The darkness enveloped Eden as she walked down the dimly lit street. She had a bottle of wine cradled in one arm and a bag of various cheeses and crackers in the other. Eden was on her way to Professor Thorne's house to bring in the new year with him.

  After the first evening in his office, Eden had started making more time with the professor. After only a couple of weeks, the professor asked her to become his aide. He didn't have to say the words but she knew, as well as he did, that a bonus to her being his aide would be the excuse for her to spend more time with him. Alone and unsupervised.

  This opportunity led to many nights in his dim office reading student papers and grading with the professor well into the night. Even on nights that they weren't grading, Eden would spend her time in his office and study for her other classes. After some time, they moved from his office to his house which was nearby the university.

  She spent the night with him for the first time the week of Thanksgiving, and from then on, her presence became a quiet constant in his home.

  A smile spread across her face as she thought through this semester. It had been grueling, classes from morning to night, but spending every evening with the professor, Andrew, was the highlight to each day. She'd never expected to fall in love with someone and would never have dreamed of that person being twenty years older than her. But the age didn't bother her and by this point the university rules about them no longer applied as the class had come to an end with the start of winter break.

  Eden was still reminiscing about the last several months when she spied a person down an alley she was passing. Normally she'd have left that person alone but she noticed that they were writhing on the ground clearly in pain.

  Eden approached tentatively. She looked around to see if there was anyone else around, maybe someone the person knew? But there was no one else around. It was just her and the person on the ground. The closer she got, the better she could see that the person was a man

  "Sir?" Eden called to the man but she didn't get a response. Her heart pounded, her blood coursing through her body felt cold. She shouldn't have approached them in a dark alleyway but she had to see if she could help them. "Sir? My name is Eden. Can I call someone to come help you?"

  She got no reply but heard a growl escape his lips. He dragged his head along the ground while on all fours. His body tremored as he moved. Eden could only imagine how much pain this man must be in. She couldn't bear to leave someone alone when they were in a state like this.

  Eden was close enough to extend her hand out to the man, reaching down to his shoulder. Before she made contact, he rolled over. His hair was wild, sticking out, stuck to the sweat on his face. His eyes were black pits, no irises to be seen from the little light that shone into the alleyway.

  She took a step back as a gasp escaped. The man rolled back over and shook. Eden watched as tremors ran down his body. She heard him growl something out but she couldn't make it out.

  This was the part where she should run.

  She turned to flee, but in a blur of motion, cold hands gripped her. Pain exploded in her neck. Then, darkness.

  ***

  Eden woke hours later. The sky was still black. Her throat burned.

  Eden coughed and rolled over to face the ground and groaned. Her whole body hurt in a way that made her feel like she'd been working out for days straight.

  The wine was busted on the ground. Glass was shattered all over the ground and the wine was spilling into cracks wherever it could seep through. It looked like blood.

  Eden sat up, her head pounding. What happened? She thought. She remembered walking down the dimly lit street and the man. The man. He had attacked her. She started running her fingers through her hair, her breath coming in sharp gasps. No tears came but her eyes burned like she needed to cry. Just one more symptom in a growing list.

  This can't be happening. This can't be happening. The mantra circled in her head as she rocked herself back and forth. What was happening? Her neck was sore. Her body felt like she'd been hit by a truck. Her throat burned - it wasn't scratchy like a sore throat, it felt like it was on fire. Her stomach felt hollow, but the idea of bread or cheese turned her stomach. She craved something warmer, saltier... something alive. Her eyes locked on the blood red wine. Blood.

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  And then Professor Thorne's class poured back into her mind. Vampires. Vampires were real? Eden shook her head. This was just a nightmare. A wild, crazy dream. She had to get to Andrew, she had to see him.

  In complete denial of what was happening to her despite the mounting evidence, Eden began trudging down the alleyway and down the road to Professor Thorne's house.

  ***

  Eden arrived at Andrew Thorne's house an hour after waking up in the alleyway. She shivered although she didn't feel hot or cold. Her stomach ached and her throat still burned. She didn't know how to describe it, but it wasn't due to a lack of water.

  Andrew Thorne's house was dark, no light streamed out of it. He had previously shown her where a hidden key was at but she didn't think it would be a good idea to use it in the middle of the night. She would have called him but she couldn't find her phone in the alleyway. She assumed the man who'd attacked her had taken it.

  Eden approached Andrew's front door and rang the doorbell. There she waited. And waited. And waited.

  Then the door opened and she saw Andrew step into the threshold, his hair was a mess, his eyes looked exhausted like he hadn't actually been sleeping, and he was wearing the clothes he'd worn the day before.

  Eden's heart ached. She yearned for him.

  "Eden?" Andrew asked, his voice rough, his eyes wide as he took in her appearance. She was holding herself differently and averting his eyes.

  "Andrew," she whispered. She felt like she was going to start bawling but no tears came. Maybe she was dehydrated.

  "Come in! My God, please come in. I've... I've been so worried," he said and ushered into the house. His hands shaking, his eyes roving over her, inspecting her. She stepped inside, tentative and raw, every nerve on edge. As she brushed past Andrew her throat constricted and the burning sensation deepened. She winced at the pain. "Are you okay?" he asked seeing her face a little more clearly in the light of the house. His hands ran down both of her arms both in a soothing way and ensuring she did not have any wounds. Though concern warped his face as she would not meet his eyes and he could see she was clearly shaken by whatever had happened.

  "I don't know," she answered truthfully. "I'm so sorry." A single tear made its way out of her eye and down her face. He shushed her and pulled her into him stroking her hair. He pulled her slightly from him and wiped the tear from her face. "You're safe now." The smile he gave her was soothing and calmed her nerves.

  He was always so gentle with her. The most kind anyone had ever been.

  But something was wrong with her. The feel of his hand on her face and being pulled into him made her teeth ache in a way that was unfamiliar to her. She reached up to her teeth and felt at them. She realized her canines had become more elongated and pointier than they were previously. "Do you want to talk about what happened?" Andrew asked. Worry laced in his words and concern was written all over his face.

  "I was trying to help someone who looked like they were hurt. It was dark. They... they attacked me," Eden stammered as she recalled the events from the evening before. Could it be possible? For the first time since coming to his house, she raised her face fully and gazed into his eyes. She had a feeling she knew what he'd see. She feared it.

  Shock spread over his face and he pulled away slightly. "Eden," Andrew said tentatively, "your eyes." He raised a hand to her face to examine her further but she turned away from him to look in a mirror that was nearby. That's when she saw it. Her eyes were blood red just like all of the stories had depicted.

  Just then she realized that the sound she'd thought was coming from outside the house was closer to her than she'd originally thought. The sound was a distinct thumping sound. Thump-thump, thump-thump. His heartbeat.

  She couldn't bear the way his pulse sounded, like a siren in the dark, begging her to do the unthinkable. Squeezing her eyes shut, Eden brushed passed him quickly and shouted behind her that she had to go. Tears now streaked down her face. She couldn't be near him; not with her teeth hurting, her throat burning and her insatiable hunger beginning to overcome her.

  She fled. Eden ran and ran. She ran until she couldn't stand the hunger any longer. She ran until she came across a man accosting a woman. His scent was strong and pulled her to him.

  For a split second she thought to shout at him. She thought she should push him away. Instead, her fangs drew further down extending her canines further. It was painful but she barely noticed. The man's blood was fresh and coursing wildly through his body.

  He turned just as she came upon him. She could see the horror stream across his face but she didn't care. Instinct drove her as she lunged for the man. Her mouth aimed at the blood pumping within his body at his neck. She sunk her fangs into him and drank.

  When she let go, the man crumpled to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut. His skin was gray. His eyes stared blankly. He was empty.

  She let his body fall to the ground. It landed with a thud. Dead weight. The man had been completely emptied of every drop of blood.

  Eden felt sick.

  Her hand rose to her mouth, it came away with blood.

  The burning in her throat was gone. The endless hunger had been satiated but Eden was disgusted with herself.

  I am a monster she thought. A thing of shadows. Of dread.

  She fled the darkness of that place. The silence that arose from the emptiness of the man's body. She left him there and ran.