Creature of the Night

Nicole sat in the uncomfortable dining chair as she waited for her shift to end at the local diner. Nobody had been in the small restaurant for nearly an hour, but Mark's rule was to wait until closing time for those who may want to eat late. Nicole had been working at Sweeney's for only a month, and within that time she had not seen one person come in past eight. She knew very few went out past dark due to their superstitions. She may have just moved into the small town a couple months ago, but word got around fast.

A few weeks ago, Nicole overheard a couple of gossiping old ladies talk about vampires coming for them. She shook her head in disbelief at what she was hearing. Vampires? Really? In this small town? Vampires did not exist. They would never exist and were just made up stories. She didn't know how people could believe in such nonsense. And if vampires did exist, why would they come to this small town in the first place? There wouldn't be much to feed on, and the people weren't the brightest, which would probably be an advantage to the vampires.

Nicole was sure that she would have been mistaken for a vampire if it wasn't for the fact she arrived to the town in the daytime. Her edgy appearance frightened the children who had been told stories of vampires, and even the adults would try to avoid her. Her skin was pale, hair jet black, and eyes icy blue. She thought about buying plastic fangs that are sold in stores for those who wanted to dress up as vampires, just to see how the townspeople would react. Knowing them, they would probably think she was a vampire who could come out in the daylight. Then everyone would either lock themselves up in their homes or carry stakes, crosses, garlic, and anything else that would harm a vampire. They would probably try to kill her even!

Nicole often wondered if moving here was a great idea. She was an outcast from a big city while everyone here knew each other. She had no family here like they did. Her family was hours away. It's not like it mattered since she didn't keep in touch with them. Her parents pretty much disowned her since she wasn't like them. She didn't wear expensive clothing and jewelry, or care to become a doctor or lawyer like her parents wanted. She didn't care to live a lifestyle of luxury even though having a ton of money was great. Most of all, she didn't like the city life. She wanted to live out in the county where it was quieter.

After months of searching for a place to live, she came across Silver Creek. After seeing the town for herself, as well as the house she would be living in, she knew it was perfect. In a week she had bought the house, moved all her stuff, and even found a part time job that she didn't even need since she had a huge sum of money in her bank account. She was trying her best to fit in even though her appearance was making it a bit difficult.

"Nicole," Mark spoke, breaking her blank stare at the doorway. Her eyes glanced up to meet his chocolate colored ones to let him know she was paying attention now. "Go on home, I'll close up. I know you get tired of waitin' here." Her pale pink lips twitched up into a smile. This was the first time he let her off work early.

After a quick 'thank you' and 'goodnight', she was out the door heading towards her black Mustang. Her Mustang was her baby and one of the few things she was thankful she could afford. The only other expensive thing she used her money to buy was her house which had been nicknamed House of the Dead by the townspeople. She wasn't sure why since she didn't find anything dead in it. It had been just an old, abandoned house.

Nicole started her car before letting her long hair cascade down her shoulders and back. She put the ponytail holder around her wrist before checking the time on her phone. She let another smile grace her lips when she saw that Mark had let her off twenty minutes early. She still wasn't sure why, but she wasn't going to question it. She was thankful to have the job in the first place.

The ten minute drive from Sweeney's to her house went by quicker than it usually did. She locked the front door behind her before heading to the living room. She already knew her plans for the night was to watch her favorite shows until she fell asleep. Since she had the day off tomorrow, her plans were to stay up as long as she could. The keys were tossed onto the dark brown coffee table as she kicked off her black boots. She grabbed the black remote before lying down on the couch. As she waited for the television to come on, she checked her phone once more for any missed calls or texts. Seeing none, she placed the phone next to the keys before turning her attention to the television.

As the hours went by, Nicole felt like she was being watched. Her sleepy eyes strayed from the television to the window. All she could see was the outlines of the trees. As her tired blue orbs went back to the television, she thought she saw something move outside. She ignored it and figured it was just her imagination. After all, she was barely staying awake.

After another twenty minutes or so, she turned off the television. Too tired to get off the couch, she pulled the small purple blanket over her long body. She turned over to her side so she was facing the couch before snuggling into the blanket. As she began drifting off to sleep, she could have swore she heard tapping on the window. She ignored it once again and blamed it on her imagination as she drifted off to dreamland.