Blood Thief, Vampire or Both?

[Robert Pratt]

Robert wandered the brightly lit streets of the mall with a frown on his face. It was out of place for him to be anywhere brightly lit, preferring to stay in the dark, shadowey places with his sister and so the fact he was here now showed how upset and confused his mind was. He'd spoken to a few people who'd got in touch with him over the internet - a service called CrowNet. He'd debated with others and been threatened by yet more. This was an unfriendly town he was finding - with people who were quick to judge and even faster to kill. He needed time to think while he waited for the meeting to be scheduled with the leader of his group - Mr Chobre - his possible ex employer, not knowing what his status currently was with them.

He realised that since the accident, he'd not eaten anything and it was quite possibly partly responsible for his bad mood and the headaches he was experiencing. He entered a coffee shop and ordered himself a coffee and a danish before taking the tray over to the corner and taking a seat at the isolated table. He held the coffee in his hands, up by his face, and inhaled the aroma while letting the steam soothe his face. He raised the cup to his lips and took a couple of small sips before placing the mug back on the table - only to be replaced in his hands by the danish. He ripped a few pieces from it, popping them into his mouth one after the other and chewing thoughtfully on it while placing the main thing down on the plate once more.

A few minutes passed as he stared into nothing, beginning to muse on his current situation, before things started to go wrong. At first his stomach simply rumbled with a slight gurgle. He put it down to it saying thank you for feeding it as it processed the small amount of food and drink he'd consumed and so ignored it. Then it happened again, more violently and with stabbing pains. He doubled over with a groan, knocking the tray from the table with his sudden movements. The other late night customers turned to look at him, eyebrows raised and their tongues stilled as they stared at the strange man in the corner groaning and making a fool of himself. He felt like his insides were on fire as they cramped up around his stomach and he dry heaved. He stood up, knocking his chair over backwards in the process, and then looked around - panic in his eyes.

His immediate thoughts changed rapidly from someone poisoning him for being a Blood Thief, to this being another 'turning' of some sort, to something within himself rejecting whatever it was that made him a vampire - as if the Blood Thief and Vampire couldn't exist together. He stumbled forwards, clutching at chairs and tables and people to hold himself upright - all the while groaning in agony. With the confusion in his head and his lack of knowledge on the subject, the last thought in his mind was that the vampire and blood thief couldn't exist in one body together - and then he threw up with force all over the place before passing out.

[Robert Pratt]

He came too a few moments later with a number of strangers gathered around him, staring down at him with concern on their faces. His lips parted and he snarled - his fangs on show as he did - making the people jump back in fear. His stomach was settled now that it had expelled that which he'd consumed and he was able to get to his feet and run from the coffee shop at unnatural speed, leaving the people behind and his bounty raised. Through his mind ran the same thought he'd had before he passed out. That he couldn't be a vampire and a blood thief. The two seemed to be at odds with one another in life - and until there was peace between them in the city, there could be no peace between them within himself.

He'd spoken to a few people and so hd gleaned some information from them about what it was to be a vampire. He hadn't seen the woman who'd turned him since the night of the accident so had had no-one to guide him and teach him in vampiric ways. As such, what he'd learned was in bits and pieces gleaned from the CrowNet and was full of holes and assumptions and just wrong in some cases. Instead of knowing that as a vampire he culdn't eat anything - he thought that the vomiting had been because of the conflict within his body between being a Blood Thief and being a vampire...... and it concerned him.

He'd stopped running now, finding himself somewhere in the wilderness beyond the city. He climbed up into a tree to avoid the animals he'd seen roaming around and leant against the trunk to muse over his thoughts. His sister appeared in the leaves above him, her face dancing between them as they rustled in the wind. His face brightened immediately as he blew her a kiss - a decision being reached within his mind.

"Diane. Where have you been little lady? I'm sorry if I scared you the other night, I know there was a lot of blood for you to see.... but see? I'm ok. I'm here and I won't leave you. But things have changed and I'm different."

He cocked his head on it's side as he regarded her, as if listening to her speak and then nodded his head.

"Good. I'm glad you already know they've tried to turn me into a vampire. It's certainly a lot to take in! I mean, all those people I'd been buying from..... they weren't sick at all. They were - well - dead!"

His eyes had cast down to the ground as he'd spoken, watching a wolf stalk by, but his head shot back and he playfully glared at his sister.

"Don't laugh at me - of course I didn't know...... Well, if you did know - why didn't you tell me? Don't lie to me Diane dear. It's not ladylike. But look, I don't think that the organisation knows. They were the ones who told me about the porphyria remember? Now - now I find out that these vampires are killing my friends,our family."

He frowned at her and nodded his head, watching her as she moved and danced through the leaves and along the branches.

"Yes, I'm going to warn them and help them. I have to you know? These vampires say they will kill me for it - but I need to do what's right. Right? I've decided though - I need to remain a blood thief. My body wants to change into a vampire, expel the blood thief part of me. But I can't have that happen. If I do, I might turn on them as these savages have!"

He smiled up at her then frowned and shook his head.

"No. No idea how to do it. I'm hoping that if I make sure not to train as I've heard of others doing, I can hold back the change from completing. You know? If I don't embrace my vampirism and only focus on the skills I had as a blood thief - maybe I can stay me? That's the plan for now - stay a Blood Thief and reject the vampire within. Once there is peace between the two people, then I will try to bring peace within myself and embrace the vampire so it might work with the Blood Thief to make me better and stronger. But I cannot let the vampire win and destroy all I am and was."

He stuck his tongue out at her, regressing to a childlike state as he did whenever she was around as if they were two kids again.

"Yeh yeh. It's crazy - I know. But the two within me, the vampire is getting stronger. It made me ill a little while ago as it tried to reject the blood thief in me - you saw? Well, I will show it. I will show them all. Blood Thieves shouldn't be looked over, dismissed or massacred. We need to be respected and worked with - we could be an asset rather than killed. I wil show them they've tangled with the wrong people."

He smiled at her lazily and nodded.

"Tomorrow"

And then he drifted off to sleep in the cover and safety of the tree.