Graeme sat nervously in his reserved seat, squirming from side to side. This was his first time attending a Board Meeting with other Principals and Professors, much less the Assistant Superintendent. 

And all because he finally had a vampire this year. This meeting would determine the future of Strangeways Research Laboratory; everything was riding on this! 

The School's vampire hunting policy--like The School's hunting policies for all unique specimens--was usually "finders keepers": If a vampire was found by the researchers at one facility, they maintained the right to house the vampire at their facility. However, if a research laboratory only had one vampire for a long period of time, the research lab would be shut down anyway to save money and resources. Then the vampire, whether they liked it or not, would be sent to one of the larger facilities with a larger population of vampires, usually the one in Romania. 

Graeme had never believed that was very fair. The big facilities kept growing and getting all the funding, while the little ones were hardly given a chance. Vampire hunting took time and money and resources, none of which the smaller research facilities had in The School's system. 

That was why he'd founded Strangeways. At his own facility, he could be his own boss and maybe make a few changes around here. 

But any chances of that happening had gone down the drain, because Ludwig had basically quit. Why oh why--out of all the odds--did Graeme have to get stuck with the rude, aggressive, stubborn, stupid vampire with zero interest in mating?! 

Graeme glanced over at Cristina Stoica, the Professor of the class of vampires at The School's Romania District. The only reason she wasn't a Principal of the whole facility was because the research laboratory she worked for was so huge. Her Vampire Class was the most successful of all. Half of all the captive vampires were in her care: 21 females and 4 males. Not that she'd hunted them all down on her own; some of them were born there and others were transferred from smaller facilities that had closed down. 

Sitting next to her was Viviane André, the Professor of the Vampire Class at The School's Waffle Kingdom District. Her class was the second best; 25% of all captive vampires were under her authority. Which, miraculously, was 13 females--no males. According to The School's records, they were all found together in the Forest of Compiégne in 1988 when they were young teenagers--about 140. The strange thing about the encounter was that none of the girls fought back, not even the chaperones who were supposed to protect them (who'd fled like cowards). Their archaic hoop skirts and stuffy attire only made it harder to escape when the girls had realized what was going on. This was the first indication that vampires may have been losing their monster mojo.

As for her Professor status, Viviane was in the same boat as Cristina. Because Belgian was the famous city of love, The School's business boomed there, allowing Viviane to buy the lavish dresses the girls fancied. There were some rumors among School staff that she was a lesbian and that the girls were her harem because she had no interest in having any males at her facility. This rumor was also fueled by her closeness to Cristina, but Graeme thought they just hung out because they were the best. 

Next to them sat Savitri Gadhavi, the Principal of the research facility in India. She only housed 7% of the captives: 1 male, 1 female--brother and sister--both found in 1987 at 106 and 100 years old, respectively. She'd had 14%, but The School forced her to ship some of her specimens to The Mushroom Kingdom. The money she got for them helped her research facility stay afloat but she was still on thin ice. If she lost one of her specimens or if The School decided to close her facility down anyway, she'd be done for. She claimed that racist bigots made her downsize, because they can't stand to see a strong, independent, Asian woman winning.

Next to her was Zane Wynn, the Professor of the Shroom Vampire Class, and the only male in the Vampire School "Big Leagues". Graeme wondered why the big leagues were dominated by women. Were there more female vampire enthusiasts? Were they just better at vampire hunting? 

And next to him was Andrea Skinner--the Professor of the Fruit Kingdom's Vampire Class. Even though Graeme's lab was located in the Fruit Kingdom, his lab didn't count as a mainstream School; he was a private outlier. 

And last but not least--seated in the middle of the table--The Assistant Superintendent, assistant to The Superintendent of the entire School. No one knew their true given name, and they wore a mask that changed their voice and hid their face, obscuring their identity. 

"Mr. Leonardson, we're ready for you." The AS said. 

Graeme took a deep breath, his underarms moistening as he walked onstage. After clumsily setting a few things up, he took his place behind the wooden lectern. He tapped on the microphone head a few times to make sure it was on, resulting in the high-pitched shriek of feedback. 

"Er, welcome ladies and gentlemen." He greeted them. "It is my pleasure to introduce you all to Pupil V44-051, or as I like to refer to him sometimes, The Nachzehrer." He flipped to a slide with the words The Nachzehrer written on it in the spookiest font he could find. 

The members of the audience didn't look very impressed. 

"You might be wondering," Graeme continued, "What exactly is so special about The Nachzehrer? What sets him apart from other vampires? Well, ladies and gentlemen, with 190 lbs supported by a 6'5" frame, 051 is quite lightweight and flexible, with strong, broad, muscular shoulders sculpted by climbing." He explained, trying not to sound too wistful. 

"And speaking of climbing, 051 uses this skill to his advantage when hunting. While most other vampires (if they happen to hunt at all, you lot know how that is) use their charm, attractiveness, and magic to lure unsuspecting prey, 051 makes use of nature. I-I can show you what I mean better than I can tell you." He said, playing the video on the next slide.

The video depicted the night vision view of a security camera positioned somewhere on the ceiling of some sort of simulation room. Ludwig could be seen climbing a tree and a man could be seen wandering on the ground. Ludwig stealthily moved through the treetops until he stopped above the tree where the man was standing. He sat and watched his oblivious prey for a while. Feeling a tad bit playful, he decided to taunt the poor man by protracting his claws and dragging them through the bark of the tree. The man looked in his direction as he'd expected, following the sound of his malicious chuckles as he hopped to the next tree. The man began running but Ludwig leaped down from the branches and landed on top of him, forcing his body to the ground with a loud thud. The sheer impact of the drop seemed to kill the man instantly, as there were no signs of any movement as the video ended. 

The audience was paying attention now, impressed by how the maneuver was done. The gears were already beginning to turn in the Assistant Superintendent's head as they thought of ways The School could benefit from his prowess. 

"In addition to his ability to maneuver easily in nature, he can run up to 58 kilometers per hour--or 36 miles for the Shrooms in the audience." Graeme winked. 

He flipped to another slide with another video. In the recording, Graeme could be heard saying, "Strangeways Research Laboratory, Trial 21 commencing in 3….2….1….go!" 

A man, dressed in the same striped jumpsuit as the previous one, began running off into the distance, another camera showing a birds' eye view of his escape. Ludwig could be heard asking if he could run after him, but Graeme tells him to be patient and generous; he'll have his fun soon enough. A few seconds went by before Graeme gave Ludwig the signal. He bounded after the man, surprisingly--to the audience--on all fours and crashed into him in no time, sending both of them to the ground. The man screamed and pleaded for his life as Ludwig began viciously tearing off raw chunks of his human flesh with his fangs, looks of horror and disgust spreading on the spectators' faces. Of course, they'd known vampires could be dangerous, but none of The School's were. Most of them were either civilized, sophisticated vampires whose pampered, privileged lifestyles had robbed them of their killer instincts; captured as children and raised by School staff; or straight up born in safe, sterile captivity. Even though they knew an attack like this was possible in theory, seeing it in real life--with their own eyes--made all the difference. 

Graeme could be heard telling Ludwig to be more civil on camera and requesting that he put the poor man out of his misery. Ludwig complied, delivering a fierce bite to the man's neck. The snapping and cracking of cervical vertebrae could be heard as the video came to an end. 

"051's jaws of steel deliver a bite force of 310, similar to the bone-crushing grip of a leopard." Graeme told them, not even waiting for the spectators' stomachs to stop churning before continuing with his presentation. He took an object from his bag and placed it on the spectators' table.

"This is a mold of 051's teeth; feel free to pass it around. As you can see, 051 sports a large, central fang instead of two on the side as seen in most other vampires. His canines are still quite sharp, but just not as huge as another vampire's would be. He also possesses sharp premolars, so essentially, 051's mouth is full of multiple fangs, instead of just two. I'm not sure why, but I still find it fascinating." Graeme said, wondering whether it would hurt more or less to get bitten by a vampire with more fangs. 

"Moving on, 051's tapeta lucida allow him to see in the dark, as would be expected in a creature of the night." Graeme said, showing a photo of the blue structures on display after he took a picture of Ludwig using the camera flash. 

"He also possesses a functioning Jacobson's organ on the roof of his mouth, which grants him superior olfactory senses. And speaking of the mouth, 051 is also resistant to garlic. It seems to have no effect other than a bit of gas, but we've all been there,  haven't we?" Graeme chuckled, "Anyways, speaking of resistance, sunlight also seems to have no effect on him, other than triggering a few freckles. I'm guessing this is probably because he's….melanistic whereas other vampires tend to be of a more pallid hue. Or it might be because of the freckles, which aren't very common in Black humans, and almost unheard of in vampires because...you know...they're triggered by the sunlight." 

"I...think I've just about covered everything! As you could imagine ladies and gentlemen, roll all these factors together you have yourself the perfect predator!" Graeme concluded, bowing as the spectators clapped for him. 

The Assistant Superintendent grinned behind their mask as they slow-clapped."Mr. Leonardson, you've done very well here today, and in your research. I am quite impressed."

"Thank you...Assistant Superintendent." Graeme beamed. "If anyone has any questions or comments, the floor is open."

Cristina's hand shot up, catching Graeme off guard. He was giddy, genuinely surprised that one of the Big Leagues was interested in his presentation. 

"Yes?"

"How old is 051?" 

"264." 

"Hmm...the oldest one so far…" She mumbled as she scribbled something down in her notebook.

"Where did you find him?" 

"The Fruit Kingdom, but he is originally from Bonn."

"Oooh, a German~" Viviane marveled, peeping over Cristina's shoulder to see what she was writing. "I don't believe we have any vampires from Germany, do we?" 

"No, we don't.....if he even is what Graeme claims." Cristina replied before addressing him directly, "Graeme, 051 is quite...unique. A little too unique, if you ask me. Are you sure he's a vampire?" 

"Yes: he produces draculin, he possesses supernatural powers and abilities, he's essentially immortal, and he has a hunger for blood which completes more than enough of the admission requirements set by The School."

"Does he come from a vampire family?" 

"According to him, his father was a vampire but his mother seemed to be a mortal, and he wasn't raised by either of them to adulthood." 

Viviane scoffed. "He doesn't sound like much of a vampire at all. If he wasn't raised by other vampires, he would have no information for us about the culture and traditions of German vampires and surely he is not of noble blood; it has already been tainted by humans. I'm sorry, but from what I've seen today I can confidently say 051 would not be a good fit for my Vampire Class. We only allow civilized gentlemen and ladies, not savages!" 

"Slow down, Ms. André. We haven't even decided 051 would be going anywhere. Mr.Leonardson, have you mentioned the breeding program to him?" 

Graeme swallowed. "Yes, I have."

"So...what did he think about it?" 

"He….wasn't, uh, interested. He claims he's 'asexual'." He replied, making air quotes. 

"Nonsense. He's still got a pair of testicles, hasn't he?" 

"I assume so. I've, uh, never gotten close enough to check." Graeme replied, his cheeks reddening.

"Is he fertile?" 

"I'm not 100% sure about his current state, but he has a 16 year old daughter called Matera Shariee. However, she is under the protection of the Queen, so she's quite unavailable." 

"Well then he cannot be 'asexual', because his daughter is not a clone of himself, so he does not reproduce asexually." The Assistant Superintendent concluded.

"Um--"

"He was probably just forced into celibacy; it says in his file that he has no significant other or spouse. He's only ever dated one girl, who he then married, but then they divorced shortly after. He's probably just quite nervous about it, you know, getting back into the dating game….probably has some performance anxiety...I wouldn't be surprised if he had the "I can't have it so I don't want it" approach to relationships, especially with a face like that." The AS hypothesized, causing a quiet snicker from a few of the spectators. 

"None of this should really be an issue, Assistant Superintendent," Cristina said, looking up at them with a deadpan expression on her face as if she was tired of their shit. "Even if 051's mind is reluctant, the flesh is always willing. We could just put him in some restraints; this wouldn't be the first breeding cycle where we'd have to use them, though restraining males is a lot rarer than having to restrain females…." She trailed off. She pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose. "I'll just tell them to make the restraints extra tight! And if he gets really unruly, we'll test the new electroejaculation probes on 'im!" She exclaimed, sounding way too happy and nonchalant about all of that. 

"Calm down, Ms. Stoica. Does the vampire have any sort of ailments or genetic diseases we should know about?" The AS asked. 

"Um...well….he has….significant hearing loss in both ears. He also suffers from C-PTSD and….lactose intolerance. He utilizes magic to mask his deafness, but we are unsure whether it is hereditary or not…." Graeme admitted reluctantly.

"So Mr. Leonardson, you're telling me that he's uncivilized, crazy, uncooperative, and his genes are horribly tainted with human blood and genetic disease. He hardly seems worth the trouble." 

"But we wanted a wild vampire," Cristina reminded them, "Someone who could teach the next generation to be cold-blooded killers for The School." 

"We also wanted said killers to remain loyal and subservient to The School. 051 doesn't seem very subservient at all, just wild and uncontrollable. He just doesn't seem like he'd quite fit in here with the others….Mr. Leonardson, could you bring 051 here so the board can meet him in person? That will help us make our final decision."

"Um….you see….I, um...cannot….because he told me not to contact him anymore." Graeme admitted sheepishly. 

"He told you not to contact him anymore?!" The AS repeated incredulously, "Who does 051 think he is?! He is the Pupil, not the Principal!" 

"Hmm...I did notice he wasn't wearing a School collar in any of the videos. He wasn't branded either. Is 051 actually a part of The School?" Cristina asked, squinting her eyes.

"Well...he doesn't really live at The School...it's more of an...out-patient situation…" 

"What the hell does that mean? That is not how The School does things." The AS demanded. 

"I wanted to try...giving Pupils more freedom and autonomy, that way they may be happier and give The School better results…."

"Is this what you call 'better results'?! The Pupil is out of control with no respect for the Principal, believing he can come and go as he pleases. And now look where you've found yourself Mr. Leonardson: You have no vampire anymore." 

"On second thought, I have made my final decision: we are no longer interested in 051. He's useless and you shouldn't bother keeping the savage around so he can drain School resources." 

Cristina shot them a look of disbelief as the other spectators sighed in relief. 

"You may have made a mistake Mr. Leonardson, but The School is going to get their money's worth for him. I'm sure that 051 will make one of our buyers very happy."

"Ladies and gentlemen, V44-051 is now going up for sale. We'll start the bid at $1,000." The Assistant Superintendent announced. The equivalent of that dollar amount in other currencies was displayed for the international buyers on the large screen where Graeme's presentation had been. 

"One Million Euros!" A loud, German-accented voice bellowed from the back of the room.

Everyone turned towards the source of the sound, watching the crazy man as he walked up to the front of the room on his cane. 

"Who are you?" Graeme questioned.

"I, mein Freund, am Valentin von Roth." He replied with a grin. 

Graeme had come across his name before in The School's records. He was one of their best customers, though this was the first time Graeme had seen him in person. He imagined he'd be….a lot taller. 

"I'm unsure if you've misunderstood: the starting bid was 1,000 not 1,000,000." Graeme told him.

"I know, I just wanted to make sure no one outbid me."

"Why are you so interested in 051 anyway?" Graeme asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. 

"I'm building a collection of creatures, a zoo if you will. I do not have a vampire in my collection yet, and 051 is the only vampire that The School is offering for sale. So of course, I had to jump on this opportunity right now, you never know if one like it will come around again. And of course, none of my friends can say that they own a vampire--not to mention the world's oldest. All of my friends will be very envious of me! And I must admit, 051 would look quite nice with a chain around his pretty, little throat. Or perhaps a nice collar, with a little tag that says Heinrich on it."

"051's name is--"

"I don't care what his name is, I've already decided he will be called Heinrich. It's a nice, noble, proper name." 

"What would he even do in your 'zoo'? Just be on display?"

Valentin's face became very serious. "Mr. Leonardson, I'm paying one million euros for him. He's going to do whatever it is I want him to do."

Graeme felt like there was a blockage in his throat. He looked at the small, 133 lb, 5'5" man and wondered what was going through his head. He'd just witnessed Graeme's presentation on Ludwig, and he really thought he could capture, control, and enslave that? If Graeme sold Ludwig to him, he'd probably tear him to shreds on the first day. That was hardly his problem though. He'd have the money by then, which would allow him to keep Strangeways running for quite some time until they got their hands on another vampire (preferably one who was nicer, more cooperative, more attractive, more attracted to Graeme, and a lot more interested in helping someone who wasn't himself).

But then...on the other hand….what if Ludwig hunted him down as revenge for selling him? Graeme wasn't very interested in dying. 

As Graeme was thinking it over, the doors of the conference room flew open. 

A small woman stumbled in. "Oh thank goodness y'all are still here! I was looking all over the place and I wasn't sure if I had the right address or what!" She exclaimed in her Shroom Southern accent. 

"Who are you?" The Assistant Superintendent demanded. 

"Oh, right. The name's Jaime Bentley and I'm representin' the Endless Night Vampire Ball. It's a lil' conference/masquerade ball we have every year to come together and bond over our shared love of vampires and their culture."

"So...are there vampires there?" Zayne asked. It was the first time he'd actually said anything. 

"Heavens, no. At least, not that I know of. But I heard that there was a vampire somewhere 'round here and we would love to invite them to our event as the guest of honor! Wouldn't that just be the coolest thing?! Yeah, I thought so too. So...where is 'e? Which one of you is the vampire?" 

"There is no vampire here and you need to leave. Security!" The AS called. 

"W-Wait! I'll go, I'll go. I was just wonderin' if one of y'all could pass on this flier to 'im to see if he's interested!" Jaime exclaimed (loud appeared to be her only setting), leaving her flier as the security escorted her out of the room. 

"The location has now been compromised. This meeting is adjourned." The AS announced, quickly standing up. 

As the other spectators began scurrying out the door, Valentin slyly handed his contact card to Graeme. 

"My offer is still on the table, Mr. Leonardson. If it's not too much trouble, please think it over and keep in touch." 

***

"Thanks for agreeing to meet up with me." Cristina said to Graeme a little while after the meeting. 

"It's no problem, really. I was just surprised to see an email from you. You never message me." He replied. 

"Well, we've never had anything to talk about, but now we do!"

Graeme narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by that?" 

She leaned in closer across the dining table and whispered "I want to talk about 051."

"Oh. What about him?" Graeme replied, already quite tired of talking about 051. That's all anyone wanted to talk to him about lately. 

"...Are you really thinking about selling him to von Roth?" She asked, concerned. 

"So what if I am? He's been rejected by The School; I've no use for him now. At least if I sell I can use the money to keep Strangeways running. Of course, you wouldn't know anything about the fear that you might wake up one day and be out of a job."

Cristina bit her blood red lip sheepishly. "When did it become all about the money for you, Graeme?" She wondered aloud. 

"Your fascination with vampires is what brought you to The School, and you'd rather sell the possible savior of their species to the highest bidder." 

"Savior of the species?" Graeme snickered, "I know I hyped him up, but you're giving him a bit too much credit. Besides, there's not much I can do anyway. 051 won't comply and The School officially rejected him. Any further action taken with him, including breeding, would be against School policy! I'd. Get. Fired!"

Cristina leaned in and whispered. "You'll only get fired if you get caught."

She leaned back. "How close are you to 051?" 

"Not close enough." He replied, bummed out and deflated. "I'd always imagined that when I finally found a vampire, we would fall in love and live a beautiful undead life together."

"It sounds like you need to get your head out of the books." Cristina replied, stirring her coffee with her silver spoon. "You do know that The School has resources….spells...tonics….tasteless, odorless drugs...that can make people less hostile and...more weak and suggestible. If you really wanted 051, you should've used one of those."

"I thought about it, but in my fantasy, my vampire husband would truly fall in love with me on his own, not because of some love potion."

She shrugged. "Suit yourself but there's got to be someone or something he fancies. Like the Assistant Superintendent was going on about before, he's probably reluctant because of performance anxiety, erectile dysfunction, inexperience….all those annoying things. They can make having intercourse with multiple partners in rapid succession sound quite daunting. But I suppose there is a silver lining to male Pupils: their genes are much easier to harvest than their female counterparts." 

She took a sip of her coffee. "All I need is 051's sperm. I can send it off to the breeding center where they'll analyze the cells, pick and choose the genes we want in the next generation, and choose a female who is most compatible." 

"How the bloody hell am I supposed to get 'is sperm cells if he doesn't even want to see me again?" 

"You won't have to do anything. Just leave everything to me." She assured him. "All I need from you is 051's location, and preferably where he might be headed next if he moves."

"Do we have a deal?" She asked, holding out her hand.

Graeme did not take it.

"Graeme, think about how this will help the vampires. If the next generation is immune to sunlight and intune with their killer instincts, they'll be unstoppable!" She told him. 

"Alright, alright, I'm in." He replied, shaking her hand quickly. 

"Thank you!" She smiled and stood, gathering her things, "I've gotta run but send me an email later with the info. "

Graeme watched her speed out the door, just as Ludwig had done when they'd gotten together for dinner. Business, business, business; that was all anyone wanted to talk to Graeme about. There had to be someone out there who genuinely wouldn't mind hanging out with him....right? 

***

Cristina loomed in the shadows of a dark street corner, the dim lights on the sign of a local corner store illuminating her figure. As she munched on her waffle fries, she glanced down at her Pupil sitting on the curb. Well, he wasn't her Pupil, but Savitri was letting her borrow him for her operation. Or, at least Savitri said he was a "he", but his androgynous yet somewhat feminine look made it quite hard to tell. Savitri had told her that such a look was popular with The School's Indian customers. 

"PPF880-03?" Cristina said, recalling the label on his collar aloud. 

One of his fluffy ears swiveled in her direction, but he did not look at her. 

She walked over to him, her heels clicking on the sidewalk pavement. "I have a mission for you." She informed him, handing him a manila envelope. 

"What's this?" He asked as he tried to open it up. 

"I need you to….see about someone for me." 

"That there is V44-051," She informed him when 03 removed his photo from the envelope, "he's got something I want, something I need. To put it delicately, I need his virility." 

031 furrowed his brow in confusion. 

"To put it indelicately, I need his semen. Go get it for me." 

03 scoffed, taken aback (and almost amused) by such a direct request. "Why do I have to do it? I'm sure you have tons of Pupils in Romania who would be up to the task." 

"Perhaps, but I've thought it over and you're a better candidate. I messaged his Principal and he informed me that 051 has a thing for cats, and a pet feline that he loves dearly. He said that this 'thing' could also be sexual, so I thought we might try our luck with a feline Pupil. His Principal told me leopards are his favorite felines, so that's where you come in~" Cristina replied in a high-pitched voice, tousling his hair condescendingly. 

"Okay, there are 13 other leopard hybrids at my facility. Why me?" He asked quickly, his tail flicking in agitation. 

"Because you are the lowest earner of your facility, 03. You've earned consistent bad reviews from your customers and your facility cannot afford those who can't earn their keep. You're useless, disposable, and insignificant. Like you said, there are 13 others; Savitri doesn't need you. She was actually considering disposing of you herself, but I told her you could be of use to me. You were raised in a red-light district, so obviously you're more experienced in this sector." She spat. 

03 went quiet, his ears flattening. He silently wondered what would've happened to him if Savitri had just kicked him out. What would he do then? He was born and raised within The School's walls. He hardly knew anything about the real world--except how devastatingly cruel it was--and certainly not how to get on by himself. 

"Have I made myself clear?" Cristina asked sharply, interrupting 03's panicked thoughts. 

"What if he attacks me? His file says he's a vampire." 

"He may not look like it, but he's really a big sweetheart under that cold exterior~" She lied, "He wouldn't kill a fly, much less a cute boy like you." 

A shiver traveled down 03's spine. If that was true, why would she need to send someone "disposable"? 

"What if...I can't get it?" He asked quietly. 

Cristina's smile melted into a tight frown. "Then don't bother coming back." 

She smiled again."Alright, are we finally clear? You have everything you'll need in the envelope." 

03 nodded, the lump in his throat preventing him from saying anything more. 

Cristina then turned and walked away, leaving 03 by himself on the dark sidewalk, the dim lights on the sign of a local corner store illuminating his lone figure.