Death Bite (Peterick)

Part 15: The Rise of William Beckett

Pete's POV:

Nobody knew my name, but they knew my face, the face of the enemy. Meagan told me what they did, how they released the footage under their own names. She told me how brave the scientists all were for risking the very existence of their lab just to have the truth out there. The government was sure to come and shut the facility down soon. I was counting down the days until they would exterminate me. 

I craved the feel of a stake through my heart. That would've been better than having to deal with the sunburn that left me bedridden. Healing quickly was one of the redeeming qualities of being a vampire, but there wasn't a cheat to sunburn. Time was the cure. I couldn't move a muscle without feeling jolting pain throughout my body, so I only blinked. 

That was the most I could do. Night after night, day after day, I was forced to lie on a cot and was fed by eyedropper a small dose of rat's blood every 24 hours. It was enough to make someone go insane, and maybe that's what was happening to me. Ever so slowly my mind was becoming putty inside this corpse of a body. The door to my room opened. 

Their footsteps lightly approached me. It was too early for blood. I knew that much.
"Tsk. Tsk. What have the humans done to poor Pete?"

I tensed up. It couldn't be.

"W-William?"

My chapped lips were aflame as I talked.

"No. It's Dr. Death."

His hand fell over my chest right where my heart was.

"Looks like I'm too late," he joked.
"What are you..d-doing here?" I croaked.
"Well somebody had to kill those bastards."
"Why?"

"We have to stick together now to protect each other from the humans. They're after us, Pete," William told me, "As soon as I saw the video I couldn't bare leaving you in here."
He lifted me with ease and placed me in a wheelchair, rolling me out into the hallway. Dead bodies were sat up against the walls. A few vampires surfaced from the depths and began to follow us casually. 

Their mouths and claws were stained red.

"I know you didn't want to join us, Peter, but look at where that got you. You can rise through the ranks again, hold the right to be called our greatest fighter. Together we'll eradicate the humans. We'll make them pay for what they did to you. I've had this planned for so long, but you, Pete, you initiated the revolution. Rivaling gangs throughout Chicago have made peace with us and each other. We all have unanimously decided that I should represent our kind, and you will have the next best position: my chief assistant. That's if you're willing to accept this time."

We stopped in front of Meagan who was gagged and tied, held back by a vampire I recognized. His red hair was all too familiar. He smirked at the sight of me, slightly amused at my current state.

"Gerard, do us the honor, and cut the bitch who burned him."

He tilted her head and placed his sharpened claw on her neck, slicing into it like one would simply slice into bread. 

Blood spilled out of her arteries. William opened my mouth for me, and Gerard bent her over so the blood could fall down into my throat. The taste of fresh human blood was enough to rejuvenate my entire being. Her body was tossed to the side once she had been completely drained. I didn't feel sorry for her.

"Okay," I said, "I'll do it."
"Good boy. Now let's get you home, so you can rest up like a king."
We rushed out of the center into the darkness of the night. The vamps howled and hooted as they bounded past William and I towards the direction of the hideout. He patiently continued to push me to our destination.