"Two million dollars… going once… going twice…"
"SOLD!"
"Let us all give a warm congratulations to the gentleman in the left side corner of the hall… please come this way to receive your item."
Mary could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest as she stared at the heavy iron manacles locked around her arms.
The auction hall was fully lit and the harsh lighting from the bulbs hanging from the ceiling made it hard to open her eyes.
She could hear the excited shouts and harsh curses coming from the crowd of vampires who were only a couple dozen feet away.
Of course, they were separated by a long transparent barrier and a security team but that did little to lessen the fear in Mary's heart.
She saw the hunger in their eyes.
Dark crimson irises and black pupils that stared at the humans. These monsters did not see them as intelligent lifeforms to be protected.
To the buyers in the auction hall… humanity was nothing more than livestock.
Forty-five minutes had passed since the auction had begun and now there were only three humans that remained.
Mary noticed that the bidding was now even fiercer than before.
Early humans were sold for a couple hundred thousand dollars but now the offers ranged in the millions.
Why was this?
Was there something about herself and the two other humans that remained that warranted such expensive offers?
Mary's thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice that echoed through the hall and raised the tension in the atmosphere to its peak.
"Now we will now begin the auction of the high-grade blood slaves!" the sharply dressed vampire standing on the stage shouted.
He raised up his pale arms and gestured towards the three humans standing at the back of the stage.
One was a teenager with green eyes and long flowing hair, another was a muscular man with an impressive physique and the third was a middle-aged woman with a terrified look on her face.
Mary felt her body freeze as a rough arm gripped her by the shoulder and she was roughly hauled to the front of the stage.
A dirty rag was tied around her mouth and all she could do was silently scream in pain as the iron manacles around her arms got even tighter.
"We will now begin the bidding process," the vampire speaker calmly spoke without even bothering to glance in the direction of the young human.
"One million dollars!" came a shout from the back of the hall.
"One million and five hundred thousand dollars," another yelled excitedly.
The bidding got higher and higher until the only ones who shouted out offers were the vampires sitting down in the private boxes.
Mary could not see their faces or appearances since the windows were covered by a heavy black curtain.
It would be safe to assume that the individuals in the private boxes were either high tier vampires or representatives of one.
Okay… now would be the moment of truth.
Honestly…. It would be a lie to say that Mary did not feel terrified about the horrific possibilities of what could happen to her once she was sold.
It was simple enough to say that she would attempt to escape once she was bought by one of the vampires in the hall but as for what would happen…
Sigh…
Well, all she could do now was hope that whoever bought her would keep her alive at least for the next couple of days.
"Five million dollars… five million dollars going once…" the vampire speaker yelled with a gleeful tone in his voice.
"Wait we seem to have another bid!"
"Six million! Do I hear anything higher?"
"Seven million? My… my… folks we have a real bidding war on our hands!"
Mary coughed violently against the fabric that was wrapped around her mouth and could feel her body trembling slightly.
There were now only two parties interested in buying her and the price kept getting higher until it stopped at forty million.
"Forty million! Forty million going once… going twice… SOLD!" the vampire speaker roared happily as he gestured for his worker to handle the livestock.
He could not believe that the first high class livestock had sold for such an exorbitant price.
Today would be a profitable day for his organisation… perhaps he would even get a promotion when the auction was concluded.
"Move it slave…" a harsh voice whispered in Mary's ear before those rough hands gripped her by the shoulder and lifted her up in the air.
This time it was clear that the vampire in charge of looking after the humans was handling her with as much care as possible.
Mary stared at the blonde vampire with a trace of hatred in her eyes. She would never forget how she was treated in this terrible place.
If she had the chance… she would kill them all…
A dark violent urge surged in Mary's body and for a brief moment the vampire holding her shoulder flinched.
He hurriedly checked one of his hands and a confused expression flashed across his face.
For a second there… he could have sworn that his right hand had been burned…
Impossible… he must have imagined it…
There were no injuries on his palm, but the phantom pain remained. The vampire shook his hand twice and then let out a light sigh.
He clearly had been working too hard these last few days… maybe he should take a couple of vacation days next week…
Mary felt her eyes slowly begin to close as a wave of exhaustion struck her body out of nowhere.
She fought desperately to keep herself awake as the vampire led her to the back of the stage where a door was located.
He opened the door and then walked through a long winding corridor that led directly to a secret room.
This is where the buyers would receive and inspect the merchandise. Mary was gently placed on a chair and the cloth around her mouth was removed.
The blonde vampire took out a golden key from his pocket and removed the iron manacles that had been holding her arms together.
"I would advise not being stupid and attempting to run…" the blonde vampire muttered quietly as he turned around and left the room.
Ten minutes passed in complete silence as Mary sat on the chair and waited with bated breath.
There was a door on the opposite side of the small room and Mary could hear footsteps slowly approaching.
She was about to meet the vampire or vampires who had bought her…
Goosebumps appeared on Mary's arms as all she could hear were the heavy thuds coming from the other side of the door.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The handle of the door slowly turned, and two figures entered the room. One was an elderly man while the other was a young woman who visibly appeared no older than thirty.
They both wore neat clothes but… it was the attire of servants.
A wilted rose was printed on the front of their outfits and its pale red colour seemed eerily similar to blood.
"This is the one?" the female vampire asked curiously as she approached Mary with hunger barely concealed in her sharp gaze.
"Resist the urge… you know that she belongs to the mistress…" the elderly vampire softly spoke as he grabbed the young vampire by her arm.
"Relax… I was just looking at her…" the female vampire softly replied with a smile.
She muttered something under her breath and the elderly vampire stared at her with an unknown emotion in his gaze.
"What… what is going to happen to me?" Mary asked quietly as she stared at the two vampires with a wary look on her face.
"Oh! It speaks!" the female vampire clapped her hands together and mocked.
The elderly vampire shook his head and reached into his pocket to pull out a syringe that was filled with a crystal-clear liquid.
Mary tried to get out of the chair, but the seemingly frail old man moved with a speed and quickness that should not have been possible.
The tip of the needle buried itself in the top of her arm and the mysterious liquid entered her body.
The last thing that Mary saw before her eyes closed involuntarily was the vicious smile on the female vampire's face.
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