The air weighed heavy with the uneasy silence that flooded the city's warehouse district, midnight rapidly approaching. In the cluster of red brick industrial buildings stood a more than mundane storage facility. The building looked quite ordinary, inconspicuous with its concrete exterior but nonetheless held a mysterious vibe to it.
The surroundings, much like the building itself, were dimly lit. the few existing lights sparsely aligned leaving enormous gaps of darkness in between. As the minutes passed and midnight crept closer, one by one, a group of men and women began to gather near the feebly lit side entrance of the building. The crowd seemed to split into three different groups and break out into insignificant banter among themselves.
It had only been minutes since the last of the crowd had arrived when the side door swung open with a loud thud, commanding everyone's attention. The gathered men and women fell silent as soon as it had sprung open. The gathering soon directed their undivided attention towards the woman standing in the doorway, her figure half concealed by the shadows.
The indistinguishable figure stepped away from the shadows and glanced at the people mulling around. She stood with her hands firmly positioned on her narrow waist, her wine-red locks cascaded down her shapely shoulders and onto her supple frame, ending just below her ample breasts. Her complexion was an astounding shade of porcelain accentuating her feminine features, Her pallid pink lips curved slightly upwards in a satisfactory smirk but her green eyes, the shade of kryptonite, remained cold.
She motioned for everyone to step inside and soon enough everyone obliged, bowing their heads when they came near her showing their respect. Once they were all inside, the redhead followed suit locking the door quietly with a definitive click. Only a small portion was brightly lit inside the warehouse but the light was insufficient to illuminate more than a few feet aheead.
The red-headed woman came to stand before the group of strangers and examined each of the individuals carefully.
"Welcome all. I am Asha and this is where you will be educated about your new life." The ginger woman explained
Everyone's eyes were pinned on her while she stood there less than a few feet away from the weak light of the spotlights shining down on them, her emerald eyes shining in the darkness.
"as you all know, your lives as humans ended the night you accepted your master's gift." She paused briefly scanning the faces of the crowd. Some showed fear, some showed uncertainty and a select few showed excitement at their new lives.
"while you are here, you will learn our ways and our rules, you will be taught what it means to be a vampire away from all the glamour you've read in books and seen in movies." Asha continued to explain as she stood tall in the darkness that enveloped her.
"your education starts now. Listen up" Asha took a step forward and resumed "there are three bloodlines in vampirism, going all the way back to the three elder vampires Arshaka, Marduk, and my own creator, Ishtar" she paused minutely allowing them to process the information
"does anyone know what the bloodlines are called?" Asha questioned expecting absolute silence.
But much to her surprise, a young man at the back of the group hesitantly raised his hand, the blond blue eyed man seemed no older than 27 and Asha smiled to herself.
"you, in the back, what's your name?" she spoke up pointing at the blond man, the fledgling stepped forward, his head held up with pride and his posture was surely that of a military man Asha noted but made no comment about it .
"Obergefreiter Gabriel Stein ma'am" the blond man introduced himself with a heavy German accent confirming Asha's thoughts.
"tell me, Corporal, which of the bloodlines are you acquainted with?" Asha curiously inquired.
"my own ma'am...the Etlu bloodline ma'am" Corporal Stein answered steadily despite his hesitation to come forward at first. Asha took a moment to consider the Obergefreiter's response before speaking.
"indeed, Etlu is one of the bloodlines. The warrior lineage starting with Elder Arshaka. Etlu descendants are warriors by nature, brave and noble vampires dedicated to protecting our kind, our warriors and defenders. I see you're a suitable candidate, I do hope you survive the training" she spoke matter-of-factly
"the second bloodline bares the title of Sha'ol starting with Elder Marduk, the wise and spiritual. They are the vampires prone to art, literature, spirituality and most importantly strategy. They're our politicians, teachers and artists" she surveyed the fledglings as she explained, most of the newborns wondered with curiosity as to which bloodline they belonged but to her expert eyes she already knew.
"the third bloodline is Kishargal starting with Elder Ishtar. the masters of seduction and sinuous sexuality" as Asha finished her words the warehouse was flooded by light from the overhead projectors. The fledglings took a moment to adjust to the brightness but Asha's voice soon called for their attention.
"this facility is built and dedicated to sharpen your senses and enlighten you according to your lineage. You will learn our history, you will come to know our traditions and live by our laws, or you will die" the green eyed vampire warned, her voice stern and commanding.
As the fledges looked around, they came to see that the facility consisted of several floors, some dedicated to their physical training, a section for each bloodline to work on their strengths and weaknesses, and some dedicated to their mental education.
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The sluggish morning sun began to rise slowly above city horizon, the rays of a new day peeked through the blinds spreading little light into the small bedroom. The alarm began to beep at an unnerving rhythm, breaking the serenity of dawn. Alexandra leisurely got out of her bed pushing the heavy quilt aside, she curled her toes around the plush carpet that covered her bedroom floor.
The girl lazily made her way down the hall and into the bathroom, starting her early morning routine. A quick shower later Alex was dressed in her khaki pants and black polo shirt, she sat at the kitchen table sipping coffee. She'd thought after five years working at a coffee shop would've gotten her to quit drinking the black liquid but there she was, like every other morning since she turned 18 sitting in her kitchen drinking a cup of black coffee.
Alex glanced at the clock that hung on the wall, it read five in the morning, it was time to get going Alex thought and dumped the rest of the steaming drink in the sink and grabbed her keys and phone.
Alexandra worked at a local coffee shop a few blocks from her apartment, "La Maison Du Café", and had been working there for years now. It wasn't the perfect job but it paid the bills and got her through college so she couldn't complain.
Even at such an ungodly hour, the streets seemed to be throbbing with a renewed life, the stores began to open along with the bakeries that filled the streets with the mouthwatering smell of pastry.
She walked further down the soon to be crowded pavement and stepped into a French looking shop at the corner of the street, the sign hung above the place said "La Maison Du Café" in neat white cursive letters against a charcoal black background.
The girl at the register looked up and waved sweetly at Alex who smiled and headed towards the back only to be halted mid-way there by her boss.
"Ah. Miss Stone, right on time, I need you to cover the afternoon shift and close the shop tonight" he instructed then turned on his heels and walked away not giving Alex the chance to deny or object, not that she would have done either.
Alexandra knew better than to argue unless she wanted to get fired, it bothered her that she had no choice whether to take the extra shift but she knew that she didn't have anything else lined up and if she lost this job she wouldn't be able to make due on her payments.
The day was slow and uneventful, with an average flow of customers, not enough to call it a busy day but not so few to call it a wasted day. The girls kept busy by chatting among themselves when there were no customers to tend to.
Alex mostly kept to herself hiding a book behind the counter where she stood, reading whenever she got the chance. Today she had grabbed the first book that she set her hand on and luckily, it was one of her all-time favorites, Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. Alex was so engrossed in her book that she barely noticed one of her coworkers approaching her until she was startled when the girl tapped her shoulder.
The girl instinctively took a step back taken aback by Alex's reaction whilst Alex mumbled an apology.
Both girls directed their attention towards the shop door when the bell shimmed ending the awkwardness of the situation. It was slightly after five o'clock in the afternoon and the crowd had thinned down considerably, Alex looked up from her book only to notice that one of the tables in her section was vacant and needed to be cleaned, she sighed and made her way towards the table.
She counted her blessings and thanked whatever God that was out there that she crossed the distance without tripping or running into someone. She collected the check and was about to make sure that the amount was all there but she was awestricken by what she found. It wasn't uncommon for a client to leave a tip but a fifty dollar tip for three cups of coffee and some donuts was almost unheard of.
She placed the plate and the cups onto the tray and went to pick up the tab again to place it on the tray with the rest of the utensils but dropped something onto the ground. Alex knelt down to retrieve a black business card with fading scarlet edges, in the middle was a capital 'V' in some old fancy font that she couldn't name off the top of her head. Alexandra flipped the card over only to find the inscription "The Vault", a name, a company and an address. She tucked the card and her tip into her apron pocket and resumed her work .
The hours went on and the customers became less and less frequent by the minute, by the time closing hour rolled around there were no more customers in the shop. Alex cleaned the coffee machine while the other girls helped out and cleared the tables wiping them down. One by one everyone finished their cleaning and gathered their stuff heading home. It wasn't until 11 o'clock that Alexandra finished up and headed home.
With the store safely in the hands of the nightshift people for the night, Alexandra set out into the neon-lit Brooklyn streets. The muffled thumping of music and the distant echo of police sirens intermixed with the sound of drunken laughter made for an irresistible atmosphere that inspired fun and adventure. Alex's eyes wandered from left to right scanning the faces in the crowd of pedestrians.
Their expressions seemed bleak as if unaffected by the hustle of the city. She traveled the short distance between the coffee shop and her apartment in a matter of minutes. Once inside her home, she kicked her shoes off and laid lazily atop her bed, the deafening silence was gnawing at her and a scary thought crossed her mind, this silence she sat in resembled death, like a corpse incased in idle morbidity, in the cold eerie sense of the word.
Alexandra sprung herself off the mattress with a new-found resolution and enthusiasm. The thought had breathed a new life into her tired entity, she was filled with the need of human interaction all of a sudden, she craved human contact like a fish craved for water.
She reached into her pockets digging out her phone and keys then threw them onto the bed, Alex shimmied out of her uniform and rummaged through her closet searching for an outfit to wear.
After much thought and consideration, Alexandra picked out a pair of black leather shorts with gold spikes that barely covered her silken slender thighs, she matched it with a form fitting lace tank top with intricate curving patterns. Alex chose a black leather jacket with gold spikes to match the outfit and high heel boots to complete the look.
(don't worry, I will add the pictures at the beginning I'm not cruel)
Satisfied with her choice of attire, Alex sprinted down the hall and jumped into the shower, squealing when the ice cold water hit her skin. She hurriedly adjusted the temperature and scrubbed the scent of coffee off of her.
The 27 year old blonde moved from one side of the room to the other, pulling her clothes on and applying her makeup, all whilst trying to do her hair. She opted for a modest look, with simple make up and her hair falling straight down her shoulders.
There, on her bed, rested her phone and keys along with the black business card and her tips from the day. Alex leant against the doorframe and cast a glance at the card absentmindedly. She pushed off the frame and grabbed her belongings along with the card and stuffed them into her black spiked purse. She slipped her matching black and gold skull choker necklace and bracelet and grapped the card, examining it closely.
Alexandra thought for a moment, the address on the back of the card wasn't too far away from her apartment, it was worth a shot, have fun and see some new faces, Alex thought to herself and with those thoughts in mind she walked out of her apartment locking the door.
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AUTHOR'S NOTES
well, where to start? hm.....oh yeah! i hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this book, i'll be updating regularly each week either friday or saturday, chapter length will be mostly consistent like this one most probably. if its too short or too long please tell me....
what else? hm...oh i almost forgot! vote and comment! :) (haven't proof read, so excuse the mistakes folks ;) )
like i promised, PICTURES!!!! its all on pinterest! i couldnt upload her so i did it there http://www.pinterest.com/6RedDevil6/bound-to-her-cast/