Whump blog, mainly. I'm mediocre at tagging stuff so proceed at your own discretion. He/Him. Adult. Literally nocturnal. Sometimes socially awkward so I apologize in advance for that.
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My whump-writing-focused sideblog: @snakewrites-and-ink
My event-hosting sideblog: @snakes-events-blog
My goblin (fediverse)
My Wafrn (also fediverse)
My Pillowfort
MY WRITING
â=Completed | â=In progress | âŒ=On hold
On hiatus from series and miniseries until further notice
Series
⥠Technically Not Human (working title) â
Nolan signs away his freedom and goes to an institution that trains superhumans to serve the highest bidder.
đ±ïž Asher the IT Pet â
What if someone who was legally a pet were allowed to have a life like a free person?
đ€ Whumper-turned-Caretaker CYOA â
What it says on the tin.
Miniseries
â Living Weapon Aquarius â
đ Hero Brainwashed to Villain's Living Weapon â
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Can't decide which I prefer -- delirious whumpees who ramble about a new thing every ten seconds because their mind is wandering relentlessly, or delirious whumpees who become fixated on one subject that they insist is important (and very likely is Not)
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It is extremely rare that I get unintentionally rickrolled. It is extremely common that I look at a link and think to myself, that's a rickroll, and I click on it. Then I get to enjoy the satisfaction of being correct, as well as the entirety of Never Gonna Give You Up. That shit is a banger. If someone offers me a link directly to that song you think I'm not gonna take it? No. You know the rules and so do I. It's Astley time.
I have this idea for a video game called Are You Out There? where two players control two different alien civilizations and the goal of the game is to invent spaceflight and then manage to find one another in a ginormous universe. You can try to leave signs for each other to find, or send out probes and radio waves, or colonize many systems so you're a bigger target, but its hard because the universe is really big.
Contrary to popular belief, abandoned WIPs are crucial to the writer ecosystem, as they become the fertile soil from which completed works grow. Without them, the landscape would be sterile and barren
wanna state not for the first time that several of my all time favorite fanfics are unfinished and will probably never be finished and I am so grateful that their authors decided to post what they'd written instead of waiting until they were finished (a time that ultimately didn't come!) I'm so so glad I got to read what they did write! It doesn't have to be finished to have value to a reader!
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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All computer safety ever for the past 30 odd years: "if you go on the internet â especially if you're under 18 â lie about everything. Lie about your name. Lie about your age. Give as little information away about yourself as you possibly can. Obfuscate, falsify, and omit anything and everything as otherwise They Will Get Your Ass. Actually, avoid it in the first place if you can altogether."
All computer safety(?) since like 2020: "it's imperative we make every 8 year old scan a passport before letting them use their LeapFrogâąïž. Always-on connectivity required."
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
â Live Streamingâ Interactive Chatâ Private Showsâ HD Qualityâ Free Actions
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content: vampire whumpers, captivity, dehumanization, torture, mind control, starvation, kinda-cannibalism?, vomit, homophobia, heavily implied offscreen sexual assault, flashbacks, vampire caretaker, comfort, recovery, transphobia / transmisogyny against a teen, offscreen bullying of a teen, parental abuse of a teen, eye gore
set in the same universe as kane & jim, with new characters, several decades later and hundreds and hundreds of miles away. been wanting to write some oneshots in this universe.
-
It wasnât like Astra had gone looking for anything in the woods. If anything, it was the opposite, sheâd just wanted to get as far from home and school as possible, find as much nothing as she could until it all looked the same and she had the excuse of getting lost to stay out even later. As long as she got home before sunrise, it wasnât a problem.
But sunrise was getting closer, and it wasnât just an excuse anymore. She really didnât know where she was.
Sheâd heard stories of vampires who stayed out too long. People said it was the worst pain imaginable. People said it was like being burned alive. A guy at school said that if you were lost outside during the day, you couldnât see, and youâd be that much more hopeless finding your way out. So it would go on for hours and hours until dusk fell and someone found you. But if you were lost, no one would find you even then, and there wouldnât be time to heal before it started all over. Then he shined a flashlight on his girlfriend, and she screamed and hit him in the arm while he laughed.
Astra wasnât laughing. All she had were a t-shirt and jeans, and the tree cover wasnât thick, and wouldn't block the sunâs menacing rays during the day. She rushed through scores of identical trees in the direction she thought might be home, untilâ
She stumbled into a campsite, kind of. There was no clearing, like youâd usually find, just a bunch of stuff crammed between trees in a pathless part of the middle of the woods. But there was a tent. All the terror rushed out of her, the relief flooding in so fast her legs almost gave out. There was a man there, presumably having a meal before bed: she could smell the blood from here, and a lot of it.
âH-hello?â she called nervously. âIâm sorry, Iâm a little lostâŠ?â
The man whirled around, eyes wild and most certainly not the telltale red of a vampireâs. He was empty-handed, but not for long, quickly pulling a wooden stake from his pocket and wielding it out to her with shaking hands.
***
The vampires were far stronger than he could ever hope to be. They looked almost like normal college boys, the same as him, but they werenât. Even with the most minimal effort, each one of them possessed a grip like solid iron, leaving him unable to struggle away no matter how much he tried. Pulsing music compounded the ache in his head, every beat of his heart making it worse and worse, almost as bad as the wounds themselves.
Another one bit into him, eliciting a weak cry and even weaker flailing. His neck was already littered with bite marks, everywhere from his chin to his collarbone full of them. One of them had bitten into his collarbone itself, breaking it easily, his laugh muffled by a mouthful of flesh as his meal screamed and screamed and screamed.
The vampire dropped him carelessly on the floor after, and he couldnât even get up this time, trying to crawl away. One of them grabbed him by the leg and dragged him to the middle of the room, mid-conversation with someone else, just to give him more distance to cover. The vampire didnât even look at him.
Heâd lost too much blood. He collapsed there, heart working overtime to supply his body with the essentials to survive with the little the vampires had left him.
âPlease,â he croaked. âYouâre gonna kill me!â
***
No meal to be seen. That was him sheâd been smelling. A human. A fully awake one, mind not lost to years of hypnosis. Sheâd never even seen a regular one before, not in real life.
Well, she definitely had shelter now.
âUm, hi, Mr. Human,â she said awkwardly, putting her hands up in peace. Would she have to use persuasion on him? Sheâd never done it before. âDo you know if that tent is sunproof? IâmâIâm lost, and itâs almost morning.â
The human was panting almost as hard as she was, and he hadnât been the one running through the woods. He was probably terrified. He didnât make a move with the stake, probably because he realized just as much as she did that she could stop him in his tracks with a word if he tried.
His voice came out hoarse and raspy, like it was the first time heâd raised his voice in years. âWhat do you want?â he demanded. âThe tent? I give you the tent and you leave me alone?â
âIâd like it if you stopped pointing a stake at me?â Astra tried for âgentleâ, like she was talking to a scared, hissing cat. It was just strange that the cat in question was a middle-aged man.
The human dropped the stake in defeat. âI canât kill a kid,â he muttered. âShit. Shit.â To her horror, the man began to cry, openly weeping in front of her.
âNo no no, itâs okay, donât cry!â Astra assured him hastily, taking a step⊠sideways, reluctant to get any further from the tent. She could see fang marks embedded in his neck, two distinctive dots gleaming in the moonlight. And, fainter but still there, more bite scars surrounding it, like his old owner had taken a while deciding on a spot. Maybe that was why he was scared. âI wonât bite you! Itâs okay, really! I already fed tonight anyway, and only the packaged stuff! Is that what youâre afraid of?â
The human wiped his tears. âYouâre gonna tell people Iâm here. Or just take me back yourself. Twenty-five goddamn years being so carefulââ He cut himself off with a sob.
âI wonât!â She insisted again. âI ran away, too! I mean, just for one night. But I still kind of get it. I just wanna stay in your tent until sunset. Honest.â
âHmph.â The man looked her over, unamused. âWhat are you, fourteen?â
âSixteen!â she corrected indignantly.
âTeenage boys canât keep a secret.â The human started mumbling to himself again. âMaybe if I have enough time to relocate⊠no, vampsâre too fast and Iâm on footâŠâ
Bile rose in Astraâs throat at the descriptor. Not that it was anything new.
It occurred to her then that this human was the only person in the world she could say anything to without any consequences at all. He had no one to tell. He didnât even know who she was. And he had absolutely zero power to ruin her life with it.
âIâll prove it,â she countered, a rare confidence making its way through her racing heart. âIâll tell you my secret, too. That way youâll know I have incentive not to let anyone find you. Because no one can know.â
That seemed to calm the human down a little. âIâm listening.â
âIâm a girl. My name is Astra.â
It was the first time sheâd ever said it out loud. She thought the words might catch in her throat, but they leaped out in a rush instead.
â...Buck,â he introduced himself. âI, uh, donât know much about that kind of stuff, but Iâm sure you know yourself better than I would. You really wonât tell anyone, kid?â
He didnât even care. He didnât freak out. He didnât mock her. He didnât yell at her to man up. He just⊠accepted it at face value. Accepted her.
He had more important things to worry about, she guessed.
âIâm good at keeping secrets,â Astra promised.
For the first time, it looked like he actually believed her. âOkay. Okay.â He plopped himself down on the forest floor next to a half-disintegrated cardboard box, taking a deep, shaky breath. âOkay. Guess that explains it. Boys are assholes.â
***
âDude, I think itâs actually working. I, like, feel it!â one of the vampires enthused, Buckâs blood dripping down his chin.
âYouâre just imagining things. I donât feel anything. Here, drink more.â Another one brought the bottle to Buckâs lips.
âNnno, donâwanna,â he slurred, but the vampire forced it in his mouth and tipped his head back, and if he didnât drink, heâd choke, or theyâd just hypnotize him and make him do it anyway. He gulped it down, glug after glug after glug, the grip on his hair keeping his head firmly in place beneath the unlabeled bottle.
Heâd been drunk before, back before he was kidnapped by vampires, but this was different. There was something else in this, and even the vampires didnât seem to know or care what it was. He felt like time was slowing down, keeping him trapped in this moment forever.
He coughed and sputtered when the bottle finally pulled away. âNâmore,â he pleaded, sobbing as he was bitten into again.
***
Buck gestured to the tent. âI assume itâs sunproof. Took it from one of you, after all.â
There were more scars, Astra realized looking down at him, just barely peeking out of his ratty shirt. They almost looked like parts of letters. Was that normal for humans? Some cultural thing they did to mark themselves? Sheâd heard of the human art of tattoos, but these didnât look like drawings, they looked like scars.
Buck quickly pulled his jacket closed when he noticed her gaze, and she looked away, embarrassed. âThank you,â she said, even though she was going to go in the tent whether he let her or not.
âYou can use the bedding. I donât sleep during the day, I just got up. Just donât rip it or anything. You have no idea how hard it is to get that stuff.â He rummaged through the box and pulled out a can of dog food, peeling it open and digging in with his fingers.
Astra pulled the blanket around herself, settling into the tent, but she left the flap open for now. The sun wasnât out yet. âHumans can eat that too?â she asked, crinkling her nose at the smell.
âYup. This human eats whateverâs edible, and most of what you all leave outâs this stuff,â he said around a mouthful. âDoesnât really bother me anymore. Iâd kill for some vampire in town to leave some fresh fruit out on their porch or something, but Iâll take what I can get. Pretty sure Iâve got scurvy, though.â
âWhatâs scurvy?â
âHuman disease from not eating right. Makes my old wounds hurt.â Buck rubbed his neck with a wince. âOr maybe Iâm just getting old.â
Astra twiddled her fingers. âWouldnât it be easier to just go live with a vampire? Not that Iâll tell anyone! Still wonât! Just⊠wouldnât it be easier?â
***
The persuasion lifted, and with it, the order to âhold stillâ that kept him motionless and pliant as the vampires used his skin as their graffiti board.
He gasped as his mind came back to him all at once, another scream tearing from his already-raw throat right after. A new spot stung with fresh wounds, the vampireâs razor-sharp, claw-like nails having crudely carved his name into his flesh, deep enough to scar.
âIâm gonna try with my fangs,â another boasted.
âYouâre gonna fuck it up, dumbass. Then your fuckup will be on its skin forever.â
âIâm not gonna fuck it up. Lemme at it.â
Buck thrashed, vision tunneling. âNo, no, no! Stop!â
âCan someone else make it hold still this time? Iâm tired of it.â
âYeah, Iâve got it. Hey, human. Hold still.â
His mind went blank of anything else but following the order. Every ounce of his being, dedicated entirely to holding perfectly rigid. He felt something hurting him, splitting his skin open, and a little nudge in the back of his mind said something wasnât right. But he didnât care, not right now. He was to hold still.
His ability to think snapped back into place, and he wailed, trying helplessly to fly off the table. A superhumanly strong hand pushed his bleeding chest down until he was flat again, then licked the blood off his hand.
One of them laughed. âI told you youâd fuck it up.â
***
âNo.â Buck said flatly. âIt wouldnât.â
âOh. Sorry.â
âNothing for a kid like you to worry about. Just get your rest and go back home.â He finished his meal and slung an empty backpack over his shoulder. âI gotta go scavenging.â
Go back home. She didnât want to anymore, not now that the threat of the sun had been vanquished. It was better here.
âYouâre leaving?â The thought of being out here all alone during the day was suddenly dawning on her as terrifying again, even with the tent. What if she got attacked by a wolf, or a bear, or something? A human would be no help against either one, but for some reason, it felt infinitely more scary without him.
Buck looked from her, to the box, and back. He sighed, putting the backpack down again where heâd picked it up from. âNah, Iâve got enough to last me. You sleep, Iâll keep watch. Not gonna leave you out here alone, alright? Youâve got my back, Iâve got yours.â The sky starting to lighten, he grabbed the zipper to the tent. âGood morning, Astra.â
She felt like she might cry.
âGood morning,â she said softly, the tent closing her safely inside.
***
It was only a few nights later when Astra returned. She knew the way this time, had paid attention to the directions Buck gave to get her back home.
âBuck?â she called.
A gasp came from inside the tent. Though he was holding his stake when he opened the tent, he dropped it once he saw her. âJesus, kid, you scared me half to death. Why the hell are you here!?â
âSorry, sorry! I didnât mean to wake you, itâs just, I canât come during the day, you know,â she swung a plastic bag off her shoulder, âAnd I brought gifts? To say thank you. Plus because I made you miss out on a day of scavenging. Did you know thereâs whole stores just for selling human stuff? Guess people who have humans need to get human food somewhere.â
***
They were getting bored of him, Buck could tell. He didnât even struggle anymore. Heâd never struggle again. He didnât realize how much worse it could get.
There was no food in the house. Not for him, anyway. He had to keep begging them to buy it for him, and they were getting more and more annoyed with him each time he asked. As if it was a chore they could put off. Like he was nagging them about leaving dishes in the sink.
He chewed on a leather belt someone had left on the floor next to the couch his ankle chain was bound to, but just because it came from the same animal as a hamburger didnât make it any more edible.
Someone had left a half-drunk package of human blood out.
Every single night, heâd see most of his owners drinking those. Heâd have been dead his first week if they all drank from him every day. His mouth watered at the sight of it, even knowing the people it came from were hypnotized out of their minds, trapped in a factory farm.
But it was food, wasnât it? Wasnât he food, too?
He took the package in his hands, turning it over experimentally, then squeezed some out into his mouth. It tasted horrible, but he kept going until the whole package was gone, desperate for something, anything, to fill his stomach.
Minutes later, he was vomiting all over the floor like a stupid dog that stole chocolate.
***
â...Gifts, huh? Canât turn that down. Whatâcha got?â Buck had his hand over his heart, but Astra could still hear it racing, pumping fresh blood even faster.
But this wasnât about her. The idea of fresh blood, once enticing, had sort of⊠lost its appeal since she met Buck. He was too much of a person. Way more than anyone had made it seem like humans were.
Astra presented it proudly. âFruit! Like you said you were missing! They had a few different kinds, and I didnât really know them, so I just got a bunch?â
Buckâs eyes widened. âOh my god. Holy shit.â He pulled a red one outâan apple, she remembered it was calledâand bit in. It was white on the inside. It smelled disgusting to her, but the human was quickly devouring it. âThank you!â he said between bites.
Astra set the bag down, beaming. âThereâs more, too! Thereâs one called an orange, like the color, itâs supposed to be really good for scurvy. I got a bunch of those.â
âThis is seriously the best thing thatâs happened to me in years. Thank you. Here, hold on.â He finished off the apple, spitting seeds into his hand and pocketing them before rummaging through his box. What he pulled out was a baggie full of money, mostly loose change with a few bills in there, but it was a lot of change. No telling how much. âHere, for your trouble. Been collecting this whenever I see it, figured maybe bribery as a backup plan to the stake if I ever get caught? But that probably wouldnât work. Itâs better off with you.â He placed it in her hands.
It was stolen money, but there was no telling who it belonged to, and it was probably such a small amount from each person that it didnât matter, right?
âWow! Okay! Thanks!â She stuffed it in the front pocket of her hoodie. âCan I stay and hang out?â
Buck looked up at the moon, then back at her, eyes narrowing. âItâs early. You got school?â
The smile dropped right off her face. âYou know about school?â
âYeah. I know about school.â He rolled his eyes. âHumans have school too, you know. Come back after and Iâll help you with your homework, how about that?â
â...I hate school,â she admitted. âEveryoneâs jerks there. They make fun of me for being gay. Which Iâm not even! But explaining why would only make it way worse, so.â
***
âYou can really make it tell you anything. Itâs like a truth serum!â one of the vampires explained.
âOh, oh, oh, Iâve got one. Hey, human, answer the question. You gay?â
âYes,â Buck answered robotically.
His mind was released to a chorus of laughter from the vampires surrounding him, and his face flushed hot. He willed it not to. All the vampires saw when he blushed was the blood under his skin, and it always made them take more, but he couldnât control it.
But his mind wasnât his for long. âAnswer the question!â another commanded, all other thoughts chased out of his head. âYou a viiiirgin?â the vampire taunted, sing-song.
âYes,â came his answer.
He came back to himself again, laughter roaring. This time, it sounded⊠dangerous. Everything was dangerous here, but this was different. Something was very, very wrong.
âHey, what if we make itââ
***
Suddenly, Buck grabbed himself by the head, face scrunched up in pain.
âBuck?â Astra stepped forward. âAre you okay?â
âIâm fine!â he snapped, too quickly to be anywhere close to believable. He opened his eyes, exhaling slowly through his teeth. âIâm fine. Sorry. My headâs fucked up from vampire brain magic from⊠a long time ago. Thatâs all.â
His hand fell from his head. âBack to what we were talking about. That sucks and I know what itâs like. Screw it, not gonna tell you to subject yourself to that. Just bring your textbooks next time and weâll do it ourselves. I finished high school once upon a time, Iâll tutor you. How different could vampire high school be?â
âReally? Just like that?â It felt like every single other person in her life was blaming her for it. If she didnât go to school, her parents yelled at her. If she did go to school, it was even worse. âYou donât care?â
âYeah, I care about people messing with my girl.â He huffed. âNow, tell me about your classes.â
***
Astra came by most nights after that, usually after school. If anything, she started attending more often than she was before, even though Buck had said she didnât have to.
She had a reason to go now. She had to graduate so she could get a decent job, because for the first time in a long time, she had something she really cared about.
Buck almost never asked for anything, and she could tell he was ashamed whenever he did, only ever asking for the bare essentials when he absolutely had to. Medicine. Food that wouldnât make him sick. It was no way to live, and she wished she could do more to help him. She couldnât even get him to human territory, too far away to travel in a single night, without someone surely noticing her missing and coming after herâand that would be the end for Buck. It was too risky, at least for now. Sheâd already gotten screamed at after that one day spent hiding from the sun in the tent.
But going to school was a little more okay now. It wasnât her whole world anymore, and every time someone said something shitty, she knew she had a friend she could talk shit about them with. She knew that right after school, she could run into the woods where no one she knew could find her, to the one place she could be Astra. The one place where if she showed up with bruises or worse, someone actually cared, fretting over her to the point of crying. Even if she would heal by tomorrow, free of the long-lasting injuries and scars a human would suffer. Maybe it was a human thing. Maybe it was just Buck.
Maybe it was because he knew what it was like, and worse. It quickly became clear that something much worse had happened to Buck than just persuasion. Only once, she saw him without his jacket on, and there were names carved into his skin. But he refused to talk about it, always saying âThatâs not something you need to worry aboutâ whenever she caught him fighting back tears with his head in his hands, and she didnât press.
But she still worried about it.
***
It was the most distressed sheâd run through the woods since the night they met. Tears blurred her vision and she rammed through bushes and tree branches, uncaring as they scraped against her legs and arms. When she got to Buckâs camp, she ran straight into Buck, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing as if he could do anything to make this all go away if she just hung on tight enough.
âWhoa!â he stumbled, nearly falling, just barely managing to catch his step. He hugged her back, letting her sob into his shoulder for a minute, but when he spoke next, his voice was pained: âKiddo, youâre kinda hurting me.â
âShit, shit, shit, sorry!â Her arms flew back, letting him wheeze in a full breath. It was easy to forget how fragile humans were, even after months of hanging out with Buck, but especially now, when she could hardly think straight.
âItâs okay, here.â He hugged one arm around her shoulders and led her to sit on a log. âIâm okay, youâre okay, Iâve got you. Whatâs got you so worked up? Kids at school being assholes again?â
She shook her head, arms crossed in her lap as she fought to keep the crying under control so she could speak. âMy p-parents found out I was lying about going to study with friends after school.â
The color drained from Buckâs face, panic filling his eyes. He looked like he might vomit. âTheyâre notââ
âI didnât tell them about you, theyâre not coming to get you, donât worry,â she assured him quickly. âI⊠distracted them. I told them Iâm a girl. Figured theyâd freak out enough about that and make their own conclusions about where I was going, and they probably wouldnât guess the woods. They didnât take it well.â
âOh,â Buck patted her shoulder. âIâm sorry, kid. Thatâs gotta suck. You deserve so much better than that.â
âI mean, yeah, it does, but that was the plan. Thatâs not the problem. They wanna send me to boarding school. Itâs an all-boys boarding school in the middle of nowhere and I wonât be able to see you anymore and I wonât be able to even leave! Itâs just school forever and you canât escape!âÂ
***
Buck ran and ran and ran, chest heaving as he tried to put as much distance as he could between himself and that horrible house.
He couldnât outrun them, that he knew. They were faster than he could ever hope to be, and if they caught him, theyâd be much more careful about where they left the key. This was his only chance, making himself hard to find.
He was half-starved and covered in wounds, but even as his lungs burned and his legs begged for relief, he ran. Every instinct in him said to avoid the woods, the trees providing cover from the precious sun that offered him protection for a few more fleeting hours, but heâd be a sitting duck when night fell. He needed somewhere to hide.
He broke into the treeline.
***
âAstra. Listen to me.â His stare was intense now, and he grabbed her by both shoulders. âThere is always a way out. Youâre free right now. Did they even do any research about this place!? Do they even know if itâs safe? Theyâre just picking a place to send you to hurt you the most? Sick fucks. You can get away. If you donât feel safe, get away now. Forget about me, just get somewhere safeââ
âI canât forget about you! I need you! I canât do this alone!â she cried.
Buck opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. The emotion drained from his eyes, his hands falling from her shoulders.
âBuck?â she asked uncertainly. âWhatâs wrong? Are you having another one of yourââ
âOh, is that its name?â
She practically choked on the sound of her fatherâs voice.
âDad!? You canât be here!â But there he was, following the trail of broken branches sheâd left behind.
Stupid. Sheâd been stupid and careless and now her only friendâs life was over because of it.
Astra jumped to her feet, putting herself between Buck and her dad, arms out protectively in front of his helpless, mindless form.
âI canât, can I? Well, while weâre making a list, how about I add something you canât do,â he spat. âYou canât skip school to run off into the woods to befriend a diseased stray human who teaches my son to act out by trying to become a transsexual!â
âIâm not even skipping school anymore, and that has nothing to do with him!â Astra protested. This couldnât be happening. No, no, no. âLet go of him!â
âI will not. This has gone on long enough. You are coming home, now, and we are getting this business sorted for good. Get moving.â He pointed a firm hand back in the direction they came, crimson eyes bright with fury. He glanced at Buck. âYou too. Iâm sure it wonât be too hard to find your owner.â
In a trance, Buck started walking to his doom.
âNo!â she grabbed him by the wrist, stopping him in his tracks. Her teary eyes locked on Buckâs dead ones.
Astra had never done this. Sheâd never expected to. But she didnât expect that her father had much more experience than she did, either. And she knew Buckâs mind better by far.
âBuck, listen to me,â she whispered. âPlease just listen to me.â
She felt something click, like she was flexing a muscle sheâd never used before, and suddenly, she just knew what to do. She repeated it, not begging this time, intense and commanding.
âListen to me.â
Buck didnât look any less dead-eyed, but something changed. She could feel the absolute control she had over him, like he was another extension of her, as easily piloted as her own arm.
She let go.
Buck resurfaced, in control of his own mind and body once again. Instantly, he drew the stake he always kept in his back pocket, wielding it out shakily at her father, yet too frozen with fear to make a move, just like he did on the night they met.
Her dad rolled his eyes. âFine, lead the human yourself if you insist. But youâre coming with me whether you like it or not.â
Buck couldnât do it and Astra knew it. There was no chance. Even if she could free him from persuasion, heâd just gotten hurt from a hug and he could barely hold a stake, let alone use it.
âWait, Dad, please,â she begged. âOkay, you win. Iâll come home, Iâll go to school every night, even that boarding school if you want, IâllâIâll give up the girl thing, Iâll be the perfect son, whatever you want. Just please leave him alone. Heâs not doing anything, just leave him!â
***
Even after years, even in the bright midday sun where no vampire could get him, Buck shook like a leaf in the wind every time he went out to scavenge. He walked up and down deserted suburban streets, a small part of him always half-expecting a vampire to jump out, lock him in that iron grip once again, the little freedom he had snatched away.
It was all he could think about as he studied the vehicle parked on the lawn. Heâd never seen any kind of vehicle here before, vampires could run just as fast as one, most didnât bother with them. But this looked like a moving van of sorts, so it made sense. Hard to carry all your furniture even with enormous strength and speed.
There were no keys. He could try hotwiring it, heâd never done it himself before, but heâd seen one of his brothers do it. It was his only chance to ever get home, probably.
But human territory was so far from here, that even if he managed to do it, heâd be driving through day and night on no sleep. And if he failed? It wouldnât take long to put together that it wasnât a vampire that had tried to steal a van in broad daylight.
Nothing was worth the risk of being caught and sent back there. Not even if he had to live the rest of his life in the woods alone.
He left the van untouched.
***
Buck dropped the stake, letting the piece of wood fall to the forest floor. âAstra, wait, donât. You donât need to do that.â He stepped forward, eyes wild with terror and voice strained. âSir. Iâll do what you want, persuasion or not. Just, wouldnât it make more sense to keep me for yourself than to go through all the trouble of finding my owners? Itâs been nearly thirty years, theyâve surely moved on by now. You donât need to give me back to them. I can provide fresh blood! F-finderâs keepers, right?â He forced a smile, tears streaming down his face.
âAstra,â her father scoffed. The name almost felt tainted, the way he said it. âIâll consider it, but the both of you are on very, very thin ice.â He looked to her, barking a name sheâd hoped Buck would never hear. âYouâre still going to that school, you are certainly not becoming a girl, this is not a bargaining chip, you do not have a choice. Now move.â
Something broke in her. Like a rubber band stretched so far for so long, it finally snaps.
Astra took the stake from the ground, wielding it in Buckâs place. Her hand did not tremble as she glared at her father.
âNo.â
âAstra!â Buck hiss-whispered, but she knew he didnât understand. He was too poisoned by fear.
She held firm. âLeave. Us. Alone. Or else.â
âWhere did I go so wrong in raising you?â her father lamented. âFine. If this is the extreme you want to take this to, Iâll put you in your place myself.â
âNo!â Buck cried. Astra pushed him, and he landed on the mossy ground several feet away, safely out of the way of what she knew was about to happen.
And in this matter, she knew for certain she was more skilled.
Her father lunged at her, but she dodged easily. He wasnât even as fast as the guys at school.Â
She came at him from behind, raising the stake and plunging it down, piercing his eye. An easier target than the heart, and if she could get both, itâd leave him just as helpless to follow them or even escape the woods at all.
âIs this what you wanted!? Huh!? Is this manning up enough for you!?â she shrieked, going in for a second stab.
He screamed and whipped around, trying to claw at her, but she made contact first. She grabbed him by the face, sunk her claws in, and pulled, taking out his other eye with a gush of blood.
âYou ungrateful child! Youâre going to regret this!â he howled, curled up and clutching his half-torn-off face.
She could kill him right now, if she wanted.
âIâm going and you canât stop me. Goodbye, Dad. Donât look for me.â She stuck the bloody stake in the front pocket of her hoodieâshe was already soaked in blood anyway.
Astra crouched at Buckâs side, still lying bewildered on the ground where heâd landed. âLetâs go,â she encouraged softly, holding a hand out. âWeâre going to human territory. Youâll be safe there, and Iâll stay with you.â
Buck took her hand, snapping out of it, back to his practical self as he stood. âWeâll need the tent for you during the daytime. And foodâjust a couple daysâ worth. I have some containers we can fill with water on the way. You can drink my blood.â
âAre you suââ
âYes,â Buck answered without hesitation, hastily breaking down the tent. âItâs okay. I want to. Youâre not going hungry on my watch, kid.â
Astra nodded. Once Buck had everything they needed in his arms, she scooped him into hers, strong enough to carry their whole life to safety.
âYou have been rude and disrespectful to the other employees. We have been over this. If you are upset, take it out on the company stress toy. Thatâs why we have it in the first place.â
Whumper starts to protest. "But I'm in the middle of---"
"No buts!" Their boss takes them by the shoulders and steers them away from their desk. "You're obviously too stressed to work with the team right now. Take 5, and come back when you've taken out all that unhealthy agression, m'kay?"
Whumper's eye twitches. Their boss's condescension isn't helping their "unhealthy aggression." They relent, however, and travel down the hall to an out-of-the-way portion of the building.
They stand in front of the repurposed supply closet. For a moment, they consider not going in, and simply letting the silence in the quieter part of the building calm them down instead. Soon, though, the distant sound of their coworkers' incessant chattering echoes down the hall, and their anger is stirred up again. They grip the doorknob tightly and whip the closet door open.
The stress toy is curled up in the corner of the dark room. It sits up straight as the light streams in, blinking sleep from its eyes.
"Napping at two in the afternoon?" Whumper strolls into the room, one hand in their pocket, the other slowly closing the door behind them. "I wish that could be me."
The stress toy squirms away from them, pressing its back into the cold concrete wall, already stained with its own dried blood from previous sessions.
"Let's get some light in here." Whumper pulls the cord attached to the lightbulb, illuminating the closet in sickly yellow hues. They lean down to inspect the stress toy. It's looking a little worse for wear, with some bruises and cuts still fresh on its skin. Its mouth is duct taped shut, and its hands and feet are tied.
Whumper wrinkles their nose. "My boss did most of this, didn't he? He's such a sadist. At least you're still wearing clothes."
The stress toy's eyes dart between Whumper and the shelf of tools beside them.
"He's actually the one who sent me here. He can't wrap his dense head around the fact that not everybody relieves stress like he does." Whumper taps their fingers on the shelf, perusing its contents, letting their gaze linger on each item, as if they can't decide what to pick. There's a crowbar, a knife, a pack of needles...
The stress toy lets out a small whimper.
"Oh, sorry, did you have something to say?" Whumper leans down and rips the duct tape off of its mouth in one swift and calculated motion. It yelps, sucking in a breath through its clenched teeth. "There you go. What's up?"
The stress toy pants for a second, before simply saying: "You don't have to."
Its voice is ragged and weary. No doubt it's been strained many times from screaming.
Whumper's gaze softens. They finally settle on their tool of choice: a sharpie. They take it off the shelf and sit down on the floor. "I know. Come here."
The stress toy awkwardly shuffles forward, keeping their head down. Whumper takes their wrist, uncaps the sharpie, and starts to draw on their forearm.
"I can be quite forgetful when I'm angry. Sometimes I forget really important things. Like locking the door behind me."
It glances up at Whumper, a tiny glimmer of hope crossing its face.
"And I also forget how to get around this place. That's why I always doodle maps on everything. It's almost subconscious, now."
Whumper capped the sharpie, stood up, and checked their watch. "It's almost been five minutes. I'll have to go back, soon."
"Thank you," the stress toy whispered, looking at the map drawn on their arm in awe.
Whumper looked at them with pity. "Don't be thanking me." They grabbed the crowbar from the shelf. "I still have to dispel suspicion."
It's eyes widened.
"Sorry," Whumper said, raising the crowbar above their head. "Boss's orders."
.
Whumper scrubbed the blood off their hands in the bathroom. It had been a little longer than five minutes. Hopefully their boss wouldn't be too mad.
They turned off the water and looked at themselves in the mirror.