He stood in the cemetery, watching a crypt from across the way. There was a rumor of vampire hunters in the area, and he wanted to see them first hand. Especially if they found an actual vampire. With a sigh, he went to turn around and leave, but then he heard a noise. He dropped to the ground and peered around a bush.

Two men and a woman came out of the forest that lined the cemetery with crossbows and some sort of sharpened sticks. The tallest had short black hair and had a duffle bag, which he left by the forest. The woman had bright red hair and flipped it arrogantly as he looked at the third hunter. He was younger than the other two, but had similar facial features to the woman. The watcher looked with intrigue as they went to the crypt that he was looking at. He stepped closer, hoping the catch a glimpse of the action.

They easily kicked down the barrier to the building and disappeared underground. The watcher crept forward and peeked into the cracked entrance. There was only darkness and humidity. He frowned disappointingly before he saw something emerge. The backside of the taller hunter. The watcher ducked as the man flew over him and onto the ground.

As the watcher scrambled to get back to the shadows, another body came flying out, but this one wasn't alive. She was pale and had streaks of red all over her face and neck. One word filled the watcher's mind. Vampire.

A third unknown figure stepped out of the crypt, wiping his mouth. He had shaggy blonde hair and his skin was paler than the moonlight. The watcher gaped as he saw the monster, excited that he was able to witness this. The creature faced the tallest hunter and laughed. The hunter drew his weapon and shot three times. The vampire skillfully dodged each attack and continued the laugh at his expense.

“Surely you did you research, sir. After feeding, I gain my inhuman abilities back. Speed, strength, the like. What did you think was going to happen? Did you think you were going to be the first human to go up against a well fed vamp?” the creature mocked, walking toward the panicking hunter.

The watcher leaned closer and peaked into the darkness, wondering where the third hunter had gone. He heard a gasp and a choke, and he turned to see the vampire holding the taller hunter up by his throat. There was a crack and the choking noise ceased. The body fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

“Humans have gotten soft,” the vampire grumbled, annoyed that his plaything was now broken. The watcher trembled, realizing just how much danger he was actually in.

Then a noise came from the crypt and the third hunter emerged, clutching his throat. The last hunter looked ghastly, nearly as pale as his female partner. He was losing blood fast and he knew that he didn’t have a lot of time left. He leaped at the vampire, armed with a stake. The vampire sighed and deflected it easily. Then the last hunter fell at the vampire’s feet, passing out.

Being an opportunistic hunter, the vampire drained the remaining blood from the two male hunters. The watcher pressed himself against the crypt walls as he could hear the smacking of vampire lips.

Silent moments passed, and the watcher wondered if the vampire had gone away. Back into the crypt, more maybe into the forest, but the watcher couldn’t hear anything other than his own heartbeat.

“I didn’t think they let children out this late, but it looks like the times have changed,” a sweet voice whispered, causing the watcher to jump back in surprise.

“I’m seventeen,” the watcher informed before thinking better of it. The vampire smiled and laughed.

“Seventeen? So young, yet so stupid. Going to a cemetery at night? Do you have fear?” the vampire asked. It seemed that the vampire was asking the questions to himself, so the watcher didn’t answer. He only stared at the creature before him. The vampire bared his teeth. “If it wasn’t fear that kept you away, maybe it was curiosity that brought you here.”

“Curiosity?”

“Vampire hunters are rare these days, so I’m sure they caused a ruckus when they came to town,” the vampire sighed, sitting next to the watcher. “Well, if you aren’t afraid of me, maybe we can do something else with you.”

Before the watcher could ask what that something else was, he felt two pinpricks in his neck. He went to scream, but the vampire cleverly covered his mouth. Something was ejected from the fangs that both soothed and stung his muscles. The sensation quickly spread across his body as the vampire released the watcher.

“You get to become the very thing you were so curious about,” the vampire hissed before the watcher fell limp. The vampire watched his new child writhe and change, and the vampire grinned down at the watcher.