Vincent opened his eyes to a dull, thumping pain in his head. He groaned and felt incoherent as he looked around with hazy vision.

After a moment, he remembered.

The fall! He sat up and winced as the throbbing in his head pounded away.

Alacard had pushed him off the roof. And… he was still alive? He looked down at his hands and moved his fingers about. Was this the afterlife?

Vincent looked around. It appeared he was on a medical exam table in what looked like a doctor’s office. White walls and the smell of disinfectant filled his nose as he eyed some cabinets with drawers beneath and a sink in the corner. The door to the office had several posters about mental health awareness and how to prevent the spread of viruses, as well as something about scythethalosis. He leaned forward, blinking, his vision still not good enough to read the finer text below the title “Scythethalosis is a silent killer.”

A woman in a white lab coat entered the room, pushing her red-rimmed glasses against her nose as she eyed Vincent with eyes similar to Isabella’s. Was this woman a – what was it again – Dawn Vampire?

“Finally awake, are we?” She had a dull smile as she moved to him and pulled out a small flashlight.

The woman wore a tight black dress under her lab coat that had a transparent mesh above her bust area, all held up by a choker around her neck. It was a stark contrast against her red-ringed irises and wavy auburn hair. The transparent mesh revealed cleavage that made Vincent nervous as he didn’t want to stare, so he looked to the ground in a quick motion.

Her dress was short and had a black belt with a golden buckle. Her legs were wrapped up in spider-print pantyhose, and her teal ballet shoes with ribbons stood out against her black wardrobe, save the lab coat.

She took a finger and lifted his chin, where he met her eyes. “Look ahead for me.” It was declarative, but also low and sultry. As he looked ahead, his face became hot not just because she was lovely, but also because she had a sweet smell of berries that reminded him of blueberry jam.

She leaned in and pointed the light in one eye, sweeping it back and forth over either eye as she examined him, making it hard for Vincent not to look at her bust through the transparent mesh.

He gulped, trying his best not to let himself get too flustered.

She then pulled the stethoscope from around her neck and put it in her ears, placing it against his chest. “Breath in and out, slowly, for me.” He did, and she concentrated. “And again.” He did. She repeated this a few more times, placing it against the front of his chest and back in several places.

She stepped back and wrapped the stethoscope around her neck, pushing her glasses against her nose. “Lucidity seems intact.” She studied him for a moment, and he couldn’t help but shift nervously and scratch his cheek. Her eyes narrowed and she leaned in, placing forefinger and middle finger on his neck, a little twitch of her lips as she did. “Blood pressure seems good.” 

“You took a hard fall,” she said, after a long silence. She took his arm and moved it around, and repeated it with his other arm. “Experiencing any pain?”

“After falling off a four-story roof?” he chuckled.

“Indeed,” she said with a frown, folding her arms.

He scratched the side of his neck. “There is a dull throb in my head, though.” Apparently, falling off a roof was a common thing, he surmised.

She didn’t react, just tilted her head, then moved to the cabinet, opening a drawer, and pulling out a little plastic medicine bottle. She popped it open, then grabbed two small paper cups, tapping two pills into one, and filling the other up with some water, then turned and handed them both to Vincent.

“Take these. They will help with that.”

She sat down on little swivel chair and watched him, arms and legs folded, those eerie eyes on him, unblinking. “And after a good night’s rest, you’ll be fine.”

He didn’t know what to do, or think, so he shrugged and took the pills.

She slid over to a computer and began typing some notes. “Is there anything else you need, Vincent?”

“Yeah,” he said, wondering about her. “Who are you?”

A small smile as she stopped. Maybe the woman did have a little emotion. “I’m the resident doctor of Crescent Academy.” She continued clacking away on the keyboard. “If there isn’t anything else you need, you are free to go.”

“Um,” he said, rubbing the side of his neck and shifting nervously. “What happened, exactly?”

She stopped typing and looked at him, blinking for the first time. “You mean after the fall or before?”

“After,” he said, thinking. “How did I end up here?” He looked around, confused.

“Sounds like a philosophical question that a therapist might help you answer,” she said, returning to the keyboard. “I can refer you if you’d like.”

Vincent blinked, holding the silence for a moment. Was that a joke?

She stopped typing, then leaned back as if getting it. “Oh. You mean here, here. My apologizes.” She then turned back, typing again. “Your classmate, Isabella Dawn, brought you here.” The way she said Isabella’s name made Vincent think the woman did not like her. But perhaps he was reading into things too much as he was delirious from today’s events.           

“If that is all,” she said, continuing to type furiously. Were those the notes on his file, Vincent wondered, or something else? “Then you can take your leave.”

Still, there was something he wanted to know. “Are you a Dawn Vampire?”

She stopped and looked at him, a little flicker of a playful smile crossing her face. “No, I just like to wear really expensive contacts to scare human beings.” Why did she use the same example he was thinking about when he first saw Isbella’s eyes? That was weird. And he suddenly felt a warm feeling creep up his legs and move over his body, making him feel as if he wanted to walk to her, go to her and… What was going on?

He blinked, shivering from those predatory eyes watching him. He shifted nervously as he didn’t like being looked at the way she was looking at him.

Her eyes held on him, unblinking and piercing. “I’m a Crimson Vampire.”

“A what?”

She frowned, lifting an eyebrow. “Ah, so you are indeed a newbie.” She leaned forward, the transparent fabric of her dress pressing her chest upward some, her eyes continuing to hold on Vincent’s. “That is fascinating.”

Vincent gulped, feeling as if he couldn’t look away from her, as if he was being pulled into her. “Oh, how so?” He felt his face get hot, his forehead perspiring.

“Do you really want to know?” The way she said it made him want to go to her even more, his body swaying in her direction, his heartbeat thudding harder. What was going on?

“What’s your name?” He asked in a way that sounded desperate, like he needed to know, in an almost sweet lullaby of a tone that someone might say to a potential lover.

“My name,” she said, showing a sultry smile as if she wanted him to come to her with fangs revealed. “Is Shayla Grave.”  

Then, she blinked, and he felt himself fall backward against the exam table as if being left free from some sort of grasp. His yearning to go to her dying out as quickly as it came. And sure, she was an attractive woman, but the desperation he had just dropped.

“If that is all,” she said, turning back to her computer and typing away. “You may go.”

He rubbed his arm and nodded, wanting to know what just happened there, but chalked it up to something supernatural that he didn’t understand, which worked for now. He moved to the door and turned the handle, and her voice stopped him.

“Oh, and if you care to learn more about vampires, I suggest picking up a book on the topic,” she said with a hint of sarcasm.

What a weird woman. He was glad to be leaving, but still curious about something else.

“How am I okay?” He meant for it to be a simple question with no emotion, but he felt like he was losing his mind at this point.  

She glanced at him over her glasses. “You’re a werewolf. Which means your body is reinforced and capable of many things that human beings cannot handle, like slipping and falling from a roof.” He couldn’t tell if she was serious or teasing him. Perhaps a bit of both.

“I didn’t slip and fall,” he said, correcting her.

“Suffice it to say, your body is tough,” she said. “It can handle something as simple as a slip and fall, even from a roof.” She gave a little smirk, then turned back to the computer.

“Okay,” he said, wanting to push more. “But it doesn’t make sense.”

She let out a little sigh, a bit of frustration rising. “That’s because you lack the belief. And, as the saying goes, ‘You’ll believe it when you see it, right?’”

That didn’t really make sense to Vincent, as it sort of twisted his thoughts and confused him even more. He realized he wasn’t going to get a straight answer from this woman. Still, she was a doctor, so she had lots of knowledge, and he wanted to know more.

“Why does my head hurt, though, and not the rest of my body?”

“Because you fell on it,” she said with a tinge of teasing. Why would she do that?

“Well, yeah,” he said, feeling kind of like an idiot to the obviousness of the truth. “I suppose so.” He had just been checkmated when he wanted answers because he was a newbie, so shouldn’t she indulge him a little?

“You’re supernatural, not immortal,” she said with that slight teasing tone. “Keep that in mind when you go running around on roofs in the future.” He was done with her games.

“Oh, and Vincent?” He turned and met her eyes, hand gripping the door handle. “Be careful out there.”  

There was a tinge of danger in her tone as she gazed upon him with those deep dark eyes and iridescent red-ringed irises. She also gave a little bit more of a smile, revealing her fangs again, and he felt that warm feeling move over him. An urge to move in her direction as if he was being pulled to her. It was a weird sensation where he frozen and stuck to the floor, not able to pull away from her, the only path was the sensation of being able to go to her, of wanting, no yearning, to be close to her.

“T-thank you,” he managed to mutter out through lips that felt glued together.

“You’re welcome.” She blinked and turned back to her computer, and the sudden magnetic pull disappeared, and he was able to move again, as if released from some sort of grip upon his soul. He took in a shuddering breath as if he wasn’t able to breath in that moment. What in the world was that. He was too scared to look back, so he moved through the door in a hurry, hearing her say in that same twisted tone that sent shivers up his spine but also left that lingering sensation of yearning to go to her. “Good day, Vincent.”

Shutting the door behind him, he let out a relived sigh if he had just survived something foreboding. Isabella rushed to his side, concern on her face. She looked like she was out of breath as if she had been pacing nervously or something, thinking about all the possibilities of what might of, or could have, happened. Then again, was it possible for vampires to run out of breath like a human? To exhaust themselves? Did they even breathe? She had said Dawn Vampires were born, so he assumed that they did breathe, so she could be out of breath. Then again, what was the good in making sense out of something that didn’t make sense in the first place? It was known as supernatural for a reason, right?

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

He smirked and rubbed the side of his head. “After falling off a roof? I feel great.” Perhaps right now wasn’t the time for jokes as she looked quite worried.

“I’m glad,” she said, squirming on the spot and blushing. “I was so scared when you fell. I mean, I know you’re a werewolf, but it was probably quite surprising for that to happen.”

Imagine how I felt? He thought.

She tapped her forefingers together as she spoke rapidly. “I mean I knew you’d be alright, but there’s always the possibility of accidents, ya know? And so, I thought something bad might have happened when you had blacked out.”

Yep, this one was definitely a worrier. Vincent lifted his hands to appease her. “Hey, it’s totally fine. I’m fine. Everything’s fine.” It wasn’t fine, but he had to keep her calm, which was ironic, because he was really feeling uneasy after everything that had happened today. It was a lot to take it.

“That freaking Alacard, though,” he said in a low growl. “Pushed me right off, without a care in the world. He really is a punk.”

“Alacard may have done you a favor, young Vincent,” Chikaze said, appearing around a corner, and had obviously been listening to what they were talking about.

“How was him pushing me off the ledge a favor?”

“As of this moment,” she said, those perceptive eyes leveling on him, making hairs stand on end. “Now you know that you can survive a fall like that.” Chikaze’s gaze was the polar opposite of Shayla Graves’. While they both pulled at him, Chikaze’s were perceptive and curious, whereas the Shayla’s were hypnotic yet scary. “And, also, you passed the test.”

“But he pushed me,” Vincent said, rubbing his head and feeling a bit surprised as the pain was subsiding, most likely from the pills Shayla had given him. “How does that pass me?”  

“You didn’t break any rules,” she said, holding those penetrating purple eyes on his. “And you were able to get from the roof, to the floor.”

Her smile was soft. “Well, now that I know you’re fine, I look forward to seeing both of you tomorrow. For now, enjoy the rest of your day.” And with that, she turned on her heal and glided away like a soft afternoon breeze.

Vincent watched her go with a lulling tilt of his head. He felt his body go weak and he continued tilting, right into Isabella, which made her jump and give a little peep, her cheeks going red. She instantly went from embarrassed to concerned as she helped him slide to the floor.

He gave a sleepy smile. “Can you tell the others I just decided to go home for today?” As she frowned, he reassured her. “I’m fine, totally fine.”

Her frown deepened, but she complied with a nod. “Okay, I can do that. But…” She tilted her head, doubtful. “Are you sure you’re fine?”  

“Yeah, yeah. Totally.” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, not feeling fine at all.

“Okay, well,” she said, standing and shifting her weight nervously. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

And with that, she made her leave as well.

After she left and he was able to relax for a moment, and he jumped back to his feet, feeling an itch, an urge, and a yearning to just run, and never stop. Where was this sudden energy coming from? While he was exhausted, tired, overwhelmed, you name it, the anxiety of it all made him want to implode, because it was all… just too much. And the thought of going home to confront his parents was more daunting than facing Shayla Graves’ gaze again.

.           .           .