Finishing up NaNoWriMo and entering the holiday season ended up being more of a one-two punch than expected this year. I managed to achieve the 50,000 word goal for November, but there is still a lot of story to tell. With this in mind, I needed to clear a little space in my head after my daily walks brought me by a nearly abandoned church. The crooked bell and weather-worn walls lit a spark in my head that grew as I considered what teh building may be used for and why.
The irony of the situation is not lost
on me. Here I am. The son of a preacher, excommunicated from his
father's religion for a multitude of sins, cowering in a church. I
am huddled in a corner of the fellowship hall seeking a night of
safety and sanctuary. All I want is a night of peaceful rest without
fear. Without having to worry about what is going to kill me before
the sun rises in the morning. Is that really too much to ask? These
days, it seems so.
Nobody knows exactly when the beasts
first appeared or where they came from. Some say they are a failed
experiment from Area 51. Others say they have been here since
humanity was young, just lurking in the shadows until the time was
right. Still others say the beasts are the result of people
consuming too many GMO foods and artificial flavorings. Regardless
of where they came from, these damn vampires have gotten completely
out of control.
None of the books or movies had it
right. At least, not as far as this reality is concerned. These
vampires didn't live in remote castles kidnapping beautiful women to
add to their harem. They don't have secret societies that work with
governments to rule the world. They most certainly don't sparkle in
the sunlight. Forget about Holy ground. Cemeteries don't even slow
these vampires down and churches are just as good for hiding in as
any other building with doors and solid walls.
Sunlight is another thing they books
and movies got wrong. These vampires don't burn to ash when walking
around in the daylight. They will sunburn faster than a nerdy
redhead on a Bahama beach, but it's not as lethal as the stories used
to say. Crosses are completely useless and garlic only makes their
breath smell bad. Honestly, since these suckers eat the flesh and
meat of living people, the garlic might actually make their breath
smell better. Finally, wooden stakes. Driving one through a
vampire's heart is definitely lethal, but only because it would kill
any complex living being. If you wanted to, you could use a metal
stake, a plastic one, or even a long bone sharpened enough. The hard
part was finding the heart. I nearly died five times before out they
have their heart more to the right side and behind other organs in
their chest, as opposed to human's anyway. Fortunately, stabbing them
enough times in the chest is still lethal, if you can survive the
fight long enough.
While the old information about
vampires and their weaknesses may have been wrong, there is one thing
that is correct. Their appetite. A single vampire will attack with
its claws and teeth, going for the throat first. If successful, the
beast will drink up as much of the blood as it can while its victim
thrashes around. Once the blood stops flowing, the vampire will
begin eating into the flesh and muscle. It is easy enough to fight
off a single vampire's attack. Maybe even possible to survive two or
three. It's the packs of five or six, or more, that are impossible
to survive. That many teeth and claws all attacking at once make a
person into a gory mess rather quickly.
The sun set a couple of hours ago.
While the vampires can survive the daylight, their sensitivity tends
to cause them to move at night. Entire packs will leave whatever
cave or house they have sheltered in and roam around in the pale
moonlight. Despite the number of walls between me and the outside
and the lack of windows in this hall, I'm pretty sure I can hear a
small pack moving around right now. It may only be a figment of my
imagination, but it is enough for the hairs on my neck to stand on
end as I tuck myself further into the corner.
So, here I sit. A man that had been
kicked out of a church for drinking, doing drugs, frequenting
brothels, and busted in a child pornography ring, hiding in a church
from legendary monsters that don't fit the legends. A member of the
species once considered the very top of the food chain trying to
avoid being eaten by horrid, ravaging monsters by cowering in a
peaceful house of worship. All I want is to wake up from a good
night's sleep.
Did that sound like the front doors
opening to anyone else?
Have you ever spent time in an abandoned building? What kind of place was it and what did you do there?
