𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐩𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐦

Act III, Scene III

"Denn die Todten reiten Schnell."
(For the dead travel fast.)
~ Bram Stoker, Dracula

__________

Darkness.

Boundless and consuming.

A black so unyielding and opaque, Lucy momentarily thought she had gone blind.

Then she remembered: she had lost consciousness when the Nosferatu had turned her. The same thing must have happened to Dr. Reed. He had not been conscious, therefore he had no memory of his transformation.

Correct understanding of the situation aside, it was still troublesome. Lucy had lost all sense of direction and orientation. She could not even be certain that she was still in Dr. Reed's memory.

She began to imagine wisps of shapes in the blackness.

But, wait...

She was not imagining.

The gray smoke began to swirl and churn around her, and once it dissipated, her colorless vision returned.

She was standing on the street in front of Dr. Reed's residence. The half moon shone above her, flanked in the night sky by a dim scattering of stars.

The street was deserted, save two vampires.

They were in the midst of a hushed conversation outside the flat's front door.

"But I have dozens of questions more!" Dr. Reed insisted. "Perhaps hundreds!"

"And I will answer them all, but now is not the time, Thomas," Stoker responded. "It was you who told me that Enola may not last the night."

"How can I agree to let you make her into something I don't understand?"

Stoker placed a hand on Dr. Reed's shoulder. He gazed at his new creation with fervor.

"To truly understand what we are, would take a lifetime," Stoker told him. "One I am more than willing to give. But after we take care of your wife."

"Still, I should think–"

"Thomas," Stoker interjected, cutting off his progeny's protest. "Do you feel strong? Healthy? Resilient?"

Dr. Reed reflected inward. In truth, he did, to the point of amazement. Lucy could feel the awe, confusion, and excitement colliding inside of him as he thought of his increased strength and senses. He felt immune, unbreakable, and infallible. It was as intoxicating as it was chilling.

"Yes," Dr. Reed confessed. "More so than I ever have."

Stoker nodded. "That is all you need worry about at present."

Dr. Reed unlocked the door, and the pair entered the flat, Lucy following close on their heels.

Once inside the comfortable parlor, Dr. Reed lowered his voice further still. "She will be hungry."

Stoker waved the concern away. "Never mind that. I have plenty of medical blood for her, just as I had for you."

Dr. Reed nodded, pensive, staring at the floor. He glanced toward the bedroom door, then back at Stoker.

"If I am now a–" he cut himself off, swallowing against his dry throat, and began again. "That is to say, if I am now like you, could I be the one to turn Enola?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Why?"

"The Autonomy."

Dr. Reed blinked in confusion. "The what?"