Hey I get that, I have ADHD too! It can be really hard for me to sit down and read- but for some reason writing is a little more engaging xD

Thank you for reading!

Here’s a quick update. Everything will be sorted out and more legible moving over to r/NoSleep

In case you don’t get notified of my comment: https://reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/z1ktv3/_/ixsfd7p/?context=1

I’m so happy you enjoy the story! Here’s an update about what’s coming.

Everything will be sorted out and more legible moving over to r/NoSleep

https://reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/z1ktv3/_/ixsfd7p/?context=1

Hey everyone, thanks for reading!

I decided that I was having so much fun with the story that I want to make it a little more accessible. Reddit’s comment system is a strange, difficult way to tell stories. Eventually it gets a little hard to find stuff.

So, over the next few days I will be editing, polishing, and posting the chapters to r/nosleep

Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to read. More content is coming!

Ding! Should have more up today too. Then you for reading! And I hope to write a book someday, this just turned out to be a really fun prompt and I got carried away with it xD

Ding! Should have more up today too.

Ding! Should have more up today too. Thank you for reading :)

Ding! Should have more up today too.

Ding! Should have more up today too.

So, remember how I said something about knowing crazy vampire slayers?

I meant Buffy.

The revelation that there were people aside from me out killing vamps shouldn’t have been as shocking as it was. Vampires exist, of course there would be people to fight them.

The knowledge weighed heavy on me with the rest of the night.

I didn’t know what I was thinking. Adam was right. I am an idiot. If he hadn’t come, I would have ended up just like that girl - or that poor man in the bush.

Then again… why did he follow me?

The bus arrived early into dawn. The driver didn’t make much of my appearance, probably used to seeing beat up, worn out weirdos on the reg. I just sat in the back and fought the urge to sleep. Every street that passed I expected to see eyes in the shadows.

There were so many of them. I’d never seen a whole pack before, let alone sentient ones.

What did I even think I was doing? I was like animal control. Worse than animal control - at least they had a hotline. I just walked around in the dark, hoping to come across a monster. Why did I never consider they’d come in packs? What did I think I was going to do against the smart ones?

I needed help.

Every time I blinked, the sights and sounds came back to me. The blood, the screams. Needless death. And they liked to kill. Think it’s fun to chase, to torture. It’s not just a meal for the smart ones. It’s sport.

I scraped together what information I gathered. Now, it wasn’t about preventing these things from hurting people. It was survival.

First- Adam. Unknown variable. Could have killed me at any point, but saved me from being murdered. Could want to take me out when I get back.

Second - Eli and his group. Family? Coven? I never learned what to call a flock of vampires. Regardless, he wanted me dead. Sounded like there were rules. Territory? Did the hunters have territory?

Third - Silas. A vampire hierarchy made sense, but the way they talked about Silas set another stone to my gut. The lore never mentioned that bloodsuckers could get this organized. Eli made him sound like a mafia boss. Maybe this whole vampire collective thing happened recently. You don’t exactly think gangster when you look at Nosferatu.

Then, finally- The decapitator. Phantom, invisible thing. Whatever was out there slicing up heads, it followed me. And let me get away. Twice. Whatever it was, it put a fear in my bones that hadn’t existed since my caveman ancestors. The fear of a monster you can’t can’t see, can’t fight. And it’s way more powerful than you.

My phone buzzed and I dug it out of my pocket. It was Adam.

“When you get off the bus, go through the park. Don’t take the same route home.”

My stop was next. I should have guessed he knew where I was.

It was well into the morning when I made it to the park, though the safety of daylight didn’t stop me from hiding a stake up my sleeve. My shoes were soaked from the morning dew. I didn’t take the trail, opting to cut through the small copse of trees straight to my street.

Even all the way out here, those missing fliers were stapled to every other tree, the ink bleeding into a tie-dye mess from the humidity. Still, I could make out the image of the little boy in every flier. Smiling, holding a soccer ball. His parents must have died a little more each day he wasn’t found.

The thought was another knife-twist to my already raw emotional state.

I’m not ashamed to say I cried the rest of the way back.

My cheeks were dry by the time I got to the porch, though my eyes stung and my nose was puffy.

But I knew shit wasn’t over yet. I scrubbed my face with my sleeve as I fumbled with my keys. The door was already unlocked. That wasn’t good.

My body squeezed my adrenal glands for what little juice they had left. I was an animal who had been hunted all night and barely had any conscious thought anymore. Trap. Fight.

I slipped the stake from my sleeve, clutching it close as I nudged the door open.

As expected, it was dark inside. The dim fluorescent light in the hallway was off, and none of the lamps were on further inside. I crept into the hall, but kept the door cracked behind me.

My senses dialed up again. Every creak of the old floorboards rang out like a gunshot.

I peered around the corner into the living room. Nothing. Then to my left. Adam’s door was open… and so was mine.

Then - The door slammed shut behind me. It was pure instinct. I whipped around, one arm blocking me in front, the other raised the stake high.

Adam leaned against the door, arms folded over his chest. To say he looked unimpressed wasn’t accurate. He looked downright disappointed.

“If it was your intention to stab me, you might want to use the pointy end.”

I glanced up at my hand. The stake was backwards.

“It’s been a rough night.” I huffed, lowering my arm. “I’m not usually this inept.”

I don’t know why I felt the need to defend myself.

The corner of his mouth tipped up in a smirk. “Having performance problems, are we?”

The tease caught me off guard, but the childish part of my brain threw out a retort before I could think better of it. “I’ve never had a problem getting it in. Become quite an expert over the years.”

“That’s what they all say.”

Yep. I was trading innuendos with my vampire roommate. Fantastic.

“But really,” said Adam, his charming face suddenly growing stone serious. “I had thought you knew better than to run off to a den by yourself. I’d long suspected you weren’t part of that little cult, but your foolishness all but proved it.”

“Hang on,” I held up a hand while my brain tried to catch up. “You knew I was hunting va- I mean, your kind?”

“Oh yes,” the smirk came back. Maybe more of a sneer, it was difficult to tell in the low light. “You think I wouldn’t investigate a stranger coming to rent my room?”

I squinted, struggling to work out how he would do that. I don’t have social media, or much of an online presence to speak of in general. That could only mean …

“You’ve been spying on me?”

He clicked his teeth. “I’d call it investigating, but that’s neither here nor there.”

“Why?” I blinked, incredulous. “Why let me live here? Why let me live in general? You could have torn out my throat at any point.”

“Curiosity.” He shrugged. Then, his teeth flashed through his widening smile. “There are only two kinds of women who would hunt alone. The fools and those with a death wish. I haven’t quite figured out which you are.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Doesn’t it?” He said, his voice pitched low, nearly a purr. It make the skin up my back prickle. “Why would I kill you? It’s far more entertaining watching you fight to survive. Every brainless thrall you took down, you learned something. Got a little more clever.”

I frowned. I should have been angry, but for some reason I was more embarrassed knowing my work was being judged from the shadows this whole time. “I can’t imagine you’d consider me a threat.”

“Not yet.” He said. “But you were getting there.”

“Then, why have me be your room mate?”

Adam looked far too pleased with himself. “Entertainment.”

He pushed off the door and stepped towards me; I took a step back. I had to crane my neck to look up at him, was he always that tall?

“The fact I had you within arms reach for weeks and you never suspected a thing, well.” He laughed. “That was rather amusing.”

“Now hang on.” I snapped. “I had my suspicions, I just didn’t want to say anything without proof.”

“I mean, I didn’t exactly hide it.”

“Don’t rub it in.”

“The sunglasses, the mirror, the meat-“

“Okay!”

My back hit the wall, and he gave me enough grace to allow a few feet of distance between us. Still, he could probably smell the rise in my blood pressure, or something equally creepy and unnatural.

“I didn’t want to just come out and assume you were a vampire. I thought I was being paranoid.” I put my hands on my hips, a futile effort to regain some composure. “You could have been, like, an albino or something.”

Then he laughed. Loud. Obnoxious. He didn’t even try to contain his amusement. He was suspiciously out of breath, considering he wasn’t, you know, alive. But when he finished, he made a dramatic show of wiping non-existent tears from his eyes. “You would really ignore every red flag in order not to appear rude.” He sighed. “That’s adorable.”

“Adorable?” I had it. All the exhaustion, all the fear- everything burned away, replaced by indignant pride. “Well, excuse me for trying to have some sense of decorum. For a vampire, you don’t seem to have the best sense of self preservation either, because I was an inch from staking you at any given moment.”

“Oh, you wouldn’t.” He drawled.

I thrust the stake up between us. “What would you do if I did?”

Adam just smiled, but there was no warmth in the expression. He closed the gap between us, looking down his nose at me, hands in his pockets. “Go ahead.” He murmured. “I won’t bite.”

Bastard. My heart was racing in my ears, and it took me far too long to realize I’d stopped breathing.

Adam bent down, his lips inches from my ear. “I thought so.”

I pressed the stake into his chin. “Back. Up.” I struggled to keep my tone even, hardly able to raise my voice above a whisper.

I could hear the smile in his voice. “There she is.”

He never touched me, but he didn’t have to. His words, his posture, his voice - I knew I was outmatched.

I kept pressure to the stake at his chin until he backed out of reach. He just stared at me, hands in his pockets, wry amusement etched in the shadow of his mouth. It was like staring down a hungry lion at the zoo, but without the comfort of bulletproof glass. My whole body screamed at me to run, but I stood my ground.

“I think I know what sort of woman you are.” He mused, his ruby eyes scanning my body from head to toe. “Good. You’re going to have a hard fight ahead.”

“Why?”

“It’s something best discussed over a drink.”

——(continued)——

Adam stood, hunched in a fighting stance, his back to me.

I was speechless.

“We’ll talk about what an idiot you are later. But for now, get in the churchyard.”

When I didn’t move fast enough, he shouted. “Move!”

I didn’t protest.

I hopped the fence, landing next to a tombstone. A bronze angel stared down at me, arms outstretched, the oxidized metal like tear streaks down its face.

As useless as it was, I held my gun out, pointing at the guy Adam was facing off against.

It was the creep who chased the girl. His nice shirt drenched in blood.

“You’re boring.” He said to Adam. He smoothed his hair back like his hands weren’t caked in gore. Behind him, the three other vampires fanned out, surrounding us. “I’d ask if you wanted to have it for yourself, but Silas tells me you’ve gone soft.”

I guess I was the “it”. Fucking creature.

I gestured my gun at the vamp talking. “I got a stake about your size. Extra large, unlubed.”

“Shut it.” Adam snapped at me. Then he turned to face the leader of the posse. “I’m going to take her and go. You’re already outside your territory. Don’t turn this shit into an incident because you got some human blood for once, Eli.”

The one he called Eli smirked. “She’s seen us, we can’t just let her go.”

“You always were the dumbest in the brood, weren’t you?” said Adam. “Use your head. Kill a hunter and the rest of them will come down on this place like hellfire. Or need I remind you what happened last time? You’ll all need to change jobs. Those of you that survive, anyway.”

“She doesn’t have the symbol.” Eli protested.

“Yes, because every hunter is going to walk around advertising who they are for our benefit.”

Eli paused. You could almost see the gears turning in his head.

The three underlings watch him, tensed and waiting for orders.

Adam stands resolute, and only then did I notice the massive claws at the ends of his flexed fingers.

Then. Eli nods, a small smirk splitting his face. “We’ll let this slide for now. But Silas is gonna want you to explain this.”

“I’m not taking orders.” said Adam. His shoulders squared a little more.

Then, in the clock tower above us, five chimes rang out. Sunrise was coming.

Eli looked a little ruffled. “Silas is gonna find out you were in his territory - and that you interfered.”

“You can tell him to get bent.”

And with that, the three lackeys melted away into the shadows. Eli was the last to leave, sneering at both of us.

“See you later.”

I wanted to relax, to unlock my arms and release the death grip I had on my pistol. But as Adam turned to me, my blood ran cold.

He had a rage in his eyes that I’d never seen anyone have before or since. And they were red, his eyes. Like a pair of ruby coals burning underneath pale lashes.

“You are going to go home. You are not going to run. We are going to have a little chat.”

It wasn’t vampiric compulsion, but I knew I should obey. For one, he just saved my life. Two, we had lived for weeks together and he didn’t so much as sniff my direction. Three - if Silas was the guy from the porch… I’d rather have backup.

So, I just agreed. “What about you?”

“Hmm?”

“Sun’s coming up.”

“Oh, right.” He said, almost as an afterthought.“Don’t worry your pretty little neck. I’ll get home fine. You just get straight there - and don’t let anyone in.”

“Are you my dad?” I snorted.

It was a stupid, childish insult. But it had been a weird night.

“Considering you do things you are told not to, perhaps you need one.” He frowned. And with that, he slipped away behind a building.

I stayed in the churchyard until the first few rays of sunlight brushed the sky, pink and gold and glorious.

Better safe than sorry.

———-(continued)———-

Taking a break for the day. Burned out my eyes typing this. Honestly didn’t expect to write this much. Ty for reading!

Edit 2: Thank you so much for reading! I will be putting up more parts soon, had a lot of stuff to do today. Really appreciate the kindness <3

Ding!

(TW, sexual assault mention)

I’m not a super hero. I’m not even that good of a person. I can’t save everyone.

But I wanted to try, as best as I could, to lessen the number of monsters out to get people.

2012 was the year I got attacked.

I had just graduated high school. My friends and I were out late at a movie, enjoying our last summer before adulthood came and changed everything.

I wasn’t paying attention.

He came out from behind a car. I don’t remember much of what happened, but I ended up back at home. I was beaten bloody.

They took DNA. That whole ordeal made everything worse.

The guy was never caught.

It derailed my life.

I forgot everything I wanted to do. Everything I was supposed to do.

Instead I took martial arts courses. Gun safety. Anything to make me feel like I had some power over my life again. Like it wouldn’t happen a second time.

And yeah, some sick part of me hoped he’d show up again.

So I could put a bullet through his teeth.

I engaged in stupid, risky behavior that nobody in their right mind ever should.

I made myself a target. Loose purse straps, long hair, skimpy clothing. My family begged me to stop, begged me to get help.

Meds and therapy only took the edge off of everything - I couldn’t feel happy or sad.

But hate.

Hate was another beast.

Maybe it was God watching out for me, maybe creeps took one look at some chick dressed like a Barbie walking in the sketchy part of town with a chip on her shoulder and ran the other way.

But I never saw him again.

It was only after I got my shit together that I got attacked again.

I wasn’t carrying.

I’d been going to college. I felt safe enough to walk in my own shoes again. Had check ins with the family, friends waiting for me. People I could trust to give a ride.

It happened in October.

The bastard stalked me for blocks.

I wanted to get somewhere safe, but knew there wasn’t anywhere I could go. I was just going to walk to that Thai place a mile from campus.

Why?

Why do people do this shit? Why did I have to live in fear? Why didn’t the police do their fucking jobs?

I ran.

I put in a good effort, probably could have set a record, but he was faster.

He chased me, I lost my nerve.

Ran behind a building hoping I could shake him off and hide.

But he got my legs.

We grappled on the ground. I clawed, screamed, beat him in the face with my fists until my knuckles were raw.

Then I saw his face.

Hollow eyes, emaciated cheekbones. Fangs. His mouth torn and bloody like he’d eaten his own lips.

Fear gave me new strength and I managed to kick him off me.

I scrambled back only to hit a fence. He - it - lunged.

I’d only managed to grab a piece of broken fence off the ground and hold it up. He fell on it.

Straight through the chest.

Oily black sludge dripped out of his chest and down my hands. It smelled like death.

The thing gurgled. It gave a half attempted swipe at my face and went slack.

I threw it off me and rolled away.

And I really couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

It disintegrated. Fell apart like a sandcastle, then blew away like ash.

I just sat there. I don’t know how much time passed, but eventually I was found.

I thought I was going crazy. I thought I’d snapped.

The police that found me boiled it down to me having an episode of some sort.

They didn’t care that I had stains on my shirt that smelled like putrified blood, or claw marks on my body that looked like I fought off a cougar.

They didn’t care.

My parents didn’t know what to make of it either. Nobody would have believed me if I told them.

So, I left.

I quit school and moved to a small town outside the city.

Then I poured everything I had into research. Training.

Couple years later, I began to hunt.

I was wiser than before.

I took up odd jobs around the city. You won’t believe how easy it is to get the shitty night jobs. I’m not even sure they did a background check on me when I was hired by a janitorial company to clean banks.

I’d do my work, get my check, then use my resources to hunt.

Police scanners, news coverage. A pair of socks, coffee, and a sandwich to the right homeless guy and he’ll give you all the stories the news doesn’t cover.

Eventually, one guy I talked to said it wasn’t safe. Asked me why a woman was out there in that place at that time of night.

I didn’t have a good answer.

It was months before I found my next vamp.

He’d been feeding on some frat bro that had gotten drunk and wandered outside.

I wasn’t in time to save him.

I staked the bastard and moved the poor guy’s body somewhere more public.

I resisted the urge to cover his face. It was bad enough I moved the body.

Turns out he was studying to be a doctor. His obituary actually made me cry.

I try not to keep mementoes of the victims I find, in case the police actually start doing their jobs and somehow tie me to any of them.

But their faces. I’ll remember them forever.

So when I watched the top of that poor man’s head slide off, his jaw slack as if he could still say something, I knew I’d remember him too.

I knew I was fucked.

I had screamed. Any second now, I’d be swarmed by that bastards in the alley. I knew whatever happened to that poor girl was my fate next. I contemplated taking my own life, if I even had the time.

Then, a second instinct kicked in.

Rage.

Fuck this.

Fuck the bastards who think they can prey on whoever they want. Fuck the monsters who stalk people at night. Fuck. Vampires.

I slipped my flashlight out of my pack and held it up as I pointed my pistol around.

Everything I’ve learned told me bullets won’t kill vampires, but they’ll sure as hell slow them down if you hit them in the right spot.

I heard hissing from back in the alley. They were coming.

Sun was coming up soon. I had to live. I had to hold out. 5 am. Come on.

I did the number one thing you shouldn’t do when trying to escape a predator. I ran.

Whether it’s that invisible demon or the gaggle of bastards behind me, I knew it was in tough shape.

Stay and fight in the bushes where I can’t see shit or get somewhere where they are exposed.

I chose the latter.

Snapping sounds came behind me. They could have got me any second. Fresh off a kill, they wouldn’t be clouded with desperation. They were toying with me.

I’d never fought a group before. I had to adjust my strategy.

Up ahead, a church came into view. That’s right, I was in the Brownstone district! The old north chapel. Holy ground.

I pummeled the pavement towards the church, my lungs burned as I forced my body to move. Move. Live.

I knew as I got closer that they’d lose their patience for fun and wipe me out before I got there.

But I had to live. Not like this.

I was within six feet of the gate when I felt a force knock me to the ground.

I skid, peeling the skin off my hands and knees. my flashlight launched and shattered somewhere ahead of me.

I whirled on my back, aiming up at the aggressor with my pistol, hands shaking.

Then… I recognized the white hair. The shape of the shoulders.

Adam stood above me, but has his back turned.

“I told you not to fucking go.” He snarled.

——-(continued)——-

So guess where I went?

It took me awhile to find the Pink Lemon. Turns out it has rebranded as the Pink Martini only a couple months ago.

It was in the old brownstone district, where lots of the cities older buildings were. This surprised me, as you’d think the city wouldn’t allow a strip club off one of the busiest shopping districts. Might scare away customers.

Then I remembered this was the same city that did nothing for the homeless problem, let drugs run rampant in the streets, and had parades about how good it was.

Shit was never going to change until people who care are put in charge.

Ten years ago, kids could have played down by the riverfront. Now it was a tent city with more drugs flowing in and out of it than a truck stop on I-5.

I don’t mean to sound like I hate the homeless, I don’t. We’re all just a paycheck away from ending up on the street. What I do hate is the fact that people let the problem get so bad - and it makes my job harder.

Half these people just need a warm house. The other half are horribly addicted to drugs I don’t even know the names of, and will get violent for a fix.

I won’t even get into the shit you see in winter. People step over people in the street and tell themselves they’re sleeping.

Anyway. The reason I say all this is because The Pink Martini was only a few blocks from a notoriously bad camp.

People get robbed all the time on this street and the police do jack shit about it.

But as I turned the corner, I wasn’t greeted by piles of trash and human feces. Instead my face was bathed in the light of a giant, pink, neon sign.

I looked to my left towards the riverfront. How did I never notice this coming across the bridge? It’s huge.

I decided it would be best to keep my distance, opting to lie low in a bush.

If the guy on the porch was a vampire, what better place to hide than a strip club? Probably a blood bank, but you get the idea.

The bouncer at the front was as you’d expect. Huge, surly, tiny head. Sunglasses even though it was midnight.

He appeared to let the dumbest girls in the smallest dresses go in first. So was it a night club or a strip club? Either way, as a gaggle of giggling girls walked through the velvet rope, the pit in my stomach tightened. Bad shit happened enough at regular clubs. Add potential vampires to the mix, and it can only get worse.

I watched into the darkest part of night. It had to be closing soon. How many hours could people take loud, disorienting music and shitty, overpriced drinks?

My eyes were getting tired by the time people started trickling out.

Groups stumbled up the pavement to wherever. Some into cars that shouldn’t be driving, others with dates - I could have sworn they went in with different people.

But everything seemed… normal. Of course, I might actually have to go in sometime to see it for myself, but scouting was always a good first option.

It was getting late. Finally sometime around 4 am, it seemed like the last of the customers had faded into the night. The pink sign shut down. And immediately the area got dark.

It shouldn’t have been as spooky as it was, but it took my eyes a bit to adjust to the dimness of the street lights, and that made me feel vulnerable - even as hidden as I was.

I was just about ready to head out when a girl came stumbling out of the exit. She was crying, her dress was askew, her shoes bundled up in one hand. My first instinct was concern, the second was disgust at her bare feet on the ground.

But she looked a little too distraught to care about stray needles and broken glass.

A man followed after her.

She threw her shoes at him.

I couldn’t make out what she was saying, but she was shouting at him, the tone of her voice hoarse and on the edge of a total breakdown.

The guy was undeterred.

My stomach sank as he walked towards her. She backed away, still shouting. He just kept coming after her.

She ran.

I followed.

I kept her in my visual across the street, doing my best to stick to the shadows.

She was going to get lost at best. At worst… well.

I don’t carry a gun for vampires.

She shouted through sobs the whole way down the street. Eventually I was able to make out what she was saying.

“Help me! He’s trying to kill me!”

Shit.

I put a round in the chamber and was about to make my way across to her when I saw something.

Eyes glinting in the dark. Three pairs of them.

She ran by an alley.

From behind a dumpster came a black blur.

It snatched her like a rag doll - she barely had time to scream.

The guy who was chasing her picked up speed and disappeared into the shadows.

The sounds… Screaming, begging, snapping, hisses. Then a sickening crunch. Silence.

A dark pool of liquid crept out of the shadows.

I stood there frozen, hardly able to breathe, process what just happened.

To my right, I heard something in the bushes. I barely had time to register a homeless man crouching next to me, his finger up to his lip.

“I saw it too.” He whispered.

I was just about to respond when he froze, stiff as a board. His face barely had time to look surprised before the top of his head slipped off at the eyes.

Then I did scream.

——(continued)——

Wow, thanks so much for reading! I’ll try to get the other parts up asap. Gotta take a break.

Ding!

I woke up the next morning with a hangover and the disappointment that it wasn’t fun that gave it to me.

I crammed some granola bars and water in my face, then steeled myself as I opened my phone check the news.

Nothing.

How? The guy’s corpse was on a sidewalk in a normally busy part of the city.

I grabbed my lucky table leg (don’t judge) and traced the rough old grains with my thumb.

There’s no way in hell that was a prank.

There’s enough supernatural bullshit out there that it could be just about anything. I did a mental check through the list of likely suspects. But try as I might, I couldn’t come up with anything for invisible, silent, decapitation monster.

Unless is was the ghost of a guillotine, I was out of luck.

I scrubbed up in the bathroom before I dragged my ass to the kitchen.

“Rough night?” Adam was on the couch as I passed, deep in a thick book I could t catch the name of. “You’re wearing the same clothes.”

“You could say that.” I mumbled. I had only stepped into the kitchen when I remembered- right. No cups. Or coffee. “Hey, what happened to your dishes?”

“Old roommate took them.” He said. If he was looking at me, I couldn’t tell. Still had those sunglasses.

“Took the mirror too?” I asked.

Now he did look up. He seemed to consider me a moment before nodding. “Yeah, weird guy.”

“What did you do to piss him off?” I was trying to be funny, but my tone was off. I was tired, ok?

He gave me a mirthless smirk. Something about the way he watched me, but I couldn’t see his eyes, made me uneasy. After an uncomfortable pause, he turned back to his book. “I hadn’t anticipated having a replacement so soon. I’ve been eating out, so I wasn’t bothered by the absence of dishes.”

I nodded. I guess that made sense. Put the poverty theory to rest, anyway. “I’ve got a couple plates n’ things. No silverware, unfortunately. We can share if you want.”

“Feel free to put them in the cupboard.”

I nodded again.

“Oh, and while we’re here.” He said, his voice on the edge of a pompous drawl. “Everything on the top shelf of the fridge is off limits. Help yourself to whatever else.”

“Right. Thanks.”

“- And about the subject of rent.” He continued. “Landlord wants it by the first of the month, but if you need an extension let me know and we’ll work it out.”

“Landlord?” I asked. “This isn’t your house?”

“No.”

That surprised me. I glanced to the blinds behind him - the ones with nails sticking out at odd angles in the windowsill.

“We have an arrangement.” He said curtly.

I didn’t press.

I just agreed to the rent thing and turned back to the kitchen. There wasn’t much in the fridge. Some close-to-expired applesauce, withered veggies, and cheese.

On the top shelf, however, was the reddest hunk of meat I’ve ever seen. Like venison. Worst of all, it was just sitting there, unwrapped, on a plate, juices nearly spilling off.

It reminded me of last night. I gagged.

“Hey, I don’t mean to come in here and tell you what to do…” I said, as calmly as I could. “But shouldn’t that be in butcher paper or something?”

“It’s thawing out, don’t worry about it.”

It looked pretty damn raw to me.

I opted to grab the applesauce and scuttle back to my room. I wasn’t sure, but I thought I could feel his eyes follow me the whole way back.

The next few weeks fly by. Every time I checked the news, nothing came up about the headless guy. Adam and I were content to give each other passing acknowledgment and not say too much to each other.

He eventually did get plates and stuff. I went and bought some silverware from a thrift store.

The fridge was fully stocked, but I rarely saw him eat anything. There were a lot of fast food wrappers in the trash though, so I assumed he was picky. And weird.

Off and on meat would be on the top shelf of the fridge, but he did keep it wrapped in butcher paper at least. Looked expensive too.

I thought maybe he was one of those frugal dudes who only spent money on absolute necessities - and Taco Bell was cheap. Maybe the meat was a weird indulgence? Grilling steaks is a hobby, I supposed.

I was content to ignore his eccentricities. The rent was cheap and, while he was a bit terse, he wasn’t the worst room mate I’d had. Still, the alarm bells in my head wouldn’t shut up each time a new, weird little fact about my roommate emerged.

I never heard him move in his room. The walls weren’t exactly cardboard, but not thick enough to expect much privacy. I didn’t hear his bed creak, the closet shut, his feet hit the floor - nothing.

My brain’s excuse? Sound proofing.

Then there was the fact I never saw him leave or arrive. I even camped out by my door to watch him through the keyhole. Now, before anyone suggests I’m a stalker or need something to do with my life - you’re absolutely right, but I had a reason.

1. It would be embarrassing as hell for a hunter to room with a vampire and not even know it.
2. It would be more embarrassing to accuse the guy of being a vampire without having any proof beyond shitty, circumstantial, Hollywood tropes.

Most of his weirdness could have mundane explanations - but still it didn’t sit right with me.

So, I peeped through my keyhole.

For hours.

Nothing.

It wasn’t until I had given up and peeled my legs out of the hole I’d worn in the floor that there was a knock at the front door.

Delivery? I glanced at the clock. 11:30pm. It’s a little late. Maybe he forgot his keys.

I padded over to the front door, conscious that I was still in my cami and sleep shorts. I shrugged off the potential embarrassment and peeked through the peephole.

There was someone standing there, but it wasn’t Adam.

From what I could see, he was equally handsome. Tall, dark haired, with equally dark eyes. Impeccably dressed, which threw me off. Why would someone like this be in this dumpy part of town? He didn’t look like he was selling something. Oh shit, was he Adam’s date?

I cracked open the door, and instantly a wave of something hit me.

“Oh, hello.” The man on the porch said, his voice pitched low. There was this look on his face I couldn’t quite place. It was like he was pleasantly surprised, but there was something off about it. Something dark, hungry. The look twisted my insides into knots.

Still, I felt compelled to keep the door open. This wasn’t good.

“Is Adam home?” He asked, straightening the cuffs of his tailored suit.

I didn’t know how to respond. If it was someone Adam was waiting for, I should probably go and see if he’s home. If he’s not…

“Cat got your tongue?”

“Two who am I speaking?” I finally managed.

“How rude of me.” He scoffed. “I’m - “

“Leaving.”

I jumped. Adam was behind me, I didn’t even hear him. He nudged me out of the way and stood in front of the door, blocking my view.

“I told you not to come here.” He snapped, angrier than I’d ever heard him.

“Now, is that any way to treat a friend?” The stranger said. “I came all this way to see you, I didn’t know you had company.”

I didn’t know whether or not it was okay for me to hear this. I wasn’t trying to intrude on Adam’s private life - but there was something about the guy on the porch that sent off all kinds of signals I definitely couldn’t rationalize away.

Now, before I continue, I need you to understand something. The vast majority of vampires out there aren’t the type you see in Hollywood. Most of them look like meth junkies. Shells of their former selves, perpetually starving. They’ll look cold, withered - but despite their emaciated appearance, they are stronger and faster than you.

Fortunately, the ones that are blood-hungry are like rabid animals. Easy to coax into a thoughtless rage. I’ve heard of those that are more calculating, able to use logic. Those, so I’m told, are the true bloods. Most of the ones I’d been killing are their remnants. Vampire spawn they throw out into the world, content with the idea that the rational world will find a mundane explanation for their existence.

Usually, it’s drugs. Remember bath salts guy? Yeah.

Comfort in the mundane is alluring. Probably the sweetest drug known to man. We built cities and put up power lines to push out the supernatural, but instead like most animals it adapted. Like raccoons and foxes in the inner cities, the world is full of heinous creatures. And we are their most creative prey.

As Adam and the stranger had a heated conversation, I backed into the hall until I found a broom.

If this guy was a vampire, he was one of the scary ones. And like hell was I gonna let that thing eat my roommate - this house was cheap.

But it never came to that. I didn’t catch the rest of the conversation, but Adam slammed the door in his face.

When he turned around to see me holding the broom like a weapon, he just arched an eyebrow at me. “Weird time for cleaning.” He said.

“Thought I was gonna have to beat some refuse off the porch.” I mumbled, face going pink. I knew I looked stupid.

But, he laughed. Probably the first actually friendly gesture he extended. “That’s cute, but don’t worry about it. If he comes around again, don’t even open the door. He knows better than that.”

One more strike leaning in option vampire for Adam.

I tried my best to look normal as I put the broom down. “Ex roommate?” I offered.

“Nah, old boss.”

Two strikes.

I tried to diffuse the tension as we walked into the living room. “What the hell did you do for a job to have that as your boss?”

“Night club.” He said flatly.

Oh come on.

“The guy is a piece of shit.” Adam continued. He was angry, his defenses down. “Don’t ever go to the Pink Lemon on high street. It’s not exactly a fully legal business, if you catch my drift.”

“You worked in a strip club?”

“Kinda. I was the chef. I didn’t interact with anyone there. Just took orders and sent out food.” He looked uncomfortable. “Just… If that prick comes around again and I’m not here, call me.”

Then he stormed back off to his room.

——(continued)——

The afternoon went by quickly. As I suspected, there was no trace of the bastards. Sometimes they’d prep ahead for big events and stalk the grounds, I guess kinda like I was doing. But you know what they say about monsters - the ones you catch are either sick, stupid, or injured. Usually stupid, where vampires are concerned.

With that out of the way I made it back to the center of town, swung by a few stores, and then got prepped for the hunt.

9/10 times, if you’re a woman walking downtown alone at night with your headphones in, it’s going to be the average, run of the mill creep who comes up to you.

Anyway. In went my headphones, no sound of course, and downtown went I.

I played up the college student look. Ponytail, big backpack so it looked like I couldn’t run easily, distracted by my phone or music, not paying attention to my surroundings.

In truth, I kept everything in my peripheral, and used my phone as a mirror. I’d scan the windows in the upper floors of builds as I passed. I kept my eyes and ears opened as I passed dark alleys.

There’s a trick I used even before I became a hunter. When you’re passing by street lights, check your shadow every once in awhile. As you walk by the lamp, your shadow will stretch - and so will the shadow of anyone following you.

And tonight, someone was.

You have to gauge the situation when you know someone’s behind you. They could be going the same direction, even if they’re making suspiciously little noise.

I played oblivious and casually jaywalked to the other side of the road. They followed.

It was on.

Pervert or vampire, which will it be?

I walked close to an alley, fumbling with my keys. This part was never easy. My blood rushed in my ears, my adrenaline levels rising. I dropped my keys.

My senses were heightened, tuned to everything around me. Time seems to slow down when you think you’re going to be attacked. I bend to scrape my keys off the asphalt, and I hear a rustle behind me.

In the corner of my eye, I see a hand reaching out in the dark. I straighten up, they still don’t know I’ve seen them, my muscles tense.

Contact.

The hand grips the strap of my backpack.

Then two things happened almost simultaneously.

I slip an arm out of my backpack and turn as the other hand goes for my hair. Not tonight, fucker!

I face my attacker, he’s got his hood up. “The fuck do you think you’re doing?” I shouted.

At this point, most thieves and rapists will turn and run. They want an easy mark, not somebody willing to fight back.

This guy, though. He didn’t move.

He just stood there, fist tight around the strap of my pack, still as a statue.

“You gonna let go?” I asked. My hand gripped around the handle of my knife in my pocket.

But he didn’t say anything. He didn’t move.

Then.

The hood fell back. And with it went his head.

What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck

I suppressed as scream as the body crumpled to the ground like a sack of potatoes. I watched in horror as his head rolled down into the gutter, getting caught on a storm drain.

He had just followed me. Headless guys don’t do that.

I didn’t know what else to do.

I ran for my damn life.

I didn’t know who or what could decapitate a guy silently, but I wasn’t going to stick around and find out.

My feet beat the pavement for about a mile before I made it to a familiar street and bus stop. There’s some animal instinct inside all of us where light means safety. Light plus shelter? That’s a little more ground to fight on. But I wasn’t sure if I could fight.

I’d never been so rattled. Not since my first vampire. Not since…

I pushed the thoughts from my mind. I had to survive. Whatever the hell did that was silent, possibly even invisible. Or worse. Very, very fast.

But as I backed myself into the corner, silver knife at the ready in front of me… nothing happened.

Seconds ticked by like lifetimes, and all that I could hear were the distant sounds of barking and sirens.

I put my knife away when the bus came 30 minutes later.

I half expected the bus driver’s head to slide off his shoulders. I don’t know if I blinked the whole way home.

It was nearly dawn when I got in. Adam was already there.

He acknowledged me with a nod. I did the same and slumped into my room. I didn’t bother changing.

The adrenaline comedown felt like someone had beaten me with a bag of rocks - the bed I flopped on felt like said bag.

What. The. Fuck.

I didn’t know who to call, what to say even if I did. The next morning this would probably be the biggest story in the news. The police will probably be looking for me, if there’s any doorbell cam or CCTV footage.

I comforted myself with the thought that most of those ran at potato quality, so there’s little chance I’ll be implicated for the crime. Then I wondered what the hell that looked like from different angles, and I almost started laughing. Prank TV wasn’t in fashion anymore, and it probably wasn’t YouTube shit.

It had to be real.

And whatever the fuck did that… Well, I hoped it didn’t follow me home.

———(continued)———

Adam wasn’t my first choice for a room mate. Hell, in this city, he wasn’t exactly my last either - but was closer to that end of the spectrum.

I suppose it was my fault for not doing my due diligence in staking out the owner of the room I was going to rent, but I’d just gotten evicted and was kind of emotional.

Besides, I could handle myself.

Adam didn’t ask why I was evicted, in fact we barely spoke. I’d just received a text with directions and was told a key was behind the porch light. My room was open and waiting for me when I got there.

The house was dark, all the windows covered, but I was in a hurry and didn’t bother opening them as I went back and forth from the cab that took me here.

I had thought the house was empty, so I didn’t mind blasting music while I arranged my new living space. Then at around 9 pm he came out of the room adjacent to mine, face skewed in a tired frown. And I knew this was going to be a problem.

Not just because I had just made a horrible first impression, but because he was damn handsome. Tall, clearly built but lean like an athlete. He had a strong jaw and tall nose, but I couldn’t see his eyes under the sunglasses he wore. His hair was either pale blonde or white, it was difficult to tell in the fluorescent light of the hallway. Either way it was striking.

I felt like a stupid little schoolgirl just gawking at him before I remembered what to do with my face.

“Hi, I’m Sarah. Sorry, I thought nobody was home.” I extended a hand.

He just stared at it, at least I think he did. Hard to tell with the glasses. Blue blockers? Maybe he gets migraines. He didn’t say anything as he moved to the kitchen.

“I work nights.” He said, and I heard shuffling around in the fridge. “I sleep during the day. I’d appreciate it if you kept the noise down.”

“Yeah, of course. Sorry.”

You’d think he would have mentioned that in the advertisement. But I let the frosty introduction roll off my back and headed to my room. “Anyway, it was nice meeting you.” I shouted over my shoulder.

He didn’t respond.

I shut the door and take stock of my inventory for work.

Taking a knife and a chunk of wood from my kill-kit, I sat on the edge of the bed and began to carve.

I had four stakes left and a few sprigs of holly. The table leg was lucky, so that only gets brought in emergencies.

Maybe this wasn’t going to work out. I worked nights too.

——

I didn’t go to work that night. I had been tired from moving, and the number of vamp attacks had been lessened in the past few months.

I chalked it up to it being early summer and the leeches having less time to move around. Kids would be staying out later though, and in a few weeks the festivals would start. Then people would begin going missing.

Until then, it seemed the police were content to let the homeless and poor minorities disappear. They’d put in the least amount of effort while bloating their involvement in the media for good boy points.

I really couldn’t tell you what I hated more - the blood sucking murderers I hunted or the ineffectual police who took all the credit.

Whatever.

I went out to find all the shades still closed in the living room. As I went to open them, I found that they were nailed to the windowsill, and the turning pole thing was missing. That’s weird.

I shouldn’t have ignored it, but I did. I chalked it up to him being an albino or something, he looked pale enough. I knew about some guy like that back home. He could only work night shifts and even then still had to wear sunglasses. It seemed to fit well enough. And I guess he could do whatever he wanted, it was his house.

I had brought a couple dishes with me and some meager groceries. Have to ration for now. It’s not like staking vamps really paid the bills.

It was only after I had started my oatmeal that I realized I never brought my silverware.

Shit. Not like I was getting that deposit back anyway. Well, maybe he wouldn’t mind if I borrowed a spoon? I’d wash it after and he’d be none the wiser.

But as I opened the drawer by the sink- no spoons. No silverware at all, actually. Just an empty drawer with a few crumbs. Ok, weird again.

It turned out the whole kitchen was like that. Aside from a couple of chipped plates there was practically nothing in the cupboards.

The house wasn’t exactly in the best shape when I got there, but it wasn’t a dump. It wasn’t in the worst neighborhood either, but it was far from the city center in an ugly little burb.

Made me wonder if he was renting his room to afford basic necessities. Then I felt even more like shit for waking him up yesterday.

Took my oatmeal to my room and quickly ate it with my knife. Not the good one, the shitty one in the back of the pack for times like this.

After finishing up breakfast I shrugged into some jogging clothes and shoved my kit under the bed. Last thing I needed was Adam finding that and thinking I was a freak, or something.

I mean, I am, but like hopefully a good one.

Most women I knew who hunted vampires usually ended up a bit nutty.

I considered first responders to be kin in that way. See enough horrible shit and you’re bound to get a sick sense of humor, if it doesn’t drive you completely insane.

The difference for hunters I guess is we don’t have that loss of faith in humanity inherent to emergency crews.

Actually, scratch that. Some of you guys are just plain dumb, walking around with your headphones, getting drunk in public. The hells wrong with you? It’s like you want to be eaten.

Anyway. I was getting ready for my run when I noticed something weird again. Adam didn’t have a car out front. Feeling a bit nosy, I peeked into the garage. There was a ton of boxes, but no car.

Huh. How did he get to work? Did the dude take a cab every day? That had to be expensive.

I swallowed my growing guilt and started my jog, hoping it would take my mind off of how rude I was to a guy who was sharing his basic necessities with me.

I swear, I am not normally this naive- but sometimes you want to think the best in people, you know? Shoulda known better.

I scoped out the neighborhood as I got my exercise in. It was poor. Old town. A lot of the houses were built in the 50s, had that prefab look to them. It kind of made me sad, seeing the disrepair a lot of these houses were in; the sad state of the yards of people working too hard or too depressed to take care of them.

But what really made my gut sink were the fliers on every telephone pole. It was that kid that went missing. Jaime Ramirez. I knew the posters by heart, the shape of the format before the words even came into focus. Poor kid had gone missing while at a park not far from here. Aged 6. Had some sort of disability. His dad turned around for two seconds and he disappeared. The city dragged the river for weeks- but found nothing. There were rumors of human trafficking, and while this shit city was ripe with it, there was my line of work to consider.

I said a silent prayer and headed back home.

There were some days when I wondered I was doing anything at all. Stake 10 vampires- kids still go missing. Hard to tell whether it was people or undead sometimes. Either way it’s monsters.

I get back and head to the shower. At least I had managed to remember my towels. I half wonder whether or not the water was going to turn on - then I remembered the kitchen sink worked for my oatmeal. To my pleasant surprise, the water actually got warm.

I had stripped and almost stepped in the shower when it finally dawned on me what was missing in the bathroom. A faint stain and nails framed where a mirror should have been.

My bullshit senses were tingling. But still, the emotional part of me played dumb and started to rationalize. It’s an old house, maybe it broke and Adam is too poor to replace it?

I rinsed quickly, changed, and scuttled back to my room, trying to will the goosebumps down on the back of my neck. However my brain wanted to rationalize it, my bullshit detector would not be ignored.

I wasn’t going to stake my new room mate just because he didn’t own a bathroom mirror, right?

I ignored the feeling again (don’t do that!) and started to get ready for work.

Yeah it didn’t start until sundown, and that was half a day away, but I had to make it to the edge of town. Figured I’d scope out the fairgrounds and the woods around them.

As I hoist my backpack on my shoulders, I take a look at the meager living room through my door. A shitty old tube TV, old furniture, barely any wall decorations. It was like he’d moved into an old person’s house and never bothered changing out the decor. I wondered if it was his parents? Was he some kind of recluse? Nah, he said he had a job. Maybe he worked nights at Amazon or something. Shit.

I counted the cash in my wallet.

I’d left him my deposit the previous day, but I still had a little. Enough for lunch. Maybe I’d swing by a thrift store and get some silverware or something.

—- (continued) —-