A Vampire's Rotten Heart

Deadlock

    Wilford wasn't too far from the nest. At least that's what the paper said. In reality, he was nowhere to be found.

    I had spent hours searching. The sun would be coming up soon, and the last thing I wanted was to dig one of those wretched holes.

    Spud jumped off my back and started booking it.

    "Hey! Come back!"

    He better have found something relevant.

He dashed down a hill. I followed, then stopped when I saw what was on the other side.

A single-file line of all sorts of animals, swaying and stepping in sync. Bears, foxes, rabbits... even natural enemies like the wolf and the caribou were walking right behind one another.

And was that piano music?

Skilled piano music, too.

I scooped up Spud. He meowed over and over again, and when I didn't let him go to his little party, he started hissing and scratching.

"Bhale! I'm just trying to keep you safe, y'know."

He calmed down when I headed in the direction of the animals. This was some weird witch thing. I was sure of it.

Spud was a little angel the whole way there.

I got way up close to to the animals. Not a single one reacted. They were all fixated on what was directly in front of them.

I walked beside them, holding Spud like he was an expensive purse. The piano music became louder and louder until my eyes fell upon a large cave in the middle of nowhere.

A few light raindrops struck my nose. I quickened my pace. No way was I gonna get this three-hundred pound outfit wet!

I slowed down once I reached the mouth of the cave. A few steps here, a few turns there, and I finally saw him.

He was sitting in a twisted combination of a parlor and a mad scientist's lab.

    Tesla coils, animals in various states of death and undeath, an unfinished game of solitaire atop a mahogany table, a tray with dozens and dozens of dirty medical instruments...

    ...And in the corner was a man in a bloodied lab coat, playing his ivory piano.

    He only had to use one hand to produce those rich sounds. And he only had one hand to use, since his other was busy injecting the animals that came to him with sedative.

    Or it could've been a lethal injection. There was no way for me to tell.

    He was so engrossed in his work, he didn't even notice me.

    I took a few steps closer. Lightning struck. The piano erupted into a deep, sour chord. The man looked at me, a deer in the headlights. His goggles shone against the light; he looked like he had a second pair of glowing eyes.

    The bear roared, and all the animals fled the cave in a frenzy. All except Spud, of course.

    I looked into the man's eyes. I was not okay with doctors. Not before, and certainly not now thanks to my two most recent experiences.

    He stood up. Another roll of thunder cracked.