The Stranger

Kyoko made her way along the dimly lit street sidewalk. Her long black hair flowed behind her. It was exceedingly rare for it to be down instead of in its traditional ponytail. The tie she usually used to hold it back was temporarily residing on her right wrist. She wore a dark green hoodie, a white tank top, jeans, and her favorite pair of tennis shoes. A cool April breeze blew over Kyoko, making several strands of hair fall into her face. Sighing loudly, she brushed them aside.

Where's that stupid convenience store?! It's not very convenient to find!

She turned to read the name of the store right next to her: Dusty's Cleaners.

That's kind of an oxymoron. Oh, I give up! My craving for pickled plum riceballs stopped twenty minutes ago! I better go home, it's probably around 11:30 right now.

Feeling a bit ticked off that she'd spent over half an hour trying to find a convenience store that was open at that hour, Kyoko continued down the street.

Maybe there will be one more train tonight.

When she was three blocks from the train station, Kyoko got this strange, prickling feeling, as if someone was watching her. Stopping on front of the closest storefront, she looked at the window as of she were window shopping during the midnight special. Then, rotating so she could see all the other stores she'd passed, Kyoko saw a single figure sidling down the sidewalk half a block away. Kyoko turned and continued down the sidewalk.

Probably just some drunk person.

She did not want to deal with some random drunk idiot who happened to be going down the same street as herself. If there was one species she didn't deal with, it was drunk people. But something in the back of her mind told Kyoko that this guy wasn't normal.

Quickening her pace ever so slightly, Kyoko made it to the end of the block. She looked all around as if checking for traffic. Kyoko saw that the guy was still trailing behind her, only about ten feet closer now.

Don't get all paranoid, Kyoko. He's probably just some drunk wondering around. Just cross the street, get on the train, and go home. Besides, if he tries anything, I can take him on, I'm not a weak little school girl.

When she was two blocks away from the station, a second figure came around the corner of the street she was on, and headed right for her. Again she had a weird feeling about this one as well. Feeling just a little paranoid because she was a) the middle of a street, b) alone, c) in the middle of the night, and d) the only other people in the area were coming at her from both directions.

Slipping into the closest alley, Kyoko sped along, took a left behind a building and then a right. When she turned the corner, she saw her path obscured by a building, a dead end.

Dang it.

Kyoko quickly did a 180 and immediately collided with someone. Looking up, she saw he was the one who had been trailing her for two blocks.

He was a few inches taller than Kyoko and slender, but not skinny. His blond hair was very short on the sides, with the longer hair spiked on top. The stranger wore ragged jeans and a dark hoodie. He looked like he was in his early twenties, twenty-five at the latest. What really caught Kyoko's attention were his eyes. They were very dark, almost black. And they gave off this feeling like they weren't quite human. He was alone, so she could fight him off if she needed to.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were there," Kyoko quickly apologized and tried to sidestep him. Usually she would have chewed him out for walking so closely behind her without a second thought, but the vibes she was getting from him told her she would be lucky to get out of there without a fight.

The man grabbed her wrist as she passed him and pulled her back. Kyoko tried to pull her wrist free, but his grip was like iron.

Oh, snap. This isn't a drunk guy. His grip is too unyielding to belong to someone who's intoxicated.

"And just where do you think you're going, little lady?" the man sneered at her.

Oh it looks like I'm not going to get out of this one. Might as well cut the innocent act.

"And what concern is it of yours?" she shot back.

"I would just hate, after pursuing you for several blocks, to lose my meal."

What?!

The man pulled Kyoko so that her back faced the wall a few feet behind her and he was in front of her.

"You see, I had the luck to run into you this evening, so I followed you, waiting for an opportunity to pounce. After a while, you seemed to realize I was behind you. Then one of my kind showed up unexpectedly, and I feared he would take you from me."

"Your kind?" Kyoko inquired. She was still kind of hung up on him calling her "a meal". It took a lot to make her speechless, and this would probably fit into that category.

"Oh, forgive me, prey, for you appear to not understand the situation at hand. I'm sure when you first saw me, you probably thought I was a drunk, right? But I assure you," he leaned in and whispered in her ear, "I am much, much more dangerous than a drunk."

He pulled his head back away from Kyoko's. Not to be undermined, Kyoko wouldn't let him scare her.

"I'm sure I could take you on," she claimed, hoping she didn't sound like she was bluffing, which she wasn't. She could take on just about any guy in a fight and win. Kyoko was trying to, in fact, sound a little cocky.

The stranger sighed. "apparently you still don't understand the situation. I'm not like other people, in fact, I'm not even human. I'm a creature of the night, I fear no one, I am feared by all."

He paused.

"I'm a vampire."

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