The Vampire's card game

"If this game always returns every five years, there’s no telling when it will finally end."

The despairing voice belonged to a middle-aged man, desperately shouting for everyone to take cover inside his house. It was a grand, massive mansion, yet the people passing by only ignored him with cold indifference.

"That man is losing his mind, ever since his wife got caught in that fire. Now she can do nothing but lie in bed," one villager grumbled to an elder standing nearby.

Luna stood silently in front of her grandmother’s door. With steady, purposeful steps, she walked over to the village elder.

The elder gave her a faint smile as she approached, though his eyes held deep anxiety as he watched the evening sky rapidly darken.

"Child, come to my house right now. Tonight is not safe—vampires are going to attack our village," the elder urged, trying his best to convince her.

Luna offered a thin smile and shook her head gently. "I'm sorry, but vampires aren't real, Sir. I actually just wanted to ask about my grandmother... Why isn't she at her house?" Luna asked softly.

"Your grandmother is at her relative's place. For now, just stay at my house, child," the elder pressed on, his voice growing more urgent as a chilly gust of wind swept through.

"I’m sorry, Sir, but I don’t feel comfortable staying at a stranger’s house," Luna replied, turning her back on the old man and stepping away with resolve.

However, as Luna turned, her movement slightly brushed her hair aside. The old man’s gaze instantly froze. Behind Luna's ear, a sun symbol was visible—faint, yet glowing with a mystical light.

"Wait..." the old man gasped, his voice trembling.

Luna stopped and looked back at him, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"You are the girl who bears the sun symbol for tonight. You will be safe, even on your own. But do not be shocked if you see people running for their lives later. Make sure you shelter them, okay?" the old man told her.

Luna didn't take his words seriously. To her, the man just seemed eccentric and consumed by superstition. She quickly headed back inside her grandmother’s house as the night grew later.

However, her pace abruptly slowed when a bizarre sight caught her eyes: glowing, blood-red crosses were suddenly appearing on the doors of the other villagers' houses. Strangely, her grandmother’s house didn't have a single red mark.

Shaking off the eerie sight, Luna stepped inside the simple bamboo house. Outside, the village elder finally left, whisked away in his luxurious horse-drawn carriage, leaving the village far behind.

A few minutes later, amidst a suffocating silence, a bell tolled sharply, piercing the ears just as the sun dipped completely below the horizon.

The moment darkness fell, a hysterical shriek tore through the air from the house next door.

Before long, the entire village turned into a living hell. Screams and shrieks echoed louder and louder from several homes. Growing paranoid, Luna peeked through a small gap in her curtain. Her eyes widened in sheer horror. The old man had been telling the truth—outside, crowds of people were running frantically, scrambling for survival. Through the window gap, Luna spotted a handsome, fiercely built man wielding a spear, pointing it at a vampire that was stalking toward him.

Remembering the old man’s instructions to shelter people, Luna felt a sudden jolt of adrenaline. Her heart hammered against her chest as she unlatched the door and called out to the spearman.

The man snapped his head toward her and dashed at full speed into Luna’s grandmother’s house. The moment he crossed the threshold, Luna swiftly locked the wooden door tight.

An abrupt silence fell over the room. The man stood there, catching his heavy, ragged breath.

"Strange. You’re not being attacked," the man remarked, staring intently at Luna, who was looking nervous in the corner of the room.

"The old man who was shouting in the street said I’m the girl with the sun symbol for tonight," Luna explained. She brushed her hair back, revealing the sun symbol behind her ear.

The man examined the mark closely. "I thought that old man was senile, but vampires are actually real. I almost had my blood completely drained," he said, leaning his spear against the wall.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Sudden, violent pounding rattled the door. Luna took a step to open it, but the man moved faster. He beat her to the door, swung it open, and faced an enemy trying to force his way inside.

Without an ounce of mercy, the man kicked the intruder squarely in the chest, sending him flying backward onto the wooden porch outside.

"Clauser, I'm sorry... please, help me," the man on the ground whimpered, groaning in pain after the brutal kick.

The spearman—whose name was Clauser—only let out a cynical scoff. "Oh, you backstabbing bastard. Now you need me? After you betrayed me?" Clauser snapped, turning to slam the door shut.

"Help him," Luna pleaded in a panic, trying to pull Clauser’s hand away from the wooden door handle.

"Let him die of blood loss," Clauser replied coldly, his eyes fixed on the outside.

"We are all under threat right now. I just hope we can put this grudge on hold for a moment. Please, have some pity on him," Luna said softly. She gently pried Clauser’s fingers off the handle, breaking his grip with an undeniable gentleness.

Luna rushed outside, struggling to support the man’s weight as she dragged him into the house.

Two other villagers who happened to be running past saw that the house was safe. They quickly rushed into the cramped space before the door was shut once more. Now, five people were crammed inside the small house.

"So damn cramped," Clauser grumbled, annoyed by the presence of so many strangers in the small bamboo room.

"We are sorry, Chief. We can stay in the kitchen or the bathroom if you prefer," a heavy-set woman offered, looking incredibly intimidated by Clauser's commanding aura.

"Yeah, go to the kitchen. And take that guy with you, dump him in the bathroom while you're at it," Clauser ordered, using the tip of his boot to point at his weakened enemy who was slumped on the wooden floor.

"Right away, Chief," the heavy-set woman replied. She and her husband immediately began dragging the injured man toward the back.

Seeing his arrogant behavior, Luna scowled in frustration. "You don't have to do that. This is my grandmother’s house, so why are you listening to him? Please, just rest comfortably here," Luna said, walking after them toward the kitchen.

However, the heavy-set woman shook her head fearfully. "Miss... we have to obey Chief Clauser. No matter what, he always helps us by buying our crops when times are tough," she whispered, still dragging Clauser’s enemy alongside her husband.

When Luna looked back at Clauser, he was staring coldly out the window at the hysterical chaos outside. There wasn't a shred of pity in his eyes for the villagers who already lay lifeless, their bodies shriveled up like raisins after the vampires drained every last drop of their blood.

"I’m going to call out to anyone else who might still be alive," Luna said resolutely, stepping toward the front door again.

In a flash, Clauser grabbed her arm, pulling her back forcefully.

"Why do you keep making this place smaller? Even with just the two of us, it already feels cramped. Do you want to bring a whole mob inside until we can’t even move?" Clauser snapped, thoroughly frustrated.

"It doesn't matter. I’ll tell everyone to crowd into the kitchen just like before. At least we'll be safe." With a sharp jerk, Luna broke free from Clauser’s grip.

She flung the door open and shouted for any surviving villagers to get inside. Seven more people instantly burst through the door, panting heavily.

That completely broke Clauser’s patience. He immediately planted himself in front of the door, blocking it to prevent Luna from rescuing anyone else tonight. The small kitchen was already bursting at the seams, and the main room had become so tightly packed that a vein throbbed angrily on Clauser's temple.

"Do you have a bedroom?" Clauser asked Luna, having been jostled one too many times by the panicked villagers.

"There's one. If you want to rest, I’ll change everything to clean sheets," Luna replied, feeling a bit guilty for causing him so much discomfort.

Clauser merely gave a curt nod. He waited as Luna slipped into the bedroom to tidy up the small bed, replacing her grandmother's old sheets and pillowcases. Out in the main room, the villagers took the initiative to massage Clauser's legs on his command. Out of sheer respect, not a single one of them dared to refuse.

Once Luna finished preparing the bed, she called Clauser inside.

Clauser stood up from his wooden chair and walked into the bedroom, leaving the crowded mass of villagers behind in the main living space.

"It’s tiny," the man muttered, surveying the room which held nothing but a small bed on a wooden frame, a tiny table, and an old wardrobe.

"I’m sorry, this house really isn't big," Luna replied as she smoothed out the pillow.

But moments later, the sound of the front door being forced open echoed through the house, followed by the thundering footsteps of a crowd rushing inside to seek a final refuge.

When Clauser opened the bedroom door to check, he found the living room packed like sardines. It was so densely crowded that he couldn't even step out of the bedroom, leaving Luna trapped right behind his tall frame.

Clauser completely gave up on the night. He finally sat down on the edge of the small bed and patted the empty space beside him, signaling for Luna to sit down.

"Get over here," he commanded firmly, his gaze holding hers.

Hesitantly, Luna stepped forward and sat down beside him. The space between them on the wooden bed frame became incredibly close.

"This is all your doing. Everyone is inside, it's packed to the brim, so where exactly do you plan on sleeping?" Clauser asked, his tone laced with irritation, though his eyes never left hers.

Luna kept her head down, staring intently at her intertwined fingers. "I'm sorry... I just wanted to help," she whispered softly.

"I can’t sleep sitting up," Clauser stated flatly, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Just lie down and sleep. I’ll just sit on the floor," Luna said, shifting to get off the bed and onto the wooden floorboards.

But before she could step down, Clauser quickly caught her by the shoulder, stopping her.

"Tomorrow, I’ll find you a much bigger house to take shelter in," Clauser said, handing Luna a pillow and a blanket.

Luna took them, looking up at Clauser with a bittersweet, weary smile.

"But tomorrow, I might not be the girl with the sun symbol anymore, Chief... Tomorrow, you might have to find yourself a different girl."

With that, Luna sat down on the hard wooden floor, propping the pillow behind her back to lean against the woven bamboo wall.

Thank you for reading! I’m so happy to be on Inkitt and to meet such kind readers.

This is my second story, and it is actually a request from one of my readers. I’m not sure if the person who requested it is still around, but... I truly hope everyone who drops by will enjoy "The Vampire's Card Game" (TVCG).

I will update every Tuesday, though there might be a slight time difference depending on how far apart our countries are! 🫶😍

(Tuesday, June 16, 2026)