The Outbreak

"My name is Orissa, it's nice to meet you all. You all should be aware that the humans have founded a certain department to study and contain us, and if we don't do something, we're likely to die out before we even accomplish anything."

The vampires present seemed to be a bit indifferent to the situation, and Orissa wasn't sure how she could get them to understand their lives were at stake.

"Okay, you are all strong being vampires, so why fear humans? Is this what you're thinking? If it is, you guys need to use your heads more." Orissa smiled when a few growled at her jab.

"Yes, you can kill or flee from humans, but what if they find you during the day? Or if those wild dogs come and attack while you are stuck in a house? Wouldn't you feel dumb then?"

"Then what do you propose? I did realize that it was extremely unsafe to be left vulnerable during the day, but I can't do anything because I don't want to draw attention to myself." Ryan leaned against the wall and spoke without minding Orissa's sarcasm.

"Do you have a building? A big one?" Orissa asked Ryan who nodded, but he still couldn't see what difference that would make but he answered her questions generously.

"I own a high-rise in the next city over. It's eighty stories and pretty empty since I haven't rented it out since I acquired it." Hearing Ryan, Orissa grinned and calculated in her head.

"Should be enough. Okay, what will you do when humans decide we are too dangerous to live? You might fight, but can you survive a bomb? Most of you can't anyway, so how about we make a safe place for us?" 

"I get that we are in a perilous situation, but why are you the leader? Even if you are strong, that doesn't necessarily mean you're the best choice." A vampire in a hoodie and jeans chimed in.

"If I could avoid this, I would, believe me... Okay, you want to know why I can lead you? Kneel!" A wave of coercion exploded outward and the vampires present below Royalty fell to their knees, all their strength totally sapped from their body.

"I could order you all to do my bidding, but I'd rather not. You can stand now. Above the Noble Vampires are Royal Vampires and we four happen to be precisely that. If you feel you can lead better than I, I'd have no problems letting you direct the development of our race, so by all means, tell me, do you want to lead?" Orissa's eyes were bright purple now as she stared at them, waiting for a response.

"Okay, since no one wants to, Ryan, can you take charge of money and finances for us? I have a terrible spending habit." Orissa retrieved the pressure she let out and gestured for them to get up.

"Will there be ways to make money, because if we just spend money, we won't be able to keep up with the expenses sooner or later." Ryan got to his feet, brushing his pants off.

"I'm not sure if you realized, but I made it easier to retain information and to learn things. When we find a suitable place to live, I'll call the other vampires over. From there, I don't think it will be hard to surpass the current human technology."

"Of course, you can deny this and return to wherever you came from, but then you'd all just be living on borrowed time. Listen, I understand, you all went from ordinary to inhumanly powerful and might not wish for others to stand above you, but what's better? Dying alone in some ditch, or working together?" Orissa dropped her sarcasm for the first time and spoke earnestly because without them, living would be rough.

"I can understand you're concerns, so I won't tie you to me, and you can leave whenever you want should we group up. I won't prohibit hunting, just do it in a different city or nearby town to keep humans from getting too paranoid."

"Personally, I think it's a good idea. Divided we fall, hm? I can help with money and management, but I don't want to be discovered to early because the humans might cut my accounts and money." Ryan agreed because even with his money, he wouldn't be safe when humans came for him.

"Don't worry about your identity Ryan. Will the rest of you join?" Orissa let her eyes turn back to normal and smiled when they agreed. Even if they were prideful, survival was too enticing to pass up.

"Okay, for my plans to work, we might end up destroying this city, or at the very least a part of it. But the returns will be worth it because they would think twice before attacking us." Orissa then asked Zaylee to go grab a human from somewhere, not one employed by Ryan.

"I can make ghouls, highly infectious creatures that only seek to hunt humans. If the losses outweigh the gains, humans wouldn't touch us and risk public anger." 

Zaylee skipped in dragging a middle aged man with a scruffy beard and dropped him right at Orissa's feet. Slicing her thumb, she dropped blood into the man's mouth and stepped back.

"You used your blood? Wouldn't he become a vampire?" Ryan and the other vampires looked on as the man's figure started to distort, black nails, jagged teeth and pale skin and white eyes.

"No, I changed it a bit. Ghouls are more resistant to the sun than we are, but they're also weaker and can be killed by normal means." The vampires crowded the ghoul and watched as it stood blankly.

"How will you stop the infection after it begins? If we don't, then humans might very well just destroy us out of spite." The hoodie vampire spoke up and drew attention back to Orissa.

"I have them on a timer. The virus will remain active for the night, and when the sun rises, the ghouls will die. Enough to show we can cause enough destruction to not incite any rash attacks."

"I'm willing to support your plan." The vampire in a bathing suit said, her body wrapped in a towel. There would be no losses and humans wouldn't retaliate in fear that ghouls could reappear again if they did.

"Since you have a plan, we will abide by your words and decisions until you give us a reason to do otherwise. I'll liquidate my money and improve the high-rise so we can live there." Ryan bowed his head and the vampires behind him did the same, making Orissa a tad embarrassed.

"Find me people from different fields and occupations. We'll need them if we want to be self sufficient as soon as possible. Doctors and scientists too, we'll need to work on a substitute for blood." Hearing Orissa speak, Ryan nodded and called his workers to search for the people in question.