Zone Zero (Book 1 of 3)

Chapter 12

I am lying face down on a concrete floor of a small cell with bars surrounding me when I awake. I rise slightly and look behind me and notice that there are two other girls huddled together in the same hospital grade dress I wore earlier. I look down at myself and realize that I too am in a hospital gown. Blood from my neck has dripped down the gown and left a large red mess of dried blood down my right arm.

I shake my head silently and turn to face the two girls. Their feet are covered in dirt along with their gowns and they sit close together with their knees against their chests. One girl rests her head on her knees whilst the other watches me attentively.

I try to push myself up but gravity is against me. I feel so weak and the room seems to be spinning. I must have lost a lot of blood.

Stay awake. I have to stay awake.

I look to the watcher of the two girls and hope that she can shed some light on what is happening. She hasn't spoken a word but her eyes haven't left me since I woke up.

"Where am I? What's going on?" I half mumble and I know that half of what I said must be inaudible.

She continues to look at me and slowly leans in closer.

"You need to keep quiet. They will beat you if you make any noise." She whispers in response.

She leans back against the cell bars and reverts back to her former position, comforting the mute girl beside her.

I try to study her but my eyesight feels hazy at best and I can barely make out her face. All I can see clearly is her long blonde hair as it frizzes about wildly and falls around her arms.

I move to lay on my back and watch the ceiling. More concrete. Where am I?

Not even ten minutes of silence go by before I hear a large door opening and footsteps grow louder. Someone is coming this way.

I try to sit up again but feel as though my body weighs a tonne.

The footsteps continue to grow until a white haired man arrives at the bars and crouches down never taking his gaze off me.

He is the same white haired man from when I arrived here. He was at the gates and welcomed me inside mentioning something about an auction.

"Well, well, well. Someone is finally awake. How did you sleep, love?" His voice is low but soft, as he speaks in a condescending manner.

"What's going on?"

"An auction my dear. A place where the winner is the one with the deepest pockets."

"Auction? For what?"

"You and your kind. Vampires will pay a pretty penny to have a play thing, you know." I can hear the cruelty in his voice and immediately know why he is here.

The loud sound of a door opening returns and footsteps moving closer echo as the man stands tall and turns to face the on comer.

"What are you doing?" An angry voice coils through the walls making both girls jump and cling tighter to each other.

"Just checking out the merchandise, sir. Thought I might splash out on myself this time around."

"Don't you have a gate to watch?" The voice echoes again getting closer and closer and sounding more and more familiar.

As if his life depended on it, the white haired man leaves and doesn't look back. I try to sit up again to see who scared him off and am brought face to face with the last person I would have expected.

Crouching down before me on the opposite side of the bars is a prefect looking Alex staring back at me and casually checking his surroundings. He changed out of his frayed denim to a more suitable pair of black jeans along with a light grey t-shirt that subtly hides underneath a much loved leather jacket. The elbows are starting to wear as the evidence of its meaning shows.