Olivia sighed. Should she tackle this impossible task? How could she help her friends on BloodDark as well as friends and family here on Earth?
Her mother's voice drifted through her bedroom door. "Olivia! Come downstairs and see who's on the local news at ten!"
Does anyone other than my parents' generation even watch the local news anymore? She put Annara's letter on the desk and slunk down the steps, silently slipping into the living room to sit next to her mother on the sofa. An irritating commercial for an area car dealership played.
"You want to buy me a new car?" Olivia asked with a questioning grin.
Moira laughed. "No, baby, we can't afford it. It's the story coming up after the break I want you to see. I hadn't really believed Jace's mother when she told me about it a while back, but it's definitely more serious than anyone thought. Oh, here it is now."
"A local woman will be among the first group of ordinary people—neither government officials nor scientists—to receive visas to travel and actually resettle on the planet of BloodDark," the perky blond anchorwoman announced with mock gravity. "Lauren Petrowski is packing her bags and readying herself for transport via the molecular projection device called The Portal. Our reporter Chip Block is live at her home with an exclusive interview. Chip?"
The scene switched from the studios to a familiar living room. "To say Lauren Petrowski isn't excited would be an understatement, Ashley," the skinny, fresh-faced reporter began. "You can almost taste her enthusiasm, but once she gets a bite of life on the alien world, will she want to stay longer?"
Olivia groaned and screwed her eyes shut, not wanting to see or hear any more. Journalists had been advised by United Nations early on not to use the words vampires or bloodsuckers and to avoid any allusions to the Pure Bloods' use of human genetic material to improve their life spans, but puns were bound to happen. The tabloid press, blogs and talk shows didn't adhere to these guidelines at all, of course. In fact, people like Lauren relished calling their potential mate vampires and themselves vampire-lovers. The shock and disapproval of their family and friends made them appear all the more daring.
"I see you are packing a lot of dark clothing, Lauren. Can you tell us why?"
Olivia opened one eye. Jace's oldest half-sister had gone completely Goth in her style. Her boot-black hair coloring and black lipstick and heavy eyeliner said it all. Why did they ever bring that horrible Sylvia Moffat woman back to Earth with them? Her salacious memoir of being a Pure Blood's lover had caused nothing but trouble. They were even making a movie about it with a big all-star cast. Obviously, humanity's poor taste in literature and film hadn't improved during her time on BloodDark.
"We wear black because this symbolizes our willingness to unite with the dark side of the planet," Lauren replied, absentmindedly fiddling with her multitude of ear studs, chains, nose and lip rings. "We want to become immortals and live side-by-side with our immortal lovers in the darkness."
"What about Ms. Moffat's assertion in her book that eventually Pure Bloods cast their human partners aside for... fresh blood?"
Good! Olivia approved of how Chip the Cub Reporter challenged Lauren's fantasy. One good thing about the memoir was how Sylvia acknowledged the reason why she'd returned to Earth—because she had been dumped by her vampire lover when a younger replacement had come along. All was not eternally rosy in a Pure Blood/human pairing. Long-lived species grew bored and tired of their aging pets, replacing them as easily as some heartless types dumped perpetually barking dogs by the side of the road.
Lauren's lower lip quivered. "They would never cast us aside—they need us."
Olivia sighed. Lauren's false bravado didn't convince anyone. Was Lauren herself even convinced of the truth of her words? Maybe the need to be loved and wanted was so strong it didn't really matter who you pinned all your hopes to in order provide it?
Olivia sat with her mother for a few more minutes until the awkward interview came to an end. Her mother clicked off the flatscreen. "I've never been so happy to have you back home and away from that evil world and its people as I do after watching this TV report."
"Not all the people on BloodDark are evil, Mom," Olivia protested. "I hope you're not including my friends who helped me escape—Valori and Annara and Caveman. You'd better not be including Hernando."
"Of course not, baby." Moira patted Olivia's knee and smiled. "I'm sure there are quite a few good apples in the lot, but they're not going to be enough to save the entire degenerate culture. You forget I read the entire thousand page U.N. report on BloodDark published after your... debriefing period. I harbor no illusions about those vamp—Pure Bloods. They are about as base as they come. Why else had they been hiding out for thousands of years instead of traveling the universe with their technology? Why else kidnap other beings to alter their own D.N.A. so they could mask themselves from their enemies?"
Olivia shrugged. "Maybe it's just how they ask for help?"
"Funny way of asking." Her mother shook her head. "I think most people—Earth people— are convinced these Pure Bloods purposefully wanted to terrorize our planet over the centuries. By creating myths about vampires and other creatures which prowl the night, they could condition us never to leave home, never to become their rivals, but their own laziness and arrogance caught up with them. Of course, they'd never run into anyone as brave and smart as my little girl before now." Moira pulled
