i didn't feel it when the earthquake happened / audrey

Jesus Christ, Tobias thought, looking through his phone. The latest news reports had called it a wild animal attack, maybe a feral dog, or a bear that had escaped even, but Renzo knew better. There weren't any wild animals that could kill like this, in such broad daylight without getting caught. Whatever this was, it was intelligent too, and he knew the markings it left. Some type of untrained vampire leaving a trail of victims. Great.

He scowled, glancing through the evidence images. The police were just so out of their depth on this. It wasn't often that he took a mission on his own, but they had been busy lately, cleaning up after a mess of supernaturals, and he hated to admit it, but they were understaffed. It was a horrible reality, but there was just never enough time to train enough hunters to take up the mantle with the amount of creatures out there. It was a kind of job that rarely had its reward, but for a man who had nothing else, he had dived headfirst into this mess.

The last few victims had shown a certain direction; whatever this creature was, it was moving south, closer and closer to downtown Manhattan. Once it got there, it'd be a mess–if he needed to stop it, he needed to stop it now. The sawed off shotgun tucked underneath his coat, he roamed the empty streets, alert for whatever it could be. The night had slowed down significantly, only a couple of drunks roaming around and the occasional person, creeping home from their flings and hookups and other engagements. He didn't think this creature was subtle at all, but if he was going to find clues, this was the perfect time.

It wasn't his skill at tracking that found their little target tonight, but luck was definitely on his side. He almost jumped when he heard the screech at first, and immediately turned to the sound, but it was already gone. Whatever it was, the man didn't have long. He had a vague clue on which direction, and wherever it was, it wasn't far. Noise didn't travel far in this city–it was one of the first things he had learned, how much of a headache everything sounded like–but he had to get moving.

His brisk pace quickened into a run, as he ran down the street, head whipping around to catch any glimpse of trouble. It was likely the victim was already dead, but he didn't dwell on it. There was enough troubles to think about without dwelling, and if Tobias was good at anything, it was compartmentalizing.

His eyes suddenly caught sight of a small figure. A child? A shiver ran down his spine. Don't tell me a child died...he thought, already pulling out the gun. She was across the street, but he could already see the blood on her dress, her small body wavering as if about to collapse. He moved closer, looking around to see what attacked her, to no avail.

Wait.

There wasn't an attacker, and if Tobias knew anything, it was that this wasn't the work of some oni or dissatisfied spirit. Was the girl...the attacker? He gritted his teeth, moving as quietly as he could towards the child, as if trying to persuade himself as much as possible that the kid couldn't possibly be the one he was looking for.

The child was the attacker. The child was a vampire. It took Tobias a few moments to get that through his brain. There wasn't a dying child or a kid who was injured. The kid...

who would ever want to bite a kid and transform her into a vampire?

He hated to admit that he felt conflicted sometimes. He had shot teenage werewolves and killed mutants who had lost control with no care for what they were like, simply because they were a threat to society, but she seemed so young. It had been a while since he was forced to make a decision like this.

Still, when she began to move towards the drunk man as quick as she did, Tobias knew he couldn't let her get away with yet another murder.

Readying his gun, he aimed for the child, gritting his teeth as a shot fired out, aimed for her arm. He wanted to slow her down, perhaps immobilise her somehow before possibly considering the other options.

Mama? Tobias' teeth were gritted, his expression dark, as the child moved closer towards him. He was frozen to the spot, uncertain of what to do. It was just a kid, his mind shouted at him, she was just a kid, just a child who knew nothing, who never asked for this, who clearly was just lost to her own instincts.

Better to kill her now then, the other voice in his mind spoke. It was a child now, yes, but she'd grow up into another vampire. She'd certainly grow up into a vicious one if she had killed so many already. Not to mention those she had killed...they had families too. They had children, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters...did they not deserve the justice of knowing whatever killed them no longer roamed the streets?

It'd be irresponsible to leave her there without stopping her. It'd be heartless to kill her but it'd be justified. The rock and the hard place were squeezing him dry, but he couldn't not do anything.

Then her voice cracked as she asked for help and all rationale flew out of her mind. She was still all but a child. His eyes soften for the briefest moment, before the mask came up again.

"Who turned you?" he spoke, his voice calm, emotionless, "and how did you survive this long on your own?" His gun was still held out warily, in case the child decided to act on her instinct once more.

Tobias was confused. Was she...born a vampire? He hadn't met all too many vampires, but even more rare than the usual vampire was one that was born. And so young, he thought dryly. She didn't seem like she understood, that she wasn't human. That was was abnormal.

"Do you know what you are?" his gun was still raised, his expression unwavering, "do you know what you did? Why there's blood all over you?"

He wanted to shoot her right now. It'd be simpler that way. To just kill her and get this over with, but she was so young. She was his son's age. She could've been his own child. And suddenly, he wasn't so sure he could put that thought out of his head.

He should've killed her without a second thought, he sighed. Then again, if he did, he'd never be able to find out who birthed a creature like that. Getting two birds with one stone wasn't a horrible thing either; he just needed to keep his head in the game.

"That's a good one," he scoffed, "oh, spilling a blood bag...kid, you're a wanted murderer, ya know that? Sorry to break it to you, but you've killed near a dozen people now, and the best thing I can do for you is to put a bullet through you."

He took a step closer, this time more prepared to shoot. If the girl had no idea, it'd be better to shoot her and put her down. It was doing the child a favor, like putting a rabid dog to death.

"Give me one reason why I should let you stay alive," he grumbled.

Tobias didn't exactly feel any sympathy, and he truly did mean to kill the child, to save her from a miserable life as a bloodsucker, but his body did otherwise. It seemed as if killing just wasn't what he wanted to do tonight. The unconscious child proved a difficult kill, it seemed, and before he knew it, he was carrying the girl back to a safe house, one where he could keep her locked up in.

After all, there weren't many child vampires, and there was so much unknown about them. It'd be interesting to take a look surely? There were scientists among his ranks that would enjoy having a live subject to study and understand.

The closest safehouse wasn't far, and he was glad for the empty streets. It didn't take long to find a pair of cuffs to lock the child up in. At least she wouldn't be hurting anyone in this state.