~ I can't believe how careless I got. First thing, I needed to get away from here. If there was one vampire here, more than likely there were more. Unless this was a lone vampire just looking for a job where he could use his strengths to get easy victims. I had no way to be sure, but one thing was for sure, I had to leave.
~ Before I could figure out what to do, the vampire mumbled something, apparently knowing I would hear.
~ "Listen, vampire, my master wants a word with you. Even though he wants to talk, should you refuse, I will gladly ensure you don't leave.
~ So much for there only being one vampire. So much for trying to hide. Alot of good it did me. Vampires only call other vampires master, so it looked like I was going to meet this master.
~ The vampire let me go. I didn't surprise him by not running, but probably disappointed him a little.
~ I followed the human bouncer through the club, the vampire following behind me. I knew the club was bigger than I saw, but I was still surprised at how big the room was behind the dance area. There were six pool tables arranged evenly enough apart so that one person could play pool and not worry about hitting another player. One wall was dedicated to darts, with at least five dart boards.
~ There was another bar on this side. Looked like only one waitress worked this side.
~ We walked past the table, past the bar, and through the door marked STAFF ONLY. I had no idea what everyone who saw us thougt, and right then, I really didn't care.
~ Through the door was a room probably five foot by seven foot. There were two doors. One on the right, one on the left. The door on the left had CLOSET written on it. The door on the right led to the freezer. I knew that because the door was a big metal door only a freezer would have. Or a safe, and I was pretty sure this club didn't have a safe. No need for one with vampires running the place.
~ "I got it from here," said the vampire.
~ I heard the other guy sigh. Obviously, he didn't want to go to where I was being taken to. That made two of us.
~ The vampire literally pushed me through the freezer. I knew right away that this freezer wasn't just for restocking the club. I could smell the blood in here. Though, I never saw where it was located.
~ We walked about seven feet to the back of the freezer, then turned right and walked four more feet to a door. This door led us to an office. There were monitors lining one wall, a desk, and three chairs. One chair was on the opposite side of the desk and currently occupied by-
~ "Name's Tony. Have a seat."
~ When I took a little too long to sit down, the vampire who escorted me in here sat me down, probably trying to be a little more forceful than necessary.
~ "That's enough, Marc," Tony said. His voice told me how much he really cared about my safety. He said it as though he was supposed to, not because he wanted to keep me safe. "Now, Serena, I have a few questions."
~ "How do you-"
~ "Silence," Marc said. I turned my head and silently snarled at Marc. Guess my temper hasn't really cooled down that much.
~ Tony continued as if our little confrontation never occured. "First, I want to know where your master is."
~ I didn't answer at first. I was lost and didn't know what he was asking. My master? I guess I waited too long. Marc pushed the back of my shoulder slightly.
~ "Answer the question," Marc snarled.
~ "I don't understand. I have no master."
~ "Don't lie to me," Tony said calmly. "Your master has not set up any arrangements with me to be in my area. I have yet to find him, which leads me to believe he did not join you here. One thing I wonder is why you are here. If he sent you to scout out this area, you can go to tell him that he is not welcome here now. Should he have contacted me, then maybe something could've been arranged, but as it stands, should he step foot here, it will mean war. Also, should you not be gone by sunrise day after tomorrow, then you will have made your presence an act of war."
~ "Excuse me. I have no master. I-"
~ Marc pushed me again. I was really getting tired of that. He went to touch me again and I sprang out of my chair and had my hand on his throat. Useless I know, but I was used to dealing with humans. As it was, Marc broke my arm and threw me against the wall.
~ "Stop," Tony said, standing. "Amazing how she got the drop on you, Marc. Fast, isn't she." Tony looked at me. "I find it hard to believe you have no master, young one."
~ "You should," I spat, standing up and fixing my arm. The pain had already stopped. "I left him years ago."
~ I woke up with sweat pouring off me. It had been like that for a few weeks now. Every night, the same dream. No, nightmare. My old master coming for me.
~ That was stupid though. If he was here, I'd know it. There are ways for one to know if their master is near. For instance, a master vampire can sense where his vampires are, to a certain distance. How much power a master vampire has determines how far his reach is.
~ That works both ways, and I haven't sensed him anywhere near me.
~ I got up and went into the bathroom. I turned on the light and stood in front of my mirror. My midnight black hair was matted to my forehead and clung to my nightshirt. I pulled my hair away from my shirt and it off, thorwing it into the half full laundry basket.
~ I looked back into the mirror one last time before getting into the shower. I jumped when I looked into the mirror, turning around.
~ I looked between the mirror and the space behind me a couple of times. I could've swore I saw my master standing behind me, but noone was there.
~ Leaning my hands against the sink, I closed my eyes tightly, opening them after a few seconds. Again, noone was there.
~ "Come on, Serena, this is stupid. Get ahold of yourself."
~ The clock said it was a little after six in the morning when I got dressed. It was the first Saturday that I didn't have an appointment. I decided to take the time to do some stuff around the house.
~ As the coffee brewed, I started the washing machine. It was just one load, but there was nothing else to do. Okay, so the house work was done. I would just relax today.
~ After my coffee was gone and the laundry was done, I laid around. I almost wished for an appointment. I was already bored. I never have been one to just watch television, so there really wasn't anything on that I was missing, and I really hated shopping unless I had to.
~ You would think that being a part of the vampire world that I would sleep during the day. Well, ever since vampires have become public, I've done whatever I could to stay hidden. So far it has worked, and I don't think any vampires suspect me either.
~ The day drug on until a little after six. A friend of mine called then, Mellissa, and said she was coming to pick me up at eight so we could go out.
~ I know I said I sleep at night, but just like humans, I like to enjoy a little bit of nightlife. I enjoyed going out with a few girlfriends from time to time.
~ Eight o'clock came around and Mellissa pulled up. She didn't even have a chance to shut her car off before I was at the door.
~ "Damn, girl, you look good," Mellissa said.
~ "Shut up," I sai only half jokingly. "Lets go."
~ "Damn, bad day?"
~ "Just a really boring day. Where we going?"
~ "There's this new place over by the river. You'll love it."
~ Oh man. "What place?"
~ "Don't worry, it'll be great."
~ I knew right then that I should've just got out of the car and went inside to be bored.
~ The river used to be a place for fishing, camping, rafting. A place to go for the weekend. Over the past couple years, clubs have been resurrected, and the river has gained a lot of visitors.
~ The reason for the clubs was for vampires. The residents of the town wanted mostly to attract vampires. Whether for publicity or what, I don't know. It hasn't really worked. Not many vampires have showed up. I have no idea why about that either.
~ The drive to the river usually took about thirty minutes, but the way Mellissa drove, it barely took twenty minutes. The road was fairly straight, and not many cops, so it was a popular speeding road.
~ We passed probably five clubs on our way. Each one looked to be about only half full. Guess the popularity was going down now.
~ Another five minutes and we were parked. I found where all the other club patrons had gone. Here. Despite the fact that the parking lot was just as big as the club, which was at least half a football field itself, we were still parked a few blocks away.
~ We walked along the rows of cars. There were people congregated along the sidewalk on the block that the club was on. We had to go to the street to get around them.
~ The club's name was Seraphic Desires. It was lit up neon on the wall above te door. So far everyone we met was human. Maybe this won't be so bad after all.
~ The bouncer working the dor wore a black t-shirt that had STAFF written across the front. The shirt looked to be about three sizes too small, but being that big, it would be hard to find a shirt that fit loosely. The guy had to be around three hundred and fity pounds, muscle, not fat.
~ After looking at our id's, mine being fake, saying I was twenty-six, he opened he door for us.
~ It was mostly dark inside. The only light was the soft glows of dimmed lights on the ceiling and a few lights over the bar.
~ "What do you think?" Mellissa asked.
~ "Little busy, but it seems alright. However, I just got here, so give me an hour," I said, still a little skeptical.
~ "Lighten up. Lets go check out the dance floor."
~ I was surprised by the dance floor. It looked like it could hold twenty-five or so couples comfortably.
~ We headed over to the nearest table to the dance floor after we got our drinks. There were quite a few people on the floor. It seemed the general age around here was twice my actual age. I felt slightly out of place.
~ The night went by pretty smoothly. We danced a few times. A couple with each other, a couple with other people. I became pretty relaxed after a couple drinks.
~ Alcohol doesn't affect me the way it does other humans. I'm guess that's due to my vampire half. Vampires don't get drunk off of alcohol. Certain blood does that, but its complicated, and I don't understand it.
~ But I am also half human. Alcohol does affect me. I don't get stupid drunk. Strip down to my birthday suit and sleep with every guy in the bar, unlike some people I know. I just get relaxed. My worries go away for awhile.
~ That's how I was feeling now. Relaxed to the point where nothing was bothering me. Almost nothing. I was having a good time, laughing and joking with a couple of college guys that had come across the river from Iowa. That's why I couldn't figure out why I had this bad feeling about something.
~ There was nearly an hour and a half left til closeing when the guys announced they were leaving. I declined their invitation to join them, and bummed, Mellissa did too. They told us we could find them at the club every Saturday. I didn't mind them leaving. They were great company, but I had no after hours plans for them. Mellissa on the other hand, wasn't so happy about it.
~ About an hour went by before Mellissa started to cheer up.
~ "I'll be back," Mellissa said, getting up.
~ "Last call soon," I reminded her.
~ She muttered something unintelligible, even to my vampiric hearing, as she went to the restroom.
~ Someone stopped in front of my table. I knew that even without looking up. It was another guy with a STAFF shirt on. This guy was muscular, too, but only about two hundred and twenty pounds.
~ "Excuse me, ma'am, could you come with me?"
~ "Depends on what for?" Sometimes when I drink too much I forget I'm not exactly human. My mouth gets carried away. Every time it happens I stop myself before I do something totally stupid. I have told myself I won't drink anymore, it's not like I need the stuff anyhow. But I don't always get mouthy, so I usually forget I'm not supposed to drink.
~ "The owner would like to see you."
~ "Do I know him?" At that point another bouncer came up behind me. I didn't turn around. Might as well as let him think he had the element of surprise.
~ "Don't make ths hard, ma'am.
~ "Really?" I asked, deciding it was time to go.
~ "Yeah," said the guy behind me.
~ A small smile played at the corner of the guy's mouth in front of me. He probably thought I was surprised that someone was behind me. But he was wrong.
~ That voice. It was vaguely familiar. Though, I knew I'd never heard it before.
~ It was definitely time to go. I sprang from my chair and my feet left the floor. The guy behind me, the guy holding me a foot of the ground, without effort, chuckled softly. At that instant my worries came back to me. I knew what my bad feeling was. There were vampires here, and one was holding me.
~ There has always been war. However, war hasn't always been between humans. Vampires have had their own wars. Wars over territory. Though, not as destructive as human wars.
~ Vampires have always existed in the shadows. Beneath the radars of humans. Though superior to the human race, the elders believe if war broke out between humans and vampires, it would mean the end of vampires.
~ Vampires have one main weakness. Sunlight. It kills them. Therefore, to protect themselves, they need some sort of guardian during the day. Depending on the power of the master vamp, one could control lycans in their area. Sometimes, truces were issued between vampires and lycans.
~ Some vampires can't stand lycans. For in the past, lycans and vampires had their own war. For those vampires, the use of human servants were sought out. Humans who swore loyalty to their master vampires and wished to become part of the undead. These humans were usually the loved ones or servants of someone who was changed.
~ One more technique was used for daytime guardians. A master vampire would send his female servants off to become impregnated. Then, before the baby was born, the master vampire would bite his servant. Not enough venom to turn the woman, just enough to give the unborn child the venom. Those are called living vampires.
~ Before age one, the child was taken from their mother and given to a female vampire who would then raise them. They were treated as if they were the master vampire's very own children. And in some ways, they were.
~ As for me, I know all this because I am a living vampire. Even though I am close to forty years old, I don't look a day over twenty-five, or so I am told.
~ Growing up, I was to stay invisible. Humans as a population don't know about vampires. We were just a myth to them. Something to tell around campfires. I left my master's clan and ran. Starting over was hard. But its recently gotten harder. Its only been almost three years since the existence of vampires became public knowledge, but already the human race has taken to it. Clubs have been opened exclusively for vampires to come. Hysteria has died down. Panic all but ceased.
~ Some vampires still remain anonymous. And I try to stay that way, too.
COMMENTS
-