It was dark that night.  Not  just a normal ‘it’s night time’ dark, but a thick, syrupy darkness that dribbled down from the sky and coated every surface, slipped through every crack.  I peered out through the window, shivering as my nose pressed against the cold glass.  I rolled back over, looking at the clock on my nightstand.  2355 hours.  I pull my covers tighter, then flop around on my bed, trying to find sleep.
“Morning won’t come any faster if you don’t go to sleep.”  My sister, Sam, says from her bed.
“I can’t sleep.” I whisper.  “I’m too excited.”
“You say that every year.”
“Well, that's because I’m excited every year.”  I roll my eyes “What’d ya get me?”
“A Brillo pad and a toothbrush.”  Sam deadpans.
I sit up and look over at her still form.  “Seriously?”
She rolls over and I can just catch a glint of light bouncing off of her eyes from the display on my alarm clock.  “You’ll have to find out in the morning, baby sis.”  I can hear the smirk that's on her face.
“Hmph.” I grunt and flop back down onto my mattress.  “Do you think they’re ever gonna go to bed?” Even though it’s been a whole semester since all of us have been home together, some things, like the sound of our parents watching t.v. downstairs, never change.
I hear a slight thump from the corner of the room, and look over to see Sleuth rolling over in his sleep.  Lucky dog.  I wonder what he’s dreaming about.  I open my mouth to ask Sam, see if she has any ideas, when I hear something from downstairs. 
Breaking glass.
A yell from our father, cut off part way through.
Then, nothing but the dull murmur of the t.v.
I feel my breath freeze in my lungs.  “Sam, did you-”
“Yeah, I did.” Sam’s already out of bed.  I see her reaching for her night stand, rifling through the drawer, until she pulls a glinting gun out.  A present from Mom and Dad last year when she turned 21.  “Stay here, I’ll be- what are you doing Max?”
I had rolled off of my bed, and was pulling out the only weapon I owned: my compound bow.  “I’m coming with you.”  I tighten the belt on my quiver, fix the straps on my arm guard, and stand up, coming nose-to-nose with my scowling sister.
“No, you’re staying here.” Sam hisses
“No, I’m coming with you.” I retort, just as quiet
We stand there for half a second, before she rolls her eyes and turns towards the door   “We’re wasting time.”  Sam whispers.
She pulls the door open and slips into the hall, and I follow close behind her.  We reach the top of the stairs, and Sam turns and presses a finger against her lips.  I nod, nocking an arrow, and together we pad down the steps.  As we creep towards the living room, the only thing I can hear over the thumping of my heart in my throat is the sound of cheerful children, singing
“Frosty the Snowman
Was a Jolly, Happy soul
With a corn-cob pipe
And a button nose
And two eyes made out of coal”
The innocent tune made shivers run up my spine.
We stop just out of sight of the living room, and Sam holds up her hand, three fingers extended.  Slowly, she drops them.
One.
Two.
Three!
We step into the living room, and-
Oh.
Oh no.
In the stark, shaky light provided by the t.v. and the lights in the tree, I see four figures.  On the floor lays my father, as lifeless as the presents next to him.  Hunched over his head, with his back to us, is a pale man in ragged clothes, light glinting off of his bald pate.
Another man is lounging on the arm of the couch.  My mother is wrapped in his arms, still and pale.  His teeth are clamped onto the side of her neck, both of them covered in blood.
Oh crap. Holy crap. What is this?  It’s like, like something out of a horror film, this isn’t real, this isnt- this cant be happening- oh they aren't moving, and all that blood, so much-
BANG!  Next to me Sam’s gun barks.  I try to move my arms, to raise my bow and shoot, but I can’t.  I’m rooted to the spot, my arms and legs as useful as lead weights.  The man on the couch releases our mother, letting her sink to the floor in a heap, and turns to look at us.  His pale hair and skin throw a startling contrast against his ruby colored eyes, making them almost glow in the dark.  The front of his shirt is stained dark, and clinging to his chest, and as I watch him his lips curve into an almost handsome smile around jagged, bloody fangs.
Sam fire’s again, and I finally get my deadend arms to function, letting loose an arrow.  I see the man's shoulder jerk as the bullet hits home, see my arrow seem to sprout from his forehead, and expect him to topple.  But he doesn’t.  Slowly it seems, he spreads his fingers wide, and my arrow clatters to the floor.
He caught it.
He-he caught the flipping arrow.
I almost don’t notice him pulling the bullet out of his shoulder as I try to process that he caught the arrow!
“Run.” A gurgling word draws my attention to the floor.  Mom is looking over at me and Sam, one hand pressed against the side of her neck.  She reaches out, barely managing to get ahold of the man's ankle. 
His kick was so strong, and so fast, that I don’t realize what happened until my mother slams back onto the ground.
I see red.
I’m not entirely sure what exactly happened next.  I think I ran at the man, maybe I tried to shoot him once or twice more, but the next thing I know, his hand is around my throat, and I’m being lifted, and I can’t breath, and dark spots burst across my vision.  Then, with a simple, easy flick of his wrist, he sends me flying across the room.
Pain shoots across my face, and I feel myself slide down the corner of a wall.  Blinking spots out of my vision, I press one hand against my throbbing left eye.  I feel a hot stickiness.  A scream draws my attention over to the couch.  The bald man has Sam pinned down.
A shriek wrenches it’s way out of my throat.  I can’t lose Sam too!  I haul myself to my feet, and the room starts to spin.  I struggle to stay upright, leaning on the wall for support.  As everything steadies, I see the man I attacked stalking toward me.  His mouth twists into that cruel smile again, and his tongue runs along his top teeth, savoring the taste of my mothers blood.
I try to think of something, anything, but all of my thoughts are focused on those fangs, those long fangs with serrated edges, and how much is it gonna hurt when those fangs sink into my throat, or will they kill me instantly, or maybe I’ll drown in my own blood, but at least I’ll be with Mom and Dad and Sam, yeah, atleast we all got to go together, sort of, although I wish it didn’t have to be like this and oh gosh he’s so close, I can smell the blood and he’s breathing on my neck and-
There's a flash out of the corner of my eye as something flies over my shoulder and tackles the man.  I see a paw, a pointy ear, a fluffy tail- no wait, two, no four- wait, seven, eight, nine tails waving as the man throws Sleuth off of him.
Wait, what?
Sleuth is a-a Pokemon?
...
What?
Sleuth lands nimbly on all four paws, then zips around the room as a red-brown blur.  He slams into the bald man, who is sent reeling into a buffet.  Decorative plates and chotchkies rain down around him.  Sam slumps to the floor.  My heart skips a beat as shards of china surround her.  I need to get to her.
Between us, the two men and my pet Pokemon (seriously, what the heck?) are circling each other, almost lazily feinting and dodging.  It looks like some type of absurd dance.  Leaning against the wall, I inch my way around the rooms perimeter, praying that the men- no, that those monsters don’t notice me.
I suck in a deep breath, choking back a yelp, as my bare foot comes down on a jagged piece of plate. Ow owowowow ouch!  I look down at the minefield of broken china surrounding my sister, and at the shard that's lodged in my foot, and strangle a scream.  On the ground, she moans and flinches, which sends a shot of hope tingling through my veins.  She’s alive!  I just need to get her out of here to make sure it stays that way.
A yelp from Sleuth draws my attention, and I see he’s been backed into a corner.  One of the monsters, the bald one, slashes at Sleuth, carving a shallow gash in Sleuths shoulder.  Crap.  Quickly, I pull the shard out of my foot (Holy crap that hurt!) and shuffle through the shattered mess, dragging my feet. 
I get to where Sam is lying, but as I reach down to grab her, the room moves like a carnival ride, and I collapse on top of her.  Behind me, I hear the monsters snarling, and I know that they’re going to beat Sleuth, and I can’t stand up straight, and Sam’s hurt, and-
“Cover your eyes Max” A voice cuts through my frantic thoughts, reverberating through my skull.  I slam my eyes shut and bury my face in Sam's shoulder, not caring who said it.  Maybe it’s my subconscious telling me to give up.  I wrap my arm around Sam’s shoulders, pulling close to her, but strangely I don’t feel any blood from when that monster attacked her.
A bright light burns my eyes, shining through my eyelids, and I feel a warm, oppressive heat press against the back of my neck, my bare arms, everywhere.  A horrible, nails-on-a-chalkboard shriek fills the air. I clamp one hand over my ear, and pull Sam closer to me.
As suddenly as it came, the light fades.  I blink my eyes, trying to dispel the dark spots from my vision.  When I can finally see again, Sleuth is sitting in front of me, staring me in the eye.  Nine fluffy tails wave behind him, nearly obscuring a pile of ash from my sight. 
“Can you walk?” The voice echoes in my head again. 
I try to spin my head, to look for the source of the voice, but I end up lying on the ground again.  Or possibly the ceiling.  I can’t tell right now.  Something soft and warm presses against my temple, and suddenly everything stops moving.  I gasp and sit up, nearly headbutting Sleuth
“Is that better?” The voice says.
“Who-who said that?”  My voice squeaks out.
“I did, of course.  What, I’ve lived with you for years and you don’t even recognize me?”
Sleuth gives a little yip, like he’s agreeing with the voice.  Wait a second-
“Sleuth?” I peer at the creature that I one thought of a s a dog.
“At your service.” Sleuth gives a little nod.  Then, he pads around me and nudges one of Sam's arms “She’s been bitten.”
At first I don't know what Sleuth is talking about.  Sam’s neck is as mark free as mine.  Then, I look down at her arm.  One hand flies up to my mouth.  A ragged bite mark is bleeding on her forearm.  “Oh no.”  I look back at Sleuth  “Will she be ok?”
He scratches at his ear “Thats difficult to say”
“What do you mean?”I ask as I tear a strip of fabric from the cuff of my pajama bottoms.  Thanks to whatever Sleuth did, my mind is razor sharp, focused.  Eventhough my trembling limbs and aching face and swirling stomach say that I should not be this calm I should be terrified and probably dead, but, well, whatever.
“I’m not entirelly sure, but she could become a vampire.  Like those two that attacked you.” Sleuth snarls
“Right.  Vampires exist now. Great.”  I tie a makeshift bandage around Sam's arm.  It immediately begins to darken  “That's just- ugh my head hurts.”  A small ach starts to blossom at my temples, cutting through whatever Sleuth did, and I bury my face in my hands and feel the sticky cut on my face.  I feel tears and hysteria start to rise in my gut, and I almost let them come out, until I feel Sam flinch next to me.  I open my eyes and look over at her, my strong older sister lying weak and helpless on the floor of her own home.  She needs me right now.
“Looks like she’s not the only one who’ll  be coming out of this night with a scar.” Sleuth licks my wound, making it sting.
“Yeah, well, that's the least of my problems.”  I look around my home, my gaze catching on the still forms of my parents.  Tears bead my eyes, but I swipe them away before they can form.  I take a shuddering breath.  “You fixed my concussion.  Can you help Sam?  Can you help my parents?” 
Sleuth nuzzles my cheek the same way he always does when I’m upset.  “I’m sorry.  Your parents are beyond help now.  But if you want to help your sister, time is of the essence.”
I scratch Sleuths ears without realizing it.  “What do you mean?”
“I havn’t got the time to explain it here.  But I know a place we can hide.  Do you trust me enough to come with?” Sleuth pulls back and looks at me with large eyes.
“What’ll happen if I-if I don’t go with you?”  I wasn’t seriously considering letting Sleuth leave.  I think I was just stalling, hoping that this would somehow change if I just kept talking.
Sleuth is silent for a moment.  The, quietly, “You’ll lose her.”
I pull Sam closer to me. “No way am I letting that happen!” I snarl.
“Well then.  Do you trust me?”
I stare at him, processing all that he’s said.  I look down at Sam.  Sweat is beading on her brow, and her face is twisted in a tight scowl.  “Yeah.  Yeah, I do. So what do we do, Sleuth?”
He sits back on his haunches and licks his muzzle “Like I said, I’v got a hideout not to far from here.  We can stay for a few days, until Sam is back on her feet.  But you’ll have to carry her.  And it’s a bit of a walk.  Do you think you can do it?”
I clench my teeth and nod “Or die trying.”
Sleuth huffs “Well, seeing as how I just saved your life, let's not let that happen.”
After some struggling, I get Sam situated on my back.  Her arms are draped over my shoulders, and her toes drag across the floor, but it’ll work.  Sleuth comes padding downstairs with the first-aid kit out of the bathroom.  “Thought we’d need this when we get there.”
We head towards the door, and I can see that the sky outside is still dark.  “What makes you think Sam will be up in a few days?”
“After a bite, the victim will be fine for three days, and then either die suddenly or become a vampire.”
“Oh.”  I look over at the clock above the t.v.  2415.  I crane my neck to look back at Sam  “Merry Christmas Sam.”  I whisper.  I consider turning off the t.v., but that would mean walking past both of my parents.  So I leave with a merry little tune still floating through the air.
“And he waved goodbye
Sayin’ ‘Don’t you cry!
I’ll be back again someday!’”