Chapter 5
I never noticed how loud hospitals were, until I had to stay overnight. Then I realized how much people were moving around, and how annoyingly boring it was.
I had to stay overnight because I inhaled a lot of smoke, and I got 2nd degree burns, bordering on 3rd degree. I tried to tell them I should go home, because I knew I would heal faster than they expected. The whole werewolf thing sped up my healing process a little. It happened at a higher strength the closer I got to the full moon, like any of the other 'perks' from lycanthropy, but since it was the first day of the waxing moon, I was going to start healing well.
"Okay Cory, let's see that hand." A nurse said, walking into my room.
"Please, just let me leave, I'm fine." I said, letting the nurse see my hand.
"We can't let you leave."
"But I can't even afford to pay for medical care." I said.
"Well, your parents probably can." The nurse said, "And, by the way, we need to have your parents' info. Where are they?"
"I'm Cory's father." I heard a voice say from behind the curtain. All of a sudden I saw a man push the curtain aside and step into my 'room'. I saw Alex follow behind him.
"Alex, what are you doing here?" I asked.
"Dad brought me here." Alex said, pointing at the man, and I got the message.
"Okay nurse, here's my father." I said, motioning towards the unfamiliar man.
"Hello, I'm Trauer. Trauer Tod. I'm Cory's father." The man said with a German accent.
"Can you prove that?" The nurse said asked.
"Umm…. I don't think that's required." The man said, and all of a sudden the nurse was agreeing, and at Trauer's suggestion, she left the room. Then he turned to me and said, "So, you're the werewolf Alex risked his life to save?"
"I figured you were the one who saved me. Thank you so much." I said, then I paused, and I turned my attention the man, "Now who the hell are you?"
"I am Trauer. I am the vampire in charge of this area."
"So, why are you here, and why the hell did you tell that nurse you were my father?"
"Well, Alex here has convinced me that I should help you."
"Really, cause I got the feeling you were the one that lit my house on fire. Or you at least ordered it."
"And what gives you that idea."
"First of all, you hate me, I can tell that much. Second, you're a vampire, I can smell that much, and from what Alex has told me, most of your kind doesn't like my kind. And, finally, I can smell a little bit of gas, and it smells like it's coming from you."
"Wow, someone's a smart little doggy." The man said, and then he turned to Alex, "Alexander, I will see you outside." And he walked past the curtain and out of the room.
"Alex thanks for saving me." I said.
"Listen, Cory. I can't talk to you anymore."
"Why not?"
"Well, Trauer kind of blackmailed me. You're right about him, along with other vampires, setting the fire. And now they're angry that I saved you. For years, maybe decades, I've been slowly breaking away from the vampire society, and Trauer and them haven't like it. They said that as long as I come back to them, they'll leave you alone, and take care your medical bills and everything." Alex said, "And now, I need to leave." And he left.
And I sat there, alone, now more than ever. Alex had saved my life, risking his in the process. And then he agreed to join a society he's been breaking away from, just to keep me alive, in the process, being forced to leave me alone.
All of a sudden the nurse walked back in. "Okay Cory," She said, "Your father just showed us your medical insurance. Everything's all paid for, and you're free to go."
"Damn Trauer."