I woke up with the worst headache I've ever had before. It hurt to open my eyes but as I squinted at my surroundings I realized that I was in a small dark room with bars on one side. It reminded me of the prison cells in the Aliens department for those illegal immigrants who were criminals.
I swallowed hard and my throat my so dry it hurt. What was I doing here?
Feeling completely drained of energy I leaned back against the cold wall behind me. My head felt heavy causing me to look down and thats when I noticed the bite marks all over my arms.
I winced in pain as I tried to move my neck and my hands immediately shot up to feel my skin. I gasped when I felt dried up scabs all over my neck.
What the hell happened to me?
My head was throbbing and my memory was a haze of blurred images. The last thing I remembered was being in Lavenders mansion and singing for her guests and then she had lead me up to her room and things got pretty heated up in there.
But that's where the memories stopped. I couldn't remember anything after.
"Zayn darling. You're finally awake," I heard Lavenders smooth voice and my eyes shot up to the figure standing by the bars.
She leaned closer and I saw her unique colored eyes boring into mine.
"Lavender, why am I here? What happened to me?" I whispered fearfully. She had the most eerie expression on her shadowed face as she smiled at me.
"You have transcended, Zayn. You are one of us now," she exclaimed in delight and my eyes widened in confusion.
"What?" I shifted in an attempt to get up, not understanding her at all. "Why am I covered in bruises? Why am I here? I need to go back home." I tried to get up but I only fell back down as I had no energy and I was hurting all over.
"Don't worry darling the pain is only temporary. It'll all go away once you feed," She replied and then she nodded at the corner of the cell I was in.
I looked in that direction and it was only then that I realized I wasn't alone here.
My mouth fell open when I saw an unconscious man lying on the floor and I crawled over to him. When I saw the side of his face I felt like puking.
It was Ali.
I poked him and then shook him weakly hoping that he would wake up but he only grunted in response. Relief flooded my veins when I realized that he was still breathing.
But now I felt angry.
"What the hell do you want with us?" I shouted at Lavender angrily but she showed no emotion as she stared at me.
"I don't want anything, Zayn. I've given you a gift. You should be grateful," She replied and then she smiled widely revealing two sharp teeth that were slowly growing longer.
I blinked a few times wondering if I was seeing things.
"All you have to do is drink his blood and you will feel better. I'll even let you out of here."
I rubbed my eyes and pinched myself wondering if I was hallucinating. Her teeth were so long and her deranged smile sent chills down my spine.
"He's going to die anyway. You might as well make it quick," She said and then she left me here alone in this dark cell.
I shook Ali vigorously, losing more energy in the process but he only mumbled in response.
I lay on my back and stared at the ceiling while Lavenders words played in my mind. Her elongated teeth made me my heart race. I've never seen anything like that before. Was she even human? What the hell was she and why was this happening to me?
I cast a quick glance at Ali and remembered her words. Was I supposed to eat him?
My fingers immediately shot up to my mouth and I felt my teeth. I breathed in relief when I realized that they were normal sized and then my eyes narrowed on the small pool of blood under Ali's hand.
I'd never really noticed blood before but I couldn't take my eyes off his. My stomach growled slightly and churned in hunger and then I felt my teeth move.
I placed my fingers on my teeth and gasped in horror when I realized that two of my teeth had become so long that they were protruding from the corners of my mouth.
I shuffled to the other end of the cell away from Ali till my back hit the wall and then everything went black.
***
"You should just drink his blood Zayn. It will end both your pain and his," Lavender sighed in frustration as she sat down on the floor outside my cell and stared at me.
I simply stared at the wall, ignoring her in the process. It felt like I had been in here for months but I couldn't really tell since all I could see were these four dingy walls.
"I miss you. I miss your voice," She said sweetly but I gritted my teeth in anger. I hated her so much. She was my only visitor and everytime she visited she would inject Ali with some liquid so that he didn't die and scold me about how I was torturing him by not killing him.
She starved me by not giving me any food or water and I knew she wanted me to drink Ali's blood. That was the only reason he was still here. The only thing I couldn't understand was why I wasn't dead yet.
"I can't," I replied in frustration and my vision grew blurry with tears.
I was so hungry it was driving me mad. To be honest everytime I looked at Ali I wanted to bite him. So I looked at the walls instead eager to find a distraction. In the beginning thinking of Arabella helped but now all I could think about was my empty stomach and Ali's blood. I've never craved blood before, I couldn't help but feel that I was going mad in here and Lavender's words were slowly getting to me.
I stared at her face with pure hatred.
"Why are you doing this to me? Please let me go," I cried in pain. My whole body was aching and I felt so weak but I wasn't dead. Why couldn't I just die like Arabella did?
"Zayn stop being so stubborn and just do as I say. The pain will end and I will let you out of here. I just need you to do this," Lavender pleaded as her delicate fingers gripped the cell bars.
I remembered the feeling of her skin on mine when we had sex after my performance in her house. She had been so magnetic and enchanting but it now felt like a distant memory.
"I don't believe you," I replied and I saw her face flash with anger. I turned back to the wall and ignored my growling stomach.
"Fine. Suit yourself. Enjoy the view," She said sarcastically as she left me alone once again.
I snuck a peek at Ali's sleeping form and suddenly the slow sound of blood pumping filled my ears. Only it wasn't my blood but his. This had happened before but today it was louder and it made saliva pool in my mouth. I stared at the wall and tried to distract myself when I heard the doors upstairs open.
That's weird. I didn't expect Lavender to be back so soon.
I heard footsteps walk down the stairs and they stopped right outside my cell.
My head turned towards the person and my heart fell when I saw Lavender again. Only this time she had her hair tied back making me frown in confusion. I squinted at her face and noticed her blue eyes and my eyes widened in surprise.
Kayla has never visited me before.
"Why are you torturing yourself?" She frowned at me and I sighed. Of course she came here to convince me to eat up my friend too. Even though she had warned me previously, I knew she was one of them.
I scoffed in response and looked back at the wall.
"I warned you, didn't I? But no you didn't listen?" She grumbled.
"Maybe you should have been more specific," I snapped and she sighed.
I turned back to her and was surprised to see her looking at me guiltily.
"I couldn't. They're always watching me," She said and her eyes were etched with pain. "I never wanted this life either and they know. She knows."
I knew she was talking about Lavender, her twin sister.
"Although I didn't last as long as you have. It took me about three months to break and finally feed," Kayla told me sadly.
"How long have I been here?" I asked her.
"Six months," She gave me a small smile. "That's the longest anyone's ever lasted. That I know of."
My jaw dropped at her words. I've been here for six months? Without food or water?
"How am I not dead? People must be looking for me. For us," I started panicking because I couldn't understand what was happening.
"Zayn you're an immigrant and so is Ali. It wouldn't make much effort to shift your papers around and make you disappear. Our organization has a lot of influence and if we want you gone. You're gone."
She swallowed hard before speaking again.
"And you are a vampire now. That's why you're not dead. The only thing you need to survive is blood," Kayla said seriously.
I nodded my head and stared at Ali again. Lavender had been feeding me stories about vampires everyday. At first I thought she was crazy but now it sort of made sense.
"It really isn't that bad, Zayn. We run really fast and our bodies are much stronger than humans. We can also hear things from great distances. The only drawback is our diet," She said and then she stood up and dusted her pants.
"I would never encourage you to kill someone, Zayn but if you don't feed on him the others will and his death will be much less pleasant if they do. You have control here. Give him a quick death, leaving him like this is torture," She said honestly and I felt myself giving in because unlike Lavender she seemed more genuine.
She left me with my thoughts and after staring at the wall for what felt like hours I decided to do what she said.
I crawled over to Ali and lifted his limp hand. He reeked of sweat and urine but all I could think of was the blood pumping in his wrist. I lifted it to my mouth and felt my fangs elongate.
"I'm sorry my friend."
Tears ran down my face as I bit into his skin and felt the warmth of his blood in my mouth. I expected it to taste disgusting but it was the most delicious thing I've ever had.
When Lavender came to check on me I saw her glistening white teeth as she smiled at Ali's lifeless body that I had sucked dry till the very last drop of blood.
And the worst part was that I wanted more.