Scarlet Prison

Chapter 10

            "You know, it's not the weapon you have that matters, it's how you choose to use it," Dr. Sharp said, as he filed down the sides of my right canine. My perfectly healthy canine. Filing down the sides of my teeth was supposedly necessary for making room for the caps, but my sense of self-preservation did not like this at all. It hadn't occurred to me that the procedure might be irreversible. There was no going back, now, though. Parts of my teeth were already dust. I suddenly wished that I had smiled at myself in the mirror one more time before leaving, but I hadn't been much in the mood to smile lately. Now that I thought about it, when was the last time I had smiled? What did it even look like? I would never find out because the dentist had just created gaps on both the sides of my right canine. My smile would never be the same again.

            I shifted my eyes toward Dr. Sharp and managed to make a sort of gurgling/grunting noise in response. My mouth was being held open with a very uncomfortable metal contraption, and I didn't know why the hell he insisted on talking to me, or what he was even talking about.

            "I have vampires coming in here all the time, trying to get fangs on all their teeth, but I turn them down. They come to see me because the weapons they already possess gets them into trouble, and they are hoping to get new, better weapons to get them out of trouble." He shook his head sadly and began filing my left cuspid. "They don't realize that the weapons aren't the problem. It's how they use the weapons they've got. Those kinds of vampires go out looking for violence. They crave it, and they make trouble. Like your ex-boyfriend. Then there are people like you that don't want to have anything to do with violence, but it tracks them down anyway." Dr. Sharp paused to set his tool down and grab something else. "I'm going to make a mold of your teeth," he announced, shoving yet another object into my mouth. "It's blood flavored," he said, just in time for me to taste it myself. I was glad that the contraption prevented me from assuming a look of horror. It tasted like pennies. I tried to not analyze the flavor too much beyond that initial observation. Dr. Sharp kept on talking. "That's the difference in how somebody might use a weapon. You use it in the name of preservation, but your ex uses it in the name of destruction. And as you might imagine, destructive vampires tend to pick up a lot of enemies. Every bite, bites them right back in the ass. But fighting in the name of preservation gets you sympathy and respect." He removed the mold. "I'll be right back." He scurried to the back room.

            I scanned my surroundings, in search of something interesting. My gaze landed on the ceiling. Wow, there were a lot of tiles. But how many was a lot? It looked like maybe fifty, but I wasn't very good at guessing numbers. One, two, three...

            "We'll have to wait a few minutes for your capsules to be ready," Dr. Sharp said. Dang, I lost count. "Now what was I saying? Oh, yes. How you choose to use your weapon is what determines the outcome of a brawl. I'm sorry! I forgot to take that out of your mouth." He removed the metal contraption that was holding my mouth open, and I relaxed my lips in relief.

            "Don't you mean why, not how?" I asked.

            "Oh, no. Intentions are important, but sometimes they are irrelevant. Good intentions often have the opposite effect, and many times bad intentions are completely harmless. Just because you intend to do something, doesn't mean you will. Even if you try, if you don't know how to do it properly, it will never work. If you know how to use your weapon in the name of preservation, and you choose to use it for just that, then you can't fail."

            "Uh huh," I said, wondering if he was going to hand me a "Self Defense with Fangs" flier.

            "They should be ready, now," Dr. Sharp announced and scurried away. He came back immediately. Two white capsules were dangling from a clear membrane that he held in his hand. "I'm going to place this part in the roof of your mouth," he explained, "and your saliva will dissolve it into your tissues. The capsules will go over your teeth. The membrane serves as a trigger, so just push it with your tongue to extend your fangs. I should warn you, the capsules are permanent, so once I put them on, you won't be able to remove them. Are you ready?"