Chapter 3: Aftermath

Two days have passed since the accident. Mavis' wounds were almost completely healed, thanks to Johnny's blood. However, she felt dead on the inside. Since tasting human blood, everything she ate or drank left an unsatisfying taste in her mouth. Even Blood Beaters, her blood substitute that she used to drink to replenish herself, were unable to quench her hunger.

She longed for blood, Johnny's blood. Just thinking about how she felt when her zing offered himself to save her life, the marvelous taste that filled her tongue, her mouth, her throat and then her entire body. She also longed for the heat and energy that Johnny's blood gave her, which made her feel temporarily more alive than she's ever been, raising her body temperature to human-like level and decupling her strength. She wanted to taste the skin of his neck, the saltiness of his sweat, the sweetness of his blood...

As she was thinking about all that, Mavis caught herself drooling and realized what was happening to her. "What am I thinking? Johnny's my lover, not food! He selflessly offered his blood to me so I could live, how can I even have such selfish thoughts?!" She started to become scared of herself, scared that she would lose to her hunger and harm, or even worse, kill Johnny, should she lose control of herself. She curled herself on her bed, her head between her knees, and started to sob quietly, hoping that her hunger would eventually quiet down...

Johnny was resting on his bed and was under the care of the nurse of the hotel. She looked like one of the witch-maids that were working in the hotel, except that she looked much older.

Dracula visited Johnny's room, worried sick about whether or not he will survive. "How is he doing?" he asked her. "It was a close call.", she replied, "I casted a regeneration spell on him, and force fed him a healing potion. He should recover soon, perhaps even today. However, he should avoid overexerting himself, he did lose a lot of blood, so he will be a little anemic for a while. The fact that he pierced his lung doesn't help either. I was able to repair it, but breathing too heavily will cause him pain as well, so it's imperative that he rest for at least one week."

Dracula was relieved to hear that, knowing that Johnny was in good hands. He decided to resume his work in the hotel to unwind a little.

Johnny indeed woke up later this day. His neck and his chest felt very sore, and he had a massive headache, feeling worse than any hangover he ever suffered from. Still, he forced himself on his feet, because he was worried sick about Mavis, and didn't care about how bad his body felt, not until he knew for sure that she survived.

He slowly reached the lobby, where Dracula saw him. In a puff of purple smoke, he quickly went to hug him. Johnny winced in pain, because the hug pressured his lung a little. Still, he was glad to see him, and immediately asked, "Where's Mavis? Did she... survive?", fear was ingrained in his voice, because he was afraid of his answer.

Dracula broke his hug, tear flowing from his eyes, and tenderly replied, "Yes, she recovered quickly, thanks to you. If you didn't do what you did, she would have died. I...I...". His voice died down, and he started to cry on Johnny's shoulders, which surprised him, seeing the usually mighty Drac in that state.

"Whoa! Take it easy Drac!", Johnny replied, "Mavis is alright then, isn't she? If she's well enough, can I see her?" Dracula quickly dried his tears, straightened himself and cleared his throat. "Of course, Johnny. She's been in her room ever since the accident, so seeing you should be a balm to her heart. Be warned though, she might tackle and hug you even harder than I did."

"I'll be fine Drac. I'll gladly take those, even if they hurt me a little, if it meant to see Mavis' smile once again." Johnny started to head towards Mavis' room, but Dracula said, "Johnny?". "Yes Drac?" he replied. "I..I... Words cannot express how I'm feeling right now, nor will I ever be able to find words to really express my gratitude, but... Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart, Mavis and I are eternally in your debt!"

"Aw Drac... Don't worry about it. I love Mavis more than anything in this world, and I would die a thousand times for her if need be!" Dracula gave Johnny a radiant smile after hearing that. "Alright, enough chit-chat. Go see Mavis, she needs you more than anything, Johnny..." After those words, Johnny headed to see her zing in her room as fast as his body allowed him to.

After climbing a seemingly endless flight of stairs, Johnny reached Mavis' room. He knocked on her door and said "Mavis, are you inside?". All he could hear was a faint sob. "Mavis! I'm all right now! Ok, I haven't fully recovered yet, and still need to rest, but I wanted to see you so badly before. Please, open the door..."

"Go...G..o...a..way, Johnny". He recognized her voice, but it was very shaky and broken. "Mavis, are you ok? Are you still hurt? I'll fetch your Dad if you need help..." She then replied, "No, I... I'm fine, but... I... cannot see you, not right now, please...forgive me, and... leave me alone for now..." It was obvious to Johnny that Mavis was now crying heavily and suffered for some reason.

"Mavis!" Johnny started to feel really anxious and was afraid that something happened to her. "Please, let me in! I don't care what happened to you, let me help! I'll do anything for you..."

As he leaned more and more into the door to hear what was happening better, it suddenly opened. Johnny would have fallen on the floor, if Mavis' hand didn't viciously grip his neck. "U..ck, Ma...vis?" What he saw terrified him. Mavis was firmly holding his neck and pressed her face near his. Her eyes were burning red, her fangs were three times as long as normal, blue veins were protruding everywhere in Mavis' face and her face was hideously distorted from anger. Her face was even more terrifying than the one she showed when she were angry at Dracula for building a fake village.

Before he could utter another word, Mavis forcefully threw him down the hall, making his smash the wall. "GO AWAY! NOW", she shouted in a demonic voice. She then slammed the door, weeping loudly in a fetal position on her bed. Johnny was heartbroken by this display, not because of the physical pain Mavis inflicted him, but because he saw her in such a state. He then went to see Dracula as fast as he could.

"Drac!", he shouted at him as he went back into the hall. Dracula turned his head towards him, still smiling a little from his earlier conversation. However, his smile quickly fell when he saw the panicked state Johnny was in. "What's wrong, Johnny?" he asked. "It's Mavis!", Johnny replied, unable to hold his tears. "Something happened to her, I don't know what, but she's not herself... Please, help her!"

Upon hearing those words, Dracula changed into a bat and quickly fled towards Mavis' room, fearing the worst...