The False Vampire

When I was a child, I often pondered what normal people did in their waking hours, what happened to the rest of the world while I was asleep, and then when I was awake. I had it down to an art now, predictable in nature, but all I could go by was the general rules. At night, by the time I’m aware enough to actually pay attention to my surrounds, teens are stumbling home, drunk from the latest house party.

Generally they seemed to travel in packs of two’s or three, like dogs, rushing home desperately to make curfew. My lips curled, curfew. I hated that word.

After the ruckus of the teenagers, it’s quiet. The streetlights flicker occasionally, but they never turn off. Unless there was a blackout within the town, generally caused by said teenagers. But such things were rare in this small town of few, or at least in this division, this side of the tracks. However, tonight, something new occurred, trivial in nature, in the general perspective, but significant to my own.

I was once again sitting by the gnarled tree, on it’s old roots and gazing up at the sky. I had position myself earlier so that I was angled towards the streetlights, allowing the light the wash over the book in my hands that I was currently reading. It wasn’t fascinatingly interesting; a generic plot with generic characters, but it had captured my attention, captivating me. I was filled with a determination to finish it, to close the dog-eared covers and say I had read it.

As I sat on the roots of the gnarled willow tree, slightly too big for our front yard, it took me a while to notice that someone was standing besides me, watching over my shoulder. Looking up as the back of my neck tingled, I noticed Samuel, the boy that served my mother and I only last night at The Bean Factory. The empty one, the soulless one whose eyes were flat and emotionless.

It was only a few seconds more until words started spewing from his mouth, loudly.

“Come here you stupid mutt!” The mutt in question was questionable itself. Large, very large, it appeared to be a wolf, who currently, was running away from Samuel, a long leash dragging along the ground that emitted a scraping noise from the fabric catching on the rough road, a slight clinking from the bouncing of the metal clasp. It could easily be heard from my position in the roots, echoing throughout the quiet street interrupted only by the ‘dog’ and the crickets.

Next to me, snow fell, capturing the attention of the dog-wolf creature. Soon it was bounding after me, tongue flapping in the cold air and paws sinking into snow lining the sides of the road. It only took seconds to reach me, though it felt like whatever gods there were had taken possession of a universal remote, activating the slow motion button, prolonging time. I didn’t like dogs; an anxious feeling began to twinge in my stomach. I bit my lip, hoping to dispel the feelings.

The creature came to a stall besides me, paws skidding in the snow. It’s tongue lolled out of its mouth in an almost lazy grin. It sniffed my hair and exhaled, tickling my ear. The sensation of it almost caused me to giggle, but my lips were far too cold for that. I pulled off my gloves, rubbing my hands together and blowing them in an attempt to keep them warm, keeping a wary eye on the creature. I pulled the gloves back on, tight and cosy, before looking at the creatures owner.

“I’m so sorry about that! He hates walking on a leash. Sometimes, I could swear he’s a human!” Samuel chuckled, sending the dog a particular look that sent chills racing up and down my spine. The creature whimpered, retreating and sitting next to Samuel’s leg. It almost seemed like the creature was glaring at Samuel, indeed giving him a very human-like aura.

“Do you breed wolves or something?”

“Or something. He’s actually a crossbreed” Samuel shrugged, a light smile touching his lips.

“So why are you walking your dog so late in the night?” I knew my voice held a note of curiosity, obvious even to a deaf person. I watched him steadily, eyes unwavering.

“Why are you sitting out here so late a night? Most people are asleep by now” Samuel’s eyebrow raised, It almost disappeared into his hairline. I could help but think how sexy he looked, hair ruffled and cheeks tinged pink from the cold.

“I’m not most people”

“Obviously. So what’s up with the scar?” Samuel settled down next to me. His curiousity made me self-conscious, a hand raising to my cheek as though it would hide the scar.

“I don’t know. I’ve always had it. I don’t remember.”

“Fair enough. I have a scar on my thigh from falling off a tree when I was younger. I remember that day so clearly, I was petrified. It was really hot, the sun was making me sweat and yet, I couldn’t move because of the pain I was in” Samuel laughed lightly.

“Describe it to me. What does daylight feel like to you?” I bit my lip, looking at him from the corner of my eyes.

“Why?”

“I’m allergic to sunlight, I don’t have any memories of playing in the sun”

"What? Like a vampire?"

“Exactly like a vampire” My voice was coloured in a tone that I could only describe as rude. Could I help it? No, his question had poked at my memories of small children running around, screaming in playfulness that when at that age, you didn’t realise it was called bullying.

Samuel’s face hardened for a split second, his eyes taking on a sheen that I would’ve doubted. He looked weary. He said good-bye to me; his tone quick and sharp, cutting. He then walked away, but his dog remained, until I could no longer see Samuel without straining my neck. The creature walked up to me, his eyes locking onto mine. His thick pelt reminded me of the colouring of a border collie, with patches of white and brown mixing together. As he stared into my eyes, he sniffed my face, slowly, letting me know exactly what he was going. He was smarter than he appeared to be, that, I could tell.

Then, counteracting my thoughts, he swept his long slimy tongue up my face. His teeth were yellow and his breath stunk. And he licked me, leaving a residue. It stunk, to put it lightly.

'Or maybe not that smart...'

Looking overly happy, the dog bounded away, chasing after Samuel, and then ahead. I could hear his groan of frustration before he started chasing the dog once more.

Laughing lightly, despite Samuel’s behaviour, I picked my body off the ground, soaked with melted snow. It didn’t really matter to me, I always had a wet patch on my bottom, though it was cold, and I knew I wanted to get out of these jeans. Standing, I heard many click originating from my joints. I grinned, satisfied with the relief of relief that sunk through my body.

I gently folded the corner of the page I was up to, closing the book. The stars were bright tonight, behind the snow clouds. I had noticed them before, speaking to Samuel, but now that I was alone I felt I could truly appreciate them, sparkling beauties that seemed to be engraved into the night sky. I couldn’t imagine a would without stars. It was something that I saw as nearly impossible, something that I chose to believe was impossible, for the stars were one of the only things that gave me hope in this dull world of night and shadow.

It made me wonder. What was school like? I had never been. I could go to night courses, but my mum was too overprotective to let me even consider the option of that. My mothers mind was complex. However, for everything that I had done wrong she was always there supporting me. She was there. I had read stories, many, many stories of people who hated their parents. It was not something I could even fathom. Hating my own parents? It was truly out of the question in my mind. Even my dad's cold attitude was kind towards me. One was only truly a family once one understood the actions behind the words and the expressions. I understood my family's motives. I was thankful for that too. I shook myself of the dark webbing that had threatened to overwhelm my mind. However, we all still had our moments, and I didn’t appreciate them as anything less.

Entering our house, despite my reluctance to go inside, I closed the door on my winter wonderland underneath the willow tree. The cold handle in my grasp made something shiver deep inside of me. The door creaked open, loud and long, haunting. I could hear sobbing echoing throughout the small hall, only to find my mother in my father’s embrace. Her shoulders shook, so badly that I truly thought for a second she may harm herself. My head cocked to the side.

‘Why was she crying?’