Cornered

You see, Talbot saw me go into the alley. He called me. I couldn’t resist going back to see him. What might happen? Me all on my own and the best-looking doctor ever. Better than those lanky losers from the boys’ school.

They came at me from behind. I didn’t see them. I didn’t hear them. They were just suddenly there. They were pawing at me, pulling at my clothes and pushing me. One of them pinned up against the wall.
Then Talbot was there. I couldn’t figure out at first how he got there so quickly. I know now, of course.
But he was too late.

One of them had banged my head really hard against the wall.
It’s all a bit hazy, but I do remember their faces as they saw Talbot arriving. They screamed and they ran.
Talbot was holding me.
“No,” I heard him whisper. “No!”
He screamed. I’ve never heard anything like it. It sounded inhuman.
There was a bright light shining above him. It seemed to be pulling me towards it. I knew I was dying.
“You can save me,” I said. “You’re a doctor.”
“There’s nothing that 21st century medicine can do to save you,” he said. “Nothing in my power as a doctor.”
“Please,” I begged.
I didn’t want to die. They say your whole life flashes in front of you when you’re dying. Mine did. Though not the life I’d had, as you might imagine, but the life I still wanted to have.
“I don’t want to die,” I mumbled.
“I can do something,” he said, his voice all husky.
I was getting sleepy. But I still knew: I wanted to live.
“You can still live here. It won’t be quite the same. You won’t be the same at all. There’ll be some pain.”
“Please let me live,” I whispered.

It wasn’t like they say in all the books. How can I describe it? It was a bit like making love. As he bit into my neck, I felt a jolt of energy and then as he feasted I actually felt all the pain they’d given me melting away and being replaced by a strange energy. I felt lighter and stronger as he fed.
He was excited. How a man gets excited when he’s with a woman I thought then and now know. And the excitement spread to me. I pulled him closer and encouraged him to feed more violently.

No, it wasn’t like in all the books. It didn’t burn. It didn’t hurt. It made me feel good.

The pain came later.

That’s the reason you need to keep away from Talbot. And from me actually. Because of what came later.