Free Vampire World by Rich Douglas Page B

quickly?”
    “Fresh
blood can do wonders for a wounded vampire, Janice. It can heal the brain,
bones, heart - you name it.”
    Damn.
Thank goodness for blood.
    We
came to the house. Once inside, he hit me with the obvious question. “What
happened to you, Janice? Why did you lie to me?”
      I couldn’t say anything at first because
I felt so guilty. Gradually though, I got up enough nerve to tell him how I
couldn’t stand being cooped up in the house for so long. I told him about the
job, and my horrible date, though I didn’t make any mention of my stalker.
Instead, I said that the storm was to blame for the crash, and for me
accidentally stumbling into the canyon.
    Predictably,
he was not happy, though he did not raise his voice too much. “You stole my car
and you lied to me. You could have died. How stupid of you.”
    That
should have been my cue to start apologizing, but I couldn’t stop thinking
about all the crap I’d been through. Those horrible scumbags like my stalker
and the horny date from hell. The rude girl at work too. And all the people who
looked at me and simply decided that I wasn’t good enough. I hit boiling point.
    “I
hate this place!” I screamed.
    With
tears in my eyes, I ran off to my room and locked the door, deciding there and
then not to come out for the rest of the evening. I spent what felt like a long
time gazing into my mirror, focusing on the tears running down my bruised face.
    A
degree later, Mr. FreeCut knocked on my door and called out.
    “If
that’s the way you want to be, Janice, that's fine. But if you’re gonna live
under my roof, you have to show me some respect.”
    “Well
maybe I don’t want to live here!” I shouted back.
    There
was a long silence before he spoke again. “I’ve left some blood by your door.
You’re gonna need it if you want to heal up, so I suggest you come out and get
it. And by the way, you’re not in a prison. You don't have to stay in there all
the time.”
    Though
I did drink the blood Mr. FreeCut left outside, I remained in my room for the
rest of the night, angry and pissed off.
    When
morning came, I somehow found the energy to walk around my room, even though I
was still emotionally a wreck. I checked my face in the mirror. The new blood
had taken away all of the bruising. I now appeared as pale and beautiful as
ever. At least, I thought I did.
    I
pondered over my job for a while. I didn’t feel like going in, but eventually
decided to give it a try anyway and see how I did. Besides, I'd see Kate. She
was nice.
    Mr.
FreeCut had already gone to work and kindly left me fresh blood-eggs and a new
cup of blood. He'd left a note next to the meal, which read: 'Sorry if I
acted a little harsh, especially since you’re new to me. Let’s have a better
night tonight. I’m proud that you found yourself a job. Have a good day at
work, and remember that you really are a gift to me.'
    I
was glad to read his letter and immediately felt better.
    The
good mood did not last long though. When on the train I grew angry again as I
thought about all the abuse I’d taken.
    After
making it to work, Kate told me hello and asked how my weekend had been. I
tried to be friendly and play it off, giving her no signs that I had almost
been killed. I went to the restroom and slipped on my uniform.
    Back
outside, I met Mr. Slicer.
    “Work
hard today, Janice,” he said. “The tables are filling up fast.”
    It
certainly appeared more crowded than a few days ago. But I was ready.
    Three
blistering cups of blood were waiting on the counter. I went to grab them, but
the crafty Hannah beat me to it. She smirked while stacking them in her right
hand.
    “Well,
looks like I got here first, Ms. Creep. You probably won’t be doing much
anyway, seeing as how you move so slow.”
    I
frowned at her, but she just giggled. I so wanted to pound her, though that
wouldn’t be too smart considering this was my first real day on the job.
Instead, I got my hands on some very