One Hundred Bites

Taking a noseful of that aroma as she puts the cup lips. The warmth courses through her veins; at this time of year it is a feeling that is akin to ecstasy. Still she mustn’t indulge too much, this paper wasn’t going to write itself.

"Babe??"

"Doran, I told you I need to concentrate… remember"

"Yeah but babe-Yeah toothbrush?"

"... Don't worry about it"

"Babe I don't understand…"

"I told you, it's a family thing… Okay?"

"I-I-I guess so…"

Walking up behind her, Doran places his hand on the table as he goes to kiss her cheek. She pays him no mind and continues typing. A bit annoyed Doran kisses her neck, she flinches and stops as she looks at him from the side. Softly rubbing his cheek she kisses him on the lips.

Satisfied he got what he wanted, Doran smiles cheekily. Still reeling from the kiss she closes her eyes and lets the sensation flow throughout her body. Doran sits down at the table and stares at her, satisfied he'd gotten a reaction. He takes out his phone and scrolls through social media for anything recent.

Noticing a post on fainting students, he opens the story up.

"... … Well this is odd."

"... What's going on now, Dory?"

"They're talking about students fainting."

"... Fainting…"

"Yeah and it's close to here. This last one anyway"

"Must be a new way to get out of exams."

"Hahahaaa, you could be right and-and get this Sen… Those who fainted say they got bit by a vampire."

"Vampires?"

"They ain't got no bite marks though."

Doran found it all too funny and didn't notice. Sen’s face showed concern but she tried to shrug it off.

After all these years, it can't be? It can't. I need…

Sen pretends to go back to work but the news lingers in her mind. Could it be true? And if so, why? It was time she did a little hunting.

Doran goes to practice for the upcoming game; Sen immediately goes to check her social and news site to get as much information as possible. Based on what she found, the area of reports centered around their university. It could be random but in her gut she felt otherwise.

Trying to get back to the paper was a no go. The incidents had her worried, just to be safe she grabs her coat and sets out to see what she could find for herself.

It’s probably nothing. 

Brrr, Brrr, she shivers.

I need to warm up a bit, this time of year just isn’t nice.

Sen approaches the campus, its looks like how she left it. Nothing seems out of place and people are going in and out of normal, without a care in the world. She had jotted down locations of alleged attacks; from this list she saw the attacks were headed toward the Weird Science building.

Okay, no point in head through the entrance hall. Let's take a left and catch a shuttle to Weird Science.

At the shuttle station she waited five minutes for the next one going to the western side. Might have been due to the season but no one else was on that shuttle, which happens but still it was odd. Taking a middle seat, Sen positions herself next to a window.

The shuttle seems to take longer than Sen remembers but she considers it a blessing. She now has ample time to look and see what she could find. Besides occasionally seeing students going about nothing seems out of place.

The shuttle arrives at its stop and Sen gets off. From there she needs to go right about a block then straight along the path between Biology and Chemistry before arriving at Weird Science. It was simple General Science but the name came from the lecturer who headed the department. Many suspect she is a vampire by how little she's seen in the day time and her classes were always at night.

Weird Science was also an odd building, unlike the rest the entrance didn't lay on the southern side matching the path. It lay on the western side around the corner.

Crossing the dip, an alley-like area of the building that was midway through it. A bit of commotion can be heard. Curious Sen cautiously came off the path and headed for the dip, looking around to see if anyone else was there but there was no one. Slowly she approaches the wall and places her hand against it, as if for stability.

Peering in, Sen is surprised. What looks like a girl and a guys can be seen but the girl looks to be pinning the guy against the wall. Haven taken a bit of karate, she springs into action lunging at the girl hitting her square in the face with her fist. Checking on the guy, she tells him to get out out there and urges him to run as she takes her stance, ready to dish out more pain. The guy does as Sen instructs him and takes off.

"Who are you?!"

"Long time no see Sabrina."

"Paula… that you?"

Paula sits up while holding her nose to stop the bleeding.

"Hmm, yeah it's me."

"..."

"Not like it matters", Sen drops her guard, "Pat, come on". Helping her up, Sen smiles, it's been years since she'd seen any family.

" Why are you out here?"

"..."

"... I take it you're the responsible for the fainting"

"..."

Sighs, "Pat I'm trying to be friendly here"

"Tell that to my nose. You know how precious blood is."

"... Are you the only one?..."

Shaking her head yes to applease Sen.

"This is the hundred bites, isn't it?"

"... No need to be worried. I won't touch your boyfriend."

"It seems you've gotten some guts Pat."

"Look, I'll be done soon… Okay."

"Done soon… in all my years here, no one has come near me all this time."

"..., you're reading too much into this"

"..."

"I just strayed a bit… Okay."

"I'll believe you, for now.”

“... For now… hmph. Not like you care what happens to the family.”

“WHAT Does That Mean!!”

“Nothing for you to worry about.”

Sen had long ago stopped contacting her parents and anyone else in the family.

“I thought the  One Hundred Bites wasn’t practiced any more.”

“You never cared to participate, it's not like it hasn’t been going on.”

“...”

“I’m out, take care.”

Sen watches as Pat leaves while nursing her nose. It feels strange but there isn’t much she can do. She has become estranged from her family and prying into their affairs now would be admitting something she feared. Standing there in the warmth of the sun, she examines herself and breathes a sigh of relief or is it regret. Having taken care of the issue at hand she leaves to get back to her paper.

***

“Pete, you said you were attacked.”

“Yes, professor.”

“Where was this?”

“... It was here Ma’am, it should be on the camera D4 I think.”

“D4… let’s take a look and see.”

The footage is brought up, the Professor and Pete watch the recording. There was no one there in the footage beside Pete in a weird position. The Professor became skeptical thinking Pete was just having fun wasting her time. Glancing at Pete thought showed he was intensely staring at the footage; this was surprising she was sure Pete had been having fun with her but… Before she could say anything Pete pointed to the screen.

“There-there, see.”

“See, what Pete-”

“She saved me.”

The Professor is dumbfounded. Before her eyes a female is punching at something and speaking to Pete. Could it be real? Actual confirmation of a vampire. They continue to stare at the footage and watch this girl have what seems like a conversation.

“Take a snapshot.”

“... Professor-”

“Pete, take a snapshot now!”

This discovery cannot be missed, the girl must be found. Taking the photo the Professor making a few assumptions based on how she looked, decided to search through the senior for this student. It took a while but they found her, Sabrina Austin.

Quickly the Professor puts in a request to have her come see her that Monday.

***

Unaware Sen returns to Dorian’s apartment and collects her things. She heads back to her own apartment to continue her paper and rest, leaving Dorian a note. In actuality she had exerted herself a bit in order to stop Pat, now after coming home she didn’t have the energy to do much of anything. She attempts to sit down and continue her paper but she falls asleep.

Getting up Sen rubs her eyes and realizes she is in her bed but last she remembered she had sat down at the table in the kitchen to continue her paper. Being in her pajamas she assumed she had just not realized she went to bed. It had happened before so she didn’t think anything of it. Lying back down she checks her phone and sees a message from Dorian and another message from the university.

Dorian’s was a typical love, miss message, she thought the universities would be the same. She had been expecting a message from her Professor who was helping her with the paper and he had been off for a few days.

Finally, he’s back. I could use the help right now.

Opening the message, Sen was shocked. A request by Professor Carlson, head of General Science to meet her at the Weird Science building. She plays back the event of the day before and now realizes a camera was there in the spot she had met Pat. The obvious choice was to ignore the summons but that could lead to a strike on her record and she didn’t want the headache of a strike at the moment. Sighing she just has to act dumb she thought. Monday would be interesting.

Being the weekend Sen decides to just laze around until Monday.

***

Sen is filled with dread, there was no knowing what the Professor had called her for. She hoped it had nothing to do with that Friday as she walks along the path she eyes the camera and sighs. Going around to the entrance she inserts her card into the door lock and enters after it was verified.

Walking in she sees the Professor eyeing something through a microscope.

“Ummm… Professor Carlson.”

“...”

“Excuse me Professor.”

“You know it’s good manners to offer a greeting when you enter.”

“Sor-sorry, Good morning Ma’am.”

“Good morning, Ms. Austin.”

“What did you need to see me about?”

“I’m sure you know.”

“... Sorry, I’m lost. You requested to see me, so here I am.”

“... Hmmm, have you heard about the recent fainting on campus?”

“Yes, there are articles about them online.”

Professor Carlson gets up, looks at Sen briefly then walks to the board. She begins writing a topic One Hundred Bites.

“Do you know anything about this topic?”

“Why would I know ma’am?”

“You’re really going to continue to play ignorant.”

“...”

“Just so you know. We have you on camera.”

“Sorry ma’am, on camera? What was I doing?”

Carlson sighs with a smile. Realizing even with the footage, she had no actual proof that would indicate anything. The only tactic she could think of was to explain what the One Hundred Bites was and see how Sen reacted.

“Ms. Austin… I know  what students say about me. Honestly I don’t care, I love the occult and I think you’re either a member of some clan or at the very least you have contact with them.”

“...”

“You don’t have to speak. I’ll do all the talking… Where should I start? So the recent faintings have been occurring in a pattern and I deduced that the next victim would be around this area… It's why I had some extra cameras set up just in case. Who knew they would come in handy.”

“...”

“Anyway, it seems a vampire was young people’s blood or at least I think so. But it’s strange, for a creature that’s blood thirsty all the victims simply fainted.”

“The myths would suggest that that is indeed odd but what does that have to do with me?”

“Let me explain for now Ms. Austin. In some ancient text I was given access to, it says there is a Christmas tradition that gives any who participate a twenty-four day window to gather blood.”

“Sounds like something a vampire would do=”

“Right but this isn’t an ordinary tradition?”

“You’re going to tell me anyway but how so?”

“I’m glad you asked. These participants have twenty-four days to collect virgin blood and that blood has to be of the opposite gender.”

Puzzled, “That makes no sense Professor. Why collect virgin blood? Wouldn’t they just drink it.”

“Typically, yes but in this case no. They need the blood for the matriarch of the family.”

Sen, who had had a poker face up till now, started to crack. 

“... Wh-why would they do that?”

“That’s simple Ms. Austin. There’s a ritual that requires virgin blood to ascend and only the matriarchs are allowed to do it.”

“Why?..”

“You seem interest Ms. Austin.”

“... I-I-I’m just curious. I love the supernatural.”

“Really now. Interesting, very interesting.”

“...”

“Do you want to know more?”

“Ar-aren’t you going to continue?”

“I will Ms. Austin. On one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“You answer my question, truthfully. What were you doing here last friday?”

“I told you, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I must have been a little out of it. I don’t know.”

“... … When you do know Ms. Austin, you know where to find me.”

Going to the door Professor Carlson directs Sen to leave.