Victor's nights had been sleepless. He lay tossing and turning beside Nigel, unable to rest despite his best efforts. He'd tried things like melatonin, but nothing ever seemed to work. It had progressively gotten worse since he'd almost bitten Nigel on the beach, and he could hardly deny what he was any longer. Every night he went without a taste of blood, the worse he felt. Victor's mouth ached and despite eating meat and whatever else he could stomach, he was still hungry. Even when he did get to sleep, it was uncomfortable, sweaty, and he woke up feeling more exhausted than what he started.
He dreamed of the taste of blood, not being hungry, and flesh giving way beneath his teeth. Victor had been too afraid to attack anybody, mostly coping by trying to deny the loss of his humanity, but at this point there was no more turning a blind eye to what he was.
It was Saturday night. Nigel, Bishop, and Victor had decided to hit the boardwalk for an evening, sans Keenan, as he was involved with some sort of rich people party the three of them didn't care for. Some sort of Antioch publicity thing, no doubt.
The scent of fried food hung in the air and intermingled with that of the saltiness of the sea. Live music wormed its way through the sound of the crowd. Victor could hear it all, and it was bordering on a bit too much. The three of them walked down the boardwalk, when Nigel suddenly stopped.
"Oh my God, Vicky! Look at that!"
Victor and Bishop stopped with him and looked where he was pointing, which was at one of the games that packed the edges of the boardwalk. Nigel was particularly interested in a big stuffed dragon, which was blocked only by having to land three rings on a bottle. Victor clicked his tongue and slipped his hands for his pockets.
"You want me to win that for you?" he asked. Nigel's face lit up even more and he nodded excitedly.
"Now I've got to see this." Bishop chimed in. The trio walked up to the game counter and Victor pulled the wallet from his pocket, handing the game attendant a five.
"Three rings." he said, then carefully eyed the bottles and the other people that were throwing them fruitlessly. Victor took a deep breath and shut one of his eyes, taking careful aim and tossing the first ring, which caught on the first bottle without a hitch. He looked back at Bishop and Nigel, who both gave him a thumbs up, then turned back and tossed his second ring. It landed on the next bottle.
"Just one more!" he heard Nigel say. Victor shook himself out and took another breath. He tossed the ring, but grumbled when he saw it bounce off the bottle and land on the ground.
"Aw, that's too bad." Bishop said shaking his head a bit. "Come on, let's go get us some chili dogs!"
Victor didn't budge from his spot, looking back up at the dragon, handing another five to the game attendant.
"I'm trying again."
Bishop and Nigel exchanged a glance, but stood to watch anyway.
"He's always impressed me with his determination." Bishop said quietly. He was invested now. Nigel nodded. Victor tossed the first ring and it landed on the bottle. He tossed the second ring and it did the same.
"Come on, Victor! Do it!" Bishop called.
"Yeah, I'm hungry!" Nigel chimed in.
Victor looked at the last ring in his hand and then at the final bottle. He knew Nigel wouldn't really care if he lost again, but damn it, if he didn't get that dragon, he'd never let himself live it down. This time, Victor shut both eyes and tossed the ring.
"You did it!" he heard Nigel say as he grabbed his shoulder. Victor opened his eyes and saw the third bottle with the ring around its neck.
"Huh. Didn't expect that to actually work." Bishop said to nobody in particular. Victor took the stuffed dragon from the game attendant and proudly handed it to Nigel. The three of them stepped away from the ring toss game to get their bearings. The sound of a saxophone from the live stage down the boardwalk rose over the crowd and sea. Victor frowned a bit.
