cHapter 3 and 4

these two will most likely be merged together in the final draft. mainly these two chapters are more character development and introducing characters to one another.

3

 

 

 

 

Alex sat on the bench for a while staring out over the glassy water, afraid to eat, too weak to move, and oddly enough, wide awake.  An audible groan escaped her full lips as she lay down on the hard slated wood bench, her eyes fixed upon the smooth black surface of the lake that reflected the lights of the taller buildings beyond the park.  She felt like crap but didn’t really feel sick, not now at least.  The gnawing pangs of hunger her only company as she attempted to make some sense of what was happening to her.

 

“No loitering.”  A man’s gruff voice startled Alex from her thoughts.  She quickly swung her feet over the bench so that she was sitting up once again, taking care to avoid the spot where she had lost her sandwich, and looked up into the face of a somber looking cop who rested a beefy right hand upon his nightstick.  “You can’t stay here, but if you need a shelter I can recommend a few.”

 

Alex gave him a puzzled look, wondering if she really looked that bad, after all, she had no way of knowing as her reflection seemed to be missing. “Ummm, no I was just looking at the water, officer.  I don’t need a place.”

 

The cop gave the girl a skeptical look; obviously her appearance was a bit rough after all.  She now recalled that she hadn’t taken the time to really fix herself up; allowing her hair to dry on its own leaving it in a disheveled mess of matted blond curls.   “Are you feeling alright?” He asked with a note of concern, examining the girl more closely, no doubt trying to see if she was drunk or high.

 

Startled by his tone of voice, she pressed her fingertips to the cool skin of her cheek, “Yea, I’m fine.  Just a rough day.”  She answered with what she hoped were a convincing voice and an even more convincing smile. The officer gave her one last questioning look then began to walk away.  Alex knew she had to leave, certain that the officer would be back to check on her.  

 

 

 

*    *    *    *    *

 

 

 

“Come on, we’ll follow her.”   Ash said as he stood up and trailed behind the girl at a respectable distance, his eyes alight with open curiosity as he glided effortlessly across the lawn.  Devon walked along next to him, feeling a bit moody about the whole situation, his loping gate reminiscent of a man who had spent too much time in the saddle.  All this time he had known Ash he had never seen him toy with somebody like this, it seemed cruel to say the least.  He tried to take comfort in the knowledge that Ash knew what he was doing, but his conscious riddled him with guilt for allowing this to take place.

 

“The fool, she’s going to try to eat again.”  Scowled Ash, shaking his head in dismay at what he was witnessing. 

 

“She’s hungry, man.  What do you expect her to do?”

 

“Not eat, that’s for sure.”

 

The two men entered a diner within minutes of the girl going inside, a bell above the door announcing their arrival.  Picking a booth off in a corner, they pretended to look over the menu that had been wedged between the napkin holder and sugar dispenser

 

“A glass of water and dry toast, please.”  Alex requested from her seat at the counter, flashing a weary smile as the waitress knitted her brow in concern, scribbling down the order on a pink slip of paper.

 

“That be all?”  The middle aged waitress asked. Her unnatural blond hair was pulled up tightly in a pony tail giving her face a severe look and broadcasting the dark roots that were in need of a touch up.

 

Alex mutely nodded her head and with a sigh the waitress moved off to fill the order, her ample hips swaying in a lazy manner beneath the pink and white uniform.  She returned a few minutes later to place a slightly chipped plate and red plastic cup down on the green 70’s style counter top, laying a paper wrapped straw next to it.  “Enjoy.”  She said casually before moving off to tend to another customer.

 

Alex sat for a few minutes staring down at the food, feeling a bit anxious as her recent encounters with food hadn’t ended so well.  Unable to ignore the hunger pains any longer she tentatively picked up the toast, taking a small bite off one corner.

 

Ash shook his head, swearing under his breath as he watched the girl rush into the bathroom.

 

Devon’s face was contorted in sympathy as he witnessed the young girl’s plight.  “Ash, you can’t let her keep doing this.  She’s g…..”

 

Ash held up a hand to silence his worried friend.  “I don’t think she’s the one for me.”  He said coldly, looking towards the restroom.  “She should have figured the eating thing out by now.” He said more to himself than to the man sitting across from him.  “She’s not the one.” He said in a brusque voice, shaking his head.  “Let’s go.”

 

Devon looked at his friend in open mouth disbelief. “What do you mean?  You’re not just going to leave her are you?”

 

Ash gave a tight smile.  “Don’t worry, she can’t die.  Remember?  Let somebody else worry about her.”  With that he stood up and walked out of the diner not bothering to see if Devon was following behind him.  

 

Devon looked from the door of the bathroom to the door his friend had just gone through.  Everything in his body screamed that this was wrong, but he was afraid to cross Ash.  Sighing he stood up and began to walk away; as a last thought he turned and scribbled something on a napkin.  Neatly folding the paper in half he handed it to the waitress, “Be sure the young lady gets this when she comes out.”   The waitress smiled, assuming it was his phone number and tucked it inside her apron pocket with a promise to deliver the note.   Feeling a little better, Devon quickly left to catch up to the vampire.

 

 

*    *    *    *    *

 

 

 

Alex returned from her trip to the restroom, looking even more pale and drawn then before.  Reclaiming her seat she stared morosely down at the toast, knowing it was futile to try to eat more.  Sighing in resignation, she stood up and walked to the end of the counter where an out dated register was located, pulling out a few singles from within her pocket to settle the bill.

 

“Don’t worry about it, sugar.”  The waitress said with a compassionate smile as she withdrew the folded napkin from her apron pocket.  “Here, this might make you feel better.”

 

Stuffing the bills back into her pocket, Alex took the offered napkin from the waitress’s chapped hand, giving it a curious look as she mumble her thanks.  Tucking the napkin into her pocket, the girl left the diner, the bells tolling her exit.  As her silent feet stepped out onto the sidewalk a light breeze blew through her hair, causing her to shiver slightly.  Realizing that her problem could not be fixed by food she decided to go home.  It wasn’t until she was almost there that she remembered the napkin stuffed in the front pocket of her jeans. Pulling it out she struggled to hold it against the increased wind, her forehead knitted in curiosity as she studied a hastily written message. According to the note, he knew what was wrong with her and wanted to help.  She was a bit skeptical of this but had nothing to loose at this point.  Her pace picked up a little in eager anticipation of solving this mystery. 

 

Back in the apartment, she tossed the keys onto the counter and immediately picked up the receiver, punching in the seven digits and waiting patiently for someone to pick up.  Instead the mechanical voice of an answering machine was heard.  Her first impulse was to hang up but then she thought better of it.  “Uh, hi, this is Alex; you left me your number at the diner.  I guess you’re still out.  Ummm, my number is 376-9458.  Call me if you want.”   Pursing her lips in thought, she decided she had said enough and hung up, shaking her head at her own boldness before settling  in for the night, not feeling up to doing much else.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately for Devon he would not find the message left on his answering machine until the next afternoon, forcing him to return the call the following night as he knew she would be sleeping.  Though he was excited to know that the girl had called, this did put him in a rather thorny place.  His loyalties lied with the vampire sleeping in the basement but he could not sit idly by while this innocent young woman struggled to exist.  After all, unlike his friend, Devon was very much human and therefore suffered the occasional attack of moral obligations.

 

The remainder of his day was spent doing the usual tasks, cleaning, running errands, and chasing down events for the freelance photojournalist work that he did for the Times.  Thanks to his unusual friend, financial stress was a thing of the past but Devon still liked to remain known in the market, plus it gave him something to do during the day while Ash slept.

 

As the sky began to show signs of darkening, Devon returned to the house, intent on calling the girl before Ash woke up, leaving a message for her to meet him later that night.   Hanging up, he leaned back in the brown upholstered recliner he had been sitting in, closing his eyes for a little cat nap before beginning his night life. 

 

                            

 

*    *    *    *    *

 

 

 

Alex awoke from her day of sleep, a habit that she found rather distressing as it was no doubt going to land her jobless by the end of the week, a position that she could not afford.  Stretching, she traipsed bare foot across the floor of her bedroom to tend to her morning rituals in the bathroom, having given up on looking in the mirror altogether while doing so.   This part of her morning, or night, or whatever it was now called, finished, she made her way into the kitchen to stare longingly at the sparse food that filled her cupboards, afraid to touch any of it for fear of becoming sick once again.   Her mind drifted to the message she had received at the diner last night, spurring her to check her phone in case the man had tried to reach her.  The corners of her mouth turned up in a partial smile at seeing a green light blinking on the machine, before she even heard the message she knew who it was.

 

 “Uh, Alex, this is Devon, the man who left you the note.”  The voice was strong and masculine.  “I was hoping that we could meet tonight at the lake in the park, say eleven o’clock.”  There was a slight pause, as if he was going to hang up but had second thoughts.  “Don’t eat anything until I can talk to you.  Trust me on this.”  And with that there came the distinct click of the receiver, ending the message.  Crinkling her brow in curiosity of this last bit of the message, Alex locked the number into her phone, not knowing if she’d have need of it again, labeling it with the name provided �" Devon.  

 

Dressing casually in a white t-shirt, beige hoodie and jeans, she slipped on her infamous checked Vans and headed out towards the park, seeing no reason to linger about in the stuffy confines of her apartment.  The night was warmer than yesterday but there was the distinct feel of autumn in the air.  Soon the leaves would be changing, the days growing shorter.  For some reason the thought of longer nights excited her, as if her body craved this natural change in time despite the fact that she had always found the darker months depressing.

 

 

 

*    *    *    *    *

 

 

 

Ash and Devon spent the first part of the evening doing their usual routine of reading and discussing the paper.  Another house had been broken into, this one two houses over from their own.  “Come on, you could be the Batman of our time.”  Implored Devon while sipping his coffee, the steam spiraling up towards the ceiling; he needed a healthy dose of caffeine in order to keep up with his nocturnal house mate.

 

“If I agree to put a stop to this, will you then leave me alone for the remainder of your life for doing good deeds?”  Asked Ash in an exasperated tone of voice, this not being the first time this conversation had played out.   Shaking his head with a hopeless expression upon his pale face Ash agreed to see what could be done about the recent rash of break ins that were plaguing the neighborhood.  “I thought we might go to Jekyll and Hyde tonight.  Are you up for it?”  He inquired, not bothering to look up from the article he was currently reading. 

 

“Umm, actually, I have plans for this evening?”

 

“Oh?”  This certainly held the vampire’s attention now for it wasn’t often that Devon missed an opportunity to tag along with him. 

 

“Business.”  The young man explained casually, taking great efforts to breathe normally, knowing his friend could sense any change in his body chemistry.

 

Ash studied him for a moment from across the table eyes narrowed in silent contemplation, but in the end he shrugged his shoulders.  “Very well, but you’ll be sorry.  I hear that some rather nice young ladies frequent there.”

 

Devon shook his head, an easy smile playing across his stubbled face.  “No, thank you, I’ve had enough of nice ladies to last me a life time.”  Came his sarcastic retort, his recent break up leaving him somewhat bitter with the whole relationship thing.

Author's Note

Still a work in progress but the main story is there and finished, just fine tuning. So any feedback is welcomed.