Resentment

Part 20

Looking back, it wasn't as bad as I originally thought it would be. But, that was the best thing I could say about it.

When we arrived, it had seemed like the whole world had gathered around the make shift stage set up in a side field. Everyone from the campsite was present, along with a great deal of media and a few brave passers-by. Someone had set up chairs on the stage, making it seem more like an interview rather than a speech or address. I spotted Mr Smith and the people with cameras in the side-lines, speaking with yet more people.

Jamie, Beatrice and I were seated facing an attractive blonde reporter. A large screen was set up behind, and cameras were placed around us. Beatrice seemed relatively comfortable with the entire set up, or at least... familiar. I gathered she had done this multiple times whilst Jamie and I were incarcerated. I on the other hand was the opposite of comfortable. I had always hated any form of public speaking, despite my confidence in other areas. It didn't help that I was fully aware I still looked pretty terrible. The shower and clean clothes had definitely helped, but they did not fully hide the painful thinness or multitude of healing injuries. Jamie had offered me his arm to carefully help me up onto the stage, making me feel like the senior citizen I technically was. I did not like to appear weak, in any sense of the word. I winced as cameras flashed in our direction.

The interview itself passed in a blur. Beatrice did most of the talking, whilst I simply answered any questions directed towards me. She explained our experiences inside the facility, freeing me from having to put the worst of it into words. I noticed that she emphasised the illegality of it all, whilst illustrating the injustice and inhumane treatment we were subjected to. Jamie remained silent for most of it, speaking only to describe his experience of captivity, and to confirm the horrific events that had befallen me. There was a brief section where they showed the pictures and video they had taken whilst inside. I simply turned my head away and shuddered, not wanting to relive any of it. To distract myself I watched the reactions of the crowd. At first I thought they were afraid, but after a moment I realised it was actually shock and horror I could see on a lot of faces. Not directed at us as I first thought, but for us. They were disgusted at our treatment, and perhaps even sympathised with us.

The reporter, Sarah was doing an excellent job of looking comfortable and relaxed. I wondered if she really was completely at home sitting within metres of two vampires, or whether she was simply a good actress. Other than a slightly raised heart rate, she seemed fine. Attempting to end on a more positive note, she turned the conversation to a more personal tone, asking for details about our lives.

"So Beatrice tells me the two of you are sisters?" she asked me in a friendly tone. "I can see the resemblance. Do you have any other siblings?"

I nodded a little stiffly, "Yes we are sisters, but it's just the two of us. We have no other family

"What about descendants? I understand the two of you are...a little older than you look?" She raised an eyebrow as she said it, making me think that Beatrice had not confided in her exactly how old we were. She was fishing for information.

"None that we know of" I answered simply, gaining a small amount of satisfaction from the briefest flash of frustration on her face.

"I notice that your friend who was also released is not with us today, could I ask where he is?"

I glanced briefly at Beatrice, unsure how to answer. I didn't want to say anything that could cast us in a bad light to the world.

"David is too unwell to join us today, he suffered a great deal whilst in the facility and he is still recovering." Beatrice answered smoothly, leaving no room for questioning. Her tone made it clear that we would not answer any more questions.

Sarah tactfully wrapped up the discussion, summarising everything and announcing that viewers could find more information online. To me it seemed like an eternity before we were allowed to leave the stage, with yet more cameras going off around us.

The moment we reached ground level, we were consumed by the crowd. It seemed everyone either wanted to greet us or ask more questions, some of them yelling after us as we pushed through. Thankfully Beatrice was in front of me, clearing people out of the way with her icy glare. Jamie had his arm protectively around my waist. I spotted Calliste elegantly perched on a bench off to the side, surrounded by the guards from her tent. She appeared to be faintly amused by our struggles.

Finally we escaped and walked as a group back to our little area of tents. It was much quieter away from the crowds and I breathed a little sigh of relief, leaning into Jamie's side. Despite the ridiculous amounts of blood I had recently consumed, I was still hungry enough that the tightly packed people were starting to smell a little too tempting. It seemed that my body was rapidly burning through everything I had drunk as it continued to repair the damage. I would have to find more soon.

The thought had only just crossed my mind when Chris burst out of the trailer looking more irritated than I had ever seen him. I noted a couple of already healing cuts on his face.

"What happened?" I asked in alarm.

"David happened." He answered sourly. "He's awake."