BRIGHTFALL

My eyes fluttered open slowly, the blurry haze of darkness giving way to a dull, gray light. My body felt heavy, every limb weighed down as if gravity itself had doubled. A cold, biting sensation gripped my wrists and ankles. I looked down—thick, rusted chains bound me, their metallic bite digging into my skin.

Where am I? My mind struggled to piece together the fragments of what happened. The last thing I remembered was… hands around my throat, darkness swallowing me whole. My heart raced. How did I get here?

I forced myself to look around. I wasn't alone.

The cramped space was filled with dozens of kids, packed tightly into what looked like the back of a truck. Some were around my age, others much younger. Fear was etched into every face. Some sobbed quietly, their small bodies trembling. Others stared blankly, their eyes hollow, as if the terror had already drained the life from them.

Why us? Where are they taking us? My mind screamed with questions. Who are they? What do they want? I needed answers.

I turned to the boy sitting closest to me, slightly younger, with short black hair and brown eyes filled with silent fear.

"Hey," I whispered, my voice hoarse. "Do you know where they're taking us?"

The boy flinched at the sound of my voice, then shook his head, his lips trembling. "I don't know anything," he whispered back, tears welling up. "My whole family is gone. They… they took me. I don't know why." His voice broke, and he began to cry quietly.

We're all in the same nightmare, I realized, glancing around. Desperation was a shared language here. I turned my attention to another boy sitting across from me, around my age, with dark brown hair and piercing black eyes.

"Hey," I called out softly.

No response. The roar of the truck's engine grew louder, drowning my voice. I tried again, louder this time, "Hey!"

The boy glanced up, his expression blank at first, then wary. I leaned forward, raising my voice to be heard over the engine.

"Do you know who these people are?" I asked, my voice strained.

He cupped his ear, struggling to hear me. "What?" he shouted back.

I tried again, louder. "Do you know who kidnapped us?"

Just as the words left my mouth, the engine's roar softened slightly, and this time he heard me. His face darkened.

"They're not people," he said, his voice low but sharp. "They're monsters. When they took me, one of them stopped a speeding car with his bare hands. Like it was nothing."

My heart skipped. Monsters? I swallowed hard.

"Did you see what they looked like?" I pressed.

He shook his head. "No. They wear dark suits and hoods that cover their faces. You can't see anything."

That wasn't enough. I needed more. I raised my voice, addressing everyone in the truck.

"Has anyone seen their faces?"

For a moment, silence. Then a timid voice from the far corner answered, "I… I did."

It was a young girl with long brown hair and light brown eyes. She looked terrified, her small hands trembling as she hugged her knees. Her voice was barely a whisper.

I met her gaze, trying to offer a look of reassurance. "What did you see?"

She hesitated, her lips quivering. Finally, she spoke, her voice shaking. "One of them… had fangs. Pointed ears. And their eyes… they were dark red, like blood. But they glowed."

The truck fell into an eerie silence. The words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. Then, after a few heartbeats, the boy beside her grabbed her shoulders, his eyes wide with fear.

"Are you sure?" he demanded.

She didn't speak, just nodded, her face pale with terror.

The boy's grip tightened. "You know what that means, right? Vampires. It has to be. There's no other explanation."

A wave of panic surged through the truck. Whispered fears turned into cries. "We're doomed!" someone shouted. "They want our blood!"

The boy beside me began to sob, repeating over and over, "I don't want to die. I don't want to die."

I clenched my fists, my own fear clawing at me. Vampires? Monsters? It sounded impossible… but after everything I'd seen, was it really?

I need answers. I need to understand what's happening. I can't let fear be the only thing left.