Damien was right, I was getting tense, ready to fight, but not because of the thirst. It was my captivity that made me restless, made me ready to snap at everything that moved. I couldn't just sit around all day and wait to be fed; this would not work, especially not with all the power I now held. "Settle down." Damien said as I paced back and forth on my beam. "You're starting to piss me off." He was sitting on his own beam, leaning against another, and watching me tranquilly.
I stopped pacing and crossed my arms, "Why don't you go talk to her?" I nodded my head at the pretty brunette below us, one he had been staring at for the past twenty minutes. Damien immediately blushed, averting his eyes, and I smirked – he had thought he was being sneaky, but I'd noticed that longing gaze. "You had no problem bugging me, why not her?"
"You were weird and outcast, a little bit scary, but she's different." Damien explained, ignoring my glare at his description of me. "She's always surrounded by guys, because she's nice and funny and beautiful." Wow, he really liked this chick. I looked down at her, trying to see what he saw, but not really getting it; all the girls here were beautiful. Maybe it was a guy thing to fall for the popular girl. "Her name's Clara and she was number twelve."
"What does she like?" I asked, wondering how they could find some common ground.
Damien sighed, gaze far away, "She likes flowers and pretty things. Clara usually takes care of the newborns, if you weren't so crazy she'd be up here right now too." So she was girly and liked to take care of people – I could work with that. Making a snap decision, I pounced onto Damien's beam and kicked him off without a second thought. He crashed to the ground with a crack, and sure enough Clara was the first one by his side, fawning over him and cradling his head. I grinned, ignoring the glares of everyone else that looked my way; I was a good wingman, well wing-woman, though that wasn't really a thing yet. The crowd began dissipating, until just Damien and Clara were sitting together, laughing when he cracked a joke, one that was most likely at my expense. He wasn't doing as bad as I thought he would. I watched their exchange for a while, he was actually doing well.
I turned my attention elsewhere, watching Victoria's two assistants. They were both men, in their thirties, which set them apart because all of Victoria's newborns were in their late teens or twenties. They looked like brothers, their hair the same hue of brown, shaved closed to the scalp in an army cut. Victoria was obviously the leader, and these two men were helping her, but I couldn't understand why. I would go ask them, but they never talked to us unless they had to, and even then their words were brisk. Something about their air assured me I would be shut down if I tried to communicate with them, so who else was there? Damien was the only vampire who had approached me, and after pushing him off a ledge I doubted any others would try. Victoria was the only one left, and I didn't like it. But she walked in right as I thought her name, and maybe that was a sign.
Behind her was another new vampire, a twitchy guy who had blood smeared on his clothes. A few of the others immediately stepped forward, drawn in by the smell, but Victoria gave them nothing yet, and it had been a good twenty four hours since our last feeding so they were on edge. It would make more sense to feed us before the new one, so that there wasn't this much tension. And then I realized she was doing this on purpose. She would bring in the new guy, wait for him to get in a fight, and then judge how he did – it was all a part of her plan. In horror, I watched as a mere five minutes later Tyler took a swing at him, and the two fought it out. The new guy lost, pinned within thirty seconds, while Victoria watched calculatingly. Only after Tyler had him pinned did her hand twitch and the taller assistant pulled the men apart. I sat, stunned, but everyone else simply watched the fight, seeing this as completely normal. I studied each face, desperately trying to find someone who was not simply watching the fight. My eyes raked over every vampire, and I nearly jumped when I found red eyes looking back at me. It was man with jet black hair and a somber look upon his strong features, but his gaze was a sharp as a hawk's, and focused on mine. Getting over my apprehension at his stare, I motioned for him to join me. His eyes darted to Victoria, and I got the sense that he did not want her to see the exchange between us. I nodded my understanding, and turned from him. He would join me once she was gone.
A few minutes later Victoria spoke quietly to the supervising vampires, and left us. When people separated into groups and the noise level rose, he leapt up beside me. There was a tense second where we measured each other, a predatory instinct that made me immediately want to attack him coming forth, but it was repressed. After we decided not to kill each other, he introduced himself, "I'm Elijah."
I extended my hand to take his, "Alani."
"You noticed something when they fought, what?" Elijah got straight to the point.
"It's a test. She brings them in smelling like blood when we're all thirsty, and she watches us fight." I answered, trying to gauge his reaction. He agreed with my point but there was more to it. "What do you see?"
"It's the third test, and there are five that I've seen." Elijah said. "But those are just the ones I've picked up on."
"Have I passed?" It shouldn't matter to me, but it did.
"Three out of five," Elijah answered without hesitation, and I raised my eyebrows in question, prompting his next answer. "You came through the poison fine, but you paused before killing both times we were fed. You asserted yourself and won the first fight with flying colors, but you separated from the others instead of becoming a leader."
"And the fifth test?"
"You were late to join the feeding, but you were still able to catch a large human and drain him alone." It wasn't an easy task with twenty other vampires breathing down my neck. "You drink enough, and you keep your strength up. See Ian down there?" Elijah pointed to a sickly looking kid who was lying in a corner. "He hasn't gotten much in the past few weeks, and now he isn't strong enough to fight for it. Unless Victoria throws him a bone, he'll die by the end of the night."
"We have to help him." I said immediately. "We can't let him die."
Elijah looked at me strangely, "And why not? We kill humans every day; they lose their lives, why can't he lose his?" I had never thought of it like that. We were all killers, so wouldn't it be best for us to perish?
"It still seems wrong." I decided after a moment of thought. "We can't stop killing humans, but we can stop that vampire from dying." I placed my hands on my hips, a new resolve flooding me. "I'm going to save him." Jumping down from my perch, and leaving Elijah in a stunned silence, I walked over to Ian, who only looked worse up close. He was deathly pale, with yellowish tinges, darker than his light blond hair, and he had dark purple circles under his eyes, which were an extremely light red. "Hello Ian, I'm Alani." I extended my hand, and pulled the kid to his feet when he placed his hand in mine, so I could get a good look at him. He was wiry and tall, a little dorky, but a cute dork. "Now, when the bus full of people arrives, you're going to stay right behind me and I'm going to help you out, understand?" Dumbfounded he just stared at me. Reaching over, I smacked the kid on the side of his head. "Hey, tune in here, I'm trying to save you."
"Uh, okay." Ian finally answered, rubbing the side of his head. Wow this guy really was slow; I hoped it was the lack of blood that made him stupid.
I spent the next couple hours sitting by Ian, who was somewhat comatose, and hoped he wouldn't die before I could get some blood into him. "Why are you going to help me?" His voice was quiet, weak.
"Because it's the right thing to do," I answered decisively. I didn't know if he heard me, because the next moment he had lapsed away from me, eyes shut. I should have noticed him sooner, if he died part of the blame would be on me, and rightfully so. I wondered if saving him was another test. Maybe I should give up, instead of falling into Victoria's trap… but when I looked at Ian I knew I had to save him, even if it was a test.
It seemed like days later when the bus pulled up and the room when silent, but it wasn't much longer than an hour. I didn't know where she was getting these people, but, as the thirst became horribly tangible, I stopped caring where our victims came from; I just wanted their blood. I stood and pulled a shaky Ian up beside me. "You stay close." I muttered under my breath, looking at him seriously and willing him into semi consciousness. The doors slid open and I darted out, holding his hand and pulling him through the crowd. I raced to the front, looking for the largest male in the group. These ones all seemed to be from a prison transport; a bunch of big guys who didn't understand what was about to happen to them. At least I wouldn't feel bad about killing this group. I quickly found the biggest one, but one of the larger vampires, a guy named Samuel, was already there. He was the dominant male here, the ruling alpha, but Ian was swaying on his feet, so I had no choice. "Samuel; that one is mine!" I yelled with a bravery I did not feel, and everyone froze, turning to look. Samuel cocked his head to the side, measuring me, and then he laughed, obviously thinking this was a joke. I couldn't blame him, because I was a third of his size and new here. "I'm not fucking around here Sam. That one is mine." I needed to assert myself quickly.
"If I get a say in this," The prisoner spoke up, "I choose her."
He threw a dirty look my way, kissing the air, and I grinned. "Well the convicted blood bag has spoken."
"He's mine." Samuel snarled, showing long fangs, but he would not scare me off. Instead I slid into a crouch, and waved him forward. Fighting as a vampire was different from fighting as a human, but now there was an animalistic instinct already telling me what to do. However he was bigger than me and would fight with the same instinct, so I had to fight him differently. Instinct told me to leap at his head, to tear it off, and that was the first move he made. I ducked down, and darted forward, tackling him by the legs. When we fell to the ground he kicked me off, sending me flying through the air and into a tree. The oak broke with a crack, and I hissed in pain. Samuel smirked and turned away, but I stood back up, dusted off my pants, and yelled, "Again!" I would not attack him with his back turned, I was not taught to fight like that. Samuel faced me, obviously angry that he couldn't drink his prize, and charged forward with more force. This time I went over. I placed my hands on his shoulders and flipped over him. Landing on my feet, I rammed my shoulder into his back before he could turn around. Samuel was thrown forward and crashed into a tree, face first. I stepped back and waited for him to rise, the rage now clear on his features. I raised one eyebrow, wondering if he would admit defeat, but he charged, faster than before. He knew both of my other tricks, so this time I stood my ground. I braced my feet until the very last second, then darted to the side, and tripped him. He fell to the ground with a thud, and this time I didn't wait for him to get back up. I crouched in an animalistic way over him, grabbed his head by the hair, yanked him upward, and fastened my fangs to his neck. That move was completely controlled by instinct, and it disgusted me, but we all now knew that I had won.
Releasing him, I stepped back, refusing to look at Victoria, who was clapping, and grabbed Ian. I threw his arm over my shoulder, and brought him to my prize, what I had fought so hard for. The man shirked away from me, and for a second I was foolishly proud of the fear in his eyes. It was another thing which would disgust me later, but power had an irresistible pull on the human soul. I pushed Ian towards him, but the vampire didn't raise his head. With a sigh, I put him on the ground, and grabbed the prisoner myself. Taking his arm, I bit into a vein, and tried to make Ian drink, but his could not summon the strength to suck the blood. His eyes stayed closed, his body motionless. "Just let him die, he is a weakling, one who does not deserve life." Victoria purred into my ear, and I wondered when she had gotten so close to me. "Enjoy what you fought for, you deserve this blood." No, I would not let this kid die, not after everything I had just done.
"Who gave you the right to decide who lives and dies?" I hissed, snarling into her face with vehemence, and making her step back. Taking the man's arm, I sucked a mouthful of blood in, and forced myself not to swallow. It was the most difficult thing I had ever done, to taste that blood and not indulge, but someone's life hung in the balance. Taking Ian's prone form, I pressed my mouth to his, and let the blood fall from my lips. For a second nothing happened, and I began massaging his throat, praying this would work. Slowly, he swallowed the blood, and I smiled in triumph. I repeated the action two more times, and then his eyes opened. Yanking the struggling prisoner down the ground, I handed the wrist to Ian, who began to drink of his own volition, holding the prisoner on his own and draining him. I stood with a smirk, watching the scene victoriously. Damien, who had already finished his meal, rolled his eyes at my cockiness. Elijah looked at me with more respect, and once again Victoria was analyzing me. Fine, analyze away bitch, I won this round.
A/N: Posted for the few people who decided to read.