Jedidiah ran as fast and hard as his little legs would allow. He ran through the moonlit forest, doing his best to shield his face from branches and limbs in his path.

"Just keep running, Jed”, was what his father and mother had told him before he left home.

'If you stay in one place for too long, you'll be dead before you know it. You must make it to the marked tree. You'll know what to do from there.' It was still chasing him, crashing through the trees without any hint of stealth. Not that the creature was all that concerned with being stealthy. As far as it was concerned, nothing else was quite as dangerous in the woods that night. It cried out into the darkness.

"Meat! I want my meat!"

Jed felt his heart thud in his chest at the sound of his pursuer. 'Got to keep moving. Can't let it get me,' thought Jed doing his best not to panic. He kept running until he was at the edge of a clearing. He spotted a single tree in the middle and ran towards it, checked the side, and found two initials carved there, C.D.

"I'm in the right place, Jed thought. But I have to hurry”. He was still being tracked, still being hunted.

Jed dashed through the rest of the clearing, checking every other tree for the initials C.D. He followed them to his destination, a cave entrance. Remembering what his parents had told him, he followed the instructions for this part of his journey. Jed went to the opening. He gave three short whistles, three long, and clapped three times.

As Jed waited in the darkness, he wiped the sweat and his curly brown hair out of his eyes while his shirt stuck to him like a second skin. He waited and listened for the creature to catch up. 'Don't be afraid. You're safe. She'll protect you, Jeb kept reminding himself.

It wasn't long before he felt two sets of claws snatch him off the ground by the straps of his overalls. The monster took a long and large inhale as he smelled the top of Jed's head.

"Hello Meat!" whispered Jed's captor. The monster was many things: unkempt and wild-looking, and the tattered remains of its clothes were covered in layers of dirt and grime from the woods. Its breath was a black, stink cloud of death, reeking of every decayed and spoiled thing that had been eaten. Jed had to breathe through his mouth just to tolerate it. Not to mention that the monster was tall; too tall for Jed's liking who had no affection for heights whatsoever.

"You are mine now!" the nighttime terror growled as his fangs started to extend and trace along Jedidiah's appetizing neck. The vampire paused and examined his meal closely and listened to his heartbeat. It was calm and steady. Something was wrong. He inspected the small, brown-skinned child, and stared into his amber eyes very closely.

"What's wrong, Boy? Don't you know I'm going to drink you dry of your blood and gnaw on your bones?" He poked Jed in the head with his finger as he demanded a response. Jed remained silent and waited. The vampire groaned in frustration.

"Useless Meat! Too stupid to be afraid!" It was then that they both heard a low rumbling sound coming from the cave. With Jed still in his grasp, he backed away from the mouth of the cave.

"Who's there? I know you're hiding!" His shout was met with silence. "This is my meat, and I'm not sharing!" Again, his protests were met by only the sounds of the night. He sniffed the air coming from the cave. It was old, earthen, and damp. From deep within the cave there came a voice.

"I don't want him... I want you." The voice sounded low and full of bass; it wasn't even remotely human. It felt like the voice was coming from all directions, including directly inside his head. If the vampire's heart still pumped blood, it would have run cold. He suddenly realized what was speaking to him.

While his captor was dealing with the fact that he was no longer the scariest, or even most dangerous predator in the woods that night, Jed carefully unclasped the sharpened tipped gold cross on a chain his mother had given to him from around his neck that had been hidden underneath his shirt, and plunged it into the vampire's arm. He fell to the ground with an awful thud as the former hunter cried out in pain.

A purple-colored tentacle, the same shade as a bruise shot out of the cave and wrapped itself around the leg of the vampire.

With a sharp tug, he fell onto his back and was dragged into the deepest darkest parts of the cave. For the next few minutes, all Jed heard were tortured screams and limbs being torn apart, and then; nothing. Jed walked up to the entrance and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Did you get it?"

There came a quick reply, the same voice from before. "Yes... I got it." Another purple tentacle came out and tussled Jed's hair. "Are you alright, are you hurt?" asked Jed's guardian angel.

"I'm all right, but what did you think? How did I do?" Jed was so eager for her approval and didn't bother hiding it.

"Oh, you did very well for this being your second time, and all by yourself! Your parents would be so proud of you."

Jed beamed and said, "Thank you, Ms. Cave Dweller."

"Please tell your father I'm sorry he twisted his ankle the other night, I hope he recovers soon. Also, be sure to tell your mother congratulations on her pregnancy, I'm sure it will be a beautiful birth."

"I will, Ms. Cave Dweller. I should head home now, my mom said she'd meet me at the edge of the woods."

"Wait!" she called as he turned to leave. Another tentacle emerged from the cave as she returned his mother's cross, slick with black oily blood.

"I thought you might want this back."

Jed smiled at the treasured keepsake. "Thank you, goodnight," Jed said as he waved goodbye and made his way home.

'What a sweet and helpful young boy' Ms. Cave Dweller thought as she settled in for a nice long rest to digest her most recent prey.