The hunger...
I couldn't focus on anything else. The blood pulsed in my head. My eyes were so sensitive to light that I had to close all the blinds in my loft.
It had been at least three days since I fed last. Last night at Club Titan should've been a buffet. But that damn Kelly changed everything.
I was tempted to take her right there in the alleyway but I'd be risking my entire life. And there was something else.
Something about her that calmed me. The hunger was gone when I was around her. That's probably why I was able to control myself.
But that didn't give me any solace for today. I wouldn't be able to move around much longer if I didn't feed.
There was no time to hunt. It was too risky in the daylight anyways. I only had one option in emergencies like this and I hated it so much.
I put on the sunglasses with the darkest tint and walked outside. The burning sun warmed my cold skin but it was way too bright. Even with my sunglasses, I still needed to shade my face with my hand. By tomorrow I wouldn't even be able to walk outside without my eyes melting in their sockets.
I jumped into my black Dodge Charger and drove off. It was hard to concentrate on the road when my stomach was a bottomless pit. Nothing could ever fill it.
A blaring horn behind me snapped me out of a daze. The red light in front of me had turned green without me noticing. My foot pounded the gas pedal and the engine groaned as I was pushed into the seat.
I parked in front of a blood bank with a neon red cross. I had to resort to this a lot when I was younger. It was a time when I didn't quite know how to hunt.
I checked myself in the rear-view mirror. Beads of sweat covered my forehead. If I went in there looking like a junkie the receptionist would turn me away immediately. I wiped my face off and took a few deep breaths.
The waiting room inside was filled with empty chairs. Getting people to donate blood wasn't the easiest thing in the world. An opening in the wall revealed the receptionist desk. A door with a locked keypad was next to it preventing me from just waltzing in the back.
A curious blonde at the desk tapped a pen.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
I approached the desk and put my hands on the edge to keep myself steady. I put on my glare and stared into her eyes.
She immediately blushed. I still had it even though it didn't work with Kelly last night. And I looked like death right now.
“I'd like to donate some blood today.”
The blonde fumbled around for a piece of paper. “Have you donated here before?”
“A couple times but it's been awhile.”
She attached the paper to a clipboard and handed it to me. “Fill this out and we'll get you out quick. “Have you gotten an tattoos recently?”
I shook my head as I sat down with the clipboard. I quickly wrote in a bunch of false information. They wouldn't be able to figure out it was fake until I was long gone.
The electronic lock beeped as the the security door opened. A nurse with chestnut skin and short brown hair greeted me with a smile. I got up and handed her the clipboard. She flushed when we locked eyes.
The nurse looked down at the paper. “I see we have Kyle here, is that right?”
I nodded and she led me through the door and down a hallway. The easy part was getting in. Now the hard part was getting out.
We came to a room with a single chair with a silver tray sitting beside it. I stood in the doorway and acted nervous, not moving a step further. “Do you mind if I go to the bathroom before we begin?”
The nurse gave me a smile with kind eyes. She probably dealt with people that didn't like needles all day long. “Of course, it's just down the hall and on the right.”
I thanked her and left down the hall. But I didn't go right. To the left is where they stored the blood until it was shipped off to hospitals.
A security door with a keypad like the one in the waiting room blocked my way. I pulled out a keycard from my pocket. A picture of the nurse with chestnut hair was on it. It was easy enough of to pick her pocket when she wasn't looking. That was the last thing on her mind.
I slid the card through the pad and it beeped with a green light. The refrigerated room was foggy and cold. My stomach grumbled at the sight before me. Bags of dark red blood hung on the wall with different designations denoting what type it was.
The rare types like AB Negative were a fine wine but were rarely seen at small blood banks. I wouldn't want to steal those anyways. It would be like drinking wine from a box. It was better to get the nice types straight from the source.
O Positive was my bread and butter and there was plenty of it. Backpacks or big bags were not allowed inside in case of someone trying to steal. Which was exactly what I was trying to do. I had to get creative.
I took my coat off and unbuttoned my shirt. I took out a small roll of duct tape from my pocket and began sticking blood to my chest, back and stomach. With my coat on, you could tell that something was off with the bulges in different spots. But nobody would notice if I walked out fast enough.
I took a deep breath and opened the door. The nurse was standing at the opposite end of the hallway in front of the bathroom door. She didn't notice me at first and I quickly went back inside the room and tried to close the door quietly.
But before I could get it closed, she called out, “Kyle you're not allowed in there.”
I opened the door back up and waltzed out. “Sorry I'm so nervous. I thought this was the bathroom for a second.”
The nurse peeked over my shoulder at the security door that was still ajar. She cocked an eye at me. “How did you get in there?”
I looked behind me. “The door was already open. I didn't really look at where I was going until I was already in there.”
It only took her one glance down at my coat to realize what was going on. “Security!” Her scream echoed through the hallways.
I took off in a sprint, feeling the duct tape stretch and tear at my bare skin. The hallway with the door to the outside was within my grasp. A chubby security guard with no hair left came into view, blocking my path. He tugged at a nightstick on his belt but couldn't get it loose in time as I barreled over him.
I fumbled through my pockets and pulled out the nurse's keycard. But I didn't need it.
A buff security guard opened the door. “Stop right there!” The nightstick in his hand wasn't very intimidating but a whack to my midsection might blow up some of the blood bags taped to my chest.
There was only one exit and I wasn't going to let this old guy stop me. I charged at him, screaming my head off. The guard backed out of the doorway which gave me just enough room to slip past him.
His night stick came swinging down at my shoulder. I lifted my arm to block and heard a crack. I didn't feel any pain but I also couldn't feel my left arm anymore. I made it outside and ran to my car. The security guard was close behind.
Good thing I didn't lock the car doors and the keys were already in the ignition. I watched in the rear-view mirror as the guard made it to the sidewalk and doubled over in exhaustion.
That was a close call but worth every ounce of blood. I needed to get home as quickly as possible because there would be cops out looking for a car fitting my description.
But I couldn't wait any longer to taste the sweet nectar hidden under my shirt. I ripped off a pack and sunk my teeth right into the plastic bag. It was like drinking right out of a juice box.
The blood tasted like spoiled milk. I winced as I sucked more down.
I could feel my strength returning, my hunger dissipating. All but two blood bags were emptied by the time I returned to my apartment.