#vampires…..

The mansion was quiet in the light of moon rays shining through long red curtains and onto old wood floors, serenity filled the home in it’s nighttime rest, even the houseboat rocked gently in the waters of Scrooges back door pool. It was calm. Ducks were snoozing and ghost butlers were vacated, demons at bay and mystical portals locked shut.

It was almost peaceful.

Almost.

It would be peaceful if it weren’t for Hueys pacing and Webbys anxious fidgets. Huey Duck hated blood, red was his favorite color to see anywhere but coming out of a living body…or a dead body…any body! He hates slasher films no matter how much his mom and sister tried for him to like them. Logically, one should die from a bite to the jugular, yet here Webby and himself were, simply having anxiety attacks in the attic.

With how much they’d equally lost while away on their investigation, Huey was sure they should be dead, and the fact that he was getting away with a My Little Pony bandaid and emotional scarring was terrifying. “It just doesn’t make sense!”

“You’ve said that…” Webby remarked distantly, scratching at her own bandaid. And finally Huey stopped to turn around, “how could we possibly still be alive right now, we shouldn’t be—it’s not a nice thought, but it’s realistic! And what even was that thing? Person? Not to mention, we should be weak and tired from blood loss like that. Yet!” Huey lowered his tone to a whisper towards the end when Webby gave him a look that screamed to quiet down.

In that same moment something seemed to turn and click in Webbys mind, she spoke softly as to not to disturb the sleeping residents down stairs… “have your eyes always been so red..?”

What? Fucking what?

“Red? What do you mean red? Like blood shot, because you know my stress levels are so high I fear I’m at risk—"

“No, no, your irises are red. Like ruby red.”

Huey chuckled half heartedly, Ah, a joke. “Thanks for trying Webs, but I’m really not in the mood right now…” he trailed off, something dreadful forming in his gut as moonlight shines through and lit Webby up like a goddamn Christmas tree. White feathers glimmering under the gleam, and eyes illuminated…in red. He stumbled back, suddenly things felt very heavy.

Webby stood as her brother nearly fell, “Huey, are you okay?” She stopped when he backed further away, and the lights filled the room further and gave her the same image. More cogs twisting to place before a bulb popped in her brain. “Ohh…”

‘Oh’ was never a reaction you wanted in a situation like this, much less from Webby of all people. It was practically an early obituary. “‘Oh’? Whaddo you mean ‘oh’? There should be no ‘oh’. What does ‘oh’ mean!” Huey felt the affects of his anxiety replace any other feeling he could’ve had.

Webby visibly noticed the change in state, because she was shrinking in on herself, almost not wanting to say what they’d been planning to previously. Eyes occupied on her twitchy fingers. “Webby..” Huey began, treading on the words like it were a minefield. “What is it?”

The pink duck laughed nervously, a squeak to their breath. “Uhm…don’t freak out…” Oh, great advice, the best even. Don’t freak out, “Webby I’m going to freak out if you tell me not to freak out!” Huey replied.

“Well, I said don’t freak out! Just relax!”

“I can’t relax! Relaxing is the last thing I can do right now!”

Webby clamped her hands together, letting out a frustrated sigh, she breathed deeply for a few moments collecting herself. They closed their eyes and held her hands close to her body, “I think…based on the symptoms and…the almost being eaten…that maybe..”

“Maybe?” Huey inquired.

“Maybe…that thing was a vampire and bit us turning us into one too—don’t freak out!” Webby said it quick and hid herself behind her hands. If the mansion could get quieter, it did, because news that hey, they are dead—no worse, undead, may have been the straw to break the camels back.

Huey laughed lightly, slowly slipping to his knees, falling with a soft thud. He brought his hands to his face and the laughs morphed into cries. He wished he could play it off as a joke, a terrible, poor-timed, badly toned Webby joke…but he couldn’t. Because they’re the Duck-McDucks, of course this would happen to them. Why wouldn’t it!

Webby felt the guilt creep up her spine as she joined him on the floor, she wrapped her arms around Huey and tried to ignore the fear growing in the back of her mind at their impending reality. Vampires under the roof of world-class monster killer Scrooge McDuck? Webbys never hated her love for research more.

Vampires…of course.