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I’ve settled into a comfortable routine. Work eight hours for five days, then head to the bar on Fridays. I’d picked up a Saturday shift, but because my job was at a call center, I could still go in hungover from the night before. Shift or not, I always spent Friday nights at the local bar.
There were four local women I often picked up for dates. They weren’t looking for a real relationship and they were all aware of the others. Keeping things casual didn’t cause drama. One of them worked as the bartender. We had been spending nights together less and less now. After a drink, she told me the reason.
“I found a boyfriend.” Jessey said sliding over a fresh beer.
“Call me if he’s anything like the last one.”
She looked younger than she was. And acted like it. Some guys took advantage of her causing most of the town to get involved chasing them off. Jessey was like our local cute mascot. I bet most people didn’t want her seeing me on the odd occasion. Still, I was better than all the other guys she dated. The last one I ended up breaking an entire row of his teeth. Somehow, she recovered fast from all of the bad boyfriends. She wasn’t the kind of girl to show the world how trauma affected her. I admired and worried about her.
“He’s going to be by soon. Stick around and see if he passes.”
I was going to stay for a little while regardless. Soon a guy walked in brushing off the rain from his shoulders. He was tall and thin as a pole. His face brightened when he saw her. He rushed over to place a small object wrapped in a plastic bag on the bar. He quickly pulled out a small cactus in a plastic pot.
“I wanted to get you flowers but they die so fast. This shouldn’t. I printed out how to take care of it.” He excitedly told Jessey.
He looked in my direction, but he didn’t know who I was. He must have just recently moved here. He looked like a wet noodle with the personality of a puppy. I could tell he wasn’t the annoying type to go around calling women Queens or that sort of shit. He was in love with her. Simple as that. I dug around in my pocket to pay for my tab. This guy passed the test with a cactus. When I was about to leave, he caught up with me to offer one of those small fold-up umbrellas since it had started pouring out. Yeah, he was alright.
I lived near to the bar. The cold rainy weather always made my leg hurt so I walked slower than normal on those sorts of nights. As I walked, I reflected on some thoughts. Jessey might have found a perfect match. I now lacked one person to fall back on. Soon, the others I had a causal relationship with would follow in her footsteps. I didn’t get paid enough to move. There wasn’t a single woman in town who would ever marry me. My life had officially stagnated. Work. Home. Bar. Repeat till dead.
“This sucks.” I muttered to myself.
I’d stopped in front of a bus shelter to rest against. My leg throbbing in the terrible weather. I heard a noise that caused me to glance inside the shelter. Under the dim light was a girl I didn’t recognize. She heard me speak and looked up. When we made eye contact, she looked away.
She didn’t sit on the bench. I didn’t blame her. The ground was cleaner than those benches. I saw the scars on her inner arms before she tucked her knees into her chest. She looked away silently praying I would leave. It was cold as hell and she was only wearing a baggy t-shirt and shorts. I spotted bruises on her pale skin. This was none of my business. I just needed to get home.
“Do you have anyone to call?” I asked her as I got down to her level.
She shook her head but didn’t respond. I was a strange guy talking to her after all.
“Do you want me to get you a cab somewhere?” I offered.
I put my hand in my pocket and then mentally swore because I had left my phone at home. I didn’t know anyone who lived nearby. My only other offer made me sound like a creep.
“I forgot my phone. If you want, you can come over and call a cab. I’ll stay outside the entire time and pay for wherever you need to go. Or I can rent a motel room for you if they have rooms. But honestly, the motel is nasty as hell.”
I saw a smile flicker on her face. She studied me with bright eyes and then nodded.
“I’ll go over to your place. I trust you.” She said in a soft voice.
“What’s your name?” I asked when she stood up.
“Summer.” She said in a way that made me assume she was lying.
That was fine with me. I just needed something to call her.
“I’m Finn Farlow.”
I pulled out an ID for her to see. Since I was bringing her to my place, I wanted her to feel as safe as possible. I wasn’t worried this was some sort of con. I had nothing to steal, and she couldn’t hurt me unless she had a gun. Which I highly doubted. I gave her the umbrella and showed her the way to where I lived.
“Sorry, it’s not much.”
We walked across an RV park to the last lot almost on the edge of the forest. Once you got used to it, living out of an RV year-round wasn’t too bad. I let her go inside and had planned to leave her alone when she made the call. She told me it was fine to be inside with her. She shook in her wet clothing. Whatever I said and did now would just make me appear even more like a predator.
“Do you want to have a shower to warm up? I have hot water. You can borrow some of my dry clothing even though it’ll be too big on you.” I said expecting her to be defensive.
Instead, she agreed. I showed her how the shower worked, and how the door locked, and then got a change of clothing, I realized I didn’t have any underwear for her. Thinking about her underwear situation made my skin feel gross. It was up to her what she wanted to do about that.
“Here. I’ll leave what cash I have near the door with my phone.” I offered with a change of dry clothing in my hands.
She took them but didn’t move towards the shower.
“I really don’t have anywhere to go. Can I stay here just for tonight? I’m exhausted and just need to rest.”
“Aren’t you worried I might try something?” I asked, trying not to be threatening.
“I can take you.” Summer replied with such confidence I believed her at first.
I laughed a little and that made her smile. I hoped she hadn’t trusted the wrong person in the past. Judging from her scars and without a roof over her head I assumed she didn’t have the best people in her life. I offered her something to eat but she declined.
After her shower, I offered her my small bedroom. I could sleep on the cramped couch. I’ve done it before. Aside from the bathroom, my bedroom was the only space with a lock. She looked at my worn baseball bat by the bedroom door. You needed a weapon when you lived in a high-crime area. I didn’t trust myself with a gun, so I kept a few bats around.
There were a few crime books around the room in case she was too stressed to sleep in a strange place. She thanked me as I closed the bedroom door. She looked so small in my old clothing. I hoped I never met the people who hurt her to get to this point because I knew I would be arrested for assault. Turns out I am very good at removing teeth. I expected to hear her lock the door, but she didn’t. I wanted to believe it was because she fully trusted me and not because she no longer cared what a stranger could do to her.
The couch wasn’t conformable but worth it. I woke up sore regretting taking an extra shift. I knocked on the door waiting for an answer. When none came, I opened it just enough to peek in. She was curled up under all the blankets looking terrible. Was she dealing with withdrawals? I got close to touch her forehead, finding it ice cold. No, this was something else.
“It’s bright.” She whispered, not opening her eyes.
I got to work closing the curtains and taking out all the blankets I owned.
“I’ll stay home from work. What do you need?” I offered.
She shook her head under the blanket pile.
“It’s fine. I just need to sleep. Don’t call in sick for me. I swear I’ll be gone by tonight.”
I debated on ignoring her and staying. If I did, it would make me look too pushy. I wrote down my work phone number in case she needed anything. I didn’t have a lot of cash but I let her know where it was in case she needed something. Was she faking this for some money? Who cares. I would rather be out a bit of cash than not let an actually ill girl have a safe spot to rest.
I waited for a call that never came. My shift went by without any issue. For once, I walked home with something important waiting for me. The sun set early because of the season. By the time I got back, it was getting dark.
Summer had been up and about enough to make dinner. She sat at the table by the fold out couch. She greeted me when I walked in. Her complexion appeared brighter, but not ready to let her go off on her own.
“You might need to reheat dinner.” She told me.
She sounded much better. I checked the pot and then pulled out two plates.
“Spaghetti and hot dogs? How did you know?” I half-joked.
“It was the only thing left to cook.” She answered in a serious tone.
Here I was trying to take care of her and yet I wasn’t really doing the best at taking care of myself. I made up to plates even though she made a halfhearted attempt to refuse to eat. She took a few bites, not appearing to enjoy the discount sauce and cheap noodles.
“One more bite.” I told her when she started to push away her plate.
She sighed and to show off she took two more bites. I couldn’t remember the last time a person sat across from me while I ate. I put aside my nearly empty plate to start asking the important questions.
“Do you have anyone looking for you?” I pressed.
She shook her head, unable to look at me.
“Not in the way you think. I… left a bad situation. I know if the people I was living with catch up with me it’ll be bad for you.”
That answer implied not so great things. It left a bad taste in my mouth. Her hand went to her wrist to play with a cheap plastic bracelet with some animal beads.
“How old are you? Sixteen?”
She looked slightly offended by my assumption.
“Nineteen.” She corrected.
Well, that sucked. If she was younger, we may have had more options for her to be taken away from whoever she was with. Was it a boyfriend? Or family? In a way, she sounded like she was with a gang, but we had nothing like that around here.
“I know a good police officer.” I started but she shook her head. “Did they force you to do anything? You won’t be arrested.”
Well, depending on what they forced her to do. Murder? Then maybe. Other dirty work? Then no. She was a victim either way and I hated how she acted like getting help wasn’t an option.
“I wasn’t forced into sex work if that’s what you’re worried about. More like manual labor.”
I waited for her to keep going but she didn’t. I stood up to put away the leftovers and to give her some time. She kept playing with her bracelet mentally debating on what she could tell me.
“Where’s your family?” I pressed.
She frowned and looked like she might cry for a moment. She collected herself long enough to speak.
“My parents were no contact with their families. They died a year ago because someone thought he could drive home high.”
I felt the pain in her words. My chest hurt as much as my leg at that moment. I sat down and she must have noticed the change in my demeanor.
“I know how much that can suck.” I added unable to say the right words in such a heavy moment.
“Yeah. It sucks a lot. I didn’t have anyone else and fell back on whoever would have me. I think being on the street would have been better.”
Her last words sounded more like a thought to herself. What the hell did those people do to her? It was a relief to know she hadn’t been assaulted. But what really happened? At first, the scars on her arms made me think she was addicted to anything she could inject. But the scars looked different. She had no signs of long-term drug usage like withdrawals. I considered she had gotten mixed up in some sort of underground medical testing.
That didn’t sound as crazy as it should. She had no family so no one would look for her if she died. The scars on her arms appeared more medical than drug-related. If the people who ran that scam had money, she may fear making others into targets. I wanted more information, but it was clear that was all I would be getting from her that night.
“Let’s play a game for a while.” I said and she looked surprised by the offer.
Back when I was much younger, I liked to play a version of Go Fish where you could lie. If someone asked if you had a card and you did, you could lie and say no. However, if you had the card the second time they asked you, you needed to give up the card. If you asked for the same card the other person had just requested, and they didn’t have it you put two cards at the bottom of the deck.
It was a simple change of rules added to a boring game. I often won using these house rules. Since I’ve played it this way hundreds of times on family trips, I never expected to get swept in the first five games.
“How are you so good at this?” I asked after getting crushed yet again.
“I’m smart, that’s all.”
I felt an odd pride from getting teased. I took my time to shuffle the cards. The noise of Summer playing with her bracelet distracted me for a moment.
“Do you like animals?” I said looking at the colorful beads.
She paused, looking like she would refuse to answer.
“Yes. I wanted to be a vet, but I doubt that’s an option now.” She sighed.
“What are you talking about? People get scholarships all the time. You’re smart enough to get accepted. You beat me five times in a row.”
“I don’t think beating you is on the same level as getting a free ride to college.” She shrugged unable to hide a smile.
“Ouch.”
I started dealing the cards wondering if I would be easily beaten in the next game. She looked far more comfortable than when she got here. In that moment I felt like she was strong enough to move on from whatever had happened to her before. Whatever life gave her, she was a fighter. She may not have a lot of cards to work with now, but I decided I wanted to help her get some.
“Hey-” I started planning to let her stay as long as she needed.
A sudden sound came from the roof that made her jump. She fell to the floor ready to hide under the table. I stood up to grab a bat to take care of what animal had landed on top of the RV. It was rare, but I did have raccoon jump from the trees and onto the roof at night. Still early for them though.
When I got close to the door Summer flew over grabbing my arm to stop me. She was so strong I bruised right away. She noticed and loosened her grip but didn’t free my arm.
“Don’t go outside. We’ll be fine if we stay here.” She said, voice shaking,
Another sound came, this time it was as if someone was running across the roof.
“What the hell?” I asked myself as I looked up, expecting to see an answer.
A soft tapping made us look over to the window we had just been sitting at. A face greeted us with a wide smile. A man I didn’t know was looking at us from outside and somehow upside down. His teeth were so sharp it should have been impossible.
“Found you.”
After he spoke those words, sounds exploded all around us. Rocks came flying through the windshield shattering glass. The bedroom windows were also broken in. Bangs came from everywhere. Cackling laughter echoed outside making it hard to tell how many people were attacking the RV. I held onto Summer tight as I found my phone. I knew it was charged and yet it refused to turn on.
The man in the window joined in the laughter. To my horror, his eyes shone a deep red. I wasn’t seeing things. He had fangs and glowing red eyes. Who knows how many more of these monsters were outside. He smashed the window with his forehead, the wound healing in seconds. For some reason, none of them reached inside even with the windows broken.
I grabbed a knife from the counter. Before he could act, I jabbed it deep into one of his glowing red eyes. He screamed, his face transforming into something monstrous. He fled into the darkness, knife and all.
Went I turned I saw something that made my heart sink. Summer was at the door reaching for the handle. I picked her up around the waist and locked us inside the cramped bathroom. I closed the shower to block the view from those monsters outside.
She sank to the floor on the verge of tears. I got down with her, my leg hurting in that position.
“Just let me outside. They’ll leave you alone. I never should have dragged you into all this. I’m sorry, I’ll make it right.”
I shook my head, refusing such an idea.
“I would rather die than leave you to those things.” I told her sternly.
“You shouldn’t say that about a monster like me.”
“You’re not-” I started but stopped after my words were cut off by another loud bang.
For a moment the sounds settled down.
“We’re dealing with vampires, right? That’s easy. Like you said, we can just stay inside until we can move in the morning.”
She shook her head again not agreeing with my plan. She was scared and regret was tearing her apart.
“These vampires don’t follow all the rules. I would know.”
With a shaking finger, she pointed at her open mouth. A set of pointed fangs became clear, and a lot of answers came crashing down. She barely ate. Didn’t wake up until around sunset. Pale skin and only went inside the RV after I said she could last night. My bruised arms proved she also had some unnatural strength. She snapped her mouth shut waiting for me to toss her out from knowing her secret.
“You’re not like those guys outside. I told you, I would rather die than let those monsters get you.”
“Why?” Summer pressed.
I let myself think about her question. Was it because I’m a man and that’s what men do? Was it because she was cute? Or because I was trying to replace Annie?
“I don’t think I need a reason but if you want one, you remind me of my sister.”
For some reason, that caused tears to come to her eyes. She rubbed them away ready to face whatever dangers were ahead. I wasn’t even remotely aware of what was waiting for us, or how powerless we were.
All the sounds outside stopped. All the color drained from Summer’s face as she reached out to grab hold of me.
“Don’t listen to whatever he says!” She blurted out.
I opened my mouth to reply. Suddenly my brain was full of static. I couldn’t see where I was, and I no longer even understood who I was. Everything disappeared aside from one simple request.
“Come here.”
The voice that overtook my brain couldn’t be resisted. I simply was no longer myself. I have no memory of leaving the small bathroom or leaving the RV. When the static disappeared, I stood outside in the cold night air. The source of the voice in front of me.
I heard Summer scream. My body moved slowly to see her being held back by two of the vampire goons. I called out to her. My body was cold from fear of not being able to save her. A set of powerful hands came down on my shoulder. The fingers like vice grips. My head was painfully pulled back so a set of teeth could come down into my neck.
I felt my awareness sink down into darkness. I didn’t feel pain. I didn’t feel anything. My entire body was being drained by some unseen force. There was no hint of light where I fell. The pain soon came because of that heavy emptiness cutting me to my very core. Then, something started to pour in. Something dark and disgusting. When I noticed it, the oily sludge half-filled my empty body. I pushed back on it with everything I had. I didn’t know what it was, I only knew I didn’t want it. If I let it take over, I would no longer be myself. I struggled, the sludge pushing back with so much weight I thought I was going to be crushed.
It felt like an eternity before my empty half body started to get filled with myself again. The darkness and who I was mixed into each other while I was powerless to stop it.
My eyes opened to a star-filled sky. I gasped for air as if I had been drowning. My chest felt like an elephant was sitting on it. My neck stung but for some reason, my leg didn’t hurt. The events of what happened came back to me.
A vampire’s face came into view looking down at me. His claws were out ready to rip into my throat. This wasn’t the one who had just taken a bite out of me. I knew that much. At that moment I could only think of a few things.
Summer was in trouble.
I had changed.
And I was thirsty as fuck.
My teeth sank into his neck ripping it apart. He let out a strangled cry as he collapsed to the ground. His body shrivelled up within seconds. His blood helped with the thirst, but it wasn’t enough. I doubted it would ever be enough. I spotted my next target. He moved in slow motion unable to keep up with my feral state. I lost my mind for a few minutes. I guess I killed four of them before the voice that lured me outside spoke again.
“Stop.”
My body froze against my will. Slowly my mind returned. I breathed heavily staring at the creature that I hated so much it hurt.
He was tall with long slicked back black hair. He wore all black as if that made him look cool. He held an amused look on his face as he raised a hand to settle down his other minions.
“I wasn’t expecting you to come back the way you did.”
I pushed forward, snapping my teeth at him. I got a half a step before whatever power he held stopped my body again.
“Now calm down. I am a reasonable man.”
“Bullshit!” I snapped at him.
My mouth was forced shut so I would listen to what he had to say.
“I am Noir, your new Master. Like I’ve said, I am reasonable. It appears you are a special kind of vampire, like our friend there. The wounds you leave are hard to heal.” He explained and paused to make a show of fixing his hair as if anyone cared.
“I wanted the little darling you sheltered to kill two vampires. Summer didn’t have the stomach for such a thing and ran from us. Now, I’ll make you a deal. Take the job and both of you can be free.”
Again, bullshit. But I didn’t have any choice. My body wasn’t my own until I found a way to break free from his control. Noir let me speak expecting a favorable answer.
“Let Summer go, and we’ll talk.”
“No can do Sport. If I do that you have nothing to work for. Little Summer will stay with us until you finish the job. But I assure you, we shall not cause any harm to that poor creature. There is no time limit but the sooner the better.”
I forced through his control enough to see Summer shaking her head. Tears were in her eyes. She silently told me not to listen, but I didn’t have any other options. I didn’t trust this shitbag to keep his word. I needed to buy some time. If he said I was special, then maybe I had some sort of power to take him down. I wouldn’t have been able to figure that out with him watching me.
“Fine. But if you go back on your word, I’ll rip your throat out.” I hissed.
That was the plan either way, but he didn’t need to know that. Noir smiled in a way he thought he had everything under control. A flash of pain came to my head blocking out my vision for a few seconds. I saw two people, twins with pale skin. It was impossible to tell their gender. A location came to mind when the pain faded. I hated he had so much control over my mind.
“Go on now.” Noir said with a wave.
Whatever held me back was released. I knew if I attacked him now it would be useless. I shot him a disgusted expression then looked at Summer. She shook her head again begging me to get away somehow. I didn’t know how I was going to save her, but I would. No matter what.
With one last look at her, I did something I hadn’t been able to in years.
I ran.