Almost five years had passed since Doctor Santiago was turned into one of the followers of the Corvus clan and he had exhibited very few (rather violent) cases of blood lust since then. He had grown fond of the taste of the locals instead of those who came to Miami during the holidays. Aside from trying to hide the few dead people by dumping them in the Glades with the hope of the gators turning them into cadaver jerky; he had also noticed some slight changes to himself. For the last 1,587 days he discerned that his physical being didnâ??t change at all since the night of the bite as if someone decided to freeze the sand in the hourglass that was glued to the table. Another interesting thing that not only he noticed but every one of his gym buddies as well; was the fact that his reflex times were quicker and that the Spaniardâ??s punches had more weight to them. That might come in handy next time I go to the club. Ali thought as he did some physiology research and calculated that while his metabolism and exterior aging had come to a halt; his actual age was projected to be in his early 220s.
It was another early evening of working out at the gym but the only difference was there were very few people in the building. Ali remembered seeing probably a maximum of ten people in the entire building; a few in the racquetball courts, two in the cardio room, a few cute girls accompanied by their meathead boyfriends on their way to the sauna. He also remembers running into the attractive blonde 20something who probably was a small time local model that spent the evening shifts watching the front desk, greeting people as they came and went.
â??Why, howdyâ?¦ Doctor Santiago. How is your evening going for ya?â? The southern belle inquired truthfully. â??This night is young and alive, Kelly. Itâ??s young and alive.â? Ali responded with a spell of dejection in his voice but Kelly couldnâ??t pick up on it since she was so enamoured every time he had spoken to her. â??Wellâ?¦ Thatâ??s wonderful doc, the boxing ring is emptyâ?¦ Will you be needing anything this evening?â? Once again he sensed legitimacy from the blonde, which he had found to be relatively odd, even if the place was as dead as his morgue tonight; Kelly was never this nice or considerate to the other patrons. He also noticed that she straightened up her posture when he came through the door.
â??Not necessarilyâ?¦ Just that Iâ??m not to be bothered during this time.â? Aliâ??s voice had a sliver of annoyance from dealing with the girl at the front desk. Kelly nodded and agreed to do as she was asked; which only fuelled the doctorâ??s well obscured irritation with the blonde. As the doctor made his way to the back of the building, he could hear the blondeâ??s audible swoon which made him shake his head in repugnance. What is it about me that works them up like that? He wondered as he set his backpack on a bench, made his way over to the punching bag and went to work.
With every blow that landed, Aliâ??s mind stopped focusing on the workout and began drifting back to the killings he had made. His first target was one of the off duty bartenders he had spent the night eyeing the new female tourists with. Ali remembered how weak the man was as he feebly tried to push him off. The poor guyâ??s blood tasted rather tart. Santiago recalled to himself as his mind fast forwarded to his next two victims, two dark haired twins who exhumed the Californian plastic egos which took everything that had transpired in the flat without a grain of salt. They both thought that his biting was just some sort of fetish that he took care of with every suitor he brought back to his place. Whatever they had, it was really strong. Santiago recalled going to work the next morning with the hangover sent directly from Mother Nature.
As he continued his mind also recalled the one night stands that he used as a cover up to take a few nips of the crimson drug from some of his suitors. I just hope they wonâ??t notice the fucked up hickeys on their necks anytime soon. Ali thought when his mind rewound itself back to the night he had become part of the legion of porphyria haemophiliacs as he relived the moment; Kelly decided to watch her favourite Latin doctor workout and she noticed his punches were getting quicker. As Ali found himself mentally entwined with a spell of post traumatic stress; the memory shifted into a nightmare which Santiago was the assailant and Theroux was the victim.
While his consciousness was in a deadlock of horror, his punches got stronger and faster. Isabelleâ??s screams and pleadings were echoing through his ears and the moment his fangs sank into the French womanâ??s neck Aliâ??s physical body let out a scream when the final punch landed on the bag, which threw it clear off its chain as it sailed halfway across the room which caused the blonde to gasp in amazement, giving her voyeuristic position away.
â??¿Qué es lo quieres, Kelly?â? The doctor asked flatly without looking toward her, his attention transfixed on the dance mirror that showed no reflection. â??Youâ??re aâ?¦â? Kelly couldnâ??t finish her statement as she made her way toward Alejandro with a letter in her hand.
â??Yes, I am. Kelly. Donâ??t tell anyone or things will transpire between us that you will not be fond of.â? Santiago warned the blonde as Kelly stared in horror of just staring at her reflection when the doctor was standing next to her. Aliâ??s attention turned to the letter; judging by the intricate wax seal keeping the paper together he knew it was for him. Probably some college in the Northwest who want me to give a lecture on how to build a psych profile of potential suspects. He thought as Kellyâ??s voice picked up again. â??A man told me that this was for you, sir.â? The blonde timidly handed him the letter and quickly ran out of the boxing area back to her desk while Santiago packed his bag and walked home.
He walked past Therouxâ??s door and knew she wasnâ??t home for she had called him during the nightshift and told with excitement in her voice that she was curating one of the short engagement exhibits at the art gallery at Miami U. Ali scoffed at the mental image of the now 28 year old French woman berating and harshly critiquing the art pieces in her native tongue under her breath while guiding the newer freshman through the halls of the exhibit. As walked in he noticed a note taped to his fridge. Itâ??s probably her; she shouldnâ??t worry so muchâ?¦ He peeled the note from the door and placed the other note on his bar. It was a simple reminder that she had fed his dog and checked his landline for voicemails and took notes of those who called for him. The bottom of the note read Je tâ??aime, Ali. With a smear of a pink lip stain at the bottom and it struck Santiago that he finally had someone to fall back on.
â??Te amo demasiado, Izzy.â? The doctor whispered as he picked up the new note, tore off the wax seal, unfurled it and began reading.
Doctor Alejandro Santiago,
We are aware of the events that transpired between you and the Corvus clan five years ago.
We require your presence and assistance.
The letter had no information as to who had sent it but the doctor took their professionally subtle cry for help with the direst gravity. He noticed an address at the bottom and wrote it down, then immediately ripped off his backpack. A few minutes later, he got dressed into his standard attire and took the two gifts he had received from his neighbour with him as he left the apartment block, whilst riding his Ducati motorcycle toward the interstate.
â??New York doesnâ??t sound too badâ?¦â? Ali thought to himself as his bike roared past the state line, heading north.
****
A couple days later, the doctor closed in on the address he had jotted down. He parked his bike in the parking lot and made his way in. On the way up he had so many questions firing through his mind. How did anyone figure this out? Did they notice the bodies? I thought I did all of the right things to prevent it from leaking? More questions racked his brain as he made it to the door. Ali took a deep breath as another thought came to mind.
What if theyâ??re a bunch of Twilight nerds who have mistaken me for their Edward? He shuddered as he opened the door, who he saw on the other side came to him as a complete shock.
â??Isabelle! ¿¡Qué estás haciendo aquÃ?!â? Santiago exclaimed as Isabelle ran toward him and hugged him as hard as she could. â??Ali, I got this letter from someone and I was taken in the middle of my lecture.â? The art major released the doctor, who noticed that Therouxâ??s English had improved since the incident but; the fear was something he hadnâ??t heard from her before. He took the letter and it was the same one he had received before he left Miami a few days ago.
Alejandro also noticed a pair of bracers wrapped around Isabelle's arms with blades hidden beneath them.
"Did you build these, Isabelle?" He questioned as he tapped on them to which the French woman flicked her wrists and the short and sharp blades protruded from underneath her forearms. "Oui, Ali... But I had some help from a few friends." The art professor replied with a smile as the blades retracted back into their hiding places.
â??What do we do now, Ali?â? The dark haired woman questioned her guardian as two made their way to the table, where there was tea waiting for the pair.
â??Supongo que nos espera, mademoiselle.â? Alejandro reassured his girlfriend as he took a seat at the table while she took her cup and began to pace nervously, with his hand ready to pull the katana from its sheath at any moment.