Its… warm. I distantly thought. I must be dead… but why is it so dark? Before I could even ponder such a thing much longer I heard something nearby rustle. I flexed my hand and opened my eyes, noting that I wasn't dead. "Was it some sort of dream?" I mumbled, closing my eyes to try and adjust to the light of the room.
A few moments later I opened them again, my hand reaching up to shield my eyes and hissing as a dull pain erupted over my right side. In that instant, my blood went cold, my hand still hovering over my eyes as I closed them again.
"Definitely not a dream… so, where am I?" I let my right-hand drop, shifting so that I could push myself up with my left hand. Once I was sitting and not lying down, I swept my legs over the side of the bed, biting my lip at the pain to my side, but I didn't plan any sort of action for the moment so it could rest a bit.
My eyes glided over the room, taking in every detail since it was likely going to be important to my survival.
The room was a fair size, with plenty of room to walk despite all the dusty furniture that had, obviously, been carefully placed around the edges. The bed I sat on had been pressed flush to a wall that had a window that bent out slightly, more than likely so one could look outside without being able to open it. To the right of the bed was a simple dresser made of mahogany that was pressed to the wall with its furthest side against the corner wall.
That wall had absolutely nothing along it, except for a door opening. Across from the dresser was another similar wardrobe that was next to a table stand. My eyes widened a bit, seeing the item on top of the stand. That's a television. I noted, curiosity getting the best of me.
I stood up, gently placing my hand above the wound on my side as I stood, wincing at the pain. I slowly walked to the television, kneeling to look at it curiously. There had only been a single television in Anterneed and it was for public service announcements. "What could this be used for…" I muttered quietly, but standing up and looking further left of the television stand and seeing another, but much smaller, door way that was open.
My eyes glinted and I made my way to it, pushing the door open to notice a fairly nice bathroom that had a large tub on the far wall with a toilet pushed to the right wall and next to a sink. I sighed, a bit disappointed at the fact it wasn't an escape.
I stepped out of the bathroom, noting a sliding door that resembled a barn that was on the wall that was between the bed and bathroom. It didn't take a genius to realize that was a closet. Just beyond that, closer to the bed, there was a simple desk and chair, both made of wood.
I still don't know where I am… I growled irritably, leaning against a wall and breathing heavily. "Well whoever kept me alive seems to want to keep me here since there's so much storage." I muttered, beginning to walk towards the desk as I heard a door open.
I spun around, although far too quickly as I shouted in pain from twisting my side. My left hand propping myself against the wall.
A blonde man stepped in, holding a tray in his hands before resting it on the dresser to the right of the door that swung out into a stone hallway. My eyes hardened as I recognized the creature before me, his eyes blue now instead of red.
"You probably shouldn't be moving so much there, Sunshine." He commented with a teasing tone.
"Why am I here and why am I alive?" I asked, ignoring his advice despite the truth of it.
The vampire chuckled, closing his eyes and shaking his head before looking at me with bright blue eyes. In moments, he was at my side, lifting me up with firm hands and placing me in the chair at the desk before I could even begin to fight him. "You know, it's pretty rude to not acknowledge what somebody else said. I thought you British people were supposed to be polite." He said, stepping back and placing the tray on the desk before I could even notice he picked it up again.
I visibly flinched at the speed, reality setting in. This vampire from last night, who tried to-. I stopped short in thinking, staring at the tray as my mind raced. Did he …. "You could at least move the top to see what's in there, I'm sure you'll like it." He commented, sounding rather bored.
I glanced back up at him, eyes wide before gingerly removing the top, swallowing roughly at the smell of fresh and hot food. It was things I had never seen before, or at least not so much. "What is this?" I finally asked.
The vampire gave me an incredulous look. "No way, have you never had steak or something before?" He asked.
I blinked, astounded. "Steak can be that big?" I inquired, picking the fork up and pushing the food around, noting that there was shredded green beans and a pile of roasted potatoes. My mouth watered and stomach growled, revealing I was hungry… but I couldn't eat it, it could be drugged.
I gingerly dropped my fork, turning slowly to look at the vampire who was staring at me in mild surprise and amusement. "You really are a smart human, but don't worry, it's not drugged or poisoned." There was an honest look in his eye.
I hesitantly picked my fork up again, cutting a piece of steak off with a knife that was also there. Guess he wasn't worried I would hurt him and that he would stop me if I tried to hurt myself. I rolled my eyes, finally digging into the food. It wasn't long before the plate was empty, and it was honestly some of the best food I had ever had.
I licked my lips, humming softly before remembering the vampire was still in the room. I dropped the knife on the plate with a clang, replacing the fork as well before putting the top back on the tray and pushing it away, noting there was a glass of water there. That didn't last long either.
I put the glass down and turned around to look at the vampire once again. "Why am I here and why am I alive?" I inquired once again.
He smiled, chuckling. "Persistent. I wanted to keep you around for a while, after all, it is a bit hard to find blood that tastes so pure and clean." His eyes glinted red for a second before flashing blue and staring at me. "So, that means you are my personal blood bank, almost like a pet."
My heart thudded painfully, and by the small pulling at the corner of his lips, I knew he heard it. I swallowed and sat back. "I am nobody's pet." I finally stated firmly. "Regardless of what you do to me, I am not a pet."
He quirked an eyebrow, grinning before standing and grabbing the tray. "Whatever you say Sunshine, whatever you say." He then began walking towards the door, but I still had another question.
"Who are you?"
He paused, hand on the door knob. "Just call me Alfred." He finally stated, quickly opening and shutting the door, leaving me to my own thoughts once again.
"You humans sure do sleep a lot." A familiar, yet loud, voice called. I lazily blinked, sitting up and hissing at the pain, faltering as a hand helped sit me up. I quickly slapped his hand away, glaring defiantly into blue eyes.
"I don't need your help." I hissed angrily, propping myself up. I noticed that the television had stayed on. I did eventually figure how to operate it and had turned some channel on that been playing old movies.
He shrugged, pulling his hand away and letting me sit up on my own, watching with an amused look. "You not only slept for two days, but you went back to sleep through the night. That circadus rhythm sure is something."
I quirked an eyebrow. "Circadian." I corrected.
"Oh whatever. Here's breakfast." Alfred chirped, handing me a warm plate that help 2 over easy eggs and an English muffin. I made a soft noise, my mother had always made something like this for me.
I then grabbed a fork, slowly eating it as I thought about my family, my eyes watering before I shut them. I would never see them again… now that I was trapped here with this vampire.
My stomach began churning so I just handed Alfred the plate. "I'm done." I said firmly, standing up and slowly making my way towards the desk, sitting in it with a sigh.
"I wanted to talk to you still." He said from my bed, now sitting on it himself with the tray already on the dresser by the exit.
I huffed, unimpressed. "Who says I'll answer you or that I want to talk to you?"
He laughed at that. "Fair, I'd at least like to try. Answer whatever you want." Alfred said.
"Fine." I relented, at least it would keep me out of my head for a short while.
"So, what was life like in the city?" he asked, genuinely curious.
I hummed, leaning back a touch. "Well, it was simple. Everybody does their best to make sure we all can get through the day. A lot of our buildings are falling apart, but due to space a few have to live in these buildings. We don't have the resources to create new ones so at best we can just repair the buildings.
"Everybody pays a lot of attention to school, since it's our only real chance to leave the city and try to find a better way of life, and bring it back to help everybody." I bit my lip. "It's more a community than a city, and we a- they are doing great." I stumbled at the end.
Alfred hummed. "I see. You would think such a tight knit community would be reluctant to give up somebody as smart as you seem to be." He commented.
"Long ago the founders decided it wasn't right to place somebody's life as more valuable than another. The way we decide who goes for the reaping is a raffle. Anybody between 16 and 35 are eligible to go. There is no way to volunteer either." I curled my hand into a fist. "I'm glad there isn't… else my mother or father would have gone, and my brother needs them." I mumbled to myself.
I saw Alfred smile sadly, although he seemed deep in thought. "Family huh, they must really care about you."
"They do." I said shortly, indicating that I would not talk about it.
He sighed, shifting his weight. "You know, I always wondered what it was like to be a human." He said.
I paused, processing for a moment. "Aren't all vampires' humans before being changed?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"All but me." He said quietly, finally snapping back to reality. "I'm the first vampire, I never had the chance to be human like the rest of my kind."
The implication sunk my heart, finally understanding and putting it together, although to be fair I didn't have much time to think about it.
"You're the one who brought humanity to its knees." I said, but it wasn't a question.
He nodded, chucking. "Well you look awfully offended." He stated, standing up.
"Well I'm in the same room with the most infamous vampire and possibly the most dangerous serial killer in history." I said sarcastically. "In addition, he is holding me captive as a blood slave and keeping me trapped in a room like some sort of willing house guest."
His lip curled. "Yet I haven't bitten you yet now have I?" He said.
I rolled my eyes. "I haven't recovered fully from the blood loss and, as you said, you want to keep me around. Biting me at this state you might just kill me." I said.
He frowned, turning to grab the tray. "I could kill you, if you continue to bother me like this I will." The door then shut with a loud thud.
I grinned to myself, breathing heavily and touching my side with a wince. "Looks like I'm not the only one offended." I mumbled before closing my eyes and sighing in resignation. "I'm royally screwed though. Would be my luck that the original, and thus the most powerful vampire, would take me for something like this."
I opened my eyes, staring at the television that continued to emit a low light and soft noise. "Still… I am nobody's pet and I belong to nobody. I will die before anything like that happens."
Edit: 2-28-2017, final word count: 2200.