Bloodbank

Four

I wouldn't have very long before Mason woke the others up.

As I ran through the streets, I speculated over why Mason wouldn't come with me; surely any life away from the monsters that slept in that hotel room was a better one, with them nearly draining him with all the blood they required. I shook my head, also knowing that Mason would've helped me greatly in my escape, as he probably knew the layout of this town, being the one who always went out for supply runs.

I felt bad for leaving him, I did. But it was his choice, and I didn't want to spend the rest of my uneventful life hooked up to a blood extraction machine.

I'd only been running for half an hour at the most when I realised how lost I was. From atop the sand dune, the town hadn't seemed all that large, and my sleep deprivation wasn't helping. Luckily for me, the streets were deserted, but as I rounded another corner, into a dark and shady alleyway, I realised how wrong I was.

A man in a dark hood stood at the end of the alley, and from the little I could see of his face, he had a manic grin spread across his lips, displaying a shocking array of pointed teeth.

"I smell type O," he laughed, and I gasped, pivoting on my heel to run out of the alley, only to be stopped by a second hooded figure. Vampires couldn't smell blood types, so how did they know I was type O?

"Please, I'm B negative, hardly worth your time," I shivered, my words betraying my distress as I searched for an exit.

"The man who bought the water said otherwise," the figure removed his hood, being in the shade of the alleyway, to reveal the weaselly looking man from the market, his eyes filled with hunger.

"He paid you off, you said you wouldn't tell anyone!" I pleaded, backing against a wall, fingers desperately scratching at the wall for a weapon.

"Five litres of type O against a mug full of B? Hardly a deal," he smiled, close enough to tuck a strand of blonde hair behind my ear.

"Please," I begged as his friend sniffed at my neck. I pushed off from the wall, hoping to somehow outrun them into the light, but I realised how foolish the idea was as one of them quickly tripped me up, sending me sprawling across the stone floor, slicing open my thigh, the thick red substance oozing out of the wound.

"Wouldn't want to waste anything," the street vendor warned as his friend licked the blood off the ground.

"It's good," he smiled, ravenously grabbing my leg, lifting up my skirt.

"Don't taint the blood, it's worth a lot," the clerk said, one of his arms pinning me down and the other covering my mouth as his friend began to suck the blood from my cut, careful not to sink his teeth in and taint my bloodstream.

"Ebony!"

Streets away, in the blazing sunlight, I heard my name being called. I tried to squirm out of the men's hands, or scream, but they held me down strongly, each movement growing weaker as he drained what felt like pints.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Maxine walk past, black hood up and pausing at the alleyway.

"Nothing to see here," the clerk said, "just a lowly A positive,"

Maxine nodded, walking past as the clerk shifted to block me from her view, my arms writhing and tears streaming down my face. The man's hand left my lips for a mere moment to wipe sweat from his brow, but that was all I needed.

"Maxine!" I screamed, and he quickly held my jaw shut, the pressure of his fingers leaving bruises for sure.

For a moment, I thought I was done for.

Then Maxine ran around the corner.

"That's my property," she growled, taking an offensive stance. The man stood, blood now freely flowing from my leg as I whimpered, my head hitting the floor in defeat.

Maxine raced forwards, fists flying at the man like a snowstorm. He parried each blow, the clerk joining in as I backed up against the wall of the alley, elevating my leg to attempt to stop the flow. Ripping off a rag from my tattered dress, I attempted to tie a bandage, but the blood only soaked through. It didn't help now that I knew how valuable it was.

Maxine turned towards me, the scent being too overpowering for her thirst.

The men took that small distraction to grab her head and rip it off her shoulders.

I screamed, watching a black goo ooze from her stub of a neck, her torso falling to the floor, a surprised expression on her motionless face. The shopkeeper ran towards me, his teeth bared and his eyes hungry as he held me against the wall, licking the blood from the useless bandage.

"We have to go," his friend said, lifting me up and carrying me away.