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Beware the Vampires, by Doug Bartlett

23/9/2022

 
What story shall I write for Halloween? I am thinking of writing about a witches’ coven , but nothing seems to come to mind and time is evaporating as the foreboding deadline quickly approaches.

I retire to bed and am awakened at 3 a.m. from a deep slumber with a great thirst. As I travel from my bedroom to the kitchen I get a sense of being surrounded by vampires, it’s as if I’m being watched. Everything at this time should be dark, but there are mysterious glows of light throughout the entire house. They seem to be leading me straight to the refrigerator.

There was a slight glow from the alarm clock which gave me just enough light to allow me to reach the bedroom doorway.Then there was a glow of light which was emanating from the thermostat in the hallway. It was almost acting as a nightlight for me. I went by my office and glanced inside to see a glow coming from my computer screen. As I walked through the living room the television had a small light on at the bottom of the screen emitting just enough light to get me to the kitchen. Once there, several glows appeared, the clock light on the oven, the clock light on the microwave and the refrigerator door which could dispense water and ice, which was my goal. This journey I had just completed did not require me to flip any light switches on.

Yes, thanks to all these vampires…..all these electrical devices that suck electricity from the power company 24 hours a day, 7 days a week I did not have to turn on any lights. Look at all the energy I saved myself and the world.

Perhaps from now on I’ll keep a bottle of water on my nightstand….. but then I wouldn’t have gotten my Halloween story.
​
Mike Uptain
23/9/2022 04:54:27 pm

Maybe I’ll come over and throw your main breaker to solve your dilemna!

Good one Doug!

Doug
23/9/2022 05:24:58 pm

Thanks Mike. I think that's what my governor is threatening to do.

Michael Borjon
23/9/2022 06:56:57 pm

Clever story Doug, somehow I expected a different twist at the end, like the thirst you had was for blood, and you turned out to be the vampire.
So you surprised me… Enjoyed the read!!

Doug
23/9/2022 07:51:07 pm

Thanks Mike.

Angela Carlton link
23/9/2022 09:16:46 pm

I agree, I didn't see this coming...clever.

Doug
23/9/2022 09:20:56 pm

Thank you so much Angela. I appreciate your comment.

Jim Bartlett link
24/9/2022 12:32:25 am

Ah, but can all those clock lights and the computer screen be seen in a mirror?
Amp pires!
Fun
Jim

Doug
24/9/2022 12:55:42 am

Thanks Jim, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Sue Clayton
24/9/2022 03:25:08 am

Brilliantly creative. They may not suck blood from veins but these vampires do suck blood from the environment.

Doug
24/9/2022 05:14:54 am

They also suck money from the pocketbook. Thank you Sue for that nice compliment.

Dee Lorraine
24/9/2022 04:34:21 am

You had me going all the way to the end, Doug. Excellent story.

Doug
24/9/2022 05:16:27 am

Thank you so much Dee, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Robert P. Bishop
24/9/2022 02:26:06 pm

Doug...good one. I expected a vampire to leap out of the fridge screaming, "I vant to trink your blood!" Cool story.

Doug
24/9/2022 05:35:13 pm

Thanks Robert. Glad you enjoyed it.

Marjan Sierhuis
24/9/2022 07:46:27 pm

A nifty story, Doug.

Doug
24/9/2022 09:27:22 pm

Thank you Marjan.

Chuck
24/9/2022 09:51:00 pm

They lurk so patiently, always there.

Doug
24/9/2022 11:11:02 pm

Lurk is a good descriptor Chuck.

Fliss Zakaszewska
24/9/2022 10:53:22 pm

Clever story, Doug and so true (certainly in the UK where energy prices are up by more than 50%). These little 'glimmers' that are sucking up energy from the environment but money out of my pocket such are the diabolical hikes in energy prices (UK at least). Great twist at the end.

Hope you don't mind if I share it on Twitter. It's great.

Doug
24/9/2022 11:12:29 pm

Thank you very much Fliss and feel free to share it.


Comments are closed.

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