Chapter Text
The evening was getting colder as the wintery breeze was blowing in from the south. Sofia, Maeve, and I were finally heading home after a long day in college. We decided to head to a nearby park just to hang for a bit.
We cut through the main gate, the wrought iron groaning softly on its hinges, and found our usual bench under the skeletal branches of an old oak tree. The park, usually bustling with joggers or families, was almost deserted, its quiet only amplified by the rustle of dry leaves skittering across the frosty ground. We huddled together, pulling our scarves tighter around our necks, the warmth of our shared proximity a small comfort against the biting wind.
"I swear, it feels like it dropped ten degrees in the last hour," Sofia grumbled, rubbing her gloved hands together. She always felt the cold first. Maeve, ever the pragmatic one, pulled a thermos from her backpack. "Good thing I remembered this." She poured steaming hot chocolate into three plastic cups, the tendrils of vapour disappearing almost instantly into the frigid air. The hot chocolate was a welcome warmth, seeping through our hands and into our chests.
We talked about our classes, the upcoming exams that loomed like dark clouds, and the surprisingly terrible coffee from the campus cafeteria. Laughter, a thin, brittle sound, escaped our lips and was quickly carried away by the wind. As the last sliver of the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in bruised purples and oranges, a shiver ran through all of us, not just from the cold, but from the realization of how late it was getting.
"Okay," I said, zipping my jacket higher. "As much as I love freezing my toes off for quality time, I think my fingers are starting to turn blue."They both nodded in agreement, already packing up.
The brief respite in the park had been exactly what we needed, a decompression chamber after hours of lectures and library study. But now, the promise of warm food and a cozy blanket was a far more compelling draw. We stood up, stretching stiff limbs, and began our walk through the deepening gloom, the streetlights ahead winking on one by one like distant, hopeful stars.
As we were about to part our separate ways, they warned me not to go through the forest. It was said to be crawling with dangerous animals and greenery, venomous snakes, poison ivy, Deadly thorns and many other things. I laughed at their warning and made the decision to go through it anyway.
When they left, I started cautiously making my way through this mysterious and dense fog that continued into the forest. Branches and leaves were crunching beneath each step I took until suddenly, I heard a voice.
Curiously yet carefully, I approached closer towards this eerie voice. Someone was here with me, and this someone didn't seem friendly. Ironically, I was correct. slowly losing consciousness, i began to black out.
An hour had passed, and I slowly started to wake up. My eyes immediately opened wide as soon as I felt that I was tied up, seeing many familiar faces before me, and with Amelia's bright blue eyes staring directly at me, I started to question my fear.
Completely surrounded and outnumbered, I started to lose hope. They grabbed me tightly and threw me into this huge cauldron filled with scalding hot water. My skin felt as though it was on fire, and yet they stood there watching me, laughing maliciously. After a few moments, everyone, including Amelia, left the room completely unguarded, so I didn't hesitate to act hastily and try to escape.
Wandering around the long corridors of this gothic-esque castle, jumping over, climbing, and going under various obstacles, I thought to myself that this was too easy. It was at this moment that I knew I spoke too soon.
Suddenly, alarms blare in the background, bright red flashing lights in every corner that I had turned. The girls must've realised that I had escaped, sprinting through the hallways I had managed to find something unusual. It is a small and weird yet quite convenient greenhouse right in the middle of the castle.
I quickly made up my mind and hid within the greenhouse as I waited for everyone to pass. A few minutes went by, and as I continued waiting, in the corner of my eye from the back of this green house, I saw something quite strange yet amusing.
A completely random man out of nowhere making freakishly large pancakes. I giggled quietly at the sight but stayed within my hiding place. The frustrating alarm had finally stopped, and the blinding red lights were finally switched off. I carefully peeked out of the door to see if anyone was there, and surprisingly, no one was in sight... or so, I thought.
I decided to head back the way I came, but as soon as I crept around the corner, it was too late to run. Amelia and Ginnie grasp me tightly, not letting me go even for a second... struggling to get out of their firm grip, I yelled, "Let me go! Where are you taking me?"
I didn't get an answer. At this point, I was so exhausted that I barely had any strength left to escape their grasp. I decided to accept my fate and let them take me. About an hour passed, and I woke up again, but this time, in a pitch black room. I couldn't see a thing.
A sudden cool chill slid down my spine like being doused in ice-cold water as I felt the presence of someone or something lurking in the shadows. I quivered in fear as this presence grew closer, stronger. As if out of nowhere, I see 6 pairs of glowing crimson eyes all leering at me in the darkness.
As the lights flickered overhead and then flooded the room, I saw those who i once thought of as friends standing before me, Olivia, Allie, Sarah, Taliah, Winnie and Amelia all infront of me. Yet something was still missing. I felt a new presence behind me.
I turn around to see Sofia, Maeve, and Luna." nooo not you guys too," I groaned. Once again, I was surrounded like prey to a flock of hungry vultures. "Why am I here?" I question. No response. They just smirked. This was when I saw something truly horrific. Fangs. Like razor-sharp knives in each of their mouths. This sight makes me jump out of my skin, fearful.
I choke out, "What the fuck is going on? What are you?!" My blood pressure rose as my heart began to pound out of my chest. My breath became ragged and heavy. My legs trembled, threatening to buckle beneath me. I wanted to scream, to run, to do anything but stand there paralyzed with terror.
"V-vampires aren't real," I stammered, my voice barely a whisper. Adrenaline surged through my veins, shattering the paralysis.
I turned and ran, blindly, desperately, away from the crimson eyes and the promise of suffering. The castle walls blurred as I sprinted, my lungs burning, my heart hammering against my ribs.
I didn't dare look back. I could feel them, sense them, still there, watching, hunting. The hunt began, and I was the prey.
The gothic corridors became a labyrinth of terror. Each turn brought me deeper into the bowels of the castle, further from the faint glimmer of hope that still flickered within me.
The air grew heavy with a cloying sweetness, like decaying flowers, and the sounds of pursuit echoed behind me, growing closer with each agonizing stride.
I stumbled upon a library, its towering shelves filled with ancient tomes bound in leather and gold. The scent of aged paper and dust filled my nostrils, a welcome reprieve from the nauseating sweetness that clung to the rest of the castle. Perhaps I could hide here, lose myself among the forgotten stories.
But even as the thought formed, I knew it was a futile hope. They would find me. They always found me. Desperation clawed at me, sharpening my senses. I scanned the room, my eyes darting over the shelves, the tables, the shadowed corners. Then I saw it: a narrow passage behind a bookcase, hidden in plain sight.
Without hesitation, I shoved the heavy bookcase aside and slipped into the darkness beyond. The passage was cramped and musty, the air thick with the smell of earth and decay. I crawled forward, my hands scraping against the cold stone, my knees aching in protest.
The sounds of pursuit grew fainter, replaced by the dripping of water and the scurrying of unseen creatures. The passage opened into a hidden courtyard, overgrown with weeds and forgotten flowers.
A crumbling fountain stood at its center, its stone basin filled with stagnant water. A single, gnarled tree offered a meager canopy of leaves, casting long, eerie shadows across the cracked paving stones.
I paused, catching my breath, trying to calm the frantic beating of my heart. The courtyard offered a momentary respite, a chance to collect my thoughts. But I knew it wouldn't last. They were relentless, patient predators. As I turned, I saw them.
Standing at the entrance to the passage, their crimson eyes glowing in the dim light, was Amelia . Behind her, Olivia, Allie, Sarah, Taliah, and Winnie. And bringing up the rear, Sofia, Maeve, and Luna.
Every single one of them snarling, displaying their razor -sharp fangs. My friends were gone, replaced by something monstrous, something inhuman.
"There's nowhere left to run," Amelia said, her voice a low, guttural growl. "You're ours now." Terror washed over me, a freezing wave that threatened to drown me. But beneath the fear, a flicker of defiance sparked. I would not surrender. I would not become their prey. I would never become one of them.