Jake and I have been friends for years. We grew up next door to each other. He was two years older than me and was like a brother. We got into a lot of mischief in our neighbourhood. It started out with innocent and silly pranks on some of the kids from school. But a few times Jake and I got into serious trouble as our antics began to escalate. I know what we were doing was wrong but Jake was always able to convince me that it was okay. Actually I think I let him convince me.

 Jake and I really didn’t hang out that much once he started high school. He had his own group of friends that were around his age. He’d let me join them occasionally but I never felt comfortable. We kinda lost touch for a couple of week until one Friday afternoon Jake stopped me on the way home from school.
“Hey, where have you been?” Jake asked.

“I’ve been busy with school and basketball practice ” I answered.

“Let’s hang out tonight. We’ll grab some ‘za and hit the arcade.”

“Alright!” I gladly accepted.

We grabbed a couple of slices of pizza and walked around town. There was a lot of awkward silences as it was evident that Jake and I didn’t have the strong bond we once had. He also kept texting back and forth with his high school buds which was annoying.

“Whoa! Look at that car!” Jake exclaimed. “Looks like something out of a horror movie!”

“Yeah, it’s pretty creepy. Well, let’s get going” I interrupted.

“C’mon man! Where’s your sense of adventure? The car is running and there’s nobody around. Let’s go for a joyride!”

Against my better judgement I got into the car as we sped out of the parking lot. It was freezing cold inside the car but as I tried to adjust the air conditioner I noticed that the car didn’t have any. A strange wooden box kept sliding around in the spacious backseat. After a few minutes I decided that I had enough and asked Jake to turn around.

“Wish I could Griffin but if I didn’t know better I’d swear this car was driving itself!”
I started getting nervous about what was happening. What was in that box anyways? And did I even want to find out?

As we continued to drive down the street I noticed that it was starting to get dark outside. It was only 6 p.m. but the sun had set as darkness fell upon the city.
“Can you call somebody?” I nervously inquired.

“My cellphone isn’t working. I charged it before we left but now the screen is completely dark.”

I was starting to panic as the car began to pick up speed. The entire time we were in the car it felt as though we were being watched. I felt as though there was somebody or something else in the car.

I kept looking in the rear view mirror but didn’t see anything. And yet I couldn’t shake that feeling that there was something in the backseat or trunk. A wooden box began to bounce around uncontrollably in the back.
“Take a look in the backseat Griff. I would but I’m, um, driving” Jake stammered.

“No you’re not! Oh, whatever!” I huffed as I slowly turned around to find out what was in the box. But it wasn’t an ordinary box. It was a coffin! Before I could tell Jake an eerie creature rose from the backseat like a scene out of a scary movie.

We arrived outside of a big cave made of craggily rocks.

“Follow me. You two mortals have been summoned by The Queen for a purpose greater than yourselves.”

“Wait, are you Voldemort? I love the Harry Potter movies and you look just like him” I mused.

“I’m not Voldemort! I’m a vampire and now if you’ll follow me into The Bat Cave, immortality awaits!” the creature responded.

“Bat Cave? So you’re Batman now?” Jake chuckled.

“It’s just a coincidence. Now silence yourselves and follow me.”

The vampire lead us through a long dark tunnel that was filled with bats.  Some of them flew down and got caught in our clothes and hair. Eventually we made our way to a dank, dingy dungeon.

“You will wait here until The Queen summons for you” the vampire ordered before slamming a heavy wooden door on his way out. Jake and I paced around the dungeon as we worried about what the group of vampires had in store for us. I never should gotten into that darn car. If I make it out of here I’m going to start standing up for myself more often.

Before we could hatch an escape plan the vampire arrived to take us to what he called ‘The Ceremony.’

“Where are you taking us?” I inquired.

“You are going to be presented before our Queen, Moringa. She is an 800 year old vampire. You will be transformed from mere mortals to eternal creatures of the night. You will live forever, have superhuman strength and be impervious to pain. At first I was reluctant to join but eventually I was convinced to enter a dark new world of limitless power.  I was no longer a wimpy 15 year old named Jonathan Durham. Now I’m an invincible vampire named Solar.”

As we entered The Queen’s lair, a large group of vampires dropped from the ceiling. They had been hanging upside down where they slept for hours waiting for The Queen to wake them from their slumber.

“Your Highness, may I present Jake Riley and Griffin Christian, our newest recruits.”

“What do you think Griff?” Jake whispered under his breath.

“I don’t know. I’m not too keen on becoming a one of them. It sounds like a dreary existence.”

“C’mon, don’t chicken out on me. I’m going to do it. Being a vampire would be rad!”

As Jake started to walk towards The Queen, I began to step back.

“C’mon Jake! You’re embarrassing me. Join us!” Jake screamed at me.

“I don’t know” I stammered.

“Join us! Join us!” a collection of vampires urged as they began to surround me.

“No!” I hollered back at them.

As I curled up in the corner overwhelmed by the aggressive vampires, a massive flurry of bats frantically flew out of the cave.

“Oh no! They’re here!” The Queen growled.