"Just don't pass out like you did last time during your vaccination," his sister whispered with a smirk.
"I nearly pissed myself laughing when you started turning pale and asking where the exit was."
Ethan gave her a weak smile.
"I was little back then…" he muttered.
"Yeah, little. You were fourteen," Gina snorted.
She tried to laugh. Ethan looked back at the bag. The blood had already filled almost a third of it. His blood flowed into a container stamped with the official seal:
"For Pact Partners. Approved by the VCP (Vampire Control Protocol)."
A barcode and his name were printed on the label.
"They're going to drink my blood… disgusting..." he thought, feeling slightly dizzy.
The nurse returned, checked the level, and nodded.
"Everything's fine. Just a little more and you'll be able to collect your sweets."
Ethan closed his eyes.
At that moment, he felt less like a donor and more like someone buying candy.
When the bags were full, Nurse Amelia skillfully disconnected the tubes and pressed cotton swabs against their arms to stop the bleeding. She worked quickly, as if this were the most ordinary procedure in the world.
"All done," she said while placing bandages over the bends of Ethan's and Gina's elbows.
"Good job, kids. You handled it as best you could..."
Then she picked up two small silver badges shaped like drops of blood, marked with today's date. With the same practiced smile, she pinned one onto Gina's jacket and the other onto Ethan's chest.
"These are your passes for next time," she explained casually.
"8:00 PM at the old medical station on the outskirts, near the abandoned factory. Everyone will be received there next time. Don't lose the badges."
Ethan looked down at the badge on his chest. The silver blood drop gleamed beneath the lamp as if it were alive. Suddenly he felt sickened, as though someone had just branded him.
Amelia apparently noticed his reaction and smiled faintly before continuing in a softer tone. She clearly knew their family.
"Your father's already on the list," she said, looking between Ethan and Gina.
"David. He's supposed to come too. Don't be late — there'll be… representatives from both sides."
She said the last words so sweetly, as if she were talking about a parent-teacher meeting at school or a discussion about fixing a roof. Not a trace of fear or judgment in her voice.
"Representatives from both sides," she repeated, as though it were the most normal phrase in the world.
"So be there on time. Everything according to protocol."
Gina nodded, trying to keep her face calm.
"Understood. Thank you."
Amelia handed them two small bags of sweets, chocolate bars, regular candy, and a food voucher.
"These are for today. You're free to go."
Ethan took the bag but couldn't force himself to smile. Gina took hers too, though her fingers trembled slightly.
When they stepped outside the tent, the morning air hit them in the face. The line still stretched endlessly behind them, and now strange silver trinkets gleamed on their chests.
Gina glanced at her brother and quietly whispered so no one else could hear:
"…Feels like we just joined a cult..."
Ethan didn't answer.
They walked home in silence. Gina kept glancing over her shoulder as though she could feel someone watching them. Her hand repeatedly clenched into a fist and relaxed again. Finally, she couldn't hold it in anymore and spoke quietly:
"Feel that? Something's wrong in the air. Like before a storm. Maybe it'll rain tonight..."
Ethan nodded. He felt it too, a sticky tension that seemed to cling to his skin.
She fell silent for a moment, then added almost in a whisper:
"Listen… maybe it's a vampire..."
He remembered the nighttime training sessions in the basement: wooden stakes, old mannequins with painted red eyes, endless drills and repeated combat moves. Back then it had all felt fake. But today…
"Are you scared?" he asked softly.
Gina didn't answer immediately. She looked over her shoulder again before turning back to him. Something flickered in her eyes, somewhere between excitement and fear.
"A little," she admitted.
"But more than anything… I'm curious. What he's really like. How he looks, how he moves. They say they can read people's minds..."
She tried to smile.
"Dad said if we want to survive in this world, we need to know the enemy by sight. Not from pictures, for real."
Ethan walked silently, staring down at the pavement.
"I just… don't want any of this to be real," he finally said very quietly.
"I don't want any of this to actually exist."
Gina didn't reply. She only placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently.
Ahead of them waited the small house where their father had promised he would finally show them how the work was really done.
They walked home along the long street that was slowly beginning to empty.
Gina walked slightly ahead with her hands shoved into the pockets of her leather jacket. She constantly glanced around, not out of fear, more out of habit.
Ethan walked beside her silently, staring at the ground. The nurses' words and the sensation of the needle in his vein still replayed in his head.
Finally, Gina decided to say something.
"You're still shaking?" she asked lightly.
"Relax already. We did it. Donated blood, got the badges, got chocolate bars. You could say the day was a success."
Ethan snorted.
"I'm not shaking!"
"I'm just thinking. How can you not be scared? Those… monsters. You talk about hunting them like it's some kind of game."
"And me… every time I think about them, I imagine them standing over us and smiling."
Gina stopped for a second, then continued walking, only slower this time.