Blud

Part 1: Eve

Standing in the shadow between two brick buildings, I lean against one wall and glance down the alley toward the busy street. I'm careful to stay out of the golden rays of light as I flick my cigarette ash into the sunshine and watch it flutter onto the ground in front of me. The sun is setting, and that means the humans hurry home to the safety of their brick walls, letting the vampires run the city for the night, taking over their shifts at the factories and bars, clubs and restaurants that keep the city thumping twenty-four seven.

The city of Noctura thrives in the hills of Vertari, a small country on the largest continent in the world. Though vampires and humans coexist to a certain degree all over the globe, the eastern side of Vertari has the largest population of vampires, and subsequently, the highest crime rate and death rate of humans. Noctura isn't the only city with these numbers, however, and surrounding areas race toward total control of the synthetic blood supply on the east coast.

After years of bloody battles between humans and vampires, a group of scientists who were tired of the killing, created some artificial blood in a lab. They tried it in humans initially, reviving them when they had been injured or drained by vampires. They realized that they could feed the artificial blood directly to the vampires, creating a truce between the humans and vamps that eased the thirst for killing each other. Since then, the base formula for the synthetic blood has been sold and traded to the point where it cannot be recognized in its purest form. Additives to reduce sun damage, or create a certain drug-like high have become popular, allowing vampires to day-walk and demonstrate superhuman strength. Groups of vampire factions, spreading from city to city like rival gangs, fight over these variations on the synthetic blood formula, causing violent and damaging wars.

Among the synthetic blood wars, you have to accept the fact that there is still human blood being consumed, highly valued and selling for thousands- sometimes millions of dollars. Much to the dismay of the human leaders, who, let's face it, have very little control left in the country of Vertari, the underground market demand for human blood is at an all time high. The largest producer of that valuable and highly illegal red liquid is none other than Nightshade, which is the name that is ironed into the back of my black leather jacket.

My cell phone vibrates in my pocket and I toss the remainder of my cigarette onto the grimy, cracked cement and squash it under my boot.

"Yeah," I say impatiently the second the phone is at my ear and without looking at the name. Nobody ever calls me unless it's for work. I have no friends, no life, and no hobbies. The Nightshade owns me.

"Bloodlust is having a rave tonight, and I want you there. Look sexy, and for the love of Father, don't go home with any humans tonight. You have a reputation to uphold as the co-owner of Reap." The gruff voice snarls at me, then the line promptly cuts. I snap the phone shut and slide it back into my pocket, grinding my teeth. Hector is such a dick, and he doesn't care who knows it. Being the favorite son in the faction will earn you the right to pretty much do whatever you want with no repercussions from the boss. Hector and I are partners and supposedly equals, but he is always one step ahead of me and telling me what to do. I really hate it.

I turn away from the setting sun and head through the door in the alley and shut it tight behind me, letting my eyes adjust to the blackness. Vampire perk number one: night vision. The hallway is long and locked doors line both sides, and I walk down to the middle where mine is. My thumbprint on the little pad above the doorknob unlocks it for me, and I step inside the glowing yellow light of my apartment. All the apartments in this building are high tech, and very secure, though we like to make it look abandoned and scary from the outside to keep humans from getting too comfortable around us, though it doesn't help. They are trouble seekers and adrenaline junkies, all of them.