Master's Reading and Writing, A Frightened Pedestrian

By Nate Feldman

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Mr. Vampeer the vampire worked for the Ghost and Goblin Gazette, a newspaper focusing on Monster affairs in the community.  He was doing a report on human areas of the town of Doomsday where housing was often denied to monsters seeking homes.  

Mr. Vampeer was from a family of domesticated vampires that had many generations ago stopped the habit of drinking blood from people's necks and had learned to find their nutrients from cooked meat and other conventional ways.  Nevertheless, he still had the purplish-pale skin of a vampire with sharp fangs that showed clearly when he laughed.  

One evening, he was heading to the neighborhood he was doing a report on to interview local landlords about whether they would permit monsters to be their tenants or not, when he noticed a woman several feet in front of him looking back nervously.  She glanced back in his direction every ten seconds or so it seemed.  

Mr. Vampeer, keenly aware of how his presence might unnerve some people, began whistling some classical musical tunes to show he meant no harm.  But, this didn't stop the woman from looking back and begin picking up her pace.  He could see that she was visibly trembling.  Mr. Vampeer kept whistling.  

The woman all of a sudden began running.  Mr. Vampeer stood still and watched as she sprinted away.  Even as she got further from him, she continued looking back, making sure he wasn't pursuing her.

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Mr. Vampeer continued walking as if nothing was happening.  The woman disappeared in the distance.  All of a sudden, a posse of men appeared.  Mr. Vampeer froze as they approached him.  Some of them were carrying chains.  Others had stakes.  "What are you doing in these parts?" one of the men asked him.

"I'm a reporter for The Ghost and Goblin Gazette," he told the group, feeling taut inside.  "I'm interviewing some local landlords."  

"I see," said one of the men.  "You sure you're not here to drink some people's blood?"

Mr. Vampeer was familiar with these kinds of comments, so he didn't let it upset him too much, but standing next to a group of men brandishing weapons made him feel very uneasy.  

"I'm just here for my job," he replied as calmly as possible.  

"Well," said one of the other men.  "It's probably best if you make your way out of here.  We don't want any trouble around these parts."

Mr. Vampeer had a deadline to meet for his newspaper, so he was uneasy about not getting the interview done.  But, at the same time, he wasn't sure if it would be even possible given the circumstances around him.