Parallel World

Chapter 4

"... Renviro is a unique product. There is nothing comparable on the market. It temporarily releases the vampire body from its stillness thereby allowing it to change. It starts working within an hour after taking it and lasts twenty four hours. Once you have achieved what you desired you simply stop taking it. There are no side effects. Using Renviro makes the vampire body very similar to the human body: the heart starts beating faster, skin looks healthier and surgical procedures become possible."

Today I was giving a presentation at the Elephant Hotel in New York. The place belonged to one of our acquaintances and was the world's first vampires-only hotel. We travelled a lot and often stayed in hotels so why not have a purpose built one? Three to four times a year we hired the conference room and sent invitations to US and Canadian vampires offering them to come and try our products. Although Jack and I were considered to be vampire celebs there were still plenty of vampires out there who either had not heard about us at all or knew very little about me and Jack. I had already introduced Slood and later handed the stage over to Jack so he could tell more about VampNet. Renviro was deliberately kept last to cause the most furore. There was not an empty seat left in the room and a lot of vampires were standing. I could see a familiar shine in the eyes of some of them. I knew what it meant. Here we go again, I will be thrashing hopes and dreams in three, two, one...

"There is one important thing I need to mention... Renviro does not restore fertility. No matter how much you use it you will not be able to conceive."

I could hear angry shouts and disappointed sighs. A woman sprang to her feet and exclaimed:

"That's not fair! It's the twenty-first century! With all the medical and scientific progress how come no-one has found a way to make vampires fertile?"

"Calm down, Courtney!" someone cried.

"We have eternal youth, immortality, tons of money and a relatively care free life. You can't have it all," I said.

I tried to remain composed although the whole subject of vampires and children could easily piss me off. I was glad we could not have kids, the last thing vampires should do was procreating.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the room had become more heated.

"But I want a child!"

"Donate money to children's charities, help sick children and orphans," I suggested.

"I've already done all of that."

"Then there is nothing else I can advise. We have to accept it. We are young, beautiful and sterile."

                                                          xxx

"Great presentation," Nolan said. "You stood up well."

"Thank you. I tried."

"Ignore Courtney. She still can't get over the fact she will never bring a child into this world. She's been donating money to charities, children's hospitals, orphanages, schools and private fundraisers for many years..." Chris explained. "I know her so I'm aware it's a very sensitive issue to her."

I sighed.

"It happens every single time. As soon as I mention Renviro there is always someone who asks whether it can be used to conceive. No. It isn't. Sod off."

Chriss hugged me.

"What can you do? There are things even vampires struggle to grasp," he said.

Chris and Nolan were our friends. When they weren't hanging out at the club they were bounty hunters. Although they were best mates they often competed against each other by chasing the same criminal. That, in turn, had led to a birth of vampire bookies. The current odds were 5:1 that Nolan will find the bad buy first. By the way, when they first started both were convinced they would do the job better than any human. After all, vampires need less gear, less rest, less meal breaks, can remain focused for much longer and don't need toilet breaks. How wrong they were! Despite their physical "limitations" human bounty hunters proved to be very tough competitors.

"So how are you feeding at the moment? Is it Slood or blood?"

"Depends," Nolan said. "We prefer Slood when working and blood when we're off duty. Vampires are hunters by nature and our line of work brings the predator side out even more. It's impossible not to hunt."

Of course, I would have preferred if they only drank synthetic blood but I understood where they were coming from. Vampires had to make use of their predator instincts.

Jack joined us.

"Nine new orders in twenty minutes, not bad, huh? Vampires want to give Slood a try."

"Great!" I said. "I wonder how Renviro and VampNet will fare this time."