I hated the night shift almost as much as I hated my life. Getting two Kit Kat bars out of the vending machine instead of the one I paid for was the most exciting thing that’s happened to me in the past five months. Taking complaints and filling out paperwork wasn’t my ideal choice for a job, but Bookmart, hell’s neighbor, was the only place hiring since the economy tanked. I never imagined being a customer service rep would be such a pain in the a*s.
“Thank you for calling Bookmart customer service. How may I offer you superior assistance this evening?” I said as I squeezed the stress ball with the Bookmart logo on the side.
The small black numbers on the computer screen informed me that this would be my last call of the night. I was ecstatic since the six bottles of water that I drank throughout the day did nothing to cure the scratching sensation at the back of my throat and after hunching over a desk for hours, my back wasn't faring well either.
Bored eyes glanced at the empty cubicle to my left. Plain gray walls enclosed the suffocated area. Who in their right mind would want to stare at that all day long? People who had no choice.
My measly pay made it hard to stay comfortable in a one bedroom apartment on the south side of downtown Nashville. Walking into the gray, brick building clutching my purse has become common over the past five months since moving into the small space.
The only person I enjoyed communicating with at this god-forsaken place went home at six and I’ve had to endure four entire hours of pure boredom by my lonesome. Dawn, the only coworker I found worth speaking to, kept my mind off of the repetitive work by talking about her crazy family life and whatever book she read last. If it wasn’t for her, I would be unemployed by now.
“I didn’t receive my coupons in the mail this week,” an old woman that must have been at least eighty said on the other line. My eyes did a full circle inside their sockets.
“Ma’am, unfortunately, we no longer send coupons via the post office. We now utilize email to send out our coupons,” I said, my voice low and uncaring. Just today, ten people had already called about that same issue.
“Well, when did you start doing that?” She asked. I could see a hand flapping along with every word.
When would the insanity end? The 1930's faded out and so did Snail mail. The older generation needs to realize that sending forwards and Birthday cards through email is not a crime nor is it hard.
“We started it in the twenty-first century,” I replied to the old woman sarcastically just as my supervisor walked by. She narrowed her eyes and shook her head.
The sky darkened hours ago and my eyes were getting heavy. On top of that, the old bag should be asleep at this time and not calling about coupons. I had the right to be irritable.
“I apologize that we are unable to mail your coupons, but I would be happy to enter your email address into our system so you can receive them next week.” Normally, people above sixty don’t have emails and this woman had one foot in the grave and the other was slipping.
“I don’t have one of those and I’m not going to get one just for your company.” My head bobbed up and down.
“I’m sorry about that. Is there anything else I can help you with this evening?” I asked with a fake smile. Ariel Keller typed in bold letters at the top of a laminated sheet of paper caught my eye. It read, "Smile! Smile! Smile!" with Happy Bunny stickers making obscene gestures towards the words.
A grunt on the other end of the call was enough motivation to get the woman off the phone. “Well, thank you for calling.” The line went silent.
Thank whoever was in heaven. Bones cracked as I stood to leave. Taking the longest strides my short legs would allow, I passed the break room and stopped inside the hall where I clocked out. Other than Laura, the supervisor, I was the only person working until close so I didn’t have to avoid speaking to anyone on the way out.
Walking to the door, Laura waved a hand motioning for me to come over to her desk, no doubt for a lecture about my attitude towards customers. Luckily I had already punched my card and said, “I’m off the clock and don’t have time to stick around. Maybe we can talk tomorrow.” She sputtered, but could not say a word as I rushed past her.
The back door beeped throughout the building as I exited into the flower scented night air. Yellow tulips lined the sidewalk that led to the employee parking lot. I’ve walked by them on numerous occasions and they always brought a smile to my face, but when I leave at night, I want to rip every one of them from the roots.
Tiny goose bumps appeared on my bare arms where the green swoop neck shirt I was donning didn’t cover. The cool, brisk air was normal for summertime in Tennessee.
High heels collided with the concrete as I rounded the corner of the building giving me a full view of the large parking lot. Two cars, other than mine, littered the asphalt. One belonged to Laura who always stayed late to catch up on evaluations and the other belonged to the security guard who was at the other end of the building making his rounds.
A dense shadow lingered beside the beat-up Neon I called my own. My feet came to a halt as I squinted into the night. The silhouette of a man took shape. Darkness surrounded the figure so making out details proved difficult.
The small can of mace I kept in my purse for any mugger who dared to tussle with me was cool against the palm of my hand. It hadn't seen any action since the day it left the convenience store and I was itching to give it a go. Growing up with six foster brothers gave me countless cuts and bruises and the will to protect myself.
Harsh clicks of high heels echoed off of the concrete once again. It wasn't until I got closer that I noticed the man wasn't an everyday criminal. Two sharp fangs jutted out of his mouth as he yawned without bringing a hand up to conceal it.
Thirty years ago vampires were creatures of myth and legend. They could be found in Bram Stoker's popular novel or in the movie Lost Boys. Unfortunately, for my generation they decided to come out for all the world to see after a group of them were found staked in front of a church by British police. Then, one after the other, more monsters that go bump in the night introduced themselves to the day and those of us who live in it.
There was no reason to run since he could catch up with me before I taking a breath so my best bet was to reach the 9 mm I had stashed under my car seat just in case something like this happened. Unfortunately, the gun wouldn’t cause much damage, but it might deter him.
Running would only make him chase. Human legs didn't stand a chance against something so powerful, but four rubber wheels may give him a run for his dinner. Hazel eyes locked onto the door that blocked me from salvation.
Soulless eyes watched as I approached the vehicle causing sharp chills to race down my spine. Only two vampires graced me with their presence in the past and I prayed that I wouldn’t have to be exposed to one again, but God wasn’t ready to grant my wish just yet.
Fear gripped the pit of my stomach and gave a hard twist as the driver’s side door came within reaching distance. His gaze, like the rays of the sun in the summertime. scorched my face. He could see perfectly in the dark while I had to peek through barely opened eyes. Light from the nearest pole did little to help in my advancement. Next time I would heed advice from experts and park under a light post. If there was going to be a next time.
Pressing the soft button of a key chain unlocked my freedom. Shaky hands reached for the door handle while trying to ignore the looming shadow nearby. The beating of my heart slammed against the inside of my throat.
“Miss Keller?” He asked in a low baritone just as the plastic handle gave way under my grasp.
What in the hell? It would be just my luck to have a vampire waiting for prey next to my car. Even better, he was waiting on certain prey.
Without speaking, I pulled the door to me, but it made a high-pitched whine after moving a few inches. A jumble of obscenities scrolled through my head while I tried my best to quiet the sound. I would stop off and buy some WD40 if I got out of this alive. The door opened inch by inch until there was enough room for me to squeeze past it.
Before throwing myself in the car, I glanced up at the vampire across from me giving the first sign that I noticed him. The sides of his mouth were turned upward causing his fangs to peek out. One hand balled into a fist as my stomach lurched.
He was tall and intimidating in the mask of night. Dark, shaggy hair tussled with the wind as he stared at me with black pools on either side of his nose. He was handsome, but that didn't overpower the fact that he was a bloodsucker.
My off brand purse flew into the passenger's seat and my backside hit cloth in record time. With keys at the ready, I attempted to shut the squeaky door, but a menacing hand caught the inside of it.
“Miss Keller, I’m not here to hurt you,” the devil's voice assured.
Unbelieving eyes landed on the dark figure who seconds before wasn't near me. An outstretched hand hovered inches in front of me offering peace, but demons lie. Saintly never appeared in my vocabulary although sneaky was. Cold metal dug into the palm of my hand as keys closed in my fist.
It only took me a nanosecond to decide what I would do next. As if in slow motion, my fist passed his false generosity and sucker punched him in the groin. He fell on knees that weren't used to being on the ground.
Without hesitation, I retracted my arm, but not fast enough. Calloused fingers wrapped around my shaking arm and yanked me out of the car tearing my pants in the process. Air rushed out of my mouth and nose as my body smacked against the concrete.
With ease, he grabbed my waist from above and lifted me from the ground. “I tried to be nice, but for some reason that is never enough for you people,” the man’s once mellow voice said in a harsh growl.
No words came to mind, but a startlingly loud shriek escaped my throat before I could get my fear in check. Going down without a fight never registered as I kicked and struggled until I finally sunk a few long tea party pink fingernails into his arm.
“S**t,” he said while heaving my body over one broad shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Out of all the nights a vampire could try to abduct me, it would be a night when no one else was around.
The blood started rushing to my head quicker than I expected, but it did not discourage me from battling for my life. My feet dangled in front of his stomach, but he used his hand to bat away my kicks. I pounded on his back with fists made for tenderizing meat, but his leather jacket took the brunt of the blows leaving my punches feeling like mosquito bites to him.
Nausea swarmed my insides when I noticed that we were no longer on concrete or standing still. I had been too busy fighting to realize that the vampire was running. All hope was lost once he entered the wooded area that surrounded the parking lot. Tree branches and plants whipped past my head coming just short of getting caught in my hair.
A shiny black SUV came into view as he sprinted deeper into the foliage. The situation was going downhill fast. Kicking and hitting was getting me nowhere so I tried the last physically damaging thing I could think of. I grabbed the bottom of his jacket and the shirt underneath exposing moderately tanned skin. It looked as though he made a few visits to a tanning bed.
The vehicle was getting closer with every second. I had to act fast or life as I knew it was over, or over for good. I steadied myself as best I could before using all my strength to dig holes into his back with my oval shaped fingernails. Blood started filling the wounds once I removed my nails from his back. It slowly rolled down onto the top of his dark blue jeans. “D****t, b***h,” he snarled as he turned his neck to look over a shoulder at me. He kept his rapid pace with four large gashes in his back.
The SUV was a few feet away and I was done for. Screaming like a baby would be weak and only excite the vamp so there was only one thing left to do. Try to talk him into letting me go.
“I’m not very tasty. I heard that most vampires don’t like A positive blood and unfortunately for you, that is what I’ve got so it would save you the nasty after taste if you just let me go now,” I said while my head bounced up and down causing my voice to come out uneven.
The last thing I heard before the side of my head hit the vehicle mirror was, “Shut up.”
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