Tribe (Tribe 1) Read Online Free Page A

breath and drew the blade across the woman’s wrist. A line of blood welled up, but never spilled down her arm. It hovered there in a long bead along the incision, trembling to be set free.
    “Be careful, Ember. Keep yourself under control.” I heard my mother’s voice in my head, in the same melodic tone as I’d used, as if she was kneeling right beside me. It was her voice that I mimicked, never having done it on my own. Only habit—after many occasions of “just in case” practicing at Mom’s behest—that helped me maintain a hint of composure.
    At least…so far.
    My free hand still hovered over the woman’s wrist, holding back the flow of blood as I set the scalpel aside on the handkerchief.
    I leaned forward and pressed my lips to the woman’s wrist, and drank deeply as the blood began to flow. At first, the desire leapt to a fevered pitch and I struggled to maintain control. If I wanted to, I could overreach. I could stop controlling the flow of blood, and instead allow it to gush into my mouth. But I used all my willpower to restrain myself, and drank at the pace my mother had taught me.
    I almost gave in…almost went too far. I wanted nothing more than to drain the woman dry. But she was the motherly type—the type to have children at home, waiting for her. That alone kept me from losing my restraint.
    When I knew I had to stop, I pulled back, holding my hand once more over the gash. A trickle of blood fell to the floor before the flow stopped completely, and once again trembled to be set free. Then I sent another burst of energy to the cut, and watched the flesh slowly knit together before my eyes.
    I tore open a sterile gauze packet, then used the gauze to wipe the blood from her wrist. I followed that up with the sani-wipes, making sure to clean any traces of blood from her hands or the floor.
    My hands still shook. I felt that I had myself under control, though I was still weak. When my hands were washed, the blood was rinsed from my mouth, and I had checked my reflection in the mirror, I collapsed on the floor beside the woman with a sigh.
    I knew I should probably find another “donor”, but a knock on the door told me it was time to move on. “I’ll be out in a minute!” I called. I hastily tucked all the trash in my purse and put away my kit.
    Once all evidence of my feeding was put away, I knelt beside the woman and took her hand, meeting her blank gaze with my own. “You feel much better now. You were dizzy for a few minutes, and you blacked out, but you’re fine now. You won’t remember anything that happened since you opened the bathroom door. You will think that you might have diabetes like your sister. You will not worry, but you will get your blood tested soon, just in case. You should be doing that regularly, anyway. And try not to overdo the sweets, because diabetes runs in the family.” I took a deep breath. At least I could do some good in return for the blood I’d stolen. “And make sure not to work too hard tonight, and get yourself a snack—some juice or some fresh fruit. Do you understand?”
    “I understand. I feel better now. I’ll take a break soon, and have some fruit.”
    “Yes, you’re a little bit dizzy, but you will be fine by the time you get back to the kitchen.”
    “I’ll be fine.”
    “Yes, you will.” I smiled, then patted the lady’s hand. “Ma’am? Are you okay?”
    The woman blinked, then looked around. She was disoriented and confused. “What happened?”
    “You were helping me into the bathroom so I could take my insulin. Then you got dizzy yourself, and said you needed to sit down. I’ve been trying to get you to come around for a minute or so, now.”
    “What…I don’t…did I faint?”
    “No, but you were out of it for a while. You said your sister has diabetes. Have you ever been tested?”
    “No, I never had any of the symptoms. Maybe I should.” She was concerned, but she was following my suggestion and not worrying too much