Unusually Endangered Part 2

In unison, the creatures nodded. One by one took off into the night, all in separate directions. Chris remained where he stood for a long while, watching the others depart. Then, just as dawn broke, he slipped into the shadows in the alleyway beside the library.

 

The next morning, the city of Grefaror awoke to the same sense on normalcy that they always had. During daylight, vampires such as Chris, Audrina, Lex, Xavier, and Dillon could not assume their identities of the night.

 

Chris stocked shelves at a local department store when the sun was out. It wasn’t that vampires would get sick in the sun; it was simply that they were too noticeable under light. Their pale skin was an oddity as it was, as were their misshapen teeth and vibrantly colored eyes. Vampires couldn’t afford to get caught, for their prey would turn into a predator.

 

Chris didn’t work for the money; he only worked for something to do during the day. Boredom was a fate worse than death for him. And as he knew, having a job was something a normal human would do.

 

Audrina had a more interesting occupation; she served as a waitress at a local breakfast restaurant. Audrina didn’t enjoy what she did, for she never had liked children. Children tended to visit the place often. Sometimes the children would cut themselves on sharp utensils and Audrina would be forced from the room.

 

Blood was something that she, nor any vampire, could ignore. It racked her body with desire and need all in matter of seconds; there were few that could ignore the sensation. Audrina was a strong willed being though, and she always untangled herself from the familiar want. This didn’t happen very often, but Audrina still loathed the daytime because of it. Night was her freedom, her time to shine. She had power, grace, and whatever human she fancied.

 

Lex, on the other hand, had the weakest will. He could never fight off the smell or sound of blood. Luckily for him, it had only happened once, when the sun was setting. Lex worked as a janitor in a local high school. He mopped up leftover foods, cleaned bathrooms, and unlocked doors around the building. Lex was the least conspicuous of the vampires. He was a gregarious guy, smiling his toothy smile, winking at the high school girls. Without his vicious taste for blood, Lex would be friends with all of the people in town.

 

It happened when Lex was locking the doors of the high school for the night, and only the drama students remained in the auditorium. They were rehearsing a Shakespeare play, and using fake swords, that had a slight edge to them. One of the students ended up slicing the others forearm, enough to make it drip a little. Lex immediately sensed it and hurried towards it, the desire for blood took over. He could move much faster than he had, but his intentions would be too obvious in the school. What, with the entire faculty still there. He rushed to the auditorium, and spotted the teen. His eyes flashed black and he stepped behind the blood-red curtains.

 

“I’ll take him to the nurse,” Lex has said, with a friendly smile. The director nodded and waved them off. Lucky for Lex, this student was a new one, and only a few kids knew of him. Lex seizes his opportunity when they turned the corner, beside his janitor’s closet. The student had no idea as to what was happening. He only saw Lex’s black eyes, which were intent on his sliced arm. And from there, one can tell what happened, behind the locked door.

 

Xavier and Dillon were very similar, but different from all of they others. They didn’t mind the daylight, but didn’t love it either. If the two were not vampires, they would be your typical lazy-just-out-of-high school-teens. Xavier and Dillon shared almost everything, their pasty blue eyes, their freckled skin, and most importantly they’re incredible ability to sense another of their kind.

 

Xavier and Dillon worked together at a pharmacy, filling prescriptions, and occasionally working the register up front. The two were a team. The only thing that was different about them was their tastes. Xavier preferred the blood of dark haired women, while Dillon preferred that of light haired men. They also had incredibly sensitive taste buds. Chris, Audrina, and Lex could not taste the difference between men and women of the same age.

 

When night would begin to fall, all of the vampires would take their ‘human’ belongings and step out, as if they were headed home. Chris would walk towards the library and once veiled in darkness, would climb up the brick wall to the roof. Audrina would ride a bike down Main Street under the dim lights until she came to an empty parking lot. Here, she would climb the fire ladder of an old apartment building and then take flight, towards the library roof. Lex was always too preoccupied with the activities of his day to bother with being inconspicuous. He always exited the school through the back door and shot off into the dark night. Xavier and Dillon worked beside the library at their drug store, and simply strolled over to the alleyway that Chris used, and climbed up as well.

 

It was night again, and vampires grew excited.

 

“Good day, Audrina?” Chris said in his deep voice, perched on the back side of the library’s roof.

 

“Not quite, never is when kids come in,” she responded, distaste seeping from her lips.

 

Chris really didn’t share a bond with any of the male vampires, only Audrina. Her fire red hair framed her pale face; her lips seemed redder than usual.

 

“You look thirsty,” Chris commented, scrutinizing her expression.

 

“I am,” she breathed as she watched two women walk by a streetlight below, their laughter echoing within her thoughts.