[Kura]: 673.Short Stories.The Blood Bank

Walking aimlessly around the small city I'd been staying in for a couple of days now, I figured something out.

I was bored and lonely.

I needed companionship that didn't consist of rats, mice, and the occasional pigeon. I also needed something else to do other than the monotonous rhythm of eating and then wandering that I had gotten into. During the day I slept. Not because I really needed to, but because there was nothing else to do in the cramped abandoned building I'd found. There wasn't that much to do in this city. I didn't care for nightclubs or bars (the noise and the strange looks I got when I both refused drinks and refused dances would have driven anyone out) and everywhere else I felt as thought I stuck out like a sore thumb.

But I didn't want to leave yet. There was too much good, easy prey here. Plus I hadn't been run out yet. An added bonus.

I was just turning a corner of an alleyway when I spotted him headed my way. My first instinct was to disappear down the alley, but something made me stop and wait for him to reach me.

He was short, rather tubby, and his general appearance was round. His face was friendly, but his eyes were a bit...wild. As was his hair, which was white and whispy, sprouting from his nearly bald head in odd places. His clothes were shabby, but then again, so were mine. He was also barefoot. Instantly I knew that if I ever saw him again I would recognize him with no problem.

"Hey buddy, you want a job?" he asked, grinning with all nine of his teeth.

A job? Why hadn't I thought of that before? It had people, but none of them would ask why I never ate or drank since we wouldn't be together long enough. I'd have things to do, too, so I wouldn't be bored.

"Sure," I said, smiling back at him.

"Well then step right through those doors, buddy." He gave me another grin and then waddled off, whistling.

I watched the curious man until he was swallowed into the night and then stepped inside the tall building next to me. I didn't think to look up at the sign.

A smiling blond receptionist greeted me in a crisp white uniform. "Good evening sir, may I help you?" she asked politely.

"Yes, I would like to apply for a job, please."

"All right. Would you like day or night shift?" she asked, her sparkling white teeth dazzling me with another smile.

"Night, please." I answered hurriedly. I hoped the hours would fit between sunset and sunrise. If not, I was sunk..er...burned.

"Okay, just fill out this form here and we'll see what we can do."

I took the form and sat down, too busy looking at the questions and scribbling down answers to wonder what sort of work I'd been doing. It wasn't until I had finished the entire sheet and signed my name for the final time that I noticed the heading- and the name of my new employer.

The Blood Bank.

What? I couldn't work here, of all places! Not that I have anything against the place, but there's just one little problem.

I'm a vampire.

Don't jump to conclusions now. I'm pretty decent, as vampires go. I only kill once a night, and only when I'm hungry. I don't go on massive killing sprees or anything. Actually, I hate killing. But I can't help what I am, and a Blood Bank is not a good place for a vampire.

I told myself that I might make it, though. That if I fed before I came to work, I could resist the temptation of the heartbeats and the blood.

Of course, I was fooling myself.

I took the form back up to the ever-smiling receptionist and waited patiently as she went back into an office to process it. Soon she came back and told me that I was in luck.

"We have a shortage of staff right now, especially at night. You start tomorrow night, Kaji."

I thanked her, smiling, and walked back to my little abandoned house, thinking everything over.

I arrived just before the sun rose, went inside, closed the curtains, and fell asleep in the darker corner of the room.

Bet you can't guess what I dreamed of.

The next night dawned (or would it be set?) dark and cool. It was nice, and I drank quickly, having no problem finding prey (as usual). As soon as I stepped inside the Blood Bank doors, the smiling blond receptionist handed me a pile of clothes, bright white.

"It's your uniform. You can change when you leave." she said hurriedly at my dismayed look. Judging from how darkly I was currently dressed, I understood what she meant.

I changed in a small sideroom that conveniently had a full-length mirror. When I was changed I almost jumped when I saw myself in the mirror. My skin was so pale already that against the bleached white collared shirt and pants I looked as though I was one and the same with the clothes except for my black hair and golden eyes. How in the world was I going to fit in as a human?

Nervously, I stepped out of the room, leaving my clothes in a neat stack in the corner. Surprisingly, none of the other people working there seemed to notice my appearance. They were too busy, I guess.

And soon I was too.

They basically had me doing all of the little jobs that didn't require a college degree in medicine or science. I had gone to college, but for architecture and engineering. I was also human then, of course. Anyway, I was put to work taking out the trash, cleaning the tables, and (worst of all) carting the bags of blood back for storage. It was naturally tempting, especially with the human heartbeats from my coworkers ringing in my ears; but thankfully I managed to control myself.

I was enjoying myself, though. The people were friendly (a few of the women invited me to dinner and various things, but I politely refused) and the pay (although utterly useless to me) wasn't terrible. Other than a small incident involving a cookie and an overly-friendly nurse, nothing went wrong and I went home tired but happy.

The peace lasted for a few days before being unceremoniously taken away from me. Really, I shouldn't have been surprised.

I had overslept. By the time I woke up and realized it was dark outside I had less than five minutes to get to the other side of town and into my uniform.

Going as fast as a young vampire can go, I arrived with a minute to spare. I changed quickly, eyeing the clock on the wall as it ticked closer and closer to me being late. I burst out of the room with not a second to spare.

There was one problem though.

I was absolutely starving.

Obviously, I hadn't had time to drink. And now I was surrounded by humans and blood. Oh joy.

My fangs were very long by now and anyone and everyone would see them if I wasn't very careful. My lips were redder too. Not to mention the fact that my skin had paled more than it was possible for a normal person's.

Of course, people noticed how strange I looked, but thankfully they just thought I was ill. Most of them were very caring and offered help. But there was one that was just asking for trouble.

"Hey Kaji, I know how much you like makeup, but don't you think you went a little heavy with the powder and lipstick this time?"

Dr. Krav.

I swear he was out to get me. It didn't matter how polite and friendly I was to him, he always replied with the most nasty and sarcastic remark his limited intelligence could come up with.

"Isn't it a little early for Halloween, Kaji? I know a couple of ten year olds who could get you better fangs than those." Even the others had laughed at that one. I refused to tell them why they were there and I had been keeping my mouth closed as much as I dared.

Everytime I looked at him all I could think about was me sinking my fangs into that red, bulging neck of his. And enjoying it immensely.

One of the woman nurses told me that he was just jealous several times in my too brief stay. And maybe she was right. He was good-looking enough, but I, the new guy from nowhere with no past, was the one getting asked to dinner. And I was refusing. Maybe it was too much for him.

"Kaji, you think you can handle carting back this blood, or should I get one of the girls instead?" he asked snidely with only an hour to go before work let out.

By now I was so hungry I was feeling lightheaded. I wanted to say something, but my throat wasn't working right because of how dry it was. So instead I glared at him coldly (golden eyes are so good for that) and shoved the cart of blood in front of me toward the storage area.

When I reached it, I just slumped against the cart and stood there breathing heavily. The blood was so close. Right in front of my nose, in fact. All I'd have to do was reach my hand out and-

It happened fast. The closest bag of fresh blood was in my hands and then at my mouth all within a second. I was pouring it down my throat, gulping at it. It tasted so good...I felt my strength start coming back to me, blood trickling down my chin despite my efforts to not waste a single drop. I grabbed the next bag when that one was finished and started on it with just as much gusto.

That's when she screamed.

It was one of the prettier nurses, and I really couldn't blame her for screaming. I must've looked a sight. As though I'd just jumped out of a horror movie. My mouth, my chin, and my once pure white shirt were all quite red with blood. Even I was disgusted.

I could hear running footsteps and alarmed voices coming closer through all of her screaming. The noise was really hurting my sensitive ears, and I was very tempted to kill her, just to make it stop. But I didn't. I just stood there as if frozen.

Curse my soft, unbeating heart.

Finally my brain started working again. I ran like crazy in the opposite direction of the poor nurse. She fainted and the only sound left was that of the mob of doctors, nurses, and volunteers running and yelling. I think I would have gotten out of there all right if it wasn't for how hungry and scared I was. Not to mention the fact that I almost ran headlong into Mr. Devil himself.

Dr. Krav had not been running down the hall in fear for a fellow worker. He had been strolling down it, accompanied by two girls- one on each arm. When he saw me I could almost see the wheels in his brain turning laboriously, trying to figure out what he was looking at.

One of the girls, a young volunteer, looked at me in horror. "Vampire!" she gasped at seeing my bloody fangs.

I guess he hoped to seem like the hero or something, because that moron in a labcoat, after a few more seconds of thinking, pushed the girls behind him and pulled out a small wooden crucifix from around his neck, holding it toward me with a smirk. "Back, you monster!" he said dramatically.

I rolled my eyes, "You've gotta be kidding me." I said with exasperation before pushing past him. Crucifixes on me are just about as potent to me as they are to a human.

He seemed shocked, but I had no time to enjoy myself. I was almost past the group when the volunteer just had to stick her foot out. I stumbled and then felt a sharp burning pain in my right arm. When I looked, my dark blood was seeping out through a thin slice. It burned like fire, worse than being shot. I almost fell on my knees, the pain was so bad.

Then I saw what she had in her hand. It was a small knife. A small, silver knife. That girl knew what she was doing and she was calm. I could tell by her heartbeats.

I couldn't wait and find out more, though. There wasn't time, and she looked as though she was aiming for my heart. I made a run for it, dodging carts of needles and blood as best I could. It was slowing me down, though. I think she threw the knife at me, but, thank God, it missed. I was almost to the door when I remembered my clothes. There was no way I'd be able to blend in with people in my current blood-stained uniform.

I dashed into the room, grabbed my clothes, dashed out again-

And just barely missed a cart full of needles being shoved straight at me.

I jumped out of the way and crashed through the door, knocking it down in my hurry to get the hell out of the mania that was inside.

And I didn't stop running until I felt like I would collapse. I stopped, feeling pain in every part of my body. The blood had barely helped at all and the place where that girl had cut me still felt like I was being shot repeatedly at close range. But I heard something through all the pain.

Heartbeats.

I looked up eagerly. It took me a second to realise what I was seeing.

A short, tubby, wild-eyed man with whispy white hair, a friendly look, shabby clothes, and barefeet was waddling toward me.

"No..Not him..It couldn't possibly be him." I muttered hoarsely as I stared in disbelief and dismay as the strange little figure came closer and then stopped in front of me, grinning toothily.

"Hey buddy, you want a job?"