Jayded: Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Defiance

Jayde spied on Dr. Sangre’s clinic.  She never saw them leave, though she thought she might have dozed momentarily during the day.

         The day came and went, but still the clinic showed no activity.  The night came and Jayde still saw nothing change.  She worried she might have missed their escape from the city, but she dared not enter the clinic. 

         Jayde kept pondering her interactions with Cameron and Marie.  Both had helped her out without asking for anything in return.  Jayde wondered if that was what it was like in a family.  Did everyone just looked out for each other, not really needing a reason other than being family? 

         Several hours later, in the very early morning Jayde spied a glow coming from the end of the street.  She decided to walk toward the glow, only to realize that the glow seemed to be coming toward her as well.

         Hundreds of people marched in her direction.  She had the advantage of darkness while they were illuminated by the torches they carried.  She sneaked into an ally and watched the processional pass.  Any good thief knew how to disappear before trouble got too close.

         “Living right under our noses! Well, we’ll show him a thing or two.  We’re not scared of him, we can take care of our own, we can.”

         “My brother in law actually said he fixed his arm up good.  Probably put a curse on him without knowing it, he did.”

         “’not even after I left.  But who knows what a vampire can really do, you know? Sure he might have fixed my little Ann’s gash on her face, but who knows what he was thinking.  He probably wanted to suck her dry right in front of us.  Oh, and he took his sweet time, too.  It was like he was being all careful and whatnot with the gash on her face.  Probably wanted just to figure out how much blood she could spare.”

         Jayde could not believe it.  A mob.  Jayde slipped into the crowd to see what would happen.  Maybe she could change their minds.  Maybe Cameron could magic them away and he would not have to leave town.

          The crowd advanced toward the clinic.  Jayde worked her way to the front.  The discussions remained the same.  All spoke of the danger of vampires.  Several in the crowd had been treated by Dr. Sangre.  All the stories centered on someone being cared for and what he could have done.

         The mob arrived.

         The crowd quieted upon reaching their destination.  The mayor of the town had apparently helped organize the group.  He knocked on the clinic door.

         “Come on out!” he shouted.  The mob added shouts at the closed door and the blackness inside the house.

         The door opened and Cameron walked out accompanied by Marie at the front of their clinic.  The mob seemed somewhat unsure how to react.  The hunted person was supposed to cower or flee in terror.  Several of the veterans starting shouting “vampire” at Cameron to try to rekindle the anger, but most in the group seemed taken aback at his unassuming and calm demeanor.  The mayor tried to take control again.

         “Okay Sangre, your secret is out.  We know what you are! You are to leave this town at once,” he said.  Several in the group started yelling obscenities.  Others just yelled.

         Cameron looked over the crowd with regret and took a deep breath.  He glanced at Marie, her face clearly revealing disdain.

         “You know,” Cameron started, “I’ve been here for quite a few years now,”

         Several in the crowd shouted out “Too long,” and “Not anymore,” but he continued through the interruptions.

         “I’ve been here five years to be exact.  I know you recognize my face.  But the thing is I know your faces as well.  By the way, Mrs. Brown, how is that giant cut that you had on your thigh from that slip last week?”

         Mrs. Brown, one of the few women in the front of the crowd, looked embarrassed to be singled out, but she managed to say quietly, “It’s just fine.  Just.  Fine.”  The light before dawn had intensified and people in the crowd were becoming distinguishable from one another.

         “Good, good,” he continued.  “You see, I’ve done nothing to justify any of this.  I cared for every person who came into my clinic.  Not just to improve health, but to improve lives.  Oh that reminds me, Marcus, how is your sore throat doing?”

         Marcus was the best baker in the town and most in the mob were heartbroken when he had to close shop a few weeks because he was suffering from a horrible case of “glass-throat.”  By now the mob was quiet and all eyes were on him as he meekly stated, “Much better now.” The faces that had been gray started showing more color in the early glow.  People began glancing at their fellow neighbors, surprised by the number of people they recognized in the crowd.

         “Good, good, I thought my treatment would work.  I’m sorry that I have somehow broken the trust of those I have treated in town.  I never lied to any of you.  But I did not come out in the open with my little secret.  I suppose it was wrong of me to not be completely honest with you,”

         Immediately, several in the crowd shouted out “Dang right!” and “Murderer!” in response, though without the enthusiasm.

         Cameron continued, this time actually walking into the crowd of people holding pitchforks, torches, and bludgeons.  “You see, I was worried.  I was worried that if I was completely honest with you, perhaps some of you might see me in a different light.  Oh, Phil, I haven’t seen you for six weeks.  Did that broken bone I set for you mend?”

         The man he had just walked by folded his hands behind his back meekness, hiding the large cudgel was holding. “Better than ever, Dr. Sangre.”

         “Good, good.  Great to hear.  You see, I thought if you knew that I was different than all of you in some way, perhaps you might treat me differently,”

         A voice rang out “You never told anyone that you kill people and drink their blood!” The crowd chorused its agreement.

         Cameron paused in his slow walk through the crowd.  “You are right, I never said that.  But since I arrived have there been any unexplained deaths? Can anyone here tell me of a single grisly murder or dried up corpses?”

         “What about Susie?” came a cry from the crowd. 

         “Ah, you mean the Dunderman’s little girl who fell off the roof? Do you mean the adorable princess who appeared in my office nearly dead, coated in her own blood? The one who was rushed to my clinic at midnight after trying to look at stars in the middle of the night? Yes, I will admit, that I did have to use some of my,” Cameron paused, picking his words carefully “less human attributes on her.  She definitely was nearly dead when she got here, she had already lost a third of her total blood volume.  She was surely going to die, and I guess that group that brought her in knew it.  How is little Susie doing now, Jack?”

         Mr. Dunderman solemnly walked to Cameron.  He dropped his torch.  “She just turned eight last month.  She wants to be a doctor,” he mumbled. 

         “Oh? Well, I will leave it up to her, I suppose, though being a physician can be quite a demanding job.  Sometimes your efforts go unappreciated.  But I suppose you are all correct.  I am sure if I was honest with you, then you would have treated me with kindness and lovingly incorporated me into your community.  I am sure that would have changed nothing.  Maybe next time I’ll try to be more honest from the start.”

         The crowd was quiet.  The last few torches in the crowd were extinguished.  Hushed murmurs went through the crowd as it started to dissipate.  The mayor, realizing what had just happened, spoke up for the crowd.

         “Dr. Sangre, maybe you did help many people, but that doesn’t change the facts.”

         “And what might those be?” Cameron answered.

         “You are a vampire.  Do you deny it?”

         The crowd awaited his answer in perfect silence.

         “No.”

         “Alright then,” the mayor said.  The fear that had left his face while Cameron had spoken returned.  “I want you to leave the town, Dr. Sangre, and I don’t want you to come back.”

         Cameron looked over the large mob.  Several people looked back at him with kind but nervous faces, many in complete terror.  The mayor seized the moment.

         “All those in favor of kicking him out of town?’”

         At first, only a few “ayes” were heard.  Then several more added their votes.  Eventually, nearly all in the crowd had stated their desire.

         “All those in favor of allowing him to stay say ‘nay.’”

         Marie barked out “nay” in a scornful voice.  One small ‘”nay was heard from the back of the crowd, as well as a quiet “nay” from Mr. Dunderman.  Cameron looked over his neighbors and patients with a grim face.  He stood his ground and folded his arms while surveying the crowd, his face a mask of disappointment.  The predawn twilight at his back made him appear gray in color. 

The first edge of the sun peeked over the horizon and illuminated the crowd.  Instinctively, the people in the mob tried to block the sun while they looked at Cameron.  He stood in front of them, his arms crossed, a grim expression on his face.  Despite their rejection of him, he stood defiant. 

         Only after a few minutes had passed did someone in the crowd realize that he had not moved.  Jayde ran up from the back of the crowd and looked at Cameron closely.  With the sun at his back his features were hardly discernible.  He looked gray, and only when she actually touched him did she realize what had truly happened.  He had turned to stone.

         “All he wanted was to live in peace with you!” Marie cried out.  “He helped nearly every one of you ungrateful wretches, asking little in return, and yet you still could not accept him.  You could not accept the fact that maybe he wanted nothing more than to be part of a community.  Well, to hell with all of you.  You lost out on having one of the most brilliant, talented, and kindest persons ever in your lives.  Well, it is not we who are losing out by leaving town as much as you.  Be gone! All of you, your job here is done.”

         With that, the crowd dispersed.  A few stragglers touched the doctor, thinking his stony appearance a trick.  Marie shooed away the few remaining people, leaving only Cameron statue staring in the direction of town.  His face was etched into a mixture of betrayal and frustration.

         Jayde watched, shocked.  Living on the street had cemented toughness into her core.  She had not cried in years, yet now she could feel the tears falling down her face.  She watched Marie return to the clinic and Jayde followed her.  The clinic looked empty.  Marie was nowhere to be found.  She walked to the back and saw a door leading outside.  A horse and cart had already been joined, but no Marie.  In the cart, behind the seat, rested a large chest. 

The chest was about five feet square covered with drawers on all sides.  From her vantage point, Jayde could see that there were drawers even on top of the chest.  It shimmered like heat waves on the horizon.  As Jayde got closer, the wardrobe seemed to grow in size and the hundreds of small drawers now changed in size as well.  Jayde began to get nervous, backing away from the chest.  It shrank in size and the drawers again looked unassuming.  She walked toward it, and again it seemed to expand in size, this time a different drawer enlarged in size and shape, yet as she walked away it again shrank to normal size.

         “Weird,” Jayde said to herself.

         “Isn’t it?” replied Marie. 

         Jayde yelped in surprise.  She had not heard Marie sneak up behind her. 

         “Did you enjoy the show?” asked Marie.

         “Not really,” she mumbled.

         “That makes two of us.  What a bunch of ingrates.”

         “It’s not fair,” said Jayde.

         “No, it’s not, it never is.  I can see why Cameron likes you so much.  You saw the same reality as the rest of the village yet you came to a different conclusion,” Marie said.

         Jayde sniffed and gazed at Marie with a puzzled expression.

         “You’re not the only one he’s helped.  He’s been helping people since he got here.  Some just cannot see past the word vampire.  Yet you came to the conclusion that a great injustice has just occurred.  Someone good, honorable, and compassionate was just condemned for reasons out of his control.  Vampires are bad.  Witches are evil.  Trolls are mean and kill people for fun.  Mermaids lure you into the water to kill you.  Werewolves rip your limbs off.  Gargoyles will swoop down and steal your children.  All of these are stereotypes, nothing more.  Yet you see his virtues.”

         “But people are smart.  How come he didn’t just come out with it and tell everyone that he is a good vampire?” Jayde asked. 

         “Jayde, one person is smart.  Unfortunately, people in a group are usually stupid.  I have never understood what happens when humans get together that causes their brains to turn into pudding, but it seems to happen every time.”  Marie hoisted a heavy examination table.  The table shrunk in size and slipped into one of the drawers in the cabinet.

         “How’d you do that?” Jayde asked.

         “This?” Marie answered, grabbing a bundle larger than her leg.  She made a gesture, the bundle flashed white for an instant before shrinking into another drawer.

         “Yes.  That,” Jayde said, gaping.

         “It’s just a simple modification spell.  The chest has all the imbued magic, I just channel it.”

         “Whoa.  I don’t suppose you could show me how to, you know, learn some of that magic?”  Jayde asked.  She then realized Marie would not be around long enough to teach her anything, “Where will you go?”

         “Oh, I have wanted to go to a big city for some time now, but Cameron said he always got nervous in big cities, so we never tried one.  I think I would like a place with a little more diversity.  I need to see if Grandeur can live up to its name.  And yes, I would have been happy to show you all sorts of insights into the world of magic, but you have your life here I suppose.”

         Marie finished packing in minutes. Jayde looked down at the container of chocolate that Marie had given her.  It was her only possession.  Marie picked up the large stone statue that was Cameron last and secured him onto the back of the trailer.  She looped stout ropes around what had once been Dr. Sangre.  She threw a large canvas tarp over the entire contents of the cart.

         “It was a pleasure getting to know you a bit Jayde.  Best of luck to you in the future,” she said.  “I think I will just have one last look through the clinic to make sure I didn’t forget anything.  Too bad you couldn’t join me and learn more about magic, but I guess you must be off.”

         Jayde watched Marie walk back toward the clinic, then looked back at the cart, hiding a smile.  Marie glanced at Jayde through a window, doing the same.