Vampire

• Dylan J Hewitson-bevis, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2014

Have you ever walked into a room and suddenly forget went in? Well, let me tell you a story.

I rolled my silver BMW onto my driveway and slumped against the wheel, blaring the horn in the process. Work was an absolute bore, leaving me sluggish after every 9-to-5 shift. After regaining my will to live, I opened the driver door and stepped out. Almost immediately, the car rolled back into the street.
“Blasted car!” I yelled to nobody in particular. I jogged down my driveway to the car and parked it on the curb, not bothered enough to return it to its original spot. I returned to my house which looked strangely eerie at this time of evening. Dragging my keys out of my pocket, I put the bins away and went to the door. It was ajar and something was amiss.

Cautiously, I entered my living room, placing my keys on the rack as I went past. There was breathing coming from the corner, short raspy breaths like someone who had one too many cigarettes. I fumbled for the light switch, but the thing began to breathe harder and faster as if the action would harm it. There was suddenly a large crashing sound, and the breathing shifted to the opposite corner, closer to me.

I couldn’t handle my nerves, so I flicked on the light in hope of a glimpse of what the thing was. A quivering mass of grey skin was all I saw. It was slotted next to my TV and looked like a bean bag.
“Must be a possum,” I whispered to myself. A slow menacing hiss was my reply. Torn between either removing the creature from the premises or walking away, I chose the latter and began to back out of the room, keeping an eye on the thing whilst doing so. As I neared the doorway, the creature sprung up, still facing the wall.

It was at least 6 foot tall, naked apart from a small scrap of leather fashioned into pants. Every bone in its body was comically out of kilter, forming a grotesque skeleton held together by impossibly grey, paper thin skin. Whatever it was, it was neither possum nor beanbag. The thing began to turn, slowly and quietly, almost as if it were teasing me. It finished its rotation, coming to a full stop when it was facing me. Sharp, dagger like front teeth stretched from its top lip to its chin. Most horrifying of all, the creature had no eyes, only large black holes that bottomed off at the back of its skull. I screamed, but could not move away.

The creature took three quick paces towards me. It smiled, stretching its mouth until the lips were about to split. It lurched forward, piercing my jugular vein with its horrendously long teeth. I began to black out, but in my last moments of consciousness, I realized the thing wasn't after my blood, it was after my memories.

Cautiously, I entered my living room, placing my keys on the rack as I went past. Almost immediately, I forgot why I had entered the room. I chuckled to myself and left.