The void Vlad was being forced to exist in was a kind of indirect torture that even the evillest of Vampires couldn't have conjured up. He often wondered if he was in fact dead, and if he was now in some form of afterlife. An afterlife where everything was a crystal clear shade of blinding white, from blank walls and ceiling to the colourless shoes on his feet. He'd always heard the breathers talking about the white light and purity of heaven, and this place would've looked just as innocent if it hadn't been for the slayer guards that marched up and down, each with a UV gun in their hands and a stake at their hip.

Of course, Vlad wasn't even contemplating the possibility that he, a vampire, would get a chance at entering heaven, whether it existed or not. And regardless of that, the buzzers and bells, strict discipline, and horrific lack of real sustenance, were all constant reminders that this place was far, far closer to hell.

Did vampires deserve this? Thousands of years of hunting, killing and manipulating breathers. Now they had to pay the price, and by garlic was it high.

But what was the point even thinking about it? Vlad hadn't really been doing much of that lately. He didn't need to. The slayers told them what to do, and every day it was the same. He might as well have been dead.

Except he was already, and that was why he was there.

Vlad wasn't even sure how long it had been. There were no calendars or distinctive events like Halloween or Bag-a-Breather day to count the months by. He couldn't even tell what time of year it was, as all the windows were just a bright sheet of white.

Vlad reckoned the slayers chose the bright colours just to spite them. Even looking at the daylight seeping through the translucent blinds on the windows made Vlad's eyes hurt, and the slayers didn't even let them sleep during the day.

Today Vlad knew it was a Monday though. Monday was the day he was inspected by the warden.

All of the Vampires were inspected on Mondays. They were all forced to sit along the sides of the hallway in a long queue, waiting to be seen as armed slayers patrolled the corridors. No talking was allowed. They were forced to sit there in silence, their hands bound with argintalium, and wait for their name to be called.

'Vladimir Dracula,' called a voice from inside the warden's office.

Vlad rose from his seat and entered the office, escorted by two guards.

He had been partaking in the same routine for garlic knows how long, but every time he still had to close his eyes as he entered. The bright white walls of the hallway were nothing compared to the warden's office. The glass in the windows here wasn't coated in white, but completely bare, with only a UV filter protecting him. On this particular day the bright rays of the sun were shining into the room, and it was all Vlad could do not to wince in pain as he squinted up at the warden.

The warden himself was a rather stocky, tanned, and aging man, who felt no need to greet the thing that had just entered his study. It sat there, grimacing at the rays of light that showed it for what it truly was. Granted, the medication the vamps were given did lower their resilience to sunlight and garlic, making them more sensitive to light than they normally would be, but it still exposed them for what they were, and this boy was no different.

He was, in fact, still just a boy. According to his file he had yet to turn nineteen, and his slim frame didn't really impose much of the terror that biters were famous for. Despite this however, he had the highest levels of UVS (Unnatural Vampiric Skills) that had ever been recorded, and even now, when he was shackled and medicated, Vladimir Dracula's voice rang out like the drums of hell itself... or maybe that was just the warden's imagination.

'Still haven't found room in the budget for blinds then,' the biter said, grimacing and trying to open his eyes as he sat down.

'I wouldn't hold your breath bloodsucker,' said one of the guards who stood behind the warden.

The vampire smiled at the joke, flashing his bright white teeth in a grin and closing his eyes again. 'If only I could...'

The warden had to admit that Dracula was very strange for a biter. Most of them would shout abuse and threats at the guards and himself, both in Transylvanian and English, or just rant about how vampires were superior to humans. Either that or they would never say anything at all. But what Dracula said wasn't natural for a vamp, and that chilled the warden's bones to the very core.

He cleared his throat and shuffled his papers importantly. 'You're due a UVS scan and a shot.'

This was standard procedure, and the vamp nodded once as the nurse began preparing the medication. The warden thanked all that was wooden and pointy that he didn't have to do that part. The nurse had to actually touch the biters! Despite his facade of being the imposing and fearless 'warden', he still couldn't stand coming into contact with those demons in human form. It was for this reason that he'd always preferred the desk job, rather than going out to hunt the vamps... before they'd all been captured of course.

It was strange when the warden thought about his position at the camp. When at first all the vampires has been rounded and locked up he had been all for their complete extermination, as many other slayers had been. Now though, he was almost glad the government had established the Vampire Detainment Camps. The warden now had a place where he was completely respected, without having to ever risk his life.

He looked on with disgust as a blood sample was taken for the UVS scan, before the nurse readied a needle with the Vampire Inhibitor Shot.

Vlad was used to this procedure by now. He held out his wrist submissively. He'd tried to resist before, but experience told him it definitely wasn't worth it.

The nurse took his arm, not even flinching at his cold temperature, and injected the needle into his wrist. Vlad winced slightly... the nurse wasn't really a nurse, just a rather stocky slayer in an apron. Vlad had the feeling that the nurse enjoyed inflicting pain too, and Vlad winced again as the nurse yanked the needle out of his arm.

It took a while for the chemicals to take effect due to the fact that his heart wasn't actually beating the blood around his body, but before long he could feel his body growing heavier as the mixture slowly circulated his limbs, dampening his super speed and strength and completely removing his ability to shape-shift.

The office turned into a painfully dazzling blur, as it always did, and Vlad was led out by rough hands into the hallway and sent away as the next name was called.

Just another Monday.

It was lunchtime... or red paste in a cup time...

Vlad closed his eyes and leant his head into his hands, his elbows on the table.

He was starting to give up. He was starting to forget what it was like to go about a normal life. Jesus, even normal for his family would have been fantastically brilliant compared to this.

And it wasn't ever going to change. He was a vampire. He was going to live forever, and forever in here was going to be a very, very long time.

A sudden shiver went down his spine, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

He was being watched.

He snapped his head up to the balcony above the eating hall. A young woman was standing there amongst a group of male slayers, and she was staring at him. As his eyes met hers she noticeably jumped. She was definitely a breather, but Vlad couldn't tell if she was a slayer or not. She was the first person he'd seen in months wearing normal clothes, rather than the vampire's white uniform or the slayer's green camo.

She was also the first girl he'd seen in what felt like a life time. She stuck out like lightning in a storm, with too eyes as deep and dark as black holes. What she was wearing itself was pretty nice too, and Vlad tried not to let his eyes look too long at the slim curves she had hiding beneath her clothes. She looked a little flustered, but stared at him for a long moment before she walked quickly away from the edge of the balcony.

Vlad sighed slightly. He would have probably found Renfield in a wig attractive, after being locked up in the Vamp Camp with nothing but old and withered men to look at.

But why had she been staring at him? And looked so flustered when he caught her in the act? Vlad wasn't really sure of any of it, but he was certain he wouldn't mind catching a glimpse of her again.

Anna closed her eyes and cringed at what had just happened, almost bumping into a clumsy looking guard with a box labelled 'slippers' in the process. Why had she been staring so intently at that vampire? And why oh why had he decided to look back!?

He might not have looked at her, she thought hopefully. He might've simply been looking up. Everyone had to look up once in a while, right?

But who was she kidding. He had looked right into her eyes, and she had just panicked. What had he thought when he saw her looking at him? Did vampire even think? Or at least any thoughts other than blood and biting. Everyone always said they were rather animalistic; just thinking about their prey. She'd seen them fighting one another before, and the way they snarled at each other... they did look pretty vicious.

But this one, he wasn't stale-looking like most of the other vamps. He looked about her age. Mind you, she had to remind herself that they lived forever, and that he could've looked like that for the last one hundred years.

She had heard her dad mention that this was one of the maximum security Vamp Camps. To be locked up in here you had to be either really powerful, or really insane. She didn't know which one the black haired biter was, but either way he was a threat.

Anna felt like giving herself a slap. 'Stop thinking about a vampire of all things!' she muttered to herself as she headed towards the slayer's cafeteria. She just hadn't seen any attractive people recently. Everywhere she looked people were either too old or too serious. Her vamp had been serious... but those eyes and that hair and that bone structure made up for it...

Flying stakes! 'Her' vamp? She was disgusting herself... she found a murderer attractive. She was clearly much too far on the road to feeling lonely, or perhaps she'd finally lost it herself and had gone completely mad.