"MISTY CREEK"

       Gregory’s heart sinks as the sun slowly disappears behind the distant mountains. He sits atop his shiny mahogany coffin, biting his long perfect fingernails and contemplating life eternal, looking gloomy in his black shirt and black joggers. He’s been sleeping all day for nearly a week now. The night used to be his world, his adventure, his territory. This place used to be ripe with countless tourists roaming around the mountains and forest, checking out the wildlife, willingly stepping into danger and testing fate. Weird things happen to tourists here and they blame it on bigfoot, dogmen and aliens. The best part about it is that the weirdness attracts even more people. The best place to hide is in plain sight. Life used to be great here in Misty Creek. 

Nowadays, you cannot find anyone at night in this small town since Covid hit. Tourism came to a halt, there’s curfew early at night and people are staying at home. Gregory never thought he’d hate the people in this town for their discipline. His family only drinks human blood every four months. Let not go wild about that. They only take what they need. And his kids - Jancy and Holly have been bugging him to teach them how to hunt for blood but he cannot bring them out now because it’s too dangerous. Time flies too fast and this pandemic stuff has been giving unprecedented stress. The little kids are growing quick, they’re almost 60 years old.

           Gregory lights his electric candelabra and opens the lights in the house. There’s a lot of solar panels installed on of their roof. He hates the sun but loves that it helps them become self-sufficient. It’s also better for the environment too, and Gregory loves everything organic. He checks the chickens in the backyard. They look healthy and will sustain them for a couple of months, even though their blood tastes like sand and not very nutritious, like eating junk food.  

           Jancy runs across the lawn and hugs Gregory.

           “Hey there, lil’ buddy! You had a good day sleep, yeah?”

           “Yeah. Are we going to have good blood tonight, Dad?” Jancy asks hopefully.

           “Look at your fangs. They’re growing up so quick!” Gregory avoids the question and plays with his son’s teeth.

           Inside the house, Loren just finished helping Holly take a bath and she’s dressing her now. Gregory cleans the house for a bit and checks their fridge. There’s five jug of chicken blood that can be reheated later. One jug is enough for the night.

           Loren watches TV with the kids, Hotel Transylvania again, but her attention is on her phone. She’s been giving Gregory that cold treatment for a while now and he’s aware of that. She hasn’t let him inside her coffin since for almost a year after the pandemic hit.

           “You think I should go out, around nine? Like the usual? Or should I go earlier,” Gregory asks her.

           “It’s up to you,” she answers sourly. “I’ll warm up the food for tonight.”

           “Chicken blood again?” the kids say. Loren nods at them. The kids groan.

           “It’s not that bad right?” Gregory tries to lighten up the mood. “We can put it on pasta, then it’ll be an Italian.” Gregory laughs at his own joke. Jancy giggles but Holly turns back to the TV. “Get it? Italian?” Gregory turns to Loren but she doesn’t even look at him and heads straight to the kitchen where he follows.

           After a few minutes, Loren is already crying blood in the kitchen.

           ‘Shush, Hon. Don’t let the kids hear you.”

           “But it has been so hard… for all of us. And you with your lame jokes. Italian? Really?”

           “Sorry, I was just wanted to light things up, you know?”

           “Italian blood is my favorite. Why did have to bring that up now that I’m desperate and craving for one?”

           “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you, Hon.”

           “I feel so… malnourished with these poultry blood. It’s driving me off my mind. Sometimes, I just want to wake up at noon and walk into the sunlight,” Loren sobs.

           “Shush, shush, shush. Don’t say that, Hon. Don’t say that. Everything will be fine. It will all be fine. You’ll see.” Gregory hugs his wife tightly. “We must be strong. You know… for the kids.” Gregory rubs her arms confidently but his eyes betray him. He had read news that other vampires went mad for eating poultry for too long.  

           “I’ve seen on Bite Size Channel from Youtube-“

           “Ah, stop watching them. They’re a load of fake news I’m telling you. We don’t know if we can get infected by Covid. It’s better for you to stay in the house to be sure.”

           “Forgive me. I’m so sorry. This is not me. I’m not myself when I’m hungry. You’re right,” Loren whispers.

           After calming Loren down, Gregory finds himself inside the bathroom, splashing his face with cold water. He will really do it tonight. He’ll find human blood for his family. He must do it as the man of this house. And if he can’t, he won’t be able to look at himself the same way as before. He wipes himself and cannot really see his reflection in the mirror. He calls Jancy to shave him.

For tonight, just for tonight, Gregory wears his traditional cloak and leather boots to show he means business – Nosferatu style. This night will be different. He waves goodbye to his family as he goes to town. Their house is on the foot of the mountain, near the vacation houses of rich people but no one has been around since Covid.  

Gregory walks so fast his feet doesn’t seem to touch the ground, almost like he’s gliding. He doesn’t actually kill people to get their blood. He’s not a monster. He likes to knock people out and take their blood with a syringe. Sometimes, he steals blood from hospitals, but now it’s a no go. He loves peace just like normal humans. They are known in the town as a snobby rich family too wealthy to mingle with normal people, and he would like it keep it that way. It has been decades since he killed somebody, and it was just an accident. But tonight, he feels like he just might.

“You gotta be kiddin’ me,” Gregory mumbles to himself as he reaches the town proper. Old Jimmy is on guard again at the checkpoint. Gregory doesn’t take blood from people below twenty-one years of age and above sixty. It’s part of the rules from the Vampirica – the closest thing to a bible that vampires have. Besides, Old Jimmy is a stand-up guy and Gregory respects him a lot.

Gregory sneaks past Jimmy and wanders around town but no one’s there. After some time, he goes to the residential part of the town to go window shopping. Ah, the smell of fragrant healthy blood fills his nose up to his hungry stomach. If only they will invite him inside. He hears a noise and quickly goes into the backyard of a small white house. Gregory moves in to a nearby bush with precision, a primal yet graceful movement with years of mastery. The perfect predator. The figure is a meter away and he can snatch him with his steely grip, but he sees that it was just a kid, around 9-years old who looks like Jancy, taking out the trash responsibly.

“Dagnabit,” Gregory whispers.

Gregory takes another glance and sees the kid wearing a Twilight shirt. He clicks his tongue and walks out of the bush clumsily.

For a couple of hours, Gregory desperately roams around but there’s no one to be found. It’s already twelve and there would be no one foolish enough to go out at this hour. Hopelessness fills his heart. For the first time in a long time, Gregory closes his eyes and prays.

“Vampire Jesus, who drank the blood of his apostles. Please help me find blood tonight. Just a cup to fill my family’s need. And please- “

BRRRRRR! An SUV swoops down the road and stops nearby.

Well, that was fast. Gregory wasn’t able to finish his prayer and follows them. Two guys step out of the vehicle to pee. Gregory moves over - quicker than the wind, silent as shadow. There are tents and coolers with drinks inside the car, looks like they’re planning to on a hike. Gregory knows hiking isn’t allowed for any tourists until now.

“Yeah, they ain’t gonna do shit bro! What are they talkin’ about?!” says the tall guy.

“My uncle grew up ‘round this area and I know my way ‘round here,” says the short guy. It basically answers Gregory’s questions. “Ain’t nobody gonna stop us.”

“But the peeps here are crazy, believing that fake Covid shit,” says a girl, with fake nails longer than Gregory’s, as she exits the SUV. Both the dudes agree with her. Gregory shakes his head, who hikes with long nails? And why do they think Covid is fake?

Gregory’s hunger takes a backseat and now intrigued about what they’re talking about. They group starts talking about the plandemic and how everything is a conspiracy by the government to implant people with digital diagram of Annunaki genetic makeup that will turn the human race into slaves through 5G. They also talk about this stupid little town governed by corrupt people and forcing tourism to shut down. Gregory feels like he’s been taken down to some kind of rabbit hole. He saw these types of people on Youtube before, but he has never seen them up close and personal. He thought they were just a myth!

The group hops back in the SUV while Gregory climbs the roof and presses his ear with incredible focus and concentration so hard so he can hear what they’re talking about despite of the engine noise.

“Yeah, people here are weird bro. They believe in aliens and stuff in these mountains.”

“There are no predators in this area. I checked. They’re just pussies.”

Gregory feels a bit bothered by that statement. He’s the one who chases predators away so tourists could be safe and have a good time trying to find bigfoot. Granted, he hasn’t had enough energy to check the area for quite some time since there were no tourists to look after. And they believe in the government conspiracy and other stuff but laughs at the notion that bigfoot might exist. Hmmm, there’s a bit of inconsistencies in their statements.

“What are they gonna say next time? They have vampires in here?” The group laugh as the reach the open area to build their tent.

“Those stupid bats gave us Covid in the first place.” They laugh some more.

Now, Gregory is fully offended. There’s no need to drag the v-word into this.

The SUV stops near the entrance of a trail that leads to an open area where tourists go camping. The group proceeds to hike with their camping gear, led by flashlights while drinking Corona. Gregory follows them on their right side. The longer their conversation goes about Covid being fake, the more Gregory becomes agitated. He practically knows people from town who got infected and some of them even died. He’s been too focused on them to notice a mountain lion stalking the group and getting closer on their other side.

“I just wanna get the truth out there, so everyone would know what’s up.  With all the fake news from the media goin’ ‘round.”

“Yeah, those suckers should get exposed.”

“They’re takin’ our damn freedom, that’s why! First, they’ll forced you to wear a mask, then they’ll force you to take the vaccine that’ll transform you to a mutant, then… and then… they’ll turn on 5G and transform you into a fuckin’ robot!”

“You know what, my cousin said they were planning a coup! They want to reveal everything and protect our freedom. They’re going to storm the capital!”

Gregory cannot stop himself any longer and his head pops out the bushes. “You do no such thing, young man!” The tall guy spits his beer out while the other two yell their lungs out. Simultaneously, the mountain lion attacks the short guy.

All hell breaks loose. Gregory kicks the mountain lion off the short guy but its claws cut across his shirt, ripping it open and spraying blood.

“It killed me!” The short guy shouts. “It’s the Annunaki!”

The tall guy breaks his bottle off Gregory’s head. “Get away from him!”

The girl runs away, trips, breaks her long fake nails and hits her head on a tree that renders her unconscious. Gregory scowls at the mountain lion, bearing his fangs and makes his eyes glow red. The mountain lion scurries away in fear. The short guy sees Gregory’s vampire hype face and faints. Silence instantly falls upon them. Gregory is left with the tall guy.

            “Seriously, tell you cousin not to go,” says Gregory like a father disappointed with his son.

           The tall guy screams like Gregory threatened to end his life. Gregory moves quickly and hits the back of his head with enough force to make him unconscious.

           Old Jimmy sips his bland coffee while watching reaction videos on Youtube. The checkpoint is eerily quiet as he wears headphones. There’s a noise from a distance and Old Jimmy takes out his headphones. His old ears still hear loud and clear despite his age. He takes a look out but there’s nothing, and continues watching people watch something else.

           “Haha! Kid’s crazy,” Old Jimmy says to himself. This reactor is pretty good reacting to old music videos that he likes.

           BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

           Jimmy nearly shits his pants when he sees an SUV with blinking lights like it came out of nowhere. He rushes towards it as fast as his old legs would allow and sees three people inside – a short guy with bandages on his chest, a girl with bruised forehead, and a tall guy with stains on his shorts, all of them unconscious. Jimmy fumbles his radio and calls for support.

           The sun begins to rise and starts to fill everything with it’s light. Gregory closes the blinds in the living room and allows his arm to get sting by the light a bit. It sizzles his skin but he laughs it off. He checks the fridge. There are a couple bottles of Corona Beer bottles with blood.

Gregory goes to his kids’ room and sees them already asleep in their coffins. He opens it and it warms his heart to see their smiling and satisfied faces. He licks his thumb and wipes dried blood off Holly’s cheeks.

           “I love you, Daddy,” she smiles as Gregory closes the lid.

           “Go dream about pleasant nightmares, darling.”

           Gregory kisses Loren good morning as she falls asleep on her own black coffin. He stretches his back and sighs, feeling both tired and exhilarated. It was a good night. Maybe watch a few videos first? Why not? He earned it. Swift fingers expertly operate his smartphone and it quickly presses a recognizable face on a social media site.

           “I look at it first and there was nothing, but when I looked back, it was there!” Old Jimmy tells the reporter as another mystery has been added to Misty Creek.