Blood banks were always full. It was embarrassing to walk in. For a human it could be related to welfare. You didn't want to admit you went and you collected. But sometimes working for the blood wasn't easy or worth it. Human blood was the highest currency. We worked for it, and of course the better the job the better the blood. 0 positive was the best and most expensive. Illegal dealers would claim to have it and once you had forked over the cash you would realize at first taste it either wasn't fresh or most commonly 0 negative.
Some would even stoop to feeding off each other. Which was illegal but in more busier parts of town the last thing the law keepers worry about is some street walkers feeding off one another.There was always something more important to focus on. Like when your next taste of delicious human blood would be.
Living separate from the humans was the only way we could stay under control. Conserving the food was most important since most vampires kill when feeding from the source. Human population would quickly dwindle and what would be left? Cold, undead blood that barely kept you alive.
Sometimes, humans wishing to be changed would give themselves up for a large price. The richest vampires would buy their human blood and in exchange transform them. Some humans were kept as pets. It meant you were of higher status to have pets. When my father brought home our first pet I was terrified. Terrified of being judged...or having to feed on him while his eyes watched me.
Humans looked much like vampires, except their skin held more of a pink pigmentation while ours paled and resembled white paste. Their veins blue and red, ours were clear, our blood was translucent. Of course they varied in ages while we remained the age we were turned at. Vampires couldn't have children but I considered Icarus to be to me as a father would. He turned me because I couldn't stand being anyone's life line. I hated being forced to feed a whole species simply because my blood tasted sweet.
Our first pet was Bennett. He was charming when he wanted to be. But as soon as my father was in the room he would go quiet. When we were alone I would cry and constantly apologize for feeding on him. He was becoming my friend and he comforted me, not by forgiving me but convincing me that I was only doing what I had to and that he understood. I don't think he did though. I think it was all a lie, not make myself feel better but to make himself feel better. Better about kissing me and holding me in his arms. Knowing that this relationship was more than a blood connection. And that my feelings towards him weren't only increased because of my constant feeding off of him and only him. But that was also a lie. All I wanted was to be human again so we could live our lives together, it was the first time I ever regretted my decision to change.
It was love, until the day I walked in to find Bennett's dead body on the ground. My father standing above him wiping his lips. I felt no sadness for his death. It was as though all the emotions had been ripped from me. He was once again no more than food.
"I'm sorry I didn't do that sooner Emma, but things have been so busy at the factory, I failed to notice the bind." My father sat at his desk and motioned for me to sit.The bind was what occurred when a vampire fed on the same person to long, its what caused me to feel so attached and its what made me experience human emotions.
"Thank god you finally realized, It's like I had lost all control father. I was actually falling for that creature. If I was a human I believe I would feel rather relieved." He had meant nothing to me, Bennett, no more than his own inner feelings appealing to the tiny shreds of humanity I still had left.
