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Pumping his legs, Rowan raced his best friend Jeff to the stream that ran through the forest behind their house. His cousin Robin was watching him for a few days since his parents had left on their 'relax time', and she was paranoid that they would get hurt if they went outside.
Sheesh, they were nine, and she was constantly treating them like three year olds. So as soon as she left for the grocery store with a last warning to stay inside as she jogged out the door, they snuck out, making sure that none of the neighbors were watching and would tell Robin what they were up to. They carried along the fire crackers that they had gotten from a friend's older brother.
Reaching the pond, they agreed upon the starting place. They gently put them down, grinning in anticipation for the disturbance that they were going to make.
"Ready? Set? GO!" screamed Rowan, lighting up the end of his fire cracker. They exploded with several sharp popping sounds, and they could already hear the confused yelling from the neighbors.
They panted in excitement, grinning at each other. Suddenly, they felt a menacing presence behind them. Whipping around, they encountered a tall, red-eyed man lurking behind them.
"Hello children. I was just wondering where I would go for a snack when I heard you playing. Now, tell me. Do either of you know where I could find one?" The man chuckled evilly, thoroughly enjoying the fear in the air.
"I-I-I'm s-sorry sir, but w-we're not supposed to t-t-talk to st-st-strangers." Jeff stuttered, his throat locking in his fright.
"Really? Well that's quite rude. All I wanted was a little SNACK!" The man screamed, his face twisting into a grotesque mask of thirst. Without waiting for a response, the monster lunged for Jeff, his mouth open wide, baring the sharp, glistening teeth heading straight for his throat.
Terror sprouted immediately and they spun around quickly, the giant's teeth snapping just shy of Jeff's throat. They sprinted down the path back to their house. Rowan had always been faster than Jeff, and pulled ahead swiftly, but not fast enough to miss the hair rising chuckle the man let out.
"I always did enjoy a bit of a chase," Rowan thought he heard the man growl. The crunching of leaves under the beast's feet interrupted further thought. In synchronization he detected Jeff's pounding feet push harder, but he was still far behind him.
Rowan was almost to the house when he heard a thud, followed by an ear-splitting shriek. A loud sucking followed, and he pedaled his feet faster. He didn't look back until he was safely hidden behind the door to his house. He looked out the window when he had stopped shaking enough to stand up, and there had been nothing there. No Jeff, no vampire, not even any blood.
He arrived to a frantic Robin, who screamed until she noticed the pallor of his skin. Anxiously, she questioned him, but he couldn't say a word. His throat was so dry form fright that he wouldn't have been able to say anything even if he had wanted to.
A few days later, Rowan headed out to a friend's house. He gave no explanation for his sudden desire to be sociable, but Robin didn't complain. She thought that some time out of the house would be good for him.
He stayed there for two days and never told anyone about what had happened to Jeff. He had been so scared that he had told everyone that Jeff had gone home while Rowan's cousin, Robin, had been out. Eventually, Rowan had to come back, and Robin made him supper and then sent him for a nap, as he had stayed up most of the night.
He found it nearly impossible to sleep, the last few moments of Jeff's life replaying itself over and over in his head. He shivered, remembering the animalistic chuckle, the gruesome sound of blood being sucked out and consumed. It took him most of the day to fall asleep, and Robin never bothered him. She assumed he was asleep and had stayed up later than she had thought.
Only a few minutes after he had finally passed out from sheer exhaustion, he woke up to a voice, whispering softly.
"When you go to sleep tonight, you will see me. You think you are safe underneath your covers? Nothing is safe from me, not even your precious cousin. Tonight, you will pay for your escape."
The boy screamed at the top of his lungs, and Robin came flying into the room.
"Rowan, what's wrong? I heard you scream!"
"Th-th-there w-was a m-m-man and he s-said he was g-g-g-onna hurt me!" Rowan stammered.
"What have I told you about staying up half the night Rowan?! I told you that you would get nightmares!" She yelled, slamming out of the room.
Rowan was so terrified that he didn't get to sleep for hours, shivering beneath the covers. He woke up numerous times, and every time he was accompanied by the chilling sigh of air, promising death.
He woke up a while later, and there was a certain chill in the air. Looking out the window, he noted with surprise that it was dark out and Robin hadn't come to wake him up to do dishes, clean, even to talk about his nightmares.
"Robin?" he inquired, jogging down the stairs. All of the lights were on, but instead of being comforting, it was scary. Robin was always babbling about saving the environment, which meant turning off all lights, organic foods, blah, blah, blah. He felt his blood freeze when he saw the open back door, swinging off its hinges. You could see the forest from there, and instead of the wonderland where he had grown up, it now seemed like a hulking threat, waiting for him to step into its depths.
Turning into the kitchen, his feet froze in place. There was the vampire man from the woods, standing in his house!
There was an evil smirk on his face, and it widened when Rowan backed away. His heart sped faster, and the strange man licked his lips, his grin spreading into a full blown smile that chilled Rowan to his bones.
Rowan whirled around to run, but the giant caught him before he could take a step. Hands wrapping around the young boys throat, the vampire released a sinister laugh, talons digging deep. Rowan felt his razor sharp teeth lightly graze his neck.
"Please don't hurt me! What did I do?" Rowan whimpered, fear taking hold. "Please, I'll do anything!"
The red-eyed monster ignored his pleas. "I told you that you couldn't escape me," he whispered before stabbing his teeth into the boy's neck. Rowan was so paralyzed with his terror that he couldn't even yell.
Just when he thought that he was dead for sure, a siren pierced the night. The neighbors had heard Robin's screams as the vampire attacked her, and phoned in a domestic disturbance.
The vampire cursed, and whirled out of the room into the surrounding forest, dropping the boy into a deep crevice on the forest floor on the way. Just before he ran he gave the boy a thoughtful glance, Rowan's blood dripping from his teeth. His eyes focused on the bite marks all over the boy's neck.
Almost inaudibly, he murmured, "I guess you would make a fine companion, for a century or two at least. I can always get rid of you later." He seemed to be talking to himself.
He bolted away. Rowan didn't notice, he was too busy writhing from the pain of the bite, and the strange fire that was sweeping through his body. His mouth was paralyzed, so he couldn't even scream for help from the police men that were so close.
He lay there for what seemed like years before the pain started to fade. First it just lessened in his fingertips and toes, but then it faded up his arms and legs, until it burned only in his chest, which, impossibly, felt hotter than before. Suddenly, his heart stopped. He stayed where he was, wondering if he was dead.
Just as he was about to stand, and prove to himself that he hadn't survived, he heard the light crunch of otherworldly footsteps. A hand extended in front of his face, and he clasped it tightly.
"What am I?" Rowan questioned nervously, dreading the answer just as much as he feared it.
"You are like me now, a vampire. Come, after we hunt I will teach you all that you need to know." His voice whispered across the darkness as the vampire pulled Rowan to his feet.
Rowan instantly understood; all his fear vanished. What monster was there for you to fear when you are a beast yourself?