by Tanja Neise
When he realised how it all looked to me, he laughed and licked his lips ostentatiously. “I have never shared a woman with my son. I think you’ll be the first.”
I became overwhelmed with nausea and I had to restrain myself so as not to shake my head immediately and beg for mercy or threaten him. Instead, I looked him right in the eyes, coldly, as I hoped. But hope was probably a waste of time with this beast.
Robert, where are you? I asked, but I received no answer. The telepathic connection was, and unfortunately remained, a one-way street.
Anne Rumsfield
What was wrong with me? How did I suddenly have the strength to inflict such damage on a steel door? A suspicion that immediately made me feel sick was planting itself in my brain. A suspicion that could not be outdone by sarcasm. Slowly, my hand wandered to my neck, which I immediately palpated. Nothing, there was nothing to feel. Nevertheless, I could not immediately refute the suspicion that I might have been changed.
Deep in thought, I let my hand drop back into my lap. My head sagged down and, with closed eyes, I tried to become master of my senses. I couldn’t lose my nerves; I had to pull myself together and find a way out of this mess. Under no circumstances could I allow myself to become wrapped up in any fantasies that robbed me of the energy to think clearly.
Determined not to let myself get down, I stood up and supported myself against the wall, as I was seized by a sudden dizziness. I was obviously still down on the lowest level of the Centrodynamics basement. The cold stones of the walls under my fingers, which had been given a coat of white paint, indicated that this had already been used as a dungeon many centuries ago. How on earth was I going to get out of here?
My eyes fell on the metal cupboards at the other end of the room. First, I would take a peek inside them. Perhaps I would find something that could help me unbolt the locked door. Why else had I been trained for all means of escape? I had to do it. I had to find Margaret and save her. Just the thought of what might have happened to her in the meantime propelled me. Perhaps she’d been able to hide and I was now her only hope of escaping from this predicament. It was my damn duty to help my sister. She was such a helpless being; she’d never come into contact with the terrible violence of the world, like me. I silently thanked God that she’d been able to grow up so sheltered. I even envied her.
The doors of the cupboards were well oiled. There was no sound at all when I opened the first one. But what I saw inside it put a proper damper on my enthusiasm. Towels, sheets and covers. I might have been able to do something with them if I’d been trapped in a room with a window. But they didn’t help me much here.
The moment I opened the second cupboard, my heart beat faster. I quickly cautioned myself to retain my self-control. Such an adrenaline rush was not a bad thing, but it would provoke a drop in my blood sugar. Since I had nothing to eat here and my body was constantly signalling hunger, I had to avoid it for as long as possible.
With a smile on my face, I reached for the shiny metal object which, despite my self-control, got me all excited. A small, handheld computer and, next to it, an additional charging unit. With a little patience, I would be able to reprogramme the door’s closing mechanism.
Olivia Morgan / Margaret Rumsfield
Hands reached into my hair and tore me to my feet. Ladorre’s facial expression seemed serious and the arrogance written across his face had disappeared. Strictly speaking, I ought to have felt satisfaction at the sight, but instead, I was afraid of this change of mood. I’d buried myself deep in my thoughts and was trying to review the past few days. I’d asked myself if I’d just imagined the chemistry between Robert and me. But no matter how often I went over it in my head and analysed it, I repeatedly came to the conclusion that he felt the same way for me as I did for him.
Presumably, my present doubts had only been caused by Ladorre's manipulation. He couldn’t influence my thoughts, as I’d noticed, but he was able to influence my feelings. He was like some kind of poison. His venom seeped into my inner being and left emptiness behind. He sowed fear, doubt and resignation. Those who were attacked by him could only rebel against him with a great deal of willpower. As soon as you surrendered, it was as if the vortex of depression was pulling you down into the darkest corners of your own soul.
Now that I’d realised this, and the pain, caused by his attack on my hair, brought me back to reality, I could see everything that was happening from a distance. Yes, I was strong. And I wouldn't let him manipulate me anymore. I would fight, even if I wasn't able to physically overthrow him – at some point, a chance of escape was bound to arise and I would seize it with both hands.
Ladorre pulled me, relentlessly, to the door of the room where so many human corpses lay – the bodies dislocated, dead, staring with empty eyes. I tried to turn my head away from them, but the worry of stumbling over one of them meant that my eyes kept flitting towards them. Who were they? Had they left relatives behind? Women and children?
My sister also belonged to a unit like that. Perhaps she knew the men and the one woman I’d discovered among them. Anne! I sincerely hoped that she was all right. The effect of the poisonous gas had probably long since abated and she would be very worried about me. We finally had each other again, and then we were torn apart after such a short time. Whether I would ever see her again was written in the stars.
The thought of what this infernal vampire was going to do to me filled me with pure dread. He wanted to make me his wife. I didn't know what exactly that meant. Only what Robert had told me – blood, sex and love. Two of these magic words were easy for him to put into practice, but I would never feel love for this spawn of hell. NEVER! But the confidence he’d radiated when he spoke of our union proved that it definitely wasn’t necessary to feel love.
Ladorre looked at me intensely and said: “If your life is dear to you, be quiet, woman. We are not alone and I do not know which of the individuals wandering through these corridors are on our side.”
How nice that he didn’t specify whether they were humans or vampires. Although everything inside me rebelled against obeying him, I did just that. Was it my common sense that warned me, or the special gift that I possessed? I didn’t know what it was, but I would listen to my inner voice.
Ladorre opened the door a little further and pulled me behind him into the now brightly lit hallway. There was no one to be seen, but I was not fooled by the deceptive calm.
Anne Rumsfield
I frantically hurried to the door and settled down on the floor next to it. With the hard, cold stone wall against my back I felt safe, grounded. The bumps pressed against my flesh, but it didn't hurt. Suddenly, I noticed a metallic smell. Blood! A profound feeling of unease came over me. If I could smell the blood here in this closed room, how bad must the massacre in the hallway behind the door have been? I breathed through my mouth, which wasn't necessarily helpful, but at least I couldn’t smell it so strongly anymore.
Concentration was the key in this situation. I couldn’t let myself be constantly distracted.
The small, handheld computer was from a series that, by now, was totally out-of-date, but would hopefully suffice to operate the locking mechanism. The touch screen lit up after I’d turned on the device. Some kind of gobbledygook appeared on the screen. Oh great! It had to be Spanish or Portuguese. Why couldn’t it just be straightforward? I couldn’t speak either of the two languages. I spoke French, Italian, Russian, and even German fluently, but not this language. Okay, stay calm. Perhaps I could deduce some of the meaning, after all, a lot of languages were similar. I frantically had a go at translating, and after some initial problems, I managed to find the menu setting where I could change the language. I breathed a sigh of relief and fumbled through the system.
I typed several command sequences into the small device, at a pace that made it hard for me to follow my fingers. This strange, uneasy feeling took root in me again. Something was really wrong with me. I was fast, but never as fast as I was now
. I’d never been like this before, so why today of all days should I be able to do things twice as fast? No, more like five times as fast!
I paused, disconcerted, and looked at my wrist, which revealed two small scars. I was grasped by a dizziness, which tugged at my self-control and my hands began to tremble uncontrollably. This simply couldn’t be! No!
With my eyes wide open, at once, I lifted my fingers to feel my teeth. Frightened, I jerked back when they came into contact with the evidence that confirmed my suspicion.
This was horrific. This was dire. I, of all people, who hated vampires, was now one myself. Just the thought of drinking blood made me gag. All jittery, I began to swallow as my mouth started to water. A sarcastic, almost hysterical laugh cleared its way up my throat. My eyes were burning horrendously. No! I, Anne Rumsfield, would certainly not start to cry. Not me of all people!
Margaret! I had to get through this for her. I had to save her. I hectically groped around the metal box again and put it where I presumed the computer unit was. I didn’t know how strong the range of this outdated model was and wanted to be on the safe side. The next moment, I heard the soft hiss of the hydraulics as the door opened.
I instantly jumped to my feet. My heart was racing and the adrenaline rush was unstoppable. I heard the blood rushing in my ears. Nevertheless, I leaned my body against the wall so that I could then carefully look around the corner. A faint noise made me freeze. Someone was there!
In order to give the person as little space as possible, should they enter the room, I drew back. I had to get myself a weapon. Anything that would help me compete against someone with greater powers than me. Alas, I didn’t get that far, because the next moment I was spun back, landing with the hard, stone wall behind me and a warm, equally-as-hard body in front of me.
Olivia Morgan / Margaret Rumsfield
We’d made several turns when we heard voices and footsteps. Quiet, but clearly perceptible. Ladorre tensed and signalled to me to be quiet. For the time being I would comply, but certainly not for long. As soon as I could see whose side these people were on, I might be able to make myself known to them.
Ladorre went further towards the source of the noise and put his hand to my neck. I noticed the grip around my throat too late. I began seeing stars. Then, he lifted me up without loosening the pressure on the point he seemed to know so well.
“Stop!” We heard a rough voice. Ladorre slowed down. I blinked to see what was happening in front of us. Several men in uniform appeared in front of us and were threatening us with high-tech weapons. They were standing directly in front of the exit to the stairwell, which I could spot behind the open door. I tried to swallow, to draw attention to myself, but Ladorre immediately increased the pressure.
“Major, I'm Robert Tensington, owner of Centrodynamics. I called you. The vampire is further back. He attacked the young woman here, but was disturbed.” He radiated dominance, as if he were the boss. There was one thing you had to give him credit for: he was a gifted actor. Ladorre's voice sounded almost like Robert’s and the resemblance between father and son was obviously sufficient for the soldiers, because they lowered their weapons.
“Mr Tensington, you know how to get out. A paramedic vehicle is waiting upstairs; you can take the lady there. Stand by, so that we can talk to you again later.” The men stepped aside and let us pass.
Slowly, as if he had all the time in the world, he took one step at a time. We passed floor after floor until we finally reached ground level. But Ladorre continued. Only once we’d reached the third floor did he leave the stairwell and enter the hallway. The motion detectors activated the lights while the carpet swallowed his footsteps. With me in his arms, the vampire opened a door and went into the unlocked office. Without hesitating, he went straight up to the window and put me down for a moment. I breathed in frantically, wheezed loudly, but I knew that the excellent sound insulation installed in each of the rooms in this building wouldn’t grant me the opportunity to call for help. So I forgot about that and concentrated instead on the simple task of providing my body with enough oxygen.
The window slid noiselessly to the side and a moment later I was being held again, in the arms of my enemy. With one jump we were standing on the balustrade, with nothing but blackness below us. Was it already so late? Where were we? Actually, all the outside areas were supposed to be lit.
Ladorre’s chest quivered. The monster laughed. I would have loved to scream, but the hand that had found its way back to my neck made this impossible. Then he made a leap and I felt the wind tugging at my hair as we glided down. I firmly decided never to underestimate this man. With him, I had to be prepared for anything. If only I had the same skills as Anne, then perhaps I’d be given the opportunity to escape from this situation. But I had to wait and see. To wait until a chance arose.
Anne Rumsfield
The impact came completely unexpectedly and, with a loud hiss, all the air escaped from my lungs. The heat of the body that pushed mine against the wall was instantly transferred to me. Frightened, I raised my face and found myself looking into Dark’s deep, sombre eyes. I was relieved that he was well and that he obviously hadn’t died in the explosion. Only now did I realise how much worrying about him had held me captive.
Suddenly my knees became soft, but I didn’t collapse as Dark's strong arms were holding me safely at the same height. It was as if I didn't weigh anything at all, which I probably didn’t, considering his powers. He towered over me by more than one head, and this made me feel that I was at his mercy. All at once, something in me changed. The blood in my veins began to whoosh and my mouth became dry, as if I was suddenly thirsty. Hastily, I licked my lips to cast this strange feeling away, but it remained and only became more pressing.
“Well somebody’s recovered quickly.” Dark's gaze was penetrating. He seemed to be looking right into my soul. What exactly he was looking for and ended up finding, wasn’t obvious to me at the time.
“Yeah, I don't understand it, either,” I breathed, powerlessly, as my eyelids began to flutter. I wasn’t going to pass out right now, was I?
“You need food,” Dark noted, dryly. He then picked me up and laid me back down on the couch, where I had awoken beforehand.
“Do you have anything with you? A power bar or something like that would do. And I'm thirsty, terribly thirsty.” I realised how pathetic I sounded, but I simply didn't care, because the feeling of hunger seemed overwhelming.
Dark snorted, amused. “Do I have anything on me? For you – always, Baby.” With almost closed eyes, I saw him raising his wrist to his mouth and biting into it. His long fangs shone in the glow of artificial light and looked magnificent. I began to feel a throb between my legs. I must have totally lost my mind from hunger – if I was calling this sight magnificent and feeling sexual desire at the same time.
I was trapped in a foggy version of myself, reacting completely differently from normal. And when he pushed his forearm towards my mouth, a cog snapped in me and I turned into an animal. Full of greed, I reached for his wrist and bit into the spot that was already bleeding. Warm, pulsating liquid, which tasted better than anything I’d ever consumed before, coursed down my throat. I moaned, and noticed at the same time how the energy of Dark's lifeblood reached every pore of my body. The strength I then felt in my muscles led me to pull Dark towards me and put my thighs around his waist. I continued to suck, and the desire that rolled through me took charge. What I felt between my legs testified to the fact that he was submerged in the same sexual arousal as I was.
“Oh Anne,” he moaned, and threw his head back.
The sight spurred me on and I eagerly pressed my pelvis against him. When he looked at me, I could see a fire in his eyes that took my breath away. However, silent regret was creeping into his gaze. I was irritated and paused, letting go of his arm and loosening my thighs. Had I really just drunk blood? I really had been changed. A gasp escaped from my mouth.
Dark straightened up and the
next thing I knew, he was standing next to the couch. His tongue licked over the wound on his wrist, then he reached out his hand to me. “We'll have to save that until later.” When I didn't immediately reach for his hand, he added: “Come on, we have to find your sister.”
The word ‘sister’ made the fog in my head clear and I was once again a person with sound judgement. Or should I call myself a vampire from now on?
I resolutely gave Dark my hand and let him pull me up. I had no idea how I was supposed to deal with the fact that I was now a vampire. First of all, though, I had to save Margaret. We had to save her. I’d still be able to address the issue of being a vampire afterwards.
Olivia Morgan / Margaret Rumsfield
Only when Ladorre had put me down and my eyes were slowly getting used to the darkness did I realise that we were inside one of the warehouses. We’d jumped out of the window of one of the offices that went straight into the hall. The foremen could see from up there whether the work was being done properly, but since today was a holiday, nobody was there and we were greeted with darkness instead. The ghostly silence triggered pains in my stomach as it made it clear that I couldn’t count on any help down here.
“Straight ahead,” hissed Ladorre, and gave me a rough nudge so that I would move. We hurried past boxes, treadmills and packaging material until we reached an inconspicuous door. I wondered to myself how the man knew Centrodynamics so well, but then I remembered the fact that he was Robert's father. He’d probably gone in and out of here before he was captured.
Hang in there!
