The Blood Bank

Chapter 5 - House Rules

Feeling a little more confident about myself after my shower I decide it’s time I face the wrath of whatever’s lurking in the unexplored world outside my room. I walk over to the door, mentally preparing myself to come face to face with Stanley or the mocha vampire, Covas, but only a beautiful empty hallway meets my eyes. Being careful to close the door behind me, I turn left down the corridor and walk hesitantly, the way Stanley had come yesterday, until I’m face-to-face with a plain brown door. My hand shakes on the handle as I turn it and I slowly edge the door open, revealing a surprisingly warm-hearted living room. At one end of the room is a cottage-type fire place belching out heat, and at the other end is a wooden table surrounded my little wooden chairs and an attached miniature kitchen. In the centre of the room, are old, elegant-looking sofas all facing one another in front of the fire. I stand there in the wide open doorway as all conversation suddenly stops, I feel myself shrink as I become the subject of interest of every person in the room. Looking around, I meet the gazes of about five girls and two guys, all watching me as I take a few wobbly steps forward. A brunette girl sitting in the corner next to the fire is the first to speak. She stands up and walks casually over to me until she is standing right in front of me; she smiles, making me feel more at ease.

“Welcome,” she supports her greeting with a friendly smile and I immediately begin to feel comfortable with her, “Do you know where you are? I hate to sound patronising but you look kinda like a rabbit in the headlights, so I thought I’d ask, just in case.” I look around for Stanley, immediately terrified I’ve trespassed into forbidden territory, as stated in his note.

“Am I not supposed to be in here?” I look at the girl with pleading eyes, trying to convey I had only made a mistake. From her expression, she seems to realise something and then she beams at me.

“Oh don’t worry!” She laughs, “Of course you can come in here, this is the Donor Lounge, this is where we spend a lot of our free time; you can come and go as you wish.” I look around the room once again at the many faces gazing at me, their expressions, I notice, are not hostile but merely curious. I also find that, though not all of them are good looking, they all look in the prime state of health, creating an illusion of beauty that complements the elegant surroundings. “So what’s your name?” My head snaps back to the pretty girl in front of me; like I hadn’t just been shallowly judging everyone on their looks.

“Mina.”

She laughs, “That’s ironic.” I look at her confused, not comprehending her at all.

“How is it ironic?”

“Oh no, don’t be offended, it’s just...Mina is the name of the human that Dracula tried to turn...you know... in Bram Stoker’s novel.” I blink in surprise, I’d never thought of that. I feel daring so I go for the most uncomfortable question to ask,

“So...you guys are the mocha vampire’s other donors?”

“Oh no, um...most of us are ‘universal donors’ which means that we must be available for feeding to any vampire that comes here. There are a couple of us who are ‘limited donors’ which means we’ve been ‘claimed’ by a certain vampire and only permitted vampires can feed from us.”

“Oh.” I wonder which category I fall under.

“Oh, by the way, I’m Rosie and the blonde girl over there on the sofa is Hayley, the girl with red hair next to her is Maria, the girl with the short pink hair opening the fridge is Janie and the Latina girl at the table is Hannah.” I receive a nod or wave from every girl she points at, they really weren’t so scary..., “As for the guys, Zackie is the one glaring at me right now...” Rosie giggles at a Latino guy glaring at her from the chair next to Hannah.