Rogue Vampire (2)

(General POV)

Naturally, the result of their...activities landed the three boys a stern scolding from the Chief of Police. The punishment was not severe - to their surprise.

Other than giving them a warning, Charlie only ordered them to clean up their mess and reflect on their actions - eyeing Alan in particular whom he guessed to be the mastermind of the whole antic. (The other two wouldn't dare pull off such things within his home otherwise).

Jacob received a scolding as well, despite being completely innocent in the matter.

He didn't forget to send a scathing glare at his friend who feigned innocence.

After the mess was cleaned, Jacob included, the two younger ones were sent home and Alan was left to suffer a lecture from his foster parent.

The lecture was anything but wonderful however, Alan did feel a tinge of guilt for what he did. Only a tinge though.

From a person who has lived a suffered through the phase of adulthood which consisted of depression, negativity, and self-doubt, it was refreshing to be a child again. Course, Alan wouldn't go too far in his games. This prank was more of a one-off thing...for now.

Jacob was simply too gullible for him not to tease.

****

It was currently 6 PM in the evening.

Being a Thursday, it was basically the no-cook day for Charlie which meant that the two would be eating out at his favourite restaurant called The Lodge.

Stepping out of the house, Alan rolled up the zip of his jacket and glanced at the sky which was slowly turning dark.

He wasn't sure why but something about tonight felt ominous.

"Get in the car. I'll be there shortly," Charlie told him as he went back into the house presumably having forgotten something.

Alan hummed and obediently made his way over to the police vehicle where he took a seat in the shotgun.

Charlie stepped out of the house a few minutes later, closing and locking the door behind him before making his way over to the driver's seat.

Strapping himself in, he plugged the ignition and the two were off to the town.

Alan watched the passing scenery blankly. His mind was off somewhere else, thinking about various things that had absolutely nothing to do with anything.

By the time he snapped out of his reverie, the car had stopped outside a familiar building.

Charlie switched off the ignition and Alan unbuckled himself before climbing out of the vehicle and following the older man into the restaurant.

The staff greeted the duo, far too familiar with their presence, and proceeded to take their orders.

Charlie went with his good old steak and cobbler while Alan opted for a simple burger and fries.

Knowing the food would take a while to come, Alan asked Charlie for permission to walk around a bit, feeling a little stuffy in the restaurant.

"Sure but don't go too far," was the reply he received.

Relieved, Alan thanked the man before quickly disappearing outside the door.

****

It was cold.

The night air in Forks always was.

Breathing out, Alan secretly used his bending to warm up as his body as he leisurely walked around the area.

The street was quite empty with there being little to no pedestrians or cars on the road. So the walk was filled with silence. Peaceful silence.

It was nice to take quiet walks like this once in a while. It made Alan feel a sense of relief and contentedness, allowing him to get lost in his thoughts and reflect on several things.

It's a shame though that this time, his self-reflection was cut short.

Passing a section of the street, Alan suddenly stopped in his tracks, smelling a thick scent of blood. A frown fell upon his features.

The area he was standing in was dark and it was filled with bushes that had spilled over from the unkempt street garden and a dumpster.

His first thought was to ignore it and mind his own business but the nuisance called a conscience mixed with curiosity urged him to go and investigate.

Huffing a little, Alan followed the scent, stepping through the bushes into an unseen area from the road. It was a brief walk from there as he didn't have to go far to find the source of the smell.

Buried under a pile of dry leaves and twigs, lay a corpse that was covered in blood.

His neck sported two bite marks.

His body looked incredibly skinny and there were wounds and marks covering his entire body.

In short, it looked downright terrifying.

Swallowing back the rising bile in his throat, Alan closed his eyes.

'Welp. Looks like I won't be sleeping for a while.'

****

"The time of death couldn't be more than a couple of hours ago," said the forensic pathologist examining the body.

"And what about the cause of death?" Charlie asked - a troubled frown etched on his face.

The forensic pathologist hesitated before saying, "I will have to conduct a full autopsy to be sure but for now, it appears that the man was a victim of an animal attack."

Animal attack...

Charlie's face contorted further. Scanning the body, he pointed at the neck and asked, "What about those two bite marks? What kind of animal would've caused those?"

"That is..." the forensic expert was unsure. "It could belong to a snake judging by the size of the marks but I cannot be certain until I have conducted a full autopsy."

"Yes, you've said that already," Charlie muttered with annoyance.

Packing up his equipment, the forensic pathologist apologised, "Look Chief, I really want to tell you but this is something I haven't seen before. I've seen the bodies of victims of animal attacks but none of them was similar to this. This victim...it's like all the blood in his body was removed, causing his organs to stop functioning. And these wounds look like he underwent some form of torture."

His words only caused Charlie more worry. Should the community find out about this...they would definitely panic.

But what he was truly worried about was Alan who accidentally stumbled across the corpse.

Of all people...it had to be a 12-year-old child who found it.

If this caused him to develop trauma, Charlie would honestly have no idea what to do. Part of him would blame himself.

"I should probably go and check on him," the man muttered.

After watching the body get bagged, he told his colleagues to go ahead to the station while he took Alan back home.

Thinking about that boy, Charlie released another sigh.

****

A/N: Only like two more chapters before the end of the Childhood arc.