By the standards of the Shacklestone city outskirts, the hospital was clean. The beds were made and there was no stench of blood or decay hanging in the air; surprising enough in itself, considering how dead or dying people had been carried inside.

He'd been here for a month, or at least he thought it was a month. It was hard to keep track. Somehow it never quite stuck in his head. After a while he'd got the clever idea to start asking the doctors for the date every day, but he quickly realised that he never retained the knowledge for long. He always forgot it a few hours later.

The pain was probably the least of his problems, all things considered. He still didn't know how many bones he'd broken or how severe his head injury was (nobody seemed willing to tell him, always evading the question when he asked), but he'd escaped in one piece, mostly. He was grateful for that.

Whatever HAD happened must have been something quite big, because vampires typically were hard to injure and even harder to kill.

Gradually, during the time he was still stuck in his hospital bed and unable to stand up, bits and pieces of his memory came floating back. Walking through the trees towards the distant lights of the city as the sunrise inched its way over the horizon. Hearing the crashes of steel and explosions, the thunder of gunfire, and the screams that were barely audible over everything else.

He couldn't remember how he'd gotten involved in it all.

Eventually he managed to convince a young nurse to tell him what had been happening in the city. She spoke reluctantly, as if unsure whether she was allowed to say it or not. There had been a riot, she said. A group of non-humans had attacked the mayor's property, and guards armed with every horrific weapon imaginable came pouring out to subdue them. At least, they'd been ordered only to subdue, but what seemed to be on their minds was killing the creatures stone dead.

In the end, he accepted that he'd probably never regain his full memory of the event. But over time, he found himself remembering other things more clearly. The names of the doctors and nurses began to stick in his head. There was Will, an old surgeon who in his earlier years had been a soldier of the Old Kingdom. There was Marilyn, a nurse barely out of her teens who was already one of the most respected medics in the building. And there was Tabitha, the one who'd been looking after him ever since the accident occurred. She was probably the one he talked to most.

'Beautiful morning, isn't it?' he said conversationally. Sitting on the edge of the bed that had been his home for over a month, he turned to flash a grin at the curly-haired woman who was writing something down on a clipboard beside him. 'And my nurse just so happens to match its beauty.'

She looked up long enough to raise an eyebrow at him, then returned to her work.

'That won't work on me, Armin,' she said. 'I don't care how many other people are charmed by you. I'm a medic, you're my patient - all I care about is keeping you alive while you're under my care.'

'Just a patient, huh?' Armin sighed, bending to lace up his boots. 'So I mean nothing to you, is that it?

'You know that isn't true,' said Tabitha. 'You're such a familiar sight here now, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy your company. But professionalism is important, you know.'

'Oh, I do.'

The vampire climbed to his feet with a barely-stifled groan. On some days his legs still felt like they were filled with pieces of broken glass, even though everyone told him he was nearly healed, and the wave of vertigo that accompanied his return to upright posture almost made him collapse again.

Tabitha got up and walked over to him, calmly taking the vampire's arm and helping him hobble out through the door. The sun was glowing outside, and the scent of the outdoors was overwhelming after the sterile smells of the hospital. Armin lifted his head and gulped down a few lungfuls of the clean, sweet air. A sudden longing to be walking through the forest seized him, and if it weren't for the throbbing in his legs, he might've let go of Tabitha's arm and strode away by himself.

The nurse eyed him perceptively. 'It won't be long, and then you'll be able to leave. You were very lucky.'

'Lucky,' he sighed. 'I don't think I've felt less lucky in my entire life.'

She gave a quiet chuckle. 'Lucky that you're a vampire, I mean. A human would have almost certainly been killed or crippled for life by the injuries you had, but you're going to pull through just fine.'

Armin almost laughed with her, but something made him wonder. 'Doesn't it matter to you, then, that I'm not actually human?'

Tabitha shook her head. 'No. I admit, I was uneasy at first - but I can see you're not some sort of psycho murderer. And I'm not so stupid that I believe all non-human people are evil by default...'

He didn't answer, and for a few minutes the silence stretched out between them, not uncomfortable, but merely peaceful. The sun was warm for a September morning. The trees near the hospital rustled and a small flock of birds darted out; Armin with his sharper vision could recognise the species of every one of them.

'You're from the city, then?' Tabitha asked.

'Mhm,' Armin nodded. He extracted his arm from hers and limped a few feet away to sit down on a fallen tree. Tabitha followed his example, smoothing down her skirt before she sat down. 'But I also travel a lot.'

'I'd love to do that,' she said. 'My parents used to be avid travellers, and I've always wanted to do the same. There's so much out there - so much yet to be discovered.'

The vampire smiled, showing a hint of pointed fangs. Tabitha's gaze was focused directly ahead of her, so she didn't see.

'It would be fun to discover them, don't you think?' he said. 'Maybe...'

And then he was suddenly struck by one of the most awful ideas he'd ever had in his life. And considering his age, that was saying something.

'...Maybe we can travel together someday.'

Tabitha slowly turned to face him. Her expression held a hope so faint that he knew she couldn't believe him. 'Would it be safe?' she asked falteringly. 'A vampire and a human...'

'I'll make it safe,' he said, with a sudden feeling of determination.

Tabitha said something in response, but Armin never got to hear it. A sharp pain ripped through his head from a telepathic blast so strong it nearly knocked him over, and following the pain came words spoken in a horribly familiar voice.

//Come to Shacklestone, Armin. I have a new task for you.//

He gritted his teeth and turned away from Tabitha so she wouldn't know what was going on. //I almost died,// he said to the older vampire. //Can't I get a break?//

//You have been away for too long,// said Sargon coldly. //Return, now. And if you bring that human woman with you, she will die. I do not appreciate you mingling with humans when you're supposed to be helping me protect OUR race.//

//Don't you dare,// he growled. //She hasn't done anything to hurt you.//

//Regardless, she will be killed. Now come back immediately and talk to me. Your next task is an important one.//

The ancient vampire disappeared from his mind, the telepathic words echoing and then fading. Forcing a smile, he turned to Tabitha. 'Sorry, you were saying?'

He knew he could never fulfil his promise to her now. No matter how hard he tried to protect her, he could do nothing against his own boss, and he wouldn't let her be killed. Sargon controlled everything now, and he couldn't even have a friend without putting them in mortal danger.

//Damn you,// he thought, clenching a fist. //I hope one day, someone gets lucky and puts a stake through your heart. You deserve it for everything you've done to me, my family... AND the human race.//

(That's everything. That turned out longer than I thought it would be, sorry. XD)

OOOOOOO
THAT'S FLIPPING COOL THOUGH-

That was awesome!! The story, interactions, and descriptions were all so clear! I miss your writing. >w<