This story is by Sarah Phillips and was part of our 2021 Spring Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here.
I quickened my steps as I rounded the corner of 5th Street. Canon City wasn’t one of the safest towns in Colorado. Especially for a single woman working until two in the morning. I was listening to AJ McLean croon about how he’s not the other guys as I was heading home. Even with music playing, I had noticed that I had someone following me in a white truck.
Just three more blocks, I reminded myself as I started jogging. As I got closer to my house,I got to my house, I took my keys out of my purse. Then I saw the white truck. It was parked a few blocks from my house. I made the mistake of going to the other door. It was darker in the back. The seconds ticked by but it seemed like the key wasn’t working.
“Shit,” I muttered as I dropped my keys. As I was bending down to pick them up, I felt a pair of muscular arms wrap around me.
“Hello again Jillian,” I recognized the voice belonging to Erick, one of the regulars at the bar. “We are going to have a private chat away from people.”
“Um yea dumbass,” my words came out in bursts as I was fighting for dear life. “Ain’t that what private means?”
I let out a scream, hoping that I could wake up one of my housemates. The next thing I knew, I was out cold. And being thrown into the front seat. I heard Erick telling someone that we were dating but just broke up.
When I slowly came to, I could see the mountains silhouetted against the night sky. I knew that I was in trouble being so far from town. There was an orange glow as I peeked out the window. Erick was starting a fire and I felt my heart race. Though I knew it would be no good, I took a deep breath and screamed. Erick’s tall form rose from the fire pit and I could see him leering at me.
Opening the driver’s door, he laughed maniacally as he said, “Scream, scream away Jillian. No one can hear you.” He exaggeratedly swept his arms around to show that there was no one but us here. Or so he thought.
Behind him, I saw something white moving him. Then whatever it was spoke, “That is where you are wrong.”
Erick didn’t have a chance to say anything. Just screams echoing off the mountains. Then there was a thud on the roof. I saw blood slowly trickling down the windshield. Then a face appeared at the opened driver’s door. His face was marbled white, with streaks of blood. That’s all I remember.
I was hoping that I would wake up in my moss green-colored room. Instead, I could see Victorian-style wallpaper through the lace curtains that surrounded the bed. I no longer had my work shirt on. Just my bra. I pulled the blanket up to cover up.
“You’re awake,” I heard a soft voice from the shadows of the room. Then he appeared. He was the same person I saw earlier but without blood this time. “My name is Nelo. This is my home.”
He gently moved my legs over as he sat down closer to me. His ice-blue eyes were bright against his marble white skin. Kiss me, I heard inside my mind and I leaned closer to him. His lips felt like ice as we kissed. When he pulled back, I saw small drops of blood on the corner of his mouth. As he smiled, I could see his fangs. I realized that he bit me.
“Lay back,” he instructed me and I felt like I was no longer in control of my body as I laid back.
The blanket slid from my body as he looked at me. I had only noticed earlier that I was in my bra. I hadn’t noticed or looked to see about my pants. But he was on top of me and my mind was not mine. Then I felt his fangs sink into my neck. From reading Anne Rice, I knew that he was making me a vampire. I tried to fight him off but he pinned my arms above my head. For two nights, he fed on me while having his way with me. By the second night, my body was racked with excruciating pains. Nelo informed me that I was dying physically. As the pains subsided, I was looking at the world differently.
As Nelo trained me to hunt, the winter months flew by. One spring night, after a kill, we were walking along the Arkansas River.
“Jillian, it’s time to move you,” Nelo stopped to tell me and I looked at him. “You stay then people will take notice.”
He laid out his plan to me as we walked. There was a small mountain town called Buena Vista. He knew the owners of a bar up there. Everything was set up for me. He would rent me a house that he had up there.
We had a few hours left before sunrise. It was a two-hour drive. We made it in under two hours. The next night, I woke up in a strange house.
The next few weeks, I found myself busy with work. There were people in town for spring break. Why? I found out that there’s a ski resort not far from here. Also a hot spring resort too.
It was around this time, I saw him. One night while I was working, he came in. I glanced up and saw him. He was dressed in jeans and a black dress shirt. Very well-liked as people called out to him.
“Hey Marcus, Buena is going to beat Salida this season.” I heard someone call out to him. It made everyone in the bar laugh.
“Sure,” was all his reply as he made his way to my area.
When his amber-colored eyes met mine, it was like time stood still. If I was human, I would say that my breath was caught in my chest.
“Hi,” he gave me a boyish grin then looked at my tag. “Jillian.”
Then he took a seat at a table with a couple of guys.
“What can I get you guys?” I asked as I took out my order pad.
“A round of beers sweetie,” he winked at me and I stammered.
“Sure, I’ll bring y’all a pitcher,” I nodded then turned around. Almost ran into another server girl and she laughed.
He stayed in my area through the night. I sensed he was waiting for me. As we were closing, I was right. When I left the bar, he was leaning against his truck.
“Do you live far?” He asked me and my words got stuck.
Finally finding my voice, I said “I live in those cabins by a meadow.”
He opened the passenger door with a smile, “Hop in, I’ll give you a ride.”
I slowly climbed in as he got in the driver’s seat. Then we were off. The ride was quiet and I just smiled. When we reached my cabin, he sat there for a moment. A gentleman.
Weeks went by and I saw him at the bar. Always in my area. One busy night, he came in with roses.
His face lit up as he came over to me. “Jillian, will you go out with me?”
My eyes went wide and I could tell people were listening.
“Yes.” I found myself saying and he hugged me. “But I need to tell you something.”
I glanced over at the owner and he nodded. So we went out to the patio. Before I could say anything, he pulled me close to him and kissed me. I felt my fangs slowly extend in excitement.
“I put together what you had to say,” he finally said as he looked into my eyes. “I want to be with you no matter what.”
“You’ll grow old while I never age,” I whispered to him and he brushed a strand of hair from my eyes.
“I’ll grow old being loved,” he held a chair out for me.
“What if I feed on you,” I paused as he looked at me.
“During sex?” He finished for me and I nodded. “I’ll die a happy man.”
“You will change like me,” I whispered and I didn’t like that idea.
We sat there quietly with our thoughts. Then I heard him say, “Then make me yours.”
I looked at him and saw that he was serious.
“Marcus,” I lit a cigarette. “I can’t make you into a vampire. It’s a fate worse than death.”
“Will you still be my girlfriend?” He smiled as he took my hand. “My eternal love.”
I leaned in to kiss him as I whispered “Yes.”
Being a vampire was a fate worse than death. Though I found someone to love, our time would be short together.
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