Ice Cold Fangs

Chapter 38: Niles

Author's note: ok, be honest... how many of y'all saw this coming?

Also, do not try dark magic at home

Also, also, trigger warning for blood, self harm, and attempted suicide.
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1979

The year it all went wrong.

It started with a car accident. The car crashed into a tree in the middle of a rainy night, the car was driving too fast, and it slid off. Fred died while in the passenger's seat, while Zero was in the driver's. The two were on their way back to the college dorm the three of them shared.

Zero was left hospitalized, his left eye damaged, and in a coma. Niles stayed by his side for a few days, but he couldn't stay forever. Besides, it felt like Zero's family never really liked Niles... and he never knew why.

Niles felt alone in a very long time. His own parents abandoned him as a baby, and his foster family barely paid attention to him. He was an outcast until he met Fred. Who then introduced Niles to Zach, aka Zero. When Niles first saw Zero, it felt like something clicked inside of him. It was a feeling he never wanted to let go.

So why is he no longer feeling it?

Niles began to panic. He can't lose Zero. They were best friends, and there's still so much they haven't done! They haven't graduated college, they haven't got girlfriends or get married or have kids of their own. There's so much they haven't seen! Like there being rumors of a second StarWars movie coming out in the next year or so!

But what could Niles do? He isn't a doctor. So, what could he do?

Niles was walking back to his now quiet and lonely dorm room when he spotted the book on the ground. He picked it up, and it reads "How to keep your loved safe with magic by Puzzlevison." Niles scoffed, Magic? What is this? This looked like a book you would find in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign.

Niles took the book back with him. A part of him was actually curious. But he swears, if this is some bullshit on not taking vaccines or using some crystals, Niles is going to throw the book into a pit and then light it on fire.

He opens the book and is confused... it doesn't seem like some weird thing that baits middle-aged white women into joining a mlm...

No, it wouldn't use Latin, a dead language that no one speaks anymore. Niles flips through the pages when he finds it... the spell.

"Bringing a loved one back from the dead. And how to make sure you stay together, forever"

Niles' eyes widen after reading that. He can save Zero from dying with this spell! He reads through the section... hmm... it seems like he needs to do this in reverse, as Zero is stuck in a hospital bed.

Niles wrote down what he needed, a drop of blood, some raw meat, and some candles... he already has a knife.

It took Niles a few hours to get everything ready, he creates a circle of salt around him, creating an X in the middle. Niles lights up the candles and stands in the middle of the salt circle. He pokes himself with the knife, and the blood drops onto the circle... the only thing that doesn't make sense to Niles is the raw meat. Whatever, he has it out, away from the circle.

He begins the incantation, and his hand starts feeling fuzzy... this can't be from just poking himself? Right?

Once he's done... his vision goes dark, his heartbeat is drumming in his ears, and the candles all go out.

A few hours later, Niles wakes up with a headache, and he's hungry. He notices the raw meat and rips into it, not caring if he gets brainworms or something like that. Once it's all gone, he looks into the mirror, only to see nothing.

"What the fuck?" Niles yelped. He picked up the book and read through it... there was nothing in here that said he would turn into a vampire!

Well, no matter. He's read Dracula, he knows the rules... sorta... Niles looks at the clock, 10:00pm. Perfect!

Niles makes his way to the hospital, when he realises something. Visiting hours are over.

Wait, he's a vampire now! He can turn into a bat and just fly into Zero's room!

But how the fuck does he turn into a bat?

He closes his eyes and focuses. When he opens them, he's a bat!

He Flys off to Zero's room and enters in through the window.

Zero is asleep. Niles creeps closer to him, he can see him perfectly in the dark. He gently bites Zero's neck, his blood tasted sweet.

Suddenly, Niles is pushed off. "N-Niles!? What are you doing here?! Why are you in my room?" Zero woke up.

Niles stood up with happiness in his eyes. "ZERO! You're alright!"

Zero looks at Niles with fear in his eye. "Niles..." He said in a hushed voice. "What... what happened to you?"

Niles took Zero's hand. "I came here to save you! I saved you from death, and now we can be together forever..."

Zero looked horrified. "What?"

Niles continued, "I found this book, and it had this spell that turned me into a vampire and -"

He was cut off by Zero. "Niles... I wanted to die."

Niles stops talking and looks at Zero. He wanted... WHAT!?!

Zero's voice becomes hoarse. "I wanted to die. I don't want to live anymore."

Niles felt cold. "What about Fred?" His throat felt tight. "Did he want to die too?"

Zero looks down. "No, he tried to stop me, but..." He can't finish his sentence.

Niles felt tears streaming down his face. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because..." Zero's breath hitched before he continued. "Because you were part of the problem... you... you are controlling and have a short temper and clingy."

Niles flinched. Was he really all of those things? Is that why Zero's family hates him?

Zero coughs loudly, startling Niles out of his thoughts. He lays his head back on the pillow. "I... I don't feel so good. " Zero closes his eyes and the heart monitor that Niles had droned out, flattened.

Niles could hear footsteps rapidly approaching the room, he turns into a bat and hid under the bed. He wants to know what just happened.

A nurse enters along with a doctor. "What the hell? How is he bleeding out of his neck?" The doctor rushed over to the bed.

"That's odd..." The nurse said. "He didn't die of blood loss... but of poison."

"Poison!?" The doctor repeated with shock. "How was he poisoned? There's no logical way this could have happened!"

The doctor and the nurse argued back and forth for a while before they took away Zero's body.

He killed him.

He killed his best friend.

He was a monster.

Maybe that's why he took over the name Zer0.