I was twenty-two and thought being old was turning thirty.
I mean, life over, right!
So, I maybe wasn’t the best person to get a job working in a residential home for the elderly.
But I had my student loans and the job I wanted in Tech hadn’t materialized yet. I figured I could do the job as a care assistant for a few weeks, pocket the wage, and then move on.
With this settled in my mind, I was feeling bright as I got off the bus near the residential home ready to start my first day at work.
The home was down a side street that was in serious need of having leaves swept off the sidewalk. The road was full of potholes as well and the gutters were blocked with yet more leaves.
The home itself looked like it had been there forever. Like since the 1930s or 1920s. It must have been fancy when it was new but now it was shabby. There was rainwater dripping from one of its gutters and paint peeling off its exterior. And what had once been a sweeping garden was now an overgrown tangle of weeds.
There was a buzzer to one side of the front door which waited at the top of three wide stone steps. I flattened down my hair, took a deep breath and went for it.
The buzzer sounded somewhere inside the home, a metallic sound that grated on my nerves.
I must admit, even though this was just a temporary gig ahead of my very bright future, I was feeling apprehensive.
I’d never had an actual job before. I was also worried I would be asked to wipe old dudes’ butts.
This was something one of my friends had told me would happen, when I’d let slip where I was going to be working.
“No way,” I’d replied.
But as the front door of the home opened, I was concerned about this gross possibility.
A man, not much older than me, stood in the hallway. He wore a white short-sleeved shirt with a name badge on, along with sneakers and jeans.
His name badge said he was Jed.
“Hi, I’m Jed,” he told me brightly just after I’d read the badge. Then he told me to follow him.
A whole bunch of rooms led off the hallway and there was a staircase in the ‘must have been fancy when it was new’ style curving up to another floor. To one side of the staircase there was an imposing-looking wooden door.
Jed took me into what seemed to be a staff room and gave me a key to a locker then fetched me a white short-sleeved shirt that matched the one he had on.
“Uh, do I get a name badge?” I asked.
“If you stay long enough,” he replied with a grin. “Most people don’t. I’ve been here a whole six months and that’s made me senior by default.”
Which made perfect sense.
He grinned again and said, “I’ll leave you to get changed and then we’ll get you to work in the Day Room. Those butts won’t wipe themselves.”
From the way he was smiling, I told myself he was joking.
But, when I left the staff room and followed a sign pointing to the Day Room, I was just not sure.
The Day Room was a big high-ceilinged space. The curtains were drawn but I guessed the view of the overgrown garden wasn’t one anyone wanted to see.
The residents of the home were seated in high backed comfy looking chairs placed in a rough semi-circle facing a TV.
A soap blared out at volume.
The residents were all tidily dressed and looked alert enough. Their eyes were glazed over no more than the eyes of any person of any age would have been who was watching a soap opera at this time of the day.
Jed saw me and gave me a friendly nod, then asked me to distribute fruit juice among the residents. There were a dozen cartons on a tray, so I took them round and was greeted with polite thanks from everyone.
The last resident I handed a carton over too, asked my name.
“I’m Steve, Sir,” I replied.
At this he cracked a grin and said, “I’m Frank and it always makes me laugh when someone calls me Sir. I used to work as a bellhop in a hotel. The Dulwich on Main Street. It was quite the place back in the day. I’d carry the guests cases up to the rooms and sometimes they tipped and, even if it was a pittance, and tip my cap at them and say, ‘Thank you, Sir’. It wasn’t till after the Dulwich closed and I got old that people started calling me Sir.”
He chuckled and raised the carton of fruit juice as if he was toasting me with a glass of beer.
I couldn’t help but smile back. I guess, I’d also figured all old people were grumpy. Well, my eyes were being opened.
I looked over at Jed, wondering if I should ask him what my next chore was, but he was busy chatting to a couple of the residents. So, I turned back to Frank and said, “I think I know the place you mean, the hotel. It’s apartments now. Nice ones. But it must have been an interesting place to work.”
“It sure was,” he replied and began to tell me tales from years ago of the colourful characters who stayed at the hotel. It was fascinating and before I knew it, Jed was coming over and telling me we needed to start prepping lunch.
My culinary skills were sorely tested even by the oven-ready dishes we heated up, and then once we’d cleared up, Jed sent me off to the laundry room. By the time I’d made it through the mountain of sheets and towels, it was supper time, and then the residents headed off to bed.
Jed and I helped where we were needed. The bedrooms I saw were small but comfortable and they all had an ensuite toilet.
Frank was fine to manage by himself and waved at me as he headed along to his room. He stepped inside and there was a gentle click as he closed the door.
Although I’d only just met him, I liked Frank and looked forward to chatting to him more.
That would have to wait for another day.
Jed finished saying goodnight to another resident then thanked me for all my hard work.
“It was a pleasure, “I said. And I meant that. “This a nice place,” I went on. “The residents seem happy here, though I guess they’d rather be in their own homes or living with their families.”
Jed smiled sadly. “The residents don’t have any families left,” he told me. “Or if they do, it’s families that don’t want anything to do with them. And the homes they used to live in were not so good, from the stories they’ve told me. They were struggling for money and it’s hard to heat an apartment when you’ve nothing to pay the bills with.”
I was thrown by this, and a question occurred to me. “But how can they afford to stay here?”
“Simple,” he answered. “The home is run on a charitable basis. The residents live here for free.”
This was an answer that warmed my heart. I was looking forward to my next day at work even more.
As Jed and I went to the staff room to get changed, I asked him if we should wait for the night shift to start. He shook his head and said, “The owner works the night shift by himself.”
I hadn’t met the owner. My job application had been done online and I’d had no interview. So, I had figured there was no need.
As we headed for the front door, I asked Jed what the owner was like.
Jed shrugged and said, “I don’t know. I’ve never met him.” He pointed at the imposing-looking door by the bottom of the stairs. “That’s where he hangs out as far as I know. I think he must have an office as well as somewhere to sleep. But that’s guesswork. His quarters are strictly out of bounds to us.”
Looking at the door made me shiver. I did not know why. It was something gut level. Like being afraid of the dark.
The creepy door and the mysterious owner on the other side, didn’t seem to be anything Jed lost sleep over, though. He was out the door, bounding down the steps and was off, after shouting back that there was no need to lock up.
I followed down the steps.
Night had fallen and it felt like there was a storm brewing. Clouds massed in the dark sky.
I pulled my coat tighter around me and hurried for the bus stop.
Just as I arrived, the storm broke. Blotches of rain landed on the ground, then seconds later the rain fell in an absolute deluge.
I was instantly soaked and miserable and – to make matters so much worse – I realized I’d just missed a bus. There wasn’t another one for an hour.
Which meant I could stand there getting wetter and colder or head back to the home and take refuge there until it was time for my next bus.
A bolt of lightning splitting the sky followed by an immense thunderclap, made it an even easier call.
I turned tail and ran back to the home.
Pushing open the door and stepping inside, I gasped with relief to be out of the storm.
It wasn’t till that moment that I thought of the enigmatic owner.
I guessed I’d get to meet him after all.
I would have called out to let him know I was back, and why, but I didn’t want to wake up any of the sleeping residents, so I set off to try and find him.
I’d not gone far when I saw something that alarmed me. The door to Frank’s room was open.
He had no reason to leave unless, maybe, there was a problem…
Telling myself I was probably worrying for no reason, I started looking around the ground floor for him.
And for the owner.
I couldn’t see anyone, though.
With my stress levels continuing to rise, I found myself outside the imposing-looking door which led to the owner’s quarters.
I hesitated. Jed had said they were strictly out of bounds to us. However, surely there had to be exceptions to that rule, I figured, and I approached the door.
I knocked nervously. Said as loudly as I dared, “Hello. Is there anyone there. I’m worried about one of the residents.”
I waited for a reply. I was desperate for reassurance that everything was okay.
But there was nothing.
So, I did the only thing I could think of.
I turned the handle and went inside.
The room I found myself in was silent and gloomy. A candle flickered in a corner. Apart from that there was nothing I could see. Just shadows dancing in an empty room.
It was strange. And a part of me wanted to turn and flee. Then I thought of Frank again and how he might need help.
I took a deep breath and kept walking. There was an open doorway at the far side of the room. I could feel my heart beating faster as I approached the doorway. A bead of sweat ran down my face.
I peered through the doorway. The room beyond was in total darkness.
Trying to ignore the fear which was now clawing at my senses, I carried on inside.
There was a draft coming from somewhere. Its cold touch travelled across my skin.
I took out my mobile so I could use the flashlight to see where it was coming from, but my hands were shaking, and I dropped the phone.
I swore under my breath and started to look for my phone.
My eyes adjusted to the darkness, and I thought I could make it out, and the source of the draft.
There was a window open. I heard it rattle as well, as a gust of wind caught it.
I moved towards it, thinking to close the window, and stop the rain getting in.
Then a flash of lightning invaded the room. Through the window I could see a dark shape outlined in the flare of the lightning. It was a bat, I realized. I saw its wings beating, and then the moment was gone.
The bat was enveloped by the night, and I was left standing there, struggling to breathe.
I wanted to get out of there. I needed to get out of there.
But I was so disorientated I couldn’t think how. I stumbled forwards then realized too late I was moving deeper into the owner’s quarters.
And this strange place had a new shock in store for me.
In the middle of the floor, there was an open coffin.
Is it for someone who has died? I wondered.
Is it Frank?
Thinking this left me feeling sick.
Then I heard movement behind me. I turned slowly and saw a familiar face.
Frank smiled at me.
I was relieved to see he was alright and blurted out, “I’m glad you’re okay. When I saw the open coffin, I thought…” I didn’t finish what I was about to say:
… I thought you were dead.
Frank must have guessed this anyway.
His smile took on a harder edge and he looked at the coffin and said, “That’s not for me. It belongs to the owner. It’s where he sleeps in the day.”
“I don’t understand,” I managed to say in a shaky voice.
He moved closer and pointed at the side of his neck.
“Do you see these?” he asked.
I was shocked to make out two puncture wounds still glistening with blood.
“What is it?” I asked. “What is happening here?”
Frank’s expression grew sterner as he answered, “The accursed owner of the home brings us here at night when there’s no other staff. And he bites us and takes his fill of blood. Then he calls us his blood bank or his cattle and laughs. It’s mighty scary the first time but none of us are strong enough to fight back, and we’ve no loved ones who care.
“Besides, as he likes to point out, without him we’d be out on the street or left alone in shabby apartments with bills we can’t afford to pay. But like most folks who think they’re smart, he can be real dumb. While he’s been taking blood from me, he’s been giving me something as well. The thing which makes him different.”
Having said this, Frank stepped away from me. His hands clenched into fists. And he began to change.
His skin grew deathly pale and his face itself twisted into a new, terrifying shape. It became a hideous hybrid between a man and a bat, with his nostrils flattened and sitting high in between narrow, dark eyes. And his mouth… his mouth was a chasm lined with razor sharp teeth. While his arms were gone, replaced by long, sharp-tipped wings.
I was too shocked to do anything other than stand and stare and listen, as the thing spoke.
Its voice was changed but I could hear the man who remained when it said, “I’ll never be young again or handsome in a carefree way, but now I’m powerful. A creature of the night. The owner doesn’t know this yet. Or that I’m not the only one of the residents who’s been changed. But he will soon, and then he’ll see. We might be old, but we’ve got bite.”