Behind the Door

How it had come to this, no one could know for sure. Zack had always had a bad feeling about the strange caverns scientists had discovered in the mountains near his home. There was just something… off about them. As if the giant boulders sealing it shut were doing so for a reason. But of course, he didn’t find out why he had that strange feeling until a few months later. When the cave explorers opened a strange door with engravings. Also when they let out those… things.

It had all been broadcast live on television when they began opening it. Zack had cleared out his entire afternoon just to catch the news right on time. The strange caverns were like a labyrinth, it was a miracle in itself that all the people in there remembered the way to get back out. As they neared the strange door, the stone around them gradually became smoother, as if it had been carved out to appear to be a simple hallway. There were theories that it was an ancient tomb, and others that speculated there being a stash of lost treasures hidden inside. Some people even wondered if it could have a hidden city teeming with life behind that door. If only any of those crazy ideas could’ve been true.

Instead, something unexplainable happened. Using all of the high-tech tools the scientists could find, they slowly cracked open the door. As the camera came into focus, strange symbols could be seen carved into the strange stone neatly. No one could figure out a way to decipher it. How did they know it was a wall instead of a door? The keyhole, which revealed nothing but darkness when looked through.

Inch by inch, whatever was sealing the stone entrance shut was broken open. Then, finally, they managed to pull the door away, completely off its hinges. Nothing happened at first. For several minutes, actually. That is, until someone tried to step inside.

Flashlights shown into the great void beyond, but revealed nothing but more of that darkness that seemed darker than black itself. The moment the first person stepped a foot beyond the door frame, chaos erupted. The darkness itself seemed to move, then red eyes began glowing. Zack’s gut twisted in terror as he watched the ten or so people in the cavern seem to freeze with fear through the screen. There seemed to be no end to how many pairs of eyes were showing up, showering them in an eerie red glow. There was no way to tell if there were multiple creatures or just one huge animal.

There were a few seconds of stillness before the bloodbath started. Not that anyone could see what happened. The red orbs vanished all at once, and a split second later the cloud of black shot through the doorway and through the hallway to spread to the rest of the caverns. It only lasted a few seconds until the square room beyond was faintly visible from the flickering headlights that lay scattered on the ground. What was more terrifying than that were the bodies of the lights’ owners. There were bite marks on every inch of skin visible, though not nearly as much blood as there should be.

When he couldn’t stand the sight of it, let alone the terrified screams of news officials, Zack quickly shut off the television and tried to slow his breathing. He couldn't comprehend what he had just seen. He doubted anyone would be able to, considering it was being broadcast on the national news. The dawning realization that whatever was in that cave was now free to roam as it, or they, pleased was almost too much to bear. Then there was the fact that whatever it was had been trapped in that room for centuries. And if it were living… there was no telling how hungry it would be for more victims.

And he was standing a mere twenty minutes away from the thing. Or things.

As the surge of panic finally hit him, Zack set into motion. He barricaded his doors with furniture and placed whatever he could to block as many windows as possible. Some might say he was overreacting, but his gut told him otherwise. And after seeing what came out from behind that door… he wasn’t taking any chances.

He gathered whatever weapons he had and strapped them onto his person, resulting in him having a pistol and hunting knife at his waist and a rifle held securely in his hands. He wasn’t sure they would do him any good, but it was better safe than sorry.

Once he did everything he could to prepare himself both physically and mentally, he sat in wait for the attack to come. A few hours passed without event, making him start to wonder if he actually did overreact. Of course the government would be able to handle this threat. They had the resources to keep them safe!

But that was before night hit. The moment the sun completely disappeared was when it all started happening again.

Zack, who had allowed himself to relax enough to sit down for a meal, heard the sounds of rumbling and gunshots echoing from the distance. Without hesitating he sprung to his feet, reequipping himself with his weapons before stationing himself in the middle of his living room. It was at the center of his home, so if anything tried to attack an entrance, he would be able to hear it in time to react. Hopefully.

A few minutes passed as the sounds that shook the ground gradually seemed to grow closer - and stronger in intensity. Adrenaline coursed through his veins with every heartbeat. It was getting closer...ever closer…

The loud sound of a bang made the man jump out of his own skin. He immediately spun around to face the source of it. It came from the door that led to his backyard. A second bang as a creature desperately tried to pry it open despite all the heavy objects blocking its path.

A third noise joined in, this one from a different location. The front door. It didn’t take long for almost every entrance he had thankfully blocked to be attacked by unknown creatures. Zack ran to the nearest one - the front door. He peeked through the peephole to see not some monstrous being that he had pictured… but a person.

As though sensing his eyes upon her, the pale woman outside his door looked straight at the small opening in the door. Zack called out without thinking, “Are you okay out there?!”

The woman failed to respond.

“Can you hear m-” Zack stopped mid-sentence. He stared back at the strange woman, who was now grinning. But it wasn’t a normal smile. No, it was a victorious one. As though the hunter finally caught its prey. And her teeth…it was as though she had fangs. His gaze travelled up to her eyes, and what he saw made him gasp and stumble away from the frighteningly frail wooden door. Her eyes were blood red. 

He once again gripped his rifle in both hands, tensing somehow more when the bangs on the entrances to his home grew louder by the second as the things grew stronger. Or was it because more of them were crowding around? He didn’t want to know the answer.

A loud crash from one of the rooms told him they were starting to break in. He knew his best chance would be to stand his ground, as the narrow hallway would cause the creatures to have to pursue him one by one.

Just a few seconds later a person stepped into view. Of course, it wasn’t an actual person. Like the woman outside, it had red eyes and strangely long and sharp canines. The creature slowly approached, almost walking casually as if it knew Zack was cornered.

Trying his best to still his shaking hands, he lifted his gun, aimed, and fired. The bullet hit the creature square in the chest- right where its heart should be. However, to Zack’s utter horror, the wound only slowed it down for a second. It seemed to regain its balance and continued its slow walk as if it relished seeing his terror.

Making a silent prayer to whoever might be listening, Zack backed against the wall as the thing’s pace quickened. He drew his knife, and as the creature lunged towards him he plunged the blade inside its torso. He wasn’t paying attention to where he was aiming - something else caught his attention that alarmed him even more. He pulled the knife back out of the thing’s somehow-still-breathing body and pushed it to the side as it struggled to recover.

Not allowing himself a second to control his breathing, he turned to the hallway to see more of the creatures that seemed vaguely familiar in the far corners of his mind pouring in from wherever the first had come from.

He dodged as the first one charged at him, and attacked the second with his knife. Yet still, more continued to pour in from the hallway. There was no end to them.

Attack after attack came, each quicker than the last. And each time he was mostly able to avoid them. Until a realization took him off guard for a fraction of a second, and that was all the opening the creatures needed to finish what they had come to do.

These things are… vampires…?

Zack was barely able to understand what was happening as a hard blow knocked him off of his feet. All he could feel was the shock from everything collapsing on him at once. Just this morning everything had been fine. And now… these things weren’t going to stop until they had their fill. And with how many there were, they weren’t going to stop just in his small town. So there had to be something he could do. Even if he could just stop one of them…

He reached out as far as he could to the pistol that had been knocked out of its holster. He felt something warm run down his arm that he could only assume was his own blood, though he didn’t know where he had been hurt yet. The gun was just an inch out of reach-

Crashes exploded from all around him. The barricades were torn apart and pushed aside without effort as the things- the vampires came flooding in.

It was then that he felt the final, fatal bite to his neck that made pain explode throughout his body. And the world went black.