The Curse of Vecna: Rise of Kas

Just Another Path

Kas fell through the portal, flipping just in time to land on his feet. He looked around, realizing he was in the broken attic of the Creel house in the normal world. Walking to the large split in the front wall, he looked out on a large grassy yard. It was overgrown and a dusty gray that reminded him of the Upside Down. He smirked at the thought of his new world bleeding into this shit hole. Not that he believed in karma, but the fact that the people of Hawkins were being punished for their transgression definitely brought a smile to his face.

He leapt from the attic, landing heavily in the yard. Standing, he took in a deep breath. The place still smelled like cow shit, but there was another scent. One that made his red eyes sparkle and hunger burn in his stomach. There were definitely humans left and his thirst was reaching a fever pitch at the thought of feasting. He stretched his neck to each side, and grinned as he walked towards Hawkins.

Dark gray clouds began to form and seemed to follow Kas as he got ever closer to the scent of his meal. He didn't recognize this house, but there were lights on inside. Kas crept up to the door, paying attention to the five heartbeats he could hear inside. He stood and knocked, footsteps thumping their way to answer.

"Hi...can I he-" Kas' arm shot forward, tearing through the woman's chest and ripping her heart out. Her body hit the floor with a loud thump, alerting the others in the house. Kas bit into the woman's heart and drank deeply as the rest of the humans inside came running to the entryway. The last thing they all saw was a man with impossibly sharp teeth and blood running down his chin, smiling.

******

Kas left the house a while later, using a cloth stolen from inside to wipe some of the blood off his face and hands. He didn't want to have a poor grip on his sword if he came into contact with a real adversary. Walking down to the street he noticed a street sign and more memories came flooding back to him. The Wheeler's lived down that street. The smile came back to his face. Time to visit Nancy's family for dinner.

Kas was feeling better than he had in ages. Human blood had improved his senses and he felt so much stronger. He could have made it to the Wheeler's in a split second, but he enjoyed taking his time. There definitely weren't many people left, though. The roads were surprisingly dead so Kas found himself cheerfully walking down the center of the road.

The Wheeler's house was also lit up, several heartbeats pounding in Kas' ears. His smile widened and he licked his fangs. His ears perked up when he heard a voice. That was definitely Nancy. What a lovely turn of events, Kas thought as he quietly approached their front door and knocked. A man opened the door, Kas assumed he was Nancy's father. He decided to not kill him immediately, it would be much more satisfying to see Nancy's face while he slaughtered her family in front of her.

"Um can I help you?" The man looked Kas up and down, clearly concerned about how he looked.

"I think you can. I was hoping to surprise Nancy. I'm an old friend." The man's brows furrowed.

"You look familiar. What's your name, son?" Kas gave the man a big smile, flashing his fangs.

"Could you let her know Eddie's here?" Nancy's father didn't move for a second, like he was trying to figure out where he knew that name from, but he eventually gave up.

"Nance! You have a visitor." The man shouted behind him. He turned back to Kas. "I suppose you could come in, but I'll ask you to stay in the entryway to wait for Nancy. Is that a sword on your back?"

"Oh yes it is, Mr. Wheeler!" Kas smiled again. The man gave Kas a weird look and walked back into the living room just as Nancy came running down the stairs.

"Who is it, Dad?" She looked up and almost tripped down the last few stairs when she saw Kas. "Eddie?!"

"Hello, Nancy." Kas growled out through gritted teeth. "I'd prefer you referred to me as Kas, though. I see you're doing well."