Results for the Vampire Short Story Contest

Yes! It is the 19th! The day is finally here! And one of fourteen talented and daring contestants will be chosen to receive a free copy of Tami Jackson's new e-book Ravena & the Resurrected! It was a difficult decision requiring narrowing down the contestants many times. I went from 14 to 12 in the first revision. (They were just that good.) The second time through I narrowed it down to 7. After that I went down to 5, and finally down to 3. At this point I must say again that every single entry I received was great. What separated many of you from winning was mostly spelling and grammatical things, or awkwardness of wording. The more times you made it through my scrutiny, the more nit-picky these mistakes were. If you want to know what grouping you fell into before being eliminated please email at the same address where I received the submissions. (And yes contestants, I am stalling somewhat for suspense purposes but I truly mean everything I say.) Please keep writing everyone, and please come back and enter in some of my future contests. Due to the success of this one I may have a similar contest in July or August!

The last thing I want to say before moving back to talking about my top 3 contestants is that I was impressed with the depth and breadth of the interpretations of what makes a vampire. One entry in particular had vampiric person/creature that is similar to a mythological creature we have in Canada called the Wendigo. Out of interest if you do not know what a Wendigo is here is a brief description:
"... among the Algonquin [tribe] it is the spirit of a lost hunter who now preys upon humans in a cannibalistic manner." - John & Caitlin Matthews The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures

Thank you to the writer who submitted the story that reminded me of the Wendigo; I am sure you know who you are.

Alright back to the top 3! With my top three contestants, I could no fault at all with their spelling and grammar. It came down to who had the most imagery, simply because that had been one of the points I was looking for in my rules. Even looking at the imagery it was very close, and for that reason I encourage my contestants to check the comments section, where I will list my two runners up. I think they deserve to know that their stories really were polished and nearly won this contest!

The Winner is ... (drumroll) ... Anastasia Fermin, with her story "Monster." She will be contacted in the next couple days, by Tami Jackson or myself, with the details of her prize! Congratulations Anastasia! Without further adieu, here is the winning story:

Monster

Eyes like twin navy pools pierced into mine, I couldn’t move or breathe as his breath whispered to my skin. His cold hands were vise gripping my shoulders. Hot searing pain shot through my veins and I screamed. He was killing me. The calm pools had turned into turbulent, stormy waters. Images of death and blood and insanity flashed before my eyes. I heard the wails and shrieks of faceless people, who clawed at me, begged me and fell at my feet and I crossed over them, a dark god. His warm sticky kiss made the sounds blot out and the images fade till there was only darkness.

When I opened my eyes, I became aware of a sharp stabbing pain in the pit of my stomach. Grimacing, I clutched my mid section as a fiery spasm shot through me. I gasped and looked around wildly. The last rays of sunlight filtered through a small dirty window, casting a dull yellow glow. And I saw a staircase to my right leading upwards. I jumped to my feet and dived blindly for the stairs, stumbling up the wooden steps. Hot tears trickled down my face and I was filled with unexplainable fear. With trembling hands I reached for the rusty doorknob, turned it, shook it, pleaded with it, but it wouldn’t budge, I was locked in this dark dungeon, and he would return soon to finish me off. I sat, crouched against the door, sobbing.
I must have drifted to sleep again. The door must’ve opened, spilling me out onto cold concrete, and the night air on my face revived me. I looked up, dazed, at the violet sky. Strong hands embraced me and set me on my feet. His face was porcelain smooth, his raven hair fell softly to just below his ears. The fear welled up inside me again and I backed away from him, breathing heavily, I ran. “Wait!” he yelled after me. The wind whipped through my hair. He remained at the door, watching.
I bumped into something warm. “Watch it lady!” came a disgruntled voice, I looked down and saw a young girl, getting to her feet dusting her jeans. Something stirred within me and I grabbed her. She screamed. I felt my gums rip apart. Before I knew it I was sinking my fangs into her neck. Fangs? I thought. Sweet, salty elixir rushed into my mouth, gushing like a geyser out of her, an explosion of red. Suddenly, there was sunshine and kite flying. The sound of laughter and the feel of an ice cube on my face in the summer heat, a first kiss and a dip in the pool. An orgasmic thrill ignited every fiber of my being. Slowly, the girl stopped struggling, the flickering images disappeared and she slumped limply against me. And I realized as she fell to the ground with a soft thud, that she was dead because I drank her blood.
I touched my mouth and felt sharp pointy teeth, my hands were bloody in the moonlight and the pain in my stomach had vanished. He was at my side, every bit a monster as I was. My mind was ablaze with questions. “We have to go, before someone comes down this way,” he said. I nodded, my heart raced and I let his fingers envelop mine as we ran, faster than the blinking eye into the night.

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By: Anastasia Fermin