In Dreams: Bleed Out

Savior

I woke up in bed.  No a strange bed, this was much too soft to belong to me.  I jerked upright and the movement sent me tumbling off the end of the bed. Where the hell was I now?

"Careful now, it's going to take some time for you to adjust." A soft voice spoke.

I jumped and was on my feet, fight or flight prepped in an instant.  I spun towards the voice desperately.  What was happening?  The last thing I remembered was...

"Put your teeth away. I mean you no harm."  The voice said calmly.

Teeth?  I realized I had a snarl on my face, lips pulled back to expose my teeth.  And there seemed to be something wrong with the way my teeth were coming together.  God, what had happened to me?  Had I gotten knocked in the face?  I ran my tongue over them to check for loose teeth.  They were strangely straight, not anything like they were before.  Wait, hadn't something happened to me earlier?  There was some muddled memory of a woman in a nurse uniform and a concrete room?

"What is going on...?  Oh thank God, it's just a dream!"  I groaned, my voice sounded a little funny to me too, since my teeth weren't connecting the way I was used to.  I relaxed and started to examine the room.  It was decorated in nice bright colors, as if to emphasize the fact that no sunlight penetrated the room.

"No, not a dream."  Replied the voice again.  Sheesh that was a monster of a bed!  I caressed the quilt top.

"Right, like that's not exactly what you would say if this was a dream."  I responded sarcastically.  "Besides, the woman dressed like a nut, and wasn't there a needle and blood??  And now I'm here, and where even is here right now?"  I looked around and finally examined the speaker.

"It was all real.  She tried to kill you.  Well, she did kill you, honestly.  Why don't you sit down?"  He spoke.  I looked him up and down.  He was rather average, mild looking, a little taller than me, but I wouldn't have picked him out of a crowd or anything.  Brown eyes, brown hair with a soft curl to it.  Non-threatening looking.  He just, blended in.  He was standing beside the bed with a pleasant, if apologetic look on his face.  His clothing was obviously well tailored, a sort of casual slacks, tee and red leather jacket that still somehow looked expensive, if a bit rumpled presently.  But his bearing was weird.  Too stiff and formal, like somebody had nailed a board to his back.  I was so used to people my age basically slumping and bent over their devices, it was odd to see someone with such perfect posture.  Something in my mind started screaming 'Predator!' at me the more I looked at him, especially since he was standing in the doorway, blocking my exit.  It set off all kinds of warning bells in my head.  Meanwhile the other part of me immediately wanted to trust this man implicitly.  I could feel the confusion on my face as the two sides of me warred with each other.  The man smiled wryly.

"It's the sire's bond.  It binds you to me and makes you bend to my will if I push it.  I won't do that to you unless you force my hand.  Now please, have a seat."  He said blandly.

I walked slowly to the bed and sat on the edge.  This dream was really messed up. 

"I found you in the basement of that deserted building."  The man began.  "Or rather, the strong smell of blood drew me there."  I blinked at him

"Smell of blood...?"  I asked suspiciously, he held up a hand.

"Please, let me finish."  He scolded softly, but it felt like he had slapped me.  I blanched.

"Your heart had nearly stopped, if I had been a moment or two later..."  He shook his head.

"Well, then, thank you very much for saving me, but if this really isn't a dream, I need to be getting back home."  I informed him as I stood up.

"You can't leave."  He said sadly.  I stopped involuntarily, my body refused to cooperate.

"What the hell?"  I mumbled, looking down.  Now, I KNEW I had to be in a dream.  Nothing was holding me in place, but I suddenly wasn't able to move.

"Look at me girl."  The man commanded.  I struggled against the pull to lift my head.  "I said, look at me!"  The man spat, and my head immediately snapped up.  The once gentle looking man was now terrifying to behold.  Although he was barely taller than me, he seemed suddenly to be towering over me, his shadow seemed to engulf the room and a mist had begun to creep in through the window.

"I said, you CANNOT go home."  He snarled.  His teeth looked too long, dangerous, pointed even.  My mind screamed at me again, urging me to run from this dangerous predator.  I wanted to bolt, but his piercing gaze was still holding me in place. I began to panic, and I knew my face showed my terror.  His face softened and he seemed to shrink back into himself, the shadows retreating and the mist disappearing like they were never there.

"Child, you have died and I brought you back. You are no longer human. You are now vampire."  He said gently.

I laughed out loud at that.  My God what a dream!  I mean I'd had some wild dreams before, but really!

"No offence, and seriously, I'm really grateful for you saving me, but umm... this is all just a little to silly to believe."  I giggled.  The man hissed and his whole demeanor changed.  In a blink he had me by the throat, teeth bared.

"Is this believable to you?"  He growled and sliced razor sharp nails across my throat.  I gagged, feeling the blood pour down my poor trachea as my throat was exposed to air in a way it was never meant to be.  He dropped me to the floor in disgust and sat back on the bed.  He wiped the blood from his fingers on a handkerchief that materialized from one of his jacket pockets and waited a beat or two before addressing me again.  I choked on the floor for a few minutes, but it gave me time to examine the room again, as I realized this is where I was going to die.  Sad, it really was a huge room, nicely furnished, blackout curtains, I could stay here...

"You may sit up now. You're quite healed."  He softly told me.  I swallowed and realized the pain was gone.  He handed me a small handheld mirror from the bedside table.  I looked at my throat, it was covered in blood, but underneath was flawless skin.  Not even a scar.  I rubbed at the blood incredulously.  I would never have believed all of that just happened, except for the pain so recent in my mind, and the blood staining my neck and shirt front.  Then the sight of my own face caught my attention.  My normally olive-toned skin suddenly looked sickly, dark circles under my eyes, my normally hazel eyes stood out almost green now, and my slightly wavy hair had become a slightly more bronze brown.

"How? This can't be real... I don't understand... Hey wait-if I'm a vampire, then how can I see myself in the mirror?" I asked skeptically.

"Myth."  The vampire sighed.  "You'll find there are a lot of those attached to the vampire name. That particular myth was based on an ancient Greek or Roman religious belief that the soul could be captured in a mirror.  Thus, if a vampire has no soul, it follows that they would have no reflection.  We know a little more about how the world operates now, enough to know that that particular theory is laughable at best."  He waved a hand dismissively.

"Ok, that's cool.  Wait, does that mean I don't have a soul?"  My voice was tinged with worry.

"Do any of us?  I don't debate religions and philosophy child.  If you believed you had a soul before, then believe you have one now.  Do you feel differently?"  He questioned me.  I shook my head no.  "After a great illness, injury or surgery...does the person come to the other side with no soul?  Their body may be changed, but most do not believe we lose the soul because the body changes, why would this change be any different?"

I titled my head, interesting point.  Especially for someone who supposedly 'doesn't debate philosophy or religion'.  I grinned.

"So, what exactly has changed?"  I asked with trepidation.