A Chip Off the Old Block

[matthewblack]

Matthew watched Hoyt easily pull Marcel's attention back to him. That was the kind of love he had for Billy Ray, and he worried that he had not shown him the proper attention. The thoughts that he could have lost Billy Ray today were slowly going to eat at him and drive him mad. As he waited for what Hoyt wanted to do. He noted the angel being shipped off on her way home. It gave him relief to know that she would be taken care of. He never doubted Hoyt would see to that.

Turning his attention back to Billy Ray's sleeping form he had a moment to wish that he would be able to take Billy Ray back to their room and hold him. To watch over him. However, before all that he knew he had a bit of unfinished business. Giving a jerk to the tied-up Vampire, he smiled to Hoyt. " With pleasure Pa. " Dragging the silvered vampire off carefully gripped with the gloves and the aid of a few of the other Posse.

Looking back Matthew watched the actions between Marcel and Hoyt. He wanted the day that Billy Ray too would be his equal where he wouldn't have to worry about hurting him if he wasn't to careful where he knew that, one way or another, they could have each others back fully equally. Closing his eyes, he jerked the rope once more and headed with the others to an outhouse out back. The clean up would be easier with the drain. Once out at the outhouse while the others held the vampire. Matthew tested the weight of the long beam that he planned to string the offending vampire up. Moving back over he took the rope tossed it over the beam hauling the vampire up.

Jerking the rope, he hauled the vampire up into the position best. The flesh ripped more off of arm and neck from the silver of the rope, but he cared not. He still felt that the vampire was getting off to easy, but that was only because he wanted to do more. Stepping back he admired his handy work. It was a pretty good wrap up and knot job. Tilting his head, he wondered what more he could do. Growing impatient he wanted to go ahead and start taking pot shots at the vampire. Already deciding he wasn't going to go for the heart or anything else he would start slow when he got a chance, he would shoot a place at a time and let the silver bullets seep their poison into the vampire's veins. A sinister smile spread on the usual boyish and kind features.

When all was said and done he fully intended to take Billy Ray back to their room and hold him. Until he felt better. However, only when pa would tell him, he could.

[Hoyt 'Stoney' Blackwell]

Hoyt turned and looked at Billy Ray lying there with only his boots on. It wasn’t much different from the first time he found him out in the wilderness in nothing but a pair of dirty underwear and little cowboy boots. It was the bravest thing he had ever seen. He wished he were that brave. Billy was the type that just didn’t feel fear. He was the type of man who would run into a burning building when everyone else was running out if there was even a chance someone was still inside. Oh, Hoyt was like that too, but in his case, he was just too stubborn to be afraid. That was the difference between them.

Hoyt noticed that someone, in all the commotion had thought to fetch Billy Ray some clothing so he moved to gently pulled off his boots and picked up the jeans. With tender care, hoping not to wake the boy, he dressed him. If he had to carry him outside with them, he would. Billy Ray would see Stoney fulfill his promise. He remembered doing this hundreds of times as he did when Billy Ray was a young child, it made him smile. “His name is Billy Ray Blackwell.” He said softly, feeling the need to tell Marcel who he was and were he came from. “I don’t know what his name was when I found him, he didn’t know, he was traumatized so I named him after my father. We found him in a wrecked caravan, I think he was about 4 years old. The boy had a gun in his hand, it was miracle he could hold it steady.” He fastened the boy’s trousers and picked up the signature black t-shirt all the posse wore under their black button downs. As he pulled it over his head, he let out a proud chuckle. “He held that gun on us and I was worried he could hurt himself but he refused to give it up. He told me I would have to pry it from his cold dead fingers. He shot at us twice before the gun broke his arm. It was the bravest thing I ever saw Marcel. I couldn’t leave him there so I adopted him. Everyone says he looks like me. Sometimes I wonder if he is kin and our meeting was fate.” Tears filled his eyes and he blinked them away, “He was such a little man from the very beginning. I made him a promise. If anyone ever hurt him, even one hair on his head, I would kill them.” He pulled the shirt down and looked at Marcel, “So you see why I have to do this. Because, you would have done it for me.”

Hoyt noticed Billy Ray had woke and was looking at him and he smiled. “Ok, Pardner, time keep my promise.” He took his arm and hauled him up, pulling the arm over his shoulders and supporting his weight as he helped him stand. He took most of the weight but did not carry him, he knew Billy would want to at least try to walk on his own.

[Billy Ray Blackwell]

Billy did not sleep long. He felt weak but he was no longer in pain or shock. He heard his Pa talking and felt someone had thought to put clothes on him. He relaxed, just letting it happen. He felt so safe the feeling was almost euphoric. Maybe it was what the angel did to him, he didn't know. He listened to his father talk and flashes of memory zoomed through his head. He was just a little too young to remember something that long ago, but he got images and they felt familiar.

He felt the shirt go over his head and pulled downs his torso and let himself wake fully. He looked at his Pa's tearfilled eyes and felt more loved than ever before. He never wanted his Pa to lose him. He was going to have to get himself turned into a Vampire before something terrible happened. He got lucky this time but what if, by some twist of fate, his grandfather had not woke from the sleep of the dead the day before? He didn't want to think about that at all. He was going to talk to Hoyt about it, as soon as this ordeal was over.

Billy Ray put his arm around Hoyt's shoulders and held on as well as he could. It took him a moment to find his feet but eventually he did. He couldn't hold himself up but his father was supernaturally strong and could take his weight. He was glad for the dignity his father let him have. He father knew him too well. He would rather have crawled than been carried.

[Marcel Chevalier]

Marcel watched affectionately as Hoyt gently attended to his son. He looked several times back and forth between the two; he did not think Hoyt realised just how much alike the boy was to him. Perhaps it was that Marcel still so clearly remembered Hoyt at that age that made the resemblance so particularly startling. “He is truly your son, in spirit if not in body...” Marcel said and smiled approvingly at Billy Ray as he struggled stubbornly back to wakefulness, “...though with those looks I find it hard to believe he is not of your human kin.”

He could still hear the posse about their tasks outside and the pained moans of the trussed vampire. Though Marcel was in most ways a gentle soul the sounds the vampire made failed to move him. The heart wrenching moment when he thought he might lose Hoyt had been sufficient to harden his heart against any entreaty for mercy. Hoyt had made the boy a promise and the tears that came to his eyes when he spoke of Billy Ray only made Marcel the more adamant that he would not flinch from their justice. The right and the obligation was indeed Hoyt's.

“I understand Hoyt.... completely, because you are quite correct. I would have... and that has not changed.” Marcel rested his hand on Hoyt's shoulder, in part to comfort him and in part to steady himself emotionally. He did not feel the need to add the last truth; not only would he have but he had. Those who had hurt his Hoyt, the ones who had put those scars on his beautiful body, were all now long dead but they had not died natural deaths nor had their bodies been left in a suitable state for an open casket. The small, angry flame in his heart flickered then, reminding him that those who had mocked his child whilst he had slept were still due an appropriate response.

Gently he stroked his fingers through Billy Ray's hair as Hoyt finished dressing him. It was softer and more childlike than Hoyt's golden curls, in fact the same could be said for everything about Billy Ray to Marcel's eyes. Billy was still a child, somehow unfinished; something to be protected. He continued to watch the pair intently as Hoyt indulged the boy's stubborn desire to try and walk; truly they were as father and son. He hoped Hoyt did not want to turn the boy just yet because Marcel did not think he was ready.

Not knowing the layout of the club and it's outbuildings, Marcel remained close by Hoyt and Billy Ray, following wherever the two golden haired men led him.

[matthewblack]

Matthew checked the ropes and rechecked them. Several times the antsy way he kept moving showed that he was having a hard time not ripping the vampire's throat out. He could feel the pressure of his fangs beneath his lips as he struggled to keep force them back down. When there was nothing else he could do other than pace and check ropes. He stopped like several of the others and started checking the rounds in his gun. Making sure that he was stocked enough and had extra for when he was prepared to take a shot.

A glance was cast back towards the building as he heard Hoyt, Billy Ray and Marcel finally exit out and coming their way to join them. To Matthew, the minutes ticked by painfully slow and not by his choice. Hearing the faint sound of laughter coming from the offending vampire. Matthew jerked his head around glaring at the vampire. The arch of his brow showed the expression of 'Are you fucking kidding me' that lingered on Matthew's features. He moved over to the vampire with sudden speed. Before any of the other members of the posse could grab Matthew, he pulled back and had cold cocked the vampire right in the nose. " Shut up." Muttered before he allowed himself to be pulled away.

Matthew wasn't really much for words, and he was so angry now that he found it hard to say much else. Seeing Billy Ray even though he was walking on his own still set the flame boiling even higher at the vampire's blatant audacity in this situation. Pulling himself back from the brink he glanced down taking out the rounds once more in his gun then reloading them with a harsh shove placing them in the chamber. There was clear malice and vengeance glowing in Matthew's blue eyes every time he looked to the outhouse.

Silver bullets and the sun were not even worthy he wished to hell and back that he could flay the bastard alive first. With a flick of his wrist, the gun's chamber was closed back up; his free hand came to give the barrel a spin with a brush of hand, and he took aim at the vampire. Just waiting for a reason or a sign that he could start inflicting punishment and pain.

[Hoyt 'Stoney' Blackwell]

Hoyt lead Billy and Marcel through the club toward the back door. He could feel the eyes on them and hear the whispers. The words he heard were both angering and cause to feel pride.

“Was he raped?...”

“Did they turn him?...”

“Did they catch the vampire who did it?...”

“The Grandfather saved him…”

“He’s awake? Thank god he was there, who knows what the boss would do if something happened to his son.”

"Strong one, that boy..."

“Shhh…they can hear you.”

Hoyt fought a growl and was distracted by the remainder of his posse falling in line behind him. They would stand as a family and begin to get Billy Ray’s dignity back. No one did this to someone in his family. His family was created with a strong bond of love and loyalty. They had all stood steadfast over Marcel and would all have given their lives for one another. Billy Ray was the most fragile of his children but quite possibly had the strongest will to live out of them all. Every illness, every injury over the years had been met with the same stubborn jaw set that he had at that moment. His determination had been an inspiration during some of his darkest times. He wondered if this was the case for every parent.

They stepped out into the night and the vision before them was the little run down outhouse lit up with torchlight. It was like being back in the old west again. It filled his heart with Nostalgia. It put the images in his mind that he had dreamed of for years; dreams of building a town where his posse could live in peace with their human companions. It would be just like the old towns he grew up in during a time when the west was in the process of being won. Instead of Indians, they would be keeping the town safe from zombies. It would be a place where vampires were not feared and felt safely protected by their vampire protectors. It was a dream that he left behind long ago with his need see Marcel awaken and resume his life with him. One day he might find the time to pursue that dream but now was not the time to think about it.

Hoyt stopped and began to give orders. “Surround it boys, get your guns ready. No fatal shots, aim low or high. We let him cook at daybreak, Billy Ray can play with what’s left if he doesn’t die before the sun goes down.” He knew every one of them could hit the thing exactly where they wanted. If they missed, they will have done it on purpose and none of them would do that.

[Billy Ray Blackwell]

As they walked through the club in the direction of the back door, Billy Ray felt the eyes of the employees on him. He knew they were all curious about what happened and he was sure the news would spread like a wildfire. He wished Matthew were standing on the other side of him to shield their view of him.

Billy Ray was glad that they finally got to the door. He noticed as they reached the door that half the posse had fallen in behind them, upon opening the door, he saw the other half was already on the other side of the door. By the time they reached the others, the vampire had already been hung in the tiny outbuilding. He glared in his direction as they stopped.

“Pa…” he said quietly when Hoyt began to give orders. “Pa, let me take the first shot, please.” He said as the posse surrounded the little building preparing the fill the thing with holes and pummel the vampire with silver bullets. “He did this to me, I feel its in my rights to take the first shot.” Billy Ray could feel his temper begin to bubble. “He hurt me and humiliated me and he was going to…to…” he choked on the words and felt the hands of three men across his shoulders. He knew they all had his back.

Billy took the gun that was placed in his hand and glared at the vampire. “You know the laws!” he shouted at him weakly. “I am his!” he pointed at Matt. “I am the adopted child of a vampire.” He jerked his head toward Hoyt, “And grandson to a member of the aristocracy with plans to become one of his get!” he jerked his head toward Marcel. “How do you think the King would punish you?” that was a good question. He was not sure how but he knew the pain and agony they were going to inflict on this fiend was going to be a walk in the park compared to what Drake would do to him. “You are lucky that we, at least, have some measure of mercy. Count yourself lucky that we are not like you!”

He noticed the feeble struggling the vampire was now doing at the end of the rope, he could see him through the broken slats on the ramshackle building. He obviously didn’t know who he attacked. It might have made him smile but at that moment, his temper was well on its way to being lost. Billy Ray lifted the gun, aimed and fired. The blood curdling, gurgling scream that came from the small building told him that his aim had been true. The posse spread out again and took aim.

[Marcel Chevalier]

Marcel loved Hoyt deeply and completely and as such he could not help but love his children also because Hoyt loved each and every one of them. The boy child Billy Ray however struck a particular chord in him because of his strong similarity to Hoyt both physically and mentally. As they walked through the club Marcel heard the whispers just as clearly as any of the posse. He was proud of Billy Ray's resilience just as he was of Hoyt's and it was difficult for anyone to spend much time around Marcel and not begin to see and feel things his way.

Gently he squeezed Hoyt's shoulder as he guided his son out through the door, his vampiric children falling in behind them. Marcel realised he still did not know many of their names and resolved to correct that as soon as possible. It was embarrassing to not know the names of his child's get when they were so close bound to their maker and in that manner to himself. All things in good time, he reminded himself. His long sleep and resulting hunger had made him impatient he felt. Marcel had always had a very relaxed attitude to the passage of time, it was one of the things that had so infuriated Darius.

He flinched inwardly at the thought. This loathsome fledgling's attack on Billy Ray had stirred up all Marcel's worst memories once again. Perhaps it was not just Billy Ray and Hoyt who required catharsis from this incident. He brushed his hand lightly over the grip of his own custom made six-shooter, carefully preserved and tended for him by his child for when he woke and fully loaded with silver. Yes, Marcel too would seek his own peace from this act; the posse were his family as well and he would stand by them.

The courage and determination of Hoyt's human child touched Marcel's heart. The boy was not looking to others to right his wrongs but demanding his rightful place in his father's posse. He could see Hoyt's manner and nuance in every move the boy made. His hand rested lightly on Billy Ray's shoulder as he vented his outrage and every choked word was like a whetstone to Marcel's own anger. He watched as Billy Ray was handed a gun and softly he murmured into Billy Ray's ear with an uncharacteristic malice, “Be sure to avoid the spine; it will still be fragile from healing and you want him to feel...”

Listening to Billy Ray's angry rhetoric, his statement that he planned to have Marcel turn him came as something of a surprise to the ancient vampire, but he was far too well mannered to let it show. It made perfect logical sense that Hoyt might want him to turn the child but it was not a topic of discussion that had come up between them in the short span since he woke. He glanced at Hoyt meeting his eyes for a moment. This was something that they clearly needed to discuss later in private.

The first shot rang out and the agonised cry of the trussed vampire showed clearly that Billy Ray might not be a vampire himself but he was a cowboy and his father's son. The posse following Hoyt's orders began to surround the outhouse and as they moved away Marcel drew his own pistol. He intended to participate fully in his family's retribution and carefully he took aim. His shot would shatter the long-bone of the vampire's leg, a wound not only immensely painful to heal but one highly likely to result in the slug lodging in the bone rather than passing cleanly through.

Marcel was not cruel by nature, but for love he could be most cruel by design.

[matthewblack]

It had been a long time since Matthew felt the anger he was feeling. The shake of his hand seemed to show that as he fidgeted while waiting for the others. As they came outside his gaze went straight from Hoyt to Billy Ray. Moving towards his cowboy, he glared back at the vampire listening to Billy Ray's words filled him with pride, he wanted him at his side as a vampire someday but, to have him there as the tenacious human made him love him even more. A satisfied ripple of pleasure pulled through him as he heard Billy Ray tell the offending vampire that he belonged to him. Proud that he was not letting something like this keep him down. He moved beside Billy Ray and placed a hand upon his shoulder. Lightly enough that he could lend his support to him but, not so that it appeared Billy Ray was to weak on his own. He would never take that from him.

He would not be the first to pull the trigger that was clearly meant for Billy Ray so as he took his own place he prepared his weapon once more to set up to take aim. Listening around him for when it would be time. For Hoyt to give those orders, he held his ground. A sadistic smile formed on Matthew's face when he heard Billy Ray's shot strike home hitting his mark and the cry of pain that slipped from the vampire's lips. He knew where he wanted to aim. He Could visualize his shot.

For a moment, he closed his eyes enjoying that visualization. He Could mentally hear the tear of flesh as his intended shot would tear through flesh and bone and bury its self within the left collar bone of the vampire's body. Even see the streaks of dark corrupted flesh and blood from the silver of the bullet. It made his flesh shiver with goose bumps at the thought. As he laughed a little perhaps enjoying the coming justice a bit more than he might have most other days. Usually preferring to settle his fights with his fists than a weapon.

Hearing the cries of pain the creature before them was emitting as each shot found its mark from the posse. It didn't by any means make Matthew feel completely better he would have liked to hurt the bastard more, but he stuck to the Justice Hoyt had picked out for the offending bastard. Yes, he still felt that the vampire was nothing more than a pathetic creature having been so ignorant of its actions it was not even worth in Matthew's mind to be called of the same species.

Jittery with the desire to get this over with he waited for those words from Hoyt that would let him loose from the restraint of his being.

[Hoyt 'Stoney' Blackwell]

Hoyt understood what Billy Ray wanted and it was his right to reap justice first. The family was wronged but only because Billy Ray was victimized. Hoyt would let him extract his justice. He watched as Marcel put the gun in Billy Ray's hand and remembered the first time he held a gun. It was Marcel who put his first gun in his hand and taught him to shoot. He smiled proudly and cocked the trigger on his own gun. Upon hearing Billy Ray's choked words, he placed a hand on his shoulder for comfort..

"Take your justice, son." he muttered softly, "It is yours to take more than anyone else's." He waited patiently for his son to give his speech, proud that he had the strength to face his attacker. His finger itched to pull the trigger of his pistol.

His vampiric vision saw through the hole in the side of the ramshackle building and he smiled that the bullet had shattered bone and ripped through flesh. It was time.

"As a Marshall in the service of King Drake, by the authority vested in me by his Majesty, I accuse you of attempted theft of another vampires property, aggravated inflicting of grave harm on a human, grievous insult to the royal family, trespassing...and what the hell, horse theft." he looked around innocently, "Anyone seen my horse?" he asked no one in particular. The answers came back with 'He must have took it', 'Saw him kissing its ass, perverted fuck.' and 'Saw him take it myself.'

"Verdict, guilty. Sentence, death by sunlight." he looked at his gun and spun the barrel. "Oops, we forgot to put holes in the walls. That won't do at all. Get after it boys." and with that he aimed and fired. The sides of the outhouse began to explode as bullet holes spread across them.

With guns unloaded and the dust clearing, Hoyt felt an uncomfortable itch and exhaustion. He looked to the horizon and saw the faintest of light in the sky. Had the night gone by so quickly? "Everyone inside. Mornin' is on the rise." A small adrenaline rush of fear washed through his chest and he searched out Marcel's hand. He clapped Billy Ray on the shoulder, "You go with Matthew, he'll take good care of you. Come see me at sundown, let me know how you're feeling." He gave Marcel's hand a tug, pulling him toward the back door. "Come on, lets get you inside." he said as he pulled him close.

[Marcel Chevalier]

Marcel smiled and chuckled a little as Hoyt pronounced his list of charges against the prisoner; even in the face of all that he had dealt with tonight, his feisty child had maintained his dry sense of humour. That was one of the many things Marcel fell in love with about Hoyt, his mischievous humour and boyish smile. It was a part of him that Marcel had hoped when he had first turned the young law-man would never grow up or grow old and it seemed now that if it had lasted these past two centuries unscathed that it never would.

Only a posse of vampires could have fired so seemingly nonchalantly but with such meticulous precision as to keep their prisoner from death under their barrage. It felt good to Marcel to be holding his gun again even if he had not had much cause to use it in the past; it seemed to help him reconnect his memories with the present and bridge the gap of his long sleep. Some things still felt like they happened only yesterday, whilst others were as faded as a dream. The gun in his hand however was real, his beautiful golden cowboy Hoyt was real, and this justice they exacted together tonight was real. That was enough of a foundation for Marcel to hold onto whilst he found his place again in the world.

When tiredness washed through Hoyt's voice and his eyes were drawn to the Eastern horizon Marcel realised that the angel blood he had consumed must be doing its work well as he had not yet felt the pull of sleep though the young vampires of the Blackwell Posse were all showing the signs of dawn fatigue. Hoyt's hand slipped into his own and Marcel squeezed it reassuringly. The night had been eventful and there was much they needed to discuss, but not right now. He brushed Billy Ray's cheek and whispered softly to him “You are truly your father's son, child.” and he watched the young human be led away by his amour.

He slid his arm around Hoyt as he was pulled closer, the press of their bodies revealing his unsated need; right now Marcel just wanted his beloved cowboy all to himself. He would hold him close and promise him that nothing would ever part them again, and he would rock him to sleep in his arms. Or perhaps... Marcel's pale eyes sparkled as he gave Hoyt a rather wanton smile, letting him see clearly the desire that he had been containing all night since he had partaken of the angel. They would have to see how much of the night was yet theirs... and the two moved arm in arm in perfect unison back into the building.

((And the sun comes up. The End.))