by Tanja Neise
Robert quickly cleared his throat. “What did he do to you?” He sounded croaky. The thought of what his father could have done to me was obviously too much for him. I, too, was not immune to the horrifying images of what he had done.
So as to be able to get a better look at him, I straightened up. My gaze was firm when I said: “He did nothing to me. Nothing at all.”
Robert laid his hand on my cheek. “Are you sure? Did he...” He left the question unfinished, but of course, I knew where he was going with it.
“No, he didn't touch me, just drank from my wrist once.”
The breath of air that he rigorously drew in revealed his anger. “With that alone he crossed the line.”
We remained silent and looked deep into each other’s eyes. It was almost as if we were locking into each other and making a promise. A promise that we would never separate again. Robert put his forehead to mine and I closed my eyes. It all felt so right as long as I was around him. I belonged to him. How that came to be, or who was responsible for the fact that we were both irrevocably tied to one another, was, essentially, completely irrelevant; I would also no longer fight it in the future, but accept it as a gift. A gift from the man who had been my father.
Robert's gaze changed – it almost seemed as if he was shy. “Do you know, Liv? I wish for nothing more than to be bound to you. Forever.” He waited briefly for me to react, but I was speechless. “I love you!”
Tears came to my eyes. “I love you too, Robert.”
We became submerged in a heartfelt kiss. It was completely right, happened naturally, and I was happy. For the first time in my life, I was happy, despite the most adverse circumstances.
Breathlessly, Robert detached himself from me and looked at me, full of anticipation. “Say yes, please!”
It was a huge question; it was much bigger than a human asking another human to marry them. This would be forever. Nothing could separate us. Only death. Nevertheless, I was more certain than ever. “Yes!”
He passionately whisked me into his arms and I burst out laughing. I’d done it. I’d found something that others couldn’t say they’d found in a lifetime.
Anne Rumsfield
Since it was just beginning to get dark, there were still a lot of people walking around the streets of the barracks grounds. I did indeed resemble Mary Jenkins, the young soldier, but I kept my eyes lowered. If anyone approached me, my cover would be blown. I couldn’t risk that under any circumstances.
I kept thinking about the emotional vortex I would have been trapped in if I’d found out that a vampire had gained access to my barracks. If the soldiers here in Louisville found out, I would die a very slow and painful death. Unless they used my humble self for research purposes, which would probably be even worse. Robert's ordeal at the hands of my father came to mind, but I quickly shook the thoughts off again. I had to have a clear mind if I wanted to get out of here again alive – along with Sally.
The path I took led me straight to the women's shelter. I’d put together a story that hopefully wouldn’t attract too much attention. That shouldn't be that difficult, considering that people with the most peculiar fantasies resided here.
After a short stretch, I reached the inconspicuous grey building and slid the badge through the scanning device.
“Welcome, Miss Jenkins,” a computer voice sounded, then the door slid open and after I’d stepped through it, it closed again behind me.
I was now in some kind of airlock. My heart was racing as I hoped I wouldn’t be exposed. It was a precarious matter. What if someone had seen Mary Jenkins shortly beforehand, or what if she was even inside the building? Nothing could save me then from the fate of the women in that building. I cautioned myself to remain calm, but the longer I had to stand in the airlock area, the more nervous I was becoming. However, the gate finally opened to the side.
“Good evening, Miss Jenkins,” the soldier on duty greeted me. I quickly greeted him and continued past him. “Wait a minute!”
I stood still, irritated. What did he want? I used my familiar breathing technique to calm my pulse again; it wouldn’t help if I broke out in a sweat now. The guy would become sceptical and I’d have a load of new enemies. No, stay calm.
With raised eyebrows, so as to look as cool and annoyed as possible, just as I would have been if someone had stopped me in my area, I turned to him. “Yes?”
“The male prisoners are on the left.” His gaze flitted back and forth between my pregnant belly and my face.
“Artificial insemination,” I said, pointing a finger at my stomach. “What makes you think I like men?” I gave the soldier an ice-cold look, so he didn't dare make a dirty joke.
His eyes opened wide. “Oh!”
“Exactly; oh! Can I go on now?” I asked him in an irritated tone of voice.
“Of course!” He turned away zealously, and marched back to his place.
I took the liberty of taking a deep breath, and walked briskly along a long corridor. Kat had gone through all the building drawings with me until I knew them by heart. The prison cell areas were in the basement. On the ground floor, there were common rooms for the soldiers on duty and on the first, second and third floors people could amuse themselves for a short time if they didn’t wish to, or couldn’t, take a prisoner home with them. As I said, taking a woman or a man home was a costly undertaking, so many only went to the upper rooms for a few hours. Kat hadn’t managed to find out who the money went to. I intended on taking care of this as soon as Dark's family was out of danger. I wanted to uncover the bastards and raze this hell hole to the ground.
I had to pass through yet another airlock after taking the stairs down. Good thing I didn't suffer from claustrophobia. Again, I stood in the space for a few minutes before being let into the prison cell security area.
A guy of around thirty jumped up from his chair at a table and came towards me, as I stepped into the hallway to my right. “Hey lady, what are you doing down here? There are men in the west wing. But I can gladly be at your service when I'm off duty.” I would’ve loved to have knocked the salacious grin off his face, but I had to think of my mission. No rash moves!
“I’m not into guys. Hope you’ve got that,” I said, as I took a step towards him so that our noses almost touched. Eye contact at close range helped to intimidate opponents. And it worked. He started blinking and stepped back.
“That's all right. Pick one. Then come to me and we'll do the paperwork.”
“All right!”
I slowly paced along the cells. There were small monitors embedded in the doors, which showed a picture of the respective occupant. Under them, there were no names, only numbers, so that the soldiers on duty couldn’t form an emotional bond with the prisoners. Also, no one who was working their shift was allowed to talk to them. I remembered that from my internship.
They were women of all ages, some of them girls who were just going through puberty. Angrily, I clenched my hand into a fist. Yes, this would become my new goal in life – to get rid of this shambles. I didn’t yet know how, but I would do it. Someone had to fight for these women if they couldn't do it themselves anymore. This reminded me of a story I had once read about a young girl. Her name was Malala; I couldn't remember her last name. She fought for the rights of girls in Pakistan, was shot, and eventually was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. At that time, the Taliban and other radical Islamic groups were the world’s biggest horrors. In a speech to the United Nations, Malala talked of how she wanted to speak for those who had no voice. Yes, that is what I would do. I actually didn’t want to speak, but I would fight for these men and women here!
At the very end of the corridor I found what I’d been looking for. Sally was looking back at me from the picture, her eyes wide open, revealing a muted fear. Fear for her children, her life and her future.
Robert Tensington / Raphael
She had actually said yes. I still couldn't believe it. This wonderful woman wanted to tie herself to me, perform the ritual wi
th me. Although I’d lived for so many years, I had never gone that far with anyone before. My blood became sluggish with happiness, and I would’ve loved to drag Olivia out of the car and find us a nice little place somewhere, but that would have to wait. Right now we had other things to deal with, and apart from that, I wanted to give her time to change her mind. Rushing into such an important decision wouldn’t do anybody any good.
Only when Shazar addressed me did I notice that the car was no longer driving. We were in a huge hangar building and the gates had already been closed, so Shazar had been able to get out. Liv and I did the same as him. Since I felt the need to touch her all the time, I held out my hand to her, which, to my relief, she immediately grabbed.
It was quite dark, and only a hazy light fell into the interior of the hall through the upper hatches. The other vampires from Shazar's group came closer, as the dark-skinned vampire opened the boot lid. Silence spread as everyone became aware of whose body was now laid out on one of the metal tables standing against the walls. Everyone present knew that Ladorre was my father and they probably knew that it wasn’t an easy situation for me to be in at that moment.
One by one, the vampires approached me and laid their left hand on my right shoulder, lowered their heads briefly, and then let the next one step forward. This simple gesture was used to express condolences in our society. A short moment of attachment to the mourner was more comfort than a thousand words. I held Liv's hand the whole time, which kept me grounded throughout.
Shazar approached the corpse with a large tarpaulin and covered it. I breathed deeply, a little relieved. I’d seen many dead bodies, but it was something else to see my own father lying there.
To return to the problem at hand, I turned to the assembled team and raised my voice. “I thank you for your sympathy, but now we must try to help Dark as much as we can. Who has the contact with him?”
A dark-haired man, whom I had first seen at a party, raised his hand and stepped forward. “My name is Steve. Good day, Sir.” I nodded at him briefly, whereupon he continued: “I received a message from Katarina an hour ago.”
I looked at him, expectantly.
“Dark and his girlfriend have landed. Now they’re using bioscans to try to find out if someone is compatible, whom they could then smuggle in,” Steve continued.
“That sounds like a good plan. Thank you, Steve. With a smile on my lips, I turned to Liv and asked with a whisper: “Girlfriend?”
Grinning, she shrugged her shoulders. She seemed to like the idea of them becoming a couple just as much as I did.
It all seemed quite relaxed to me. Nobody had been hurt, but somehow that made me nervous. Something was wrong; I felt it in my gut. That's why I wanted to get on the charter plane as soon as possible. Waiting until my plane was back would definitely take too long. On the other hand, the mood in Louisville seemed to be relatively relaxed. If I waited, I could take Shazar and his men with me. In the meantime, more of us could come to the barracks town. We’d be stronger in numbers, because I knew how many human soldiers were stationed there.
For these reasons I decided to wait. My plane was due to be back soon; then we could fly there with two planes and try to carry the operation off safely.
Anne Rumsfield
To keep up the appearance, I first walked past Sally's cell and pretended to be interested in other female inmates as well. I stopped at a door and activated the window, which soundlessly slid to the side to give me a glimpse of the prisoner. A young woman was crouching anxiously against the wall, chewing her nails. I was horrified at the idea of what she had perhaps already experienced. This sight made me all the more determined and at the same time something tightened in my chest, as I wouldn’t be able to help her right now.
Quickly, I closed the viewing hatch again and turned around. I couldn’t lose sight of my real goal. I had to stay focused and think of Sally.
During the hours spent in the hut, we’d also thought about a battle plan to get Marc and Tom out of the education camp. They were still young and the government believed they could still warp children’s minds at this age. In addition, partly inhumane practices were used, but the statistics on the rehabilitated prisoners proved them right. Mostly, such children became soldiers themselves, because they felt the need to keep being drilled in the future. They weren’t often accustomed to much else. In contrast with Sally’s mission, saving the boys was child's play. The camp was not nearly as well secured as the women's shelter. Dark had set off for the camp with half the vampires, shortly after me. Hopefully, he’d be able to get them out without difficulty.
When I stood in front of Sally's prison cell again, I activated the viewing hatch and pretended I was going to take a closer look. She was lying on the floor staring at the ceiling. Silently, I admired her strength. With this attitude, she was crushing all her defiance and hatred.
Just before I closed the window she raised her head and looked me straight in the eye. Her facial expression revealed nothing. Oh yes, she was her brother's sister and kept a cool head in precarious situations.
Determined, I turned around and ran back to the soldier on duty, who was staring at a monitor, bored. As I entered his office, he rose hastily and gave me a questioning look. “Number 23,” I said, in the usual commanding tone.
“Good choice, just arrived yesterday. Still completely intact and unused.” I angrily clenched my fingers into a fist, but I flashed him a smile at the same time.
“That sounds great.”
“But it’ll therefore cost twice as much.”
I made a dismissive hand gesture. “That's okay. I like fresh meat. It's just right for what I'm going to do with her. I'll take her for two nights.”
“All right. But you know, it's expensive if you damage her,” he was trying to intimidate me.
“I'm aware,” I replied, with my chin slightly protruded.
He diligently set to work and prepared the necessary documents. Meanwhile, I looked around the room a little. You could hardly furnish an office more sparsely. No personal belongings, nothing. Everything was testament to the fact that the soldiers rotated through here frequently.
“Done! Come, let's go get your new sweetheart.” The idiot actually winked at me and seemed to think he was amusing. Oh, how I hated guys like that.
While I was still thinking this, my mouth suddenly became dry and a tremendous hunger hit me. My stomach contracted in pain, and my jaw started tingling. This couldn’t be happening now of all times. Dark had said I’d be well sated for the time being and wouldn’t need any blood. I tried as much as was possible to suppress the urge I now had to suck someone's blood. Which I managed very poorly.
The soldier strode down the long corridor at a brisk pace until we reached cell 23. He opened the prison cell door by fingerprint and eye scan. As soon as the door had opened, Sally jumped to her feet and was facing us with clenched fists. She didn’t even look at me, but she eyed the soldier as if she wanted to kill him. But this didn’t bother him. He was probably used to all kinds of things happening in here.
“So 23, you’re going to behave nicely and accompany your new mistress for the next two days.” The sarcasm, which dripped from every syllable, made me sick to my stomach.
“Like hell I will!” Sally hissed, and spat at the soldier's feet.
The next thing she knew, the guy she’d just verbally attacked whacked her in the face. Ideally, I would have smacked him, but that would definitely have given me away. So I held back and gritted my teeth, even though the whole situation was demanding more and more of my self-control.
Sally looked at the man spitefully, and wiped the blood from her lip. Blood! I didn't know how I’d be able to control myself, but at that moment my teeth started protruding from my jaw. I so desperately wanted to bite into the soldier's vein, even though I had Sally's blood right in front of my nose; my greed was for the soldier who had so brutally beaten this woman. This woman who nourished my beloved Dark. I wanted nothing more t
han to kill him.
“Don’t you dare try that again. We don’t grant such liberties to our prisoners in Louisville. Have you got that?” he asked, threateningly, but Sally only looked at him, giving him no response.
I admired her, but at the same time I would’ve liked to shake her to bring her to her senses. She ought to simply smile at him and tell him she’d understood. The main concern was getting out of here as quickly as possible, without anyone noticing what kind of teeth I had.
Olivia Morgan / Margaret Rumsfield
The time we spent waiting dragged on forever. I’d made myself comfortable in one of the small offices, but the boredom was driving me crazy. Since we’d been stranded in this desolate area, I’d only once gone to find the bathroom to take a shower. One of the vampires had provided me with a flight attendant uniform, which I was now wearing. Thank God the trousers were made from a stretchy fabric which didn't restrict me whenever I moved. The top was made from the same material; both garments sat like a second skin on my body, making me feel a little naked, even though I wasn’t.
Robert was sleeping next to me, his head on my lap. I had to keep looking at him over and over, stroking his cheek or running my fingers through his thick hair. My heart contracted; it was so full of love that it hurt. And yet, it was wonderful to know that I was loved back. Unconditionally and forever.
A knock on the door yanked me from my thoughts and Robert sleepily straightened up before he invited the person in.
It was Shazar. “My friend, a private charter plane is ready for take-off. If you like, you can depart right away. The sun sets in two hours and we’ll come after you with your plane, which should be back by then.”
“Very good.” Robert elegantly stood up and held out his hand, which I grabbed immediately, letting him help me up out of the deep, upholstered furniture.
