THE TASTE OF BLOOD

CHAPTER TWO. THE TASTE OF INK.

Darkness seeps into the apartment, it's coils wrapping around my body as I sink into the couch. Behind me I hear Frank, moving around in the kitchen as the thick scent of coffee and blood fills my nostrils. I close my eyes, letting my head lean backwards as I relish within the rich smells. "Three please," I ask, breathing slowly.
"Of sugar?"
"Don't be a smart ass,"
Several moments later, I sense his footsteps approach me, and a warm mug is pushed into my hands. The couch dips down at my immediate left and I feel the cold air fill with a sudden rush of body heat. My spine tingles. Cracking an eye open, I lift my drink to my lips as Frank smirks at me. "What did you do, spit in it?" as I say this, I shake my head and glance down into the murky dark red liquid. I lick my lips before taking a sip.
"I don't spit, I swallow," Frank fires a slightly late comeback at me, as if it's yet another attempt to try and force a chuckle from my lips. Instead, I roll my eyes before downing my coffee. My throat burns from the hot mixture of caffeine and blood, but yet I almost moan at the taste. Three weeks, since I've drank. Three weeks. "So when do we go hunting?" Frank asks me in a bright tone, sensing my thoughts.
"Hunting," I say with the shake of my head. "Is something that the Daily Mail came up with to make us out as monsters. Which we are,"
Frank blinks, then says, "So... does that mean you hunt or not?"
"No, we don't. C'mon, I thought you should know all of this by now," I stretch over to the small coffee table and ditch my mug, before folding my arms tightly across my chest. The kid has only been trailing behind me since I spoke to him just this morning, yet he's already getting on my nerves. How I haven't just drained him and left him by the side of the road for the rats to eat, I have no clue.
"So do you come to people like me for blood then? I mean, vampires would come to me a lot. Still, I assumed there were other ways, and hunting sounds pretty cool," he shrugs, nodding to himself.
"There are plenty of ways to drink when you're a supernatural beast who can crush a car under his own fist, kid. Most of them are illegal, but there are a few expensive places I know of,"
Suddenly, Frank perks up. His strange excitement for bloodlust is already getting ahead of him as his eyes glimmer. "So we get to buy blood? Like from a blood bank?"
I force out a shaky sigh, closing my eyes once again. "I don't have the money. Come on, lets go," I pull myself to my feet in a lazy fashion, not using up my energy to flit to the other side of the room, showing off my speed. Instead, I motion for Frank to get up before we trail out together. For the last few hours, I have been plotting out exactly what I am going to do, considering that money is something I'm finding hard to come by. It's a simple idea, something that if I play my cards just right, I might just get away with.

Being a vampire, people always expect me to have some extraordinary trick up my sleeve at all times. They think I'm a glamorized object, something from the movies that has sprung into real life. It's just another reason for me to loath such shallow creatures. All they care about is glamor and gossip. They want a reason to argue, something that causes drama. A species of blood sucking monsters would of course, be the perfect topic. That's what we are, to one half of the world. That's the slightly rational half, the half that keeps it's distance for a good reason. The other half think we're gods, try to make us Turn them. It makes me feel sick.
Frank is walking in front of me. We parked my car about a dozen meters away from our destination, and we're nearly there. Being Frank, the 4" teenager is bouncing around with excitement, dying to find out the great secrets of the universe. I'm slinking behind, watching him cautiously. I can smell his scent, thick with sweat, blood and cigarettes. Looking closely, I can almost make out his jugular pulsing beneath his skin. Around it, I see scars. Very familiar scars that remind me of the very bite marks that stain my own throat. Frank however, has not one set but many. How he is not completely used up and drained, I don't understand. He's lucky to have survived this long, undergoing so many Feedings. The average human can only put up with four or five at a most, but Frank appears to have at least ten sets of scars scattered around his body. Three around his neck, two on his left wrist, three on his right wrist, one near his ankle, and another on his left hand. Those are just the visible marks, though. Beneath his clothing, his entire torso could be littered with the scars he gained for money.
I find myself shuddering at the thought.
Soon, we're quickly surrounded by 'people like Frank'. After entering the cracked, desolate seeming building and stumbling through a few hallways, music is heard and and Frank looks up at me nervously. "It's fine," I tell him, and push him forwards. I can't let him catch onto my plan just yet, I don't want to risk his temper. If he kicks off before I disappear, things could turn out very badly for me.
Girls, mainly. Dancing. Drinking. Flirting. Honestly, they are beautiful young things. Full of a fake life, elegant and flawless. I can smell their blood, seeping through their delicate skin. The whole place is doused in the delightful scent, and I glance down at Frank. His eyes are half lidded, and his mouth is opened slightly, lust filling his face. His heart is pounding, and his pulse is quickening with every second. After a second of me staring at him, he gulps then allows his eyes to meet mine. "We stay here for fifteen minutes while I find someone to drink from, and then we leave. Understand?" I force an eyebrow up at him, and he nods. "Stay here. If anybody talks to you, tell them you have an owner," at that, I leave him confused before flitting towards the bar.
"Ah, Mr Way. What can I get you? Pretty girl, Lindsey over there has another good bite left in her. You can have it for fifty dollars," Daniel greets me, giving me his movie star smile, exposing his pearly whites. "Actually, eighty dollars and you have her for the night. Get something good out of her before she's drained, I don't like my pretty ones to go to waste,"
I shake my head, pursing my lips as I wave a hand. "No, Daniel. Listen, I have to ask a favor," he pauses, letting a concerned frown take over his porcelain face. "I have a kid. He's good lucking, got a kick in him and I need the money. Please, just take him. Five hundred dollars. C'mon Danny, you can't say no," I'm keeping my voice low, in a hushed conspiracy whisper, terrified that Frank will overhear us. I have to remind myself that he's just a human. His hearing is far less advanced than mine. "Please, I can't look after him. I picked him up this morning and I can't just throw him back on the streets,"
We both stand, staring at each other for a moment. Daniel is the first to speak,"Have you fed from him already?" I could feel this question on it's way.
I shuffle uncomfortably. "Well, no. No I haven't," I'm telling the truth, but it doesn't matter. It makes no difference whether it was me who fed from him or the vampires who paid for it. Daniel doesn't want to take my word for it.
"That him?" he gestures to Frank, who is chatting with a human girl not much older than him. I growl slightly before giving him a curt nod. "Mind if I...?"
"No, no, go ahead. Try not to make it obvious, though,"
I follow behind Daniel, who approaches Frank with a huge grin on his face, glowing with charisma. Immediately, Frank cuts off his conversation with the human girl before looking up at me, biting his lip. I don't speak, and neither does Daniel. The older vampire ducks in, and begins examining Frank's throat. He purses his lips, and I feel disappointment fill me up. "The kid's been bitten. More than once," he says, withdrawing himself to stand upright.
Frank blinks, his face full of confusion. "Does it really matter?" I scoot closer to Daniel, whispering in his ear. "Please, I need this money,"
"What money?" Frank asks. "What's going on?"
"Nothing, shut up," I hiss.
"We can't take him," Daniel informs me, far too loudly because Frank instantly perks up.
"What the fuck do you mean? Um, M-Mister, what is this guy talking about? I'm not for fucking sale!" he's yelling at me, and despite his tiny frame I stumble backwards as he shoots up. "Are you just trying to load me off? What the fuck, dude!"
"No... no, Frank take it easy, I-" I'm lifting my hands up, doing my best to calm him.
"I'm not gonna take it fucking easy! C'mon, I know you hate me, but I can be useful!"
"Frank, I-"
"Is it because I'm already used up? Because I'm already bitten? That's why you don't want me. You're trying to ditch me here, but ha! They don't fucking want me either!" Frank spits in my face, covering me in saliva before he storms out, kicking the door on his way. I let out a sigh, closing my eyes as I wipe my cheek.
Around me, I notice that we've just caused quite the scene. Everyone is staring, and I'm left feeling vulnerable as several sets of cold eyes glare daggers at me. "Mr Way, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Daniel begins steering me to the door. As soon as I'm pushed out, I grit my teeth.
"God dammit," I grumble, my hands balling up into fists. A blind, erratic rage is tearing throughout my body, and I instantly begin searching for the little punk who caused this. I see him walking down the street, his pace fast as he kicks random pieces of debris in anger.

Notes

So should I carry on with this story then?

xofeb