Matron
1625 Words
Kara POV
The light was blinding. It poured in through the now open doors and cast us in a yellow glow.
My eyes squinted and adjusted quickly with Annysia’s help and saw the two men before us. There was a strong metallic smell around them that seemed oddly familiar, which took me some time to pinpoint. I felt instantly sick to my stomach when I realised, it was blood. They smelt of human blood.
I took in a quick, short breath to try and ease the churning inside my stomach. A regular human wouldn’t be able to smell it, and Piper and I had to be careful not to alert them to what we actually were.
“Get out!” one of the men before us barked out. His voice was low and clear, the danger was almost palpable in the sound of his voice.
He went to reach in to grab my upper arm but I shifted away, glaring at him, and pulled myself out of the truck. I helped Piper down and glanced around us.
Where we had lived before was only a small village. This… this was like a castle. We were inside a huge compound, the walls larger than anything I had ever seen. A large set of wooden double doors were behind the two vampires who I could clearly see now that I was no longer being blinded by the sun.
They were tall and slim, and every movement made their taut muscles ripple. It was obvious they had inhumane strength and speed and would likely be able to easily rip limbs from a body. A shiver passed through me. We were in dangerous territory.
The vampires had dirty blonde hair and porcelain skin but what shocked me the most was the vivid red colour of their irises. We had heard of vampires before, but never seen one and I don’t think I would ever get used to the strange colour.
Once the four of us were out, one of the vamps shut the doors of the van and drove it back out the way we had come. The other stood stock still, his eyes roaming over as almost in calculation.
There was a strange expression on his face, almost strained, almost thoughtful as if he wanted to drag one of us away right at that moment and drain our bodies.
Piper stood next to me while Raven and Jo hung slightly behind.
What do you think this place is? I asked Annysia.
I don’t know, but what I do know is that we need to be very careful. Keep the cloaking spell active and get out of here as soon as we can.
I glanced around, trying my best to put a scared expression on my face. Piper glanced my way and took my lead, her face morphing slowly in to one of shock and fear. She had always been a good actress.
“This way,” the vampire in front of us ordered.
He turned to the double doors which opened automatically. I followed on instinct but my stomach seemed to grow heavier with each step we took.
Once I crossed the threshold of the building, a strange shiver ran down my spine and Annysia seemed to perk her ears up.
Do you feel that? She practically purred.
What is it?
I don’t know, but we need to find out.
I glanced at Piper and noticed she seemed to look how I felt. Her green eyes had widened imperceptibly, and she almost look stunned.
We followed the vampire down several flights of stairs as another two vampires, these ones with yellow-blonde hair, fell in step behind us.
We were ushered into a room with and when I turned to look back at the vampires, the door was locked behind us.
“What the hell-“ I heard Raven whisper loudly
I followed her gaze and was shocked. At least a hundred women were scattered around the room. Some sat at small metal tables, others lay in bunk beds.
The room was set up like one giant dormitory with enough beds for each woman.
There were so many, my eyes darted around trying to look at all of them. They each looked different, but all wore the same blood red tunic and pants. Some looked similar age to myself and Piper, some slightly older, but there didn’t appear to be many older than at least thirty.
The woman stared at us, some whispering to each other, but their gazes burned into my skin. I could feel all of their eyes on me, and I wanted to growl to scare some of them off.
An older woman with wispy grey hair stepped forward. She was dressed in white pants and top, her hair pulled back from her face in a low ponytail. I got the impression just based on her appearance that she was somehow different from the rest of the women. For one thing, she looked about twice the age of all the women I could see. She clasped onto Jo’s hand, which trembled in fear.
“I’m sorry to have to welcome you here,” she said softly. Her voice was warm, almost motherly. “I am Norah, the matron here. I will be in charge of you while you are here and if you have any need of anything, please come and see me. I will get you some different attire and then set you up with a space to eat and sleep.”
She beckoned for us to follow her and wound her way through the sea of women to two empty bunk beds. On each bed were two bundles of red clothing, I assumed our new outfit and some toiletries.
“These are the last four beds,” Norah said softly, pointing to the two bunks. “Pick whichever you want and get changed quickly – they don’t like you to be in your old clothes for long.”
“Who don’t?” Raven asked rudely.
“The games organisers,” Norah responded. Her watery blue eyes ran over Raven, her nose pinching in disapproval. “You four filled the last four spots before the games can start.”
“What games is that exactly?” Piper asked, her musical voice soft, but there was a nervous edge to it that I recognised well.
I wondered if she were thinking the same thoughts as I was. It was difficult not being able to communicate through out link and with all these people around us, we wouldn’t have many opportunities.
“Never you mind that yet, dear,” Norah smiled, patting Piper on the arm gently and evading the question. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled to life. Something strange was going on.
I got a strange sense from this woman that she had the ability to read people well. The way she looked at Raven was completely different from how she looked at the rest of us as if she knew just the kind of person Raven really was, the person we had yet to see.
“You will have a couple of days to rest. Meals come twice a day, morning and night. After that the organisers will sort through the girls to decide who will compete.”
With each word Norah spoke, my heart sank more. There wasn’t going to be an easy escape out of this, whatever this was. What kind of sick games did the vampires have in store for us? Were they going to set us loose to then play some sick game of cat and mouse before they killed us? My stomach rolled and I felt myself pale.
“Are you alright, dear?” Norah asked, her pale gaze staring into my mine.
“Yeah.”
“Right, before I leave you to it – a few rules . No harming of any of the other competitors, so no fighting, arguments or anything of the sort.” She frowned as she spoke and one of her hands propped against her hip. She reminded me so much of my mother that my heart clenched in my chest in sadness. "Bathroom facilities are at the end of the hall," she added pointing in the direction away from the doors we had entered. I could see another smaller door at the end where a few women lingered. “And don’t try to escape, if you do the vampires won’t be bringing you back here in one piece that’s for sure.”
Jo made a small squeak at that and moved closer to Raven who just scowled at her.
“Don’t worry dear, if you do the right thing no harm will come to you in here,” Norah smiled softly, clutching Jo’s hand. “And lastly, this one is a bit of advice mostly, don’t make friends. They will end up only stabbing you in the back.”
“What?” Raven’s eyes widened and her mouth popped open.
“You heard me girl,” Norah responded, frowning at Raven. She really didn’t seem to like her. “Now get yourselves settled quickly. Meals will be served soon and then bed.”
She gave us a small smile, and then moved off quickly, leaving the four of us standing there almost shocked.
“What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?” Piper muttered loud enough only for my wolf senses to hear.
“I have no idea."
- Writer
