John's Lawn

I dried my face as I left him behind, unsure of what to do first. I sat with music blasting for the first hour, mind flashing through the events like a slideshow. When I eventually came across a convenience store. It was a 24/7 place, the kind that had hot dogs on the roller for days at a time, and the only people that worked there couldn’t get a job anywhere else.

I pulled into a parking space and picked my phone off the passenger seat. I’d already decided I’d go to the detective’s place last. But I’d never been to Rachel’s before, and I didn’t remember her phone number. “What if I?”

I dialed a number, letting it ring a good five times when “Chad’s Cads how can I help you?”

“God, tell me that isn’t the name of your shop.”

“Joseph? Is that you bro?”

“Yeah, it’s been a while, good to hear from you.”

“Where the hell have you been man!? Terry’s out look–”

“It’s all sorted now. I don’t mean to be callous, I promise I’ll catch you up to speed later. But do you have Rachel’s number?”

“Oh, yeah. Everything good dude?”

“Yeah, she apparently told Terry to have me see her when he found me, so…”

“Oh for sure.”

“So can you send me her number?”

“Oh right, yeah. Good luck bro, come by when you have time. I wanna see how strong you are.”

“Sounds good Chad.” I hung up, smiling. A minute or so later, I had her number.

“Joseph?” Her voice was smooth.

“Hey Rachel I…”

“Chad messaged me.”

“Gotcha, Terry said you wanted to see me?”

“Yes, there’s a lot you need to know biologically if you want to pass for human.”

I sighed, rubbing my side, “Where should I meet you?”

“I’ll send you the location, Sepratine will be here too.”

“Oh, yaaaaaay.” She was alright, but she always had a whole bag of chips on her shoulder.

“See you soon. Oh, and did you happen to feel an aching in your right side at any point?”

“More than you know.”

“How frequently?”
“Well, I was starved for a few days at one point, aside from that though I’d say a couple times a week if not more?”

“…Was that the entire time you were gone?”

“Not entirely sure, the first month or so is still kind of hazy, but since I was moved into town yeah.”

“…Okay, just… See you when you arrive.” Click

“I thought Doc was supposed to be the cryptic one of the bunch,” I smirked, a tear forming in my eye. “Goddamnit.” I wiped it, clicking the address she’d sent me, and heading on my way. Only after I picked up some gas station food.

———————————–

“Oh my.” 

“It’s me.” I did jazz hands, wearing a faux smile.

“Your soul is much… larger than I anticipated. Come inside, I’m sure you’re hungry.”

A whiff of cedar and sweetgrass slapped me in the face, “Wow, that’s… pungent.”

“Apologies, my sense of smell isn’t very strong, and Sepratine is….”She took a sharp intake of breath, closing the door behind me.

Looking around, the house seemed pretty standard, aside from the greenhouse in the living room, “So uh, what’s this you got goin here?”

“Take your shoes off please,” She did the same, “Creating chemicals from what’s in the air is taxing, it’s more convenient to just have the plants you need on hand.” She headed toward a door down the hall, “My equipment is downstairs.” She opened the door and I followed.

The air was a solid 80 or so, with humidity so thick it was like snorkeling, pollen so strong it activated allergies I hadn’t had since I was five. “Quite the quaint home you have here.”

“Oh right, sorry again.”

“No, you’re good, I’m just gonna need a few boxes of tissues is all.”

“Oh Jo–Joseph, my gods, you’re… wow. Different is a word, what happened to your soul?” Sepratine was turned to us, standing in front of a table with apparently every plant unknown to man of it.

“That’s kinda why I’m here.”

“Oh right, don’t mind me, just running a few experiments, Rachel has the perfect climate down here for a few plants.”

“Alright Joseph, hop on the bed.” Rachel stood in front of a wooden table, I couldn’t help but notice vials and jars stacked neatly on a counter that circled half the room, as well as a set of tables that held assorted plants with different lights hovering over them.

I sat on the table, “You need me to turn my head and cough?”

“No, first I need you to eat. It’ll be easier if you’re digesting food.”

She headed to a small closed-off area, then came back, plate in hand. Mostly just leafy greens. Maybe some kind of bean too?

“Go ahead, this should pass through you at just the right speed for me to catch it.” She turned, heading to another room, “Oh right, when you’re done I’ll need you to take off your shirt and lie down.” Then she headed through a door.

A few minutes passed and I finished the salad. Putting my plate on an open section of a counter and throwing my shirt to the side, I laid down, “Sepratine, you know anything about Vampirism?”

“Only rumors, they’re rare, so you’re the only one I’ve met.”

“Rarer than what you are?”

“Dryads are uncommon for sure. But given my personal experience, I’d say you’re one of a kind.”

“Awwwe, thank you.” I said sarcastically, “But is that all? They’re rare?”

“You’re here for Rachel because they’re rare. She’s met something like five, even got to do a lab experiment on one of them, saw how their stem reacted to stimulus. She’s the closest thing to an expert I can think of.”

Rachel made her entrance with the smack of the door on the wall, “Alright, don’t worry Joseph, I’m not going to cut you open today, I just want to see how large your stem has gotten. Based on your soul, you might be around half to ¾ vampire. But the only way to tell for sure is to see the size of your stem.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask, but everyone else I’ve met who knows about it has been a psychopath. What’s a stem?”

“Oh, kind of like a parasite is my current understanding.” She picked up a large metal plate, pressed it against my stomach, and used a metal rod to probe my right side.

“Come again?”

“Well… it’s more like a symbiotic relationship? Consider it another organ, only it’s wrapped around a portion of your large intestine. A full vampire has them fused, and it becomes an addition. But a partial, you can still see where they are two entities.”

“So you can cure me?”

She scoffed, “No.” Putting the plate and rod away, she pulled out a roundish object and squeezed some kind of gel onto the end before rubbing it against my right side. “If it’s removed, both entities die. You’re a symbiote now, you each rely on each other. In return for giving it nutrients, it gives you cells that allow you to regenerate anything short of half or more of it. They’re akin to stem cells, but enhanced. It extracts your DNA and replicates what it needs to to keep you alive for as long as possible. That’s the working theory I currently have anyway.”

“So I have a parasite in me?”

“A symbiote, you two aid each other, there are only benefits for each of you. Not to mention the enhanced soul… which I’m not entirely sure what causes that yet. Though the more vampirized you are, the more spiritual power a vampire seems to have. Considering that’s how it’s been with the last five, it’s only an assumption. But if that is the case, I am curious about the correlation.” She put the device down, handing me a towel, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to see the images I got back. Time to see how far along you are.”

Patting me on the stomach, she walked out of sight, and I wiped my side down. Sitting up, I hopped off the table, picked up my shirt, throwing it back on. Then, it was dark.

—————————

My eyes shot open, I was upright on the hardwood table, eyes darting around for the threat.

“Relaaaax, you’re fine.” Rachel and Sepratine stood beside me, and I loosened up, wired as hell.

Standing, I regained my balance, “Which one of you knocked me out?”

“Neither.” Rachel said, offended, “You fainted, you had several nutrient deficiencies, and call me crazy, but I don’t think you were willing to hear what I had to say.”

I mulled it over, a burst of panic surging when I thought about the thing inside me. But I managed to push it back into its little jar. Which I promptly placed back on the shelf with the rest of my emotions. “I’m fine.”

“Yes, now. But I have to be honest with you, the ultrasound came back more worrying than I expected. You’re only about ¼ so far. Your soul is far larger than any of my calculations suggested.”

“Right on.”

“Joseph, you have far more potential than I expected. While I advise safety, occasionally fasting may build up your soul to around as strong as Smudge.”

“Cool beans.”

“The issue is that you have an extremely high-functioning stem. You’ll need extremely nutrient-dense foods with extremely specific nutrients to maintain yourself as you are, let alone grow stronger. I’ll have what you need, but if you don’t want to go on a killing spree every few days, you’ll need an extremely strict diet.”

“How much is that gonna run me?”

She sighed, rubbing her eyes, “Quite frankly, I’ll charge you what it costs me. I don’t want you going on a murder frenzy. You’re my friend, but that’d also guarantee your death. As not only an alchemist, but a scientist, I can’t allow that. I’ll charge you at the end of each month. How does that sound?”

“Cool, do you have an estimate?”

“Joseph I feel you are hearing me but not listening.”

“No, I’ve got it.”

“This will be in the ballpark of 1500 dollars a month, and that’s alongside normal meals. Which should help you not only maintain but build up. The pain will feel like you’re being digested if you get to the point of dangerous starvation. Now, repeat everything I just said back to you.”

When I did from start to finish, she rubbed her face, “Alright, you can pick up your supply weekly from here. For now, though, I have something that should hold you over until next Friday, when I’ll have the actual supplies.”

She helped load a few milk crates into my overstuffed car, and when I went to start my car, she gestured for me to roll the window down. “Yes?”

“There are places you can get help you know?”

“I think I can handle the vampirism thing.”

“Joseph…” She stared at me, tugging at my bucket of guilt, tipping it ever so slightly.

“I’ll be fine. Thank you Rachel.” I flicked the button up and the window went with it as I pulled out of her driveway in the suburbs of West Salem.

—————————–

“Joseph?” The familiar guy behind a desk just across from me stared, eye agape.

“D-Detective? What uh… what happened to your erm… you?”

“Long story. What happened to you?”

“Long story.”

He chuckled, “Guess you were in that town for a while. What are you doing here?”

I held up the contract, “I’ve got a debt I needa pay.”