Not That Kind of Monster. ( Revised )

You shudder to think of what your life has become, you’re cruising along, everything seems to be on track. And just when you think that you know with absolute certainty where life is taking you, one day it throws you the first curve, and you begin to move away from your path. Another curve follows, then another, and soon you begin to move in a direction that you are no longer in control of. You didn’t mean to end up here, and yet here you are, in a place that you aren’t in the least bit familiar with, spiraling out of control. 

The Present.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

She couldn't see him anymore but feeling his presence was an entirely different matter. He was, after all, still there somehow in some sense or another. She stared down the dark street for what seemed like hours, her tired eyes searching through the cold, empty darkness, almost wanting to see him there. Almost wanting him to come for her. It had been a rough patch for Annie Carelli, a rough life, that in all reality no matter how hard she tried she could never seem to escape from. She had always had all the tools to become whatever she wanted, she was, after all, still reasonably young, beautiful, intelligent, but all the potential in the world had never been enough to keep her from what seemed to be her destiny. 

Someone else always caught all the breaks. Someone else always got Mr. right. And she always had to settle for Mr. right now. So here she was on this dark cold rainy night all alone searching for God only knew what, this man that she’d seen, this stranger, that for all Annie Carelli knew could possibly be some whacked out serial killer or something of the like. She first noticed him four nights ago, he followed her six blocks from Market Square all the way to her apartment. He was tall, dark and strikingly handsome. Long black hair that fell down to his shoulders, he was well-dressed, a long black leather coat, but the oddest thing, there it was in the evening, well past dark and this strange man wore these round dark blue shaded glasses.

She saw him seven times all in all and never recalled seeing his eyes. She sat down on the bench in front of the stone wall just outside the entrance to Hatfield Park. She pulled her coat tightly around her to fend off the cold chill that was growing around her neck. She could feel him, he as close then. Her body tightened up, and she closed the coat tighter around her. Her eyes began to nervously sift through the growing mist of the very early morning air. And as she watched her breath rise up in front of the dimly lit streetlight, she heard his voice. Cold. Crisp. Almost mechanical, he was above; but somewhere behind her. She didn’t turn to face him.

“Good morning Annie.”

She didn’t answer.

“So here we are. Alone at last. Right where you’ve always wanted to be.”

She tried to ignore the growing chill slowly moving down her spine as she struggled to answer him.

“I don’t understand. I’m just out for - a walk?”

“At 1:30 in the morning, Annie? On a dark, deserted street? You are here because you knew that I would be here. Isn’t that right?”

She didn’t answer.

“You came here because you figured out what I am.”

She nervously glanced over her shoulder.

“I don’t know. What are you?”

“I live in darkness. Waiting for people like you, Annie. But you already figured that out, didn’t you? You figured it out when you saw me. The other night when I was on your balcony while you slept with… Him… But you woke up, didn’t you? You woke up and saw me. So you came looking. And here you are, and yet- I sense a fear in you, Annie. But it's alright. They all fear me at first.”

A look of only slight shock and surprise came over her.

“Y. Y. You’re a vampire?”

“If that’s what you think I am. My name is Chapel. And yes, I am a vampire.”

“Are you going to- kill me?”

She could hear him rise to his feet, he was moving back and forth across the top of the stone wall directly above and behind her. She felt her body stiffen, as though it were expecting him to attack right then and there.

“No Annie. I did not come here to bite or to kill you. Nor to feast on your blood. Or to dine on your flesh. None of those things. I have come here to talk to you, sweet Annie, Because quite frankly-something puzzles me.”

“What then?”

“Human beings. Now there’s a puzzling lot. You while away your lives locking yourselves up in your ivory towers. Shutting yourselves in. You lock your doors and windows. You swear you're protecting yourselves from the dark and all the monsters that live there. You sleep with guns. You worry about Vampires. And werewolves. Well Annie Carelli. I’m here to testify. I’ve walked this earth for centuries. And what I’ve learned from watching humans is, You maim and torture each other. You kill each other. For greed. For pride. For vanity. You slaughter for love. For faith. For glory. You hide from us. But the biggest monsters of all are human beings themselves. You know I speak the truth, Annie Carelli. Because you live with such a monster, don’t you?”

she turned to look at him fully. But it wasn’t a look of fear, it was a look of puzzlement.

“W. What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about your life, Annie. And the real live monster that lives in it. The one that tells you that he loves you. but blames you for every shortcoming that he has. For every failure that he has committed. Every time, he escapes to and crawls inside that bottle. And brings those demons back out with him. every time he lashes out at you, Annie. Every time he beats you, and swears that he’ll never do it again. But always does. How many broken bones, Annie? How many days have you worn extra makeup to cover the bruises. You always tell your friends and family that you fell, or you had an accident of some kind. But that isn’t exactly the truth now, is it? How many times did you lock yourself away from the outside world for days on end until the scars healed? I’m not talking about vampires and werewolves here, Annie. I’m talking about real monsters.”

“I thought that you would-” She was almost crying then.

“You thought that I would take you away from it? Hmmmmm. No Annie. I didn’t come here to be a monster. I’m most certainly not going to take your life. I have come here to tell you that I am going to give your life back to you.”

He landed in front of her, slowly kneeling. Looking her in the eyes.

“You will walk home. You will get undressed, and you will go to bed. And you will not only sleep, sweet Annie; but you will finally, for the first time in many years-rest. You will do this, and you will leave the monster to me.”

She stared at the sidewalk for several minutes, and when she looked up, he was gone. She wondered about everything that he said, before rising to her feet and turning for home.

Mark Caruthers stood almost defiantly out on the balcony of the apartment that he shared with Ann Carelli. He seemed almost immune to the bitter cold temperatures as he lifted first the cigarette to his lips and then the whiskey bottle. He smiled to himself as he felt the warm alcohol as it made its way through his veins. Annie stepped out. She wasn’t here when he got home. The bitch was going to pay dearly for that. Or so he thought. He didn’t hear Chapel walk up behind him, and by the time that he knew that he wasn’t alone, it was already too late.

"Expecting someone else, Mr. Caruthers?”

“WHAT THE FUC-”

The words choked up in his throat as he felt the icy cold hand slowly crushing the breath from it. He stared into the eyes of his assailant. His chilling words tearing through his brain like a cold steel blade.

“You’ve taken enough dreams from her, Mr. Caruthers. And if you are wondering about me? Well. Don’t mind me. I’m just here to take them all back. Now then. How about you and I go someplace quiet where we can... Talk... In private.”

She unlocked the door and slowly entered the room as an odd feeling rushed over her. She turned on the light and found herself alone. She moved to the bedroom and began to undress for bed. As her fingers reached for the table lamp when she noticed a piece of paper that fell onto the floor. On it was written three words: Sleep. Dream. Live… She lied down on the bed and pulled the covers up over her, and listened as the distant sounds of an ambulance siren softly echoed through the early morning air. For the first time in a long time, she would sleep peacefully tonight. It felt good to feel safe.

~Scratch. A B.T. Copyright © 2009~