The Dentist Always Hated His Job

It was a horrendous sight, blood sprayed on the walls of the back alley, dismembered corpses complimenting the red of blood, children, men and women were slaughtered here, killed in the most heinous way possible. But one child lived, he lived through that night, he survived….

I could’ve just as easily chosen the dark path, being a freak of strength, it was very easy to stray. Even now, working with these probes, scalers and knives every day in and out, or just, every night in and out it tempts me every time but, what I chose to do was…… unusual to say the least, and much much difficult than giving in to my other tendencies. And this damn job of being a dentist is, well, the most laborious of them all!

The true value to strength isn’t in those who you slaughter and kill, it’s in those you save and protect, which is what I’ve chosen to do, this city, in particular, this world at large is infested with humans viler than my kind could ever be, money, greed, and power, sometimes not even those, reasons to kill and murder have become too trivial and the value of life has been lost, and I know this because…. because I’ve seen the ugly underbelly of society, which is a cesspool of heinous criminals…… and outcasts, just like me.

It was 7:00 pm, time to leave, and like as if the police radio knew the time itself, “…calling all units to Mulberry Street, the Vion Bank has been held up….”, bank robbery again, just another day at work.

It wasn’t a difficult task to subdue the thieves inside, I was faster than them all, they wouldn’t even be able to perceive me and they’d already have been knocked out, all it takes is a right hook. Remember Will, not even a scratch on them, I’m afraid a scratch on a human is all it takes to….

Vion Bank was in sight, it was accompanied by sirens and shouts of desperate policemen scrambling to save the hostages and trying to snipe the thieves from any opening possible, just like in the movies, it was funny to me. I’d already put on my policeman outfit which I stole from their precinct, I’ve learnt it’s important to be one, of course, or else I’d be a vigilante, a vampire vigilante? It’s all they’d need, jeez William calm down.

I blended in with the police crowd, they’d set the first barricade two blocks away, and I did not have permission to pass, if I persisted they’d figure out I was an imposter so I let it be, my keen eyesight anyway let me spot the back entrance, the fools haven’t covered the perimeter well, it was an easy in and out job, the thieves had done half the work for me, the hostages were blindfolded and made to look towards the walls, letting me do my job incognito.

I just left the place without a word, it would become too obvious if I made it a point to reveal the thieves had mysteriously been knocked out, I’ll just let it happen.

Taking the back alleys as I walked home was something I did every day, it was easy to spot criminals there, petty ones yes but I’m not one to discriminate, I was one of these petty criminals a few decades past. And yes, I walk everywhere I go, the car I own is just for appearances, at least in the night anyway.

And there they were, four men were threatening a poor woman who was walking by, she already looked battered and scruffed, they must’ve grabbed her off the footpath, but there was something amiss about one of them, he didn’t strike me as a petty criminal and he was just standing there with a cigarette, looking at me, he was almost as tall as me which is something I rarely see, humans don’t grow this tall.

No need to stand around Bill.

It was easy to dispatch the three other brats, one ran at the mere sight of me, the dark really brings out my eyes, does it? The other two were confused, “Could I get a light, friend?”.

“Now you….!”, he tried to knife me it broke when it touched me, and he found himself confronting an imposing figure.

“Forget it, I have the lighter myself”, the lighter lit half of my face up to reveal the monstrosity I was, a smile resembling that of a tiger paired with my red eyes and height. That’s all it takes to make a man crumble, the other one also-ran, now leaving the last brat and that mysterious man who was still quietly watching, never mind him, Will, he seems harmless.

I held the last brat by his neck, it was tempting to bite him, but no that’s not who I am, and there are two other people here, resist it William, this is not you. “Oh, do go on”, I heard the man say.

What do you mean? The guy ran, “Th- This ain’t worth the money boss!”, he said to the man as he ran away.

The woman was petrified out of her mind, “Ma’am, you can leave now”, as I spoke those words, she screamed a shrivelled scream and fled, now leaving me with this weird human.

“So now it’s just me and you bud…. wanna chat? -”, three gunshots sounded, they’d hit my abdomen and arm.

Me being taken off guard? Impossible, and why do these bullets hurt? Don’t lose your composure Werstrand, stand up.

Before I even could, the man now spoke, in a booming voice and a large smile on his face, “Not the bank robbery too William”, he said and slipped the gun back, “You are one annoying brat!”, he said and walked towards me as I lost my footing and collapsed, “Yes, go to sleep, you should feel right at home in these alleyways” ……

His name was Otto Wilshire, a man of severe prosperity, influence and all the riches this world could offer and all the vices it could too. I had no doubt in my mind, that this was the man who shot me the other day, it doesn’t take much to realize why he was there, I, being ever so benevolent had foiled many of dear Otto’s criminal undertakings, the bank robbery was latest in a long list of crimes which were unravelled and foiled by me.

As I’ve learnt over the past week, Otto has had his hand in nearly every single criminal activity in the city, child laborers forced to manufacture drugs, the assassination attempt on the mayor, union scamsters, bank robberies, the mass kidnapping of women from Cann Street, everything. And now he’s turned his attention towards me, how does this explain the uncanny presence? Bullets that could hurt me? And, how does he know about that night….

In a fell swoop, Otto caused me great mishaps, I was unconscious for a day after being shot, and the squirts and brats frequenting the alleys could care less about some guy on the side, so I got no medical attention if I did, that would probably reveal who I really was. And talking about that, sunlight burned half my face, the sharp pain is what caused me to wake up.

You should feel right at home in these alleyways…… how does he know?

I missed five appointments that day too, and now people are asking about my two-face appearance.

Otto, now you have my attention.

I recovered the bullets from the alleyway where I was shot, they were silver bullets, and they burned my fingertips when I touched them, that’s how it hurt me. I had a friend in the police force – Detective Edward Manser, I knew the idiot was corrupt, but I chose not to incriminate him, doing so would bring the ire of the entire police force onto me, and my identity would be in danger, the dentist who no one sees during the day? Hmm, not so discreet huh William Werstrand.

But to be honest, the bone-headed fool was my best friend, he helped me steal those policeman clothes after all, I owe him my life for that as he keeps reminding me.

Limping and uneven, Edward arrived at his office and greeted me with unusual pleasantness, “William! What a pleasant day today isn’t it?”, I risked burning my fingers off coming here during the dead of day, this is weird, Ed is never pleasant, its always something with him, his nagging wife and children, his damn job, his vampire best friend. It was definitely a hint.

“Ed? Did he contact you already?”.

All the smile from Ed’s face disappeared and now, he was back to his usual pessimistic self, but it was still different, he’s concerned, eh? 

He said with a frown and a low voice, “William, everyone’s out to get you”, he looked around to meet the worried gaze of the other policemen outside his office, “You need to leave now, Otto paid me off to sell you out”, my best friend.

A smile came onto my face, “I always took you for a fool, this is not what I had in mind”.

“More of a martyr than a fool, Will”, as he said that he pushed me out of the backdoor of his office as the other policemen wildly rushed in, “Run! William!”, gunshots sounded, but I had no choice, more of a martyr than a fool, Will, thank you, Ed.

I was dressed in a full trench coat with a large hat on my head, outrunning a lynch mob of policemen who know nothing beyond a few greens will not be easy, their minds work best when doing corrupt work, Oh I know that very well, half of these people deserve death of the highest order, whatever that may be. Remember Will, not even a scratch, you do not kill and pillage.

No choice now, I sure hope dear Otto wasn’t gracious enough to lend them the silver bullets, let me take a gamble, a policeman shot at me, missed, I’m a sitting duck you little shit, and another one, this one hit my right arm, it sizzled and burned, goddamn it!

So, Otto is a philanthropist now huh? It won’t end well for you Otto.

As I counted them in my brief gamble, there were 10 of them, running and tripping over each other like water out of an overfilled container. I led them into an abandoned building, picking them off will be easy in a confined space where I am in control. As their good police sense directed them, they split up into groups of two, easy work.

Ethan and Mack were met with right hooks which sent them to sleep, for at least two days to recover from that one, Dustin and Weller, well these people, I cannot control myself anymore, I clawed them through their chest, they would remember my red eyes as they met their death, true strength lies in…. not now, not to these despicable rats!

Sam, Munson, Gomez, Hank and Asta, all suffered the same sharp fate as their partners, I needed one of them alive to lead me to Otto’s lair, where he will undoubtedly be awaiting my arrival, laden with silver bullets I suppose? 

The last one was Michael Willis, he froze in fear when he saw me approaching, blood-dripping eyes as red as those on my claws, “Michael”, I said and chuckled, he didn’t have the courage to move, “Wi – Will?”.

“Why don’t you take a break from your usual exploits? And maybe do something to redeem yourself”, I said and stressed, “Hmm? Tell me, Mike, it’s that or” …… "death of the highest order”, I said and ended and Micheal simply complied.

The mansion was an ominous figure, its grand structure was complimented with thick fog and surrounding forest side which made it look haunting and… gorgeous, there was simply no other word fitting than that. Michael was quivering and shivering in my back seat, “Co- come on Will, I did what I promise-”, I lopped his head off, where was your humanity when all those children were being forced to work? When you were supposed to rescue those women?

I approached the mansion with the same eerie stoicism that had carried me through so many life-threatening instances, this one matters the most, the mansion, it was an unmissable beauty, in stark contrast to all the horrors its halls would’ve witnessed.

As I delved deeper into the mansion, it became clear that Otto had prepared for my arrival. The winding corridors seemed designed to confuse and mislead intruders. It was a labyrinth, and I was the hunted prey. I could hear his mocking laughter echoing through the hallways, the amusement of a predator toying with his prey.

The tension grew with each step. My instincts honed over decades guided me, but Otto's knowledge of the mansion gave him the upper hand. He had set traps, and I narrowly avoided them with each step. It was a deadly dance through the darkened halls, a game of cat and mouse.

Finally, I found myself in a vast chamber, an old ballroom filled with an eerie glow from moonlight filtering through the tattered curtains. There he was, Otto Wilshire, standing at the far end, a wicked grin on his face.

"Ah, William," he hissed, his voice dripping with malice. “You've always been a thorn in my side. A meddlesome dentist who thinks he can play hero. How quaint”.

“You do not know the ways of your own kind”, Otto said and paced around the vast hall.

“Too cowardly to face me, are you?”, I said just as he seemed to appear behind me and stabbed me with what was undoubtedly a silver dagger, “Our kind always hunts in the dark!”.

“In the shadows!!”, he said as his voice became lost in the large hallway.

“You should know this yourself William, you hunt in the dark as well”, he shouted and echoed as I lost track of him again.

Calm yourself, Will, this evil will not triumph.

This time as Otto paced nearer, I could perceive him, “Not this time”, I said as I stuck a clawed hand into his abdomen, but Otto seemed unfazed, “Centuries of pain I’ve endured” he said as he frowned and his eyes glimmered a deep blue, flickering with shades of green.

“You weren’t supposed to live that night William”.

Instantly, I knew what he meant, that fateful night, Otto was the one who massacred all those people that night. 

“I have experienced the triumphs of strength”, he seemed to backstep awfully fast and appeared in front of me again, I received his punch easily and we engaged in a lengthy slugfest of clawed punches and sharp bites, “decades and centuries of victims!”.

He disappeared again, “It makes one bored and wanting more!”, he said as he landed a devastating punch to my gut, but little did it matter.

“True strength you say?”, we locked hands and I cut his palms off in a deadly struggle, “it doesn’t lie in those you kill and slaughter!”, as I screamed Otto recoiled, the first sight of doubt I saw in his eyes, now was the time.

We exchanged a quick flurry of blows and deftly piercing claws, in one final, swift move, I pinned him against the wall, and the moonlight revealed the terror in his eyes. The tables had turned, and he was now the helpless one, With no mercy, and no time to waste, Otto Wilshire, met his death.

I walked out of the mansion dazed and fatigued, the treacherous dance with Otto Wilshire was over, the root of the problems of this city was weeded out, but no one will know. 

Dawn broke, and I had to return into the shadows, this struggle with evil will never end and neither will my pledge to this city.