The sun sets.
Thomas returns home from work, and pays a visit to the stranger he's hiding in his basement.
"Have things cooled down since our...incident? Or are the police still buzzing about?" Dracula asks.
Thomas sighs.
"Honestly. I don't think anyone even noticed. The city is a nightmare right now. I've lived here my entire life, but I've never seen Crime like this...".
"You're talking about your job. At the hospital?"
"I am. Today I treated an officer of the CPD for an infected cut."
"That doesn't sound unusual, for a man of your profession"
"It was self-inflicted. A tally mark. The man had scores of them."
"Did he say what they represented?"
"Kills."
Dracula looks deep into the shadows, remembering some of the horrors he had seen in his own life. Both before and after his natural death.
"I see. He was a veteran, wasn't he? I, too, was a solider once or twice. And I have witnessed this phenomenon before. Men going mad in battle. Mutilating themselves as an act of penance after taking a life..."
"This isn't like that,", Thomas stops him. "The scarred man showed no indication that he was troubled. The scars were more like..."
"Yes?" Dracula urges him on.
"Like trophies." Thomas practically spits as he says it. His hands tremble. "And the war this officer-- Charlie Zsaz is his name-- fought in...it's been over for years. But some of his scars...they're only weeks old."
Dracula looks into Thomas' eyes. He sees the Hatred that smolders behind them.
And he understands why Thomas is telling him about this man.
YOU ARE READING
The Vampire Bat Man
VampireA suicidally-bored Dracula accidentally saves Chicago's wealthiest family from a would-be-mugger, and decides to commit to the bit of playing a "superhero". Featuring Easter Egg references to some of the greatest public domain characters in all of G...
