As Blake woke to the pounding on his cell door, the harsh reality of his situation washed over him like a cold wave crashing against the shore. Ever since the final court verdict, he had been forced to confront the grim reality of life as a convicted criminal, facing the unforgiving nature of the law enforcement system.
"Come with us," an officer said with a scrunched up face. His face twisted into a scowl that seemed more menacing than necessary.
Blake couldn't tell if the officer was intentionally mean mugging him or simply trying to be as intimidating as possible.
However, none of those things mattered to him.
Not on this day. Not today when he would be moved to the state correctional facility.
He struggled with it for the past two days after the final trial but now knew the inevitable truth. He was going to be locked up for life.
This was no joke.
"This is it," Blake muttered as he walked out of the cell door, escorted by the officer behind him in cuffs. The weight of his impending fate bore down on him heavily, pressing against his chest like a leaden weight.
He was being treated like some dangerous criminal when in reality he knew he would fold in the sight of blood much less try to kill an actual human.
But the justice system was fucked up to begin with. No, life itself was massively screwed up.
"She still hasn't shown up," Blake mused bitterly, his heart heavy with resignation.
The one he was thinking about was Rose. His supposed lover. The ravishing Rose Shelly who had scooped him up from a life of crumbs and given him an entire bakery.
The one that had promised him eternity and made him believe that even the rich had good and considering heart.
'It was stupid of me to rely on her in the first place. What was she supposed to do? Abandon her empiren for me? She's a freaking undead vampire. She has a way longer life to live and shouldn't waste it on beings stuck with a bum like me. Rose, I forgive you.
You did what you had to. There's a whole empire resting on your shoulders. I understand,' Blake resigned to his fate.
If the rest of his life was going to be stripped of freedom, he might as well start accepting that fate now.
He didn't know how long he had to live but knew one thing was certain.
It was a long time to spend behind bars.
"We'll move out in ten minutes. Would you like to make a phone call before then?" The officer asked Blake.
Blake thought about it. He didn't have a family member he could call. He never had anyone to begin with.
"Come on, pretty boy, speak up," one of the officers jeered, a cruel smirk playing on his lips. "You think you can just sit there and keep quiet? In prison, they'll eat you alive if you don't grow a pair of balls."
The other officer chimed in, his voice dripping with disdain. "Yeah, you may have a pretty face, but that won't save you behind bars. You'll be nothing but a plaything for the other inmates if you don't toughen up."
Blake gritted his teeth in frustration, his hands clenched into fists as he fought to control his rising anger. He knew they were trying to provoke him, but he refused to give them the satisfaction of a reaction.
But their words cut deep, stirring up feelings of vulnerability and fear. He couldn't shake the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he contemplated the harsh realities of life in prison.
As the officers' taunts grew louder, Blake's resolve hardened. He may have been facing an uncertain future, but he refused to let them break him. He would endure whatever came his way with dignity and strength, refusing to be reduced to nothing more than a victim of circumstance.
Just then, the truck came to a halt. The engine was killed.
"What's that? Have we arrived. It's too early," one of the officers asked.
He used his radio to call out to the others driving ahead of them and their own driver but there was no response.
"I'll go check what's wrong. You keep an eye on pretty boy, here," the officer said to his partner, opening the armoured vehicles double back door only to see a strange, pale faced lady with an all black attire stare at him. A smile played across her face as she stared back at the officer.
"What the..Who are you?" The officer asked the lady standing in front of him.
Just then, the lady's eyes began to glow red.
'Shit...shit!! I've seen her some where before!' Blake thought seeing the lady standing outside the armoured vehicle. Her glowing red eyes immediately made him think of someone whose eyes could also glow red that he had seen.
************************
*Author's note*
Huge...huge shout out to all of you for making the first month of this book a memorable one. Over two thousand collections and hundred plus golden tickets. I'm completely overwhelmed!
However, you all might have noticed the brakes I have put on updates. It's happening for two reasons. The first one being that I have been Ill since last week but I had to keep pushing and y'all have been amazingly supportive so thank you!!
The other reason is that I'm Planning a huge mass release for Sunday. Don't know if I should go ahead with it.
Should I go ahead with it?
Anyways thank you all for an amazing start of my writing career. I look forward to completing this and future projects. Please correct me on what to do more, do less and any other thing. I'm still pretty green and no expert with this thing. Okay I'm talking too much now lol
Byee...