The lights of the warehouse flickered as Benji took the emergency exit down to the ground floor. He was keeping a natural pace as he held onto his work ipad. His humming listed off in his head the one thought he had. 'never take an elevator when there is a set of stairs.'
A ding chimed from the device and he pulled up the list that was sent from his supervisor. The list of crates he was issued to check out onto the the loading docks was e-file sent just seconds ago. He checked the species out, wondering what he was going to be carefully handling.
"Dragon eggs," he muttered. The young that was stolen from the nests of dragons in the 'other' realm. Benji worked for a company that specified in marketing rare pets to high paying bidders. In other words, he was working for this world's worst exotics cartel. It was illegal in most regions but made enough profit to pay off governments with hush money. "And, it looks like these are specifically tera breed." He made the deduction as he scrolled through their individual profiles. Thirteen babies. All delicate eggs. Tera dragons were known to have earth-related magical abilities. They weren't 'rare' for his tastes. But they were still baby dragons.
Tera dragon eggs were kept at a cool degree in temperature to prevent them from hatching. They were hibernating creatures. The moment the temperature raises, they're ready to be born. That means the eggs are only able to be harvested during the winters. Benji's finger scrolled past the information pathway for 'keep it cool'. The trucks would have to be ice cold before they move the batch on.
Their auction house location was thirty minutes away. So, ice tubs would be the best option of storage. Benji's job was making sure they arrive on time. He also had to make sure one doesn't hatch and bond with the wrong person. It will result in Benji having to exterminate and document the loss in profits.
Everyone knew a dragon bonds with the first thing they see. Which is why a hatchling on the markets were high in price range. Even just one egg could easily equal the price of a new car. Given the type of dragon and egg's age. Benji specified in selling dragons thanks to his 'green' thumb. This wasn't Benji's first choice of a job but it paid well and he needed money.
Benji wasn't a normal every-day run of the mill guy. He was a vampire with an addiction. Blood. He thought about it day and night. He's lived a few centuries and never once did he ever make enough money to balance out his addiction to blood. For a vampire like Benji... if you're not working as an employee for the cartel then you're racking up more debts at another. His was at the blood cartel. Where he often found himself after work hours sucking the life out of...
Definitely not grapefruit.
Benji's life was a cycle. Work. Paycheck. Spend. Work again.
Benji was a long legged male. He reminded himself of a grass hopper sometimes. He always figured he would be eaten by a dragon. He often had day dreams about it. He once got the idea when he watched a lizard eat a grass hopper whole. That became the only thing he thought about while drinking blood.
His hair was an ash blonde grown out to his mid-back because he didn't like to spend money on hair cuts. And, he didn't have the time. He wore a white lab-coat with the sleeves rolled up above his elbows. He wore a black turtle neck shirt underneath and tight gray sweatpants. His shoes were sneakers he got off of his last prey. They happened to be the same size. Lucky for him because he had needed new shoes. They were nike brand running shoes. He found them quite comfortable. And, to top off his handsome good looks he hid them behind useless eyeglasses. He didn't need them but wanted to hide behind the ugly pair to avoid unnecessary wondering eyes.
There are two loading docks to the warehouse. One on the closest side to the ocean. It was for direct unloading and re-loading for ships. The other dock was for transferring cargo by vehicles.
Benji's little dragon eggs were scheduled for the vehicle shipment. Meaning they came from the boats and are ready for the auction house nearby.
When he finished taking the stair case he leaned up against the exit, completely out of breath. He felt exhausted as he rubbed the cold sweat clean from his neck. He felt disgusting. He hated working out but in the elevators... it was much worse.
He was claustrophobic. But, his mind lingered on actually having to have awkward eye- level conversations with the people he worked with. That's what made him avoid elevators. This gave him time to think out his conversations with people. He loved his privacy. Benji pulled up his left wrist to view a watch. The only jewelry he kept around. It was to keep up with time.
He had a bad sense of time. His watch went off and he knew he was late. He looked at it as he reset the time it would go off. He felt a heavy sigh slip as he pushed open the door. He stepped into the ground floor of the warehouse. It was where all the imports or exports were placed to be cycled through the system. Heavy cages lined the floors with beasts. Some sedated... while others wide awake and muzzled. They were grouped according to species and rarity. He walked past the cages tense and uneasy. He hated this job but it brought in a decent paycheck considering how much in debt he was to the system.
"Hey, Benji!" A voice came from a man pushing a crate on wheels. He stopped a soon as he saw Benji. He was in a blue jumpsuit with the name, Kai. Benji recognized him instantly as a human servant working off a debt as well. Kai, worked on this floor for longer then most humans. He was well liked because he didn't complain and done his job. Kai, was another human waiting to be turned. But, he wasn't good looking enough. No one wanted to turn him into a vampire. He was being used. Benji turned his face into a forced smile.
"Oh, is that my eggs?" Benji asked as he walked towards the crate. He opened them to glance in. There they were, in ice. All thirteen. Green looking dark rocks. They didn't resemble eggs and were hard to crack open. But, inside... there was a forming dragon. He shut the crate quickly as he looked at Kai. "What are you doing? I don't get paid to stand here. Let's get them loaded," he urged. He couldn't help but feel like he was being watched and it felt unpleasant. He glanced around as he saw creatures looking at him. Their eyes dead from the fight they endured before being forced into their positions.
Benji had no problem. But, he didn't like being watched. He just wished there was a red cape draped on all the cages. He didn't care about them. What happened or will happen to them. They were lost hope to him.
"You're the one later then usual," Kai commented playfully as he didn't notice the looks. He whistled a tune as he kept pushing the crate towards the door.
Benji scoffed as he glanced around angrily. He wasn't ready to laugh as he followed Kai. He eyed over his ipad once more as he started to check their loading time. He set it for an adjusted ten minutes ahead of time. So if traffic messed with their arrival time he was still covered. He lowered the device when they made it out the door. He looked at the trucks waiting to be boarded.
"Kai, take it to truck 006," he ordered as Kai waited for the truck number.
"Ok," Kai snapped as he pushed the cart in the truck's direction. Benji followed them.
Outside of the warehouse was a secure compound. It was heavily guarded with an electric fence and 360 degree cameras watching. There were guards traveling in groups. There was no way of escaping the compound alive... and getting in was another story. If you did come in you only left in one of the trucks or ships.
"Dr. Levine," A guard greeted Benji. He stood by the truck they were going to. The guards were in black uniforms with guns on their hips. They had mic- and ear pieces to communicate.
"Please, call me Benji," Benji noted as he shook hands with the guard.
"Well... then Benji? I'm Ellis. I'll be with you on the safe travel to the auction house." He looked at the cart Kai was pushing.
"Hi!" Kai said as he pushed the cart to the back end of the truck. There the made sure to carefully place it on the lift as he began to haul the cart up and inside the back of the truck.
"Does he come with us?" Ellis asked with unease. Benji shook his head, no.
"He stays here. First time?" Benji asked and gave a fake smile.
"In the compound? Yes. It's not my first day with a gun." Benji chuckled towards Ellis to try to act like he felt something other then disgust. Benji looked towards the eggs with care struck in his eyes. The haunting whispers of what would happen if he lost just one lingered in the back of his mind.
It wrapped up to one feeling...
A very dry mouth.
He coughed quietly to himself as he watched Ellis walk around to the driver to talk with him over which route they were taking. Benji pushed his hair off his neck and rubbed off the wet sweat from it. Outside it was nighttime. Early in the night still, the sun just below the horizon. He felt hot because he felt nervous. If he lost just one of these eggs... he will suffer.
"There we go!" Kai announced as he locked the crate in safely via ropes and locks. He turned the temperature down low in the truck's back and locked up the doors. He looked at Benji with a friendly smile. "Come back safe," he warned happily with a sick laugh. Benji tsked and nodded towards the human.
"It's not like anything new will happen," he grumbled. No one wants tera dragon eggs enough to invade a truck driving directly to an auction house. But, Benji always felt nervous.
"It's what humans say to people they care about," he heard Ellis muttering as he opened up the passenger's door to get in. "Just say something nice and get in."
"So, don't worry about me," Benji said to Kai as he rolled his eyes. He was annoyed Kai was still around and starting to have feelings about him.
Benji got into the vehicle with the driver and guard on both sides. It forced him to sit in the middle. He took out his tablet to send the information to the compound's leader. He had to finish reports or face a harsh punishment.
~~~
Benji's watch went off and it alerted him something was off. He looked around as he found it strange. They're late? Benji didn't notice as he glanced up from his tablet and silenced his watch.
"That's a noisy little thing," Ellis commented. "Why is it going off?"
"I forgot to bring my pills with me," Benji said in a bored tone. He didn't dare alert them he felt something was off. He eyed the road ahead of them and noticed they were off route. He felt his heart skip a beat as he cut the tablet off from his crossword puzzle game.
"Oh? I hope it's not too important," Ellis commented as he looked at him. Benji stared into the male's eyes. The two kept eye contact as Benji tried to understand what was going on. "What were they for?"
"I have a heart condition," Benji noted.
The silence that followed Benji's lie was cut short as the vehicle came to a stop at a gate. Benji's eyes landed on the gate's appearance. It was not the usual place. This was off his schedule.
"Looks like we arrived," Ellis said as he looked outside. Benji wasn't sure if Ellis noticed yet they were off course. He looked at the driver suspiciously. When he turned his head to take his eyes off Ellis he noticed the movement in the rearview mirror. Ellis stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled out a damp cloth.
Benji unlocked his seat belt and jolted up in a fight or flight instinct. The driver leaned out the window to key in a passcode for the gate. Ellis' hands reached around and caught onto Benji and yanked him into his seat as he pushed the cloth over his mouth and nose. He pushed his hand down over his chest to force him to exhale and inhale. Benji freaked out as he grabbed the door handle and went to open it but found it locked.
"Come on Dr. Levine. Don't make this hard," Ellis warned.
Benji struggled as he lost his breath. He knew if he breathed in through the cloth he might be dead for sure when he wakes up.
"Who do you work for?" Benji hissed out in fear of the answer. Someone after the eggs and has enough people hiding on the inside of the compound to get what he wants. He pushed on Ellis' arms as they fought in strength. The driver leaned over from the corner of Benji's eyes he saw a syringe. Ellis lifted Benji's hair out from over his neck and the driver struck him. Benji's muscles started to relax as he forced a breath in. Things started to feel light as he was shoved back into the middle seat. Ellis helped him adjust and rest his head on the back for comfort. Benji's body began to lock down as he lost consciousness.