Chapter 1 mysterious

The rain was so heavy that Richard could barely see the road.

He leaned closer to the windscreen, trying to see through the thick fog. It was already dark, even though it wasn't that late, and the road ahead was almost empty. Tall trees stood on both sides, their branches swaying whenever the wind blew.

"Richard, are you sure this is the right road?" his wife asked.

Richard glanced at her. "Yes, Elizabeth. I've driven this road before."

"Then why can't I see anything?"

"Because it's raining, baby. What do you want me to do about the weather?"

Elizabeth gave him a look.

"I'm just asking."

"I know." He smiled and reached for her hand. "Relax. We'll be home soon."

In the back seat, their two children were having a completely different kind of problem.

"Give me my teddy bear!" Lily shouted.

"It's not yours!" Noah replied, pulling the bear towards himself.

"Mummy! He's taking my teddy bear!"

"It's mine!" Noah insisted. "Daddy bought it for me!"

"No, he didn't! Daddy bought it for me!"

They pulled at the teddy bear from opposite sides. Lily was six, while Noah was five, and neither of them was willing to surrender.

Elizabeth turned around.

"Lily, please give your brother the teddy bear. You can play with it when he's done."

"But, Mummy, it's mine!"

"I know, sweetheart. Let him hold it for a little while."

Lily hugged the bear against her chest.

"No!"

Noah's face crumpled.

"Mummy, see? She's doing it again!"

Richard chuckled.

"What's funny?" Elizabeth asked, turning towards him.

"Nothing. I'm just wondering how two children can make so much noise over one teddy bear."

"Then you should come and settle it."

Richard looked at the children through the rear-view mirror.

"Okay, listen. Lily, let Noah play with it for a little while. When he's done, he'll give it back to you."

"But, Daddy—"

"No arguments, princess."

Lily looked at her father, then at her brother. With an unhappy expression, she handed over the teddy bear.

Noah immediately hugged it.

"Thank you, Daddy!"

"You're welcome, buddy."

Lily folded her arms and turned towards the window.

Richard smiled.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. When we get home, I'll find something else for you to play with."

She didn't answer.

Elizabeth reached back and gently touched her daughter's cheek.

"Don't be upset, baby."

"I'm not upset."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

Lily nodded, but a tear rolled down her cheek.

Elizabeth sighed and wiped it away.

Richard was about to say something when a flash of lightning illuminated the road.

For a split second, the trees appeared as clear as day.

Then everything went dark again.

Lily looked out of the window.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, princess?"

"Why is it so dark outside?"

Richard kept his eyes on the road.

"Because it's nighttime."

"But it's not supposed to be this dark."

He glanced at her through the mirror.

"What do you mean?"

Lily pointed towards the window.

"Look. I can't even see the trees properly."

Richard looked ahead.

She was right. The fog had become much thicker over the past few minutes. Even with the headlights on, he could barely see beyond a short distance.

"That's just the weather, sweetheart," he said. "Don't worry about it."

Elizabeth looked through the windscreen.

"This fog is strange."

"Strange how?"

"I don't know. It's raining heavily, and now there's all this fog. I've never seen it this bad on this road."

Richard shrugged, although he was beginning to feel uneasy himself.

"We'll be out of here soon."

He pressed the accelerator slightly.

The car moved forward through the darkness.

A few minutes passed.

The children had finally stopped arguing. Noah was playing with the teddy bear, while Lily rested her head against the window.

Then Noah started again.

"Mummy!"

Elizabeth closed her eyes briefly.

"What is it, Noah?"

"Lily hit me!"

"I did not!" Lily protested.

"You did!"

"Mummy, he's lying!"

"Both of you, please!" Elizabeth said. "I'm begging you. Just give me five minutes of peace."

Richard laughed.

"Five minutes? That's asking for too much."

Elizabeth turned towards him.

"You think this is funny?"

"A little."

She shook her head, trying not to smile.

Then a man appeared in the middle of the road.

Richard saw him at the last moment.

"Hey!"

He slammed on the brakes.

The tyres screeched against the wet road.

Elizabeth grabbed the dashboard.

"What happened?"

Richard turned the steering wheel, trying to avoid the man, but the car skidded.

The man was struck by the vehicle. His body landed on the bonnet before rolling off and disappearing beneath the front of the car.

Lily screamed.

Noah started crying.

Elizabeth covered her mouth.

"Oh, my God! Richard!"

Richard sat frozen for a moment, staring through the windscreen.

He couldn't believe what had just happened.

Then he unfastened his seat belt.

"Stay here," he told Elizabeth.

She grabbed his arm.

"Where are you going?"

"I hit someone. I need to check if he's alive."

"Richard, please be careful."

He squeezed her hand.

"I will. Lock the doors behind me."

He opened the car door and stepped into the rain.

The cold wind hit his face immediately.

"Sir!" he shouted. "Can you hear me?"

He hurried around the front of the car.

The man was lying on his back a few metres away. His clothes were soaked, and one arm was bent awkwardly beneath him.

Richard crouched beside him.

"Sir? Can you hear me?"

There was no response.

Richard leaned closer, trying to see if the man was breathing.

"Come on, man. Please don't be dead."

He reached for the man's shoulder.

That's when he noticed the ring on his right hand.

It was silver, with a dark stone set in the middle. Richard didn't know why, but something about it made him pause.

"Are you okay?" Richard asked, shaking him again.

The man didn't answer, but Richard noticed his hand moving.

He leaned closer, watching him carefully.

"Sir? Can you hear me?"

Still nothing.

"Richard!" Elizabeth called from the car. "Is he alive?"

Richard turned towards her.

"Yes, he is! I'm bringing him. We'll take him to the hospital!"

Elizabeth watched anxiously as Richard turned back to the stranger.

Richard reached out and tried to help him up.

The man slowly got to his feet, allowing Richard to support him.

Richard held him by the arm as they began moving towards the car.

Then, without warning, the man grabbed Richard by the neck.

Richard froze.

The stranger's grip tightened.

Richard stared into his face.

The man's eyes were blue, perfectly normal.

For a moment, their eyes met.

Then the stranger's expression changed.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Before Richard could react, the man's eyes began changing from blue to orange. Veins appeared beneath his eyes, spreading down his face.

Richard barely had time to process what he was seeing before the stranger opened his mouth and sank his fangs into his neck.

"AAAAAHHH!"

Richard screamed.

Inside the car, Elizabeth jerked at the sound.

"Richard!"

She leaned forward, desperately trying to see through the windscreen.

"Baby, are you okay?"

There was no answer.

"Richard? Can you hear me?"

The rain continued falling heavily.

Elizabeth stared into the darkness, her heart racing.

"Baby, are you there?"

Still, no response.

Unable to bear the uncertainty any longer, she opened the car door and stepped into the rain.

"Richard, this isn't funny!"

She began walking in the direction her husband had gone, struggling to see through the thick fog.

"Richard!"

The rain soaked her clothes as she moved forward.

Then she heard the car door open behind her.

She turned around.

Lily had gotten out of the car.

"Lily! What are you doing?" Elizabeth shouted.

The little girl stared at her mother.

"Go back inside now!" Elizabeth ordered. "And lock the door!"

"But, Mummy—"

"Now, Lily!"

Lily hesitated before hurrying back to the car.

Elizabeth turned around and continued walking.

"Richard! This isn't funny!" she called again.

She could barely see a few feet ahead of her. The fog was thick, and the rain kept falling into her eyes.

Then something dripped onto her hand.

Elizabeth stopped.

Another drop fell.

She looked down at her hand, but the darkness made it impossible to see what was on it.

Confused, she slowly raised her head.

She couldn't make out anything above her.

Then lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the trees for a brief moment.

Elizabeth thought she saw something, but the light disappeared before she could make it out.

She stood still, her heart pounding.

"What is that?" she whispered.

She took another step forward.

Another drop landed on her hand.

She looked down again.

Suddenly, lightning flashed a second time.

This time, she caught a glimpse of something dark hanging above her.

Her breath caught in her throat.

She slowly raised her head.

Another flash illuminated the tree.

And there he was.

Richard.

Her husband was hanging from the tree, his body suspended above the ground.

Blood covered his neck and stained his shirt.

His head hung at an unnatural angle.

Elizabeth stared at him, unable to move.

For a moment, she couldn't even breathe.

Then she screamed.

"RICHARD!"

Her scream echoed through the rainy night.

She stumbled backwards, tears streaming down her face.

"No! No, no, no!"

She turned and ran.

Branches scratched against her skin as she hurried through the rain, desperate to get back to the car.

"Please, God! Please!"

She could barely breathe.

When she finally reached the car, she grabbed the door handle and pulled it.

It was locked.

"LILY! OPEN THE DOOR!"

Lily immediately unlocked it.

Elizabeth threw the door open and climbed into the driver's seat, shutting the door behind her.

"Mummy?" Lily asked, staring at her mother's terrified face. "What happened?"

Elizabeth struggled to catch her breath.

"Where's Daddy?" Noah asked from the back seat.

He looked around, expecting to see his father coming towards the car.

"Where's Daddy, Mummy?"

His voice broke, and he began to cry.

Lily looked between her mother and brother.

"Mummy, what's going on?"

Elizabeth couldn't answer.

Her hands shook uncontrollably as she reached for the steering wheel.

"Mummy?" Lily called again. "Where's Daddy?"

Elizabeth turned towards her children.

Tears streamed down her face.

"Put on your seat belts," she whispered.

"But—"

"PLEASE! JUST PUT ON YOUR SEAT BELTS!"

Both children fell silent.

Noah cried harder, clutching his teddy bear against his chest.

Elizabeth started the engine.

She looked into the rear-view mirror, hoping to see Richard running towards the car.

Hoping that somehow, everything she had just seen wasn't real.

But he wasn't there.

She put the car into gear.

Then she pressed down on the accelerator and sped off into the darkness.

The car raced along the road.

Elizabeth could barely see anything ahead of her. The rain was so heavy that the windscreen wipers struggled to clear the water, and the thick fog made the road almost invisible.

Every time lightning flashed, she caught a brief glimpse of the road.

Then darkness swallowed everything again.

She gripped the steering wheel tightly, trying to keep the car on the road.

"Please, God," she whispered. "Please help us."

Behind her, Lily was crying quietly.

Noah continued calling for his father.

"Mummy, I want Daddy."

Elizabeth's lips trembled, but she said nothing.

She couldn't tell them what she had seen.

She couldn't even bring herself to believe it.

Then, after several minutes of driving, lightning flashed across the sky.

Elizabeth looked ahead.