Creature of the Night

I had always believed in mythical creatures, believed that they were as real as you or me. Everyone else claimed that they were only a figment of our imagination. Werewolves, ghouls, ghosts, zombies, creatures like these were thought of as "imaginary" I knew different, I knew they were real. They walked on this Earth, looking like humans. They had to disguise themselves, just to blend in. 11

There was one creature I was particularly fond of. A creature of the night. Vampires, to be exact. They would feed off of the blood of the innocent, stalking their prey like mountain lions. How, with practice, they could go completely unnoticed in the "real" world. They could pose perfectly well as humans, never to be discovered. They have a mysterious aura about them, just being in their presence feels like your very sould is being taken from you.22

Their eyes are the only thing that could give them away, show them for what they are. For, after they have hunted, thier eyes glow a gruesome crimson, the color of the very blood that flows through their veins. After that blood has...settled in their bodies, their eyes return to the pitch black color that they are forced wear. 33

I had longed for years to meet a vampire, to feel their presence. Alas, those who are fortunate enough to meet such a creature, never live to tell the tale. Their bodies are drained of blood, and thier lives taken. I, on the other hand, was one execption.44

I, indeed, have encountered a vampire. And lived to tell the tale, to bring forth some new evidence as to why they live like they do. Secluded from the mortals that they yearn to kill. My life very nearly came to an end, I was saved from the fate by the very one who was to kill me.55

I shall tell you my story, but as you should know, not all stories have a happy ending. Most of which, never do.66

It all started when I was in my early twenties, thriving and young. I sat in a bar, sipping my martini with dull interest. As I came in, I had noticed a tall, dark, figure lurking in the shadows. I felt eyes watching me, almost hearing the blood pump through my veins. The bartender watched me curiously, as to why I was here alone. I foten came here alone, looking for someone, or something.77

"You want another dollface?" The greasy bartender asked, walking up to me.88

I looked at the man; in his early thirties, alone. 99

"Do I look like I need another?" I asked, holding up my nearly full glass.1010

"I, uh, guess not." He went back to the other, more exciting customers.1111

I felt the eyes on my back grow closer, I looked around to see who was watching me. Again, my eyes met those of the man standing in the shadows. His face was hidden in the darkness, as was most of his figure. I knew at once what he was, and I waited for him to approach. He could not hold out for long.1212

I took another drink of my martini, nearly emptying the glass. I stared at the hundreds of bottles of various liquors, reading the lables without much interest. I heard footsteps from behind me, and sighed. I was right, again. I was meant to be his target tonight.1313

"I've been waiting for you." I cooed, looking down at the olives that floated meaninglessly in the vodka. The footsteps stopped not a foot from my barstool.1414

"Have you now?" The man answered, his voice giving off a dark essence that would send any sensable woman running for the hills.1515

"I noticed you staring at me, and I knew you would approach me sooner or later. I am pleased that you chose sooner rather than later."1616

"How do you know I was staring at you, and not someone else?"1717

"Because, I know what you are." I replied, finally looking over my shoulder.1818

The man froze, rigid as a statue. His body slowly began to thaw after a moment, a reflex action to such an answer. He walked closer to me now, more interested. He placed himself in the barstool next to mine, swiveling to face me.1919

"And how do you know what I am, exactly?" The man asked, his jaw clenched, trying to block out the smell.2020

"I simply know, no more than that." I wasn't going to tell him that I was all but obsessed with vampires, and would do anything to meet one.2121

"And what is it that you 'know' I am?" He was being difficult, as he should.22

"I really don't think I should say it aloud. It may draw attention, something your kind does not enjoy."23

I looked over to the man as I spoke, smirking as comprehension flickered across his face. He knew that I knew what he was, and he did not like that. He placed his hands on the counter top, twidiling his thumbs. His lips were pressed in a hard line, he was clearly frustrated by my knowing.24

"Well then, it seems you know more than I thought. Perhaps more than you should."25

"There are many books about you, it takes little effort to read them. Your kind is very popular among us humans, as you may know." 26

"Yes, I do know that. And to our surprise, and great concern, most of the myths are, in fact correct. Like the sun, for example."27

"Really? I would've thought that one would be false. Anyway, tell me what you are here for." I reminded him; I knew he was here for some reason. Besides to kill me of course. If he was going to do that, he would've by now.28

"What do you mean? I figured you already knew the reason for my presence here tonight." The man answered curiously.29

"I DO know THAT reason, but I thought that if you were going to...kill...me, then you would've done so by now. How about for starters your name?" I yearned to know his name, it would make him less eerie that way.30

He seemed to hesitate for a moment, not sure whether or not to answer me. "Very well then, my name is Dimitri."31

"Classic name, of course. My name is Katherine, pleased to meet you." I held out a hand for him to shake, but he flinched back. I retracted my hand at once, remembering that if I wished to remain alive, I shouldn't come in contact with Dimitri.32

"Sorry, I forgot." I muttered, slightly embarrassed.33

"No harm done." Dimitri shrugged, finally meeting my gaze.34

I hadn't seen his eyes before. Only for a breif second, then he looked away. But now, he held my gaze. His eyes were a deep rich, crimson, lips fine and delecate. I felt as if I could drown in those bloody pools, so dark, so very red. Yet they intoxicated me, pulled me into a blissful darkness that only HE could cast upon me. 35

After a few moments, he looked away, breaking my trance. I felt the longing for the darkness disapate, but I had a feeling that that would not last. A long silence began to stretch, my ears began to long for the sound of his deep masculine voice. I had a sudden feeling to ask him if he wanted a drink, but that may give him the wrong intentions. I shuddered at the thought.36

"Something wrong?" Dimitri asked, breaking the silence. He must have seen me twitch in response to my thought.37

"N-no. Everything is fine." I replied, looking at his face again. His hair was a long streak of black, with a small scar running from his hairline to his right eye. I idly wondered what that could be from, but decided it better not to ask.38

It was silent again, as I watched Dimitri look around the bar, as if looking for someone.39

"No, please no, sir." Dimitri muttered a few moments later. It sounded like he was talking to himself, but I couldn't be sure.40

"Excuse me?" I wondered, cocking my head to one side. Dimitri's head snapped toward me, as if he had forgotten I was there.41

"What? No, I wasn't talking to you..." His voice faded out, and he was silent again.42

Another stretch of nothingness passed between us. It seemed like he was trying to compromise with himself or something. Every few minutes he would shake his head and close his bright crimson eyes.43

"Why her? Can't I let her leave, just this once?" He asked again, this time I knew it wasn't directed to me. His conversation was ABOUT me.44

"Yes, I know. I have a feeling this one is different than the others. I have no right to take her life away." Dimitri whispered, almost too low for me to hear. He glanced at me from the corner of his eye, piercing me with the darkness once more. 45

He turned his head toward me once more, a hateful expression plain on his features. His eyes narrowed, and he mumbled something so fast that I could not make out the words.46

"Katherine?" Dimitri asked, looking at me.47

"Y-yes?" I gulped.48

"Do you want to live?"49

"What kind of question is that? Of course I want to live."50

"Then you have to leave, now. Before they catch you..." Dimitri trailed off again, not wanting to explain the rest.51

"But I-" I didn't want to leave, there was so much I wanted to ask.52

"LEAVE, PLEASE!" Dimitri hissed, although not loud enough for anyone around us to hear.53

"Why?"54

He huffed, standing from his stool. He walked over to me, placing his hands hard on my shoulders. My eyes grew wide with fear, I was going to die.55

"Katherine, leave now or you shall DIE! Do you understand? If you wish to die then stay here and let the others have at you, I will not try to stop them. You are far too curious for you own good, trying to find a vampire!" Dimitri said, acidly. "How stupid could a human like you get? Don't you see that I could kill you in a half of a second if I wanted to? Leave now, or forever be damned to the firey pits of hell for what you have chosen as your fate."56

My jaw dropped in reaction to his words; he wanted to save me. Not kill me. Amazing, I thought, I had no clue vampires could feel compassion. He lifted his hands from my shoulders, and I nodded. I backed away from him slowly, not looking away.57

I was nearly out the back door when three cloaked figures burst through the front. The one in front, obviously the leader, had long white hair, and his eyes were a frightening color of purplish-red. I opened to door, and ducked outside. 58

The night was cold, the wind had a ferocious bite to it. I rubbed my arms, trying to rub away the goose bumps on them. I ran up the hill next to the bar, looking over my shoulder as I heard shouts coming from inside. All those innocent people were going to die, in the morning all that will be left will be a pile of ashes from the remainings of the burnt down building.59

I ran into the forest, and away from Dimitri's voice. I wondered if I would ever see him again, the question yearned for the answer. Mostly the answer "yes" but my mind doubted if that would ever happen again. I had survived this night, but there was not telling what would become of me. I soon ran out of breath and came to a stop near a large oak tree. I placed my hand on it for support as I bent over, trying to catch my breath.60

I heard the crunch of leaves as someone approached behind me. I whipped wround, eyes wide with fear, heart racing not sure if I wanted to know who it was. As I saw the face of the man staring at me with a wild look in his eyes, my heart nearly stopped beating. As I gasped, the man smirked; his thirst driven crimson eyes almost sparkling with anticipation. 61

"You thought you were going to get away didn't you, Katherine?" The white haired man hissed, baring his long razor-sharp fangs. My heart raced and the blood pounded in my ears, how had they found me? How had they shown I went out the back door?62

My eyes grew wider with shock as I remembered Dimitri had touched me, therefor he had my scent. As the man stepped closer, my scream echoed through the night air and was no doubt audible at the bar still. I backed up until my back it the trunk of a tree; and my knees began to shake.63

"Did you think you could out smart a vampire? Honey, if you were as smart as you appear to be you would have known that we would find you,"64

"Stay away from me, you blood sucking parasite!" I screeched, glaring at the man.65

He simply rolled his eyes and drew ever closer, smirking as I slowly slid further down the dark brown bark of the tree. My head snapped to the left as I heard another sound from in the trees. 'Great another one, what am I an all-you can eat buffet?' I thought sighing.66

The elder vampire knelt to the ground directly infront of me; not three inches away from my face, unphased by the sound from the trees. He placed his hand on my shoulder, his long fingernails digging into my flesh. He moved his hand farther upwards, until he was at the hollow base of my neck. His fingernail drew a line from my ear downwards, until he was back at his starting point at the base of my neck and near my collarbone. 67

I could feel the crimson liquid trickling down the small line where he had cut into my skin, right next to my vein. My breathing grew faster as I knew what was going to happen next. I felt stupid for wanting to meet a vampire, for I should have known this would be what would come from it. 68

Another scream broke from my lips and he began to lower his head, taking in the scent of my blood. Someone knocked the vampire away from me before I could even blink once. One moment he was there, the next he was lying on the ground at the base of a tree ten feet away. I knew I should be running, but all I could think was to sit there dumbfoundedly.69

I saw Dimitri crash into a tree, snapping it in half. My eyebrows pulled together in confusion as I looked at him with a puzzled expression.70

"Dimitri?" I asked, my voice shaky.71

"I told you they would kill you, I shouldn't have touched you. I'm so-" He stopped as his eyes locked on with the small line of blood running down the nape of my neck, and I gulped silently. He shook his head, trying to concentrate.72

I cupped my hand around my neck, trying to stop the blood from leaking out of the cut. I pushed myself up off of the ground with shaking hands. I walked over to Dimitri as he stood, looking down at me with a dark, wild thirst driven expression. I wanted to run, but I knew the elder vampire would only follow my scent and he would find me where ever I went.73

"Can I leave now?" I asked, whispering.74

"No, of course not. He will follow you and eventually kill you, you should know that."75

"Then what am I going to d-" I stopped when I saw a smirk grow on Dimitri's face and a sparkle of slyness flash across his eyes. He had a plan, one that didn't involve me dying I hoped.76

"Do you trust me not to kill you?" He asked suddenly, in a tone so low I nearly didn't hear it. I gulped and nodded, I had no other choice. "Good. Then follow my lead, I'm going to get you out of here. One thing though,"77

"What?"78

"I'm going to have to bite you, sorry,"79

My jaw dropped as he said those words like it were in a normal conversation. "You're going to have to what?"80

"You heard me, I'm going to have to bite you. Not kill you, just drink some of your blood. And no, you won't die. And no, you won't turn into a vampire. You must drink a vampires blood to have that happen."81

"O-oh, okay," I suttered, smiling feebly.82

He lifted me into his arms and lowered his neck as I saw the other vampire approaching from the corner of my eye. 83

"Well, well, well. Looks like you aren't going to survive after all," The man said, and my eyes grew wide with fear. I didn't need to fake the fear.84

"Yes Vernon, my plan worked well." He smiled evily down at me, winking to show he wasn't serious. My hand was still cupped around my neck and I could feel the warm blood staining my hands. "Now if you would excuse me, I have some buisness to take care of. I'm extremely thirsty."85

"Very well them Dimitri, it looks like you have shown me you can kill after all," Vernon said, walking away back down the hill.86

Dimitri began walking the other way, his head held down low next to my face. I could see the scar on his neck from the day he was turned; it was faint and up near his left ear. He came to a stop a couple of yards from where Vernon had hit a tree, and looked down into my eyes. I gulped and nodded, it was time.87

I moved my hand from my neck and held it up to my face. It was stained with blood as I thought, not that it mattered. I laid it across my stomach and nodded again. 88

Dimitri spoke softly in my ear as he lowered his head. "Thank you for trusting me not to kill you, I am fairly new at this and I still do not enjoy the fact of killing humans. I have only been a vampire for ten years, not long compared to Vernon. He's been a vampire for nearly two centuries."89

And with that, he moved his head down to my neck. I shivered as I felt his tongue licking at the blood that trickled down my neck, and I almost heard him smile. His fangs sunk deep into the flesh of my neck, and a small scream broke again from my lips. My hand slid from my stomach, hanging limply downwards. After a few moments my head fell downwards and partially off the back of Dimitri's arm. 90

I began to wonder if he could stop, it was frightening me. Suddenly he knelt on the ground, letting my feet touch the soft dirt below. My heartbeat was so faint it was barely heard in my own ears, although I knew Dimitri could hear it perfectly. He raised his head, licking the blood off of his lips, smiling. 91

He laid me back upon the ground, and I gazed up at him through half-closed eyes. My breathing was slow and shallow, and I knew he hand taken too much. He ran a hand through his hair, and unsure expression on his face.92

"Katherine, I'm so sorry. I fear I have taken too much of your blood, I'm not sure if you shall live or die."93

I felt the blood dripping from the two open wounds near the vein in my neck, staining the ground red with each passing heartbeat. He knelt down over me, placing his head on my chest.94

"I can barely hear your heart, I must get you to a hospital. I can't let you die, I promised I wouldn't kill you and now look at what I've done." He shook his head in dissapointment of himself.95

He picked me up from the ground, and held me against him. I struggled to keep my eyes open as we ran through the forest, and towards town. He picked up a small stick and jammed it across the length of my arm. I felt the warm liquid spilling out and I looked up at him with a shocked expression. He took his jacket off and ripped a strip of the bottom off with incredible ease. 96

He wrapped it around the newly made wound and held it there as he ran down the last hill before he got into town. 97

"I must make it look like you were injured on accident or by an animal or something. Not that they would suspect a vampire, but the two holes in your neck are very strange and will make the doctors wonder." He dug a hand in his pocket and shoved on two specially made caps over his fangs, making them look shorter and rounded.98

I smirked as I saw him run his tongue over his canines disgustedly. He ran into the street and burst through the doors to the hospital. He pretended to begin panting as he yelled at the woman behind the front desk for help.99

"Please someone help! Please she needs medical attention, she's going to die! Please, someone!" He shouted, he almost had a sorrowed expression as he yelled for help. That astounded me.100

Two nurses came running down the hall with a gurney, with neat white dresses on. He placed me on the gurney, carefully lying my head on the lumpy white pillow and keeping pressure on my arm. He had placed the cut on the opposite arm of which my hand was bloody to make it look like I had been trying to stop the bleeding myself. He was extremely tricky, I was impressed.101

He ran down the hall with the nurses, keeping pace with them easily. He seemed eager to run faster, looking down at me every now and then smiling when I gazed up at him. As we came to the doors of the operating room, the nurses came to a stop.102

"You cannot go in sir, I'm sorry. We will inform you once we know anything." The nurse with a small blonde bun informed Dimitri and he his other hand off of the rails to the gurney. His hand stayed in place against the cloth on my arm, hesitant to let go. 103

"Thank you Dimitri," I mumbled, smiling up at his face. His expressiion was a mixture of anger and resentment for himself.104

"Your welcome, Katherine," He smiled back warmly, careful not to show his teeth. Even with his fangs capped they were still a lot longer than normal.105

The other nurse put her hand on the cloth, a signal for him to let go. He slowly raised his hand and backed away from the gurney giving me one last look before they wheeled me into the operating room. I knew everything would be fine, and then Dimitri could go back to his life. I wondered if he really could though.106

The End.107

Or is it?