First Encounter

So, last night I was just me, Tex. Known as Theresa Ryder to the authorities and my useless parents. Now? Not so much. It shouldn’t have happened, not like that. As a street kid I should have been better prepared. Three years as a runaway has made me tough, resourceful. 


I shouldn’t have died last night. Without even a fight…


We’d been to this underground club on King Street. Darkness. Full of people like me, runaways and other unsavoury characters. I’d been drinking all evening, a disgusting cocktail of cider and cheap white wine. One of the girls I shared the squat with, Chase Martin, decided she’d had enough of the awful music and had the stupid idea of going to a graveyard. 


“Come on guys! It’ll be fun!” Chase giggled, flicking her mahogany mane, as our entourage trekked the few streets to the cemetery. 


“Sure”, Meagan replied icily. 


Meagan Cross was the other girl I shared the squat with. She would have been a pretty girl, if she actually bothered. Dirty blond, shoulder length hair hung down in matted strands, her uniform of baggy jeans and t-shirt sporting several holes. 


It wasn’t so bad, at first. We made a fire and passed round the cider, until we didn’t care about the cold. The trees were dark silhouettes against the deeper black of the sky; there wasn’t a star in sight.  I settled back on a raised stone tomb, with headphones in to block out Chase’s incessant giggling and sparked a joint. 


The three guys she’d picked up at the club were clearly enjoying her attention and she sure relished their wandering hands. But that’s Chase, reckless to a fault. We had no idea who they were; I doubt she even bothered to get names. 


Meagan was doing her usual thing of staring into space, I’d long since given up trying to talk to her. I don’t know why Chase dragged her along, but the one time I asked all I got was:


“You know how hard it is for girls like us. You need all the friends you can get and if we don’t look out for her, who will?”


So I put up with her. I guess she had issues. Every time we had enough money to get some cider or go to Darkness, she just got trashed. Sitting there with vacant grey eyes, sucking cider through a straw until she passed out.


When I glanced round, I realised Chase had disappeared. Sliding off my perch, I started off in the direction I had last seen her, weaving between headstones. But, before I had gone more than ten steps, I heard a loud moaning. I quickly backtracked the way I came, Chase was up to her old tricks again and I sure didn’t want to stumble open that ghastly sight, again.


When I got back to our temporary camp, I flounced down next to Meagan. 


“She’s at it again, you know”, I said, “with three guys this time!” No reaction. 


I prodded absently at the fire as I drained the last of my cider. I launched the empty bottle into the flames and dug around in my bag for the bottle of vodka I had stashed earlier. I took a huge swallow, relishing the burn as it slid down my throat and hit my starved belly. 


“Think I’ll join you, seems we got a while before she’s done”, I groused.


“Yeah, best way Tex”, she replied to my astonishment, “There isn’t anything worth staying sober for”. Her voice was hollow, like she had nothing left in her to give. Instantly I felt sorry for the poor girl.


Clinking our glasses, we guzzled our drinks in an attempt to get smashed quicker. I didn’t bother to talk, it was clear Meagan had reached her quota for the day. Shoving my headphones back into my ears, I pulled my tobacco from my back pocket and began to roll.


Lost in the music thumping in my ears, I hadn’t noticed that Meagan had slumped to the floor, unconscious. Shrugging my shoulders, I sparked up and downed the last of the vodka. I laid back on cold ground and closed my deep blue eyes, letting myself drift into a void of nothingness.


I had no sense of time passing while I floated in my haze of drink and drugs. I didn’t hear footsteps approaching before strong arms roughly grabbed me from the floor and pulled me into a bear hug. I figured it was just one of the un-named lads, trying it on. But in my state, I didn’t care. I leaned back against a flat, hard chest and inhaled his strange aroma of moist earth. His arms squeezed tighter, halting any movement and I felt a cold breath on my neck.


Like an explosion inside my mind, I felt the sharp stab of pain blossom out from my neck and flow down my veins. I realised he was drinking my blood, but the thought didn’t seem to affect my addled brain. It felt strange but kind of good.


His teeth left my throat and I heard a small tearing sound. As hard lips clamped down on my neck, he thrust his arm across my mouth. A warm, coppery liquid spilled onto my tongue and down my throat before I could contemplate what was happening. 


“Drink, drink”, he commanded with a voice like the whisper on wind. I gulped down the strange liquid, until I was breathless and faint. He continued to drain my blood and with every second I grew weaker. I slumped against his chest, unable to hold myself up anymore. 


My eyes flitted open as he removed his arm and stroked my long, ebony hair. My brain didn’t understand what my eyes were seeing and then the full horror assailed me. Five bodies strewn like discarded toys around the dying fire, pale and ghostly from blood loss. Opening my mouth, a piercing scream erupted and stole my last breath. Then everything went dark and I knew I was dead.