Tearing Off My Skin

Tuesday, October 6th, 2026

Albemarle County, Charlottesville, Virginia

2:00 am

Silence surrounds the night; the air has a cold heart. No cars roaming the streets or a person in sight. All of the stores are closed. The nearby neighbors are sound asleep. The sidewalks are filled with trash. There are feral cats fiddling around with the litter. Some cars are parked on the curb, including a Charlottesville Police Dodge Charger. Flashing lights of red, white, and blue are not on.

Two caucasian male Police officers are inside the car.

Officer Chris Hudson—who is twenty-nine years of age—worked with Charlottesville police for two years. His hair is ginger, he is heavyweight, and he hates being called or referred to as a ginger.

Officer Brian Bowers—who is thirty-eight years of age—worked for the station for a decade. He won numerous of Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police and Foundation (VACP) awards. Some of those awards include for Valor, Lifesaving, and Outstanding Contribution to Law Enforcement (OCLE). His hair is brown, he has a average sized body with some bulky muscles, and he is happily married with Ashley Bowers. He is also raising Andy Bowers, who is five-years-old.

Officers Bowers and Hudson have been partners for over a month. Their job is to watch over Albemarle county during night times, because it is known for murders and suspicious behaviors.

Officers Bowers and Hudson are inside the car, listening to the radio for reports.

[Heavy yawn]

The yawn came from Chris, who is sitting in the passengers seat. He is feeling drowsy; his baggy eyes are heavy as he is resisting slumber. Brian is helming the drivers seat. He is drinking a latte macchiato he bought from Starbucks to keep him awake. He takes a couple of sips from his coffee cup. He then hears a loud snore and snort coming from besides him.

He witnesses his partner falling asleep with his head leaning on the window. He snickers quietly as he thinks of a comical method to rouse him up. He puts his latte macchiato in the cup holder. He grabs the control box and activates the air horn.

The cacophonous sound startled Chris, which made him let out a high-pitched shriek.

Brian is dying of laughter; Chris is irritated that his partner rudely awakened him. He adjusts his posture and turns his head to face him.

“What the hell was that for?” he frustratingly asks.

Brian is still laughing, but he calms himself down to answer his question.

“Look... I know it’s two in the morning and you are very tired. I am weary as well, but we have a job to accomplish.” he answers.

“That’s the problem, it’s two in the morning! I want to go back home, lay down on the bed next to my girlfriend, snuggle her, and drift off to sleep. Not be stuck with you in the dark and witnessing nothing.” he says in a annoyed tone.

“Grow up! It’s not the end of the world. You will see your girlfriend again and sleep on the bed. But we got direct orders to watch this area.” he retorts.

“Look at the window and tell me what do you see?” he asks.

Brian looks at the window to check what is outside.

“Do you see anything?” he asks.

“Well... I see stores that are closed. I also see feral cats searching for food. Lastly, I see a lot of trash on the floor.” he observes.

“Did you see any suspicious behavior or a person in sight?” he solicits him.

Brian stops looking at the window, facing his partner again.

“No!” he replies.

“See... That proves my point that this job is a load of shit! Who actually thought that this was a good idea? We’re the police! There are more thrilling jobs that we could effectuate than neighborhood watch.” he explains.

Brian feels that his partner is exasperating him, so he puts him in his place.

“Look here, you ginger hair fuck! We had direct order from the commissioner himself and i am not going to disobey him. So you better stop this attitude or els-”

Chris interrupts him.

“Or else what? Just because you have all these awards and the state of Virginia loves to jerk you off, that doesn’t mean you will treat me like a child. Also do not disrespect gingers, we are delicate creatures.” he stands up to him.

“You are so pathetic and foolish! The reason why I got these awards, not because I am the best, but I risk my life everyday to save others. Yeah... You may have saved lives as well, but you haven’t worked twice as hard as I did. So you better shut the fuck up, show respect, and do your job as you were told.” he irritatedly says.

They stop looking at each other, continuing to watch for any suspicious behavior.

The feral cats on the street are fighting each other for food. Until they scurry off, hearing loud footsteps approaching. Chris notices that the cats are not on the street anymore. So he grabs his binoculars to get a clearer look of what is going on. He sees nothing so far, but does not give up. Eventually, he sees black shoes approaching in the distance. He puts down the binoculars and notifies Brian. He tugs on his shoulder.

“What is it this time?” he asks while feeling annoyed.

“I-I see black shoes from afar.” he says nervously.

“Black shoes? That’s it? Do you see anything else?” he asks while giving him the side eye.

Chris looks at the binoculars again. The footsteps are slowly getting closer. He could identify that it’s a mysterious person. He puts it down on his lap and informs him.

“I saw a person outside!” he appraise him.

“A person? What type of person? What is that person wearing?” he curiously asks.

He use the binoculars again to check.

“Umm... I can’t really tell. It seems like this person is wearing all black clothing.” he responds.

“All black?” he asks to make sure.

“Yes... All black!” he replies.

“Put down those binoculars and grab your flashlight. Lets see who is roaming around the street at night.” he orders him.

“Aren’t you going to use the radio to inform the dispatcher?” he reminds him.

Brian grabs the radio and informs the dispatcher.

“Bowers to station.”

Beep

“Station to Bowers.”

Beep

“I got a 10-44; A suspicious person wearing all black is approaching the area.”

Beep

“Copy. Is the person carrying a weapon?”

Beep

Brian looks at Chris to signal if the person have any weapons. Chris uses the binoculars to check; he saw no weapons. He puts it down and nods his head “no”.

“No. It doesn’t seem like the person is carrying any weapons.”

Beep

“Do you need any backup or you got it under control?”

Beep

“I got it under control, thank you. Over and out.”

Beep

“Take care. Over and out.”

Beep

Brian puts down the radio.

“Alright... Let’s go!” he tells him.

Brian takes out the key from the ignition. He grabs his flashlight, opens the door, and leaves the car. Chris put the binoculars back where he first found it. He grabs a flashlight. He opens the door and leaves the car. Since Brian forgot to close the door, he has to lock them both. He catches up with Brian. They both turn on their flashlights; what they saw caught them off guard.

The mysterious person is an African American male. He is wearing a long sleeved black hoodie with a black T-Shirt on his upper body. He has a black scarf covering his mouth and neck. He has black gloves on and dark sunglasses protecting his eyes. He is wearing a slim black jean pants with dark shoes covering his feet.

He stood still knowing that lights are being pointed at him. Both Brian and Chris gawk at him; he is taller and muscular than both of them. They start questioning him.

“So... What are you doing around the area at this time?” Brian asks.

He does not respond. He continues to stay still and look at them. Brian looks at Chris to signal him to ask the man some questions.

“Uh... W-What’s with the outfit? Are you going to a party? Are you preparing for the end of the world?” Chris asks numerous of questions.

He still does nothing.

Chris tries asking him more questions.

“Look... You seem like a fine human being and all...”

He gets interrupted by Brian.

“A fine human being? Look at what he is wearing?” he shockingly asks.

“Yeah, I saw his outfit. What’s wrong with it?” he asks.

“He is dressed like a gang member!” he responds.

“How can you truly tell?” he asks.

“Anyone who wears all black and is strolling around at night are up to no good.” he clarifies.

“That is ludicrous! Also... What type of thug would wear a scarf? He’s probably a hipster.” he doubts.

“Shut the fuck up and let me do my job, Ginger!” he angrily tells him.

Chris stops talking and let Brian do his thing. Brian gets closer to the guy and inspects him.

“Why did you choose to wear this outfit? What were you even trying to prove by wearing all black? This is some ugly and cheesy fashion you are wearing. Also why are you wearing sunglasses at night? This is not the 1980s anymore!” he insults him.

The man never moves or takes his eye off of the officer. Brian is staring him down, not letting the man intimidate him.

“How about you take off those stupid sunglasses and let me see you better?” he importunes him.

...

“Can you talk? Huh? Can you say at least something? Don’t just stand there like a fucking idiot?” he frustratingly asks.

...

How unresponsive the man is, made Brian go on a angry rant.

“Just because you are black does not mean you are better than me. I dealt with several black men like you—thinking you’re hot shit. Well, you are not! You are the scum of this earth! Always blaming white people for things not going your way. This world will not give you special treatment just because you are black. You have to earn it! But you nor any black man have earned shit! Stealing all the time, killing your own kind, involving in gang activities, and raping women. All of you should be thrown in jail. I bet I got a bigger dick than you!” he explodes on him.

The man does not move at all or makes any sound. He stood still for a good three minutes. This enrages Brian even more. He pulls out his Glock 22 from his holster and points it at him. Chris is in shock by the behavior Brian is acting, but he does not want to interfere.

“If you don’t talk or move in the next ten seconds, the last person you will ever meet are my bullets.” he threatens him.

...

“Ten... Nine... Eight... Seven... Six....”

The man is not moving nor terrified by a gun being pointed at his body. This is making Brian’s blood boil.

“Five... Four... Three.... Two..... One.....”

The man is not effected by the countdown and still stands tall. Brian is at his breaking point; he could not hold the frustration any longer. He cocks his gun, aims, and starts shooting.

The man has been shot thirteen times all over his body. He is on the floor with excess amount of blood pouring. Chris is mortified and lost for words by what Brian just did.

Lights around the area starts turning on. The nearby neighbors are worried about what they heard.

“WHAT HAPPENED?” an old lady yells out.

“WHAT WERE ALL THOSE GUNSHOTS?” a middle aged man asks.

“DID SOMEONE DIE? IF NOT, ARE THEY OKAY?” a mother asks.

A bunch more neighbors start to complain, which causes a big fiasco. Brian tries to stop all the commotion and panic from continuing further.

“IT’S ALRIGHT MY GOOD PEOPLE!” he tries to calm everyone down.

“ARE YOU A POLICE OFFICER?” the mother curiously asks.

“YEAH, I’M OFFICER BOWERS FROM CHARLOTTESVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT!” he tells her.

The neighborhood is aware of Officer Bowers. But they only want to know what is going on.

“WHAT HAPPENED? IS EVERYTHING OKAY?” the mother asks.

“YEAH! EVERYTHING IS ALL TAKEN CARE OF! JUST GO BACK TO YOUR HOMES AND HAVE A GREAT REST OF THE NIGHT.” he explains to the neighbors.

“YOU SURE EVERYTHING IS FINE?” the old woman asks.

“YES! YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY NO MORE, THE PROBLEM IS SOLVED!” he replies.

“DO YOU NEED ANY HELP?” the old lady asks.

“NO, EVERYTHING IS ALL UNDER CONTROL! JUST GO BACK TO SLEEP!” he tells her.

“OKAY... BE SAFE!” the old lady says as she went back inside.

Everyone else went back to their homes as well. All of the lights from the houses are off. Brian focuses his attention to Chris, he is shaking after what went down.

“Are you alright? Chris?” he asks.

Brian lays his right hand on his shoulder. Chris pushes Brian to the floor.

“WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR?” Brian angrily asks.

“You are the worst person I have ever met!” he strongly says to him.

“EXCUSE ME?” he is outraged that his partner disrespected him.

Brian picks himself up from the floor and stands up to confront Chris.

“You heard me you racist bastard!” he firmly tells him.

Brian chuckles.

“Racist is a strong term. Also I wasn’t being racist.” he refutes.

Chris is in disbelief when Brian told him that.

“Oh really? Well... Why did you say all those fucked up things to him? Why did you shot him thirteen times? THIRTEEN TIMES!!!” he indignantly asks.

“Quiet down ginger, you don’t want to wake up the neighbors again.” he spoke softly to calm his partner.

Chris is furious. He runs straight toward to Brian, planning to attack. He notices his partner coming and points his Glock 22 to make him stop—Chris halts.

“Calm down ginger. You don’t want to be dead like that guy.” he reminds him.

“You know I hate being called ginger!” he vexes.

“I know! Now just calm down before you do something you will regret.” he tries to mollify his partner’s anger.

“That’s funny coming from you, because you literally just killed a black man.” he is fuming.

“So what? A lot of black dudes die everyday and you don’t see people mourning over them.” he says nonchalantly.

“But he was innocent and didn’t bother us at all.” he reminds him.

“If he was innocent, he wouldn’t have disobeyed me!” he is getting irritated.

“What are you even talking about?” he confusingly asks.

“When I was asking him questions, he did not comply with me.” he tries to justify his reasoning.

“He didn’t answer my questions as well, but I didn’t go on a racist rant and shoot him thirteen times!” he hisses at him.

Brian feels that his partner is disrespecting him. He grabs his shirt and roughly pulls him closer.

“Now listen here ginger! And yes, I will call ginger no matter if you like it or not. You better start respecting your fellow officer. I could report your ass right now for disobeying and trying to attack another policeman.” he wrathfully tells him.

“Call ‘em? And tell them about the mess that you caused.” he barks back.

“You think you know all the answers don’t you? Come on ginger, answer me when I’m talking to you?” he aggressively taunts him.

“I don’t know all the answers, but I do know that you are not no hero. If you were a hero, you would not have treated that black man poorly.” he scorns him.

“When did you become a fucking spokesperson for black people all of a sudden? Never in my life heard or seen you do anything that is related to black people. Even if you did, black people don’t give a fuck about some fat and pathetic ginger like you. Plus don’t call me a racist, when you arrested several black men and women. So stop acting like you care about black people, because you don’t!” he criticizes his partner’s care for African-Americans.

“Well, I may not be a savior for black people. But at least I didn’t kill any of them like you did!” he responds back.

“If you truly cared about this black man, then why did you just stood there like a ignoramus watching me shoot him? You could have told me to stop. But you said and did absolutely nothing. Honestly, you are equally as evil as me!” he told him.

Chris forces Brian to let go of him. He wipes off the dirtiness that Brian left on his uniform.

“I am nothing like you! I don’t have the awards or the respect from the entire state of Virginia. Also I may not have the physique or looks like you. But do you know what I do have? Integrity! I know when to control myself and where I am overstepping my boundaries. I don’t lash out at every black person and assume they are thugs. Heck, we have black officers working at our station. Do you see them as thugs as well? Virginia may love you—but if they saw the bigotry and hatred you have—they won’t respect you as much.” he vents out his frustration.

Brian covers his mouth from yawning.

“Uh huh... Whatever you say ginger! Let’s get back to the station and call it a night.” he insouciantly told him.

Brian starts walking back to the car. Chris is confused on why he wants to leave.

“What? We can’t leave!” he shockingly told him.

“Why not?” he asks.

“Are you kidding me? There’s a dead human being lying on the floor with blood all over his body. Aren’t we going to call an ambulance or remove him from the street? We can’t just leave him here, people will notice!” he says with concern.

“Forget about him! Someone from the neighborhood will eventually call the ambulance themselves. Let the feral cats and flies deal with him for now.” he responds apathetically.

“You are such a piece of shit you know!” he scornfully tells.

“I know! Get in the car! I got a wife that needs some loving.” he says while licking his lips.

Chris groans and roll his eyes.

Brian gets inside the car, sits down, and closes the door.

Chris looks at the man’s body. He is crying seeing how lifeless the man looks.

“I-I-I-I’m so s-s-sorry. M-May you r-r-rest in p-p-peace!” he cries out.

Chris wipes away the tears. He stops looking at the dead man. He turns around and walks back to the car. He opens the passengers side, sits down, and close the door. Brian notices that his partner is crying.

“Come on, ginger! Man up!” he forcefully tells him.

“You know you will not get away with this. Your actions will come back and bite you in the ass.” he warns him.

“Even if I was caught, you know that I won’t suffer any major consequences. I’m way too respected and well known to be thrown into prison. But let’s just say that I do end up getting in trouble, I will only serve a short sentence. When I get out of prison, I will go back working in the police station again. Probably, it won’t be in Virginia, but definitely in another state. Call that unfair all you want, but that’s just how it goes!” he explains.

“I still cannot believe you mistreated that poor man. You know he’s a human being just like you. Probably, he had a wife and children to take care of. I can’t even imagine how his family going to feel once they find out their son is dead.” he worries.

Brian rolls his eyes and groans.

“Will you give it a rest?! He’s dead! I can’t go back to the past and undo the mistake I made. It happened and I apologize. But we cannot let one random black guy ruin our lives. So let’s just move on!” he tells him.

Brian put the key in the ignition, the car turns on. He puts on his seatbelt. He puts his foot gently on the brakes. He is using his left hand to hold the steering wheel. He grabs the gear shift with his right hand and maneuvers it to drive. Before he puts his foot on the pedal and leaves. Both of heard a strange growling noise.

“Did you just hear that?” Chris asks.

Brian puts the car in park.

“Yea-”

Brian is interrupted by the growl getting louder.

Brian is getting scared; his hands are sweating and his body is quaking. Chris notices that his partner is petrified.

“Are you scared?” he questions him.

“N-No. I’m not scared. It’s just really cold.” he pretends to shiver.

“Yeah... Right. Should we investigate where the noise came from?” he asks.

“How about you go first and I’ll follow right behind you?” he requests.

Chris is in disbelief and shock that his partner is frightened. He usually show no worries and is up for any challenges. But he is slumped into his seat trickling of sweat. Chris does not feel like checking, but he feels sorry for him.

“Okay.... [deep sigh] I will go first.” he is displeased.

Brian smiles when his partner accepted.

“Alright... [gulp] Stay safe, ginger!” he tells him.

Chris rolls his eyes. He opens the door, gets out, and closes it. He turns on his flashlight and uses it. He points the flashlight at the same spot where he found the man. He notices that the man is gone. All that is there is his blood and bullets. This shook Chris; he could not believe that the dead man is gone.

“BRIAN?” he calls out.

Brian presses the button for the window to roll down. He sticks his head out and responds.

“WHAT IS IT? DID YOU FIND WHERE THAT NOISE WAS COMING FROM?” he asks.

“NO.... BUT YOU HAVE TO COME AND SEE THIS!” he tells him.

Brian sighs. But he roll up the window and takes the key out of the ignition. He opens the door, gets out, and closes it. He turns on his flashlight and points it at his partner. Chris covers his eyes from the bright light.

“So... What is it that you want me to see?” he asks.

Chris shines his light to the spot where the dead man was at. Brian is startled discovering that the man is gone.

“W-What happened to the dead man? Where is he?” he shockingly asks.

“I don’t know. He was here a minute ago, now he disappeared.” he is perplexed.

“That’s impossible! Probably, someone came and dragged him out.” he is in disbelief.

“You sure? Because there would be blood trails leading to where he went.” he tries to make sense of it.

“Probably, he pretended to be dead.” he makes another observation.

Chris gives him the side eye.

“But you shot him thirteen times. No one cannot survive that many bullet wounds.” he responds back.

They are bewildered about the whereabouts of the supposed dead man. Then, they heard another growl.

“WHERE IS THAT NOISE COMING FROM?” Brian nervously asks.

The noise is getting closer to them. So they turn around to check. What they saw left them questioning life.

The man is actually a vampire. But he did not look like any normal vampire; his face had veins and scars showing. His dark skin complexion got even darker. His mouth contorts and stretches—which unveils his sharp and pointy fangs dripping with blood. His tongue is shown to be sliced in half. His eyes are bloodshot red with a hypnotizing glow. His eye lids looks like dark red and black mascara is falling from his eyes. His hair is black, short, and nappy. His ears are pointy and disfigured. He has his shirt off. His body is beautiful; showing his six pack abdomen and bulky arms. But even though his body is beautiful—it has a lot of scars, blood, and bullet wounds. He has on a red and gold colored diamond necklace. He has two rings on both of his ring fingers; one gold and one diamond. His finger nails are long, pointy, and sharp; which could pierce through any skin. The only nice feature he has on at the moment are his black pants and black shoes. He is a vampire that could easily come from hell.

The man huffs and puffs with anger. Both officers are horrified that he is alive and turned out to be a vampire. Brian slowly raises and shakes his Glock 22, trying to aim it at the man. Chris could not believe that his partner is trying to use his gun again.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Chris worryingly asks.

“Please! Can you leave me be? Let me take care of this!” Brian ignores his question.

“You said that already and it didn’t work the first time. How about we act like adults and reason with each other?” he asks trying to fix the problem.

Brian does not listen and gets closer to him. The man notices; this time he slaps the gun away from his hands. Brian and Chris are shook. The man grabs him by the throat, lifting him up in the air. Chris tries to stop him from choking his partner to death, but he pushes him away. He fell down to the ground hard. Brian tries to punch and kick his way out, but that made the man even angrier. He lets out a monstrous roar in front of the officers face.

The roar made Brian’s ears bleed. He is whimpering like a child. His face is full of sweat. He is struggling to breath, almost losing consciousness. But the man slaps him hard to wake him up. He is awake; now he is looking at his bloodshot hypnotic eyes, which is putting him in a trance. The man opened his contorted mouth and viciously chew on his neck. Brian screams are muffled from the blood coming out of his mouth. His body is shaking as the man continues to feast.

Chris starts regaining consciousness. He got up and saw his partner getting eaten alive by the man. He pulled out his gun, but the man notices. He drops Brian to the floor; there is nothing left of his neck but bones, blood, and scars. Officer Brian Bowers is dead!

The man lunges at Chris. They both are on the ground; the man got on top and starts scratching his face off. Chris tries to plead with the man.

“PLEASE DON’T KILL ME! I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING TO YOU!” he pleads and cries.

The man hisses at him.

He does not listen, so he continues to rip his face off. His mouth grew bigger, then he ate his neck. Chris coughs up blood. The man stops eating his neck. Officer Chris Hudson is dead!

The man gets up and lets out a wail. He stops!

He has blood of the dead officers all over his mouth and body. He senses that there is another person watching. He looks around the area to see if there was anyone who witnessed what happened; no one in sight. He leaves the area and disappears in the dark.

The area that is known for its crimes, now has two dead officers lying on the floor. There was one cop that got bullied by the system. He was reluctant of stopping the situation. The other officer was a bigot that abused his power.