You are awakened from sleep by the sound of soft footfalls in the dark. Someone - or something - is approaching your bed. Your heart pounds and you lie motionless on your back, straining to see into the dark yet terrified of what might be revealed. You see nothing. The footfalls come closer. They sound like shoes being dragged across velvet. Slow. Deliberate.

You sense a presence but still see nothing. Your chest aches. You sweat. The presence takes on a tangible feel. It looms closer, an ink stain barely perceptiblein the night. It eminates energy. The energy is evil. A disgusting smell fills the air.

Suddenly you are pressed into the bed by an enormous weight upon your chest. The air is slammed from your lungs, and the weight is so heavy you can scarcely take in new air. You feel you are suffocating. You try to struggle, to scream out, but your limbs are paralyzed and the scream strangles in your throat. You see a shape on top of you, and my God, it isn't human! Two red eyes glare at you. You are wild with fear that this thing is going to kill you. And you are powerless to save yourself or summon help.

Taken from Vampires Among Us by Rosemary Ellen Guiley