The street was much like the one I’d been standing on minutes ago, it was just on the other side of the electric fences which kept us trapped in our Realm. With a jolt, I realised that I’d never been this far from home. My whole life had been conducted and contained within that space. Five square miles. That was it, always. Twenty one years lived within clear boundaries. Until now.
I grinned as I started down the street, anticipation gripping my heart. There was no sign of Thomas and I hoped it stayed that way. I knew his secret but I’d prefer it if I could keep that information to myself. No need for him to know I knew. I’d rather he wasn’t able to rat me out to the vampires if they got suspicious. And if they caught him they’d make him talk. No way he’d die to protect me.
The closest apartment blocks had been ripped apart by whatever bomb had destroyed the ruins I’d been hiding in so I skipped them. Nothing good was going to have survived in a building missing walls.
I jogged the length of the block and swung east. An intact apartment block greeted me and I made a bee-line for the entrance.
The rotating door groaned in un-oiled protest as I forced it to allow my entry. Once inside I paused. Excitement thrummed through my veins. I didn’t know where to begin.
A corridor led away from me to my left so I took it. The first door I came to was ajar and I pushed it wide, holding my breath.
The door’s movement sent dust swirling ahead of me as I entered. The apartment looked untouched. I doubted anyone had entered it since before...
Life without vampires had always sounded like a fairytale to me. My twin sister Montana and I had the bad luck to be born the year they took over, so anything pre-them was nothing I would ever know.
I headed further into the apartment and found a bedroom. The closet whispered sweet promises to me and I approached it, sliding the door wide. My mouth fell open. I felt like a total idiot but there it was; I stood with my mouth open wide as I stared at the kinds of clothes I’d only ever dreamed about. Thick winter coats with hoods. I reached out hungrily, tearing a white coat from the hanger and swapping mine for it as quickly as I could manage.
It was better than I ever could have imagined. Like being wrapped in a cloud which caressed every part of me. I pulled the furry hood over my head and hugged it close to my face. My eyes fell on a floor-length mirror and I stilled. There was no way I could bring this back. No way I could ever explain it.
I stayed wrapped in its warmth for five more seconds before slipping it back off. My heart broke over the perfect item as I carefully hung it back where it came from and retrieved my threadbare coat from the floor.
I tried to ignore the chill from the damp material as disappointment curled in my gut. I sighed as I hunted through the rest of the things hanging in the closet. At the back I found something I could take. Sets of thick, thermal underwear were folded neatly on a slim shelf. I took two women’s sets for me and my sister and a men’s set for Dad.
I carefully folded them into my pack and turned my back on the coats which could have made such a difference to us. My gaze landed on the thick duvet covering the bed and I had to force myself not to cry. All of this was here, so close and yet completely out of reach. Everything the human population of our realm could ever have wanted. What difference did it make to the vampires to keep this from us? They clearly didn’t want it and leaving it to rot here, just meters from the boundary of our Realm was beyond cruel.
I wondered if they laughed at us as we shivered. If finding people frozen to death in their beds was amusing to them. Hatred coursed through me more readily than usual as I thought on it.
My fingernails dug into my palms hard enough to draw blood and I hissed in pain as I made myself flex my fingers. There was no point in worrying about the things I couldn’t take. I needed to focus on those I could.
I hurried into the kitchen and started opening cupboards. I’d already been here longer than I should have and I needed to get back.
There were several tins of food which I rammed into my pack. I didn’t waste time trying to decipher the scribbles on the labels which no doubt told me what was inside them. The pictures gave me a good idea and though I wouldn’t have said I couldn’t read, I couldn’t exactly claim to be able to either.
It wasn’t like I’d ever needed to anyway. Dad had tried to teach us but I’d never had the patience for it like Montana. Besides, I didn’t see how reading would ever be of much use to me.
The last cupboard I checked held stacks of plates and bowls but peeking out from behind them, I spied a brown wrapper.
I pulled out the slab of plastic-wrapped food and frowned at it. I had no idea what I was looking at but the kids pictured on the wrapper were smiling while eating it. Curiosity got the better of me and I ripped the corner of the packet open. After foregoing my breakfast rations my stomach was pathetically empty and it rumbled in anticipation as I licked my lips.
The food inside was brown. I wrinkled my nose, thinking it was gone off, but a delicious smell reached me. I lifted it closer to my nose and sniffed again. It smelled good.
I tentatively broke off a square and placed it into my mouth.
The most delicious thing I’d ever tasted started to melt on my tongue and I let out a groan of pure pleasure. I’d never had anything like it before and I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to get enough. I closed my eyes to savour the taste as it slowly dissolved on my tongue.
Carefully folding the wrapper back down, I tucked the delicious food into my bag before closing it and throwing it over my shoulder. That was it. I couldn’t take any more and get it back subtly. It was more than we’d had in a long time. We’d have a good meal tonight and something to keep us warm while we slept. That was more than I’d hoped for when I’d decided to follow Thomas.
I grinned at that thought as I headed for the exit. Things were going to be so much better now that I held this secret.
Callie, you idiot. I know exactly what you're up to.
I queued in line for our daily rations, pulling my collar closer to my neck. It was fur. Well, sort of. The material was itchy and half of the mottled fluff had fallen out over the years. But better that than let the icy rain in.
The mud was deep beneath my feet where people had been queuing all morning. The road in this part of the realm had worn away long ago and several harsh storms this winter had left the ground waterlogged. I glanced over my shoulder at the apartment blocks in the distance, just a few hulking grey shapes as miserable-looking as the sky.
I was later than usual, having tried to talk Callie out of following Thomas to god only knew where. People didn't get out of the Realm. That was simple fact. But Callie refused to believe me. It didn't mean I was happy to resign myself to the confines of this place for the rest of my life, but my sister was risking her neck. And I couldn't bear to see her caught and shackled by the guards. Whipped and chained. Or worse: hauled off to the blood bank...
My stomach writhed as I shuffled up behind Bert and Martha in front of me. Bert’s hair had been reduced to a few grey tufts above his ears and Martha kept her thinning locks tucked under a threadbare hat. As usual, we greeted each other with curt nods and polite conversation.
“Weather's bad today.”
“It'll probably rain for the whole month like last year.”
It was the unsaid things that haunted me. The weather was a safe topic, one that most people stuck to. But their hollow eyes told of sleepless nights, the fear of growing one year older. Bert and Martha were nearly sixty. And the older members of society sometimes just...disappeared. No one would even mention it. One day they'd be here, the next gone. And everyone would act as if they never knew them.
They turned back to face the queue and I shuffled up behind them. The Emporium was the single building which had any kind of regular maintenance in the Realm. White walls stood out starkly against the rain and a slanted roof carried the water over the edges in torrents.
I ducked my head around Bert, trying to
get a look at them. The vampires fascinated me. Sure, I hated them right through to my bones, but there was something about them that always set my pulse racing. And it was more than fear. It was their pearly skin and inviting eyes. They were so alluring, I couldn’t help but stare. Plus, they provided the only hint available at a world beyond this one. Their clothes were well-made. New. Which spoke of a place outside of the Realm we had no idea about. A town? A city?
All I knew was that the vampires didn't live in squalor like we did, but I could barely picture what that place might be like. Most of the books from before had been burned a long time ago. We still had a few tucked beneath our beds back home, but the main source of information I had about a life beyond this place was from Dad.
He told stories of beautiful cities, sprawling meadows and a sparkling blue sea. What my mind had conjured in response was probably all wrong, but it kept me going all the same. Something to dream about in this place was a precious gift.
I tucked my long curls behind my ears. Callie and I were non-identical twins. I'd inherited Dad's ebony hair and equally dark eyes, whereas Callie was like Mom with her fair blue eyes and golden locks. That was pretty much the only thing I remembered about our mom. She’d died long before I'd been old enough to have a real conversation with her. It didn’t stop me missing her though. There was a hole in my chest where she belonged, and nothing would ever fill it.
“Next,” a vampire barked up ahead. The front of the Emporium held a counter and as Bert and Martha took their small linen bag of rations, I jogged under the shelter of the porch, approaching the vampire.
“Name,” he demanded, his pale grey eyes moving from my rain-soaked hair to my neck.
“Montana,” I said. “Of the Ford family.”
“Ford,” he growled my surname, eyeing a list before him, typed not written. He struck out the name as he found it.
I couldn’t read particularly well, but Dad had told me about the technology from before. The only time I’d ever witnessed it was here at the Emporium. Beyond the vampire was a series of screens which were fed live footage from around the Realm. The public places were closely monitored, but that still didn’t explain how the vampires always knew everything.
The vampire slammed a linen bag down before me and my nose wrinkled. It was small. Smaller than usual. I pulled it open, taking a glance inside. “Only one piece of bread? We're a family of three, um, sir.” My courage was at its strongest when it came to our family. And reducing our rations qualified as a threat to them.
The vampire gazed down my clothes with obvious disdain. “Cutbacks,” he announced, then glanced over my shoulder. “Next.”
I remained rooted to the spot, my fingers shaking as I clutched the bag. “We're barely getting by as it is,” I said, trying to keep my tone level. Raising your voice to a vampire was a punishable offense. We were supposed to bow our head to their every whim, but even they must have known starving us to death was screwing themselves over too. They needed the single thing we provided. The sole value of our existence. Blood.
“Be thankful for what you're given, girl,” the vampire snarled at me, a warning in his eyes.
Anger rose in me like acid. I didn't want to cause trouble, but the last thing we needed in this harsh winter was less food than we were already given.
As the vampire dropped his gaze to the list and someone tried to approach the counter, I slammed my hand down under his nose.
“We need more than this,” I demanded.
Careful, Montana.
My hot-head had gotten me in trouble before. Keeping it in check made sure I was safe. But if my family became too weak to function, we'd all be sent to the blood bank. And I simply couldn't let that happen.
The vampire’s upper lip curled back. “Step away, girl.”
A sharp lump grew in my throat. Someone tried to get past me again but I wouldn’t budge.
“Please,” I lowered my tone as the people waiting in line began to mutter.
At my begging, the vampire’s lips dragged up into a smirk as he unsheathed a shiny watch on his wrist. “Do you know what this is?” he purred and my heart beat harder at his velvety tone.
“A watch?” I guessed. I’d seen them before and we were allowed the dignity of clocks in our homes.
“Yes.. And this watch is the difference between you and I. It holds value. Like I do. Like all of my kind do. But you...” He leant closer and the scent of fresh linen filled my nose. A smell I only knew because of them. “You are food. Roaming cattle. When crops don't flourish, the animals have to go hungry. And the crops aren’t flourishing, human.” He ushered me away and my pulse rose so high, I could feel myself reaching breaking point.
Someone touched my arm and I turned, finding my neighbour Lilien there. She was a year older than me and so thin, I knew she was going hungry to feed her three kids. We were encouraged to breed. But one of the few things I had control over was my body. And the last thing I would ever do in this world was bring children into it; more blood bags for the vampires to suck dry.
“Leave it, Montana. Go home,” Lilien urged.
In her watery eyes, I found my resolve. We were doing better than her family. One loaf of bread and the measly amount of cheese and dried fruits would be just enough for us.
I nodded, throwing a scowl over my shoulder at the vampire and heading away across the muddy terrain.
I made it three feet before something jammed into my back and what felt like a thousand volts of electricity burst through me. I hit the wet ground, my vision stamped with white stars as I jerked and writhed against the pain.
Hold on, just hold on a second longer. No pain lasts forever.
I was on the verge of vomiting my pathetic excuse for a breakfast up when the torture stopped. My eyes unclouded and I found myself gazing up at the vampire from the Emporium. Visceral hatred clawed at my gut. I ground my jaw, forcing myself not to say another word despite the stream of curses I longed to hurl at him.
His face twisted into a hungry smile. “You'd do well to keep that smart mouth of yours strapped shut. One more toe out of line and I'll have you strung up and drained for the whole Realm to see.”
I shuddered beneath him, my veins turning to ice as the puddle surrounding me soaked through my clothes.
It was an empty threat. People were rarely killed by the vampires. Our blood was too precious. But there were plenty of ways they could hurt me without ending my life.
I gritted my teeth, swallowing my pride and nodding at him.
He stalked away, splashing more mud over me as he went. I rolled to my knees, finding the ration bag sinking into the mud, half the contents emptied on the ground.
I bit back the curse words sitting on my tongue once again and gathered up the spoiled food, knowing I'd made my family's situation a whole lot worse.
Why can't you ever keep quiet and accept what you're given?
Because if I do that, I'll die inside. I'll become like the others who've lost the light in their eyes.
If there was one thing Dad did for us daily, it was stoke the flames of our hearts so we'd never give up. No matter how hopeless things became.
As I wound through the monotonous rows of apartment blocks, I spotted my father hurrying up the cracked pavement toward me. His coat was too big - but too big was always better than too small. His eyes darted left and right as he jogged the final steps toward me.
“What happened?” He eyed my muddy clothes and haywire hair.
“Nothing. I fell,” I lied, not wanting to put the burden on him of my stupid mini-uprising at the Emporium. My heart weighed with shame and disappointment. We’d go to bed with growling bellies tonight because of the pathetic rations. And there was nothing I could do about it.
“Where's Callie?” he demanded.
“She's not back yet?” I gasped, then heat struck my cheeks as I realised I'd given away that I knew exactly where she was.
“Back from where?” Dad snarled, his tone angry, but h
is eyes betraying fear.
“She went to the washhouse,” I lied quickly. It was the only place in the Realm where fresh water resided and you could have a semi-decent bath. But we were only allowed in there once a week and I mentally tried to recall whether Callie had already visited.
Dad seemed to relax and my shoulders slumped too.
“They've cut our rations,” I said, opening the bag and revealing the muddy contents.
Dad's brow creased with worry. “We'll be fine. I have some saved from yesterday.”
He dropped his arm over my shoulders, steering me back to the apartment block we called home. Dad wrenched open the wooden door which had swollen in the rain, making sure it got stuck every time someone used it. Stepping into the icy stairwell, we headed up the dank stone stairs towards the first level.
As I walked into our apartment, I froze. A bell was ringing across the whole of the Realm, loud and piercing. Dread slivered into my chest and made a home there. That sound meant one thing.
Once a year – though we never knew when – a group of Elite vampires would come to the Realm and test people's blood. They'd go door to door at random, then take away whoever they deemed to pass their 'test'. No one knew where they went, and no one wanted to find out.
Eternal Reign (Age of Vampires Book 1) Page 2