“Buramog…” Jared whispered, still staring at Aldrin who had a bolt sticking out of the side of his head while blood pooled underneath him. Worst of all, the blood wasn’t normal by any means. It was a deeper shade of crimson, not quite black yet, but in the little light, it could pass.

  “Yes…?” Buramog answered, afraid to move in fear of Aldrin rising back up and latching onto the first thing that breathed life.

  “Get up slowly, please.” Jared said, rising slowly himself as he desperately tried to squeeze himself out of the booth next to a still slack-jawed, stunned Kron.

  Buramog needed no further prodding as he extracted himself from the sticky, dark crimson blood and the unmoving body of Aldrin.

  “W-Who did that?!” Kron lost his composure once his brain caught up. He glared at his crew, his eyes scanning to find the culprit, but none stepped forward as all their eyes averted his. “B-Bring them to me and I’ll give you 15 silver!” Kron shouted, and that got them moving.

  Soon, like a bird regurgitating for its young, the crew pushed forth a stumbling Human. Kron stood in front of the man who only gaped up at him. The tavern was deathly quiet, and when the first wet squelch, all eyes turned to see that the bolt which had embedded itself into Aldrin’s head had been pushed out and fell to the ground, clattering against the wood with a metallic ringing.

  Kron's eyes grew wide in mounting horror as he watched as the dark crimson blood slowly receded back into the hole. “That’s not right…” Kron heard one of his crew mutter, then there was a wet pop and the dark crimson blood rushed back into Aldrin’s body.

  At first, there was nothing, as everyone waited with bated breath. There was something macabre about it all that kept them rooted in place. That was until Aldrin twitched, eliciting sharp gasps and a lonesome scream. A few even had the frame of mind to bolt for the door without so much as a look back.

  In that moment, Jared felt through the Servant Bond he shared with Aldrin and flinched away. There was nothing there. Nothing but hunger. “Guys, we have a problem!” he shot through the linked hive mind.

  “Wh-“ Pierre answered first, followed by a wave of confusion before it was replaced by terror. “What the hell happened?! I’m on my way!”

  “Don’t let him out of your sight, but be careful!!” Evie responded just as urgently.

  Still, Jared watched with wide eyes when Aldrin opened his, and instead of the usual green; they were red, and they held no intelligence within them. His usually bronzed skin turned grey. Long, bat-like ears grew from the sides of his head, peeking out from his now white, shoulder-length hair. His face became more monstrous, revealing what lay beneath the surface. Fangs jutted from his mouth as he snarled. Jared recognized that some part of Aldrin was trying to wrest control back from the way he clawed at the table desperately trying to restrain himself. It was a losing battle, and soon whatever control Aldrin prided himself on would be no more.

  To make matters worse, a second bolt struck Aldrin’s shoulder from the same Human as before, who was hyperventilating and uncontrollably shaking. Kron slashed with his cutlass in the blink of an eye, beheading the man before anyone knew what happened. Unfortunately, that had the unintended effect when Aldrin ripped the bolt free from his shoulder and lunged. Jared quickly glanced at Aldrin, used Inspect on him, and horror filled him.

  “Oh shit…” Jared whispered.

  Jared didn’t know what was worse. The fact that Aldrin was now labeled as feral, or when Aldrin’s gaze snapped to Kron who had taken a step back, changing his trajectory with ease. Without thinking, Jared interposed himself between Kron and a feral Aldrin.

  It was meaningless when Aldrin backhanded Jared, sending him reeling into the nearby wall. The blow didn’t discourage Jared, but when he stood back up, the bravest of the pirates had encircled Aldrin, who lunged and struck like a wild animal. Albeit, in this moment, he was nothing less but one. Still, more fled at the ghastly sight of a Vampire. Jared wasn’t ignorant knowing a few would have also used Inspect on Aldrin and saw what he saw.

  Jared looked around, and among those who fled, Kron was one of them. It left a sour taste in his mouth, but he didn’t expect everyone to be brave enough to fight a Vampire Progenitor who had turned feral. Regardless, he still glanced around until he found who he needed. “Buramog! Get the fuck outta here! It’s too dangerous for you!” he called to the Orc who still had on his dark blue Runed Iron armor.

  The burly Orc huffed once, then pushed his way towards Jared and threw him over his shoulder. “Wait! What are you doing? I need to stay!” Jared pleaded until he saw blood drip down the side of his head. He reached up and felt the stickiness as his hand came back slick with his own blood.

  “Aldrin is not who that is anymore! Only his hunger!” Buramog shouted back as the battle soon turned into a one-sided brawl with the screams of the dying against Aldrin’s bestial roars. Jared tried to get a good look above the heads of the pirates, but being jostled around as Buramog pushed his way through only gave him a glimpse, and he already saw at least three dead and Aldrin’s mouth drenched in their blood.

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  “We… we can’t leave him..” Jared tried to say, but black spots danced in his vision. “H-he…” He mumbled before darkness encroached him.

  Muffled voices stirred Jared to consciousness until he remembered what happened. “Aldrin!” he awoke in a panic, but a firm hand pushed him back down. He looked at the hand, following up the tattered and bloody sleeve that belonged to Pierre.

  “Easy there,” Pierre rasped, but Jared could see that it pained him to speak. “We are safe for now, but there’s no telling how long that will last.”

  “Where’s Buramog?” Jared asked, wincing from his throbbing head. He noticed that they were hunkered down inside a boarded up shop amid other fearful survivors who glanced in his direction.

  Pierre’s mouth set into a grimace. “We got separated. Evie went back out there to find him. Hopefully Aldrin and his ghouls don’t find them first.”

  Jared shot up again at the mention of Aldrin. “Where is Aldrin! Pierre! We-“

  Pierre placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “We know… but neither of us are in the position to go against Aldrin right now. Even if we are protected,” Pierre whispered the last part. “What I want to know is what happened?”

  So Jared told him about the tavern and what led to it. “It all happened so fast and when I looked into the bond… he- he wasn’t there anymore, Pierre…” Jared looked down, feeling helpless again as he did when the Giants forced him to fight against his classmates when they first appeared on Grenora.

  Pierre sighed heavily. “That explains why the ghouls started attacking people and dragging them away.”

  “Where is he?” Jared asked, looking up to see Pierre averting his gaze.

  “He held himself up in the tavern surrounded by his ghouls that brought him people. Worst of all, one out of three people that go in come back out as ghouls. I’ve tried to reach Aldrin through the bond, but like you said… he just isn’t there anymore.” Pierre said, running a hand through his disheveled blue-black hair. “There were some Adventurers that went to tackle the would-be holdout, but that was two hours ago. There is no telling what happened, and once Evie and I realized things were going to get out of hand, we warned people to get to safety indoors. Granted, I doubt it would do much, but it would be better than being caught in the open like most have been.”

  Jared took one more glance around, this time focusing on the fearful looks that had glossed over the people who didn’t have a combat-oriented class. There were at least thirty all crammed into the store space. “How long was I out for?” he asked once he settled back down.

  It was Pierre’s turn to look away in shame. “Longer than I care to admit. I haven’t had time to really level my Alchemist profession, so my Health Potions aren’t nearly as potent as I need them to be, but they are good enough to slowly heal major injuries now. Life-threatening, not so much.”

  “What are we going to do then…?” Jared asked.

  “The best we can do right now is wait for Evie, then make a break for Emir,” Pierre replied.

  Jared took another cursory glance around. “What about them?” he whispered, not wanting to cause anymore panic.

  “What about them?” Pierre asked. “As long as they stay here, they will be fine until we can figure out what to do with Aldrin.”

  Jared frowned. “Pierre,” he said more forcefully than intended. “We can’t just leave them here. What if the ghouls start breaking into buildings?”

  Pierre wanted to argue but thought better of it, knowing it was a very strong possibility. “Look, I know you have a bleeding heart, but we can’t help anybody with what we are up against. It’s still daytime, so they have a chance.”

  “A chance? A chance to what? Run? Pierre!” Jared hissed. “We-”

  Pierre silenced Jared with a glare. “It will be worse if we do not get a handle on this before nightfall. There is no telling when the other gangs will get word of this. What will happen then? Skarra is still out there, and even though I knew letting her escape was a bad idea, she did, and once she knows what’s going on here, she will come with this world’s version of pitchforks and torches. We can’t afford-”

  “You know what’s happening out there…?” someone asked, fearful that being too loud would attract the ghouls. From the looks of him, he was just a simple merchant, a fishing merchant at that, from the smell of the sea and rotten fish. Panicked, deep-set grey eyes and a weathered face from being out at sea made him look older than he probably was. The straw hat he wore looked like it was on its last legs as well.

  “We don’t,” Pierre said before Jared could answer.

  “But I just-” the fisherman started.

  “You heard nothing. We are clueless just as you,” Pierre said, grabbing Jared by the arm and dragging him up.

  “Wait!” the fisherman said, gathering the attention of the others who saw Jared and Pierre stand up. “They know a safer place than here!” the fisherman shouted, and the others clamored to their feet, asking questions that Pierre could answer but didn’t.

  “Take us with you!” Another merchant said who wore a bloodied white apron. Pierre and Jared didn’t know if it was blood from another or an animal, but neither wanted to ask from the haunted look that was in the man’s gaze.

  Soon, everyone crowded Pierre and Jared, cutting off their exit to the boarded up door. Their voices rising amid the panic and blossoming hope. Pierre tried to keep them quiet, but it was no use, as the need for survival and safety came to the forefront of their minds, forgoing any notion of being quiet. That was until there was a heavy thud on the roof that knocked dust from the rafters above them, forcing them all to be quiet. Jared and Pierre looked at one another with grim expressions.

  There were sniffing grunts along with little taps that danced on the roof. “Oh, gods…they found us…” a woman whispered, tears already brimming her eyes as her hands shot to her mouth. Not a moment later she started murmuring prayers, sinking to her knees as she did so.

  “Everyone!” Pierre hissed. “Shut up and don’t move!”

  The ghoul on the roof howled, and soon more heavy thumps landed atop the building, earning a few whimpers from the women and weak-hearted men. Jared looked at Pierre, giving him a sharp nod as he took out his bow, nocking a fire-attuned arrow from his Arcane Archer class. Pierre subtly shook his head as more thumps thudded on the roof, making it creak and groan in protest. Before long, the roof collapsed inwards, spilling the ghouls inside.