The Vampire Keeper

by Sabrina Street

  “Don’t worry about that. Are there spikes at the end of the stake?”

  “No.”

  “Okay. Go get your medical bag,” demanded Larkin. “I am going to need you to sew me up again.”

  Without hesitation, Wyler ran up what was left of the tattered staircase. There were missing sections, holes, and boards that resembled splinters dangling from the railings. He had barely entered the bathroom, when he heard a loud growl. Grabbing his medical bag, Wyler ran back to the hole. Remembering Larkin’s claim that the assailant was not dead, he took caution and stopped next to a hole. Peering down below, he could see Larkin still pinned against the wall as well as the attacker lying motionless on the floor.

  Wyler’s attention was drawn to Larkin, who was using his legs and forearms as leverage against the wall to push himself free. With every push, he let out a growl-like cry until he was free. Larkin held the center of his chest as he pulled the bloody stake out of the wall.

  Wyler rubbed at his eyes for clarity when he observed the enemy, whose neck he had sliced open with his own hand, regain his footing. Instead of being completely paralyzed with fear, he immediately alerted Larkin. “Hey! Look out!”

  The outburst caught the enemy’s attention, which allowed Larkin enough time to thrust the stake into his rival’s chest, grab his head, and twist until it snapped off letting his decapitated body fall to the floor.

  Wyler jumped down to the first floor and stared at him in amazement. “How did you do that?”

  “I am sure you have a lot of questions, and I will answer each one, but while you stitch me up.”

  Larkin removed his shirt and Wyler slinked over to him. There was blood oozing down both sides of his body. “I don’t know where to start. I never stitched up a wound this large.”

  “Just stitch the outside closed to hold the blood in,” Larkin instructed.

  Wyler was skeptical as whether or not his new friend could actually survive such a trauma, but nevertheless he had been proven wrong about their now decapitated foe. Taking a deep breath, Wyler examined the wounds and determined it would be best to suture the wound closed while Larkin was standing. Perhaps, his patient might lose less blood, and if nothing else at least Wyler would be able to see where to stitch.

  Larkin laughed, “Alright, so what is your question?”

  He threaded his needle and said, “How did you pull his head off.”

  “I just twisted until it popped off, not to mention your fancy knife work helped.”

  “Technically, with all this blood loss you should be dead, but so should he,” observed Wyler as he pointed to the headless body. “Why didn’t he die after I slit his throat? And, why are you still alive?”

  “I will tell you after you finish,” replied an unemotional Larkin.

  In a low mumble, he said, “This is not natural.” Silence fell between them; and Wyler shook his head before blurting out, “No!”

  “I want the answer to my question, or I won’t stitch you up,” demanded Wyler moving his hands away from the half sewn hole.

  Larkin thought for a moment but knew he had to agree. He also knew it would take months to heal if he left his wound unstitched, thus leaving him vulnerable to future attacks. He drank my blood, so he shouldn’t refuse me. I will try once again, but this time more direct? Larkin thought. He turned to Wyler and demanded, “No. You will stitch me up now, and I will tell you after.” Larkin inhaled deeply causing blood to gush out.

  Wyler pushed an old shirt at him and said, “Here hold this over that hole and turn around so I can stitch up your back.” Larkin said nothing as he turned holding the shirt to his chest. With Larkin’s back toward him, Wyler thought, Why did I agree against my own wishes? Mystified at his own behavior, he questioned Larkin as to why he had not followed his own judgment. “Why do I feel like I need to stitch you up right away? I was dead set against helping you, if you had refused.”

  He stood there silently until he felt the needle pierce his skin. Finally, Larkin answered, “You can’t refuse me.”

  “Why not?” demanded his alarmed surgeon.

  “Do you remember when you drank that cup of water, after you removed the musket ball?”

  “Yes.”

  “You drank a small dose of my blood, which made you protective and loyal to me.”

  “What? Why? What are you? How long does it last?” The questions rambled out of Wyler’s mouth without a pause.

  Larkin did not make an interjection to his blathering. Instead, he listened silently, and responded only to the last. “Forever!” he said, before elaborating on such a life changing effect, “You will always feel the need to be loyal and protect me as long as you live.”

  Wyler took a deep breath as he tried to understand, “What else happened to me when I drank that water?”

  Feeling the tight pulling of his skin uniting, Larkin explained that for a short period of time Wyler may develop some of his supernatural attributes; such as, being able to see clearer, hear sharper, or form better reflexes. You might get one or all; it depends upon the benefactor.” Seeing Wyler’s brow furrow with concern, Larkin added, “The advantage of long term consumption will cause your rate of aging to slow down considerably.”

  It didn’t take Wyler long to know which trait he had received, for now he could explain as to how he had seen figures standing by the tree. “They should have been masked by the darkness,” mumbled Wyler.

  A grim smile crossed Larkin’s face, “Your abilities will weaken as the day wanes.”

  Wyler listened most astutely as Larkin assured him that the only way to retain his new features that he would need to drink of his blood daily. “Let me get this straight. By drinking your blood every day I will have better vision, reflexes, and age slower, but since I have already drunk it once I will be loyal to you even if I never drink it again,” concluded his exasperated surgeon.

  “Something like that,” he confirmed, before offering Wyler a proposition. Larkin explained how Wyler’s actions after drinking the blood tinted water interested him greatly, for he had noticed that Wyler went back to sleep with hardly any concern or interest of his well-being. Larkin confessed, “After drinking my blood, I thought perhaps you were immune. But, by the time I had considered that you hadn’t drunk enough blood to bind you to me I heard them coming from afar. I could have left you, but I didn’t because I knew if I had you would certainly meet death, so I stayed. Now, my duty to you is fulfilled, and I am glad I did not leave, since I want to retain your services as my Keeper.”

  “Keeper! What is that?” He said as he finished tying the knot on the last stitch. Wyler stood up to examine the injury he had sutured earlier that night. The lesion had vanished and all that remained were tiny pieces of thread. He gasped, “The other wound, it’s healed.”

  “I heal quickly. Are you done back there?”

  He mumbled, “Yes” and Larkin turned to face him. Even though the shirt Larkin held to his chest was blood soaked Wyler still told him, “Keep holding pressure against it, I need to rethread my needle.”

  “That headless enemy seemed to have some of the same attributes I currently have. Was he a Keeper?”

  “No.”

  “Okay, move the shirt. Is he like you?”

  “Kind of.”

  Wyler thought to himself, Kind of. What does that mean? Why is he always so vague with me? Blood spurted out onto the floor as he continued to close the hole in Larkin’s chest, and he thought, Oh, this is a lot of blood. I wonder why he isn’t dead yet. Wyler took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before he asked, “I am getting close to being finished. Will you tell me now how you are still alive after this significant loss of blood?” and thought, Not to mention the type of wound he sustained.

  Knowing that Wyler could not refuse to continue suturing him up, he told all. “The reason we didn’t die from life-threatening injuries is because we are already dead.”

  “Already dead! What does that mean? What are you?”

>   “We are Vampires. Well I am, and he was. Our blood helps us heal the most critical injuries.”

  “Is that why when I slashed his throat open it didn’t kill him?”

  “Yes. We are extremely difficult to kill. The heart must be removed and incinerated or we will regenerate.”

  Staring at their headless attacker, Wyler screeched, “Wait! Are you saying that thing is still alive?”

  “Beheading is the most serious injury that we cannot revive from immediately, but if someone came along and reattached the head, then yes he would in time revive.”

  “How could that be?”

  “You see how you are stitching me closed right now?” Wyler shook his head yes, so Larkin continued, “If we leave that body untouched and someone comes along, finds it, stitches it back together, feeds it, or buries it, then the body will rest underground until it is completely restored. Once regenerated, he will revive and come after us again.”

  “Can you kill them by burning the body without decapitating them?”

  “Yes, as long as you get the heart. If you merely set one on fire without incineration, the body will slowly heal until they rejuvenate back to normal. The best way to ensure that they are turned to ash is to making sure they are immobile so that they can’t find a means of putting themselves out.”

  “Why are you telling me all of this?”

  “Because you asked, and I want you to be my Keeper. Do you accept?”

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “Yes. Although you will feel loyal to me for life, I will not force you to do my will.” For some reason, Larkin felt Wyler was not like anyone he had retained before. Generally, if they accept the blood then they will be faithfully forever; however, Wyler’s initial resistance was different, so Larkin asked Wyler to make a true commitment, one of his own free will.

  “I owe you my life, so I will not refuse.” Wyler omitted to Larkin that he was on his way home to nothing but his father’s old medical office. He had no one else, so he welcomed Larkin’s invitation, not to mention he found himself fascinated with this anomaly.

  “You owe me nothing. Do not consent out of duty.”

  “I do not only accept out of duty, but out of honor.” Without waiting for a response, Wyler said, “All done. How do you feel?”

  “Like I am no longer a fountain. Thank you. Now I need to replenish myself. I stuffed two humans in the closet during the attack. Go see if one of them survived. If they did, bring one to me.”

  “I thought they were all vampires.”

  “No, they usually send human scouts in as traps. We are more vulnerable when we feed.”

  “Feed?”

  “As vampires, we drink human blood.” Fear swept over Wyler as he turned to follow Larkin’s command. Larkin caught sight of the fear and added, “Don’t worry; your blood is safe.”

  The fear eased away, and he immediately opened the closet. They were unconscious, so he felt for a pulse. He found a pulse on the more stocky man, but not on the other. He reached to grab the one he knew was alive but noticed as he pulled him up that the chest slowly moved up and down on the other, so he grabbed him instead. He pulled him across the floor over to Larkin who propped himself against the wall for leverage, “Here–, this one is almost…”

  The dead body fell to the floor before Wyler could finish his sentence, “… gone.” Unsure of what to do next Wyler said, “Do you want me to bring you the other one?”

  “No. He was enough for now. We need to gather these bodies first.”

  Wyler stood there not knowing what to say or do, so he recounted the night’s events. He stared down as Larkin removed the heart from the decapitated body, and recollected some of the conversation that ensued between him and the vampire. He said kind of like me. He never said how they were different. He just said they were vampires.

  Larkin returned, “I gathered all the pumpers and placed them in the bathtub upstairs. Do you have a light?”

  Wyler grabbed his bag and rummaged through it pulling out all the medical supplies as he searched for a flint. “Earlier you said that man was kind of like you. How is he different from you?” He found the flint and steel and said as he extended it toward him, “Is there more than one kind of vampire?”

  Larkin grabbed the match from Wyler. “I am growing bored with these questions; I will tell you another day. You have nothing but time now.”

  After setting the organs on fire, it was Larkin’s turn to inquire about his new Keeper, “So you don’t have a brother?”

  “No. I am an only sibling, and my father perished during the Battle of Charlottesville.” He thought for a moment, My attacker said something about a brother, and asked Larkin, “Why is your brother trying to kill you?”

  Larkin never took his eyes off of the flame. He only replied, emotionless, “That’s an ever longer story.”

  Chapter 10: A Moment of Weakness

  Leaving Wyler alone to deal with his worrisome wife, Larkin returned upstairs to find Jezalyn sitting where they left her. Her hair cupped her diamond shaped face as she tilted her head to the side to inspect underneath the counter. She reached in and retrieved a laptop with small red heart stickers. Hiding out of view, Larkin listened to her thoughts, This is pretty; it must be Ana’s. I am sure she wouldn’t mind if I borrowed it a sec to check my grades. He watched her fidget as she navigated through the internet. As she slowly scrolled down the page, he could see the muscles in her arms tense up and release as she softly laughed, “It’s an A!” If he wanted to talk to her without the presence of Wyler, he needed to approach her soon. Larkin lightly tiptoed up behind her as if to steal a kiss and in her ear he whispered, “Hey, what you have there?” Startled, she sprung forward up off the stool causing the computer to slide across the counter. Their hands scrambled to grasp the laptop; luckily, they caught it before it slipped off the edge. After her panic subsided, she glanced down and saw that not only did she catch the computer, but she had also caught Larkin. She stood there for a moment frozen with her hand over his. She got a chill and instantly an “Oh, sorry!” escaped out of her mouth as she released him.

  “It’s okay. I didn’t mean to scare you. I am glad your laptop didn’t break.”

  “Me too. Especially since it’s not mine.” Larkin let out a slight laugh, and Jezalyn thought, I hope he doesn’t tell Wyler I almost dropped it.

  She still felt a little awkward, so she tried to change the subject and ease the tension. She flashed him a smile and teased, “Wow! You must have been outside quite a while for your fingers to still be cold.”

  He quickly made an excuse as to why his hands were cold. “I lost my gloves, so it will probably take them a while to warm up.”

  “Oh. I think I saw a pair under the counter earlier.” She bent over tilting her head to the side once again. He watched as her hair slipped down and dangled in her face. She brushed it back with one hand exposing her fair slender neck as she retrieved the gloves with the other. The gloves she found were light pink with tiny white checks. She handed them over to him with a giggle, “I hope you like pink.” He took them from her and unrolled them. They were not gloves but mittens, but he tried them on anyway.

  After squeezing his fingers into the narrow holes, he lifted his hands, “What do you think?”

  Softly giggling, she observed, “I think you need another three inches.”

  He laughed and said, “To be sure you are correct.” He pulled his hands out of the mittens, rolled them back together, and tossed them back under the counter. “I hope I didn’t stretch them out, but if I did, I guess Ana could always use them as booties.” Another soft giggle escaped her supple strawberry lips. He could not help but notice them, since he could practically taste the strawberry lip balm from the smell. The transformation from human to vampire heightened his senses. Now he barely had to inhale to smell something halfway across the room. He could also see sharper, hear from greater distances, and move faster.

  Larkin grabbed the computer, sw
ung it around, and opened it. “Let’s see what was amusing you when I walked up.”

  “It was my grades. I got an A on my rough draft I submitted the other night.”

  “Looks like you also have a few comments. Did you read them yet?” he said while flipping the computer back around to face her.

  “No! There are comments? You must have surprised me before I could see them.” She pulled the computer close and began to read. Your insight into the Medusa myth, in regards to the relationship between Medusa and Athena, is a good topic to explore. You have enough factual material; now try to add more depth to your paper. Fear swept over her and Larkin watched and listened to her continue, It feels like you just scratched the surface of their relationship. I would like to see it developed a little further by making a claim or claims and then supporting them. Here are some questions that might help you. Do you think that Medusa and Athena were natural enemies? Do you think that Medusa’s punishment was fitting? Should she have had to bear any punishment? Why or why not? I think you have a good start here, but if you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact me for further guidance through the internal course email.

  Even though Larkin already knew the content of her comments, he tried to ask with some excitement, “Well, what does it say?”

  Without a word, she flipped the computer around toward him with a hesitant motion. “You can read it if you want,” she finally stated as he pulled the laptop closer. She watched in silence as he read.

  He lifted his head only after allowing enough time to pass so that Jezalyn would assume he read the comments before he offered his assistance. “I love mythology,” he confessed. “I’ll read your paper and give some pointers if you’d like.”

  “Yeah, that would be great! When do you think you could look at it?” asked Jezalyn

  “Any time is good. I could do it now if you had it.”

  Without a word, Jezalyn took hold of the computer and retrieved her email that retained the attached document. She opened the report, got up, and offered Larkin her seat. She became flustered at the thought of him reading her report. What if he thinks I am stupid? I should have never accepted. She bit her lip as Larkin sat down. I should go make some tea. It would not only help calm me, but keep me busy while he reads. She waited a few minutes before she decided, Yep that’s what I am going to do. She informed Larkin of her plan to make tea and offered to make him a cup as well. “It might help you warm up some,” she said.