“Is that a bird?” Rose Sexton looked up at the open skies and noticed the small passing shadow overhead. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, she kept seeing the flickering shadow over and over again. Whatever it was it had been passing over the ship throughout the day. At first it appeared to be a cloud but there didn’t seem to be any clouds as the sun reached its peak. 

      Rose didn’t know why she was so drawn to it. It was hard to know what disturbed her the most, the weird glint in her eye or the fact that there were so many guys watching at her. Not just the men but the women around the pool as well. Every time she glanced in any direction she would catch an eye looking back. Some of those glances looked seductive, others rather hungry. 

      It was Rebecca who broke the silence, “Are you ok O negative…I mean Rosy?” 

      Rose was starting to grasp a better understanding of the blonde vampire lounging next to her. It felt like Rebecca just wanted to get a rise out of her or make her feel uncomfortable. Maybe Rebecca simply found it humorous to call her by her blood type?

      “People keep staring at me, it creeps me out…” Rose leaned forward in her chair and immediately caught a couple glancing at her. She could’ve sworn it was the Kemps, the young couple she first ran into when accidentally boarding. But whoever they were they quickly mingled back into the crowd.

      Rebecca just smirked before answering, “Its because you’re hot! Stop thinking everyone cares if your human. Literally no one does!” And then to emphasize her point Rebecca got up and shouted, “Hey everyone, we have a human on board! A juicy delicious human! Come and see her, she’s right here!” 

      Rose nearly panicked as the blonde creature pointed directly at her while chanting in the air. A few responded with cheers or whistles but none seemed to really care. Making her point, Rebecca laid back down on the beach chair before continuing, “You’re sexy as hell in that bikini, of course everyone is looking at you! I only wish they would give me some attention! Actually maybe your hogging to much of it…” 

      “What are you talking about!” Rose didn’t know it but she was blushing. As if to agree with Rebecca’s sermon, several horny guys whistled loudly and remarked about her tanned body. One of the guys made awkward thrusting motions as if somehow that would be attractive!

      “Seriously guys!” Kyle advanced towards the jerks giving her awkward poses and forced them to scatter. 

      Even as the indecent group dispersed it didn’t stop others from looking at her. The air suddenly felt cool against her bare skin, which made sitting still almost impossible. It would have been better if she had a blanket or at least a towel to help shelter her against the wind. Rose curled up into a ball, wrapping her arms around her legs and tried to ignore the people gawking at her. She wasn’t used to this kind of attention, at least not since her college days.

      Just thinking about college caused her to relive a distant memory, one of drunken debauchery among her sorority sisters. It was truly insane how fast time flew by. The glare crossed her vision again, this time she turned her head violently to grab hold of whatever it was. But like a wisp in the wind it continued to dodge her vision. 

      “Hey Honeybun, I brought you a mojito? Extra salt…I figured thats the way you like em.” Kyles voice freaked her out because she never heard him come back after confronting the jerks. 

      “Where did you come from?” Rose cried out in alarm.  

      He handed her the cocktail without an answer. The drink seemed to have a lot of mint leaves in it. Normally mojitos wouldn’t be her drink of choice, she would’ve preferred a nice wine or maybe a margarita. Martini’s with a couple olives were her favorite, she hated calling them dirty Martini’s though. 

      “I’m not you’re honeybun,” Rose then looked over to Rebecca, “Or your…what did you call me? Your O negative?” 

      To which Rebecca responded, “Whatever you say honeybun!” 

      “Shut up!” 

      “Keep it down! Shut your filthy human tongue!” Maggie walked clumsily to the empty chair next to Rebecca and collapsed on it. She was in a drunken haze and clearly belligerent. 

      Cautiously, ever so cautiously, Rose took a sip from the cool glass. She didn’t trust Kyle as far as she could throw him but found the drink satisfying enough. It smelled rich and flavorful, and tasted minty.

      Wait…what am I doing? Rose realized she had just accepted a drink from a stranger! What if it was dosed with something? Is this how they plan to get me? Lure me to a calm place then dose and drink me! Suddenly she looked up at him defiantly. 

      “What is up with you? I flirt with you and you act weird, I tease you and you stutter, I offer you a drink and you act like I just handed you poison?” He wasn’t wrong, Rose did judge everything he did with intrepidity.

      Rose glared at him suspiciously, “You think I don’t know what your thinking? What better way to get at my blood than to knock me out!” 

      “That’ll just spoil the taste honeybun,” Rebecca teased.

      “Whatever, just enjoy the drink,” Kyle Stryx had enough of her babbling and walked away. Rose instantly felt a sense of relief, and disappointment about what just happened. She looked at the drink in her hand not knowing what to do. 

      “If you’re not going to drink that, mind handing it over?” Maggie slurred as she tried to lean forward in her lounge chair. Rose thought about just giving it to her and rolled her eyes. Just as she was about to hand it to her, Maggie began to snore. Apparently she was fading in and out of consciousness.

      “I’m sorry for how she’s acting. She’s actually a really nice person once you get to know her.” Rebecca lifted up the fold of her umbrella hat to reveal her face, “She had a really bad break up a few weeks ago, and just hasn’t gotten over it.”

      Rose leaned back and stirred the mojito with the tiny tooth pick it came with. She realized this was the first time Rebecca spoke to her sincerely, there was no hint of sarcasm in her voice. Rose looked over to her before asking a question, “I see, but why does she hate humans?” 

      “She doesn’t hate normal people, its just that she doesn’t know how else to vent her anger. You see…her girlfriend was a human, and they were together for like three years.” Rebecca’s tone had grown very brittle. 

      That made her curiosity spike! Rose couldn’t help but gasp at the revelation. “Wait, so she dated a human?”

      “Oh yeah, Dorothea was awesome! And she even let her drink her own blood on occasion. The two were practically inseparable, until the whole breakup.” Rebecca continued quietly, Maggie meanwhile snored in the chair next to her. 

      It was hard not to feel sorry for Maggie; Rose didn’t know what was worse, to know love and loss or to never love at all. She wished to know what it felt like, even if it was excruciating. 

      Sitting on the lounge chair with the mojito in her hand, Rose finally decided to just accept the possible consequences and enjoy the beverage. Half way through the drink she felt like she was actually on vacation for the first time. Weirdly enough it was the best mojito she ever had.

      “Dorothea…?” Maggie mumbled to herself as she slept. She was laying face down in the lounge chair. Rose watched the dark haired girl quietly. She found it kind of funny that Maggie blacked out only an hour after her binge. 

      Eventually Maggie rolled over, her swimsuit exposed more than most would be willing to show. Her curves were impossible not to admire, several guys across the pool perked up as she sprawled out in the chair. The tube top bikini seemed moments away from sliding off. 

      The glare once again caught Rose’s attention, she tried get a better look at whatever it was before the entire ship lurched. The motion was sudden and violent, throwing dozens of people to the ground. The ships groans resonated through the wooden beams and the entire spine of the ship seemed to twist with the sudden quake. 

      Only once had Rose ever experienced something close to an actual earthquake. It happened when she was eight years old and visiting family on the west coast. She could vividly remember how terrifying it was. It seemed as if the ceiling was going to collapse on top of her, and created a nightmare that often revisited her dreams. 

      In a flash of light Rose was thrown from her comfortable lounge chair onto the solid oak of the ships deck. The world dipped awkwardly to the side, causing her body to slide toward the pool. The next three seconds of her life was disorienting as she rolled. Just moments before she fell into the pool a hand reached and grabbed her. 

      The taste of copper filled her mouth, she had unknowingly bit her tongue. After the three seconds passed the ship righted itself and steadied. The groaning ceased and was replaced by an eerie silence. Rose was laying face down onto the solid wood, her entire body felt sore.

      “You damn humans are so annoying, you know that?” Maggie’s voice was a groan. Rose looked up to see Maggie was next to her laying on the ground. The same one who had grabbed hold of her had also grabbed onto Maggie. The hand clutched onto her wrist was thin and pale, just like its owner. Rebecca had somehow managed to reach both of them in time, using a mounted table as an anchor for her feet. How she was able to position herself to rescue them, let alone possess the strength to grab hold of each, was a mystery. Her long blonde hair covered her face, the umbrella hat was nowhere to be found.

      “Is everyone ok?” Rebecca grunted, her shoulders were tight and her arms were shaking. It was likely both were strained. Maggie quickly got onto her knees but was still too drunk to stand. Rose didn’t have that problem, she got up slowly. 

      “Oh my god its so coooold!” Kyle screamed. Rose looked over to see he was once again in the pool behind them. He struggled to swim to the side and he wasn’t alone. At least a dozen others were spiraling under the water, soon others jumped in to help get them out. 

      “What just happened?” Rose could feel the uneasy motions of the ship below her, and could just tell something wasn’t right.

      Rebecca’s hand began to shake uncontrollably. The vampires eyes locked onto Rose, her pupils were dilated. Sweat began to drip down her forehead, and her fangs were bared. The sudden tension caused Rose to freeze in alarm, her tongue pulsed in her mouth. A bright drop of crimson trickled through her lips and ran down her chin…right in front of the vampire.