For three years, it had been enough to keep me safe and alive. But just like the others before me, my luck was about to run out.
Chapter 1
The decision to head for the woods is just one of many that has kept me alive. Over the years, I’ve learned to trust my instincts. I created a set of rules to live by that have proven to be useful more than once. Rule number one: never stay in one place too long. The few times I gave into temptation and stayed longer than I knew I should’ve, I quickly regretted it. After the third time, I came up with the rule and have stuck to it ever since.
I figure I have about two or three weeks left to spend around Seaside before it’s time to leave. Though I started in Washington, I ended up in Oregon about a year ago, making my way down the coast. Next stop on the list is Cannon Beach. I remember hearing there was a movie filmed there once. It’s hard to believe that used to be a thing.
Three years may not seem like a long time, but when everything as you know it is turned upside down, three years feels like two decades. What I would give to sit in a theater and watch a movie with a tub of buttered popcorn. I had only ever been a couple of times in my previous life, but there wassomething magical about it, though, perhaps it’s just one of those human experiences my mind has romanticized over time.
Either way, the days of going to the movies or to dinner or to the mall are long gone. After almost annihilating the human race, the vampires and wolves quickly took over. I expected them to claim all that we had built over the centuries, but they only had interest in our homes. Our stores and restaurants were of no use to them. Though they looked human enough, their instincts were animalistic. Their goal wasn’t to take over the human world for themselves. For them, it was about freedom, and part of me couldn’t blame them for it. After all, freedom was something I had yearned for too.
I had been adopted as a baby, after being abandoned at a fire station, but it didn’t last. Nothing ever does. By the time I was five, I was back in the system, but back then, I didn’t really understand the world. I was still full of hope, believing that things would eventually work out for me.
Every night, I would dream of being adopted by a loving family with kids of their own that I would one day call my siblings. I imagined family dinners around a table lined with homemade food, where we would talk about our day and make plans for the upcoming weekend. I’d fantasize about running around, playing tag in a big backyard while my adoptive parents played fetch with our golden retriever. I was so hopelessly optimistic back then, but of course, it didn’t last.
By age ten, that naïve optimism had died. Every home was temporary, each one its own kind of nightmare. When I was fourteen, I tried living on the streets, but after a few months, I got caught stealing and was put back into another temporary home. But the older I got, the less people cared about me. It was a blessing, and I welcomed the invisibility it brought.
Unfortunately, that invisibility didn’t apply to vampires and werewolves. The first time I went into a town, the thought of hijacking a car and heading across country was enticing all of five seconds before I realized the roads would all be blocked by abandoned vehicles. Not only that, but I might as well have shone a spotlight on myself, holding up a sign that said, “Hey! I’m human! Come and get me.”
I had to accept that there was no running away. My only option was to change with the new world, and so that is what I did. In the early days, I would hide within the shadows and lurk around corners. The technique worked for a while, but it became harder to do once the vampires and wolves started to make themselves at home.
Just like the rest of my life, I had to adapt. As it turns out, my long jet black hair and pale skin made for quite the vampire disguise. Though my skin doesn’t look quite as sickly as theirs, the contrast of my dark hair seems to help it appear that way, at least on the cloudy days, which is most of the time.
The first time I used the strategy of hiding in plain sight, my heartbeat pounded in my head. I knew that if I was going to be successful, I needed to learn how to control it. Of course, something like that takes practice to perfect, which meant I had to offer myself up to the monsters I tried so hard to hide from. I certainly got myself into trouble more than a few times, but with practice, I learned how to calm myself in moments of pure terror.
Naturally, I kept a safe distance, making sure to keep my eyes down so the vampires wouldn’t notice I lack the electric white irises they all seemed to possess. As for the wolves, they mostly keep away from the vampires, so posing as one turned out to work in my favor. Even though I did well to keep my eyes hidden, I had to learn to walk with confidence. If I wereto sell that I was a vampire, I had to act like one, not only look like one. I spent hours in the woods, mimicking their sharp movements and slithering walk.
As an extra layer of defense, I came up with rule number two: spray myself with vampire blood every three days. Early on, I made sure to cover myself in mud and animal blood to mask my human scent, but if I was going to pose as a vampire, I needed to smell the part. Unfortunately, this meant having to come into contact with one, which, as it turns out, was the easy part. Killing them, however, proved far more difficult.
The obvious plan of attack was a stab to the heart or decapitation. Unlike the movies that made it seem so simple, it was much more complicated. First of all, chopping a head off a body takes a lot more strength than I’d realized. The two times I attempted it, I was only able to partially cut the head off. Though the technique didn’t initially kill them, it at least allowed me time to pierce the heart and finish the job. After the second failed attempt, I decided the heart was the way to go, but even that had its own set of challenges.
Going for the heart meant I had to get close to them. With their strength and speed, that was nearly an impossible task. I had never hunted a day in my life, but if I was going to survive in this new world, I knew I had to let go of the idea that I was the prey and, in turn, become the predator. A few months after the war—or should I say massacre—ended, I found an old hunting shack. Not only did it have a set of hunting knives, a bow with arrows, and camouflage gear, but it also had a book with step-by-step instructions on how to set animal traps. My first several attempts failed epically, but eventually, I was able to master the craft.
One day, I stole a few bottles of perfume from a store and cleaned them out. That night, I set a trap and caught my firstvampire. It was anything but smooth or pretty, but it worked, and that’s all that mattered. I acted fast, killing the creature before it could escape and drained its blood into the empty bottles. I started with three bottles, but over time, I’ve grown the collection to six. The longer I could go without having to kill a vampire, the better.
It took some time to separate myth from fact. Through trial and error, I’ve come to know the truth about the two species that now rule the world. Garlic, crosses, and holy water were a total bust when it came to the vamps. Even bullets were no good. Finding that out was one of those bad days I try not to think about too often. I thought for sure I was going to die that day, but by some miracle I made it out of that mess in one piece. Luckily, the gasoline I had on hand for starting fires was nearby, and it saved my ass. That’s when I found out that fire also kills vampires, which led me to wonder about the sun. Of course there had been tales of vampires burning in the sunlight, and I had prayed to the heavens above that it was true. The last thing I needed was for a bunch of deadly vamps to be running around like disco balls in the sun.
One day, one of the traps I set went off, and there was a split moment of sunlight that broke through the forest canopy right where it had been laid. Though the rays didn’t break through for long, it was all that was needed. The vampire caught in my trap went ablaze within seconds.
As for the werewolves, all I know is that silver does nothing, and unless they’re in their human skin, killing them is pretty much a lost cause. The only thing I can think of that might be useful against them is wolf’s bane, but that’s only if it’s not a myth, and I have yet to find any to test that particular theory.
The rundown cabin with half a roof missing has been the nicest place I’ve stayed in over eight months, and my heart breaks a little having to say goodbye to it. Perhaps in a year I’ll be able to return, but for now it’s time to move on.
I let my mind wander for only a moment before I begin gathering my things. The new place is far less appealing than the cabin, but I’ve lived in worse. During the early days, I slept up in the trees. Anywhere on the ground felt too vulnerable at the time, so I would strap in and pray each night that I wouldn’t fall out in my sleep. Once I adjusted to the feeling of constantly being hunted, my mindset shifted. Fear turned into natural instinct. I learned to accept my new normal, and with that, I was able to settle into a new way of living.
As I finish packing, I realize I’m just about out of Aspirin and running low on canned food. I had hoped to wait for one of the sunny days to sneak into one of the stores, but who knows when the next one will be? It’s not like I have a weatherman to tell me.
Two hours pass before I make it to town. Though I’ve rummaged through the stores before, I never look forward to these trips. No matter how many precautions I take, it’s always a gamble. I can already spot four wolves on the shore, and there’s movement a few stores down from the pharmacy I need to raid. I scan the different routes, assessing which one is the safest. Once I mentally map out a plan, I slowly emerge from the treeline.
A howl from one of the wolves on the beach, stops me in my tracks, and I turn my attention, watching the four of them shift back into their human form. It would only take a second for them to revert back into the four-legged beasts but seeing them in their human skin eases me a bit.
Before moving on, I do a quick sweep for possible threats. As far as I can tell, the wolves don’t notice me, and whoever or whatever is moving in the distance is still too hidden to make out. I take one last glance back at the werewolves and continue on.
The moment I slip into the pharmacy, I’m hit with the putrid smell of death and rotten food. The stench has faded slightly, but it still makes my stomach churn.
Alright. Let’s make this fast.
I shimmy my pack off and begin tossing canned food into it. Though it’s heavy to carry around, it’s basically the only food that isn’t spoiled. I’m pretty good on water, but I grab a couple of bottles to add to my stash. There are a few good hiding places in the woods that I use to store my belongings so I don’t always have to carry them with me.
