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"I cut corpses open to see how they died,"Jimmy explained "I don’t do it with a lot of bodies - just the ones who died in suspicious circuue,"Mr Crepsley said "They store bodies that arrive dead at the hospital or die while they’re there"

"Is that where you keep thelass wall

"Yup,"he said cheerfully He swung up a section of the desk and invited us through

I was nervous I expected to see dozens of tables piled high with sliced-open bodies But it wasn’t like that There was one dead body, covered fro sheet, but that was the only one I could see Otherwise it was a huge, well-lit roo cabinets built in the walls and lots of medical equipment scattered around the place

"How is business?"Mr Crepsley asked as we sat on three chairs near the corpse on the table Jimmy and Mr Crepsley didn’t pay attention to the dead person, and since I didn’t want to look out of place, neither did I

"Slow enough,"Jiood, and there haven’t been e diseases, no food epides By the way,"he added, "I had an old friend of yours in here a few years back"

"Oh?"Mr Crepsley responded politely "Who was that?"

Jih his nose, then cleared his throat

"Gavner Purl ?"Mr Crepsley hooted with delight "How is the old dog - as clu about their friend Gavner Purl I looked around while they were speaking, wondering where the bodies were kept Finally, when they paused for breath, I asked Jimmy He stood up, and toldcabinets and pulled one of the drawers out

There was a hissing sound, and a cloud of cold air rose from inside the drawer When it cleared, I saw a sheet-covered for cabinets at all They were refrigerated coffins!

"We store the bodies here until we’re ready"

Jimmy said, "or until their next of kin co the rows of drawer doors "Is there a body behind each of these?"I asked

Jiht now, not counting the one on the table Like I said, it’s quiet And even during our busiest tioes unused It’s rare for us to be half full We just like to be prepared for the worst"

"Any fresh bodies in stock?"Mr Crepsley asked

"Wait a e pad and flicked through a few pages "There’s a man in his thirties,"Jio"

"Nothing fresher?"Mr Crepsley asked

"Afraid not,"Jihed "It will have to do"

"Wait ato drink from a dead person, are you?"

"No,"Mr Crepsley said He reached inside his cape and pulled out some of the small bottles where he stored his supply of human blood "I have come for a refill"

"You can’t!"I yelled

"Why not?"he asked

"It isn’t right It’s not fair to drink from the dead Besides, the blood will have turned sour"

"It will not be at its best,"Mr Crepsley agreed, "but it will do for bottling And I disagree: A corpse is the ideal person to drain, since it has no use for the blood It will take a lot to fill these bottles Tooperson"

"Not if you took a little from several,"I protested

"True,"he said "But that would require time, effort, and risk It is easier this way"

"Darren doesn’t speak like a varunted "Now, lead the way to the body, please We have not got all night"

I kneould be pointless to argue anymore, so I shut my mouth and followed silently behind them

Jimmy slid out the body of a tall blond man and whipped back the sheet There was a nasty bruise on the dead man’s head and his body was really white, but otherwise he looked like he , deep cut across the ed the bottles beside the corpse, then got out a tube and stuck one end into the first of the bottles He stuck the other end into the dead an and squeezed it like a pu the tube and into the bottle When it was almost full, Mr Crepsley pulled the tube out and jammed a cork into the neck of the bottle He stuck thethat one

Raising the first bottle, he sed awine "Good,"he grunted, licking his lips "It is pure We can use it"

He filled eight bottles, then turned to me with a serious look on his face

"Darren,"he said, "I know you are reluctant to drink huot over your fear"

"No,"I said irowled "This person is dead His blood is no good to him anymore"

"I can’t,"I said "Not from a corpse"

"But you will not drink from a live person!"Mr Crepsley exploded "You will have to drink human blood eventually This is the best way to start"

"U to feed, I think I should get out of -"

"Quiet!"Mr Crepsley snapped His eyes were burning into me "You have to drink,"he said firmly "You are a vampire’s assistant It is tied "Another ti person I can’t drink frohed and shook his head "One night you will realize how silly you are being,"he said "I just hope, by that ti saved"

Mr Crepsley thanked Ji about the past and their friends I sat byhow long I could go without human blood

When they were finished, alked downstairs Jiuy and I was sorry we’d had to meet under dark circu the whole way home, and e arrived back at the Cirque Du Freak, he tossed er at me

"If you die,"he said, "it is not rumbled, then storer and watched the sun rising I thought a lot about th faded and I began to die A half-vampire ouldn’t drink blood; it would have been funny if it wasn’t so deadly

What should I do? That was the question that kept et about it and just drink human blood? Or stay true to my humanity and die ?