The Doctor

'Why?' Nina asked.

'Daughter, there are things that are best left unexplained.'

'The world will not end if I have a glimpse of the day?' 

'Yes, my love, the world will not end, but my world will end for sure if something happens to you.’ replied Tim.

‘But daddy, I will use a dark cloth.’ Tim thought for a while about the risk involved. He then said, ‘Okay, we will go outside, as you wish.’  

They took a black blanket and covered themselves. 

‘Do not wake up mom, or she will cancel this outing of yours.'

Nina agreed, ‘Okay, dad. It will be our secret.’  

They opened the front door and were about to step out. 

‘Wait…’ came a loud command in a sharp noise from the house. 

‘Darling, we were just checking the hinges of the door,’ clarified Tim with an indigestible excuse. 

‘Oh! Really. Is that so?’ asked that sharp voice. 

Tim feared his wife, Janice. For Tim, Janice was everything, and he never wanted to hurt her feelings.

'Mom, dad was taking me out to see the day.’ said Nina. 

‘Nooooooo….,’ murmured Tim, too late to prevent Nina from spilling the beans. 

‘And you thought it would be a good idea, Tim.’ asked Janice.

‘Sorry. My love.’ 

‘Get back. I will fix the breakfast.’ said Janice

They ate a healthy liquid breakfast that they hunted down last night. They lived in an isolated castle amid the Jungle, and away from human contact.

The green leaves covered the castle, and that prevented the sunlight from entering the castle. They had their fortress to protect them from the light that nurtured all the other living beings other than this family. 

The light could take away their most precious thing, their ability to live and breathe.

They were not like that from the beginning. It was the cholera outbreak of 1908 that took away the life of eighteen family members of Tim. The government at that time allocated them with a doctor to tackle the cholera outbreak in the family. Before the doctor could reach the castle, eighteen caskets were buried in the cemetery behind the castle.

Tim was fighting for his life when the doctor arrived. He took pity on him and cured Tim with something more quickly than medicine. The doctor converted Tim to his Kind. The doctor taught him the basic of medical treatment and took him in as an assistant. The life of that doctor was not so simple as it appeared. That is why the doctor decided to convert Tim. Two extra pair of trained hands could be useful in that profession. 

The doctor trained Tim to control the newborn thirst for fresh blood. 

He taught him to master that desire and divert it to creative use. Tim learned to suture like a surgeon, treat deep cuts, remove the bullet and many other things. The doctor trained him well. 

'Are you ready for the test?' asked the doctor.

'Yes, doc. I am ready,' confirmed confident Tim.

'Hold my hand. Do not let it go. We are going to the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. Many soldiers are wounded. They need our help.'

'Doc. how can we travel there?'

'Just like I travelled here. They guide me where I am needed. I go there and perform my duty.'

'Why do they allow the event to happen? Stop the event and the destruction that it ensues,' suggested Tim.

'They are observers. Not creators. They also follow the rules but are allowed to do some damage control.'

'That is the point. Do not allow the damage to occur. So there will be no need for damage control.'

'Okay, we will discuss it later. But first, pass this test,' said the doc.

Before Tim could reply, the time travel began and ended in a matter of moments. They were in the medical camp where the local doctors were treating injured soldiers. 

Tim could not hold the vomit anymore and let it out with enough sound to get the attention of all. 

'So, why are you feeling?'

'Not so great,' replied Tim.

Tim and the doc began treating the soldiers. They helped many wounded soldiers and saved many lives. They both returned to 1909.  

'You are ready, Tim. Now, you can accompany me. This castle will be your home. Avoid daylight as it will make you transparent. Two hours in sunlight, and your immortality will vanish with you.'

'So, what if we need to treat someone during day time?'

'Don't worry, when you work for others, they grant you normalcy like humans.'

'Interesting.'

They fulfilled many missions. In one of those missions, the doc converted Janice, who was fighting for her life. The doc converted her and trained her like Tim. 

The doctor took Tim and Janice on the medical aid missions. Three of them travelled to more than fifty-four missions and helped thousands of soldiers to live a normal life. The doctor decided to put Janice and Tim together, as the doc was taking a break for few years. 

Janice and Tim were now living in the castle and would accompany the doc when needed. Eventually, they married like normal humans. After a century, Nina was born to them. A bundle of joy entered their life.

The doc did not know about Nina because that doc was missing for the last twenty-five years. No new mission. Just living like a normal family. 

Nina was now thirteen years. She knew not a lot about their life. Only that, she was not allowed to go out during the day. Nina longed to go out, but strict parenting protected her from vanishing. 

Tim gained speed when the doc converted him. 

Janice got the strength when the doc converted him.

Nina had both, speed and strength.

'Wake up, Tim.'

'Oh! Doc. Where have you been?' asked Tim.

'I was in search for a medicine that can cure us from the adverse effect of the sun light.'

'And?'

'And... Here it is. Take it. Wait who is this?' asked the doc pointing his finger to Nina.

'She is my daughter.'

'Daughter.'

'Yes.'

'Great. Now take this and give it to all. Allow your daughter to live like a human.'

'I will be back soon.'

The doc disappeared before Tim could thank him.

Tim gave medicine to Janice and Nina. 

All of them were now ready to step into the sunlight. Some waited for centuries, and some for decades. 

All of them entered enjoyed the sunrise from the roof of their castle. 

Human life was waiting for them on the horizon amidst the civilization.