“We gotta get out of this place,” I yelled. The stench from the blood was too much to take.
We were expecting a state-of-the-art facility where one could access quick and easy transportation to local hotspots, but we were in for a rude awakening that fall evening.
We parked our car and headed to what we thought was the entrance. The outside of this “new” facility didn’t feel right. It didn’t feel new like the brochure suggested.
There was a light flickering by the only door we could see; almost to the effect of a strobe light. It was entrancing, a psychedelic feeling as if we lost all control of our senses.
It seemed like time stood still as we slowly crept toward the door. Were our feet moving at a normal walking pace? One can’t recall.
But it was evident something was happening. It was clear to all of us that, on this day, at this moment, something different was in the cool, autumn air.
Melissa reached for the door. Before she could get it halfway open, a man (or what appeared to be a man) entered the doorway. Something was different about this being. He was rather deathly looking, with his white face and veins that you could see bulging from his neck.
He didn’t seem kind. He didn’t seem like the kind of person you would find at a brand new Park N’ Ride facility. But despite his not-so-easy-on-the-eyes look, we felt attracted to him. We felt as though he was the most handsome man we’d ever seen.
His coal-black hair was slicked back to perfection. Two teeth were protruding over his bottom lip. He smelled of Brute Faberge, a scent that stung our noses as we caught a whiff when he opened the door.
“Enter…Enter if you dare, feeble humans,” a dark, deep voice twisted our brains.
“Let’s go, guys!” Kate said.
We were all oozing with excitement, but we didn’t know why. We all looked at each other, then looked at the sketchy entrance to what we thought was the Park N’ Ride; looked at each other again, and decided to enter the decrepit building.
“Yes…Yes…Right this way, my four-course meal.”
Unknowing to what awaited, we made our way inside. We felt as though we had to. It was like falling in love all over again. We couldn’t help our actions, but knew they were for a greater means to an end.
We navigated down a long, dark hallway. There were no lights for at least 200 yards.
“I’m Vladimir, and it’s a pleasure to meet your acquaintance,” the coal-black slicked-hair man said. “I’m the owner of this place, and you guys are right on time.”
In the distance, we could hear the thump of bass, pounding our ear drums and making our brains rattle. The sound of acid-infused techno music was blaring from the end of the hallway. Finally, there was light.
“Please, step inside,” Vladimir said.
We followed him into what seemed like a dungeon. There was a foul odor of rotting flesh and blood; blood of all types. Animal, human, you name it. The stench was too overwhelming for Ben’s stomach. He blew chunks all over the floor.
We couldn’t take the smell; the smell of that smell. It entered our noses and had an eerily similar scent of a million rotting corpses piled on top of old diapers, mixed with a fresh batch of dead skunks and methane gas.
We all started blowing chunks. Dry-heaving because our stomachs were empty; we hadn’t yet had dinner.
By the time we finished vomiting, it was clear that this wasn’t the Park N’ Ride. This was something else. Every person in the building was either covered in blood with wounds on their necks, or with blood covering their faces.
That’s when it hit us. We were dealing with the Vampires of White Marsh.
“We gotta get out of this place,” I yelled as I coughed up blood after dry-heaving from a few minutes before.
I could see the blood spew out of my mouth in slow-motion, taking its time as it made its way to the dusty floor.
It was on.
The Vampires of White Marsh sprung from their seats and circled around us like vultures. They all looked the same and they all wanted one thing. Our blood.
“RJ, we gotta get out of this place,” Mel screamed with fear. “I’m scared, husband.”
“Don’t worry; I’ll get us out of here!”
Or so I thought. But how were we to escape the clutches of 20 or so Vampires of White Marsh? It seemed impossible and highly unlikely. The odds were not in our favor.
The Vampires of White Marsh inched closer and closer with their coal-black hair, slicked back like a Yuppie. Brute Faberge filled the air like a Bob Seger concert. They were all tatted with crosses on their spines and we could see their fangs. They were salivating like dogs. They had an insatiable appetite for our blood, and nothing was standing in their way.
WHOOSH!
Suddenly, the floor beneath us dropped. And before we could blink our eyes or have time to comprehend what just happened, our booth on the train started moving.
“Thank you for visiting the White Marsh Park N’ Ride. We hope you enjoyed our newest attraction here, VAMPIRES OF WHITE MARSH 4-D. Please buckle up and enjoy your ride.”
We were terrified, we were covered in puke, and we were brothers.
Regards – R.L. Bean
Rave and Review