Hand In Hand: Teeth In Neck

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Kellin made his way down the lowly lit sidewalk late at night. The air grew cooler during the autumn nights as it crept closer to winter. Kellin had just finished working a long shift at the Umbrella Factory. He loathed working at the umbrella factory, nothing fun or interesting ever happened there. Well, that wasn't entirely true; once an entire batch of umbrellas had been assembled wrong, but Kellin had been sick that day.

He didn't mind having to walk home in near darkness, even if he did find himself getting spooked. It was his own fault; his car had broken down last weekend and he didn't have the funds to get it repaired. It was an old piece of shit anyway.

Kellin counted the number of streetlamps he passed under as he continued walking home. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. The eighth light flickered as Kellin passed beneath it. He shivered. Why did he let himself get startled by the smallest of things? As he continued onward, he began to hear footsteps echoing behind him. He stopped and looked behind himself at the long line of lights he had already passed. No one.

"Hello?" Kellin called out wearily.

No one responded. He reassured himself that he was fine, yet he noticed he had quickened his pace down the sidewalk. The sound of the footsteps continued. Kellin quickened his pace again. The sound of the footsteps grew louder. Kellin stopped abruptly and turned around once more to see what the sound could be caused by. Nothing was there.

"Whoever's there... Just quit this little game already!" Kellin called out again, his voice noticeably shaken.

There was no response. Kellin looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever was lurking in the darkness. He saw nothing out of the ordinary. Turning back around, he jumped as he spotted a dark figure in his path.

"Who are you?!" Kellin asked angrily, "What do you want?!"

The figure's head was down, hiding their appearance. They wore a dark hoodie making it difficult to make out their figure. Kellin wasn't sure if he could fight him off. He seemed shorter than him. Even if he was going to rob him, Kellin didn't have much money on him anyway. The mysterious figure slowly stepped towards Kellin, but he didn't run. Kellin stood his ground and prepared to fight if he needed to.

As the figure approached Kellin, he lifted his head giving Kellin a better view of his appearance. It was a man roughly around Kellin's age. From his hood, wavy locks of his dark brown hair cupped his face. He had dark brown eyes that washed a wave of comfort over Kellin. In this dangerous situation, why did Kellin suddenly feel safe?

Just then, Kellin noticed something.

Fangs.

Sharp fangs.

_________

At first, Kellin thought he might be a real vampire, but that would be impossible. Right? Maybe he had strange dental issues, who knows. Kellin was relieved he didn't try to attack him, yet terrified because the boy was awkwardly coming closer towards him.

"You shouldn't be out here so late at night... Out here alone in the dark...," the sharp-fanged stranger spoke quietly.

"What the hell do you want?" Kellin replied annoyed. He just wanted to get home.

"Nothing really...," He answered, "I just came to inform you that you shouldn't be out here alone..."

"Because of creeps like you?" Kellin mocked and quickly made my way around him.

"It isn't safe here. I'm just watching out for you, y'know."

"Okay, whatever creep." Kellin said as he continued passed the boy, "My car is broken, so it isn't like I have a choice."