HUNTED

KIRA

That day will forever haunt me, the day I realized that my life would never remain the same again. All I saw were red droplets of blood as it slipped down like a fountain from their necks. None of them were spared. All of them were gone in the blink of an eye. My family was killed, drained like they were nothing but animals and it’s all thanks to those detestable…creatures of the night.

Life was simple back then. Everything was decent enough for me until they came along and ruined what we know as life itself. You know, I never believed in the supernatural: Vampires, Werewolves, Witches, and Warlocks were only depicted in television shows and movies, a pictorial illustration of creatures never to be seen with the naked eye.

Imagine my shock when out of nowhere, the news headlines screamed: VAMPIRES TAKE OVER: PRESIDENCY SURRENDERS.

It was a sick joke. At least, it was meant to be a joke.

But it was real.

Humans were evacuated from their homes and were forced to live in the outskirts of the city in ramshackle tents. Because of the limited access to food, water, and shelter, we struggled to survive. The vamps made sure we realized that they were on top of the food chain. Due to their superhuman strength and increased agility, they would kill us for sport.

It was all a sick, twisted game to them: draining humans of every last drop of life till they lay limp on the ground. They derived pleasure in sinking their canines deep into our necks. As we scream for mercy, they’d laugh at the pain until the screams fade into thin air, leaving in its wake nothing but a body bag.

After the death of my family, I, along with some other females who were lucky to be alive, were taken to an establishment known as The Pet Shop. Upper-class vampires don’t kill humans in tents because that’s beneath them. Instead, they come to The Pet Shop to purchase humans who would be used as slaves, pets, or sex toys. When the vampire got tired, he had the power to get rid of the insignificant human. 

By that I mean they either kill us or re-sell us to another interested vampire.

Either way, as a human, your days are numbered.

…………………………

"Kira, get the fuck up and get ready for the auction."

Austen with the colourful words this beautiful morning.

He’s the short-tempered, psychotic vampire manager of the shop. I’ve learned over the years to keep my arguments with him to a bare minimum because of his sadistic nature. Once, a girl, I think her name was Lira, threw a fit because she didn’t want to be sold. Austen dragged her to God-knows-where mid-tantrum and she hasn’t been seen ever since.

I sighed and got up from the stone-cold bed to hit the shower. As the ice-cold water cascaded down my skin, I made a silent plea to the universe for someone to wake me up from this nightmare. Granted, outside isn’t great and I may or may not be vampire food immediately but at least I had a choice when I was outside. No one controlled how I lived my life.

I had freedom even though it was relative.

In here, I’m told what to do, when to eat, when to sleep and how to speak. Also, let’s not forget that so far, I’ve almost been raped, beaten, and touched inappropriately.

These auctions are usually in sessions: during the first session, human males are sold off then there is an intermission. The last session is when females get sold. To prepare for this idiocy, we are given clothing items that we’d never be caught dead in-clean underwear and fancy clothing so that we would at least look decent enough for the rich vampires. My outfit was a lime-coloured, off-the-shoulder dress that fit the top-half of my body like a glove and then flowed down my legs, leaving a little train behind me. It was a beautiful dress, dare I say I actually did not look lifeless in forever. I tied my auburn hair into a neat ponytail with a rubber band carefully so as not to upset my already frail roots and put on a bit of lip gloss. It is the only makeup product we are allowed to have because, of course, we can’t look prettier than the female vampires.

Giving myself a once over in the bathroom mirror, I stepped out and lined up with the hundreds of girls waiting to be sold.

"Okay, girls,” Austen clapped his hands enthusiastically. ‘’You know the drill: smile, be quiet, and look pretty.’’ Sexist pig. "Also, no funny business.’’ He warned.

Like automated robots, we marched to the familiar room known as the Testing Area. As the name implied, we have medical tests done to make sure we’re clean, fit, and healthy enough to be sold.

Like fattening a cow for the slaughter.

It got to my turn and I rolled my eyes internally at this whole charade. One of the major tests done here is the virginity test. Who the hell were we meant to have sex with when the curfew is by eight pm and all the rooms are locked with a passcode? Not to mention, the boys’ quarters are in a completely separate building from the girls. Oh, let’s not forget that this facility is heavily guarded by, no not humans, vampires!

One wrong move and they’d snap your neck in an instant and sing Amazing Grace at your funeral.

If you even have the luxury of getting a funeral.

"Vince, you may proceed." Vanessa, the doctor in charge of this exercise instructed.

He grunted and pinned me to the table with his large hands and inserted something that looks like a needle in my vagina. By all means Vince, why don’t you insert that thing in me without my consent?

I arched my back further into the table, squirming and wimping at the foreignness of the object. Vince paid me no mind, his soulless eyes burning holes so deep in my body I thought I’d melt into a puddle on the metal table.

If looks could kill, I’d probably be dead by now.

He removed the needle from the table and passed it to Vanessa who scanned it on her computer. I put my dress back on and tried to make myself look a little decent even though I felt completely humiliated.

"Clear," Vanessa stated. She wrote something on her clipboard and called in the next girl they were going to assault.

The next test I had to undergo was the breast examination which was carried out by Zana. Another vampire.

But I liked her. She was always cordial and treated everyone, human and vampire, with respect. Frankly, she was the second person I met with an iota of common sense in the facility.

The first being me of course.

‘’You know the drill, Kira,’’ she said. I sighed and lay on a table again. I slipped my dress down and she rubbed a cool, blue liquid on both breasts. She held a device that looked like a microscope with LED lights and examined me with a serious expression on her face. According to her, the whole point of this test is to check for any signs of breast cancer.

She handed me a paper towel to wipe the goo off my body. ‘’You’re all clear, Kira.’’

Thank heavens. As I was about to make a run for it, she called my name.

‘’Kira, you were born to do great things. Never forget that.’’

I offered her a small smile. "Thanks."

Leaving the room with her words in mind, I made a beeline for the queue full of the other girls like me: girls with no souls, girls who’ve been mind-fucked, girls who’ve been assaulted.

Girls with no future.

"Remember, Kira," Austen whispered in my ear. When did he get so close to me? ‘’Don’t be a bitch. We need not lose customers because of your incompetence.’’

Austen has had it out for me ever since he tried to rape me. Emphasis on the word tried because I wasn’t going to go down without a fight. He had the advantage: I was a human, he was a vampire. However, at that moment when he tried to discard my already skimpy outfit, I clawed at him with my fingernails enough for it to leave bruises on his body and screamed as my life depended on it.

Because it did.

He would have had his way and killed me in the process if not for Zana who came to my rescue. She pushed his weight off me and reported him to the head of the facility, Master Rindell.

But nothing was done. I didn’t expect anything to be done really because no one cared about a human in this new normal. He was still the manager and I was still minutes from being sold to a stranger.

"I hope you don’t get sold tonight,’’ his wandering hands moved dangerously down my back until they cupped my ass. I held my breath and counted till ten in my head.  ‘’That way, I can make you my personal blood bag.’’

"Fucking pervert,’’ I whispered loud enough so he could hear me.

"What did you say?’’ he growled.

I swallowed the fear that was growing in my throat and repeated what I had said, this time a little louder. ‘’You’re not deaf, are you? I said fucking pervert and I hope you rot in hell or purgatory or wherever you vampires go because you’re despicable.’’

Gasps filled the room and the other girls turned to watch us. Some widened their eyes while others looked at me like I was bat-shit crazy. Maybe I was crazy: years of being cooped up in here can do a number on you. Also, I’m sick and tired of Austen’s bullying. Sometimes, I wished I had extraordinary powers like him just so I could hurt him the way he hurt me. More so, I wish I could kill him with my bare hands because he deserved it. The girls in the shop would even be grateful because that is one less monster eradicated from their lives.

"You little bitch." His angry and erratic breathing fanned my ear and I could feel his fangs elongating. I knew what was coming next. With the way his big hands gripped my arm, he wanted blood and he was going to get it because no one had the power to call him out. I closed my eyes and waited for the pain but it never came.

"That’s quite enough, Austen," Zana said, coming out of the examination room. My saviour. She had a frown on her face and a hand on her hips. ‘’You know the rules or do I have to call Master Rindell?’’

Rule #43: Never drink from a human minutes before an auction.

"Definitely not, Zana dear,"  he released me from his grip and retracted his gums. ‘’I was just going over a few things with Kira.’’

“With your fangs almost digging into her neck?”

“She wanted it.”

No, I didn’t. “Whatever.”  She turned to the girls who had already formed a circle around us. The shock was evident on their faces because they never expected a vampire to stand up for a human. "Ladies, why don’t we all form a straight line and forget this ever happened."

Austen stormed off in annoyance and I smiled brightly. That will teach him. Zana walked over to me and straightened out my dress. ‘’Did he hurt you?’’

"No. Thanks to you he didn’t."

She pressed her lips into a firm line. “Good. Remember to keep your head up and don’t let this get to you,”

I nodded wordlessly as her fingers brushed  strands of hair from my face. “Also, remember what I told you earlier.”

You were born to do great things.

With that, she left and the girls and I did as she said-pretended like it never happened.