Fanfic - Solutions, Part 3
Title: Solutions
Author: me
Rating: PG
Characters: Worth, Abner, Conrad, Paradox
Chapters: 3/4
FYI: Based on LARP between Hughes and I. In this RP, Abner has moved in with Conrad in an attempt to both keep an eye on him and to find Adelaide. Lately, though, Conrad's behaviour has been strange...
The street was trash-lined and darker than most. It was well camouflaged, as the shabbiness of the building made your eyes slide away from it, reluctant to give it a second glance. There were two streetlights that remained unbroken, and neither one was next to the cracked door they were facing.
Abner knew of this place, but only vaguely. He’d never had a true reason to enter. The doctor here didn’t work on vampires, at least, not as far as Abner could deduce. It made sense: a wounded vampire was normally extremely dangerous. Conrad was the only exception to that rule that Abner knew of. Said vampire stood with his hand on an unbelievably filthy doorknob, giving one more wary glance to his jailer.
“Okay. Look. I - I know a lot of people here, so - don’t kill anyone, all right? I have to see these guys on a daily basis.”
“If I kill them, you won’t be talking to them ever, let alone on a daily basis.”
The vampire gaped. “You’d kill human beings you’ve never even -“
Paradox chuffed, and Abner said, face straight, “It was a joke.”
“I hate you,” Conrad muttered after a lengthy pause, and pushed the door open.
The inside of what passed for the doctor’s office looked almost exactly like the outside, except there was slightly better lighting and yellowed linoleum instead of cement. It smelled almost the same, too, although there was a strong reek of hospital-grade disinfectant overlying everything. Considering the dirt that was on every surface, Abner had a hard time reconciling the filth with the cleaning agent.
There was a battered desk near one wall, and the doctor himself was lounging at it, grin as wide and yellow as his floor. “If it ain’t m’ favorite lamepire! Howzit hangin’, Peaches?”
“Bite me, Worth,” Conrad snapped. He stalked across the small room and threw the empty blood packet, crumpled from being in his fist, onto the desk. “You guys are giving me tainted blood, and I want my money back!”
Worth’s thin eyebrows went up. “Big accusation fer a man that don’ know shit about blood ‘cept how ter drink it.” His eyes flicked to Abner, tracing a very deliberate stare over the man’s body. “… huh. Brought a bodyguard, did yer? ‘Fraid I’m too much man fer ya?”
“You’re not enough man for ANYBODY -“
“I’m not his body guard,” Abner said. “Answer his question.”
Worth matched Abner’s stare, but where Abner was deriving no pleasure from the exchange, the doctor was obviously taking a great deal. “An’ if I don’?”
“Then I may kill you.”
The doctor snorted. “That all? Borin’ bastard, aintcha? Perfeck fer Princess Connie. Bet the two o’ yer sit around an’ play Uno all night an’ watch musicals.”
Conrad couldn’t blush without blood, but he was clearly uncomfortable. Abner didn’t mind that the doctor was correct about half of it. He rather liked musicals, especially when they starred Matthew Broderick. The man was a comedic genius.
Conrad pulled a spine from somewhere and said, “Look, the blood is bad, okay? It’s not working!”
“Not workin’? Whassit s’posed ter do, backflips?”
“It’s supposed to keep me alive, just like whatever the hell it is that YOU eat!”
“That’s jus’ recreational,” Worth snickered. “An’ y’already knew ya were dead. Finally sinkin’ in, izzit?”
Abner would’ve rolled his eyes, if he ever indulged in such things. As it was, Paradox hissed and clambered over to the other shoulder, impatient. “Your patient is dying,” Abner said, interrupting their squabble. “If you’re any kind of doctor, you’ll do something about it. If you won’t, then we’ll look elsewhere.”
“Dying?” The vampire’s eyes did that too-wide thing again, and he pressed his hands to his sweater-clad chest, as if he had a heart to monitor. “I can’t die. I’m a vampire! I mean - well, I could, I guess, but not like this!” His head whipped around to Worth, hands spasming on his vest as he asked, “Can I?”
Worth snorted and stood up. “Dunno what yer all on about, but it’s bullshit. Gimmer yer hand.”
Conrad hesitated, and Abner didn’t blame him. He wouldn’t want to touch the doctor, either. But then the vampire shoved his arm across the desk, hand out. Worth took hold of it with his own grimy fingers and peered at the palm before turning Conrad’s hand over.
“Well?” Conrad asked nervously.
Worth didn’t answer. He opened a desk drawer and pulled out a scalpel. Conrad opened his mouth to protest, but before he could get a word out, the sharp blade flashed across the back of the vampire’s hand. Conrad yowled, jerking his hand back and cradling it to his chest.
“Are you freaking nuts?! What the heck is wrong with you?!”
The doctor’s mouth thinned, his tone turned grim. “ ‘S not bleedin’.”
“What?” Conrad blinked and moved his hand, holding it out so they could all see it. The wound was a thin slit, the grey-white skin folded outward from the useless aperture like a drowning victim’s lips. There was no blood.
The vampire made an inarticulate sound, and Worth glanced at Abner. The vampire hunter was surprised to see real hatred gleaming hot in the man’s beady eyes.
“This yer doin’?” His teeth snapped at the words, barely letting them out.
“No,” Abner said, while at the same time, Conrad whispered, “No.”
“Ya gotta eat somethin’, Connie.”
Conrad pulled his injured hand back against his chest, holding it close. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. That stuff isn’t -“
“Then I’ll get on Lamont about it, th’ prick. Here.” Worth shrugged out of his jacket and threw it onto the desk. He tilted his head to the side, exposing a long line of dirty throat. “Take it. I’m alive, I know that right enough. If my own don’t work -“
The vampire moved, twitching as his fingers reached for Worth, and Abner responded instantly. His revolver was out, barrel to Conrad’s head, mere millimeters from his black hair. Conrad froze, trembling.
“If you touch him, you die.”
“What?” Worth’s eyes went round, and Abner could see they were blue. The hatred in them had also intensified, making them appear icy, like a husky’s. “Are ya off yer fuckin’ rocker, mate? I want ‘im ter do it!”
“That doesn’t matter. You’re a human. He’s a vampire.”
“An what’re you, Buffy fuckin’ Summers?”
Conrad laughed, weakly. “I can’t believe you know her whole name.”
Worth answered without taking his eyes from Abner. “Guilt ter go ‘round, Princess, if yer know it, too.”
Abner cocked his pistol. “Mr Achenleck. Step back, please.”
The vampire moaned, softly. “But it might help. I could be better, and then - then maybe we could find -“ He censored himself just in time. “- find what you’re looking for. You want that, right? Don’t you?”
Abner hesitated, finger still on the trigger. Of course he wanted Adelaide . He wanted her badly enough to stay with the unnatural thing in front of him night after night, hoping she would re-appear, or that Conrad would miraculously be able to tell him where she’d gone. But there were lines, and blurring them only led to the erosion of purpose. Vampires were vampires, no matter how good they were at Uno or how well they could sing “Marian the Librarian”, and people were people. Parasites were parasites. “What I want has no bearing on this. If you drink that man’s blood, I will kill you.”
Worth’s blue beads had sunk back into their holes, and he straightened up, expression wiped clean. He turned away from Abner, but his shoulders were tight under his shirt. Abner wondered if he’d try anything. “Sorry, Conrad.”
The vampire shook his head. “You said sorry. Haha. Amazing.”
“Let’s go, Mr Achenleck.”
Conrad didn’t move, and Paradox tensed - then he flowed down Abner and onto the filthy floor, scampering over it and onto Conrad’s shoe. The vampire started, took a step back, and shied as Paradox rippled up his pant leg and clawed his way over his sweater vest to Conrad’s shoulder.
“What -“ Conrad gasped, brows knit.
Paradox cut him off. “Dook.”
Abner stared. “Paradox.”
The ferret looked at Abner, tossed his head, and stayed where he was, tiny claws hooked into Conrad’s clothes.
“Your rat -“ Conrad choked, but again Paradox cut him off, chittering loudly. “Okay! Okay, I’m going, jeeze!”
He went to the door, glanced back as Abner closed in, and said, “Thanks, Worth,” before going out, a white ghost in the darkened street.
“If ya kill ‘im, yer gonna be sorry, an’ it ain’t me that’s gonna make yer that way.”
Abner gave the man the courtesy of a look back, then followed his charge out into the night.
Author: me
Rating: PG
Characters: Worth, Abner, Conrad, Paradox
Chapters: 3/4
FYI: Based on LARP between Hughes and I. In this RP, Abner has moved in with Conrad in an attempt to both keep an eye on him and to find Adelaide. Lately, though, Conrad's behaviour has been strange...
The street was trash-lined and darker than most. It was well camouflaged, as the shabbiness of the building made your eyes slide away from it, reluctant to give it a second glance. There were two streetlights that remained unbroken, and neither one was next to the cracked door they were facing.
Abner knew of this place, but only vaguely. He’d never had a true reason to enter. The doctor here didn’t work on vampires, at least, not as far as Abner could deduce. It made sense: a wounded vampire was normally extremely dangerous. Conrad was the only exception to that rule that Abner knew of. Said vampire stood with his hand on an unbelievably filthy doorknob, giving one more wary glance to his jailer.
“Okay. Look. I - I know a lot of people here, so - don’t kill anyone, all right? I have to see these guys on a daily basis.”
“If I kill them, you won’t be talking to them ever, let alone on a daily basis.”
The vampire gaped. “You’d kill human beings you’ve never even -“
Paradox chuffed, and Abner said, face straight, “It was a joke.”
“I hate you,” Conrad muttered after a lengthy pause, and pushed the door open.
The inside of what passed for the doctor’s office looked almost exactly like the outside, except there was slightly better lighting and yellowed linoleum instead of cement. It smelled almost the same, too, although there was a strong reek of hospital-grade disinfectant overlying everything. Considering the dirt that was on every surface, Abner had a hard time reconciling the filth with the cleaning agent.
There was a battered desk near one wall, and the doctor himself was lounging at it, grin as wide and yellow as his floor. “If it ain’t m’ favorite lamepire! Howzit hangin’, Peaches?”
“Bite me, Worth,” Conrad snapped. He stalked across the small room and threw the empty blood packet, crumpled from being in his fist, onto the desk. “You guys are giving me tainted blood, and I want my money back!”
Worth’s thin eyebrows went up. “Big accusation fer a man that don’ know shit about blood ‘cept how ter drink it.” His eyes flicked to Abner, tracing a very deliberate stare over the man’s body. “… huh. Brought a bodyguard, did yer? ‘Fraid I’m too much man fer ya?”
“You’re not enough man for ANYBODY -“
“I’m not his body guard,” Abner said. “Answer his question.”
Worth matched Abner’s stare, but where Abner was deriving no pleasure from the exchange, the doctor was obviously taking a great deal. “An’ if I don’?”
“Then I may kill you.”
The doctor snorted. “That all? Borin’ bastard, aintcha? Perfeck fer Princess Connie. Bet the two o’ yer sit around an’ play Uno all night an’ watch musicals.”
Conrad couldn’t blush without blood, but he was clearly uncomfortable. Abner didn’t mind that the doctor was correct about half of it. He rather liked musicals, especially when they starred Matthew Broderick. The man was a comedic genius.
Conrad pulled a spine from somewhere and said, “Look, the blood is bad, okay? It’s not working!”
“Not workin’? Whassit s’posed ter do, backflips?”
“It’s supposed to keep me alive, just like whatever the hell it is that YOU eat!”
“That’s jus’ recreational,” Worth snickered. “An’ y’already knew ya were dead. Finally sinkin’ in, izzit?”
Abner would’ve rolled his eyes, if he ever indulged in such things. As it was, Paradox hissed and clambered over to the other shoulder, impatient. “Your patient is dying,” Abner said, interrupting their squabble. “If you’re any kind of doctor, you’ll do something about it. If you won’t, then we’ll look elsewhere.”
“Dying?” The vampire’s eyes did that too-wide thing again, and he pressed his hands to his sweater-clad chest, as if he had a heart to monitor. “I can’t die. I’m a vampire! I mean - well, I could, I guess, but not like this!” His head whipped around to Worth, hands spasming on his vest as he asked, “Can I?”
Worth snorted and stood up. “Dunno what yer all on about, but it’s bullshit. Gimmer yer hand.”
Conrad hesitated, and Abner didn’t blame him. He wouldn’t want to touch the doctor, either. But then the vampire shoved his arm across the desk, hand out. Worth took hold of it with his own grimy fingers and peered at the palm before turning Conrad’s hand over.
“Well?” Conrad asked nervously.
Worth didn’t answer. He opened a desk drawer and pulled out a scalpel. Conrad opened his mouth to protest, but before he could get a word out, the sharp blade flashed across the back of the vampire’s hand. Conrad yowled, jerking his hand back and cradling it to his chest.
“Are you freaking nuts?! What the heck is wrong with you?!”
The doctor’s mouth thinned, his tone turned grim. “ ‘S not bleedin’.”
“What?” Conrad blinked and moved his hand, holding it out so they could all see it. The wound was a thin slit, the grey-white skin folded outward from the useless aperture like a drowning victim’s lips. There was no blood.
The vampire made an inarticulate sound, and Worth glanced at Abner. The vampire hunter was surprised to see real hatred gleaming hot in the man’s beady eyes.
“This yer doin’?” His teeth snapped at the words, barely letting them out.
“No,” Abner said, while at the same time, Conrad whispered, “No.”
“Ya gotta eat somethin’, Connie.”
Conrad pulled his injured hand back against his chest, holding it close. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. That stuff isn’t -“
“Then I’ll get on Lamont about it, th’ prick. Here.” Worth shrugged out of his jacket and threw it onto the desk. He tilted his head to the side, exposing a long line of dirty throat. “Take it. I’m alive, I know that right enough. If my own don’t work -“
The vampire moved, twitching as his fingers reached for Worth, and Abner responded instantly. His revolver was out, barrel to Conrad’s head, mere millimeters from his black hair. Conrad froze, trembling.
“If you touch him, you die.”
“What?” Worth’s eyes went round, and Abner could see they were blue. The hatred in them had also intensified, making them appear icy, like a husky’s. “Are ya off yer fuckin’ rocker, mate? I want ‘im ter do it!”
“That doesn’t matter. You’re a human. He’s a vampire.”
“An what’re you, Buffy fuckin’ Summers?”
Conrad laughed, weakly. “I can’t believe you know her whole name.”
Worth answered without taking his eyes from Abner. “Guilt ter go ‘round, Princess, if yer know it, too.”
Abner cocked his pistol. “Mr Achenleck. Step back, please.”
The vampire moaned, softly. “But it might help. I could be better, and then - then maybe we could find -“ He censored himself just in time. “- find what you’re looking for. You want that, right? Don’t you?”
Abner hesitated, finger still on the trigger. Of course he wanted Adelaide . He wanted her badly enough to stay with the unnatural thing in front of him night after night, hoping she would re-appear, or that Conrad would miraculously be able to tell him where she’d gone. But there were lines, and blurring them only led to the erosion of purpose. Vampires were vampires, no matter how good they were at Uno or how well they could sing “Marian the Librarian”, and people were people. Parasites were parasites. “What I want has no bearing on this. If you drink that man’s blood, I will kill you.”
Worth’s blue beads had sunk back into their holes, and he straightened up, expression wiped clean. He turned away from Abner, but his shoulders were tight under his shirt. Abner wondered if he’d try anything. “Sorry, Conrad.”
The vampire shook his head. “You said sorry. Haha. Amazing.”
“Let’s go, Mr Achenleck.”
Conrad didn’t move, and Paradox tensed - then he flowed down Abner and onto the filthy floor, scampering over it and onto Conrad’s shoe. The vampire started, took a step back, and shied as Paradox rippled up his pant leg and clawed his way over his sweater vest to Conrad’s shoulder.
“What -“ Conrad gasped, brows knit.
Paradox cut him off. “Dook.”
Abner stared. “Paradox.”
The ferret looked at Abner, tossed his head, and stayed where he was, tiny claws hooked into Conrad’s clothes.
“Your rat -“ Conrad choked, but again Paradox cut him off, chittering loudly. “Okay! Okay, I’m going, jeeze!”
He went to the door, glanced back as Abner closed in, and said, “Thanks, Worth,” before going out, a white ghost in the darkened street.
“If ya kill ‘im, yer gonna be sorry, an’ it ain’t me that’s gonna make yer that way.”
Abner gave the man the courtesy of a look back, then followed his charge out into the night.