Vampires Find Love In Winter For A Reason

I cried. I cried some more. I didn’t enjoy crying in front of my captors. Any of them. It was just a chance to prove to them that I was weak and that I did deserve to die. I cried for a long time. I eventually ended up laying on the floor…crying still. The whole time, Wade didn’t move an inch. Probably 25, 35 minutes passed by and he still hadn’t moved. He probably enjoyed watching me cry. The tears dried up and the sobs died down. Wade knelt down next to me and held out his hand. I grabbed it and he helped me up.

“C’mon.” he said, leading me back to the dungeon. I sniffled as he locked the door to my cage, and then he was gone.

“What happened?” Maggie asked me.

“Nothing.” I said, “I talked to Cale, Wade broke my wrist, normal life stuff.”

“Remember what I said about your heart.”

“Why do you keep telling me that?” I asked, “I’m not going to fall in love with someone who’s going to kill me, I’m not a masochist. And another thing, what did Cale mean about you not leaving this cage?”

Maggie sat silent for a couple seconds, then took a deep breath.

“Just trust me. I’ve known these guys for 3 months, I know what I’m talking about.”

“You said you were here for 3 days.”

“I’ve been in this cage for 3 days.”

“What? What’s going on? Tell me the truth.”

“Fine. You wanna know the truth? I’ll start at the beginning.



I used to go to the book shop on 9th street every Thursday. I was looking at the New Releases section and I noticed this boy looking at me. I smiled back at him and he walked over to me.

“Hi” he said, “I’ve seen you here before.”

“Yeah,” I’m here every Thursday.

“I’m Vincent, by the way.”

“Maggie”

We talked about our favorite books for a while, then he asked me out for coffee. I was having a blast. This guy was totally sweet and sensitive, yet outgoing and honest. I gave him my number and we went out the next night. He took to the beach and we just sat on the sand and talked for hours.

“Well, it’s getting kind of late.” He said, “We should head back.” I stared into his eyes and pulled him close to me. We stayed on the beach for another 5 or 10 minutes and just kissed and cuddled.

We were going steady. After about 2 months, I told him I loved him.

“No, you don’t.” He said.

“I do, really!”

“There’s something you need to know.”

“Whatever you tell me, I’ll still love you.” I said.

“I’m a vampire.”

I kissed his forehead.

“I still love you.” I said.

He smiled. “I love you too.”

About a month after he told me he was a vampire, nothing had changed. I slept over at his house and I had to go to the bathroom. I didn’t want to wake Vincent, so I tiptoed to the bathroom. I was still half-asleep, so I tripped over the rug in the bathroom and when I looked down, I noticed a trap door. At first I thought it was just a crawlspace, so I grabbed the handle and walked down the stairs. At this point, I realized that this was not a crawlspace. I walked through the double doors in front of me. Vincent woke up and followed me downstairs. “Maggie, no!” he screamed as I open the door. I was shocked.

“Vincent , what is this?!”

“I told you I was a vampire, I have to feed.”

“You don’t have to capture and cage people!”

“But I do! Nobody comes out in the winter time, I have to get them before it snows!”

“No! You let them out right now!”

“I can’t! They’ve seen too much, Maggie!”

“I can’t believe you’d do this, Vincent!”

“Maggie, please-”

“No. I can’t speak to you. I can’t even look at you. I’m staying in here until you let these people out!”



“And that’s what happened.” She finished.

“So, you’ve locked yourself in here until they let everyone go?”

“Yes.”

“What if they don’t? What if they kill everyone?”

“If they die, I die. I can’t live with myself knowing I let people suffer, life their last lives in cages.”

I sat silent. Maggie always seemed to leave me at a loss for words.

“I’m bored.” I finally spoke

“Well, we’re dying.” Maggie said.

“Maggie,” an elderly woman spoke from a nearby cage, “It’s not his fault we’re in here. It’s life. Cows and pigs and other animals get captured all the time, all for survival.”

“But it still doesn’t seem fair!”

“Nothing’s fair, dear. The world isn’t perfect, but that’s what love is for, to ease your mind from all of your unfair troubles.”

Maggie sighed. An elderly man beside the woman spoke, “She’s right, Maggie. Look at us. We may be awaiting our death, but at least we’re together. Our love can surpass any obstacle.” He kissed his wife on the forehead and she smiled.

I knew what I had to do.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHH!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. The doors flew open and Wade and Vincent came sprinting through the room.

“What’s wrong?!” Vincent shouted.

“I..uh…something attacked us!” I said, stumbling over my words.

Vincent looked confused. “Well…uh..are you all right?” he said directly to Maggie.

“She looked at him with tears in her eyes. “I….I love you.” She sobbed. She jumped onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek. “I love you so much” he replied. Wade signaled for me to follow him. I did, and he led me to one of the doors in the basement. I entered to see a plain room with a double bed, a plain dresser, and poor lighting. He sat on the bed.

“Did you do that?” he asked. It was the first time I saw him smile.

“Hardly. All I did was scream. You can thank the old couple in there for Maggie’s change of heart.”

“I will. Their deaths will be quick and painless. They will die together and be buried together.”

I sat silently.

“You know we can’t release them”

“I know, I know,” I said, “They know too much. I just didn’t know you’d be so…respectful towards them, though. Letting them die quickly together.”

“It’s the least we can do for killing them.”

I looked around Wade’s room to find a picture of a small family on his dresser; a father and mother in the back, 2 boys in front of them. I picked it up.

“Is this your family?”

“Yep. I haven’t always been a vampire.”

“How did it happen?” I asked.

“Well, in the 11th grade, I moved here from Washington. I had no friends. I met this girl named Katie and we were friends. Then one day, she was walking me home and I thought she was going to give me a goodbye hug, but she bit my neck, then disappeared. My neck was bleeding pretty bad, so I ran inside and put a wet washcloth on it. I went to bed with a bandage on my neck, and that night, I had experienced the worst pain I’d. ever felt. My teeth turned into fangs and my gums bled a lot. Katie had moved. I was alone again. Then I met Vincent and we hung out a lot. He was my best friend, but I was only one of his. His other best friend was Cale, and I hated him for years for that. I’ve always envied Cale.

“Were they vampires then?” I asked.

“No. I told Cale and Vince about Katie and that I was a vampire at the beginning of Senior year. They had never heard of Katie, never even seen her. Vincent told me that he would go through any pain that I went through because I was his best friend. Cale told me that he would go through any pain Vincent went through and that he respected me for dealing with being a vampire. I warned them about the transformation, which they ignored, so I bit them both. I stayed up all night with them and helped through the pain. We’ve been friends ever since.”

“That’s amazing.” I said, “What about Elliot?”

“Ha. He’s different. I love that kid, though. He’s like a little brother. “We met him our Senior year. He had moved here from Ohio. He saw us and immediately wanted to “be a part of our group” as he said it. “You can’t” I told him, “We’re vampires.” I’ll never forget his response. But first you have to understand something about Elliot. He’s very open. He’s also bisexual. He said, “That’s hot. So can I be in your group?” Of course we let him hang out with us, and he would not stop asked us if he could be a vampire. About 2 months later, I did the honors of biting him.”

“That’s so interesting.” I said.

“And here’s the most interesting part: Elliot doesn’t feed off of those people in the cages.”

“So, how does he eat?” I asked.

“Well….he’s really…horny. He’ll go out to parties and he’ll take some random girl or guy home, sleep with him or her, then feed off of them. He says it’s less morbid that way.”

“Well” I said, “That’s…wonderful.”

Wade laughed. “Yep, that’s Elliot.”



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Cale opened the door to Wade’s room. “Ah-ha!,” he said, “What happened to not being allowed to talk to prisoners, Wade?”

“I don’t like calling them that.” Wade said.

“Whatever. Meanwhile, you’re cozying up to Emi. You just want her for yourself.”

Wade blushed. “We weren’t doing anything!”

Cale grabbed my wrist. “Come on, Emi, let’s go to my room.”

“Okay, um, bye…Wade.” I said as Cale dragged me across the “hall”, which looked more like my entire apartment, to his bedroom. Cale’s room was not much different from Wade’s: Wade’s room was plain and dark with black bedsheets, Cale’s room was plain and sort of dark with blue bedsheets. Both were equally depressing in my opinion, definitely not the rooms I would choose as my own.

“So, why are you still with your boyfriend?”

“You already asked me that.”

“I know,” he said, “And you still haven’t answered me.”

“Oh. I don’t know. We live together, so I just figured I’ll get used to his behavior.”

“You’re going to get used to him treating you like dirt? Doesn’t sound like much of a plan.”

“Well, what would you do?”

“Dump him. Oh, by the way, he’s been texting you non-stop. Here.” Cale handed me my phone. I had 17 new texts: “Are you almost home?”, “When are you coming home?”, “Are you all right?”, “Are you mad at me?”, “I’m sorry”, “Are you on your way home?”, “Come home now”, “I’m going to bed”, “You’re taking this too far”, “Why are you being such a bitch?”, “I’m sorry”, “Come home now, I mean it”, “F*ck you”, “Don’t bother coming home”, “I’m sorry. Please come home”, “You’re making everyone worry”, “Fine, come home whenever you calm down.”

“Wow. He must be worried. Can I text him back?” I asked.

“Why are you asking me?”

“Well, because I didn’t want to get in trouble. I mean, you did kidnap me, you can’t have me communicating with the outside world, right?”

“Oh yeah, here, I’ll text him, you tell me what to text.”

“All right,” I said, “Tell him ‘Sorry I didn’t text you back. I went to a friend’s house and fell asleep. I don’t know when I’m coming home.’” I heard the buttons on my phone click.

“Friends house…asleep…when I’m coming home…Send.” Cale mumbled as he texted. “It’s a good thing your boyfriend doesn’t care about you that much, otherwise he would have called the police.”

“Why are you being so mean?” I asked.

“I’m sorry. I guess I’m just jealous.”

“Of Jack?”

“Jack. That sounds like a douche bag name. Sorry. Well, kinda. For one, he has a girl like you on his shoulder.”

I blushed.

“Second, he’s a jerk and he has a girlfriend. I’m a nice guy and I don’t.”

“If you were nice you wouldn’t bash people’s relationships.”

“Burn” he said.

My cell phone buzzed and Cale opened it. “Okay, it says, ‘What are you wearing?’”

“Are you serious?!” I shrieked.

“No. Haha. It actually says, ‘What friend?’”

“Tell him it’s none of his business.”

“Good for you. Put him in his place. Reply. It’s none…of..your..business…douche bag.”

“Cale! Don’t write that!”

“Haha, I won’t. There, it’s sent.”

“So, do you have any family?” I asked.

“Yes. Mom, dad, and my sister, Cassi.”

“Cale and Cassi? Do your parents like the letter C?”

“Yeah, probably because my dad’s name is Carl.”

“What’s your mom’s name?”

“Syndi. But with an S instead of a C. So, it’s kind of a family of C’s, except for my mom.”

“Do you still talk to them? You know, since you’ve become a vampire?”

“No. They don’t even know.”

“They don’t? Does anyone else’s parent’s know?”

“Yeah. Elliot’s mom knows, Vincent’s sister knows, Wade’s parent’s and brother know, even if the never talk to him, and my sister knows, but my parents don’t know.”

“What does your sister think about it?”

“She thinks I should tell mom and dad, just when I feel it’s right.”

My phone buzzed. Cale opened it, “Okay, it says ‘Why are you so mad? You’re overreacting. If you don’t come home soon, I’m going to get really mad.”

“Come on, Cale, what does it really say?”

“That’s what it says, seriously.” He showed me my phone. He wasn’t lying.

I grabbed my phone from his grip. Get mad all you want. I don’t give a sh*t. I’m still not coming home anytime soon. Send. I closed my phone and threw all my weight backwards, crashing onto the bed and letting out an annoyed grunt.

“What’d you say?” he asked.

“I told him that he can get mad all he wants because I’m not coming home anytime soon.”

The phone buzzed again.

“Whoa, that was quick.” Cale said. He gave me the phone. I opened it: Whatever. Be a bitch. I don’t care.

I closed the phone without replying. “I’ll be a bitch all I want.” I told Cale.

“He called you a bitch? I can’t believe him! You really shouldn’t be with him, Emi.”

I shot Cale a glare. “Didn’t I tell you to butt out? And when did you find out my name?”

“I told you, I read your messages. You signed off as Emi the last time you talked to your boyfriend, Jack, or whatever his name is.”

“Oh. Well, I prefer to be called Emilia or Emili, if you don’t mind.”

“I do, because I’m your captor. I like Emi better.”

I chuckled. “Fine. I guess you are my captor. By the way, when are you planning on killing me?”

“What?”

“Killing me. That’s why you captured me, right?”

Cale looked sad. “Hang on, I’ll be right back.” He got up and left the room, leaving me to explore. Or so I thought. As soon as I left Cale\'s room, I was cut off by Elliot.

"Ooh, why are you in Cale\'s room?" he asked.

"We were talking."

"Ha. Yeah, talking."

"I\'m being serious."

"No, I believe you. Cale isn\'t that type of guy."

"What type of guy?" I asked. Elliot leaned towards me with a smirk. I inched backwards, but I hit the wall. My heart was pounding fast. Please don\'t bite me. Please don\'t kill me

I felt his warm breath on my neck. He sent a shiver down my spine. I heard him chuckle slightly and he pulled back.

"That kind of guy."

I sighed.

"I scared you didn\'t you?" He asked.

"Half to death. Don\'t do that anymore."

"Why, you don\'t wanna die? It\'s pretty fun being immortal. You should try it sometime."

"Yeah, I\'ll just magically become immortal and then magically become mortal again." I joked.

He smirked. "I can\'t make you mortal again, but it wouldn\'t be that hard to make you immortal."

I remembered what Wade said about Elliot seducing his victims. That must be why he\'s smirking

I saw Wade walk towards Elliot and me. He had a half smile on his face.

"Elliot, what are you doing?" he asked. I realized that I was still against the wall and Elliot was still as close to me as the wall on the other side of me was.

Elliot smiled and turned around.

"Greeting our guest, what else?"

"C\'mon. We\'re having a meeting."

"What about her?" Elliot said, pointing his thumb back at me.

Wade walked towards me and pushed me back into Cale\'s room, shutting the door after me. I heard the lock click and their footsteps trail away.