Hallelujah

The simplest pleasures were often rich. A nice drive through the country with a girl riding shotgun was one of the richest. It seemed not so long ago when Buck couldn’t even get out of bed unless it was to eat or use the bathroom. Now he couldn’t even really remember what she looked like. He had someone new anyway.

“Have you ever been out this way buck?” she asked him

“Oh yah, when I was younger me and my dad used to hunt around here, don’t remember exactly where though.” Buck said

“We’ll let me know if any of this sounds familiar an old abandoned house, the roof is collapsed in the back but still up in the front.” She said

“I’m sure I’ve seen and passed it dozens of times but I just can’t think of it.”

“Well don’t worry ill point it out to you as we pass it” she said with a smile.

Buck knew something wasn’t right, maybe with this girl, maybe with this drive, but the last time he let his instincts guide him he got his heart ripped out. Time to try something different this time around. 

“Why are we going to this house anyway?”

“well when I was younger I remember going to explore it during a really tough time in my life, I think I see a little more pain behind your eyes than your letting out. I just think that maybe you’ll find what you need.”

Her hand found the exact right combination of shoulder and neck and gave a very firm and reassuring squeeze. Buck knew the winds were turning, maybe it wasn’t at his back just yet, but he knew it would be, maybe even tonight. 

“Yea I guess I’m hurting more than just a little bit, but I’d be much worse off if we never got to hanging out.” Buck said, and smiled at her.

She never returned the smile, Buck assumed she just never saw his smile, it was dark out.

“So it’s going to be coming up soon on your left, there’s a hidden entrance.”

“Sounds good just make sure you give me enough of a heads up so we don’t go head first into a tree.” Buck said, trying to make her laugh a little, and failing.

She keeps looking around back and forth, but its way too dark out to see anything except for blurry trees on either side of the road.

“Okay you see that elm? It’s on the other side, just slow down and you’ll see it I bet.”

She was right, buck slowed right down and there it was, had he been going even ten kilometres faster it would have been invisible.

“How did you even find this place with an entrance that’s barely visible?”

“Well sometimes you find things no one else can see, but only when you stop looking.” She said.

Buck burst out laughing.

“I didn’t know people actually spoke like that except in movies.” Buck said

“Yea I’m not all too sure where that one came from, I just used to walk down here all the time.”

“From town?”

“Sure did.”

“That’s like a twenty k walk!”

“It’s not like I had anything better to do at the time.”

As they pulled into the hidden entrance, it gave way to a huge clearing where smack dab in the middle was a very archaic and dilapidated house, part of the roof was caved in just like she said.

“Well I was wrong; I sure have never been around here before.”

“Yea I’m pretty sure you remember it if you had.”

“Yea me too.”

They got out of the car and walked over to the house, Buck pushed aside the old door, and it just fell off the hinges and landed with a loud bang.

“Thanks buck, now I don’t even have to call out, they’ll know we’ve arrived.”

Buck felt his stomach tighten and knot up as the entrance way quickly filled with people.

“The fuck is this? Some kind of club?” buck said.

“Well the reason you’d remember this house if you ever came here is because it’s filled with vampires. Feel free to take a seat and let that sink in.”

Buck did just that, except he more collapsed than sat with his back against a wall. He thought about his situation and what it could possibly mean. No one moved or spoke for what seemed like an hour until finally buck spoke up.

“Fine.”

“Pardon me?” she asked

“I’ll let you turn me, I won’t fight it and I’ll do my best to not squirm or scream.”

“Oh buck, your imagination is out of control, you’re not here to become one of us. You’re here to feed us.”

And with that seven pale and vicious faces all found their own spot on buck’s body and as he screamed he died.