Blood for Blood

The ICU room was quiet except for the rhythmic beeping of the monitor. In the hospital bed was an unconscious man. He had a full head of brown hair, but his skin was paper white and his cheeks gaunt, so that he looked old.

Beside him stood a tall woman dressed in pink scrubs, clashing with her orange hair and bright, red cheeks. Her eyes were blue but oddly flecked with purple. She warily eyed the hospital visitor standing at the foot of the bed.

The visitor appeared ordinary, close in age to the patient, who was thirty years old. He had short, blond hair and gray eyes, though if one looked closely, his eyes had a hint of red. His hands rested casually in his jeans pockets.

“Did you just ask me if I’m a Vampire?” asked the nurse slowly.

“I did,” responded the visitor.

“Why?”

He took a deep breath and said, in a rehearsed, business-like way, “My name is Howard Vernon, and I am a Vampire and Servant to My Lord Vampire, Callum Connor, who sits on the Blood Tribune of New York City. I bring charges against you, Hester Nelson, for the violation of Ewan Bolton.”

At the mention of the patient’s name, she glanced at him briefly then back at Howard, whose face was impassive. Privately, he was hoping that he could conclude his task as fast as possible. If he was able to capture her – alive or dead, as the Tribune had said – then he would be closer to being on the Tribune as a Councilman.

“What makes you think I’m a Vampire?” she asked, eying Howard carefully.

“Ewan’s almost dead from loss of blood, and there are marks on his jugular vein. You also bear the signs of being a Vampire, physical signs.”

“What signs?” she said quickly.

“When a person drinks the blood of a Vampire, the blood rushes to the cheeks. You look as if you were in a permanent state of blushing.” He smiled, but she glared at him. “Your eyes are also discolored. When the blood rushes to the eyes, it blends with the natural color and changes it.”

“Well . . .” She paused, unsure what to say. “You’re not a Vampire, then?”

“I am. The physical signs are only present at the beginning, usually during the first 48 hours after one has drunk blood.”

She suddenly smiled at him, a slightly grim smile. “Then you are here to welcome me.”

“No.”

“What?”

“I am here because you have committed the gravest crime that you can commit, at least towards a Vampire.”

She blinked at him. “Violation?”

“When a Vampire or Human drinks the blood of another Vampire without said Vampire’s consent, then it is considered a violation,” he explained.

An expression of understanding slowly dawned on her face. “You mean, you’re unhappy that I’m a Vampire?”

 “Yes, Miss Nelson, we’re unhappy that you drank the blood of your patient.”

Her voice became high, almost whiny like a child being chastised by her parents, and she twisted her fingers furiously. “I don’t know why I’m in trouble just because I wanted to be a Vampire. I just wanted the power. You’re so powerful, and I’m not strong. I can do so many things now. I can lift heavy things, and run faster – ”

Howard interrupted what threatened to become a terribly boring and annoying speech. “Miss Nelson, draining a Vampire of his blood is the equivalent of raping a woman. The Tribune has no patience with either crime, and I’m afraid that you must suffer the consequences.”

“But I didn’t know that I’m not supposed to do it,” she protested.

He spoke impatiently. “It’s true that I was born a Vampire and not a Human, and therefore somewhat unfamiliar with Human laws, but I imagine that it must be illegal in the Human world to drain someone of their blood without permission for any reason.”

“I wanted to be a Vampire.” She actually stamped her foot. “It’s not like he’s dead or anything.”

“You violated him, and that alone is bad enough. However, you have no idea what you’ve done to yourself. Yes, you are strong now, and you will get stronger, even stronger than me. Unfortunately, your mental well-being won’t be able to keep up.”

“My what?” She looked confused.

“You’ll soon start losing your mind. In fact, I think you’ve already started,” he added, quietly noting her immature behavior.

“I’m not losing my mind,” she whispered frantically. “I’m not, I’m not.”

“Eventually, you won’t be able to restrain yourself, and you’ll drain people of their blood, killing them. It won’t be like what you did to Ewan. You won’t be able to stop yourself before killing your victim.”

She began to understand what his reasoning was coming to. “You – You want to kill me?”

“I don’t,” he said honestly. “I don’t like killing people. But if you attack me or someone else, you will inevitably be killed before you can harm someone.”

She clutched her throat. “I don’t want to die.”

“We can guard you and prevent you from harming others,” he said gently. “We won’t kill you until it’s necessary.”

She laughed bitterly. “How kind of you.”

“A violator like yourself almost murdered a child, and she had to be killed,” he said. “You wouldn’t want to risk murdering a child?”

“I couldn’t care less,” she said suddenly, grinning cruelly at me. “And if I don’t care about a child, then I certainly don’t care about you.”

She was fast. Howard had only a second to prepare himself, and he felt her brush against him as he moved aside. She stumbled into the wall, whipped around, and baring her new fangs, she raced at him again.

This time he did not step aside but brought his fist up towards her face. She caught it but did not see his other hand flying to her throat. He gripped and held it, and both hands now clawed at his hand. But she had not gained enough of her new-found strength to get out of his grasp, and her wide, panicked eyes looked into his. Howard’s eyes were the last thing she saw before he strangled her with a single hand. Her body dropped to the floor.

He panted, staring at it regretfully. She was so young, and having made a fatal choice, had chosen an early death for herself. What a waste, he thought.