The Haunted Land

I created this story for personal reasons and had to think of it rather quickly. I hope you like it!

It was a warm, cloudy and humid day in the country known as Greece, which was now nearing the end of another blistering hot summer. A forboding wind passed through the seemingly empty Greek city known as Στοιχειωμένο Οικόπεδα, which translated would mean Haunted Land, and for good reason. There wasn't a living soul to be seen throughout the town; the place had been stripped to the bone of any human life. Not even a single tree or flower of any sort could be spotted from at least ten miles away from the city. The land itself seemed to wheeze from pain as new creatures had arrived, terrifying all the locals that had once made their homes and families there. Some of the animals that none of the humans could name took to the skies and breathed vast amounts of fires and toxens to the civilians below, which were later to be known as δράκους to the Greeks. The townsfolk were mortified but outlasted their fire, creating shelters and special fire proof objects to protect themselves from the harmful gasses when outside or receiving cover. Then creatures of land came, sneaking into the homes of humans and stealing their belongings, sometimes even their smallest children and feeding them to their own beastly families that housed themselves in a nearby mountain or cave. The city had become a place writhering with serpents and monsters of all kinds, void of any natural life aside from a few cats and rats that they feasted on when given the opportunity.

On this dreadful and dark night, new clouds set into place as a single sign of life walked through the dark center of the small city; it was a little girl, not seeming to be over the age of seven. She sang a Greek lullaby to herself as she walked, though something was different and unusual, as any passerby could tell; she was singing in only minor tones. She sang it without a single flaw as she walked with her hands behind her back and stared up at the sky. It was beautiful... and so was she. She wore a black cloak made of rather old fabrics with the aged designs of  green snakes trickling down her arms. Her feet were bare, even over the old, dried asphalt that someone had tossed onto the streets before the desertion. She looked over the area with hard but gentle green eyes, her long, black hair flowing gently in the warm August breeze. She had no shadow to portray any realty of herself. The creatures gazed out from their lairs, mostly from abandoned buildings and dark alleys that hadn't been touched by human hands in decades. She sang still, swaying back and forth as a skinny and sickly black cat crossed her path. It caught her gaze and let out a sharp, terrified hiss of despair and tried to run, but it was too late. She'd already seen it and lunged forward, her eyes widening and beginning to shift to a dark red. She grabbed its tail and lifted the poor feline above her head; anyone listening from outside the alley she had trapped it would swear they heard the crunching of bones as it slithered down past her unnaturally sharp teeth, now covered in blood. She walked out of the alley with a smile and began singing once again. Then she mumbled something in Greek beneath her breath; "My creatures... where are your meals? Where is the blood and souls of their putrid bodies? Have they gone again?" her voice sounded as soft as the wind swirling leaves with a cool fall breeze. The beasts exited their homes and gathered above and around her, howling loudly. She watched them with a devine smirk, knowing they had come to worship and do as she pleased. When she was hungry, they would fetch her a fresh kill. When she was cold or tired, they would push forward one of their own to to be stripped of its skin and used as a coat or a blanket for herself to walk and to rest in. No matter what the command, the brutal monsters would obey.

She had created this city for one purpose; to feed. Her life lasted eternities and could travel far beyond that, but not if she had no blood to drink and flesh to feast. She needed the humans to support her life, which was why she drew them to this city. Some of the people later called her a κορόιδο αίματος, or a blood sucker. The modern term would later be known as vampire. She laughed cruelly under her breath and spoke again: "Don't fear, my dear children..."  she whispered, stroking the head of a large, black winged beast nearby. "They'll be back... and I'll be here when they do. Don't fear." the creatures all howled at once, the sound resonating throughout the entire city. She let out a howl and matched their horrible cries, sending their shill scream even further into the night. The moon seemed to quake from behind the clouds, sending small amounts of light in every direction throughout the sky as though the noise had worried even the mighty goddess Artemis into a frenzy of fright. She looked out at all the creatures with blood red eyes and a sly smile, once again showing her bloodstained teeth from the earlier kill.  Then she was gone in a torrent of shadows and silence followed, all the creatures and shadows retreating to their hiding places till their next meal. She left no trace of ever being there, not so much as a footprint.

The humans came and went as they pleased, attracted by the emptyness and wholesomeness of the town itself. But they never came out again, swallowed by the darkness and stolen by the demons of the dark. The last thing they would see before their demise would be that little girl, smiling to reveal her pointed teeth. Then nothing... only black.

Author's Note

I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on the story! Thanks!