The vampires returned to the common room one at a time after dinner. As each of them entered the room, my stomach started to hurt as if I was going to throw up. I hadn’t taken any zyprexa, so I had no idea why. Rafael had given me my check up earlier today and he said I was fine. Could it have been food poisoning? Everything I ate had tasted okay. It quickly got worse, and I started to feel cold, so after another 5 minutes I got up and told Ashley that I thought I was sick. She left without asking me any questions about what was wrong as I’d expected. She brought out Rafael.

“I am told you do not feel well. How about you come with me, I will run some tests?”

“I-- Uh, I guess… Don’t you want to know my symptoms first?”

“Of course I do. Tell me when I have my clipboard.”

I followed him to the check up bed and sat on it.

“Now,” he asked, holding his clipboard, “How do feel?”

Something was off about this. He was going to do something to me. I didn’t want to be alone with him right now.

“My stomach really hurts, and I...I feel cold.”

He looked up at me, pausing his writing.

“Cold, you say?” his voice had a hint of concern then.

“Yes. Not just my skin, but my insides. They feel cold.”

He looked at me in a way I’d never seen him. He looked nervous.

“That… could be something serious. Do you have any other symptoms? Anything at all?”

I surveyed my body. My head hurt a little, so I told him. I was beginning to get worried, which was not helping my stomach at all. I could feel my gut creeping up my intestines.

“Alright. Do not worry, I will take good care of you. You will be just fine.”

He pulled a thermometer out from a drawer and took my temperature. When it beeped, I quietly asked what it was.

“94.2.” he hummed.

“What does that mean?”

“Infection.”

He was gone before I could ask what infection. After a few moments, I found myself searching for somewhere to empty my stomach. I jumped down and leaned over the sink installed in the counter just in time for me to vomit my dinner up.

“F-Fuck…” I muttered.

Rafael was in the room now. He handed me a trash can and grabbed my wrist. He pulled me into another room and led me to a hospital bed and instructed me to get on. I did as I was told, ready to vomit again. I coughed up more orangish glop into the trash can. When I finished I was panting. Rafael had already hooked me up to a heart monitor and called Quincy in from somewhere.

“Rafael--” I stopped. He had left.

“Quincy, do you know what’s wrong with me?”

He licked his lips,

“No, not for certain.”

I was shivering. I threw up again, but there was less this time. I would start dry heaving soon if this kept up. Everything was happening so fast!

Was I going to die?

“What might it be?” I asked.

Quincy seemed like he didn’t want to tell me. He looked down.

“You... may be turning into a vampire.”

“Wh...What?! How?!” the heart monitor started beeping rapidly. My mouth started to hurt, namely my incisors. No…

“No, no no! Ah! Ahahaahh!”

I could taste blood. A massive pressure formed in my gums.

“Ow ow OW! AhA!”

“I’m so sorry, Mac.”

Two teeth fell out of my mouth, one incisor and the tooth below it. Then another tooth, and then the last. I puked, this time it was mixed with blood. I was hyperventilating then. My head hurt like someone was repeatedly hitting me over the head with a baseball bat. I ran my tongue over fangs in place of my teeth.

“How is this happening?! Why?!”

Quincy said nothing.

I couldn’t believe it. This was impossible! I started crying. Everything hurt so bad. I just wanted it to end.

“Make it stop!” I screamed.

Quincy took my hand,

“I can’t. It’ll be over eventually, just let it run its course.”

I vomited again, and this time I couldn’t seem to stop. It was all blood. It just kept coming. I could hear the heart monitor having a fit of beeping. I’d never heard one of those beep so much.

I couldn’t breathe, but I didn’t feel the need to. When the blood gushing from me finally stopped, I felt very dizzy, and that was the last thing I remembered.

I woke up to a rush of smells and sounds and the unbearable taste of vomit in my mouth. I could smell dirt and death and concrete and something delicious smelling, unlike anything I’d ever smelled before. I was woozy and still feeling dizzy. My headache and my stomach and teeth still ached. It was a different kind of ache, though. My stomach growled. Of course it did, I thought, I had barfed up all my dinner. I was on a cold, rough surface, propped up against a wall. I opened my eyes to a different room with no lights, although is could see perfectly well. It reminded me of the room i was trapped in before the hospital, but it didn’t have a trapdoor. Rafael was there with a man I’d never seen before also slouched against the wall. His neck was slit. I gasped, and the cold air dried out my throat. There was a dead man in the room with me. I was sure Rafael had done it.

“Mac… welcome back. How do you feel?” he spoke gently, somberly.

“Bad…” I croaked, “H-Hungry… don’t tell me I’m supposed to drink his blood…”

“But you want to, do you not?” he pried, “It will make everything go away. All the pain, all the hunger. You senses are there to stay, however. You will get used to it.”

I could feel sharp objects in my mouth-- my fangs. They were so sharp I cut my tongue on one of them. It hurt, but nothing came out. No blood. I had no blood in me.

“If you do not, you will go feral and lose control. It is unavoidable, Mac. Just make it stop now, it will make everything so much easier.”

“Wh-Why does it have to be a human? Why can’t I drink from a blood bag?”

“You have to know how to bite before you can drink from a bag, otherwise you will just make a mess. You do not have to bite this time, but you can if you want to learn faster.”

“No, I-I can’t.”

“You can, believe me. Just try. You will see. The longer you wait, the less blood he will have. I may have to bring you someone else.”

I felt something build in me: anger.

“NO! I said no!” I hissed, “I’ll die before drink blood!”

“No you will not. You will only suffer, and then do it anyway.”

I got up and stumbled over to him and attempted to punch him in the face. With a thud and a burst of pain in my head, I was against the wall.

“I-I have more self control than you think…” I grumbled. I glanced at the man. No! I wouldn’t.

“Do you, now? Why did you come over here and try to hurt me? If you were thinking straight you would never try that. But why did you really come over here? Why did you steal a glance at him?”

I gulped and glanced over again, squeezing my eyes shut and pressing myself into the wall.

“He is already dead, Mac. Can you not smell death in the air? There is really no reason you should make yourself suffer, morally.”

The man was pale, his shirt was soaked. I couldn’t help but agree with him. There was no reason I shouldn’t. Right? I couldn’t think of one, at least. Maybe I could just suck on his shirt. That wouldn’t be wrong, would it? It was fine.

“Alright… but just a little from his shirt. Nothing more.” I approached the man slowly. I had to remember. Just a little taste. I would starve myself after that. I could never drink blood from a human body. Crept up and took ahold of his shirt. The wonderful smell was so strong I couldn’t resist any longer. I leaned down and touched my tongue to his shirt. Saliva filled my mouth and I bit into his shirt without any thought. Oh no. It was so good. I couldn’t stop. I gave his shirt hickeys. All over. Well, not really all over. I found myself moving up where the blood saturated the cloth more. I was okay. I was okay, it was just cloth. When I reached the top, however, I realized what I’d done. the cloth was dry and full of puncture holes. I had drunk blood. It was too late. I’d already done it. I might as well give up. I didn’t hesitate to bite into the man’s neck. The man groaned. It was so easy, so satisfying to bite into something with thickness. I felt blood trickle into my mouth. It was warm and delicious. I wanted more. I found myself sucking harder and harder. Pleasure filled me. The still feeling left and I could feel it pumping into me, filling my veins. It felt so good. Better than a meal when you were hungry. It was like itching a scratch in a spot so itchy it was all you could focus on, but the itch was inside you. It felt almost like sex. I could hear myself moaning a little. Soon, the flow had stopped. Nothing more was coming out of him. I licked all the blood that had dribbled down his neck although it was room temperature. I panted.

“M-More… please…”

Rafael walked over and crouched down, no judgement on his face.

“As you wish,” he said as he pulled the man’s pants down and cut into his thigh in a very specific spot.

I latched on, sucking him dry once again. When I let go, I was panting. My head was hot and my body throbbed. The pleasure faded. I wanted more, but the craving wasn’t so strong anymore. I realized what had just happened. I remembered the man’s groan.

He hadn’t been dead.

“You… You lied! He was alive!”

“You needed to feed. Feeding on a dead body is not nearly as nutritious.”

I growled. I was so angry with him.

“How did this happen anyway?”

He rubbed his face,

“Well… I believe apologies are in order. I did this to you-- on accident. I was trying to cure your unusual senses. I tampered with your medicine at dinner. I had no idea this would happen.”

I felt rage bubble inside of me, but this time I didn’t dare try anything.

“I would have preferred anything over this.” I snarled.

“I know, I know. It will be alright though. I will take care of you. I may be able to change you back.”

I relaxed a little. Maybe there was a cure.

I turned my attention to the body and stared in horror.

“I’m a monster…”

“Do you still believe that? After knowing how impossible it was to avoid?”

“That doesn’t make it the right thing to do.”

“You put him out of his misery. What is the harm in that?”

Because now I knew I couldn’t stop next time, now that I knew what it was like.

“There’s harm in it.”

Rafael sighed.

“Let us get you cleaned up.”

I looked down at myself. I was covered in blood. My panicked laughter turned into a sob.

“You are fine. Nothing out of the ordinary for someone your age. Follow me.”

He approached a door I hadn’t noticed earlier and unlocked it with a key.

“The lights will hurt your eyes at first.”

He opened the door. We were in the hospital room now. The white everything did hurt my eyes. The strong smell of puke hit me and I shuddered.

“Hold your breath,” he suggested.

I stopped breathing. There was no urge to keep breathing, though. I didn’t need to breathe?

He walked me to a bathroom with a shower that smelled strongly of bleach and soap with a hint of wet dog.

“I will bring you fresh clothes and a towel. And do not make the shower hot.”

I nodded meekly.

When the water hit me, it felt like like pins and needles. My skin was so sensitive now. I wanted to die. I knew I couldn’t though. I couldn’t die anymore.

I was brought out to the common room. The tv was loud. Everyone’s talking was loud. The room smelled like blood and dog and death. The brightly colored bean bags were more vibrant than they should have been. I sat in a corner, away from Howie. We could no longer be friends. I was to be alone for eternity. Everyone looked at me and fell silent.

“Oh my god…” Murmured Tyler.

“What… Happened?” said Daren.

“Mac! What’s wrong? Where did you go?”

“Stay back,” I warned. “I’m not safe for you anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

His voice was so loud I winced.

“Mac?”

“He’s a vampire,” Tyler explained, “Somehow.”