Short Story: Fangs of Pain

Fangs of Pain

“I'm sorry, Jim” the dentist said looking down into that mouth, Jim is glad he spent extra time brushing this morning. “Looks like it's going to have to come out”

Jim mumbled something he didn't understand, despite twenty years experience, so he pulled his tools out of the maw for it to be repeated.

“Impossible! I don't eat sweets or even cola any more, how is the tooth worse now?” Jim asked alarmed “I make a living with these teeth!”

The dentist sighed and shook his head, “Jim, I already know this. There isn't much I can do, but I can always design you an implant to replace them”

Jim's eyes widened as if out of terror “Them?! I'm losing both of them?”

The dentist crossed his arms “I'm sorry, you've been using them for a long time, I guess its time to say goodbye”

“No! I don't think so, I'm only 192 years old, the other vampires would mock me forever” Jim said, he shook his head “You can't yank them. That would be the end of me”

The dentist looked defeatist about the exchange “That's up to you, Jim. If you want to wait until I print up the replacements, maybe we can do this without anyone knowing”

Jim sighed. Maybe Doc Scott was right, but he didn't want to have to face Shiva or Malachi with naked gums. He would never live it down, he would have to go into exile. Doc Scott was the only person who could implant them and have them work as blood suckers properly while doing it.

He was also a bit afraid of going without sustenance for any length of time, he would start wasting away noticeably within a few days. Vampires as young as he was didn't get wrinkles but if his teeth went bad and he could partake in nourishment it would.

“The same night, right?” Jim asked, just wanting to make it clear.

“Yes, Jim. We can have those bad boys replaced on the same night. Just come back in three nights and I'll those replacements printed up by then” Doc Scott said. You can trust this guy, Vampires trusted very few humans but this guy had no ill will toward them, or their gold. He had been working on Vampire teeth and other ailments for twenty years, in human terms that was a long while.

“Okay” Jim said “I'll be back then.”

He was gone in a flash, the way vampires do. Doc Scott was used to seeing it, or feeling it by now. If your back is turned there is a small movement of air and either the vampire has gone or one has appeared to you to feed. He'd lost a secretary to Malachi once, a while back. He had promised to be their doctor in exchange for protection from their bite.

The Doc had been doing vampire medicine for all this time, studying, learning and being the best doctor he could. He had recently learned he could anesthetize them for a god long time. Malachi was their leader, he had an appointment in a week. First he would need to practice, and that is where Jim came in.

Doc Scott had purposely made his fangs painful and then lied about them needing to be removed, and when the beast was asleep from the medicine... he would be de-fanged. He would wake up without his fangs strapped down tight and being pushed off a bridge into the Chesapeake.

Then it would be Malachi's turn.

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