The house was silent when Michael returned early that morning, the only sounds were the chirping of birds, muted through the windows. The windows were always closed these days, no matter how high temperatures rose, and the chimney had been blocked with logs. Sometimes Michael felt as though he was in some sort of prison, and Sam had often confided he felt the same way.

Nowadays they exchanged barely a civil word.

As Michael crept quietly upstairs, making an effort to avoid the steps which he knew would give off a loud tell-tale creaking, Sam watched him secretly through the open crack of his bedroom door. He had talked to them today, the Frog brothers, about Michael, and the huge rift in their friendship had almost vanished with the first negative word he let fall from his lips. They had egged him on, he knew that. He also knew how much they despised vampires, and what they thought of him for sticking by Michael through all of this. They were a lot friendlier when he was talking about staking and sunlight.. And he didn't have any other friends here..

With a sigh he closed his door, not bothering to do it quietly.

"Sam?" Michael hovered outside uncertainly. His brother froze inside, quickly slamming his closet door, one of the stakes tumbling out just before to roll across the carpet. It disappeared under the bed just as Michael pushed open the door and stepped in, giving his brother a hurt look. "Don't ignore me.. C'mon, you know.. You know I wouldn't do that to Nanook.."

Sam thought about it for a moment, his brow furrowing. "Sure." He replied at last, forcing a smile. "See ya tomorrow." He climbed into bed, turning out his lamp pointedly, and waiting for his brother to leave. Which after sighing, and glancing at the wardrobe suspiciously, he did.

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About to stretch out on his bed for sleep, Michael looked up sharply when he heard a noise from downstairs, a dull thud that for some reason caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end.

He frowned and opened his bedroom door, peering cautiously into the hallway and finding everything silent. With a clarity that made him uneasy he could sense that everyone in the house was asleep.

The wind outside picked up gradually, typically, as he made his way downstairs, making him feel as though he was participating in some horror flick. It was just too corny. He even felt a vague sense of dread as he hovered in the hallway, unable to shake it as he blinked in the darkness. But Michael was far from blind without light. He looked around cautiously, half of him knowing this was stupid, but the other half presenting a ‘what if' scenario. What if someone was in the house.. What if there were more things going bump in the night than just vampires.. And what if they were here.

He flicked on the kitchen light with a frown, and let out a choked cry at what he saw. Nanook's head was perched on the end of a long stick, jutting out of the ground just outside the kitchen door, banging against it gently in the wind to leave bloody streaks. "Shit!!" He cursed under his breath. He rammed his fist into the wall, his face contorting angrily. Something told him to be afraid.. To think..

But he had to get rid of this before Sam saw it. And that meant doing it now. He waited a few moments in silence, waiting to see if his cry had woken anyone up, and all the while trying not to look at the grotesque shape through the glass door. Nanook's tongue lolled uselessly from his head, dried, and his eyes stared fixedly ahead, seeing nothing. Feeling nothing.. And Michael was grateful for that. Once in the front yard he took a deep breath of air, but his sense of smell was too keen now, and the smell of the corpse was almost overwhelming.

As he dragged the thing across the yard he cursed again, gently this time under his breath. He'd have to bury it somewhere.. Then he'd have to..
"MICHAEL!!!"
Startled, he dropped the head upon the lawn with a soft ‘whump', turning to stare at Sam as he watched in horror from the kitchen. He looked more than horrified.. He looked.. Hateful.
"Sam.. Sammy I swear.. " began Michael.
The door slammed shut. Michael blinked, but he could only watch numbly as Sam began sliding chains across the door, locking him out, a disheartening look of concentration on his face. He'd come to his senses.. He'd realise..

Hours passed, and Sam didn't realise anything, except that his brother was a cold hearted killer, and that the frog brothers were right. There was no hope for him now. He sat huddled on the lounge sofa, an old blanket pulled around him, and Mtv chattering from the television set quietly. He didn't watch, nor listen, but silently went over the last few months in his mind. He decided finally that the Michael he knew and loved.. He would never have hurt Nanook like this.. Would never have hurt anyone. And so that thing outside.. That wasn't Michael. He realised that now, and so could kill him without feeling any guilt.. Only a sense of vengeance. Kill him for taking Nanook, and for taking Michael.

After burying what was left of Nanook, Michael sat outside for a long time, waiting. But nobody came to let him in. He heard his mother rise, and then his grandpa, and he heard their voices inside along with Sam's, low and furtive whisperings. He even saw the curtain flutter once, a glimpse of someone's face before it fell quickly back into place. And unable to believe it was happening to him, that his family were turning on him, he quietly rose and left.

To be continued...