Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Keeping my head down in the dimly lit hallway, I noticed the worn carpet, its faded stars and planets barely visible against the dusty purple background.
It was familiar in a way, something that was hiding in my memories I couldn’t pinpoint.
Silently, Jude led me down a series of dark hallways.
The small lights in the walls flickered, casting dancing shadows down each corridor.
We passed numbered doors until we reached the last labeled with a large number one.
A grimy, empty glass counter stretched to my left, its only feature a strange contraption about an arm’s length long, bearing the ghosts of faded, peeling labels.
A second glass box stood adjacent to the first, its metal bucket hanging motionless, reflecting the sterile gleam of the surroundings.
We found ourselves amidst a silent graveyard of machines, their decaying metal hinting at where we were.
Outside the prison, I turned and saw a faded sign above the entrance, with lines of dead lightbulbs circling it. A marquee of faded, almost illegible letters from the last film hung below. “A movie theatre?”
“I guess that’s what they were called back in the day.” Jude shrugged and followed my gaze.
“Wh-where are we?” I spun in a circle, taking in my surroundings. Straight ahead, a long hallway lay directly ahead with two men standing guard before a heavily bolted door, while the opposite end opened into a spacious area.
“It’s where we live and are safe from the vampires and Dogs. We call this place Silvertown after the village that was here before your kind took over.”
My kind? This guy really knew how to get under my skin.
I nodded slowly, a nervous sweat on my brow. I remembered Silvertown from before The Great World War; my father and I used to drive through it, but I didn’t necessarily want Jude to know that. His scrutinizing side-eye made me uneasy. I didn’t know if I could trust him.
“Years ago, the original Unicorns converted this large abandoned building into our home.” He looked toward the upper levels and shrugged. “It may not be pretty, but it’s all we have.”
We walked in silence, a noticeable gap between us, yet close enough where he could easily catch me if I wanted to run away.
On either side, doorways lined the hallway, each secured by heavy metal bars which looked cold and forbidding in the dim light.
With no one around, I scanned the shadowed area beyond the gates, straining my eyes, but saw no one.
One doorway, draped with a darkened rainbow of fabrics, hung in a grimy window, hinting at the treasures within.
Where am I? What is this place?
I followed Jude, who had his chin high and arms swinging rhythmically, taking long strides, the ground firm beneath his feet.
His confident stance made me acutely aware of my own posture—I was walking with my arms defensively crossed, as if anticipating an ambush or a sudden attack.
I focused on my breathing, trying to slow my pulse, but the anxiety remained a heavy weight on my chest. Regardless, I was a kidnapped prisoner for an unknown enemy group.
Ahead, the hallway opened into a brightly lit space, a visible contrast to the dim, shadowy corridor we were leaving behind.
Vivid colors exploded before me, jolting my senses awake.
Sunlight streamed through the large skylight, illuminating the vibrant green leaves of the plants and trees reaching toward the light.
It reminded me of the center of Elysium near Smoke.
Jude paused, his eyes flickering to the light above, then to me. “Can you—”
“—Go into the light?” I knew what he was going to ask. What an idiot.
He nodded, looking genuinely curious.
I raised an eyebrow. “What are some things you humans think about vampires? I’d love to know.”
“Just what we’ve been told throughout the years and in stories.” He shrugged. “Things like they suck blood, can live forever, cannot be in the light, have hypnotic powers, and sleep in coffins. I’ve even heard rumors they can sparkle, although I don’t know how or when that would happen.”
Hypnotism? Give me a break.
I stifled a giggle at the sparkle comment, thinking about Gabe.
“It sounds like I have a lot to teach you about my kind.” I rolled my eyes and let out a heavy breath.
“Vampires are not like the terrible beings in myths, although we share some similarities. We age differently from humans and need blood to survive. The only truth to the rumors is that we cannot be in the light for long periods. But most misconceptions around vampires were completely made-up for entertainment purposes.”
“What about fangs?” He pulled back his lip, baring his teeth. “You do have fangs, right?”
I shook my head and lifted my lips. “Not me, but everyone else does.”
“So…you’re different?”
I nodded and shrugged. “And to answer your initial question, I also can go into the light without being hurt.”
He narrowed his gorgeous blue eyes, intensely fixing on my face as if to gauge my honesty.
We walked toward the bright light, its warmth beckoning, and my body ached for the sun’s embrace. Jude’s intense gaze on me, and a slight smirk played on my lips as I stepped into the warm sunlight.
In the center of the area, the morning light glinted off the dew-kissed vegetables and fruit as humans worked diligently, their movements precise and efficient as they harvested the bountiful crops.
Looking around, I saw levels of floors above me, all converging here.
“Is this a…mall?” I hadn’t thought of a shopping mall in years.
The few remaining ones were mainly deserted before the war, and the rise of online shopping during the pandemic rendered them almost obsolete.
Jude nodded. “Silvertown Mall is what it used to be called, but now it’s our headquarters.
It’s two floors, and each wing has its own community.
Judging by the light, everyone will be waking up soon.
” He pointed in three different directions.
“The north end houses the people who grow and prepare food, the east side is home to all the healers, and the western area is home to our maintenance workers and technologists. We all have a part to play in our survival.”
“What about the south end of the mall?”
“Oh, wouldn’t you like to know?” Jude paused before laughing.
Was he flirting with me? What’s going on here?
With an irritating smirk, he pointed down the hallway we had just come from. “That’s the military wing, where all our weapons are stored. It has the jail, the exit, and the entrance to the lower levels. The south wing is completely forbidden to everyone unless summoned.”
“So which wing of the mall am I going to be part of?” I prayed he didn’t say I was returning to the movie theatre to live in a jail cell.
“You’ll be in the south, so I can keep an eye on you. You’ll be locked inside a small room right next to mine. Wherever you go, I go.”
Well, it wasn’t a jail cell, but I was a prisoner all the same.
Almost as if a switch was flipped, people—humans—crowded the center of the mall.
They scurried from each corner of the building, their footsteps echoing on the cold tile floor as they crowded to the center.
Ragged and faded, their brown, green, and white clothes looked like they’d been scavenged from a dumpster.
It looked like safety pins held their clothes together, while others had drab and faded colors splashed amid the dim tones.
The cold from outside painted their cheeks a rosy pink, and their hair, tousled by the wind, framed their faces.
In Elysium, the vampires always looked like they had stepped out of a Vogue magazine, radiating an aura of chic, modern style.
Yet, looking at these creatures, there was a noticeable difference from what I was used to.
The unpleasant smells from the humans filled my nostrils, causing me to scrunch up my nose and try to discreetly mask my revulsion.
“Are you hungry?” Jude lowered his eyebrows, his mouth slightly open in a silent question, a furrow in his brow. “Err…do you eat food?”
A wave of fury washed over me. Were all humans this stupid? “Even vampires eat food, idiot. We don’t just sit around and drink blood all day.” I knew my tone was harsher than expected, but his ignorance annoyed me.
He held his hands at chest level, his body language signaling me to calm down. “Chill, vampire boy, I’ll grab us some breakfast, stay here.” Jude pushed through the crowd toward a row of carts full of people grabbing the food on display.
I could run and try to escape. He left my side. Was this a trap? A trial to see what I’d do?
A flock of children pushed past me, their laughter echoing as they danced, their energy infectious.
Vampires weren’t able to have children, but that didn’t stop us from trying.
Turning seemed to mark the end of our fertility, as if our sperm and eggs died along with us.
The early years of Elysium were marked by tragic struggles: countless couples tried for children, only to face the devastating consequences of miscarriages or infertility.
Eventually, we accepted the harsh truth and just gave up trying to procreate.
The children’s laughter reached my ears; it sounded like magic bells floating through the air.
Euphoria surged through me, a grin splitting my face as I watched them, their happy squeals and shrieks creating a symphony of delight.
Their carefree innocence awakened something inside of me—probably the nostalgia of the children I once knew.
“Whoa, this is different.” Jude laughed, a bright, joyous sound, as he returned, holding a small, paper-wrapped package. “I didn’t realize you knew how to smile.”
Snatching the food from his hands, I shot a look at the man next to me, my heart pounding as I tried to regain my composure.
I hadn’t seen a child in a long time, so their presence shocked me, but I didn’t want Jude to think I was going soft, so I tried to remember the gross things about children—the sticky, snot-filled noses and the smell of vomit on their clothes.
My smile faltered, a frown tugging at my lips as I silently unwrapped the tasteless, grey-tinged food. “What is this?”
“It’s what we have every morning, a veggie, egg, and cheese bagel.”
A warm sandwich, about the size of my fist, lay nestled on the white paper. Its center displayed a muted layer of green, yellow, and orange. I scoffed. “No bacon?”
Well, this wasn’t Louie’s, that’s for sure.
Jude’s smile, a slow, crooked grin, turned towards me, one eyebrow playfully raised. “Bacon? Where do you think we have room for livestock? I’m sorry if this isn’t up to par with the fancy vampire complex.”
I liked someone who could volley with me, but I had to remind myself he was the enemy, no matter how attractive he was. These people kidnapped me. They took me from my home. From my dad. From Gabe. “But you have chickens for the eggs?”
“Nah.” He shook his head. “Our eggs aren’t real. The people in the north end of Silvertown found out how to make an egg substitute. It’s not good, but it’s the best we have.”
I stared at the sandwich in front of me momentarily, debating whether I wanted to eat the fake food.
I was used to real eggs and caviar in Elysium, not the faux food the humans offered.
It was no wonder they all smell terrible.
I had to admit, I didn’t think I’d be able to muster any empathy for the people who kidnapped me, but seeing their harsh living conditions tugged at my heartstrings.
How could someone live in such squalor and think it was okay?
I guessed if this was how it had always been, a kind of numbness settled in, and people adapted. They didn’t know anything different.
In a way, they were a little like me.
Noticing my pensive silence, Jude chuckled once more. “Follow me, we have an appointment with a friend of mine.”
He waved me left, toward the west side of the mall, pushing through the dense crowd.
The sounds of chattering and the smell of egg wafted around me.
The people surged toward the mall’s center, a sea of bodies pushing and shoving until the path ahead narrowed to a mere sliver.
Walking behind Jude, I spotted a dented metal trash can nearby and silently snuck my half-eaten, cold, and slimy breakfast inside.