• As I walked down the street, I couldn’t help but hurry. All around me were the humans. They are the inhabitants of Metropolis. I am a vampire, I am other, and I am not like them. They know it, and they hate it. They were moving to avoid me. My cold skin is practically human repellent. All around me, I heard people whispering ‘freak’, ‘parasite’, and ‘leech’. Even though I didn’t drink human blood, they still considered me a leech, and a parasite. They claim that I am feeding off their wealth, riding their coat tails. I was on my way to receive the once pre three day shot that kept my thirst at bay and my strength about me. However, today would be risky. This was not just a ‘meal’, so to speak, but also a vital mission. The IuR, the Individual United Resistance, has reason to believe that the Regulation officers of Metropolis suspect all the vampires of Reich to be a part of our Resistance force. The city manufactures the solution, and controls its distribution. They can alter it as well, and we believe that they are working to develop a serum that keeps us feed, but does not grant us our strength, speed, and enhanced senses. It is my job to obtain an extra vial, so our scientists can begin to manufacture our own. The vampires of the IuR are the most important players in the destruction of the central government that controls metropolis. When they fall, we can institute our own agents, and begin to live in the city once more. This mission is dangerous because the Regulation Officers’ biosuits can move almost as fast and agilely as we can and posses an EPBW, an Electrical Pulse Burst Weapon. It fires an electrical burst similar to a taser, but without the leads, over a thirty foot radius. It can incapacitate vampires and allow them to catch us. Their biosuits connect to every other R.O.’s biosuit in the city by means of thought connection. This allows them to act as one killing machine. The Pick-up points for injections are scattered about the city. I chose one close to the wall. Going out of one of the main gates would be impossible. A medic distributes the injection and two Patrol ROs staff the pick-up points. The ROs are always on guard. I would have to try an alibi first and if that didn’t work, I would have to try to steal it. I hoped that taking the medic hostage would allow me postpone the ROs for long enough to escape. However, the seconds I wasted meant that the other ROs around the city would be more organized, more prepared, more lethal. I hoped my alibi would work.

    It was hard not to ignore the hateful remarks that everyone in Metropolis at one time or another had said. I tried not to let it bother me, because it would interfere with my concentration and therefore drop my rate of survival should I need to fight for that extra vial, but they eventually get in. I mean, how these people could be so close-minded that they ban all individuals from their city, I don’t know. But they did, vampires and anyone who doesn’t agree with the ideals of the city. In Reich, we are accepting. We house in our city of Reich, homosexuals, vampires, artists, musicians, people with creativity, and the audacity to show it. We live constantly on the edge of Ruin, literally. The Reich, as it is sometimes called, is built around the edge and inside of an atomic bomb crater. The radioactivity ended long ago, but it carved a large hole in the ground that suited our needs. The aboveground complex is large and stretches five miles out from every point on the circular crater. Then there stretches a six-mile heap of rubble that creates an obstacle course six miles long. It filled with magnets, giant rare earth magnets with strong electric fields. It is a permanent minefield, exclusively targeting Regulation officers. They are effective and lethal. The work by first trapping the officer’s metal suit, then simultaneously it fries all the electronics, disabling the GPS and radio. They are left to die in their suits, because they cannot call out for help and they cannot move. The IuR operatives travel in tunnels that run underground, underneath the ruins that guard the city. The entrances are holes that lead out gradually and are circled in magnets. Some are vertical shafts that only vampires can use to get out. Reich also employs the use of guards at the entrance to every tunnel. There are also cutoff points inside every tunnel where a large, think metal slab can be dropped to cut off or kill intruders that pass the magnets successfully. After all, the enemy isn’t only the regulation officers of Metropolis, but also a large band of vampires dedicated to anarchy and destruction. They call themselves, the Others, and they pose a threat to both Metropolis and Reich. They refuse the serum and frequently make raids on Metropolis for blood, but some of the weaker ones attack Reich in search of their next victim. Metropolis is better guarded against the Others, but they are still susceptible to attack. The Others aren’t incredibly organized, as it is their nature to reject order in favor of chaos, but to forward their cause, some form of government needs to be in place. Their attacks often leave entire city blocks in ruin. They use explosives and vampiric strength and speed to spread destruction throughout the city. They have more than once interfered with an IuR mission. I can only hope while I am away that the Others make no attack that affects my mission. I could see the pick-up point a few meters away. This would be quick. No one was standing in line. Only one vampire was walking away. I crossed the remaining distance quickly. I stopped in front of the table that the medic sat behind. I held out my arm and he brought his left hand forward. His left hand was covered in a casing similar to the ones found on the biosuits of the ROs. It was there to tear my flesh at a vein, so the needle could actually get to my bloodstream. He tore the section of skin open and slipped in the needle. He forced the plunger down and the liquid entered my now flowing bloodstream. It hurt a little, the blood beginning to flow for a few minutes, but that was what it was designed to do, to remind us of what we are. “Excuse me.” I said politely. “Yes, leech?” the medic asked without looking up from preparing the next needle. “May I have another vial of the serum? My wife, she is too weak and thirsty to make the trip into Metropolis to receive hers at one of these facilities. I would have brought her, but I was afraid she would be too strong for me and kill one of the humans here.” I said looking at him with a slightly pleading look in my eyes. “Sure. I understand.” He said looking up at me. Both of the ROs suddenly moved and grabbed my arms. “Hey! What are you doing!?” I yelled rather exasperated. It hurt how they squeezed my arms. “Let him go!” the medic shouted, “He was only doing what was best in the interest of the city!” “Are you a part of the IuR, leech?” one of the ROs asked, harshly shaking me. Again there was a stab of pain. “No, of course not! I just want to help my wife! Can I do that?” I asked pleadingly. “Just let him take the vial, officer.” The medic said shaking his head in disgust. The RO deliberated for a moment and then let go of me. “Fine, but we are going to have to ID you, and mark you down as taking an extra vial.” He said. In Metropolis and Reich, everyone who had ever entered the city had on them a tattoo. It was a tattoo of a barcode, each one unique. They were identification. Everything we bought and did in the city was monitored. Humans who lived in the city were connected to any money they owned by this system. He ran his hand over my upper arm, scanning my ID. He read the information, input this anomaly, and returned to his post. “I wouldn’t let it happen again, parasite.” The RO told me as he straightened up. The medic handed me the prepared needle with some plastic still on the business end. “You have five minutes to reach the gate closest to Reich.” The other RO said with distain poured heavily on the name of our city. “The RO there will scan your ID and he will see that we have Okayed the extra needle. You will then pass out of the city. Because you have taken an extra needle, we have restricted access for leisure in our city for three days. You may return on the third day to receive your next injection.” He finished. “Alright.” I said as I began walking towards the gate. I rounded a corner and started jogging. I would practically need to run to make it to the gate in time. About halfway there, I did start running. I stopped in front of the guards at about four minutes and thirty seconds after I left the Pick-Up point. They scanned my ID and informed me that I wasn’t allowed to return to the city for three days. I told them I understood and passed into the wastes that covered the earth.