He is so very hungry. It is all he knows, and It is all he will ever know. The king decrees this, and he must obey the king.
“I don’t understand why you do this. If you would just allow us to cure you, you would be able to go free.”
The woman in white never understands. That is because she has never felt this hunger. She doesn’t understand the feeling of a thousand miniature suns inside his head.She has never heard the heartbeats of an entire city.
“Doctor King, you are needed in Room 104. Room 104, Dr. King.”
The king is coming, and he must make ready. it would be unseemly to be impolite to the king.
“He does this every time! He freaks out, and when we call the doc, or we try to sedate him, he straightens out. Never misbehaves when she’s around.”
The servants do not like him. They think it odd, that he is perfect, for the king. It is not so odd, he thinks, it is proper behavior.
“Good afternoon, Nicas. How are you today?”
“Fine, Dr. King. A bit hungry, but fine.”
“The nurses told me that you were acting up earlier today. Is that true?”
“…yes, Dr. King.”
“Good morning, Nicas. Have you had breakfast yet?”
“They brought it to me.”
“Did you eat it?”
“I can’t eat your food, Dr. King. It makes me sick.”
“Nicas, if you keep this up, We’ll have to put you back on a drip.”
“…”
“I’ll see you later, Nicas.”
“Hello, I am Dr. Amy King. You probably know my work with Patient Green.”
A med student in the second row raises his hand.
“The guy who thinks he’s a vampire?”
“Yes and no. I hesitate to refer to Patient Green’s condition that way. In part, because he does not feel the need to drink blood like so many of our other ‘Vampiric’ patients claim. But on the other hand, the patient has developed a sense of clannishness, I suppose you could say. He’s loyal to his original care team. Something bizarrely different from other Vee patients.”
“But Dr. King, wouldn’t that make him, truly Vampiric? All of the other Vee patients you’ve documented were frauds.” another student, a young woman this time, speaks up.
“That my fellows, is part of the reason I am here today. Patient Green, has a track record, He is the most well behaved patient in the book. He causes no harm to himself, nor to any of the staff. Due to the budgeting problems, our study is being cut. We made no new progress in his condition, so he is being released from the center today. Students, Colleagues, I’d like you all to meet, Mister Nicas Greene.”
He is standing at the door, just like the king had asked him to, waiting for his cue.
The king, speaks, and she looks at him. So he steps forward into the room.
“Hello.”
