It was a calm night, with only a slight breeze to ruffle the leaves on the tree branches high above my head. The moon was almost full as it hung over the mountains in the east like a giant, silver eye, so bright and watchful. The stars were little pinpricks of white fire in the night sky, dimmed by the moonlight, yet still quite visible. The ground below me was covered with a thick carpet of dark green grass. The air was lightly scented with the sweet aroma of flowers from my mother's garden, and lying next to me was my best and rather talkative friend, Jake.
Now let me just say one quick thing: Jake has an obsession with vampires. A major obsession. Movies, books, TV shows, he loved them all as long as there are vampires involved. He could quote any line from Buffy and had read "Dracula" so many times that he knew it by heart.
And tonight he had found a new vampire thing to obsess about. A new show about vampires had premiered earlier in the evening, and the moment it was over Jake had rushed over to my house to give me a play-by-play. So for the past hour I had been lying outside on the lawn listening to Jake ramble on and on about the show. I caught a few things he said, like that the vampires in the show dont burst into flames in the sunlight, but I managed to tune him out for the most part. Don't get me wrong, I care very dearly for my best friend, but sometimes his fascination with the undead gets to be a little much for me.
So, as Jake talked about the show I spent the time gazing at the stars, picking out different constellations. Occasionally I would add a comment to what ever vampire related subject Jake was talking about at the time, but mostly I just stared at the stars. Jake didn't seem to mind this.either that or he didn't notice. I was betting on the latter. Whenever Jake gets to talking about vampires he stops noticing most other things.
"Well, I'd better be going home," Jake finally said, snapping me out of my uninterested state, "It is getting kinda late after all."
I shifted my gaze from the stars to his face, amazed to hear him say something not related to vampires.
"Oh....yeah, I guess it is getting late,"I said as I looked at my watch. It read 9:45, which meant we had been out here for nearly an hour. It sure had felt longer then that though.
"Have a good night Katie," Jake said. Then he jumped up in an awesome, matrix style move, not using his hands at all. Jake had started taking Judo lessons about a month ago and that was one of the first things he had learned. He had tried to show me how to do it but whenever I attempted it I just looked like an idiot.
"Show off," I muttered under my breath, slightly envious that I couldn't do that.
Jake apparently heard that because he grinned down at me. "You know, you could learn to do that too if you joined my Judo class. It's a lot of fun, and the other people in the class are really nice," he said with enthusiasm.
I had heard this many times before, and I always answered the same way. "It's not my thing, Jake."
Jake let out a sigh and looked down at me again. At almost 6', he towered over me even when I was standing, so from my spot on the grass he looked like a giant. Yet he never seemed imposing or threatening to me. I guess that was because I had grown up with him, and I knew how nice and sweet he was. He was like a brother to me.
"Enjoy your stargazing," he said, "And I'm sorry I bored you with my commentary on the vampire show."
I suddenly felt bad that I hadn't been paying closer attention to Jake earlier. I didn't think Jake had picked up on the fact that he had been boring me, but it seemed he had.
"It didn't bore me! It wasumm..interesting!" I said, hoping that Jake wouldn't be able to tell I was lying.
In the moonlight, I saw an amused grin spread across Jake's face, and I knew I had been caught. "Come on Katie, we have been friends for how long? 8 years? I think I can tell when you are bored, or lying, for that matter."
So much for my hoping I'd be able to get away with my lie. Darn him for knowing me so well!
"But," he continued, still grinning, "Thanks for trying to make me feel better about it."
"That's not what I was trying to do!" I denied, once again lying through my teeth. "And don't call me Katie'! It's Kate." I had never like being called Katie, and almost everyone respected that. Jake was the only one that was brave enough to tease me with that name.
Jake just grinned. "Sure."
I glared at him. "Good night," I said looking up at his tall, shadowed figure from my place on the cool grass, "And don't let any vampires attack you on the way home."
Jake laughed a little at that remark and smiled again. "I'll be careful, I swear. But remember Katie, there's no such thing as vampires," he said with a wink before he turned and walked away. I was glad that even though Jake was obsessed with vampires, he never truly believed they were real.
I closed my eyes and listened to Jakes footfalls until they became too soft to hear, then I returned to my stargazing. For as long as I can remember I have always liked gazing the stars and the moon, especially the full moon. I could pick out many different constellations, from Orion to Draco.
It was so peaceful lying there under the stars, surrounded by almost complete silence. I enjoyed the quiet after the last hour of hearing about vampires. Seriously, how can someone talk about vampires for hours on end? I dont know how Jake does it.
I heard a noise off to my right, so I tore my eyes away from the stars and looked towards the direction the sound came from. In the darkness I could make out the shape of a small animal, one of our cats most likely. I called to it and sure enough, Natalya, my cat came running over to me, hoping for attention. I complied by sitting up and petting her soft, black and white coat. She had an almost all black face except one eye which was surrounded by white. Her paws looked like they had been dipped in white paint. She rolled over on her back and purred as I petted her belly.
After a minute or so Natalya got bored of being petted so she stood up and walked off, leaving me, once again, sitting by myself on the grass.
I yawned and figured it was time to go in so I lifted myself off the ground and started towards the house. I'd only taken a few steps when something out in the field caught my eye. I walked over to the fence to get a better look at whatever was out there.
The thing was the same height as the bushes but it was much darker than the surrounding vegetation so it had caught my eye. At first I thought it was probably just an animal, one of our neighbor's dogs or something. But the thing seemed to be immobile so I quickly abandoned that train of thought.
The play it safe side of my brain said to just leave the thing out there and look at it in the morning. The curious side of my brain said 'What's the worse that could happen if you looked at it right now?' Guess what? The curious side won, so I hopped the fence and started walking towards the dark shape.
The thing wasn't too far from the fence, maybe 20 feet at most, so it wasn't that much of a walk. The moon gave off plenty of light so I could see where I was going and not trip over anything. I stopped within a few feet of the dark shape so I could examine it before approaching. It was still motionless, exactly how it had been when I first saw it.
After a moment I decided that it was most likely harmless, so I stepped closer, almost close enough that I could reach out and touch it.
Suddenly, a small, dark shadow shot out from under the thing and ran right past me. It startled me so much that I jumped back, ungracefully tripped over my feet and ended up falling on my butt. Only after I was on the ground did I realize that the little shadow had only been a rabbit. I scolded myself for being frightened so easily, then got up and brushed the dirt off my pants. "Damn rabbit," I muttered under my breath.
The mysterious object was still there, dark and unmoving. I reached out to touch it and found that, to my surprise, it was cloth-like in texture. Quite puzzled, I picked the cloth up off the sagebrush to inspect it.
It was thicker and heavier than I had anticipated, more like an article of clothing then just a simple piece of fabric. I lifted it up a little higher, examining it closely in the moonlight. A glint of silver near my hand caught my eye. I brushed my thumb over it and felt cool metal against my skin. I brought it closer to my face to analyze the item better. It was a round silver clasp with an intricate Celtic knot engraved on the top. It seemed to be holding two pieces of the fabric together. I looked the cloth up and down once again and realized that I was holding a cape. "What the hell?" I muttered, very stunned as I came to that conclusion.
Instinctively, I glanced around, looking for who ever had left the cape in such an odd place. I wasnt really surprised when I didn't see anyone, after all it was kind of late and the lights at all my neighbors house's were out. Besides, who, in this day and age, owns a cape? Much less a very well made one from the feel of it.
Then it hit me. Jake. He had to be the one behind this; it was probably his idea of a joke. He must have hidden the cape outside the fence and then retrieved it and placed it where I would see it after he had left. It was a little far fetched, but what other explanation was there? I knew from past experiences that Jake could be rather quiet and sneaky when he wanted to be, so he easily could have pulled this off without me hearing him.
I suddenly felt like I was being watched. I shivered involuntarily, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I forced myself to be calm as I looked around; searching for what was watching me. The moon was bright over the mountains and made the sagebrush cast long shadows on the ground. The effect was very beautiful and yet, at the same time, slightly eerie.
I saw nothing watching me, but a few high clouds were starting to drift in front moon, dimming the light, so I figured it was time to go in. I folded the cape over my arm and started to weave my way through the sagebrush and back to the fence. On the way back I made a mental note to pay back Jake for his stupid joke sometime in the near future.
I was a few scant feet from the fence when I heard a sound behind me. I stilled and listened for a second before turning around to face the opposite direction. I looked around quickly but again I saw nothing there. Odd, I thought as I spun back around towards the fence.
Soon as I turned around I smacked into something hard and unmoving. I quickly jerked my head up to see what I had run into. Standing there in front of me was a man dressed all in black.
Before I could react, his hand shot out like lightning, so fast I didn't even see it. He squeezed my neck so tight I couldn't scream, couldn't even breathe. I felt his fingers digging into my skin like a vice, slowly choking the life out of me. I attempted to struggle, to punch or kick, anything to get him to release me, but I couldnt, no matter how hard I tried. It was as if my body had turned to stone. A humorless smirk spread across his face, as if he knew how hard I was trying to break free from his grasp. I got the disturbing feeling that somehow he did know.
Using the hand that was crushing my throat; he tilted my head up and forced me to look at him. The first thing I noticed about him was that his skin seemed to glow dully in the moonlight. That awful grin had vanished from his face and was now replaced by straight, thin lips that looked like they had never seen even a hint of a true smile before. He was rather tall with high cheek bones, a narrow nose, and wide forehead.
But it was his dark, empty eyes that caught my gaze, drawing me in and trapping me there. They were like bottomless pits of darkness, and once you fell in you could never get out. I found myself unable to look away from those ominous black eyes, unable to do anything other than helplessly stare straight into them.
Very slowly, he lowered his head until I could feel his hot breath on the tender skin of my neck. Then, with the hand that was choking me, he twisted my head to the side and sank his teeth -- no, fangs into my neck.
A cloudy thought entered my mind: Vampire!
Oddly, did not hurt as much as I though it was should have. I blamed it on the fact that I was in shock and suffering from lack of oxygen.
I could feel my warm blood running into his month and the thought made me feel extremely nauseous. I'm not one that is normally squeamish around blood, but the thought of drinking it is just plain sickening.
He started to slowly pull away from my neck, but then stopped, as if having second thought, and ran his tongue over the twin wounds he had made in my flesh. I would have shuttered in revulsion had I been in control of my body, but even as that thought crossed my mind I felt the pain fading, the wounds closing.
He pulled completely away from my neck and again my eyes were drawn into his. This time instead of being completely black they were laced with red. His hand loosed its grip on my neck just enough for me so suck in a life-giving breath of air. Suddenly, a sharp needle pricked my upper arm and I felt a foreign liquid start to flow into my bloodstream.
At first it felt like getting a shot at the doctors, a slight pain as fluid was forced into your veins. But then it started to burn and agony like I had never experienced before racked my body, making me want to curl up and die. But my body was still not my own, and I could do nothing but mentally scream as every blood vessel in my body felt like it had lava running through it. My internal organs were on fire and my blood felt like it was going to boil if it got any hotter.
After what felt like hours, but was probably no more than a minute, the pain started to recede and I felt my body begin to regain its ability to move. I struggled weakly as darkness clouded my vision but once again my eyes were drawn into the vampire's red laced, black orbs and my resistance cease involuntarily. His eyes were still dark, empty pits, but there seemed to be a glimmer of emotion in them now, though what emotion that was I didn't know.
My vision was almost completely black when the vampire released my throat. I felt myself start to fall backwards but I was unconscious before I hit the ground.
When consciousness returned, my mind felt cloudy and disoriented, like I was encircled in a thick fog. Gradually, the fog in my head cleared and I suddenly remembered why I had been unconscious. My eyes snapped open and my arms and legs moved in a quick, flailing motion. It was only after my fists hit soft grass that I realized I was no longer being held captive by the vampire. In fact, as I looked around, I realized I was back on the lawn in my mother's garden, in the very same place where I had been listening to Jake earlier. My eyes darted around quickly, looking for my attacker.
A flicker of movement off to my right caught my eye and I flinched. I was on my feet in a flash, adrenaline being pumped through my veins by the rapid beat of my heart. Two choices appeared in my mind. Fight or run. Call me a coward if you want, but when it came to danger, I had always been one to pick flight over fight any day.
But before I could make my escape, my eyes focused on the movement and I saw that it was just my cat, Natalya. I let out a small sigh of relief that it wasn't my blood drinking assailant, but then looked around again, still very frightened that he might be near. As I scanned the surrounding area, one hand moved up to my neck seemingly on its own accord. I felt around for the wounds from where the vampire had bitten me but discovered nothing. No holes. No sticky blood. Nothing. Just the smooth skin of my neck.
I took in a few shaky breaths, willed my rapid beating heart to slow, and attempted to focus on reality. Vampires aren't real, I chanted to myself, trying to think clearly through the panic in my mind, vampires aren't real.
A quick, desperate thought flashed through my head. Was it just a dream? At first, I latched onto that single thought simply to keep my sanity, but the more I thought about it, what proof did I have that it was real? That it wasn't just a figment of my imagination? I had woken up on the lawn right where I was when Jake had left and there was no blood or wounds on my neck. What other evidence did I have?
Wait! I had jumped over the fence to go look at the cape. That meant I would have left footprints in the dirt. But there would be no footprints if it was just something I had dreamt.
I tensely walked over to the fence, silently praying that it was all just a dream, praying that I had never seen the cape, that I hadn't been attacked by a vampire. I wasn't really the kind of person who believed in supernatural things like vampires. But it had seemed so real, more real then any other dream I had ever had. I remembered everything so clearly. The suffocating feeling of his hand clamped around my neck, the dull pain as his fangs pierced my skin, and those black, empty eyes that could trap you in them forever. I shuttered just thinking about those eyes.
When I got to the fence I couldn't help myself but to first look out at the sagebrush apprehensively. No matter how many times I told myself vampires are just things of fiction, I was still wary, and, as much as I didn't want to admit it, afraid. My only consolation was that I am sure almost everyone is afraid of vampires. And those that aren't afraid are crazy; you'd have to be not to fear such a creature.
I carefully scanned the dirt on the opposite side of the fence, looking for footprints, or as I was deeply hoping, lack there of.
The moonlit ground was dotted with a few clumps of grass and some twigs. But, to my intense relief, it was free of any footprints. I let out a shaky breath as relief washed through me. It was just a dream.
I immediately felt extremely stupid for thinking that it could have been anything but that. After all, being attacked by a vampire is pretty absurd considering that they aren't real!
I shook my head in frustration, most of it directed at myself, but with a small amount aimed at Jake. Him and his vampire TV shows! I guess my subconscious had picked up on more of his story than I'd have liked and decided to conjure up a nightmare about one of the undead monsters.
Sometimes I really hate my subconscious.
With all that settled, I made my way back to the house. My parents were in bed already but had left the porch light on for me.
I shuffled into the house and removed my shoes before making my way to the bathroom. I grabbed a hairbrush off the counter, removed my hair tie, and proceeded to comb out my tangled, blond hair. I flipped my hair over one shoulder, and before I could stop myself, snuck a quick glance at the mirror to examine my neck. It looked just like it always did. And it was free of any blood or wounds. I thought I had convinced myself it was all just a dream, but I guess some small part of me needed visual proof to be sure. But even with that, my memory of the nightmare refused to fade even a little bit. I hoped a good night's sleep would fix that.
I finished combing out my hair, brushed my teeth, and headed for bed, hopeful that I would sleep dream free.
The next morning was pretty much the same as always. I rolled out of bed after numerous swipes at my alarm clock and grumbled as I got dressed in my usual attire of jeans and a T-shirt. I pulled my hair up in a pony tail before leaving my room.
"Good morning, honey," my mom greeted me cheerfully as I shuffled into the kitchen for some breakfast. She held a coffee cup in one hand.
I resemble my mother in a few ways. We both have blond hair, though mine is a little longer and slightly lighter in color. We share the same plain, but pretty face and neither of us wear much makeup, finding it to time-consuming. She's taller than I am by a few inches and has blue eyes compared to my green ones.
"Morning," I said, still sounding sleepy.
"Stayed up late again, didn't you?" she asked as I poured some cereal and milk into a bowl.
"It wasn't my fault," I told her. "It was Jake. He kept going on and on about some new vampire show." I shook my head before taking my bowl to the large oak table and sitting down. The kitchen, like the rest of the house, was done in wood. The ceiling was dark pine; the cabinets were red laced aspen. The walls were a warm off white. I rather liked the different wood tones of the house; it gave off a cozy feeling.
"That sounds like Jake," my mother said with a small laugh.
I nodded in agreement before continuing. "He's not allowed to say anything about vampires to me anymore. After he left, I fell asleep on the lawn and had the worst nightmare about a vampire."
And what a nightmare it had been. My dreams always faded rather fast, but this one was still clear as it had been the previous night; lurking in the shadows of my mind. No matter how rational I tired to be about it, it still lingered. I attempted to block it out by focusing on my food.
I gestured animatedly with my spoon, "I don't care if he thinks they are cool, I don't want more nightmares about them."
"Good luck with that." she said, not sounding very optimistic. I couldn't blame her. Telling Jake not to talk about vampires was like telling the sun not to shine.
It was then that I noticed my mother was fully dressed of work, and seemed ready to leave at any moment. She works for the Game & Fish department as a wild animal veterinarian. My dad works for the Game & Fish department also, as an animal control officer.
"Going to work early today?" I questioned through spoonfuls of cereal.
She took a sip of coffee and nodded, "Got a call this morning that a bear was in someone's back yard. Your dad headed out right away to take care of it but he called me twenty minutes ago and said the bear was up a tree. I have to go help him with it."
"Have fun with that," I said, my voice lacking any enthusiasm. There are two ways to get a bear down from a tree. One is to wait for it to climb down itself. The other is to shoot it with a tranquilizer dart. My parents would be doing the latter. And a tranquilized bear isnt much fun to deal with.
"Will do," she said sarcastically before continuing. "I'm not sure when your dad and I will be back, it might be late."
"Oh! Wild party!" I teased. My mom just shook her head. Of course she knew there wouldn't be any wild party going on while they were gone. People are needed for a party, and my roster of friends is quite slim. I don't like parties anyway, too many people and too much noise. Give me a book and some quiet any day over a party.
My mom rinsed out her cup in the sink before wishing me a good day and heading out the door.
"Oh! Kate," I heard my mom call from the doorway, "do you think you could mow the lawn today while we're gone?"
I grimaced. I hated mowing the lawn; it was always such a shame to cut the lush, green grass. But my mother didn't like the lawn to look scruffy.
"Sure," I called out after a moment.
"Thanks Kate," was the reply I got before the door closed. A few seconds later, I heard my mom's truck pull out of the driveway.
I finished my cereal and took the bowl to the sink before making my way back to my room. First, I figured I would call Jake and grumble at him about the nightmare thing. Then, maybe I would pick a nice book from my bookshelf and curl up in my beanbag chair to read for awhile, anything to get my mind off the dream that was still plaguing my thoughts.
Jake's answering machine picked up on the seventh ring. I looked out my bedroom window towards his house while I listened to the computerized, please-leave-a-message-after-the-beep, voice. No one was home; both his parents' cars were gone. I left a short message asking Jake to call me when he got home and then hung up the phone.
That done, I made my way to the floor-to-ceiling bookshelf that occupied half of the north wall in my room. I guess I'm a bit of a bookworm. I quickly selected a large novel that I hoped would keep my mind occupied for at least a few hours. I toed my beanbag chair across the floor until it rested in the middle of a sunbeam, sat down, and began to read.
Even though the book was a good one, twenty minutes later, my mind was still focused on the dream from the night before. With an irritated sigh, I set the book on the floor and got up. I looked around my room aimlessly until my gaze settled on a stack of DVDs sitting next to my television.
I picked one randomly and stuck it in my DVD player. Grabbing the remote, I settled once again into the chair on the floor.
The movie did the trick; it whisked me away to another world and shoved the nightmare to the back of my consciousness, at least for a couple hours.
When the movie ended, my parents still were not home. I wasn't really surprised because it was only noon and my mom said it might be late when they got back. Still, I figured I'd better play it safe and mow the lawn right away.
The sun was bright and warm; the sky dotted with fluffy clouds as I stepped outside. The mower started up on the second pull thanks to my dad who always kept it in good, running order. Our lawn wasn't too large and I had it mowed in no time at all. Still, it was depressing to cut away the lush, cushioning grass, even if it looked unkempt.
I had just turned off the machine and was starting to push it back towards the garage when I was suddenly got the idea to look over the fence. Maybe if I saw that nothing was there in the daylight then I could finally put the stupid dream from my mind.
I left the mower in the center of the now trimmed lawn and trudged over to the wooden fence. First, I gazed out over the sagebrush, trying to pinpoint were I had seen the cape in my dream. Unable to do that, I swept my eyes over the dry dirt outside the yard. Again, there was nothing but sparse grasses and twigs.
The hot sun had beat down on my back the whole time I was mowing and a slight sheen of sweat had formed on my skin. I leaned heavily on the fence, suddenly feeling extremely drained. I shook my head in an attempt to clear the lethargy and pushed away from the fence. I returned the mower to its spot in the garage and headed back to the house.
Once in my room, I collapsed on my bed, succumbing to the intense, unknown fatigue that was racking my body.
When I awoke it was nearly sundown. The sky outside my window was no longer bright azure. Instead, it melted from light blue to yellow as it dipped towards the horizon.
I stumbled out of my room, feeling refreshed but not fully awake. The house was empty, dark. My parents were still gone. I was surprised I had slept for so long; it hadn't even been one oclock when I'd crashed onto my bed from the sudden bout of exhaustion.
I need to drink more water, I told myself. That heat stroke came without much warning. I was in fairly good shape, definitely good enough that twenty minutes in the sun wouldn't fatigue me to the point of collapse. I tried to think back over the last few days and determine whether or not I had been drinking enough water, but it was a wasted effort. My memory has never been good, and anything as habitual as drinking was quickly forgotten.
Determined not to fall victim to the heat of the sun again, I walked to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water and added a few ice cubes. I leaned against the dark green counter and took a small sip. The crisp coolness cleared the lingering remnants of sleep from my head awake in an instant.
I turned my head towards the refrigerator when it started humming. It made me realize that I had only eaten one meal today. I should be hungry, but I wasn't. Probably a side-affect of the long nap. I was sure by dinnertime I would be ravenous.
I drained the glass of water, refilled it, and made my way to the front porch. It looked towards the west, and I caught sight of a sliver of liquid gold before the sun completely disappeared, leaving behind a brilliant canvas of pink, yellow, orange, and red painted across the sky. I found myself strangely nervous, as if some part of me was dreading the coming darkness. But how could such a spectacular sunset be a prelude to anything bad? I continued to watch as a violet tint slowly crept downward from the sky, engulfing the brighter colors.
I heard the phone ring in the house and I turned automatically. I'd just closed the door when I noted an odd crawling sensation in my chest, deep under the skin. At first it felt almost like a case of butterflies, only a little higher than they should be. The sensation quickly spread to the rest of my body, becoming more intense with each passing second.
I looked down at my arms, half expecting to see thousands of tiny bugs swarming over them. There was nothing; but the sensation was getting stronger by the second. I panicked. My breath hitched up a notch and I stumbled quicker towards the phone. If I could just answer it, then maybe someone, anyone, could help me. But the feeling had become so strong I couldnt even move. It felt like the only way to ease the crawling under my skin would be to rend and tear until all that was left was bone. Thankfully, I wasn't so out of it that I couldn't defy that instinct. It was hard to resist though; I clenched my fists with enough force that my nails drew blood. The tinkle of broken glass reached my ears as my cup hit the floor, shattering.
What was happening to me?
Focusing all my energy on my next action, I took a small step forward. The house spun in front of my eyes and I staggered, slamming my eyes shut, hands reaching out to catch myself as the wood floor came rushing up at me. I hit hard, my palms smearing blood across the smooth surface. In the background the phone became quiet as the answering machine picked up.
Everything was suddenly so sharp, so detailed, like I was looking at the whole room under a microscope, everything close and defined, all at once. It had been too much for my mind to handle. There were so many things to look at: the swirl of different grains in the floor and ceiling, the multitude of magnets and pictures on the refrigerator. I was even able to see each distinct line on a single leaf in the bouquet of flowers that decorated the table.
My eyes had tried with little success to take it all in at once, overloading my brain with visual impulses. Even with my eyes closed my head still spun from the shock.
I drew in a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself. The cool floor against my cheek helped, reminding me where I was. I was in my house. I was safe. Soon my parents would be home; they would know what to do. Nothing would happen to me here. Everything would be okay.
At least that's what I told myself. I wasn't sure if I believed it or not.
The crawling now seemed to be not just in my flesh, but my bones as well. It almost felt like I was being eaten from the inside out.
What the hell was happening to me!? I wondered, fuming, anger now accompanying the fear I already felt.
Vampire. An insidious voice whispered from the shadowy corners in my head. It came from the same shadows where my nightmare had been crouched all day, waiting. Nowwith my mind scattered and unfocusedit jumped forward, gleeful to be free. Free to taunt me with images I didn't want to glimpse ever again: My attacker's empty eyes, pitch black at first, and then later, laced with red; his skin, glowing ominously in the moonlight.
I shook my head in denial, causing it to spin once more. No! Vampires aren't real! Jake even said so. They aren't real! I said the last part out loud, and the noise was deafening to my ears.
The voice whispered again. Then what about the one that attacked you?
A dream! It was just a dream. A nightmare. Not real. It couldnt be real, there were no foot prints, no evidence. But even as I said that, the nightmare taunted me, this time not with just images, but feelings as well: Knowledge that my life was in the hands of some unknown stranger. Intense fear when I realized I was trapped, frozen, in his grasp. Panic as my lungs burned for air. Revulsion as he ran his tongue over the wounds in my neck.
Evidence is easy to destroy, the voice said simply.
I wanted to shake my head again to deny that, but I remembered the pain that action had caused before. I focused on toning out the voice instead, refusing to listen and tried to be rational. There was always a rational explanation for things.
Maybe I had a brain tumor. It wasn't a comforting idea, but it was better than what the voice was trying to tell me. That would explain everything too: the crawling sensation under my skin, the sinister voice in my head, the severe dizziness. Maybe even the odd nightmare.
But all thoughts of tumors were washed from my mind as a wave of nausea rolled through me. It was quickly followed by an excruciating, torturous hunger that gripped my stomach. I cried out in agony, unable to hold the sound in. I scratched and clawed at the floor, trying to crawl away from the pain like a wounded animal. More streaks of blood marked the wood.
The sound of pounding thunder rocked my ears, increasing the agony. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew it couldn't truly be thunder I was hearing for the sky had been clear only minutes ago. At least, I thought so. I wasn't quite sure how long I'd been lying on the kitchen floor.
The thunderous roar stopped abruptly, and the relief I felt was instantaneous. But that relief didn't last long.
"Katie?"
It sounded like someone had yelled in my ear with a megaphone. I struggled to respond, but the only sound I could make was an unintelligible mumble laced with pain.
"Oh God! Katie!" The voice was closer and much, much louder. I tried to cover my ears.
"Katie? What's wrong?"
Through the agony the noise caused in my brain, I recognized the worried voice as Jake's. It was then, as I took in another gasp of air, that I realized the thunder was back. It was different this time though, quieter but rapid. Rhythmic. Some foreign part of me seemed to follow the sound intently, like a predator stalking prey, and the hunger that had me pinned to the ground increased. I raised my head to look at Jake, slowly opening my eyes. Once again the world spun around me, but I found if focused I could make out Jake hovering over me, an extremely anxious expression on his face.
My head spun faster from the hunger assaulting me and the rhythmic thump-thump of thunder was pounding like a drum in my ears, drowning out every other noise around me. His mouth was moving so I knew Jake was talking but I couldn't hear anything but the thunder as my vision narrowed to the pulse beating on his neck. There was a sharp pain in my gums and my tongue rubbed welcomingly against the unfamiliar objects that had invaded my mouth. The image of a vampire with glowing red eyes and fangs popped into my head. I was pretty sure I resembled that right then.
The hunger I felt jumped from agonizing to unbearable and the next thing I knew Jake was on the ground with me on top of him, my fangs digging into the soft flesh of his neck. Jake lie completely still under me. His blood was warm, a mix of sweet syrup and copper. I felt the hunger dissipate as more and more of the liquid flowed down my throat. A quiet moan reached my ears from somewhere far away.
My eyes widened as I suddenly snapped to what I was doing. I wrenched myself away from Jake, rolling across the floor until coming to a stop against a leg of the dinning table a few feet away. I shook my head in an attempt to clear the bloodlust that lingered. The coppery taste remained on my tongue. My breathing was heavy, loud. The rapid thunder was quiet in my ears.
I looked frantically at Jake lying on the wooden floor. Blood was slowly seeping from the twin wounds on his neck, joining with mine in a macabre painting.
I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. Air caught in my throat, and I had to struggle just to breathe, shocked horror surmounting even that basic function. What had I done? I had attacked my best friend.
But as I stared at him, I slowly came to realize something worse. He wasn't moving. Not an inch. He wasn't clutching at his neck in pain, or attempting to stop the blood flow. He wasn't even breathing; his chest completely motionless.
Hot, razor-sharp grief lanced through me, hacking and burning my heart until it felt like nothing remained. I was a murderer, a monster. A bloodsucking, soulless monster. How could I be anything else after what I had just done?
My vision blurred with tears and I looked back at Jake, still lying unmoving on the floor. I rushed to his side, my hands hovering over him, as if there was someway to help. "Jake!" I yelled, even though I was sure it was far too late. "Jake, please wake up. Please!" I begged.
He of course didn't answer, and my sobbing increased. Tears streamed down my face, dripping off my cheeks. I watched as one by one they fell, darkening Jake's shirt where they landed.
Slight movement caught my eye and I nearly jumped a foot in the air when I saw his chest slowly rise and fall; heard him drag in a slow breath of air. My gaze leapt to his face instantly and I gasped when I saw his storm blue eyes open and staring back at me.
I froze, afraid to even blink. Though his eyes were open, Jake remained very still, only his chest continued to slowly move up and down. We stared at each other for a long moment until my focus unconsciously strayed to the punctures on his throat. My eyes widened in surprise when I found the wounds healed and nearly gone. His skin was stained bright red, but only two small scars marked his neck, and even those were healing before my eyes.
Jake's breathless voice made my eyes jump back to his.
Wow it turned dark really fast, huh? Very good. And it's longer than the other's which is even better. When you post stories to the fanic/fic websites, they like longer chapters! And chpters in books are usually at least 10 - 12 pages. I've seen smaller though - and I suppose it depends on the size of the book
Dark isn't bad. But yeah, if you imagine it, the girl dragging herself across the plain wood floor with bloodied hands and then Jake lying on the floor with blood oozing out of his neck into the blood already on the floor ... that's pretty dark.
Very good. 
And it's longer than the other's which is even better. When you post stories to the fanic/fic websites, they like longer chapters! And chpters in books are usually at least 10 - 12 pages. I've seen smaller though - and I suppose it depends on the size of the book
But yeah, if you imagine it, the girl dragging herself across the plain wood floor with bloodied hands and then Jake lying on the floor with blood oozing out of his neck into the blood already on the floor ... that's pretty dark. 
