The Outbreak

When the uncomfortable heatwave let the vampires know that the sun's rise was imminent, they closed all the windows both upstairs and downstairs and returned to the living room.

"We have a day until that party. And we need new clothes, we stink." Odelle complained but she didn't move, content to just sit on the couch with her eyes closed.

"Do you want to watch TV Zaylee?" Sierra scooped Zaylee out of Odelle's lap and took the remote from the counter, putting on cartoons to keep Zaylee occupied, shooting Orissa a look.

"Fine." Orissa moved the ghoul upstairs so it wouldn't be in the way. While the ghoul didn't stink, no vampire would mingle with them because their instincts screamed that the ghouls were lesser.

"Find a clothing store Orissa, we need clothes. We can break into a hotel to bathe." Odelle tossed her phone to Orissa who leaned to the side and searched it online, but both Orissa's and Odelle's bodies were sluggish.

"It's not sleep but it's something similar for us." It wasn't something they couldn't control, but neither of them wanted to sit through the day, so they entered a semi hibernation state.

"Orissa, Zaylee wants you to tell her a story." Sierra shook Orissa out of her dazed state and watched as she sat up, eyes brightening even as her lips twitched.

"I don't know an-" Zaylee gave Orissa puppy eyes so she groaned and searched the phone for a children's story, one where everyone lived happily ever after.

"Once upon a time, there was a little dragon who..." As Orissa read, Zaylee smiled. She hadn't ever had someone read her a story, and Orissa's voice was beautiful and went well with it.

"Sierra, are you angry with me?" When Orissa finished the book, she looked at Sierra who gave her a confused look but then nodded hesitantly which made Orissa sigh.

"I am angry, but not because you killed that idiot who was my brother, but because you keep avoiding me..." Hearing Sierra's words, Orissa got up and sat besides her, pulling Sierra half into her embrace.

"I'm not really sure how I should treat you, a fully grown woman even if I did create you." Orissa stroked Sierra's red hair as she nuzzled into her embrace like a cute animal.

"Just don't ignore me... please?" Sierra mumbled feeling as if she were floating on clouds between Orissa's tantalizing scent and her soft body that seemed so frail.

"Hugs!?" Zaylee held out her hands so Sierra pulled her into the hug as well, letting her sit between them and earning a bright giggle from the girl who felt that she was finally liked by someone.

"I found a store and it has all our sizes, even Zaylee's since there are children's clothes there. There's showers inside so we can do everything there." Orissa tickled Zaylee's sides with a smile, making the girl squirm while laughing.

"Odelle, tell me, do you really want us to form our own little nation?" Orissa looked at Odelle who was leaning to the side, but she straightened and gave Orissa a smile.

"We could, but if we did, humans could try to bomb us wherever we settled." Odelle frowned because she couldn't see the humans leaving them alone if they did do so.

"How about this, I can let some ghouls go out and cause trouble tonight and have them die tomorrow. If we are attacked, we can threaten to unleash ghouls in retaliation, and it's not like we'll die if they bomb us."

"Then we'd need to find a place that won't render us useless for half the day. If we are layed siege to while the sun is up, we'll be stuck." Sierra spoke up from Orissa's chest.

"We can use ghouls to hold them off. Unlike the one upstairs, I can alter them to be more resistant to the sun, but we'd need to travel where the weather isn't too sunny. Sadly, vampires seem to be defined by our inability to handle the sun."

"Then we need more vampires and even more money. We'll need people for every occupation so we aren't lacking if we do form a safe haven." Odelle planned to find humans who were good at their respective fields to turn.

"Wait, we don't necessarily need geniuses." Orissa closed her eyes and spread her senses out until she could see the virus that made her what she was and lines connecting it.

With her intentions, the virus shifted, recombining itself until her desires were met and using the lines, she grabbed all the threads she could feel connecting to her and then those connecting to them and so on.

"If I increase our memory retention and learning ability, we can just make our own geniuses." She sent the changed virus through the threads and saw everyone's eyes darken momentarily as the virus changed itself.

"That is amazing." Odelle who had been struggling with the fact her species might die out before they even had a chance to live was ecstatic as she ran over and planted kisses on Orissa's face endlessly.

"Ack! Get off me you psycho!" Odelle dodged Orissa's push and pressed her soft lips against Orissa's and retreated, laughing when Sierra did the same and stole her lips, shocking Orissa a bit.

Orissa felt a tug on her dress and looked down to see Zaylee pulling her dress, looking at her with eyes full of expectations, so she gently kissed her forehead and watched as Zaylee's eyes turned to crescents as she smiled and held the spot Orissa kissed.

"When we find a place to settle down, I can call all of our kind to it." Orissa held Zaylee and Sierra as she spoke, causing Odelle to smile. If she could call the vampires to her, it would be easier than leaving traces by using technology.

"Can you tell how much of us there is?" Sierra wondered how many of their kind were out there, but she thought no one knew. Hearing Orissa saw she could contact all of them, she asked.

"A little under one thousand. Nine hundred and forty six to be exact. I can sense five other Nobles, one nearby and some really far away. I won't risk calling them until we have a safe place for us though."

"Then we have to make one, don't we?" Odelle agreed that calling everyone over would be rash if there was no safe place, so she focused on making her wish doable.

"Yes, we do. But first, you two need to become Royal Vampires." Orissa smiled at Odelle and Sierra who stiffened in shock. They wouldn't ask because the allotment meant every one Royal was one less Orissa could make, but she granted them the opportunity without asking anything of them.