Midnight at the Castle by Julia Baran

 "Did you hear!" Dima shouted

as he burst into the classroom, his face glowing with excitement, and his arched eyebrows emphasizing his enthusiasm. He was sixteen, not particularly shining with grades at school, but he adored history and myths. His passion knew no bounds, and his belief in the supernatural bordered on dangerous curiosity.

"Why are you yelling?" Orest looked up from the book he was reading and frowned slightly. He was the opposite of Dima — cautious, skeptical, didn’t believe in the supernatural, and generally thought all that magic and mythology stuff was nothing more than fairy tales for the gullible.

"We're going to Romania! Iryna Zenoviivna said we’ll be staying in Brașov. And do you know what’s nearby?" Dima, shaking his hands impatiently, waited for a reaction.

Orest yawned, showing mild indifference.

"Dracula’s Castle!" Dima exclaimed with excitement, his eyes shining.

"Hahaha, you know I don’t believe in that stuff," Orest said in a flat voice.

A few hours later, the group of students settled into a hotel. Dima and Orest were sharing a room.

"Do you think we’ll go to the castle?" Dima asked, lying on the bed and spinning his phone in his hands. His curiosity gave him no rest.

"It’s just an old castle, why are you so obsessed with it?" Orest shrugged, his crossed arms across his chest showing a defensive posture.

"Old?! It’s the castle of Vlad III, a steadfast fighter against the Ottoman enslavement of Wallachia. His favourite method of execution was impaling enemies and criminals on stakes. Over a hundred thousand people died by his orders." Dima said it with such conviction, as if he had witnessed those events himself.

"And here I thought he was a vampire…" Orest said sarcastically.

"Well…" Dima paused, then smiled slyly. "What if he’s still here?" His eyes sparkled with genuine curiosity.

Night came.

"Orest, get up!"

"What do you want?..” Orest rubbed his eyes, squinting sleepily.

"I’m going to the castle."

"Are you out of your mind? It’s 20 kilometres away!" Orest frowned, his face full of indignation.

"So what? I’ll be back by morning."

Orest sighed heavily. His body tensed slightly; he felt growing anxiety.

"Wait, I’m coming with you."

At three in the morning, the boys arrived at the castle.

"Wow, it’s so big…" Dima whispered, his eyes wide with amazement.

"Eh, nothing special," Orest muttered, but inside he felt fear, and his legs were trembling slightly.

Dima ran his hand over the stone.

"They say Vlad used to come here during his campaigns."

"So what?"

"We have to climb to the top." Dima straightened up, as if assuming a divine pose, full of confidence.

"Did you see that cliff?! You’ll fall!" Orest squinted at the cliff, his voice trembling with fear.

"Nothing will happen!"

Orest looked at him nervously but lowered his head in resignation: arguing with Dima was pointless.

The castle stood silent, as if watching them.

"Wanna see something funny?" Dima asked with a sinister smile, his lips twisted in a grimace.

"What?"

"Dracula, come! Dracula, come!"

Orest rolled his eyes, mocking Dima’s antics.

"Very funny."

Thunder ripped across the sky.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Both boys jumped back, their faces twisted in horror, and Orest instinctively covered his mouth with his hands.

"What was that?!"

Thunder struck again, and before them stood a tall man in a black cloak. His eyes glowed with a crimson fire, and a distorted grimace was frozen on his face.

"Children, what are you doing here?"

Orest swallowed hard, his body tensed with fear. "We… we came to see the castle."

"At night? Alone?"

The figure stepped forward, and Dima and Orest unconsciously mirrored his movement, stepping back.

"Come here now…"