My heart thumped inside my chest. My feet hurt but I ran as fast as I could. My hands felt numb and I could barely see in the darkness. My face surged with fear as I ran up the stairs and out the back door of the building, my high heels in my hand. I fought hard to try and forget what I had just seen but it was impossible. I had no idea where I was running to. I just had to get out of there.
Just as I thought I was at a safe distance, the wind hustled and Ian stood in front of me.
'You really thought you could outrun us?' he said with an evil grin on his face. Panting, I tried to run away but he just appeared in front of me out of thin air. Fear got the best of me, and I ran back until I hit a wall. I was stuck with nowhere to go.
'Please don't hurt me' I said, my voice trembling and my hands shaking.
Ian snickered. 'I don't have a choice though, do I?' he said as he moved closer to me. I dropped down on the floor, hands crossed in front of my face. I closed my eyes as tight as I could while I muttered, 'Please don't hurt me...'
Just as I thought I was about to die; a comforting hand gently touched my head. I looked up to see David leaning down on his knees, looking at me with concern. Behind him stood Ian, unhappy with the interference.
'Please don't hurt me...', I sobbed with fear. 'Please...'
'No one is going to hurt you.' David said with a calm voice. 'I won't let them.'
I looked at him. Something about his presence was soothing. The way he spoke suddenly made my heart stop racing. I could feel my shoulders relax as he gently brushed his fingers through my hair. Once he saw I was no longer trembling, he pulled away.
'I know you're scared.' he said, 'But let me explain. If, after then you want to quit this job and leave, we will stay out of your way...'
'What?...', Ian interrupted but stopped as David angrily raised his hand motioning him to keep quiet.
'Let me explain, Olivia.' he continued. 'No one wants to hurt you. Just give me a chance to answer all your questions.'
What I had seen back at the office had answered a question I didn't even know I had. I had accidently wandered into the basement of the building, looking for the janitor. The basement halls were empty and dark since it was night time, except for one room that was dimly lit. The door was left open and I could hear music coming from inside. Thinking it was the janitor, I had walked in to see that the managerial staff was having a dinner party. Only difference, the food they were eating were people, not to mention, some of my coworkers. With their fangs like wolves, inserted in the necks of those people stood Ian, Terrence, Markus and Jade. Their eyes glowed blood red, veins popped up all over their faces. It was the scariest thing I had ever seen. Ian had spotted and followed me and without disturbing the others, which is why I had run.
'Vampires...', I muttered. 'You are all vampires.'
David's expressions changed from concern to disappointment.
'You weren't supposed to find out this way.' he sighed. He offered me his hand before I could say anything else. I took it and he helped me up.
' "This way"? What do you mean "this way"?' I said, taken aback.
'Let's talk about this inside, shall we?', he continued. 'It's cold out here.'
***
I sunk into the big leather chair in David's office having second thoughts about being in that place with a bunch of vampires. A woman, very much human looking, brought me a cup of hot cocoa. David stood a few yards away from me, the others behind him. Ian stood leaning on the door looking at me like he wanted to kill me.
'I knew we should never have hired her.' Ian said. 'Humans are, in no way, trustworthy.'
David glared at him and he fell quiet. I examined the cocoa to make sure there was nothing in it. Reassuring myself that it was safe, I took a big sip. My nerves suddenly calmed down. A sense of relief coursed through me. I felt my shoulders drop and my feet stop shaking.
'Olivia.' David said, 'You probably have a lot of questions.'
'How are you vampires?', I asked, tensing up again. 'You walk in the sun and all.'
Jade laughed, 'The sun doesn't harm us sweetie. Except on the summer solstice.'
'How?' I exclaimed. 'Aren't vampires supposed to burn in the sun?'
'Not the pure-blooded ones.' Terrence answered. 'We are pure bloods. We were born vampires. Call us legacies if you may. We descend from vampires. Previous generations could be harmed by the sun, but just like any other creature on this planet, we evolved.'
'As for transitioned ones,' David continued, 'The sun can cause them some damage, but not much. The summer solstice is the only day we can't go out because the sun is at its peak that day.'
I sat contemplating that fact while they all watched me patiently. So, vampires were safe from the sun. That was new. According to all the fantasy novels and television shows, they were supposed to burn in the sun. That was their only weakness. Learning about this fact made me tense even more.
'What about your age?' I asked. 'Are you immortal?'
Much to my surprise, Ian answered this question. 'Vampires are born normal.' He spoke. 'They survive on human nutrition up to a certain age.' Then he lowered his shirt collar to reveal the side of his neck. Pointing to an inverted cross tattoo, he continued, 'Once we reach feeding potential, this mark appears somewhere on our bodies. That is when we become truly immortal. It happens at different ages for all vampires. I was marked at the age of 19.'
After a moment of silence, letting it all sink in, I asked my final question, 'Do you hurt people for food?'
David straightened. 'You mean, do we kill people?' He asked.
I nodded and so he continued, 'No. We don't kill. We believe in harmony. As you may have heard, vampire blood is a healer. We also have the power of compulsion. We can make people forget things'
'I don't understand why we can't do the same to her.' Markus spoke up. This was the first time I had heard his voice. He never really spoke much. Hearing this, everyone curiously looked at David.
'Because she cannot be compelled.' Ian interrupted.
That did it. It answered what David had meant by 'different'. Everyone looked at Ian in shock and dismay, but then glares turned towards David, who looked surprisingly calm.
'How could you not tell us something like that', Jade yelled.
'And you told Ian?' Markus finished.
David sighed, rolling his eyes. 'Ian was there when I met Olivia for the first time.' he said. Then, looking at me, he continued, 'I tried to compel you into having a drink that day at the bar, but I couldn't. That led me to think you were different. My theory was confirmed when you told me you heard our conversation the next day outside my office, and we couldn't hear you. Vampires normally tend to sense a human's presence in their midst.'
Ian spoke again, 'That is exactly why I was warning you not to hire her.' he said. 'She was going to find out some day or the other.'
'Is it that big a deal though?', I interrupted.
Everyone looked at me with either concern or disbelief.
'Yes, Olivia.' David answered. 'A human with the ability to resist compulsion is a threat to all vampire kind. If we can't compel you... we have to either kill you, or turn you...'