Show Me

27. Remember

~Back to Cally~

I slumped against the wall, drained in more than one way. Anthony smirked as he walked out with three ounces of my own blood. I breathed heavily, as I could feel my body try to make more blood, preparing for next time. Some of the vampires tried to make conversation with me, but others practically pounced on my wrist. One eventually handed me the piece of bread on the floor, but by that point it had my own blood on it. I decided I wasn't hungry. It had only been a day and at least fourteen vamps had come into drain me, and Anthony came in twice, saying that it was to sell to distributors for a high price. I tried to spit at him, but he just chuckled and tsked at me. He continually calls me odd names like 'bloody suckle' and 'blood bank' and he always laughs at me when I try to insult him. He knows I can't do anything, and that drives me insane. Because I know it, too. I mean, I am chained to a wall.

The door opened then, but I wasn't ready yet. I had lost too much blood, too fast, and I wasn't creating more even nearly as quick.

"There's not enough yet," I wheezed.

"No, no, I'm not, um, I'm not here to, I mean, I'm not a..." a small, female voice spoke to me from across the room. "Um, careful, I uh...I'm going to um, the light, and uh..."

"I got it," I replied before she could even stutter a complete sentence. I shielded my eyes by ducking my head slightly and letting my hair fall in front of me, giving my eyes just enough light to start adjusting. Once I had blinked away the sting, I was able to see who was in the room with me. A small girl, maybe seventeen, hurried over to me with a tray, handing me a piece of buttered bread, and undoing one of the shackles.

"I-I would undo, both of...I mean, but Anthony, and he told me, this is what-"

"It's okay," I explained as I greedily took the bread and devoured it in seconds.

"Oh! I also have, to help, I guess...your throat, I um...here," she said, handing me a glass of water. I took it gratefully, this time savoring every last drop that hit my tongue. True, it had only been a day, but it was a day of blood-sucking and not being able to sit. A day like that, trust me on this one, takes a lot out of you.

"Thank you," I sighed once I made sure I couldn't get anything else out of the cup. She smiled weakly at me, and I took a moment to look up at her, something I've been scared to do to other people all day, since, well, you know, most of them weren't actually people.

The girl in front of me was small, but looked a bit older than I was. Her hair was dark, but in a way that you could tell it used to be lighter. She was ghostly pale, even more so than the vampires, which made me wonder how long she's been in the dark, and in turn it made me nervous. How long will I be in the dark?

"What's your name?" I asked softly. She looked surprised at my question, then worried.

"Um, it uh... it starts with an L, I think. I mean, it, I..." she stumbled, looking as if I asked her to say her alphabet backwards or die.

I reached out to her with my free hand, placing it on her shoulder. "It's alright, I'll help you remember. No one should lose their name, and it is something you named yourself, so-" but after this statement, she began shaking her head violently, looking upset.

"No, no, they...they gave me my, my um, they named me," she rushed. I furrowed my eyebrows, but then I just felt horrible.

Draven had told me that the people here believe in complete freedom from the moment you're born. This girl, this poor, ghost of a girl, must have been born here. I felt the extreme need to comfort her.