As Keith ran up the stairs, he quickly ran into Sandra. The poor girl looked terrified out of her wits, but thankfully, she wasn't hurt.

He hesitated as he looked at the hallway.

It was just like the one in the dream... He shuddered. He normally didn't believe in premonitions or any of that other bullshit, but this was a little too close for his liking. Trying to distract himself, he asked, "Hey, are you okay?"

She nodded, before she continued her flight down the stairs. Keith, meanwhile, continued upwards.

Opening the bedroom door, Bill was in the moth-eaten bed, the old curtains shut tight. The smell of blood in the air. Slowly but surely, Keith stepped towards the bed. His hands shook a little as he reached for the heavy blanket.

The creak of that one floorboard that always must creak emphasized his action as he tore the blankets off with some struggle.

The color drained from Keith's face as he started to back off. He quickly ran out of the room, the slam of the old door echoing through the halls.

It was only then that Bill roused, his feet barely touching the ground as he neatly covered the bloody sheets with the heavy blanket. Same with the bloodied sacks and his bloody clothes.

Bill was too far gone now.

Keith didn't know what to do now, but with the sun soon to rise, maybe he should just grab Charlie and Little Mick and run. Brian could maybe keep Bill and Mick in check until the next night, and it would be preferable to staying here with at least three, maybe four vampires. But the thing that worried him was Mick's change in personality.

Sure, Mick could definitely be abrasive, but the complete coldness towards his fellow man was new. Same with the callousness that Mick had towards Little Mick. Sure, he maybe wasn't much of a presence on stage, but neither was Bill.

Was Little Mick suddenly reminding Mick of Brian? Was that the issue? Or does becoming a vampire alter your personality?

Maybe he could ask Brian about the last one. He seemed a bit more mature than the last time they'd seen each other, but that could also be chalked up by three years of being forced to live through whatever he'd been through.

Keith just had to roll his eyes at his luck. He still couldn't forgive Brian for his behavior towards Anita, and yet Brian might be the only reason any of them came out of this alive.

Just great.

There was scratching on the old door, Keith stiffened up. He could feel his already fast heartbeat grow even faster as the claws scratched through the wood. Slowly, he turned his head around. He could see a pale face with blood streaked on its face. Looking at the huge curtains, Keith raced towards them. Something was scratching at his legs, it was Bill. His eyes were blood red but he couldn't tell if it was a vampire thing or why Bill was still-

Keith screamed as Bill dug into his leg, he should've spent more time opening the curtains then monologuing in his head.

Still, at least they were his claws and not his teeth.

Keith kicked the vampire away, the pain in his leg be damned. Bill licked the blood on his claws, he then gagged. Keith couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. "What? Am I too full of drugs even for you?" He said as the curtains were opened.

Bill let out a feral whimper, rushing off from the sunlight on pure instinct.

"Thanks Charlie."

"I'm not Charlie." Sandra said. After a few moments, she asked, "Will he be alright?"

"I don't know. I'm hoping he will be."

"Are you okay?"

"It's just a scratch, I think. I don't taste nice to vampires"

She gave him a brief blank stare.

"Give me a moment." Keith said, heading to the sunlight to just take in everything. He couldn't just laugh this off. This was huge. The supernatural existed, his friends were turned in different ways, Brian was alive, Dracula. He needed a smoke and fast.

He couldn't think straight, he was tired. What should he do? Ideally, he could just go to the hospital and spend the day with Anita and his kids, knowing his time as a human might be running out. Yeah, he needed to rest and plan.

But he also didn't want to leave Mick and Bill behind either.

While he headed downstairs, Little Mick was sleeping roughly on the couch, which was now lumpier and more hole-ridden, however in the armchair was Brian. Watching diligently over his replacement. Keef looked on suspiciously. A part of him felt that if Brian wanted Little Mick out of the way, he wouldn't have prevented Mick from biting the young guitarist earlier. Even so, Keith couldn't read Brian's expression? Longing? Regret? Disdain?

It was hard to say. He rarely remembered Brian giving anything more than a scowl.

Finally, Brian turned his head around. His expression grew worried when he saw the wounds on Keith's leg.

"Are you okay?"

A part of Keith wanted to admit that no, he wasn't okay. Not after what happened to Mick and Bill. Still, trying to be strong, he nodded. "I'll be fine. Nothing a trip to the hospital won't fix."

Brian nodded, "What about the others?"

"Well, hopefully they'll be able to come with me. I don't trust them with Mick and Bill right now. Especially not Bill. That bastard's gone feral."

"And he was behind the leg wound, I take it?"

Keith nodded. "Why is it that Mick's gone sociopathic, and Bill's feral, and you're still... relatively normal? Is it just because you've been a vampire longer?"

Brian shook his head, watching Charlie walk in.

"No, being a vampire brings the worst out of some people. Dracula only named himself after Vlad the Impaler. Although I think that title would fit Mick."

Keith froze up. "So Bill could be like that forever?!"

Brian nodded. "Which means that killing Dracula is imperative if we want to save them."

"What will happen to you?" Charlie asked.

"Oh I'll still be a vampire, since I wasn't the one who turned Mick. But if pointy fangs isn't killed in two more days, Mick will be that cold hearted bitch forever and if you want Bill back after that, you have a day to kill Mick."

Keith's blood ran cold. ...Already, he couldn't stand the thought of putting a stake in his best friend's heart. "Then let's do it. ...You don't happen to know where that bastard is, do you?"

"If you want Mick, he's probably replacing me. If you want Bill-" A screech suddenly echoed in the halls around the third floor. "...He's probably being a feral bastard pet for Mick and if you want me...I'm happy to help."

Keith nodded. It wasn't ideal, but it was better than having no help at all.

"Right. Just let me get patched up first. Then we'll figure out a plan."

—-

Mick was waiting. For what exactly, he didn't know, but he certainly wasn't expecting to see a sunburnt Bill crawling into the room. He was still whimpering like an injured dog.

Bill looked at Mick. His shirt was now starting to run ragged. Mick had to admit, he didn't expect his pet to be so feral.

It was honestly kind of entertaining. Mick took a drag from a fine cigarette, he blew it at Bill's face.

Of course, none of that would matter if Bill's injuries didn't heal. His sunburns didn't heal though.

"..Now what am I going to do with you?" he asked half mockingly.

Bill was close to tears by that point. Finally, Mick caved and gave him more animal blood. As Bill greedily lapped it up, the burns started to heal, although his mind remained... missing, for lack of a better term. His first drink was animal blood after all.

Mick decided that whoever he turned next, he would try giving them human blood instead. Having one feral pet is enough for him.

"I see you have adjusted well to being a vampire." An familiar American voice said.

"Hey, I learn fast. You've chosen a perfect man to turn," Mick drawled, giving this stranger a smirk.

"It seems my butler and my blood bag have betrayed me."

"Well, what do you expect from a mere human girl and a man I fired for being unreliable?"

Bill looked up at the man, his red eyes in comparison to Mick's pure black making the man's expression grow dour.

"This is not going to help my plan, he needs human blood."

"I already figured that out, I didn't go feral you American git." Mick snipped, grabbing a red lined cape from the orate closet.

Evan let that slide for now.

"I know where your ex-friends are going."

"If it's outside then what's the point? It hurts to be outside..."

"No, somewhere where I'm surprised many lesser beings refuse to go."

Mick raised an eyebrow. "Okay, you've got my attention."

"They're going to the hospital."

Mick smiled. Hospitals meant blood and lots of it.

"I'll send my pet, he'll be useful to your plan after he bleeds that place dry."

"As much as I like the idea, we do need to remain somewhat lowkey. Humans mustn't become too aware of our existence. Your friend is enough of a nuisance already."

"Which one? They are all annoying little bugs."

"The drug addict. The one that your pet couldn't drain."

"Oh... him, I know how to get to him...through his friends."

The American smirked. "I had a feeling you would say that.

—-

Brian got a shiver up his spine as he became a bat and was covered in a blanket, not from the cold, but from the fact that he sensed that something was about to go down.