This world was not ours anymore. It all started with a mistake, a suggestion perhaps but something so sinister and deadly that it left this world quaking with fear. Everyone looked over their shoulders now, everyone rushed home before the sun fell to the horizon.

Death lingered everywhere. The icy cold grip of the afterlife was always waiting for us, one mistake and death would take us. No one mourned the dead, more grateful that it was someone else rather than them.

Rules were different now, the government made employers compliant to the changes that had occurred in our world and failure to comply was met with terrible punishment. The government believed that they needed everybody alive and they weren't prepared to risk even one person. Employers were always compliant, I was yet to hear of someone who wasn't. Mostly due to their own fear, they'd shut their shops when the sun started to set.

There wasn't a care for a customer that might be mid-purchase, just boot them out the door and then lock it. Though it was rare to see anyone venturing out to go shopping so close to dusk. Midday was the peak time for doing anything and everything. The sun was at its highest and it was the opportune time to get life done.

I've never liked the gloomy days, the overcast sky and the drabness to the surroundings that the winter months gave. There was something about the sunny and bright days that was so refreshing and tantalizing, so perfect. So safe.

Winter was hell on the government and their rules, the sun would set so much earlier which meant that our time roaming the land was short. Moreover, it was hell on us as well. I knew a lot of people that bought their stock in surplus during the last days of summer, only venturing out of their homes to go to work. I was yet to submit to that way of life, my neighbor always said it would happen one day soon. I'd get prepper fever. It was similar to the doomsday preppers but different. Different in the way that our doomsday wasn't a cataclysmic disaster, it was something that was alive.

It walked. It breathed. It drank blood.

They could have the blood of anything but their favored food was humans. We were like a delicacy to them. We were an addiction.

Hiding from them didn't mean their demise, they survived on any form of blood but for the long term, they needed to feast upon what pumped inside humanity.

Fights began, sides were formed and it created an unholy mess. Some said that the creature needed to integrate into society and find an alternative food source rather than killing humans. Others said that the creature needed to be exterminated before it plagued the Earth. If only they'd listened to them.

But even in despairing times, hope can be found. It is said that the creatures cannot form a path for their future. They fight between themselves, bickering over the stupidest things. Of course, not all things are stupid. They cannot agree on anything and I often hear the ungodly fights that erupt late at night.

They fight, yet they were civilized. I'd even go so far as to say that they were classy. There was an elegance to them that we could not match. I'd seen a few walking down my street and it was like watching a show for the refined and well dressed.

Many feared them, it was justified but in a way, it was unnecessary too. The creature lusted for our blood but they never broke into our homes to get to us. We had bars and locks, we had alarms and spotlights but they were all pointless. No one had ever suffered an attack in their own home. No, the creature always took the fool that dared to step out of their home of a night. Sometimes it was sheer luck on their part, sometimes they watched the repeated foolishness. I was not a fool yet with the weather turning, I was going to be in trouble soon. At least I wouldn't be the only one. 

I was in a line at the government registration building. I could find the positive in the situation, I was at the top of the line and I'd be on my way soon enough unlike the poor saps behind me.

A guard began shutting the windows, dragging the bleak view away from us.

"Closing time people, turn around and go home."

He looked at me with a heavy frown.

"Go home."

"I can't, today is my last day."

If I didn't sign up by my eighteenth birthday, I'd receive a heavy fine, the likes of which I couldn't afford because I didn't have a job or any money. I'd put this day off because it didn't thrill me and I was not looking forward to the future.

The guard huffed, grabbing my arm and dragging me to an empty window. He tapped on the Perspex window.

"End date." He called out to the man that was trying to ignore him.

His eyes lifted and warily looked at us, quietly he nodded and lifted from his seat. Now that I was about to be dealt with, the guard turned and continued to usher everyone out of the building.

"Name?" The man drawled out slow.

"Emmeline Graham, eighteen today."

"Precinct and building?"

"West, eighty-seven."

The man tapped away at his computer, furiously trying to get this over and done with. Every few seconds, his eyes would glance to the diminishing view of the outside world. He could stay here overnight but it wasn't a guarantee that it was safe like the housing buildings were. The government spent a lot of money creating a mass population but did nothing for their safety and certainly nothing was done to keep the businesses safe. Seen as unnecessary because they were only open during daylight hours, these places were lockable but easily broken into. If that happened of course.

What I was doing right now and had to do today because I'd put it off for as long as I could, was registering to become a breeder. Yes, like a good citizen I was doing what was expected of me. It was a young person's duty to sign up for this program and do their part for the war. Breed and create life. The war against the creature was fought on the military front but for the longevity of our race, the government ordered all the young people into the breeding program.

Our goal was to create the future. We would be coupled together for approximately fifteen years where it was expected that we create at least two children together. More was preferred but two was the minimum. After that, the male would be reassigned and the female was left to raise the children until they were eighteen. She could sign up for another partner to create more children but it wasn't expected.

When the youngest child turned eighteen, the woman would enter the workforce and would continue to be employed until she dropped dead or was taken by the creature. No retirement, no love, no marriage. Just create the future to fight the ongoing battle.

To me, it felt like a cage that I would never escape from. The thought of having children had been drummed into me for years so, I'd grown up always believing that I'd be a mother. Now that I'm actually here, it was daunting. Could I look after a helpless child and keep the creatures away? This was not a life worth living, I hated being told what to do. The government was foolish if they thought that this was their answer.

There was a rumor going around that we were losing and that's why the government was forcing us into the breeding program, why they were doing everything within their power to protect us. If it were true then I'd say that the government had a lot to answer for.

"Doctor's clearance?"

I handed over the form, the man unfolded it and ran the edge of it through the scanner. It was a long line of codes that told the computer everything that it needed to know about me and who would be ideal for me.

He set the paper onto the bench, picking up a large metal stamp to mark it with. The printer began to whirr as it came to life, clunking as it struggled to pull the paper through. As he scribbled notes on my doctor's clearance, the man looked up at the windows again. The shutters were down and the lights were being turned off.

A long line of sweat trickled down past his temple, panic set in. I turned and watched the security shutter going down, bathing the room in the fluorescent light that hummed overhead.

"Tomorrow you need to go to this place."

The piece of paper was pulled from the printer, the man circled an address that was about two blocks from where I lived.

"Give them this and they'll set up a meeting with your partner. Any issues, talk to them, not us."

My doctor's certificate was stapled to the back of the printout and passed back to me.

"That's it. Good luck getting home."

"Thanks, you too."

He nodded grimly. At least he would have a car, all government employees did. I, however, had to walk. As I scurried to the door, the guard stopped me.

"Here, take this. If you have to, just spray and run."

The tiny can of pepper spray looked like it wouldn't hold much but it would be enough.

"Thanks."

"Not a problem."

Like the rest of the people in this place, he offered a grim look that was barely a smile. If we made it home without an issue, we should be thankful. At this hour, the brave creatures would be venturing out. Dicing with death, not scared of the sun that would burn their skin.

There might only be a few but it was enough. They made it quite clear that they owned the night and if we were stupid enough to go beyond our front door then it was fair game. Or if in my case, being stuck outside on an overcast afternoon.

The sun usually set an hour from now and any other day, I would have been fine. Except that the weather had turned suddenly and now I had to run home. 

As he locked the glass door and pressed the button for the door shutter, the guard gave me a grim smile and then flicked his head. Go home. With a huff of frustration, I turned to the street. Lights were turning on even though the sun was still out. It was low enough to trigger the sensor, it was also the final warning for us. Get home now or you are dead.

I ran the block, quickly looking around before running to the other side of the street. No matter how much it hurt, I persevered. I had to get home. This was my fault, I only had myself to blame. I'd put it off for as long as possible and when it came to the final day, I slept in.

By the time I reached my street, I was out of breath and I had a cramp in my side. I was almost there but fear gripped me because I could see that the gate was locked. Running to my building, I rattled the gate and called out to the building manager.

He'd shut the gate earlier than he should have and now I was on the outside at the worst possible time. I yelled out but I knew that he wouldn't hear me. He always turned his television up so that he didn't have to listen to the victims of the creatures. And even if he could hear me, I knew that he wouldn't open the gate.

It was too risky. A creature could be hiding in the shadows, waiting to pull him out. I could be a newly created creature because yes, that was possible. That is of course if the creature wanted their potential victim for company rather than a meal. Bargaining rarely worked. Once their mind was set on the future for their victim, nothing would sway them.

With a heavy sigh, I rested my forehead on the cold metal gate and let the sadness wash over me. I was dead, there was nowhere safe. Looking around the street, I saw the same thing. Locked gates, metal bars over the windows. No one was interested in helping.

"Well, what do we have here?"

My body tightened to the sound of a deep voice, amused with a hint of malevolence. Warily I turned to the man, gliding my gaze up the tall and narrow frame. Dressed in a black leather trench coat, he looked like something out of a Gothic slayer movie. It was odd considering that vampires detested slayers with a passion.

But this creature was something else, he stood still with his dark smile, staring at me with the sharp gaze. Either he liked to taunt his meal or I wasn't going to be a victim.

"Locked out." I murmured, casually trying to find the can of spray that the guard had given me.

It was at the bottom of my bag.

The creature tilted his head, narrowing his gaze.

"I thought humans were loud yet you seem to favor the ground with your words."

"Not all humans are loud."

"The ones near where I live are." He said dryly.

This was the strangest moment in my life. Faced with a creature that was certain death and here I was having a conversation with him.

"You know that you cannot stay here, right?"

I nodded uneasily.

"And no amount of pleading is going to get the gate opened for you."

"Yeah," I said softly.

"Then perhaps I can help you with the burden that weighs upon your shoulders."

The creature smiled, wicked and depraved, showing the fangs that everyone feared. I stared at them, waiting for them to be sunk into my neck. As the creature stepped closer to me, all I could think of was that at least in death, I wouldn't be forced into the breeding program anymore.