Hold Onto Me///Vylad X Reader (Short Story)

Chapter 1

I opened my eyes as screaming filled my ears. Night terrors had found their way into my head again, except this time I almost didn't escape. I sat in my bed, sheets twisted around my legs, sweat layered my skin, hair falling from the sluggish pony tail. I looked around my room, and noticed that the town was quiet.

I stood up, abandoning my bed and went to the window. It was about midday and everything we quiet, unusual. Around this time cars would be buzzing, people yelling and honking their horns angrily. I furrowed my eyebrows together in confusion. There was nothing that I could see. It was stranger that there wasn't even the sound of a train passing by. Nothing.

I shook it off and changed into a pair of jeans and a tshirt, easy enough to run around in, then slipped on my tennis shoes and ran downstairs, while fixing my hair. "Dad?" I called.

There was no response, which made me uneasy. I walked to his door and knocked. "Dad?"

A rotting scent filled my nose, so strong I wanted to gag. I opened his door, slightly, and saw flies buzzing around wildly. I pushed the door open more and saw him lying on the floor, bloody wounds covered his body, black ooze pouring from any open wound. I covered my mouth, trying not to cry. I stood in the doorway, silently shaking.

My only family left was dead... I backed away slowly, and turned to the living room, and threw the curtains, and saw several people's bodies littering the streets. My eyes widened.

What had happened while I was asleep!? I blinked back tears. They can't be dead. Not all of them. I tried to shake the image from my head.

I was still asleep! I couldn't be the only one alive. No, there had to be someone.

From behind me I heard an angry groan. I spun around to see a man, with his head down, walking toward me from my open front door. "Who are you?" I whispered.

He lifted his head and I saw, half the skin on his face, rotted away and gushing a black goo. I had to try very hard not to vomit. The sight made my stomach churn as he approached me. I was frozen with fear. When he reached me he breathed his vial breath against my face, blowing loose strands of my hair back out of my face. I stalled my breath as he reached for me. He grabbed my arm with a cold feeling. I let out a small shriek as mouth opened to show his jagged teeth.

I squeezed my eyes shut as. His face neared mine. I was going to go down in the hands of this mutated... freak! I heard a sort of war cry and the mutated person's grip on my arm weakened and left my arm with a heavy thud. The thud was followed by heavy, angry breathing.

Slowly I opened my eyes and saw a boy maybe a year or two older than me holding a baseball bat covered in the black ooze. He looked at me, panting. He moved from his awkward fighting stance, and put his feet together. "Were you bit?"

"What?" I managed.

"Did the Roamer bite you?"

"No... what's a Roamer?"

"That," he nudged the man with his foot. "They crave blood and meat, human meat."

I stared at him, scared. "Who are you?"

"Vylad Ro'Meave and-" he was cut off by an angry howl. "We need to go!"

He grabbed my hand and lead me, running out the front door straight for the woods behind the school. The angry howl was ringing through my ears. My head was pounding, so much had happened in the short amount of time. I had only been awake for ten minutes and then I was running through the woods with the school's Valedictorian and fencing captain from my Senior year! He's changed since then, college must have changed him... maybe we'll find his brothers. Or some other people who could possibly help us.

We were running and stopped due to a low growl. Vylad looked around slowly, as did I. It seemed normal, but the low growl came back and he gestured for me to climb up into the nearest tree. I nodded and jumped up to the branch, catching it with my hands and pulled myself up onto the branch and clung to the thin trunk tightly as Vylad got his bat ready.

I heard the brush under me shake, and a Roamer crawled out quickly, baring his yellow teeth and crawled towards Vylad who swung the bat, knocking its head right off. I let out a small shriek and clung to the tree's thin bark, trying not to fall. "Are you okay?" I yelled.

He looked up at me, whipping goop onto his shirt, off of his tanned skin. He grinned. "I'm great!" He waved me back down and walked down under the tree.

I went to jump down, but got my leg caught on a branch and went falling toward the ground. As the impact was about to knock the wind out of me I felt two arms catch me. I stared at Vylad as he set me on my feet. "Th-Thanks," I mumbled, trying to hide the new layer of crimson on my cheeks.

"It was nothing," he replied, almost sounding like he was going to stutter. I noticed a small gash on his leg. The Roamer probably scratched him. "By the way what's your name?"

"(Y/N)." I replied, shyly.

"Weren't you the one girl who skipped two grades back in high school?" He asked. I bit my lip and nodded. "I still can't believe I won Valedictorian and you didn't!"

"Where are we going?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Our setup. It's in a clearing probably a few yards ahead." He replied. "C'mon we can make it there by dusk if we run." He said then started to sprint. I took a deep breath and followed him, suddenly glad I wore tennis shoes.