Lifeline (Chills Fanfic)

50 - Dylan

Dylan stands in the street across from Eonys, his gaze on the shifting light that dances across the ground in front of him. He looks at the lights, and then he hears someone walk up to him.

Dylan turns around, looking at a man named Novack stands there, his attention fixed on Dylan.

"Can I help you?" Dylan asks.

"Maybe," Novack says. "Maybe you can."

Dylan looks at him, trying to decide if the man is being confusing on purpose or not. Novack clasps his hands together in front of himself. Something about Novack is very creepy to Dylan. Probably the unnerving way he looks at him, his attention wholly on Dylan, and it is a strange feeling, being watched by him.

"Uh, okay. How can I help you then?"

"Follow me," he says. He leads Dylan away from Eonys, and the further they get into the streets of a small town that Dylan does not remember the name of. As the two of them walk, he begins to wonder if this was a good idea.

Why did he decide to follow Novack? Especially if he creeps him out so bad. Dylan stops walking, even as Novack himself keeps walking down the streets. Dylan ducks into an alley, then starts back towards Eonys.

After all, he has to get back to his friends.

Plus, he's thirsty. Vampires are typically thirsty, but it's been a while since Dylan has fed last. So he returns to Eonys and goes down to the cafeteria for vampires.

He finds Autumn sitting at a table in the back, her nose buried in a book. Dylan walks over to her and sits down beside her. She looks up at him, a smile playing on her lips, which are blood-stained from her drink.

"Hello," she says. "Where were you?"

"I went for a walk, and then Novack found me."

She tenses. "What did he want?"

"I don't know. I ditched him," he says.

She snorts. "Dylan! Did you seriously just leave?"

"Uh, yeah, he's creepy," he says.

"Touche."

He smiles at her. She blushes and looks away, and then someone approaches their table. They both look up, and see Ronin Kahn standing in the walkway. He stands roughly seven feet tall, making him taller than even Dylan. The man named Ronin Kahn stands in the center of the walkway in the cafeteria. He looks between the two of them, and then a dark smile forms on his face.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here, hmm?" He steps forward and places his hand on the table between him and Dylan and Autumn.

"Uh, are you okay, sir?" asks Autumn.

Dylan watches the man turn red with anger. He looks between them, and again, that smile twists his face. But when he does speak, what he says surprised Dylan.

"Did you two know that vampires can feed off each other? Yes, in a pinch, a vampire may cut themselves open and feed another vampire. But I guess you two already knew that, didn't you?"

Autumn gapes up at him. "Uh, what?"

"Don't play dumb with me, girl," he snarls.

"I'm not? I'm literally asking?" Autumn says.

He sighs. "Nothing you two can say or do will get you out of this, you know that, right? You two have fed each other, or at least, one of you fed from the other at one point. Don't deny it. You two have each other's scents locked together on your bodies."

"I didn't realize you're such an expert on us," Dylan snaps.

"Dear Dylan. Poor Dylan. You know, I was once like you. I had dreams. I had a lover. And then, one day, it all fell apart. And as I lay there, broken and bleeding, I thought to myself of the time when I was whole, and then I made a vow to myself. You know what that  vow was? It was one where I chose myself over others. It was then that I decided I'd cross oceans that had never been crossed before. I would go across time itself to see this .... "

It is then that Dylan realizes this is a trap. He's trying to lure them into a trap.

"I am waiting to see what will happen when I use the magic flowing through the veins of beings like you. I want to see what will happen when you use your power to help fulfill my destiny."

Dylan looks at Autumn, who is looking at him nervously. Dylan looks back at Ronin Kahn, who is still bloviating about his destiny. He wants to bring his daughter back from the dead, so he is seeking powerful beings. Beings like Dylan and Autumn.

Dylan stands up and so does Autumn. Ronin looks at the two of them, both of them looking nervous, their gazes darting between Ronin and their friend.

"You want to revive someone? My power is not able to do that! I am able to control shadows."

"And I control ice," Dylan says. "We can't help you. Sorry. We will be going."

"Is there a problem?"

Dylan and Autumn start, and turn to see one of the men who brought them here, named Yuri, standing before them, his bright blue eyes focused on them. Yuri looks between the three of them, and Ronin speaks up.

"These two won't help me get Mariah back," he says.

Yuri looks at them and shakes his head. "Perhaps you should. You never know what you might see when you do."

Dylan takes Autumn's hand. He glares at the two men and guides Autumn out of the room and into the halls that lead to the outside world.