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.

Taken in by Talbot

Taken in by Talbot
No, I didn’t make up a fake illness so I could get an appointment with the delicious young doctor. Nothing would have been more embarrassing. No, the first time I met Talbot properly was after I fainted at school and Miss Evans, our school nurse, drove me round there in the car.
It was so embarrassing. Then. It wouldn’t bother me now. I don’t have that sort of cycle any more anyway. So, I didn’t have proper periods, but boy, when they came did they hurt! The pain had been so bad I’d keeled over in the middle of a chemistry lesson. I’d smashed a test tube on the way and I’d got a nasty gash on my arm. When he first saw that, Talbot pulled a face and then sent for the nurse. He stayed out of the room whilst she cleaned it up and put a dressing on it.
“Well, well, Miss Fyonah McBride, what’s been happening to you?” he asked, when he came back in. “So much blood. Cutting your arm at the same time as you have your period. Careless! Careless!”
Now, of course, I understand how he knew all of that. And why he licked his lips and why his eyes grew round and his pupils big and then why he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. But then I was really surprised about how he could know about my period – I was such a shy little thing back then.
He sent Miss Evans away.
“We could put you on the pill,” he said.
I blushed and looked away.
“My mummy and my daddy would not be very happy about that,” I said.
“Oh, yes, the Pope,” said Talbot.
When I looked up again, he was grinning.
“Oh, Miss McBride,” he said. “There are other solutions, but you’re really too young for me to suggest those seriously.”
Something happened in that moment. I wasn’t sure then exactly what at the time. Now, I know it was a Talbot trick. But I was well and truly taken in. Then, in that moment as his eyes became silver and he looked at me with half smile on his lips, I knew why the other girls had wanted to go and see him.
My heart rate quickened.
“I’d better examine you,” he said.
A few moments later, I was lying on his couch with just my panties on and covered with a light blanket. He called the nurse in.
“You need a chaperone,” he said. “And don’t worry. I won’t be doing an internal exam today.”
He pulled the blanket down gently and started prodding at my tummy. “I’m sorry my hands are so cold,” he said.
I could hardly breathe. Yet I was able to notice that his nostrils were flaring slightly and that he seemed not to breathe. And at the same time it was incredibly soothing having his cool hands glide across my skin.
“It all seems normal,” he said. “It will all regularise in time. I’ll give you something for the pain.”
“What was the other thing you said I could do?” I asked as he gave me the prescription a few moments later.
“I didn’t,” he said. “I said there wasn’t anything else suitable for someone as young as you.”
“I am nearly sixteen,” I said.
He smiled and this time his eyes seemed to glow gold. “Too young,” he said. “A pity.”
My heart really began to race now. I wanted to see him again. I wanted him to touch me again. I wanted the silkiness of him. I was almost thirsty for him. Even then.
He looked away. “Do come back, Miss McBride, if you have any more problems.” He said, his voice sounding like satin. He looked back at me.
I could not breathe at all now. I thought my heart would stop completely.
If Miss Evans had not come back in and whisked me away, I swear I would have never moved again.