In the Shadows

by Jill Nolan

  Or did I?

  Now that I’ve seen one monster, what if I start seeing more? How many more are real? How many monsters are out there?

  I used my phone flashlight more than once to scan the room, expecting to see the shape of a man or a monster in the corner, watching me. But there was nothing.

  After I determined that the shadow monsters were my imagination and that nothing else was in the room, I forced my eyes shut, but I held my phone clutched to my chest, flashlight still on. I fought the urge to open them at every little noise.

  It seemed like the night went on forever.

  But it didn’t.

  The darkness gave way to light. As soon as dawn graced the sky, I was finally able to slip into a deep sleep.

  The pit of fear is still very much there, but I feel safer with the sun up. It doesn’t seem like a creature like that could exist in the daytime. I entertain the idea that the beer and the night had me seeing things that weren’t there, that I imagined what happened.

  Unfortunately, I know that’s not the case.

  I force myself to face the day. I find Allison watching tv downstairs.

  “Dude, how can you sleep ‘til one?” Allison asks.

  I glance at the clock in the kitchen and see that it is just a few minutes past one in the afternoon. “It took a while to fall asleep last night.”

  “There’s some leftover scrambled eggs if you want some.”

  “Sure. Thanks.”

  I microwave the eggs and bring my breakfast/lunch into the living room to eat next to Allison.

  “Are you going to tell me what happened last night? You seriously scared the shit out of me.” I had brushed off her questions last night. I told her I’d explain the next day, that I was drunk and needed to pass out.

  “Sorry about that. I thought I heard something, then this giant bat kind of attacked me. Well, it like flew up at me; I didn’t get scratched or bitten or anything. It just really freaked me out.”

  “You seemed a lot more terrified than someone who had a bat fly into them... I mean you said it was going to kill us, and then you just took off.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m deathly afraid of bats.” I actually think bats are cute, but now I’ll have to remember that I have an extreme phobia of them.

  “Since when? You haven’t met an animal you didn’t like.”

  “Since last night, when a giant bat flew at my face and got stuck in my hair. I may have slightly overreacted, but I don’t think you can say for sure that it wasn’t going to kill us.” I force what feels like the phoniest smile on my face.

  “You’re so full of shit. What the hell happened? Seriously?”

  Damn it. I’m normally not that bad of a liar, but I'm too drained to act. “I was drunker than I realized and what started as an adventure to find the source of a strange sound in the woods, ended in paranoia about the shadows moving. I got really scared, and then that bat flew at me, and I really freaked. It’s stupid and embarrassing, okay? Will you promise not to tell anyone about my crazy episode?”

  She scrutinizes me; I can see her deciding if she believes my story or not. “I won’t tell anyone.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I’m sorry… I should have been with you. There’s a girl code for a reason.”

  “No, it’s not your fault. It would have been fine if I’d just went back to the party. I shouldn’t have gone into the woods alone." I shovel eggs in my mouth without really tasting them. "Who was that guy with you anyway?”

  “That was Tom. We were talking to him earlier. He stays in the Dells every summer.”

  “Did you get his number?”

  “Yeah, actually we’ve been texting quite a bit this morning.”

  “Do you think you could ask him not to say anything either?”

  She gives me a funny look but nods. “Sure.”

  I let out a breath, relieved that maybe no one else will know about my freak out, no matter how warranted. I don’t know if I should talk to anyone about it or not, but for now, I need to process it first.

  And then…who knows. I look back to Allison, wondering if she’d believe me if I told her. I honestly have no idea, I have a feeling she’s too practical. She’d probably say it was a trick of the darkness or that I was drunk or that I hit my head.

  Could I make her believe me? If I tried hard enough?

  She catches me staring at her. “What?”

  “So, you and Tom have been texting?” I deflect.

  “Yeah, well, we were hitting it off at the party, at least until I got your barely readable text about you meandering into the woods. He’s easy to talk to, cute, funny.”

  Hung up on the fact that my text was barely readable, I pull out my phone and read my last text to Allison: Gonna check out weird nose in woods, may need babbling if someone’s hurt.

  That forces a small, genuine laugh from me. It doesn't last long.

  “He asked if we want to hang out at his friend’s house tonight?” She wiggles her eyebrows at me.

  Not only am I in no mood to be around people, but there’s no way I’m stepping foot out into the deathtrap that is night. I also don’t want to stay here alone. This is a lose-lose situation.

  “I'm feeling pretty hungover, so I guess it’ll depend how I feel later.”

  “You sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah, fine.”

  “C’mon, Keegan. What happened out there? Why did you yell about the cops coming when we got back to the party?”

  Almost forgot about that part, such an insignificant part of the night. It was the only way I could think to get everyone out of there. Most of us were old enough to drink legally, but many people were high too.

  Looking back on last night, I wonder if I looked completely crazed. I was so afraid and worried the monster might go on a killing spree, making meals of everyone at the party.

  “I saw flashing lights, looked like cop cars.”

  “I didn’t see anything, either in the woods or when we left. And you were pretty far from the road.”

  “I swear, I saw what looked like cop lights. I didn’t want anyone to get in trouble, what with all the weed there.”

  “Right.”

  We sit in silence for a bit, watching tv. Part of me wants to not talk at all and another part wants to keep talking, if only to keep my mind distracted.

  I’m worried if I talk to her much more, she’ll continue to see through me, demanding to know what’s wrong.

  “I’m going to go to the library. I’m running out of good books.”

  Chapter 7

  After researching for hours, digging through useless books and combing through the internet, I discover nothing very useful. I'm almost positive that what I saw was a vampire. He was drinking that guy’s blood, he had bat-like wings, and then I'm pretty sure he turned into a bat, like Dracula. Though I have no idea what happened to the guy he was carrying. Maybe the bat thing was some kind of glamour. I can’t even believe I’m thinking that. Glamouring isn’t supposed to be real, just something make-believe that only fairies can do. And he was definitely not a fairy.

  I can’t find any stories about vampires in general or other creatures that even remotely resemble what I saw. People are seeing werewolves and bigfeet all up and down Wisconsin but no vampires. Even more distressing, I can't find any stories about witnessing a supernatural murder. I can’t be the first one to have seen something like this, which means those people haven't reported it or they were killed before they could. He definitely seemed to want to kill me. Dead men tell no tales.

  Part of me is dying to tell someone, to talk about it. The other part wants to lock it deep within myself and try to forget it ever happened. I know I technically should report it; I saw a fucking murder, after all. I'm just not sure if that puts a target on my back, if there isn't already one. It’s what I’d imagine would happen if I witnessed a mob murder. And worse, telling the police doesn't mean they'll believe me or be able to do a goddamn thing to help
.

  While looking up articles on how to weaken and kill vampires, I find that the comments are the most interesting part (especially since these articles are only telling me what I've already learned through tv and movies). Unfortunately, most of these people sound like complete idiots and nutjobs. There are people that want to meet vampires, fangirls that want to date vampires, weirdos that want to be turned into vampires, crazies that claim to already be vampires, and people that try to hunt vampires. It's nuts.

  There are a few comments that maybe possibly potentially could be legit, but it’s hard to tell with all the bullshit on here. It’s hard to picture someone with a real vampire experience posting on the internet for everyone to see, let alone in the comment section of some ridiculous article.

  Some of the people claiming to be vampire hunters are warning everyone away from these creatures, but they’re not giving up many details, so it’s still really unhelpful considering I already failed in that respect.

  Ugh, and this comment, which has got to be the worst I’ve seen, but unfortunately not by much.

  oh mye gawd, i luv vampires. did u srsly date a vampire?? so wht do thy look lyk?? i bliev vampires xist i jst wnt to meet 1. msg me if u cn hook me up wit a vampire plzzz.

  Well, that was painful to read and probably psychologically damaging. I think I lost a few IQ points. What has the world come to? Srsly.

  This is a waste of time. These people are all insane or stupid or both. I decide to finish the comments on this page and be done. The very last comment has a ring of truth and sends a chill down my body.

  Do not believe anyone who says they know a vampire. There are no living people who speak openly about their encounter. Vampires are not human, and they are without mercy. If by some miracle you’ve managed to survive a vampire, never speak of what you saw and hope like hell they don’t come after you. Because if they want you dead, nothing can stop them.

  A chill goes through me after the last line. This could be someone trying to scare people, and if so, it worked. The advice makes enough sense for me to decide to never tell a soul about what I saw. No one would believe me anyway.

  Okay, probably some people would believe me, but what are the chances they could actually help? I would need supernatural witness protection or some shit. I wish there were some kind of vampire hunter hotline. But there's not, so I just need to forget I ever saw anything and hope that I’ll be left alone and alive.

  What do I do now? I should go home. Home home. Being isolated in the middle of the woods doesn’t sound so great now. I need Mom to take care of me and Dad to protect me and my brothers and friends to distract me and make me forget that anything ever happened in the first place.

  No, I can’t go home. What if he tries to find me, and I just lead him to where all my family and friends are? There’re too many people I care about at home. I can't risk putting them all in danger.

  Which means I have to stay here, potentially putting Allison in danger. Maybe it's best if Allison is gone tonight. If he does come for me, at least I won’t take her down with me. And if he doesn't, maybe that means I'm safe. Or maybe it just means I'm safe as long as I stay inside, and I'll have to lock myself in every night. Who needs a social life anyway?

  Speaking of social life, can this vampire turn into a normal human? That’s how it works on a lot of tv shows. Because then he could have been someone from the party. He could be someone I know. He could be a friend. He could be Nic, who’s from Romania, the birthplace of vampires or Dracula or something.

  I think I need to be very careful who I allow myself to be alone with. What if the vampire comes after me as a human and just straight up murders me?

  Okay, so in addition to never going out at night, I can’t invite anyone in, and I can’t be in a situation where I’m alone with a guy, friend or not.

  Awesome.

  I can’t live like that forever, but I can for a while. Enough to be reasonably sure that I’ll be safe from then on. I’ll just lay low until it seems safe to venture out at night. And even then, I’ll just always make sure to never be alone, to never be in the woods, and especially to never be heading toward strange noises like a fucking idiot.

  I thought maybe I could help someone. I like helping people. But no, I just ended up screwing myself over. I was too late to help that guy, and all I would have succeeded in doing if I got there earlier, would have been to join him in death. I guess he would have had some company then. I still don't even know who he is. No one has been reported missing yet, except that girl a few weeks ago. I wonder if the vampire killed her too.

  At the very least, I think I can agree with myself that I’m going to need some anti-vampire weapons. If he does come for me tonight, I'm not going down without a fight.

  ◆◆◆

  I focus all of my energy on surviving tonight from my cabin. I keep second-guessing if I should go to the party with Allison, where I might be safer around people. But just thinking about somehow losing the group and finding myself alone in the dark makes me feel panicky and short of breath. I can’t go out there. And what’s more, I don’t want to have to act normal, like nothing happened, like my world didn't just flip on its axis, like I’m not scared shitless.

  I’m hoping that he won't come to kill me tonight, and I'm hoping that will mean that I'm safe and that he won’t come for me at all.

  Optimism.

  I hear a knock on my bedroom door. "Keegan?" Allison must be getting ready to head out. I had to lock the door, so she doesn't see the array of weapons I have on the floor.

  I open the door slightly and slip out into the hallway, closing the door behind me. "What's up?"

  "What you got going on in there?" she asks with a smirk.

  "It's just super messy."

  "That's normal for you. Did you forget to put away your assortment of dildos and vibrators and miscellaneous sex toys again?"

  "Shut up." She found one vibrator once and has teased me for having a whole collection ever since. "It's just worse than normal in there." This much is true. It's just not clothes that cover my floor this time.

  "Fine. I'm going to get going. Are you sure you don't want to come?"

  "No, I'm still not feeling great." I walk with her downstairs, figuring I'll have to lock the door behind her. Then I think about her being out there, in the night, with no idea what lurks in the shadows. I worry about her just walking from the house to the car, even though it's still light. When she gets home, though, it'll be pitch black. I try to quell my rising panic, try to ignore my constricting chest.

  "Do you think you'll crash at Tom's?"

  "I don't know, maybe."

  "You should, because you're driving, and you may as well play it safe."

  "Well, thanks mom."

  "And be careful. I was reading about that missing girl, and it seems really creepy, like she disappeared out of nowhere. So, just don't go anywhere alone, okay?"

  She gives me a funny look. "Sure. See you later."

  "If you do come back, don't forget to lock the door!"

  "Alright," she says, walking out the door. I lock up behind her. I watch her walk to her car, letting out a breath when she gets in safely.

  I still have a few hours of sunlight. I use that to prepare for another long, terrifying night. This time it'll be all by myself, at least until Allison gets back home, if she decides to come back at all.

  There are three widely agreed upon ways to kill a vampire: decapitation, fire, and a stake through the heart. I can’t picture myself being able to behead someone, but I will sure as hell try if it comes down to it. I bought a sword, and it seems pretty sharp...hopefully that would work. A flamethrower is hard to come by, so I have lighter fluid and a lighter that stays lit. Still, the thought of using fire as a weapon scares the shit out of me. I really don't want to burn alive because I started a fire in a wood cabin. But, I have it if I need it, I guess.

  My most plausible way to kill this thing would be the third option, but do y
ou have any idea how hard it’d be to stab someone in the heart with a wooden stake? I don’t, but I imagine it would be incredibly difficult if not impossible to get to the heart through the bone armor that is the rib cage. I have zero experience stabbing anything, let alone a specific organ. My guess would be you couldn’t just go straight in, because there’s a frickin’ rib cage there. And if you go under, you could miss. And most importantly, that means I’d have to be standing right in front of him.

  I was able to buy two stakes from the same store that I got the sword. The Dells sells some weird shit, and I couldn't be more grateful for that. The only problem is that they were being sold as a prop, so they're not sharp at all. Therefore, I'll be whittling away at them all night while I wait to be attacked. At least it'll give me something to do.