Fresh Blood

Fresh Blood

The phones were ringing off the hook during the community’s annual blood drive.

“Hello, how may I help you?”

“Is this the Blood Bank?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Do you have evening hours?”

“Yes, Tuesdays and Thursdays we’re open until nine.”’

“Thank you.”

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The elderly woman at the counter had never seen anything like their latest arrival- tall, thin, pale, pitch-black slicked back hair, piercing blue eyes, a bright white shirt, and a black cape.

“Thank you for coming to the Blood Bank.”

“I’d like a gallon. What’s the cost on that? And do you take Visa?”

“A gallon? A gallon of what?”

"Blood. This is the Blood Bank, isn't it?"

 “I’m not sure I understand.”

“Well, if you don’t have gallons, could I get a 12-pack? Those little 10-ouncers are nice. That way I don’t waste any. I know the bigger cans can go in the fridge, but it’s not the same as fresh.”

The woman was stuck for a response as the man studied her name tag. He was as puzzled as she was.

“Gladys… you do have blood here, correct?”

“Of course, but we collect blood. We don’t… sell it.”

“Well then, you might want to change the name of this place. ‘Bank’ clearly implies a place where deposits and withdrawals can be made. You have to admit it’s pretty confusing.”

Gladys was thinking.

“Is this some kind of a joke. Halloween is coming up. Did Henry in Transport put you up to this?”

“Are bread, butter, eggs, and Big Macs a joke? I assure you, ma'am, my need for blood is as great as your need for groceries.”

“This has gone far enough. I’m calling Security.”

Drake had run into this kind of reaction before.

“No need, ma’am. I’m leaving.”

----------

Drake was alone in this world. His kind had been driven from the plains along with the buffalo years ago. It had been a comfortable symbiotic relationship. His clan kept the buffalo safe from predators in exchange for modest amounts of life-sustaining nourishment- nothing threatening to a bison’s health, just a quick sampling from five to ten adult males twice a week. Over time, the two very different groups developed a friendly camaraderie. Females and calves were off limits, partly out of chivalry, but mostly to maintain the supply. It all changed with the arrival of white men and rifles.

With the loss of habitat and a hefty bounty placed on their heads, these creatures of the night neared extinction. At the turn of the century, it was down to Drake and his Uncle Albert.

“I’m tired, Drake. The whole world has left me. I don’t belong anymore. I’m ready.”

No one will ever know for certain, but it was rumored that one morning Uncle Albert walked out of their cave into the bright sunlight. In his weakened condition, he stumbled out to an open clearing, fell to his knees, raised his arms, and waited. It wasn’t long before a group of wolf hunters cut him down. Drake found him that night, lying in the dirt with a wooden stake driven through his heart. Drake wept openly for Uncle Albert, and for himself. He was all alone.

Drake wandered from town to town in a vain effort to find one of his kind. He slept in caves, dumpsters, under porches, anywhere the sun didn’t shine. Hunger overtook loneliness in his plunge to misery. He lived off whatever blood he could suck out of field mice, discarded animal parts at rendering plants, and roadkill. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

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“Good morning, how may I help you?”

“I’m here to apply for the phlebotomist position… Gladys.” 

“Certainly. Miss Jacobs will be with you shortly.”

Even though the man was smartly dressed in a dark blue suit, white shirt, and bright red tie, Gladys felt a sense of familiarity.

“Excuse me, sir, you look familiar. Have we met before?”

“No, I don’t believe so.”

“Have you ever donated blood before?”

The very thought of it was repugnant.

“Of course not!”

“Well ok then. Just have a seat.”

Jake felt good about the fake resume he put together with the help of an internet website. He just needed to impress Miss Jacobs in the interview to land his dream job. She was impressed.

“Have you had much experience drawing blood?”

“Yes, quite a bit.”                                                                                                                                                                            

Miss Jacobs had never interviewed a candidate who knew so much about blood types, flow rates, location of veins and arteries, preservation of samples, and coagulation avoidance.

“You’re hired for the part-time position because, as you said, you can only work nights. I look forward to working with you, Drake.”

Drake’s plan had worked to perfection except for one small detail- he didn’t know how to draw blood without a bite to the subject’s neck and feverish, sustained sucking. He assumed this technique would not be acceptable at the clinic, so he pulled two all-nighters watching YouTube videos on the subject.

“Good evening, Drake. Are you ready to start work? I’ll be in the next room if you have any questions.”

“Thank you, Miss Jacobs.”

“Since we will be working together, I think you can call be Katie.”

“Thank you… Katie.”

Drake was confident as he slipped into his white coat and awaited his first victim/client.

“My name is Drake. I’ll be doing your… blood draw today.”

Drake trembled with excitement at the mere sound of the word- blood. It had been a long time since he downed an adequate dose of the sweet crimson nectar. His fingers twitched as he inserted the needle, and his eyes nearly popped out as he watched the flow of red into the tube. It was a good start for Drake as his first customer had a 3-vial draw. He would be able to take a small hit from each without anyone noticing anything was amiss. As soon as the gentleman left, Drake took the cap off each tube and took a quick hit. He moaned with pleasure.

“Are you ok in there, Drake?”

“Uh… yes, Miss Jacobs… I mean Katie. I’m fine. I was just so relieved that my first appointment went well.”

“That’s good.”

It took every bit of willpower for Drake not to suck down the entire vials of blood, but he knew he had a full schedule that night. Taking the top off every donation would work for him. Life was good.

----------

It only took a week. Drake liked the blood supply, but he also liked Katie. He now understood that during all those years of wandering, he wasn’t just thirsting for blood, he was also starved for affection. He knew something had been missing in his life, and now it was right before him- a human connection, the companionship of a woman. The feelings stirred a desire that had never even occurred to him. It didn’t seem possible that two beings from different worlds could meet on such a level. He was confused, paralyzed by indecision. He only knew he liked being in the same room with her.

“Katie, I have a question about labeling these vials.”

The hint of a smile suggested something that Drake was incapable of understanding.

“You asked me that yesterday.”

Drake was an odd sort of character, but he was also handsome, intelligent, respectful, and polite. Katie saw a kindness in him that made others kind. It became a puzzlement that has survived the ages- who is supposed to make the 1st move? It certainly wasn’t going to be Drake.

“Drake, I know you still have questions about the clinic, so I thought maybe we could go over our procedures again at lunch someday.”

Drake was stunned. It didn’t seem possible. The idea that she wanted to see him outside of the clinic was overwhelming. He struggled to come up with a response. Finally, he smiled.

“That would be great, Katie. When would…”

It hit him. Lunch generally happens around noon when the sun is at its brightest. He was thinking of plausible responses.

“I really don’t like lunch…”

Drake immediately wished he had thought of something to stay better than that. Katie was thinking the same thing.

“… so, maybe dinner some night, say around seven on a night I’m not working?”

Katie’s smile returned.

Drake could eat solid food. He just needed to supplement it with a little of his liquid gold- blood. Dusk was at six, so he had a nice margin of safety to avoid the punishing rays of the sun. He showered, put on his best and only suit, and doused himself in cologne. His nerves were shot before he arrived at the restaurant. This was his first “date” in 200 years.

Katie looked ravishing. Drake’s heart fluttered and warmed ten degrees. For the first time in his life, he realized the one thing mortals had over eternal life. He had heard humans speak of love, and he had seen the smiles and tears of lovers, but now he understood.

“Jake, I ordered a table. They’re ready for us.”

Jake was incapable of speech. He could hardly breathe.

“Jake?”

“What?”

“Our table is ready.”

Katie ordered a Coke. Drake ordered a glass of wine.

“Any red wine will be fine.”

Katie ordered the Salmon. Drake ordered a steak.

“Bloody rare, please.”

Small talk through dinner. The “business” part of their meeting was held on Henri’s outside deck under a full moon. Drake played ignorant of all aspects of the clinic. He wanted the moment to last, and Katie went into more detail with her answers than necessary.

“Drake, where did you live before you came to our town?”

Jake should have been more prepared.

“Oh, different places, Chicago, New York, Miami.”

He had never been anywhere east of the Mississippi, but a life of wandering around the barren lands of the Rockies and the Great Plains would have invited more questions.

“It’s a beautiful moon tonight, Drake.”

Drake made the mistake of looking up. He shuddered as the memories of his tribe battling the half-man, half-wolf creatures under a full moon came crashing down on him.

“Are you ok, Drake?”

She said it like she meant it, as if she cared. Drake felt the human touch. It was the most wonderful moment of his life.

“Good night, Drake. This was a very nice evening, and thank you for dinner.”

“Yes… it was nice, very nice.”

Drake was troubled as he walked home under the moonlight. It had been a wonderful two hours, best of his life, but he didn’t know what to make of it. Did Katie like him as a friend she worked with, or was there something special happening? He wanted it to be the kind of romantic relationship he had observed in humans, but how would he know what it was? It was a whole new experience for him, and he was ill-equipped at reading signals. He wished he had said something more when he left the restaurant, but that could have ruined whatever he had now. He was conflicted all the way home. Then he reminded himself of the biggest challenge if a romance were to flourish- she was a mortal; he wasn’t.

----------

Drake thought about Katie morning, noon, and night. He lived for his Tuesday and Thursday night shifts. Each evening provided an oasis of happiness in the midst of a life of boredom blended with the sadness that had been his curse ever since Uncle Albert gave himself up. He missed another signal. Katie rearranged the staff work schedule so she would now regularly work those two evening night shifts along with Drake. He loved the first hour and a half of his shift; the joy faded at the halfway point as he began to lament her departure. One night, Drake was hit with a cruel reminder of who he was.

“Drake! Great news. A full-time position will be opening up, eight hours a day, five days a week. And you could still do your night shifts if you wanted.”

It ripped up Drake’s insides. There was nothing he could want more, but it wasn’t possible. He knew the answer. He just didn’t know how to say it.

“Uh… no, I think I’m good with the 2 nights a week. I’m pretty busy with other things.”

Having meddled in the world of humans for some time, Drake could now read the disappointment on Katie’s face. He desperately wanted two things- to be with Katie more and to explain to Katie why he couldn’t. He was in an impossible place.

The next few weeks at the clinic were awkward. Neither knew how to act in their situation. Katie thought she had laid down all the possible signals without response, and Drake didn’t want to say or do anything that might cause the relationship to go backward… or forward. In his state, he couldn’t be certain, but as far as he could tell, he loved Katie. He was unaware of anything like that ever happening with his kind, so he didn’t understand any of it. He couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing Katie, but he knew there was no next step.

Drake sat alone on the riverbank, staring at the reflection of the full moon on the water. The moon he was seeing wasn’t real. Neither was the life he had imagined and hoped for. He thought of all those years, outcasts wherever they went, struggling to survive. He remembered the days on the prairie, the buffalo, hiding in caves, and the cold mountain winds. He could see Uncle Albert leaving the cave that morning, never to return.

He was stuck between two worlds, Katie’s- real, full of life, the human touch, and love; and his- cold, dark, soulless, an abomination. Katie was the most wonderful thing he had ever known, and the thought of his life touching hers seemed so wrong. He had no right.

Drake had a key to the clinic, and he knew no one would be there on a Friday night. He smelled her perfume the moment he entered her office. He felt her presence as he sat behind her desk. His hand defied his heart, and he reached into his pocket and pulled out the note.

Katie- I’m so sorry. I had to leave. It’s a family emergency. My Uncle Albert needs me in Colorado. Take care, Katie. I will always remember you and the kindness you showed me.

- Drake

That was the fifth draft. The first four had it “Love, Drake”. In the end, he left it how it had to be, his feelings left on scraps of paper floating with the wind across the mesa.

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Drake followed the Colorado River to the cave he and Uncle Albert had once inhabited. He was exhausted, but he couldn’t sleep. In the middle of the night, he stepped out of the cave and studied the canopy of stars above and the valley below. He tried to fit in somewhere, but he knew he didn’t belong.

In the morning, Drake walked out of the cave into the full sunlight. Struggling under the debilitating rays of the sun, he stumbled down the hillside, thinking of Katie with every step. When he reached the clearing, he dropped to his knees, raised his arms, and waited.