“I shouldn’t be here.”
“None of us should.” The other girl mocked her.
“Shut up stupid,” Joanna said furiously at the interruption. “Go on Meryl.”
Meryl waited a few minutes trying to relax and then closed her eyes trying to remember clearly. Then she started to speak in a whisper, little by little she recounted her story, and everyone listened raptly disbelieving the story she told.
It had been more than 150 years since the vampires revolted. According to history, humans had been the tyrants that had killed the vampire’s en-masse because they envied them and because they were different.
That was simply what history said and what the people now told Meryl.
However, Meryl was confident about the truth and angrily shouted that it was a lie. She insistedthat theyhadn’t even known vampires existed. In fact, she thought they were trying to make fun of her. It was surely a lie they had invented to excuse their cruel acts.
“You know,” Joanna said, “Just by looking at you I can tell that you are not lying.”
“Well then, old lady.”The young woman from before jokingly alluded to Meryl’s age. “Why did they sell you?”
“I don’t know.” Meryl tried to think clearly for a second. “But do you really believe that we had enslaved them? From what you have told me. They are a million times stronger than we are, almost invincible, and we are weak. We die without much effort.”
Her words were like a slap in the face. They had never really thought about it. The truth was simple. They had believed the vampires words, believed their parents. The story that Meryl had told them was surreal, the sun, the blue sky, daily human life, and fields of wildflowers.
“If that were true…” A fifteen-year-old boy said, “It would be wonderful, right?”
“I want to go home.”Meryl cried and lowered her head.
“I’m sorry to tell you, but you will never go back home. Fate decided that you should end up in that experiment that you told us about. Now you have to learn to live here.”
“How do you expect me to do that?” Merrill asked desperately. “I’m scared. None of this seems real.”
“The only thing I can do is wish that you end up in good hands.”
Meryl covered her head with both hands and started to cry. She was scared thinking about what could happen.
There were so many new things. Vampires! She had read a lot about them but never imagined that they really existed. That she could have been walking next to one when the planet had been normal.
It all seemed like a horrible nightmare. Truthfully, she tried to think of it like that.
Melody no.3
Caleb
The night was long, and Meryl felt each muscle in her body tremble. While the rest of the people that shared her cell slept peacefully. Of course, to them the situation was normal. They were born like this, they grew up and they would die like this. However, Meryl couldn’t get over waking up one day and finding out that the world she knew had disappeared. It was too much to assimilate in 24 hours.
“Everyone wake up,” A man shouted at midnight, banging on the cell door.
“Johana?”
“It’s time to be sold,” Johana told her as she stood up.
They stood up slowly, due to weakness. Meryl tried to control her breathing and tried to imagine what was behind the door in front of her eyes.
In her mind, a frightened voice shouted: vampire, vampire, vampire…
Even though the other slaves had told her what would happen. Deep down she didn’t believe it. She didn’t want to believe it until she saw it with her own eyes. She tried to lie to herself in order to calm her anxiety.
Before removing them from their cell a group of men arrived to chain them up completely and prevent any problems. Meryl felt a drowning sensation when the cold metal was secured around her neck. In a fit of rebellion and fear, she tried to free herself from the man who grabbed her by the front of her dress ripping it. That was enough to make her become completely docile and quiet.
When they exited a dirty door Meryl held on to Johana and what she found behind the door was an auction. A large room was filled with beautiful well-dressed men and women. Meryl tried to see everything that she could, but as she was behind Johana her vision was limited.
The majority of the people there had eyes the color of a brilliant red.
Like monsters, Meryl’s mind shouted.
“Ladies and gentleman,” The smiling man called for their attention. “Let the auction begin.”
The crowd applauded and Meryl anxiously observed them. They were rich, powerful, and the most beautiful vampires in Alpha Zone.
In that filthy den, Caleb had made himself known as the boss of the whole zone. He was the right hand of Amadeus, one of the four great conquerors. He was young in appearance, somewhat quiet and had a serious and sullen character. He liked to control the situation but hated crowded places. However, it was part of his duties to observe situations and make sure everything unfolded based on the laws established by him personally.
His ruby eyes fell on all the exposed bait. One of the individuals caught his attention. He couldn’t see her well, but could smell her fear and even perceive the trembling jingle of her bones. It had been so many years since he had seen those things in a human and he found it intriguing and at the same time strange.
She’s filthy. He thought wrinkling his nose with a grimace
Caleb tried to guess whether the brown color of her hair was natural or if it was the result of accumulated grime. He looked at her strange white dress full of dark patches of dirt from head to toe. The pink color of her skin was now brown. He sighed, he was used to seeing humans as weak. He continued to watch how she hid behind another woman, and something changed in the instant he felt her bluish green eyes meet his eyes. In that moment, he felt an impulse to protect her. Something that he had never felt in his three hundred years as a vampire.
Caleb was angry with himself because that was an unforgivable feeling. He couldn’t feel sorry for the humans. It was something he knew well. However, he didn’t leave. Even though he didn’t realize it within his subconscious he had already made the decision to buy her. The fear reflected in her eyes was like seeing himself in a mirror.
The slave monger coughed to attract the attention of the vampires waiting anxiously. They seemed more excited than usual and he knew they could smell a special scent in the air and he didn’t have to think much about who caused it.
“The following is a true gem, my friends!” The man smiled at the public. “Come here, stupid,” he whispered grabbing and pulling hard on Meryl, who was paralyzed with fear. “Here before you, you have a freeborn.”
The crowd whispered unable to hide their surprise. They now knew where that tasty aroma came from. An aroma found in children with virgin blood. In children, that had not yet been fed from. If she was freeborn, meaning no one fed from her. Then she had a pure, clean blood that everyone would want to taste.
“Do you want to smell her better?” The man asked maliciously pulling out a small knife. “You know well that I have never lied about my merchandise.”
He made a small superficial cut on Meryl’s right arm. It was only a few drops of blood, but some gasps of excitement were heard at what they had before them.
“How about we start the bidding at a thousand dollars?”
“Fifteen-hundred!” A second later a blond woman near Caleb shouted her offer.
As time passed the bids increased until the amount was exorbitant. Meryl was about to faint. She’d never imagined that she would ever be so afraid for her life. They were selling her like a small goat and she couldn’t even speak her disagreement. Everything was happening like a dream. Her sight was blurry, she heard their voices as if they were far away and her hands shook uncontrollably.
“
One million dollars,” Another voice yelled placing a bid, getting everyone’s attention and causing complete silence.
“Was that Caleb?” A man asked his companion. “He never bids.”
“Well, forget about the girl. We’ll never be able to outbid him. Besides, it’s better not to oppose him.”
There were many frightened whispers. No one would dare outbid Caleb even if they could manage to afford it. No one else raised their hand to bid and they looked at the girl they had wished to obtain with regret.
“Meryl, Meryl,” Johana whispered with emotion, “Listen, you’re lucky. He’s a good person, but don’t trust anyone if they seem strange to you. Not even other humans. Trust them less than anybody else.”
“Johana,” Meryl tried to talk as a man pushed her off the stage and towards the buyer.
“My lord, here is your purchase. I hope everything is well and that there are no problems.” The slave monger said.
“Here,” Caleb said throwing him a bundle of money. Come to my house later for the rest of the money.
“Of course sir, and you girl, for your own good, behave,” The slaver said, “Kneel before your master. The slave monger kicked her behind the knees causing her to fall on the floor with a moan of pain.
The room was silent and the only sound that could be heard were the chains that imprisoned Meryl. Kneeling on the floor she looked at the strange man that had bought her and pleaded for mercy with her eyes.
“Mess, she’s no longer your problem. So stop giving orders and hitting her.” Caleb took the chain that was attached to Meryl’s collar, grabbed her arm and helped her to stand without much effort.
“I’m sorry, my lord.”
Caleb placed a hand on Meryl’s trembling shoulder and pushed her towards the door while everyone looked at them intently.
They got into a car and Meryl looked closely at the man who had bought her. It was the first time she saw a vampire up close. He was just like something out of a dream. He had black hair and eyes the color of rubies. Eyes that were so intense that they hypnotized you, but his beauty was the least important thing at the time. Meryl just begged any supreme being to protect her from what appeared to be a close death.
Looking out of the corner of her eye, she saw her buyer sit indifferently. With a clenched fist supporting his jaw he looked quietly out of the car window. Only a few centimeters separated them, but she had the feeling that it was light years. Something that she wished was true with all her might.
Fifteen minutes after leaving the city that slept because of the late hour. They arrived at a large, old mansion on the outskirts of the city. The garden was dry and the trees inspired dread. It would have been the perfect place to shoot a horror movie. The car stopped and Caleb got out to gallantly open Meryl’s door. He didn’t look at her but waited patiently for the two minutes it took his new acquisition to finally get out. Her bare feet stepped on the gravel surrounding the entire house.
Meryl was staring and was startled when she felt the leather glove covering Caleb’s hand on her bare shoulder, pushing her again, this time towards the front door that began to creak open.
“You have taken longer than expected,” A man’s voice quietly said, noticing that his boss did not arrive alone. This was something new and unusual.
“Take her Alexander. Make sure she bathes and remove the chains,” Caleb ordered.
“Yes, of course. Through here, Miss.”
Meryl looked at Caleb unable to hide her confusion because this was not what she expected. He just walked past her and into the mansion leaving them both there. A little unsure about the situation she approached Alexander carefully. He was a young man with such pale skin that he almost glowed in the dark of night, with vermilion eyes and a black suit.
He certainly looked like the kind of vampire she would have imagined in her old life, with a strange attractiveness and a little sickly.
“I’ll leave you some clean clothes. They are a little old I hope you don’t mind. I think the water will be to your liking.”
She frowned and couldn’t stop the slight trembling that continued in each of her muscles. She got into the tub of warm water scented with wild blackberries and felt reborn.
The water was cold but Meryl continued inside with a blank mind. She almost seemed dead.
The sound of the door brought her back to reality.
“Are you okay?” Alexander asked from the other side.
Meryl whispered a slight, “Yes”. The vampire heard perfectly. She left the water without waiting any longer, not wanting to give them reasons to enter. Meryl saw the simple white dress with a conservative cut and puffed sleeves. She sat in a chair that was in the room thinking about what to do, wear the dress, wait, risk going out. Meryl still wasn’t sure why she was there. Maybe she was tonight’s dinner.
Meryl had a rebellious impulse and once again put on her dirty clothes that had been given to her by the scientists before the experiment. She found it strange that they were treating her so well. It was far from the stories she heard from her cellmates and far from a normal situation.
Alexander came in soon after and was astonished to see her dressed in the clothes she had arrived. He smiled to himself realizing what she was trying to say.
“If you had told me I would have washed your clothes and tried to fix the torn part. They seem important to you. Well, I’m sure you’re hungry. I’ve prepared something. If you come with me,” he said, making a gallant gesture with his hand and pointing the way to go.
Although she didn’t want to go she had no choice. Meryl stood up carefully and started walking leaving small wet footprints on the shiny black marble floor. The mansion must be large. There must be dozens of rooms. As she passed through the wide corridor she saw door after door with beautiful portraits hanging in the hallway. The whole house was decorated in the Baroque style.
“This way.”
Alexander opened a door that seemed to be made of well-treated oak. They both went through it and entered a luxurious lounge. Fire illuminated every corner and its crackling was intriguing.
In the center was a large table with several plates of food. The tasty smell that emanated came floating up to Meryl and she felt a gaping hole in her stomach. For the first time she realized that she had not eaten since she had awakened, but soon the hunger became nervous nausea and as she sat down she realized that she wasn’t alone.
In the couch furthest from her, the person who had purchased her sat holding up a glass that contained a thick red liquid. Meryl could only see his profile illuminated by the flames. He looked serious and the light emitting from the fire highlighted his black hair revealing it was a very dark blue-black.
He seemed unaware of her presence, but it was far from the truth. He knew better than anyone that she was there. He could still smell her fear and it was all beginning to seem irrational to him. Caleb lost track of time wondering why he had bought her. He was still astonished that he had bought a worthless woman. She had a bittersweet smell and most likely tasted the same, but the most important thing was that he had to get used to having another person there who was not his right hand, his best friend, Alexander, or Jeoff, his driver and bodyguard.
They must have spent ten minutes sitting there when he heard the faint clink of metal against porcelain. He had no need to look to know she had not eaten, no, he had an uncanny ability to know what was happening without seeing.
“If you will not eat,” he began with a quiet, deep voice that frightened her. “It’s best that you go to sleep. It’s almost three o’clock in the morning.”
Meryl looked at him suspiciously, still waiting for the moment he would pounce on her, and bleed her to death. The wait was worse than anything else. Feeling defeated, she stood up obediently.
“Come with me,” Alexander appeared from some corner startling her once again.
; They went upstairs, which had as many rooms as the first floor. However, on this floor, there were two walls with an impressive exhibition of paintings and statues in the Roman and Greek style. The statues were already old when Meryl lived her life before the experiment.
“Caleb has told me that you can use this room. It’s fully furnished and there are also clothes,” Alexander explained.
Meryl ran inside without letting him finish speaking and closed the door behind her. She tried to get some sense of security being locked safely inside the room. There were several lighted candles illuminating the room with elegance, it was a beautiful and spacious room.
The bed was big, the bedspread was an emerald green color, and shone like silk. The high wooden post stretched from the ends holding the canopy in the same shade as the rest of the linens. There was a bathroom and a huge walk-in closet full of clothes for a woman. The double-paned window was next to an old wooden desk that sat in the middle, near the wall and had a matching chair.
“Caleb?” Alexander asked. “What happened to make you bring a slave?”
“I don’t know,” he said rudely staring at the glass that was full once again. “I had a strange feeling when I saw her.”
“Please understand my confusion. I’ve been with you for one hundred years and you have never shown any interest in anyone.”
“I’m as surprised as you. It’s late, I’m going to rest.”
Alexander smiled watching him disappear through the doorway. There was no one on the face of the earth that knew Caleb better than him. Saying he was tired was something Caleb said when he did not want to talk about a topic, and yet there was the human girl who had gained his attention. He had also noticed something strange about the behavior of the girl. The fear she had of all things. Maybe she didn’t know Caleb? Even while under the direct command of Amadeus, Caleb was not known to be cruel, maybe a bit cold and extremely serious, but not evil. Any human would have given an arm to end up in Caleb’s house.
Melodies of Blood I Page 3