Chapter 1. How it all started

It was 3 a.m. by the time I made it to the truck stop. Somehow, I mustered up the strength to pull the door open.

as I walked into the store, all eyes were on me. I can't really blame them for staring though, I came in awful rough. when the man behind the counter noticed me he said, "son are you alright?"" do you need me to call the police?"" what happened to you?" I was looking the man right in the eyes, and his words fell upon my ears. although I couldn 't comprehend what he was saying. to me it sounded like he was under water. everything was getting louder and louder. I looked around at all the masked faces, their eyes seeming to get closer and closer. I felt like they were staring right into my soul. The room started to spin, my eyes were getting foggy, I felt like I was on fire,- I was so hot. bloody sweat beads dripping from my forehead. I managed to get three words out before my eyes went completely dark, followed by me falling on the floor and passing out! those words were, "kill me... NOW". or at least thats what i've been told.

Chapter 2. Where the fuck am I?

When I opened my eyes for the first time after having passed out at the truck stop, I was very confused. I had no idea where the hell I was. it appeared to be some sort of makeshift hospital inside an old airstream travel trailer. The Windows were all covered in what appeared to be aluminum foil and the lights were dim. I was still very hazy and disoriented from my ordeal, I couldn't remember what happened up to the moment I walked into that store. thinking about it started to make me really irritated. I never forget anything. I tried to sit up but I couldnt move. I was wrapped from head to toe with restraints. I tried like hell to free myself. but I was too Weak. it was no use. I called out into the air "HELLO"? there was no response???"LET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE NOW!" I demanded. "WHAT IN THE FUCK IS GOING ON". Just as I was about to start really freaking out, a beautiful blonde haired lady poked her head in through the accordian door, looked at me and smiled. " are you actually coherent this time?" she asked. "what's it to you blondie?" I replied. "and why am I strapped down like I'm some kind of Hannibal the Cannibal?". "sorry about the restraints" she said. "I didn't have a choice". "you kept trying to stand up and falling flat on your face". "you were screaming "I'll kill all of you stupid motherfuckers" and then you reached for something behind you, and thats when you would fall. you had almost no blood left inside your body when we got to you. youre lucky to be alive. and I couldnt afford to keep giving you blood transfusions." "everyday the same thing. over and over for almost a month" if I hadn't restrained you you wouldve surely killed yourself". " I've been trying like hell to wake you up for the past fifteen days or so." "I've tried everything from smelling salts to splashing you with ice cold water. nothing I tried even phased you." "then out of nowhere you just wake up and start screaming". "so what about these restraints" I said. "am I a prisoner or a patient?" "well" she said," I can remove some of the restraints so you can move your arms, but until that break in your spine heals a little more, im afraid you'll have to stay mostly restrained to prevent any damage to your spinal cord." "that still doesn't answer my question miss?" "Alaina" "my name is Alaina" " Doctor Alaina Anne VonHelsing" "but you can just call me Alaina". "and to answer your question, only time will tell. "

Chapter 3. The proof

"VonHelsing?" I asked "Isn't that some sort of fictional name? like isnt VonHelsing the vampire hunter in all the movies?" I asked sarcastically, trying to get a rise out of her. "If only it were fictional Mr. uhh" "Damon" I said. "my name is Damon". "well Damon she said, if it were fictional you certainly wouldnt be lying there in that bed". " Those blood suckers drained damn near all the blood out of you. They left just enough so you would turn". "lucky for you I had been tracking that pack for awhile". " I was on a recon mission to record their movements and try to find out what they were up to when I stumbled across your little scuffle". " I have to say I'm quite impressed. In all of my life I've never seen anyone kill 6 vampires in one fight". "well Alaina" I said, "thats because you've probably never met anyone like me". Just then an almost unbearable burning sensation came across my whole body. my muscles tensed up, I felt like I was on fire inside and out. I yelled out "WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING TO ME ALAINA?". " "The pain should subside soon" she said. "It's an unfortunate side effect of the medication". "what kind of medication" I asked as the pain started to ease up. "well Damon" she said " your body was heavily infected with vampire venom" "luckily I was able to steal that ambulance they put you in and get you back here to the lab before you turned". I had to pull over and administer an IV drip of straight holy water just to keep the venom at bay long enough for us to be able to make the trip. youre lucky you werent awake for that." she said in a very matter of fact tone of voice. "the medication youre currently getting is a mixture of Silver Water, garlic and vitamin D." " The machine is set up to administer the medicine every hour, on the hour". "It is unfortunately necessary until we can kill all of the Vampiri virus in your bloodstream". "Alaina" I said. "yes Damon?" she replied. "What if I told you that you were crazy, and there was no such thing as vampires?". "well" she said "I'd tell you that, yes, some people would say I am crazy." "However
the unfortunate reality is, vampires are very real". "the virus in your bloodstream is very real, and youre not out of the woods just yet". "You were bit by several of those bloodsuckers and you had a plethora of venom enter your body". you had already started to exhibit some vampire traits when I got to you." Just then I looked at Alaina straight in the eyes and said, "I dont Believe you". "believe it or not". She said "but it's still the truth!" "prove it" I said. She looked at me with a very sympathetic look on her face and said: Please don't make me prove it to you Damon, you wont like me very much if I do. I looked at her with a straight face and said: "Go ahead" "Show me" "I wont hold it against you". She looked at me with what seemed like a remorseful smile, sat down next to the bed, touched my arm as if to console me and said "very well". she then asked me: "How much do you know about vampires?" " I dont know" I said "based on what ive seen on tv and in the movies i'd have to say I know they drink human blood to survive. I'm pretty sure if you cut off their head it kills them. I think holy water injures them in some way if you splash it on them." "And Uhh, lets see they dont like garlic or silver for some reason.....and....hmmm..... sunlight, I'm pretty sure sunlight kills them also." Alaina rubbed my arm softly and said: "I'm sorry about this, but you asked for it". she then pulled a piece of the aluminum foil back on the window to reveal a small ray of sunlight. The beam of light shot directly on to my shin. before I knew it I was in excruciating pain, worse than I've ever felt in my life. my skin started to bubble and smoke. "COVER IT BACK UP FOR THE LOVE OF GOD" I yelled. before she put the foil back over the corner of the window she asked very firmly: Do you believe me now? "YES" I yelled out. "JUST CLOSE THE FUCKING THING BACK UP". She smiled at me and folded the foil back over the rest of the window and said: "I am very sorry, but you needed to know". "That does'nt really prove anything" I said "there are a whole number of things that will cause sensitivity to sunlight" knowing in my mind she was telling the truth but, still trying to grasp it at the same time. "what else you got? I said. She got a sad look on her face, and pulled something out of her pocket and placed it on the top of my hand. again my skin started to burn as if I had napalm on me. you could hear my skin sizzle as soon as she touched me with the item. "OK" I shouted, "I BELIEVE YOU" "TAKE IT OFF ME". She took the item off my skin and placed it back into her pocket. "what was that?" I asked. "see for yourself" she said pointing at my hand. I lifted up my hand and looked, there was a burned impression of a crucifix still smoking. "Oh my god" I said. "Am I a vampire?" I asked. "no" she said, "these are just residual effects from the venom, this is why you still need the medication". "eventually, it will pass."

Chapter 4. A time to heal

"I think its time you get some rest Damon" Alaina said. " yeah I suppose you're right" I said. "What does a guy have to do to get something to eat around here" I asked. "Well" she said, "I can bring you something to eat." " however, I have to warn you, you may not be ready to eat normal food yet." "I'll take my chances" I said. "very well" she said, "let's try something light and see how you do". "I'll be right back". with that Alaina left the room closing the accordian door behind her. I relaxed my head onto the pillow, I was feeling weak.
but at the same time strong. I felt if I had something to eat I'd feel a lot better. I had this almost frenzy like sense of urgency to eat. I tried to relax but my hunger would'nt let me rest. I started to get restless. The more restless I got, the more agitated I became. "ALAINA" I yelled out, "IM STARVING! ARE YOU ALMOST DONE?" Just then she came back into the room carrying a tray. "patience is a virtue" she exclaimed. as she set the tray next to the bed, I gazed over at it. there was a carton of orange juice, some saltine crackers, and a large syringe filled with something that looked like blood. "what is the syringe for?" I asked. "hopefully nothing" she said. "we will know in a few minutes". she then handed me the orange juice. I did my best to try and sip it. but every time I took a drink it tasted horrible. so bad I just couldnt drink another sip. " this is the worst orange juice I've ever tasted in my life" I exclaimed. She handed me a cracker and said "Try this". I lifted the cracker to my mouth and took a bite, it tasted like dirt. so bad I spit it back out immediately. "don't you have anything worth eating in this place?" I asked. "well, that is what the syringe is for Damon" "I was hoping we wouldnt need to use it". with that she took the syringe and stuck in into my IV. I knew instantly the very moment it hit my blood stream. I started to feel alive. I could feel myself getting stronger immediately. All my pain started to subside. I could actually feel my body healing its self. I sat up, not realizing I was still restrained, with little effort the restraints broke. I felt Amazing, like I was brand new. "what did you just give me Alaina?" I asked. "Blood, Human Blood" she replied. "apparently the venom got deeper into you than I previously thought". "there is a 50/50 chance you still may turn Damon, despite all my efforts". She said. "now try the orange juice again". "are you mad?" I said. "that shit is horrible". "just do it" she said. I took another sip as she requested, it was the best orange juice I had ever tried in my life. "how did you do that?" I asked. "well I satisfied your thirst for blood which settled the vampire inside you." this allowed your human side to come back and therefore the orange juice tasted great". I'm glad you were able to enjoy the orange juice" "This means you are still human" "but the fact that you needed blood in order to get your human tastebuds back tells me there is a good chance you could still turn. even if you dont turn you may never loose some of the vampire traits. only time will tell."
"is there anything I can do to make sure I don't turn into a vampire Alaina?" I asked. "I am doing everything and anything in my power to try and prevent it from happening, I promise Damon." "but no guarantees". she said. " So I have to ask you something Damon, when I get closer to you, do you feel hunger pains?" "well not since you hooked me up with that bloody mary". I said laughingly. "well dont get used to it" she said. "and if you start getting bloodthirsty dont think I wont kill you if I have to." "I'll keep that in mind" I said.

chapter 5 I Feeling Amazing

After our little discussion, Alaina proceeded to remove the restraints from my legs and ankles. I couldnt help but notice how beautiful she was, even as tough as she is. "I appreciate you saving my life Alaina". I said. "dont thank me just yet" she said. "now before I can let you get out of that bed, I need to get an exray of your spine". "I feel like a million bucks Alaina, better than I have in years". "I feel like a teenager again". I sat up and put my legs over the side of the bed and stood up. I jumped up and down a few times and said "see, good as new". "I swear". I could see the concern on her face. "seriously" I said. She glanced at me and our eyes locked, it seemed like time stood still for a minute, as I stared into her ocean blue eyes, she smiled at me, and then her demeanor changed and she looked down at the floor and said "I still need an exray just in case, so take it easy until then". "yes your highness". I said. She couldnt help but smile at what I said, briefly, then her face returned to that "all business, no nonsense" look. I put my arms above my head and stretched, then I turned around to see if I could locate any of my belongings. "remarkable" she said. "what do you mean?" I asked. "your back" she said. "what about it?" I asked. She said "when I started cleaning you up , your back was so slashed up, I could literally see your rib bones". "and now?". I asked. "theres absolutely nothing wrong with it" she said, "not even a scar, its like it never happened." " well thats good right?." I asked "too soon to tell". she said. "your body just regenerated it's self like you were a full blown vampire.....yet it cannot be possible." "why is that Alaina?" I asked. "Because your heart is still beating". She exclaimed, as she gestured her finger toward my chest. "why is that so unusual?" "Is it that uncommon?" I asked. Alaina stared straight into my eyes again, only this time I could see right into her soul.
my heart started running through a range of emotions. I felt like I was sailing on the ocean on a calm and warm sunny day.
followed by a need being fulfilled inside that I had long forgotten. Although I could'nt quite put into words what it was. it was like contentment and satisfaction all in one mixed with thoughts of Alainas face flashing through my mind. only the image of her was strange because I could see all of the veins in her face and her main artery on her neck. "Oh Fuck" I said to myself. "snap out of it Damon" I said out loud. Just then I came to my senses only to find Alaina had backed away from me about five feet. She was holding something that looked like a spear. it had a silver tip with a wooden shaft. it had what looked like some type of ancint writing all over it. Alaina's eyes were focused on my every move. like a cat stalking its prey. "I'm ok Alaina" I said. "are you sure?" she asked. "yes" "I caught myself", "now I know what It feels like I can control it". "however, I think I need to eat" I said. "Apparently, I am starving to death." my stomach was growling oncontrollably. and I could feel hunger pains run through my entire body, as if someone had injected them into my veins. I was kind of spaced out in my mind, trying to hold back the urge to make love to Alainas neck with my teeth. And then, Ahh... relief. I came back to reality. I felt amazing. I looked down just in time to see alaina pulling a large syringe out of the I.V. that was still in my arm. next came a horrible taste in my mouth. Somewhere between how garbage smells and how the city sewer plant smells when you drive by on the interstate. "yuck" I said. what was that, I asked? " "Cows Blood" She said. "it should satisfy your hunger, but it wont taste very good unfortunately". "Damn" I said. "That's gonna be rough", "how long do you think it will take for me to get back to normal Alaina?" "well like I said before Damon, only time will tell" She said. "You might not ever get fully back to normal, Damon. you need to prepare yourself for that." "well Alaina" I said. "you sure know how to put a guy at ease". Alaina turned to stand directly before me, put her hand on my shoulder looked me straight in the eyes and said. "I know this is a lot for you to have to wrap your head around Damon. And I am sorry I cannot tell you what you want to hear but, I'd be lying to you if I told you anything different." She then turned and walked through the accordian door. "be right back" She said. "I need to show you something". "I'll be here" I said.












© James L. Babcock Jr.