The night simply wouldn't end, or so it seemed to Daniel. After he allowed the vampire to feast on his blood, she stated that something was wrong.

Didn't she drink enough, he pondered, while his gaze wandered to the open wound on Teresa's upper arm. Was it just in his mind, or was the diameter of it smaller than before?

"What do you mean?" Ana's question broke his train of thought. "Aren't you healing?

Being right next to her, Ana took a closer look at Teresa's arm. Daniel's eyes followed. There could be no mistake; the open wound was shrinking. The blood no longer dripped from it, and the edges were closing in.

Teresa lifted her eyes to meet Ana's. "I wasn't talking about healing." She pointed her finger at Daniel without looking at him. "There is something wrong with him. His blood tastes strange."

Sure, Daniel thought, if I paid more attention in biology classes, I'd probably be able to name all the hormones released in a state of utter terror. Like the one caused by a vampire sucking out your blood.

"You need to see a doctor. As soon as possible."

After hearing Teresa's statement, Daniel's eyes widened. "Why a doctor?" he asked. "What did you do to me?"

"Nothing," Teresa replied. "It isn't about anything I did. You're not well."

While his eyes scanned the living room furniture, the dark green sofa with a wooden coffee table and two matching armchairs in front of it, Ana asked, "Are you sure?"

The question urged Daniel to turn his attention to the long-haired vampire whose eyes were fixated on Teresa. Just minutes after feeding on Daniel's blood, she was visibly stronger.

"You know I do not make mistakes about such things." Teresa's response only intensified Daniel's confusion.

"What things?" he queried, anxiety flooding him more and more with each passing second.

Teresa gazed into his face. Her brown eyes shown just a hint of amber. "You are not well," she repeated.

Daniel was beginning to feel agitation due to all that secrecy. "What to hell are you talking about? Am I turning into a vampire, or what?"

Teresa just calmly shook her head. She rested her hands on the backrest on one of the armchairs. "No," she said. "A person doesn't become a vampire if a vampire feeds on him. In order to become a vampire, you would have to feed on the blood of a vampire."

Daniel's face grimaced as he tried to imagine himself in that particular scenario. He shivered, then shook his head to chase the thought away. "What is it then? Why am I not well?"

Ana and Teresa exchanged another one of those looks that lead to believe they were having a silent conversation. That time, Ana answered him. "Teresa can determine whether the blood contains substances that should not be in the blood of a healthy person, just by the taste of it. For her, the blood of the diseased has a different taste."

Teersa's cold stare, combined by the previous statement, made Daniel's lips stretch into a grin. "What?" His voice was higher than usually. "What are you talking about? Diseased? As in, sick? You must be joking! I'm fine."

He turned from her and began pacing from the sofa, to the armchair Teresa sat on during the moments when it seemed that life was slipping through her fingers, and back to the sofa.

Neither Ana nor Teresa spoke. Daniel stopped for a moment, looked at the vampire who allegedly had a weird superpower, and repeated, "I'm fine." Then he walked up to the window clad in heavy curtain. He grabbed the edges that met in the middle, intending to pull them apart, but found himself staring at his own hands instead. "I'm fine," he repeated for the third time, whispering.

He winced when someone's palm touched his shoulder.

"Come, let's sit down," Ana's gentle voice said to his ear.

He lifted his eyes. The tender expression on her face melted away the resistance. He let her lead him to the sofa, where he sank into the soft dark green fabric. Ana sat next to him. He took a deep breath, then covered his face with both palms before leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

He pushed his hands into his messy hair while his mind went to overdrive for lord knows which time in the last few days. His whole life turned upside down when he left home. Then it turned upside down again in the abandoned factory when all his friends got brutally slaughtered. As if that wasn't enough, his life turned upside down for the third time when the two vampires decided to spare his life and take him with them.

And now this.

How much more of this madness can I take, he asked himself, feeling like the last boat carrying final trace of sanity was quickly sailing away.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A thin stripe of light peeked into the cabin through the slightly parted curtains. In just four steps, Teresa was by the window, closing the heavy fabric, denying access to the sunlight. The dim light of a single lamp remained the only source of illumination. Daniel thought it fit his mood to a tee.

Almostan hour had past since any of them spoke. All that time, Daniel's mind was mulling over his supposed illness. It refused to believe in such nonsense. Then again, just a week ago, it would refuse to believe in creatures such as vampires.

He sank deeper into the sofa, throwing his head back. Teresa stood by the window, arms crossed. The curtains obscured her view, but the way her head slightly twitched let him know she was listening. She was no longer wearing blood-stained clothes. Her wound was now under the clean black and grey checkered shirt, making Daniel wonder how far her healing process went.

Thinking about her injury, he touched the spot on his neck where she sank her teeth into him. Her words surfaced in his mind again.

"I'm not sick," he murmured.

Teresa turned her head towards him. He returned her stare, sensing inexplicable weight it carried, as if her eyes were trying to implant her version of the truth into him.

"I'm not," he added quietly, and looked the other way.

"There is only one way to be sure," Ana joined in. "Go see a doctor."

"No, I won't cause there's nothing wrong with me," Daniel held his ground. His gaze wandered to the turned off TV. Its dark screen reflected the light of the lamp and only silhouettes of the furniture. "Besides," he continued, "I haven't been to the doctor's since I broke my arm in the eight grade because I thought I can break boards like Bruce Lee."

"So?" Ana's eyebrows arched. "They'll do the necessary tests, and then you'll know for certain whether Teresa is right or wrong."

Daniel let out a hollow laugh. "Even if I'm not sick now, by the time they see me, I probably will be. You know, I don't exactly have full pockets, and hospital services are expensive. Especially if you don't bother to get yourself some health insurance."

Teresa and Ana exchanged a brief glance, then turned their attention to Daniel. He doubted he would ever get used to their piercing eyes, even when they weren't displaying amber. A throbbing pain shot through his temples. To soothe it, Daniel began to draw circles over them with his fingers.

Teresa's eyes narrowed. "Another headache? They are appearing quite often. Perhaps you're right, you don't have time to waste." She turned to Ana. "It would probably be best if we pulled some strings."

Ana nodded. "You're right." She glanced at the wall clock. Ten past seven. She walked over to the telephone, picked up the headset, and pressed a series of seven numbers on the dial, each followed by a soft beeping.

Before Daniel had a chance to protest, she was already speaking to someone.

"I know it's early, but I must ask you for a favor," she said into the headset. "It's about a friend. Teresa is convinced it's something serious." She listened for a moment or two, casting a glance at Daniel, before she continued. "It's a long story, but no, we didn't run out of the cherry juice." She laughed, and Daniel's thoughts turned to the image of their refrigerator which contained the red liquid neatly stored in see-through bags.

The dude on the phone knows about them, Daniel thought. He wondered what kind of person this must be if he earned the trust of the two wary vampires.

"Day after tomorrow," Ana broke his pensiveness for lord knows which time. "The day after tomorrow you will report to the hospital. In the late afternoon."

"What?" Daniel rose from the sofa and started pacing again. He halted with the intention to say something, but he closed his mouth just like he opened it. He carried on walking up and down the room. The next time he stopped, he did speak.

"You're forgetting one thing," he said." As far the town is concerned, I'm dead. I died in the fire. They must know I was with Lucio. If I show up alive, they'll throw me in the slammer."

"Don't worry," Teresa assured him, "our friend knows the meaning of discretion."

"Is he like you two?" With his fingers, Daniel mimicked the fangs piercing the skin on his neck.

"No," Ana said calmly. "He is like you. He only has more respect for the law."

"And how do you know him?"

"That is not important at the moment. First we will make sure to find out what is your blood telling us." 

Thank you for reading!

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Until next chapter...