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It was somewhere past midnight but before dawn when a knock came on Legundo’s door.
He wasn’t asleep- he doubted he’d be able to, even if he’d tried, instead spending the time organising, taking notes, writing down everything he could remember about the vampires, anything that could help him help them. (The others would want to see these notes, he was sure, if they were ever made aware he had them. They wanted the vampires dead. But Legundo had come out here to help people who weren’t usually helped, people who didn’t usually have access to care. And, if he was right about Owen, at the very least… well, the vampires needed it more than anyone. So, he would only use these notes to help, regardless of the others’ thoughts on the matter.)
The silver scalpels and assorted other medical tools on his shelves glinted in the moonlight as he stood up.
There were few people who could possibly be darkening his doorstep at this time of night, and he didn’t dare to hope it was Owen, having changed his mind. Martyn, maybe, or Avid, who had been pushing him to open the clinic- perhaps because the man had something he wanted Legundo to look at? He couldn’t be entirely sure.
“Hello?” Shubble wasn’t one of the people he’d expected or accounted for. “Can I come in?”
He hurried to open the door, exposing the vampire standing in his doorway, an awkward, hopeful smile on her face, though the blood that trailed below her mouth somewhat dimmed any comfort the smile might have provided.
“Of course,” He agreed.
He was aware it was foolish to extend an invitation to a vampire. He was well aware vampires were dangerous, given not only the folklore surrounding them, but his own experiences with them.
But, he was a doctor, and if someone wanted to enter his establishment, he wouldn’t deny them.
“Thanks, I, uh,” Shubble sent a furtive glance over her shoulder, at all the other darkened homes in the town, taking a step into the building and quickly shutting the door behind her. “I wanted to talk to you about something you said earlier?”
“Would you like to sit down- I have some tea, if you can still drink that.” It wasn’t intended as a research prospect, but it occurred to him that that could be noteworthy information, whether vampires could still consume any mortal foods or drinks at all, or only blood.
“Oh, no, that would make me sick. Trust me, I already tried.” They did, however, take the opportunity to sit down, and he did as well, to keep on their level. “But, earlier, you said something about curing vampirism?”
The tentative hope in their eyes was something Legundo didn’t particularly want to destroy- for all he knew he could come across as uncaring, he didn’t take joy in bringing any further sorrow to those who were already suffering.
But, as much as he wished he knew how to cure vampirism, he’d never witnessed or experimented with any of this before.
And, at his core, he cared more about honesty than false kindness. “I said I’d try, but I am not yet sure how I would do so,” He cautioned, “It would likely take extensive testing, and I’m only one man.”
“But… do you think there’s anything that can be done about it? I- I know you don’t have a cure yet, but is there any hope?” The haunted look in Shubble’s eyes was new. She’d been so… happy, optimistic, before, other than when the topic of her father was brought up.
“Everything can be, if not cured, treated,” He assured, standing up and reaching over to grab one of the few books he’d taken on his travels, “I am a surgeon, yes?”
Shubble nodded quickly. “Mhm.”
“This book is one of my favourites on the topic. And one of the ideas explained in it is that, regardless of whether you can fix something entirely, you can always make it better. Much like a fence; you may not be able to make the rotting wood perfect again, but, with a bit of care, you can at least improve it and prevent it from destruction.”
“So, for vampirism, that means…?”
“It means that I don’t know how to get rid of the proverbial rot, but that doesn’t mean I can’t find anything that will help. You have an unnatural hunger for blood, correct?”
“That or mammalian flesh- but only mammals, fish don’t work. I’ve checked. Oh- and they can’t be cooked, either.”
Legundo nodded slowly. “In that case, we may be able to experiment with what fulfills that need, and ways you can fulfill it ethically- keeping some cattle, or perhaps some sheep, would be a good start. Human blood donors are, of course, an option as well, but that’s a bit more complicated.”
“I don’t want anyone to know.” Shubble frowned. “Although, I guess they already do. They probably won’t want anything to do with me after this, though, other than maybe you?”
Legundo nodded. “Understandable. I would not be… entirely opposed, to being a blood donor, but I would prefer a more controlled setting, if that were to occur.”
“You know, that’s one of the nicest things anyone’s said to me since you all realised I was a vampire. I might take you up on that later, if that’s okay with you.”
He was sure any other human would tell him not to agree, that she was dangerous, not to be trusted. But he was a doctor, and Shubble was nothing more than an unconventional patient.
“Another night, perhaps,” He agreed mildly, before going silent, patiently waiting for any other concerns.
“...If you treat it, do you think everyone else won’t hate me anymore?” Shubble’s gaze was downcast, hands curled into fists in her lap, hair shifting to hide her face.
Legundo sucked in a breath. “Unfortunately, the mind is not something I have studied extensively. I don’t… know, for sure, how anyone else would react to anything. Some of them view all vampires as a threat, regardless of your actions, and there’s a chance those people will always treat you poorly. But, I don’t believe that’s a reason not to try.”
“I never wanted to be hated, I never wanted to be crazy, or- or evil or anything, I just wanted to prove my dad wasn’t crazy.”
“I know.” He wasn’t good with emotions, had never been as good at comforting people as he wanted to be, even if time and experience had taught him enough to know the right words to say. “But, for what it’s worth, I don’t believe everyone will hate you. Those who do are a… vocal minority, who my come to understand, in their own time, that your actions are more important than your… afflictions.”
“Right. You’re right. I should probably go, it’s getting kind of close to morning, is there anything you have to help with all of this right now?”
“Not with any of the symptoms I’m aware of, no. But I will… look into it.”
“Oh! Do you need a blood sample or anything? I just drank, so I should be all good to spare some blood.”
“...Actually, that would be quite useful. Thank you, Shubble.”
They were a good patient, somewhat surprisingly, given Oakhurst’s track record with patients who were downright impossible to give medical care to, if a bit fidgety and prone to asking questions, and, if the circumstances weren’t what they were, he would have been perfectly alright with sitting down with them for a bit to answer all their wonderings- about just about everything involved with surgery, how everything worked; questions were how people learned, and he’d never fault someone for asking too many of them.
But, once he was finished, wiping a clean rag over where he’d put the needle into their skin, and a bandage on top, the light questions and answers came to an abrupt stop as Shubble stood up, glancing out the window nervously.
“I really have to go, Dr. Legs, but thanks for trying to help. That’s… more than most people have done.”
And, whatever world he’d imagined in his mind, where they had all the time in the world to discuss medical topics, where he’d be able to actually deal with this all and have everyone as healthy as they could be by the time he left Oakhurst, the bat that disappeared into the night was just one more reminder that he was only one man.
And one man could never hope to provide care for all the vampires in this place at the same time as his fellow town inhabitants prepared for war, and some of those vampires had gone around, attempting to turn everyone.
Moonlight peered in through the slats in his windows, illuminated his pocket mirror as he glanced at it, the exhausted man it reflected back at him, but, with so little time, he couldn’t aford to waste it all on sleep.
The audio recorder clicked on and whirred to life.
“Audio log. September twenty third. Today, I promised a vampire that I would try to help him, regardless of the danger. Tonight, I’m attempting to fulfill that promise. So far…”