Chapter Text
Echo sat on the dock, drawing patterns in the water with his hand. He watched lazily as the fish swam around, their glowing bodies lighting up the pale sand underneath. A small smile broke onto his face as a fish came up to his hand, nibbling on his fingers.
The peace was broken when a rock was thrown into the water, ripples casting out as the fish swam away. Echo sighed, sitting up from his crouched position and shaking the water off his hand. He turned his head, resting it on his hand as he watched his sister walk up to him. He gave her a questioning glance as he came face to face with her legs. She held out a hand, and Echo took it, being pulled up and into an unexpected hug. He let out a small huff, but hugged her back, nonetheless.
She leaned back, keeping her hold on him as she looked into his eyes.
"You'll come back," She reassured, although it sounded like she was convincing herself more than anything.
He gave her a small smile, neither confirming nor denying her claims.
"Really," She said, voice breaking as she squeezed his arms, "You can't leave me alone, OK?"
"Okay," Echo agreed, voice wet as his eyes becoming misty with hers.
His sister nodded, pulling him into another quick hug before letting him go entirely.
She wiped her eyes, a steely look of determination making its way onto her face.
He turned around, stepping onto the lone boat on the island. He went straight for the center console, pulling a lever, causing a translucent force field to wind itself over the boat. He gave one look back to his sister, a blurry figure of a person through the field, much what the world looked like without his glasses. He turned his attention back to the console, a button glaring up at him, asking if he was ready to go. He pressed it, ready for whatever he would encounter on the mainland.
He was immediately flung backwards. Echo let out a groan as his body came into contact with the walls of the boat as the vehicle lurched forward without warning. He tried to stand back up, but after a quick consideration of the speed of the boat and the likeness he would fall over again, he relented. He sat up, back against the wall as the boat bound across the ocean waves at an inhuman speed.
It wasn't long before the boat came to an abrupt stop, once again throwing Echo across the ship, this time in the opposite direction. He was thrown forward, being stopped by the hard, metal console in the middle before he could hit the front of the boat. He let out another whine, laying on his back as he watched the force field retreat back into the boat. Standing up slowly, he took in his surroundings. The boat perched itself on a sandy beach, the land going on in all directions for miles. The sky was clear, no smoke covering the stars and moon like on the island. In the other direction, the ocean was vast, no evidence of the island he came from visible from the shore.
He stepped out onto the sand, cautious of his surroundings, but he couldn't detect sources of anybody else. He knelt down on the sand, scooping up the soft grains and watching them fall through his fingers. He watched in awe as they fell so easily, falling onto a soft pile back on the ground. The sand on the island wasn't like this, instead made of sharper and bigger rocks, with jagged edges that could cut through skin.
Echo looked back at the boat, checking to make sure it wouldn't drift away on its own. Half of it was on the sand, and, satisfied, he turned his attention towards the land. The sandy shore seemed to go on forever, but a forest blocked its path on his left side. There were large, rolling hills on his right side, and what seemed to be a nook in the hills in front of him.
He began walking towards it, looking at the ground as the terrain changed from sand to a grassy plain. He walked through the dark, the moon shining brightly in the sky above him, and the stars winking down at him. He held his hand in front of him. He could see it, even without the use of his night vision. The moon seemed to light up the whole land, and it was a wonder it could be even brighter than this during the day.
When he made it to the pass between the hills, he could hear the telltale sounds of people. He channeled his power, hearing the whispers of people talking, the clinks of glasses being placed against tables, and hinges on doors squeaking as they were opened and closed. He started walking towards the direction of the light, turning off his power as to not overwhelm himself with the sounds.
Echo turned the corner, walking past the hill and being greeted with a lively town. The small houses were made of wood and squeezed together, lanterns glowing on the porches. The streets were busy, people celebrating with each other, food and drinks being passed around without a thought. A festival was being celebrated, if he had to guess.
Nobody paid him any mind as he entered, and he took that as the sign it was. He walked deeper into the town, the sounds of his shoes on the rock street a steady rhythm under his feet. The village was a glowing warm color, drowning out the stars in the sky. The middle area was crowded with people, so he walked further towards the edges, where a couple of stragglers were drinking. They were standing at a table, the two people on either sides talking loudly and waving their drinks around. The guy in the middle stood out, his hair completely white, and, most interestingly, he was staring directly at Echo.
Echo glanced around, making sure that it was him the person was looking at. After confirming, he walked towards the table, the other two people seeming slightly surprised as he came near. They went back to drinking quickly though, and only the person with the white hair kept his attention on him.
"Hey," Echo greeted softly, and a little awkwardly.
The person peered at him for a moment before speaking, "Are you new?"
"Yeah," Echo said after a slight pause, "Kind of."
The person left him in another pause of silence, causing Echo to start fidgeting with his fingers.
"Well have fun," He said eventually, "We're celebrating, after all."
Echo just nodded in acknowledgement.
The person turned to his right, motioning for someone to come over. Echo followed the movement with his eyes, landing on a woman with a streak of white in her dark hair- a Hunter. He immediately turned around and started walking away, not caring if it was rude to the person he was just talking to.
He knew he was supposed to find the Hunters, but he wasn't prepared to meet them so early. He heard the stories of what they did to vampires, and he didn't have any weapons on himself to use in defense. There were too many people, making straight out running away not an option if they found him. Maybe he should try to leave before anybody else-
Echo let out a sound of surprise as he ran into someone.
"Sorry," He said automatically, before looking up at the person.
He immediately froze in his tracks, the white streak contrasting against the person's black hair.
"Nah that's my bad," The man said in response, "What are you doing over here, anyway? The party's over there."
He pointed towards a large crowd in the middle of the town, and Echo looked around, only now just realizing they were in a dark outskirt of the village.
"Oh, um I-" Echo stumbled, still gaping up at the Hunter, "I don't like crowds. They're too loud."
The Hunter nodded in understanding, "Well, you can come with me, if you want. I'm patrolling."
"Oh that's okay," Echo said, an awkward smile on his face, "I wouldn't want to bother you."
"I mean, I'm not really doing that much anyway," The Hunter pushed, "You wouldn't be bothering anyone."
"Oh- well- I-" Echo stuttered, not quite sure how to say no in this situation. He pushed up his glasses, seeing his sleeve fall down in the process and he desperately thought of something to say.
"What's that?" The Hunter said, snapping him out of his train of thought.
"Ah, what, sorry?" Echo asked nervously. So far the Hunter hadn't recognized him as a vampire, and he was wondering if his luck just began to run out.
"On your wrist."
Echo looked down at his right hand, rolling his sleeve up.
"Oh, just like, a bruise," He answered, looking at the hand-shape bruise that was obvious against his pale skin.
"From what?" The Hunter questioned further.
"Some-someone grabbed me," Echo answered, stumbling over word, "It's fine."
The Hunter glanced around, before leaning down a little bit to Echo's level.
"Look, if someone's hurting you," He started, voice quieter, "We can help. Something like that is serious and it's not-"
"Oh, no, I'm fine, really," Echo cut him off, "I mean, it doesn't even hurt anymore, so."
The Hunter frowned at him, looking like he wanted to say more before his gaze drifted to something behind Echo. He turned around to follow his gaze, eyes widening in surprise as man with white hair from earlier was walking towards them.
Echo turned back around, trying to find a way to leave, but he couldn't. The Hunter blocked the path in front of him. He decided to shelter in place, looking directly at the ground and trying to make himself seem as small as possible.
"Zelko," The Hunter called out, greeting the white-haired man.
"Hey Kalon," Zelko said back, "What do you have here?"
Echo winced at that, moving his gaze back up to see Zelko in front of him.
"Uh- my name's Echo," He said, not sure what else to do.
Zelko smiled at him, although he didn't look anywhere near happy.
"Hi Echo, can you hold this for me?" He said, and Echo automatically put his hand out without thinking. The Hunter dropped what seemed to be a little metal ball in his hand.
Echo hissed as soon as it touched his skin, the silver burning into his flesh, and he dropped it on the ground.
He instantly realized his mistake, freezing in place as the two people looked at him, tense.
"I thought-" Echo started, muttering.
"Thought I was human?" Zelko mocked, confirming he knew, "Yeah, the white hair hides the white streak, huh?"
Echo flushed with embarrassment, glancing around for an escape route, but everywhere he looked he could see a Hunter.
"Nowhere to go," Zelko said, voice airy.
Echo risked a glance to Kalon, who looked slightly out of it, probably because he almost just gave a domestic abuse talk to a vampire, a species he was supposed to be abusing.
"But that's OK," Zelko started up again, "I recognize you."
"Y-You do?" Echo questioned.
"Yeah!" Zelko said, fake cheerfulness filling his voice as he pulled out a picture, waving it in front of Echo, "Or, I recognize your parents, at least."
Echo gulped as the photo stilled before him, a slightly blurry photo of his mother.
"Oh, wow, that's um-" Echo stumbled.
"Your mother," Zelko finished for him, "Yeah we've been trying to get into... contact with her."
"Oh, well, I wish you the best of luck with-"
"You can help us!" He cut him off, "See, she hasn't really cared about us before, but if we keep her son hostage."
"Well, she doesn't really-"
"It's OK," The Hunter shushed him, "You don't have to say anything- just come with us."
Echo stuttered out a couple unintelligible words as the Hunters guided him out of the town, careful to go around the crowd and not through it.
They made it out, the sounds of the festival blurring together in the background. Zelko stood in front of him as Kalon was guiding him from behind.
"Okay, so you guys want to what, hold me hostage until my mother comes and gets me?" Echo started, rambling, "But like, she does not like me enough to come get me. This is really not going to work the way you think it is."
Zelko looked at him in thought, "Maybe, maybe that's what you think. We'll wait to see what your mother says when we have her dear son."
"Yeah, I can tell you what she's going to say," Echo responded, "Nothing. She will literally not care."
Zelko ignored him this time, taking out his phone and putting it to his ear.
Echo sighed in defeat before hearing the scrapping sound of a sword coming out of its sheath. He glanced back at Kalon, who had pulled a broadsword out of the sheath on his hips. Echo looked at it with caution, seriously considering just running away as a better option at this point.
"Um- what's that for?" Echo questioned as Kalon spun it around in his hands menacingly.
"Just in case," He answered lazily.
"In case of what?"
"In case you run away," The Hunter said, looking him in the eyes, causing Echo to glance away, still keeping the weapon in his vision.
"Oh, well, I'm still here so," Echo said, not being able to stop talking when he was nervous, "You don't have to uh- use that."
"For now," Kalon said coldly, all traces of the person he was earlier gone.
Echo turned around when he heard a vehicle approaching, the wheels crunching the gravel underneath it. It looked like a mix of a police car and limousine, with the front of the car being separated from the back.
When it stopped in front of them, Zelko opened the door leading to the back before climbing into the front of the car.
Kalon motioned for him to get in, and seeing no other option, he obeyed.
He was supposed to get the Hunters. Or maybe infiltrate them. His mother didn't make it really clear. But them giving him a free ride? He couldn't see how they could make this any easier.
The inside of the car was separated from the front like he suspected. The inside was dark, the windows blacked out. There were black leather chairs lining the walls. Echo sat on the row of seats on the side, seat belts nowhere to be found.
Kalon climbed in after him, shutting the door before sitting directly across from Echo. His sword was sheathed, likely because it was too big to fit in the car. Instead, he was twirling a silver knife around, peering directly into Echo's soul with his dark blue eyes.
Echo smiled nervously at him, steadying himself with his feet when the car started up. When the Hunter continued to glare at him, he dropped the smile, sitting back in the chair as he started to subconsciously poke at his bruise.
"So is it fake?" The Hunter spoke up after a little bit, causing Echo to look up from his wrist. Kalon was looking at him with such disdain that he shrunk under the glare.
"Um, no," Echo practically whispered, avoiding eye contact.
"But vampires heal instantly," Kalon countered, "There's no way you have a bruise."
"Oh, I just haven't eaten in a couple days," Echo explained, "So it hasn't healed yet."
"I thought you guys eat every day."
"Well, most do," He said, "But I usually eat every other day. Or, sometimes less, like now."
"Why?" Kalon asked, his expression changing into something more curious.
"Not hungry," Echo shrugged.
The Hunter looked at him like he wanted to ask more, but ended up not. He sat back in his chair, stilling his knife as he continued to stare at Echo. He started to fidget with his fingers, a little nervous under the glare.
"Why do you have glasses?" Kalon asked after a little.
"They help me see," Echo explained, "Because without them, things are blurry, but with them-"
"I know how glasses work," The Hunter cut him off, "Why do you have glasses?"
Echo hesitated, unsure of the question, "They help me see?"
"You're a vampire," Kalon said simply, "You guys have perfect vision, night vision even, you don't need glasses."
Echo blinked, finally understanding the question, "Oh, but I need them- because they didn't grow back correctly."
Kalon just raised an eyebrow at that.
"Like- why they got taken out, y'know," Echo said, speaking to fill the silence, "They didn't grow back correctly, so now everything's blurry."
The Hunter narrowed his eyes at that, "What do you mean, got taken out?"
"Stabbed," Echo said, making a stabbing motion with his hands.
"Your eyes got stabbed out?" Kalon asked in disbelief.
Echo just nodded in affirmation.
"By who?" Kalon asked, slight concern on his face.
"Just like, a friend," Echo said, causing the Hunter to look even more alarmed.
"But it's okay!" He added quickly to reassure him, "Because he bought me the glasses after, so it's all good."
The Hunter looked even more disturbed by that, and Echo deflated, sitting back in the chair, not sure what he said wrong.
"Oh," Kalon said in response, blinking as he tried to process the information.
Neither of them said anything else for a while.