As Alpha drove, regret was starting to wash over him. The sun rose and he already got the swarm of calls and text from his phone. He was too scared to block Charlie completely, he would never do that. But a shiver still aroused after each notification.
He glanced at the tracker to see that Beta right now was static, he should rest for a few minutes and figure out what the hell he was even doing. The pure adrenaline he had while rushing to leave was dying down causing his eyes to go heavy. He sighed as he turned into a rest stop and rested his head against the wheel.
He didn't know anything in reality about the situation. Beta could be with some gang or cult. The report of him at first stealing blood at a hospital was pretty weird. Maybe Senpai himself joined in and spilled some of his own as a ritual and is alive? Maybe it went completely wrong and he was dead because of it.
It wasn't too far-fetched that it was something like that. Beta always attracted weirdos. Alpha would also recall him asking for dark goth shit. How the hell is related to this man?
Alpha exited out of the tracker and clicked on the messages. It made his eyes widen. Thirty-eight unread messages and five missed phone calls.
Shit Charlie. Maybe he did fuck up.
No.
He did fuck up.
Alpha scrambled to his own GPS to put his address in. He was going to go back right now and beg on his knees for Charlie to forgive him. How could he be this stupid. The police was incompetent but doing this was ruining his relationship, that was unacceptable. Fuck Senpai and Beta.
As he typed out his address a call popped stopping him. It was his mom. Charlie must have called her in a panic. He debated not answering her call either but something drove him that this was important.
"Mom. I know Charlie called you. Don't worry I'm coming back. I know it was stupid. "
"C-Charlie? H-Honey what are you talking about. Where are you?" She said with a voice more broken than he ever heard in his life. Charlie didn't call her? Why did she sound so upset?
"Did something happen? Are you ok?"
"T-They found him."
"...Who?"
"My baby!" A fit of cries broke out. "He was buried in the woods! Why are my babies killing each other!"
...
So he did kill him.
That asshole. That fucking asshole. Alpha's body was shaking.
THAT FUCKING ASSHOLE!
Senpai only wanted to help him.
"A-Alpha are you still there? Can y-you and Charlie come over? I can't be alone right now."
"Mom."
"Yes, h-hon?"
"I love you and I'm sorry." Alpha then hung up and went to block both Charlie and his mother. Change of plans. That asshole didn't deserve the kindness from the police. Alpha was going to tear him apart.
He huffed as he reached for his cigarettes and lit one.
_________
Beta carefully watched his surroundings as he sneaked around cars with Fred in his arms, who was now back into his default state. They were slowly creeping their way towards a group of three teens enjoying the movie together. Luckily, they parked far away from the other cars, seemingly to play loud music or yell undisturbed. They were perfect.
Beta kneeled down behind a car parked at the last row, watching from afar how one of the teenagers excused himself from the group. He quickly snuck after him switchblade in hand, following him into the woods nearby quietly.
He creeped from a distance as he watched the teen lit a cigarette and take a drag. Beta set down Fred before in a blink of an eye grabbed him in a choke hold covering his mouth. The man struggled to no avail, Beta in a swift movement stabbed the blade into his neck. He let out a muffled noise of pain as Beta kept stabbing him and lowered him to the ground.
The young man groaned as he bled out. Beta started relentlessly kicking him laughing.
"Aren't you a weak one!" Aiming for the ribs. Eventually he stopped moving but Beta continued to kick.
"Beta, I think he has passed." But Beta continued to assault the body, unlistening.
"Fucking useless waste of space!"
"Beta!"
"What?" Beta snapped his head in Fred's direction, slowing down his kicks as he came down from his high. -"Sorry..." He exhaled, scooting over to Fred and placing him next to the corpse.
"After you eat, should we both pounce on the other two?" Beta asked, wiping his switchblade on the grass, watching as Fred tore through the corpse. He was covered in blood, the red liquid staining his blue shirt visibly.
"Together?" Fred's cheeks heated up.
"Together." Beta smiled, watching as the demon's tendrils slowly bore through the guy's skin, tearing his inside apart as more blood spilled on the forest floor. He could see the dead body twitch as the pumpkin pushed past some nerves, he couldn't stop watching in morbidity curiosity! It looked so interesting...
"Alright, that should do it." Fred commented after a while, looking down on the unrecognizable body that once was. He quickly transformed again, standing up taller than Beta. The human flinched back, still not used to the sheer size of the demon.
"Fred, have you ever killed someone by your own hands before?" He asked, flipping the blade in his hands to get a better grip.
"Yes, countless times."
Beta felt a shiver of excitement run down his spine; "Good."
He gently took the demon's bloodied hand into his own, slowly making their way towards the movie theatre again. As they were about to emerge from the forest, two voices prompted them to stop.
"Daniel? W-Where are you?" - It was the voice of a blonde teenage girl, standing next to the forest as she tried to look past the trees. She didn't manage to catch a glimpse of him, nor his lit cigar.
"Where do you think he went?" Another voice asked, a different brunette girl stepping into view, "He hasn't come back in fifteen minutes... I-I'm starting to get worried."
"I know!" her friend whined in response, "He's not here! S-Should we go together to check?"
"Hell no!" she answered, grabbing her hand, "Maybe there's a wild animal out there! Let's go tell some other people..."
"You're right- That was stupid of me..."
"It's okay," she said, slowly rubbing circles into her palm, "I'm sure he's okay... Maybe he just got lost? Let me try to call him-" The two girls looked down on her phone, scrolling through the contacts as they tried to find Daniel.
Fred and Beta took the opportunity as the two teenagers lowered their guard, they attacked in sync. Beta grabbing the smaller blonde and Fred taking hold of the brunette. They managed to muffle their screams as they dropped the phone, struggling and squirming against their hold.
For Beta it was much easier to take the girl down for her being so tiny and him becoming more skilled. For Fred he strangled the girl himself and snapped her spine with ease. As the deed was done Beta lowered the girl down and laid on the ground next to her breathing heavily.
"E-Eat quick Fred, we have to get out of here before anyone notices us." He gasped.
"Thank you." Fred brushed the hair away from Beta's sweaty forehead before he lowered himself down to begin feeding on the two corpses. This three course meal is going to satisfy him for a while.
—-
They drove in silence. Beta was starting to fully process every thing that he did at that drive in the movie theater. It was a lot. It really was a whole lot.
Those teenagers...
It felt so good in the moment to take everything out on them but now the anxiety that he just took two innocent lives was starting to wash over him. He didn't know them but they really did not deserve that. Their families must be so devastated now.
He glanced over to Fred who was still in his form looking out of the window. He had to pretend everything was fine with what they just did. This new thing with Fred... Beta liked it, he liked it a whole lot. And going back to that crybaby human personality could ruin it.
They were something now. Like some fucked demon gay version of Bonnie and Clyde. This was Beta's life now and he should enjoy it.
"We should pull over and find somewhere to rest. You look exhausted," Fred spoke up.
"I'm kind of tired sleeping in the car. It is so tiny."
"You need to rest, Beta."
"I know, I know! But I don't want to sleep in here..." Beta read a highway sign as he passed it. The next turn off the highway looked promising. "Maybe we should get a motel.... I probably smell terrible. When was the last time I showered?"
"I don't want to answer that because I don't want to acknowledge it." Fred let a laugh. "You really don't smell that bad to me though, maybe I just have grown to love it."
"I really want to sleep in a bed," he turned off when he saw the exit.
"I just hope no one recognizes you. Don't you need some identification to rent?"
Beta reached down in his pocket and pulled out a wallet. It was from the man at the movie theater. "I snagged this when you were feeding."
"You did not look like that man."
"Yeah no shit, Is it possible to transform me like you do with the car?"
Fred looked confused for a moment, "Uhm, I suppose so? It should work. As you noticed I have gotten more powerful."
"Okay, so we have a plan," Beta's exhaled, he smiled at little seeing a motel just ahead. "I'll need to put on my jacket and grab the money. Can you change the car one more time to be safe?"
"Of course."
Beta pulled into the parking lot and found a space far away from the entrance. As he turned off the car he froze for a moment. Easing up his hand he saw that they were shaking, it was surprising that he was even able to drive.
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah, yeah it is going to be fine. It just doesn't feel like I have spoken to anyone normal for a while. I feel like I'll be like an alien to them" Beta leaned his cheek against the car wheel.
"It is okay, you are doing amazing." Fred reached over to squeeze his knee.
Beta didn't want to be amazing at this. It was fucked. But like anything he didn't have a choice.
"Just change me into this person." He opened the wallet and presented the ID.
Fred squeezed his knee harder as he focused and released his powers onto Beta. To Beta it was a little scary because it reminded him of his first encounter. He couldn't freak out though he had to trust Fred, he was the only person he could trust.
He opened his eyes and brought down the car mirror to look at himself. Unrecognizable eyes stared back at him
"Wow, I finally look decent."
"You always look decent, don't say that."
"I'm just going to get this over with. Stay here ok?"
"Will you be safe?"
"I'll be fine. I hope this motel doesn't have age restriction rules. I think we will be fine though, it is shady as fuck."
Beta got out of the car and walked out of the entrance. His shoulders were slouched. Fred felt a pit inside him. He was unhappy again, it was expected but Fred was so hopeful seeing how let loose Beta was at the movies. He needed to remember that Beta was human, nothing was going to change that.
Maybe the movie was a spur of the moment type of thing.
That wasn't good...
They did so many things, things Fred could only dream of before. He was intimate with Beta and loved it so much. He wasn't just a bound servant to him anymore, he was a soul mate. But did Beta not feel that way?
He decided not to ponder about it all too much, for it will only give him a headache - instead, Fred turned to the backseat and picked up the backpack off the ground. He emptied it and decided to organize Beta's supplies.
He pushed the empty water bottles and junk bags out of the way as he analyzed some clothing pieces, picking apart those that weren't dirty or bloodied. He carefully folded them and placed them inside the backpack, also taking some left over food with him. He then noticed the two phones on the ground. He tried to turn on Senpai's one but it seemed to be already out of battery, while Beta's was barely holding on by a threat.
Now they could finally charge them in the hotel room, Fred exhaled. He looked at all the trash on the ground, then he looked back onto the entrance to see that Beta wasn't returned yet. A thought crossed his mind, it was time to make himself useful.
Taking in a deep breath, Fred used his powers of twisting perception to create a hallucination of himself that looked human in nature. As he touched his skin he could still feel the teeth sticking out of him and the goopy-ness of his skin. That was no good, he still wasn't powerful enough to take over the world.
He slowly opened the car door and stepped out, taking one of the small bags that they stole from the gas station. He gathered all the useless trash and spilled popcorn, walking over to the containers and dumping everything in. Perhaps he was a secret clean freak, but the car now being organized was making him feel more relaxed.
He took Beta's bloodied clothing off the ground and put it in the bag, along with his switchblade, to hide the evidence. They could not leave this behind at any cost.
Sitting down on the passenger's seat, he transformed back into a plant. Phew, transforming still took a toll on him even after consuming three bodies - at least he wasn't seen by anyone. As if right on cue, Beta finally emerged past the doors of the motel, walking right up to his car.
"How did it go?" Fred asked as he opened the car door.
Beta held up keys in response.
"You can transform me back now, it doesn't matter anymore." Beta lowered
himself in the driver seat. "Damn did you clean in here. It looks nice."
"I wanted to make myself useful."
Beta nodded and reached over to grab his bag and pick up Fred; "I can't wait to sleep in an actual bed again, holy shit."
---
Beta walked until he found the number of their room. He balanced Fred on his hip with his one arm as he unlocked the door. The room was depressing. far better than the worn down cabin or sleeping in the car, but it was rough. There were stains everywhere on the carpet. The wall looked like there was mold. And most of the lightbulbs were out.
"How revolting..." Fred commented
"It's perfect." Beta said as he threw down his bag and ran with Fred in his arms to jump on the bed.
"Beta-" Fred gasped, quickly turning into his humanoid form to avoid his pumpkin getting squished. He watched Beta bounce against his body as the bed shook, Fred wheezing out as Beta laughed.
"Finally... A bed!" He exhaled, stretching his limbs as he embraced Fred. The pumpkin relaxed as he wrapped his arms around him as well.
"Beta, go shower... Please."
"Pfff, okay. Want to join? Haha!"
"No."
"I'm so heartbroken." Beta huffed in fake annoyance, "How could you?"
"You need all the room to shower yourself with how dirty you are."
"S'cuse me but I can't even recall you EVER showering!"
"I do not sweat, nor do I produce wasteful materials. Please, just shower."
"FINE!"
Beta stripped off his shirt as he made his way to the bathroom, shaking his ass in the process. 'What the fuck?' Fred thought to himself, looking down on the dirty shirt on the floor as Beta closed the door behind himself.
Maybe things are actually okay? Fred was so confused, what was happening to his little human? He was starting to become so different yet again. A few moments ago he was tired and depressed, barely keeping his eyes open as his hands shook - now he was teasing him and joking around with him... Why was this happening?...
-----
Beta let out a huff of air as steam escaped the shower. He hated showering with a passion but that felt really good. He quickly grabbed a towel from the wall to dry himself as fast as possible.
After drying his hair considerably well, he noticed that he did not bring some of his clothing with him. It was a perfect opportunity to mess with Fred and get him all flustered. It would really help distract his mind. Beta chuckled to himself, wrapping his towel tight around his hips.
"Freeeedddd!~"
"...What?" The demon was sitting on the bed reading the Bible.
"The fuck are you reading?..."
"The Bible. It's been a while since I had seen this book, it was amusing watching those humans write it."
"..."
"What?..." The demon asked.
"How does that not burn your hands off or something?"
"You watch too many movies." he exhaled in annoyance.
'"Fred?" Beta rolled his eyes.
"Yes?"
"Where are my clothes?"
"Oh, I have folded them in our stolen backpack."
"Thanks, pumpkin. " Beta moves over the clothing bag and bent down making sure that Fred has a good view. He made sure, as well, to make his movements go slowly, as he let his towel fall slightly down his hips. He felt his face flushed as he picked out a comfortable outfit.
When he turned around he saw that Fred was completely focused on the book in his hand. Amazing.
"Fred?" Beta asked, his voice weak and defeated.
"Huh?"
"I-" Beta inhaled sharply, "Never mind, pumpkin."
"What is it? Is everything alright?"
"I said never mind!" Beta snapped as he slipped on the boxers under the towel and threw on a shirt.
"Alright?" Fred looked down at the book, now lost in thought again; why is Beta suddenly mad at him now? What did he do now?
Oh. The demon realized his mistake - he wasn't paying attention to him enough. Humans need attention, as far as he knew, and since they got into the hotel, Beta had been searching for it.
"I'm going to turn on the TV. What time is it even?" He said as he reached into his bag pulling out his strawberry clock.
4:37 AM... He didn't know how he was even functioning at this point. He hasn't had a single good night's sleep in the recent months, he was either plagued by nightmares or woken up somehow.
"Maybe you should not turn on the TV and just go to bed."
"You aren't my dad. I like it as background noise."
"That sounds incredibly wasteful. Isn't electricity expensive?" Fred asked, putting away the book as he sat up on the bed. He watched Beta flop down next to him without warning. "You didn't eat anything as well. That is not good." He exhaled, watching as the human rolled over onto his back.
"Oh, shut it. I'll eat tomorrow, I'm a fucking fatass anyway, it's probably good for me."
Fred exhaled; "Beta, no..."
"Ugh, stop being difficult, Fred! Come lay down with me already."
Upon hearing those words, Fred assumed that it would be best for him to drop the argument. He looked over to the human and crawled his way towards him, laying down on his side as his arms embraced Beta. He could almost feel every little bit of anger or tension leaving Beta's body as his shoulders relaxed, he gently moved his hand up to the demon's head and scratched underneath his chin, watching in delight as Fred started purring. He nuzzled his face into the other's neck, his tired eyes looking back at the TV.
"What do you want to watch, Fred?" He asked in a sleepy voice, closing one of his eyes as he held up his hand which was holding the remote.
"Whatever you pick." Was the short reply he received, the demon clearly too occupied with enjoying the scratches to properly think about his choices.
They finally settled on a show and relaxed into each other. Beta couldn't close his eyes just yet, those thoughts were starting to dig into him again.
"My mom and dad used to take my brothers and I on road trips like this all the time. It was always a mess."
"Oh?" Fred was being careful on how he would respond.
"I still loved it."
"Understandable."
"Fuck, Fred. I miss them but at the same time everything was broken even before all of this happened. I don't care what any of them would say, we were all miserable. Everything still would suck if I didn't do that horrible thing."
Fred sighed. "You can never know."
"...Yeah... Right," Beta said as his breathing got slower and deeper. Fred brushed his hair.
He hoped that his dreams were peaceful.