The Vampire's Captive

I walked down the dark school corridor, flashlight in hand. At this hour, the school should have been empty, but I had forgotten my notebook and had no choice but to return.

As I entered the classroom, illuminated by the flashlight, I saw a figure straddling the windowsill.

Judging by his posture, was he about to jump? I sprinted towards him, intending to pull him back, but as I grabbed hold of him, we both tumbled out the window together.

Yet, instead of the anticipated free fall, I found myself suspended in mid-air, his arms tightly embracing me as he gripped the window ledge with one hand.

In such close proximity, I could make out his features in the bright moonlight. He had a handsome face with stunning eyes, a deep ocean blue that seemed to draw me into their depths.

Awkwardly, I realized his upper body was bare.

He carried me back into the classroom. Just as I gathered my thoughts, about to ask him why he had tried to jump, I noticed two sharp fangs protruding from his mouth as he lunged at me.

"No!" I cried out in fear, my eyes snapping open to darkness.

Was it just a dream?

As the thought crossed my mind, I suddenly sensed another presence in the darkness.

Before I could react, the figure pounced on me, pinning me to the bed with a hand around my throat.

Instinctively, I struggled, but was no match for his strength. In desperation, I reached for the scissors hidden under my pillow.

Just as I was about to stab him, he caught my hand, the scissors pressed against his back.

At first, I didn't recognize him, but now, with his body pressed close to mine, I could make out his features.

Though obscured by the darkness, those eyes - those deep, ocean-like eyes - were all too familiar, igniting a spark of hatred within me.

It was him. He was the one who had made me feel this way.

I struggled fiercely, trying to fend him off with the scissors, but in my weakened state from the fever, he quickly overpowered me.

He wrenched the scissors from my grasp, tossing them to the floor, then gripped my shoulders and once again sank his teeth into my neck.

"Ugh..." I let out a pained moan.

He restrained me, denying me any movement as he rapidly drained my blood.

The rapid blood loss sapped my strength to resist. My already ill body felt as if it had been thrown into a furnace, unbearably feverish.

But the man wasn't finished with me yet. To my horror, he began unbuttoning my pajamas.

"What are you doing..." My voice was so faint I could barely hear it myself, let alone this man focused solely on undressing me.

After stripping me, the man took out his phone and pointed it at me.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, I summoned my last ounce of strength to cover my naked body exposed before him.

But he cruelly pried my arms away from my chest. Even worse, my struggle seemed to enrage him. He grabbed my left breast, squeezing it painfully.

The pain was so intense I thought my breast would burst. I didn't dare move again.

"Click--"

The familiar sound of the camera shutter filled me with dread, but I couldn't even sit up.

"If you dare reveal my identity, I'll post your photos on the school bulletin board." The man held up his phone, showing me his handiwork.

On the screen was a photo of my nearly naked upper body.

Rage consumed me. I wanted to snatch the phone and smash it, but in my current state, I could only watch helplessly as he escaped out the window.

"D*mn it!" I cursed, lying in bed, glaring hatefully at the window.

My name is Serenity, a junior at a private high school. My mother died in childbirth and my father perished in a plane crash two years ago, leaving me an inheritance and the apartment I currently live in. As for the mysterious guardian designated in his will, I had never met them.

If it weren't for the pain in my neck, if he hadn't appeared again, perhaps I could have convinced myself it was just a dream, that everything would be normal when I woke up.

The man from earlier was the same man from my dream, and the dream itself had actually happened last night.

After he bit me last night, I rushed home and covered the bite marks with a bandage, thinking it was over and I could go back to school as usual. But when I woke up this morning with a high fever and exhaustion, I called in sick to rest at home, until the nightmare startled me awake.

Suddenly, my throat felt parched. I tried to get a glass of water from the kitchen, but after taking a few steps, my legs gave out and I collapsed.

Then, an overwhelming fatigue washed over me. My mind grew hazy as I slowly lost consciousness.

"Buzz buzz buzz..." In my daze, I heard my phone vibrating.

I opened my eyes to find it was already dawn.

Despite sleeping through the night, my condition hadn't improved - in fact, it seemed to be deteriorating.

The phone continued its insistent call.

But I had no desire to move.

After struggling on the floor for a bit, I reluctantly dragged myself to the bedside and reached for my phone on the nightstand.

"Vice class rep! You're late!"

As soon as I answered, a clear voice rang out from the other end. It was Sophia Baker, my friend and classmate.

"...Sophia, could you please let the teacher know I'm taking a sick day?"

"Another sick day!" Sophia exclaimed as if she had heard something unbelievable.

"Yes, today... and tomorrow..." I figured with my condition, I'd be lucky to make it through tomorrow.

"What! Are you sick?" Sophia's loud voice grated on my ears a bit.

"It's nothing serious, just let them know I'm out sick. I'll definitely be back at school the day after tomorrow," I assured her. As for what had transpired the past two nights, I had no intention of telling anyone. After all, the appearance of a vampire was utterly unbelievable.

"Will you be okay by yourself?" Sophia asked doubtfully.

"No problem, I'm used to it." In truth, I was afraid Sophia would come visit me.

"Ding dong--"

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"Sophia, I have to go, my guardian is here!" I was actually quite curious myself about who had arrived.

"Really?" Sophia knew my circumstances, so the appearance of my guardian must have been quite unexpected to her as well.

"Yes, she reached out to me yesterday... I need to go greet her now. Bye!" I hung up the phone, then used the wall for support as I went to answer the door.

If I had kept talking, I was afraid my lie would be exposed.

Perhaps it was Sophia's loud voice that had startled me awake, but I felt remarkably more clear-headed. My body seemed to spring back to life, and moving around was no longer as difficult as when I first woke up.

I approached the door and peered through the peephole. Outside stood a young woman with a gorgeous complexion, her skin as smooth and white as milk.

As for her attire, she resembled a noblewoman. Atop her golden, wavy long hair sat a lace-trimmed hat. Her shapely figure was adorned with a sweet, aristocratic ball gown, the lavish decor accentuating its stateliness and elegance.

Additionally, she carried a beautiful feather fan in her hand and a dainty handbag on her arm.

"Hello, sorry to intrude," the woman spoke in a gentle voice.

"You are..."

"May I come in and have a seat?" she suddenly asked softly.

She didn't seem like a bad person, so I let her in.

"Please, come in."

After entering, the woman made her way down the hall to the living room.

"Does the wound still hurt?" she asked, taking a seat on the sofa.

I paused, not understanding what she meant.

"The bite marks on your neck - weren't you bitten and injured?" She gazed at me meaningfully.

How did she know?

"You are..." I eyed her warily.

"I am... his mother."

"What are you doing here?" Since she was that man's mother, she couldn't be a good person either.

"To help you disinfect," the woman said with a smile, her eyes narrowed.

"Disinfect?" I was puzzled.

"You don't want to become like my son, do you?" The woman's face always wore a smile, whether she was talking or drinking tea.

"You're here to help me?"

"I'm his mother, so of course I have to clean up my son's messes." With that, the woman set down her teacup and took out several bottles from her exquisite little bag, placing them on the table.

"These are all medicines that can suppress the toxicity in your body. You must take them every day. If you miss even one day, your body may deteriorate and you'll become just like us." The woman looked at me seriously and said, "Speaking of which, you shouldn't have approached him when he was trying to escape."

I was stunned for a moment, then heard