Prologue

Prologue: Red snow

“Come on Lizzie!” the girls had said, pulling Elizabeth’s arm towards the mansion. Elizabeth Laurens gazed frightfully at the mansion. The 15-year-old pulled her arm away.
“I’m sorry…I can’t!” she said, backing away from the Victorian mansion that stood abandoned behind the immense gate, locked and the only way to go in. There was a large brick wall that surrounded the mansion grounds, covered in ivy. Elizabeth regretted saying yes to the dare. But it was the only way to be in the cool-girls group she had been dreaming to be in.
“If you back out now, you won’t be able to join our group. It’s only a simple dare. Take a pic and dash off.” The leader of the pack, Cindy said. The other girls sneered at her, as if knowing and telling everyone she was a coward all along.

Elizabeth gulped. Her long brown hair swayed with the cold winter wind and she shivered again. She didn’t want to believe in the stories. The one her mother used to tell her when she was a young girl. That a vampire lived in it and he used to grab everyone who would dare come in and kill them, slitting their throat in a second and sucking their blood raw, but that would only be a Halloween story. She closed her eyes, hiding the light azure iris that reflected her fright inside. She opened them again trying to be bolder. She had wanted to join in the group and she will.

“O-okay…” she said. They nodded to each other and gave her the camera. Elizabeth looked up at the gates and rubbed her gloved hand. Putting the camera inside her coat and started to climb it. The girls gave small cheers that gave her more courage. After reaching the other side of the gate. The girls gave her thumbs up and she nodded. Turning around, she took out the camera and gripped it, fear in every step she took forward towards the mansion.
The large coppiced doors with a rusty metallic knocker stood closed, as if a thousand years had passed them by and still hadn’t been opened. She opened it, pushing hard and trying not to make the hinges squeak. She gazed in awe at the inside, as if still in the Victorian times, all neatly polished. Nearly everything made of marble and wood and a magnificent chandelier in the ceiling. Elizabeth took a picture of every single thing in her surrounding, not forgetting even a tiny detail.

She moved on, picture after picture, hallway after hallway, room after room and nothing seemed to come to an end.

She reached a staircase leading to the upper floor, which lead to another hallway full of portraits. What Elizabeth found interesting was that they all had small smiles, not showing their teeth and their skin, pale as if they had never had any sunlight in their lifetime.
Then in the end of the bare hallway, which was only full of portraits, Elizabeth saw a door. She walked hurriedly to it, her curiosity getting stronger. She prepared her camera and she opened the door. It was a sitting room, a fireplace with a lit fire in the middle and a large comfortable armchair. In the corners were bookshelves filled with books and scrolls. She tossed her camera on the table and sat on the chair, warming her hands on the armchair. Then she stopped and froze as she realized that someone might be living in the house. Suddenly, a cold laughter filled the air and she spun around, finding herself face to face with a man. He seemed to be in his late 20s, his black hair neat and his grey eyes dancing. With coldness or amusement, Elizabeth couldn’t make out.

“I-I’m sorry.” She said. “I didn’t mean to intrude…” but she knew that she did intrude.
“Oh no problem at all.” The guy said, looking at her. “You don’t believe in myths, do you, girl?”
“N-no” she replied, her knees shaking. The room was getting colder and she didn’t know why since there was a fire.

“You better believe them.” He said. In a flash, his hand was around her neck and he smiled at her, baring his gleaming sharp white fangs to her. She tried to scream but only a squeak came out because he was holding her throat. He had her up in the air, like she was only a piece of doll. Then she felt sharpness piercing her skin and she manage to scream out loud. She heard screaming outside, as the other girls heard her and ran for their lives.
Elizabeth was thankful that she did believe in myths as she took out a small club of garlic and pushed it hard into his chest. There was a sizzling sound and he released her for a brief moment and in that brief moment, Elizabeth took her time, moving away. The vampire, now howling in pain, lashed out with his long nails and he managed to scratch Elizabeth from behind her. Elizabeth flinched in pain but managed to get the door open. She ran down the stairs and out of the large coppiced door.

She ran back to the gate and suddenly fell on her knees, as she suddenly felt strange. Her head throbbed in pain and she tried not to scream out. She felt something inside like she was being stabbed in from the inside and a monster was coming out. Then, as sudden as it came, it was all over. She was there on the snow, nothing changed. Her blood dropped on the snow, making it red. Something grabbed her from behind and throughout the whole village, a blood-curdling scream was heard.