Part 8
Callendor's lab was a hive of activity as Hetty pushed her way through the door. Raised voices had alerted her to their return. The doctor seemed to be barking orders and Callendor was mixing various liquids. Hetty managed to get through the throng of people to see exactly what was going on.
The doctor had his stethoscope and was listening to the chest of a young man. His ginger hair framed his youthful face. He was pale and seemed lifeless.
"Doctor?" he held up a hand to ask for silence.
"There is a feint heartbeat! Callendor I need it now!"
"It's coming it's an exact science you know!" Hetty watched as the boys chest laboriously rose and fell.
"What happened?" she asked Talok. Talok didn't reply. "Talok?" she said placing a hand on his arm.
"Word came from the next village that this boy Fletcher had gone missing. He was running an errand and didn't return. They asked us to help in the search party. We had been searching for most of the afternoon and almost given up hope….. Then we found him." Talok swallowed hard. Hetty gripped his arm in reassurance. "He is younger than Andra…. How could this happen? Who did this?"
"I'm sure they are doing all they can!" Hetty said glancing at the Doctor and Callendor. Hetty looked around at a half dozen worried faces. "You all need to leave now, we need space to work. Talok will fetch you when we have news." They seemed to murmur between themselves, Talok coming to senses started to herd them out.
"Come on do as she says we've done all we can!" Talok turned and smiled at Hetty and she nodded.
The doctor had rolled up his sleeves and was taking a blood sample from the boy.
"What's the prognosis doctor?" Hetty asked softly.
"It doesn't look good I'm afraid. The results will tell us more, the only hope we have is Callendor's serum, when he has finished preparing it!" the doctor spat over his shoulder. Callendor chose to ignore him.
"What could have happened to him?" Hetty touched the boys arm, it was deathly cold.
"There is no sign of trauma, so for now it is a bit of a mystery!" the doctor said running his hands through his hair. Hetty smiled at him reassuringly.
"You are doing your best."
"Right it's ready!" Callendor shouted as he jumped up from his seat. "I need to get a line into his arm."
"Here let me!" Hetty said taking the equipment from him. For a few fraught minutes she tried to find a vein, eventually she managed to get a needle in and let the serum start to flow into the boys body.
"It will take a while to take effect I'm afraid." Callendor said gravely. "We should watch him over night."
"We shall take shifts…" the doctor leaned wearily on the bench.
"Callendor can sit with him for a while, you look like you could do with a drink." Hetty put up her hand to stop him arguing, the doctor smiled.
"Yes nurse!" he said exhausted. Hetty took his hand and with a smile at Callendor they left the room.
Hetty walked into the room with two steaming mugs of cocoa. The doctor lay full stretch on the sofa. She giggled and put the mugs down on a nearby table.
"I see you made yourself comfortable!"
"How do you do that everyday?" he said groaning. Hetty picked up his head and laid it in her lap as she sat down.
"It's hard. I see dozens of people like that in one day. It never gets any easier." she said soothingly stroking his hair. He seemed to relax at her touch. "You did all you could it's up to him now. You can only help so much."
"That's just me I want to help everyone!" he looked up into her face.
"No one can help everyone, not even you!" she said popping a blob of cocoa foam on the end of his nose. He smiled and sat up. He took Hetty's hand.
"You've helped me so much already." he said gently. Hetty licked the foam from the end of his nose and kissed him tenderly. She felt his arms encircle her waist and he deepened the kiss. Hetty moved her hands to rest either side of his head. That's when she felt it. Coldness seeping into every fibre of her body. It gnawed at her soul and dragged at her mind. Her eyes shot open as she pulled away from the doctor's embrace, but it wasn't the doctor who sat in front of her now. It was the vampire. Finding her voice she screamed and leapt up from the sofa and bolted from the room.
Breathless Hetty came to a stop in front of the door to the lab. She was so frightened. She hugged herself to stop shaking. After a moment of checking to see if he had followed her she reached for the doorknob.
"Help me!" came a pained voice from the other side of the door. "Help me!"
Hetty opened the door a crack and listened. All was quiet. After a moments consideration she went in.
Callendor was nowhere to be seen. Fletcher still lay on the trolley the drip in his arm. Gingerly she walked over to check on him. He still looked gravely ill. She checked he drip and was about to walk away when something grabbed her arm. Hetty's breath caught in her throat. Fletchers eyes shot open.
"Oh my god! You scared the hell out of me!" she placed his arm back at his side. He seemed dazed and disorientated.
"Some of the villagers found you in the woods and brought you here. What happened?" Fletcher sat up. Hetty looked at him disapprovingly.
"Where am I?" he croaked.
"You had us pretty scared. Your at my uncle's house. I'd better go get him he'll want to check you over." he looked around the lab as if he were seeing the world for the first time. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and removed the drip from his arm.
"Hey easy tiger!" Hetty chastised as she ran to his side to help him. "I think you need to rest a while longer!"
"You smell nice!"
"Thanks…. I think, no getting all mushy on me ok, I'm just the nurse. Stay here I'm going to get the others to take a look ok." Hetty tried to open the door but it seemed to be stuck.
"Funny I don't remember locking it." she tried again but it was shut fast.
"Please stay?" Fletcher's voice rumbled from behind her. Hetty froze. His voice chilled her to the bone. It was feral like. Slowly she turned to see him looking at his hands.
"I'm so lonely and soooo hungry!" he said raising his head to reveal his new form. Hetty let out a blood curdling scream.
