Yellow Ridge County was one of the myriads of sub-urban communities located in the south-eastern part of Nevada. With its population nearly over two thousand, it was a town ever expanding in size but still remained largely unnoticed amongst most of the local counties across the state. Green poplars were common around the town with bits of pinewood which gave the town a radical sub-urban look. Yellow Ridge boasted of relative peace throughout the year and many acres of arable land which was harvested mainly for growing of wheat, barley and corn; the county's main source of income. As a result, the town was concentrated with large farmsteads virtually everywhere.
The town despite its affiliation for agriculture was an ever growing place which had been filled up with different franchise places over the years, some car dealerships and plans were already underway for the opening of an ultra-mart at the heart of the town. A place where everyone knew each other very well, low crime rates and slow but steady development showed all the positive signs of a bright future for the locals there and the county sheriff who was aiming for his next term in what he termed as years of "kickass progress".
At night, the town was no different. Pubs and bars were a source of interesting nightlife for the townspeople who appreciated the thrill of enjoyment and reckless celebration. However, quiet nights weren't unusual in Yellow Ridge. Excluding the honking of horns by obnoxious late night drivers rushing to the local bar to grab a drink for the night, flared up neighbours arguing, the periodic hooting of owls, howling of dogs, everywhere would be somewhat quiet. This night however, something was off.
The long row of street lights flickered for a moment or two before switching off completely. Nothing moved. Well, nothing living at least. The wind blew slowly and eerily as the night wore on. The silence itself giving the night a deathly sense of alarm.
As if on cue, a single but loud shriek cut the silence in the air and echoed far into the night. A few seconds later, it was followed by another, then another, and another until the entire night was filled with a cacophony of shrieks. The source of the terrible noise eventually came into view; a flight of crows which appeared from nowhere suddenly emerged claiming responsibility for the clatter. What were crows doing in this part of Nevada? And how come nobody had come out to see this display? Were they all sleeping?
The crows kept on shrieking unceremoniously either in glee, horror or maybe a mixture of both, because the volume of the clamor steadily increased until the entire flock landed on the old maple tree right in front of the courthouse.
Just as abruptly as they had begun, they stopped and silence followed again. Something in the ground stirred. At first, it was so slight it was nearly unnoticeable, but then, a part of the tarred road cracked. The crack began to expand engulfing chunks of rocks in it with a deafening sound and shaking the entire town violently whilst forming a large crater. Still, nobody moved. All the streets remained empty.
The shaking gradually subsided, with only black mist drifting slowly from the cracked earth beneath. A crow flew away from the flock, which were still perched majestically on the tree watching this unnatural scene unfold. It hovered above the ground with its joy made obvious by low but delighted shrieks. And then, slowly, a shadow darker than the clear night sky rose out of the ground. It moved so slowly it might've been mistaken for smoke from a cigar, if only there was someone alive to smoke it.
The shadow moved to the shopping district a few blocks away from the courthouse and stopped. In an instant, the shadow transformed and standing where it had been a moment ago was a middle aged man about six feet tall. His appearance showed him to be a Latino with thoroughly toned and refined skin. His black hair laid slick on his head, and his nose pointed with a proper cheek bone structure and other facial traits which made his handsomeness simply breathtaking. He was dressed in a long black overcoat which shielded his fingers which were placed in its pockets. He took a deep breath before opening his eyes at last to reveal nothing but complete darkness. Mechanically, he turned his head from right to left, smiling as he did this and appeared to struggle taking into view what he saw. The crow which had been silently at the mystery man's side then changed into a chubby mid-Eastern man wearing a black turban and leather suit.
"Master," he began in a low voice. "It has been long. I am overjoyed to be finally able to see you again".
His 'master' who had finally acknowledged his presence looked straightly at him and replied in a raspy voice older than time, ancient and powerful, "How many years, no, centuries has it been Raja?"
"Seven centuries master," Raja answered with a hint of sadness in his voice.
"Mmm…," his master mumbled thoughtfully. "Raja?"
"Yes master".
"This place…it seems different".
"Master, since your imprisonment, humanity has advanced and developed just as we knew they would. I dare say they even surpassed our expectations."
"Is that so?"
"Yes m'lord. Many events and technological advancements have taken place over time and have shaped the human race".
"Even the air smells different," he said chuckling slowly.
"Indeed. But no matter how many things change, the plan remains the same".
The mysterious man walked a distance before shouting angrily, in a voice louder than thunder, "Dracula!"
Raja sensing his master's distress sped up to meet him and asked "Are you okay master?"
"Raja, you've done well," he replied nodding his head. "I'm fine, but my power is weakened considerably".
"Please master, use this town to regain some of your strength".
"Very well. Their lives will increase my output even if for a short while only. I will also need to go into hyper sleep to learn about everything which occurred in my absence".
"Yes master".
"In the meantime, proceed with the arrangements as planned".
"I will my lord".
"Seven hundred years then and now could not stop me. Nothing will. Proceed with care and use my toys as you see fit".
"Yes master".
"This may be the first stage but it's the most delicate stage. We can't fail".
"May my corpse rotten in the darkest of hells should I fail master!"
"Go my obedient servant".
"Yes master". With that, the servant Raja once again turned into his crow form and led the flock away, which had been watching the unearthly conversation out of Yellow Ridge, shrieking madly as they did so before they disappeared into the deep of the night.
"And so begins the end," the shadow man said ominously touching the ground and spreading his dark magic into every residential house in Yellow Ridge.
In a town of almost two thousand people, not one of them would live to see the end of this story.
"You however will".