Requiem for Blood (9 page)

After the girl had told him her name, she disappeared and left him with little to go on as he Googled her daily with not much luck. He had moved on with his life, figuring that she probably gave him a fake name, and dated a number of girls, no relationship going longer than three weeks. He fell prey to the glitz of being popular, seducing girls as they seduced him, each getting what they wanted out of the other and moving on. His girlfriend at the time had lured him to the beach for a late night rendezvous and as they made out under the moonlight, he saw her. Even through tired eyes, he saw Alexa sitting at the beach just as he did the first time he met her. At that moment, it was like everything had dumped out of his brain and all he could muster was her name against his girlfriend's lips.

“So, are you here for the blood drive?”

He had almost forgotten where he was as he reflected on her words.

“Yeah,” he held out his hand and the girl shook it.

“I'm working with the blood drive organizers and you're the lucky last volunteer of the day,” she smiled cheerfully.

“There was a girl around; she said she was going to donate today too.”

“Oh well, I don't see her but if she comes out she'll be the lucky last one. Anyway, please come with me,” the girl motioned to Troy. “So, I just have to ask you some standard questions: What's your name, age, blood type and have you given blood before?”

They walked side by side toward the gym. “My name is Troy Evans, I'm eighteen, I don't know my blood type and this is my first time donating blood ever.”

“In the last twelve months have you gotten any tattoos, been abroad or pierced overseas?”

“I've got tattoos, yeah but no to the other two.”

“In the last twelve months?” she asked, not looking up.

“Well, three months ago actually....”

She shrugged, happily. “It's whatever. It'll be fine.”

She checked off things on the paper then motioned her arm forward. “Well, here we are.”

He followed her inside the basketball court and noticed how quiet and vacant it was. He was first set up at a station to be interviewed by a woman with wavy dark hair and was finger pricked by her as well. After his hemoglobin levels where checked, he sat in a chair the girl motioned him toward. Lights from above had temporarily blinded him as he leaned back in the chair and looked upward. A tanned man dressed in a white coat stood over him and blocked the light out, his face darkening from the cast of shadows. Streaks of silver ran through his black hair and mustache and he smiled.

“Nervous?” he asked, handing Troy a ball.

“Not really.”

“That's good. You shouldn't be nervous. It's pretty simple, you just hold your arm out like this and I collect your blood and you're on your way.”

The man quickly found a proper vein and got started on Troy's arm. He relaxed in the chair, ignorant to the line stuck in his arm, draining blood from him. Troy felt slightly weakened as more blood seeped out and filled the bag beside his foot, his eyes wavering and his head spinning. He almost felt like he would lose consciousness but remained as alert as possible, his eyes semi faltering as his fingers went numb and dropped the ball. His heart and lungs were constricting, tight as he fought for breaths. The doctor walked over to him when he saw Troy sink into the chair, devoid of cognizance. The blood was slowly sucking itself out of the veins, sparse as it dripped into the bag. He lifted the boy's chin, his face cold and colorless and his breathing slowed. When the doctor dropped his chin, Troy felt like a thousand bricks had fallen on his head, but it was enough to pull him back to consciousness as a voice filled his head. The words were incoherent, almost as if they were another language. He listened intently but couldn't distinguish the voice from gibberish until he heard the faintest of English words.
Wake up Troy
.

His eyes fluttered open and his body pulled forward, nearly ripping the needle out of his vein. His veins were visible under his skin, streams of blue and green running down his arm. Troy looked down and saw the doctor fiddling with the blood bag and when he raised his head, a flash of contentment on his face as he picked it up and freed Troy from the needles and wires.

“I was wondering when you'd wake up,” said the doctor.

“Ushering me to the hospital isn't standard protocol?” Troy pulled his sleeve to the bandage and stood up.

“If I thought you were in danger,” he said. “It would have been my first choice. You clearly didn't have enough in your system before giving blood, unfortunately.”

“I had beef jerky.”

“Not enough. That's never enough when you are giving blood. Please come better prepared next time as these blood donations feed bodies that eagerly need it.”

Troy shrugged when the doctor turned away and pulled his arms through his jacket. Being chastised by a man who knew nothing about him didn't damper his spirits as he walked away feeling accomplished. He had never found the time to donate blood after turning seventeen, but committed himself to donating once he had turned eighteen. Losing his mother to a blood infection had more than scarred him and left him wondering how to keep that tragedy from befalling anyone else so he was happy to see it through.

“Hey, excuse me Troy!” a female's voice called from behind him. He stopped at the double doors and turned toward the unrecognizable voice. Walking toward him was an older female with glasses, brunette hair tied back in a bun and a white coat resembling a doctor's. When she finally got close enough to him, she held out her hand for a shake. He stretched his arm out and met hers and shook it firmly.

“Hi Troy, I'm so pleased to meet you. My name is Mar.”

“Hi,” he replied politely with a nod of his head. Her light brown eyes reminded him of something or someone but he couldn't quite but his finger on it as he looked at her.

“I'm sorry; I realize this must be strange,” she said. “I'm the director for this year's blood drive and I just wanted to thank you for your participation.”

Troy felt reluctant to speak, wondering why she would thank him when it was the least he could do. He thought it was the least anyone could do.

“It's no problem. It's something I've wanted to do for a while.”

“And I also wanted to speak with you about your blood type. You are AB negative but it's a different strain, I can't quite explain it. You should come to the hospital one day, Dr. Patel and I would love to have you.”

“Sure, I think I'll try one day.”

“Great, great,” she said, her words animated. Olivia, who was standing just outside the doors listened to her mother beam brightly as she spoke to Troy. “Well you take care,” she waved as he walked out the gym doors.

Olivia had disappeared into a shadow before he could see her. Mar looked to the wall beside the door and noticed Natalie leaning against it, her arms folded across her chest and one foot propped against the wall.

“What is wrong Natalie?”

“I have teenage boy problems. Noah's the one who's been sneaking human food into the colony and I don't know where he's getting it from but I know he hasn't gone outside the gates. He has no appreciation for the Vampiric world he lives in!” She sighed and shrugged, rolling her head toward Mar. “Where did Olivia disappear to?”

“I'm not sure. It's not hard to get trapped in the bowels of this place, it's large and unfamiliar to her.”

Natalie nodded her head in agreement then changed course.

“What about that boy?” she asked.

A wicked smile crept upon Mar's face as she looked at Natalie above the rim of her glasses. “His blood is perfect.”

Dr. Patel joined their conversation, interjecting his own comment. “That boy's blood...I think that it's the one, unfortunately it's only a bag and I don't know how much is needed for the experiment.”

Mar pressed her palms together and pushed the finger tips to her lips. “We need to find out more about him. What was his name again?”

“Troy Evans,” Dr. Patel replied as he sifted through his paperwork.

“Maybe Olivia could do some recon for you?” Natalie suggested, shrugging her shoulders.

“If only I could find her. I do not know where that child has disappeared to.”

****

Olivia was outside the recreation center, the wind blowing her hair over her eyes as she watched Troy from the shadows. He was sprinting down the street, despite having just given blood, and as soon as he approached a short wall of a building he scaled it. He ran across it and as he approached the edge, he swung his arms back and thrust himself forward onto another roof. She had never seen anyone move as fluid as he did, not Felicity or Noah. She had been slightly impressed as she watched him disappear into the night.

She knew it wasn't wise but there was something about the night, something in the air that spoke softly to her, beckoning her to the beach. It had to be about seven o'clock, she figured as she looked up at the sky. The beach was empty when she had finally arrived, her legs buckling beneath her as she staggered onto the beach. She plopped down on the rocks, leaned forward and watched as the waves heaved back and forth, crashing against the rocks and slithering back. The moon reflected on the water, speckles of gold and white dancing in the dark blue ripples. She couldn't see her reflection but the moonlight had cast a shadow of her figure when the water calmed its terse and violent tide. In the black shadow, she thought she saw color filling it, a palette of white and brown crinkling and folding in the waves. Eyes peered up at her, hollow and ominous as they stared.

“Mother?”

She thought she heard a sound behind her and broke free of the grasp of the distorted image, blinking and then looking to see nothing more than water below. She didn't turn her attention to the sound as she was still lost in what seemed to be a reflection of her. It was her mother's face that had been staring up at her, but she didn't know how to respond or what to think. On more than one occasion she had been told by many people that they saw every bit of the Matriarch in her, which would naturally be a compliment. Her mother was the strongest woman she knew; tenacious, cunning, strong-willed, and skillful, there weren't enough words to describe her and yet, she knew those things did not exist within her. There were another set of words used to describe her, words only those who wished to be cast out of the colony would be stupid enough to utter, kids who had no sense of the compassion she held. Some, like Noah, abhorred the Matriarch's evil disposition but still held nothing but respect for her so that left her more than a little curious as to what part of the Matriarch they saw in her.

She kept her body forward and took in the scent of the ocean. An hour had to have passed but she couldn't believe that she had spent that much time there. It made sense though as it was a place someone could easily lose their thoughts in and lose track of time at. She understood why the guy, Troy, came here to think as it was really quite peaceful. Taking one last look at the ocean, she began to turn but before she could make even a quarter turn, a rusty metal pipe was impaled into her back and made her fall forward as blood spurted out of her mouth. She gasped for air, slowly turning toward her silent attacker as the pipe was thrust deeper into her and twisted, blood pouring out of her abdomen. Before her eyes could lie upon the attacker, her heart beat slowed and she drew in less and less air until her body had ceased to pump and then her eyes closed. A female stroked Olivia's hair as she ripped the metal pipe out and cradled her backwards and onto the rocks.

“I imagine that might have hurt a bit,” the woman whispered into her ear. “But I need you to be good and dead Olivia,” she said as she laid her head down.

Olivia was sprawled out on the ground, her legs crossed at the ankle and her arms spread on either side, bathed in red liquid. Her hair seeped up some of the blood and it stained it as well, maroon against her natural caramel strands. The woman pushed Olivia's hair away from her mouth and hung a hospital blood bag that read AB negative over her, letting the contents drip into her mouth. She sat next to her, her hands impatiently tapping on the wood as Olivia remained lifeless.

“This boy's blood better be worth something....” the woman groaned.

Despite having all of Troy's blood in her, Olivia did not move. The woman waited next to her as an hour passed by. She played with Olivia's lips and peeled her eyes, back willing them to open on their own but still nothing. The woman's ears perked up as she heard sounds of drunken college students, laughing as they stumbled onto the sand. “Stupid kids.”

She closed her eyes and between the clouds, a flash of light lit up the sky followed by the boom of thunder. The students groaned as raindrops fell on them, forcing them away. Olivia and the woman were dry as the rain did not fall on them and when the students left, the sky had cleared. She sat back with a satisfied look until she turned to Olivia who still hadn't moved. It was her first time doing this but she was sure she had gotten it right. She was absolutely certain that she had stolen Troy's blood and his blood was indeed the one. She rolled her eyes, annoyed that she would have to deviate from her plan. The woman took her wrist to her mouth and four canines elongated in her mouth. She bit down and blood spurted from the four small bites, falling on Olivia's lips. She didn't want to take any chances and smeared the blood all over her lips and forcing it into her mouth. And then she waited.