I gnawed on my fingers lightly as I awaited anyone's return. Clark said he would be back shortly and with more time fear of seeing Viktor was growing stronger.

"Okay, all ready for ya." Clark came back with a strong, confident smile. "Um, right this way." He bowed, and I slowly walked up to him. "History lesson!" He grabbed my hand and rushed forward in an impossible speed with me dragging behind. He stopped in the middle of a hall, a plain one with dull beige wallpaper. "History? More like way around."

"Don't do that," I hissed pushing his hand off of me.

"Alright so to..." he ignored me and pointed to himself. "You are- wrong person." He pointed to me. "You are a Fledgling vamp, the noob of vamps. I am not. I am like you, a blood sucker as are a couple of other people- couple thruple of others. Being a vamp means that- um. I'm terrible at this." Clark covered his eyes. "I hate presentations. Let me just take you to your room."

He reached out for me but paused. He pointed down. "Vamps are typically found here. So, no human problems there. Humans are forbidden here as we are...else. Um, follow and I'll take you to the noob quarters. This way."

Clark pulled off and walked down the hallway into a grand common space area. The area had a fireplace, a couch facing a grand tv with a game system and a set of games lined on a shelf in a glass cabinet next to it. It looked like a stereotypical home, a wealthy, upper-class home... from the magazines.

"You may find yourself here often. We call this place El Pozo, The Pit- it doesn't actually translate. Tons of stuff here, it's not just this room either. This is like the rec room. From here there a gold door," he walked through the room to a gold door hiding behind a bend that led to three doors: brown, dark brown, and gold.

"Gold leads up and then to the downstairs wing entirely for to you three."

From the door, the path led to stairs that put us on a balcony overlooking another living room like area. The balcony led left and right to four doors, two on each side.

"Claim your room of the remaining two. You have all day to settle? Din-din starts at nightfall. I'm guessing that's when you'll meet the others. Questions? Don't ask me them-."

"Humans are here too?"

Clark smiled wider. "You aren't allowed any of them and they aren't even within the stretch. I'm tired. Can you just not give me responsibility? That be great, I never got your name by the way...for my information...in curiosity."

I met eyes with him. "Clark. Clark is my name."

"Oh har har."

All around, there was complete silence. In my head I imagined it as- I am listening to one, who is listening to another, who is... oh I'm bored.

I yawned and buried myself under the covers of the bed. I rubbed my eyes and started nibbling on my fingertips. Occasionally they brushed against my sharp canines.

In this room of mine, there were no windows. As a substitute, the electric ones were from one of four lamps around the room. The room was a boring layout of a bed, a dresser, table with chairs, and a small vanity.

Beside the bed there were two red wood stands with one having a white lamp and the other a small vase with white flowers in it. Across the bed was the dresser, a white and gold one with all drawers empty. Next to it was the second lamp screwed into the wall.

The third lamp was on the table off to the left of the bed. It was small, probably for working. Across the table and over the bed was the last lamp, just out of reach of the door when fully opened. This one was the only one that didn't work. It was old and dusty with spider webs coming down from it. The others, along with the rest of the room, were clean.

Passed the dresser, there was a hall leading to a closet room on the right and a bathroom on the left. At the end of the hall there was a locked door with no key around for its hole, so unsatisfactory.

The room was a perfect prison. The walls were thick, the room was silent, and everything was blindingly dull and pain inducing like a crazy ward.

I found myself buried under the covers as it was the only thing that reminded me of home. There, I'd always just lay under all the covers and pretend that everything that happened didn't happen.

It never worked.

I silently closed the door behind me and listened for the sound again. I heard a voice before, calling for anyone to come. Maybe super hearing helped me hear a dude seventy miles off...I don't know. But maybe they were as lonely and confused as I was.

From my door, the second one on the right from the entrance, I walked to the railing of the balcony and sure enough saw a teen my age. He was taller than me and he had wind swept black hair that went down to his shoulders.

I stared at him and once I started to go down toward him, he stared at me. His eyes were a strange color of sea green, echoing some sort of peace with them too.

"You're..." he looked me up and down, "hot."

I stopped where I was and narrowed my eyes. "Do I know you?"

He cocked his head. "No I-."

I relaxed. "Then don't give me random compliments." I smiled and looked away from the guy. "You're dead too huh?"

"Y-Yeah," he walked into my view and lowered his voice. "You were there too right? The action? Dude, I was at my town's big game- baseball at the Marlo Miracle Park. I left to go get some pretzels and there was this woman there who needed help and I followed her and that sixty year old lady just...attacked me and bit me in th parking lot. Then she dragged me into her truck and she wasn't alone. I pass out and wake up at the thing- terrified and hungry. Jesus, I-I don't even know why we're here. Like...turning people into vamps and selling them? It's slavery."

I nodded. "Surreal. Looks cool on paper but in r-l it's messed up. The people here are terrible too, this one guy- Viktor, look out for him. I'd sooner maul his face in before giving him my breath." I sighed and somewhat smiled. "What's your name?"

He brushed his hair back and extended his hand. "I'm Soren, strange name but fits. You are?"

I took his hand. "You can call me..." I bit my tongue and my mind ran wild in search for a name, a new one. I couldn't dare link my true life to this. "Cass...ssan..."

"Cassan...dra? Or how about Casey?" We shook hands.

"Soren? Casey?"

We both turned to another person standing at the balcony above us. Another person our age, maybe older, was looking down at us with golden brown eyes. He had short brown hair styled into a faux cut. With mildly feminine features, a slender face and body, he dressed like me but looked... beautiful.

Vampires are supposed to be beautiful...this guy is the definition. His soft features inspired me to just stare in awe, but we aren't alone. No, Soren is next to me.

I glanced at Soren.

He's not too bad either.

"I'm Kai," he tried to smile, but it turned out weird. "They want to see us."

I stepped back from Soren and observed Kai. "Are you one of us?" He spoke with so much authority it couldn't be right, but he grouped himself with me and Soren. "Are you a F-Fledgling?"

Kai nodded. "I am."

I raised my hand and both guys with me stopped. "Listen," I pointed towards the left and the others noted a distant chatter between an angry man and the Aloman.

"You do realize you participated in something very illegal? Alo! Sireless- Clanless Fledglings?! Are you mad!?"

Slowly I approached as I tried to decipher whose voice I was hearing. I certainly heard the voice before. Maybe in a dream?

"Henry, I appreciate the fear and I welcome you to hold it, but all I have is settled upon. There's no need to wor-."

"Why? Why...DO this? Do you not understand? You could be killed Alo!"

"Enough, Viktor and Lien, along with Vera went, all very capable and convincing people. Henry, understand that if I didn't adopt them into our re-."

"Adopt? You didn't fucking adopt anything! You adopt children or pets- you bought  them! The slave t-."

"Exactly. Slaves! If I hadn't taken them they'd be slaves to some human or malicious coven of creatures who would harm them in different ways. They could train them to be killers onto humans or us. I'm saving them from a terrible fate."

The room went silent. "Well what about the others who were bought and sold? Can you save them from being prostitutes? Pets on a leash? Sources for the forced creation of more? It's bad to have ties to the trade."

"Well, I saved them Henry. I don't need to worry about their fates now. They creep and eavesdrop so terribly I doubt any harm would come from them."

I flinched and stepped back, along with the others. I was shocked.

"Creepy," Soren whispered into a smile.

"There you are!" Clark rounded a corner and opened his arms. "Isn't this cute! You're having a little Newborn party in the hallway. Aw! I'd take a picture if you'd show in it!" Clark chuckled and dropped his arms. "All three, I trust you know a bit of each other. There's Kai and Sorry and..." he nodded curiously, "never got your name."

I crossed my arms. "I never gave it."

"Oo!" Clark cringed. "Sick burn."

Soren gave me a nudge with a smile. "What did you want us for?"

Kai glanced at me and then Soren. "Dinner."

"Wow!" Sarcastically Clark smiled. "Someone wants those brownie points! Yes! Blood little ones, come." Clark walked down the hallway and it was only Soren who followed. Kai and I both kept studying Clark and his back and forth attitude.

"How far does trust go?" Kai whispered as he started forward. I followed thinking of the words to describe our situation, but nothing could describe this. I laughed. "Funny?"

"I'm sorry," I cleared my throat. "Our situation is so fucked I don't even trust myself."

Clark led us down the hall and then down a staircase that winded and led to a dining room-library room. "Sweet so...three rules. One, no killing. Two...obey your elders." Clark stopped midway of the room. "Three-."

"Respect the living."

I tensed as I saw the bulky figure of Viktor enter the room. I narrowed my eyes. "This bitch. You just keep coming back for more."

Kai and Soren both looked at Viktor in the sense that I did. Viktor didn't like that one bit. He started reaching for something, but Clark stared him down. "Stand down," Clark ordered.

"I'd rather like to see that one...you were a mistake. If I knew a simple splash of blood would save you, then I would have bought a corpse from the morgue."