Patient
I could
only partially open my eyes against the white glare above. A blurry figure
moved up alongside the bed and roughly touched my arm, encircling my wrist for
a moment, then, releasing it. My mind was a jumble of thoughts, overrun by
confusion. My eyes darted about as I tried to focus on the woman that attended
me, but she remained a soft and formless, ghost-like figure, the darkness of her
eye sockets staring back at me, hauntingly. Her stark white uniform shifted
about like a hovering specter, the darkness of her hair, a black halo. I assumed
she was a nurse, the owner of the soothing voice that addressed me from above
as I lie in the bed.
"It's
okay," she said, her voice caressing me. Her breath was warm and sweet in
my face. "We're going to take care of you."
I tried
to speak, but couldn't find my voice, gurgling and choking instead.
I felt
cold and shivered a bit as the woman's movements kicked up a slight breeze. I
noticed another figure, appearing like a shadow to my left. This person reached
out both hands and there came a slight tugging in my abdominal region. I was
still far too groggy to lift my head and investigate the procedure that was
taking place.
Blinking
repetitively, I tried to clear my vision, to no avail. Somewhere within the
room, a machine beeped out a quick rhythm. My pulse, I assumed. It sounded much
too fast. What was wrong with me? Was this normal?
"Something
wrong?" this new figure asked in an almost sing-song manner. It appeared
as if I gazed upon her from the bottom of the sea, her face distorted and
altogether disturbing. I could hear an odd thumping as she drew close and my
stomach suddenly growled with hunger.
There was
a loud banging sound as the door to the room burst open, the nurses turning and
shouting in anger at the apparent intruder.
"What
are you doing?" shouted one of them. "You can't be in here. This is a
restricted a-"
Her voice
was cut off then and I could hear the low, wet thump of her body hitting the
floor.
My
thoughts were chaos.
Why can't I see? What is happening?
I heard
the other nurse scream for security, then fall silent among a clattering of
metal utensils and pans.
A large
form loomed over me, darker than the others had been, and exuded extreme cold.
A long, pale face moved in close to mine with a ghastly smile and an ancient,
musty odor. He turned and addressed someone across the room.
"He's
fine, he's fine. Everything went according to plan."
He then
turned back to me.
"It
worked," he said with a whispered laugh as he searched my body with his
eyes. "You were right all along. It worked. I didn't think it was possible.
You were near death and look at you now."
"They
did a fine job extracting you. If they had only known..."
He and
the other unseen person began to laugh quietly, their voices echoing oddly
in the small, white room.
"Come
over, Matthias. Just look at him. The first Vampyr Lord to make the transfer,
reborn in the body of a human newborn. He will reign for eons."
They
wrapped me in a blanket and took me from the nursery, their leathery wings
dragging the floor behind us.
