The Vampire Effect

The light was too much for me, I covered my face with my hands. Ever since I escaped the prison, I've felt different. It was apparent that I was no longer who I used to be. That I was a new person, starting a new life. But I wasn't on my own. I had my little sister with me. There was no way in hell that I was going to leave her there with that bastard, Drake. It wasn't exactly a prison, it was a basement. We were locked in a basement of a stranger. A stranger who I thought I could trust. As it turned out, I was wrong. In a world like this, you can't trust anyone.

I took my hands away from my face and grabbed my sister by the hand. We wouldn't get far if we just stood in the open, only a block from his house. I guided her across the street and hurried around another corner. We were lost in this neighborhood; no where to go.

The sun was getting too much for me. My skin began to crawl and my eyes watered from the brightness. Oh God! Why does it hurt?

To make things a little more complicated, we weren't wearing clothes. That bastard had made us wear thin bathrobes and woven socks. Imagine how we must look, running around aimlessly in robes. Two girls running around in bathrobes, that's a scene begging for attention.

I stopped running and quickly glanced around. My breath caught in my throat as I noticed a car speeding our way. As quickly as I could, I pushed my sister to run into someone's yard. She didn't utter a sound as she obeyed my silent, yet obvious command. It looked like no one was home. There was no car in the driveway and the inner lights were off. I was itching to run far away as I possibly could, but the car was getting closer. Without thinking, I ran to the front door and wiggled the doorknob. It was open! Whoever lived in this house must be a trusting family.

I let my sister go in before me, and then I closed the door behind us. I waited by the door, listening for the car to go by. Then I heard gravel crunch. Slapping my forehead, I realized my mistake. I had mistaken a family that was in a hurry to get home, for an angry Drake.

"Shannen, are we going to be safe here?"

I hushed my sister and began to anxiously search for a way out. The sound of footsteps reached my ears. In a panic, I shoved my younger sister into a coat closet and fled to the next room. To my understanding, I had fled into the kitchen. I yanked open the first door I could find and entered. Seeing how it wasn't an entrance to a room, I had to squeeze under the lowest shelf.

I could still hear the footsteps, they had already entered the house. I held my breath as they moved from room to room and found their way into the kitchen. Keys were set onto the table and the fridge was opened. I judged the sounds my host was making. The footsteps were made by tennis shoes, and they were getting closer to me.

Slowly, light peeked into the small room and I could see the black shoes. I trained my eyes upward, trying not to move a muscle. It was a teenage boy, rummaging through a couple of shelves above me. He didn't even notice the strange girl in his pantry.

"Do you want anything to eat?"

Blood drained from my face, did he know I was here? Why was he offering me food? I began to calculate how to make it out of the closet without him catching me.

"We've got tons of boxed meals and canned food. I know that's not good enough for a party, but it's all I've got."

I quickly noticed that he was holding a phone to his ear. That was a relief, he hadn't noticed me after all.

The boy frowned, "I can't just pour corn into a bowl and expect people to eat it. Maybe I should just cancel."

As I listened, I could hear the boy on the other line. "Dude, girls were going to show up; hot girls. You can't just cancel on them."