The Donor House: Caleb: Making a Decision

[k_a_webb]

Walking around at night wasn’t safe. Everyone knew that. That was the time when the vampires took over the world and humans became nothing more than prey. Caleb wouldn’t have been out if he had any other choice, but with his little sister missing he couldn’t just sit at home hoping she’d walk through the door. His parents had tried to talk him out of going, because they didn’t want to lose him too, and a part of him felt guilty for leaving even when he knew how afraid they were that he’d be kidnapped by vampires. It seemed likely that was what had happened to his sister, as she made her way home from a party she shouldn’t have been at.

In his hand Caleb held a stake. He’d never used one before, but he hoped that if something did happen to him his automatic reaction would be to fight back. Of course there was a chance he’d just end up screaming and running for his life. Coming face to face with a vampire was something he’d talked about with his friends, especially after the hunter had visited their school to talk about what it was like to spend every night out in the darkness looking for the creatures who viewed them all as food, although it wasn’t a subject any of them were particularly comfortable with. Vampires were dangerous and everyone knew that being grabbed by one of the auction vampires was a possibility, which would most likely end up with them either dead or an addict.

Like all of his friends Caleb did his best to avoid the addicts and they seemed to do their best to avoid the normal humans. They only wanted one thing – to be fed from by a vampire. He knew that wasn’t what he wanted to happen to him, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t. Especially as he was out searching for someone he probably couldn’t find, because she was either already a vampire or at one of the auctions, waiting to be purchased by a vampire who was going to use and discard her, the way all vampires did. With the back of his free hand he wiped away the tear that started trickling down his cheek.

“Did you ever think we might have taken her because we wanted you?” a male voice said from behind him, making him jump. Caleb turned to look at the vampire. “Thankfully humans are predictable, Caleb, so we knew as soon as she went missing you’d be out looking for her, and that is exactly what we wanted.” A shiver went down Caleb’s spine as he started walking backwards, away from the smiling vampire, even though he knew he wasn’t going to be able to get away. “I suggest you try to use the stake at least. I am alone and it does give you a chance of getting away before I take you.”

Caleb looked down at the weapon, which had seemed like it would be so useful, and tried to stop his hand from shaking. The vampire kept smiling, which really didn’t help the way. He was more likely to drop the stake than he was to actually manage to stab it into the chest of the creature that had lured him out into the darkness.

“Where is my sister?”

“A friend of mine has her. She is safe and I’m happy to make a deal with you. I’ll get her delivered safely back to your mums if you come with my willingly.”

“Do you really expect me to believe you? Why would you give her back when you could have both of us?”

“You’re worth more to us than she is.” The vampire took a step towards Caleb and he tightened his shaking grip on the stake he was beginning to believe he wouldn’t be able to us. “I know I’ll be able to sell you. A couple of vampires I know are already interested in owning you and I’m looking forward to the bidding war that’s inevitable when I bring someone like you to the stand.”

“Why am I so special?”

“I wish I knew.” Another step closer. “Some humans just interest my buyers more than others. Now, how are we going to do this? The hard way or the easy way?”

“Give me one reason to believe that you really will return my sister.”

“Caleb, we both know it isn’t that simple. Nothing I say will make you believe me, even though I know you want to, because I’m a vampire. If there was something I could say I would have said it by now. I need you at my next auction.”

As Caleb stared at the vampire he tried to work out what he was going to do next. The stake was still in his hand. He should use it, he knew that, but he hadn’t realised how hard it was going to be when he was face to face with one of them. Nothing about hunting vampires was ever going to be easy, but there was a chance he could save his sister from the same fate that was in store for him, and that was the aim of his expedition. Trusting a vampire, however, was a stupid thing to do, especially as he’d admitted to kidnapping Caleb’s sister in order to draw him out, because there were other vampires who would very much like to own him.

Shivering, he ran his free hand through his hair. He couldn’t imagine getting away from the vampire, not with the way his hand was still shaking, and that meant his mums would lose both their children. If he gave himself up there was a chance, even though it was a small one, that they might get one back, which he couldn’t help thinking was enough of a reason to do the one thing he’d promised himself he wouldn’t do – let the vampires have him. Breathing deeply he dropped the stake.

“Promise me you will return her,” Caleb said, hoping he hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of his life for nothing.

The vampire closed the distance between them and clamped one hand around Caleb’s arm. In the other hand he held a phone that Caleb could hear was ringing someone. “Nathaniel, take her back to the house tonight. We have the one we wanted.” Without waiting for Nathaniel to reply the vampire hung up. “It’s done, Caleb. Thank you for being sensible.”

At that moment Caleb didn’t feel like he’d been sensible, but hopefully he had saved his sister and that was all that mattered. She’d be going home to live a nice normal life while he… He shook his head. Thinking about what was going to happen to him was something he refused to do, because it was going to be bad. Being taken by one of the auction vampires wasn’t something anyone wanted, but everyone knew it could happen if they weren’t careful enough. Night was their time and the only positive he could think of was that at least the vampires were common knowledge. Schools taught their students how to stay safe from the creatures that preyed upon them.

Before they’d made themselves known to the general populace the humans they took wouldn’t have had any warning about what was going to happen to them and for that Caleb was grateful. He was terrified, but at least he knew what was coming, so he could attempt to prepare himself for what was to come, even though he didn’t really think that was possible. Especially when he found himself standing in front of the doors of a van, which was obviously the place they’d kept the other humans they’d abducted, because all he could hear coming from it were the sounds of people crying, what sounded like someone trying to break out, and some low conversation.

“The people in here will be your companions for the next couple of days.” The vampire opened the door and all the sounds faded away. “Don’t bother getting to know them. I doubt you’ll be seeing them again after the auction is over.”

Without seeming to use any effort at all the vampire propelled Caleb into the van and, to his surprise, he managed to stop himself from falling flat on his face. The door was closed before he had a chance to really get his balance though, so when the van started less than a minute later he did fall over. Biting hard on his lip he ignored the pain and shimmied backwards. Once his back was against one of the walls of the van he let himself look around.

A group of young girls sat in the corner, none much older than fifteen, all with tear streaked faces. It looked as though one of the older girls, that he should probably be calling a woman as she appeared to be closer to twenty, was trying to comfort them with limited success, but it was good that she was putting in the effort. There was a couple of other women, both also about twenty, who sat in another corner, looking terrified, although they weren’t crying. Finally the sound of someone trying to break out had come from another man. He was still trying, blood streaking the side of the van. At least Caleb assumed it was blood. He wasn’t sure what else it could be.

It would have been simpler if he could have followed the vampire’s advice, but Caleb wasn’t like that. Even though he wasn’t sure he was doing the right thing he made his way carefully over to where the other man was and took hold of both his wrists. “That’s not going to do any good.”

“I have to try something. I can’t let them win.”

“All you’re doing is hurting yourself and making it more likely that one of the auction vampires will lose control around you. A vampire is going to be buying you at the auction, unless you die first, so the last thing you want to be is weak, which is exactly what you will be if something like that happens. You need to be sensible about this.”

“He’s right, Liam,” a female voice said, and Caleb was almost certain it belonged to the woman talking to the girls. “We’re here now and we need to accept that. Trying to escape is going to lead to your death.”

“Being bought by a vampire is also going to lead to my death.” There was anger in Liam’s voice, but it wasn’t the fury that Caleb had been expecting. “At least if I try to escape there’s a chance I might be able to get away.”

“Not all vampires are the same, so there’s a greater chance you’ll be bought by a vampire who isn’t going to kill you or turn you into an addict than there is that you’ll be able to escape. Especially by trying to claw your way out of a metal van.”

“Emily, all vampires are blood-drinking monsters.” Liam pulled his hands free and turned to look at Emily. “You may believe the crap that those ‘friendly’ vampires are spouting, but I don’t, and, even if there are ‘good’ vampires, they aren’t going to be at an auction to buy humans. No, it’s going to be the nastiest vampires, those who are most likely to turn us all into addicts, that will be there, wanting to use us for a couple of months before they discard us like used tissue paper.”

“You’re scaring the girls.”

“They should be scared. Our lives are over. Nothing we planned for is going to happen, because there’s only two things that might happen to us once we’ve been purchased by one of them. We’re going to end up addicted to their bite, spending all of the time hunting for another desperate vampire who wants to feed from us, because we need to feel that buzz once more; or we’re going to be dead. Personally I’d rather be dead before I can feed one of those leeches.”

“I’m going to keep hoping that I’ll be lucky enough to come across a vampire who isn’t going to use and abuse me. It is possible, Liam, even if you don’t want to believe the creators of the Donor House, because I know for a fact it’s happened before.”

Liam laughed. “Keep hoping all you like, Emily, but don’t fill their heads with lies. Vampires are the predators and we’re the prey. They hunt us for food like a lion hunts deer, because we’re no longer at the top of the food chain, and getting out of here before we reach wherever it is their taking us seems to be the most logical thing to do.”

“Have you been bitten?” another voice said, making Caleb jump, and it seemed to be coming from the corner where the other two women had been sitting.

“No, I haven’t.”

“Are you certain? Have you been out at night and returned home with some time missing? Is there a chance you might have come across a vampire during the day?” The woman sighed. “Normally the auction vampires go after humans that have already been bitten, because it makes their job easier, and a lot of the time you won’t even know that it’s happened to you.”

There was a long silence. Caleb had no idea how to fill it, because he didn’t think he’d ever been bitten, but if she was right, if it could have happened without his knowledge… he shuddered. However it did bring up a couple of important questions once more, things he had always wondered about the auctions but never knew who to ask, and maybe she had the answers he needed.

“Surely it would be easier for a vampire to simply grab someone off the street,” he said, looking at both the women, one of whom looked much more composed than she had before. “The auctions mean they have to pay money for someone that they could have had for free.”

“It would, but the thing about the auctions if that they aren’t just for buying humans. They’re a place where the vampires have a community and that’s something that many of them rely on, as well as having a better range, especially as the auctions pick up what could only be called the very best humans. Don’t ask me how they know who they should pick up. Unfortunately that’s something I just don’t know.”

“Why do you know so much about the auctions?” Liam asked. “You seem to know things that only vampires should know.”

“This isn’t my first time. I thought he was going to kill me when he found me, especially as I staked my last owner, but instead he grabbed me and the girl I happened to be telling to get off the streets while she was free. As far as I can tell it was down to pure luck that he did find me.”

Emily was suddenly standing right next to Caleb. “How many times have you been to auction?” Fascination filled her voice. “What have the vampires who bought you been like?”

“Even though I tried not to count I know this will be my eighth auction. I have no idea if others have been more than once – I think it’s possible, but I don’t know how often it might have happened, because it is possible to become immune to the chemicals within a vampire’s blood. That’s what happened to me and it means I’m worth more to them than I would be if I wasn’t.” A tear trickled down her cheek. “The first vampire that owned me treated me well. I was lucky that time, but it’s not something that happens often. Since then I’ve had vampires who have used me and then taken me back to the auction to be sold again, because they don’t want me once the novelty’s worn off. In the end I had enough, I wanted to get away from it all, and it didn’t work out. I should have run further or gone to the Donor House. They would have helped me.”

“You think the House is a good idea?” Caleb hated the way they were all questioning her, but she had an insight that no one else could have, and he wanted to know, so it was an option in the future. “After all you’ve been through?”

“I do. The House is a place for vampires and humans to build a community together. When the auctions were created they were only thinking of the vampires. Back then any vampire who was a little bit different to the norm could either walk away from vampires altogether or they’d try to fit in as best they could. Now they have a place to go, where they can feed from humans who want to be there, and I’ve been trying to convince some of the addicts I’ve met to go there because I honestly think they will try to help in any way that they can.”

“They’ve brainwashed you,” Liam snarled. “That place is going to be just like the auctions, only all the donors will be under one roof, and it will make it so much easier for the vampires to hunt.”

“All auction vampires hate the House, so they plan to get it shut down.” She smiled. “I know one of the creators of the house was changed by the vampire who set up the first auction and I think he did it in the hope that he might be able to bring an end to the auctions. From what I’ve overheard he walked away when he was very young, too young to be alone; spent years wandering the country until he found a home, which his creator took away from him; and he hasn’t been heard from since them. Now he’s doing something that is making even his creator want to kill him, but knows that would be impossible considering what he’s been doing recently.”

Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.

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