lurkin’ 🦑

"You're in the wrong place for that -- this is the PC department. Follow me and I'll show you where the Playstations are."

Lex's relief that this human was willing to help was squelched when he realized that the video game department was loud, colorful, and irritating. Brian unlocked a case, handing a large box to Lex.

"Here's your Playstation! Will you be purchasing any games for it?"

"Yes."

They stood there in silence, facing each other, until Lex realized that he was probably meant to elaborate on that statement.

"Do you have any idea of what games your…"

"Husband."

Brian looked a bit surprised, but took that in stride. "Do you have any idea of what games he likes?"

"Loud games, that make tinny noises."

Even Lex could realize that he was being patronized as Brian smiled and nodded. Lex had a fleeting thought of putting him under, of seeing what he would look like when he was rendered obedient…

No, he couldn't do that. He was here for Fitz's birthday present.

…And wouldn't a brand new and appealing thrall make an even better birthday present than a Play-whatever?

"I might need a little bit more information to go on than that," said Brian.

"Do you like video games?"

"Oh, yes, that's why I took this job in the first place. I get an employee discount on all games and software."

Lex smiled. Finally, something in this place that was worth acquiring. This Brian was an enticing meal, he had an obviously subservient nature, and he could play games with Fitz, so that Fitz stopped badgering Lex to try them.

"What games do you like playing, Brian?"

"I can show you my favorite game at the moment," said Brian, perking up at the request. He led Lex over to a display of flat cases. "It's called Final Fantasy VII, and it's an incredibly immersive adventure. Some people are even calling it the greatest game ever made. The music is incredible, and the story and characters really pull me in. If your husband knows anything about video games, he's probably wanted to play this one."

"I'll take it," said Lex, who had zoned out through most of that explanation. "Is there anything else I should get?"

"Oh, you'll definitely need a memory card. Maybe two. And a second controller is always a good idea. Let me show you…"

Brian eagerly piled Lex high with a stack of items. He clearly saw Lex as someone with money to spend and no idea of what he was doing, which was both accurate and fine with Lex. Fitz would love being spoiled with a mountain of games, and he was definitely going to love having Brian entranced and kneeling at his feet.

"Would you mind helping me carry these out?" asked Lex, feigning trouble with all of the bags. "They're a bit heavy."

"Oh, of course!" Brian already seemed willing to do anything for Lex, probably because he was going to get a nice commission from everything he'd just sold. He took the bags from Lex and walked out of the store into the dimly lit parking lot. "Where is your car?"

"I think I parked over here," said Lex, leading Brian away from the store and into a lonely corner of the lot. Lex didn't have a car, of course -- he'd never felt comfortable with them, and Fitz would drive him if he really needed it. Brian, of course, had no way of knowing that. Just as the two walked into the shadow under a broken street lamp, and Lex was preparing to seal the lad's fate…

Lex was sure he felt eyes on him, as if he were the one being stalked.

"Is everything okay?" asked Brian, looking back at Lex, who had stopped dead, trying to figure out what he was sensing.

"Everything's fine," said Lex -- or at least everything would be fine in a moment. Even if it was a hunter, hunters had posed little threat to Lex in decades, falling easily under his sway. He began to hum.

Something sharp and painful hit him in the neck.

Lex pulled it out -- a dart with a red feather on its tail. A tranquilizer dart? That sort of thing usually took an inordinately high dose to work on a vampire. Did his assailant even realize that Lex was a vampire? If they didn't, why would they be trying to capture him? All of these thoughts ran through Lex's head rapid-fire. He certainly didn't feel tranquilized, not yet.

"What the hell?" Brian dropped the bags, hiding behind a parked car.

Well, the time for pretense was over now. Lex began to sing more forcefully, a song of sleep and submission, one guaranteed to subdue whoever was listening.

It only took one note for him to realize that his voice didn't sound right. It lacked the timbre it usually had, less deep and melodic, devoid of its power. He tried again, louder this time, which only made his voice sound strained. There was no hypnosis in it. Whatever was in the dart had altered his voice, robbed him of his weapon and his shield.

Someone not only knew who he was, but exactly how to counter him. Lex felt a cold pit of dread forming inside him, something he hadn't had to feel in a very long time.

Before he could make the decision to run or stand and fight, a handful of people emerged from the shadows. They were dressed entirely in black, with equipment strapped to their waists and backs. Modern hunters, he supposed.

Lex's strength and speed, while much greater than that of the average human, was substandard for a vampire. He'd have no issue escaping from a single hunter, but five humans with special training? He didn't like his odds, not without his voice.

Was he going to die here?

It had been so long since he'd genuinely wished for death. He thought of Fitz and his thralls at home. He hadn't told anyone where he was going, since it was meant to be a birthday surprise for Fitz. If he were reduced to dust in the parking lot of an electronics store, no one would ever know what became of him. How long would they hope that he was coming home? No, he didn't want to die here.

If only he had his voice, he could put them all to sleep with a few choice notes, and be free of this place!

The only sensible option he had, given the odds, was to run, and he knew he had to try it soon, before the hunters made their next move. He steeled himself and dashed towards the most promising gap in their lineup, only for the hunters to close in on him and tackle him to the ground. One of them blew something in his face, a strange powder that felt thick and heavy and smelled sharp. He didn't need to breathe, so he could avoid breathing any of it, but it was still on his skin, in his eyes -- his eyes, which now felt strange and heavy.

He struggled against the hunters' grasp, the gloomy parking lot spinning around him as a deep weakness settled into his bones. Whatever the hunter had just used on him, it was potent, like an inescapable fog settling into his mind.

One of the hunters grabbed his chin and forced him to look into her face. "Vampire," she said with a grin. "How are you feeling now?"

"I -- um --" He searched for his words, some defiant retort or threat, but his thoughts were submerged, slipping through his grasp as he tried to hold onto them.

"Do you like that? A taste of your own medicine."

A taste of his own…? What did that mean? It was bad, he knew that, but that was as far as his mind could go. He couldn't escape, couldn't pull free of the hunters.

"I don't -- I don't want to die," he said, voicing the only thought that was clear in his head. He must have sounded pathetic, but it was far too late to worry about that. "Please don't kill me. I don't want to die."

"You're already dead," one of the other hunters scoffed. "How many people have you killed or enthralled that were begging for their lives just like you are? You deserve this."

Alexander shuddered. Maybe he did. He couldn't articulate a rebuttal.

"We're not going to kill you. That would be too easy for something like you," said the first hunter, yanking Alexander's hair to force his face closer. "How does it feel to be helpless and at someone else's mercy? Do you like it?"

There was a brief flash of a memory from long, long ago, back when he was human and defenseless, back when his days were nothing but suffering and misery. He couldn't think of exactly what that was, but he knew that he didn't want to go back there. He'd rather die. A whimper escaped his lips. "No, I don't like it."

Her hand twisted in his hair. "Say 'no, sir'."

"No, sir!"

"There you go. Was that so hard?" she said. "I have good news for you, bloodsucker: we're not going to kill you. An old vampire like you, rendered helpless? You're worth a lot to the right buyer."

"No -- no, please -- "

"Quiet," she said, pressing a finger against his lips. He nodded, unable to do anything but obey.

"That's some kind of miracle potion," said a voice behind Alexander. "Look at him, doing everything you say."

"Isn't it great?" she said, her grin spreading wider. "You're going to be quiet and docile, just like the thralls you vampires love to make, and you're going to come with us, where we have a special cage just for you." She pulled his face even closer. "And you're never going to enthrall a human or drink blood ever again."

Alexander could do nothing but quail at her remarks. The nightmare he thought he'd escaped was coming back for him again, and there was nothing he could do about it, his mind nothing but terror and forced subservience. What kind of person would want a chained vampire? Surely no one who intended to treat him well.

"Follow," she said, snapping her fingers, as the rest of the hunters hauled Alexander to his feet and began to half-drag, half-lead him towards a black van parked in the shadows. He could feel it deep in his bones, the conviction that once he entered that van, he would never return to his familiar life. He tried to dig in his heels, but it was a feeble effort at best, drugged as he was. The hunters only redoubled their efforts, practically tossing him into the back, where his head hit the cold metal.

"Careful, don't damage him," said one of the hunters.

"He's a vampire, he's not going to get damaged from that," scoffed another. "Let's make sure he behaves for the ride." A hunter loomed above him, pressing his hand down on Lex's chest and stabbing another dart into his neck. The world began to fade away as the hunters laughed.

Just as she approached the elevators, the doors opened, and a woman in a suit stepped out. It was strange that she was dressed for the office and heading out at this time of night, but Janet supposed she couldn't judge, given the circumstances. As she passed, the woman pulled out what looked like a small bottle of hand sanitizer, and sprayed Janet right in the face.

"What the fuck?" Janet spluttered. It didn't smell like hand sanitizer. It smelled sickly sweet, and as she tried to wipe it off, she realized it was sticky. The smell was incredibly strong, and as she turned to get answers from the woman, her head began to spin, almost making her lose her balance. "Hey, where'd you go? What is this? What --"

Someone strong grabbed her from behind and pressed a cloth firmly over her mouth and nose, muffling her scream. The sweet chemical smell was even stronger now, and she belatedly realized the danger she was in. She was being kidnapped -- for ransom, perhaps? If that was what they wanted, they wouldn't get it. Her employers wouldn't pay for her safety, and no one else cared if she lived or died.

Frantic, she reached up and tried to pry the hand off of her face, but it was strong, almost unnaturally strong, and she couldn't get the arm to budge an inch. Worse still, she was already starting to feel woozy and disoriented, the parking garage spinning slowly around her.

"Don't worry," said a soft voice in her ear, the voice of her kidnapper. "Be a good girl. Stay still and take nice, deep breaths. This is just going to put you to sleep."

Like hell she was going to stay still. She did her best to hold her breath as she kicked and struggled, but her fight wasn't making a bit of difference, and her lungs were starting to burn. She had no choice but to choke down a chemical-laden breath, and another.

"That's right. Take a few more deep breaths," the voice coaxed. "You're going to start feeling drowsy soon."

Janet protested uselessly through the cloth. She was still scrambling to pull the hand with the cloth from her face, but her arms were starting to feel heavy and clumsy, her efforts growing more feeble. Her legs were feeling heavy, too.

"Aren't you tired? You're feeling a little sleepy, aren't you? Don't fight it. You need the sleep."

A wave of drowsiness washed over her. She really was feeling sleepy, and she realized that she didn't have much time left to get free. She shook her head, trying to get a breath without being drugged to help her stay awake, but her kidnapper held firm.

"It's working, isn't it?" the voice cooed in her ear. "It's putting you to sleep, and it feels too good to fight. There's nothing you can do. Just relax for me."

The voice was right. Even through her panic, whatever was on the cloth was making her feel strangely good. Her hands finally slipped off of the kidnapper's arm, falling uselessly to her side, heavy as lead. She hadn't managed to get the cloth off her face, and everything smelled like chemical tang. Her eyelids drooped.

"That's it. That's a good girl." Her kidnapper's voice was strangely soothing. "No more fighting, now. You're too drowsy to fight. Just take a few more deep breaths and get very sleepy."

Her vision blurred, her eyelids fluttering, as she sagged into her kidnapper's arms. The cloth was lifted briefly, and she gulped down a breath of fresh air, only to have a fresh cloth firmly tied around her mouth and nose, knotted behind her head. It smelled like sleep.

Her knees wobbled, and before she could hit the ground, the kidnapper swept her off her feet and into their arms, picking her up bridal style. She blinked, trying to keep her eyes open and get a good look at them, but their their features shifted and blurred.

"Good girl. Stay loose and limp, just like this," they said as they started to carry her off. "No more struggling. Don't fight that urge to sleep."

She was doing everything she could to stay awake, hoping that she would at least be able to remember something about the experience, but by this point she could barely keep her eyes open. She was only just aware enough to register that she was being placed in the back seat of a van.

A hand caressed her hair gently. "No reason to stay awake now. Just shut your eyes and go to sleep. You're not going to remember any of this anyway."

The van door slid shut and the motor started. She was being taken somewhere. She thought, dimly, that she should try to stay awake and figure out the route.

That was futile, though. She was no match against the sleep-inducing chemical that still filled her nose and mouth, and the sound of the engine was like a lullaby. Her eyelids sank close against her will. The people in the van were saying something, but she couldn't make it out. Her mind drifted away into fog.

Masterlist

Based on @translizardhorns post

Taglist:

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@hoboyherewego @oseathepebble @ramshacklerumble @twstinginthedark @cyanide-latte