I stared at myself in the mirror, horror and excitement mixing as I beheld this new form. Red eyes stared back at me, haunted with this change, and I trembled in emotion. Why did she do this to me? As if sensing her presence in my mind, Victoria approached, draping her arm around me and admiring herself in the mirror. "I have to say, you are one of the prettiest vampires I have made, nearly as pretty as myself." She drawled in what passed as wittiness, laughing at the thought that one may exist prettier than her. My eyes narrowed, wondering if I could take her, crush that which taunted me so callously. There was new strength in my limbs, breath in my lungs, and I knew there was enough rage in me to kill this woman, but I withheld, for now. She reached up with a dishonest motherly care, stroking my hair, "And if you are as smart as you are pretty, you will be a valuable asset." A million questions bubbled beneath the surface, wondering what the hell she was talking about, but I decided not to ask, as if my silence would be an effective rebellion. Ridiculous, yes, but at the time it made sense. Victoria was unaware of my feelings, continuing on as if I was listening to her of my own free will, which was a truly laughable thought at the moment. "Maybe you will become my right hand woman." She must be stupider than I thought. "Or should I say, vampire." Was that what I was, a vampire? A mythological creature that fed on blood, found safety in the night, and preyed on humans with demonic power. I never thought that they were real, but as I gazed into my unfamiliar reflection with Victoria eerily observing me, I was ready to believe. She may be a snake, but this was not a lie. I was a vampire.
Despite her senselessness, Victoria's next words chilled me to the bone, "Are you thirsty?" I never knew that three words could change my life forever, complete my transformation into monster, but that's what her words did to me. Something that had been previously ignored came to the forefront of my mind, the thirst. It overpowered me with need, all of my senses catching on fire in the search for a salve. It hurt to stand still and do nothing, I needed to hunt. My eyes flashed to an exuberant Victoria, needing her help, and she cooed with a smile, "Well then come with me, my silent pet." She took my hand and I followed her, unable to do much else. I was led outside, where a million smells assaulted me, but only one drew me in, washed over me and enveloped me completely – the scent of human. He was tied to a tree, and the blood pumped loudly through his veins. There was a split second of hesitation, a faltering moment of quickly fading humanity, and then I was on him. In a second I stood in front of him, grasped his malleable flesh, and sunk my teeth into his neck. The skin broke with unbelievable ease, nearly ripping half of his shoulder off, but I was only after the blood. His skin was sweaty and gross, luckily it was quickly overpowered by warm blood, and I was able to forget the nastiness of the chubby man. The blood was sickeningly good, flooding into my mouth and sliding down my throat. I was in heaven, completely enthralled by the taste. It was like nothing I'd ever experienced before, but all too soon it was over, blood no longer rising to my lips.
I stepped back, snarling with disgust at the drained body. The ache for blood faded to the background as I turned to Victoria, wondering what she would do to me next. "Now darling, don't look at me like that! I have given you all the power in the world, and eternal life." She smiled at me, a deceivingly sweet turn of her lips. Pivoting on my heel, I turned and began walking away from her. "This power does not come without a price. You are indebted to me, and you may not leave." I stopped in my tracks, always knowing that I would not escape so easily. "Besides, you need me to take care of you, feed you, teach you; I am your creator. Now come, my daughter, and meet your siblings." She took my hand once again, leading me back into the building we had emerged from. It was an old factory, boarded up and three stories tall. I had come out directly from the basement, but I could hear others inside, now that I focused. Their voices were smooth, their laughter a trilling of bells; they sounded like Victoria, and I had no doubt that they were vampires like me. We entered a large room and saw an array of young vampires, some splayed out and talking, two moping in the corners, and a few of them were pacing anxiously along the wall, eyes blood red.
As soon as she entered one nervous girl practically pounced on her, "Victoria I need blood. You promised you'd get me some, but you fed the last guy to her." She hissed the last word, aiming it at me. I narrowed my eyes at the blond, my anger for Victoria suddenly pinning to this new threat, one I had a better chance of beating and no need for. "Don't glare at me you little whore, I was here first!" I snapped when she screeched at me shrilly, leaping forward and catching the girl by her neck. Yanking her around, I slammed her against the ground, snarling as my fangs came in. My opponent's eyes were wide as she struggled under my grip, struggled in vain, for I had a strength she could not match.
Victoria laid her hand calmly on my shoulder, pulling me back. I stood, stepping back and realizing that every eye was on me with a hawk like gaze. The girl I had beat looked at me with a white hot rage, embarrassed and wanting revenge. But I did not shirk from their attention, my new power making me brave, and stupid. "Easy child," Victoria cooed, smoothing my hair, but there was pride in her eyes, I had reacted exactly how she wanted me to and it left a bitter taste in my mouth. "I have arranged for the arrival of more humans, and then you may all feed." Instantly tensions began to calm, the vampires going back to their separate tasks. Victoria's hand left my shoulder, and her power over me weakened; like a lion that had pinned a mouse she let me go for now, only to catch me again later when she wished to play with my life. I looked around the giant warehouse, all the vampire cliques watching me from the corner of their eyes, and noticed that about twenty feet up the rafters were empty. For a second I judged the distance, finding that I could use various boxes or ledges to get up there, and then I climbed. With a few close calls, I swung myself onto the main beam. Lying on my stomach, I closed my eyes and stretched lazily, attempting to forget where I was.
"That was pretty cool down there." The voice spoke so close to me and so suddenly that I jumped, almost falling off of my perch. Sitting on a beam a few feet away from me, was a young guy with spikey hair, and an annoying smirk as I almost plummeted to the factory floor. "I'd been hoping someone would knock some sense into Rose, she's been a pain in the ass since Victoria changed her. I would have done it, but I can't hit a girl." I gave him a long look, then laid my head back down on my arms, and once again closed my eyes. "What's your name?" I didn't respond. "I'm Damien." I stayed silent, and then I felt a piece of wood hit me in the back, one Damien had thrown at me. I looked up, arching one eyebrow. Was he five? He sighed. "Fine, point taken, I'll shut up." I smiled slightly into my arm, relaxing now that I knew he wouldn't throw any more stuff at me. Damien sat in silence, and below us the others talked or fought. A couple of the anxious vampires started fighting, and I opened one eye to watch. A big guy and a shrill girl were soon screaming at each other. I wrinkled my nose in distaste. "I'll pay you five hundred dollars to go down there and beat the crap out of them." Damien said, following my gaze. "I don't have the money on me, but I'd go steal it from Victoria if you can shut them up."
I grinned slowly, proud that he thought I could beat up both of them and amused by his honest humor, "I'll hold you to that."
"Hey! You can talk!" Damien exclaimed dramatically, staring at the sky in amazement. "It's a miracle, thank you God!" Ripping a small piece of wood off the beam, I threw it at Damien's head, hearing it smack into the side of his skull with satisfaction.
He glared back at me, but I just smirked, "You started it." Damien rubbed the side of his head dramatically as the yelling below us escalated into pushing. I sat up, looking down at them with irritation, "How often does this happen?"
"Whenever they get too thirsty fights break out, always the youngest ones." Damien answered with similar annoyance. "Give it a few hours and you'll get in a fight too." A larger man, an older vampire, stepped forward and finally broke the fight up, separating both parties.
I made a mental vow to prove him wrong. "So you're older than them, vampire wise?"
"I was the third she made, after the dude with the badly dyed green hair, and that moody girl in the corner." Damien said, pointing out both vampires, who were noticeably calmer than the others, if a bit more aggravated at the disturbance.
"What number am I?" I tried to count the mass of vampires below, but they were moving too much.
"You're the twenty first." Damien said it with a grimace.
That was a lot of new vampires, all of whom seemed difficult to control and annoying to feed. "Why is she doing this?"
"We're her army, and she's going to use us to take revenge against the vampires who killed her mate." Damien explained it while rolling his eyes.
"I take it you don't want to go to war." I watched him, wondering what kind of guy he had been. He had spikey dark hair in a fohawk, fairly well built, but not a jock, he gave off a loner vibe. I wondered why he came to talk to me, if he was truly what he seemed. Maybe he was playing a game here too, and that thought scared me, because I wanted a friend.
"I'm not a soldier." Damien answered, a strange look in his reflective eye, but I did not get the chance to inquire further, because the next meal was here. I could hear the bus coming down the gravel driveway, and the room went silent, every being tensing as they waited. "Whatever you do, try not to breathe. It'll drive you crazy." Damien's advice seemed sound, and I made a mental note to keep from breathing, which apparently was not necessary. Victoria reappeared and trotted gracefully outside as the bus came to a stop. The doors clanged open, and there was an apprehensive moment where she talked to whoever was on that bus, her words phrased in the same calming tone she had used with me.
Turning to Damien, I mouthed the words, "Who are they?"
Damien mouthed his words dryly, "Food." A ball of hot lead formed in my stomach, a sinking feeling as I heard voices answer Victoria. Rose was twitching in the corner, the big guy who had been yelling a few minutes ago was now pacing silently, and on every face hunger was written, blood lust permeating the air. The whole thing made me sick, but just the fleeting thought of blood was enough to drive me halfway insane, make me stay. The emotions must have shown on my face, because I caught Damien watching me, judging me with an indiscernible look in his red eyes. I wondered what he saw, but a part of me was afraid to find out. Either way, I didn't have the chance to ask, because the next second a long, piercing whistle resounded through the air, and everyone ran. I hesitated, standing on the beam, and my whole body vibrated with need and the virtue which fought it. Damien glanced at me, but was gone the next second, leaving me with the older vampire who was in charge of breaking up fights. Then the screams started, and my resolve was quickly fading. The older vampire still watched. I was sick of these assholes watching me, judging me, waiting for me to make a move so they could figure me out. Maybe it would be safer to blend in, maybe it would keep me from such strict watch, maybe I just needed an excuse to get out there; I was over thinking this and either way I couldn't wait much longer. Jumping down, I ran outside and into the fray, fighting for my right to feed.
A/N: Just a preview, if anyone is interested, let me know.