and collected. Benjamin turned to face Elijah, who was standing at the door entrance with Tyler.
Benjamin looked around again, his eyes scanning the vervain-covered room. "You're no different from those who experimented on me for years," he spat.
Elijah chuckled. "I'm not tormenting you, brother. I want to bring your humanity back."
Benjamin laughed, a cold, mirthless sound. "It's gone, brother. And I don't want it back."
Tyler spoke up, his voice filled with conviction. "That's what you think, Uncle Ben. You think you don't want your humanity back, but deep down, you do."
Benjamin laughed again, trying to stand up, but the vervain flowers around him made it impossible for him to move. He stammered, "Ty… we have a score to settle."
Tyler laughed and walked into the room, heading to the window blind. He opened it, and the rays of sunlight streamed in, burning Benjamin's skin. Benjamin groaned in pain, realizing that his daylight ring was missing.
Tyler held up the daylight ring, a smirk on his face. "Do you want this?" he asked, laughing.
Elijah walked into the room, his eyes fixed on Benjamin.
Benjamin seethed with anger as his skin continued to burn from the sunlight. "You'll pay for this, Tyler," he snarled.
Tyler closed the window blind, and the room was once again plunged into darkness. Elijah walked over to Benjamin and knelt in front of him.
"I'm going to keep you locked up here for days without feeding or giving you any blood to drink, Ben," Elijah said, his voice firm but laced with a hint of sadness.
Benjamin spat at Elijah's feet and chuckled. "Elijah, my brother, remember when you were once like me? You were once the one who had lost your humanity, and I tried to save you. You told me how glad you were to be without emotions. I know you understand the feeling. I'll see you try to save me." He laughed, a cold, mirthless sound.
Memories of Elijah's past immediately washed over him as he remembered when he was once a vampire who had lost his humanity. Elijah's eyes seemed to glaze over for a moment as he stared at Benjamin.
Looking back at Benjamin, Elijah said, "I'll keep trying, Ben. Until you're fine."
Elijah stood up and walked out of the room, followed by Tyler. Benjamin called out, shouting, "You can't keep me in here for long, brother!"
Elijah walked into the kitchen and headed straight for the fridge. He grabbed a blood bag and emptied its contents into a glass, which he then drained in one swift motion. Tyler handed him Benjamin's daylight ring, which Elijah pocketed.
Georgina and Esther walked into the house, Esther joining Elijah at the fridge. She grabbed a blood bag and drank from it, while Georgina watched with a mixture of fascination and unease. It was still something she was getting used to.
Georgina turned to Elijah. "Bonnie's been given vervain."
Esther asked, "What about Benjamin?"
Elijah replied, "He's down in the basement."
Georgina looked concerned, a hint of fear in her eyes.
Esther asked, "What's the plan now?"
Elijah's expression turned determined. "I'll keep him locked down in the basement without anything to feed on. In three to four days, he'll be starving, weak, and vulnerable. That's when we'll start reminding him of the happy moments, the good times. We'll bring back his humanity, Esther."
Georgina raised an eyebrow. "Would that work?" she asked Elijah.
Elijah's expression was confident. "It worked for me, so I don't see why it wouldn't work for Ben."
Georgina was curious. "Wait, what do you mean it worked for you?"
Esther filled in the gap. "Years ago, Elijah turned off his humanity and became the most fearsome and dangerous vampire. He went on a rampage, killing any living human he met."
Georgina's eyes widened in surprise. "Why did you turn off your humanity?" she asked Elijah.
Elijah's expression turned dark, and he shook his head. "I'm not in the mood to reopen old wounds," he said, and with that, he walked out of the room, leaving Georgina looking concerned.
Tyler walked over to her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't bother yourself about it, Georgina. It's Elijah's past."
Georgina nodded, feeling that she needed to know more, but maybe now wasn't the time. She looked up at Tyler, and he smiled softly, as if to reassure her that everything would be okay.
The darkness of the night enveloped Drake as he trudged wearily up the path to his front porch. His shift at work had been grueling, and all he wanted to do was collapse onto his bed.
As he stepped onto the porch, he caught a glimpse of a shadow flitting behind him. He spun around, but there was no one there. Shrugging it off as mere paranoia, Drake pushed open the front door and called out, "Mom? Dad? Anybody home?"
The only response was an eerie silence. Drake's heart began to beat faster as he locked the door behind him and made his way to his room. That's when he noticed the trails of blood leading down the hallway.
A sense of foreboding settled in the pit of Drake's stomach as he followed the bloodstains to his parents' room. He pushed open the door, and his world came crashing down around him.
Lying on the bed, cold and lifeless, were his parents. Drake's eyes widened in horror as he stumbled backward, his mind reeling with shock and grief.