The Vampire Story

Darkness filled the room, broken only by the faint glow of a candle held in one girl's hands. Three friends sat close together on the floor, their voices barely louder than the hum of the night outside.

"Hey, listen," Alya whispered, leaning toward the flame. "Do you know what they say about vampires?"

"Vampires?" Shina raised an eyebrow.

Alya nodded eagerly. "They're incredibly dangerous. And it's said they'll do anything to find a partner."

The door creaked open. The candle wavered in the sudden draft, and long shadows trembled across the walls. Alya swallowed hard, already regretting her own story.

"Vampires drink the blood of their partners," she continued, her voice low. "And then…" She paused. "They kill them."

BOOM!

Thunder cracked outside. Alya shrieked and seized Shina's arm. Shina flinched too, but the third girl, Alice, didn't move at all. She only listened, quiet and still.

Her eyes stayed fixed on the flame, as though it were the only thing in the room worth watching.

Then Alya clapped her hands. "Ta-da! Lights on!" The lamp flicked back on, flooding the room with warm, ordinary light. "And that's where today's story ends!"

"So," she added, still catching her breath, "how was it?"

"Ridiculous," Shina answered at once, crossing her arms. "Vampires? Blood bonds? Partners? It sounds like something out of a fantasy novel."

"You don't have to ruin it!" Alya puffed out her cheeks.

Shina only laughed, then glanced at Alice. "You're quiet tonight."

"I don't like stories like this," Alice said. She hesitated. "Especially fake ones."

"You still don't believe in vampires?" Alya asked.

"I've never seen one."

Shina checked the clock and sighed. "Okay, enough. It's really late. You two should head home."

Alya froze, then smacked her forehead. "School starts tomorrow! I completely forgot!" She scrambled to her feet and snatched up her bag. "Come on, Alice!"

Outside, the night air was cool. Before they parted, Shina leaned toward Alya with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Be careful on the way home. You never know. What if a vampire appears tonight and carries you away?"

Alya went rigid, the color draining from her face. Alice sighed. "She's joking."

"Heehee…" Shina covered her mouth.

"You're terrible!" Alya cried.

Alice allowed herself a small smile. "Good night, Shina."

"Good night, Alice."

Alice and Alya walked on together, hand in hand. Alya held on tightly, and the familiar warmth of it eased something in Alice's chest, though a faint awkwardness lingered there.

These are my best friends, she thought. Alya loves scary stories even though they terrify her. And Shina loves teasing Alya more than anything.

Her smile faded. And me… One hand drifted to her stomach, and she fell silent.

Alya noticed at once. "Alice?"

When she didn't answer, Alya went on, her voice softer. "My grandmother tells me stories about vampires all the time. She says they live among humans, searching for partners whose blood they can rely on to survive." A dreamy smile crossed her face. "Honestly, I really wish I could meet one someday."

Alice stared at her. She had heard countless vampire tales over the years and never believed a single one. Partners. Blood-bound. She tilted her face toward the pale, full moon.

If something like that really existed… would it really be so bad?

Neither girl noticed the figure watching them from far away.

It stood motionless on a distant rooftop, patient as the moon itself.

* * *

Somewhere across the city, a boy staggered through a deserted alley, dragging one hand along the brick wall to keep himself upright. His breathing was heavy and uneven.

"Ugh… it hurts." He pressed a hand to his side and doubled over. "Blood…"

No people. No lights. Only shadow, and the distant hum of the city. His vision blurred at the edges.

His fingers left dark streaks across the bricks. Ordinary hunger was nothing like this. It was the slow, hollow ache of a vampire with no partner, a life burning down to its final embers.

"I don't have much time," he murmured. "I need to do something. Quickly…"

His legs buckled. He collapsed onto the cold pavement.

* * *

"See you tomorrow, Alice!" Alya called, waving as she disappeared down her own street.

"Good night, Alya."

Alice turned toward home, thinking that today had, all things considered, been a good day.

Then pain tore through her body so sharply that she stopped mid-stride. The street spun.

She had grown used to the pain over the years, but never to its timing. It always arrived when she dared to feel happy, as if the curse wanted to remind her that it was still there.

"Why now…?" She pressed a hand to her stomach and forced herself forward. Why does this keep happening to me? I've had this pain since the day I was born.

"I was cursed," she whispered to the empty street. "By some strange vampire mage. I don't even know what the curse is. I only know that it hurts."

Her hand curled into a fist. "I've tried so many times to find a cure. Nothing worked. That's why I hate vampires. I wanted to forget they ever existed."

Her mother's voice surfaced in her memory, telling those same stories. She believed in them too. She said vampires needed humans.

Her mother had always spoken of them gently, with a sadness Alice never understood. Back then, Alice had simply covered her ears.

"Ah!" The pain surged. Alice caught the nearest wall, and the rough stone scraped her palm. "Is this really just the curse? Or is it something else?" Her breath came raggedly. "Why did that vampire do this to me?"

The darkness thickened around her. Then, through the haze, she saw a shape on the ground ahead, motionless.

"Someone…?"

She crept forward, one hand braced against the wall, until she reached his side. A boy lay unmoving on the pavement. Something dark was smeared across her own hand, and when she raised it to look closer, her eyes widened.

Blood.

Her stomach lurched. She dropped to her knees as the pain flared so violently that despair crept in. Maybe I should just stop fighting it.

As she slumped forward, her bleeding hand landed beside the boy's outstretched fingers, and a scent rose around her. Faint at first, then unmistakable. Not ordinary. Strangely, powerfully alive.

It cut through the iron smell of the alley and the fog in her head, as though the scent itself were reaching for someone close by.

His fingers twitched.

They brushed against hers, and a trace of her blood slid onto his skin.