"So let me get this straight," Bailey said, sweeping her hair out of her eyes and sliding one hand down onto her hip. She let of a flustered sigh and looked up at Darby who was shifting her weight uncomfortably.
"You kidnapped my neighbor and brought him here to your creepy vampire dungeon to be chained up and used as a juice box. And now. so that I can become a vampire too, you want me to bite into his neck and drain all of his blood?"
Thomas's eyes got wide and he weakly pushed himself to the back of his cell as if he could hide in the shadows.
"First off, I take offense at my home being called a "dungeon," Stephen interjected. "I take great pains to make this a welcome environment for all." He gestured to the walls and up and down the hallway. Bailey looked around taking note of the many spiderwebs in the corners and condensation that continuously dripped down the walls.
"And second, there was no way for us to know that you and this human were connected to each other. But be assured, any feelings you have for him will disappear quickly under the intensity of your new hunger once you have been turned."
"It's true," Darby confirmed, as Bailey stood staring at both of them, her mouth hanging open. "The lust you will have for blood will be stronger and more intense than any emotion you have felt as a human. And the payoff when you finally give into it will feel better than any passion or pleasure you have experienced so far."
Bailey took a step back and leaned against the wall ignoring the wetness that immediately seeped into her shirt. She crossed her arms and looked back and forth between the vampires and their prisoner.
"I don't know why I thought I should do this," she said finally, shaking her head. "I got caught up in all the glamour of Darby's mind tricks and how confident she was. I wanted that for myself. But maybe I should just be content with my desk plant."
Stephen raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Desk plant?"
"There is so much more to being a vampire than mind tricks that let you get favors from your mean boss," Darby cut in, ignoring Stephen. "And it's more than being confident. It's an overwhelming sense of power and an eternity of adventures and exploring to look forward. You can't imagine all the places I have traveled and all the people I have seen and-"
"And eaten?" Bailey finished. "I thought this could be like one of those friendly vampire movies where we survive on bunnies and squirrels and stuff." Bailey bit her lip awkwardly, realizing now how ridiculous that idea sounded.
"Why did you bring her here?" Stephen asked, frowning at Darby. "I am growing impatient with this situation."
"I thought she was ready," Darby admitted, looking down at Bailey with disapproval. "I thought she wanted to be somebody more than an errand girl for her boss."
"I am somebody," Bailey squeaked, pushing herself off the wall. "I'm just not sure that I want to be a predator," she admitted, looking at Thomas who had curled up into a ball on the floor and was drifting in and out of consciousness.
"We can find you a different first meal," Stephen offered with a casual shrug.
"Thomas is not a meal," Bailey protested, turning to face the vampire. "And that's not the only issue here. I have a problem with-"
Bailey's sentence dropped off and her body tensed and then froze. The pain of Darby's fangs going into her neck made her mind go blank for a second and then she became aware of an intense burning in her veins. Her vision went blurry and she felt her knees go weak. Stephen stepped forward to hold her up. Bailey's body went limp against his and she felt a tear going down one cheek.
Weakly she looked up at the two vampires as everything around her began to go dark.
"What have you done?"
