Kyuuketsuki 04

Just as I was coming around the corner, when all that was visible was half of my right leg, she had already set her gaze upon me. Just like that. This woman, who was tall and beautiful, with the features to prove it, took notice of my presence. It was the fastest I'd ever been detected, but that doesn't say much. My proficiency in stealth doesn't amount to anything, since I never tried to improve it. I had just never been detected being somewhere before I was fully there. It threw me off.

She said to me in a raised voice "You, come over here." So I walked closer to the strange woman I had just met at night. It was actually too soon to be thinking she's strange. Just because we had a chance encounter on my way home late at night doesn't mean she's strange. Maybe she's normal. She probably has her own places to be, and perhaps just needed a little help with something. If that's all it was, then that's pretty normal.

"What are you doing this late at night?" She asked once I inched closer to her. Or, maybe, I yarded closer to her, because the street we were on was particularly long.

"I was buying books."

"Oh, what a noble reason to be out this evening." I still don't know what she was talking about. A young man's late night activities are far from noble in most cases. Describing them as such is a bold lie. My book buying doesn't hold a candle to adolescent debauchery as far as morality goes, so I guess some shopping is noble compared to that, but it's not really a noble thing at all.

To the suspicious woman who I, for some reason, obeyed when she ordered me to draw closer, I said "Not really. I think you're reading into it too much. There is no meaning other than just being out to buy these books."

"It matters not if your trip has no meaning, for I  speak meaning into it as I talk about it."

While I was thinking somebody ought to give your speech some meaning, you make no sense, I didn't say anything.

"What have thou gone quiet for? Hast thou been enchanted by my beauty?"

While she certainly was pretty, she was off the mark. I was not captivated by her looks, but spacing out. I was trying to see what was behind her, trying to get a read on how far I was from home. That's what I was concerned about in this situation.

"Uhh, no, sorry." I don't know if not being head over heels for her is something I needed to apologize for, but I wasn't sure if she was making an effort for that to happen.

"Then why didst thou grow silent? Do you know not of who you are in the presence of?"

"Unfortunately, I don't."

"Then, come closer, and I shall tell thee."

We were already more than close enough for her to speak her name and make sure that I heard it. Only about two and a half feet were separating us. Ignoring how close we already were, I dropped all common sense and went closer. But I think it wasn't at that moment that I abandoned rationality and common sense, it was when I fulfilled her request to come closer the first time. Or maybe, it was when I decided to leave the house.

The woman placed her arms around my shoulders and her hands on my back when I got close enough. Placing her lips up to my ear, she said, softly "I am the legendary vampire of dominion, Stretta."

I had never encountered a real person who gave themselves a nickname that sounded like a boss from a video game. I was doubtful that she had earned the nickname "Legendary vampire of dominion." She also probably wasn't named Stretta. Though, anyone could tell by looking at her that she wasn't Japanese. But I was totally brushing over the "vampire" part. My mind was on other things like wanting to go home or wanting to read those books, which had been deemed a higher priority than my current circumstance by my conscience. Though I clearly heard her say vampire, I wasn't thinking about it, I wasn't registering it in my mind, and I wasn't recalling what I heard about on the phone before.

"It's unfortunate, but since thou have learned my name, thou must die." I heard that loud and clear. When I picked up on that, the "vampire" thing clicked. This woman out at this random area at this time of night who eerily matches the description of the rumored vampire I got earlier actually was the vampire. Though this path of logic began to circulate through my mind, I wasn't intimidated or scared. I always believed that vampires, the supernatural, monsters, magic, and the like were just nonsense, but I also believed that if any of that stuff turned out to be real, it wouldn't surprise me. I wasn't shocked or afraid of her existence, but her incoming murderous intent was beginning to faze me.

But then it all made sense to me. I don't need to die because she told me her name. The "If I told you I'd have to kill you" cliche was just how she fed herself. Wandering the streets at night, luring unsuspecting people close to her, so she can say "Hey there, my name is Stretta." Then follow up with "Oops, you've learned my identity. Bye bye now!" And drain the person of their blood. I instinctively knew that whatever code or law vampires followed, if they had any, didn't say anything about killing those who learned a vampire's name. She was just making stuff up. But if the vampire code did say that, then our spooky night lady here would be abusing a major loophole in vampire methodology to eat. It doesn't matter, the way she was going about it made for one unfair harvest. What she was doing was cheating. She could just sneak up on people who are alone or trick people normally rather than lying about the rules of the vampires. It seemed though, that I was still going to die that night.

"Good, now be my snack." She pulled her lips away from my ear, and brought her head around to look directly at me. She put on a pompous smile, and revealed two fangs. Fangs. The same color as her teeth, with no visible marks, dents, or creases. They weren't fake. This confirmed that she was for sure a vampire, and I was living my last night and taking my final breaths. She once again brought her face closer to mine.

In the end, all I amount to is her snack. Not even a full meal.

She leaned in closer. "Don't worry too much, thou won't feel me digging into your neck, and thou won't feel a thing when all your blood leaves your body. Now, just relax thy body-"

"woooah-"

Like she said, I didn't feel her digging into my neck, or all my blood leaving my body. I didn't feel anything, but I knew that I didn't need to feel it to know it wasn't happing. Because.

I felt her lips pressing against my own.