She woke in the cage. Some of the blood from her body dried on the piece of sackcloth, others still fresh.
She opened her eyes, and they adjusted to the harsh lights in the pet store, the iron bars of her cage. She ran her hands over her body and felt pain as she moved. There were bruises on her arms and legs and lash marks on her back, but they always made sure her face and neck were clear. Her long blonde hair was matted, making it shorter than it actually was. She ran her fingers through it and only found tangles and gave up. She looked down at the sackcloth gown that covered her body and knew that there were more bruises on her body, the possibility of a cracked or broken bone as she tried to take a deep breath of air. The lashes on her back were more an ache than a burn which told her she'd been asleep a lot longer than she thought.
"Finally," the voice had her head snap up and look out the bars of the cage. A large man with golden vampire teeth smiled at her through the bars of the cage. "So, did you learn your lesson?" He wore a silk shirt that clung to his body, wool slacks. His hair was thin, swept over to cover his bald spot. She knew vampires were beautiful, but this one only instilled fear in her.
She tried to remember the beating when the lash marks started and why. As he used a new whip, she went to that safe place in her mind. The rest was a blur. She looked back at him, her mind blank. What lesson was she supposed to learn? She wasn't going to ask. It would probably prompt another beating.
He nodded, "Good, looks like you will be obedient now, my sweet pet. I've got customers coming today. Time to move you to your special place. Mine." His hand came into the cage and grabbed her. He pulled her forward. She squealed at the pain in her arm as his claws dug into it. His breath smelled like old blood and almost made her sick as he brought her face to his, "They can't pick you because we've been having so much fun." The doorbell dinged and opened. "Damn, I don't have time to hide you, pet."
The door to the shop opened as he threw her back in the cage. His head snapped over to her as she whimpered when she hit the bars. She threw her hands up as he brought his hand up for a blow, but he straightened, "We'll talk later, pet, stay quiet." He rattled the door shut and threw an old blanket over her cage. She curled into a ball and closed her eyes as she heard, "Welcome to Pet World. We offer the best for our customers."
She scrambled to look through the opening in the blanket. Why didn't Douglas just sell her? Why keep beating her, feeding on her? She'd rather take her chances with a new master. Dying by a vampire was better than the torture she'd endured for the past; she paused. How long had she been in the shop? The only memories she had were of the pet shop, the first time Douglas had bitten her.
"Hello Douglas, I'm in search of a pet. A gift to a friend," the voice was deep, scratchy. She looked out of the cage and saw black slacks, long brown boots, a light white shirt. Her eyes traveled more and found sandy hair, an almost Viking style face.
"James, we got our first shipment from the breeding farms. Let me show you the cream of the crop," Pet Master said. He steered the man toward the front of the shop, not where she sat in her filth. She moved closer to the front of the cage as they walked away.
She could hear them talking, the door opened, and another vampire walked in. This one was dark-haired, dressed in the same attire down to the boots. She saw him pause and sniff. This one made her nervous. He walked through the cages licking his lips. "James, have you picked one yet. What a selection!" His eyes moved down the cages. He pulled one by her hair to the edge of her cage and smelled, "Nope, wrong blood type." She moved to the back of her cage. Maybe the beating by Douglas wasn't so bad after all.
James walked with Douglas, "No, I haven't yet, Van. Take a look and see if any of the pets interest you."
She made herself as small as possible. She'd take the Pet Master after what she felt coming from the vampires. She wrapped her arms around her knees and buried her cheek on them.
James looked at all the lovely pets smiling at him. Some were showing their wares, which made him uncomfortable. He didn't want a pet. It was for his girlfriend, Gloria, for her birthday. He heard the squeal of another girl as Van grabbed her and sniffed her. He sighed. Gloria was known not to take care of her property, so why was he worried about picking the right pet. He looked at the different shapes and sizes of the girls smiling at him. Something didn't seem right.
"Listen, Van. I'm probably going to go with the jewelry. She'll like that," James said.
Van's nose went up in the air. He sniffed. She watched from under the blanket and made herself smaller. He walked down another aisle and grabbed the girl in the cage in front of her. She screamed. He sniffed, "No, I smell fresh B-Negative."
Van's statement caught James's attention, "B-Negative? Where?"
Van bent his nose to the floor and started sniffing, "Oh, that smells good. Fresh. Come out, little dear, where are you?"
He kept walking. She picked up the filthy blanket stained with old blood and wrapped it around her body. She heard two sets of footsteps as both sniffed the air.
"We haven't had a chance to test the blood type of everyone. My Lords, I don't think we have a B-Negative. I would know," Douglas said as he walked away from them and pulled the cover over her cage. She hid under the blanket and held her breath. If she said anything, she'd pay for it dearly as she was paying now.
"Now look at this fresh meat, never been bitten," She heard Douglas say.
The two vampires kept sniffing. She heard them move past her cage as they sniffed the air. She breathed a sigh of relief. She heard them pause.
Oh no.
One ripped off the cover of her cage. She screamed. She leaped back to the corner and whimpered as her back came in contact with the bars. The face in front of the cage had dark brown hair, bright brown eyes. His fangs distended as he stared at her. His hand whipped into the cage and grabbed her wrist. Before she could scream, she felt pain at the sting at her wrist.
His eyes closed, "Oh God yes, B-Negative." He sipped again, then licked the wound to close it. Finally, he looked to Douglas, "Name your price."
The other man came over to the cage and looked at her. He took her wrist and licked the blood that his friend left. She watched his eyes close. They opened and looked at her.
"Oh, she's not for sale," Douglas said and closed his arms around his shoulders. She looked up to him then to the two vampires. Which would she survive?
The blonde vampire caught the look in her eyes before they hit the floor of her cage. He took in the dried blood on her blanket, the matted hair, "What do you mean not for sale, Douglas?" He looked over to the dark-haired vampire, "Van, everything is for sale, right?"
Van looked over to Douglas, "Everything has a price, name it." He moved back to the cage and touched her neck through the bars. She moved back and whimpered.
Douglas looked at her. His eyes went sad. He named a price he thought no one would jump at. She gasped, and Douglas was surprised when Van said, "Done." He looked at her and licked his lips, "I wasn't in the market for a pet, but you taste delicious, different for B-Negative."
Douglas opened the cage and grabbed her arm, and pulled. She felt like her shoulder would go out of the socket. She let him pull her out of the cage and made her stand on shaky legs. The beating she took made her weak. She looked down as both vampires came over to her and circled around her. She flinched as one touched her arm, the white gown covering her bruises. Van bent down and licked his bite on her wrist. "Like candy."
The other vampire looked to his friend, "I'm calling rank Van. She's mine."
