Selendris was studying to be an apothecary when the outbreak occurred, she even had prospects in Grema. She is a damn fine alchemist, and knows her way around the various medicinal herbs and fungi. From the magical to the mundane. Her parents were wealthy and fawned over her, when she told them she wanted to be an apothecary like her mother they assigned her the best tutors and resources towards that goal. And just when she was fulfilling that dream, studying abroad in an exciting new town- this nightmare occurred. She kept waking up each morning expecting it to only be that- a long nightmare. But no, even now, she awoke in a pile of straw surrounded by barn animals. Dirty and surprisingly flatulent things. Her branded clothing covered in sweat and dirt. Jeff was dead, and the guy who helped her escaped the city was missing. At least Kyle was still alive, being the same annoying asshole he always was. He's been a whining burden this entire time. Jeff had balls, but that was what got him killed in the end. Wit was equally important or courage would just be stupidity. Kyle was still her friend, even if he was a coward Selendris was glad he survived.

They all met at the Grema school for Alchemy. Jeff would struggle with his studies and come to her or Kyle for help. Kyle wasn't as talented as Selendris but knew his way around a beaker so she kept him around for help on various projects. The three of them were a dangerous group, she with her understanding of alchemy, Kyle with his careful handling of glassware, and Jeff, his ability to carry many things at one time. They were going to change the world. Why did vampires have to attack the city now? Couldn't they of waited a few more weeks? There was no changing it now, Selendris would send a message to her family when she reached the next town. And try to make her way back home. She still was a full fledged apothecary now, or alchemist in a different term. She would find work either in some exotic place where there are lesser understood fauna and flora. Kyle could come along if he promised to work out and get better at carrying things.

"You awake?" Selendris heard the stout man- Jarraths father Gendry say. "Yeah, just, give me a second." Selendris said. "Sure, but the beasts are hot on our tails, we need to get to the next town as quickly as possi-", Selendris waved a hand at him; "Yeah, yeah." she groaned sitting up right. She swiped behind her grazing Kyle's shoulder a few times. "Erm, I'm up- up." he wiped his eyes. Chlorus sat patiently sharpening a dagger near the barn door. They all gathered themselves, Selendris and Kyle didn't have much in way of supplies, their pockets had a few coins in them but other than that they were chasing Gendry and Jarrath out of the city when it all happened. Gendry had Jarraths stuff as well as what he packed, together with Chlorus they rounded out the groups supplies.

A rugged man, the kind of man who spends each day working in fields walked over to them. "Y'all want some breakfest?" he asked. Of course they would, better than stale bread and rubbery jerky. The group ate with the farmer and his wife, they had a spread of bacon, eggs, and all the fixings of a proper breakfest. It was a welcomed change to say the least. The building they were in was large, but humble. Multiple stories a rooms. A dining area was setup in between two sets of stairs that led to what could be assumed to be bedrooms above. The morning sunlight shone through the many windows that lined the walls.

"So you expect this force to be moving this way?" the farmer asked. "Yes, assuredly. They aren't merely raiding towns, they're conquering them." Chlorus said. The farmers face was grave, and looked towards his wife. "I suppose we should accompany you to Ceres then. Our horses will be faster." what a good thing to hear! Selendris almost squeaked in excitement. But instead was reminded she had a mouth full of bacon. 'No more walking!', Selendris thought. "That would be most welcome... We have no time to waste. I fear this is the beginnings of a great war." Chlorus said. Gendry only nodded. "Do you have any children, will your farmland be looked after while we're gone?", Gendry asked. "Let us worry about that." the farmers wife said. The farmer put a hand on his wives. "We have workers that stay temporarily over from Ceres and they'll stay behind to maintain things, but we'll let them know to flea if they see any kind of invading force." the farmer himself clarified. Gendry was strange how he worried about things like that. Who cared if some random farm would sit unattended for a few weeks?

"Can I have more eggs?" Kyle asked. The farmer quickly pushed the plate of fresh baked eggs towards him. "We should reach Ceres by sundown by horse, this will be a huge help.", Chlorus said appreciatively. "I'm glad to do it, by the looks of you all, especially this one-" the farmer said pointing towards Malcolm with a fork. "It's clear the threat is very real. It's important that Ceres know as early as possible.", it was true. Malcolms leg was the main thing slowing us down. The man was about as quiet as Gendry, besides his constant apologizing regarding his limp. If we told him we would leave him behind I'm sure he wouldn't be offended by it. "I'm just glad my family made it out, if I survive long enough to meet them again it would be a blessing." Malcolm said. Gratitude was also a strange reaction to everything going on. Selendris was surrounded by strange fellows. Maybe it's just how middle-aged men are, so sappy and community orientated.

"Well, it seems that time is of the essence." The farmer said, looking towards his wife. Who continued; "I'm sure you'd all like to wash up a bit before we head out. Up that set of stairs, the door to the right leads to a washroom." she smiled warmly towards Selendris; "Please, go ahead and make yourself at home while we get the horses ready." They likely decided all this last night and planned it. "Thank you, we will." Selendris said. Quickly standing up and rushing up the stairs. Kyle pokes at his eggs with a fork, "Ladies first...". Selendris entered the washroom, it was decent sized- it was relatively empty apart a tub of water, and a pile of washcloths. Since the beginning of this morning, a strange feeling had slowly entered Selendris. A feeling that made her feel guilty- to feel. And it was culminating now. Selendris concealed it, but as she stood alone in the washroom- she did a little dance. She was feeling exhilarated. Despite Jeffs death, Jarraths disappearance, and all the carnage in Grema. She felt glad, safe. A victory. Like the things she used to worry about were inconsequential, insignificant- not even real challenges. Despite everything. She felt refreshed, optimistic. And a tinge of guilt for having survived. She happily washed herself. She could moan about everything that's happened once she came down from this feeling.

---

It's been a couple of days since I was experimented on, and needless to say I was becoming feisty. Ribs and I were thinking of possible ways to alleviate that, but we were in the middle of the wilderness. During the day I sat in the coffin, reluctantly. I didn't read from the journal again, my head was just too fuzzy from the hunger. There were plenty of berries, nuts, or game to hunt, but none of it is what I'm looking for. Ribs says that it wouldn't do anything for me at least, and I believed him since squirrels and birds didn't seem appetizing at all. It's a bit annoying but what could we do? We couldn't travel back to the town, go looking for Kendra again. If I start to go feral Ribs would have to lock me in the coffin. At this point, I was hoping to come across a group of bandits trying to rob us or something. Odd thing to hope for I know. It's night again and I march along the open farmlands with Ribs. It was always nice to be free of that coffin. It wouldn't be so bad if I could sleep but as far as I know I will never sleep again. I honestly don't know how I'll cope with that. If I can't rest, then how do I... Rest?

*sqeesh* a cow paddy spreads out around my foot. Of course it's the shoe that was half destroyed back in the city. Can't I get a win? Just one? I can't even bathe now, it's physically impossible... With preparation. I need a dust bath or something -like a hamster. I sighed, kicking the feces from my foot. At least the sickness I felt had mostly receded, replaced by that familiar hunger. I'm always exchanging one problem for another, I needed a break, at least for a few days. Meanwhile Ribs was currently teleporting around- apparently he could do that. An amazingly powerful ability the likes of which I've never heard of, and he uses it so casually. He's searching for blood, for civilization, for a still body of water. If he found a living person instead of a dead one, I don't know what I'd do. Haggle?

Now I was the one carrying the coffin on my back. Trying to avoid gopher holes. I had sprained my ankle when I stepped in one earlier, and as I've learned pain was still pain as a vampire. But it did immediately heal. Costing me more time I suspect, speeding up my hunger. Being stranded away from people as a vampire is like being stranded in the middle of the desert it seems. All these farms surrounding us, taunting us. Only their cattle remained, and their coffers were filled with food and water. It seemed the farmers had evacuated. I couldn't believe it, is this what it cost to be super strong? I was almost preying to myself. To Penelope; 'im so sorry for turning you down please help', but how could she help? Even if I got back that strength I supposedly had- it wouldn't help me now. And I doubt she could hear, it's not like she's an actual god. Despite what Ribs thinks. It's probably some connection we have through the whole vampirism thing. If I was on the brink of death I could probably see her again, but I wouldn't ask for my powers back. I liked looking more human. My ears not so pointy, my eyes not so glow-y, my hands not so claw-y. It would be useful. But if she could bring the dead back to life, maybe she could conjure some blood.

Just then Ribs reappeared. "Found something! This way!" he said, running off. I chase after him. Finally- I thought. I followed him through the plains. "How far? What did you see?" I asked. "Not far, just a few acres this way. A farmhouse- looks like a corn farm." he said. We've seen plenty of farmhouses up to this point, but all have been abandoned. "W-who lives there?" I asked. Now I was starting to think how to go about this. "Oh just a few ranchers." he said. After a few minutes of running a tiny cottage comes into view. The other side had acres of corn growing. There was smoke emerging from a chimney, a fire light flickering in the windows. Ribs and I kneel down stealthily as we approach. He speaks first. "Alright, so you can go in from the front, and I'll wait in the back to get any runners," I cut him off- "I'm not killing anybody!" we both wince about how loud I said that. "I'm not killing anybody." I whisper. "Then what do you suppose we do? Ask nicely?", "That's what I'll lead with. You stay here and if things go poorly back me up. I'll knock 'em out if nothing else." I say. Plan set. Ribs nods, skeptically. I'm sure he expected this to go poorly, but I'm a good negotiator. Technically I was a merchant, after all.

As I approached the farmhouse I remembered that I am covered in filth and blood. Definitely not the best attire for first impressions. It might confuse them that I was completely healed and dressed like a corpse. But I would explain, just a refugee fleeing war. I knocked on the door politely. It was a short building, just looked like a barracks the farmhands would live in while they looked after the farm. "What? Useless fucking dog." I heard a voice from within say. The door swings open abruptly. A burly man with blonde unkempt hair stood in the doorway. "What?" he asked. I looked down at myself along with him and realized how ridiculous what I was about to say was. "Oh, hello- this? As you can no doubt see- I'm in a bad way... I got lost. Want to make some money?"

I jostled some shiny gold and silver coins in my palm as proof. The blonde man raised his eyebrows and let me inside. "This oughta be interesting..." he said. There is other men inside, two others. A black man and a man that looked a lot like the one who answered the door. Maybe a inch or two taller with much shorter hair. "Who the fuck is this?" the taller brother asked. "My name is-" I stop to think for a second. "Gary." I say finally. The group of men share a look between one another. "I'm Avery." the man who answered the door said. The black man looks up from the cards he was playing; "I'm Milo.", "Leslie." the other blonde man said. As 'Leslie' looked towards me to answer- 'Milo' exchanged a card of his with one from the table. Avery takes a step between me and the others and says "Now introductions are out of the way- you say you got coin, what do you want?" he asks. "I need your blood." I said. Oof, this is even more awkward than I thought, now that I was saying it out loud. After a second of surprise Leslie and Milo stand up from the table. "Whoa-whoa okay, that came out wrong. I mean I'll pay you for it." I said quickly. They all exchange a confused glance.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

"You see... Uhh... I-I'm an apothecary!" did an apothecaries need blood? Sure they did, for experiments and stuff. The group exchanged a skeptical glance between each other. "How did you come about looking like this?" Milo asked, gesturing up and down my form. The easiest lie is close to the truth- "I'm from Grema- the entire town was invaded nearly a week ago." at that- a sobering look washes over the group. "I have family in Grema..." Leslie says. We talked a bit about the smaller details, how big was the attack, how fast was the enemy moving, things of that nature. I didn't bother telling them the vampire bit of course. "I'm on my way to the next town to send for help. O-of course, I'd buy some clothes and perhaps if you had someplace I could wash up?" I asked. I had to convince them to help me, luckily I found some gold. Money has a way of pushing things along.

I didn't know how strong I was now, but I couldn't risk turning feral and having no control at all. So I had no choice but to buy it from them. "Blood though? What's that to do with alchemy?" Avery said. He seemed to be the most cynical, the others seemed to not care much about anything if it's for coin. "It's for experiments, I want to see how different peoples blood reacts to a poison I'm making." If he asked for more explanation I would try to string together some big words and say it was complicated apothecary stuff. But he didn't. "Well, what do you guys think?" Avery asks the two. They had sat back down. "I don't know." Leslie slaps his cards down on the table proudly showing a winning hand. But Milo slowly lays out his cards on the table with a coy grin. "Fuck!" Leslie says. "How much of our blood do you need, and how much are you paying?" Milo says after grabbing what seemed to be a few coppers from the middle of the table.

That copper gauges things a bit, I could likely offer any amount. But just to be safe... "A gold piece for a flagon each." I said. I'm sure that would be enough to tide me over for now. Their eyes widen at the sound of a gold piece. A single gold piece could buy a decent amount, two or three could get your a horse after all. I was lucky to come across as much as I have, though an adventurer made their living off killing trolls and looting ruins. Same as I have. It was a good haul. They still seemed hesistant, but the money was good. So a few cut palms later three flagons sat. It stilled rubbed me the wrong way, but thinking about it only made it worse. I had to focus on my goal, it made everything easier that way. "Thank you."

"Now- do you have anywhere I could wash?" Avery was rubbing his bristled chin, "There's a trough out back we use, just walk along the house and you'll see it." he says. I go for the door, but he stops me. "Four silvers- for a pair of slacks and shirt with that." he said. "Boots?" I asked. "Got some old shoes. Six silvers." I start reaching into what was left of the coins in my pockets. It cleans me out pretty well, but prices would be higher out here. I drop the money into his hands. He then rummaged through a rugged dresser. A second later he pushes a bundle of clothing and shoes into my arms. Before I know it I'm at the trough they mentioned.

Luckily we brought the tea with us. I look out to the plains for Ribs, I would need those flowers. He was nowhere in sight. But I saw the blocky form of the coffin so I made my way to it. Just then Ribs teleports into view next to me. I expected it. "We're in the clear." I said proudly. "Don't get cocky, but how did you do it?" he asked. "Later- I gotta go back in for a minute. Get the flagons.", I had to unpurify the water. I scooped up an arm full of the small white flowers.

It didn't take much time at all as I dumped it into the trough. Likely much more than I needed. Within moments the water quickly changed from clear, to the tint of tea. After undressing, washing and changing I felt refreshed. The water was no longer acidic, it did have a lingering warmth to it but was no longer painful. The clothing was a bit oversized, but there were laces to tie them up so it fit well enough. The brown pants had no pockets, and the shirt was off white- but better than what I had on before. It was nice to be clean, but I still felt that uneasy hungry feeling. I headed back inside to find that the three men have gathered up three flagons around the table. "I want another silver too, to pay for the flagons, we can't very well use them after this." Avery said. I nodded in agreement. "Sounds reasonable." I said. I was down to a couple silver and gold pieces. I would need to find more troll dens.

"This will do nicely." I said sliding the last flagon aside. I ripped up some wash clothes and used some thine twine to tie them over the tops. "My wagon isn't far, I'll be able to store this there. So which direction did you say the town was in?" I asked. I knew, but padding the conversation like this was the only way to keep everyone talking as I carried three flagons of blood out the door. It was an awkward thing. There were holes in my story but hopefully with what I paid them they weren't thinking of that. They were thinking of what to spend it on. "I wouldn't say it's nearby... But if you keep going in that direction, you should reach Ceres in a few days. On foot." he said. "Good, very good. My mule has been run to death, I'll have to come back for the wagon later... Thank you all, this is a life saver, you have no idea." I said. "Glad to be of help." he said, he was flicking a gold coin into the air and catching it repeatedly. I'm sure they made more money today than this farm does in a month. Collectively. Pride, that's what I was feeling. Figuring out a system for this, it proved there are somewhat humane ways to go about this. I could maintain this. But how would I make more money? Forging wouldn't make enough, only the wealthy could spend gold on every meal they ate. And you could hardly offer less than that for such a strange request. People would figure it out eventually, unless I found a convincing reason to need it... I had made my way to the door.

"Well, I'll carry these back to my wagon. Thanks again for all the help." I had rushed through all this as fast as I could. The hunger became more difficult to manage by the second. "Wait, are you sure you're alright to travel? We could escort you at first light- wouldn't want you to get lost again." he said greedily. "No, no, I've survived this long on my own, and now that you've pointed me in the right direction I will have no problems reaching the next town. Goodnight." I said gritting my teeth, stepping out into the night. I managed to hold my building hunger- the frustration and agitation I was feeling back. They had no idea. What they did was truly life saving. Their own lives. I reunited with Ribs as I walked through the cornfield. There was a path down the middle of it. He appeared right as I was drinking from a flagon. "You seem rather pleased with yourself." he said. "I am, things are starting to look up. I got a system going, I pretend to be an apothecary and people just sell it to me no questions asked.", there was some refining to do, but it could be done. I chug another. "Hey Ribs, can you store this in your pocket space, or whatever?" I ask, holding out the last flagon. He nods. "It won't keep well, but it'll be out of the way." he says. "That's fine, can't be any worse than a corpse." I say. The ridiculous things I find myself saying lately. It was becoming so painfully casual, all this. I realized it but I chose to ignore that since I can't spend all day- or rather all night, worrying about things like that. I was like this now, and this is how I kept my sanity. Until I had another way, this was how it would be done. Guile, trickery and paying people off. And ignoring obvious problems.

When I drink- I feel myself again almost immediately. It's like drinking hard liquor but sobering instead. I was starting to build a frame of reference for how this new body worked. I still wondered why I had a moral barometer when most vampires don't. But I had all the other things a vampire had that's for sure. I was just spared the tendency for violence. Maybe I was being prejudice, maybe it was just the vampires I met. It's hard to maintain that perspective with everything that's happened still fresh in my mind. But perhaps most vampires weren't even that bad and Grema was attacked by the bad ones. After the cornfield ended there was a stable. A stable! That meant horses, that means being faster. "Ribs, horses!" I said running up to the stable. As I approached the two beasts recoil and whine restlessly. Did I approach too quickly? "I wouldn't try if I were you, animals are deathly afraid of vampires." he said. "Why? We don't eat them." I said. "Something about how you smell, it's strange to them I suppose." I sigh, I guess that's out of the question then. "A shame, we'd get to the town so much quicker..." Now that I thought about it, there was a dog that was following at a distance, too afraid to bark at us. It didn't exactly reinforce the 'vampires could be good' perspective.

We marched on past the stables, after awhile, I thought of something else. "I feel like I could run now." I said. Ribs nodded. "I've seen fledglings run as fast as horses. But that takes skill, you'd probably just fall on your ass." tssk I took that as a challenge. I left Ribs in the dust. Literally, I kicked up a pretty thick cloud of dirt as I took off. Ribs would occasionally teleport closer as I sprinted. None of that strange ill feeling from before remained, and now we were really making progress. He was right, I stumbled a lot like I did in the catacombs. But so long as I avoided uneven terrain it wasn't so difficult. I ran so fast I would catch rabbits and deer by surprise. But that wasn't all, I never found myself out of breath. So I could just keep going, in theory. Though I'm sure it would make me need that last flagon all the sooner. One could only assume.

I thought about how far I come in the past week. How severe the situation is. Trees whipped past me, I had to focus to avoid them. It was interesting to say the least. How I went from forging mediocre items in Grema to fleeing for my life in the span of hours. Then the fight in the forest with the vampires... The wolves and witches right after. My encounter with the troll, with Ribs, I couldn't really stew over any of it until now. It was all so ridiculous. In a way, it all feels like one long battle since the beginning. There was always a battle. If it wasn't running from raiders it was worrying about money. One thing after another. And just as things start to get back to normal? Chaos again. It changed me after so long. After I learn what people are capable of, the depths of their cruelty just deepening. It was disheartening, now I'm constantly worried about becoming like them. So every time I put a bully in their place growing up, or shouted at someone for annoying me, I would feel a tinge of guilt. But it wasn't empathy, I just knew how easy it would be. Especially now that I was what I was. To just take, to not feel, to just do what I can to benefit myself and to hell with anyone else. It would be easier than hearing people out, accepting accountability, or compromising. "I'm stronger so your opinions don't matter.". If I wasn't so dead-set on fixing this situation, I would have a lot of options.

I could turn back now, go back to those vampires and see if I could join up. Probably get my shop back -making weapons for them. I scoffed at the idea, of course it's ridiculous I would never do it. I had to keep the course, get to the town, warn people, conceal my condition, and rebuild my peaceful life on step at a time.

Ribs and I went on to cover miles upon miles of land that night. Nothing of note in particular happened, a surprised deer or two perhaps. Gradually I saw more lanky tall trees, leafless and grey. It went from being a type of orchard- mostly verdant with splashes of orange and gold to being... Not that. It was becoming more monotone and grey. The woods had a haunting aesthetic about them, it reminded me of that night when we met Chlorus. As the sun began to rise, we found a cave and decided to rest there. At least for all we had to travel, the enemy had to travel too. It just took time. Unless you were Ribs of course and had some ridiculous teleporting ability. If it weren't for me he'd likely be there already. Though I don't know where he'd be, looking the way he does. He says he knows vampires in the area, vampires with a moral barometer. It would be interesting to meet them at least, I expect that I'll end up going my own way. I don't do well in large groups. But I had many questions. Why were so many vampires assholes? Why was I forced to be like this? What's the goal here? What's in it for me? Just basic questions like those.

I jumped across a small creek. I could only imagine falling into a river or something. Ouch. There's another question, what kind of weaknesses do I have? Ribs mentioned vampiric powers, does that mean there's magic unique to vampires? There are species that can cast spells naturally, like breath weapons. Those are common in nature. Speaking of nature, these woods are depressing. No more surprised deer, no life at all really. Ribs teleported close as I ran only to fall behind quickly. "He-", "Wai-", "Up," I skid to a stop kicking up dry leaves all around. It was kind of fun. "What?" I asked. "I need a proper lie-down, all those jumps got me tuckered." Ribs said, putting his hands on his knees. He was mimicking a person out of breath- though I was sure he wasn't actually out of breath. He did stuff like that, pretend to be living. "Alright let's fine a cave."