The wind whistled through the trees, making the wooden walls of the shack groan and shift. Samuel flinched at every little sound, wondering if this would be his final resting place..

His hands and feet were numb.. the air was so cold, and the wooden shack did little to keep the freezing air at bay. He was sat on the floor, his knees pulled up to his chest.. wearing dark pants that were torn and dirty.. and a sweater that dwarfed his small frame.

Twenty minutes ago, Samuel had been dragged out of his crumbling family home.. and told he was going to be this year’s sacrifice.

Ten minutes ago, he was led through the snowy forest, and locked inside the old wooden shack.

Now, he was waiting until the fabled Vampire Lord came to get him.. and either drain him of all of his blood.. or make him his eternal blood bank..

Every fifty years, someone was chosen to be sacrificed to the Vampire Lord that resided in the ancient manor in the forest. It was an agreement made between the villagers and the Lord, to keep the villagers safe from constant attacks.. and in exchange, the Lord got one young person from the village. What he did with them, no one knew. But none of the previous sacrifices had ever been heard from again.. So Samuel had little hope he’d live much longer..

It was then that everything seemed to go quiet.. the wind stopping, and the shack stilling.. Samuel knew this was it for him.. The Vampire Lord was here..