Dusk

It was a cold frosty December night. The snow had settled upon the still ground. There wasn’t a sound, except two sets of foot steps and one racing heart. She had been sprinting for miles and her lungs where blazing but she could not stop until she was free of this night figure. She was running low on energy so she took the first detour she found. With a sly slide she slipped silently down the ally way. She was safe at last. She turned around with a sigh of relief when the frozen hands gripped her neck. His breath slid down the indention on her throat and sent a shiver down her spine.
“So we meet again Samantha,” came his familiar cold monotone voice. “You thought you could escape me again now did you?”
She struggled and lashed out at his grip but made no progress breaking away. “Answer me darling,” he whispered in her ear with such a sweet tone that it sounded even more menacing, but she refused. This made him angry and she knew it. Suddenly she felt his lips on her collar bone sending a shock threw her body. That was the way he used to kiss her when he wanted something. It was her weakness and they both knew it. It was intoxicating, and he knew that. But suddenly that arousing sensation was gone as she felt the tip of his fangs brush the skin over her jugular. There was a sharp pain and she began thrashing around. Her eyes slipped closed and she suddenly seemed to be tangled in the darkness. Did she dare open her eyes for the last glimpse of life?
Involuntarily her eyes began to open as she thrashed around. Then shock filled her as she noticed her surroundings. This was not a dark ally in downtown but her own little bedroom. She looked around still on high alert then realized it had only been a dream. Samantha was sweating. This had been a reoccurring problem lately.
She pulled her silk blood red bed sheets close in a involuntary attempt to relax. She didn’t know what this dream meant but she had an idea. Sam slowly turned to the right and looked at the pink framed picture of her mother.
Her heart skipped a beat at the memory of the dreaded night she lost the person that meant most to her:

The sun had just set and the last of the golden orange had disappeared from the sky. Everything was now cloaked in shadow, leaving a sense of unknown. Samantha walked the streets along side her mother casually as she did every night. They walked hand in hand as they dragged their feet threw the crackling autumn leaves that littered the sidewalks smiling. This was a peaceful time for them both.
As they slowly approached the drive way of their rust trimmed brown house, they heard the rustle of leaves behind them.
“Mom, what was that?” Sam asked as any curious 15 year old would do.
“I’m not entirely sure,“ Jennifer shrugged her shoulders and turned around. She froze as her eyes locked with what had made the sound. Quickly her motherly instincts kicked in as she realized the threat. “Sam get inside,” she barked. But curiosity overtook the young Sam and she turned around to see what had her mother all worked up.
Samantha froze. In the midst of the night their was a dark figure, one she knew all too well. Blake was back.
Sam’s ex Blake stood there wearing black jeans that hugged his muscular thighs, a black muscles shirt that fit tightly against his rippling muscles showing off his sexy six pack and his flame necklace. His hair, shaggy brown, laid flat and his blues eyes pierced both girls. Samantha was mesmerized but Jennifer caught on to the façade.
Jennifer grabbed Samantha’s shoulder and shoved her toward the house, then lunged for Blake. Blake simply stepped to left and grabbed Jennifer by the neck. Samantha starred in horror as he pulled her mother into a choke hold.
“Blake!” she shrieked, “let her go!”
A sinister smile came across Blake’s face. “I told you I would come for her the moment you left me. I was in love with you Samantha but no, I told you my deepest secret and you try and shove a steak threw my heart!”
Speechless Sam tried to configure a sentence. “I’m the one you want not her!” she finally blurted out. Blake’s hands loosened around Jennifer’s neck. Sam began walking toward him but Blake let out a roar of agony. Jennifer had bitten into him and torn a chunk of his flesh out leaving a deep wound.
Samantha lunged forward but not far or fast enough. Blake’s fangs slid out and his mouth was at Jennifer’s neck in a flash. The way his face laid and the gasp that escaped her lips could have led you to believe it was an intimate moment. Then Samantha watched as Blake ripped her mothers head of. He licked his lips at the taste of the blood but had a new job to do.
A moment later Blake turned for Sam but she was gone. He glided quickly and elegantly to the door. The door was wide open and their was the sound of foot steps running up the stairs indicating Sam was hiding inside.
“Foolish Sammy! With your mother gone I can simply walk in to your lovely home,” he said in a husky voice as he entered. Quickly but silently he darted up the stairs to her room. Blake opened the white door to Sam’s purple room. The smell of Vanilla came flooding out. He examined everything starting with the bed. The purple and pink comforter was smooth and neatly laid across the king sized mattress. He observed the desk and the pictures above it showing all her friends and family. Next stop, the closet. Blake opened the door to rows of clothes color and style coated, but no Sam.
He turned around to try another room bewildered because he was so sure she this is the area she had run. But as he passed the window he heard a noise. In the blink of an eye he was at the window looking around at the still calm lawn below him. Blake was astounded. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in the center of his back.
“Take this you nasty bastard!!” Samantha screamed as she plunged a hand crafted steak into his back. Blake let out a gasp. She had missed his heart but had wounded him badly. For a moment she panicked. Suddenly she knew what to do and she became calm. With all her might she shoved Blake out the window.
He spiraled drown and landed on his back shoving the stake threw his body, the tip poking threw his shirt and shinning. Sam descended the stairs two at a time as she went to move the body where their neighbors wouldn’t see the sun cremate it.
A shiver ran up her spine when she reached the side of the house. Blake was gone. She sprinted inside and into the medicine cabinet. Scanning the bottles she began to panic until her eyes came to rest upon the bottle labeled with a cross. Holy Water! She popped the bottle open and ran outside surrounding the house in a stream of water. As she did it, every little noise made her jump and she was relieved when she crawled into the house.
Then she realized she was on her own now.

Sam sat up in her bed as tears streamed down her cheeks. Oh, how much she missed her mother. The sound of her name made Sam’s heart ache.
A knock on the door jolted her out of the moment. She hopped up and looked at the clock. 11:30. Panic filled her she was super late.
The knock came again. “Hold on!” she hollered
“Samantha!!! We are already an hour late!! We’ve got to go!” a male voice rang muffled threw door.
“Hold on Brandan!” she hollered back. Knowing it was him sent her rushing. Brandan was her best friend but she had the biggest crush on him. He was tall, with light brown hair and the most amazing crystal blue eyes. Brandan was the best baseball player ever and his rippling muscles where proof of that. Samantha couldn’t help but drool at the sight of him.
With a quick check in the mirror Sam ran to the door. When she opened it she almost fell over. Brandan looked gorgeous! He wore a tight muscle shirt that showed off his sexy biceps, his eyes glittered, his scent drifted toward her and she struggles not to tackle him it was so intoxicating. The smile that spread across his face when he laid his eyes on her sent her heart racing.
“Heyy,” she said casually as if his looks weren’t affecting her the slightest bit.
“Good morning sleepy head,” he said with that amazing smile growing bigger and sending her heart racing faster. He was so damn gorgeous, she couldn’t tell him how she felt about him though, she couldn’t risk their friendship like that. That kid meant the world to her and she couldn’t lose him under any circumstances.
“How are you today?” Sam said, blushing a faint rose color.
“Couldn’t be better!” Brandan smiled down at her. “How are you miss bestie?”
“Great now that I’m awake and get to see you,” she laughed.
“That’s fantasmal!” he smiled. They walked down the back staircase and being the gentleman Brandan was he held the door for her on the way out.
They began their journey to their first class of the day, History. Across the colorful, flower filled park they walked, Sam sniffing the air absorbing the amazing smell radiating off her best friend. Axe and old spice filled the space between them. She was absorbed in his scent until they reached their destination.
Approaching the large stone building that held their history class Sam felt a shiver slide down her back. there was always an eerie feeling about this place, whether it was the gargoyles, the crumbling outer walls or just the teacher Sam was creeped out.
“Ugh. Another long history lecture from Mr. Know It All.” She said to Brandan as they walked up the stairs leading to the doors of the crumbling church like building. “This should be boring” she laughed.
“That’s for sure,” B replied with a smirk. “It would be different if he would teach the good history like World War II but nooo he has to teach us about things no one cares about. Oh well we only have to endure it for an hour and a half.” Sam nodded.
They fought their ways threw the many rows of tables students and books until they found a two seats six rows back from the antique desk where the teacher sat. The class dragged on and on as Mr. Kniel went on and on about the reason Iceland and Greenland were named with the such inappropriate names for their climates. Sam was dozing off and Brandan was doodling mythical creatures in his notebook. With moments left in class Mr. K spoke of an assignment that brought some interest into both of them.
“Your homework for the next two days is to research Transylvania; the myths, the legends, the land. You’ll be in pairs of two and will present your findings in class to everybody. Each group will be assigned a specific idea.”
Brandan and Sam turned to each other with a smile on their faces. They flew down to the aisles until they reached Mr. Kniel’s desk. He handed the pair a slip of paper with their topic.
Sam had a pinch in her stomach ‘not vampires not vampires not vampires,’ she chanted in her head.
Brandan had his hopes high, ‘Vampires please be vampires’ was all he could think.
He unfolded the little paper. Sam’s heart sped up faster then ever. They both read the word aloud. “Vampires.”