Chapter 3: Laying in Wait

As it got later, some of the girls started to go to sleep, exhausted from the day's ordeal. Lavinia noticed that Helen and the other two women sat uneasily on the edges of their beds. She caught Helen's eye about to ask something, but Helen shook her head. So Lavinia stayed put, letting Rosie repetitively braid and unbraid her hair.

From the hallway came the sound of several pairs of feet. The door was thrown open and two guards stepped through. Helen looked between the guards as the two other women sat forward.

"It's my night I think," said the tallest one.

"That it is. But Mr. Astor said he wanted to try something. Something new." With a swift motion, the guard on the left seized the wrist of one of the new brunette girls. Having been asleep in her bed, she yelped. The guard to the right extended his hand towards the tall woman who stood and took it, resigned. She and the new brunette were ushered quickly into the hallway. As the door closed the girls could see the door across the hall swing closed as well.

Helen and the remaining woman gripped each other's hand briefly, then split, climbing into their respective bunks. Following their lead, Lavinia tucked her legs underneath her covers. Rosie clambered into the bunk above her and curled her legs underneath herself.

Time passed slowly and though she tried, Lavinia could not relax. She lay perfectly still, but her limbs felt as if they were vibrating. Her eyes stayed wide open, staring at the underside of Rosie's bed. Lavinia stretched her hand out in front of her, able to make out her digits in the weak darkness. Glancing to her right, Lavinia could make out a small crescent-shaped window on the wall. Through it, she could see the faint glimmer of stars.

In the upper bunk below the window, the outline of a girl sitting up was illuminated. She was turned towards the window. As Lavinia watched she reached up to the window's latch. It creaked slowly open and she stood, balancing on the hard mattress. Her arms strained to pull herself through the window. As her feet disappeared, Lavinia sat up to try and see where she had gone. She swung one of her legs off the side of the bed.

"Don't," the hiss came from the remaining woman, still awake below Helen. Lavinia looked at the woman, barely sure she had actually spoken. "Stay in your bed."

Lavinia looked back to the window, waiting. She could tell from the tension in the woman's shoulders that something would happen. Sure enough, there came the distinct sound of shouts from the open window. Footsteps clattered on the paving stones outside and the sound of men's' voices rang clearly through the dark. There was a moment of muffled struggle and then a high pitch groan of distress. The footsteps retreated, now stepping in almost unison, as if the guards were walking together now.

Then there was silence. Lavinia saw the woman settle back into her bunk and took this as a sign that the events of the evening had ended. She laid back and tucked her hands behind her head. Try as she might to empty it, her mind kept wandering back to the two girls who had been taken to Isaac. What was happening to them?

Lavinia did not know much about the specific needs of vampires, but she knew the basics. Everyone in the cities was at least passingly familiar with vampires. They tended to prowl only in the dark or when the cloud cover was sufficient. At previous jobs, Lavinia had heard stories from people who had supposedly had run-ins with the leeches. Girls complained about clients accosting them with piercing bites. Some others talked about several encounters and then eventually stopped coming into work, never to be heard from again.

There were some girls Lavinia knew of who seemed to want attention from vampires. They claimed there was something pleasurable about being on the bleeding end of a bite. To feel that vulnerable and desired. Lavinia knew whatever these girls had experienced; It would not be the same with Isaac. She turned onto her side and pulled the covers over her face.

Slowly, Lavinia's eyes drifted closed. Her sleep was fitful and light. As she slept, a faint commotion broke up her dreamless state. At first, Lavinia thought the noise was the start of a dream, but quickly realized that it was coming from outside in the hallway. As she opened her eyes the door banged against the wall and the brunette girl who had been taken was thrown back into the room.

She hit the floor as a pile of skinny flesh and bones. Her face was obscured by blood as she rolled onto her side. When the door slammed behind her, Lavinia leapt out of bed, picking the girl's head up into her lap. Se pulled the heavy braid of brunette hair off her face and onto the floor, revealing her neck, covered in gore.

Sets deep puncture marks surrounded by a heavy blotch of purple bruising littered her neck. Faint trails of dark veins spanned out from the marks, winding up into her hairline and down under the neckline of her dress. Her eyes were half-closed as she looked blearily up at Lavinia.

"What happened," Lavinia asked. "What happened to the other girl."

"She-" the girl coughed, blood spilling from between her lips. "She's gone. Dead."

Helen winced and climbed down from her bunk to it sit with the other remaining woman.

"I'm sorry," the shaking girl stuttered. "He did it so quickly."

"It will happen to all of us soon," said Helen quietly. "Isaac prefers new toys."

The girl in Lavinia's lap shuddered. "Her body was there the whole time. Looking at me while he-" she broke off, turning her face into Lavinia's leg.

"What was it like?" Rosie whispered.

"For her," the girl raised her head. "He just sort of grabbed her by the hair and bit down. She didn't even struggle. I was just stood there as he drained her. When he dropped her… her eyes were so empty."

"What did he do to you?" Lavinia asked, slowly pulling the girl into a sitting position.

"He- he grabbed me as soon as she was down. There's nothing kind in him. There were only teeth and hands that were far too tight." she brushed her hand against her upper arm and Lavinia could see the faint marks of fingertip bruises under the torn material.

"He drank from me like he was starving- like he couldn't get enough. I only think he didn't drain me dry because he killed her first."

"Astor has never once shown mercy," siad Helen. "Anyone who goes to his room either comes back a husk or not at all. She is fortunate he showed restraint."

"Restraint?" the girl whimpered.

Helen nodded. "Our first night here the new girl never came back. His next pick screamed all the way up the hallway."

"Where did Juniper go?" the brunette asked, turning her head towards the open bunk. Lavinia hesitated for a second, looking between the brunette and the woman who had warned her to stay put.

Eventually, the silence got to be too much. "She tried to run," Lavinia said. "She made it outside and… we heard a scream."

"We never see the ones who run come back. Not even as bodies. Most likely she went to the plant where the Astors manufacture blood." Said the woman on the lower bunk. "Did he say anything else?"

The girl shook her head. "No. Well, he said he was looking forward to- there was a name he said. With an L."

Lavinia froze. She knew it was her name but she could not bear to hear the girl say it. "Ok. That's enough. Let's get you to bed." She eased the girl off her lap and stood. With the help of the girl with curly hair, she was able to get the bitten girl to her feet and carefully into her bed. Lavinia took the case off her own pillow to gently press against the open wound on the girl's neck. It quickly spotted, but Lavinia felt satisfied that it would be enough for the night.

As she finally pulled her covers securely around her, Lavinia's mind raced. Isaac Astor was thinking about her. The cruel bastard was focused enough on her that he had threatened another girl with her name. She knew that it was only a matter of time before she herself was called into his room. And she knew that when her time came it would be brutal.