The skin underneath, p.16
The Skin Underneath, page 16
part #1 of The Skin Underneath Series
Vincent wandered away from Michael a few steps, not knowing where he was going, but trying to get his mind off of the immediate panic in his belly. Poison. He saw nightmares in the shadows, and the music was snaking down his throat, enveloping him. Was this what acid was like? He stopped walking and placed his hand on his forehead. The lights were hot, the music was speaking to him, and he was pretty sure that the blood stains on the floor were trying to eat him. Vincent slumped down into a couch against the wall. A human female stumbled past him, almost falling into his lap. He resisted the urge to take her and suck whatever life was left, but he failed because he couldn't see straight. All he was good for was sitting and looking around. Michael had walked off.
He spotted a couple of human females being led by the bouncer he'd seen outside with the flashy grill. Of the four, the blonde caught his eye. Her hair was curly and resembled Lilith's. A tiny bit. Vincent stood up and trailed behind, barely able to keep up as he darted around bodies. He didn't know why, because humans tended to all be the same to him, but guessed it may have been because of the potential of destroying something that he could pretend was Lilith. He followed up a flight of stairs but was too late to duck behind the curtain before it fell. Vincent saw an extension to the club that looked like a bar, no black lights, and no blood stains. He tried to step by the bouncer, but he moved to block his way, looking over his sunglasses at Vincent, his grin looking sinister with all the gold flashing red in the lights. He shook his head. Vincent didn't push it, but spotted Michael leaning against the bar talking to a couple of men as he descended. The group around Michael all had matching grins.
Vincent put his hand on Michael's shoulder, who laughed when he looked into his friend's face. "Dude, you look so fucked up."
Vincent laughed at that. He didn't know why, but it was a good laugh. "Why don't they let people up there?" He asked, getting right to the point and pointing to the black curtain above Michael's head.
Michael didn't turn to look, just shrugged and glanced at his friends who were moving away for more entertaining conversations. "They allow people up there. They just don't let you back there," He said before he downed a shot. Vincent winced as he watched him, remembering his last black market ingestion. Sad thing was, it was the best thing he'd ever tasted.
"They let me through at Lilith's club."
Michael pulled Vincent closer to him. They were both so high that they leaned on each other for support. "They don't let you back there because you're a spy. The only reason you got this far is because you're with me."
"I'm not a spy," Vincent lied, but had no idea how to convince anyone otherwise.
Michael raised his eyebrows and turned around. Vincent tapped his shoulder again. "What goes on back there?" His head was still full of visions of the blonde and what it would be like to back her up against a wall. A replacement Lilith, this one warm, submissive.
"That's where the Kris gets first pick of the humans." Michael sat on a stool and made himself comfortable. "That way, if they resist, or make too much for a fuss, he can dispose of them quietly without making a scene." Vincent looked back at the curtain and saw a couple of stylish looking men being led back. Michael followed his gaze. "And no, he doesn't discriminate." He put some money down on the bar. Just a token, Vincent knew. "They won't let you back there because they know your face. You're a marked man."
"Would they let me in with you?" His eyes went back to the black curtain.
"I guess we can try if you wanted to. All that's back there is a bar and a whole bunch of bouncers. The only reason our kind go back there is just to get their pick of the fresh food."
"I just want first pick at the meat market." Had that come out right?
Michael shook his head, his eyes shining with amusement or intoxication, Vincent didn't know which. "I think maybe since it's your first time, you should try out the submissive girls down here. You know, the regulars. The new girls can be rough. Down here it's funny. You either got the zombies, or the girls who can't get enough."
"Where are the new vampires made?" Vincent asked, forgetting the blonde for a bit because his brain seemed to be having problems sticking to one train of thought.
"Are you fucking with me?" That set of his laughter again. Vincent wanted to slap it out of him. He ran his hand through his hair and looked around. The high was already starting to wear off. "Look," Michael said, composing himself, "I don't know what your friends downtown are telling you, but there aren't many of us being made these days. If they allowed that, our species would outnumber the humans, and we'd be eating them like cows. Definitely none made unless it's necessary. Absolutely none made in the clubs." He paused as the realization of why the question was asked came to his face. "Except for you. I don't know what the hell Lilith was thinking when she made you."
"Can you take me up there?" Vincent asked, not really sure that he was comprehending what the hell Michael was talking about. His mind was racing, and all he could think about were human heartbeats, warmth, and the blonde.
Michael hesitated before he stood up. "Sure, buddy. Let's go." This time Michael led the way and Vincent was able to enter with only a condescending stare.
The bar had dimmed lighting, but no horror movies taking place along the walls. Vincent scanned the sparse crowd and spotted the human friends the pretty blonde had come in with, but she wasn't with them anymore. There were a few vampires mingling in the crowd, but not as many as he'd expected. It seemed like an excellent opportunity to pick out the best new blood. The humans were comfortable, which must've been attributed to the amount of free alcohol circulating.
Vincent sat in a stool with his back against the bar and Michael sat next to him. "You dragged me in here to sit? I thought you saw one you wanted."
Vincent continued to scan the room. "She's not in here."
"Oh, not good," Michael said with enough of foreboding tone to make Vincent turn and look at him.
"What?"
They were both interrupted by a woman's scream loud enough to cover the pumping music for a brief second. The music was turned down there, but it was still loud enough to cause all the human heads turned simultaneously towards the hallway at the end of the bar. Now he knew why there were so few vampires hanging out in this section of the club. It would be unnerving to hear screams periodically, harder to pretend that everything was all right. There were a few chuckles to discount the event, and things went back to normal. He wondered if his blonde had just screamed. "What's going on back there?"
Michael looked unfazed. "Who knows? All I'm sure of is that when the humans come down the stairs they're submissive. The screamers don't make it down the stairs."
"All or nothing, huh?" Vincent said, not sure if he was as outraged as he should have been. The drugs still clung to his consciousness and made his thoughts muddy. What rose in him with the next scream was anger, his default emotion whenever he was high. The blonde, who, he'd decided, wasn't in the room, did not deserve to be tortured by an asshole like Kris. Vincent stood up, and Michael grabbed his jacket, though not tightly, as if it were more for the principal of it. Vincent pulled away easily and followed the echo of the scream around the corner and down the hallway with a single unguarded doorway. Either they assumed no vampire was stupid enough to wander into there, or the person in the room was more than capable of taking care of themselves.
Vincent stopped just outside of the doorway, not sure what to do. He heard shallow raspy breaths now and smelled a female in the room. It was too late now. Vincent found them on the bed, Kris on his hands and knees leaning over the pretty blonde who lay motionless, all eyes in the room on the intruder. Vincent was struck by how cruel Kris looked. His piercing eyes stared into Vincent's and showed no mercy. The drug was making things worse, he knew, because he'd never been so scared in his life. The blonde didn't move. She was a living statue with a heartbeat so fast that Vincent wondered if it were really possible to die of fear. There was terror in her eyes.
Vincent just listened to the one breath in the room, the pretty blonde's rapid inhale and exhale, and took in the scene. The modern white table and chairs stainless steel, everything crisp and clean it was almost blinding to look at, marred only by a bright red bloodstain on the white carpet. The bed itself was white enough that it almost blended into the walls and carpet. All Vincent could do was stare and sniff the smell of blood lingering despite the scented cinnamon candles that tried to mask it, the same way the canopy of the bed cast a shadow on the face of the vampire and made his eyes glow. There was no human skin left in that one. He was all animal.
Kris was the one to break the hypnotic hold. He sat next to the girl, sighing. "Hey - uh," he pointed at him, "Vinny, is it? What are you doing here? Running an errand for your master?"
Vincent hesitated but was relieved that Kris hadn't seemed to know of his falling out with Lilith. "I thought someone was in pain."
Kris bursted out laughing, a sound that seemed natural. "Playing the hero?" He said, mocking Vincent in his pretentious playboy voice. "Well then, why don't you come back in about ten minutes? Someone should be hurt by then." Kris's hand was slowly gliding over the bare stomach of the blonde whose shirt had ridden up to reveal the lace of a bra that was not as white as the room around her. She looked warm. Vincent wondered if she was the woman Michael had told him he'd one day love.
"What are you going to do to her?"
Kris rolled his eyes. Vincent didn't realize that there was someone behind him until he became aware of an additional breath in earshot. He stepped back to let in two vampires holding between them a very drunk looking frat boy type.
Kris's eyes shifted from the new human to the blonde to Vincent. "You came in here for her?" Kris asked Vincent, who nodded. "You know her or something?" Suddenly, his face brightened as if he'd just realized something. "I get it. You're one of those guys who like to take it by force. Did you hear those screams? Yeah, she's definitely one of those." As Kris laughed at him, Vincent felt embarrassed and a little ridiculous. He knew it was how Kris was trying to make him think. "Hey, it's ok. Don't be embarrassed," Kris said after seeing the look on Vincent's face. He stood up. "I don't get it myself, but I guess I'm just lazy. I mean if it will just come to you, why not, you know? In the old days we would've had to get our asses up and done all that hunting shit, you know, creep into town at the first sign of dark." He laughed to himself and lifted the pretty blonde into a sitting position. He held on to her, but she looked too afraid to run away even if he hadn't been. Her eyes bugged out from their sockets, but the new girl's head was rolled back, and he failed to notice. "You know, I could use someone around here like you. I'll talk to Lilith about it, maybe." Vincent shivered at the sound of Lilith's name. It was obvious she hadn't let her boy toy in on the news that she'd gotten rid of her newest pet. "I got this guy now, but he's a human and there's something about him that isn't right. Enjoying your food is one thing, but I mean, there's something about it that's beyond perversion. He kind of makes me sick." Kris actually seemed to shudder. Then, he smiled and his fangs gleamed almost as white as the room around him. "That's not a mind I'd ever want to tap into." He looked down at the blonde who, Vincent noticed a bit disappointed, had twice as many freckles as Lilith did. "But hey, if this is what you're into, I have plenty more where that came from." It seemed to Vincent that Kris seemed exactly like the kind of vampire who enjoyed taking it by force. His little speech didn't appear natural, but to Vincent it seemed that Kris was a talker and just like Lilith, he did most things just for show.
Vincent relaxed once Kris had nudged the blonde off the bed. She stood but didn't move any closer to Vincent. The vampire nodded to the men at the door, and they dumped the mumbling drunk kid onto the bed. The vampire smiled and looked down at the human while licking his lips. The human just smiled sleepily back up at him. Vincent knew it was time to leave. He didn't think he needed to see anymore to know what Kris got off on.
The blonde put up no resistance when Vincent took her arm and pulled her closer. Kris called his name before he could leave. "You enjoy that. And don't worry. I won't tell Lilith." He walked Vincent to the door. "Next time you have the urge, stop on by. I have ones like her all the time." Vincent met his cold blue eyes. "Screamers," He said, amused and flashed his fangs. "Make sure you take her out of here. My employees hate the mess." He grabbed the front of Vincent's jacket and leaned into his ear. Vincent couldn't help wonder what kind of violence might have happened in another time and place. "Make sure you finish her off. They frown upon ones who can't keep secrets." The double meaning of the statement hung heavy in the air.
In the hallway, the blonde's blue eyes focused on Vincent's. His first reaction was to note how muddy and pale her eyes were in compared to Kris's. He found himself wondering how she'd look like as a vampire. Would her eyes clear up and would her veins glimmer under translucent skin? He'd never remembered seeing a vampire with so many freckles. The blonde's lips quivered. Vincent didn't speak, just led her back to the lounge. She lingered a few steps behind him, and he pulled her along.
When Vincent leaned in to whisper in her ear, he inhaled her scent of strawberries and cigarettes. His fingers touched the small of her back. He loved the touch of warm human skin. "I won't hurt you. I'm taking you home." She remained silent, but he knew by her frantic eyes that she didn't believe him after all that Kris had said. Vincent passed Michael, who seemed to be entertaining a group of friends, and didn't even pause, just wondered if Michael had expected as much when he'd brought him there.
The humans who never looked more like cattle than at that moment out in the cold. He understood perfectly why Lucas and the others were so intent on shutting those areas down.
Vincent let the person's arm go once they were out of sight, but kept pace with her until it was evident that she wasn't going to slow down or speak to him and so he finally grabbed her arm in the same place, hard enough to make her yelp, and pulled her into an alley. Vincent pressing her up against the wall and stood uncomfortably close to her so that she couldn't move, so she would focus on his face. "We may be being followed so I can't let you go home by yourself." And because he may have been in love with her, he wasn't sure because he was still high. She was beautiful, she was warm, and he wanted to eat her or kiss her, he wasn't sure which. "I don't think he believed I was really like that for a second."
The blonde spoke for the first time. "I'm not letting you know where I live. How do I know you won't kill me as soon as we're alone?" Her hands were shaking, and her heart was still beating fast. He wasn't any better than Kris to her.
Vincent threw his hands up. "We're alone now. I'm not killing you am I? Look—what's your name?"
"Adrienne," She said without hesitating.
"Look, Adrienne. Do you live alone?"
She shook her head. "No."
"Good then, at least you know if I try to harm you that you've got someone who can call the police, you know, and neighbors and stuff. If you live in the city, I know the walls aren't that thick." That made her smile. It was nice. "Adrienne, if I just let you leave then they're going to come right back after you. That'll defeat the whole purpose. If I at least escort you, I can get you home safe. They'll leave you alone if they see that they can't have you tonight. Believe me, they have better things to do." Like kill babies. And probably her friends. She didn't know how lucky she was.
Adrienne hesitated. "Okay, walk me home. But you're not coming in." She paused for a moment. "And who are you anyway?"
Vincent didn't know how to answer the question. Definitely not what she would've expected in a hero. "I'm Vin."
"Are you one of them?" She asked, walking at a normal pace alongside Vincent on the sidewalk. She'd lowered her voice, good, because while Vincent couldn't hear footsteps, he knew there was a good chance that they were being watched.
"It depends on what you think they are." She looked too afraid to answer. "I won't hurt you." He wondered whether or not he was telling the truth. If Lucas were there, he'd say she needed to die for knowing about their world. Kris was right. He hadn't had much of a choice after all.
Adrienne shook her head. Vincent was still having trouble walking straight, but he hoped that she wouldn't notice. It was uncomfortable still being high. He just pushed his hair back, trying to savor her company while it lasted, tried to pay attention. "I thought I was in a regular club. I didn't even know people like that existed. I mean I've heard about people who play vampire games, role playing and stuff, but you always kind of assume they do that stuff out in the middle of nowhere. I never thought that they would trick people into joining their clubs." Vincent tried hard not to laugh, but a smile managed to creep onto his lips. She thought it was a game. That it was all fake. He wished. Vincent wondered if she was high, too. "What?" she asked at the look on his face. Vincent just shook his head. "You're different," she said. "But that guy back there, he thought you were."
"I'm not like them." He agreed and was proud of that. "Being there doesn't mean I was like them. You were there, and you're not."
Adrienne smiled. "Okay, so we're both not like that but yet somehow we meet and end up going home together."
Vincent had never wondered whether or not vampires could blush until then. He looked away. And no, the situation hadn't surprised him. He'd never known Michael to be wrong. Vincent thought she looked beautiful in the moonlight. She smiled at him, but her eyes widened and she stopped short. "Oh my god, my friends are still back there."
Vincent hesitated, not knowing how to put it. "Well, uh."
"We have to go back," she said.
Vincent grabbed her arm. "That's not an option. Why don't you call them when you get home?"
Adrienne nodded and continued walking in the direction of her apartment. The look of fear wouldn't leave her face. "Do you think they'll be okay?"
Vincent knew for a fact that they'd be killed if there was any threat of resistance. The humans who frequented the club would do anything to be a permanent member, the others too terrified of being killed if they squealed, and besides, who believed in vampires these days? "I'm sure they're fine."
