Dracula's Return

The employees of the hospital thought it was odd when a tall, thin man walked into the hospital covered in black clothes and asked for a job at the hospital morgue. They thought it was even stranger when the man said his name was Dracula and seemed convinced that he’d been born in 1430. But, being believers of science rather than myth, the hospital employees decided he was being theatrical and gave him the job. They needed more people anyway.

As such, everyone was surprised when all the bodies disappeared the next day.

Naturally, the first suspect was the alleged vampire. Especially since “Dracula” had disappeared with the corpses.

The hospital contacted Harker & Helsing, the local detective agency. Refusing to take the hospital’s claim of an undead suspect seriously, the agency sent James and Victor, two bumbling teenagers.

 “Where would a vampire hide?” Victor wondered upon receiving their assignment.

“Maybe a cemetery?” suggested James.

No other ideas between them, the two set off for the local cemetery. As they approached, they found a group of perhaps twenty milling among the tombstones; not a likely place for a runaway vampire. Yet before turning back, the boys realized this group was quite strange. They were all rather pale. Some even lacked limbs. But most conspicuously, each donned a tattered hospital gown.

New vampires?

“Now what?” whispered James. Victor shrugged.

“Look for Dracula?”

They cautiously approached the crowd, ready to run at any moment. James fingered the small knife hidden in his pocket. The boys circled the group once, wondering briefly if the potentially-vampires were even aware of their presence. There was no tall man in black. They were about to report to the hospital about their discovery of the missing undead when Victor noticed something on a nearby stump. A dark, humanoid figure sitting on it was partially hidden in the shadows.

James and Victor approached the figure, certain it was Dracula. But as James reached into his pocket for his knife –  

“Why does everyone hate me?!” Dracula wailed. “I thought making more vampires would give me companions. But they just ignore me and wish they were dead again!”

He noticed James and Victor.

“I would kill you, but I would still be friendless,” he said sadly. The boys were speechless for a moment.

“Maybe if you didn’t kill people so often, they’d like you more?”  ventured James.

“Really?” said Dracula, brightening. “But they’re always afraid of me,” he added dismally, hanging his head. James and Victor looked at each other uncertainly. This hadn’t turned out as they had expected.

The boys tried to comfort Dracula by telling him that other people were also ostracized at times, and assured him that they would help him find his place in society.

“You could start by returning the corpses,” advised Victor.  

Dracula listened intently, gaining hope through their words. He even became convinced that it was his duty to help others who were as misunderstood and discriminated against as he was.

And thus, Dracula became an advocate for minority rights.