Everyone knows about legends of mythological creatures; how they lurk in the shadows of stories, how their origins are spread all over the world, and so on. Many of these legends are popular. One such popular legend is about vampires. Vampires are said to originate from Transylvania or Romania and have many different forms and weaknesses. But one fact is always true: vampires need human blood to live. And this story is about those widely popular creatures.
In a small, quiet town with a populace of 1300, the citizens are close, rumors are everywhere, and life is normal…almost normal. In this quiet town, there's a brand new home on top of an eerie hill. Everyone says the house stands out too much and is possibly cursed. But there's also a mysterious family living there. The family keeps to themselves and rarely come out except at night. Some people say they could be hiding a secret. The question is what could that secret be.
This is where our story begins. It was a regular clear night. A young girl was walking home alone when she felt like she was being watched. She began walking quickly and cautiously. A ghostlike figure soon appeared in front of her and everything went black. The next day morning, some joggers found the girl's body in the park where she was pronounced dead. The entire town showed up for her funeral and at the same time, gossip and rumors spread about her death which all circled back to the strange family who lived on that eerie hill. Kat and Damien, a young couple, walked pass the site. Kat seemed interested in the discovery but hated all the rumors. It seemed like the elderly had nothing to do but gossip all the time. After the funeral, Kat took Damien back to her place while they still had some time to themselves. They had dinner, watched movies, made love and had a long chat. The main topic of their chat was the recent deaths.
"I know it can't be some epidemic otherwise we'd all be infected or dead by now." Kat said bluntly.
"But there's been 20 deaths and all the corpses are said to have bug bites…maybe it's a weird virus that's spread through insect bites." Damien shrugged.
"Bug bites? You really believe that? I know someone who works in the hospital and has examined the corpses. I even have a picture of the "bug bites". If you look closely, they look more like puncture wounds…the kind you get from a vampire."
"Kat. Vampires don't exist. They're just a legend. A total urban myth."
"Damien, they have to be real! That family living in the house on the hill is the perfect example! There's always an eerie fog there at night and that family rarely comes out unless it's dark. I even visited them and they're totally strange. Apparently the wife and daughter have some strange 'disease' that gets worse when exposed to the sun." She pouted.
Damien looked over at her, panicking a bit. "Are you insane? You actually went to see them? Kat that wasn't wise!"
"Oh please, I came back fine. But I also went to the library and got a book on vampires." She said and bounced over to her bookshelf. She came back to Damien and opened the book. "It tells TRUE facts about vampires. Even the various names different countries call vampires. In India, they're called Bantu, Portugal calls them Bruxa or Bruxo, Puerto Rico calls them Chupacabra, Norwegians call them Haubui, Japan calls them Hannya…the list is endless!" She squeaked.
Kat almost seemed too happy about this and it worried Damien. He often became a bit paranoid or worried when Kat was interested in something other than him. He took her hand lightly to hype her down. Kat glanced at him then sighed, lying back on the bed.
"You think I'm crazy and being a total fan girl because I've watched one too many vampire movies…starting with Twilight." She said, pouting a little.
"Well perhaps just a little bit. But if these people really are vampires like you claim, then it's best to stay away from them. I don't want you to get hut." He sighed.
"Damien you worry too much about me. I'll be fine. How about we go on a date this Sunday and try getting over all this?" She suggested and cuddled up to him.
He couldn't resist when she cuddled him. He nodded and hissed her before sneaking out the window when they heard Kat's parent's come home. Kat wasn't on the best of terms with her parents with certain things, so to avoid their usual arguments she went to shower then went to bed.
Over the nest few days, the same old boring things happened to pass time. Neighbors greet each other as they pass by, rumors can be heard here and there, and students go to school. It was just the same, old routines. Kat loved where she live but was bored with the dull everyday life. All she wanted to do was move to a big city and go to a great college, marry Damien, get a successful job and have a family. She couldn't wait for that day to come.
On the day of their date, Kat got all dressed up and met Damien outside the movie theater. Their date was like all the other dates they've had. A trip to see the latest movie, a nice lunch, a walk through the shopping center and heading back to Damien's place to make love. That night, Kat insisted on heading home alone since she didn't live too far.
"Come on Kat, at least let me walk you home. With all the deaths that's happened I don't want you to be next." Damien insisted.
"Damien I'll be fine. I only live a few houses down. I'll get there in no time. So don't worry about me." She smiled and kissed his cheek before heading off.
Kat walked, humming to herself. She had a good day and simply wanted it to end with a good shower and peaceful sleep. She couldn't wait to get home. All of a sudden, she heard something rustle in the bushes and felt like she was being watched. She looked around and started feeling like she should've taken Damien up on his offer to walk her home. Cautiously picking up the pace, she heard someone following her. Kat began to panic and ran into the nearby woods, using her phone a flashlight. She soon tripped over a tree root and dropped her phone. Frightened and disoriented, Kat scrambled to find her phone, feeling some small relief when she did. Suddenly something came up behind Kat and grabbed her, covering her mouth so she couldn't scream. Her heart raced and she felt something sharp sink into her neck. After a brief struggle, Kat's body went limp as she was dropped on the ground and left in the woods.
The next day, a search team found Kat's body, Bringing it out of the woods, Damien saw the body of his beloved Kat and collapsed into tears. He began blaming himself for letting her go home alone. He knew he would never find anyone to replace his precious Kat. Her funeral was organized in that same day. Damien was the main one grieving since Kat's parents remained completely stone-faced. During the burial procession, all of the elderly were gossiping about Kat's untimely death and what could've happened. After a while it was too much for Damien to take and he snapped.
"Would you noisy, gossiping old farts shut your mouths?! Gossip! Gossip! That's all you ever do! Instead of feeding off the misfortune of others like leeches, just shut up and mind your own business! You don't know my Kat like I did so just keep your stupid rumor, speculations and gossip to yourselves!" He shouted.
All the mumbling and whispering stopped at Damien's outburst. No one could say anything and just stared at him. He stared in silence as his beloved Kat was lowered into her six-foot grave and buried. After everyone left, Damien stood in front of Kat's grave and made a silent vow to avenge her.
A few days passed since Kat's death and Damien walked around in a light haze of rage and sadness. He was furious because there haven't been any deaths since he lost his Kat. At home, he would leave his window open, expecting Kat to pop in with her usual big smile, but knowing full well that she would never do it again. He was in his room doing homework when he suddenly felt eyes watching him. Damien jumped out of his seat and looked outside into the darkness. He heard an eerie laugh then saw a familiar shadow. It was petite with a slender frame and what looked like short hair fashionable clothes. All these factors reminded him of his beloved Kat who he knew was dead. As the clouds cleared and the moon shined, Damien's eyes widened in shock as the shadow came into full view. Everything on the figure: its body, clothes, hair, and lips. Everything matched his memory. The only thing differ was the blood red eyes staring back at him. He leaned further out the window and stared in disbelief.
"…Kat?"
That was all he could say as he stared at the ghostly pale figure of his lost love. Soon a new set of clouds covered the moon momentarily. All Damien could see was the glow of red eyes that soon disappeared into the night.