Scarlet Prison

Chapter 11

I arrived only fifteen minutes late the next night. Today my excuse was that I actually had food to eat for breakfast, and I had spent a little more time than I should have enjoying it. Not that I would actually tell Vince that. And as master of the schedule, I happened to know that our first reservation wasn't until eight p.m., so I had a good forty-five minutes before I would really be needed.

            "Good evening, Vince!" I announced, as I threw open his office door.

            Vince raised an eyebrow. "You're in a good mood today," he said.

            Well, yes, I supposed I was. A full stomach will do wonders for one's mood. This horrific world of vampires almost seemed okay now that I wasn't hungry. I no longer felt like I was floating through a nightmare. This place was real, and I knew how to navigate it. I was registered, I had a job, a pair of fangs, some "friends" in high places, a place to live, and I had even consumed blood in public. No one could touch me. My roots were so well established in the community that the possibility of a vampire accusing me of being a human was almost nonexistent. And not only did I have a place in the world, but I had a purpose. My ambitions to find Novashi finally didn't seem totally insane.

            I landed my foot onto Vince's desk. "I got new boots," I provided, as explanation for my good mood. This wasn't a complete lie, since my combat boots had made at least a small contribution to my happiness. I no longer had to bare the paranoia that came with jingly zippers that alerted all vampires of my presence, wherever I went.

            Vince admired the boot invading his space and gave a nod of approval. "Yes, I think I saw you wearing those last night. You look good in them."

            I swung my foot back onto the floor. "Thanks," I said.

            "We want food now!" a voice in my earpiece demanded. I winced at the unexpected disturbance.

            "The humans are hungry," I informed Vince.

            "Would you mind bringing them some dinner?" Vince asked.

            "No problem," I said. I was tempted to deprive Camoof of food so that he would know what hunger really felt like, but I didn't have the heart to punish the others. "Fine," I said into the earpiece as, I walked to the fridge.

            I investigated the food around me and wondered how Vince expected me to cook all this. There was no stove, oven, microwave, or even a table for me to make the food. There weren't any bowls, plates, or silverware either. I pulled out a bin of lettuce and set it on the floor. I found carrots, tomatoes, olives, apples, and cucumbers, all of which I planned to use for a salad. My handy knife proved useful once again, when I used it to chop the vegetables. I threw everything into the plastic lettuce bin.

            Okay, the produce was ready, but humans also need protein. I dug around until I found some precooked lunch meat, bread, and cheese. I made ten sandwiches and stacked them on top of the salad, not sure where else to put them. I grabbed a gallon of water and brought it with my creation to the door.

            When I opened the door, Oksana was standing there waiting. She shifted nervously.

            "Yes?" I asked. She was obviously here to say something. Something that she didn't want to say through the intercom system.

            "Master..." she began.

            "You can call me Nova," I said, throwing her what I hoped was a comforting smile.