Colour evaporated from Kris's face. Sweating profusely, he disconnected the phone. He turned to look at Mira.
"There's...an emergency. I need to go."
"Yes, okay, Kris. Is there anything I can do?"
"Could you head to the cafe and stay there for a while? If I don't come down to pick you up by sundown, please take a cab back home. I'm so sorry. This is quite urgent, that's why."
"It's alright, Kris. Just go."
Kris ran as fast as he could. He dialled Leibniz as soon as he got to the car.
"Hey bu..."
"WHAT DID YOU DO?"
"Not the best way to say hello, but hey anyway. What are you talking about?"
"Pama. Does that ring a bell?"
"Hmm. The lady who came for you the other day?"
"You didn't meet her yesterday?"
"Hell, no. I was with my boyfriend. He left late at night."
"What? Oh.. Okay. I'm disconnecting.. No, wait."
"Jeeez, boy, make up your mind."
"Someone.. A vampire...bit Pama. Could you help?"
"What the...isn't she an immortal?"
"Yes, she's transforming."
"Gosh, no.. No. Kris, come down here, I have an antidote. It needs to be administered before the transformation is complete. Come. Immediately."
Kris parked the car and vanished into thin air.
------------------------------
Pama tried to walk to the kitchen but her head was blurry and she saw everything in black and white with colours zooming in and out. Her legs were giving away but she persevered. She was awfully hungry. Her lips felt dry and painful. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out some meat. It was raw. Still soaked in blood as that was how she preferred to store them. She sank her teeth into it and started gnawing at it. The taste of blood and the smell of meat felt rather inviting to her. She devoured the flesh with greed. One after the other, she finished whatever meat was there in her house. She felt sated, but....
She ran to the toilet. The uneasiness burnt her stomach and her throat.
"Bleaghhh.." She started puking. She didn't stop until every bit of what she ate was emptied from her stomach. Soon, she fainted.
It is to this sight that Kris and Leibniz chanced upon. Kris scooped her up in his arms and brought her to the bed. There was blood on her lips, not of the meat, but her own, from excessive vomiting. Leibniz pulled a cloth hanger and attached a drip to it and inserted the needle into her vein. He, then, injected the medicine into the saline drip. Pama started shaking vigorously under the stress of chemical reactions within her body. Kris held her down and Leibniz helped him. Pama started moaning feverishly. Sweat formed across her face and body. She was muttering in some language which neither of them understood.
"It'd take 24 hours. I could stay here, if you want."
"Hmm. Whom do you think did this to her?"
"By the looks of it, someone older than me. Look at that wound and look at this." He revealed his own neck, it was a fresh wound with greenish yellow edges and bright red centre. "My boyfriend is almost as old as me. Our bites turn like this. But this one seems ancient. You know what they say about snakes, the longer you abstain, the more poisonous the bite. That seems like the case here: an ancient vampire who is used to abstinence. And looks like a case of sexual assault too. If I were you, I'd suspect an ulterior motive in this attack. "
" Hmm.. I need to find this fellow. Can I trust you with this case? I don't want you to risk yourself, but if you happen to see or hear anything, please do report to me. "
" Deal. "
" Okay, then. I am leaving. Call me when she's up or if you need to go somewhere, I'll come back as soon as possible. "
" No problem. I'm mostly free anyways. I'll be here gaming. "
" Okay, then. " Kris disappeared.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
" Sive", Kris thought in his mind.
"Yep. I'm awake."
"A vampire attacked Pama. Thought it was a rogue attack at first, but my friend Leibniz says the bite looks like that of an ancient one."
"I think the possibility is high. He's around, I heard."
"Can you help me track him down?"
"Sure. I'll get back to you once I have the exact location."
"Bye."
Kris sped his way to Mira.
-------------------------------
After the employees left, Mira locked the cafe with the spare key that the counter attendant had given her. She walked towards the beach. The sun looked like an oversized egg yolk. She was bathed in the heat and beauty of the moment. But something deep within stirred endlessly. Why did she feel so incomplete. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply.
"Missing me?" Kris slipped his hand into hers and caught hold of it. She opened her eyes and smiled at him. Yes, this feels perfect, she thought.
"What's up?", she asked as she untangled the hands.
"Don't even ask. Pama got into some serious trouble."
"What?" Mira looked alarmed. But how do you tell her what happened?
"She got bitten...by a rabid dog. I got a friend to take care of her. He's sort of an expert."
"Oh.. Okay. But still, don't you think we should either be there or maybe we could bring her home. You shouldn't have rushed back so soon." Mira felt guilty. A frown creased her face.
"No, at present she needs to be quarantined. Only after the medicines are over can she operate in normal human world again."
"You sounded like a mad scientist right there."
"Oh yeah? Shall I invent something crazy for you?"
"No, thank you. You're the absolute last bit of crazy I can tolerate."
They bickered the evening away like a pair of best friends turned lovers. The warmth of the evening became them. Only, they didn't know what a cold surprise was waiting for them back home.