Dreams from the archives: The Vampire

This is a dream I had when I was a child, probably under 10 years old. I was part of a large community of people who were living in a camp of some sort. Out in the wilderness there was a big clearing surrounded by trees. In the middle of the clearing was a deep circular pit dug into the ground. It was maybe 100 yards across and 50 feet deep. Inside the hole there were wooden bunks constructed around the perimeter of the circle. It looked like scaffolding, and the bunks were about four to five levels high. There were probably a few hundred people in the community, living in this hole in the ground. One night I was getting into my bed in one of the upper bunks, as were many others. As I pulled my blankets over me, I looked across the pit and saw someone directly across from me. Lying down in his bed was a vampire, who was looking directly at me. His eyes burned with hunger and menace and he bared his teeth at me like he was ready to attack. It was terrifying. I lay frozen in my bed. I didn’t have any family living with me, and I knew that I was utterly alone and now the target of this predator. He would come for me. Maybe that night, maybe another night. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his stare, and his gaze was fixed on me. He didn’t blink, he didn’t move. He just laid there, waiting.