Eternal

It’s always been one of my ambitions to write a vampire novel. Over Christmas I wrote a short story, and here it is. I hope you enjoy it:

Eternal

The warehouse was just outside of town, near the train station. Everyone knew that it was abandoned, and they couldn’t remember a time before that. “Probably used to store shoes.” was what my parents told me, the first time I came home from school after hearing the rumour. A little bit inside everyone believed the rumours, that vampires lived in the warehouse, but we kept ignoring it. We left it to playground fun, and yet the warehouse remained. The council never got rid of it. Whoever owned it didn’t do anything with it, and most people avoided it. There were many missing people who had last been seen heading towards it. But that didn’t prove anything, though. It was a creepy warehouse where the windows had been destroyed by children who were now old. Strange things were going to happen there, vampires or not. For me though it was a last resort. I had to believe that the blood-suckers had survived hundreds of years of being hunted by hiding in an abandoned warehouse on the edge of Northampton. I didn’t know what else to do. Mary, my girlfriend of just over a year, was ill, and it wasn’t looking good. The vampires could help.

I’d just left school and had about an hour before Mary expected me round her house. I ran to the warehouse. The windows held no glass, and I could have easily climbed in that way. Instead I walked around the building, half-hoping that the vampires would reveal themselves to me. They didn’t. I dropped my bag next to the wall and slowly leaned in through the window. There was nothing odd about the warehouse. It was bare, with a few pieces of rubbish thrown about. Slowly I climbed in and lowered my foot, cracking the glass on the floor. Once I was in I slowly walked to the middle of the room. I didn’t know what to do. There was no proof that there was anything there, and all I could do was walk around. Something inside made me stop though. I couldn’t move from the centre of the room. I thought I heard breathing. I slowed mine, and tried to focus. The noise was gone. There was a small rush of wind to the right and I heard it again. I put my hand in my pocked, and swiped my thumb over my phone, unlocking it. With one quick motion I moved the phone out, using it as a torch, and lit up the area to my right. There was nothing. I raised the phone and there was nothing above me either. The phone darkened and locked itself. I lowered my arm. A small rush of wind passed to the left. The breathing got more intense. I unlocked the phone and held it out. Nothing. I lowered the phone.

“Boo.” A voice, behind me, said.

I spun around and held out the phone. The light went out, but I got a good look. There was a man, about thirty standing opposite me. He was wearing a suit, glasses, and had neat hair. He looked like one of my teachers, my science teacher, but it couldn’t be. His red eyes, glowed in front of me. The room got darker, and I couldn’t see him, even though he was right in front of me. I backed up, unlocked the phone, and he was gone.

“You’re not going to find me, unless I want you too.” The man said.

It sounded as if he was above me. I lifted my phone up.

“What did I just tell you. You don’t listen. I already knew that though. You wouldn’t be here if you listened. Jake.” He paused. “I know why you’re here. Don’t look so surprised. Don’t you recognise me? I’m Mr Thompson, remember? Your teacher. It wasn’t hard to figure out. The whole school is shocked. I suppose I can help you. But you should have figured that out already. I mean, you wouldn’t be hearing me if I didn’t want to help you. I like Mary. Good student, good kid, will make a good vampire. That’s if you can do it. Not many can.”

His voice came from every corner of the room. I couldn’t pin it down. I just kept on turning, trying to find him. The second he finished talking the room grew lighter. Mr Thompson was in front of me. He put his hand inside the inner pocket of his blazer, and pulled out a small test tube with a cork in the top.

“My blood’s in here.” He said. “Cut her, or your own, wrist and pour it in. It should heal, and then after a couple of minutes you will be one of us. Come back here when you’re done. Good luck.” He smiled, gave me the test tube, and vanished.

I didn’t wait, I climbed back outside, grabbed my bag and ran to Mary’s house. I was ten minutes early, but that didn’t matter. I knocked on the door, and her mum opened it.

“Hello Jake. She’s upstairs. Nice to see you.” She said.

“Hell. Thanks. You too.”

The second she stepped aside I ran past, and upstairs. Mary was lying on her bed, reading a book. She dropped it the second I walked into the room.

“I know how to do it.” I said, while throwing my bag onto a chair in the corner.

“How?”

I took the test tube out of my pocket and showed it to her.

“Mr Thompson was one of them. He told me how to do it. I have to cut your wrist open and then pour it in.”

“I almost didn’t think you would get it, thanks.” She said, and then hugged me. “Will you do it too.”

“I was going to. We will be together forever. Do you want to go first?”

“Can you do it. I want to see what happens.”

I took a pocket knife out of my back pocket, and held it over my wrist. I looked up and smiled at Mary, and then dug it in. As quickly as I could I pulled the knife down, tearing my wrist. Blood spurted out, and ran down my arm. Quickly I took the test tube, used my mouth to take the cork out and then poured the liquid into my blood. At first nothing happened, and then the small fountain died down and my arm healed. I dropped the test tube as my vision disappeared. Pain shot all around my body, and I couldn’t tell where I was, or hear anything.

When I regained control of myself, everything looked different. Brighter. I could see clearer, hear clearer and warmth ran over me. I looked down, and saw what I’d done. I could feel the blood dripping down my chin. Mary’s body had been flung over the bed, her head near enough torn from her body. The shock in her eyes remained, and it took me a while to look away.

“What did I do?” I whispered to myself.

“Exactly what I wanted you to do.”

I spun around and saw Mr Thompson standing in the corner.