(Northern Region- New Atlantic City)
(Inner District- Unovan Auction House)
Foul.
That was the only description that Mary could give to the nasty brown sludge that was present in the bowl.
The taste was like eating a mixture of a fish and raw rice mashed together to create an unholy abomination.
It was at least edible and bit by bit she filled her stomach.
The other humans in the cages looked at her with expressions that varied from pity to disgust.
But she didn't care.
One needed energy in order to escape. Mary dipped her fingers into the bowl and nearly gagged as the brown ooze stuck to her fingertips.
She raised up her palm and closed her eyes. This process was repeated until the bowl was completely empty.
Mary leaned back against the edge of her cage and stared upwards at the ceiling.
The cold iron bars pressed against her shirt, but she ignored the feeling of discomfort. She needed to calm down her mind and think about what to do next.
"How could you eat that?" a nervous voice asked.
Mary turned her head and saw a middle-aged woman staring at her with trembling fingers.
She was a heavy-set woman who wore a plain white dress that barely covered her lower thighs.
"It's disgusting... but it's not poisonous..." Mary hoarsely replied as she looked at the now empty bowl in front of her cage.
"Are you an idiot? Everyone knows that vampires are monsters! How could you..." a man in the far corner of the room shouted with disbelief evident in his tone.
"This place is an auction house... and we are the goods. Why would they damage the goods before the bidding process?" Mary calmly responded.
Goods. Livestock. Blood slaves.
That is what they were in this terrible place.
The Northern Region was a forbidden land for humans since the treaty specifically made this part of the country an autonomous region under the control of the vampires.
Whatever happened here... the government and the hunters would not interfere.
They were doomed.
Perhaps if they were lucky then they would be killed quickly because if not then a lifetime of slavery awaited every single human in this place.
Mary frowned as she tried to push those negative thoughts to the back of her mind.
Others could afford to wallow in pain and despair, but she had a mission to accomplish.
She needed to hunt down and kill the villainess that threatened this plane.
The young teenage girl wrapped her arms around her knees and quietly contemplated about the possible routes to escape.
She ignored the sobs, cries and prayers coming from the other prisoners as the full gravity of the situation finally dawned upon some of them.
It was impossible to break out of the iron cage since she did not know any lockpicking skills.
Maybe at the auction itself there would be an opportunity?
No... she would be captured and maybe even killed if she made trouble. No doubt this was not the first time that this auction house had sold humans.
There must have been others who tried to escape, and they would have most likely failed. That left only one possible avenue open.
She would need to escape from the home of whoever bought her at the auction.
Of course, that was a huge gamble, but it was the only realistic chance she had of leaving this region.
Mary could only hope that she would not be bought by a lesser vampire otherwise the first taste of her blood would lead to her death.
Sigh... fuck... FUCK!
The young teenage girl angrily slammed her fist on the ground as she remembered the hunters who were present at the ambush.
Those useless motherfuckers...
Did you not see the van in the distance?
"I... I can't... I can't..." a young boy sobbed as he pushed the bowl of food away. The child placed his head in his palms and cried desperately.
"I want my mommy! I want my mommy!"
"Shut the hell up!" an angry voice interrupted his sobs. The same man who had called Mary an idiot just a few moments ago shot the child a furious look.
"Oh relax... we're all going to die anyways..." an elderly man placed his hands in the air and shrugged his shoulders.
"Fighting amongst ourselves isn't going to solve anything..." Mary whispered softly as she shifted her body to a more comfortable position.
The arguing continued as the humans trapped inside the iron cages vented their fury and frustrations on each other.
What else could they do?
In a hopeless situation... this was the only action that they could take. Mary closed her eyes and tried to block out the noise.
She ran her fingers against the side of her chest and carefully checked her ribs to make sure that they weren't broken.
Oh good...
Mary let out a small sigh of relief as she felt that her ribs were only bruised and not cracked.
There would be some ugly bruise marks on her skin for the next few days, but it could have been much worse.
Maybe it was exhaustion or perhaps the vampires had slipped sleeping drugs into the food, but the young teenage girl found herself drifting off to sleep.
.
.
.
.
(Several Hours Later...)
"Hey you! Wake up!" a harsh voice yelled loudly. The cage began to rock back and forth as if someone was shaking the iron bars.
Mary flinched as she opened her eyes and found a pair of crimson pupils staring directly at her body.
They belonged to the handsome vampire with dirty blonde hair who had brought them the food in dog bowls earlier in the day.
She instinctively trembled as she saw the vampire reach for the heavy lock that was in front of the cage's door.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small key which he then used to open the lock. The cage's doors were opened, and the vampire gestured for Mary to walk outside.
"Hurry up... the auction will begin shortly," the vampire roughly spoke as he stepped to the side.
Mary hesitantly walked out of the cage and saw that the other humans were already standing outside.
There were a couple of vampires watching the excitement from the top of the stairs that led to the basement.
Curiously enough the humans outside the cages were not handcuffed or restricted in any way.
Well... it probably wasn't necessary.
There was no way that a human would be able to take on the vampires responsible for guarding them.
And just one cut or wound would be enough to send these lesser vampires into a feeding frenzy.
Or maybe there were a few highborn among the guards?
"Follow me," the vampire bluntly spoke as he walked up the stairs without even turning around to see if the humans were following his command.
Mary glanced at the other prisoners and saw hesitant expressions on their faces. She gritted her teeth and followed the vampire.
The other humans walked behind her lead, but the elderly man simply sat down on the ground and did not move a single muscle.
"Old man what the hell are you doing?" one of the prisoners whispered softly.
"I don't care..." the elderly man replied.
The other prisoners were shaken by his resolve and their footsteps got even slower. Perhaps in their minds this was a good chance to escape.
Fools.
Mary shook her head and obediently walked forward. Vampires may be monsters, but they were not stupid.
There was definitely a hidden reason why the vampire walking in front of them was so convinced that the humans would willingly walk behind him to the auction hall.
The young teenage girl reached the top of the staircase and took one final glance at the room where she had been imprisoned for several hours.
What she saw next would haunt her for the rest of her life...
The elderly man's head had been nearly separated from his body and blood gushed out of his now headless corpse.
An attractive pale skinned woman was feasting on his remains, and she used her sharpened fingernails to rip out the old man's organs.
She played with his small intestines and rubbed the fleshy parts of his organs against the side of her cheek.
Wait... where did she come from?
Was that vampire inside the cellar this whole time?
How could they have not noticed her?
"Arghh... what... the..." one of the prisoners whispered in a trembling tone.
No one even dared to scream since an instinctive fear gripped all the humans in the room as they watched a fellow prisoner get devoured piece by piece.
The vampire leading the way to the auction hall paused for just a moment and Mary could see the corners of his lips gradually curving upwards.
"I forgot to mention..." the blonde vampire casually spoke as he turned around and smiled viciously at the frightened humans.
"Some of you have already been sold. If you do not follow me to the auction hall, then I will have no other choice than to give you to the clients...
"A little bit earlier..."
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