Sacrifice

Chapter Two

John’s breath hissed between his teeth, but he said nothing, his shock was so great.  Finally, “That is a rather permanent solution, Dreel.”  Fear coursed through his body in tangible waves.  If only half the folklore was true, the change would be devastating.  “There is no other solution?”

“I can’t think of one.  Apparently, the appeal by the Lorent Diplomatic Corps was ineffective or I would have heard something by now.  My study of the griforis seems to indicate that they do not give up what they feel they have a right to take.  I would not have made this suggestion if I thought there was another solution.  We nur-Vandir are not the evil, blood-sucking monsters that your folklore has made us out to be.  We do have emotions and consciences, at least most of us do.  In retrospect, immortality is not all that it’s cracked up to be, to put it in your vernacular.  I know this is a hard decision for you to make.  Take some time to think about it.  I am under no deadlines at the present.”

“Dreel, if I become nur-Vandir, how would I be able to go down?  I will not have been invited either.”

“You get them to communicate with you.  Goad them.  They are so proud of their defensive devises that it will probably be easy to get them to invite you to try your luck in their cave.  That will be all you need.”

John started and turned to stare at Dreel.  “But they have already done that.  I tried one last appeal right after I talked to you.  They said I was more than welcome to come after the children, if I thought I could penetrate their defenses.”

“You have your invitation.”

John gazed out of Dreel’s darkened observation window.  Various ideas jumped around in his brain, but were discarded as unfeasible.  He had already gone over them with the Robot.  He kept seeing Maureen; he kept trying to imagine what such a decision would do to her, but he kept seeing the children captive in an underground city with no way out, slaving for strangers for the rest of their lives.  John saw Don’s unconscious body lying on the floor of the cave and realized they had been fortunate that time.  At least if he and Dreel could rescue the children, no one would be hurt, they would be back home; they would be with their mother.   He turned to Dreel.  He saw Dreel’s companion, Arist, standing nearby, watching him closely.  Assessing him? 

“Very well,” he said, his voice husky with dread. “I said I would not leave my children down there, and I meant it.  What is your price for helping me?”

Dreel’s emotionless demeanor softened.  “John….”  He paused and looked at the resolute man before him, a man clearly terrified of this decision, very much aware of its implications, but willing to take the risk for his children any way.  He, like his other nur-Vandir colleagues, was very careful in the selection of new immortals.  In his many years as a nur-Vandir, such willingness to sacrifice normalcy combined with such reluctance for the lifestyle of a nur-Vandir was very rare.  Dreel’s pronouncement of a monetary figure was left unsaid. “May I call you John?” The professor nodded. “I get some nourishment out of this.  I never had a wife and children before I became immortal, so I can only imagine the sacrifice this is for you.  I can ask for nothing else.” 

“Then let’s get it over with.  What do I do?”  John’s breath came raggedly, his dread almost choking him, causing his heart to hammer in his chest.

“Just sit quietly.  This is a three-step process.  Today, I will release the enzymes that will prepare your body for the complete change.  Tomorrow you will receive the enzymes and bio-chemicals that will begin the change.  By the third day, your body will be immortal, completely changed.”

“Three days?  Isn’t there a faster way?  I don’t want my children down there any longer than necessary,” John said, his voice tight with anxiety. 

“Yes, John, there is a faster way, but it may be difficult.  Your children will be safe for three days.” 

“No, if there is a faster way, then do it.   I still don’t want them down there longer than necessary and I bet you can’t guarantee that they’ll be safe, can you?”

“I can’t guarantee it, although I am certain they will be.  However, I respect your feelings of urgency.  I will release all of the proteins, enzymes and bio-chemicals that make the change at the same time that I draw the blood from your system.  Since we are doing this so quickly, I will need Arist to help me.  I repeat, it may be difficult.”  Dreel motioned for Arist to come help him.

“Just get it over with,” John snapped and closed his eyes.  His breath came raggedly and his heart hammered as he heard Dreel’s soft footsteps approaching from behind him.  Then he felt the sudden sharp pain of the bite on the side of his neck. 

Remotely, John wondered how in the world Lucy could have received pleasure from Bram Stoker’s vampire and then remembered Dreel’s explanation.  It took time under normal conditions.  A period of several days.  That was what was described in the book, he remembered.  Then he tried to focus on Dreel’s explanation.  Chemicals, enzymes...cold!  He felt his blood draining like a tide away from the shore.  It was almost painful, but... he couldn’t feel pain; he could only feel loss.  Cold, unremitting loss.  A short while later he felt Dreel pull away from his neck and then the slight touch of another taking his place.  The tide of his blood continued to draw away from the shore of his body.  John felt his heart slow and almost stop, his lungs stilled.  Don’t need air?  Of course not, stupid!  Air is for blood.  No blood, no air, no heart.  Maureen!! I am doing this for you and the children.  All the times he used that excuse, this is the ultimate....  Am I doing the right thing?  Yes!  He saw Will, Penny and Judy in his mind’s eye.  Yes!! Yes, YES!  He felt a sudden lethargy setting in and his mind stopped protesting, yammering, churning.  Relaxing, he let Dreel and Arist finish administering the properties that would make him one of the ‘undead.’

Dreel watched as Arist withdrew from the professor.  John rested quietly, not opening his eyes.  He couldn’t.  His body wasn’t responding.  “John, your body is changing.  That is why you are unresponsive.  It will be over in a short while and then I can answer any questions you have.”  He knew John heard, but was unable to react.     

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John opened his eyes and looked around, wondering why he felt strange.  Then he remembered.  He remembered and moaned softly.  He heard no heartbeat, no steady flow of air.  He felt empty, drained.  Drained.....  He laughed aloud at the irony of that thought.  Looking to his left, he saw Arist holding a mug. Gazing at her carefully, he noticed that she was a few years older than Dreel, perhaps closer in age to himself and Maureen.  But with immortals, who would know?  Then he realized, he would stay forty-two forever, while his wife and children aged and died.  What have I done? he asked himself.  Saved my children, he quickly thought.  That was the only important thing right now. 

With a reassuring smile, she held the mug out for him.  “John Robinson, take this nourishment.  It will help you feel better.”  Strangely, he did feel thirsty, very thirsty, so he took it and drained the mug before he thought to question what he had just ingested.  He got his answer as he looked at the bottom of the empty cup.           

“John, a Vandir does not need to take nourishment very often, no more than a normal human has to, but you have just made the change, so your needs will be greater until your body has totally acclimatized.  No one has come to harm to provide your meal.  Trust me on that,” Arist explained, her voice low and soothing.

Nevertheless, John was feeling a great duality of emotions within himself.  There was the pleasurable sensation one got from eating a good meal, along with revulsion for having enjoyed what was in the cup.  He felt his heart beating very, very slowly and was confused by everything that had happened.

Seeing the array of emotions displayed on the human’s face, Dreel motioned his companion away and sat down in front of him.  “Humanoids never cease to amaze me,” he said.  The professor looked up at him in surprise.  “Let me guess the state of your mind right now.  You are repulsed by what you have become, by your enjoyment of the blood.   You see that as a sign of weakness.  John, I didn’t see that same type of revulsion toward me.  You accepted me just the way I am.   You must learn to do the same for yourself.  This was something you had to do.   In fact, your reason for becoming nur-Vandir should be a source of pride. You didn’t do this to live forever or to avoid death; you did it selflessly to save others.   Accept it; take pride in it.  If the rest of your family is like you, then they will accept your decision as well.”

Nodding absently, John got up and stretched.  He understood what Dreel was trying to tell him, but he couldn’t accept it.  Not yet.  He remembered the expressions of fear and aversion he had seen on the faces of members of his family when he had been under the influence of the ancient spirit, Cantos.  He kept seeing Maureen’s look of shocked disbelief at his change.  No, how could the rest of his family accept this change in him; he couldn’t accept it himself. “Dreel, you appeared to be breathing when we first met, but breathing isn’t necessary,” John said, changing the subject.

“No, it’s not, but I try to act and look as natural among mortals as I can, so they feel more comfortable around me.  Interesting, for most species breathing is a natural mechanism, one taken for granted.  Now you have to learn to do it consciously,” Dreel said.   A buzzer sounded from one of the consoles.  “I would guess that’s a call from your ship.  You were in your state of suspended animation for almost four hours.  They are probably worried.” 

Arist flipped a switch and spoke into the communicator.   John heard Maureen’s anxious voice on the speaker.  Before the nur-Vandir woman could answer, John called out.  “Maureen, I’m all right.  I was just getting ready to come back.”

“Oh, John, I was so worried.  Have you worked out the children’s rescue?”

“Yes, dear.  Dreel will help us.  Please, darling, don’t worry, I’ll be back on the Jupiter II shortly,” he said to reassure her.  He wished he could reassure himself.

“All right, John.  I’m so relieved,” Maureen answered.  Arist cut the connection.  

“Dreel, I appreciate what you’ve told me, but at the present time I don’t want to let the rest of my family know about...my change,” John said.

“There are several things that you need to know before you return to your ship.  The sun has gone down, we can talk on the way,” Dreel said. 

“So the sun phobia is real,” John said wryly.  He wondered if he had fangs yet, and felt his tongue questing for the answer.  Mentally, he sighed.  As they left Dreel’s ship, he noticed a change in the landscape, or perhaps it was his perception of it.  He noticed that his heart had again stopped beating.  He mentioned that to Dreel, too.

“John, it really isn’t a phobia, the body of a nur-Vandir simply cannot handle prolonged exposure to the sun’s rays. I suppose it’s something akin to an allergy.  As to your heart, it rests dormant most of the time, only beating enough to send the ingested blood into the tissues where it is instantly absorbed.  The impurities that cause problems in a mortal body are filtered out by the Vandir bio-chemicals and enzymes.”

“Oh.”  Despite his feelings, he was nevertheless somewhat curious about this new state of being that he had taken on, at least from a scientific standpoint.  

“John, you must realize that you will feel the desire to have blood periodically.  That is your body’s way of telling you its needs.  It’s simple biology, not lust or weakness.  As the living organism that you once were, your body told you when it was hungry.  It’s the same with a nur-Vandir body.”

Pondering, John began to feel a sense of horror at the implications of Dreel’s statement.  “Are you saying that I might want to...to take blood from my wife or friend?” 

“Yes, but as Arist and I have done, you will find alternative sources for hemoglobin, and self-control will take care of the rest. You have a replicator, or something similar?” Dreel asked.  When he saw John nodding, he continued.   “You just have to be a bit careful at the beginning. 

“That would be the last thing I would want to do,” John murmured.  “Anything else?”  

“You will find that you function better at night,” Dreel said. 

“Hmm, ‘children of the night,’ ” John mused. “Now the most important question, what time tonight are we going down that cave?”

“We aren’t, John.  You need a day to let your body finish adjusting.  Tomorrow night is the soonest we can safely go.  And besides, I doubt we would be able to go down and come back up before dawn, even if your body could handle it,” Dreel explained.   The lights of the Jupiter II shone softly in the thick darkness as they walked over a small rise.  “Try to rest.  I will meet you near the entrance of the cave shortly after sundown.  Do not bring complicated weapons. They will be neutralized by the griforis’ defenses.  More primitive arms are best.”

John stopped abruptly and stood in Dreel’s path.  “No, Dreel. We have to get them tonight.  There’s no telling what might be going on down there.  I won’t leave them any longer than I have to!” he said vehemently. 

“John, at this time it’s not physically possible for you to make that trip.  From what I know about the griforis, they will not harm your children.  They simply need new individuals to replace those who have died.  Their death rate is higher than their birth rate,” Dreel stated forcefully.  “The separation will be hard for the children, but they will be safe for one day.  Rest, acclimatize to the change.”

John hated to leave his children underground longer than necessary, but it appeared that he had no choice in the matter.  Walking up the ramp, John was met by Maureen, who threw herself into his arms.  He felt the beat of her heart and that reassured him and made him feel guilty at the same time.

End Chapter 2