Chapter Text
“Don’t even think about it,” warned her mother. She didn’t even turn around yet her displeasure came completely through her voice. The woman stared out the passenger window with her phone pressed to her ear. “Sorry about that, ignore her. She’s just restless after a long day at school. You know how kids are, so full of energy.” She nodded and made affirmative noises to whatever the other person said in response.
Himiko slunk back into the backseat of the car, sliding down the smooth material. Her arms wrapped around her middle, pressing against the blood that had soaked through her blazer. Sliding her loafers off, she bent her legs and curled up into the fetal position.
“No feet on the seat,” her father said flatly. Flinching, Himiko’s legs went ramrod straight and she nearly stomped the floor of the car. Out of instinct, she refrained from doing so. Instead, she planted her feet on the backstay of her loafers, bending the material until her toes pressed against the insole. Her father eyed her in the rearview mirror and grunted, satisfied for the time being.
Himiko kept her arms wrapped around her middle, refusing to let go. All the blood stained into her uniform could not be extracted, not by her hands. It was lost, never to be drunk yet so close to her stomach.
The memory of feeling full taunted her. Just hours ago, she had felt so satiated, so fulfilled, so… was it love? Her mother wouldn’t look her in the eye. Her father was hardly satisfied with how she acted, much less how she wanted to act. Her classmates had screamed at the sight of such delicious blood. Her love screamed, voice curdling in fear. In the moment she had felt the most satisfied she had in her entire life, everyone else had been terrified.
Her mother cupped a head over the bottom of her phone and leaned over to her father. “How long until we’re there?” Grunting, the man pointed at the screen built into the dashboard. “You know I left my glasses at home.”
“How am I supposed to know what you forgot?” he grumbled. At the next stoplight, he glanced at the directions he had set up earlier. “Six minutes.”
“Now was that so hard?” He grunted again and she rolled her eyes. “You hear that, Miss Nurse? We’ll be there in six minutes to sign everything.” Her mother made a few affirmative noises. “Does that mean we can start the procedure today? She’s had some pressing issues resurge today and the sooner we can fix that, the better for everyone involved.” A pause. “Yes, yes, I understand all the dangers. I don’t care about the risks, will it work or not?”
The car came to a jerking stop as Himiko’s father barely missed the light. The two parents glared at each other, ready to start slinging words at one another. Her mother pointed at the phone. Her father clicked his tongue and went back to driving.
Her mother leaned back against the door, looking out the window while she went back to the call. “Look, just make an exception, okay? I’ll sign whatever you need me to sign. Get the procedure ready or I’ll look for another procedure. Uh huh. Good, we understand each other then. See you soon.” Ending the call, she sighed.
In the backseat, Himiko opened her mouth but the words got caught in her throat. Asking a question would be futile anyway. She shrunk back into the polyester seat and had to resist the urge to curl up into herself. If there was anything she knew at this moment, it was that there was no getting out of this.
Maybe if she ran away, but then what? She was only fourteen. How far could she get on her own before the urge to bite something became too strong? What would happen when that urge came to be again? Surely, there wouldn’t be some cute girl that she could sink her teeth into. There would only be birds and mice for her to snatch and exsanguinate for a tiny bit of food. Unless she tried to find more people for blood… that would make her a freak though. More of a freak than she already was for wanting a drink of blood at all.
The car pulled into the parking lot and her parents wasted no time getting out. Her mother marched up to the hospital, her low heels snuffing the concrete in their lame attempts to click with each step. When the doors didn’t slide open fast enough, she tried to push them as she went through the entrance. People moved out of her way, frazzled by the fury radiating off of her.
“C’mon. Don’t make this any harder than it already is.” Her father opened the door and grabbed Himiko by the arm. He yanked her out and undid her blazer, revealing the splotches of deep red across her white uniform. A heavy sigh left his nose at the sight. Dragging his daughter over to the trunk, he dug out a heavy jacket and slung it around her shoulders. The sleeves dangled over her hands and the rest went down over her knees. “Whatever.” He shook his head and pushed her toward the hospital. Not willing to make a fuss, she began the slow march over to the hospital.
It was clean. Nothing like the demented thought of a tiny clinic in a dingy neighborhood where sterile tools were only found once the other ones broke. This building was large and towered high in the middle of the city. People flitted in and out of the lobby, meeting family or taking them home. At the receptionist desk, her mother had her arms crossed in front of a harried young woman in scrubs.
“I don’t need to read it,” insisted her mother. A pen was pinched between her fingers, sure to snap if she applied any more pressure to it. “Just tell me where to sign so we can’t get this over with.” The nurse opened her mouth and Himiko’s mother cut her off. “Yes, yes. I know and I don’t care.” She snatched the thick packet from the nurse’s hands and flipped to the last page, where she hastily scribbled a signature off on the line. “There. Where do I take her?”
As Himiko and her father meandered over to the desk, she tried to look around for anything that she could go over to. He gave her shoulder a push when she slowed down just a touch. The nurse clutched the packet and turned to another receptionist who gave her a dead flat stare. Standing up, the older receptionist took up the packet. “Alright, ma’am, are you aware of the dangers presented with this procedure?”
“Of course I am!” Himiko’s mother tapped her foot, the worn-down sole making a soft thud each time. “Are you going to tell me where to go or are you just going to babble about precautions and waste my time?” She raised an eyebrow, daring the middle-aged receptionist to start some spiel.
“First, you need to sign in a few more places.” Wasting no time, the receptionist flipped through the packet, his fingers pointing to each place to sign with practiced efficiency. Once each signature was complete, he snapped up the paperwork. “Alright, head up to floor nine. I’ll call Doctor Ujiko and he’ll meet you in room four. Did you catch all that?”
“Floor nine, room four.” Leaning forward, Himiko’s mother plastered on a smile. “Thank you,” she pronounced with heavy sarcasm. Then she turned toward her daughter. “Come along now.”
A heavy hand pushed Himiko from behind. In front of her, her mother was glaring down at her like a heated beam. Behind her, the quiet disappointment of her father chilled her to the bone. There was no use fighting this now. Himiko shuffled over to the elevators.
“Now that’s a good girl.” Her mother shifted around until she could place a hand on her other shoulder. The second that the elevator doors opened, two hands shoved Himiko inside followed by two bodies blocking her exit. The doors slid shut and for the first time in weeks, her parents’ shoulders sagged. “Don’t worry, Himiko, soon you’ll be normal.”