Only Human (6 page)

I can hear the other girls moving around in there, I better vacate the bathroom before the queue forms. A room full of girls,
vamp or human, fighting for the bathroom in the evening, is not a pretty sight! I guarantee that Simone is at the front of the queue when I open this door!

Here goes, this is where I find out if any of them noticed that I wasn
’t there when they bedded down this morning.

‘
Is this where you have been all day? You weren’t in your pit, that’s for sure! Were you hiding in here weirdo?’

I
’m smiling, I can’t help it, and all I can see is you Amica, standing behind her and pulling faces, jeering at her perfect, hateful little face. I’m not going to answer her, if I could just get past and get to the breakfast room; I have more important things to worry about.

‘
I’m telling Greko you were out when we went to our pits. I’ll bet your ‘boyfriend’ was with you eh? Off having sex I bet! No, Garok’s not blind, and you wouldn’t know what to do!’

They
’re all laughing now, they are children, babies; immature, clueless girls, with no idea about life, pretending to be adults! I’ve had enough!

‘
Shut up you bitch!!

Simone
’s face is a picture as I shove past her and out into the passageway. I don’t feel afraid of her anymore. Why is that? She is petty, unimportant in comparison to the burden I have carried since the day I was born. The secret that has now been revealed to one, and somehow I feel that soon, will be revealed to more. I am more vulnerable now than I have ever been. I must speak with Garok, and soon.

I am sitting next to Lunar at the breakfast table
, staring at my glass of blood. I have decided that I like this girl Amica, she is quiet and unassuming, and she doesn’t join in with the BitchVamps. In fact, I have seen her become their victim on more than one occasion. I should have stepped in and helped her in some way. It is just that my parents have forever drummed into me the importance of being unnoticed, being subservient and agreeable. Well no more!

‘
Are you enjoying the trip?’

‘
Eh what?’

She is so sweet; looking around to check that it i
s her I am actually speaking to.

‘
I was just asking if you are enjoying this field trip so far, Lunar.’

‘
Yes, yes I am Aecia, thank you for asking.’

Subservient, exactly like me! She is from a third class clan
, and only got into The Manor School through a scholarship, she is a wizard at maths. The High Council will have her earmarked as an accountant for later years. She’ll be forced to become their crook, in other words, embezzling money from the people.

I hear my parents and
Uncle discussing various topics like this, sometimes after dinner. The fact that I look younger than my years, and their illusion that I am still two years old, allows them to speak freely around me. They think I don’t understand.

Garok has j
ust come into the room with Mr. Prados; he is late! What does that mean? He is looking over at me. Thank God he is smiling, he doesn’t look angry as he did this morning. Mr. Prados has gone to the end of the table, opposite Mrs. Greko, everything seems normal I think, at least so far.

‘
You haven’t drank your blood.’

Lunar is speaking to me now.
‘We are leaving in five minutes, and you haven’t drank your blood.’

She has a point, everyone else practically inhales their food
, and here am I drawing attention to myself again.

‘
I’m not with it Lunar, too excited about going to the Ordinatio tonight.’

I
’m gulping the vile blood down and trying not to heave. My tolerance is weakening each time I have to drink and it’s only going to get worse.

Mrs.
Greko is standing up and guiding us all out to the lift. I can’t see Garok now, he must have to sit with other boys on the coach to the Ordinatio, I wonder why? Are the Elders sexist, as well as cruel, greedy, and very old?

I wanted so much to speak with Garok before we arrive at the Ordinatio.  He is human too
, and is in as much danger as I am, when we stand before the Elders. I hoped to stand with him for moral support, but I can’t see that happening now. At least I have you friend, always and forever, no matter what happens.

Looking out of the window of the coach, I have decided I am not a fan of the Capital. True, there are some beautiful
, meticulously designed, and stunning buildings, but there are too many of them. They are squashed together like sardines in a tin, and it is almost impossible to determine where one building ends and the other begins. Each one is in competition with the next, and they become more ostentatious, and eventually ridiculous, as we progress through to the Centre. No doubt, all of this over the top grandeur is to accentuate the fact that the residents are all stinking rich! It just proves that money cannot buy class, taste or discretion!

It is so noisy too, car bumper to car bumper, they crawl in their vehicles through the city to their destinations. They vent their frustrations and impatience on their car horns
, as they jostle to get to the next set of lights before their neighbours. The whole City Centre is in one great big rush.

What I don
’t understand is why they travel in their cars. They are Vampires, and can run from one side of the Centre to the other, in less than a minute. It must be just the class status issue; people wanting to convince their peers that they are First Class, and can afford a better car than them. How can people reach their two hundredth or more years, and still act like schoolchildren, boasting a better pencil case than the rest of the class?

We
’re here, I did quite a good job of distracting myself then eh friend?  I wonder if you noticed my eagerness to admire, ‘the wonderful architecture,’ of this city, and have transformed said city, into, ‘a tin of pilchards.’ Ha, just shows how a person’s mood has direct influence on their opinion. I am so full of trepidation about this visit; I refuse to see that any good can come out of it. Vampires are my own kin, but I hate them at the moment; hate, fear and confusion, that is my life.

The boys are filing into the building before us, I can s
ee Garok looking around for me; at least I hope he’s looking for me. Yes, he’s waving, so glad I got the window seat. What on earth is he trying to say? He looks frantic, and he is mouthing something indecipherable. Oh-oh, Mr. Prados has seen him and shut him up, the mean sod, never liked him. I am definitely slipping away at lunch to find Garok.  He’s upset about being here, that’s what it is, somehow I will find him and we’ll talk.

This
building is absolutely massive! Uncle told me once that all the generations of Kings and Queens in human history once lived here. I grudgingly admit that parts of it are still beautiful, probably the parts unchanged by the Vamps.

Oh I am in a foul mood this morning, I hope I
’m not about to have another period! I might as well have, ‘HUMAN,’ tattooed on my forehead, if that is the case or even, ‘QUICK SNACK!’

My thoughts are switching from one thing to another, I have to focus and try and get something out of this experience. I would be completely enthralled under normal circumstances, I know I would.

The entrance to the building has six guards, three on each side of the door. They are dressed completely in black, apart from a white silk scarf draped around their shoulders, and a top hat with a silk band of the same colour. There are two marble bowls, one on either side of the entrance, supported by a single trunk of pure gold. These are alight, and I have to admit, they look spectacular in the darkness of the night; a rainbow of changing colours, wild and fascinating.

The doors either side must be ten feet in height at least, which is almost half the height of the whole building. I read tha
t it stands at about 25 feet in height. There must have been some giant, human Kings and Queens, to require doors that high!

There are over 750 rooms in this building, man
y of which aren’t even used by the Elders, or their clans, but they are cleaned and preened for visitors such as ourselves. I might just add, that this is not a FREE, benevolent glimpse, of the decadent life of the Royal and First class segment of our world. Our parents have paid for this trip since the day we started school. The cost of the tour is deducted from their wage each month, until we actually arrive at the front door of the Ordinatio, in our fourteenth year. My parents have a second child, and so will continue to contribute until Zak embarks on this trip.

Looking at the diamond encrusted doors
, now opening in front of me; I can see that this system is flawed. Many of the third class in our society, exist in shanty towns, and live on a half a glass of blood a day. Where is the justice in that arrangement? OMG! Amica, if I live to adulthood, I will have to be a political, historical scientist, in order to fulfill my needs!

The main hall is just as expensively impressive as the outside of the building. There are priceless paintings by people from the human era
, (which I can’t remember the names of, because I’m not really into art). Modern Vampire sculptures of gargoyles drinking flute glasses of Clone blood, with only a napkin to cover their modesty. Ugghh, no-one said this would be a house of horrors!

There are two more stooges, dressed the same as the guards outside, approaching
Mrs. Greko now. They are collecting our coats and then they will be our guides for the evening, I think. I can’t see the boys anywhere; they really must have to be separated from us when we meet the Elders. I don’t think there will be a chance to speak to Garok tonight at all. If we can just get through this evening, everything will return to normal when we get home, I’m almost sure of it.

We are going to tour the administration offices on this ground floor (boring). Who wants to see a load of stuffed shirts
, typing and doing paperwork? I just want to see the Elders and get it over with.

‘
Are you ok?’

Wow I didn
’t even notice Mrs. Greko coming over to me!

‘
Eh yes, Mrs. Greko.’

‘
You have gone a peculiar colour Aecia.’

Oh no, I must be perspiring
, and it’s melting the whitener. It’s the heat from those blasted furnaces outside.

‘
I, I think it’s something to do with the
fever,
Mrs. Greko, I’m sorry.’

‘
Don’t be sorry child, I was just concerned. This is all very unusual for a girl your age. I am considering ringing your parents.’

‘
NO, I mean, please don’t do that Mrs. Greko, they are both at work anyway. They wouldn’t be able to answer, and they would be so upset if they thought I wasn’t enjoying this trip.’

‘
Hmmm, well stay near to me then Aecia, so that I can keep an eye on you. If these are the symptoms of an extremely early dose of
fever,
then your behavior must be monitored, for the safety of the other children.’

If I wasn
’t so terrified, I’d laugh at that last remark
; my
behavior must be monitored, for the safety of a group of teenage bloodsuckers! They would drain me of life in a second if they knew the truth! Still, I don’t mind walking with Mrs. Greko for the rest of the tour. She is a nice person, and I’d feel safer standing next to her when we meet the Elders.

We are to eat lunch in the gardens
, within the grounds of the Ordinatio. I really will be glad to be outside in the fresh air. I am starting to feel sick again, but I don’t know if it’s nerves, or just that the blood isn’t agreeing with me anymore. If we are served blood cakes, or blood puddings, it might be easier for me to stomach. These are not entirely made of blood, and have some flour, bran and sugar, within them. They are quite expensive, but are included in the price of this tour so we should get some food of this type at lunch. I’ll soon find out, Mrs. Greko is leading us through the side door, out into the garden.

Wow, this is pretty; it
’s just like the ornamental gardens of old, when human’s had festivals and celebrations to rejoice in the beauty of nature. There are gas lanterns made out of silver, no less, hanging on silver posts all over the garden; they illuminate the colours of the surrounding flowers, which would be impossible to see in the black of night.

There are roses and carnations in one plot
, with lilies and bluebells in another. Explosions of colour, softened by lamplight; it is beautiful. It seems the higher class Vampires; do still have some interest in the beauty of growing things. As we walk to the lunch table, in the centre of all this beauty, we can see marble, life-size statues of the extinct Tigers, Panthers, and Lions, either side of the pathway. These are symbolic to the Vampires, of their own power, speed and grace; not to mention their magnificent fangs, the perfect killing tool.

I am sitting next to
Mrs. Greko at the table which is covered in a lace, cotton table cloth. This is all very grand for a group of teenage Vamps. I wonder if the boys are getting the same treatment. Ha, I bet they are actually eating with the Elders in the main dining hall. Actually, that would be awful for Garok, if they are, like a carrot eating dinner with a table full of vegetarians.