The town of Eris may appear to be your average small village. It lies in the valley, up in the mountains, in some far away country. The people of the town all know each other by name, and never forget to say, “how do you do?” Although the town appears to be a friendly, nice place to live, it has a secret, a deep terrifying secret. Every evening, when the sun drops below the mountain’s peak, you will find everyone inside their homes with their doors and windows completely closed up, with garlic lining every entrance. If anyone is outside they will be eaten, or turned into one of them. They are haunted by the creatures of the night. The beings that stalk the shadows, the ones that prey on the living souls. Vampires.
One day, an average young man named Jeff decided that he was done living in fear. He was friends with 3 people who were attacked by these vampires, and didn’t want it to happen to anyone else. Jeff went through his town one sunny afternoon, and talked to the townspeople. They all agreed that they would not live in fear any more, and that these creatures of the night must be defeated. The following evening, the people of the town gathered their silver blades, their holy water, wooden stakes, and waited in angst for the sun to drop below the horizon.
***
The vampire awoke from her deep slumber with a terrible thirst. It had been four days since her last feed, and her throat burned with the intensity of a forest fire. She needed blood, and a lot of it. Once she awakened, she told the twelve others to join her in her hunt. She knew that it was time to try to go back to that one small town called Eris. It had been a month since their last visit there, and she was hoping that the townspeople believed that they had left. So the vampires, all in a row, changed into their beastly gigantic bat-like forms, and flew towards the town of Eris.
***
It had been three nights since the townspeople had planned to fight the vampires, and when they heard the screeches from the sky they knew that they were coming. Jeff stood in front of the people and shouted, “Townspeople of Eris, please listen close. No matter what happens today we are all brave soldiers for standing up to the night creatures. But also, you must not forget; if one of us is bitten, it is very important for you to cut off our head, and burn us. We mustn’t let these creatures take any more of us,” he paused as the crowd cheered loudly, “now ATTACK!”
***
The vampire thought that it was strange to see the townspeople all outside, and it wasn’t till she got close that she realized that they were planning an attack. She instructed the vampires to make quick kills, and then they would feed off of their dead bodies. Although blood directly from a pulsing vein tastes the best, she knew that this would be the appropriate decision. The townspeople looked as if by some miracle, they finally felt that they had the strength to kill them. “Ha,” the vampire said aloud to herself. They were the most powerful beings in existence, the townspeople wouldn’t stand a chance. “Leave no survivors,” the vampire said to her clan, “if they foolishly believe that there is any chance of their survival, then they deserve to die. We will feed well tonight my children,” and with a wave of her arm they swooped down towards the people of Eris.
Jeff saw the creatures of the night plummet from the sky directly towards the town. He held his silver blade high above his head, and went for the first vampire he could. The vampire was strong, but not quite strong enough to live past the stake in his heart. For as soon as the beastly bat like creature landed on the ground in front of him, he ran up to the vampire with ferocity and plunged the sliver blade into his arm, distracting him enough to push a stake through his heart. The vampire in front of him looked utterly surprised, and before Jeff’s eyes he watched the vampire turn to dust. With the first death of the vampire, it gave the young man and the others in the town hope. They no longer feared these beasts, they believed that they could soon rid their town of these awful creatures, and in one instant they all lashed out and attacked the remaining vampires.
The vampire looked around her to see her children being destroyed before her very eyes. She couldn’t understand it! She had trained them, cared for them, beat them to oblivion, and made them learn how to survive. She looked around to see only five others still standing. She tried to locate the leader, and her eyes fell upon the young man. He was strong. He was fierce. He looked like a warrior prince through the battlefields. She wanted him. She smiled her huge grin, showing her pointed teeth, and flew down straight in front of him.
Jeff froze still. The vampire that landed in front of him was the most beautiful, but deadliest creature that he had ever laid his eyes upon. It was easy to tell that she was the leader. He knew that in destroying her, the others would leave and never return. But how could he kill the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes upon? She was tall, thin, skin so white, and her long brown wavy hair reached down past her waist flowing in the wind. She stared directly into his eyes with the most piercing bright green eyes that he had ever seen. She smiled showing her pointed teeth, and tilted her head as if waiting for his move. He knew what he should do, kill the monster. But how can a monster look as beautiful as she? As he was contemplating his next move, his friend in battle tried to stake her. He was unsuccessful. As he came within one foot of the beautiful vampire, she turned, snapped his neck and killed him instantly. She turned back again towards him with fire in her eyes. Although she is beautiful, he knew what he had to do. Kill the monster. He then lunged towards her with all of his strength, moving faster than the wind, he glided to her and fought hard, and tried to use all of his strength kill this beautiful monster.
She was toying with him. He thought that he was going to win this battle. She was much stronger. Way more experienced than he thought. She was just waiting till the right moment.
He held his silver blade to the vampires throat, with a stake in his other hand. He looked into her eyes and almost felt sorry. He could have helped this vampire. Made her civilized, made her love him. He would have made sure she was taken care of, and fed daily (without killing someone of course), but fact was: she was a monster. Something that needed to be destroyed. He started to push the stake into her chest and he paused as a huge smile came over her lips, and she lunged and pushed back with much more force than she had used before. He was thrown off his feet and landed 50 feet behind.
The vampire rushed over to his limp, crushed body. The young man was choking in his own blood. He would be dead soon. She bent down over him and bit his right wrist. Taking only a small amount, she then closed it up, letting the venom work through his body. She stood up and looked at the young man. “You are a warrior, my prince,” she wiped her mouth and instructed the remaining vampires to leave, and to never come back again. With those final words the 5 vampires flew up into the night sky, never to return to the Town of Eris.
The townspeople cheered and had a victory party. They were so happy to be rid of the vampires for good that they forgot Jeff’s warning. The townspeople called Jeff a hero that saved their town. They gave him a hero’s funeral. They laid him to rest 6 feet under, knowing that he would be treated well in the afterlife.
The vampire stood on the edge of her cliff on the mountain the next night with a smile on her lips. She could smell him.
***
While every one in the town was snuggled into their beds, garlic gone from their doorframes, feeling safe from the night terrors that had struck them before, Jeff lies in his casket 6 feet under, in the middle of the town. It was in the middle of the night, pure darkness, that Jeff opened his eyes glowing red, with a terrible thirst, and fire burning in his throat.