"-BELLE, ANNABELLE" Nate shouted at me, and I could barely make it out over the ringing in my ears and the sound of guttural screaming ten feet away from us. The light coming from the doorway was just bright enough for me to make out shapes. I could see one skinny male figure crouching over a body on the ground. The man was the one who was screaming as he picked up and held the body. I looked down at the gun I was holding steadily in my hands. The one I had just fired. 

I turned with wide eyes to Nate who had been shaking me and trying to get my attention. His gun was back in his holster, and his face was drained of blood. He yelled, "What did you do?!" He let out a string of curses. 

In my shocked state I tried to explain, "They're vampires Nate, and I-I don't know. I-I don't know how I know. It was j-just instinct. I felt that they were here to hurt us." 

"Don't give me that "I'm an empath" shit. There's no way you could've known that they're vampires. We need to check on them. Come on," Nate lectured me. He seemed more flustered than I had ever seen before. I thought to myself that he must be in shock as well. Doubt and guilt swirled in my stomach. Did I just kill someone? Someone who was potentially innocent?  Nausea swept over me. 

The bellowing stopped and in the stillness we cautiously walked over to where the two people were. Every second felt surreal. The man wouldn't look up, but once we were close enough I could make out at least a dozen fresh scratches on his face and neck. Fear replaced the guilt. Everything within me told me to run. 

"We-um... it was an accident. Do you want me to call 911?" Nate asked seemingly unfazed by the monstrous looking man before us who was holding a now still female with matted auburn hair in his arms. After a few minutes of silence stretched on, Nate slowly started backing up, dragging me with him. He seemed to finally be able to sense how off everything felt. 

"You were already going to die...but now you'll die slowly," the man responded in a distorted voice. It was as if five men were speaking instead of one. He set the woman on the ground. Her still, brown eyes were wide open, and there was a bullet hole right between them. I gasped. She was wearing a blue dress, and the skin that was visible had sores on it. The man looked up with blood red eyes and snarled which showed his two inch-long fangs. 

Nate pushed me to the side and unsheathed his dagger in time to meet the vampire that had sped towards us. The vampire easily side stepped Nate and lunged again. With his focus on Nate he missed me grabbing my dagger as well. With it being a close range fight that Nate was involved in as well, my gun wouldn't be as helpful. I swiped at his back, but he narrowly avoided the edge of it. He was faster than any being I had ever encountered. He must have had some sort of formal training as well, because he easily blocked and maneuvered around our jabs in precise, quick movements. Nate spun and managed to slice open the vampires left side, but that didn't phase him. The vampire turned and kicked me in the stomach with enough force that it knocked me to the ground. I landed roughly on my back and caught myself just in time to avoid smacking my head against the concrete floor. He then blocked one of Nate's punches. Before I could get up he grabbed onto Nates arm and then twisted it so that he was behind him. I got up cautiously, and besides the heavy breathing coming from myself and Nate, it was silent. We had come to a standstill. 

"Don't worry murderer, I'll get to you in a minute. First I'm going to have a little snack. Don't think about moving even a step because I'll snap his neck, and then yours. And, I'd hate to ruin all the fun so soon," the Vampire said in his echoing garbled voice. Nate's terrified hazel eyes met mine as he struggled to get out of the vampire's hold. He kept looking towards the exit, and then back at me. It dawned on me that he was wanting me to run. My gut clenched. 

 I clutched my dagger in my right hand tighter, and my heart started pounding even harder than it already was. I looked around me for a solution, but found none. In my fear I didn't notice that my left hand was starting to heat up. As the vampire clamped down on Nate's neck I held up my left hand that was now glowing from the ring on my thumb. Nate started screaming, and the ring started burning my finger. I screamed as a blinding white light directed towards the vampire and Nate shot from my hand. The light only lasted a couple of seconds, but it felt like days. 

Nate's screaming subsided and I gasped as I grabbed onto the now cool ring and my burned thumb. The pain was immense, but I tried to set it aside. I looked up and saw Nate slumped on the ground. The vampire was screeching and clawing at his own face. Black and red matter leaked from the hollow spot where his eyes used to be. His skin was melting off, and he started rolling around on the ground as if he was on fire. I ran over to where Nate was, sat next to him, and grabbed his face with my good hand. 

His skin was pale and clammy. There were two small jagged holes at the base of his neck on the left side that was leaking blood onto his shoulder and chest. I was suddenly glad that he was wearing all black. My hands shook as I reached into my hoodie pocket for my flashlight. I turned it on, and pried open his right eyelid. His pupil was dilated, and the white of his eye was now pink. "Nate, please," I cried. I shook his right shoulder, but he didn't move. Hot tears rolled down my face. 

The room became suspiciously quiet, and I turned my head to see the bloody vampire army crawling towards us while sniffing the air. I didn't know how injured Nate was or how long he had. I knew every second counted, and I wasn't going to waste any fighting that demon. The vampire locked onto our scent and the wailing started again. "Shit, shit, shit," I said under my breath. 

Adrenaline coursed through me and helped me spring into action. I grabbed Nate under the arms and dragged him through the bottles and cups towards the front door. I was thankful for every moment that I had trained, and pushed myself a little bit harder. I grunted as I pulled Nate's body through the doorway. Once outside, I dropped him so that I could slam the door in the monsters face. An intense scratching noise sounded from the other side of the door.  I didn't know how he was still moving. I got a good grip around Nate's middle and then pulled him down the stairs and into the yard. His heels hit each step with a thud, and I struggled with the weight of him. As I began dragging him through the grass he started to cough. I laid him down to check on him. 

"What the fuck was that?" Nate rasped while sitting up. Relief flooded me, and I grabbed him into a hug.

"Ow," He mumbled into my shoulder. 

"Sorry!" I exclaimed as I let go of him. "I thought I was gonna have to drag your sorry ass all the way to the car," I tried to joke, but my voice cracked at the end.

 Nate gingerly put a hand to his neck, and winced. He moved his hand in front of him and his eyes widened at the sight of it slick with blood. Nate leaned to the side away from me and before I could ask what he was doing he threw up all the granola bars and fruit snacks he had just eaten. I covered my mouth and nose with my non-burned hand at the sight. He wiped at his mouth when he was done. The smell was so pungent that it invaded my nostrils from behind my hand. 

"We need to get you help," I whispered. Nate nodded his head in agreement. I stood up and helped him get his right arm around my shoulders. We limped into the woods just as the door creaked open.