The Vampire

“See ya tomorrow, girls!”

My friends parroted the words back to me as I started down the block toward my car. It wasn’t even ten yards away, but I only made it halfway there.

A hand clamped over my mouth, and an arm curled around my waist. The hand muffled my yelp of surprise followed by my screams for help. They were audible, but only just.

Behind me, my captor shivered. “Ooh, that’s it, baby. The more scared you are, the sweeter you are.”

The hand over my mouth yanked my head so hard to one side, my neck cracked. My captor’s chest pressed against my back as he leaned forward. His nose ran the length of my neck, and he inhaled deeply.

My screams intensified as I tried to wriggle away from the creep who had me. He dragged me further back into the darkness, his grip strong as steel.

He let go of my waist, but I still couldn’t get away. The hand over my mouth held me in place.

My captor ran his free hand over my neck. He stroked it, running his fingers up and down the length of it.

“People always say go for the carotid when you want to kill somebody.” He sniffed my neck again, a quiet moan slipping through his lips. “But, if you want dessert, you have to go for the jugular.” His finger jabbed my neck in a different spot.

He pressed his lips against my ear as he whispered, “You people get so scared as you start dying, and you get so, so sweet. The longer you’re scared, the sweeter you get. Why rush things?”

I whimpered, tears spilling onto my cheeks.

“You’re right,” he whispered. “You should be plenty sweet already.”

He pulled back and sank his teeth into my neck.

I gasped, and my breathing grew ragged. My captor moaned softly as he sucked on the puncture wounds in my neck. Black spots peppered the world in front of me, and my heart nearly beat out of my chest. I fought my captor with all my might. He held fast, groaning louder now.

The black spots blended together until the whole world was black. As my legs crumpled beneath me, my captor spoke a few last words.

“Do you want to live?”

Without hesitation, I nodded.

My captor gently laid me on the ground and knelt beside me. As he rustled with something, he pressed his lips to my ear again, whispering, “Welcome to the family.”