The Amber Curse [Part 11]
Remember how we're still in NoP main timeline? Remember what happens at the end of october in that timeline? No? Then you, same as Ramvek, are in for quite a surprise~
Special thanks to /u/Olliekay_ for proofreading it, and /u/SpacePaladin15 for NoP universe.
Memory transcription subject: Ramvek, Fledgling Venlil Vampire
Date [standardized human time]: October 31st, 2136
This work shift started in such an unassuming fashion.
I clocked in just as Jarcha and Kramelin were clocking out, leaving me with only Yeelva and Belmer, and in a claw Yeelva clocked out too. Kramelin would be back in another two claws, but until then the entire office was just two people.
It made me miss the temporary exterminators from other offices. Sure, they weren’t as friendly or talkative as our resident crew, but at least cases like this one where only one person was on standby didn’t happen. I could only hope that we’d get more of those ‘temporary’ reinforcements. Plus, Yeelva mentioned that she is looking for new hires more actively than ever. Maybe, if luck would have it, that might work out.
I was making use of that free time to chat with Vic. Over text, for the moment. The orphanage was hosting a party for some human holiday... And things were going not so well, from what she was saying. A lot of crying and breakdowns with kids not getting into the mood. The way she was describing it sounded like the caretakers were trying their best to lift everyone’s spirits, but with many of the orphans being recently admitted...
Vic herself wasn’t distraught, having been an orphan for a long time by now, but wasn’t in the mood to celebrate either. ‘Too old’ for it, as she put it. I tried pressing further, but she said that there’s no way she can explain that specific holiday over the app without it turning into one giant block of censored text.
Something to look forward to when we finally meet in person then, I suppose.
That and... explaining my condition. I still had no clue how to approach that subject. I know Mark promised to help me when the time comes, but it was still my secret... I needed to figure that out because I wasn’t stupid enough to believe that Vic would be the only person ever I might end up having to confide that in.
And that’s why I was half-lost in thought when the first call in the entire half-claw finally came in. I quickly typed ‘work’ to Vic, which she’d understand, put on my headset and pressed the button to pick up the call. Wasn’t one of the regulars, so it might actually be something significant.
“Ambershade Exterminator Office, what can we help you with?” I spoke out my usual greeting.
“P-P-Predators! There are...” The voice was clearly genuinely scared. No signs of the complaining or frustrated tone people could have when just using words wrong to complain about others. This person’s fear felt real... My ears immediately pulled back, as I almost got a bit scared on their behalf.
“Please stay calm.” I instructed the venlil on the other end of the line. “Please tell me where you are and what the situation is like right now.”
“Th-They were hiding it! For years! I knew them for years! And they were predators all along!” The person started full on shouting. “These gojid, they are predators! Predators! All along! I even... I even babysat their pup once! I was in mortal danger! Do something!”
I was stunned and baffled. I briefly considered actually forwarding this one, but directing Belmer to visit the caller themselves, not their upstairs neighbours, because something is clearly wrong with them if they’re that sincere about the things they’re saying.
“Did those neighbours... do something to make you so sure about that?” I asked cautiously, hoping to defuse the situation before getting to more drastic measures.
“Neighbours? No, I just watched- Oh, forget it, useless like always! I need to get out of here!” And then they hung up, leaving me no time to respond.
I was about to go dial Belmer to investigate whatever was going on when my eyes passed by the list of incoming calls... Over forty and rising! I’ve only seen that number reach double digits once and it was back when humans first moved into the town, and even then the peak was thirteen calls in the queue!
On instinct, I picked the next call up.
“Ambershade Exterminator Office, what can–” I began, but was rudely interrupted.
“They were hiding! Among us! Do something! Please!” It was like the previous person was continuing their crazed ramble right where they left off... Except this was clearly a different venlil.
“Please, explain what is happening!” I asked insistently, feeling very on edge as I could see the number of incoming calls grow more and more.
“You don’t...?” The voice sounded astounded. “Wait! You’ve got... them! At the office! That tall krakotl and that white gojid... They’re everywhere! Everywhere!”
And the call was hung up again, before I could get any explanation as to what was happening. Now feeling a lot of frustration welling up and pushing the dread aside, I picked up the next call.
“Ambershade Exterminator Office.” I began automatically before asking the question. “Will you at least explain what is happening right now?!”
“I...” The voice sounded... awful. Wet. And it was clearly a gojid speaking, not a venlil. “P-Please... Send someone...”
The difference in the way they spoke from the two venlil earlier was drastic.
“What is wrong? What do you need help with?” I asked, hoping that the promise of assistance would be reassuring.
“I c-can’t... I should do it but I c-can’t... so please... s-send someone... who can do it... without t-too much pain...” The gojid practically pleaded over the call.
“I... do what...?” I asked, not understanding it at all.
“K-Kill the predator!” They cried out desperately. “I... I am d-dangerous... I don’t want to h-hurt... my friends... I... I...”
The call was hung up again, as the gojid on the other end broke down into audible wails.
I had to stop myself from picking up the next call and stood up, rubbing my face intently. Something insane was happening and I wasn’t clued in on it. I reached for my pad and opened the internet browser.
The news articles on the front page were instantly bombarding me with insane titles. ‘Chief Nikonus Confesses!’, ‘Impossible Cilany Interview!’, ‘Predators Among Us!’, all linking to various reuploads of a video.
And so I clicked on one of them.
And I watched and listened...
And listened.
...
And by the end, I understood. I understood why everyone was so fearful. To imagine that... people you knew were secretly predators?
Of course, that is understandable panic for anyone who wasn’t me. Who didn’t join the Exchange Program in the early days and had a lot of exposure to humans, actual predators. For someone who wasn’t working as a receptionist for an exterminator office long enough for the word ‘predatory’ to lose any sense of significant meaning. For someone who... wasn’t quite literally a predator themselves, unable to survive without consuming blood of their own. Plus, hearing the shock of Captain Sovlin, who was also there for some reason, was more than enough to convince me that there was no elaborate lie on the part of the gojid and other affected species. They were just as fooled.
The amount of calls queued was nearing a hundred. I was almost ready to pick up the next one, when my pad rang with a call.
Yeelva.
She was obviously very suspicious of the humans... I was worried as to what she had to say. But I definitely needed to know before I could get back to work, so I picked up.
“Ramvek, have you heard the news?” She asked quickly, in a harried tone I never heard from her.
“Y-Yeah...” I answered.
“Good. Listen, I am going directly to the town center. There will be chaos and I need to mitigate it. Get on that phone and tell everyone begging for help that there is no threat and nothing is changing. Get through calls fast. We need people reassured and calmed. Damn it, why did it have to happen when we were so short pawed...” She quietly swore before continuing on with the instructions. “If you get any of those new ‘predators’ though... Focus on reassuring them. I’m already getting word from other places that things are just as bad all over the whole planet.”
“I’ll... do my best.” I firmly answered. That was basically most of my job, after all – convincing overly panicked people that they were actually safe and there was nothing to worry about.
“Good. I’ll contact you once we get some sort of directives from regional Magistratta. If we even get one... They always forget us...” Yeelva being nervous enough to quietly rant was not reassuring, but... I just had to get back to it.
One part of her instructions did stick with me though. ‘New predators’ had to be gojid, krakotl and the others, right? My mind flashed to that gojid on the phone, crying and asking us to send someone to... get rid of a predator and... make it... painless…
The sudden influx of information made my concentration slip, so the moment my thinking slowed down I could hear it. A heartbeat. A heartbeat that felt so loud, it was surprising I couldn’t hear it in a normal venlil way. Desperate, loud and fast... And coming from the armory.
Belmer was a gojid. Alone. With access to exterminator equipment… And distinctly not in the breakroom where the exterminators normally relaxed when not on assignment or patrol.
I dropped my headset and rushed into the back of the building. It was good that he was alive. It was very much not good that he was where he was. As I made it to the armory door, it was locked, as it should have been. All exterminators had access, while I didn’t though, which meant that I couldn’t get in. So instead I knocked on the door.
“Belmer? Are you in there?” I asked.
There was no reply, but the heart skipped a beat. He was startled and then started... fidgeting. With something in his paws. Still not responding.
I knew what was in the armory. I still caught a few glimpses inside in the past, even if I never actually touched any of the equipment. And the idea that Belmer might be actively doing something with one of those pieces was extremely concerning.
“Belmer! I know you’re in there!” I called out again.
No response. Just the heartbeat intensifying more and more fidgeting and fiddling. I was getting more and more concerned. Without bothering to try and get him to open, I grabbed the door handle and tried pulling it. The door rattled slightly, but didn’t budge. I gave it a stronger yank and it rattled more.
Belmer’s heartbeat intensified further. I could hear him getting more concerned.
“Crap...” I mumbled. I decided to try the door one more time. I put both my paws on the handle, stepped back and tugged at it with my body’s full force–
And with a loud cracking sound the lock got yanked out of the wall as the door swung open and I was flung back from the impact of my own pull. But I quickly stood back up, only to see Belmer in the armory, staring back at me, his jaw hanging open in shock. The doorframe was half torn out of the wall, and I... was holding the door handle in one of my paws still. It was a wonder the door was even still attached to its hinges...
I briefly recalled Mark talking about vampiric strength. But I also dismissed the thought as I had a much bigger issue on my paws – Belmer. Despite his moment of shock, he was still visibly shaking, which explained the fiddling sounds. In his paws were a flamethrower and a tank and he was struggling and failing to get it reloaded, it seemed. At least, he was struggling to do so while keeping the weapon pointed at himself...
“D-Don’t come closer!” Belmer called out to me, dropping the tank and raising one of his pale, clawed paws. “I-I’m dangerous!”
Maybe I should have listened, especially since he dropped the flamethrower fuel... But at the moment I was single-minded in making sure he was not doing anything stupid. And that included trying to disarm him even of an entirely unloaded flamethrower. So, without thinking about it, I dashed forward and reached out to grab that flamethrower.
I was successful, and I didn’t even have to apply any force. Belmer was barely holding it, so I took it and tossed it aside. Then I realized he was staring at me in abject horror. I panicked, stepping back and checking myself. Did I let my eye color change? Or fangs show? No, that was fine... Was my sudden feat of strength what did it?
None of that, it turned out, as I patted over my own chest with my paws and felt sticky wetness. Then I looked up and saw Belmer’s claws, slightly stained with dark orange.
Oh. He was holding his claws forward trying to stop me as I rushed him. And I got cut on those. And didn’t even notice.
“No... nonono... It’s a-already starting!” The gojid panicked, his voice rising. His eyes drifted from me to his bloodstained hand. “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! Th-that’s... why I wanted to... do that... I... I am a predator... A d-danger to others... As an exterminator, I–”
As he kept speaking and I slowly processed his words... I felt something welling up in me that was very inappropriate for the situation. Outrage.
Did nobody even bother actually properly listening to that undercover questioning? The ‘predator’ species as we know them now were probably more prey than us, having been made incapable of consuming flesh at all! While... I was actually forced to consume actual, real venlil blood to survive! He was acting like he was a monster when nothing at all changed other than him learning some of his ancestors may have been predators, while I had to struggle with things as simple as crossing a river or going outside without lathering myself in a weird cream made out of stars know what, as I was way too afraid to ask about the animal components I knew full well humans use in their damn skincare products, thanks to Vic!
I grabbed his bloodied claws and brought them closer to his face.
“Go on.” I said, feeling spiteful at everything.
“W-What?” He balked at me in shock.
“You’re a predator, no? This must look delicious to you. Go on.” I repeated. It did look good to me, but thankfully I had a good breakfast, including one for my thirst. Plus, for some reason my own blood just didn’t look... appetizing. I wasn’t sure if it was because of it being vampire blood or just my own blood specifically. Not the time to think about it either.
“No! I don’t want to!” Belmer pulled back, managing to free his claw from my grasp and shaking it, getting blood off of it. “Why would I, it’s disgusting and horrible and...”
“And it’s very not predatory for you to not want that.” I spoke, stepping back and checking out my own state. The wound wasn’t actually deep at all, and aside from my wool being stained with a natural blood-orange color, there was barely even a sign of injury.
“I... B-But what if my instincts... awaken and I d-do start wanting it?” He still insisted, only irritating me more. I almost wished I could just show him what I really was to demonstrate that he wasn’t at all a ‘prey turned predator’ he thought he was... But it would expose my secret to someone with a particularly loose tongue and no prior preparation.
And as I thought a bit further, I froze up, realizing how... upset I was. Maybe Belmer had a point, but not regarding himself, but rather regarding me, unknowingly. Maybe I did have some sort of predatory instinct that was now awakening, making me unreasonably angry... Or maybe... It was the first time I felt like I had a right to be mad at someone for acting like they had it worse than me, however unaware he was.
“Listen...” I began, trying to focus on being reasonable and logical. “You’ve seen lots of people being injured before. And never felt the urge to eat them, right?”
“Of course not!” Belmer shouted, sounding borderline offended.
“Well, then your instincts are as strong as a human’s.” I said, moving my ears more upright in a smug expression. “I am talking with one regularly over the pad and live across from another as of recently. Are you really going to say you handled your ‘hidden instincts’ your whole life, and now you’re going to fail at what they’ve been succeeding at?”
“No!” Belmer stomped his foot. “I am not worse than humans! I just... worry about the safety of others!”
“We don’t even know if the report is true yet!” I threw both my paws up. “For all we know that Cilany woman might have fabricated it! And even if it were true, Nikonus literally said you guys were properly fixed or something like that. Do you really think he’d have allowed predators into the Federation otherwise?”
“I... well...” Belmer looked like he was confused on whether to sound more angry or more desperate. “I don’t know! I don’t know anything!” He finally cried out, falling down onto his knees and wrapping his arms around them, half-curling himself into a white, spiky ball.
I was worried I may have gone too far, but he didn’t start crying or anything so maybe not.
“Listen. I need to get back to the phone because there are a lot of people being dumb, even dumber than you. Just...” I flicked my tail in the direction of the door. “At least go to the breakroom and rest there. Wait until we learn literally anything else. Some form of official response. Right?”
“Right... Gotta... wait for proper orders.” Belmer answered, slowly uncurling himself and looking up at me. “Do you... need help...?”
I looked at where he was looking as he asked that and realized he was staring at my injured chest. I ruffled my paw in the bloodied fur, but it came out only a little bit damp. The wound wasn’t even bleeding anymore. Admittedly, I had no clue if it was thanks to vampiric constitution or because it was that minor to begin with. Not like I felt any pain.
Without even thinking I idly licked my paw. My own blood... tasted okay. Not nearly as good as blood from the bags, but also not at all bad. Maybe a bit... unrefreshing. Failing to properly sate that other kind of thirst.
“Ramvek, I get it, I get it, I’m not a real predator, you don’t gotta do that!” Belmer suddenly screamed, clutching his head.
I realized what I was doing and, more importantly, in front of whom. I froze up briefly, darting my eyes, trying to come up with an excuse on the spot.
“Uh... I was just disinfecting...?” I offered, rubbing the saliva-covered paw onto where the wound was supposed to be.
“You should have started by washing your paws!” The albino gojid shouted. “Ugh, nevermind, I... I’ll go to the breakroom and... try to rest... My head hurts now, this is too much...”
With that, he went around me and headed for the breakroom. Well, that was successful enough. I briefly considered closing the armory to make sure he doesn’t get any temptations, but with the door now thoroughly broken, it wasn’t closing regardless of whether I had the key or not, so I left it as is. I have decided not to push my stupid vampiric hearing down though, and rather let it be the background noise. To keep track of Belmer, just in case. Not for hunting, but for his safety. I could easily tell that his heartbeat, while still intense, was notably lower than earlier and that he was now on the breakroom couch, laying face down.
Finally, I let out a satisfied breath. I saved him. Then I recalled that of the exterminators we had, he was not the only newfound ‘predator’, so I rushed back to the reception to get my pad... Only to see a message from Jarcha.
‘Ramvek, please check on Belmer. I am with Kramelin. He was not well but better now.’
I let out another breath of relief and quickly typed out that I stopped Belmer from doing anything stupid. Not being most talkative, Jarcha simply acknowledged my reply with an affirmative earflick emoji.
With all the office members accounted for, I could return to my actual job. I sat down, put the headset on and pressed the button to answer the next call.
“Predators! Predators everywhere!” The venlil screamed the moment the line connected.
This was going to be one long shift...