Gina, having overheard the conversation, barely grimaced but said nothing. She only tightened her grip on her brother's hand and quietly whispered:
«Don't listen to them. They just want blood. And that means if the vampires aren't hungry, everyone stays alive.»
Ethan nodded, a sticky feeling of hopelessness growing inside him.
The line moved forward a few more steps.
They were already standing right near the entrance to the tent.
Ethan and Gina stood almost directly in front of the entrance to the first medical tent. Two nurses by the entrance continued chatting quietly, unaware that the teenagers nearby could hear every word.
The second one, a young Asian woman around twenty-five with a small cross tattoo on her wrist, nodded and lowered her voice even further:
«Yeah, and remember the first contact back in 2038? The entire central precinct in Chicago… looked like it had gone through a meat grinder. Blood all over the walls, heads on the tables, officers hanging from chandeliers. After that, everyone suddenly became a lot more cooperative. And now here we are, civilization.»
She said the last word with obvious irony and gave a bitter smirk.
Ethan swallowed hard. His throat instantly went dry. He felt the blood drain from his face, his skin turning cold and clammy. Sixteen years old, and he was already standing in line to voluntarily give away a part of himself to creatures that had once slaughtered an entire police station.
«Heads on the tables…» — the phrase kept repeating in his mind like a broken record.
He stood silently, trying not to show his fear. His face remained expressionless, but inside his jacket pockets his fingers curled into fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms.
Gina noticed how pale her brother had become. She turned toward him and jokingly jabbed him rather hard in the side with her elbow.
«Hey, what's wrong? Already scared?» she quietly giggled, trying to sound carefree.
«That's just what they're talking about. Try not to eavesdrop, the real fun's only beginning... Dad said he's finally giving us amulets and showing us how to properly load a shotgun with silver rounds. Even though we already know all that...»
She winked at him, trying to cheer him up. Ethan could see the anxiety hiding in her eyes too. Gina was simply much better at hiding fear than he was.
Ethan gave a weak smile in return, though it looked strained.
«Yeah… fun,» he muttered quietly.
«We're gonna learn how to hunt the same creatures we're giving blood to today. Totally normal stuff.»
Gina snorted and nudged him again, softer this time.
«Exactly. Don't worry, Ethan. We're a team, remember? We'll donate this damned blood, go home, and start preparing for the life of hunters. The kind where we're not just ordinary humans anymore.»
Ethan nodded in agreement. The line moved forward another couple of steps. Now they were standing directly at the entrance to the tent. Inside, a nurse motioned for the next group to come in.
Ethan took a deep breath.
Only minutes remained before he would have to sit in the chair and hold out his arm.
Another hour passed. The sun had risen higher, but the sky remained gray, as though it too refused to look at what was happening. The people around them were tired of standing, shifting from foot to foot, quietly talking among themselves, sometimes muttering curses under their breath.
Ethan and Gina were still standing close to the tent entrance. During that entire hour, they had barely moved at all.
Around them, people whispered quietly.
«…new taxes for the "vampire fund,"» a man in his forties ahead of them said irritably.
«Third month already they've been taking money out of our paychecks. They say it's for integration and peaceful coexistence. Yeah, peaceful. Yesterday I saw one of them bite a girl right in the middle of the street in broad daylight. And nobody did a damn thing.»
Next to him, a young guy in a worn-out jacket smirked proudly:
«I've donated three times already. Got bonus food coupons and a discount on electricity. Honestly, not bad. Just don't flinch when they stick the needle in. Otherwise they'll mark you, and next time they'll take more.»
Ethan listened in silence. Gina stood beside him with her arms crossed. She heard everything too, though she tried to keep an indifferent expression. Only the fingers of her right hand nervously tapped against her elbow.
Suddenly, the elderly woman standing directly in front of them, thin, wearing an old coat and a scarf over her head,slowly began crossing herself. Her lips moved, and her whisper was perfectly clear:
«It's a sin… a terrible sin… letting unclean creatures into human society. Giving them your blood is no different from selling your soul. The Lord will punish us for this...»
She crossed herself again, clutching old prayer beads tightly in her trembling fingers.
«They used to hide in alleyways before. Now they walk openly among us. And we're offering our necks to them ourselves… Sin...»
Ethan felt a chill run down his spine. He glanced at the woman involuntarily. She noticed his look and gave him a slight nod, as though confirming her own words.
Gina quietly exhaled and leaned toward her brother.
«Don't take her words too seriously,» she whispered.
«She's old. Fear's made her lose her mind.»
The line moved forward another few steps. Now they were finally inside the tent itself. Ethan swallowed and looked at his sister. She answered him with a strained smile.
«Hang in there,» she said softly.
«Almost over.»
At last, it was their turn.
After nearly an hour and a half of waiting beneath the gray sky, Ethan and Gina stepped toward the nurse.
Nurse Amelia, a young brunette they already knew from before, stood in the middle of the tent watching them. She gestured for them to come closer.
«Next two, come on in.»