The smell of blood hit me before I saw it.
It was faint at first. Metallic, almost sweet.
My grip tightened around the scalpel.
No… not now.
"Doctor?" the nurse asked.
I didn't answer. My eyes were fixed on the patient's open wound. On the slow, steady flow of red.
The smell grew stronger. Too strong. My heartbeat pounded in my ears.
"I need a minute," I murmured.
"But doctor, you can't. His blood pressure is dropping. You have to finish the operation," the nurse said, panic rising in her voice.
Before anyone else could react, I stepped away.
Of course, I wasn't actually going anywhere random. I would never leave in the middle of a surgery unless I had no choice.
I had to get to my office.
The pills.
They were the only thing keeping me human.
This surgery wasn't planned, so I hadn't had time to prepare. I hadn't taken one in advance. And now it was hitting me.
Hard.
I walked quickly through the halls, forcing myself to stay calm. Every second felt longer than it should.
I reached my office, opened the safe, and took out a pill. My hands trembled slightly as I swallowed it with water.
Silence.
Then slowly, the pounding in my chest eased.
Those pills… they are everything to me.
It started 14 years ago. I was 10 years old.
It was my mother's birthday.
My father had died when I was very young, so it was just the two of us. She worked side jobs for sixteen hours a day just to pay the bills.
She was the most caring mother I could have ever asked for.
That night, we celebrated together. Nothing special. We laughed, sang karaoke from memory, and I gave her my gift.
It was simple.
But she smiled like it was the best thing in the world.
Later, we went to sleep.
Around midnight, someone broke into the house.
He was strong. Stronger than any human.
He killed my mother.
I still remember the sound.
Then he came into my room.
Slowly.
He didn't rush. Like he knew I couldn't escape.
He grabbed me and bit my arm.
Not my neck. My arm.
His teeth were strange. Only two were sharp. The rest looked normal.
Like a vampire.
After that, he jumped out of the window and disappeared into the darkness.
That bite changed everything.
The VI-5829 virus.
Being infected is no different from being a vampire.
Since that day, I have been trying to create a cure. Not just for myself, but for others like me who don't want to live like this.
After my mother died, my grandmother took care of me.
She passed away when I was sixteen.
After that, I was alone.
I studied. I worked harder than anyone else.
And now… here I am.
One of the most well known surgeons in the country.
I returned to the operating room.
"Doctor! His blood pressure is dropping fast. You need to finish this quickly," the nurse said.
"I know."
My voice was steady now.
I continued the surgery and completed it as quickly as I could. After that, I let the other doctors close the incision.
I left the room and went back to my office with a quiet sigh.
I had just joined this hospital, and everything was already going wrong.
I sat down and scrolled through my phone. Doctors rarely have free time, and I have even less than most.
But since it was my first day here, things were lighter.
At least for now.
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I hesitated for a second, then answered.
"Hello?"
"Your schedule has been updated. Please check your email, Doctor Kim." a man's voice said.
Then the call ended.
I frowned and turned to my computer. I opened my email and checked the updated schedule.
My eyes narrowed.
A night shift.
That was strange.
Surgeons do have night duties, but not like this.
This wasn't for operations, it was more like patrol.
Walking around the hospital and checking for suspicious activity, just like a guard.
"That's… weird," I murmured.
Six hours later, my shift began.
I walked through the hospital halls with a flashlight. Everything was quiet.
Too quiet.
What I didn't realize was that the pill I had taken only lasted five hours.
And it had already been six.
I stepped into a dark alley behind the hospital. The lights there hadn't worked in years. It was a known entry point for thieves.
I clicked my tongue softly.
Then I felt it.
Something was wrong.
But before I could turn around, it was too late.
A sharp pain hit my neck.
Something had been injected into me.
My vision blurred, and my body went weak.
I collapsed onto the ground.
I should have known.
No surgeon gets assigned to something like this.
This was a trap.
When I woke up, I was in a dark room.
My hands were tied.
In front of me stood a man wearing a black hat and a black mask. His face was completely hidden.
"Who are you?" I asked.
He didn't answer.
Instead, he reached into a large bag and pulled out a saw.
He reached for a sharp blade too, but instead he got his hand injured and he returned the knife.
Blood was dripping from his finger slowly. I couldn't take my eyes off it. He turned the saw on.
My vision slowly turned into a night vision one, and my eyes started turning from black to green.
The sound of the saw filled the room.
He started walking toward me.
Slowly.
Like he was enjoying it.
Then I remembered.
A report I had seen online.
A serial killer who used a saw to murder his victims.
So I figured it was him.
I tried to think of a way out, but I was too focused on the blood.
I couldn't move properly at all.
The saw got closer and closer, and so did my instinct to suck his blood.
Then suddenly, the door burst open.
"Hands up! Police!" a voice shouted.
The killer froze for a split second, then grabbed his bag and ran.
Just like that, he disappeared.
My eyes were still green, but my sharp teeth and instinct to bite the serial killer dissapeard.
I was still alive though.
"Are you alright, sir?" the officer asked as he approached me. He was suprised by my eyes.
"Are you by any chance wearing contracts?" he asked.
I was relived that he didn't think of anything else.
"Yeah," I replied.
"And I am. Thank you." I said.
He nodded and untied me.
We walked outside together, and I realized where I had been.
An abandoned building.
"How did you know I was there?" I asked.
"We received a report about a suspicious man dragging someone inside," he replied.
"I see."
The conversation ended there.
I went home and dropped onto the sofa.
It had been a long day.
Way too long.
The next morning, I returned to the hospital.
Multiple surgeries were already scheduled for me.
I let out a quiet breath.
This is going to be a long day.