by Dylan Keefer
“Those are the places where we make a lot of one thing.” Charlotte interrupted.
"And from cars. We burned coal, we used oil and then we have a lot of animals, and they produce a lot of waste, mining, normal everyday household things, etc. They all pollute the air so much that the protective cover—ozone, that is preventing the sun from burning us all to a crisp is also thinning."
Prudence sat there, dumbfounded. "That doesn't sound good, especially to someone who already doesn't like the sun." She started wondering how other vampires felt. Ones that have seen this happen.
"We are trying to fix it, and there are a lot of people making noise and funding projects. Though there are also a lot of people, who deny this ever happened." Milo shrugged. "I don't understand them myself but eh."
Prudence imagined vampires posing as humans in order to fix the protective layer. It was funny to think about. A creature who hunts humans for food being lauded as a hero protecting the environment.
“Oh, and I was looking through things you wouldn’t know, and I brought you a map of all the countries in the world.” Milo went to his room and got back with a large map which he unfolded while walking. “There are a lot of people in the world now, around seven billion.”
“Billion?” Prudence took the map and sat down on the couch again. After studying it, she smirked. “Well, I can tell you some people were turning in their graves when this map was made.”
Milo looked like he wanted to say something but changed his mind, shaking his head. “So, I don’t know how to explain it better but…”
“There are too many people, too little or badly distributed food, our leaders are crazy and/or greedy, and we destroyed our air by not being advanced enough to know it was happening before it became too bad.” Charlotte summed it up.
"That is not really that surprising." Prudence shrugged. When she turned, and she saw Milo's confused expression she chuckled. "What? Don't tell me that in this age, one of so much information, you have a romanticized view of the past?"
“So, people were not more sensible then?” Milo looked like someone punched him in the stomach.
"An entire group of people thought they were better than others and used them as property." Prudence folded the map and put it in her lap. This was the first time she had felt bitter. "You don't exactly win a prize for that." She turned her attention to what she knew the world was like. "For every human, they are the hero of their story. It's hard to convince them otherwise. And I don't think other creatures are any different."
Milo slumped down on a chair, defeated. "So, we haven't evolved or devolved. Are we the same as ever with only a few values changed? That's kinda depressing."
“Sorry.” Prudence looked down.
“Oh, no you did nothing wrong, I just need to accept it.” Milo looked at the map. “There are a lot of people in the world, there has to be something good coming out of that.”
"Maybe it's just we hear about more stuff now." Charlotte shrugged. "Kinda like, now I know how many people die in this town when I am the coroner. When I started, it seemed like an alarming amount. But now I know that it's like that everywhere, and it's not really abnormal. Also, assholes make a lot of noise when they don't get their way."
"I think a lot of people feel that way when they are in a new situation." Prudence reopened the map. "With so many people in one place, it's normal." She still couldn't figure out how seven billion people fit in the world.
Milo shrugged. “I still want to believe we are doing better.”
"Well, you probably are. You haven't destroyed the world yet." Prudence looked at the semi-cold food on the table and took a bite. It was spicy and unusual, but it felt good to have something in her stomach other than blood. While she ate, the conversation lulled.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Charlotte broke the silence by getting up and fetching desert. “I guess blood only goes so far huh?”
“Well, we know from the letter I’m half human. It makes sense that I can’t survive on blood alone.”
“How would that work anyway?” Milo pushed his glasses up his nose by the glass. “I mean, how were you born if a vampire is, how we’ve believed, a dead body with no heartbeat and hence no functions that would make a baby?”
“How it is possible that a body can walk and talk and knock someone out without being alive? Blood doesn’t have that much power.” Prudence said between bites of desert.
“Supernatural beings are supernatural Milo.” Charlotte shoved her cousin lightly. “It stands to reason they don’t act naturally.”
"There is probably an explanation, just like there is one about your relatives' deaths. It's just not something well known." Prudence shrugged.
"Well, I know that I'll have a long day tomorrow examining mister acid blood." Charlotte yawned and stretched. "And that means I want to sleep now, so I don't fall over tomorrow."
“Who is acid blood?” Milo squinted his eyes.
“The vampire hunter dude I told ya about. The one we killed.”
“Oh yeah, I made you stop describing because you were making me sick. That hasn’t changed.” Milo imitated a gagging noise.
“Don’t worry I won’t be here for this. She can catch ya up and spare you the details.” Charlotte ruffled Milo’s hair and left.
Milo took a deep breath. “Okay, tell me.”
"Vampire hunter attacked me; Charlotte killed him. His blood acts like acid on vampires." Prudence thought that was the best way, to sum up, everything. She didn’t want to make Milo uncomfortable. "Oh, and I also got a memory piece back. A page out of a book. I think Charlotte has it, hold on." Prudence got up and opened Charlotte's purse, digging through the mess until she found the paper, neatly folded up in a pocket.
Milo read the text carefully several times. “Well, this sounds like it was written by a very old vampire, just by the way the text references the past and how it seems to speak from experience and how it aligns itself with the vampire side. Also, that is a very detailed memory.”
“I think I was reading the book.” Prudence thought back. “Because I could see it very clearly. And the book was not new, and it was handwritten.”
“Incredibly detailed.” Milo moved to sit next to Prudence. “Did just seeing the vampire hunter jog this?”
“I saw the marks on his body. The tattoos. And I had my claws in him.”
“But, his blood was acid, no?”
“Yes, I got burned.”
“Then how are you fine now?”
“A lot of human blood can fix burns or the results of sitting for centuries in a coffin.” Prudence looked down. “Charlotte had some in her fridge.”
"That's… fortunate, despite you not liking it. I really hope you don't need blood that badly again." Milo put the paper down on the table. "Maybe the vampire hunter was working alone?"
"If he was, the question is how did he know I was one? His first method of killing me was dropping me in the sun. He didn't seem to know I was half human. Granted I am making an assumption, but his expression was too confused to count out. Which means I need to find how he knew and try and make sure no one else does. On the other hand, if he isn't working alone, it means I'm being hunted."
Milo sat back. "I am only listening to this, and even I'm anxious. I can't imagine how you feel. Though, figuring out how vampire hunters know you are a vampire sounds easier than being hunted."
"But if I'm not being hunted that would mean the vampire hunter is not connected to anyone who would know who I am. Which means the chances of finding out who I am, dwindle by the day."
“Ah.” Milo straightened up. “That makes it more complicated.” He yawned.
“You don’t have to stay up with me. You can go to bed. I might too.” Prudence lied. She knew her body needed some sleep, but she woke up yesterday after only four hours. She just wanted that time alone she would get to settle her thoughts.
Milo looked relieved. “Okay, if you want me to. But call if you need an
ything.”
"Sure."
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Prudence got up before everyone, despite the fact she went to bed late. When Charlotte got up and went to make coffee, Prudence had already started drinking her dose of blood for the morning. Pig blood tasted vastly different from human. Prudence thought to herself how the former was better, but the thought was uncomfortable. She focused on the delicious aspects of the blood in front of her instead.
When they got to work, Prudence, under the excuse of checking if her cousin was alright after yesterday, came with Charlotte to the morgue.
Charlotte changed and immediately went to open the vampire hunter’s body. But when she opened what seemed like a metal drawer to Prudence, she didn’t find anything.
“What the hell?” Charlotte bolted out of the door, screaming at the other people working in her building. Rick was there in just a few minutes.
“I was hoping that I’d see you before you found out.” Rick seemed agitated and sweaty. Prudence could see he had just come in because he was still in his coat. And she could tell he rushed getting here this morning because he seemed to have skipped shaving.
“What the hell happened to the body?”
“Feds came in and took it. Along with everything we had on the case.” Rick’s voice was low. He was faking being calm.
“And why would they want it?” Charlotte put her hands on her hips.
“The hell should I know? Two people in suits came in, showed credentials, which I checked, twice.” Rick stopped Charlotte from interjecting. “And then they packed everything up and left.”
Charlotte took a deep breath. “I trust you made sure they didn’t take anything not connected to that case?”
“Kept my eyes on them the whole time. They took your case file. Our case file. All the photos off the computer and the printed ones. The body and all swabs you took. The clothes, hell they even swept the back alley." Rick finally let his frustration show. He was rubbing the back of his neck and clenching his jaw in between sentences. "They said it was a part of an ongoing investigation. They even grilled me about what I know about you and your family."
Charlotte and Prudence locked eyes. Prudence felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. As much as she wanted to know who she was, she didn’t like the idea of being hunted anymore than anyone else.
“What did you tell them?” Charlotte glared at Rick.
"Names, address, anything they'd find in a phone book. I muddled through your cousin here, since I don't know a lot as is. They asked for a detailed account of what you saw; I gave them the report. I refused to call you in the middle of the night for them." Rick then let out a grin of triumph. "I also didn't tell them your cousin is working here, or that you copied most of the files we had on the dude yesterday. Or about the house visit."
Charlotte raised her eyebrows. Prudence froze. Her mind ran around trying to find the best way to hide what Rick knew and get away. She only snapped out of it when Charlotte continued talking.
“I’m not up to my family’s old tricks. I want ya to know that.”
“Oh, I know. But it’s beneficial to keep those links alive sometimes.” Rick smiled. “And I can see that there is something more here. You might not want to tell me, and I’m fine with playing the dumbass here. The less they think I know, the less the chance I’ll get hauled off along with the body next time.”
“Remind me of this near Christmas.” Charlotte extended a handshake to Rick. “I should move ya up the shopping list.”
"Just don't die or get arrested. You keep people in line and have almost no life aside from your job. You're the best Coroner this town has ever had." Rick accepted the handshake and left, nodding to Prudence in greeting.
“What was that about? Also, what’s a fed?” Prudence asked as soon as she and Charlotte were alone.
“A nickname for a different type of cop. As for Rick, he’s known me since I was five. He was also the one who knocked some sense into mom when she was objecting to me going away for school. I’m glad he was the one here when those assholes showed up.” Charlotte came closer. “Ya think they came at night because they wanted to throw us off guard, or because they can’t actually walk in the sun?”
“Either way, we know chances are they didn’t just pick the body up because of the reason they gave. The more likely option is they were hiding it.” Prudence looked Charlotte up and down. “If they know about me, they most likely know he lied. If they don’t, they have enough to consider you interesting.”
“I better call Milo.” Charlotte took out her phone. When Milo answered with a cheery hello, she immediately started talking.
“We have a situation. Lock up and be on guard. I mean it.” Charlotte didn’t wait for Milo to respond, she just terminated the call.
“That was brief.”
“It’s code. If I talk more than that and employ any niceties or don’t say I mean it, he should assume I’m being held at gunpoint somewhere and haul ass.”
“One of these days you are telling me what your family was doing.” Prudence turned to the door.
“It would take too long.” Charlotte returned to her work. “Suffice to say not a lot of them were nice people.”
“But you are.”
“Cause I like it more that way. And while my family’s history does give me a lot of problems, it comes in handy for stuff like the things we did yesterday.”
Prudence said bye to Charlotte and went to her little room. Charlotte’s family history always caused her anxiety. The fact the chief of police knew about Charlotte’s criminal activities. That made Prudence wonder how many bad things people ignored for their own good. It was hard to blame Charlotte when Prudence knew the reason for all of that was her problems.
Prudence started working. She paid close attention to everyone who came in. Most came to see her, and some even stroked up conversations. Prudence found it comforting some didn’t know why Charlotte was so upset before. Some were confused, some were annoyed, but no one probed deeper.
Prudence, however, used her position as the amnesiac to get them to come as close to her as possible. She braced herself for adverse reactions and focused on figuring out if they were human or not. It was the least she could do.
It caused some awkwardness when the young man that brought her coffee yesterday seemed to think she was flirting and asked her out. Luckily that was when Charlotte came in through the door. Prudence didn't have to come up with an excuse that didn’t confirm his assumption.
“John, don’t hit on my cousin. I will smack ya.”
“Okay, okay.” John grinned, leaving the room with his hand running through his long blond hair.
Charlotte watched him go. “Well, ya could do worse. He takes hints very well and is not a jerk. Just don’t eat him.”
“I was checking to see if he was human or not.” Prudence got up from her chair. She had stopped trying to decipher Charlotte’s sarcastic phrases. She could not think about relationships now, though it was tempting to seek comfort for herself in someone. “Trying to figure out if there is someone we need to watch out for.”
“Well, I can help ya with that later. Now we need to go to the doctor.” Charlotte handed Prudence her jacket.
“You mean go to the person you were talking to on the phone yesterday?” Prudence put her jacket on.
“Yup. His name is Philip, and he works in the hospital in town. And he’ll be just the thing to make your illness credible.”
The drive to the hospital was long considering how short the distance seemed to Prudence. It was in the busy part of town with the tall buildings.
Inside there was the hustle and bustle of a busy day and the strange smell that nearly made Prudence gag. She could smell blood and metal underneath the overpowering smell. The blood seemed different kinds of off. She assumed it was because the people here were sick. She hoped she wouldn’t catch anything. Though she was surprised and glad about the diversity in the place.
The
y walked straight into the doctor’s office, bypassing everyone. Philip was a tall, broad-shouldered man with short brown hair. He was reading something on the computer and straightened up immediately when he saw Charlotte walk in. He did not wait for Charlotte to get near him, he closed the distance and hugged her close to him. Prudence felt her cheeks heat up when Charlotte wrapped her hands around Philips’s head and gave him a long deep kiss. Prudence looked away, but she could not shut off all of her senses. She could hear their hearts speeding up and practically feel the atmosphere in the room. She wondered if she should step away when Charlotte and Philip broke their embrace.
“Hey.” His voice was soft and warm. Prudence was now certain her guess was right. Charlotte and this man were involved. She was curious to see which types of relationships were prevalent these days. People did seem to have no problem with public displays of intimacy, a fact that Prudence did not know how to feel about.
“Hey, ya.” Charlotte leaned on the desk, her gaze making sure they were alone. “This is my cousin. I need ya to examine her and write a teensy little fib in her file. Well, two teensy little fibs.”
“What type of ‘fibs’?” He raised his left eyebrow.
“The date for one. A week before today. And two, I need ya to write in that she still hasn’t recovered from her car crash fully. She has retrograde amnesia from it, but her body has healed already. Oh, and I’ll bring ya all the documentation ya’ll need to make the report tomorrow. She doesn’t have access to them today.”
“You’ll owe me.”
“Aware of that. But I like owing ya.”
The man smiled. “Okay, done. Let me perform a rudimentary examination.”
Prudence resisted raising an eyebrow. She observed the man carefully. She concluded Charlotte was probably the only person who could get away with asking something like that.
Charlotte nodded and turned to Prudence. “He’ll examine ya to see if ya’re healthy. I’ll stay right here.”
Prudence nodded and walked to the man. He was now exuding polite professionalism.
