A Liquid Diet

Jared is all over vampires this week. This prompt has been the only one I could connect with so far.

Vampires work like this…

“It’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s simple lifestyle choice, a dietary system, and one that has considerable benefits.”

That how Dr. Max Shreck starts his book “The Health Secrets Of A Hematopathic Doctor” (1967). In it, he described how his health had not much improved by becoming a vegetarian and how this led him to try a completely liquid food regime, consisting entirely of blood. He said:

“The results were electrifying, within a few days I felt much stronger with a return of my former enthusiasm. Many of my patients whom I had been able to convert to this new diet also reported similar results.”

Unsurprisingly, with the health benefits presented so, Dr. Shreck had started movement that took the country by storm…

Seth’s stomach rumbled. He hadn’t had a decent meal in days, having to subsist on the ‘canned’ stuff that he picked up at the package store. Ever since the Diet really caught on and the government started regulating the supply, quality had gone into the crapper. He could always go to one of the clubs where folks who enjoyed being bled met the needs of ones brave enough to tap a real vein, but disease was a real concern and as rich as uncut blood was it wasn’t worth the risk. At least not in his mind.

He preferred the hunt anyway. It was illegal as hell, prosecuted to the full extent of the law. That was a risk worth taking though. Cops you could avoid. Hell, he had taken a cop or three in his time and that was even better even if it was only a psychosomatic rush.

Tonight was the night. He needed the real deal. Breakfast had been what the kids these days referred to as a slurpee, the bag of red stuff ‘genetically engineered from real human stock’ and sold to those eager to experience a pallid imitation of the real effects that drinking human blood brought to those fortunate enough to be able to truly digest it.

Anyone could live off of slurpees or even the real deal if you took a few supplements. Not everyone could stomach it, most preferring to eat the way humans had for millions of years. A few, a very blessed few, could not only live off of it, their bodies could truly metabolize the life force. It was this that Dr. Shreck spoke of in his book. He mistakenly thought that everyone was like him. Research indicated that the good doctor was one of the one one-hundredth of one percent that fell in this category. So was Seth.

He flung open the windows to the balcony that overlooked the city, breathed in a double lungful of the cool night air and laughed it out. He thought of the creatures that filled the horrific tales and nightmares, all fangs and moodiness. No, people like him were just as alive as anyone else. They breathed and fucked and showed up in the mirror. If he strained though, he could flip a Towncar one handed. Jumping from building to building was a piece of cake. The best part though was what it did to his senses.

Even this long after taking in the true manna, he could hear a rat’s heart beat at thirty paces if he focused. He could track an individual by scent. His dark gray eyes were like a cat’s, taking in all the available light. This was more than simply ‘good health’. This was godhood. Right after a feed it seemed regular humans moved like they were swimming in treacle and his brain buzzed with a luminosity that was not to be believed. Tonight he would experience that again.

Once outside, he checked to make sure that his switchblade was tucked away in its sheath up his right sleeve. Having fangs would certainly have made the whole process easier, but the knife served its purpose and the look on almost anyone’s face when it flicked out was priceless. Dark chestnut hair was bound back from his face. Women loved to run their fingers through it, but on the hunt it just got in his way.

His black Egyptian cotton shirt, long sleeved with onyx buttons, was tucked in to a pair of pants made of the same material. The pants brushed the tops of his equally dark running shoes. His outfit was equal parts theatrics and pragmatism. Looking the part was a thrill for him and it didn’t hurt to be able to blend into the shadows when you had to. His last lover said that he was like some vampire ninja from Hell. He chuckled at the thought.

With a nod and another growl from his stomach, reminding him to get with the program, he put a foot on the wrought iron railing and flung his body into the air, landing on the roof across the way. Roof to roof and down a fire escape and a few blocks later Seth was on the prowl, looking for his next fix.

Part Two

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