Resentment

Part 21

David was awake and he wasn't happy about it. We followed Chris back into the trailer to find Felix struggling to restrain him. His enraged eyes fixed on me the moment we entered and he let out a snarl of frustration. Beatrice hurried to a cooler in the corner and opened it to find it empty.

"He's had all of them?" She asked Felix.

"Yes, that's what brought him fully round" said Felix, "I think we should perhaps have reintroduced him to blood slowly; he was in a bad state."

I cautiously stepped forward. "David? Can you understand me?"

His only response was to lunge at me with renewed vigour, managing to get one arm free before Chris grabbed it and forced him to the floor with Felix's help. He looked bad, not quite as bad as the last time I had seen him but definitely far from human. His eyes were the worst, still crazed red ringed silver which stood out shockingly in his emaciated face. I didn't see any understanding or recognition there.

"We can't keep him here" I sighed, "It's too dangerous, there are too many people around".

"We can't move him right now though," countered Beatrice, "He will be too difficult to contain."

"We'll give it a few hours" I allowed, "Then see how he is."

As we spoke, David had fixed his eyes on Jamie, clearly smelling his blood. He strained against his captors.

"It might be better for you to wait outside." I thought to Jamie. He glanced at me and nodded before leaving the room. I knew he understood my reasoning. His presence would only make David worse.

Beatrice glanced between us and I knew it hadn't escaped her notice. "What are we going to do with him in the mean time?" she asked me, as if there was no interruption.

I sighed again, "That is an issue, we'll have to stay with him and make sure he can't do anything."

With Jamie gone, David calmed slightly. His eyes flitted restlessly between us and the walls of the small room. I hoped that he didn't try to escape, with a vampire's strength he could go directly through one of those walls if he wanted. With a bit of luck, that thought would not occur to him.

In other circumstances, the room would have been fairly cosy. A grey fitted sofa ran around two sides of the wall, whilst the other made up a small kitchen space and the entryway. Another door led to what I assumed was the bedroom and bathroom. The curtains had been drawn over the windows.

"We don't all need to be here at once," Chris spoke quietly. "Jade, you look like you could do with some refreshment. Why don't you and Beatrice go and take care of that, and me and Felix can stay here and mind him until you get back?" He glanced at Felix who nodded his assent.

"You've already been here this whole time though." I said, not wanting to put them out any further.

He shrugged giving me an easy smile, "It's not like you've been having a holiday is it?"

I couldn't resist grinning back wryly, "Well not exactly no."

"Come on," Said Beatrice, "I'll show you where everything is, and then we'll come back and take over."

I turned to leave but Chris stopped me, "Jade? I wanted to say... I'm sorry about Julia."

I nodded tightly, sadness washing through me, "Thanks, I know she was a good friend to you too."

"Yeah," He sighed, "I know it's not great timing right now, but when all of this dies down, we should do something for her... like a service."

"That would be nice." I found it a little difficult to speak. It was a nice idea; she would have liked us to remember her. "We'll sort it out soon."

As we left the trailer I took a long breath of the chilly air, looking up at the overcast sky. It was late afternoon and I could feel the day starting to draw to a close. It still didn't feel fully real that Julia was gone, I couldn't quite believe it. She just seemed too alive, too vibrant to be taken away so simply. I felt Jamie take my hand as we walked, but I was not fully present as we made our way through the campsite. I was vaguely aware of people whispering and staring as we passed, but nobody tried to approach us like before.

When we reached the blood donation van, a slim pale girl came out to meet us. She wore clean medical looking overalls and her red hair was neatly braided back. She was human but she smiled at us in a friendly way. Her eyes lingered on Jamie's hand in mine for a moment before she looked at us expectantly.

"What can I help you with?"

Beatrice held up the cooler she had brought with her from the trailer. "Hey Emily, refill please."

"Of course." Emily took the cooler from Beatrice and carried it into the van.

"We must be getting through quite a lot." I said to Beatrice, feeling slightly guilty for monopolising the blood supply.

She shrugged easily, "Not as much as you'd think. As I said before, some people brought their own... supply." I grimaced, hoping the humans involved were ok. "and also we've got a good deal with these guys." She pointed at the van. "More people than ever before are donating, despite the other side protesting against it. Also, there are limits as to when this blood can be used for humans, you know in operations and stuff."

"How?" I frowned in confusion.

"The newer it is for them the better, I think they have about a six week limit on how long they can use it for, but there is new research to suggest that even after as long as 21 days it is not as good for them. Us on the other hand..."

I knew what she meant, "Our bodies can break down pretty much anything we throw at them."

"Exactly, so we've got it all worked out. They prioritise the newer stuff for them, we get the older stuff. It doesn't matter for us, and we get through it quick enough to not make much of a difference anyway."

"Makes sense I suppose." I felt a little better knowing we weren't causing too much damage to the system.

"Plus, you know most of their donations and funding has secretly been coming from us for years. We've always had an interest in the cause so to speak." She laughed at her joke.

Emily came back carrying the now heavier looking cooler. "Here you go; I hope you feel better soon." She said giving me another smile.

I smiled back in return, grateful for her support. I did my best to ignore the way the monster within me noticed how her veins were very visible through her delicate skin. I stopped breathing for moment, allowing my head to clear a little without the influence of all too tempting scents

"Thank you," I said politely as we turned to leave.

We hadn't gone very far when Beatrice led us off into a little cluster of trees, making us invisible to the rest of the site in the gathering dusk. She set the cooler down and opened it, tossing two of the bags to me. "You look like you need this sooner rather than later." She told me.

Unselfconsciously she pulled one out for herself and slit the corner open neatly before drinking. I only had a second to marvel at how well she had adapted to this dietary style before the scent of the blood hit me. To quell the instinctive urge that rose up to take the blood from her, by force if necessary I opened my own. Jamie turned away from us to give us a little privacy, choosing instead to watch the treeline for any people heading this way.

I sighed when I was done, feeling a little clearer headed. Technically we didn't need to hide whilst we did this anymore, since everyone knew what we were anyway. Still, I had enough experience to know that knowing and seeing are two different things. People often think they are fine with something until they witness the horror first hand. I was still amazed Jamie was happy to be with me, having seen me as he had.