Four Fangs was written by William Falo and submitted to our Four Queens short story contest.

I worked at Dracula’s castle, but there weren’t any monsters here; Vlad the Impaler never even stayed here. It was a tourist trap, and I told stories like the other guides to scare the tourists looking for tales of vampires and ghosts. The scariest thing I saw was the pictures of the royal family that lived here, especially the fur queens. Their eyes haunted me, and I was sure they followed me when I walked by them. One of them had a creepy smile, and something about her teeth wasn’t normal. I avoided looking at her picture.

While I thought the pictures were strange, the other tour guides thought I was weird, and maybe they were right, but their words still hurt.

I had a knack for walking quietly and could sneak up on people. I did it often in the orphanage, but sometimes you heard things that could hurt worse than any physical pain. I stood outside the break room and listened to the other tour guides.

“She came from an orphanage.” I gasped. How did they know that?

“Yea and nobody wanted her. Do you blame them?” They all laughed.

“I think she is bulimic. I heard her throwing up n the bathroom.” I did do that sometimes, but how did they know it, and it wasn’t because of weight. I couldn’t help it.

“I heard she never goes out in the sun.” I do, but it hurts my eyes, so I wear sunglasses.

“Maybe, she will quit.” They all sounded their agreement.

The words pierced my heart. I fought back the tears.

I ran outside past the tourists waiting to go inside the castle to my motorcycle, then gunned my motorcycle and sped through the Transylvanian woods.

The engine hummed like a beehive filled with angry bees. The back roads turned to trails once used by people hiding from the secret police. Many of them hid in cabins around here, hoping to not be discovered by the government police. They were often turned in by their neighbors for listening to the BBC or complaining about the government until it was overthrown. It was a dark time that led to numerous orphans, and I was one of them.

I sped on despite the dangerous curves, then I hit soft sand, and the wheels lost their grip on the trail. I skidded on my side for a long time, trying to stop myself with my gloved hands. The motorcycle stopped when it smashed against a tree.

I was shaken up and sore everywhere, but the motorcycle was even in worse shape; the wheel was bent, the handlebars were broken in two. Gas dripped out of it. It was finished. I was dazed, and my cell phone had no service. I had to walk and managed to find a small game trail going through the woods.

I eventually found a hunter’s cabin, pulled my knife out, and headed toward it. I opened the door and saw a girl crouched down. She was crying.

“It’s okay,” I said and walked toward her.

Her brown wavy hair dangled in her eyes.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. No.”

“I’m Anca. What’s your name?”

“Roxana. I ran away because I felt like an outcast. I have no friends, and now I got lost.”

I knew how she felt, more than she knew. “We’ll go to the nearest town. I’ll bet it is yours. And I’ll be your friend.” We walked in the direction of the small town. She hugged me.

When we got to the town, Roxana ran to a house on a small street.

I waited outside on a dried-up fountain with a statue of an angel in the middle of it. Cracks ran along the angel’s body, and one wing was missing. A horse and cart went by with a load of vegetables on it. I thought of asking for a lift, but I looked up and saw three gargoyles posed on top of a gothic church. They looked like demons watching over everyone, but not in a good way. There were four of them on every corner of the building. Darkness radiated from them, and I thought of the four queens and got chills. It seemed to freeze me to the spot until a black cat wandered toward me. I reached down, and the cat rubbed against my hand. It felt soft, and it let me pet it. I heard purring and almost smiled.

It hid behind me when Roxana approached with a man she introduced as her brother, Viktor.

I backed up when he reached for me, but he grasped me and lifted me off the ground

with a bear hug.

“Okay.” I struggled to get free of his embrace.

“You saved her.”

“It was nothing.”

“You must come inside for food and drink.”

“The cat?”

“A stray,” Roxana said. “It never let anyone pet her before.”

“It seems to like me.”

I went inside, and there was a large mirror in the hallway. I walked past it, and there was no reflection. I wondered what I really looked like. Death, I thought. I touched my sharp teeth and sighed. Fangs. There were four of them in each corner of my mouth; it was why I tried never to smile.

I smelled food and felt sick. I had been barely eating; I was fading away. I wiped my eyes. I didn’t want to hurt anyone. The memory of sucking blood from dead animals on the road haunted me. I ran outside.

I petted the black cat. “You need a name.” I noticed sharp teeth sticking out of the corners of her mouth. I thought of my own sharp teeth. “How about Fangs for now.”

She meowed. “That makes it official.”

Roxanna came out. “Anca, are you okay?”

“Yes. Can you feed Fangs while I’m away?” I said to Roxana and pointed at the cat.

“Fangs?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, if she will let me. For you, I will try.” She looked at the cat. “Where are you going?”

“My apartment then to work, but I’ll be back for Fangs and to see my best friend.”

Roxanna’s smile was so big I would never forget it.

She offered me a spare room saying it was mine whenever I wanted it. Her parents died, as did mine; there were so many orphans here and so many lonely people. I agreed to spend the night and consider it my room whenever I wanted it. She insisted.

Viktor offered to lend me his motorcycle and a helmet.

I couldn’t sleep; dark thoughts haunted me at night, like an anti-lullaby, so early in the morning, I got the motorcycle out, strapped my knife to my side, and left the helmet on the shelf. I knew I was going back to work at Dracula’s Castle. The thought of the four queens came to me. I would face them and the other workers. I wouldn’t let them stop me. I would hurt them if they tried. I bit my lip. No, I couldn’t do that, or could I?

I saw Roxana waving to me from the door, and my heart ached.

“You’re my best friend.” She called out.

I stopped. I never even had a friend before. I fought back the tears. Then called back to her. “You’re mine too.”

I drove away, forcing myself to not look back, then stopped the motorcycle on top of a hill and gasped at the beauty before me. The sun was rising, and I put my sunglasses on and pulled the hood on my hoodie up.

A few late bats zig-zagged through the air above a field of wildflowers. The dazzling colors from the flowers attracted butterflies, and a deer cautiously entered the far end. I heard a wolf howl from the nearby mountains. A red fox darted after some small animal, sending bursts of orange color trailing behind its bushy tail. Life can be beautiful, but can I be part of it. I wasn’t sure.

I knew the risk, if I never drank blood, I would fade away, but if I did, then I would feel like a monster. Maybe, dead animals could be enough. If not, who could kill me to stop me? Roxana? I couldn’t ask her that, perhaps her brother. It was a dark decision, but maybe the best one. I fought back the tears. Wasn’t death a better choice than being a monster?

I focused on the thought of Roxanna and Fangs, and I smiled; they are my best friends. I’d never even had a single friend before. Was this love? Maybe, it would be enough. How could I be a monster if I had a heart? I know I did because it already felt like it could break. I would do anything to protect Roxanna and Fangs and never let anyone hurt them. I think I knew what love was now. It felt good but also scary and may be hard work, but was it worth it. Yes, it was, because despite the danger. I was happy for the first time in my life. I felt my four fangs and then realized I saw the same fangs in one of the pictures of the four queens. I shivered, then headed back to the castle.

I started the motorcycle and sped down the trails with a smile that I wouldn’t be afraid to show in the future.

Four Fangs is copyrighted by William Falo and published with permission by Dear Diary Coffee