only a tiny round pane of glass in the center. No handle on the inside. On the outside, in the depths of the clinic’s quiet hallways, there was a computer desk. That computer controlled the door. Essentially, only the computer could unlock the door once those thirty days had passed. The system was programmed that way for several reasons.
Norma, the plain-appearing female vampire with the bright pink purse had picked her up from the airport in Rio and had explained on the way to the clinic as Kate stared at the sights of Rio.
“It’s not meant to be cruel. Before you go inside, you have to understand that. The system is set up in a way that prevents anyone from opening that door until the time has run out.”
“Compulsion is avoided with this in place. When the clinic opened its doors in 1944, none of that was possible. There were many who escaped by using supernatural powers. Gradually, the technology began to offer us safer options.”
“Workers at the clinic… “
“Some were killed violently. Vampires and humans alike.”
“You have humans that work there?”
Norma smiled.
“Of course. They are an essential part of our recovery program. We also have some very gifted vampires as well. After being converted, they chose to stay and lend us their talents so that they might bring peace to others.”
“Peace?”
Kate’s eyes had rolled at that line , but Norma’s bright blue gaze remained passively friendly.
“ You will discover that peace. Theodora was quite clear that you were to receive the full clinical treatment.”
Those words continued to play in Kate’s head. Even when the heavy metal door swung closed, beginning her thirty days of fasting, she could hear those promising and yet frightful words. Peace. Full clinical treatment .
She had been allowed to bring one personal item into the cell with her. Marco told her that most patients brought a photo. He was surprised to see a dirty, half burned journal in her hands when she submitted herself for the fasting period.
“ What do you have there?”
“A family journal.”
Before he started the program that would lock her in her cell, he hesitated. “When your treatment is complete, would you allow me to read it?”
Her smile was wicked.
“It’s a pretty scary story. Are you sure?”
“Very sure.”
“Alright.”
The second rule was less dreadful than the first. No contact with anyone on the outside for the first three months of treatment. When she arrived in Rio, she wasn’t on friendly terms with anyone but her sister and the family’s longtime housekeeper, Nelly. Of course, Alex could be included in that short list but she tried not to think about him.
Rule number three: Each patient was required to undergo psychological testing and therapy . She wasn’t happy about that one at all. She didn’t see how it was anyone’s business. There was hardly any trace left of the human she had been. Why should they want to dig into her past? But, dig they did. They questioned her about her mother, her relationship with her father, the kidnapping that had changed her whole world and everything that had ever hurt her. She wasn’t as cooperative as they might have liked.
The fourth rule became more frightening than the fasting. If the patient is released into the general population and takes a human life in order to drink blood, the patient will not be readmitted to the clinic for any reason . The significance of that rule became clearer as she learned the necessary techniques to quench her thirst. It loomed up before her like some nightmarish prediction. She knew that temptation would be lurking everywhere once she was free. She knew that she was not perfect. Her control was not completely developed. Failing wasn’t an option at the clinic. If you fucked up, you were banned for life.
During her long days of isolation and starvation, Kate suffered. She slept very little. Sometimes she paced, her fists clenched tightly by her sides,
Norma, the plain-appearing female vampire with the bright pink purse had picked her up from the airport in Rio and had explained on the way to the clinic as Kate stared at the sights of Rio.
“It’s not meant to be cruel. Before you go inside, you have to understand that. The system is set up in a way that prevents anyone from opening that door until the time has run out.”
“Compulsion is avoided with this in place. When the clinic opened its doors in 1944, none of that was possible. There were many who escaped by using supernatural powers. Gradually, the technology began to offer us safer options.”
“Workers at the clinic… “
“Some were killed violently. Vampires and humans alike.”
“You have humans that work there?”
Norma smiled.
“Of course. They are an essential part of our recovery program. We also have some very gifted vampires as well. After being converted, they chose to stay and lend us their talents so that they might bring peace to others.”
“Peace?”
Kate’s eyes had rolled at that line , but Norma’s bright blue gaze remained passively friendly.
“ You will discover that peace. Theodora was quite clear that you were to receive the full clinical treatment.”
Those words continued to play in Kate’s head. Even when the heavy metal door swung closed, beginning her thirty days of fasting, she could hear those promising and yet frightful words. Peace. Full clinical treatment .
She had been allowed to bring one personal item into the cell with her. Marco told her that most patients brought a photo. He was surprised to see a dirty, half burned journal in her hands when she submitted herself for the fasting period.
“ What do you have there?”
“A family journal.”
Before he started the program that would lock her in her cell, he hesitated. “When your treatment is complete, would you allow me to read it?”
Her smile was wicked.
“It’s a pretty scary story. Are you sure?”
“Very sure.”
“Alright.”
The second rule was less dreadful than the first. No contact with anyone on the outside for the first three months of treatment. When she arrived in Rio, she wasn’t on friendly terms with anyone but her sister and the family’s longtime housekeeper, Nelly. Of course, Alex could be included in that short list but she tried not to think about him.
Rule number three: Each patient was required to undergo psychological testing and therapy . She wasn’t happy about that one at all. She didn’t see how it was anyone’s business. There was hardly any trace left of the human she had been. Why should they want to dig into her past? But, dig they did. They questioned her about her mother, her relationship with her father, the kidnapping that had changed her whole world and everything that had ever hurt her. She wasn’t as cooperative as they might have liked.
The fourth rule became more frightening than the fasting. If the patient is released into the general population and takes a human life in order to drink blood, the patient will not be readmitted to the clinic for any reason . The significance of that rule became clearer as she learned the necessary techniques to quench her thirst. It loomed up before her like some nightmarish prediction. She knew that temptation would be lurking everywhere once she was free. She knew that she was not perfect. Her control was not completely developed. Failing wasn’t an option at the clinic. If you fucked up, you were banned for life.
During her long days of isolation and starvation, Kate suffered. She slept very little. Sometimes she paced, her fists clenched tightly by her sides,
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