ʏᴇʟʟᴏᴡ ∆ ᴄᴀᴇsᴀʀ ᴢᴇᴘᴘᴇʟɪ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ∆

∆ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ-sɪx∆

Warning: possible trigger warnings, slight gore

“Why are there so many people in New York?” Caesar asked under his breath, as I grabbed his shirt and pulled him back to avoid being hit by a cab. Again.

“Not used to big cities, farm boy?” I chuckled, giving a friendly smile to the driver who finally let us cross the street. I grabbed Caesar by his hand and drug him behind me as we jogged across the crowded roads.

“No,” He huffed.

“Well, you’ll have to for as long as you’re staying,” I said, slipping my hands into my pockets. “The city doesn’t get any smaller.”

“With the way things are happening, it will,” He said, glancing down at me. I frowned. I knew he was talking about the vampires lurking around. “Anything new?”

“I haven’t heard back from Mark, the man I’m going to Italy with yet, and it’s starting to worry me,” I said.

“What do you mean?” He asked. “He’s the head surgeon, isn’t he? He’s probably just busy.”

“I don’t know,” I muttered. “He hasn’t been to work either. I’m supposed to cover his ER shift tonight.”

“Do you know his phone number?” He asked, nodding towards a payphone.

“I do, actually,” I said. Caesar leaned against the side of the box as I picked the phone up, added a nickel, and dialed the number from the top of my head.

“Nothing?” He asked as I placed the phone back onto the receiver. I shook my head, biting my lip in thought.

“It’s starting to worry me, Caesar,” I said, flicking my eyes to him. “He was deep into this.”

“Well,” He said, pushing off the metal box. “Then let’s look for him. We’ll start at the hospital you work for.”

…

“Emily!” I called, flagging the red-headed nurse down. She paused her steps and turned towards me, tucking a clipboard under her arm.

“What’s up? Thought you weren’t working today?” She asked, her eyes traveling behind me to Caesar, who had his back leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets as he waited. “Who’s that?”

“He’s a friend,” I said. “Have you seen or heard anything from Dr. Malendez?”

“He called a few days ago and told us he wasn’t going to be able to come in for the next few weeks. Said it was a family emergency,” She said. I nodded and fiddled with my bracelet anxiously. “Is something wrong, Y/n?”

“No. Thank you, Emily. I’ll let you get back to work,” I said. She nodded as a goodbye and walked away. I motioned Caesar over as I walked to the nurse’s station.

“So?” He asked.

“Nothing,” I sighed, pulling open a file cabinet labeled ‘DOCS + NURSE’ and shifted through the files. Finding the correct one, I pulled it out and opened it before grabbing a pen and writing an address down. I quickly replaced it and shut the cabinet again. “But, I’m taking a trip to his residence. Are you coming?”

“And let you go by yourself? You’re nuts, cara,” He grinned. “Let’s go.”

After hailing a cab outside, and a twenty-five minute drive, we arrived at Mark’s home. I watched as the yellow cab drove off before turning to face the home. I went to take a step forward, but Caesar held his arm out, stopping me from moving. I looked at him in confusion, but he jerked his head in the direction of the house. I followed his gaze and saw the curtains shifting and resettling into the original positions. I glanced around, seeing that each curtain was pulled shut, the blinds pulled down tightly. Caesar glanced at me with a frown to which I returned.