Scarlet Prison

Chapter 17

            "The prisoner escaped! The prisoner escaped!" Casey's panicked voice dragged me out of the depths of sleep.

            "I thought you were watching her!" Mera scolded from somewhere in the hallway.

            Casey burst through the door. "Ekai, the prisoner...is on your bed." He frowned at the odd sight.

            "What?! Let me through!" Mera pushed Casey aside. She looked from me to Ekai, who was sitting patiently at his computer. "Ekai, what's going on?"

            "Zermia's human," Ekai said.

            "She's brainwashed him!" Casey cried.

            Mera looked at Casey like he was stupid. "Vampires don't brainwash people any more than people brainwash people."

            "She seduced him, then," Casey proclaimed. I don't know why, but this made my cheeks feel warm.

            Ekai rolled his eyes. "She did not seduce me. She showed me her blood. She's definitely human," he explained.

            "Why? What does vampire blood look like?" Casey asked.

            "I'd like to see her blood for myself." Mera pulled a knife from the air. I tensed, ready for a fight, but Ekai tossed Mera my tube of blood before she could make a move. "She's human," Mera agreed, putting her knife away.

            "What does vampire blood look like?" Casey asked again.

            "It looks like black slime," Mera snapped.

            "Well, maybe if you guys let me kill vampires, I wouldn't have to ask," Casey whined. I shot Ekai a look. Did he kill vampires? I wasn't sure how I felt about that. I didn't like vampires, but some were becoming acquaintances, and I wasn't comfortable with the idea of people killing them. Ekai evaded my gaze, which only confirmed my suspicions.

            "It's not black. It's just a lot darker than human blood, making it look black, but it's still red," Ekai told Casey. Casey nodded as if that information was of the utmost importance. "Zermia's been working undercover to find her friend," Ekai said.

            "Any luck?" Mera asked.

            "Not yet," I said. I expected her to make fun of me for spending too much time with vampires or something like that, but instead she just nodded. She seemed much too solemn to be a fourteen year-old girl.

            "These things take time," she said, as if she had the wisdom of many years behind her. Suddenly, her face brightened, letting the youth shine through the cracks of her hardened demeanor. "Well, I'll tell you one thing, I'm glad to have another girl in the group. Hey, do you want a brush? Your hair looks like it was attacked by ninjas."

            I put a hand in my tangled dark brown mess. It would've been a lot worse if I didn't have naturally straight hair. "A brush would be good, thanks." I wondered if Mera was purposely referring to herself as a ninja, or if the comparison was coincidental.

            "Be right back!" she clucked and dashed out of the room.

            Ekai cocked his head. "Your hair looks fine." While Ekai did tend to have different moral boundaries from most people, he was not a liar. No truth was too inconvenient for Ekai, and he'd sooner sting you with the truth than comfort you with a lie. That doesn't mean Ekai was always forthcoming, but if he was going to bother saying something, it was going to be the truth. So when Ekai studied me with his sincere blue eyes and told me that my hair looked "fine", I thought my heart would grow wings and fly away.