Time and time had passed. Two and half an hour for the others, an eternity for Alina.
The weight of the whole space against her shoulder, the strength it took to keep her mind steady and stable.
Alice watched as the shield morphed from a transparent bubble to a solid cube. She held her hands together, her legs shaking, then stilled, afraid of disturbing Alina.
This was bad.
She had only seen it shapeshifted like this once, when Alina first awakened her power. Back then, they were still vulnerable, helpless twins, with a family background so small it wasn't worth-mentioning.
Thankfully, Rose came.
"Rose… I can't… hold… it… any longer." Alina mumbled. Sweat dripped down on her temples with each trembling.
It was four in the morning; the vampires were mostly gone. For the few that stayed, Rose was sure she could handle them.
"Drop it,"
With a breath of relief, Alina laid flat on her chair. The shield collapsed, breaking into small holographic particles that evaporated in the air, revealing the peaceful scene inside.
Amelia and Jane had already fallen to sleep, oblivious to what had happened. Each took one side of the sofa, hands and legs curled in, like two lambs huddled in a puddle.
Rose moved closer and bent down. Oddly, the smell wasn't as pungent as she had expected, so she lifted the neatly bandaged gauze pads.
Beneath them was the wound she had created not long ago. It had already stopped bleeding, the red darkened, new tissue knitting itself together beneath the slough.
Rose had never been human, but she had seen enough, and hurt enough, to know this wasn't normal.
She stood there in silence, processing what she had just seen, then turn around before anyone could notice.
"Don't go near. There's blood on her shirt. I'll stay here to make sure."
So the rumor was true after all.
The rumor about a new generation.
***
Sleep hadn't gone as well as usual. That fulfilling sensation never came, nor the urge to fall back asleep.
Jane sat up. A blazer slipped from her neck to her waist, taking the musky scent with it.
"Already up?"
Rose didn't seem like the kind who would stay. So her presence here worked better than any alarm for Jane.
"Where's everyone—"
"Why did you go with Ms. Kelsey earlier?"
They asked at the same time. And the best was always saved for last.
"They went to sleep, probably."
A short answer. A smart one would know it was a sign to move on.
"To talk," Jane replied with cautiousness, like a porcupine ready to shoot at the first touch..
Rose let out a small, unfinished laugh.
"I've helped you twice, Jane." She tilted her head. "Third, actually, if what happened earlier counts."
Jane's face softened, but she stayed silent.
What a stubborn mouth. Rose sighed.
"At the start of the semester, we were told not to touch this year's scholarship kids."
"But I thought the students with glass pins can't be touched?" Jane asked.
"True." A hint of a wink flickered across Rose's face. "That's the rule. But some of us are above the rules."
"Anyways, the elders only said you guys are special." Rose lounged on the sofa, boneless, like a snake without a spine.
"How about this?" She dropped both feet to the floor and leaned in. "Answer a few simple questions, and I'll give you two pieces of advice in return."
Jane could see her whole body minimized in Rose's eyes, including her swayed mind.
"Deal."
She folded the blazer, set it aside on the sofa, and moved to a single armchair.
"What do you want to know?" Jane asked.
"When are you fully transformed?"
"Four to five months." She answered honestly. Jane had expected something broader, but this would do.
"Okay. That's it," Rose smiled at the surprise on Jane's face. She always enjoyed it, especially when she caused it.
"Now here's your prizes."
She leaned forward, one leg swinging lazily over the other, an old, teasing habit.
"First, keep the bandage on. Including the one on your knee."
Rose tilted her head, exposing a small wound at her neck.
Jane bit her lip. She might have used too much strength, but Rose had already pulled away before she could ask anything.
"Why?" Jane continued.
"What do you think?"
"Because… they might catch me and dissect me?"
Wasn't she already in that situation?
"No, no, no." Rose shook her head with each word. "Think about your kind, Jane. Your new kind. What would happen if humans found out there's another shortcut?"
The collapse of a system. Riots. And eventually, someone would still catch her to find the answer.
"Got it. What's the other advice?" Jane said. This was more serious than she had thought.
"Since you've already known you're in the wrong class, I'll give you one more piece of advice." Rose stood up.
"Ask your little friend how he got his pin." She dropped the final sentence and disappeared through the door.
Jane squeezed her temples in frustration.
Rose's advice stirred up the peace she had just found. Jane had never linked the one who showed up at Jim's doorstep with the experiment itself, or with the person who "mistakenly" arranged the pin. What if the mistake was intentional, from the authorities whom she was supposed to trust?
But it was all a wild guess, like Rose said, she needed Jim to seal it.
Jane lifted her head.
The room was empty. Rose was gone.
Shit! She forgot to ask for the way out.
Jane sighed while walking towards the only door she could see.
She stood at the intersection. In front of her was a dark hallway that split into three paths, same width, same doors, same structure. She stepped into the right one. Two doors lined the sides, one waited at the end, each marked with a different decoration.
Jane pressed her ears against the first door. Nothing. The second one. Nothing again.
Either the rooms were empty, or they were built with extremely good soundproofing.
Light spilled across the red carpet, clashing softly and bathing the space in a gloomy warmth. She glanced up at the fixtures, no dust caught between the cherubim holding the bulbs.
Someone had to pass through eventually. She thought so as she squatted down on the floor.
"Thud, thud, thud…"
A chain of footsteps came in. Most steps sounded the same, except for her mom's, but these were familiar: structured, heavy, dulled by the carpet beneath them.
Jane quickly stood up. The blood rushed back into her legs, chasing away the numbness.
A tall shadow was printed on the floor before the man himself came into view.
"Wait!"
He turned around.
"Hi, It's me. Again."
There was no worse way to start a conversation with a busy President than doubting his memory. And she knew it the moment he spoke.
"Yes, I remember you," He said. His face was calm, and without his glasses, somehow that was the only detail Jane could think of.
"Can you.. show me the way out?" She didn't move from her spot.
"Please?" Her eyebrows drew together, eyes widening as hope slipped through despite her effort to contain it.
All sound evaporated from the hallway until only her heart remained, then his voice cut through.
"Come along," Carl said.
He turned into the middle corridor.
Of course it was the center path, the one she'd assumed was reserved for special vampires since it was in the "spotlight".
"Thanks again… Mr.President," she said, unsure whether using his name would have been better.
He slightly turned his head around, clearly feeling something from being called that way.
Jane looked away.
Now she was sure not to call him this way.
She quickened her pace, one strike of his was equal to three of hers.
"You said you'd tell me why you helped me the next time I needed it," she said, reminding him, just in case. "Does this count?"
He flinched and stopped walking entirely. Then he turned back to her, hands tucked into his pockets.
"No, it doesn't. And your dorm is in the opposite direction,"
His voice struck like lightning beside her ear, heat rushing through her from head to toe.
A gate stood behind him. No sign, but its weight and the spectacular houses beyond it, screamed that this wasn't the place for her.
Amelia had told her about one of the meteor's privileges: an entire secluded land in the campus reserved for their living quarters.
But of course, she had forgotten.
"Right, sorry. I'll leave now… and thank you. Hi," Jane said, her eyes fixed on the leaves below.
Shit. She even said Hi instead of Bye.
The gate rumbled behind her. Her speed increased, until the long strikes turned into almost running.
Fortunately, another problem arose the next morning, big enough to pull her mind away from the embarrassing moment.
She didn't know Jim's class.
One thing she knew for sure: glass pins ate one the first floor. If he ate at all.
After shifting her weight from one leg to another, Jane finally caught sight of his mocha-colored hair bouncing beneath the stairs.
"I think she likes you, Jim."
Laughter and overlapping chatter followed.
She straightened up and slapped her palms against her legs.
A group of boys drifted toward the cafeteria, and at the front of them was the one she had been looking for.
Jane hesitated. The last time she walked somewhere she didn't belong, the looks had been… varied.
Maybe another minute, when he was alone. She thought to herself.
"Jane!"
Too late.
"Hi," She turned around and greeted him with a rather practiced smile.
"I'll catch up later," Jim told his friends. They threw her a few curious looks before entering the doors, leaving him with her.
"Seems like you are having a good time," Jane said.
"Yeah I made some new friends," He replied, his fingers gliding through his hair. "How about you?"
"I'm good. Good enough to survive group projects," Jane said as they walked towards a bench.
"So which class are you in?" she asked. The system wasn't hard to understand, A through C for most students. The meteors, though, were a different breed.
"C1, but it doesn't matter. I won't be in the same class after the transformation," He said, the excitement shone through his voice.
Being a vampire didn't seem so bad for Jim. Jane was genuinely happy for him, happy enough that, for a moment, she forgot her purpose.
"So when does your… process finish?" she asked.
"Two more months."
Jane's eyes went blank. The smile faded from her face.
He had started six months before her, and would still finish only two months earlier.
Ms. Kelsey had called hers normal.
Normal to whom? And if it wasn't, then why lie at all?
She took and a deep breath and continued.
"Would you change your pin accordingly—" "What's wrong with your neck?"
She asked, the same moment he leaned in. His body cast a shadow over her; an invisible breeze brushed against her skin.
"A scratch,"
Her fingers tightened around the edge of the bench.
"How do you change your pin, Jim?"
Be calm, Jane. Be calm.
"Just curious," she added quickly. "I would need to change mine too. One day,"
"Ms. Kelsey said she would arrange that, although you can go to Student Affairs, " Jim answered.
"Student Affairs?" Jane huffed. "Damn. I really should've read the brochure,"
Jim laughed softly. His eyes lingered very briefly on her skin before lifting again.
"So when is your date?" Jim asked.
"About four more months," Jane said. Her eyes stayed on his, her breath held, waiting for a signal. Something to prove that her thoughts were not delusions.
A crease appeared between his eyebrows, then vanished.
That was enough.
Jane covered her neck and stood up: "I need to go back, still have to finish some homework."
"Bye." She waved at him as she turned around and hurried away.
Stupid reason, but her mind couldn't come up with anything better right now.
The missing piece was starting to show. And Jim's new appearance creeped her out.
Next time, she thought.
He did too.