I apologize if my English and grammar is off. English is my second language.
Back when I was about 22 in 2013, I worked at a candy store in Berlin as a chocolatier.
As you can imagine, I eat a lot more chocolate than is considered healthy because of my job.
This will be important later.
Also important is that during this time, there was a string of serial murders involving victims being found with their throats slashed open and their blood completely drained.
The media called them The Vampire Murders for obvious reasons.
I was riding on the bus one day on my way to work. I also had a date with a man after I matched with him on a dating site.
I was standing and holding the hanger. The bus suddenly stopped and my face wound up being slammed into a pole. I ended up breaking my nose and blood splattered on it.
I moved my head and looked up to see a man holding it and I saw that some of the blood got on his hand. The man was tall and thin with dark hair and pale skin. He wore a black coat with a wide brimmed hat, and his eyes were a piercing blue.
“Whoops! Sorry!”
The man was quiet and stoic. He removed his hand and looked at the blood.
He stared at me. I saw that I was at my stop and got off as soon as possible.
I looked at him through the window and I swore I saw him lick the blood and smile.
I just kept walking to the store and got to work.
Once I was off, I went home, showered, did my hair, and got into my favorite suit on my way to my date.
We chose a nice restaurant to meet at. I got my table and waited for my date.
I was so anxious, it felt like he was never coming. And then I saw him.
A tall, thin, pale, and handsome man with long raven hair in a low ponytail and ice blue eyes. He was oddly familiar but I thought nothing of it.
He looked at me and smiled. He walked towards me.
“Are you Adam Ziegler?” He asked.
I nodded and he sat across from me.
“You must be Karl Mezger.”
The man nodded.
The way Karl looked at me felt off. He looked at me more like a slab of well cut beef than with romance or even lust.
We ordered food, but Karl didn’t order anything. Not even a drink. I thought this was strange, especially since he was so skinny.
“Are you feeling okay? You didn’t order anything.” I asked.
Karl’s eyes widened like he was caught. “Oh! I, uh, I’m a vegetarian. I couldn’t find anything on the menu that wasn’t a salad.”
As strange as it was, I just shrugged since it seemed to have made sense at the time. Although, I found it strange that he didn’t at least order a drink.
I ate my food and Karl continued to stare at me with that same hungry look. I didn’t know whether to think he was just awkward or a serial killer. Either way, I felt weirdly tense, like every alarm bell was ringing in my head.
As soon as I finished my dinner, I got the check.
“Uh, this was nice but I should be going.” I said as a way to not potentially provoke him if he was dangerous.
“Can I walk you home?” Karl asked.
“No!” I spat out. “Uh, I can walk home by myself. My neighborhood is pretty safe.”
Karl just shrugged. “Will I see you again?”
“Uh, maybe?” I said before rushing out without saying goodbye.
I walked home, shivering a bit. Karl didn’t seem that bad, but he creeped me out in a way I couldn’t explain. I don’t know if it was the way he looked at me, the fact he didn’t eat or drink anything, or if I was just being paranoid.
I just got home and stood in the shower, trying to calm down from it.
I went to bed after watching some TV.
During my sleep, I kept hearing breathing under my bed. I ignored it at first and just chalked it up as just my imagination.
As I slept, I felt a presence loom over me. Like when your parents are coming to check on you when you are up late.
I opened my eyes and felt my heart jump from my chest.
Next to my bed was a tall, dark figure drenched in shadow, with the only thing being seen was two piercing blue eyes with bloodshot sclera.
I screamed and rolled out of bed in the opposite direction. I picked up a nearby bat and wielded it like a knight holding a sword.
“Who the hell are you!? Get the fuck out of my house!” I yelled.
The figure turned on my lamp and I gasped.
It was Karl. He had a crazed, hungry look on his face and I swear his teeth looked sharper than normal.
“What the fuck?” I mouthed.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll make it quick.” Karl assured, smiling.
“What are you? Did you follow me home!?”
Karl snickered. “I knew where you lived as soon as I tasted your blood on the bus.”
Then it hit me, Karl was the man on the bus.
That’s why he seemed so familiar.
“What-How!? What are you!?”
Karl didn’t seem to know. “I was always like this. Ever since I was born I could only consume blood. Any other food and I would vomit it all out. The sun would burn my skin and I couldn’t go out without a hat or coat. Any blood I consume not only allows me to track down my prey through it, but everyone’s blood has a distinctive taste. Yours is quite delicious. It’s quite sweet with the right amount of bitterness to not make it sickening. I’m assuming you are a candy maker based on that?”
I felt sick hearing all of that. Karl was not human, or if he was, he was a mutant.
I ran out of my room to get out and get a police officer. I heard a knife from my kitchen being taken off of my knife rack and saw Karl, now enraged and looking more monstrous holding a butcher’s knife.
He lunged at me and attempted to stab me. I moved as quickly as I could and I hit him in his back before running to hide.
I hid in my bathroom and saw I left my cell phone in my breast pocket.
I looked around to make sure the coast was clear before dialing 110.
“110, what’s your emergency?”
“Listen, I am hiding in my bathroom and someone followed me home trying to kill me!” I whispered. “I think he is the Vampire Murderer!”
“Okay, sir. Can I get your name and address?”
I told them my name and address.
“Okay, the police will be on the way. Just stay where you are.”
I thanked them and hung up.
I listened behind the door and didn’t hear Karl. I peeked under it and didn’t see anyone. I took this as a sign that Karl either gave up and left or he was in a different room.
I silently crept out, bat in hand. So far, no homicidal vaguely human killer.
I went past the kitchen and I heard something. I hid behind the counter and sat.
I heard light footsteps accompanied by loud clacks of heels. I was waiting for Karl to leave or go somewhere where he couldn’t see me.
I stopped hearing the footsteps. I peeked around the corner and saw nothing. I sighed and I was about to crawl out and get to my front door.
Until I felt a sharp pain in my foot caused me to accidentally throw my bat. I turned and saw Karl stabbing the heel of my foot.
I used my good foot to kick him off and pulled myself up on the counter, accidentally knocking off some pots and pans.
I hobbled to the other side, but I slipped and fell to my knees. Karl walked to where I was and he climbed on top of me.
I thought it would be the end, but I saw the frying pan on the floor.
“You’re mine, Adam. You’ll taste amazing!” Karl snarled like a dog.
I slid the pan to my palm using the hole at the end of the handle. I gripped it tight.
Karl reeled his head back to strike like a snake. I took the window of opportunity to wack Karl as hard as I could in the side of the face. Karl let out a cry before falling to the side.
I got up and saw Karl was knocked out cold. I even knocked out one of his teeth. I picked it up and it was sharp like a shark’s tooth.
I heard a knock at the door. I hobbled over and opened it. It was a police officer.
I let him in and he saw Karl unconscious. I explained the whole thing and showed him the tooth. The officer took it and put it in an evidence bag.
I winced from the stab wound in my foot I barely noticed because of the adrenaline. An ambulance was called and Karl was taken to a separate hospital.
I had my foot patched up and had a blood transfusion to replace the blood I lost.
Karl was arrested and I hadn’t heard much from it.
At least until an officer came by one day to update me on him.
There we learned that while Karl was in the hospital and looking through his medical records, it had been revealed that Karl had two rows of teeth, one set was human-like and one was sharp. Both were retractable.
Karl’s skin was highly sensitive to sunlight and would form blisters and scars if exposed to it.
When he had an X-ray performed, his organs were shown to be somewhat unusual. His digestive system was formed in a way that makes it to where he can only digest liquids, much like a vampire bat.
While these things were unusual, a DNA test revealed that he is human. So, as to whether or not he is some sort of mutant, has an unknown disorder, cursed, or maybe vampires aren’t as supernatural as we thought, I’m unsure. And to be honest, I don’t care.
It had been some time, I am now living with my current boyfriend and I had been occasionally hearing about the trial. Karl admitted to being the killer and was sentenced to life in prison and will be executed the next day.
I was satisfied with that sentence.
One day, me and my boyfriend were cleaning up and a letter came in through the mail slot.
I picked it up and saw it was addressed to me. I felt a hard object inside it.
I opened it and I felt my blood run cold.
The envelope contained that very same tooth that I knocked out of Karl’s mouth.
And then the letter.
‘I am coming for you, Adam. You will be mine.
♡ Karl Mezger’
On the TV, which we had on for background noise, announced this.
“We interrupt this program for an emergency broadcast! Notorious serial killer, Karl Mezger aka The Vampire Murderer, had escaped from prison! Keep your doors locked, don’t travel alone at night, and keep yourself armed! He is a 34 year old male, caucasian, blue eyes and black hair!”
I almost couldn’t believe what I heard. My boyfriend looked with horror at the TV. I looked at him and we got together.
We made sure to arm ourselves with a UV lamp we got from a camping store and my bat.
If he comes back, I’ll be ready this time. If he comes back, I’ll kill him myself if it comes down to it.