The Divergence

───

Unfortunately...

The seven vampires still had to accompany the police to the station.

Not because they were under arrest.

Nor because anyone believed they had committed a crime.

Rather...

The attack on the blood clinic had been unlike anything law enforcement had ever dealt with before.

There were witness statements to collect, timelines to establish, reports to complete, and information that simply couldn't be gathered beside a parking lot full of evidence markers.

Thankfully, they weren't treated poorly.

Quite the opposite, really.

Every officer who spoke to them was polite, if somewhat nervous.

Even riding in the police cars had been surprisingly uneventful.

When they climbed out in front of the station, Lavinia smoothed her dress and stretched her arms overhead.

"...That was a lot more comfortable than I expected."

Rosaline shut the cruiser door behind herself and looked over.

"I don't think the suspension is what most people dislike."

Lavinia tilted her head.

"No?"

Rosaline grinned.

"For most people, riding in the back of a police car means they did something wrong."

"...Oh."

Lavinia blinked.

"I hadn't considered that."

Valerie snorted softly.

"I don't think any of us did."

The group followed two officers through the station.

The building was brighter than Lavinia expected.

Officers moved steadily through the hallways carrying folders and cups of coffee.

Phones rang somewhere deeper inside the station, printers hummed almost continuously, and conversations drifted from nearby offices.

To vampire ears...

It was almost overwhelming.

Every heartbeat.

Every pair of footsteps.

Every chair scraping against the floor.

Every keyboard clicking.

Every ringing telephone.

The sounds layered over one another endlessly.

Even so...

It wasn't unpleasant.

Just...

Busy.

The officers eventually stopped outside a large meeting room.

One of them opened the door.

"If you'd all wait here for a little while, detectives will come speak with you shortly."

Valerie smiled.

"Of course."

The seven vampires entered.

The room was simple.

A long conference table occupied most of the space, surrounded by padded chairs.

A whiteboard covered one wall, while another held a large clock whose second hand advanced with a soft...

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

Large windows overlooked another section of the station where officers continued working through the night.

Lavinia chose a chair near the middle of the table.

She sat.

Then immediately lowered her head onto the smooth wooden surface.

"..."

She turned her face left.

Then right.

Then looked up toward the clock.

"...Do you think we'll get out in time to go home tonight?"

Adelaide couldn't help giggling.

"Lavinia."

"Hm?"

"We already spent almost three hours at the blood clinic."

Lavinia sighed.

"I know."

"And now we're here."

Adelaide smiled sympathetically.

"I think paperwork moves slower than vampires."

Rosaline nodded solemnly.

"Much slower."

Valerie added, "Possibly slower than glaciers."

Lavinia groaned dramatically.

She buried her face in her folded arms.

"...Without my phone..."

"...Waiting is torture."

Several of the others instinctively glanced toward their own phones.

Valerie was scrolling through news.

Rosaline had somehow already found discussions about the blood clinic online.

Adelaide occasionally replied to messages from her younger brother.

Even Evelyn quietly held her phone with both hands, reading more than interacting.

Only Lavinia...

Had nothing.

Celestine noticed first.

Without saying anything, she quietly shifted her chair a little closer.

Then gently patted Lavinia's shoulder.

"...You'll survive."

Lavinia peeked up from her arms.

"I don't know."

"I believe in you."

That earned a tiny smile.

"...Thank you."

Five minutes passed.

For humans...

Five minutes disappeared quickly.

For vampires...

Who noticed every ticking second of the clock...

Every distant conversation...

Every heartbeat passing the meeting room...

It somehow felt considerably longer.

Lavinia slowly tilted her head backward until she was staring at the ceiling.

"..."

Then she let out another dramatic groan.

"If I'd known we'd be sitting here..."

She turned toward Valerie.

"...I wouldn't have even spoken to those idiots."

Valerie looked up from her phone.

"Oh?"

"I would've just punched each of them once."

Rosaline laughed.

"A more efficient approach."

"It would've saved hours."

Valerie smiled mischievously.

"You should've just dodged."

Lavinia stared.

"...What?"

"The bullets."

"You should've dodged."

"I did dodge."

"Not all of them."

"I couldn't dodge every single one."

Valerie shrugged.

"Skill issue."

Lavinia groaned so loudly that an officer walking past outside briefly looked through the window.

"...You're impossible."

"I've been told."

Gwendolyn suddenly raised one hand enthusiastically.

"I have extra phones."

Lavinia's head immediately snapped toward her.

"You do?"

"Mhm!"

Hope returned to Lavinia's face almost instantly.

"I keep old ones."

"...Really?"

"Several."

Lavinia nearly stood.

"...Can I borrow one?"

Gwendolyn smiled brightly.

"Of course."

A beat passed.

"They're at home."

Lavinia froze.

"..."

"..."

"...Oh."

The hope visibly drained from her face.

Her shoulders slumped.

She slowly lowered herself back into her chair.

Then...

With all the determination of someone making an irreversible decision...

She lowered her forehead onto the table.

Thump.

A tiny, pitiful whimper escaped her.

"..."

Nobody said anything for a few seconds.

Then...

Her breathing gradually slowed.

The subtle rise and fall of her shoulders almost disappeared.

Her body became completely still.

Valerie blinked.

"..."

She leaned slightly closer.

"Lavi?"

No response.

Rosaline looked over.

"...Did she..."

Celestine listened carefully.

"...She's asleep."

Valerie stared for another second.

Then burst into laughter.

"She really chose sleeping over boredom."

Rosaline laughed as well.

"I respect the commitment."

Gwendolyn reached over and gently poked Lavinia's cheek.

Nothing.

"She's really asleep."

Adelaide smiled.

"I suppose if you're going to wait anyway..."

"...Why not?"

The room settled into comfortable quiet.

Well...

As quiet as it could be.

The station itself certainly wasn't.

Even sleeping, Lavinia's ears still registered everything.

The clock continued ticking.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

Phones rang somewhere down the hallway.

Officers answered them.

Printers hummed.

Someone laughed in another room.

A coffee machine hissed.

Doors opened.

Closed.

Footsteps echoed across polished flooring.

Human conversations rose and fell continuously.

For a vampire...

Sleep wasn't truly silent.

Their senses dulled considerably compared to when awake, enough that rest was possible at all, but the world never disappeared completely.

It simply became...

Far away.

Like listening through several closed doors.

Valerie watched Lavinia sleep for another moment before quietly shaking her head.

"...She adapts quickly."

Rosaline smiled.

"Yesterday she was worried about becoming a vampire."

"And today?"

Valerie looked at the peacefully sleeping blonde.

"...Today she's discovered the optimal strategy for surviving paperwork."

Around the table, soft laughter spread once more.

Even Evelyn smiled.

Outside the meeting room window, officers continued walking past, occasionally glancing in.

Most expected to see seven dangerous supernatural beings waiting for questioning.

Instead...

They found six vampires quietly chatting while the seventh slept soundly with her forehead on the conference table, apparently having decided that boredom was a far greater enemy than police paperwork.

Nearly twenty minutes passed before the meeting room door finally opened.

Lavinia remained exactly where she'd fallen asleep.

Forehead resting on the table.

Arms folded beneath her head.

Breathing so faintly it was almost impossible to notice.

The two detectives entering the room paused.

One glanced toward her.

"...Is she..."

Valerie looked up from her phone.

"Sleeping."

"...Oh."

The detective nodded slowly.

"I see."

Neither detective suggested separating the vampires.

After the blood clinic...

Neither of them particularly wanted seven vampires spread throughout the station.

The photographs from the parking lot had already made that decision for them.

Keeping them together seemed considerably safer.

For everyone.

The detectives sat opposite the group.

One opened a folder thick with notes while the other looked around the table.

"Thank you for waiting."

Valerie smiled.

"We didn't have much choice."

Rosaline chuckled quietly.

The detective returned a tired smile.

"I suppose not."

He folded his hands together.

"We've already collected individual statements."

"So these are mostly follow-up questions."

Everyone nodded.

The detective looked down at his notes.

"When your group first arrived at the blood clinic..."

"Did any of you notice anything unusual?"

A brief silence settled over the table.

Then...

Evelyn quietly raised one hand.

The detective looked pleasantly surprised.

"Yes?"

"I..."

She glanced briefly toward the others before looking back.

"There were already cars in the parking lot."

The detective immediately wrote that down.

"How many?"

"...Not many."

"I don't remember exactly."

"Maybe..."

She thought for a moment.

"...A few."

"But..."

She hesitated.

"They could've already been waiting."

The detective looked up.

"Waiting?"

"For vampires."

Silence filled the room.

The detective exchanged a quick glance with his partner.

"...That's useful."

"Thank you."

Evelyn gave a small nod.

Valerie looked at her with obvious surprise.

Evelyn noticed immediately.

"...What?"

Valerie smiled.

"I didn't know you could say that many words all at once."

Evelyn immediately looked away.

A faint blush colored her pale cheeks.

"...Talking to humans..."

She spoke softly.

"...is different."

"Different?"

Evelyn nodded.

"I..."

"It's easier."

"...No."

She shook her head.

"It's harder."

"Talking to you all is easy."

"But talking to humans..."

She searched for the right words.

"...takes more thinking."

Valerie's smile softened.

"I know what you mean."

Across the table, Celestine gave a single firm nod.

Then she quietly reached over and brushed a few strands of golden hair away from Lavinia's face.

The sleeping vampire didn't react.

One detective looked over.

"...Is everything alright with her?"

Valerie glanced toward Lavinia.

"Oh."

"She's fine."

"Just..."

She shrugged.

"...Bored."

The detective blinked.

"...She's asleep because she was bored?"

"Mhm."

"She lost her phone."

Rosaline added helpfully,

"It was tragic."

The detective wasn't entirely sure whether they were joking.

Looking at Lavinia...

It genuinely appeared they weren't.

The room settled once more.

The detective turned another page.

"Miss Evelyn."

She looked up.

"I'd like to thank you."

She blinked.

"...For what?"

"The receptionist."

"The attending nurse's statement matches what you've all told us."

"You saved her life."

Evelyn looked down at her hands resting quietly in her lap.

"...I just did..."

"...what I thought I should."

The detective smiled gently.

"Regardless."

"Thank you."

Evelyn gave a tiny nod.

"...You're welcome."

The second detective finally spoke.

"We've also begun identifying everyone involved in the attack."

He sighed quietly.

"Unfortunately..."

"The deceased obviously can't answer questions."

"And those transported to the hospital..."

He glanced at another report.

"...are generally in critical condition."

"Those who are conscious aren't currently fit for lengthy interviews."

Silence followed.

The detective looked across the table.

Almost unconsciously...

He seemed to be waiting for a reaction.

Regret.

Satisfaction.

Anger.

Anything.

Instead...

The vampires remained remarkably calm.

Adelaide was the first to speak.

She met the detective's gaze with her smooth crimson eyes.

"...I'm sorry."

The detective looked slightly surprised.

"The night turned out this way."

She spoke evenly.

Not apologizing for defending herself.

Simply acknowledging what had happened.

Then she lifted one hand and pointed toward the sleeping Lavinia.

The detectives looked over.

She still hadn't moved.

Not even slightly.

For someone unfamiliar with vampires...

She almost looked dead.

Adelaide continued calmly.

"She gave them the opportunity to stop."

"She asked them to put their weapons down."

"They refused."

The room fell quiet again.

The detective slowly nodded.

"We're aware."

"The evidence supports that."

Rosaline stretched lazily in her chair.

Her dress shifted slightly before settling again.

Compared to human clothing, even the movement looked remarkably modest.

She laughed lightly.

"...We can't really help it if stupid people do stupid things."

Valerie snorted.

"That's one way to summarize it."

The detective couldn't really argue.

Several automatic rifles.

A blood clinic.

Government employees.

Police reports.

Even without speaking to the vampires...

The sequence of events had become fairly clear.

He continued asking questions.

Mostly small details.

What time had they arrived?

Who entered first?

Which room had each vampire used?

Had they noticed anyone watching the clinic beforehand?

None of the questions lasted very long.

Each vampire answered honestly.

Sometimes briefly.

Sometimes with surprising detail.

Eventually...

The detective closed the folder.

"I believe that's everything."

He looked around the table.

"You've all been very cooperative."

Valerie smiled.

"We try."

He stood.

"So do we."

His partner gathered the remaining paperwork.

"We may need to contact some of you again if additional questions arise."

Gwendolyn raised a hand.

"...Does that mean we're finished?"

"For tonight?"

"Yes."

Gwendolyn brightened immediately.

"Wonderful."

The detectives both stood.

Before leaving, the older detective hesitated.

He looked once more around the table.

Seven vampires.

One asleep.

Six quietly waiting.

Nothing about the scene matched what he'd expected after seeing the devastation at the blood clinic.

He'd expected monsters.

Instead...

He'd found seven women discussing broken phones, teasing one another, worrying about a receptionist, and complaining about paperwork.

He wasn't naïve enough to forget the bodies outside the clinic.

Nor the violence they'd been capable of.

But...

He also couldn't ignore that every piece of evidence suggested the same conclusion.

They had not started the fight.

He inclined his head politely.

"...Thank you."

Valerie returned the gesture with an easy smile.

The detectives left.

The meeting room door clicked softly shut behind them.

Silence lingered for several seconds.

Then...

Lavinia's voice drifted across the table without her lifting her head.

"...Are they gone?"

Every vampire turned toward her.

Valerie blinked.

"...You were awake?"

Lavinia opened one crimson eye.

"I woke up when they thanked Evelyn."

"You didn't think to participate?"

"I was comfortable."

Rosaline burst into laughter.

"You let us think you slept through the whole interview!"

Lavinia finally lifted her head.

She stretched slowly before smiling.

"I was bored."

"I figured pretending to sleep was less rude than complaining."

Valerie covered her face with one hand.

"...Lavi."

"What?"

"You are unbelievable."

Lavinia tilted her head innocently.

"They finished, didn't they?"

No one had a response to that.

Even Adelaide couldn't suppress a quiet laugh.