I am currently working with a publishing firm to have In The Shadows published as a brand new book with new chapters and twists, so stay tuned! This is just a rough copy, when it is published it will be different :)
It was a cold, wet and windy night when it all started.
*4 hours earlier*
I was just about to finish my shift at the diner where I work, Claire's Diner.
"Hey Fawn, I'm heading out now!" I called to my co worker for this shift. Fawn is my best friend. We tell each other everything. We always have each other's backs; when my purse was stolen, Fawn kept her cool and went after the guy who had taken it. When Fawn crashed her car, I was the only one there for her. When I was attacked by vampires, Fawn had my back. Oh yeah, I forgot to say. My world is infested with vampires.
They control everything we do. We try to ignore them, pretend everything's all right for the kiddies, but when we're alone, we cry ourselves to sleep because we are so scared. Every goodbye you say to someone could be the last. The kids eventually find out, but we try to keep it from them as long as possible. But the look of confusement on their faces when they are finally told, then the look of amusement, thinking we're just kidding. And then the look of horror when they realize we're not joking. It's awful. But there's nothing we can do about the vamps at all. Nothing.
"What? No no, can't you wait until my shift's up? I can drive you home!" Fawn yelped, scurrying from behind the counter. I shook my head at her. "Fawn, I'll be fine. My house isn't that far, and I've got my silver with me." I said, throwing the towel I was using to clean some tabletops with over my shoulder, and pulled my apron off, hanging it up. "Natalie, there's no way I'm letting you walk out that door!! It's nearly eleven!" Fawn said frantically. "Fawn, I can look after myself. I'm nearly eighteen!" I said, sighing in impatience. Fawn shook her head, frowning. "Fawn! I need help with these orders!" Our cook, Nathan yelled. He stuck his head out of the doorway, and I saw a flash of his silver earrings. He had a LOT of tattoos, dyed black hair, a lip piercing, a nose piercing and black eye makeup. He was heavy Goth. I grinned and mouthed a thank you at him, but he frowned at me. Oh. He had no idea what he'd intervened in. Oh well. "See ya later Fawn!" I yelled before hurrying out of the diner.
I shivered and pulled my coat tighter around me. I heard thunder crack, and jumped.
You're being paranoid. Knock it off. Vamps can smell fear. It's like ringing a dinner bell! I thought to myself, and immediately wished I hadn't.
I heard the thunder again and the stormy grey clouds opened and it started pouring down. I cursed under my breath at forgetting my umbrella. I didn't have a hood on my coat, so I hunched myself up and walked faster. I saw an alley and slowed down for a second, and then quickly walked towards it. It was sheltered from the rain, but it was really dark inside. I quickly made up my mind as the thunder boomed again, and hurried towards the alley. I sighed in relief as the rain stopped pouring on my head and soaking me.
I pushed my hands deep inside my pocket and started walking down the alley. I tried not to think about anything scary, but a few thoughts slipped past my guard. My blood froze as I heard footsteps following me. I walked faster, trying to calm my heartbeat down from its racing. The footsteps picked up speed to match mine. Tears stung my eyes. I was so stupid to have come down the alley! My now dead parents raised me better than that! I started to run, but I stopped short when a tall, dark shadow stepped out in my path. I skidded to a stop, the hairs on my arms and on the back of my neck rising. The silhouette stalked closer, and I backed away, feeling tears fall down my cheeks. There was another flash of lightning, and I saw a flash of his face. Dark circles around blood red eyes, pale skin, full, pale lips, brown hair styled in a quiff, and a strongly built body. When the light subsided, he was no longer there. I quickly turned around, hearing a whisper behind me, and screamed when a strong, pale and cold hand reached out, grabbing me by the throat and slamming me against the brick wall. I should've let Fawn drive me home! I should have waited! I'm so stupid! I gasped for breath as the hand tightened. The man stepped out if the shadows, and I saw it was the same man who I had just seen. The vampire.
My eyes widened, and I screamed again when he smiled, revealing a pair of sharp, canine teeth. He smiled even wider when I screamed. Then, he quickly leaned forward and sank his teeth into my neck, draining me. I felt the life slowly slip from me. My god, the pain! I closed my eyes. Goodbye Fawn, I love you.... I thought, before closing my eyes. He supported me when I fell, still drinking. When death came, I welcomed it with open arms. No more pain. No more vampires. Just peace.
I quickly shook my head, ridding myself of that horrible thought. I shuddered, pulling my coat tighter around myself and turning around to walk out of the alley. I'm not taking any chances. I stopped walking though when a dark silhouette stepped into my path. Oh god. Please, please, no! My breathing quickened. Tears stung at my eyes. Lightning flashed, and I saw him. Dark circles around blood red eyes. Deathly pale skin. Pale, full lips. Light brown, soaking hair. But he didn't seem to mind. He was wearing a black leather jacket, with a black shirt underneath it, with black jeans and black shoes. Oh my god. My daydream was coming true. I turned and ran. I didn't hear footsteps following me, so I quickly glanced back at him. He was still there. But lightning flashed again, and suddenly he wasn't there. I quickly turned around and ran as fast as I could. I crashed into something solid and cold, and screamed as a cold hand wrapped around my throat, slamming me into a cold, hard brick wall. I choked and the tears streamed down my face. "Please," I tried to beg, but his hand tightened around my throat, cutting off my words. He leaned closer, and put his face near mine. My eyes widened with terror when he opened his mouth, smiling at me with too many teeth. I screamed. He loosened his hand a little, letting me gasp for breath and then screaming even louder. He smiled even wider, and for the first time, I heard him speak.
"Do scream louder, it's such a turn on for me," he purred in a husky, sexy voice. It was deep, and now that I got a good look at him, he looked around nineteen or twenty, but he must be hundreds of years old. I stopped screaming, and he growled. It scared the hell out of me. He leaned into me, pressing his face into my neck, and I whimpered, sobbing. He let go of my neck and put his arms on either side if my head. No escape. I beat his chest, trying to get this monster away from me. He chuckled, and started kissing and licking my neck. Well that's it then. I'm going to die in this alley, and no one will miss me or care, apart from Fawn. My god, Fawn! I'm going to miss her so much! I love you Fawn, I hope you find love, I hope you get married and have children, I hope you grow old and die a natural death. I hope you don't grieve over me too much. You're practically my sister and best friend, and I love you so much. Goodbye Fawn.
I tried to cringe away when the vampire gently nibbled on my neck, but he growled and yanked me closer to him. "No!" he growled. "You're not getting away from me!" I whimpered, pressing my palms against his chest, trying to push him away. But he didn't budge. I suddenly remembered I had my phone and silver knife with me!! But, as if he read my mind, the vampire reached into my pockets and pulled my phone and silver pocketknife out, tossing them over his shoulder. They landed twelve feet from us. I felt despair latch onto my heart. As he leaned into me again, I remembered my vial of silver I always keep in the inside secret pocket of my jacket. He started nuzzling my neck, and I discretely reached inside my jacket. I pulled the top off the vial and threw the silver in his face. He screamed, backing away and clawing at his face. Hopefully I got him in the eyes. The silver was burning and eating away at his skin, and I wasted no time in racing to my phone and knife. I scooped them up and started running faster than I've ever ran, but I felt wind rush past me, and the vampire grabbed my arms, raising me up so I could see him eye to eye. He glared at me, and I saw angry, blistering blotches where the silver had touched him. I almost felt bad for him, but then I reminded myself that he was a monster and was going to kill me! I kicked and screamed, trying to get him to drop me. Nothing worked. He snarled, baring his teeth, and shoved me into a wall. He raised me higher so I was looking down at him. His eyes were swirling with red and black, and I was terrified. He suddenly stopped snarling and lowered his head, and he ripped my coat off. I shivered at the coldness. He pulled my hoodie off and tossed that aside too. Then, he nudged my top up, exposing my skin to him. I trembled as he pressed his face into my belly. "So soft. So WARM!" He mumbled, pressing his cold lips against my skin and kissing it all over. I shivered and his hair tickled my belly. He suddenly ran his soft but cold tongue down my torso, and I squealed. He chuckled, still holding me and squeezing my sides, then quickly letting go to grab my hips instead. "Are you scared, my sweet?" He licked my lower abdomen, and I trembled. He grinned, running his nose over my belly button. I rested my head against the wall, writhing in his hold. I shouldn't be feeling like this! I whimpered, grabbing a fistful of his soft, wet hair and yanked him away from me. He growled, letting go of my hips and grabbing my head and shoulder again. "Enough." He growled, before yanking my head to the side and biting hard into my neck. I screamed, and screamed, and screamed.
"NATALIE! OH MY GOD, NATALIE WAKE UP! PLEASE!" I was being shaken. My eyelids weakly cracked open. Fawn stood over me, tears streaming down her face. I remembered his sharp fangs biting me. I reached up to touch my neck, but Fawn yanked my hand away. "No! Don't touch that! I'm calling an ambulance, just stay with me Nat, please, stay awake!" she sobbed. I grabbed her hand as she pulled away, whimpering in terror. "Don't let him hurt me, please!" I whimpered. I looked around, realising I was behind Claire's Diner. How did I get here? I couldn't remember anything, just being bitten. "I won't leave you, Nat, I promise." Fawn said. She pulled out her phone and dialled 911. "Hello?? Please, help me! I need an ambulance, my friend has been attacked by a vampire!" she sobbed into her phone. I was fighting to keep my eyes open. Maybe I'll just close them for a minute...
"NO! Natalie, please, keep your eyes open! Don't fall asleep!" Fawn shouted, and I weakly opened my eyes. "Help is coming Nat, stay with me, just please, stay with me!" she begged. I opened my mouth, choking on something. I spat it out, and realised it was blood. My blood. I started gasping more and spitting more blood out. I couldn't breathe. Darkness was tugging at me, and all I wanted to do was sleep. I was so TIRED! Fawn wiped helplessly at my mouth, sobbing. I heard sirens wailing. "They're nearly here Nat, just hold on!" Fawn wept. I could see lights flashing, and men getting out of an ambulance, pulling a gurney with them. They rushed forwards, gently lifting me up and strapping me in while putting pressure on my neck. I felt something being placed over my face, and as I was being wheeled towards the ambulance, I saw a tall, dark silhouette leaning against the wall. He licked blood from his lips, and winked at me. My eyes widened and I gasped. I frantically pointed at him, but when the men and Fawn turned to see what I was pointing at, he disappeared.
Oh god.