Is anyone else out here?
I swore low, pressing myself tighter against the tree. The light swayed, far enough away that I couldn’t make out the figure behind it. But it was moving.
The swirling gust felt different, slower. It sounded like a calm whisper now, a melody, not the hurried scurry of mere moments ago. The lantern’s light seemed to sway in time with it.
Was I really hearing that soothing hum? It relaxed my tense shoulders, softened my breathing, sending warmth through my chest.
Have I heard it before?
I closed my eyes for a moment, a tear slipping down my cheek.Gods, it felt good, that warmth. Maybe it was a sign I’d make it.
I emerged from behind the tree and continued along the pathway. The glowing circle of light followed, still drifting in sync with that soothing hum. The melody echoed in my head now, and I found myself humming along silently. I felt lighter, as if the darkness around me had lost its grip.
The light swirled, and I smiled. It felt closer, warmer. I could feel its vibrations in the ground, which had grown a little louder. Maybe I could get closer, see what it was. If it were small enough, I could bring it back and show Joy. She’d love this music too.
I stepped off the stone path, crossing over to where the light hovered. It had grown fainter but remained still, as if waiting for me. It whispered something. A second sound beneath the hum.
“I can’t hear you,” I murmured, straining to listen. “What?”
The light whispered again, words too soft to understand. I kept moving, needing to get closer. By the time I reached the glowing orb, the pathway behind me had vanished into the dark.
The brightness dimmed, the hum fading into the song of the wind. An unexpected pang of loss struck me, my eyes adjusting as they scanned the gloom.
Then I saw it. Something reached out, a pale limb extending toward me.
My breath caught. A person.
Hesitantly, I extended my hand. My skin was slightly tanner than the pale arm, which felt slick and thin to the touch. A sharp, metallic stench hit me, overwhelming and putrid. I wrinkled my nose at the foul smell.
As my eyes fully adjusted, I made out a woman—pale, with thin arms, gently holding my hand. She smiled, and I forced a smile in return, though the stench grew stronger with each inhale.
“What is that smell?” I said, my voice uneasy.
The figure tilted her head, her face still obscured in the shadows. Maybe she didn’t understand me. And I...I’d forgotten what I needed to do.
Her long blonde hair fell in greasy strands past her shoulders, her gaunt frame draped in a thin white nightgown. She must have been freezing. Her skin felt colder than mine, her hands gripping my arm, tightening painfully around my skin.
I attempted to pull away, but her grip remained unyielding as she bent her head over my wrist. Hunched low, she tilted her face just enough for the moonlight to catch it, and in that fleeting moment, the soothing calmness I’d felt vanished.
Her eyes were completely black, and her thin lips spread into a sinister smile. The figure made a sickly noise, as if her throat were dry, the sharp gleam of two yellow fangs jutting from the corners of her mouth.
Fear surged through me as if it had been lurking beneath the surface. I tried to yank my arm free, but the thing tightened its cold, strong grip. With a swift motion, she pulled up the sleeve of my coat, exposing my bare arm to the freezing air, and inhaled deeply, letting out a low, horrible moan before her head snapped back to mine. There was no more humming, no other sounds but the one that came next.
“Sweet, sweet blood. We will feed on you tonight.”
As if summoned by the fanged monster, more pale limbs emerged from behind the trees. My eyes, now adjusted to the dim light, could make out their forms. Ten, maybe fifteen of them advanced toward me.
They resembled people, some appearing as men, others like the woman holding me. They wore only a single layer of clothing, as though they couldn’t feel the cold. Yet their hollowed faces, gaunt limbs, and pitch-black eyes were terrifying and inhuman.
With a growl, the one holding me sank her fangs into my forearm, tearing through my skin. Searing fire burnt through every nerve. I thrashed against her, trying to pull myself free, but her mouth fastened onto the wound.
My desperation clawed at me as that creature drank, the stench of decay and rot clogging my nostrils. I lifted my leg, kicking her in the stomach. It felt disturbingly hollow, but the force was enough to make her jerk back.
Her bloodied mouth twisted into a snarl, and before I could react, she yanked me to the ground. My back and head slammed against the frozen earth, knocking the air out of my lungs. I struggled to breathe as pain shot from behind. She climbed over me, fingers tangling in my hair, pulling my head to the side as she lowered her mouth to my neck.
A scream tore from me as another agonising bite sank in, and she began to drink.
Behind her, another bloodsucker seized my leg. I kicked frantically, trying to reach the dagger in my satchel.
