CONTENT WARNING Twincest, turning into an Infected
Kaleb knew his time on Earth was coming to a close. Or, at the very least, his time as a human was coming to a close. The fear of death had been prevalent for him his entire life. He'd never been a healthy person, and suffered several life-threatening seizures that forced him into the hospital and away from the one person he always wanted at his side. Kaede, his twin brother. But this was something different. It wasn't like all those other times, when he struggled to breathe and eat while hooked up to just about every machine he possibly could be hooked up to. Those times when he could swear he saw a light, beckoning him closer.
No — this was different. This was worse.
He'd seen the reports, the news, the flashes of monsters ravaging people. By now the entire world knew something was wrong with the DraC-2 tests. Those unlucky enough to be willing participants in the studies were being changed by the drug. Turning into something not quite human — Infected, was their clinical term, but the fangs and lust for blood made the general public call them vampires. It was something that people apparently couldn't escape, and the thought of losing his mind and becoming one of... Those made Kaleb more frightened than he'd ever been before. Even more than when death came knocking on his door.
He'd already been feeling the change over the last couple weeks. An increased sensitivity to light, which kept him indoors most days now. Increased hearing, which felt like torture when he could hear the neighbours arguing plain as day a few doors down.
And the bloodlust. Oh how he hated the bloodlust. He could feel it gnawing like an unwelcome visitor at his throat, making him feel absolutely parched. His teeth and gums hurt, and by now it's become a habit to touch a finger to his canines every so often just to see if they'd turned into fangs yet. So far not, but that made it even worse — knowing the one thing that could make his body stop screaming in pain, he was ill-equipped for. Not that he wanted to go around sucking people dry of their blood, but having his body crave something he couldn't actually have yet made his mind wander in circles that much more.
He hated it. He hated feeling like this. Kaleb was currently curled up underneath the covers of his bed, lights out and curtains drawn. Both of his hands were pressed against the sides of his head, trying to block out the murderous thoughts that kept infiltrating his mind. Blood, he wanted blood so bad! His teeth ached at the thought of sinking themselves into some poor, unsuspecting human's throat— No! No, he couldn't think like that! He didn't want this! Kaleb screams, hurting.
"K-Kaede!" he screams out his brother's name, the one person that he wanted by his side if this was really going to be the end for him. He doesn't even know if his twin is in the house or not — after all, he was still a human trying to survive in a world quickly collapsing under the threat of the Infected hordes. Kaleb wouldn't blame him if he'd already run.
TagKaede Winchester Kaleb is approximately 28 years old in this thread
He was at the corner store when the world around them went to shit.
The pharmacist had pushed over the white paper bag containing Kaleb's medication. They were tranquilizers, for the "pain", a half-assed apology by the researchers and doctors that had injected Kaleb with the virus. Kaede's fingers inadvertently curled tightly around the lip of the bag, sullen rage causing his heart to thrum in his ears. They had promised the Winchesters- Kaleb would be safe, and the pandemic would be over soon. Life would go back normal. Kaede would return to work. He would be able to see Lily again, the girl he had been sweet on, and their parents.
Kaleb would be safe.
Someone banged on the window. It tore Kaede's attention from his surveillance of the little white baggie. He thought it a troublemaker, a vagrant, but the look on the pharmacist's face before him was one of unmasked horror.
Kaede felt his heart leap in his throat. The hair on his neck prickled as it sensed danger. Before Kaede could ask, the pharmacist pulled shut the grate over the counter, barring him from the store, and Kaede. Cursing under his breath, Kaede turned and saw he was left, alone, with a corpse.
It looked a corpse. Well, halfway between a dead body and a demon. Its eyes were blown black, fangs curled over its lip, and its saliva left heavy streaks on the wall-length window as it ran its tongue obscenely along the glass.
That was all Kaede remembered in clarity. The next moments were a haze of primal reaction. He recalled reaching for something, thin and long and metallic. He recalled inhaling sharply, deeply, instilling himself with strength, before bursting through the twin doors. Snarls erupted in his ear and he swung, hard.
The streets were hauntingly devoid of cars. What was once a busy commuter's road now lay deathly still, the residences that slouched along the side empty or boarded up. Club in hand, Kaede maneuvered quickly and deftly through the streets, carried by natural athleticism and the adrenaline that pushed his legs forward. At their home, an infected person was clawing at one of their front windows. With dread, Kaede recognized it to be the kindly senile neighbor, Mr. Kotak, as Kaleb would often give him rides as they frequently visited the same doctor.
"Mr. Kotak!" Kaede called out, desperately, stupidly. The man's balding head shot to the side, but instead of gentle hazel eyes, glassy and veiny with age, he met two blackened orbs.
"No.." Kaede breathed and felt his hands refusing to swing the gold club as Mr. Kotak lunged for him. Instead, he stepped to side, using his palms to push the man back against the wall of their home. What appeared a fragile, hunched body was an unyielding wall, and Kaede only managed to make the man stumble. It was enough time for him to barricade himself in their home, the cries of Mr. Kotak, or whatever he had become, punctuated by the sound of panicked clawing at the door.
Mr. Kotak faded from his thoughts when then, Kaede heard his name.
"Kaleb? I'm- I'm here!". He ran down the hall and pushed himself into Kaleb's room. Relief blossomed in his chest when he saw Kaleb, laying in the bed, then fall to dread at his twin's eyes glazed with fear, skin pale and sweating. He threw his bloody club down, forgotten, and rushed forward for his twin.
"Kaleb," Kaede sighed, as if that name brought him unfound peace, and knelt besides, his twins bed. He cupped Kaleb's face in his hands, eyes analyzing his twin's face, the collarbone and neck that sprouted from his twin's shirt, demanding "Are you alright?"
There was the fear of the unknown — of being turned into something that wasn't human anymore — but the greatest fear was of being abandoned. He knew chances were great that Kaede would have run already. Would have gone somewhere where the uninfected found refuge, and to be honest, he wouldn't blame his twin if he did. Their entire lives, Kaede had been weighed down by Kaleb's inability to just get healthy and live like a normal person. He felt guilt knowing this, and a part of him truly hoped that Kaede had picked himself for once in his life and left his sickly twin behind.
But that wasn't the case.
He hears his name being called by a familiar voice and immediately he's filled with relief — and guilt. The sound of footsteps barreling down the hall sounds louder than normal, and then suddenly his door is shoved open and there he is— the love of Kaleb's life. His heart hammers in his throat at the sight of his brother, even though he felt immense guilt over the fact he loved his brother in a taboo way. But he's unable to dwell on the thought, when the scent of blood suddenly reaches him and his body practically screams at him to throw himself forward.
He stays put, eyes trained to the bloodied club that's haphazardly tossed to the side as Kaede enters the room. He's pulled from his thoughts when familiar hands cup his head, his gaze turning towards his twin kneeling by his bed. Kaleb lets out a soft sigh at the familiarity of it all, his brother's scent relaxing him and pulling him from his thoughts just long enough to give him a moment of peace.
"Kaede..." He whispers his twin's name softly as he lurches forward, grabbing the back of Kaede's shirt in tight fists as he pulls the man into a familial hug. "I'm scared, Kaede... I think... I think I'm becoming one of those things," he announces in a whisper, tears staining his eyes as he buries his head in his brother's chest.
It was a mistake. The scent of his brother is so close now, it drives his heightened senses wild. But more than that, he can smell fresh blood on Kaede as well. It's tangy and acrid, most likely Infected blood than human. But blood is blood, and the virus changing his body makes him begin to crave the metallic scent that fills him with hunger. His grip grows tighter as he slams his eyes shut, pressing his head even harder against Kaede's body, as if hoping that his twin can somehow ground him and make it stop.
Make it all stop. Permanently.
"I can't become one of those..." he sighs suddenly, the rest of his comment left unsaid. I want you to kill me before that happens.
In his brother's sickly, defeated grasp, Kaede could tell something was wrong. This was an illness unlike any Kaleb had before- a shivering and pained affliction that had dismantled the mental fortitude Kaleb had built through his entire life of struggle. Kaede was angry- angry at their situation, angry that the virus had taken his brother and threatened the lives of their family and loved ones, angry at the tears that formed in the corners of Kaleb's eyes. He brought a thumb up, brushed away those tears.
Stay strong, Kaede.
"Shhh," Kaede wrapped his arms back around Kaleb, an embrace as well as a means of support for his body. Oddly enough, Kaleb's grasp was strong and vital, and if it weren't for the cold sweats, pale skin and fear in his eyes, Kaede might have guessed his brother was healthy.
"It's gonna be okay, Kay. I'm here," His fingers caressed the back of his brother's head, as he climbed himself up the side and onto the sheets next to his brothers recumbent body. Something banged on the side of the house, but Kaede hardly heard, as he held his twin in his arms, uncertain as the world fell apart around them.
He wanted to be strong. Needed to be strong. That was the role he held in Kaleb's life- his brother's anchor, his one certainty. And with Kaleb dying against his chest, he realized- he needed Kaleb as much as Kaleb needed him.
You won't. Kaede wanted to say it- even more desperately wanted that to be true. But the reports, the hints, even C-grade Kaede could make a connection between the crazed zombie-like state of the virus victims and the virus itself. Kaede hugged his arms further around Kaleb, his grip growing from strong to desperate, as he found he also needed the comfort of his brother's proximity.
"It's okay. It's gonna be okay," He repeated, to where became a mantra heavy with the threat of sobs, like he were trying to convince himself of it. But it wasn't going to be okay- the world was ending around them, and where Kaede tried to find hope in even the darkest of times, he struggled to sport even a glimmer. He had lived in willful ignorance of the state of the world, and that stubborn illusion was shattered by the quiet and fearful sobs of his brother.
Truth. He needed to hold onto it. Needed to be that guardian, to fulfill the role for Kaleb that he had promised himself to. He clutched the sides of his brother's face, coaxed him to look up at Kaede. There was something... off about his brother's eyes, but Kaede blamed it on the ill lighting of the room.
"No matter where you go, what happens, I'll be at your side." He held up his pinky finger for Kaleb, that universal sign for- "I promise."
If I Die Young
Posted 08-08-2021, 07:32 PM
