Vampire World (VAMPIRE WORLD #1)

Vampire World Part 4 Red World

RED WORLD

I took the old man’s hand and walked down a long hallway. Together, we passed through the orphanage's main door and I entered into a whole new world.

Almost at once I felt a hard pressure on every square inch of my body as daylight shone down from above. I closed my eyes in fear.

“I told you it wouldn’t be easy, Janice,” he said. “Don’t worry. The pill will kick in soon and you’ll adjust.”

At first, the pressure was so great I felt as if I was at the bottom of a swimming pool and unable to breathe. I couldn’t even walk and dropped to my knees in a panic. Even so, the man still held onto my hand.

“Try to relax,” Mr. FreeCut said. “Try not to think about the pain.”

It was extremely difficult to do anything. Yet soon the pressure lessened, allowing me to stand up and open my eyes.

“You okay now?” Mr. FreeCut asked. “Told you it would kick in.”

I was speechless with wonder as I looked at my fascinating world for the first time. Well, it felt like the first time. Above me was a deep red sky with three large stars that were so bright they were hard to look at directly. A breathtaking yellow moon loomed over the horizon, lighting up half the sky even though it was daytime. It seemed so close, I thought I could throw a rock and hit it. But that was silly. I knew it was most probably a long, long distance away.

“Welcome again to Vampire World.”

“It’s so beautiful,’” I said. “What is the name of that moon? It’s so big.”

“That’s called Garlic Moon. Kind of ironic since garlic is lethal to vampires.”

My head swung back and forth as I enthusiastically scoped out the cityscape. It was strange and stark. Small rose-colored homes were stacked close together, while spiky black grass and weird looking trees with black, needle-like leaves featured in most of the front gardens. Even the roads and sidewalks were painted blood-red.

“I can’t remember any of this,” I said. “Are you sure I’ve been here before?”

“Yes. You were born here, Janice. I know you’re probably confused. I’ll explain more to you on the way home.”

The light was still putting a bit of pressure on me when we stopped at what appeared to be something like a bus stop. Mr. FreeCut pressed a button on a skinny metal post. In response, the sidewalk opened up to reveal a staircase leading deep below ground.

“This is called the underground," he explained. "It’s a quick form of transportation across Vampire World. Let’s go.”

I followed my caretaker down the steep steps into a gloomy room. There was almost instant relief as the pressure from the light lifted.

“So is this like a subway?” I asked.

“A subway?” he repeated. “What’s that?”

“I don’t know.” I felt strange for having mentioned it.

A rocket-shaped train screeched to a halt in front of us. Mr. FreeCut took out a card.

“This is what you use to pay for things in Vampire World,” he said, sticking it into a slot.

“Oh, kind of like a credit card,” I replied without thinking.

“That’s a strange name,” he said. “But I guess you could call it that.”