That Vampire, And A School for Body Stealers

I woke up with a horrendous headache in a large room with several digital screens on the wall. The bright lights from the ceiling practically blinded me and a tall woman with tan skin was standing near one of the screens and talking to someone on the other side of it.

I stirred in the flat bed that felt like a hard table, and the female walked towards me. Her beige high heels clicking loudly on the floor. She had a white lab coat that seemed to wrap around her a bit better than the suit she had on earlier, and her black hair was tied in a long ponytail that trailed flawlessly down her back. I could tell from her chest and figure, it was the same woman that knocked me out in the helicopter.

"Ah, you're awake finally. Did you sleep well?"

She spoke with a calm yet commanding demeanor as she placed her hand on my chest. I jumped a bit from her frigid hands touching my bare chest that was partially covered in these sensor stickers they put on people at the hospital. And sure enough, there was a faint rapid beeping sound coming from a smaller monitor next to the bed that displayed my heart rate.

"Sorry, my hands are a bit cold. Please bear with it and stay still."

She spoke a little softer but then her hands suddenly forced me back down on the bed. As she turned slightly to check the monitor, I struggled to escape her amazing strong grip.

"Your heart is racing pretty fast. Just as expected from a vampire."

Then my eyebrows furrowed as I looked towards her with concern. This woman had the word suspicious written all over her.

"Don't worry, I won't harm you because I'm not with the vampire hunters, nor the police..."

"Then, who are you? And what is this dreadfully bright place?"

The woman moved her hands from me and stood up straight. She clicked on a remote, and a couple monitors came on from the walls around us. Each had a different video feed of what I assumed was the building we were in.

"This is only one part of the building, but it acts as a testing lab basically. Shizu, we finally found you by following a police scanner that reported six dead bodies damaged beyond recognition left near a gang member's den. You devoured them, right?"

I gasped as I rose from the bed and glared at her.

How did she know about that?! And about me being a vampire! That kind of information isn't just available to the public.

"I'm sure you have plenty of questions but let me introduce myself. My name is Cleo, and I'm a scientist who specializes in DNA and hematology. This place we’re in acts as a school for vampires specifically like you. But we're also an organization who will house you here until we can find a cure for your cravings for human mana and life energy."

I scratched my head anxiously looking around at the screens in the lab room.

"How do you know all of this?"

"Scientists have been studying vampires for decades believe it or not. But we've only discovered the Body Stealers, your specific species of vampires, about ten years ago."

"Only ten years? And what the hell do you hope to accomplish?!"

And then a sliding door opened, and the man I saw earlier in the helicopter walked in.

"What we ultimately hope to accomplish is peace between vampires and humans. We want to not only protect people from more slaughtering but to protect vampires from losing their own souls."

He spoke with a smile upon his pale lips. He adjusted his glasses as he looked at me with a strange kind of familiarity. His hair was silver and reached his shoulders, and his eyes were dark green. He also had a blue sweater vest with the white lab coat around him like a jacket, and dark navy khaki pants.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Shizu. My name is Yuki, and I welcome you to my specialized school for vampires."

I held my breath for a second as I blinked blankly at him. He chuckled and clicked on the remote to show a camera that displayed a large exterior of buildings. I assumed that was the school he just mentioned.

"Also, consider this your new home as well. We keep all the Body Stealers and Non-Shapeshifting Vampires in separate dorm rooms on the school's campus. And I'm sure you'll grow accustomed to our tests in no time."

"Hold on! It's not like I agreed to stay here! And if you're looking for a cure, you're wasting your time."

I aggressively refused Yuki's offer. I had little to no interest in staying in this place or even going to a school with other vampires. Even looking around, this lab seemed no better than a prison.

"Tell me why I'm going to just let you experiment on me?"

Yuki adjusted his glasses as he grabbed a tablet that Cleo was holding out to him. He calmly looked towards me with a devious smirk.

"Simply because the government is now after your life. And they will do everything in their power to eliminate all shapeshifters and vampires from human society."

Yuki heavily placed that reality on my plate. I couldn't be that oblivious since there was an odd coincidence the police and the vampire hunters finally caught onto me.

However, something about this situation didn't feel right. How did these people conveniently find me, unless they were actually apart of the government and looking for me? Are these two going to get rid of me then, under the guise of being scientists?

"Don't worry though. We are actually not taking part in the government's initiatives. Instead, we work with an impartial organization within the government that's helped us greatly in establishing our research. They even built this school on a remote island, where no one can find you or endanger your life. Think of it as a secret vacation!"

What kind of damned vacation is this?

Yuki walked closer towards me and went into explaining more about the school. As far as I understood, there was an organization within the government that acted as a separate faction of authorities who protected vampires and helped them cope with their cravings. They even promised, after a certain time of treatment, that they would help them go back into society as normal people. Yuki and Cleo were in charge of a special unit of researchers that extended this treatment facility and transformed it into a school and safe haven for vampires.

However, as a vampire, you can only be so safe around humans. Many humans never think kindly of us, so the explanation of their efforts to find a cure just clouded my mind with more questions.

"So, there you have it, Shizu. We have about nine other vampires in total with a mix of vampires without shapeshifting abilities."

"Huh?! There's only ten of us but this place is gigantic! Why have such a large space?"

"We believed that this encampment that feels like a school would make some of you feel more comfortable. We have plenty of facilities, realistic classrooms, a cafeteria, medical centers, and of course a library filled with a wealth of knowledge. Even though you are all vampires, education is still of great importance, so I hope you use your time here wisely."

Yuki seemed a bit more excited than I was at this point. Then Cleo grabbed a bag of clothing and threw them in my lap.

"Here, this is the uniform if you so choose to wear it. We have more of them in your room, so you can comfortably change and maintain them with no issues. However, these uniforms are not required. It was more of a suggestion to help everyone get comfortable about considering the facility as an educational institute."

She spoke as she took the tablet from Yuki, and began typing on it.

"Ah! And not to worry we did keep in mind that you all might fancy more casual clothes to wear on a daily basis, so we have a tailor who can order them for you if need be."

How exactly were these people funded for this project??

After Yuki readily jumped in with that final detail, I got up and put on the uniform over my undergarments. Cleo grabbed a mirror for me to better see it. I was dressed in what looked like a typical white buttoned shirt, with a blue blazer and dark navy pants. However, I quickly refused to wear the blue and silver tie that went with it.

I didn't like when fabric touched my neck, so I loosened my collar slightly. Cleo sighed with a sour frown, while Yuki led us both out of the lab.

As we went outside, the sun was bright but not as terrible as those fluorescent lights. Also, the outer walkway was covered with a tall awning that shadowed you from the sun's ultraviolet rays.

Of course, in the case of Body Stealers, since we can transform with another human's body, our own becomes pretty much like a human. Therefore, the sun doesn't generally affect us. I believe these accommodations were made more for the non-shifting vampires.

We walked past a garden with an assortment of blossoming roses, tables and chairs, as if it was a fancy courtyard to have afternoon tea or something. Then, we finally went into the main building. Once we got to what looked like a classroom with dark tinted windows to keep most of the sun out, I saw nine other people that I assumed were the vampires I was told about earlier. Each of them looked towards me with curious glances. They must have noticed my eyes were a bright shade of blue instead of the dark hue of red like normal vampire kin.

Even with vampiric shapeshifters, our eyes were still like windows to our true souls.

So, if we could change the colors of our irises, they would normally change to red on the occasion that we acknowledge ourselves as true vampires.

"Everyone, this is your new classmate Shizu! Please take care of him as he will help you all greatly with your treatment."

Yuki announced to them with great enthusiasm, while I nervously fiddled around with my bangs. This definitely seemed like a typical school but after a few weeks, it became more claustrophobic like a prison.