Mosaic/Issue 7

This is the seventh issue of Mosaic by Dixonlovessquirrels, titled "Jig Is Up". This is the first issue of Danny's arc.

This issue was released on July 11th, 2014.

Legend
Present

Flashback

Dream

Jig Is Up
 2 Months Before The Outbreak

'''He inhaled, feeling a burning sensation rise up in his nostrils, cooling down after two seconds. The third second, a kick. Like a sudden burst of energy, an adrenaline rush. He had to give it a few minutes though, just to feel the full effect. '''

'''His buddy sat next to him, waiting to see his reaction. '''

'''Danny closed his eyes, leant his head back and stared at the ceiling. He didn't even feel time passing, not until the effects lay on him. Suddenly it began to feel as if the couch he was sitting on was closing in on him, and then, a sudden breeze blew past him, now make it feel like he was floating.'''

'''He was awake now, more than he was before. More alert, his heart rate rose as his energy built up. He looked at his friend, with the biggest smile on his face. His friend knew that at that point they had done it.'''

'''The friend stood up, walking over to a table that was across from them. Inside a dark basement, it was almost empty apart from one couch, and the table with all of the cooking equipment they had on it. The friend started loading the meth in the bags.'''

Danny stood up, sprinting to the table.

'''"Keep some for us," he said, breathing heavily. He felt much more confident, this was the best feeling ever.'''

"Not too much, dude," Ace said, slapping Danny's hand away from the meth, "We need the money more than we need the high."

'''Danny started jogging around the room, getting easily bored with himself. Ace loaded the last bag, before throwing them all into a bigger bag. He ran up the stairs, followed by a very excited Danny.'''

They stayed in the house the night, where else could they go?

The house was cold, they didn't even bother with the fire. Wherever Dom took Michael couldn't have been good. Danny had an idea as to what was going on, but was too afraid to jump to conclusions. Of course, Dom made it obvious as to what was going to happen.

Was Michael a vampire? Or, at least was he going to become one?

This was insane. Danny knew this was crazy. He was hoping that he was dreaming. That he was still in the hospital, and that all that happened was that he passed out. But that mightn't even be better. There had to be some logical explanation for all of this.

Zombies, vampires... No way could any of this be real.

Danny watched as Peter and Holly slept. Holly took the couch, Peter laying on the ground next to her, a knife in his hand. Danny kept the gun in his hand, sitting in the corner of the room. It may not have any ammo, and it may not work against a vampire, but it was something at least.

He kept his eyes open, but they became too heavy. They closed slowly, without him even realizing. The first sound he'd jump up, but he was out like a light.

 2 Months Before the Outbreak

'''Ace pulled up in front of a house. Danny was in the passenger seat, holding the bag full of meth. The house was one-storey, dirty looking, and sitting in a run-down neighbourhood. Ace's car wasn't exactly high-end, which made them fit in to the neighbourhood.'''

'''They looked at the house, the front lawn was dirty, a bunch of empty beer bottles all over the place. Ace turned to Danny, who was hanging onto the bag strongly. He looked scared, shaking and breathing heavily.'''

'''"You okay?" Ace asked.'''

'''Danny shook his head, too afraid to talk. He clutched the bag even stronger, with no intention of leaving the car.'''

'''"We gotta go in now..." Ace said, Danny replying with yet another shake of his head, "You gotta let go of the bag, dude."'''

"I don't wanna," Danny moaned.

'''"Dan..." Ace said, taking hold of the bag's strap, "If we sell this, we're gonna be fucking rich!"'''

"I don't wanna be rich," Danny cried, "If we don't destroy the bag the world will implode. How could I live with myself if I kill Seth Rogen?"

"There is no way in hell that the meth is doing that to you," Ace acknowledged.

Danny looked at him, "I took something..."

'''"You didn't smoke my weed, did you?" Ace asked.'''

'''Danny smiled, before bursting out laughing. '''

'''"How the fuck did you get to my weed?" Ace asked, "How did you smoke it without me noticing? Actually... you know what? Why the fuck did you not share it with me?!"'''

"I'm sorry," Danny said, making a sad face, "I... I liked it, though."

"You gotta be fucking kidding me," Ace sighed, "Look. Forget about it. We got shit to do now so just get yourself together and come on."

"I think I should stay here," Danny noted.

"No... No, we gotta do this together," Ace said, "I'm not going in there on my own."

Danny let go of the bag, "I'm not going in there."

'''Ace jumped out of the car, slamming the door behind him and walking around to the passenger side. He opened the door, pulling Danny out by the arm. Danny grabbed the steering wheel, getting both hands on it.'''

'''Ace tried pulling him out by the feet, but Danny held on tight. They looked ridiculous, in a gangster-esque neighbourhood playing around like children. '''

'''This pissed Ace off, but he wasn't going to let Danny stay there. He grabbed Danny's hands, pulling him out of the car. Danny fell to the floor, as did the bag and before he could jump back in the car, Ace slammed the car door.'''

'''Danny shot up, trying to open the door. Ace pushed him against the car, pinning him down against it. Danny was laughing, but Ace was serious.'''

'''"You gotta fucking stop acting like this, dude!" Ace shouted, but realised that there were people looking.'''

'''Danny went back to scared in an instant. Ace picked up the bag, and dragged Danny by the arm towards the house.'''

'''They stood in front of the door, Ace carrying the bag, while Danny tried multiple times to sneak off. Ace wouldn't let him leave, and when he saw the scared look on Danny's face, he said, "Calm down."'''

'''Danny was sweating, he wasn't himself. He knew this, but his body wasn't reacting the way he wanted it to.'''

'''The door opened, and they were greeted by a skinny looking man. The man didn't look professional, in fact he looked incredibly sick. He looked them up and down, Danny tried to look as brave as possible.'''

'''The man just nodded, and stood aside, beckoning them to come in. They walked past him, into a dark house. '''

'''The inside was messy. The windows were covered by blankets, smoke filled the room and the floor was covered by a bunch of junk.'''

'''There were a few people inside, all lying down either on the ground or on a couch. All of them had needles in their arms, and looked disgustingly thin. Danny was terribly scared, and just wanted all of it over with. '''

'''They walked through the house, coming to the back door. They opened the door. '''

'''The back garden wasn't exactly better than the front. The only thing in the back garden was a small table, with a bunch of guys surrounding it, smoking cigarettes. One of the men walked over to Ace and Danny, who kept a brave face.'''

'''"You my buyers?" a man from the table asked.'''

'''"Sellers..." Ace said, handing the bag to the man that approached them.'''

'''The man looked in the bag, and walked back to the table. He set the bag on the table, and took out a bag of meth. The other man stood up, taking a gun out from the back of his pants.'''

'''He opened the bag, and pulled out a small piece of crystal. He hit the crystal with the end of his gun, it turning to dust. He sprinkled the meth on his gun, inhaling it through his nose. He stood back, eventually feeling the kick.'''

'''It hit him hard, and when Ace saw the look on his face, he felt a lot more relaxed. '''

"That's some good shit," the man said, taking a few steps towards Ace and Danny.

Ace looked at Danny, who still looked scared, "How much we getting for it?"

The man laughed, his teeth were black and hanging out, "How much do you want?"

The man was still walking forward, as Ace tried to think of a number.

'''"For that much?" Ace thought, "Maybe... Ten grand."'''

'''The man's laughter died down, and his smile disappeared. He stood in front of Ace, who began to feel afraid. But he didn't show it, unlike Danny. The man's smile reappeared before he threw a punch.'''

'''His fist met Danny's face, hitting him instead of Ace. Ace was shocked, as the man began to beat up Danny. Ace tried to help, but he was held back by two guys. Danny lay on the ground, getting kicked in the chest. Blood poured out of his mouth, as his ribs felt like they were being broken over and over again.'''

''"You killed me!" she shouted.''

''Danny stood in front of his sister, who was covered in blood. He didn't know where he was, he couldn't see their surroundings. The only thing he could focus on was his sister.''

''She was crying, her blood-stained hospital gown blowing in the imaginary wind. Danny was crying, trying to explain himself. But he couldn't. He couldn't talk, he couldn't think, all he could do was stand there and watch.''

''He looked at her neck, seeing a bite mark on it. The same one that was on Michael's neck. It wasn't her blood that covered her, though. That was the frightening part. Unfortunately, Danny couldn't figure out what was going on, before slowly falling out of the dream.''

Danny jumped up, pointing the gun at the man that stood in front of him. Dom had been kneeling down over him, watching him sleep. Dom took a step back, holding his hands up. He didn't look scared, no fear in his eyes.

Peter heard the commotion, and stood up. He had his knife held out, and tapped Holly on the shoulder to wake her up. She was a heavy sleeper, not even waking up after tapping her a few times.

Peter made sure that she was breathing, before leaving her there. He walked towards Dom, who lowered his hands.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Danny asked, "Where's Mike?"

Dom smiled, "I thought I'd see how you guys were doing. He's still dead. I didn't have a chance to see if he'd wake up because I had to leave fairly early. The sun wasn't just gonna wait."

"So... you're really-" Peter began.

"A vampire?" Dom asked, "Yeah. Just missing the cape."

Peter had an impressed smile on his face, "Wow."

"This ain't like meeting your childhood hero, my friend," Dom snapped, "Vampires are bad."

"I wanna see Mike," Danny said, still holding the gun up to Dom's head, "I don't care if you can't bring me to him, I just wanna see him."

"Are you two..." Dom began, "Together?"

"What? No!" Danny shouted, "Just tell me where he is!"

Dom walked around the room, Danny kept the gun aimed at him. Dom walked to the couch, putting his hand on Holly's head and dragging his fingers through her hair.

"Get away from her!" Danny shouted, walking towards them.

"Ah..." Dom said, taking a step back, "Obviously, you're not gay."

"Why are you here?" Danny asked, "It can't just be because of you checking up on us. What do you want?"

"Did you know that I was here before her?" Dom asked, "I was waiting for someone, anyone to arrive. They always do. When you saw me... attack her, I was going to do to her what I did to your friend, Mike."

"So... now you've explained yourself," Peter said, "You can leave now."

Dom looked at him, pointing out the window, "Can you not see the sun shining out there?"

"Since you're gonna be here all day, then," Peter said, "Why don't you tell us everything there is to know about vampires?"

"How 'bout we talk about Michael first?" Danny intervened, "When you said you didn't have a chance to see if he'd wake up... what did you mean?"

"He's dead," Dom said, "And... since people who usually drink vampire blood before they die come back... it's safe to say he's gonna wake up soon."

"As a vampire?" Peter asked.

Dom smiled, "Exactly. It'll take some time before he fully turns, even longer before he gets used to it."

"I wanna see him!" Danny shouted, he still had the gun aimed at Dom. Holly began to sit up, she couldn't sleep through all of this. She was about to ask what was going on, before seeing Dom.

She kept her mouth shut.

"Mornin'," Dom said, smiling at Holly. She looked at Peter and Danny, to see what they're reaction would be. But, they stayed still, and she stayed quiet.

"Hey!" Danny shouted, "You deaf? I said I wanna see him!"

"Well, Danny," Dom said, "You can't. He's gonna hate you, and this process is hard enough without you there to piss him off."

"How do you know my name?" Danny asked, "Actually... now that I remember, you said it last night too."

"I wasn't exactly dead, remember?" Dom said, "I overheard you talking."

"You said vampires are bad..." Peter said, "You don't seem that bad."

"Thanks," Dom smiled, "If I'm gonna be completely honest, I'm only nice because I need you guys. Ten times more than you need me. But first... I need you to know what Mike goes through, then I'll let you know what will happen next."

"What do you mean?" Danny asked.

Dom was about to speak, but had a weird look on his face. It was like he was concentrating on something, like he could hear something that they couldn't. Which was true. He heard a faint whistling, which became louder and louder.

He held up his hand, grabbing a stake that flew through the window at his face. It was going too fast for a human to catch, but not for a vampire.

Dom looked out the window. He couldn't see anything, but could hear a few different noises. Whatever was out there was coming towards them. He dropped the stake, getting his fists ready. Danny, Peter and Holly stood back, afraid in case more stakes would fly through.

But there were no stakes, just a person. Someone jumped through the window, even faster than the stake. Tackling Dom onto the ground, they clawed at his face, trying to kill him. Dom grabbed the stake, swinging it towards the person on top of him.

He managed to cut their arm, which seemed to burn them. There was a manly scream, before whatever it was disappeared. The curtains on the window moved, indicating that whatever it was went through that way.

Dom stood up, once again dropping the stake on the ground.

"What the fuck was that?" Danny asked.

Dom cracked his neck, "Another vampire. Did you not see what happened with the stake?"

"No," Danny said, as if it was a stupid question.

"What happened with the stake?" Peter asked.

"It burnt him," Dom replied, "I know who it is. This is why I need you guys."

"If it's a vampire, how the hell can it survive out there in the sun?" Peter asked, "Considering, you can't and you're supposedly a vampire too."

Before anybody could see what happened, Dom had Peter pinned up against a wall. Peter had dropped the knife on the ground, and was confused as to what had happened.

Dom opened his mouth, fangs developing on his top gums. With the fangs, the speed and the strength, it was clear that Dom wasn't human.

"Supposedly?" Dom asked, "His kind do things differently. I have no idea how he does the things he can do, but I'm not gonna sit around and cry about it. I'm just gonna build my damn army."

"Army?" Holly asked, standing next to Danny.

Dom looked at them, taking his hands off of Peter, "Like I said twenty times before... I need you guys."

 2 Months Before the Outbreak

'''Danny's eyes opened slowly. It hurt a lot, but he was desperate to see where he was. It was bright, but something blocked the light. He could see the thing that was in front of him after a few seconds... but instead, it was over him.'''

'''He was lying down, and all he could see was Ace's face over him. It was blocking the light, which came from the ceiling. '''

'''They weren't in that guy's back yard anymore. Danny could feel the bed underneath him, and it was extremely uncomfortable. Ace's face so close to him made him even more uncomfortable.'''

'''"Please..." Danny coughed, "Stop standing so close to me."'''

'''"Oh..." Ace said, taking a few steps back.'''

'''Danny could make out where he was now. He was in a hospital room. It was so bright that it hurt every inch of his body. '''

'''"What happened?" Danny asked, his throat burned as he spoke.'''

"You got beat up," Ace said, a guilty look on his face, "But you gotta stick with my story."

'''"What fucking story?" Danny asked.'''

"You were forced by big men in an alleyway to take drugs... then you were beat up," Ace told him.

Danny looked at him, "What kind of stupid-ass story is that?"

"It's better than the truth," Ace said, "I brought you here. The guy let us go, so I brought you here and thought of a story. They found drugs in your system anyway. Your mom and dad were here a few minutes ago."

'''"Where did they go?" Danny asked.'''

"To get your sister, I think," Ace replied, "I don't think I should be here when they get back."

'''"Why not?" '''

"Because they blame me...."

'''"They should," Danny laughed, before grabbing his chest. He was in a lot of pain, and regretted every bad thing he had ever done. Karma wasn't good to him.'''

"I heard them say something about... rehab," Ace said.

"For an army?" Peter asked.

Dom walked to the couch and sat down, "I can't explain all of this in one go. For now, all you guys need to know is that there are two different types of vampires. My side, and there's. My side has people that will help Michael, that will help all of you."

"Help us with what?" Danny asked.

"With your transformation..." Dom said.

 2 Months Before the Outbreak

'''Danny sat in a room, a circle made out of chairs. People sat on them, none of them looked healthy. Coke-heads, meth-heads, all types of junkies. But they were all here, as was he.'''

'''He didn't listen to anything they said, they had horror stories. But he thought it was all bullshit, all just a way for them to win. It had barely been a week since he was beaten up, and he was lucky to get away with it, but he just didn't care about giving up drugs.'''

'''He leant back on the chair, making it as plain as day that he was bored. He just didn't have any respect for anybody there.'''

'''"What about you, Dan?" a man's voice asked.'''

'''Danny looked up, seeing the group leader staring at him. Danny didn't know what he was talking about beforehand, and hesitated with an answer.'''

'''"I um... I wasn't listening," Danny muttered. There was a bit of laughter in the room, even the group leader had a smirk on his face.'''

'''The group leader didn't look angry, instead seeming extremely calm. He waited for the laughter to die down before talking.'''

"We were talking about first experiences," the group leader said, "You know, how we got into all of this. How did you get into this?"

Danny sighed, not wanting to say anything, "The usual. My friends were doing it, and so did I."

The group leader kept a straight face when speaking, "Come on. You gotta learn how to tell a story. Detail it, bring in some characters. There's a lot more to your story than just you and your friends taking... What was it?"

'''"Meth," Danny stuttered, "Weed. We started off when we were... fourteen. It was just a joint every now and then. That went on about ten years. Then we moved to the real stuff. We started cooking meth four years ago, and then we started using it. Last week, my friend and I finished another batch in his mom's basement. She was away, and it was better to cook there than in an abandoned factory so..." '''

'''They listened intently to his story, knowing how it would end. But nonetheless, they were interested and supportive.'''

'''"We just got mixed up with the wrong guys," Danny said. '''

'''"You know what you did was bad, right?" the group leader asked.'''

Danny nodded, "Took us long enough to get busted."

'''"What about your parents?" the group leader asked, "Did they not tell you it was wrong?"'''

"My parents gave up on me the second my sister was born," Danny said, "I mean, I love her, don't get me wrong. It's just that by the time she popped out, it was as if I never existed. That was a couple years after I started."

The group leader leaned forward on his chair, "Well... Maybe now, all that can change. The reason we're all here is to change... to get better. Self-acceptance. Accept who we are, what we've done. Move on from it."

'''Danny looked up at him, for once it actually sounded okay. This whole self-acceptance thing made sense. He knew that rehab was there to make him better, but he had no hope for it. But hearing it like that made it seem real.'''

"Transformation?" Danny asked, "What fucking transformation?"

Dom stood up, standing in front of Danny's gun, "You want the nice version or the.... Okay, there is no nice version. I'm going to make you all vampires. But first, I have the goddamn decency to let you see how this affects Mike first."

"Decency?!" Danny shouted, "If you had some decency you wouldn't have killed him in the first place!"

Danny grabbed Holly's hand, and looked at Peter.

"Let's get out of here," Danny said, walking towards the door.

When he turned to the door, Dom was standing in front of it, "Let me tell you something, you can't beat me. You have no choice in any of this. I'm gonna wait until you're on the ground begging for mercy before I turn you. Trust me, you'd rather be a vampire by your own free will than being tortured into one..."

"Just let us go," Holly begged him.

Peter stood still, he wasn't sure if he wanted to leave or not.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Dom smiled, "But when Danny hears what I have to tell him, he'll realise that I'm helping you."

"Say it..." Danny snapped, pointing the gun at him still.

Dom put his hand on the gun, pushing Danny's hand down.

"Whenever Mike wakes up," Dom explained, "The first thing he will feel is fear. Right after that, hatred. Whenever he finishes his transformation and is a full vampire, every emotion inside of him will rise so damn high that he will turn into a monster."

This was shocking and frightening to hear. Danny didn't know whether to believe him or not, but he had no choice.

"The one person that he'll be angry at... is you," Dom laughed, "You're the one who allowed him to be turned, and it doesn't matter whatever else he feels for you, he will hate everything about you. If you ever see him, which is why I'm not bringing you to him, he will snap your neck... and drain your body."

 Michael lay in a dark room. It was cold, and silent. He lay on a small bed, his body lying very still.

He was still dead, the knife cut clean through his spine. He wasn't breathing, nothing inside or outside his body was functioning. His heart wasn't beating, as silent as the night.

That didn't even change as his eyes opened.

They sprung open, his pupils and irises pure black, and his scleras now a dark shade of red. This was the beginning of his transformation.

  Previous Issue: Issue 6|Next Issue: Issue 8

Credits

 * Danny Miller
 * Peter Singer
 * Holly Anderson
 * Dominic Halpert
 * Michael Gunn
 * Jane Miller

Deaths
N/A

Title Meaning
"Jig Is Up" means for a ruse or a trick to be discovered. It could also mean to be caught. This references Danny and Ace getting caught after Danny is beaten up by the drug dealer. Danny is then made to go to rehab.

Trivia

 * This is the first issue in Danny's arc.
 * This issue proves that Michael is beginning his transition into a vampire.
 * Danny's sister, Jane, appears in a dream.
 * Her hospital gown was covered in blood. She had a vampire bite mark on her neck. She screamed, "You killed me!" to Danny, which will be explained later on.
 * Danny previously mentioned to Michael that he was in rehab, when Michael mentioned the words "self-acceptance" to him.
 * This issue shows that Danny was telling the truth.
 * Vampires will be portrayed closely to their original lore, with some things added in and taken out.
 * So far, vampires are shown to be fast, strong and have fangs. Wood and sunlight can hurt them, sunlight can't hurt some types of vampires. Also, they become vampires when they die with vampire blood in their system.
 * Dom also mentions that vampire's emotions are heightened.