Scarlet Prison

Chapter 8

            I realized how much I needed Novashi, exactly three days too late.  Sure I noticed that I hadn't been feeling well the past few days, but my discomfort seemed trivial amongst the chaos of my life.  Novashi would have known better.  She had always kept me from teetering into the waters of self-destruction.  But Novashi wasn't here.  Instead, Nova was watching from the bay, smiling coyly, as Zermia drowned in her own stupidity.  I became so presumed with my vampire alias that I completely forgot about my human side. The side that didn't crave blood, but produced too much of it. I was still human, and I still needed to drain my extra blood once a week. Yet, Thursday had come and gone, without me ever giving it a thought.

            Luck had me in my room when the reminder of my humanity finally hit. It began with heat flashes, and rather than realizing there was a reason I felt too hot, I took a cold shower to cool off.  Somehow, the icy water running down my face could not penetrate my heat barrier.  Soon, the heat flashes merged into unbearable flame.  My vision blurred, and I grasped at the walls to keep from teetering over. 

My handy knife, always nearby (even if the rest of my survival pack wasn't) was on the bathroom counter.  I frantically snatched it and slashed my inner thigh.  The gush of blood splattered the walls and swirled down the drain.  I watched with pleasure, suspended in a moment of relief.  Then I realized what had happened.  I had completely forgotten about my weekly blood drainings.  And now, because of my rash actions, more than my excess blood was flowing into the gutter.

            I quickly shut off the water, and glanced around the bathroom for something to stop the bleeding.  I grabbed my shirt, which I had conveniently placed on the counter, and tore it into strips.  I used the strips to bind my leg and stop the blood flow. 

            I almost slapped myself.  Think before you act, Zermia!  That was the only shirt that I had brought from home.  Now all I owned was the stupid corset shirt that Vince Martel had given me.  Brilliant.  Novashi was always so controlled.  Why couldn't I be more like her?!  She never would have forgotten to bleed herself in the first place.  I sighed and shook the negative thoughts from my head.  I didn't deserve Novashi as a friend, but the only way I could do her right was by maintaining my focus.  Those thoughts would just get in the way of the rescue.  At least, I thought as I began to dress, I had enough sense to scar myself where it won't be seen.

***

            "Here," Vince Martel said, throwing me a bag across his desk.  I looked inside.  Clothes.

            "Do I look like a doll to you?" I asked, indicating my maroon corset shirt, tight black pants, and cargo boots, with six zippers on each one.  "You already gave me clothes."

            "And you've been wearing them every day for a week," he retorted.

            "I like them," I said defensively.  This wasn't exactly true.  The pants didn't have holes in the knees because that didn't seem to be in style here.  Even though the vampires seemed to enjoy the corset look, I found it ridiculous.  The boots were my least favorite part of the get-up because they jingled obnoxiously with every movement.  Living in a town of vampires has made me fairly paranoid, and I desperately craved the luxury of inconspicuous walking.  However, after a week, I had developed a strange kinship with my outfit.  I suddenly found myself unwilling to replace it.

            "Then you won't mind wearing more clothes of my taste," he said smugly, knowing that he had cornered me in our verbal spar.

            "Whatever drains your Vein," I muttered.  This was apparently a favorite saying among vampires.  I heard it used quite a few times, before I finally figured out that it was basically a morbid way of saying, "whatever makes you happy."  By establishing it in my regular speech, I hoped to dissuade any doubts regarding my vampiric nature.