Nightfall

“Did you give him the experimental serum?” asked a garbled voice. I couldn’t hear so well and my eyes were too tired to open still.

“Yes,” came the feminine reply. “It was administered right when he was found. No one knows of the switch.”

“Good.”

Footsteps sounded off and I went back to sleep wondering if it was all a dream.

My eyes fluttered open much later, as the beeping of the cardioelectogram intensified. The roaring of my blood reached my ears. I was alive then.

“He’s waking up Andy,” said who I guessed was a technician for the med bay except I glanced around and found myself in strange quarters. This was not the med bay. At least it couldn’t be there were other people here including the smug bastard who put me here.

“Give me a light! I need to check his eyes!” yelled Andromeda. I knew it was her by the lilting Spanish cadence of the voice. A bright light shone in my eyes and I groaned batting at the light.

“He has the ring of green around his eyes which means he’s taken to the serum well. Let’s sit him up.”

The bed jerked forward and I was yanked to a sitting position. I groaned and massaged the dull ache between my shoulders where Jude’s teeth had dug, leaving one heck of a hickie.

“Gently, idiot! He hasn’t recovered completely yet!” said Andromeda as she hit Tarric over the head with her hand.

“Recovered?” I asked wincing at how I croaked the word. I coughed to restore my voice but it did little to abate the thirst I felt.

“That’s right! Recovery patients are always thirsty. Hold on while I get you some O positive still fresh from the hunt. It should taste well enough to drink,” she said smirking and walking over to the technician who was by another bedside. A small boy was in it.

I turned to face Tarric. “She was joking right?”

He laughed nervously. “Uh…” a few minutes later he gulped and faced the door in which Andromeda had stalked through. I wasn’t getting any answers from him. Andromeda walked in with a dark cup and a straw. Deciding to trust her, I took it and sucked the water through the straw sighing.

I gulped down the water as fast as the straw let me feeling the cool liquid staunch my thirst although there was a small tickling in the back of my throat that wouldn’t abate no matter how much I drank. There was a small commotion where the technician was overlooking the child and a gruff voice answered my unspoken question.

“It won’t abate the thirst,” he said and she was right it didn’t. I drank the whole cup and I was still thirsty.

“Why am I s-so t-thirsty?” I asked squeezing my throat slightly.

Reynolds smiled sadly. “Part of you is a vampire for now. You’ll hunger for blood as well as food for the next few weeks or until the serum kicks in. Shouldn’t be long.”

“How long?” I stuttered and winced when he smiled apologetically.

“About two weeks maybe three,” said the technician who was now returning to my side. He was tall with alabaster skin and dark eyes hued in green.

“My name is Ike. You’ve met my sister Andromeda. I was bitten by a vampiric fiend and recovered shortly after. I too was given the serum. The blood munchies are terrible and never really go away,” he said holding a clipboard and writing something down on it.

“Come again?” I muttered wishing all this to be a dream.

“The blood munchies are what I call the blood cravings. They don’t really go away.”

“Great,” I muttered clutching the blanket over me. I was some half-vampiric thing and…

“M’boy nothing to stress over. We’ll provide the blood discreetly. I came over to talk about your ship and how you could earn it back actually,” said Reynolds smiling.

I was taken by surprise. “I thought the council was very clear that I wasn’t seeing that ship again.”

“Wanda can seem a bit harsh…but she means well. I however am the leader and can give leeway. We need the ship because it is the only aircraft that we’ve seen pass the atmosphere block. After we use it, we’ll give it back.”

“When will that be?” I asked curious as to what the council needed the ship for.

Reynolds smiled and stood from the metal chair upon which he previously reclined on. “Soon. Well, I best be leaving. I’ve got the rounds today.”

Andromeda escorted him out where some other guards were waiting by the entrance I guessed. This was a large circular room with several beds. Most patients were of intense care as I had been so was this the Intensive care room then? It was far colder down here too. The walls were a bright Onix color that sparkled.

My thirst, it was getting worse. Tarric really was looking like a snack right now. I mentioned this and watched as Tarric ran from there making Ike laugh and even Andromeda chuckled as she went to get Tarric from wherever he was hiding.

Ike winked at me. “I’m going to fetch that O Positive Andromeda was going to give you. I think you’re ready and this time prepared for it. Sit back and hang tight while I get it.”

I nodded and he left leaving me with my thoughts.

Jude had managed to make me a half-blood drinker. I could blend in with the humans better but I too had to drink blood. I didn’t know how often tho. All due to that bitch, Lana! Maybe I should bite her and see what she turns into without a damn serum! I wasn’t stupid. I was here because of the serum. Though they never mentioned it I knew I owed my life to a damn serum!

Ike returned with a plastic cup and some dark liquid. I took my straw and placed it inside. I took my first pull and choked at the gritty metallic taste of it. There was no magical new taste to it. It still tasted like blood. I removed the straw and chugged the rest of it down like a bad breakfast shake. I choked as it nearly clogged my throat.

“Easy there. What happened to the straw I gave you?” asked Ike.

“I can’t drink that slowly. It tastes awful,” I choked out clearing my throat. I was handed some water and I chugged it down.

“You’re going to have to do it again for lunch and dinner,” he said.

I groaned.