Chapter One: The Dare
Transylvania, July 16th
It was nearly midnight. Clouds hung low over the vampire's castle. The full moon was hidden in the eerie gray fog around the castle itself. A considerable number of people quickly gathered around the castle's north tower. The people were shouting and carrying torches with flames dancing fiercely, illuminating the peoples' angry and terrified faces. A man in a long dark coat stood at the front of the mob, and glint in his small brown eyes. His black hair whipped around his face as the chill wind blew. He held up a gloved hand to the crowd, who immediately became quiet. Up at the castle, a shadowed figure had appeared in the window. From down below, nobody could tell who (or what) it was. The mob slowly backed into the nearby forest, and became hidden in the large oak trees.
The shadow belonged to a girl. The girl's name was Andrea. She had waist-length black hair that shone in the candlelight of the room. Her skin was pale and soft. Andrea's eyes were a blood red color, and she had black slits for pupils. She wore a long, black cape with black pants, and a ruby red shirt that seemed to shimmer when she moved.
Andrea stared down at the angry mob. She immediately knew why they were here. In fact, it was her fault they were here.
A few months earlier, Andrea was a normal teenager. She lived in the village below the castle. She had a family; her mother, father, and her little brother named Joseph. Joseph was four years younger than Andrea, with sandy hair and blue eyes. He had freckles and almost always scowled. He was very spoiled. One day, Andrea and her friend, Hannah, were playing truth or dare. Joseph invited himself in and dared them both to go up to the castle on the hill. It was rumored to be the home of a vampire, and no one had been in there for thousands of years. The girls accepted, and nervously walked up to the castle. The most there could be was probably a couple rats or spiders, right?
They couldn't be more wrong. It took them several hours to make it up the steep cliff the castle rested on. As they finally stepped up to the castle door, something occurred to Andrea. "What do you think we'll find in there? No one's been here for thousands of years, what if there's something great in there?"
Hannah's eyes widened. "Are you mad? The dare was to go in. So, I say we go in, come out, and get back at your brother before some spider crawls up my leg!" Hannah was terrified of spiders. Andrea, however, was fascinated by everything most people found scary. Andrea grinned, and Hannah realized what a stupid mistake she had just made. They tried to pull open the tall, oak doors, but to know avail. Andrea rushed to the other side of the castle, and found a window, just big enough for someone thin to enter.
"I don't think I'll fit," Hannah said. She wasn't the smallest person in Transylvania. "You go in." Andrea nodded.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine," she said. "And when I do get in, I'll be sure to open the door for you so you won't get all lonely outside." She smirked. Hannah whimpered. Andrea opened the window and darted inside.
The room was amazing! A long red carpet led to the stone stairs to Andrea's left. A crystal chandelier, covered in cobwebs lit the room from the high ceiling. The dusty stone floor echoed with every step Andrea took. Dusty pillars lined the wall in front of Andrea. In between each pillar on the wall was a portrait of a random person Andrea did not recognize. The only similarity between each person was each wore an amulet with a ruby sun at the end. Andrea sprinted toward the door of the castle, when the lights of the chandelier went out. A breeze blew through the room, although the windows were closed. Andrea could feel her hair fly behind her. The room grew cold, and darker than ever.
"Hannah?" she called. "Hannah get in here!" Nobody replied. Andrea felt her way along the wall until she found the window. The sky outside was dark and cloudy. Hannah was nowhere to be found. Andrea called Hannah's name again, when she felt something cold and rough wrap itself around her neck. First, Andrea's eyes began to water, and then everything went completely black.