Say Your Prayers, You're Really Gonna Need Them.

★ ★ ★ - Indicates point of view change.

-

Upon waking my hand flew up to my neck the other pulling the sheets off my body before checking for wounds, but of course I found nothing. It was just a dream, but the pain felt all too real.

Once my breathing steadied and my vision cleared I cast a glance around my room.
It was emitted in a morning glow, the sun’s rays causing everything to sparkle.

I got up and stretched, thinking about the days agenda.

Until the evening I had nowhere to be and so with that in mind I spent the day doing housework. Popping to the shop afterwards to load up on groceries with the weekly sundry allowance my mother was putting in a separate bank account for me.

By the time I made it in to work, early I might add;

I was actually incredibly relieved, I had begun to tire of my lonely little address; it’s not the same without company.

Once this thought was imprinted in my mind, I thought of Harlan... if I felt this way after only a couple of weeks surely he must feel agonizingly abandoned.

This actually made me feel quite sad, but I shook my head desperately trying to concentrate on that not of my thoughts but of the task at hand.

I smiled at my first customer; all the while inwardly grimacing.

This was going to be a long evening.

-

Once the shop was cleaned, stock accounted for and everything set up for the day ahead; Joelle, just like last week offered me a ride home.

I thanked her, and whilst waiting for her to bustle about out back I pulled on my thin jacket and waited out front lighting a cigarette and watching as the dusk fell into night.

I cast a glance around the street.

It was pretty quiet, the pavements vacant as most of the dwellers had retreated home.
I took another drag of my cigarette just as something caught my eye.

I swear for a split second I saw... Harlan? No... It couldn’t be.

I hadn’t seen him since last Thursday; we’d had no contact at all.

But never the less I supposed it was feasible, he knew I worked Mondays.

I was still considering this when Joelle came out of the shop, making me jump out of my skin.

“You okay Ruse? Looked as though you were away with the faeries for a moment.” she laughed.

I smiled resignedly, “No such luck.” I whispered.

But she didn’t hear.

-

“Thanks Joelle, I’ll see you Thursday.” I smiled, waving as I walked to my front door.
I let myself in and decided I wasn't tired just yet.

Once bathed and changed into my night clothes I retreated to the living room and switched on the TV.

Lying down on the sofa I picked up the remote and began animatedly flicking through channels.
It was late enough that most of the channels were now playing the same Teleshopping shows.

“Do you want faster internet connection...?” click.“...And this here is a beautiful ring, encrusted with sapphires...” click.
“Oh baby...”click.

I sighed; it wasn't even late enough for all these bland replacements for shows.
I was about to give it up, when I found an old horror on one of the movie channels called ‘Kiss of the vampire’ which made me laugh simply because of the irony.

I had seen it a handful of times but it’s always worth a watch, especially since there was nothing more interesting to indulge in.

With its early sixties and rather spectacularly crap special effects... it was so bad it was almost brilliant?

The plot was a newly married couple in the early nineteen hundreds, end up stranded at an almost deserted town.
They meet a ‘family’ who turn out to be vampires and the bogus father is actually a cult leader, they end up stealing the wife and making her a vampire too.

After an hour or so I was roused by a piercing clatter out in the kitchen.

I jumped up feverishly, and began timorously walking towards the door.

Taking a deep breath I fumbled for the light switch, and once clicked, bathed the dark kitchen in a bright florescent glow.

The room was empty; everything just like it had been before.

Nothing adorned the floor, causing me to maybe think I’d imagined the noise.
But I could shake this feeling, like something was watching every move, no matter how small, that I made.

Like something was coming.