Vampire Dad (Story)

My name is Jessica. I’m 12 years old. Last week, I was adopted by a vampire.

I always figured I’d get adopted by someone weird. It just seems to be my luck. I knew I was right as soon as I saw the huge, old-fashioned mansion we were going to. It’s on an island in the middle of nowhere. There are no other people who live on this island, and there’s a random, giant mansion from, like, the 18th century. As soon as we got there, my dad basically unlocked the door, shoved me inside, and said he’d be back later. I thought, what on earth could he need that he couldn’t have picked up before we took the boat all the way out here? Maybe he just likes boating. It is a very nice boat. At this point, I still thought he was a regular human, so I assumed he had forgotten to buy groceries and was going to the mainland to get something to eat. My theory was proven right when my self-guided tour of the place found only an expired can of beans. Beans. Expired. Do you know how long it takes canned beans to go bad?

But, figuring he’d be back soon, I resigned myself to starve until he got back. I thought, I wish he had taken me with, so I could eat something at the store. I had only driven through the mainland town on the way here. Getting to explore it sure sounded like more fun than sitting here at home, alone.

I was shocked to find a PS3 in one room, complete with a comfy couch and a big-screen TV. There was also an old-time fireplace, which made the other three things look out of place. The whole house made me feel out of place. Anyways, there were a few games there, and a few looked interesting. I played around for a few hours. Why on earth was my dad not back yet?

I heard a door open. Finally. I was starving for food and someone to talk to. I jumped off the couch and ran to meet my dad.

But I didn’t see the man who had adopted me. This man was dressed in black, and had a mask over his face. He was robbing us.

For a moment, he seemed just as surprised as I was. He hadn’t expected anyone to be home. I expected him to shoot me, or something, but he didn’t seem to have a gun. He took a few steps back, like he was scared of me. He asked if I was one of “them.”

I didn’t really know how to answer, since I didn’t know what he was actually asking.

“Who are you?” He shouted, suddenly angry.

I told him my name, including my new last name, and he only looked more distressed. He dropped his bag, apologized, and went for the door.

My father opened the door first.

In a panic, the man grabbed a nearby chair and tried to hit my dad with it. My dad was carrying a paper bag in one hand. He stopped the chair with the other. He looked at me. “Is this your friend?”

“Um…no.” I thought the answer should have been pretty obvious.

“I see.” My dad put down the paper bag.

“Skaller, please,” the thief said, using my dad’s name, “forgive me. I will never steal from you again. I was a fool. Please, I’ll do anything. I’ll turn myself in. I’ll be behind bars in two hours.”

My dad just looked at me. “Did he hurt you?”

“No,” I said.

My father sighed in relief. “Good.” He glared at the thief. “With my daughter around, I can’t afford to let this go unpunished.” The man protested, but my father held up a hand. “If you’re smart, you’ll come with me. I’ll make it as painless as possible. It will be worse if you run, far worse.”

The man thought for a moment, and decided to follow my father. They headed outside.

“What are you going to do to him?” I asked, tagging along.

“I’m going to kill him.” My dad said it so calmly, as though discussing the weather, that I couldn’t respond. I was shocked. I couldn’t say anything to stop him, even though I didn’t want the man to die.

As they neared the beach, and that shiny, expensive boat, my father grew long, black claws out of his fingertips. I looked away and ran into the house.

A few minutes later, my dad walked in again. “Sorry about that. It shouldn’t happen again.” He fished a box out of the paper bag. “I got you some caramel rolls.” He finally noticed the look of fear, confusion, and distress on my face. “What’s wrong?”

Where should I start? I had so many questions that I didn’t want to know the answers to, but I needed to know. “What are you?”

“I’m a vampire.”

I believed him. After that, everything else fell into place: why he lived alone on an island, how he had so much money, why the thief was so afraid of him, and why he seemed to value human life so little. I also fearfully suspected that I knew why I had been adopted.

I was immediately proven right. At the end of our short chat, he said that he was hungry, and reached out for my arm. I pulled back, and he gave me a stern look. “Jessica, it will only be harder on you if you resist. I will have what I want.”

I thought of the thief from a few minutes ago. He had been so terrified of my father that he had willingly gone to his death to avoid unnecessary pain. He knew the truth about vampires, that you couldn’t fight them, you couldn’t hide from them, and you couldn’t run from them. It was just best to give them what they wanted.

I was scared. Who wouldn’t be? He was about to drink my blood. He wanted to bite my arm, because apparently that would be less painful for me. He promised to be gentle.

“I don’t think there is a gentle way to bite somebody,” I said. I was crying before he even touched me. Even though he promised not to take all of my blood, just a little bit, I couldn’t willingly offer him my arm. “Why?” I asked. “This isn’t fair. I don’t want to do this.”

To his credit, my dad was very patient. “No, it isn’t fair. I won’t try to justify what I’m doing, but this will happen.”

I tried to think of a way out of it. “Why don’t you just drink the blood of that guy from earlier. You killed him, right? You could take all of his blood, and he wouldn’t care.”

“Jessica,” he said, calm but firm, “I chose you for a reason. I only want you.”

In the end, I just couldn’t give him my arm, but I was able to allow him to gently grab my arm. He wasn’t rough as he brought my arm up to his fangs. As far as I can say, he was true to his word. His bite was gentle.

It was the worst pain I’d ever felt in my life.

After drinking his fill, he treated the bite marks, bandaging my arm. He told me that he would give me a few days for my body to replenish its blood. I felt light-headed and weak, and he insisted that I eat something. After that, he didn’t stick around much longer. He left me to recover, both physically and mentally.

He has a computer in the mansion, with a surprisingly good internet connection (That’s how I was able to make this post). Of course, the first place I went was to try to get help. I asked everybody, the orphanage, the government, every sort of agency I could track down. Apparently, my dad is known by all of them, and nobody was willing to help. My desperate search ended when a man from the FBI told me I was essentially a sacrifice to appease the vampire Skaller. He apologized that it had to be me.
Well, doesn’t that just leave me tickled pink.

So yeah, my dad is now a vampire. He has fed on me twice now, and intends to keep drinking my blood for the rest of my life, and there’s nothing I can do about it. That was my week.

How was your week?