Game of the Vampires

Chapter 4:

     I awoke to the sudden jolt of the train. A few rays of the dawning light peeked through the cracks of the door. I rubbed my eyes and blinked a few times as I tried to peer around the semi-dark cabin.

     Mai and the three girls were still dead-to-the-world asleep. In my half-awakened state, I briefly thought about lying back down to sleep as I pulled my sleeves down to block out the unwanted cold. When realization hit me of where I was, I snapped fully awake.

     My eyes darted around the cabin, searching for the guards. There were no traces of Col or the other guard. We were alone.

     I stood up, careful not to wake up the other girls. I walked over to where the locked door was before peaking through the crack.

     I could make out a shadow with something in their hand. The figure was about three cabins down from ours. I then realized it was tattoo face with a whip as I heard a sickening crack along with a high-pitched shriek.

     "Up, rats." He gave a low chuckle as he moved on.

     I saw him coming closer. I darted away from the door and ran to where the girls were sleeping. I quickly shook Mai awake before moving to wake the others.

     Mai blinked as she focused on me with a confused expression. "What is it?" she mumbled.

     I woke the last girl. "The guard is coming. The unfriendly one," I added.

     That seemed to get their attention because they all stood up and straightened their appearance as best as they could.

     There was a rattle from the other side of the door before it slid open to reveal baldy. He had his whip raised, but seeing that we were already awake, he lowered it hesitantly. Was it me, or did he seem very disappointed about it?

     "Come on, then," the guard growled as he stalked off.

     I felt someone latch onto my arm from behind. I craned my neck up to see Col. His eyes briefly met mine before they flicked back up as we started to move. Four other watchers were leading Mai, Willow, Grace, and Sadie away from the cabin.

     We were led down a narrow hallway. The next thing I knew, we were outside. The cool air smacked me in the face, causing a shiver to spread over my skin. The rising sun was completely blinding as my eyes tried to adjust to the harsh lighting.

     The watchers in front of us were starting to go into the woods. As soon as we entered the garden of trees, the sunlight was immediately blocked out. The leaves of the many trees seemed to knit together, creating a canopy to protect the vampires from the sun.

     Unfortunately, vampires didn't burst into flames when exposed to sunlight. However, they could only spend small amounts of time in the sun. Their skin was too delicate, causing them to burn easier than a human.

     I noticed that Col started slowing his pace. The watchers continued ahead of us, oblivious that Col was falling behind. Col's grip on me started to loosen. He didn't let my upper arm go, but he didn't grip my arm either.

     I started to open my mouth, but Col held a finger over his lips. He waited until he was positive the watchers weren't in hearing-range anymore. He finally looked down at me and nodded.

     "Are they taking us to the Melanchthornes?"

     "Not yet."

     "What do you mean? What's going on?"

     "They're taking all the new slaves to cleaning."

     I gripped Col's arm as my eyes shot up to meet his. "They're going to kill some of us," I whispered.