"Thanks for inviting me in, by the way," Liz grins mischievously. Wait, he was joking, right?
"Ha...ha..." you let loose an awkward laugh. He does look like the second cousin of Bela Lugosi, but...vampire? "I thought you said...nothing harmful?"
"Yeah, apart from the extreme sun sensitivity, but with certain precautions, it's no worse than any other allergy," Liz responds lightly. "Oh, if you mean the blood-drinking part, it doesn't have to be fresh, just non-coagulated, so the company lines up donors and sends me a supply, just like any other drink," Liz shrugs. "I've even had people volunteer to let me siphon them personally, but I've never been into that, maybe I'm too much of a neat freak. Or maybe I just haven't met the right person."
"So...what would I end up changing into?" You finally get down to brass tacks.
"No real way to know ahead of time, at least so far," Liz shakes his head. "Only guarantee is the gender switch, but we've had everything from werewolves to demon-kind to djinn to lamia to you-name-it. Thankfully, it's only the body that changes; as far as we can tell, the mind remains intact, and some senses become more sensitive depending on the change."
"It usually happens within 3 to 7 days of moving here," Liz continues. "Most people are a bit sensitive, decide to change in the privacy of their own home, but we do have a hotline for help should anything become uncomfortable. Also, there's also a clinic specifically for people who do not feel safe changing at home, so they can come in and request professional monitoring. Here's the information and paperwork on that if you're interested," Liz slides a folder towards you. "If you prefer the clinic, I would recommend going there tomorrow, since you have already been here almost one full day. Your changes may start that early."
You nod but put it aside for a moment, since there's something slightly more worrisome for you.
"So...does that mean I can never leave here? Once I change, I mean?" you ask uncertainly.
"Oh, of course not, should you decide to leave Hellbent, there are several choices," Liz states. "Remember how I said certain rituals and rites can suppress the portal's effects? If you want to completely nullify the effects of the portal when you leave, there are methods for that. Apparently the energy is locked within you through a special method; it never goes away, but it isn't visible either. There's also some people who want to leave but want to keep the gender switch. That's another option, different method but similar principle. The other choice is to transfer to certain branches of the company if you want to retain all your changes but leave Hellbent. However, I hear that interaction with normal society is severely limited in those cases, since everything that has to do with the portal is protected as trade secrets and such."
"I see..." you trail off, trying to comprehend everything you just heard.
"Well, I can see you have a lot to consider," Liz smiles, showing off his fangs. "If you have any questions or concerns, you can give me a ring anytime. I'll stop by again tomorrow to see how you're getting on, maybe we can tour the town if you're up to it."
You nod dumbly and escort Liz to the door, waiting while he dons his protective garb. When you're finally alone, you sink exhausted into the dark leather sofa. Were you really going to stay here and change into...something?