Purgatory

Dragon Protocol

It had been a week since their first meeting, and despite his mistrust Artemis had taken to chatting amicably to Benny, the vampire was, after all a scientific marvel. "Do vampires cease to age when turned or do they merely age slower?" Artemis said.

"As far as I can tell, we don't age, can't get sick. Hell, the only way for one of us to croak is if we get our selves decapitated or poisoned," said Benny

"Do you actually have to feed on blood, can you eat normal food?"

"We could eat normal food but it just kind of goes straight through, if you know what I mean." Benny said

Artemis winced "I do."

Benny looked at him, amused "Too much explanation? If I remember correctly humans are quite squeamish about those things."

"And you're not?" Artemis asked

"Good point" Benny conceded

"How does one become a vampire anyway?" asked Artemis

Benny frowned, "Swallowing vampire blood will do it, injection of blood should work too. other than that, I'm not sure." Benny's face was contorted into what Artemis liked to call his 'brooding face' which cropped up every time Artemis asked him anything approaching personal. Artemis guessed that his transformation was a sore subject.

Artemis wasn't an expert on social interactions, but he knew when a swift subject change was called for, "How close are we to the portal"

Benny thought for a moment, "We're about an hour's walk from the small lake so we should be about a quarter of the way there"

Artemis frowned, "How do you know?" he stopped for a second, "I don't even know how you navigate this place; how do you know where the portal is?"

Benny shrugged, "A bit of trial and error."

"Trial and error." Artemis ground out "Please tell me we are relying on more than trial and error"

The corner of Benny's lip quirked up, "The whole place is almost exactly the same apart from the water. there are fixed landmarks, streams, rivers, lakes. they are almost the only way to navigate."

Artemis looked at Benny incredulously, panic rising "We haven't seen any water... are... are we lost."

Benny snorted, "Calm yourself chief. I keep forgetting how limited humans are. I can smell the sand, the rock, and the minerals in and around the water. Lakes and rivers have a much more distinct scent then the rest of this place"

Artemis' relaxed, "I cannot believe I didn't think of that sooner. It's this place, its throwing me off."

"Purgatory will do that to you." Benny said, amused by the boy's antics

Artemis glared, "Do you think this is funny?"

"I think it's hilarious"

"I hate you." Artemis grumbled. Artemis spoke in a character of Benny's accent "I forgot how limited humans are. Do you know how ridiculous you sound sometimes?"

Once the conversation had juddered to a slow and comfortable stop, Artemis' thoughts returned to their usual musings. What if his condition deteriorated further in this place? What if he took control again? Artemis knew the answer, he would surely perish here.

The only solution to this conundrum was (as always) to tell Benny. But he couldn't do that, he had barely known Benny a week and the man himself had told Artemis not to trust anyone here.

And so, (as always) Artemis was left in a limbo of uncertainty stuck between trusting a man who had killed all his companions on a whim and well... the alternative, risking... it happening again with no one to ground him. The anxiety that arose as a result of this line of thinking caused him to tap his breast pocket five times and then his blade five times and then it was hard to stop, everything five times