“Penny!” Vivian called out, but it sounded distorted, almost like she was underwater. Her heart raced within her chest, feeling like it was going to burst. She tried to stand from where she knelt on the cold concrete, but something was holding her down. It felt like dozens of hands pressing on her, keeping her from moving out of place. Looking forward, she watched the scene in front of her unfold, helpless and terrified all at once.
There, in the alleyway that surrounded her, was a creature standing tall like a human, with red eyes staring back. Between her and the red-eyed creature was another figure, one she recognized. “Penny, run!” Vivian struggled against the invisible hands, but she only managed to scrape her palms against the rough stone. She watched, horrified as the red-eyed creature approached Penny, fingers like claws that dripped with something. Yet the woman only stood there, frozen, as if she was trapped herself.
Then the creature lunged, pinning Penny to the ground. Her scream rattled around Vivians head, making tears well in her eyes. She had to do something, she had to help, but the force holding her down was too strong, too intense for her to break away from. Hazel eyes watched as the red-eyed creature bit down on Penny’s neck, her scream muffled by the creature's hand. Vivian felt herself sinking into the ground as she watched, a whimper leaving her as tears streamed down her face.
Then the creature tore its mouth away, blood pouring from Penny’s neck like a fountain, painting the concrete a deep crimson. It was then the pressure lifted from her body and Vivian no longer had to fight the force. She stood, about to run towards the scene, but then the creature looked at her, face dripping with Penny’s blood. Vivian regretted it almost instantly, the creature's attention solely on her, burning into her skin. The need to run overtook her, and she turned and fled. Claws dug into her shoulder and stopped her, tearing her skin open and causing crimson to blossom against her shirt. Falling to the ground, her hands barely caught her fall, scraping against the ground and causing more damage. Vivian rolled over onto her back, bracing herself for the sight above her.
But she woke up.
Vivian’s eyes snapped open as consciousness hit her like a bus. Her breathing was harsh as she stared up at the ceiling, feeling sweat soaking her skin. The woman had to lay there for a moment, catching her breath and feeling a headache quickly come on. Untangling herself from the sheets, she finally sat up.
The sun was already up, filtering through the blinds that covered the window and making the bedroom glow. Vivian opened the blinds and let the sunlight spill into the room. It lit up the small space, the smell of cinnamon and vanilla calming her senses as she stood and stretched. She must have left the wax warmer on last night, the woman moving to turn it off.
Her nightmare slowly faded into the back of her mind as she went about her morning routine. Vivian had been having the same nightmare for the past week, and she's learned by now how to make the panic she felt melt away so she could go on with her day. It wasn’t that she didn’t question the nightmare, because she did. She had no idea why she was watching her coworker being killed, it’s not like she was there. Vivian assumed her mind was coming up with explanations for what happened, and somehow red-eyed, people eating creatures were the answer.
After a short jog around the neighborhood, Vivian showered and got ready for her shift at the Boardwalk Cafe. It was late morning, the sun hidden behind light, puffy clouds while she walked to work. With it being October and a few days before Halloween, there was a chill in the air, but it hadn’t gotten cold enough for snow to start falling. She could see her breath though, and for her that meant it was cold out.
Vivian arrived at the cafe five minutes before her shift, walking through the front door and all the way to the back so she could clock in. The cafe smelt wonderful, the bakery having made fresh pastries this morning. Vivian told herself she would be taking something home tonight, if there was anything left. Being the only cafe and bakery in town, they didn’t usually have anything left at the end of the day.
“Good morning sleepyhead.” A voice said to her as she clocked in. Vivian looked behind her and watched as her best friend, Ophelia, approached. “How was your walk in?”
“Cold.” Vivian replied, turning to face her friend. “I’m not excited for winter to hit.”
“You’re never excited for winter to hit, Vivian.” Ophelia commented, moving past Vivian and towards the clean dishware. “How long have you lived here and you still aren’t used to the winter?”
Smoothing down her black hair, Vivian let out a huff. “It’s only been five years-.”
“Five years?” Ophelia cut her off, brown eyes going wide.
“Yes, five years this past May. We moved after we graduated, remember?”
Her friend nodded, picking up a tray of clean mugs. “I suppose it has been five years, hasn't it? Wow, time flies.”
Vivian just let out a laugh as she pulled an apron on and got ready for her shift.
✩
“Anything else for you?” Vivian asked, smiling at the customer as they stood on the other side of the counter. She was about midway through her shift, clouds gathering outside and causing the cafe to dim the slightest bit.
“No, that’ll be it.” The woman said, handing Vivian her credit card. Swiping it, she handed it back to the customer.
“Here’s your chocolate croissant.” Ophelia cut in as she leaned over the counter, a small white plate with the croissant on top.
“Thank you!” Grabbing the plate, the woman walked away and found a seat among the many tables and chairs set about the cafe.
Vivian moved to begin making the woman's drink, but Ophelia was already ahead of her. So she just returned to the counter, tidying up the space until the next customer came up to her.
The bell above the door rang, letting the staff know a new customer had walked in. Vivian looked up from what she was doing to greet the customer, but stopped short, because holy shit, this man was beautiful. His long black hair was tied into a low ponytail, some strands loose and framing his face, deep brown eyes looking around the cafe before landing on her. He looked like his face was carved by the gods, his jawline defined and cheekbones high, skin smooth and deeply tan.
But there was something else, something Vivian couldn’t quite place. She felt like she had seen this man before, but she couldn’t place where. It was a small town, so maybe she had just seen him on the sidewalk. Then again, she would remember if she saw him on the sidewalk.
“Welcome in.” Vivian finally said as the man approached the counter, hands in his pockets. “What can I get started for you?” She asked, putting on a smile despite the sudden rush of heat that went through her body.
“Just a small black coffee.” He said, voice like velvet. Was he a model? He had to be with that face and body.
“For here or to go?” She tried to not let herself sound flustered, but she knew she was failing. If the man noticed, he didn’t show it.
“To go.” Pulling out his wallet, the man handed her a ten dollar bill. “You can keep the change.”
“Oh, that’s very kind of you.” Given his coffee was only three dollars, that was a pretty big tip. “Are you sure?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you.” She said, putting the ten in the cash register and pulling out seven dollars to put in the tip jar. “Can I have a name for the order?”
“Kit.”
“That’s a fun name.” Vivian commented without thinking. “Spelt K-I-T, right?” She inquired, picking up the 8 ounce cup and grabbing a pen.
“Yeah, that is right.” He replied as she scribbled his name on the cup.
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“It’ll be ready for you down at the other end.” Pointing to the pick up point, she watched as the man's eyes followed her gesture. Oh my gods, he was gorgeous.
“Thanks.” He said, and then moved down to where she pointed.
Hands grabbed her then, one on each shoulder. It made her jump. “Hottie alert." Ophelia whispered in Vivians ear. “Wanna make his drink?”
Vivian turned to look at Ophelia, the woman smiling like she knew a secret. Vivian just rolled her eyes and moved away from the cash register and towards the pot of hot coffee. Pouring it into the cup, she could feel a set of eyes on her, and when she looked up, Kit was watching her. It made her blush, Vivian quickly looking back to the cup. She really had to stop getting flustered by this guy.
“Kit!” She called out like she usually would for a customer's order, watching as the black haired man moved to grab the drink. “Here you go.” She said, handing it to him.
When his fingers brushed against hers as he took the cup, she was surprised at how cold his touch was. Then again, it was October and he had just walked in from outside. “Thank you.” Kit said as he took the cup. There was something in the way he looked at her, the way his eyes shifted between hers. It was like he was expecting something.
“Have a good day.” Vivian smiled at the man, hoping maybe he would ask for her number or something. But he just nodded, took the cup of coffee, and left.
Ophelia moved to stand beside Vivian as she watched the door close and the man walk from view. “I hope he comes back.”
“Me too.” Vivian’s words came out in a breath, but then she sucked it right back in. “Come on, let’s get back to work.”
The rest of her shift had gone by smoothly, and by the end of it Vivian was sad to see there were no pastries left that she liked. Oatmeal raisin cookies were not something that she enjoyed very much, and neither were cranberry muffins. So she cleaned the tables, washed some dishes, and clocked out. Waiting for her in the seating area was her two best friends, Ophelia and Elias. “You guys didn’t have to wait for my shift to end.”
“Nonsense!” Elias said, waving his hand as if batting away her comment. “It wasn’t like we were waiting that long.
“It’s been two hours.” Vivian put her hands on her hips, trying to make her point.
“Two wonderful hours.” Ophelia says with an exaggerated grin. “It was nothing, plus it’s Friday! That means we need to go out to the bar and get some drinks!”
Elias nodded enthusiastically, gesturing towards Ophelia. “She's right! We’ve worked hard this week and deserve it.”
“Yeah, listen to Elias.” Ophelia chimes in, making Vivian laugh.
“Well I’m clocked out and ready to go if you two are.” Vivian says, tightening her ponytail.
The three friends go to one of the three bars in town, finding a table tucked into the back corner. After the second hour, they all had at least two drinks, both Elias and Vivian worked on their third. The bar was packed tonight, which made sense with it being a Friday night, but Vivian couldn’t help the sense of unease she felt in the pit of her stomach.
“It’s been a week, hasn’t it?” Elias asked, pulling Vivians attention back to the conversation. “And they still don’t have anything?”
“Nope.” Ophelia said as she finished off her drink.
“Do you think it was a kidnapping?” Elias swirled his drink around in his cup.
“In Lake Ashton?” Vivian chimed in, giving a confused look to Elias. “Yeah right, I couldn’t see that happening.”
“But Penny just disappeared!” The man pushed back, waving hands in the air. “Gone!”
Vivian shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe she ran away without telling anyone.”
“Maybe it was vampires.”
Elias and Vivian both looked to Ophelia. The three are silent for a moment. “Vampires? Like, as in Twilight?” Vivian asked.
“No, I was thinking more like True Blood.” Ophelia said with a grin.
“Bad joke.” Elias sucked in a breath as he said this, shaking his head.
“It was not!” Ophelia threw a napkin at Elias, the sheet barely making it to its target.
Vivian laughed. “I think True Blood vampires would be fun.”
“Of course you would.” Elias rolled his eyes as he took another sip from his drink.
The black haired woman faked offense. “Excuse me? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You enjoy that kind of stuff, don’t you? Reading steamy vampire books.” The man teased.
“They’re not steamy, they’re just romances.” Vivian defended herself, putting a hand to her chest. “I can’t believe you don’t know the difference!”
“Why would he?” Ophelia asked, pointing to the blond haired man. “Elias is useless when it comes to books.”
“Hey, I read!” Elias defended himself. “I just don’t read romance.”
“I need another drink.” Ophelia said, moving to stand from the table. “Either of you want anything?”
“I’ll take another one!” Vivian held up her drink, only a few sips left.
“Me too!” Elias held up his drink too, about the same amount in his cup.
✩
It had been raining these past few days, but the sun finally decided to show itself on the day of the Halloween fair. All three of the friends had worked the morning and were off by the evening. With the fact that they all lived together, it was easy to get ready and leave for the fair at the same time. They walked in a group, the park in which the fair was being held not too far away from where they lived. It was nice living in a small town, Vivian had never really lived in a place like Lake Ashton, but she enjoyed it very much. Living in such a small town meant she didn’t own a car, which didn’t matter as she could walk anywhere she needed to.
When they arrived at the fair close to five in the evening, it was in full swing. String lights were hung up and lit the entire area up, food carts and tables were tucked near the front of the park, and vendor stalls and fair games were scattered throughout. The park was too small for any rides, and the pass into town was a bit too tight and had too many curves for most trucks to work their way in.
With it being the last day of October in Oregon, the sunlight was already starting to fade, but that didn't affect the festivities. The three friends enjoyed themselves thoroughly, checking out all the different vendors and tasting different food from the food carts. Vivian and Elias tried their hands at some of the fair games, but neither won anything. Vivian got close to winning something at the dart game, but she didn’t pop enough balloons to win anything. Elias almost won a goldfish, but he didn’t get enough rings around the bottle tops.
It was later in the night while the trio were walking through the fair that Vivian got that uneasy feeling again. She stopped, taking in her surroundings but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. When she turned back towards her friends, she slammed into something firm and cold. It took a moment for her to realize it was a person she had just run into.
“I’m so sorry!” Vivian said in a rush, backing away from the person.
When she looked up, somewhat familiar brown eyes looked back at her underneath the hem of a black hoodie. “No worries.” He said in that same velvety voice. It was him! The man from the cafe the other day! “Are you okay?” He asked, slight concern on his face.
What was his name again? It started with a K, didn’t it? “Kit!” Vivian exclaimed as she remembered. He was just as beautiful as the last time she saw him, but his hair was loose this time, flowing down his shoulders. “You’re from the cafe!”
“You remember?” Kit asked, raising an eyebrow.
Vivian blushed, mouth opening for a moment before words actually came to her. “Uh, yeah! It was a unique name.”
“Vivian!” Ophelia's voice rang out from behind her. “Oh! Hello there.” She said, a grin appearing on her face as she adjusted her curly auburn hair. “Who might this be?”
“Uh, this is Kit.” Vivian said, holding her hands up to him as if showing off a prize. “He came to the cafe the other day.”
“Oh! I remember you. Just a black coffee, right?” Ophelia put an elbow on Vivians shoulder, crossing her ankles all nonchalant.
“Yeah.” He replied, looking between the two women. “I am sorry, I did not mean to interrupt your night.”
“What’s taking you guys so- oh, hello.” Elias said as he came to stand on the other side of Vivian, his words cutting off as he looked at Kit. “Who is this?” He asked, a flirtatious tone in his voice.
“Kit.” Vivian said, again holding her hands up to the man.
“Off limits.” Ophelia said at the same time. “You didn’t interrupt anything.” She said before anyone could question her off limits comment. “You’re welcome to join us if you’d like.”
Vivian snapped her head to Ophelia, eyes wide. What are you doing? She asked with her gaze, shaking her head softly. It’s not that she didn’t want the man to join them, because honestly she wasn’t against the idea of getting to know him better, but he was a complete stranger. All they knew was his name.
“Thank you for the offer,” Kit began, a hesitant smile on his face, “but I cannot accept.”
“Boo.” Ophelia said with a fake pout.
“Ignore her.” Vivian said, pushing Ophelia off of her. “I hope you enjoy your night, Kit.”
“You as well.” Kit replied before turning and disappearing into the crowd.
There was still that feeling she knew him from someplace, but she couldn’t place it. It had to be from a magazine or something.