《Aah!》
The nurse's frightened scream accompanied the deafening sound of the test tubes upon contact with the polished floor of the corridor. Because of this, that white was soiled by the red stain of the blood they contained.
You turned to her, who was standing to observe the misdeed; at that moment, Mrs. Branagan appeared on the scene.
《Oh my, look what you did...get out, please, I'll take care of this.》 The younger one left and the other, aided by Miss Hawkins, picked up the shards of glass on the floor and cleaned up.
The mixed smell made you guess that blood belonged to different people, probably used to carry out transfusions on patients. Now, seeing those rags, now stained with blood, thrown into a basket made you sick to your stomach.
《I have to hold on...I can't afford to go crazy for so little and in front of these people especially.》
As you walked, you suddenly felt something under your feet and noticed some glittering fragments, slipped up there. They had to be picked up, to prevent some barefoot patients from mistakenly walking on them; you were crouching down to do so, until Doctor Ackroyd stopped you.
《What are you doing? Are you going to cut yourself?》 With a pair of gloves, he leaned too and quickly picked them up.
《B-but you were taking care of that man in bed, don't waste time here...》 You replied, worried that he could be hurt.
《Would I ever let you hurt yourself so recklessly and in front of my eyes? I'm not a fool and you're not a nurse, Miss Wright, so I'll take care of it.》
He wasn't angry, but his tone sounded harsher than usual and that upset you. 《...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put you in a bad mood.》
Ackroyd looked you in the eye for a moment.
《It's not your fault. Every night it gets more and more exhausting and as long as you're here you will understand it too.》
You did the same to him.
《You look tired, Dr. Ackroyd, I can see it from your face. You should take a break and rest.》
When you said that, the young doctor looked away from you and rose from the ground having finished cleaning. However, he couldn't help but notice that your voice spoke sincerely in thought for him.
《I'm used to little sleep, so don't worry about it. On the contrary, you shouldn't stay up all night...I noticed that your complexion is paler than usual, you should try to stay a little longer in the fresh air, especially during the day...》
Of course, you couldn't even put your foot out once the sun came out, so you were forced to ignore that advice by smiling.
《I really appreciate your thinking, Dr. Ackroyd. I'll try to follow it carefully next time...》
He seemed to be trying to push you away, but the truth was he was trying to hide his curiosity about you.
Your personality wasn't a common thing, especially among the London ladies...they would never do that kind of work, get their hands dirty or bend over the ground like you were doing.
《You show more maturity than you have, Miss Wright, and that's not common, believe me. When you get married, I'm sure he won't be disappointed in you.》
Hearing him talk about that was something unexpected, then you realized he wasn't married either...he wore no ring on his finger.
As he was, he would surely have replied that he wouldn't have time to think about this, nor that it was the right time to meet a woman; you wanted to talk to him more, but it probably wouldn't have been that easy, not after what you became.
《How can I expect to live normally if I can't do the simpler things? Maybe I'm more naive than you think, Dr. Ackroyd...》 You said it in a low voice, even if you wanted to state it openly.
You gave him a short smile and passed him to tuck the patient's blankets.
《It's pretty cold tonight and the way to cheer sleep is by staying warm...》 Ackroyd looked at you without saying anything, probably because he just wanted to and when you left he thought again of your genuine smile.
* * *
You went outside, before returning to the room, and looked at the black sky, but slightly illuminated by the light of the moon. Now you looked at it differently, as if it had become a point of reference for you.
You went out without any shawl or anything to cover you from the cold, as you didn't feel it. When you were with other people, you always tried to avoid physical contact and that was why you covered the patients thoroughly...for fear they might feel your cold touch.
You caressed your smooth cheek. Even if you couldn't see it, you imagined it like the color of the moon.
《There are no stars tonight...》
The place was frighteningly quiet, but pleasant. You didn't know where to go and that place was the safest for you. Even the dark didn't scare you anymore.
The window of your room was right above you, but you decided to walk there to prevent some hospital staff in seeing you do supernatural things...in front of the entrance, some patients were really in serious condition and you could perceive it from the speed of their beat that went slower and slower. The doctors were trying their best, but despite this there were still losses and the corpses were carried out, to free the therapy places and prevent them from infecting the healthy ones.
You climbed the stairs without anyone stopping you. Apparently, there was no one on the first floor...but the smell of the air had changed, as if some stranger had passed.
《I don't know this smell...》 You followed the trail of its perfume and unexpectedly it brought you in front of your door. Someone had entered just before and was still in there.
You turned the handle to open. A man stood in front of you, in a long dark blue coat. You could only see his back, but he didn't look like Dr. Reid...
He was reading something, because you suddenly heard the sound of a closed book.
《It took you a while to get there...were you on the hunt for food, vampire?》 His low voice was unknown to you, so was his face as he turned and tossed the book he was holding.
You widened your eyes and a lump in your throat prevented you from speaking. You felt your own heart beating as if it was about to come out of your chest and you shook your hands nervously.
His footsteps made you back away. His blue eyes looked at you with extreme attention and obvious contempt and just looking at him made you feel uncomfortable, if not terrified.
《W-who are you, sir?》 You could have noticed a sword tied to his side and hidden by the cloak, but still visible. He couldn't be an ordinary citizen...
He began to laugh as if you had said something nonsense.
《Pff, this is the first time a vampire shows such courtesy...really disappointing...who do you think I could be?》
The only thing you wanted to do was walk away, but he grabbed you to stop you from doing so.
《So you're the monster who attacked my soldiers? I wonder how you did it, judging by your reaction...or are you already afraid of me?》
《I-I don't know what you're talking about and please let me go!》 You didn't know what to do. You could have attacked, but it wasn't that simple. You broke eye contact and continued wriggling to free yourself from his grasp, until a small crossbow shot out of his left forearm, aimed at you.
《Don't make me laugh again, there's no point trying to pretend nothing happened...anyway, you can't escape anymore. This is the end for leeches like you.》
* * *
You closed your eyes thinking the blow would be less painful if you didn't look at it, but it never came.
When you opened them, Jonathan Reid was standing beside you protecting you from the vampire hunter.
《Get that weapon away from her, McCullum.》
《Tsk, I knew you were involved with this...Swansea must have completely lost his mind letting this place's becoming a vampire hospice! I advise you to keep your guard up, Reid.》 McCullum retracted his crossbow and left the room, but not before giving you one last look.
《Also applies to you.》
Once gone, Jonathan turned to you.
《Are you all right, Miss Wright?》
《Yes, I think...thank you Dr. Reid.》 You were still agitated, but not as scared as before. 《That man...who is he and why does he hate vampires so much? How did he know who I was?》
《His name is Geoffrey McCullum, a vampire hunter and captain of the Guard of Priwen. It's better that you no longer go beyond the confines of Pembroke to prevent you from meeting him again, or any of his men, they aren't merciful men towards vampires...I think he knows who you are after what happened in the district last night.》
Doctor Reid felt it was necessary to notify Swansea of the incident before McCullum could return again...but when you both walked into his office, you couldn't believe he was still there.
《Oh, Jonathan, Miss Wright...I have to say you come at just the right time...I suppose you haven't met Miss Wright yet, she's really lovely, don't you think, Mr. McCullum?》
The vampire hunter turned, arms folded, in your direction. You didn't like seeing him again, not after what he did so you didn't look back.
《Mpf, sure...really lovely...》 He noticed you weren't looking at him and chuckled. 《But it's useless for you to try to hide it...I know very well that she's another vampire you picked up from the street.》
You didn't like his attitude, comparable to that of a villain.
《Please, you know too well that I don't want fights in my hospital...as for Miss Wright, she's an Ekon reborn a few nights ago... she'll be safe at Pembroke and I assure you personally she's absolutely harmless, she's not a danger for the citizens.》
Swansea had spoken clearly with the hunter, however he couldn't fully convince him. He hated vampires more than anything else and would do what he could to exterminate them all, bar none.
《So, you're asking me to show compassion for this poor Ekon? Bullshit...you still haven't figured out what kind of man I can be.》 McCullum walked over to his desk and slammed his fists into the wood.
《The time has come to show it to you, Dr. Swansea. From now on, this hospital will be under the control of the Guard.》
The doctor's expression changed. He couldn't accept that, but he would have jeopardized Pembroke Hospital's reputation if he hadn't. Dealing with McCullum has never been easy, but this time he couldn't do more.
《I guess I've no other choice, but I want to remind you that this is still my hospital and your authority won't be able to go beyond that, am I clear?》
The hunter completely ignored the last sentence, as he knew he would do whatever he wanted.
《I see you understand the situation. I hope for you that you'll keep your word, doc.》 The hunter said no more and left.
* * *
The next few days, the hospital became a militia center. Those fanatics would make the situation even more unbearable for the doctors and you couldn't help but feel guilty about that...but now your problem was different and he was staring at you with a grim look.
《I told you can't run away from me.》 That was what he was thinking about, as if you were prey to hunt.
It was official, that man would have made your existence more difficult than it already was...
But you wouldn't have given up so easily.