City Of Blood

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Vampires are everywhere. I'm not sure what I expected when I set off from my apartment, but this isn't it. Everyone is chatting away, and buying food from vendors, and even placing bets on who will do well, and who will die.

It's a constant fight to keep my face neutral. I can't draw attention to myself by letting my feelings show on my face. That's a good way to get myself thrown into one of these fights myself. That'll do no one any good, least of all me.

Despite the urge to stand at the side and not pay attention to anything going on around me, I know that isn't an option. I need to talk to people and find out more about what's going on. If I'm lucky, I might find someone else who is new here, and tag along with them. Though excitement seems to be the biggest thing here.

"New here?" a gruff voice asks.

I turn to find a bulky vampire standing behind me with his arms crossed, a gesture which only accentuates his bulging muscles.

I gulp away my fear, not wanting him to see it. "That obvious?"

He chuckles. "I had the same look on my face when I started to work here. It wears off."

I nod, at a loss for what to say. I've never thought about the fact people work here. But of course they do. Who else will deal with the prisoners, guests, and clean up?

"If you're hungry, there's carts all around. You'll find blood, coffee, and a lot of fried snacks," he says, pointing to several of them as he speaks. "Avoid the burger place at the end. Their meat is nasty." He shudders.

I pull up a weak smile, hoping he puts it down to nerves. "Thanks."

"You probably just want to watch, if it's your first time. But if you want to place bets, you're better off on the main floor than up here. Plus, you can be closer to the action," he continues.

"How will I know who to bet on?" The knot in my stomach twists again as I realise I'm probably going to have to go through with a bet so I know how it works. I'm starting to regret agreeing to this job. I'm not sure why I thought I could do it when it needs an agent with far more experience than I have.

"See that girl over there with the programs?" He points to her.

"Yes."

"Go get one from her. Say Vinnie sent you and she'll give you one of the beginner ones. You want new people who are still healthy and strong, or those on their tenth fight," he tells me.

My eyebrows knit together. "Why people on their tenth fight?" The new people, I understand. I doubt they do a lot to look after the people they have trapped here. But surely that means people who are going into their tenth fight will be at a severe disadvantage.

He glances around, as if to check who else is close to us, then leans in. "Because they're told that if they win their tenth fight, then they get set free."

My eyes widen. "Is it true?" The question is out of my mouth before I can think to stop it. Hopefully, Vinnie takes it to mean I don't want dangerous people out on the streets again.

He shakes his head. "I've never seen anyone walk away from here. I don't know what happens to the people who win their tenth fight. Those that get there often do. But they aren't let go."

I bite my lip and nod. It makes sense. The point of sending people here is to get rid of them.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" I ask him. Couldn't he get into trouble for it? Or is he testing me?

He shrugs. "Sometimes people look a little lost. I have to live with myself at the end of each day and helping them is one of the ways I do it."

"Oh."

Before I can say anything else, he disappears into the crowd again. I'm not sure if I just got marked as someone to watch, or if he's genuinely trying to help. I'll have to wait and see on that front.

I steel my nerves and head over to the girl he pointed out. She's giving out programs left, right, and centre, as people make their way into the main fighting area. The whole thing feels more like we're about to go in to see a highly anticipated play, rather than seeing people fight to the death.

Someone bumps into my shoulder, and instantly, I'm on alert.

I turn to face him, finding a handsome man, not much older than I am, standing there.

"Sorry," he mumbles, then heads on his way again, not waiting for my reply.

But I'm transfixed. What's a human doing here? There's plenty of people around, but none of them are human. No, wait, one of them is. And he just bumped into me. My fangs descend, the scent of his blood having taken me off guard. I can control my urges, but sometimes it's hard not to let natural instincts take over. And this is one of those cases.

I tear my gaze away from his retreating back, knowing I need to focus on my mission and not on the mystery man. Without talking to him, I have no way of knowing if he has reasons. It's best to focus on what I'm here for and nothing else.

"Vinnie sent me," I say to the girl when it's my turn.

She smiles and reaches into her bag, pulling out a slightly different program. "Five pounds, please," she says.

I hand over the money and gingerly take the program from her. I'm not sure how I feel about what's inside, and it's making it hard to act naturally.

"Thank you," I mutter.

A lone seat in the corner catches my eye, so I make my way over to it. The hard stone isn't very comfortable, but I'm not going to be here for long. I just want to flick through the program before I go onto the main floor. I don't want any surprises once I am.

The nausea intensifies as I scan the pages. They're treating people like horses at a race. There are all the stats I could want about each of them, including whether they're vampire or human. It seems like there's a mix of both, but vampires seem to be most common. Especially among those who are beyond their first fight.

Tears prick the corners of my eyes, but I force them away. I must stay strong. If I look as if I'm faltering, then it'll be me next. And if they work out that I'm spying for Dimitri and the vampires outside the city, they'll probably torture me for what I know. Which isn't much. Thankfully. But it'll hurt, and I'd rather not deal with the pain, if I don't have to.

A bell rings out, signalling that the first fight will begin in a couple of minutes. I memorise the names of the three humans and two vampires involved, knowing no one else will bother. They're here for the bloodshed. To them, it's nothing more than sport.

I rise to my feet and follow the crowds inside, trying to stay towards the middle so I don't draw too much attention from anyone. I don't want to seem too eager, or too reluctant. There's a balance to strike in being forgettable.

I brush a strand of dark brown hair behind my ear, wishing I'd thought to wear it up. Not that it'll make a difference. Besides, having it loose means I can hide my face a little and be harder to recognise.

"Last call for bets!" one of the bookies calls.

Someone pushes me to the side to get to him. I rub my shoulder, but don't make a big deal out of it.

I must be forgettable.

I'd like to think I'm not the hot-headed vamp type, but people can push me too far, and I worry that's going to happen here.

"The fight is about to begin. All betting is now to cease," an automated voice comes over the speakers.

The whole room falls still as a ding sounds, and it isn't hard to work out why. The fight's participants are shoved out into the huge cage at the centre of the room. A woman of around forty breaks from the others and rushes to the bars and tries to sneak through them.

A guard steps forward and prods her with a stick.

Her yelp of pain turns my stomach. I'm glad I didn't eat before I came here.

Two more people are shoved into the cage next. My heart sinks. I've been lucky enough never to have starved for blood in my life, but the same can't be said of the two vampires in front of me. The taller of the two shrinks back against the corner of the cage, trying to get as far away from the humans as possible. No doubt he realises that the moment one of them gets a cut, his instincts will take over and he'll drain them dry.

The woman with him isn't as cautious. It's hard to tell from this far away, but I think she's further gone into starvation than he is. It's a cruel tactic, and one that will mean the humans stand next to no chance.

Another of the guards steps up and pokes one of the humans, causing another shout of pain and the scent of blood to fill the stadium.

Bile rises in my throat, and it's hard to breathe, even though I know I have to.

I'm here to put a stop to this. I repeat the words in my head, but they're barely helping. I can't believe I've become a part of this. I've spent money coming here and ploughed it back into the city. Am I guilty of keeping it going?

The female vampire wastes no time scenting the blood. She crouches down, preparing to launch herself at the group of humans. As much as I want to look away from what's happening, I can't. Something about it is mesmerising. Though perhaps that's the wrong word. It almost makes it seem like I'm enjoying myself when I'm definitely not.

Before she has a chance to pounce, the male vampire darts forward and takes her head in his hands.

My heartbeat races, adrenaline filling me as if I'm the one about to die.

With one swift move, he snaps her neck. It wouldn't be possible for a human to do that, but he has the advantage of having more strength, even if he is short on blood.

Cheers sound from across the room, with the occasional groan or annoyed grumble, presumably from people who were betting on the woman to win.

The female vampire's body slumps to the ground, and the attacker retreats to his corner, closing his eyes and moving his lips in what I can only assume is a distraction technique. Even I can smell the blood, and I'm not starving, or as close to it. The scent must be driving him crazy.

"Mum!" someone shouts from the crowd.

I search around for the owner of the voice to find a petite woman pushing through the people.

"Mum, please. Mum, no. Get up. Please..." Her begging turns to sobs as the reality sets in.

I can't take it any longer. I know I'll probably have to come back here, but hopefully it will be after I've had some time to prepare. This is barbaric. No, worse than that. It's cruel, and unnecessary, and I can't take a single moment more of it tonight.

Without even waiting for the fight to end, I turn on my heels and make my way out of the room. I need to go home and write my report, that way, the true horror of what I've witnessed will come through it.

The moment I step outside the building, I finally feel like I can breathe again. I close my eyes and count to ten, trying to maintain my composure. If anyone asks me what I'm doing, I'll have to make something up about bad blood, or they'll know I can't handle what's going on inside.

And that's a good way to gain myself a front-row seat.

I don't think I'd last a minute.