The Strays

In the modern day, humans have advanced to heights that never could have been forseen by our ancestors. We have accomplished incredible feats of technology, medicine, and art. We have mastered the ability to create our own path, founding religions, civilizations and ideals. And for the millions of years our species has existed on Earth, we have grown our strength to become the dominant species on the planet.   Or so we told ourselves.   Through all the time that has passed, one thing still haunts humankind. Spoken in hushed whispers between elders or told dramatically around campfires, tales of monsters have long frightened us. Stories of creatures with claws and fangs, who rend flesh from bone as easily as tearing paper. But those are only fairy tales made to keep our children in line.   So why then have these stories persisted for hundreds of years? The panic at the utterance of the word "vampire"? The fear evoked by stories such as that of Black Annis or Vlad the Impaler? Perhaps our ancestors were merely paranoid. Or...perhaps someone is very good at hiding. Are these monsters hostile? Or do they just want to live in peace?