The Watchtower Affair: Bridgette is Smitten, er, Bitten

Part 5
The Watchtower Affair - Now You See It, Now You Don't

Bridgette's Diary
13 February, 1925

(cont...)

            Somewhere around my 4^th recitation of the mantra, I heard a whirring, clicking sound from above me. Looking up I see a man perched on the ceiling, dressed in a black suit with a smart white shirt and a blood red tie. Tilting his head to the side, he appeared to study me, a puzzled look on his face. Noticing my startlement, he effortlessly, nimbly, rights himself, landing lightly on his feet before me.

            Realizing there were stray tears sliding down my cheeks, I blushed lightly and quickly wiped at them with my hand. The stranger waited patiently, a half smile on his face, before extending a hand in introduction.

I gave my head a sharp shake, hoping to toss off the remains of my mental fog. I desperately wanted to think clearly. The man before me was very handsome, which only seemed to leave me tongue-tied and bashful. Fully extending his hand, he looked over at me and said something along the lines of, “I’m sorry to have startled you. Let me introduce myself. My name is Pathos. And you?” He looked at me expectantly, obviously waiting for me to extend my hand for him to take. Given the strangeness of the last few minutes, and my lack of a clear head, I was still rather hesitant.

            I did manage to nod at him in reply before answering, “I am Bridgette McCleary.”

            “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss. McCleary.” He glanced over at where my medical bag was resting on the floor. “Are you a nurse or …?”

            I gave an awkward smile. I’m usually not that easily swayed by a person’s looks, but something about him had gotten to me. “I’m a doctor,” I finally managed to stammer out. Diary, the interesting thing is that he had so distracted me that I actually forgot about the scorpion sting and my missing clothes.

            “Ah, so it’s actually Dr. McCleary.” He smiled, which was a bit unnerving as I noticed a glint of silver. Was he made of metal like the vampire we had encountered? Dear God, I hoped not. That would be just my luck, to cross the path of such a creature. However, he’d been nothing but friendly so far. And in all honestly, I found him intriguing and attractive. In spite of any dangers, I was enjoying his attentions.

            Growing slightly more nervous, I nodded. “Yes, I suppose it is.” I hadn’t been called Dr. McCleary in a medical context in years. It felt good to hear again. For some reason his acknowledgement of my achievement made me feel special. However, I still couldn’t bring myself to take his hand. Flattered and flustered as I was, my sense of self-preservation hadn’t completely disappeared. He had to want something from me, but what?

            “I was just wondering which direction you were heading,” he told me next. “Up or down?”

            “Well,” I relaxed enough to run a hand through my hair, “I was going upwards, but I think now that I’d rather head back down. It seems to maybe be safer.”

            He gave an apparent nod of approval. “That would be my suggestion. Here, let me help you up.” He once again offered his hand in a helpful way – and I nearly took it before glancing down and remembering my current state of undress. Flushing deeply, I wrapped my arms back around my legs, hugging them to my body.

            Pathos looked puzzled for a moment, but then a small smile crossed his face. He quickly removed his jacket and placed it carefully around my shoulders. I grasped it tightly closed in front of my chest, giving him a grateful smile. Apparently please, another glimmer of a smile crossed his face. He offered his hand once again. “Let me help you up, Dr. McCleary.”

            I nodded, having realized that his jacket was more than large enough to cover the necessary stretch of my body. Carefully adjusting the jacket for maximum coverage,  I sent up a small prayer of gratitude at my short stature and finally offered him my hand.

            However, instead of taking my hand to pull me up, he instead turned it over and bent to kiss the back. Diary, the moment his lips touched my skin it was as though someone had sent a powerful electric shock through my system. A gasp escaped as I stared in wonderment at him. A long moment later I realized that he was still holding my hand and I didn’t really mind. Even so, I gently disengaged my hand from his. I’m sure it was less graceful than I intended it to be, but this man had made me more socially awkward around him than anyone else had managed in a very long time.

            We stared at one another for a long moment and then it was as though I’d done a long, slow blink. When I opened my eyes once more, he was gone. I could no longer feel the weight of his jacket across my shoulders. Looking down, I realized that my clothes were back as well. The miasma of swirling colors on the wall were still there, although they had now faded. This rendered them less disorienting, leaving me free to think more clearly. I examined the back of my calf, but could find no puncture mark from the scorpion’s sting. I relaxed – and let some of the tension ease from my shoulders.

Filled with a sense of amazement, I looked at the back of my hand, wondering if any of it had really happened. Then I noticed what looked like a snake bite. Looking more closely, it was clear that the marks on my hand looked as though they had been made by a pair of human canines. I sank back against the wall, staring at the back of my hand in horror. He really was one of the metal vampires. And I’d just been bitten by him.

 

 

 

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