Follower - Good Vampire

I fell through the building, passing many floors of it. After giving many office workers a jump scare, I stamped my face to the ground. It didn't hurt at all. But unfortunately, the ground floor was not empty.

The scream echoed inside the lobby. I, already heard more than enough shrieks in a minute, did not react but stay down. The lone lobby lady soon stopped screaming. Wow that made a rhyme. Cool.

Camera sound. I looked up. She looked very puzzled, checking her phone and me by turns. I was very torn between staying like this and standing up. Thankfully, the lone lobby lady decided that for me. She came over hesitantly, like a curious prey approaching a downed predator. Did we beat it? Soon-to-be-devoured extra asks. A monster wakes up.

A hand phased through me, making both of us startled. We simultaneously jumped backward, flapping arms to express surprise. The lone lobby lady, actually she seemed to be in the late-twenties, stared me blankly. The lone lobby lady then glazed her eyes down to her phone, which was somehow intact in her hand. I couldn't help myself but to check the photo of mine. Saw the phone, and realized I was still in ghost mode and could not see the screen. It looked like a flat bar of, leaf? A rectangular leaf, yes, green and somewhat shiny. But for some reason I was having difficulty at distinguishing whether I am using my eye-sights or the ghost sense thingy to see. The Three-L-Words unconsciously tilted the screen towards me like I am one of her friends who want to check out own picture.

And there was nothing in the photo. Only an empty tiled floor. Okay, that is creepy. I looked up to her. Realizing that she's showing me her phone, she faced it back to her with a confused groan. I looked away and saw the automatic door. The glass reflected my image just fine. When I am not a ghost, I am also not a vampire. Saw that vampires are just a myth about some kind of real disease, but I knew that vampires are real. What I didn't know was I would be one, of course.

Another shutter sound from a tiny speaker. I turned my body to the phone, only to be greet by a camera flash. It didn't bother me like I was a human, did I just say that in past tense.

Well, it's not like I was attached to be a human. I'm not going to wail over me not being a human person. I poked her leg and pointed her phone. Getting the message, she showed it to me. Like her remark, I did look cute.

I watched her as she began to rapidly tap her phone. Are you uploading that? Should I protest? If this is my form from now on, maybe. If not, nah. I just waited, quietly watching her blogging.

She looked up, then said that she needed to go work now. With a question that what am I going to do. Yes, what do I do?

Then two police officers went in. With a stern look, the lobby lady went to the counter. One stopped by me, and the other went to the counter to ask questions. There's a report regarding child abuse, who lives in the penthouse, policewoman asked. The counter lady shocked. In her words the owner of this building didn't look like a bad person. Then she tried to contact the mother, only to get a response that the line is busy. Then the janitor decided to go with polices. The officer called her companion. He asked what is this, pointing directly me.

Frozen since the sudden entrance, I slowly turned myself to him with a friendly smile, which was incredibly hard like always. Though my parents, teachers never told that eating people is bad, so I don't need to feel guilty?

The lady explained that I fell from above. He remarked that this is an odd place to put a doll to find my owner. My owner? What.

I only know that it is somehow wrong. I'm not feeling guilty.

The janitor denied that this floor is not exactly the lost and found center. Policeman said that he saw me just moved by myself. Of course I move by myself, what do you think I am, a puppet?

Well, you need to eat, right?

That answered both of two questions. Puppets don't eat food. The policeman stared for a while, then called by his company. The baby, yes, emergency. Then three went to the elevator. He could deal with a suspicious doll later, anyway.

I think I should run.

Quick.

The ding of elevator was the signal. I ran, or slid hastily to the automatic door. As I thought, the automatic door was not triggered and I had to phase through it. I could get used to that, going through every single objects. What I could not get used to is many people staring at me at once, adults even. Uneasy atmosphere.

A man questioned that if I am a robot. That… is actually a good idea. I slowly turned around in a place, and slid forward for a couple of… my-heights. It was hard to guess how much I moved without a ruler, especially when my size had changed. Then I stopped, and turned around, and went on again, like a robot cleaner.

Some took out their camera, which is the cue for me to run faster. Unfortunately, with my size, people could easily catch up with me just by walking. They didn't seem to even notice that I was trying to run off. What they noticed was, however, that I am not visible through a camera, probably. Because those who tried to take a picture of me stopped walking. I could let myself to be captured, but doing so was surprisingly hard. Apparently being in ghost mode was the most casual of me. Staying out of intangible was getting more and more like a holding breath, numbingly exhausting. And I could, quote-unquote, see whatever they are doing without turning back in this status. Unbelieving what they are seeing through their camera, people stared at me with a bit scared face.

Some stopped and went to their original destination, but there were still people following me. I, actually didn't mind this now. At least not everyone was paying attention to me. It's not like they are calling police. …Why do I have such an unfounded fear to the cops?

I had to go through something solid to remove this unwanted attention. The flame suggested that I could also just eat them all, simplest approach, but I didn't want to do that. I was full. And just an hour ago I was pretty opposed to the idea about eating humans. I couldn't remember why I was being such a coward, but a small part of me said that there might be a good reason.

A couple of hands phased through my body. Stop touching me! I held myself from creating another fireball, how fortunate. I jumped forward out of reflex, turned around glared the offenders. At least there was no scream from my action, but there went my robot acting. A guy who poked me stared at me like I'm a freak. No, many of them were giving that look right now. This was getting too much. I looked around half-franticly, throwing something-something-robot-acting completely away.

My flame flickered, reflecting my agitation. I don't know that is the reason, but humans stepped away. Good, now I can run. But, my fastest driving speed was yawn-provoking, and still their curiosity got on them. Keeping distance, some of them still followed me.

Don't they have better things to do?

Apparently, yes. As I went for minutes, they started to stop following me. Checking their phone, and hurried themselves away. Adults. They couldn't take a photo to share, which means they can't get Likes from me. They couldn't touch me, which means I am no value to them. Then I meant nothing to them.

I turned around and saw them leaving. There were new pedestrians, but they just glanced at me and went away. I will not be like them if I grew up, I thought. I won't lose my passion for the occult. Especially after I experienced it by myself.

Heh, Likes. Getting those by following me. Then those who gives them are my followers' Followers? What an absurd food chain. I do eat them so I am really on top of the pyramid.

In my thoughts, I wandered in to the park. Almost no one was there. It's past nine, morning. So it's understandable. There was nothing but offices and banks near here. And I had no idea where this is. I didn't think of checking map when I unlocked my phone.

Speaking of the phone. After hiding in shrubs, I grabbed my phone and orange out of my flame. There were no calls from my parents… no, now there are. It seems like my phone can't receive signal when it's kept inside there. Should I hold it like this? I saw that polices tracking people with GPS in their phone. If my mom had reported my missing, they could find me with this. If, I stay still and keep holding the phone outside.

But should I. It felt like weeks has been passed ever since I left my home. Actually it's been only a couple of hours since I got on the truck.

I could've began my adventure smaller. Like walking non-school-related road or something. Not be all out at once like, hitchhiking. I was far beyond the frontiers of my territory, ten-minute-walk radius from my room. Meeting bunch of people that I will never see again, and I ate a woman who I will never see again neither. And I did babysit, which was a huge step forward in my life.

I pondered in this green shelter in the center of the concrete sea. What will be the next step?

Note:

Another review from SpiritsOfRhythm! Last time I responded with PM, personal thank for a detailed critique, but I am going to reply more publicly now.

So your review. Uh, this is dark? I am surprised. There is no swearing or any mention of death! People just… magically disappeared in the flame! But they don't always die from that! The woman went missing… permanently.

I could make the protagonist suffer to make this darker. But no, I altered his conscience in his metamorphosis so he won't have any major mental breakdown even after devouring what-he-was. How considerable am I.

Okay, serious response: I do notice that the subject matter is dark, yes. But in a story development perspective, no, this is really, light. I am planning to go darker near the end, but right now? Nooo.

I also noticed that this is progressing in an absolute crawl. That shalt not stand.