Hunter's Fall pt.8

For some reason, elevators always gave Col a slightly uneasy feeling. This was not uncommon for Vampires seeing as many, especially those of earlier generations, had lived in times when such technology hadn't been invented yet. However, that unease was dramatically increased by having Doll with him in the elevator. The small screen that indicated the floor they were on flashed through several series of letters and numbers before stopping at "Level 1". The screen flashed red twice and the door opened.

"So, what'd you want to show me?" Col asked.

Doll didn't answer and led him by the hand to the end of a hallway, a comical sight as she was little more than half his height. Surprisingly, the way they were walking was quite different than the other halls he had seen. More colorful, less like a hospital and more like a home. He wondered if this was what the strange girl had been trying to show him, the upper levels that had been kept hidden from him. By he and his small guide had reached the end of the rather short hallway, passing some interesting looking doors that tempted him to peer inside, much of his nervousness had given way to curiosity. Doll was standing beside him with an almost mesmerized look on her face, staring at a thick curtain that seemed to block the path.

"Your special present is behind the curtain. Do you want Doll to open it?" she asked.

Truth be told, Col was more interested in exploring the rooms they'd passed. He shrugged at the girl with indifference.

"I can't give it to you unless you ask me, and Doll wants very much to give it to you." her voice suddenly sounded more persuasive. Col heard himself ask her the question she'd been waiting for.

"Fine, will you open the curtain?"

She dug her fingers into the thick fabric and yanked.

"Yes."

Light flooded the hallway. Sunlight. Burning all over the Vampire's exposed skin. Blistering pain screamed through his every skin cell. Within seconds he was collapsed on the ground, blinded and burning from the deadly rays streaming through the now revealed window. He couldn't tell if he was screaming or whispering, he was unable to focus on anything aside from the pain and the haunting look on Doll's face he could just barely make out through his fingers that desperately sought to cover sun-stricken eyes.

"What did you do? What did you do?!" Whose voice was that, Col wondered. Too much emotion to be Doll's but unmistakably a female voice. Far too much selfless concern for it to be Mercy's, though it did sound suspiciously like her. He felt darkness begin to close in on him, considering the circumstances that was probably the best thing that could have happened. The last thing he was aware of before blacking out completely was how cool her hands felt on his burned skin, whoever she was.


/ithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsohgoditfreakinghurtsithurtsithurtsit.../

He awoke suddenly. The more concerning thing was not the pain, but the sudden absence of it. In Col's experience, the only time pain subsided that quickly was if he blacked out, went completely numb, or died. He had been lucky enough to not figure out the last one first hand, but he was sure that could change at any moment. He looked to his left, wincing at the small movement it took to move his head, and realized that he was once again confined to a hospital bed, and then he saw her. Mercy was rubbing some sort of lotion on one of his reddened arms. Her eyes were closed and he could just barely see her lips moving, miming out unsaid words as he'd seen her do for her dying patient the night before. Oddly enough, he currently cared less about if he was dying than about what she could be saying.

"Praying?" he wondered aloud and watched as she snapped to attention at the sound of her patient's voice.

"No, it's... not important. How do you feel?"

"Hm. Arms are better now, eyes still hurt like hell." he squinted.

"How about your face? Is it sore?"

"No, not..." Slap! Col was interrupted by a slap in the face, expertly delivered by an enraged Mercy.

"Now it is." her face revealed fury unlike anything he had seen in years "Idiot! I told you to stay away from her. I told you! You're lucky not to be dead."

"You didn't tell me she was a psychopath. I thought she was just some weird kid."

"She isn't 'just' anything. She's a limitless sociopath!" Mercy took a deep breath "Did you see her face?"

"I don't think I could forget it." he shivered "It was like she didn't feel anything, like she was somewhere else just looking in."

"I thought you understood. I really did. This isn't a normal place and by no means are the people staying here any more normal."

"But Doll's human."

"And did you think that Vampires were the only extraordinary beings in the world? There will always be things that no one, no matter how intelligent or open-minded, will be able to explain and you are both close-minded and incredibly stupid."

"Well, don't sugarcoat it." he saw that his sarcasm was greatly unappreciated by his already angry caretaker "Uh... sorry."

"Are you?" she asked skeptically.

"I've got third degree sunburns, I think I learned my lesson." and as crazy as it was, she believed him. "Hey, is there anything else I should know about this place. Any more 'special' patients or anything."

She thought for a moment, not quite sure where to start, before coming to the conclusion; it was time for him to know. She nodded.

"I'll explain as best I can. All you have to do is listen and try to believe as best you can."