Blood Farm

Chapter 1

The scene before me was my own nightmare waiting to happen. I was already having a bad day, my head thumping from a brutal hangover from drinking too much last night with my best friend Curtis, it had rained during my walk from the train station to the office, drowning me and ensuring I had a very soggy day at work and now this, a disgruntled customer. My receptionist had been trying to handle him with the usual care and compassion that Rita was known for. Very little. That's why the alarm had been pressed and the customer was thumping on the security screen, yelling at her as she filed her nails. Nothing unusual you say? How about the customer being a vampire and me being the manager of a blood clinic? He watched me as I crossed the little reception area behind Rita, his eyes wild with anger.

"How long has he been here?"

"About ten minutes." She flicked her red hair off her shoulder, those vivid blue eyes twinkling at me.

"And you didn't think to call me?"

"You said you had a hangover and didn't want to be disturbed Ronnie, what do you want me to do, ignore you?"

"Fine." I sighed wanting to bury my hurting head in the sand "What does he want?"

"To know the details of this donor."

She held out the bag, emptied by the two little fang holes at one end. It was one of our bags, our logo at the top of the identification sticker, the hidden watermark. Many other companies had tried to pass themselves off as us, trying to trade on our reputation. Not that we had one at the moment, this guy was going to cause problems real soon, especially if another vampire walks in. Word could get out that we handled customer relations poorly and I didn't want that.

I looked up at the man, his black hair hung into his eyes, an odd colour of grey. The dark rings under his eyes made his condition look far worse, his skin was pale like he'd gone without blood for some time. He looked like he was from the wrong side of the tracks, a battered leather jacket over a band shirt. As I moved to the glass door I could see him step back, wiping his hands on his tattered jeans. I picked up the stun gun and waved it at him, hoping he understood the rules of this place. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, when he opened them he was calmer, taking a step back. I stood by the door between the two areas, a long glass door that reflected my tired, far too thin image. My mantra for today was that I should not have gone out drinking with Curtis last night and would never do it again, but who was I trying to fool? I pulled my long brown hair behind my ears, my skin almost as pale as the vampires that I deal with. Blue eyes that were dull in the light stared back at me, taking a deep breath I opened the door to the tiny reception area. The gun was ready to go, he knew what the deal was and I wasn't one to be soft. If he came at me, he was going to get it.

"Are you going to settle down?"

"All I asked for was the details of the donor and she..." he pointed to Rita with the anger starting to mount again "Said it was against policy."

"You do see this sign right here." I gestured to the very big sign beside the service window "What does it say?"

"But I..."

"What does it say?" I snapped at him.

"Donor information will not be released under any circumstances as dictated by the human and vampire council for unification."

"Do you understand the meaning of this sign?"

"Yes but..."

"There is no buts here, we are the only officially licensed collection and distribution clinic for human blood and I would like to keep my licence."