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Things were worse than this morning. Sebastien stared through his car's windshield from the space he'd parked and watched the people making their way up and down the street. Most of them were coughing—some worse than others—and an ambulance was waiting outside a townhouse just down the road from him. He watched the paramedics carry someone out on a stretcher, and the weeping, grieving family followed them.

          It made him think of Clementine. All the sick people; the families crying over their lost loved ones. This was the kind of thing that afflicted Clementine's village, wasn't it? The poisoned air made one person sick, then it spread to two, three, four other people...and before the week was out, everyone was infected.

          How long would it be until Alderon was wiped off the map, too?

          Sebastien sighed quietly and got out of his car. He followed the sidewalk to the end of the street and crossed the road. Between a bakery and a record shop was the only library his loop of the town helped him find. It was an old, converted townhouse with a shop sign hanging over the door with several small stained-glass windows and a cat flap.

          The large windows on either side of the door displayed a different selection of books: fiction on the left and non-fiction on the right. Sebastien eyed the non-fiction window; there were several spell books and grimoires, as well as science-theory and alchemy-theory, too. Maybe this place would have what he needed.

          He headed inside, and when the door opened and closed, the bell above it chimed loudly. The old librarian behind the register glanced over at him, and when he headed into the non-fiction section, she went back to whatever she was doing.

          Sebastien located the science-theory shelf. There were several huge leather-sleeved books, but he couldn't see anything that might cover corpse-reanimating diseases.

          With a quiet sigh, he eyed each book; he felt hopeful when he found a medical journal filled with studies on illness in ethos beings, but once again, there was nothing about corpses being able to run around.

          He put the journal back and moved around to the other side of the shelf—

          "Oh," someone gasped.

          Sebastien stared at a blonde-haired guy who could be no older than he was; he stood just a few feet in front of him, and in his hands were three thick, old books. But when he took a moment to read their spines, Sebastien saw they were medicine study and alchemic grimoires.

          And then he looked at the boy's face. It was a little stubbly and there were shadows under his eyes...his light blue eyes. Sebastien was struck with dismay; he knew this human wasn't Clementine despite looking quite like him, but a part of him seemed to hope that it might be the boy he loved.

          But it wasn't. It was just some random guy in a bookstore.

          A random guy carrying the sort of books he was looking for.

          "What are you—"

          "What are you doing with those?" Sebastien interjected, and he wasn't even sorry he cut the guy off.

          "Uh...these?" he asked, looking down at the books in his arms.

          "Yeah."

          He shrugged and was clearly trying to hide a guilty expression. "Nothing, really. Just exams, you know."

          "Uh-huh...."

          "I, uh...haven't seen you around be—"

         "It's a little coincidental that there's a sickness going around this place and you're taking out the books that might help someone find out what's going on," Sebastien interrupted again, crossing his arms.

          The guy's face went a little red. "Oh, uh...really?" he laughed nervously.

          This dude was a terrible liar. Sebastien held his hand out. "Give."

          That was when a frown struck the guy's face. "What?"

          "Give," he said firmly, taking a step closer.

          The guy's frown became a scowl as he backed off and held the books against his chest like they were an infant. "No, they're mine. I found them first."

          "Which is unfortunate for you, because now I want them, and if you don't hand them over, I'll have to take them."

          With a nervous flinch, the boy gawped at Sebastien. He was obviously trying to work out what he was going to do—the fact his eyes were darting all over the place made it clear. But then...he looked down at the books, glanced at Sebastien...and darted towards the exit.

          Was he seriously running? Sebastien grunted irritably and chased after him. He raced through the narrow space between the bookshelves, and when he heard the door's entry bell chime, he scowled and hurried towards the exit.

          He caught the door just as it was about to close, and when he got onto the street, he looked left and right—there he was. Sebastien sprinted right up the street, which wasn't too busy, so at least he didn't have to swerve through coughing people.

          The guy turned left at the end of the road, and once Sebastien was on the same street, he sped up, running much faster than him, and just the guy reached the door to an apartment complex, Sebastien crashed into him. Before the guy could scream, he held one hand over the guy's mouth and used the other to swiftly pull him into a nearby alley. And despite the fact he'd been caught and dragged away, he was still clutching those books like they were more important than his life.

          Sebastien snarled as he pinned the guy against the grimy wall and glared at his horrified face. "You shouldn't have run, kid."

          With a petrified whimper, the kid trembled and shook his head. He said something, but his voice was muffled against Sebastien's hand.

          "Give," Sebastien growled as he let go of the kid's collar and snatched the books from him. Then, he bared his fangs, ensuring the kid knew that if he screamed, he'd be dead in an instant. "You're gonna answer my questions like a good little human, aren't you?"

          The kid nodded frantically as sweat dripped down the side of his pale face.

          Sebastien slowly moved his hand from over his mouth and gripped his shirt. "What were you planning to do with these books?"

          "I-I...I was just—"

          "Don't lie," he warned, glancing down at the guy's chest. "I'll know."

          He gulped and shivered. "W-well...the doctors, they...they can't figure out what's going on, r-right? They're all hung up on like...flu and stuff from the war. That thing that rots you away in months. Uh...cogno something—"

          "Colligo-interitus."

          "Yeah, that."

          "It's not colligo-interitus," he grumbled. He knew too well what that sickness looked like...and what he'd seen in Alder Estate wasn't the result of the illness that killed his mate.

          "Y-yeah, I...kinda figured that. But the doctors here can't seem to drop it. They're even ordering in the meds to stop the progression of it, 'cause they're so sure that it's that."

          "But you're not. Why?"

          "Because...well, you won't believe me," he muttered with a pout.

          "Try me."

          The guy stared at him for a moment—like he was deciding what to do—and then he shrugged. "I've been out into the woods. I've...seen things."

          "Define 'things.'"

          An unsettled expression sat on his face as he leaned a little closer and whispered, "Dead things. Things that look like they've crawled out of a cemetery."

          So, Sebastien wasn't the only one who'd seen undead racoons. Still, he wanted more information, so he was going to play dumb. "Like what? Fiends?"

          "Worse. Walking corpses."

          "Like necromancy?"

          "N-no—well...maybe. Except I haven't seen a necromancer. Just the dead things roaming around the woods."

          "What kind of things?"

          "At first, it was like...rabbits and squirrels, but then I saw a deer. It was rotting," he explained as he frowned in disgust. "Its...insides were dangling through its ribcage and dragging along the ground. And then its eyes." He shivered and grunted. "They were red...like a vampire."

          That summed up the racoon he'd found, and after hearing this guy saw an undead deer, Sebastien wondered what else was out there. Could that huge creature he'd seen on his way to the estate be one of them? Was it something undead?

          He couldn't get distracted, though. "So, what are you hoping to find in these books?"

          The kid glanced at the books Sebastien was holding. "Well, when I was in school, I studied a little on medicine and alchemy. I did a little reading into necromancy, too. I thought...well if I could find the answer in these books—if I could find out what was turning dead things into...undead things—then I could put a stop to it and save anyone else from getting sick."

          "Not looking for a cure?"

          "Well...from...what I know, there's only one way to make something undead dead again. Once you're dead...you're dead, yeah?"

          Sebastien didn't know what to say to that. In most laws, that was true, wasn't it? The only exceptions, in this case, were vampires...and Lord Caedis' ability to bring someone back, right?

          Right?

          A feeling of uncertainty began sinking its teeth into him. How exactly would Lord Caedis bring Clementine back? Was he going to turn him into a vampire? Or would he be some hollow, undead corpse with a weak shadowed personality of who Clementine used to be?

          He never looked into that. He never asked. He'd been so desperate to find Lord Caedis and make a deal that he hadn't even taken the time to look for people who'd make a similar exchange. Were there people out there who'd been brought back from the dead via a loved one's deal with the devil? Or was Sebastien's request the first Lord Caedis had received?

          Would Lord Caedis even tell him if he asked? He had to at least try. He'd already made the mistake of not reading the contract properly, and he was sure there were other clauses that could twist this deal into something he didn't want. So, the moment he returned to the estate, he needed to call Lord Caedis and find out what state Clementine would be in when he was brought back.

          "Uh...can I...have my books back n—"

          "No," Sebastien snarled. "I need to find out what this disease is and why it's reanimating corpses and making people sick. Clearly, you know some shit that could be useful, so you're coming with me." He pulled the kid away from the wall—

          "Wait!" he insisted as he tried to pull free. "I don't even know who you are! Let me go!"

          Sebastien growled impatiently and shifted his hand from the guy's shirt to his throat. "Shut up," he snarled, glaring into his horrified eyes. "We want the same thing, and I'll take whatever I can get to help me get this shit done as quickly as possible. I'm sure you feel the same. So, shut the fuck up, stop whining like a little bitch, and come with me."

          The guy frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about? I just had to explain to you what—"

          "I've seen them too—the dead things. I was chasing a racoon until it tripped and came into contact with wolfsbane. It burned up and died."

          "Wolfsbane?" he exclaimed. "Woah, that's...really?"

          Sebastien deadpanned.

          "Wait, so...you're looking into the sickness, too?"

          "That's what I just said. And now that I know you are, you're going to help me."

          The kid shrugged and calmed down. "I'm okay with that. But I need my notes...and my kit...and some other stuff from my apartment."

          Sebastien looked him up and down. He didn't get the vibe that this kid was going to try anything, but he wasn't going to let his guard down. If he did have things in his apartment that would help them get answers, then he'd let him grab them.

          "Fine," he said. "But if you make even the slightest move that I deem as suspicious, I'll pull your heart out through your ass."

          The kid's face contorted into a disgusted frown. "That...doesn't sound very fun for you—"

          "Get moving!"

          "Okay, okay," he said as he scurried out of the alley.

          Sebastien followed, keeping a close eye on him.

          "I'm Caleb, by the way," he said, glancing over at him.

          "I don't care."

          Caleb scoffed as he headed for the door he'd initially tried to escape into. "God, you're a good old bundle of joy, aren't you?"

          Sebastien pointed his claw-tipped finger at Caleb's face. "I said: shut up."

          With a pout on his face, Caleb unlocked the door and headed inside.

          Sebastien followed him in, and as they headed upstairs, he exhaled quietly and focused on making sure this kid didn't try to ditch him. This guy could be exactly what he needed—plus the books in his hand—to get the answers Lord Caedis wanted. If they could somehow work out what this disease was—hell, if they could even find a vaccine or a way to keep it from affecting humans—then Sebastien could go home and be reunited with the love of his life.

          All he had to do was safely get Caleb back to the estate...and ensure he didn't come into contact with anything that should be six feet under. 

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