A/N: i know weekend at bernie's came out in 1989, but i wanted to make the joke.
The sun rises. Paul passes out on the couch. Dwayne and David retreat to their rooms, leaving Jordan's body splayed out on the floor of the cave. Marko places his hand on Sofie's lower back.
"We should sleep."
She nods and follows him into their room. They shed their clothing and climb into bed. Marko cradles her gently. She feels safe and comforted, but she can't seem to fall asleep. Normally, the daylight would lull her to sleep the moment her head hits the pillow, but her head won't stop spinning. Marko's fingers swim through her hair and she sighs.
"You're thinking too much," he whispers.
"I know I said I liked David's idea," she mumbles. "But the more I think about it -"
"Sofie. Look at me."
She rolls onto her stomach and stares up at him as she runs her fingers up and down his chest.
"I know you and David don't always see eye to eye, but you have to trust him."
"Last time I checked, you were my sire."
Marko flashes her a devilish smile.
"Which means you do what I say."
Her fingers trail down to his hipbones. His eyes close and he bites back a soft moan.
"Oh?" She asks. "Is that what that means?"
He growls and bites his lip.
"I remember when you used to be all shy and sweet..."
She drags her fingers lower and he gasps.
"And I remember when you used to look at me with these big puppy dog eyes."
"I never made puppy dog eyes," he hisses.
"That's not true," she giggles. "You'd look all googly-eyed and... wanting."
Marko flips her over onto her back, placing a series of quick kisses and nips up and down her neck and across her jawline. Her laugh is bright and musical and for a moment, she forgets about everything.
"I'm still wanting," he purrs.
Sofie reaches up and kisses him softly, slowly. He pulls away and brushes her cheek.
"Are you afraid?"
Sofie pauses, her blood running cold. She's afraid that Kevin will kill her... or Marko. Or her brothers. She has no idea how strong he is, what kinds of weapons he has at his disposal, or just how much his rage has twisted him in the three years since she last saw him. Kevin could hold a grudge for an eternity, whereas Sofie was always the calmer of the two.
"Yes," she whispers after a few breaths.
"After tonight, he's never going to be able to hurt you again."
She can feel the determination rising in him. The anger. Relief begins to creep into her chest. She's not sure if it comes from Marko's emotions bleeding into her, or from their conversation. Sofie sighs and nuzzles against him. His skin is soft and comforting. It takes a while for the tension in the room to fade completely. She can tell he's still daydreaming about ripping Kevin to pieces. Eventually, Marko pulls the blankets up around them with one hand.
"Comfortable?"
"Yeah. Thank you."
He kisses the top of her head.
"I love you," she whispers.
She knows he's smiling.
"I love you too."
Eventually, they both fall asleep. She dreams about Kevin; about their fights, and his unrelenting rage. There's no continuity, just snippets of their relationship and projections of the future. She sees his face, twisted and angry. She's terrified, her limbs flailing against his as he drives a stake into her chest. She wakes up with a jolt as she hears David's voice.
"Sofie."
Her eyes pop open. Marko is pulling his wife beater over his head while David sits on the side of the bed. She immediately pulls the blankets up to her chin and sits up, pulling her knees to her chest.
"Jesus, David!" She yelps. "I don't have clothes on."
"Yeah, I got a great view," he says with a wink.
Hey!" Marko snaps, giving David a sharp punch in the arm. "Watch it, bro."
"Relax. I didn't see..." He puts some clothes on the bed for Sofie. "Much."
Marko swats him again and David chuckles.
"Get dressed and come outside. Both of you."
He turns to leave, his coat billowing behind him. Sofie glances at Marko.
"What do I wear for this kind of thing?" She asks.
Marko walks over to the bed and unfolds the clothes that David has picked out. Black t-shirt, black jeans, black boots, and a black leather jacket that she doesn't recognize.
"These are good," he says. "David must have had an extra jacket. You left yours -"
"At the club," she finishes. "We got so distracted that I forgot to grab it."
Marko tosses her a wink and smokes a cigarette while she dresses.
"Sofie! Marko!" David bellows. "Let's go! We've got business to take care of!"
She rolls her eyes and he crushes the butt of the cigarette underneath his boot.
"He's antsy," Sofie mumbles.
"We all are," he says, slipping his jacket over his shoulders.
As he starts toward the door, Sofie puts a hand on his back to stop him.
"What if you get hurt?" She asks. "What if he kills you?"
He gazes down at her, his eyes warm and sparkling in the low light.
"If I had to die to protect you -"
"Don't talk like that," Sofie whispers with tears in her eyes. "I had this dream..."
"Shh." He kisses her softly. "He's not going to hurt you - or me. You have my word."
"MARKO! SOFIE!" David barks.
"We gotta go," Marko says, pulling her out of the bedroom and into the lobby.
Dwayne is standing by the entrance to the cave with Jordan's body slung over his shoulder. Marko points at the body.
"How are we transporting the meat bag?"
"Flying. The rest of you are on your bikes," David cuts in as he puts his gloves on.
"They wouldn't let me take him on my bike," Paul says. An edge of disappointment creeps into his voice.
"I told you," David snaps. "No Weekend at Bernie's shit."
"No fun," Paul mumbles, pouting.
Sofie glances around the cave.
"Where's Laddie?"
"We'll be back long before he wakes up," David says. "Let's go!"
Begrudgingly, she follows the boys up the steps and outside. Dwayne appears to vanish into thin air and David leads the rest of them to the potential hideout, speeding through traffic. They weave in and out between cars. There's no whooping, no cheering of any kind. Marko's energy is focused entirely on driving. Even Paul looks solemn. Although, he might still be mad about the Weekend at Bernie's thing. The air feels heavy as they hurtle toward their destination. They park their bikes behind some trees across the street from what looks like an abandoned warehouse. Dwayne is already there, leaned up against a tree. Sofie's heart is in her throat and she can't stop herself from trembling against Marko. He puts his hands over hers to calm her before climbing off his bike. Dwayne walks toward David.
"The body is outside the door," he says.
David nods and Sofie takes a deep, steadying breath.
"We're really doing this," she whispers.
"Come on, Sofie," David chimes in. He giddy -- or as giddy as he's capable of being given his extreme cool factor. "Loosen up a little."
Paul grins, Dwayne is unreadable, and Marko's eyes flicker with a combination of rage and mischief.
"Dwayne, have they come out yet?" David asks.
Dwayne shakes his head. David lights a cigarette and taps his index finger against his chin before wandering across the street to the warehouse. All they can hear is the sound of his boots against the pavement. Sofie and the boys follow. David crouches in front of Jordan's body and puts his hand on the man's chest. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Sofie leans into Marko.
"What's he doing?"
"He's got this... thing... I... I can't explain it. Just watch."
David stands, slides his gloves off and stashes them in his pocket. He proceeds to knock in a rhythmic pattern. Of course Kevin would have created a secret knock for his hunters. David turns and motions for the rest of them to hide. Paul leaps quietly onto the roof, positioning himself just above the door. He looks like a gargoyle. Marko grabs Sofie and drags her into the darkness. They crouch down and wait. Dwayne and David cling to the side of the building, just out of sight. The door opens and a figure steps out, dressed all in black. He has long dark hair and sharp features, almost birdlike. He looks down at Jordan's twisted corpse and swears under his breath.
"Kevin!"
"He's not here!"
"What?!"
"He's at that girl's place!"
Marko growls. Sofie grips his bicep.
"Whatever, get out here. It's Jordan!"
"What about him?"
"He's dead."
There are three of them, including Kevin, Marko's voice echoes in the back of her mind.
That's it?
He grins at her.
Piece of cake.
The two men start to drag Jordan inside. Dwayne and David step forward. Both men stop dead in their tracks and Jordan's body falls to the ground with a dull thunk.
"Surprise, boys," David purrs.
"Get inside!" One of the men shouts.
Before they can move for the door, Paul jumps in front of them. His face is sharp and twisted and his fangs are bared. Sofie can smell the fear oozing from both of them as they desperately glance around for an escape. Marko grabs her hand and they sprint to cover the last possible exit. Sofie tilts her head to the side, filled with a kind of newfound confidence. She pushes one of them against the wall of the building and drags a sharpened fingernail up his chest, ripping through the soft fabric of his t-shirt.
"I heard you talking about me," she whispers. "What's your name?"
"Parker."
"Hmm. Parker." She turns to David. "What's your plan, boss?"
David grins.
"Take them inside and tie them up." He grips Parker's jaw so tightly that Sofie hears a loud crack. Parker screams and Sofie watches his jaw pop and dislocate.
"You've got rope in there, right?" Marko asks him.
They drag the hunters inside. The warehouse is relatively barren. There are five cots and the back wall is full of weapons: crossbows, stakes, guns, machetes, and strings of garlic. David wanders over to it and laughs.
"Cute," he murmurs as Marko, Paul, and Dwayne easily tie the two men to some chairs. David walks over to the one whose jaw isn't currently dislocated and crouches down in front of him.
"When's your boss back?"
"Fuck you," the man spits.
David stands and grabs him by the throat, lifting both him and the chair over his head.
"Tell me, or I'll gut you like a fish and choke you with your own innards."
The man whimpers. He's clearly terrified. Sofie suspects that they might not have ever actually met a vampire before - or at least not one as strong as David.
"Any minute now," the man sobs. "He said he'd be back at 1:00 am. He wanted to search Sofie's place."
The rage inside of her boils over and she snarls. The fact that he was in her house makes her skin crawl. She wonders how many times she's been alone with him without even knowing it. Her body shakes and she exhales slowly to calm herself. David sets the man's chair back down on the ground.
"Good," he says, lighting a cigarette. "Then we'll wait. I can be extremely patient, and you morons picked a building with just one window. Easy enough to board up, right Dwayne?"
Dwayne nods and grins while David leans against a pillar and smokes. Sofie paces back and forth, wringing her hands as anxiety creeps up and down her spine. Marko watches her while Paul and Dwayne look bored standing behind the two hostages. After what seems like hours, they hear the door open. David grins and Marko pulls Sofie into the shadows.
"I want you to be a surprise," he whispers.
Sofie feels sick as she sees Kevin step into the room. He's different. Thinner, his hair is long - almost as long as Dwayne's - and he's dressed in a grey t-shirt and beaten, hole-filled jeans. He looks like he hasn't slept in days and his eyes are filled with fury at the sight of his friends tied up and bloodied. David steps forward, grinning. Sofie admires his courage. She wishes she could be like him.
"Hi!" David chirps. "Kevin, right?"
He picks at his fingernails. Kevin snarls.
"You must be David. And Paul. Dwayne."
Kevin glances around.
"Where's Marko? And Sofie?" He smiles. It's sadistic and infuriating at the same time. "I know all about the five of you."
David nods.
"I'd expect you would," he offers as he lifts his hand and snaps his fingers. In an instant, Dwayne and Marko snap the necks of the other two hunters, causing a loud crack to echo through the warehouse. As David turns his back, Kevin pulls a stake out of his jacket and lunges toward him. Marko and Sofie scream in unison and leap out at him from the darkness, tackling him to the ground. Marko rips the stake from Kevin's fingers and tosses it behind him. He flips Kevin onto his back and holds him down by putting his boot on Kevin's chest. Kevin grunts and twitches, but he's unable to muscle his way out. Sofie stands and smiles down at him, her fangs bared. Kevin's eyes lock with hers and he begins to laugh.
"Sofie," he whispers. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"You've got that right."
"I missed you," he breathes. "You're cute for a bloodsucker."
She crouches down next to him and runs her thumb across his bottom lip. It's a moment of tenderness that he doesn't deserve.
"You know," she sighs. "I thought I would have more to say to you. I mean, you tortured me for years. Emotionally, physically... You killed my boss. You trashed my bar. You've been stalking me for God knows how long. I thought there would be some kind of monologue about how much you scared me, about how afraid I was to really live because I thought you might come back to haunt me some day."
She looks up at Marko. She's ready to let this part of her life go; to erase it entirely.
"I think it's time we end this. Don't you?"
"I never wanted to kill you," Kevin chokes out as Marko puts more weight on his chest. Sofie hears his ribs snap. "All I ever wanted was you. Forever."
She grabs him by the chin. She can hear his bones crumbling beneath her iron grip. It feels good to be this powerful.
"And all I ever wanted was to move on," she hisses.
She pushes his head to the side and sinks her fangs into his neck. Kevin lets out a horrified scream as she drains him. Marko crouches down beside her, biting into the other side of his neck. They feed until Kevin's legs twitch and his screams become strangled groans. Sofie feels no guilt, only redemption. It swells in her chest and makes her want to cry. It's over. As she feels the last breath leave Kevin's body, she feels free. Both she and Marko lift their heads, almost sick from how much they've consumed. David briefly applauds them before licking blood from his fingers. Paul and Dwayne's lips are stained crimson and the three of them approach Kevin's body. Marko picks her up and kisses her.
"What'd I tell you?" He whispers. "Piece of cake."
"I could go for cake," Paul offers. "Or beer."
Sofie laughs.
"Me too."
"First, we get rid of the bodies," David counters.
"And the weapons," Dwayne chimes in.
"And then we drink," Marko finishes, turning to her. "To your new life."
"I could do that," Sofie murmurs, getting up onto her tiptoes to kiss him again.
The five of them make quick work of the bodies, tying them together and dousing them and the warehouse with lighter fluid. They step outside and Marko hands Sofie his Zippo.
"You do the honors."
"Are you sure?"
He nods, and Sofie tosses the lighter onto the ground, watching the warehouse go up in flames. She sighs and leans against' Marko while the rest of the boys go back to their bikes. He looks down at her.
"I'm proud of you."
She takes a deep breath and smiles.
"Me too."
"MARKO! SOFIE!" David yells. "BEER! NOW!"
"Duty calls," Marko says. He slings his arm around her shoulder and they walk toward the bikes, leaving Sofie's old life burning and crumbling behind them.