⚒⚒

A young Victoria woke up wide eyed. She got off the bed and stood in front of the mirror. She stared at her long blue dress, then picked up the daisy flower on the ground and placed it on the side of her hair.

She smiled before walking out of the room. She skipped her way down the hallway and into the living room where sobbing could be heard. Entering, she saw her mother in dark blue scrubs and a matching cap. 

The woman turned to her in surprise, a knife with blood on it in her hand. In front of her was a man with tape over his mouth, a wound circulating his face, and hands tied on the chair's arms. "Moon, what are you doing here?" The shock of seeing her daughter standing there never left her face. She seemed petrified, as a mother should, because no woman would want their daughter to see them in such a state. "Moon, did you hear what I said?"

"Who is Moon, Mommy?" Victoria asked.

The woman exhaled in relief. "Oh, Victoria, it's you." Her shock turned into a smile and she added, "Vicky, honey, close the door and come help Mommy with work."

Victoria locked the door, then moved to where her mother stood. The tied up man stared at her, his eyes pleading for mercy. "Is he like the one from last time?" she asked, touching the man's fingers. "He has nicer hands."

"He's more richer, and Mommy's friends want his face."

Victoria moved around the man, observing him. His suit had been stained with the blood from his face. He had other wounds on the back of his head and neck, and a large scar on his arm, indicating he had been in an accident not long ago. 

"How much for his face, Mommy?" she asked, curious as always. 

"So much." 

"How about his legs, arms and other organs?"

"The buyer wants everything he has. Now, go back to your room and change into your uniform. We have a long surgery to get to."

"Will my sisters participate?"

"Not today. Today it's just you and Mommy. Is that fine with you?"

Victoria smiled. "Yes, Mommy."

⚒⚒

Victoria had a slight headache and her vision was blurred when she regained consciousness. An awful acrid odor caught her attention and she glanced to the side. There sat a dead body burnt to its bones. It was nauseating and sweet, putrid and steaky, something like leather being tanned over a flame. 

The smell was so thick and rich, she could almost taste. 

Disgusted, she puked on the opposite side. "What has she gotten us into?" She rubbed her lips on the shoulder area of her black t-shirt, then tapped her tongue up and down to remove the taste. "I know I should've watched what she was doing, but her crying, man," she groaned, "her crying and constant drinking was too much. If she went into a mental distress after finding out she had another personality in her head, what would she do once she knows the truth about our family?"

She tried to move her hands but they were tied to the back of the chair. Moving back and forth hoping she could fall down, but the chair was bolted to the ground. "Dammit, Moon!" She shook her head, then took a quick glance at the burnt body and looked away in distaste. "How careless were you last night?"

Victoria always had to protect Moon from herself, even though the girl never knew it. Ever since they were young, their mother had told Victoria to keep herself a secret in fear of what Moon would do or say to people. She was a blabber mouth as a kid, and going around telling people she had another girl leaving in her head would have brought a bad name not to her, but the whole family. 

Why do I have to be the responsible one? Sometimes I want to be careless and reckless too. But no, Mommy made me promise to always act right. I hate being the grown up of the two. 

The room she was in didn't have much apart from her, the burnt body, and the chairs. There were no windows on the rocky walls. And there was only one door, acting as an exit and entrance. 

She didn't have much to work with, but that had never stopped her before from escaping. With Moon being as beautiful as she was, she had been kidnapped by fraternity boys a lot back in the college days (though she may not remember it). 

They would drug her, then take her back to their frat house. There, they would try to take advantage of her sexually (men were pigs), but Victoria would take control of the body and knock a few teeth out and break a couple of bones.

She was never affected by drugs or alcohol, and her Mommy never explained her how that was possible since she shared the same body with Moon. 

The door to the room was opened from the outside, then swung wide. In came a man dressed in black pants and sweater with a black ski-mask over his face. He held a steel tray with rice, beans and vegetables on it. He put it on her lap. "Eat," he said.

"I can't without my hands," she replied.

He punched her on the face, drawing blood from her lips. "Eat!" He turned and headed for the door. 

"Hey!" Victoria shouted and he turned around. "Don't you want to eat?" She let the tray ting to the floor and spread her legs. "I won't tell anybody. I promise."

There was a moment of hesitation from the man. He seemed conflicted. It was so easy to read men, Victoria felt like she was a professor at knowing what they thought about when they saw a woman as beautiful as her. And it was always sex. Men couldn't help themselves; whether it was the pastor at church, or her primary school principal. 

The man walked forward, then stopped. He stepped back, forward again, then screamed, holding his head. It must have been a really long time since he had any for him to be mentally disturbed that way.

Victoria put her legs on the chair's arm and said, "Come on, I know you want to. You deserve it for all the hard work you've done here. Nobody will know." She winked.

"You're right." The man went close and knocked her out. He took out a key from his back pocket and unlocked the cuffs on Victoria's hands attached to the chair. Then he pushed her to the floor. She fell like a dead body. His eyes glowed at the thought of what was going to happen next. It was as if he couldn't believe it. 

He took off his mask and placed it in his side pocket. His long red hair fell to his face and temples, hiding his freckles and perky ears. His green ears shun with malice intent, making him lick his lips. "Never thought I'd be with a woman such as yourself." 

He propped on the floor and sniffed Victoria, starting from her stomach to her hair. "Your blood smells so good." His brown eyes changed to white, and the veins on his head throbbed. "Just a bite. Only one and I shall not feed until tomorrow."

The man opened his mouth and revealed his sharp teeth. Before he could dig them into Victoria's neck, she closed her legs around his body, flipped him over and snapped his neck.

He will wake up soon.

She took his gun and baton before stepping out. Finding herself in the hallway, she ran to the right as it was the only way out. She ran down the stairs, but quickly stopped and hid behind the wall as a man came out of the door in front of her. 

He hadn't seen her. He was too busy carrying a tray of fruits to another room. She tip-toed to the door and walked out. She started running, but tripped on the front steps and fell down. The two-floor house's light came on. There was one that pointed directly at Victoria, forcing her to put a hand over her face.

Ten men came out holding guns, but they didn't approach her. They stood the length of the house and waited. A man, Victoria couldn't see him clearly, walked out slowly. A cane supported the weight on his right side. 

Getting closer to her, she properly got a good look at him. His gelled hair was brushed back neatly. He had a youthful face, but his eyes told the story of a man who had lived thousands and thousands of years. He even dressed like a man not from the modern era; wearing grey pants with black shoes, a white shirt under a grey waistcoat, and a frock completing the ensemble. 

"Excuse, madam, but where were you running off too?" he asked. "Nowhere to run as you can see." He pointed at the thick forest in front of them using his cane. "It would be wise if you came back inside."

Victoria narrowed her eyes at him, then laughed. She got up and rubbed off the dirt from her clothes. "You have the most unconventional way of threatening someone," she said. "There's no way I am going back inside and allowing you to burn me."

"Burn you?" the man asked, then his eyes grew with realization. "Of course, you are referring to the body that was with you." He sniggered. "Quite unfortunate circumstances with the young man. He chose death, and we were happy to grant his wish."

"Boss!" A man ran out of the house. "She has escap-" He stopped in his tracks after seeing Victoria. 

"Here she is, Marcus. And it seems the wounds you said you left on her face have vanished." He looked at him with disappointment. "And how is that possible, you think?"

"I-I-I swear they were there. I have never lied to you."

"No, you have not." The man refocused on Victoria. "Now that she is awake, she has to pay for killing your sister."

"Yes." Marcus clenched her hands. "Let me deal with her."

"That is not how our clan works," he hit Marcus on the head with his cane, "you know that."

"I'm sorry." Marcus bowed his head in shame.

"We will hunt her down, and whoever gets to her first can kill her how he or she pleases." His gaze had changed to that of a predator seeking his latest kill. "Since I am the oldest, I will let all of you go first. But do not mistaken my intentions, once I have her, she is mine to kill."

More and more men and women came out of the house. Some stood on the porch, while others were on the roof, listening to their leader. 

"Now, young lady, you have five seconds to run."

"Wait." She put her hands forward, but withdrew them once she saw them transforming into Commoners. The man Marcus had called "Boss" changed into an Elder - the highest rank a vampire can be. "Never mind."

Victoria turned and ran away. She could have fought off the Commoners and probably lived to tell about it, but an Elder? She couldn't do it alone. As she sped through the trees and bushes in the forest, she reached inside her pocket and felt her phone. Thank goodness.

She took it out and dialed Joe, who answered immediately. "Joe!" she said, breathing heavily, "help me!"