Reign of Blood (The Vampires of Vegas Book 1)

Chapter Five

The sun slumbered as I stared at the monitor of the security cameras. Its screen was split into four squares, each square displaying an image from one of the cameras that continually scanned the perimeter of the bunker. I sat on a steel chair that was ever so uncomfortable but it kept me awake, never letting my eyes waver from the screen. It was now burning itself into my retinas, making my eyes dry out. I hadn't changed and my grimy clothes clung to my skin. My disheveled hair flew in a crazy array of wisps and tangles about my head in a mangled halo, but I did not care. My feet ached, still in boots and sore from the endless search of the day. It was late but I was not going to be sleeping any tonight.

I prayed for them to suddenly appear, waving at me on the screen to let them in. I tapped on one of my katana swords that I had laid out on the desk before me. Its shiny steel surface gleamed under the fluorescent lights as I rocked the blade back and forth. The sun was not going to rise fast enough for me; the waiting agitated me down to my core. My nerves were jumpy and shaky as the overload of caffeine surged through my veins and made my head ache with a feverish pain. Rolling my shoulders, I stood up and stretched, walking over to the medicine cabinet to scavenge for some migraine medicine.

Finding what I needed, I sank back down on the steel chair. The hardness of it made my body protest even more. I grabbed a bottle of water I had left on the desk and swallowed down the two pills. I hated taking medicine if I didn't have to, but the caffeine and pain relievers were a necessity at the moment. I didn't want the migraine to get to the point where I would be debilitated and stuck in bed all night and day. I couldn't afford that when my mother and brother were out in the death-filled night.

Rubbing my temples, I groaned. I had to stay focused. Glancing at the screen again, I jumped as a flash of movement stilled my breath. I scrambled closer to the desk and glowing monitors. The other cameras were still and had showed nothing so I waited, hoping my pounding heart would slow down as I anticipated whatever it was that had moved to round the corner to the next camera.

I didn't have to wait long; a blur of a figure came into view looking around as if disorientated. A girl or young woman slowly walked by, as oblivious to her surroundings as she was of me watching her. I gulped as I studied her slow, delicate movements and grabbed the camera's remote to follow her with the lens. I hoped the camera's movement was quiet enough to not be heard as I followed her in the darkness. It had a night vision lens and the brightness along the person's skin made me think of my mother. I hoped the vamps had not gotten to her and wondered if maybe it was her. I squinted to study the image closer, zooming in on the figure.

Suddenly, the girl turned her bright, reflecting eyes towards the camera. I held my breath as I watched her inch closer, like a cat in the night toward the camera and seem to sniff up at it, cranking her head to see it better. My lips were numb, pressed so tight together that they were surely white. I waited as she stood on tip toes to get closer. I stilled the camera and observed her. Her fair blonde hair was in tangles and her dress hung on her like shredded rags. Her face had the baby fat of youth with a bruise of shadows under her eyes. Her face was smudged with dirt, adding to the wild look in her bright eyes.

I wondered who she was. Was she a feral? Was she even real? I feared I might have been hallucinating in my sleep-deprived state. She seemed to lose interest in the camera but did attempt one last time to reach up and swipe at the camera. She was too short and missed. I began to suspect she was not human. But what if she was? Indecision bubbled inside me as I wondered if I should go out and see about her. I felt stuck, not sure whether to go or not. If she was a feral, I'd have to kill her. If she wasn't, I wasn't ready to let another human into our home, especially without my mother here to consult about it.