Paradigm Shift

Compromise

Seth tosses the last body aside after he drains it of blood, licking the remnants from his lips as he looks around the room. A dozen bodies lay, limp and torn to shreds. Left to rot where they lay. Blood saturates the concrete floor beneath Seth's feet as he leans up against the nearest wall. He'd drank too much, but he was an addict and blood was his drug. Drinking fresh, warm blood straight from the veins of a helpless human made Seth feel superior. Everything else vanished. He lived for the drug of blood. Without it, he was edgy, almost feral until he could feed again. However, the effort to seek fresh blood and hunt down victims was wearing on his body and sometimes Seth went days without drinking, which resulted in frenzied feeding sessions. The high of the initial feed quickly faded as Seth's newborn body demanded more substance than he could provide. He should have paced himself, spread out the feedings, but he was painfully thirsty and greedy and completely powerless to resist. As a human, Seth was headstrong, confident, and sometimes ruthless. The type of person who never gave up without a fight and always had a back-up plan. So it was only natural that these qualities were heightened after his transformation and it was what made Seth decide he wasn't content with drinking donated blood. He wanted the real thing, directly from its source. He didn't want to admit that he was wrong, but as spent humans surrounded him, his body began to react to the blood in his system. He hadn't bothered to think about the human's he drank from, hadn't spared a thought for their back story or living situation. If he had, he would have noticed they were drug addicts. Seth tries to stand, but he loses his balance and slumps back down again, barely able to lift his head up as he stares straight ahead of him. He can see someone approaching, but his eyes are unfocused. He tries to retreat, but he can't control his limbs.

"Seth?"

Seth recognised Frederick's voice but couldn't respond to him. Frederick looks around and takes in the surrounding scene, noticing a pile of used needles with traces of brown liquid in them. Frederick lifts Seth into his arms and carries him to his car.

"Just relax Seth" Frederick mumbles. "I know someone who can help you"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Seth wakes several hours later in Dr. Zen's hospital practise and his nose scrunches as the strong smell of antiseptic fills his nostrils. He looks around at his unfamiliar surroundings and attempts to sit up as a young Asian doctor approaches him.

"Seth! I was hoping you'd come around soon"

Seth visually examines the other man. "Do I know you?"

The doctor laughs. "My name is Dr. Nyle. I'm the junior consultant here"

The door to Seth's room opens and Frederick approaches Seth's bed, just behind a nurse who offers Seth a steel tumbler with blood inside. Seth takes it from her and drinks from it, but the liquid inside is less than satisfying. It's human blood, but it's cold and not nearly as satisfying as Seth was used to.

''What the hell happened? Where am i?" Seth asked.

"You are at the Zen medical centre. It's a hospital only for vampires" Frederick answered. "The humans you fed from were drug addicts and the narcotics altered their blood. Meaning you experienced the side effects of the drugs in their system"

Seth frowned. "I thought vampires couldn't get sick?"

"They can't. Not in the traditional sense anyway," Dr. Nyle explains "but anything that is in the blood they consume can affect them in the same way it would for a human"

"But I thought you fed from drug addicts'' Seth answered as he looked at Frederick, remembering what Dean had told him about the night he was transformed

''No. I feed from humans that won't be missed'' Frederick corrected. ''However, I am very careful about which individuals I feed from, if any.''

''So why were you at that garage the night you changed Dean?'' Seth asked ''If it wasn't too feed?''

''I intended to feed that night'' Frederick admitted ''but not at the garage. I was hunting nearby when I sensed danger and I had the feeling of being needed. That's when I found Dean, barely clinging to life.''

Seth looked confused, and Frederick heard his unanswered question

''I have the ability of intuition, which means I can understand instinctively when someone is in danger before they do and who the individual in question is'' Frederick explained before making his way towards the door. "Dean should be here shortly so I bid you farewell"

''Great'' Seth replied sarcastically

The last thing Seth needed was to deal with Dean but he was in no state to leave, so he had no choice but to lay there and wait for him to arrive. He hadn't seen him since the night he used Dean's venom to transform himself, and he already knew Dean would be anything but pleased with him.

Dean arrived just after Dr. Nyle finished running some tests and if the look on Dean's face was anything to go by, he was furious. Despite this, however, he didn't say a word for nearly five minutes and for a moment it looked as if Dean was about to stand up and leave before he finally spoke

"Do you have any idea of the situation you've put me in?"

Seth's head turned at the sound of Dean's voice. "What are you talking about?"

"By using my venom to transform yourself you've made me directly responsible for you" Dean answered

"Why?" Seth asked

''Vampire law is not written down anywhere but normally if you change someone, you become responsible for them"

''I don't need you to look after me'' Seth dismissed

''Yeah cos' you've really done a great job of looking after yourself so far!'' Dean pointed out as he gestured towards the bed Seth was laying in

''You could've warned me about drinking contaminated blood'' Seth argued

''It wasn't like you gave me a chance too!'' Dean reminded him. ''In fact, you refused to take Frederick's advice, then insisted that you knew better and kicked us both out of your house.''

Seth crossed his arms across his chest stubbornly. ''I still stand by my decision''

Dean shook his head in disbelief. ''And look where it's got you''

Seth just wanted to go home, and he was in no mood to listen to Dean's lecture. ''I don't need you telling me what to do Dean, especially since you're living a half life yourself!.''

''Do you want to know why I live that way Seth?'' Dean asked

''Because it gives you peace of mind, you already told me'' Seth answered

''That's one reason, but if I'm being completely honest...ever since I became a vampire, I've lost myself. I'm struggling to see a reason to keep living'' Dean had told no one about how he felt, not even Frederick and Seth was shocked

''But you've been given a second chance!'' Seth replied. ''And with your heightened senses and strength you can do anything you want''

"You view being a vampire as a gift but if I could go back to being human, I would" Dean uttered. "I don't want to live if living is like this. "

Sadness came of Seth in waves as he looked at Dean. "If life was easy, it wouldn't be worth living...how about we make a deal."

"A deal?" Dean repeated

"I'll listen to Frederick's advice and follow the same regime you did if you promise me you won't give up. Give this vampire thing a chance"

Seth's concern touched Dean, and it was rare that he ever lowered his guard. If Seth was willing to try, then so was he.

"Ok" Dean agreed