DEAD SEED (AKA "Vampires Don't Exist")

Prologue

October 17th. Near Middletown Rhode Island

The night was chilly. Seemingly impenetrable fog billowed in front of the headlights of a black Hyundai Accent that sped across the suspension bridge. A light mist was falling from the clouds, making the road slick and dangerous.

In the back seat, Aralyn Montgomery closed her eyes, trying to sleep. It was the eve of her seventeenth birthday. Her older sister, Claire, was in the passenger seat, arguing with their mother about something stupid as always. It seemed like their arguing was never-ending and Aralyn had learned to tune them out for the most part.

Mrs. Montgomery was driving them home that Sunday night from her mother's house in Jamestown. They had spent the day helping Aralyn's grandmother repaint her old kitchen and lost track of the time. It was after nine now. The girls had school the next day and they hadn't even eaten dinner yet, so Mrs. Montgomery was driving faster than normal.

In one terrifying moment, just as Aralyn had started to drift off the sleep, she was jolted awake by the frightened screams of her sister and the violent swerving of the car. The tires screeched along the slick pavement as the car fishtailed. Aralyn's knuckles went white as she gripped the handle of her door.

It sounded like an explosion when the car finally came to a stop, smashing into the side of the bridge. Claire's screams cut off. Glass shattered. The airbags deployed. Aralyn flew forward, her seatbelt cutting into her neck and chest. Her head hit the window. She felt a burning sensation above her eye, then warm blood trickled down her face, the gooey substance blurring her vision. Her head felt heavy. Her eyes began to close....

When she opened them again, she heard the faint sound of sirens in the distance. The metallic smell of blood invaded her nostrils. People were talking outside the car; someone was trying to open the door behind Mrs. Montgomery.

It took Aralyn a moment to remember what had happened, but when she did, she struggled to get out of her seatbelt so she could check on her mother and sister.

The car's front end was dangling off the edge of the bridge. Aralyn first saw her mother; slumped over the wheel, her face bloodied and swollen.

"Mom! Mom!" Aralyn screamed, shaking her mother's shoulder, but her mother wouldn't wake up. Aralyn looked to the right where Claire should have been. The seat was empty and bloodstained. The door was open. Aralyn looked out the door, seeing the edge of the bridge where the car had stopped. The fog blocked her view, but she knew the cold ocean laughed at her from below.

Had Claire fallen out of the car?

The sirens grew louder and louder until the emergency vehicles pulled to a stop near the scene of the accident. As people broke into the crumpled car to help, Aralyn's mind began to sway again. She felt like her head was underwater. She could hear people asking her questions but couldn't understand the words they were saying.

The only thing she really remembered from that night was her mother being zipped up in a black bag.