A/N: I ask my first reviewer for patience. If you hadn't noticed my hints,
I'm not going to point them out to you. It will get there; give me some
time to develop this. I hope you stick with me. Please? I would have e-
mailed you personally but it was not listed in your profile.
Also, I'm putting a bit of a warning before this. (This won't happen very often.) The reason I elevated the rating to R is in this chapter. That's all I'll say. --------
I couldn't believe it. No, he's just playing with me. It is April first, after all. "Wait, this is a joke, right?" I said with a bit of a nervous laugh. "Nice one!" "No joke," Keiren said quite seriously. "The guy, he had red eyes, just like mine. You were probably wondering where I was during lunch. I was... getting my own lunch."
"You didn't."
"I'm afraid so."
I couldn't understand it. 'Why did this happen to him?' Keiran interrupted my thoughts.
"Look, I'm not asking anything of you. I want you to know that I will never, ever, ever, bite you, no matter how hungry I may get. If I do, I will kill myself. That will free you."
I only stared. What else could I do? Sitting in front of me was my boyfriend, the one guy that I've ever loved, telling me that he was something that I thought only existed in fiction. "Dracula" comes to mind.
I could tell that my lack of an answer was worrying him. He ran a hand through his shaggy, thick, extremely light blonde hair. I looked him in the eyes. The red was very deep, deeper than his grey had been before. "I... don't know what to make of this." I half whispered.
"I should have expected this." He said. He took a deep breath. "Let's go, I'm sure you need to study for Flemming's test."
"Yeah...sure." Talking about the test seemed so mundane after what he just said.
When I stood up, he surprised me with a kiss. I kissed him back, out of habit and also because I didn't want him to hate me. When we pulled away, his hand lingered at my neck. We looked at each other for a moment, then he tore himself away and folded up the chairs.
He took me back home. "I'm still just a little in shock here, please don't take it as something negative," I said.
"Don't worry, it's okay. Hey, go to bed early tonight, I'll come to get you at about midnight, okay? There's someplace I want to take you."
"Uhm... alright...It's my parents' anniversary tonight and they're staying the night at a hotel so no problem."
"Great!" He kissed me goodbye, and I got out. *******
I went to bed at about 5, and my alarm went off at 11. I took a shower and had a bite to eat. I put on a black 3/4 sleeve top, and white capris. I pulled my jet black superstraight hair with a red tie. I raided my parents' liquor cabinet and had a few swigs of vodka. I'll need it. Soon after, I was sticking my hair down with hairspray for the fourth time when I heard one short honk. I slipped on my red sneakers at the door and dashed out.
He was waiting for me at the passenger side with the door open. "Hey sexy!" he said, very much back to his normal self.
"Hey, yourself! What's up tonight?" I asked as I approached him.
"You'll see!"
And that I did. Sitting in the passenger seat was a single very short red rose. "I knew you'd wear your hair up so I clipped it so you could stick it in there."
He always could predict what I would wear to a date. I didn't know how he did it. I took the rose and jammed it down between my head and the tie.
"You're going to love this!" He said. "The people you're going to meet are awesome! Don't worry, I'll make it very clear to them that you are not a party favor, as they so like to refer to humans." He said with his usual hyperactive speed. This is the Keiran I knew.
"Uhm.... thanks?"
He chuckled. "You'll see when we get there. But, you're not allowed to know where it is so you're going to have to put this on." He pulled a plain red cloth out of his pocket. I put my back to him to let him tie it on. "It'll be a short drive, don't worry." He kissed me, and I heard the car start up.
It was a short ride. I'd guess about fifteen minutes. When we arrived, I hear pounding bass as though we were outside a club. Keiran led me by the hand out of the car and up a few steps. He pressed his hands to my ears so I couldn't hear something. It may have been a password. I heard a door open and the music was suddenly very clar. He led me forward and then picked me up. After that I lost all concept of where I was going. All of a sudden, with the sound of a creaky door closing, the music was cut off entirely. Keiran took off my blindfold and I was in a very posh looking room with a large mahogany desk and a big black leather swivel chair. A bald man in a tan suit sat in it and a large black bird was perched atop it. There were no windows, the light came from a desk lamp and four other floor lamps, on in each corner of the room. A body guard of sorts stood at each end of the desk.
"Hello, Mr. MacDonald," the man said. The bird's green eyes were locked on me. I squeezed Keiran's hand tighter. I wanted out of there.
"You wanted me to bring the person I was closest to, sir. Here she is. She is my girlfriend, Hikari Yui," Keiran said. His voice was oddly flat.
"Yes, Keiran, I remember. Young lady, I will tell you now. If you marry this man while still human, you both will be killed." His matter-of- factness frightened me. He said it as thought two deaths were nothing to him.
"Y-yessir!" I said, trying to hide my fear.
"Don't be afraid, Hikari. We will not hurt you. You are a guest of honor. Anyone so close to a man turned by the leader of our organization is to be treated with extra respect."
"If it weren't for my inexprience, I'd outrank you. I already outclass you."
"I am aware of this, Mr. MacDonald. Ms. Yui, please disregard my earlier warning, it was disrespectful of me."
"Uh... it's nothing." I was feeling a bit dizzy. All of this was so overwhelming.
"However, there is one thing I must do to test you. Should you fail, you and Keiran will be separated forever. How? All those who have failed this test have found themselves in the asylum. You see, it drove them mad. Don't worry, my dear, the test is not hard. A touch painful an the only thing that you can lose from it is your sanity."
"That seems a bit more risky than you're making it out to be," I said.
"I do not want her tested!" Keiran said.
"Do you doubt her integrity?"
"No.."
"Then there should be no worry."
Keiran surrendered and let go of my hand. He took a couple steps back. The man whispered something to the bird. It soon took flight and landed on my shoulder. It gripped my shoulder so tight with its talons I was sure I was bleeding. I tried not to flinch though, I tried to show as little weakess as possible.
The bird then bit my neck. I screamed in pain. It seemed another force was keeping me on my feet because I had lost all strength in my legs. The room swam. Just as soon as it bit me, it let go and flew back to the chair, blood dripping from its beak and feet.
I dropped to the floor and Keiran's hand kept my head from hitting the concrete floor. "It's okay! It's okay!" he assured. He was crouched next to me and he held me in a sort of half sitting position. I tried to move, talk, do anything, but I coulkn't. I had lost all motor control. "She's okay, right?" He asked. The man didn't answer. "Mr. Lee!"
The bird was making small noises in the man's ear. He nodded as though he understood. He stood up and went to a cupboard attached to the wall. He selected a strange-looking vial from a shelf full of strange- looking vials and tossed it to Keiran. "Have her drink it. She'll be just fine."
He uncorked it and poured it in my mouth. I coughed a bit and after a few moments, I was able to sit up. I put a hand to my head to try to massage away my pounding headache but it faded away on its own. Keiran pulled me into a tight hug. He whispered, "You passed!" into my ear. I was so relieved that I felt a tear squirt out of my eyes.
"You'll find, Ms. Yui that you're entirely healed. There will be no scarring or anything. The only substantial mark will be that of the tears in your shirt. If you're worried, no, you have not been turned. It is for the Master to decide if you get the honor of being changed. We can only hope that your test results will hold enough weight with him. I must tell you, Master has allowed only one other woman to not become a ghoul. His own wife. The rest are his... toys."
I shuddered. I didn't want to know what he was talking about.
"You may go now. I am finished with you. Miss, I suggest you go have yourself a drink. You seem a bit shaken."
"Thank you, sir." I said.
"Good night, sir," Keiran said with a bit of a bow. I followed his lead.
As soon as the door was opened, the pounding music infiltrated. As soon as we were outside, the door snapped shut behind us and when I turned around, it was as though it had never been there.
When I turned back to Keiran, he was smiling. "I know you're wondering what all that was, I'll expain later- oh what the hell!" He kissed me. It was the most intense kiss I'd ever had. My legs nearly gave out but I held onto the railing. It seemed that he noticed this bcause he turned so that my back was to the wall. A quick sideways glance showed that we weren't the only ones doing this. It seemed that this was the lover's area. He slid his hands under my shirt. "You want to go farther?" he whispered as his hands moved up to my breasts. I only murmured in assent. Damn, I never thought this guy could be so damn sexy! He lowered his hands to the hem of my shirt and started to pull it up. I tore it from his grasp and pulled it off myself. If this guy's going to do what I think he's going to, I wasn't going to wait for this slow stuff. I reached around my back to undo my bra but he stopped me. "My turn," he said. He undid it and then pulled off the shoulder straps. I let it fall to the ground.
"No more messing around." I said. I started undoing his belt buckle and then the button and zipper of his pants. He was doing the same for me, unzipping the side zip of my capris. Good thing I sprang for that bikini wax in Cancun.
Wow, just wow. That became the most incredible experience of my life up to that point. Keiran and I had se- no, we made love on the balcony of that vampire club. I won't say I didn't notice his fixation on my neck but I didn't mention it to him.
We've done everything but go all the way, we decided to wait until either near the end of school so that ifI got pregnant it wouldn't interfere, or if we got engaged, whichever came first. When I came that day, it was better than anything we'd ever done before.
I put my clothes back on, feeling strangely self-conscious. Keiran was tucking in his shirt when he said. "Was that good for you?"
"You have no idea.... how goood... that made me feel." I breathed. I was still blown out of my mind.
We made our way down to the dance floor and danced all night. It was the most incredible night of my life.
The man that we had spoken with before came out. People started chanting, "Hermes! Hermes! Hermes!"
"Hermes?" I asked Keiran, who was joining in.
"His full name is Hermes Von Gustav. He's the leader of the Midwest chapter of the Zerstoren Sie Organization."
"What's th-" I didn't get a chance to ask my question before a giant Nazi flag dropped from the ceiling. I suddenly became painfully aware of my Japanese heritage.
"Don't worry. The new master race thing is Vampires, not Germans. There are other non-vampires here too. Also, because of my status, no one would hurt you. If they even tried, I have the right to kill them."
"O....kay...." I was still unsure.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Last night I told you of a promising young man that the Master has deemed worthy of he himself turning. Tonight, you will meet him!"
"I'll be right back!" Keiran turne an left me. I felt very vulnerable. I tried not to look anyone in the eye, for fear they may notice my lack of redness.
"Meet the new heir of the Zerstoren Sie Organization, Keiran MacDonald!" Hermes announced. Keiran came up to the balcony and waved. He looked terrified, but he tried to put on a brave face. It's the same look he has on his face on opening night of shows all through high school. "Come on, son, say something."
"Uh... Hi everyone! As Mr. Von Gustav said, I have been turned by Carl Schmidt. This happened just last week while I was on my Spring Break. The whole Vampirism thing is very new to me but I'm getting used to it. I guess I should tell you about myself. I live in the nice part of Highland; my dad is the heir to the White-out fortune so we do rather well for ourselves. My mother died when I was young. My dad also came over from Ireland to start college. I don't really have much to say about what to do with the organization because I still have a lot to learn about it. I do say that this will stay in the Schmidt clan because, with any luck, my girlfriend, Hikari Yui, got pregnant this evening." He winked at me. He'll get it for that.
"I guess I'll relate my story of how I was turned. I was at an underground club in London last Monday night and suddenly pandemonium broke out. Something had caught fire and I was helping people get out when I saw Mr. Schmidt. He said some things to me about my leadership skills and he asked me if I'd like a real leadership oppurtunity. The thing I thought was weirdest thing was that he didn't seem at all worried about burning to death or dying of asfixiation. I agreed and her bit me." He showed the marks. "I spent the rest of the week getting used to my new life and I was in constant contact with my new father. I'm still in contact with him via e- mail and I'm sure he would be pleased with your loyalty. Thank you."
Most cheered but one thickly British voice sounded above all. "He's a bloody Irishman!"
"And you're a bloody Englishman!" Keiran retorted. "We are all Europeans here."
"What about that Jap sounding girlfriend of yours?"
"Her father is Japanese, and her mother is an American of Polish descent."
"Polish?!"
Hermes broke in. "Since he has been deemed worthy by Mr. Schmidt, soudn't that suffice?"
The naysayers fell quiet. A few people standing near had figured out that it was me who he was speaking of and there was a five foot ring of empty space around me where we had previously been shoulder to shoulder. A few whispered, other just stared. I looked at my sneakers.
Keiran came down off the balcony ad came back to me. As soon as he was in range, I slapped him. "Why'd you go and say that?"
"I'm sorry! I had to say it! These people really like anything associated with the Schmidt clan. I'd be the first heir that wasn't a blood relative. But since he turned me, I'm considered a blood relative. I've moved in ahead of Schmidt's own brother." He said.
"You'd make a wonderful Republican!" I jeered.
"Don't insult me like that!" he laughed.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, everyone, it is in your best interest to go to your homes now. The sun rises in a half hour. It is expected to be overcast tomorrow so it is safe to go out but please keep it to a minimum, people. I want to see you all back here tomorrow. The donation shop will remain open for another half hour. Good night everyone!"
"I've got to stock up, I'll be right back, stay here." Keiran dashed off.
I found a bench not far from where Keiran left me and had a seat. About half of the crowd had already left. I watched a young boy, not older than 9, suck blood out of a bag as if it were an ordinary juice box. I then looked around the place. It looked like your average dance club. That is, aside from the large neon sign that said: "Donation blood here!"
Keiran came back not long later. He had a plain white shopping bag with him. I couldn't stomach what could possibly be in there.
He took me home; I was now allowed to know where the place was since I had passed the test. It was in what looked like an abandoned apartment building halfway between Highland and the neighboring town, Griffith, along a service road that ran alongside the expressway. The sun was just teasing its rise, just a few rays peeking up.
"I'm sorry we stayed so late, I had to make my formal introduction tonight. Tomorrow won't be so late," Keiran said.
"It's okay," I said while yawning. "I needed an excuse to skip school today anyway. The parentals are still at the hotel so I can skip and they won't know."
"Thank you for coming and understanding it all. I probably wouldn't have been able to do it without you there."
"Sure thing!" I said, trying to sound chipper. I could barely keep my eyes open. I'm surprised I got in the house without collapsing. As soon as I was able to put on one of my dad's old, huge work shirts, I collapsed into bed and I fell immediately to sleep.
Also, I'm putting a bit of a warning before this. (This won't happen very often.) The reason I elevated the rating to R is in this chapter. That's all I'll say. --------
I couldn't believe it. No, he's just playing with me. It is April first, after all. "Wait, this is a joke, right?" I said with a bit of a nervous laugh. "Nice one!" "No joke," Keiren said quite seriously. "The guy, he had red eyes, just like mine. You were probably wondering where I was during lunch. I was... getting my own lunch."
"You didn't."
"I'm afraid so."
I couldn't understand it. 'Why did this happen to him?' Keiran interrupted my thoughts.
"Look, I'm not asking anything of you. I want you to know that I will never, ever, ever, bite you, no matter how hungry I may get. If I do, I will kill myself. That will free you."
I only stared. What else could I do? Sitting in front of me was my boyfriend, the one guy that I've ever loved, telling me that he was something that I thought only existed in fiction. "Dracula" comes to mind.
I could tell that my lack of an answer was worrying him. He ran a hand through his shaggy, thick, extremely light blonde hair. I looked him in the eyes. The red was very deep, deeper than his grey had been before. "I... don't know what to make of this." I half whispered.
"I should have expected this." He said. He took a deep breath. "Let's go, I'm sure you need to study for Flemming's test."
"Yeah...sure." Talking about the test seemed so mundane after what he just said.
When I stood up, he surprised me with a kiss. I kissed him back, out of habit and also because I didn't want him to hate me. When we pulled away, his hand lingered at my neck. We looked at each other for a moment, then he tore himself away and folded up the chairs.
He took me back home. "I'm still just a little in shock here, please don't take it as something negative," I said.
"Don't worry, it's okay. Hey, go to bed early tonight, I'll come to get you at about midnight, okay? There's someplace I want to take you."
"Uhm... alright...It's my parents' anniversary tonight and they're staying the night at a hotel so no problem."
"Great!" He kissed me goodbye, and I got out. *******
I went to bed at about 5, and my alarm went off at 11. I took a shower and had a bite to eat. I put on a black 3/4 sleeve top, and white capris. I pulled my jet black superstraight hair with a red tie. I raided my parents' liquor cabinet and had a few swigs of vodka. I'll need it. Soon after, I was sticking my hair down with hairspray for the fourth time when I heard one short honk. I slipped on my red sneakers at the door and dashed out.
He was waiting for me at the passenger side with the door open. "Hey sexy!" he said, very much back to his normal self.
"Hey, yourself! What's up tonight?" I asked as I approached him.
"You'll see!"
And that I did. Sitting in the passenger seat was a single very short red rose. "I knew you'd wear your hair up so I clipped it so you could stick it in there."
He always could predict what I would wear to a date. I didn't know how he did it. I took the rose and jammed it down between my head and the tie.
"You're going to love this!" He said. "The people you're going to meet are awesome! Don't worry, I'll make it very clear to them that you are not a party favor, as they so like to refer to humans." He said with his usual hyperactive speed. This is the Keiran I knew.
"Uhm.... thanks?"
He chuckled. "You'll see when we get there. But, you're not allowed to know where it is so you're going to have to put this on." He pulled a plain red cloth out of his pocket. I put my back to him to let him tie it on. "It'll be a short drive, don't worry." He kissed me, and I heard the car start up.
It was a short ride. I'd guess about fifteen minutes. When we arrived, I hear pounding bass as though we were outside a club. Keiran led me by the hand out of the car and up a few steps. He pressed his hands to my ears so I couldn't hear something. It may have been a password. I heard a door open and the music was suddenly very clar. He led me forward and then picked me up. After that I lost all concept of where I was going. All of a sudden, with the sound of a creaky door closing, the music was cut off entirely. Keiran took off my blindfold and I was in a very posh looking room with a large mahogany desk and a big black leather swivel chair. A bald man in a tan suit sat in it and a large black bird was perched atop it. There were no windows, the light came from a desk lamp and four other floor lamps, on in each corner of the room. A body guard of sorts stood at each end of the desk.
"Hello, Mr. MacDonald," the man said. The bird's green eyes were locked on me. I squeezed Keiran's hand tighter. I wanted out of there.
"You wanted me to bring the person I was closest to, sir. Here she is. She is my girlfriend, Hikari Yui," Keiran said. His voice was oddly flat.
"Yes, Keiran, I remember. Young lady, I will tell you now. If you marry this man while still human, you both will be killed." His matter-of- factness frightened me. He said it as thought two deaths were nothing to him.
"Y-yessir!" I said, trying to hide my fear.
"Don't be afraid, Hikari. We will not hurt you. You are a guest of honor. Anyone so close to a man turned by the leader of our organization is to be treated with extra respect."
"If it weren't for my inexprience, I'd outrank you. I already outclass you."
"I am aware of this, Mr. MacDonald. Ms. Yui, please disregard my earlier warning, it was disrespectful of me."
"Uh... it's nothing." I was feeling a bit dizzy. All of this was so overwhelming.
"However, there is one thing I must do to test you. Should you fail, you and Keiran will be separated forever. How? All those who have failed this test have found themselves in the asylum. You see, it drove them mad. Don't worry, my dear, the test is not hard. A touch painful an the only thing that you can lose from it is your sanity."
"That seems a bit more risky than you're making it out to be," I said.
"I do not want her tested!" Keiran said.
"Do you doubt her integrity?"
"No.."
"Then there should be no worry."
Keiran surrendered and let go of my hand. He took a couple steps back. The man whispered something to the bird. It soon took flight and landed on my shoulder. It gripped my shoulder so tight with its talons I was sure I was bleeding. I tried not to flinch though, I tried to show as little weakess as possible.
The bird then bit my neck. I screamed in pain. It seemed another force was keeping me on my feet because I had lost all strength in my legs. The room swam. Just as soon as it bit me, it let go and flew back to the chair, blood dripping from its beak and feet.
I dropped to the floor and Keiran's hand kept my head from hitting the concrete floor. "It's okay! It's okay!" he assured. He was crouched next to me and he held me in a sort of half sitting position. I tried to move, talk, do anything, but I coulkn't. I had lost all motor control. "She's okay, right?" He asked. The man didn't answer. "Mr. Lee!"
The bird was making small noises in the man's ear. He nodded as though he understood. He stood up and went to a cupboard attached to the wall. He selected a strange-looking vial from a shelf full of strange- looking vials and tossed it to Keiran. "Have her drink it. She'll be just fine."
He uncorked it and poured it in my mouth. I coughed a bit and after a few moments, I was able to sit up. I put a hand to my head to try to massage away my pounding headache but it faded away on its own. Keiran pulled me into a tight hug. He whispered, "You passed!" into my ear. I was so relieved that I felt a tear squirt out of my eyes.
"You'll find, Ms. Yui that you're entirely healed. There will be no scarring or anything. The only substantial mark will be that of the tears in your shirt. If you're worried, no, you have not been turned. It is for the Master to decide if you get the honor of being changed. We can only hope that your test results will hold enough weight with him. I must tell you, Master has allowed only one other woman to not become a ghoul. His own wife. The rest are his... toys."
I shuddered. I didn't want to know what he was talking about.
"You may go now. I am finished with you. Miss, I suggest you go have yourself a drink. You seem a bit shaken."
"Thank you, sir." I said.
"Good night, sir," Keiran said with a bit of a bow. I followed his lead.
As soon as the door was opened, the pounding music infiltrated. As soon as we were outside, the door snapped shut behind us and when I turned around, it was as though it had never been there.
When I turned back to Keiran, he was smiling. "I know you're wondering what all that was, I'll expain later- oh what the hell!" He kissed me. It was the most intense kiss I'd ever had. My legs nearly gave out but I held onto the railing. It seemed that he noticed this bcause he turned so that my back was to the wall. A quick sideways glance showed that we weren't the only ones doing this. It seemed that this was the lover's area. He slid his hands under my shirt. "You want to go farther?" he whispered as his hands moved up to my breasts. I only murmured in assent. Damn, I never thought this guy could be so damn sexy! He lowered his hands to the hem of my shirt and started to pull it up. I tore it from his grasp and pulled it off myself. If this guy's going to do what I think he's going to, I wasn't going to wait for this slow stuff. I reached around my back to undo my bra but he stopped me. "My turn," he said. He undid it and then pulled off the shoulder straps. I let it fall to the ground.
"No more messing around." I said. I started undoing his belt buckle and then the button and zipper of his pants. He was doing the same for me, unzipping the side zip of my capris. Good thing I sprang for that bikini wax in Cancun.
Wow, just wow. That became the most incredible experience of my life up to that point. Keiran and I had se- no, we made love on the balcony of that vampire club. I won't say I didn't notice his fixation on my neck but I didn't mention it to him.
We've done everything but go all the way, we decided to wait until either near the end of school so that ifI got pregnant it wouldn't interfere, or if we got engaged, whichever came first. When I came that day, it was better than anything we'd ever done before.
I put my clothes back on, feeling strangely self-conscious. Keiran was tucking in his shirt when he said. "Was that good for you?"
"You have no idea.... how goood... that made me feel." I breathed. I was still blown out of my mind.
We made our way down to the dance floor and danced all night. It was the most incredible night of my life.
The man that we had spoken with before came out. People started chanting, "Hermes! Hermes! Hermes!"
"Hermes?" I asked Keiran, who was joining in.
"His full name is Hermes Von Gustav. He's the leader of the Midwest chapter of the Zerstoren Sie Organization."
"What's th-" I didn't get a chance to ask my question before a giant Nazi flag dropped from the ceiling. I suddenly became painfully aware of my Japanese heritage.
"Don't worry. The new master race thing is Vampires, not Germans. There are other non-vampires here too. Also, because of my status, no one would hurt you. If they even tried, I have the right to kill them."
"O....kay...." I was still unsure.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Last night I told you of a promising young man that the Master has deemed worthy of he himself turning. Tonight, you will meet him!"
"I'll be right back!" Keiran turne an left me. I felt very vulnerable. I tried not to look anyone in the eye, for fear they may notice my lack of redness.
"Meet the new heir of the Zerstoren Sie Organization, Keiran MacDonald!" Hermes announced. Keiran came up to the balcony and waved. He looked terrified, but he tried to put on a brave face. It's the same look he has on his face on opening night of shows all through high school. "Come on, son, say something."
"Uh... Hi everyone! As Mr. Von Gustav said, I have been turned by Carl Schmidt. This happened just last week while I was on my Spring Break. The whole Vampirism thing is very new to me but I'm getting used to it. I guess I should tell you about myself. I live in the nice part of Highland; my dad is the heir to the White-out fortune so we do rather well for ourselves. My mother died when I was young. My dad also came over from Ireland to start college. I don't really have much to say about what to do with the organization because I still have a lot to learn about it. I do say that this will stay in the Schmidt clan because, with any luck, my girlfriend, Hikari Yui, got pregnant this evening." He winked at me. He'll get it for that.
"I guess I'll relate my story of how I was turned. I was at an underground club in London last Monday night and suddenly pandemonium broke out. Something had caught fire and I was helping people get out when I saw Mr. Schmidt. He said some things to me about my leadership skills and he asked me if I'd like a real leadership oppurtunity. The thing I thought was weirdest thing was that he didn't seem at all worried about burning to death or dying of asfixiation. I agreed and her bit me." He showed the marks. "I spent the rest of the week getting used to my new life and I was in constant contact with my new father. I'm still in contact with him via e- mail and I'm sure he would be pleased with your loyalty. Thank you."
Most cheered but one thickly British voice sounded above all. "He's a bloody Irishman!"
"And you're a bloody Englishman!" Keiran retorted. "We are all Europeans here."
"What about that Jap sounding girlfriend of yours?"
"Her father is Japanese, and her mother is an American of Polish descent."
"Polish?!"
Hermes broke in. "Since he has been deemed worthy by Mr. Schmidt, soudn't that suffice?"
The naysayers fell quiet. A few people standing near had figured out that it was me who he was speaking of and there was a five foot ring of empty space around me where we had previously been shoulder to shoulder. A few whispered, other just stared. I looked at my sneakers.
Keiran came down off the balcony ad came back to me. As soon as he was in range, I slapped him. "Why'd you go and say that?"
"I'm sorry! I had to say it! These people really like anything associated with the Schmidt clan. I'd be the first heir that wasn't a blood relative. But since he turned me, I'm considered a blood relative. I've moved in ahead of Schmidt's own brother." He said.
"You'd make a wonderful Republican!" I jeered.
"Don't insult me like that!" he laughed.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, everyone, it is in your best interest to go to your homes now. The sun rises in a half hour. It is expected to be overcast tomorrow so it is safe to go out but please keep it to a minimum, people. I want to see you all back here tomorrow. The donation shop will remain open for another half hour. Good night everyone!"
"I've got to stock up, I'll be right back, stay here." Keiran dashed off.
I found a bench not far from where Keiran left me and had a seat. About half of the crowd had already left. I watched a young boy, not older than 9, suck blood out of a bag as if it were an ordinary juice box. I then looked around the place. It looked like your average dance club. That is, aside from the large neon sign that said: "Donation blood here!"
Keiran came back not long later. He had a plain white shopping bag with him. I couldn't stomach what could possibly be in there.
He took me home; I was now allowed to know where the place was since I had passed the test. It was in what looked like an abandoned apartment building halfway between Highland and the neighboring town, Griffith, along a service road that ran alongside the expressway. The sun was just teasing its rise, just a few rays peeking up.
"I'm sorry we stayed so late, I had to make my formal introduction tonight. Tomorrow won't be so late," Keiran said.
"It's okay," I said while yawning. "I needed an excuse to skip school today anyway. The parentals are still at the hotel so I can skip and they won't know."
"Thank you for coming and understanding it all. I probably wouldn't have been able to do it without you there."
"Sure thing!" I said, trying to sound chipper. I could barely keep my eyes open. I'm surprised I got in the house without collapsing. As soon as I was able to put on one of my dad's old, huge work shirts, I collapsed into bed and I fell immediately to sleep.
