In the Shadows

by Jill Nolan

  It helps no one to know that a killer is on the loose. They need to know that there’s a vampire hunting people in this area. I need to tell them the whole story, the real story. They most likely won’t believe me, but maybe at least one of them will. Or maybe they’ll have to put it in a report and eventually, it’ll find its way into the hands of someone who believes, someone who knows, someone who can kill him.

  But then do I make myself a target? Would the vampire kill me then? Would it be like me sacrificing myself to pass on this information. Would it be worth it? What if it just gets buried, and no one believes it, and they think I just disappeared, because I’m crazy, but really, I’m decomposing at the bottom of the river that I love so much…

  This is hurting my head. I take a deep breath, trying to reign in my panicking thoughts.

  I just need to ask the police for protection. They would do that right? Maybe it would be a good thing to get it all out in the open, to not have to deal with it all by myself.

  Before I can think more of it, I drive to the police station, only two minutes away. I park in the public parking lot across the street.

  I don’t get out. I stay in my car, hands shaking, breathing erratic, heart beating wildly.

  All of my resolve fades away. I lose the nerve to even put my hand on the door handle. I can’t do this. I don’t want to die because of this. They won’t believe me, and this won’t help anyone. There has to be professionals who hunt vampires. They’ll discover a pattern of missing people as a sign of vampire activity here. They’ll come, and they’ll kill him, and people will stop disappearing.

  I’m not just afraid of death, though. Even more ridiculous and selfish, I’m afraid of the other consequences, like if they think I’m lying for attention or that I'm crazy. I’m afraid of what my friends and family will think. I have no idea if the police would keep what I said confidential or if they’d tell the news. What if reporters tried to interview me? Can they film you without your permission?

  This was a bad idea.

  I drive back to my cabin. But I can’t stop thinking about what I should do. What is the right thing to do? Is it wrong to not tell anyone?

  As soon as I'm back at my cabin, I go straight to the liquor cabinet. I need a drink. Something stronger than a Mike’s. I mix vodka in sparkling water with shaking hands, glad that Allison isn't here. I take a sip, cringing at its strength, but relaxing as I feel the alcohol slide down my throat, warming my insides.

  It’s hard to do the right thing when I don’t know any of the consequences. If I knew, without a doubt, that I would be hunted down and killed if I told anyone, then I wouldn’t tell. I don’t know if that’s right or not, but that’s the truth.

  I guess, if I knew of someone who could kill a vampire, then maybe I would risk telling that person. I could attempt to search for a vampire hunter. But I have no idea if this vampire is watching what I do. What if he finds out what I'm trying to do and kills me?

  Fuck. This is too complicated. There are too many unknowns. There’s no clear path, no clear right or wrong.

  Or maybe this is the clear wrong. Not going to the police feels wrong.

  But I can’t.

  I can’t.

  I’m too scared. I’m too selfish. And apparently, I have no courage.

  I take another sip to take the edge off my realization.

  I'm a pathetic, selfish coward.

  I take another sip.

  Maybe tomorrow.

  I finish my drink, my head feeling a little lighter already.

  Yeah, maybe tomorrow.

  Chapter 10

  It's tomorrow, and I still can’t stomach the thought of actually telling the police what I saw. I drank myself to sleep last night. Probably not the healthiest behavior, but we'll just add that to the list of faults I'm uncovering about myself.

  Anyway, it allowed me to sleep through most of the night, until I woke up at five in the morning dying of thirst.

  "How are you doing over there?" Allison shouts at me, jolting me out of my thoughts.

  "Haven't found anything yet. You?" We've spread out to look for an endangered plant. It can be very difficult to find. Probably because it's endangered.

  "Same. Oh, that breeze feels great right now."

  "I don't feel a breeze," I whine. It's hot as hell today, and I've already sweat through my long sleeves and long pants. A breeze would be great right now.

  So, do I tell? I always knew I wasn't a jump-in-front-of-the-bullet kind of person, but I thought I'd be the kind of person to do what I could to save lives. And now here I am, with the potential to help prevent more loss of lives, if only I had the courage to tell the police. Of course, telling anyone, could mean me getting killed. But what if that sacrifice helped save dozens of lives in the long run? I may not want to sacrifice myself for one person, but I did imagine I'd do it for a group of people.

  Oh, yeah, there's the breeze. It's pretty weak, but I guess it's better than nothing.

  It's not that my life is necessarily worth more than that one life, but... I don't know, I'm just not that self-sacrificing. I'm more about survival. I like surviving. It's been working well for me so far.

  I hear a strange whooshing sound above me. I look up, feeling the breeze on my face again, but I can't find the source of the sound.

  "Did you hear that?" I shout to Allison.

  "Hear what?"

  I listen for a bit, but I don't hear it anymore.

  "I don't know. Nevermind."

  Something about that sound is bugging me. What was it? I try to think of what it sounded like.

  It sounded like...wings.

  Giant wings.

  Before I can start running, a hand covers my mouth, muffling my yelp, and pulls me away. Another arm wraps around my body, holding my arms to my sides.

  I'm pressed against him. I know it. The vampire has me. He couldn't get to me at night, so he's attacking me during the day. He shouldn't even be able to go out during the day!

  I try to break free, twisting my body around to try to escape his grip, but he's strong, inhumanly strong. I can barely move, and he’s the least affected by my thrashing.

  "Stop fighting me," he says quietly in my ear. "I'm not going to hurt you."

  I still, shocked at hearing his voice. It’s so strange to hear him talk. His voice is gruff, almost animal-like. He has no discernable accent. Then again, he’s whispering so it’s hard to tell. He definitely doesn’t sound like Dracula or anything like that.

  "Do you know why I’m here?”

  I shake my head no, even though I think I do know.

  “You were about to go to the police last night.” His voice is a low hiss in my ear. “I wanted to make sure you knew that I can get to you anywhere, at any time. You’re only alive, because I allow it. If you decide to tell anyone about me or anything you saw that night, I will kill you. And if I can't get to you, I will kill someone you care about. Do you understand?"

  I nod.

  He lets me go, and I stumble away, hearing that whooshing sound again. By the time I turn around, I feel that breeze on my face again, and there’s no vampire in sight. When I look closer, I spot a small bat surrounded by a blurred forest. I blink, trying to make the sight clearer, but it's stays the same. The bat reaches past the tree line, and I lose him through all the branches.

  ◆◆◆

  It takes at least an hour for my hands to stop shaking. For the rest of my internship, I make sure to always stay near someone else as I work on autopilot, lost in my head and yet constantly aware of my surroundings. At every noise, I jumped and looked for a bat or an odd blurred area. I wanted so badly to go home sick, but that would mean leaving alone, and I didn't want to be an easy target if he decided to come back.

  I still can't believe that happened. It seems surreal. It made more sense to see that dark creature at night, but here, in the middle of the day? And I didn't even see him, which makes the whole thing feel crazier.

  Now I know
he can get to me anywhere, at any time.

  Still, as terrifying as that encounter was, my fear is fading. Now that it's over, now that I’ve had time to think about it, it doesn't seem so bad. He didn't hurt me, said he wasn't going to hurt me. Sure, he threatened me and even my family, but compared to being dead, that doesn't seem like such a big deal. All I have to do is not tell anyone what I saw, and me and my loved ones are safe. I can do that. And maybe I can go back to living life, not fearing the night. Maybe I can sleep peacefully without going into a panic at every little sound, every moving shadow. This means I’m safe. I don’t have to worry that I’ll be attacked every time I leave my house or fall asleep.

  It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I no longer have to contemplate going to the police or trying to find a vampire hunter or posting online, because I know he’ll kill me if I do. And if I were to try to protect myself or if I had police protection, then he would just kill someone I care about.

  Now I know. I know the consequences of telling anyone about him or about what happened. I'll just have to live with the knowledge of what's happening to all these missing persons. I can do that. It's fucked up, but I can do that.

  It’s so selfish of me, to be relieved, to feel a sense of safety, to be able to go out and live my life, while countless others will die by his hand. I have a nagging guilt of doing nothing to help future victims, but really, what can I do?

  I can’t believe he can go out in the daytime. That’s supposed to be the only safe time. And garlic is supposed to repel vampires! I guess that sounds too stupid to be true. Feels ridiculous now to have been carrying around garlic in my pockets this whole time. I take it out, intent on chucking it, but then I wonder if it could hurt him if it touched his skin. Maybe it's worth keeping, just in case.

  The silver cross I'm wearing did nothing to repel him either. Still, I can't bring myself to discount it either. It could be that I'd have to touch him with it to injure him.

  Hopefully, I won't see him ever again, and it won't matter what hurts him or repels him. And next time I get attacked, maybe I'll remember that I have a knife in my pocket. It might not work well against a vampire, but it's something. and I'm sure it would work better than garlic and silver and crosses.

  I don’t even understand why he didn't kill me. Not that I'm complaining, but if he can get to me during the day, why didn't he just kill me the day after? Why did he let me live?

  Maybe he doesn't kill women. A gentleman vampire. That's an oxymoron, if I've ever heard one. And anyway, he was probably responsible for that missing girl.

  Maybe I was just more trouble than I was worth. I haven't given him many opportunities since I'm rarely alone. Or he could just be saving me for when he gets thirsty again.

  I can't think that way, though. He said he wasn't going to hurt me; I have to hold on to that. I'll still be careful, still carry around my knife and stake, but I can let go of some of the fear that's been controlling my life.

  As much as I try to turn my mind to more positive things, the dark thoughts keep creeping in. Like if vampires exist, what other monsters are out there? Giant, horrifying werewolves come to mind.

  Oh, for fuck's sake, I'm never going to feel safe.

  Chapter 11

  "Can you get my back?" I ask Allison. We coordinated a trip to the beach during the day Saturday because it's hot as hell out.

  "Sure, whitey."

  "Thanks," I say sarcastically. I'm almost luminescent in this bright sun. I wish I could tan like her, but I tend to go straight to burnt.

  "Done," Allison says, putting away the sunscreen.

  "You don’t want any?"

  “Maybe later.”

  “Don't wait too long for the UV rays to obliterate your skin cell DNA."

  "Yeah, yeah," she says as she hands the sunscreen back to me. It's not the first time I've chastised her for not wearing sunscreen. I was raised to be constantly applying this stuff, probably because I'm super Irish and our people aren't used to the sun coming out from behind the clouds.

  "Could I use some of that?" Ben asks. Ah, the only one here whiter than me. If he wasn’t so lanky, I might think he was the vampire. Of course, since the vampire can go out in the sun, he may not be some sickly pale guy...

  "Sure," I say.

  "What happened to the rest of your shorts?" Allison asks Ben. I snort, trying not to laugh looking at the swim shorts he's wearing. Keyword: short. Like, upper thigh short. He looks a little funny, mostly because of the ridiculous pattern, but he's just one hundred percent Ben.

  "What's wrong with my shorts?"

  "I like them," I say, being completely honest. I wish more guys would wear shorter shorts, to about mid-thigh. I'm a sucker for a guy with muscular legs. All long swim trunks do is cover up the quads, though they do highlight good calves.

  When Ben gives me back the sunscreen, I place it in my bag, making sure to close it to prevent anyone from seeing the stake I've hidden at the bottom. There's also a folding knife in there too, but that's not as weird to have. I don’t plan on going out unarmed anytime soon. I at least gave up carrying around garlic, since that clearly did nothing. I am still wearing my silver cross necklace for whatever reason. It better not leave some ridiculous tan line on my chest.

  We run down to the water to join the others in the lake. I love being in the water, but I mostly try to stay where I can touch the bottom. My imagination goes a little wild as soon as I can't, always conjuring up terrifying creatures that could be just below my feet. Those creatures are generally great white sharks (I should not have watched Jaws), no matter that I'm in a lake...or even a pool. And now that I know there are vampires in the forest, who knows what the hell could be in the water?

  All those dark thoughts disappear as Nic scoops me up and dives backwards with me, submerging us both. We continue to laugh and play, enjoying the refreshingly cool water on such a hot and humid day.

  ◆◆◆

  As everyone makes their way over to sand volleyball, I go back to our picnic table to throw on my shorts and tank top and grab Allison's cover up. Mason is the only one at the table. He’s looking down at his phone, his wavy black hair falling in front of his face, layered so that some of his hair ends at his cheekbone and some ends at his chin. He looks up as I reach the table and smiles. Allison should have come with me – his lap is finally empty.

  "This is the first time I've seen you without someone sitting in your lap," I tease.

  "Are you offering to fill the spot?"

  I laugh, caught off-guard. "I don't think so. You didn't feel like swimming?" He and Cody got here late, but they never came in the water.

  "Now you want to see me with my shirt off?" I feel a small blush travel to my cheeks. I wasn't thinking about seeing him without a shirt before, but I can't deny that I’m a little curious now... I mean, he clearly has a great body under that tank top, which hugs his defined pecks and abs. It also shows off the smooth, light brown skin of his broad shoulders and large biceps.

  I shake my head at him as much as I do at myself and change the subject. "Are you playing volleyball?"

  "Yeah, it's going to be me against everyone else."

  "Cocky much?"

  "Just honest."

  I give him a skeptical look.

  "I didn't see you out last night," he continues.

  "I wasn't feeling great so I just stayed in."

  "You should come out tonight."

  He's flirting with me. This must be how he gets so many girls, with that devilish glint in his dark brown eyes and that half-smile that plays on his full lips. I wonder if he's a good kisser.

  Nic comes up to us then, snapping me out of my reverie.

  "Ready to play?" he asks me.

  "Yeah," I reply, turning to follow him.

  "I'll follow you over there," Mason says, walking besides Nic. "Looks like you're ready, got your hair gel back in and everything."

  I look at Nic and realize he must have gelled his
hair back after we swam. I have to suppress a grin. I didn't really notice it until now, but I've never seen Nic without his hair gelled perfectly. It looks nice, but it also looked fine after he got out of the water. The fact that he went to the beach bathroom to do his hair up all nice again seems a bit ridiculous to me.

  As we get to the sand volleyball area, I notice Cody has everyone divided up.

  "How good are you at volleyball?" Cody asks Nic.