Halloween.

The time of year when people believed all the Ghosts and Demons of years past and present come out to play and mess with the minds of people who recognize them for who they are. For the most part though, people just see others in more detailed costumes, those truly dedicated to the holiday.

The one "demon" or "monster" people never recognize is real during this holiday though is the Vampire.

Humans' determination to not accept that Vampires really exist in the world seemed to be enough for to keep them fromexisting.

At least, that's what they would like to believe.

Vampires exist all around the oblivious Humans, walking amongst them even during the day. But it is only because of this complete ignorance that makes Vampires the singular exception to the rule of demons only being able to walk alongside Humans during Halloween.

There is still one rule that the Vampires have to follow though:

They can only become their true selves when the clock strikes midnight on Halloween; they can only feed then. So when that hour strikes on that night, the Human danger vanishes and the supernatural danger truly begins.

...

Tired from the excitement of the day, the redhead named Kyle Broflovski lay down on his bed and just stared at the ceiling. He figured he'd rest up before his friends came over later to go trick-or-treating. He smiled as his eyes slipped closed. Halloween, his favorite holiday. And not just for the candy or scaring children either, but also because his parents disappeared off somewhere for most of the night, (probably some Halloween party).

Just a few hours more and he'd be trick-or-treating with his friends. Just a few more hours…

…

Red was what Kyle saw when he opened his eyes. And it wasn't a normal red either, it was darker, like…blood.

Kyle looked around, finding that he was at Stark's Park. Something looked…off about it though. The area was in black and white; the grass, the sky, the moon, the pond. All of it was black and white except for the pool around and under his feet, that was blood red. He began to shake, worrying that something had happened to himself or someone he knew.

Suddenly he felt a weight in his arms and he looked down. Kyle's eyes widened in horror at the body in his arms. Short black hair, dark blue eyes staring up at the black and white sky, and wearing his usual jacket with a pair of blue jeans. It was Stan Marsh, and he was bleeding profusely from two puncture wounds in his neck.

"S-Stan?" Kyle looked down into his best friend's eyes finding them blank, and he knew that he was dead. He fell down to his knees. "What happened?" He screamed at the sky.

The weight of Stan's body then left his arms and the vision of the park and the blood disappeared from around him, replaced by black and a single mirror in front of him. Kyle's eyes widened even further at the sight looking back at him in the mirror; his irises were bright red and his incisors were long and sharp like fangs. But that wasn't what really horrified him about his reflection.

His mouth and the front of his shirt were covered in Stan's blood.

…

Kyle jumped awake and looked to the clock next to his bed. It was almost midnight. How come had slept so long? And why hadn't his friends come by to pick him up for trick-or-treating? He picked up his cell phone and text Stan to ask him as much.

Stan responded a minute later saying, Sorry dude. We came by to get you, but your parents said that you guys were going to some Halloween party in North Park. All of us, even Cartman, were depressed about it. We always go trick-or-treating on Halloween. Why the sudden decision to go with them?

Kyle blinked at this. Halloween party? He never remembered deciding to go to some damn Halloween party with his parents. He loved going trick-or-treating, even at sixteen, so why the hell would he just decide to stop? He hit reply: I didn't agree to go with them, they've decided this for me apparently. Hey, I'll change into my costume and then sneak out. I'll meet up with you guys at Stark's Pond.

Okay. See you there.

Kyle stood from his bed and grabbed his costume - a tight black tank top, a pair of black skinny jeans, and a black silk choker - from his closet. He went to the bathroom and changed into this. As he brushed out his hair and applied light amounts of hair gel to small areas, making it spike out gently, he realized something about his teeth. It looked like he already put the fake fangs in his mouth. He poked at the fake teeth and the shrugged, he was sure he probably just put them in before taking that nap and had forgotten. Oh well.

Finally Kyle tied the silk choker around his neck and stared at the tarnished silver crescent moon pendant hanging from it in the mirror. His fingers played with the pendant for a moment, sending warmth unknown to that type of metal through his hand. His hands jerked away from the pendant when it processed what he was feeling coming from it and he shook his head. That had to have been his imagination, that's all.

His eyes moved back up on the mirror so that he could see the green of his irises. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that his eyes weren't red and that he wasn't covered in blood. He guessed that he was a little influenced by the fact that it was indeed Halloween, so it was just a nightmare, that's all.

Kyle turned for the bathroom door and looked around before stepping out into the hallway. He didn't want his parents to catch him in his costume because then they'd know that he was going to sneak out.

He made it back to his bedroom without incident in order to grab a long black cape and a pair of black combat boots he'd bought at J-Mart. He tied the cape on and slipped into the boots, and then jumped out of window, landing on the ground in crouch with far more stealth and grace than he remembered having last time. He ignored this for the moment though seeing as he didn't want to be caught, and ran towards the pond.

Without thinking about it, Kyle fell into a strong sprint. He swerved around people in his way, confusing them as he past since all they could see was a red and black teen running quickly.

When he finally stopped at Stark's Pond, Kyle found that he wasn't winded at all. He knew this was odd since he just easily ran two miles and didn't feel tired at all. Actually, he felt like he could run a marathon. This is so weird, he thought, I've never had such energy before. This is great! Tonight should be fun!

"Kyle!" Stan jogged up to his best friend in a costume from the video game Assassin's Creed, seeming amazed that the redhead beat him there. He slowed to a stop next to him. "Weren't you still at home when you called me dude?"

"Yeah," Kyle shrugged, "but I ran here."

"You ranhere? You don't look tired at all."

"Yeah. Weird right?" Kyle shrugged again though. "Ah well. Random spurt of energy I guess. Let's go trick-or-treating now."

Though Stan still thought it was strange, he nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah dude, let's go. Cartman and Kenny have an empty bag for you."

"Awesome!" Kyle stepped forward to follow Stan, but a sudden unexpected wave of dizziness overwhelmed him. He fell forward against Stan's back.

"K-Kyle?" Stan turned around and wrapped an arm around the redhead's shoulders as he held him against his chest. "What's wrong?"

"I…" Kyle hesitated as he began to hear something he'd never heard before: a powerful heartbeat and the blood flow of the man who was holding him tight. "I don't," he flinched as he felt his own heart give one last painful beat before stopping, "know… But my heart Stan, it's…"

"Your heart? What's it doing? Oh God, we need to get you to a hospital!" Stan was seriously beginning to freak out. He didn't want his best friend to die on him! He couldn't!

As Stan was yelling his concern, the color from Kyle's face completely drained, turning his skin stark white. His irises quickly shifted, fading from their natural green to a bright red and the whites of his eyes, in the same instance, shifted to jet black. Something in him had suddenly changed inside of him when his heart stopped, and though he didn't know what, he wasn't going to fight it. Kyle grabbed onto the front of Stan's costume and stood up straight, connecting his eyes with his best friends.

Stan's eyes widened at the look of Kyle's eyes. "K-Kyle? Do…Do you have contacts in?"

"Why do you ask?" Kyle asked as his eyes searched the noirette's every facial feature. He realized for the first time ever the way Stan's face structure was and how magnificent he looked in the moonlight.

"Well, your eyes, they're…scary."

"Scary?" One of Kyle's hands rose up and caressed Stan's cheek for a moment before lowering back down to his neck. He smiled as he realized he could feel Stan's pulse. Something almost animalistic inside of him suddenly awoke and he wanted to feel that flesh beneath his teeth. Before Stan could question what he was doing or what was going on, Kyle said, "Stan," he swooped his face closer to his best friend's, "kiss me."

"Wha–" Stan was cut off when Kyle's lips connected with his and he shoved his tongue down his throat. He trembled when this first happened, but something in him promised him that this was right and that he was to return the kiss, and that's exactly what he did.

Stan and Kyle's tongue circled each other, fighting each other for dominance with Kyle winning without a doubt. After only a short while, Kyle released Stan's lips and moved down to kiss his neck. Stan moaned as he held Kyle's head against him, becoming louder as he felt the redhead's tongue flicking against his skin and his "fake" fangs grazing him. He began to loudly beg Kyle for more, not realizing what was going to happen when he did so.

Complying with Stan's want for more, Kyle opened his mouth a bit wider and then sunk his teeth into the thin, tender flesh of Stan's neck.

Fiery pain shot through Stan the moment Kyle's fangs punctured the flesh of his throat and his blood started flowing into his best friend's mouth. He screamed, "KYLE STOP! OH GOD STOP! YOU'RE HURTING ME!"

But Kyle didn't listen or even seem to hear him, he just continued drinking his blood. Oh, and did he love it! The metallic taste flowing endlessly over his tongue and down his throat drove him to the very edge of insanity. He wanted more, he neededmore! And luckily for him, he was getting all that he wanted from the teen against him.

"Kyle," Stan muttered weakly, feeling colder as death approached him, "please…stop…"

Finally, as enough of Stan's blood entered him that he felt the animalistic urge leaving, Kyle's eyes widened in horror and his ripped himself away from the noirette. Severely weakened and still bleeding, Stan fell to the ground when he was released. His eyes were laced with fear as he looked up at the blood-stained face and the still black and red eyes of his best friend.

Stan began to tremble in fear as he muttered, "W-What are you?"

Oh God… Kyle backed away with wide, scared eyes. What have I done?He pivoted on one foot and ran away from the pond, and away from Stan.

What just happened? Why did he just suddenly drinkhis best friend's blood like some…Vampire?

As Kyle past by a shop on Main Street, he slowed to a stop. In the faint reflection in the window he saw his eyes and the blood covering him. He looked nearly exactly like he had in his nightmare. And he was sure that's what people thought he was…a nightmare.

Fearing any more people seeing him, Kyle ran into a nearby alley and slumped against the brick wall. "What," he nearly yelled in horror, "am I?"

"Kyle!" Kyle looked over as he saw his mother's form enter the alleyway.

"M-Mom?" Kyle covered his face. "Go away! You can't get near me!"

"What are you talking about Kyle?" Sheila walked forward. Kyle's eyes widened again as he saw his mother's eyes and her teeth were the same as his.

"Mom? What…What's going on?"

Sheila's eyes narrowed. "That's what we were going to tell you at that 'party,' but you ran off. And what's that blood on your face young man?" She yelled when Kyle moved his hands from in front of his face.

"Well, I…I didn't mean to!" Kyle began to sob. "I met Stan at the park and something inside of me…woke up and I…drankhis blood! Right from his neck!"

"You did what?" Sheila turned and punched the wall, cracking the brick without injury to herself. "This isn't good! Is he dead?"

"Uh…I-I don't think so…"

"Dammit! Come on buhbi! Follow me and don't wander off!"

…

"He did what?" Mr. Tucker yelled.

Kyle looked around as his mother and father explained what Kyle had told them what happened. Everyone in the room looked the same as him, even his classmate Craig Tucker, who looked as confused and scared as Kyle himself did. Craig's father seemed to be the leader of the group, all of whom seemed angered at what Kyle had done.

Another person ran into the room then, and up to Mr. Tucker. "Sir, the Marsh kid Broflovski attacked…"

"Yes?"

"He's dead." Kyle's eyes watered. "It seems he bled out in Stark's Pond."

"NO!" Kyle yelled, turning everyone's attention to him. "That can't be possible! He was still alive when I left!"

"Well he's dead now Kyle," Mr. Tucker said coolly, "and there's nothing you can do about it."

"…But… Why did I even do it to begin with?"

Mr. Tucker sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He'd been anticipating on telling Kyle and Craig this story, but he hated that Kyle was so demanding with it. "Every person of Vampire - or Vamp as we call ourselves - blood undergoes this change on their sixteenth year at midnight on All Hallows Eve. Including you and," he gestured to Craig, "my son Craig."

Kyle looked to Craig, finding him drinking up the information from his father. "How does this happen? I mean, why us?"

"Back in ancient generations, ten families made the mistake of kidnapped and killing a Witch's daughter. These ten families were part of a cult that believed drinking the blood of another human granted them…supernatural abilities. When they made this grave mistake, they did finally gain powers, the powers of that Witch's daughter. The super speed, the ultra hearing, all of what we have now.

"When the Witch discovered what the cult members did, she found and killed them. But it did not stop there: she revived them and killed them again, and then brought them back again. But she did not kill them again, this time she cursed them and all of their lines for until the day that the world ends."

"This curse then," Kyle began, "it's the, uh, the Vamp curse?"

Mr. Tucker nodded.

"Then why does it begin at sixteen?" Craig asked, seeming just as confused as Kyle right then.

"Well," Mr. Tucker continued, "it's said that the Witch had compassion for the younger children since they weren't allowed to participate until their sixteenth year. So she decided that the curse would not activate until the child's sixteenth year on that specific day and that specific time. It just so happened that that day and time turned out to be midnight on Halloween."

Kyle looked to his parents then, wanting them to answer this question. "Why didn't you tell me if you knew this was going to happen? If I had known that that was why you didn't want me to go trick-or-treating with my friends, I wouldn't have snuck out."

"Well buhbi," Sheila said with an apologetic tone to her voice, "we're not allowed to tell you children about it."

"Why not? Mom, because I didn't know I killedmy best…" His eyes watered again; he furiously wiped away the tears. "I killed my best friend in the whole world because I didn't know about it!"

"Kyle," Mr. Tucker said loudly to catch his attention, "we don't tell our children of the curse or the story of the curse until their first night under it becausechildren cannot understand the gravity of the situation until they take their first life to quench their thirst. Now I understand that maybe Sheila and Gerald should've probably explained this to you earlier in the evening to prevent you from leaving, and I am very sympathetic to you killed the Marsh boy–"

"His name is Stan!"

"Okay. I'm sorry you killed Stan, and that that's the way you had to find out who you are, but because of that you can completely understand what's going on here and how serious this is. Would you have honestly believed your parents if they had told you this beforehand?"

"…No…"

"Exactly, and I know for a fact that Craig wouldn't have believed me or his mother."

"Wait a second," Kyle looked around, "is everyone in here the child of two Vampires?"

"No," one woman spoke up, "my daughter is half-human. Her sixteenth year is to be next year, and I am partially unsure if she will carry the curse."

"Chances are that she will," Mr. Tucker told the woman, "but I do pray that she doesn't. Actually Kyle, a lot of the people in this room are half-human. The lines couldn't continue with strictly Vamp blood."

Kyle nodded. That made sense, otherwise the room would be full of in-bred drunk Vampires right now. The thought nearly made Kyle laugh, but at the same time he didn't as a new thought arose. He looked at his parents again. "What about Ike? He doesn't carry Vamp blood does he?"

Gerald shook his head. "No, we checked his bloodline. None of his ancestors have any relation to the cursed cult members, and actually never lived in that country."

"That's why we always make sure to send Ike somewhere special every Halloween, just be sure he's kept safe from us."

"Why would you adopt a child knowing that you would put him in danger by us three being Vampires?" Kyle demanded. It just didn't make sense to him, and he hoped that his parents weren't saving Ike as some "emergency dinner."

Mr. Tucker sighed again. "Kyle this is irrelevant. We must move on to more pressing matters. My wife is taking Craig for his first hunt with a group that will consist of you Mrs. Broflovski, and I need you to go now." The already assigned group left. "As for the rest of us," he looked to Kyle, "we need to have a chat with you Kyle."

"Why?" Kyle's eyes darted to each of the Vampires around him. He found it very odd that he was becoming afraid of them. In every book he read the newborns were always stronger and faster, so they were going to attack him, based on literature, he'd be able to get away no problem.

"It's about you killing Stan. I know that you were unaware of all of this, but there are rules we must follow to keep incognito, and punishments for breaking those rules. Usually the punishment for pulling the same stunt you did is swift and painful death." Mr. Tucker's eyes met Kyle's, he almost loved the fear coming from him. "Butsince this is your first night, I have to go easy on you. Gerald, I'm sorry to make you do this, but it is the tradition for punishment for the father of the accused to restrain him."

Gerald nodded and restrained Kyle, forcing his arms tight behind his back so that he couldn't move. "I understand."

Kyle looked nervously from Mr. Tucker when he turned to retrieve something, back to his father. "D-Dad, what's going on?"

"I'm sorry Kyle, but this has to be done."

"What're you talking about?"

Mr. Tucker grabbed Kyle's chin and forced him to look at him. "Kyle," he raised a red-hot dagger in front of Kyle's face, "the only thing that can hurt us is fire or any other form of extreme heat. It could even kill us. This is how we punish and kill. Your punishment will hurt worse than any other physical pain you've ever experienced in your entire lifetime."

Before Kyle could open his mouth to protest or defend himself, Mr. Tucker brought the dagger swiftly across the teen's left cheek. Kyle screamed as loud as his voice could handle without cracking and began to thrash around with the sheer flaming agony of the searing blade to his face. He'd burned himself before on fucking boiling solder in his art classes at the school and thought that was the worst pain, and that he could handle a hot blade. He couldn't believe how wrong he was… The boiling solder couldn't even beginto compare to the pain he was feeling now! And it was only a shallow cut!

After half a minute more of him screaming and thrashing about, Gerald released Kyle. The redhead fell to the ground clutching at his bleeding cheek and staring up at Mr. Tucker through a film of pained tears.

Mr. Tucker's unforgiving red irises met with Kyle's. "Your first night is over. You've tasted human blood and you've taken the life of that human. The pain of the punishment you've received will not wear off until you change back into a human, so you are useless now." He tossed the dagger aside. "Everyone else, come with me! We are to hunt!"

Following Mr. Tucker, everyone in the room but Kyle left to feed.

Left alone on the floor, Kyle curled into a ball and bawled. Everything that was normal about his life was over, and his humanity had been stripped of him. But all he regretted of his transformation was that he had killed the person he was closest to, and whom he loved the most.