Young Writers Society

Chapter Four

There was a weak knock on the door to his office. Malatratt looked up from his steaming coffee and bid the visitor to enter.

As he had expected, it was Forrest. Bruised, cut and battered. He limped in, wincing slightly, though his face was set in a determined expression as he stared grimly at Malatratt. He was not alone. The dark haired girl followed him in as well as another of the boys that was on the list the Headmaster had given him. The all had the same expression as though entering a prison.

“Sit down then,” he told them. Forrest took the seat offered him gratefully with a sigh of relief and the girl sat beside him, tense with her hands clasped in front of her. But their friend remained standing stubbornly, his hands thrust deep in his pockets.

Malatratt wondered where to begin. “Do you know I was once a student at this school…?” he decided finally.

“No…” Forrest said. It seemed like he had finally regained the power of speech, though his words were still a bit muffled coming from a broken nose.

“Well, I was,” Malatratt told them. “And like your peers I took in everything they taught me. The propaganda, the rules and ways of the world. Right up until they landed me with this.” He pointed to the V tattoo on his eye. “You’ll notice that the Headmaster has one similar, only with tear drop markings…”

“It means he can’t be bought and sold on as a slave, he’s his own master,” provided the girl.

“Yes,” he confirmed “You’re name is Lucy… isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Right, well. A lot of people, parents included know what happens before you leave this school. However, you now know this is compulsory. Home schooling is not an option. So, the subvampire population is increasing, and everyone turns a blind eye. The History books skate over the facts and most children are oblivious. Even if the parents are daring enough to tell their children what’s going to happen to them, they are powerless to stop it. Haven’t you ever wondered why the school’s security is so tight…?”

“They tell us it’s so outsiders and rebels can’t get in to hurt us!” spat the boy standing on Forrest’s right. Malatratt glanced at the list on the desk. This one would be Stephen then.

“But it’s really so the students don’t escape!” Lucy added angrily. Forrest shot them both a warning look, reminding them it seemed, that they weren’t talking to a friend.

“So you are trapped here, and taught that vampires are scum and it’s their duty to serve humans without pay in exchange for the blood that we need to live. Meanwhile, outside this school, the Government employs vampires and gives them a different tattoo, calling them truevampires and making them out to be powerful, beautiful creatures, a completely different species of vampire, when there is no difference…”

“We know all this,” Forrest stated. “And the truevampires who actually have the power to change all this are paid to go along with everything that’s happening, and if that’s not enough, they are lined up and shot. Where is all this going…?”

Malatratt leaned forward, scanning the reactions of the students in front of him. Forrest stiffened. “After I left this school, I became a rebel,” he told them. Stephen raised his eyebrows suspiciously. “I kept quiet about it and the government still have me marked down as a subvampire slave. I got this teaching job because of my title, which I received before I left school.”

He looked round at them all. Lucy was wide eyed and Stephen was still gazing at him warily. Forrest had yet to react at all.

“Now, you’re intelligent students, aren’t you? I’m trying to bring down this school, trying to bring these children the truth. I can help you and I’m sure you could do the same for me…”

“How can we trust you?” Forrest demanded, his voice a little stronger. “What makes you different from all the other subvampires who worship us humans as heroes? Where’s the proof that you haven’t been sent by the government to spy on the kids here to make sure we don’t rebel?”

Malatratt sighed. “Because, boy, I already know who you are. Why haven’t I silenced you before this? Why haven’t I beaten your friends like you have been? Why haven’t I reported your names to the government? If I was a spy, you would already be in prison or worse.”

“Erm… you want to gain our trust…?” tried Lucy. But she sounded uncertain.

“Why would I waste my time?” he replied calmly. “The Headmaster has already given me your names, so I don’t need to ask you who’s involved. It doesn’t matter how you’re doing whatever you’re doing, because we can’t go anywhere. If I wanted you to, you would be caught and taken away already and the problem would stop. Why waste precious time and energy getting to know you?”

“Alright then…” said Forrest, leaning forward also, leaning his elbows on the desk. “Say you are on our side… what do you propose we do…?”

“Ah, now…” Malatratt scratched his head, frowning slightly. “I don’t have an official plan right now… I was hoping you would have thought of something. But it’s only the start of the year, and you can’t possibly do anything in the state you’re in…”

“That’s pretty pathetic…” Stephen muttered under his breath.

Everyone else in the room shot him a warning glance and he shut up.

“You said you had something for me…?” Forrest asked.

“Yes,” said Malatratt, still glaring at Stephen. He rummaged a little in a drawer and soon produced a dark green glass bottle, much like an old-fashioned wine bottle. He handed it to Forrest, who took it gingerly in bruised, crooked fingers where they had been broken. He wasn’t strong enough even to unscrew the cork, so he gave it to Lucy, who obliged with a patient expression.

Malatratt watched carefully as she held the lip of the bottle to her nose and sniffed. Her eyes widened and she thrust the bottle away from her face, holding it at arm’s length as though it was trying to bite her.

“Is this yours!?” she demanded furiously.

The teacher only nodded solemnly.

“We cannot take this,” she told him, placing the bottle carefully back onto the desk.

“What is it?” growled Stephen, his hackles raised.

“Blood!” Lucy cried before Malatratt could answer.

“Please,” he pleaded, “let me explain!”

They both looked like they would open fire their cries of disgust when Forrest held up both his hands, calling for silence. The quietened at the command of their apparent leader. Forrest rested a hand on his chin.

“Explain.”

“Vampire blood has healing properties, that’s why we can…”

“…Heal so quickly, yes,” he finished. “But what makes you think I would be caught death drinking that!?”

Malatratt struggled to remain calm. “You don’t have to drink it,” he told them patiently. “Merely rubbing it into your wound would work. You know it works as an antiseptic and kills infection, you don’t need to worry about that. It works fast, faster than you might think.” He gestured to a slash on Forrest’s cheek. “That could heal in ten to twelve seconds if you would only try it…” He gently pushed the bottle towards them over the table with his finger.

“You don’t have to use it,” he continued when Forrest and his friends continued to look distrustful and a little sick. “I will not force you. But it will be useless unless you take it.”

Forrest took the bottle off the desk and weighed it in his hands. The liquid inside sloshed about sickly. With trembling fingers he tipped the bottle, letting a few sticky scarlet drops fall onto his open palm. Lucy looked away, her face rather pale. Glancing up at Malatratt briefly, he placed his hand over a small cut on his other arm.

He felt no pain, just a hot tingling sensation. He counted to ten, aware of Stephen and Malatratt watching him intently, Lucy holding her breath in anticipation.

He removed his hand. Underneath, his skin had healed, the flesh knitted together to leave no scar. Only the red stain of the blood remained. He met his teacher’s eye and saw him smiling kindly.

“Do you want to keep the rest…?”

He nodded.

“Very well. I have nothing more to talk to you about.”

Lucy helped Forrest out of his seat and he limped out of the room, his hand in hers and Stephan following behind, sour-faced and in quite a hurry to leave the office.

***

Tagg sat on a bench alone, staring out onto the yard. It was neat, tidy, clean. He had expected graffiti, concrete and litter everywhere, like a normal street or park. But soft springy grass grew under his feet and he scuffed his shoes on it. There were no shouts from students, no chasing. Most students were huddled in little packs against the cold coming from the nearing night. There was an organised and clean game of football being played in a corner. But that was about it. Everyone was being so well behaved…

Here, like the canteen, the boys and the girls remained separated, although his subvampire guide didn’t actually say anything against it. He sincerely hoped that it wasn’t actually against the rules. How would he be able to see Robin then?

He was interrupted from his thought by another boy, who sat down beside him. Ginger haired and freckled, he leaned back on the bench as though he owned it.

“Hello,” he said, and Tagg looked round at him. It was the boy who had been threatened by that teacher at the train station.

“Hello…” he replied shyly.

“Haven’t seen you before, you must be in your first year here…”

“Yes…”

“So what do you think of the school so far?”

“Erm…” Tagg thought hard, trying to come up with as honest an answer as he could. “It’s all a little strange to me now… I’m not used to it…”

“You will be,” the boy told him. “It was weird to me too at first, but things start to get routine and everyone here’s dead nice so this starts looking like home after a while. I’m Dann by the way.”

Although he seemed confident, Tagg couldn’t help but doubt Dann’s predictions about this school becoming home…

“Is it against the rules to hand around the girls…?” Tagg asked before he could stop himself. Dann looked at him suspiciously.

“Why would you want to hang around with the girls?”

“Well, I have a sister here,” he explained quickly, then relaxed when Dann simply nodded understandingly and looked away. “I would like to see her…”

“It’s not against the rules, you can talk to her whenever you have free time, but you’ll soon find other friends here. I’ll keep you company if you like, make sure the vampires don’t start bullying you and that… What d’you say?”

“Erm… sure…” said Tagg, more to keep on his good side than to make a friend. “If you like…”

***

Robin found herself alone in the dormitory. She had head straight back after dinner rather than following Sara out into the yard. Company like Sara’s didn’t appeal to her right now in her incredibly confused state. She wished she could talk to her brother, but she hadn’t seen him after her had wandered away after his meal.

In her hands was the little musical box that her mother had left her. She looked around the tiny room to make sure she really was alone, before opening it and letting the music trickle out. A soft and sweet tinkling melody that made her think instantly of her mother’s voice. She felt her throat tightening and she snapped the box shut, gulping a couple of times until she felt brave enough to open it again.

Closing her eyes, she was home again, sitting on her own bed, not the hard cold school one. Her mother was rocking her and singing. It was as if, if she shut her eyes tight enough and blocked out the smell of dust, she would be back home again…

The door opened and Robin snatched up the music box faster than blinking, rubbing her face frantically. It was Sara who stood, watching her.

“There you are! I’ve been looking for you.”

Sara nodded, shoving the box into a nest of socks in the drawer beneath her bed. “Yeah… I was just… just unpacking…”

“Yeah, whatever.” Sara didn’t seem to care or even notice the obvious tear tracks on Robin’s cheeks.