THOSE BENEATH THE BLOOD RED SKY - The Vampire Chronicles AU

Untitled Part 1

A destroyed fence and some cows torn to bloody, tattered shreds was all that Danny Molloy saw when he closed his eyes. Somehow, he had hoped that the slaughter outside his window would go away if he prayed it away enough. His father was absolutely furious, insinuating that some form of wolf or coyote had gotten into the field, and that it was his son's fault for not closing the gate.

But Danny knew otherwise.

Sure, he'd heard the snarling fang-bearing creatures outside, and he knew that these animals had been torn apart by other animals, but he knew that he closed the gate. This time it wasn't his fault, and he knew that. The blistering heat of the sun was thankfully keeping him inside for most of today, rather than being in his father's line of sight.

Daniel wore his button-up shirts well, opting for a more gentle blue, which would soon be marred with the sands and dirt of the West. Paired with black trousers and suspenders along with a pale orange bandana, he looked quite smart as he smoothed his hair over in the mirror. His room was quaint; an old "converted" wardrobe of sorts in the two-story farmhouse. He wouldn't call it a thing of luxury to any extent; it'd been in the family for at least 10 years by this stage.

The exterior wooden panelling had once held a green hue, but due to the winds kicking up sand and smaller pebbles, only streaks of such colour were visible.

Ever since his mother died, his father had slept downstairs and never remarried. He couldn't force himself into the delicate room where they had shared all the little domestic moments of waking up, opening the mesh curtains and gazing upon your sleepy lover beside you.

The room, now covered in dust and full of mice, lay stagnant. Nothing had changed or been touched since Vivienne's passing. She was buried in the garden beneath a tree, a make-shift headstone leaned against the tree trunk.

Late at night when he thought Daniel was sleeping, his father would go out to the grave and cry for hours, despite the unfortunate event happening 3 years ago this upcoming spring.

Before the elder Mr. Molloy came back inside, Daniel had escaped out the back and was heading into town. The walk was necessary, and the drink he'd receive at the bar would make it all so much better.

He also knew that his father could handle it, he didn't need a kid to think about too. He always found new ways to unintentionally irk his father, breathing too loud or accidentally rolling his eyes were some of his "favourite" ways of doing so.

Hiding his dirty blond hair beneath a handcrafted leather cattleman and heading into the blistering heat had never felt so rewarding. Living quite the ways outside of town had always made him feel like an outsider, whereas the rest of his peers had gotten jobs at the local saloon or community store, he was stuck 9 miles out of town, supposedly ranching. He'd always hated the mornings spent in the quiet dark with nothing but the smell of cattle and the hoarse screaming of his dad.

The one thing he enjoyed was learning how to ride a horse, his beloved Arabian called Jackeroo had been his since he was eight-years-old. Needless to say, they were inseparable.

The sun lazily hung in the sky, watching the horse and the man transverse the desert in the sweltering heat. There was not a cloud in the sky, nor coverage in the half-desert to protect anything that was living. Even the unusually hardy grass had begun to wither and show its age.

The saloon and the rest of the central town felt like an oasis, finally hitching Jackeroo up to a post, taking off his saddle and giving him a drink at the large, wooden trough.

"There we are, boy."

The blond muttered, stroking the horse from wither to shoulder in a long sweeping motion. Some sweat had begun to bead on his forehead, which he wiped away with his free hand, before heading into the cool yet dimly lit Snake-bite Saloon.