Blood Castle

The night was cold, dark and bitter. Bart McDugan was sleeping soundly inside the visitors' room near the door leading to the dungeons. He had been spending the week with his royal cousin, Count Frothingham. The Frothingham clan had been very indifferent to him. Bart was a distant relative from America, that's why he was very eager to go and visit Walter, as mentioned, his cousin.

The morning was clear and Bart got up early. While waiting for breakfast, he strolled the corridors of the five-century old castle. Why did he feel a strange chill and smell of blood nearby? Bart was about to touch the door when a cold hand touched his bare shoulder, which showed flexed muscles. He was well built and had lots of muscle. The hand that touched his shoulder sent a chill running through his spine and even hi muscles quivered.

He cried, "Walter! I smell something foul, like a dead man!"

Walter grinned devilishly, "No, impossible. It may only be a calf butchered for lunch. Come, breakfast is ready."

Walter was a tall, white, thin and pale twenty five year old man. He was about 6' 6" and did not look as young as his age. I was as if he was lacking blood and his lips were dry. Only at night did Bart notice tat his lips were red as blood. No one else in the Frothingham clan had seen Bart, except Walter. There was not even a single welcoming committee. There was one queer instance. Walter never ate nor touched any food. Something weird was definitely going on!

"Don't you want any food? Uh, mmm! The steak's preferably enticing." Bart cooed.

"No thanks. I'm vegetarian." Retorted Walter.

"Then why don't you join me with that Coleslaw Salad?" Bart amusingly mocked.

"Bart, I have no time for niceties, and I insist that you eat first before you talk. That bloody mouth of yours is having a hard time chewing and talking at the same time." Walter heatedly remarked.

"I don't mind. We're first, ah, no, third cousins anyway." Bart coolly answered. As if looking for trouble and more arguments, Bart inquired, "Where's the whole family? Where's your mom?"

Walter showed signs of tolerance but he frowned and said, "Oh, she and my father often sleep in the day and get ready for partying at night."

Bart wasn't satisfied. "Well, where are they then? I've searched every room and they were all empty!"

Walter did not answer for several moments till he said, "So, you have come here for a vacation and you end up prying on my family's affairs! I wish not to talk anymore about this foolishness and you will see them, I assure you if you want to, unless you want to be safe a night. Good-bye then, and amuse yourself here an the castle or in the streets of London but be here before nightfall."

Bart was pretty much tired of the castle's dusty dullness so he spent the day roaming the streets of London. He knew that he had crossed the paths with mysteries of the unnatural! He felt really exhausted at the end of the day. It was starting to get dark. He knew it. He ran like a madman and raced with the setting sun. Eating a full dinner, alone which was cold and prepared forty-five minutes ahead as his calculations reeled, he snuggled up in bed late in the evening for he could not sleep with fright! The night was in total darkness and wolves stared howling. Wolves only howled with what their ears could hear, not detectable to the human hearing abilities. Suddenly, he heard a creaking sound in the nearby dungeon door. Peeping out, he saw an old man and an old lady. Their eyes were gleaming red and teeth white with an animal - wolf's fangs. They wore full Dark capes and the stench started spreading all over again. Suddenly, they were gone in a thick mist! A shrill scream was heard moments later outside the lonely moors. They had taken their human food! Bart was horrified at the discovery. He didn't see them come back. Only two bats flew inside the door. Bart did not know what to do, and he got very little sleep because of the frightful shock.

It was 10:00 am when Bart woke up. He ran outside and bought a blessed crucifix, mad seven pointed stakes and got a hammer. With that, he burst open the locked dungeon door and brought with him what he needed. His steps echoed through the winding stone stairs of the eerie place. The sun shone behind the dark tapestry curtains. Making sure the vampires won't get him, he filled and tied garlic around his body. What a funny sight if you would imagine him, but it wasn't funny at that time. Neither ridiculous. He tore away the curtains and shattered the glass windows. Opening the first coffin, he quickly stabbed the old lady with a stake driven into her heart. Blood splattered and the old lady screamed. This awakened the other two vampires. Reaching out of the coffin was hard because the sun shone brightly over them. The "young" man inside one coffin was Walter!!! Bart knew the old lady was his mother and the other coffin was occupied by his father.

Bart shouted, "I have to kill you! Besides, you're dead already!"

Walter hissed and begged, "No! Don't... Please!"

Ignoring the plea, Bart drove the stake into his heart. Walter's eyes and dark suit were full of blood - the blood he sucked from poor innocent victims. Then Walter turned into ashes, and all that was left of him were his suit and shoes. Bart opened the last coffin but no one was inside! A demonic moan was heard. The father was somewhere inside the dungeons! A huge bat swooped across the cell but it fell down. The sun was killing and blinding the father. Bart saw the creature try so hard to transform into an arrogant, caped, horrible-looking vampire with very pointed teeth. There was no crucifix, for he had accidentally dropped it somewhere amidst all the confusion. Summoning all his courage, Bart attacked the vampire and pulled him towards the sun. He did it! The father burned screaming and dust were remains of the scions of Satan's child. It was all over. Or is it? Hah hah ha ha!