Paradigm Shift

The new normal

"When we get there. Jasmine will be surrounded by vampires" Dean said. "What's stopping one of them from attacking her?" 

"No vampire will attack her" Dr. Nyle replied confidently. "Her natural scent is being masked by the cancer so any vampire we encounter will only smell her cancer and nothing else." 

The journey took 45 minutes and Jasmine slept most of the way and was still asleep when we arrived at the entrance of the medical centre. Dr. Nyle wheeled her out of the ambulance and straight towards the elevator, and I stayed by her side the whole time. Roman and Seth caught us up a few minutes later and once Jasmine's bed was wheeled into her room, they showed us into a waiting room next door. The room had an observation window so that we could see what was going on without getting in the way. 

Dr. Zen made his way into the waiting room and introduced himself to Roman and Seth, shaking their hands, then he moved to shake mine. "Dean. It is good to see you again." 

"Yeah" I replied "It's been a while" 

Roman handed him a folder. Jasmine had insisted that she was sent a copy of all of her medical records and she had collected them all in one folder. 

"Thank you" Dr. Zen said as Roman explained what was in the folder. "This will be extremely helpful"

Dean's leg was jumping again. "So. What happens now?" 

"We are going to carry out a CT scan, MRI, PET scan, ultrasound and an X-ray and get a fresh blood sample." Dr. Zen explained "Then we will examine the results and establish the best way forward." 

Dr. Zen left, and we watched through the window as they took Jasmine for her scans. A nurse came into the room shortly after to offer us refreshments, but when we declined, she called for Dr. Nyle, who explained to us why it was so important that we were hydrated 

"Pardon our manners. We should have explained to you what was happening" Dr. Nyle stated as he dismissed the nurse. "We assume that one of you would like to donate venom for Jasmine's transformation?"

Dean nodded. "That's correct. She wants me to do it." 

Dr. Nyle smiled. "We would like you to stay hydrated so that we can extract venom easier when it comes time, too."

"Do we all need to stay hydrated or just Dean?" Seth asked 

"All of you" Dr. Nyle confirmed "Depending on the toll her cancer has taken on her body. She may need more than one dose of venom in order to transform." 

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

Jasmine was returned an hour later and was awake as Dr. Zen brought up a scan of her brain on the monitor. The tumor was immediately obvious and darker compared to the rest of her brain tissue. 

"The results of the scans show the tumor has affected the nerve cells and glands as well the digestive system" Dr. Zen explained "So we have concluded that the best way to proceed is to put you into a medically induced coma before we begin the transformation process.

"W-why?" Jasmine asked 

"It is merely a precaution and only a temporary measure" Dr. Zen explained. "It will prevent any further brain damage and will also stop you from feeling any pain. We are concerned that if you are awake when injected with venom that your body may not cope with the shock"

Jasmine nodded. "If t-that's what y-you t-think is best t-then I'm OK w-with it''

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

* * *
Dean

We watched as they placed Jasmine in a coma and the beep of the heart monitor was a comforting sound as we observed her being prepared for the transformation process. Dr. Nyle came into the waiting room 15 minutes later with three syringes to extract our venom. I watched as Dr. Nyle took venom from Seth's neck before moving to Roman and all I could think about was how Jasmine had wanted it to be my venom that transformed her. 

"Are you ready Dean?" Dr. Nyle asked

I nodded "Go for it" 

He extracted my venom, and I saw him place the syringes down on a tray

"Is there any way to make sure my venom is the one that transforms her?" I asked.

Dr. Nyle placed a sticker onto each syringe and wrote our initials on each one, followed by the order of extraction. "We can do that. I will talk to Dr. Zen"

I smiled. "Thanks, doc" 

Dr. Nyle made his way back to Jasmine's bedside and I could see him talking to Dr. Zen as he pointed to the syringe that had my venom in.

Dr. Zen nodded and put some surgical gloves on. He picked up the first syringe on the tray, which was Seth's. "If you look at the monitor, you will see the venom working as I inject it into her bloodstream"

We looked at the monitor and saw Seth's venom flowing through her veins. It quickly replaced her blood with venom, but there was no change to her tumor yet.

"The venom forces spontaneous mutation in every cell of the body." Dr Zen explained "As the venom floods the human's body, it carries new generic information with it, causing modification to their DNA. This first dose of venom is acting as a cleaning solution. It is washing out any impurities in her bloodstream, ready for the next dose." 

Dr. Zen waited a few minutes for Seth's venom to settle before picking up the next syringe, which was Roman's. This time the venom attacked the tumor, and we all watched with fascination as it ate away at the cancerous tissue in her body.

"Once the second dose of venom has finished destroying the immune system and fighting the cancerous matter, then we can begin the transformation" Dr. Zen commented 

Once again, we waited for Roman's venom to settle, and then it was my turn. Dr. Zen picked up the final syringe, and I traced his movements as he slowly injected my venom into Jasmine's bloodstream. Several beeping noises started at once and I panicked 

"What's going on? " I asked "Is she OK?"

"She is fine" Dr. Zen confirmed. "Do not be alarmed by the monitor. Her heart beat has increased, and it is sensing the machines into overdrive." 

It was done. The process of transforming Jasmine into a vampire had begun, and I wasn't sure how to feel about it.