Game of the Vampires

Chapter 6:

    

     I remained seated on the cot, letting my thoughts wander for I don't know how long. I would close my eyes, but I would never go to sleep. I would fall into near-sleep, where flashes of possible dreams would bombard me. Some of them tempted me to just give in to sleep, but I remained awake.

     When I finally heard the twisting of the door knob, I nearly jumped out of my skin. I bolted to my feet and came to stand in front of the door just as Phoenix walked into the room.

     Her eyes widened slightly when she saw me standing there. "Oh," she said in slight shock. "I guess you're already ready to go, huh?"

     My lips pressed together, and my eyes flicked down to the floor.

     "Well, come on then."

     I lifted my eyes to see Phoenix's retreating form. I sent a quick glance over my shoulder at the room before I closed the door behind me.

     Like before, it seemed to be a trek just to get to the location. They really must not want us to escape!

     Eventually, we were walking through a pair of heavy, wooden doors. Phoenix sent a look over her shoulder, probably to make sure I was still there.

     The room was a large dining room. Long tables filled up half of the room. The other half was a serving station with cooks - not slaves - dishing out the food. What also surprised me was the fact that there were slaves sitting at the tables with platters of food. 

     I stopped dead in my tracks as I took in the scene before me. Something was DEFINITELY going on. 

     I felt a little nudge by Phoenix from behind me. "Come along. Your session is starting soon."

     I gave her a puzzling look, but I was already being served a plate. The woman in front of me gave me a forced smile as she held out a plate filled with some sort of noodles and meat. I hesiated before  I finally took the plate from the woman. 

     More cooks offered things to me, but I just continued through the line. I did take a glass of water when I came to the end of the line. I couldn't help but stare down at the items in my hands in disbelief. The food gave off a pleasant smell that made my stomach rumble.

     I scanned the room looking for Mai. Unfortunately, I couldn't find her. So, I ended up taking a seat at an empty table. Phoenix walked off, leaving me to be alone with myself. 

     I glanced down at my plate of what I assumed was chicken and noodles. I picked up one of the forks that was arranged at the table. I then picked up a piece of the chicken and wound a couple of noodles around it before bringing it to my mouth.

     I almost moaned, the food was so good. Different spices were covering the pasta and chicken. I continued to devour the pasta until my plate was completely clear. As soon as I put my fork down, a thought sprung into my head. I probably have just been poisoned. 

     One part of me was freaking out. Another part was saying, Worth it! 

     I finally calmed myself down after a couple of minutes, since I wasn't dead yet. I took some time to study the other slaves around me.

     There were both boys and girls in here. The slaves seemed to be tense as they picked at their food. I assumed they thought it was poisoned just like I had. Some would send nervous glances between their watchers and their food. 

     I sat at the table for awhile, watching the other slaves' react to the foreign treatment and surroundings. I felt really bad for some. Many seemed lost as they glanced around, no doubt looking for someone they knew. Others seemed to have found out that the ones that they were close to them were dead.