I was in a daze, filled with contempt and guilt. It was so overpowering, each breath difficult. I stumbled behind Silas as he led me from the room with the dead Scav to another section. My face and back throbbed but I couldn’t feel the pain.

I didn’t take in my surroundings, my mind still fixed on the dead eyes of the girl who’s life I had taken. Silas stopped outside a door and opened it.

“This is your room,” he inclined his head to the room.

Slowly, I entered and looked around. There wasn’t much except for a small bed and a side table. The clinical white floors were cold and unwelcoming. There was a closet. It wasn’t like I had anything to put inside. The only things I had were the clothes on my back.

Everything I had ever owned was gone. I trembled. My old life as well. The only thing that remained were the memories.

I swallowed as I saw the small ensuite bathroom. White. I had an urge to stain the white porcelain tiles with blood on my hands, a sign of defiance. But the repercussions of the reaction would be painful. My back still bore the marks from my last punishment.

I turned to face Silas who was watching me silently from the doorway. It was difficult to tell what he was thinking.

This time I didn’t hide the vulnerability I felt.

“Clean up,” he said. “I’ll be back in ten minutes to take you to training.”

“What happens after training?” I asked huskily. I swallowed, my throat dry.

There had to be something more. More than death and destruction. Otherwise there was no point in continuing. I needed something to hold onto and at the moment I had nothing, and no one.

“You hunt and kill Scavs.”

“Is that it?” I asked, feeling the guilt give way to anger.

His eyes hardened and his lips set in a grim line. “Your life is not your own Avery, it belongs to us.”

Death at the moment felt like the only real option I had and I still had no idea how Sires could die. I wanted to laugh hysterically but the look Silas gave me made me stop myself.

“I need…hope.” I wet my lips, feeling nervous but needing to know if there was more to this life than this.

“You won’t find any here.” He turned and I bowed my head, feeling my throat burn as I found myself drowning in a despair I couldn’t escape. I heard him leave.

Still in a daze I shuffled to the bathroom. There was a small mirror on the wall. My eyes caught my attention first. The shimmer of white was magical and unreal. The side of my face had a small cut and it was already starting to bruise. I closed my eyes feeling the overwhelming knowledge that I had taken life and the guilt was too much to handle.

I fought the urge to cry as I gripped the counter and bowed my head, knowing that I only had a few minutes to clean up before Silas returned. He wouldn’t care that I was struggling with what I had been forced into doing. Even though I acknowledged that the Scav had attacked me it still didn’t justify in my mind what I had done.

I wanted to curl up into a ball and give up. Forcing myself, I opened my eyes and straightened up. I inhaled a deep breath and exhaled hoping it would expel some of the emotions overwhelming me.

The knowledge that Silas was going to return any moment made me hurry to clean up even when all I wanted to do was crawl into a corner and cry.

I splashed water on my face wincing when it made contact with my open wound. I patted it with some tissue. It was healing already which reminded me of my new abilities.

I finished washing my hands when I heard the steady footsteps of Silas returning.

I took another deep breath before I exited the bathroom. Silas stood in my room with an expression void of any emotion. It made me wonder if he ever felt anything.

He said nothing before he turned to leave and I hurried after him. His long strides making it a little difficult for me to keep up with him. I didn’t take the surroundings in as I walked quickly behind him.

After a few minutes he led me into a large room. I saw some of the Sires I had seen before but there were less of them. Only four of the original six. The guy with the buzz cut was there.

What had happened to the rest? Then I remembered their first task was to kill a Scav. Had the ones that were missing been unable to complete their task successfully? I joined the rest of the group as they studied me. There was no hiding the injuries I had suffered from my fight with the Scav. Their attention made me feel uncomfortable and I dropped my gaze to the floor unable to meet anyone’s gaze.

“Before you start training we will be taking a sample of blood from each of you,” Eve explained.

What did they need that for? I wanted to ask but when I saw Silas watching me I bit my tongue. I had made enough trouble. It was best if I kept my mouth shut.

Two guys dressed in doctor’s coats walked in. Their eyes were the same as Eve and Silas which meant they were vampires. One by one we lined up and they took a small vile of blood from each of us. Were they looking for something specific or was it to ensure we had been turned successfully?

None of the things that I knew about Vampires seemed to apply to them, it made me more curious to learn more about them which I hoped would help my understanding of what I was. So far all I knew was I drank blood and I could heal quickly. I was also stronger than humanly possible. Was there more?

Once the doctors were done they left and Eve stood before us. Silas leaned against the wall to the one side watching us, his gaze flickered from one person to the other. Was he sizing us up on who would make it and who wouldn’t?

I hadn’t done much up to this point to give anyone any confidence that I would make it through the training.

“All of you have passed the first task.” She walked the length of us all lined up shoulder to shoulder. She hesitated for a few moments like she was making a point of it by me. “Now it’s time to learn how to fight.”

My eyes went to study the Sires I stood amongst. The guy with the buzz cut looked confident. He seemed to be comfortable in this world of cruel brutality. How I had survived this far, I didn’t know but I knew it wouldn’t last long. It was only a matter of time before I confirmed what I already knew deep down inside, I didn’t belong in this world.

“In a fight for survival, anything goes.” Her cold gaze moved from one face to another emphasizing her point.

Flashes of my fight with the Scav raced through my mind at her words. That had just been a taste of what was to come. My heart raced and perspiration dripped down the side of my forehead. I wanted to run, to hide, to get away. Survival instinct that had pushed me to take a life I hadn’t wanted to but I couldn’t do that again.

Air locked in my lungs and it felt like I was going to have a full blown panic attack.

My momentary melt down was interrupted when someone entered the room. I swear the room temperature dropped a few degrees. The chill raced up the skin of my arms and I shivered as I wrapped my arms around my waist in a protective stance.

The guy was tall. The shimmer of gold in his eyes left no doubt he was a Vampire. His presence stopped Eve and Silas shoved off the wall to cut off him off.

“What are you doing here Thane?” he asked, folding his arms. His stance confrontational. There was something else going on that I couldn’t put my finger on. The way Eve looked at the guy and the way Silas spoke to him left me with no doubt his presence was unwelcome.

“I was curious,” Thane said. His voice gave me a chill. There was no depth to his eyes and that scared me. “I wanted to see the new Sires.”