Bloodbank

Two

My brow furrowed immediately in confusion: I couldn't be O negative. It was too rare, impossible. Nathan's face was as surprised as mine.

"We'll be rich," the woman smiled in disbelief, Scott pulling me away from Mason, binding my hands with a thick rope. Shaking his head, Nathan quickly moved on to Mason, puncturing his arm and tasting the blood.

"Type B," he determined, Scott stepping forwards to murder him, like all the others.

"No!" I screamed in desperation. They couldn't kill Mason.

"Wait," The woman rolled her eyes, seemingly bored.

"What is it, Maxine?" Scott asked, pausing.

"Keep him as a snack, we need to move now if we want to reach the blood bank within the week,"

I let out a sigh of relief as Mason was pushed down beside me, his own hands tied like my own. His eyes showed no fear, instead determination. We would get through this.

I tried not to look at the pile of bodies.

I jumped suddenly, feeling the presence of a rough hand on my shoulder. Scott stooped beside me, a suspicious looking pill in his hand.

"Open up," he said, his voice sarcastic. Psychopath.

"No w-" I began, but was cut off as his hand clamped over my mouth, pushing the pill onto my tongue. Defiant, I refused to swallow, my eyes welling up. Scott pushed two fingers onto my nose, cutting off my air supply. I screamed into his hand, tears brimming over and splashing onto his palm.

I swallowed.

He released his hand, and I gulped in the air, eyes shooting daggers at Scott. I wanted to kill him, more than I had wanted to hurt any vampire before. I wanted to bruise his perfect face, break his chiselled nose and destroy his flawless body.

"Up," Maxine ordered, her eyes cold as she shoved Mason and I up the stairs, Nathan following closely behind like a loyal dog.

"It's harmless," he whispered discreetly into my ear as I was pulled away, "The pill, I mean. Vitamin D, it'll do you some good,"

I smiled gratefully at him. He was the nicest monster I'd ever met, in complete contrast to the demon behind him.

The air outside was cool and crisp. Having not been outside for months, seeing even the twinkling nights sky smiling at me was breathtaking. My lips parted and, for almost a second, I forgot what had happened, and any worries about what was going to happen to me.

My thoughts were interrupted as I was harshly shoved onto the dry, grainy sand of the desert.

"It's half a days walk to the nearest town," Maxine barked, "Either of you boys need to drink, do it now,"

I felt Nathan shift uncomfortably behind me, but Scott immediately took up on her offer and approached Mason, pinning his chest down effortlessly to the floor and inserting his sharp teeth into Mason's arm.

I began to protest, moving forwards to somehow protect him, but Nathan turned me around to face him, holding me in place.

"You don't want to watch," he muttered into my ear as I struggled against his grip, Mason's cries from behind urging me to help him.

"Stop it," I demanded, hearing Mason get weaker and weaker.

"Let's go, Scott," Maxine said, and Nathan released me. I turned, running over to Mason, his arm bleeding and his face pale. Scott licked his lips.

"Not quite O negative," he smirked, looking down at me hungrily.

"Are you okay?" I asked Mason, using my shoulders to help him stand as my arms were bound. He nodded, and I pressed my lips to his cheek, "we're gonna get through this,"

"Cute," Maxine snorted, and we began to trudge through the desert.

Up and down continuous sand dunes, I stayed as close to Mason as I could, and as far away from Scott as possible. The sand was rough on my feet and the night was cold in the desert; colder than any night in the stone bunker. Over the entire vista, all I could see was dunes, stretching as high as mountains.

Scott almost seemed to glide over each hill, as every step seemed as effortless as lifting a finger for him. I, on the other hand, was becoming more tired with each hill, each step antagonising, my throat like sandpaper as I yearned for water. My hands, still tied in place behind my back, made my steps more awkward and laboured, my shoulders moving from side to side instead of my arms.

Mason was doing worse. His skin was so pale it seemed to glow in the night, and his eyelids were heavy with exhaustion, having gone out for a supply run barely a day before they came. But he continued nevertheless, his footsteps cutting deep into the sand like a cookie cutter, each at a different angle as he struggled along.

My legs screamed at me to stop as we reached another peak, burning despite the freezing air around us. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the pink and orange hues of a sunrise, indicating that we had spent almost twelve hours walking. Pausing for breath, I saw that the three behind us had donned hoodies, pulling up the hoods to protect themselves from the sunlight. I thought that was a myth.

"Keep moving," Maxine snarled through bared teeth. I complied, stepping forwards to begin my descent down the umpteenth dune, when my foot slipped on the loose grains of sand, sending me tumbling down the dune, leaving a trail behind me. I wanted to scream, but the further I fell, the more sand I inhaled, my body crushing my hands as they were pinned underneath me.

I came to a stop, coughing violently, my raw throat aching with each breath.

Frowning, I realised I hadn't landed in sand. It was concrete.

A small town spread out before me, concealed by sand dunes, small wooden houses looking like a scene from an old western movie. Pale people - no, vampires - running into the buildings at the first sign of day, the few humans just emerging from their homes, basking in the safety of the day. They were the unwanted ones, the blood type As and Bs, too common to be worth anything but to a few desperate monsters, who lurked in dark alleyways. Music came from a building near the centre of the small village, drifting through the desert air. The town meant hope, water and rest.

And maybe escape.