ALL the lyrics? Just checking.

I only did it for fun. I though I beat the system. I was so naïve.

At first, it was fun - partying, expensive goods, trips, activities, I was living it up. I should have known taking out such a long loan was ridiculous.

When I noticed I wasn't ageing, I got suspicious and did some research. That's when I found out that, since 2376, banks were able to create contracts which kept people alive until every single owed penny was paid back.

I got jobs. I worked myself to death. I began repaying. It wasn't enough. Now I'm terrified.

Everyone knows about the new laws introduced in 2382, where if you don't pay the money by the deadline, interest and fines won't pile up... instead, men will show up to your door, and take you somewhere to work for the person who lent you the money... some factories and underground jobs exist for this very purpose.

To top it off, owing someone money is considered a crime, so if I refuse or run, it's off to prison.

I'm only a few days from the deadline. I'm trapped... there's no way I can pay the money... what do I do?

...his name is Tabby :P

Glad you liked the story anyway!

I didn't know it had fallen out of favour...

…

………………

IT'S FICTION OK? :P

Still think there's a chance. Either my sister or my mum found out a while ago - which I just double checked myself - that all of humanity has a common female ancestor. If that's true, then humanity hasn't always had a deep gene pool, so it's possible six people could recover the species!

"We're tricksters, not monsters" he says as he places a hand gently on my cat. After a moment, he removes it and shakes his head. "Even if I heal him, there's only six months left. He's getting there in age."

"Six months is better than nothing" I plead. "If he's not in pain." The demon nods and chants a spell. Suddenly, my cat is up again, stretching slowly before jumping off the table and onto his chair. I hug the demon. "Thank you!" I exclaim.

"No problem. The spell will keep the cat alive and healthy for as long as the body will support him. In six months, he'll be gone. You should try to prepare." The demon leaves. I turn to my cat. "Well, Tabby, I've got you for another six months..." I pick him up and hold him against my chest. I can hear and feel his purring. I'll miss that... I'll miss you, Tabby...

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Thank you for reading! More stories here!

Well... I guess they DID re-build society, just THEIR society, not a new society. Btw, Jeremy, you're overthinking things, at some point natural selection would rescue humanity lol.

​

Good story anyway!

Well... there's an existential crisis for the spy XD good story!

Dang! Plot twist! Part 2?

Alright, will probably get to that a bit later, thanks!

Dialogue 'tags'?

Edit: Wait, as in

Vampire: "so here's what we'll do..."

Me: "Ok"

Glad you liked it :)

"Why don't we just wait for the actual day of Halloween?" my friend whines, trying to drag me away.

"Come on, even the monsters treat the actual day with light-heartedness! I want the spooky!" I shake him off.

He looks at me worriedly. "But... but I've heard things... some people who go in never leave, y'know? Halloween is the only safe day!"

I roll my eyes and respond. "That's several months away! Besides, I want to do this! I know the risks!"

"And yet, you didn't prepare ANYTHING? No charms, no crosses..." I hold my hand up to stop him.

"I'm doing this right, leave me alone!" I groan. I was always told I'm too brave, curious and naïve for my own good. I don't care. I want thrills. I want excitement. I want to legit get frightened, not one of those cheap haunted house attractions with no real danger! Several years ago, several creatures - vampires, ghouls, real-life skeletons, even actual shadow creatures - created a town which celebrates Halloween every single night, appropriately named 'Hall O Ween town'.

Apparently, all these denizens of the pumpkin season were fed up of having only one day a year to terrify people, so they created their town. On their day they give people a break who visit, likely to get income from tourists. But the rest of the year is a true test of courage and bravery. It seems fairly normal during the day, but at night, you'll need your wits about you.

"Fine, but you're on your own. Good luck, Dennis!" My friend runs away. I shake my head. I knew he would. As I step towards the town, shrouded by darkness, I notice a sign.

'NOTICE TO ALL HUMANS,

FROM HERE ABANDON ALL HOPE.

IF YOU WISH TO VISIT, YOU ARE WELCOME,

BUT BE WARNED: IF YOU SHOW WEAKNESS...

…THEN PREPARE TO SPEND THE REST OF YOUR EXISTENCE HERE!'

I turn to the side. "I spotted you ages ago, sir. I just have a few questions."

"Hehehe... observant, aren't you lad?" The living scarecrow exits the shadows.

I cross my arms and look at it sternly. "I just want to know what it means by 'weakness'. I know the typical things, like don't scream and don't collapse from fear..."

"Hehehe..." it seems amused. "Scream all you want. Collapse if you can't stand. Weakness means unable to face us. Plenty of people come here with charms and weapons and things... I always warn them. They don't always listen."

I nod. "So I'll be fine."

"Don't get cocky, lad" the scarecrow continues. "Unable to face also means unable to look, being prepared to fight or having the gall to beg us to spare you. Don't think you're safe just because you know, either; it's easy to know... it can be hard to do. Be prepared for horrors beyond your imagination, lad!"

The scarecrow walks back to where it was, looks directly at me, then rips its head off. Some liquid spills out the head. In the dark, it almost looks like a human just killed itself, but of course it's just a scarecrow.

Still, I gulp, but undeterred, walk forward. Wow, this place is so legit, a shiver runs down my spine! Real creepy laughter, shadows moving which I know are actual threats. My heart pounds, but my excitement levels are high!

Hands roughly grab my shoulders and I'm spun around. This... it looks like a human... with no eyes or skull... "EUGH!" I exclaim. I shake him off, maintaining... eye-contact, so to speak, as I walk backwards slowly. A wave from the thing tells me I'm safe.

As I continue on through the town, I see things I can't even begin to describe, but I do my best to heed the words of the scarecrow. I'm not too far from the other side now...

Suddenly, something drops from a branch above me, and in my shock, I let loose a punch... then instantly realise what I did. The thing just stands there. It's not even that scary of a creature - just some tree or plant thing. I take a single step back, locking eyes with it. A vampire flies down. It had been following me. I guess this is why.

"Well, well... so close to the exit, too..." the vampire taunts.

"I was just caught off-guard" I state. I don't break my gaze.

"Still, my friend... rules are rules, would you agree?" He walks towards me.

I take a deep breath. I won't let myself tremble, not in this situation. "You've been watching me the whole time. I faced everything. I didn't skip a single area. I NEVER EVEN SCREAMED!"

The vampire smirks. "Indeed... your courage certainly is not common..."

Good. This is what I want. I broke a rule, I know that. I just wanted to face the guy down. "Ok, so we have an understanding. Tell me: what do you normally do with human captives?"

"Depends on their co-operation." He looks amazed. "I must say, very sly of you, sir. Make me lower my guard to give yourself favourable terms. I'm impressed."

I smile. "Thank you. So, how do we proceed?"

The vampire rubs his chin as he thinks. "You're certainly an interesting one... come with me, to my office."

​

"So these are my options?" I ask. "I can't, I dunno, work for you?"

"We need to maintain our image" the vampire remarks. I nod as I look through the list of things they do with human captives - become a monster, be enslaved to a monster, be a prisoner, be taken to their land... I want something interesting at least.

The one thing everything has in common is it seems just being in the presence of these immortal beings makes the human immortal themselves, so I want to make sure I really won't regret my choice.

"If I agree to 'be a prisoner', could you at least try to keep it from being boring?" I ask hopefully. The vampire grins...

A FEW WEEKS LATER

I'm escorted to the small, empty room again. I'd say I know the drill, but that's impossible. I've become their 'test dummy' for new attempts at scaring the crap out of people. I never know what's coming. A door opens. I wait in nervous anticipation...

Sounds like crawling. Then, it shows. The being without a skull... its head is twisted 180 degrees, looking up, as it crawls on the ground, needles sticking out of its back. It heads right for me, grabbing at my ankles. It tilts its head to 'look' at me. I vomit (not on it, thankfully).

"Ok, that's a success" the vampire's voice calls from above. The being goes back through the door, and after a moment I just laugh.

"Yep, that was creepy!" I exclaim.

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Thank you for reading! More stories here!

Exactly! If the hero LITERALLY had to, people would understand, but since the hero CHOOSES to... the 'have' is the same as when you say to a friend who did something dumb 'You just HAD to do that, didn't you?', or when you say something stupid as a perfect response to something someone else said and you say 'sorry, I HAD to'. Thus, everyone hates the hero, because to everyone else, he's just being an ass XD

Just so chill! Pundertaker just being like 'yeah, whatever man. Here's a pun!'

Good story!

Ok! Lmk when you do continue please! Also, side note: I made the prompt because there were so many 'Princess doesn't want to be rescued' stories, but I guess I wanted to avoid the bland, generic, overdone typical 'Knight saves princess' story, so I wrote this... which then got removed for the same first reason I posted it (too similar). I'm glad you liked the prompt anyway!

Wait... are they fighting? Is it to the death?

Updated!

"SECURITY BREACH! SECURITY BREACH!" The call rings through the compound. It's night-time, so every human is already inside, but as the main person in charge, it's my duty to keep my stronghold safe. I exit, joining the vampires, taking a high position. We have an army of 50 vampires, so we should be fine, right? As I survey the area, I spot a small group of zombies climbing the other side.

"BREACH ON THE OTHER SIDE!" The zombies are closing in. The vampires won't be fast enough. "I'LL STALL! JUST GET OVER!" I leave the post and charge towards the zombies. I get to them just before they start trying to get inside the building. Of course, I'm an easy target, so they shuffle in my direction. I begin to run the other way, towards the vampires, but I feel a hand grab my ankle. As I pull myself free, the vampires arrive and dispatch of the creatures.

I look down. To my horror, I've been scratched. "Fester..." one of the vampires turns to me. "I... I'm infected." Fester looks at my ankle. "I'm going to... to..." I cannot finish the sentence. "Throw me over the wall. I'm one of them now." Tears well up in my eyes.

"No" Fester states coldly. "I won't toss you away."

"THERE ISN'T ANOTHER OPTION!" I cry. My ankle stings. It's starting.

"There is. But I have to break a rule... I'm not getting permission, I'm saving you!" He drags me up and bears his fangs. I realise what he's about to do.

I hold my objections... I mean, it's either this, or become a green, mindless monster. I shut my eyes tight as he bites into my neck. His fangs are in deep, I feel his saliva seep inside the wound. I hope this works...

I wake up a while later. I'm in the prison building. I wipe my forehead as I recall what happened. I look at my ankle; there's no mark. Does this mean... I open my mouth and lick my teeth. Fangs. Fester's plan worked. I... I'm not a zombie! I burst into tears of joy. That lasts for only a few seconds as a sensation takes over. I sniff the air.

Blood.

I have a sudden urge and desire. I walk to the door of my cell. There's two others in here - a young vampire who tried to feed on everyone, taking too much, and a man, who got here a couple days ago and was nervous. He's what I smell. I try to ignore my need to feed. "I... I guess I'm a vampire now."

"Guy saved your life. I saw your ankle. If Fester hadn't done that, you were good as gone." The man gives me a sympathetic smile. "Guess they're not bad, are they?"

"They're amazing" I respond. "This place has lasted thanks to them."

"Yeah, yeah, so when do I get out?" the boy moans. At that moment, Fester walks in.

"When you learn to control yourself, young one. Now... as for our new member..." my cell door is unlocked. My eyes are wild and frenzied. I practically lock onto the man. I shut the door.

"I can't control it" I explain. "If I had stepped forward..."

Fester nods. "I figured. Turning is always stressful. It never fails to make the new vampire go crazy. I wanted to see if you understood... seems like you do. You'll need to stay in there for a while. I'll be able to tell when you've 'recovered'." I nod. Fester turns to the man. "I know you're nervous about us... I can let you out, but on one condition..." he opens the door, grabs the man by the arm and directs him to me. My eyes widen as instinct begins to kick in. "You need to trust us, and he needs to feed. Let him feed."

The man looks at Fester. "But... what if he turns me? Even accidentally?"

"Newbies never fail to get it right" Fester states. "I think it's in our biology or something. We just know." The man looks at me. I try to hang back, but the smell... it's so damn tempting... I walk forward, bearing my fangs.

"Please" I beg, "I... I need..."

The man sighs. "Ok, just... be careful." My cell door opens once more, and I stop holding back. I dash forwards, wrapping an arm around him. I sink my fangs in, and drink. I feel so much better now! I pull away and sigh in satisfaction.

"That felt SO GOOD!" I exclaim. I turn to Fester. "Is there more?" Fester laughs.

"According to your own rules, no more than two feeds a day. Do you want to use your second feed RIGHT AFTER the first?"

I just blink. "But..."

"I'm forgiving you because you're new. But this lust, this lack of restraint... that's exactly why you're being contained for now. Understood?" Fester locks eyes with me.

I hang my head. I realise I've become uncontrollable... I'm not even in charge anymore, at least not for now... "Yes, sir." I walk back into my cell, and watch as it's closed behind me. The man gets a pat on the back and is guided out, presumably to join everyone else. I just lie down on my bed - a proper bed, not a 'bed' REAL prisons provide - and rest. Despite being satisfied, it's not enough. As I try to relax, one thing goes through my mind: I was absolutely right to put all those rules in place.

As I said, meant as innocent. The MC found a cave in the woods. The skin is left TO the woods.

please lmk if you do