Have You Bitten My Brother? 2

20260228

Written for Bradley Ramsey’s “Flash Fiction February Day 28”.

Part 1 was here, and this won't make sense without it.

CW: Discussion of losing a child.

I’m woken by my parents freaking out about the bite marks on my neck. They rush me to hospital before my muzziness clears.
Tests say I’m human. Not even suffering blood loss - though I clearly have been the past two months. The doctors go on about a bunch of my levels being way down. I don’t really grasp it beyond that I need to take the supplements they prescribe and aim for a “high iron diet”. Then they tell me not to give blood for a while.
I assure them that’ll be easy now the sun’s back, then laugh so hard I nearly puke. No idea why. It wasn’t that funny. But once I started I just… couldn’t stop.
A nurse calms me down while the doctor holds a hushed conversation with my parents. Then it’s time for us to leave.
I doze off on the drive home. Never been so tired in my life. But hey, at least I’m alive.
Though, now that my parents have had time to calm down and get angry, that might be about to change.
A pensive, “gathering out thoughts” kinda silence hangs over us as they help me in and get me settled on the sofa with fluids and a blanket and a promise of lunch.
Then mom goes “Why did you-” at the same time dad says “What were you-” and they both falter and look at each other.
“I’m sorry.” I duck my head and scrunch the blanket in my fists. “I know it was stupid. I g-guess it was sort of a dare?”
“A dare?” Mom folded her arms and leant forward. “Who put you up to this?”
“They didn’t - exactly - it was, was Jordan and his friends. They were going on about me having a vampire brother again, and I… I couldn’t stop wondering.”
“They’re still saying that?” Dad looks furious.
“Not as often. Anymore.” I watch them both out of the corner of my eye.
Mom has a hand over her mouth. Her expression is… pained. Not angry. I swear if anything she looks guilty. Why?
She takes a deep breath. “Sweetie, I… I’m sorry we didn’t give you a straight answer when you asked. If I’d known it…” She trails off and buries her face in her hands.
Dad swiftly moves close and wraps an arm around her. For a moment they just hold each other. Then he nudges her towards the hallway, and she mumbles something about getting lunch ready before fleeing the room.
The way dad closes the door behind her and slowly sits on the recliner facing me, I know there’s about to be secrets blown open. Somehow, though, I feel uneasy rather than excited.
“You would have had an older brother called Herman.” Dad’s voice is soft, and flat as a sheet pulled taut. “But, when your mother was eight months pregnant… he stopped moving.”
Oh.
Oh god.
“She knew something was wrong the moment she woke up. We went straight to the hospital. There was… nothing anyone could do. He was already gone.”
I should be horrified. And I am? But in a distant, confused manner. Primarily I feel… disappointed. This was such a, a mundane explanation. The sort of ordinary tragedy which could happen anywhere.
Even, it seemed, a town used as a holiday resort by literal vampires.
“I don’t know where those kids heard about Herman. Maybe it was on people’s minds when we were having you, and someone let it slip around their kids.”
“Did… people know?”
Dad snorts, shoots me a bemused glance. “Of course people knew. When it happens that late, when you’ve been seeing a midwife for months and thrown a baby shower and your parents are on standby to come visit at a moment’s notice… everybody found out what happened.”
“Oh.”
Yeah, that… makes sense. But it also makes it kinda wild that nobody told me. I guess it’s the sort of thing nobody wants to talk about. Except someone clearly did, for Jordan to have that name to throw at me.
“Everyone always told their kids horror stories about what happens if you don’t leave town over the dark period. Maybe someone decided to mix in a little lying about the dead.” Dad’s expression is dour. “Or maybe those brats made that aspect up themselves, out of the general stories. We’d have to ask them.”
“Anyway.” He reaches over and squeezes my arm. “We’re sorry we didn’t tell you sooner. It’s a… a tender subject. Even now. But we shouldn’t have left you in the dark. If we’d had any idea it was bothering you so much… Well. We’re so glad you’re alright.”
I manage a hopefully brave-and-apologetic smile.
“Now. I need to go help your mother. Be right back.”
I’m left in a heavy silence. My tired mind begins to wander.
So Herman never got a chance to become a vampire. Or anything else. I guess it’s better to go in your sleep? Assuming he was asleep when mom was. I don’t know how that works.
Say… since vampires are definitely real… I wonder if spirit boards- nah, that wouldn’t work, no way Herman would be able to spell. Right? Can’t imagine there’s ghost school.
That thought sets me off in crazed giggles again, but I manage to calm myself down.
Still. A whole new world of possibilities has opened before me. I can’t just go back to my normal life now. What did that vampire say? She thought I was a researcher? Of what, vampires? So there’s got to be people like that out there…

Prompt was “Write a continuation/prequel to a story you wrote for this event”.