Chapter Text
Do you believe in monsters?
Not the kind from children’s stories.
Not snarling beasts that announce themselves with claws and teeth.
I mean the ones that wait.
The creatures that roam beneath the moonlight, silent and patient, preying on the unfortunate souls who stray too far into the woods. The ones who drain the warmth from their victims and leave behind nothing but hollowed corpses and unanswered questions.
Yes.
I mean vampires.
Many insist they’re nothing more than myth—bedtime warnings, campfire lies. But I can assure you, with chilling certainty, that they are very real.
Let me tell you about a small rural town called Oakhurst.
It was a quiet place, nestled deep within a forest so dense it swallowed sound itself, split in two by a narrow, slow-moving river. For generations, Oakhurst knew peace. The kind that lulls you into believing nothing bad could ever reach you there.
Until the curse came.
Every 200 years, without fail, the town was doomed to slaughter—erased so completely that not a single living soul was meant to remain. Those few who might have told the truth never lived long enough to do so.
No one survived.
Except the vampires.
Whispers passed down through fractured bloodlines claim the curse began with the Goldsmith family—one of Oakhurst’s most respected names.
The youngest son was turned. How, no one agrees. But hunger follows awakening, and from that hunger, he turned his husband… then the rest of his family. They hid as best they could, pretending to be human.
But secrets rot.
The villagers discovered the truth and, in blind terror, dragged the Goldsmiths from their homes. One by one, they were killed beneath the very sky they had grown up under.
Something inside the young vampire broke.
In a single night, Oakhurst burned. Streets ran dark, doors were torn from hinges, and screams echoed until there were none left to hear them. By morning, the town was nearly empty of life.
When the vampire came back to himself, the silence was unbearable.
From that day forward, he swore an unbreakable vow: never again would innocent blood be on his hands. A pacifist—an anomaly among monsters.
He fled with his husband to a secluded manor south of Oakhurst, hoping distance might dull hatred.
It didn’t.
Hunters came relentlessly. Night and day, the manor was besieged—fire hurled against stone, iron tearing through walls, anything meant to kill or cleanse.
And then the witches arrived.
Defying the ancient war between their kind and vampires, the witches chose protection over destruction.
The battle that followed was brutal and unforgiving. Magic cracked the air. Steel screamed.
And in the chaos, an enchanted arrow found its mark.
The husband fell, shielding the man he loved.
Hope died with him.
The hunters pressed in, victory close at hand. In a final, desperate act, the witches sealed the remaining vampire away, entombed in a hidden crypt beneath layers of spell and stone, forced into an endless sleep meant to preserve his life.
For 600 years, he slept—unaware of time, of ruin, of the world moving on without him.
Every 200 years, Oakhurst was destroyed again.
And rebuilt.
And destroyed.
Until humanity finally abandoned the place after the second massacre, leaving the town to rot beneath creeping vines and rotting wood.
Oakhurst lies empty.
For now.
Deep beneath the earth, in a cold, damp crypt where no light has touched for centuries, something stirs.
The magic is shifting.
And the monster is beginning to wake.
____________________________________________
“Mmph……”
Scott hazily blinked his eyes open, his vision blurred with grogginess.
In his daze, he could tell he was somewhere dark and confined…… like a coffin.
Scott forced himself to move, pushing the stone lid of the coffin off to the side and pulling himself into some sort of sitting position.
His head spun as he sat up, and he had to grip the side of the coffin to stabilize himself. He blinked a few times to clear the blurriness, only to find the crypt he was in had minimal light.
After a moment, he eventually hauled himself out of the coffin, only to become dizzy again and nearly fall flat on his back. He grabbed a ledge to stop himself from falling.
It took a minute for his vision to clear, but he was now able to walk……
……somewhat.
How did I get here…?
Scott’s memory was really foggy. He must’ve been asleep for a while…..
Scott stumbled as he walked, tripping on cracks he didn’t remember being there.
Well, to be fair, he didn’t remember much at all. It was like there was a hole in his memory—just a void of space that he couldn’t fill.
He climbed up the spiraling stairs of the crypt, brushing his blue hair out of his face.
Wait. Blue…?
Scott realized his hair was blue again, and not white like before. He was back to square one. He wasn’t nearly as powerful as he had been before he was put to sleep.
He cursed and continued climbing the stairs. He made it to the top and pushed the heavy trapdoor open, revealing a foggy and dismal landscape—and his manor reduced to rubble.
“What the hell happened here…?”
Scott stepped out into the light, squinting as the brightness made his head hurt. But being asleep for however long would do that to you.
I think.
As the cold wind blew around him, the faint scent of…… cherry blossom perfume lingered in the air.
People.
They must be in Oakhurst.
Scott was about to continue when he was hit with another bout of dizziness. He gasped and reached out for a wall or something to catch himself on, but he flailed and fell flat on his back.
“AGH—”
He hit his head, and that only made his vision spin more. He lay there for a moment, and once the world stopped tilting, he carefully got back up and started down the path and over the bridge.
Scott had to jump over a few cracks in the bridge, one edge crumbling under his feet so fast that he had to launch himself away from it. He fell again, landing hard on his side.
He got back up and continued on. As he got closer to town, he could hear various voices floating on the wind. Not many people.
He cleared the trees and looked out over the town from the hill. Sure enough, there was a small group of about thirteen people in the center of town.
Wonderful.
Scott made his way down the path toward the ruins of the town when the ground tilted beneath him.
Damn this stupid magic. It takes forever for it to wear off.
He lost his balance and fell once again. He was getting tired of this.
He heard a voice from afar and looked up to see a girl with red hair and big glasses running toward him, worry written all over her face.
“Oh goodness, are you okay?!” the girl cried as she helped Scott to his feet.
He winced a bit. She was really shriek-y.
“I—I’m okay. Somewhat.”
The girl adjusted her glasses. They were definitely too big for her face.
“Are you sure? You’re really pale—there’s a doctor in town! I don’t exactly trust him, but it’s better than nothing. Might help that gash on your forehead.” She pointed at his face.
Scott brushed his forehead with his fingers, and sure enough, they came back sticky with blood.
Well, shit.
“O-oh… I must’ve hit my head harder than I thought…”
Being a vampire, small injuries didn’t hurt as much as larger ones.
“U-uhm—if you don’t trust the doctor, I have some bandages in my bag—if that helps.”
Scott snapped out of his daze and looked back down at her.
“Uh—yeah. That would help. Thank you.”
The girl gave him a big smile that made her eyes seem to glow. “Great! I’m Shelby, by the way! Nice to meet you!” She held out her hand.
Scott shook it. “Scott. Thank you for the help. It’s been…… a while since I’ve seen people around here.”
Shelby tilted her head. “Do you live around here?”
“Uhm…… you could say that—”
He was cut off by another voice.
“SHELBY! What are you doing out by the woods?”
A man stepped out of the ruined town. He had curly brown hair, bandages wrapped around his hands, an axe strapped to his back, and a brown cloak draped over his shoulders.
“Oh, Owen! I was helping—Scott! He fell—”
Owen squinted at Scott. His eyes were a deep brown, a stark contrast to Shelby’s bright yellow.
He sighed. “Alright. It’s best to stay in town. The woods aren’t safe—if anything, they’re more dangerous.”
Shelby nodded, then took Scott’s hand and led him into town, making sure he didn’t fall again.
“C’mon! You should meet the others!”
As they walked, Shelby pointed out people and introduced them. Scott only managed small greetings—he didn’t feel much like talking.
There was Legundo, the doctor Shelby mentioned; Cleo the farmer; Sausage, an author; Abolish, who looked like a butler; Apo, wearing some sort of military uniform; Pyro, whose occupation Scott hadn’t caught; and a few others.
“……And lastly, this is Drift and Avid!”
They approached a girl in a tan coat and a man in a green sweater vest. The girl wore a monocle, and the man carried a crossbow.
“Hi there! I’m Drift!” she said brightly.
“Avid,” the man added with a small, nervous smile.
Scott waved weakly and forced a smile. Avid squinted at him with striking violet eyes.
“What’s your name?”
Scott froze for a moment before realizing the question was directed at him.
“O-oh—I’m Scott. Scott Goldsmith.”
The looks they exchanged told him immediately that he shouldn’t have said his last name.
“Goldsmith?” Drift asked. “As in the long-lost bloodline with direct ties to this town?”
“U-uhm—y-yeah. My ancestors lived here, so I came to see what I could learn about them. I’ve kinda been kept in the dark my whole life—” Scott laughed nervously.
“Huh…… that’s pretty cool, though,” Drift said with a smile. “Having family from here.”
“Yeah……” Scott’s smile faded as Shelby spoke up again.
“Are you and Avid staying in this house together?” She motioned to a mostly intact building behind them.
“Oh yeah! It’ll need some patching up, but we can make it work!” Drift said excitedly.
“I know my way around woodworking, so we’ll be fine!” Avid added proudly.
“Oh! That reminds me! Scott, there’s one house left, and we’re the only two without one. Wanna see what we can do?”
“Hm?” Scott snapped back to reality. “Oh—yeah, sure."
“Yay! C’mon! We’ve got work to do!”
They said their goodbyes and headed down the path to the last remaining house. It was just big enough to comfortably fit both of them.
As Scott walked, he felt his cheeks heat slightly.
But vampires don’t get sick—
Oh shit.
Am I blushing?!
It took him a moment to realize it was true. He was blushing—something that hadn’t happened in…… however long.
But who—
Wait.
Avid.
Those violet eyes, the way he fit so naturally with everyone, a demeanor that promised kindness and safety.
Shelby snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Scott? Helloooo?”
“H-huh? What?” He looked down at her.
“You zoned out—and almost tripped,” she said.
“O-oh. Sorry……”
“It’s okay. I’m still getting used to all of this too. It’ll become normal in no time! Now c’mon—the house is just over here!”
Shelby took his hand and skipped ahead.
Scott couldn’t help but smile. He’d just met her, yet it felt like he’d known her forever.
She gave off sibling vibes.
It was nice.
Later that night, under a blood-red moon, Owen asked Scott if they could talk.
The two slipped out of town and walked into the woods.
“So……” Owen started. “Which direction did you come from?”
“Like—coming to town? From the south,” Scott said nervously.
“The south, where the ruined manor is?”
Scott stiffened.
“……Yes.”
Owen stopped and turned to face him.
“I went back earlier today and found the trapdoor to the old crypt open. It was sealed with magic before. I always wondered what was down there.”
Scott knew where this was going.
“You were down there, correct?”
Scott sighed and nodded.
“….You’re a vampire, aren’t you?”
Scott looked up at Owen, whose expression had darkened.
“……Yes. I am. B-but I’m a pacifist—I took an oath.”
“That doesn’t matter. I brought you out here to warn you.”
Scott’s eyes widened. “Warn me? Of what?!”
“That Avid guy is a vampire hunter. One who followed me into Oakhurst.”
“Followed you? Then that means—”
Scott looked at Owen, illuminated by the crimson moon, eyes shimmering scarlet.
“I’m a vampire,” Owen said quietly. “Just like you.”
(6.7 pages, 2,186 words)
AUUUUGGGHHH- I LOVE THIS SO MUUUUCCCHHHHH- AHHHHH-
I think I've been obsessing over this a bit too much ahaha-
As one does.
Anyways, HOPE YOU ENJOYE- oh hey look 6.7 pages.
WAIT- *SPITS OUT TEA*
THIS IS THE LONGEST THING IVE EVER WRITTEN?!
New accomplishment WOO!
-Canary