With hair as black as coal, lips red as blood, and skin as white as snow, I’m quite the typical vampire. Stories of my kind are told to most, even as vampires have hid themselves beyond the crowd for ages. But I’m afraid there has been a problem. Not as planned, some stories have gone out of hand. Now one of the great fearsome tales is told as the Disney princess “Snow White,” rather than the manipulating vampire. That isn't so bad, I mean, it should be a good factor in keeping our existence hidden. It's just that currently, I'm quite jealous of her situation. I'd say you'd be too if this moment you were in my shoes.
I’ve been drained from any life force I had after a long day at work in the city. I'm a doctor, if that's any amusement. Specialized in anesthetics. It's my dream job. Life was good, it was like I was normal. And I wasn't. Not since I'd been bitten as a teen. Outbreaks usually don't happen. Biting wasn't normal, it only happened once the vampire was provoked. Unless you're classified as a ghoul, the term for binge eaters. But she wasn’t. Even warned us. We were foolish, me the most.
When I was young, I wandered into a large house at the top of the mountain, just on the outskirts of the city. My friends and I were young, foolish. Hearing rumors of the abandoned house, we'd decided to investigate. Upon entering the mansion, I remember that I had already known something had been off. I was unsure, my friends became scared. The girls had urged everyone to leave before something happened, so we went home and no one was hurt. Yet. Some of us went to check out the house several other times. Once we saw nothing had gone wrong, we made the house our hangout. I didn't know that would be our demise. It had been a month since we started going to the house, since we discovered anything. All those damn, petty scenarios in horror movies began to happen, probably the vampire trying to warn us, telling us to leave. But we didn't get the message. All except me. I told the others I needed to go home. I recalled, they shouted names at me. Such as wuss, etcetera.
I didn't give a single care as I made my way out and far from the house. And that's what I said... yet from then, I had crawled into a bush, and was waiting patiently for everyone to come out saying it was nothing and I really had been a wuss. I heard a shriek, most likely of laughter, and played it off as one. I was starting to doze off. Yes, right at the worst possible moment, I became asleep. Several hours had passed. I awoke and decided to venture back to the house. When I walked into the room I had left everyone in, I was terrified, almost paralyzed. Everyone was dismembered, but strangely, without a trace of blood. I walked closer to a body and saw several bite marks on the arm. I was so focused on keeping down whatever was in my stomach, I didn't even notice the shadow behind me. I still remember what was spoken before I lost any humanity I had then. It was a reminder of how stupid I had been as a teenager, how we didn’t know a single thing.
"Truly foolish.”
I turned around and felt a sharp pain. My arm was missing, and my vision was blurry. Everything faded out. When I arose, the vampire was gone. But still I was - alive. She must've pitied me when taking my arm. She seemed like she was genuinely trying to warn us all when looking back. We were in her home for a month, what happened here may be what we deserved. Not me though. I'd been spared, turned. How did I know so soon of my turning? Because my arm, which was once on the floor in a bloody mess, was back in all its glory. Correct. I had two arms. It was like it was never missing. The only indication of it ever missing was the bloody limb on the floor.
Now, here I am. Something out of cliche movie. A vampire. I let out a heavy sigh as I trudged back into my house, quite a drive from the city. Isolation is key. There’s never a moment without silence and that’s how I’d like to keep it. But like a human, even I get lonely. It’s just that I, myself, do not know what I’m capable of. The last thing I want is another outbreak or… to hurt anybody. And that’s why I make due with my cat, Pepper. She’s white with large black spots and sneezes fairly often. I jumped onto the sofa, allowing my muscles relax and sink into the cushioning. Weights tugged down on my eyelids and I let the thoughts, prior to my return home, escape. Sleep claimed my body.
My eyes fluttered open when I began to smell smoke. Something by the window flickered and immediately caught my attention. I paced over to it, expecting other festival. I’m speechless at the sight.
A mob of humans, armed with weapons, are burning a path to my house atop the hill.
I shrugged it off. There’s no way they’d possibly be after me. Besides, I would not be surprised if I was just seeing things. I’m beyond exhausted, even after this nap. Maybe because I am just waking up? I climbed into the shower to wash off this restless feeling in the pit of my stomach. The water, hot upon impact, raced down my body. I exhaled heavily. Sometimes it is nice to just ponder a bit here. It’s why the bathroom is one of my favorite places. You can let loose and be vulnerable comfortably. That is until aloud crash emitted from the lower floor.
The shatter of glass.
Briskly, I shut off the water and dried my body. Not the best job, but excusable considering the earlier events. I cautiously approached the balcony to look below at the french widows, Pepper’s favorite spot. I’d been hoping to find her upstairs, but if I have to venture down, I will. She’s the only creature who can tolerate me. With no sign of her on the second floor, I decide to quietly search. If the window was shattered, they have a way in. However, there is only one staircase. I have no way of going down. And of course, I could just fly down right? Only problem is that I refuse to let out any vampire will. I don’t think it’s worth whatever it’ll cause. So I do the completely rational thing. The wind blows, forcing my hair to do a little dance. It pushes me towards the edge.
And I jump.
Yes, I know. I’m stupid and there was probably a better idea rather than jumping off the balcony to the side of the house, but I also do not want to waste time. And yes, Pepper is just a cat, but she’s the only living creature I’ve bonded with. She’s my friend and I will not let another friend meet their doom. I’ve had more than my fair share of that. My wounds, numb now, are most likely healed up. I crept around the area, applying something that catches my attention to my priority. I made it down the stairs when I saw it.
Pepper’s lifeless body in the shards of the broken glass.
And that’s when I blew it. I no longer wanted to stay hidden. Just everything about me… radiated animosity. I’d rediscovered the mob and grabbed the nearest human. My hand, nearly about the strangle the man, went limp. And the world just went black.
I woke up the the birds chirping. It was a Saturday morning. I’d quickly came the the conclusion that everything had been a nightmare. I stood up to wash my face off. The water hitting my face would be a good wake up call. The water turned on. Just at that moment, I caught a glimpse of myself before I shut my eyes, bracing for the impact of the water.
I was covered in wine red. I was covered in blood.