Blood Doll (6)

Stout brick apartments squatted on a hill amongst internally lit middle-class houses.  In the distance, fluorescent lights made up a large city. The flyer’s directions had taken me to the outskirts of the city, obviously not the club Ang had mentioned.  

Instead, I was brought to the top of the hill, where a horde of cars had taken residence in front of the apartments at the far end. As I strove to calm my racing heart, I parked behind a sleek, dark car a bit away from the formation. A miniature group of people reached one of the doors, and I watched as, a moment later, someone answered before allowing them entrance.

Supposedly, I was in the right place.

My boots echoed on the asphalt as I swerved between the cars to the front door. Half of me felt the urge to turn around, to drive back to Ang’s and admit defeat. Coming alone was not a great idea.

A car door shut behind me. Footsteps approached. I glanced over my shoulder to see a pale figure swathed in black come to the door, stop beside me.

His smile was sincere with a hint of removable fangs. “First time?”

“You can tell, can’t you?” I asked.

“Nah. You just seem nervous.” He reached for the doorbell, and a small red vial hanging from his neck dangled in the air. “Don’t worry. It’s nothing to be afraid of. You’re here just to hang out, right?”

Not certain what to reply with, I nodded.

The door opened. A lithe blonde sporting a crimson silk mini dress stood in the doorway. A black star hovered below her eye. “Hello. Invitations?” The man presented one a match to mine, and she permitted us entrance to the foyer. A staircase to the left ascended to two more stories, but the girl directed us to the white door directly ahead.

Haunted melodies wafted through the large, dark space. Bodies stood in groups and lounged on furniture, women in morbid apparel perched on identically morose men’s laps. Dim lights sat in the outskirts of the room, a slight haze of smoke swirling around them.

This was a bit eerie and enthralling all at once.

“Are you meeting anyone here?” the man asked. Surprisingly, he had yet to abandon me thus far.

“I don’t believe so.”

“Come with me, then. There’s someone you should meet. It might help you relax.” To my smile and nod of ascent, my elbow was taken in his warm palm, and he led me through the whispering throng to the other side of the room, where a small circle of people resided in the corner. The man touched a woman’s arm and she turned to him, her skirts twirling.

“Andrew!” she exclaimed. “You came!” Her heavily outlined eyes crinkled as she grinned. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, as did the man, Andrew. Her dark hair was chopped into a severe bob. 

Andrew set his free hand on her bare shoulder. “I told you I wouldn’t miss it. Besides, you made me swear to come.”

The woman’s eyes abruptly found Andrew’s other hand, where his fingers still twined around my elbow. Her head tilted, and I met her gaze nervously. “Oh, darling,” Andrew said, following the woman’s eyes. “This is…I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name.”

“Eve.”

“Eve,” he repeated. “This is my fiancée, Heather. I found Eve on the steps outside. She wasn’t sure whether to come in or not.”

            Heather smiled at me. “First time?” she asked. I nodded sheepishly. “I remember my first time. I was positively horrified at the thought. Andrew had to beg me to come.”

            “Now who’s the one begging?” Andrew quipped.

            Smirking, Heather tugged the silver vial that hung from Andrew’s neck. Her fiancée grasped her hand as she held the vial. “Don’t worry,” she continued. Her light eyes met my own. “I got through the night. You’ll enjoy yourself.

            “So, are you a Sanguin or just here for the thrill?” she asked.

            “I thought you were going to be here earlier.” Fingers grasped my upper arm. I spun to see a man only slightly taller than I hovering over me.

            “What?”

            “Where have you been? We’ve all been waiting for you. We can’t start without you,” he explained. His pale face was awash with innocence and a sense of familiarity.

            “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” I asked. Had his hair been white, had he been wearing makeup?

            No one seemed to hear me. “Come on,” the man said, tugging me with him. Bewildered, I forgot to struggle as he urged me through a doorway.

This room was similar to the last, though larger. More people had packed together, which made it much more difficult to maneuver through them. At the other end of the room was a small, raised platform that the crowd had dispersed to avoid. Lamps sat on the edges to gloomily light it.

The man ushered me through a doorway to the right of the empty stage.

In synchronism, the cluster of inhabitants turned to us as we burst in.

“Finally,” one exclaimed. “Took you long enough, Hansel. You found her?”

“Yeah. Sorry it took so long. I had to make sure she was clean.” Hansel propelled me forward. “She’s nervous, though.”

“You dating Aar-bear or something?” One of the two hulking men swathed in tattoos and a mere pair of black leather pants inquired in the midst of the group. All eyes flocked to me at that.

Heavy pulses emanated from my heart. I stared at the man who had spoken with wide eyes. “I’m sorry. I…”

“Silly, he’s not dating anyone.” A girl extracted herself from the assembly. The one who had answered the front door. Her lips held a welcoming smile for me. “It’s okay to be nervous. Is this your first time in front of a crowd?”

“Yeah,” Hansel supplied quickly.

“There’s nothing to be nervous about. It’s a wonderful experience,” the girl assured me. “By the way, I’m Lizzie.”

“I’m Eve,” I replied tensely.

“Okay, come on, come on people, we got to get moving.” Dark skin encased the man who emerged from rear of the pod. His gravelly voice was assertive as he gave directions. Everyone was sent scurrying into position. Some fiddled with their hair, their makeup, clothes. As I watched, two men, including the one who had spoken to me, allowed themselves to be blindfolded.

Lizzie cursed. Skirting behind me, she eased my coat quickly off my frightened form. “Tin Tin, take Eve. Don’t be nervous,” she whispered to me. “Just go with it.”

Tin Tin, an unnaturally lanky male with a lime-hued Mohawk, approached me. He instructed me to turn around. Disconcerted, I obeyed, then stiffened when he knotted a blindfold over my eyes.

Hands on my shoulders, Tin Tin bade me walk. Murmurs reached my ears, signaling that we had exited the small room. “Step up,” Tin Tin whispered, to which, through my nerves, I did. Hollow wood sounded softly under my feet. Tiny pricks of light slipped through my blindfold. Despite that, my whereabouts remained a mystery.

The only place I figured I could be was the stage.

“Relax, girl,” Tin Tin murmured. He lifted my hands above my head, and soft clinks reverberated as one wrist was wrapped in metal, then the other a moment later. Finally, something was placed around my neck.

“What is that?” I whispered breathily.

“The key,” Tin Tin replied. “Remember, no talking.” His hands disappeared. Multiple pairs of footsteps passed by me, and they echoed off of the hollow stage. I felt so alone, suspended in a void.

Silence prevailed. I dared not breathe. Minutely, I made to resituate, but my handcuffs scraped against the metal bar Tin Tin had restrained me to and I froze.

What had once been hushed conversation had died to nothing. There was no telling whether the room had been vacated, or if a mob had compacted itself into the room and watched the people cuffed on the stage with bated breaths. Tension was ripe.

I thoroughly despised my stupidity at that moment.

Footsteps advanced to my right. I stiffened before realizing they were not headed for me. Instead, a high, soft peep informed me the person had found Lizzie. What was being done, though, I had not a clue. A few people cheered. Lighter steps traveled to my direct right and left. One deep grunt came. Terror pounded in my veins. So badly, I wanted to sprint off stage. Vividly, I imagined the audience, their eyes as they inspected the performance, as they inspected me. I was the only one devoid of a partner. I strongly wished to know what was going on.

One more pair of footsteps met the stage. Whispers flew through the audience, much too low to comprehend. Though I had hoped I would be left out of this, forgotten, I knew it was not so. The steps approached me, halted. Two hands grasped my bare waist, and my body tensed much more.

“Calm,” a deep voice murmured in my ear. “Breathe.” Shakily, I drew in a gasp of air. “It’s your first time, isn’t it?”

Though my throat had since dried, I whispered, “Can everyone tell?”

The man chuckled. “I’m Mason.”

“Eve.”

“Just breathe, Eve. You’ll be fine.” One of his hands left my waist. In its place, cool, sharp metal touched my stomach. With deftness, it sliced a line.

Had it not caught in my throat, I would have shrieked.

This was what was happening around me, beside me. This was what people had gathered to witness with greedy, malicious eyes. They had come to watch as a person willingly allowed his or her flesh to be slit, willingly let blood flow from the wounds.

The true meaning of Drac’s Lair was revealed to me.

So mortified, I was unable to do anything but remain standing. Stings encircled the cut. Blood began to trickle down my stomach. Something warm and wet drew itself along the path of blood: a tongue. Shudders racked my skeleton, but I dared not move even as the blade slid across my hip. Pain welled momentarily inside of me before decreasing to more stinging. Incredibly, my vocal chords remained dormant as Mason lapped the new well of blood racing down my skin. His hands grasped my flesh lightly to hold me in place; the cool piece of metal that scored me was trapped between my hip and his hand, the frigidity of it slowly being replaced by warmth.

It was as Mason made to nurse a third wound that someone beside me moaned, encouraging the crowd to cheer, and I blacked out.