Abandoned

Author's Note:

This Halloween Contest tale is a bit outside my comfort zone, but I had fun writing it. I hope you have fun reading it. My sincere thanks to Demosthenes384bc for his helpful comments on an earlier draft.

*******

I'd seen some weird shit inside abandoned storage units, but what I saw that night in November took the cake. By a mile.

Here's the way it worked: you'd sign a contract saying you got so many months of missed payments before we could declare your unit abandoned and confiscate your stuff. Then we'd auction it off to recoup the lost rent.

Our place allowed you four months of missed payments, but that's only because Abe was a softie. Most rental owners cut their losses a lot sooner.

Confiscation sucked for occupants of the unit, but it was always kind of a thrill for me. You never knew what you'd find. So as my feet crunched across the gravel toward unit C42 that chilly night, it was with a sense of excitement and anticipation.

A light mist swirled around my ankles as I reached the unit. I hefted the 36-inch bolt cutters into position, then saw the door had no padlock. Shit. The owner had probably already cleared out all the good stuff.

As I raised the folding metal door, my stomach dropped. The interior of the unit was almost entirely empty. Almost. A single item lay on the center of the concrete slab: a large wooden coffin.

I flipped on the light switch, then froze at the threshold and peeked over my shoulder. I half expected —maybe hoped would be more accurate—to see Abe standing there, stifling a laugh over his extravagant prank.

But there was nothing. Even the mist seemed to have disappeared.

I tiptoed into the unit and approached the coffin. It was a simple pine box design, like the type you might see in an old Western movie. Or a vampire one.

I raised the bolt cutters with both hands and stretched them forward until the tip was just a few inches from the wood.

Poke.

Poke, poke.

Nothing.

It had to be empty. I mean, who would leave the rotting remains of their deceased loved one locked up inside a storage unit? It was probably just some woodworker's abandoned project.

I considered grabbing a wooden stake, just to be safe, but decided I was being silly. I'd just throw open the lid, confirm that it was empty, then laugh at myself for acting like such a chicken.

I set down the bolt cutters behind me, curled my fingers under the coffin lid, and raised it a few inches. I expected to hear an ominous creak, but the hinges were whisper quiet. Somehow, the silence was even creepier. I held my breath and swung open the lid.

The coffin wasn't empty.

Inside lay the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. She looked to be around my age, maybe mid-20s. Raven-black hair fell in gentle curls to her shoulders, contrasting with her fair skin and making it appear even paler, almost ethereal. She wore a light blue ballgown that looked like something a London aristocrat from the 1800s might wear, except that its lower half was streaked and spattered with mud.

She had high cheekbones, a narrow chin, and thin lips. I was mesmerized by the way the light seemed to dance and shimmer deep within her cornflower blue eyes. Those eyes were captivating. They were magic. They were ... open. And they were staring at me.

What happened next is a little fuzzy. She screamed. I screamed. She sat bolt upright. I tripped over my bolt cutters. My head smacked the ground. She leapt from her coffin.

"Oh, shit!" she said, hands cupped over her lips. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I said, rubbing the back of my head. It hurt like hell. "I'm fine."

"Is it bleeding? Here, let me have a look." She started toward me.

"No, really." I said, sliding backward a few feet. "I'm good."

I checked my fingertips and was relieved to find there was no blood.

She closed the distance between us and extended her hand. "Amber."

I grabbed it and she yanked me to my feet. She was a lot stronger than she looked.

"Hans," I said. "Sorry for scaring for you."

"Hans?" she said. "That's an unusual name!"

I raised my eyebrows and glanced at her gown, then at the coffin she'd just jumped out of.

"Right," she said. "Maybe not as unusual as ... other things." She rocked back and forth on her toes. "I'm sure all of this looks kind of odd."

"That's because it is odd," I said. "This some sort of sorority pledge stunt? Pretend to be a vampire for a night?"

"Afraid I'm not pretending." She smiled and flashed a pair of glistening white fangs.

"Oh, so you're a real vampire? Cool. Mind if I get a selfie? Just want to document my encounter with the living dead."

"Knock yourself out."

I draped an arm around her shoulder and angled my phone above us. "Okay. Say 'hellspawn' on three. Ready? One, two, three."

"Hellspawn!" we called in unison.

I started to put my phone back in my pocket.

"Can I see it?" she asked.

"Sure." I flipped to my photos, pulled up the image, and froze. The photo showed me, an enormous fake smile plastered across my face, with my arm wrapped around empty air.

I whirled to face her and took several slow steps backward. "How'd you do that?"

"Believe me now?"

I stared at her fangs as I continued to back away.

"Hey! My eyes are up here, buddy."

"Are ... are you going to kill me?" I asked, certain I already knew the answer.

I didn't expect what happened next, which seemed to be the theme for the evening. She started to cry. Softly at first. Like she was trying to hold it in. Then she slumped against the coffin and dissolved into sobs.

"Hey. What's the matter?" I asked. She kept crying.

I shuffled forward a few steps and patted the top of her head with my open palm. "You're okay," I said. "Don't cry." Then I scooted quickly backward.

"You're really bad at this," she said, glancing up at me. Tears streaked her cheeks. "It's like you're petting a dog."

"In my defense, you haven't said whether you're going to eat me."

"I'm not going to eat you."

"Okay." I started toward her, then paused again. "It's just ... that's exactly what I'd tell someone if I were going to eat them."

"Fuck!" she screamed, pounding her fists into the concrete. "This is all his fault. How could I be so stupid?"

Her tears dried as her anger grew. She clenched and unclenched her fists while she mumbled under her breath. I took another step backward. She noticed.

"What the fuck are you doing here, anyway?" she said. "This is my place."

"I work here."

"So? That doesn't give you the right to break in."

"Yeah. See, here's the thing... you promise not to eat me?"

She raised an open palm like she was making a solemn pledge, then flipped her hand around and lowered all her fingers except the middle one.

"Well, you're in violation of your rental contract for nonpayment. It's my job to confiscate your things and clear out your unit."

"Unbelievable," she said, shaking her head. "He promised he would pay for me to stay as long as I wanted. Of course, why would he tell the truth about that? He lied about everything else!"

With that last sentence, she stood and tossed the coffin into the air. It bounced off the ceiling and slammed into the concrete floor, shattering into a dozen pieces.

I don't know why I did it. Maybe it was the forlorn look on her face. She was just standing there, staring at the broken remains of what might have been her only possession, looking so lost and alone. Or maybe I just wanted to be closer to the hottest woman I'd ever met.

Whatever the reason, I stepped gingerly through the shards of splintered wood until we were face to face. Then I wrapped my arms around her in a tight embrace.

"I don't know what you're going through," I said. "But I know it sucks, and I'm sorry. If you want to talk, I'll listen."

She raised her arms from her sides, pausing at ninety degrees like she was unsure what to do with them, then slipped them around my shoulders. She started crying again and buried her face in the side of my neck. That made me nervous, but when a few minutes passed and she still hadn't bitten me, I relaxed. So did she.

I felt the tension in her muscles loosen, and her body seemed to melt into mine. Her lips grazed the skin of my neck, then came to rest against my shirt. I pulled her tighter and buried my nose in her hair. Her pert breasts pressed against my chest with every breath.

I tried to fight it, but in no time I was rock hard. She must have felt it, but she didn't pull away.

"Thank you," she whispered. "It's been so long since someone has held me like this."

"Any time."

She removed her arms from my shoulders and stepped back. "Sorry about that," she said, gesturing to the remains of the coffin. "I always had a bit of a temper when I was alive. Guess I still do."

"You really did a number on that thing. Where are you going to sleep tomorrow?"

She sighed. "I don't know. I'll figure something out."

"You could stay with me," I said, maybe a bit too quickly.

Her brow furrowed and she looked at me like I had two heads.

"Just for a little while," I added. "Until you find a new coffin or whatever."

"You're serious? You'd do that?"

I nodded. "One condition, though. No biting. Me or anyone else."

"Gross. I never feed on people."

"Good. Then it's settled." I extended my hand. "Roomies?"

She stared at me with those stunning blue eyes, then broke into a huge smile and shook my hand. "Roomies."

*******

I swirled some cream into my coffee and took a seat next to Amber on the couch. We'd driven back to my place after my shift ended at midnight.

"Can I get you anything?" I asked. "Coffee? Tea? How about a beer?"

She shook her head and smiled. "My drink options are kind of limited."

"Oh. Right."

I sipped my coffee in silence. Amber folded her hands in her lap.

"This is a really nice house," she said.

"Thanks. It was my grandfather's place. He left it to me in his will. One of the perks of being the favorite grandchild."

"He didn't leave the house to your parents?"

"It was important to him that it stay in our family. My dad didn't need it. And he knew I wouldn't sell it."

"I get it," she said. "My grandfather and I are close too." She looked down at her lap. "We were close, I mean."

"Did he die?"

"No." She glanced up. "I did."

We fell back into silence. "You want to talk about what happened?" I asked.

She gave a bitter laugh. "I got involved with the wrong guy. I met him about a month ago. My friend Beth convinced me to go to a costume party at this shitty bar."

She gestured to her pale blue gown. "I was dressed as—"

"Daphne Basset, Duchess of Hastings," I said.

"Wait. You watch Bridgerton?"

"I've heard of it." She didn't need to know I'd also read all the novels.

"Right," she said, smiling. "Anyway, that's where I met James. Guess what he was dressed as?"

"A vampire."

"Bingo. We hit it off right away, which was weird, because he wasn't my type: tall and skinny, narrow chin, pale face. But there was something about his eyes. When we started talking, it was like, I don't know, like I couldn't look away."

I nodded. I'd felt the same way when I first looked into Amber's eyes.

"He was funny. Charming. And a really good dancer. The whole time we were dancing, he was staring at me like I was the only person in the room. It was a little creepy, but also kind of hot.

"Then he kissed me, and my mind went blank. I forgot about everything: promising to leave with Beth, needing to get up early for work the next day, hell, even the name of the bar we were in. It was weird.

"Next thing I know, we were sharing a ride to his place, kissing like teenagers in the back seat. As soon as we got inside his house, he backed me against the wall and said he wanted to taste me. I thought he was being playful, so I laughed and arched my neck. I remember the feel of his lips on my skin, followed by a sharp pain, then darkness."

"Holy shit," I mumbled.

"When I woke up, I was lying in a coffin inside that storage unit. He was standing over me, staring, just like you were tonight."

"No wonder you screamed when you saw me."

"My head felt all fuzzy. I asked him how long I'd been asleep. He said a month."

"A month?" I asked, bewildered.

She nodded. "His eyes looked different. Not at all like they had at the bar. They were so cold. Almost disgusted.

"He told me that I was a mistake, and that these things sometimes happen. He told me to rest, and that my body would let me know when it was time to feed. He said I could stay here as long as I wanted, but that I should eventually find my own home. And he said that if I ever told anyone about him, or tried to find him again, he would kill me."

"Nice guy," I said.

"Yep. I really know how to pick 'em."

"So how long have you been living in our storage unit?"

"All I know is that I woke up six days ago."

"And you've been alone this whole time?"

"I've been too scared to talk to anyone. I mean, look at me."

I glanced at the mud spattering her dress. "You've been feeding on animals in the woods outside the storage facility?"

Her eyes welled with tears. "I'm a monster."

"Nonsense. You're a Duchess." I stood and offered her my hand. "But I'm afraid that dress just won't do. Let's get you cleaned up, shall we?"

She managed a small smile and took my hand. I led her to my bedroom, opened the closet, and told her to pick whatever she wanted.

"While you change, I'll set up an air mattress. Will that work? Or do you need, you know, like ..."

"A coffin?" she finished for me.

"Yeah."

She laughed. "An air mattress would be great. Do you have any rooms without windows?"

"Just the basement."

"That'll be perfect."

I'd just finished setting up the mattress and fluffing the pillow when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned to find Amber in one of my white T-shirts and a pair of plaid boxer shorts. The shirt hung loosely on her lithe frame, reaching almost to the hem of the boxers. My eyes were drawn to the outline of her nipples, barely visible through the white fabric.

"How do I look?" she asked.

I swallowed. "You look great. Much more like a Duchess."

She stretched the bottom of the shirt with her hands and gave a small curtsy. Her eyes met mine, and she smiled. She walked forward until our chests were almost touching.

"Is the bed ready?" she asked.

I nodded. She stared at me, waiting.

"Do you, uh, need anything else?" I asked.

Her eyes dropped. "No. It'll be dawn soon. I guess I'll get some rest."

"Yeah. I probably should too."

I turned to walk away. She placed her hand on my shoulder.

"Thank you, Hans. You made me feel something tonight that I haven't felt in a long time."

"What's that?" I asked.

"Human."

*******

I woke at noon with a mission: get Amber some clothes. If I had to watch her walk around in nothing but my T-shirt for another night, I'd go crazy.

After wolfing down a quick breakfast, I hopped in my car and drove half an hour to the nearest Target. I bought an absurd amount of stuff. I figured Amber could keep whatever she wanted, and I'd just return the rest.

I got a bunch of bras in assorted sizes. I was pretty sure she was close to a 34B, but I didn't want her to think I'd been staring at her chest long enough to work out her size. I mostly stuck to white and beige, but I threw in a few more colorful options at the last minute.

Abe wasn't happy when I called off work, especially on a Friday night, but I didn't care. I didn't want Amber to wake up alone again.

"Holy shit!" Amber said when she saw the bags of clothes on the kitchen table. "You're amazing."

"As great as you look in my T-shirt, I figured you might want some of your own things."

She rifled through the bags, pulling out one item after another and holding it up to examine it.

"Boots!" she cried, clutching a pair of brown Timberlands to her chest. "I never thought I'd be so happy to see decent footwear."

I laughed and tried not to let my eyes linger on the way the boots' tread pulled taut the fabric of her shirt, revealing the full outline of her left breast.

"Whoa. What's this?" she asked, a red thong dangling from her index finger.

I shrugged. "I didn't know what you'd like."

"Is this what you'd like?" she asked with a smirk, swinging the thong in lazy circles around her finger.

I felt my face redden.

"I'm teasing," she said. "Thank you. These are all great."

She changed into jeans and a crimson top.

"Don't you have to get to work?" she asked, glancing at the clock.

"I called off."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I thought we could do something together."

Her eyes brightened. "Like what?"

"How about a walk?"

My grandfather's house sat on three wooded acres bordering the Allegheny National Forest. We set off on one of several trails that cut through the property. Amber could see amazingly well in the dark, but I had to bring along a flashlight to avoid tripping over a rock and breaking my neck.

"Did your boss give you a hard time for calling off?" Amber asked.

"Yeah. But it was worth it."

She smiled.

"Besides," I said, "he always gives me a hard time. He's my dad."

"So self-storage is the family business, then?"

"More or less. My grandfather passed it on to my dad. Now he wants me to take it over."

Amber was quiet for a moment. "But that's not what you want. Is it?"

She certainly was perceptive. I sighed. "I don't know what I want."

We walked in silence for a while. I paused under a clearing and glanced up at the hazy band of stars marking the Milky Way.

"What about your parents?" I asked. "What are they like?"

"They're wonderful. Supportive. Loving. Healthy marriage. It's kind of disgusting, really."

I laughed.

"Growing up, I just assumed that's what relationships were like," Amber continued. "That most people were good and would treat you with love and respect. I kind of resent them for putting in my head this unattainable ideal of romantic partnership."

"Who says it's unattainable? Maybe you just have to find the right partner."

"Yeah, well, too late for that now."

We paused while I propped up my foot on a fallen tree and retied my shoe.

"Have you thought about going to see them?" I asked. "Your parents?"

I'd read the news articles about Amber's abduction. She'd been taken from an area near Johnstown, about two and a half hours southeast of Warren. Her parents' pleas for their daughter's safe return had been heartbreaking.

"No. Why would I do that?" she said.

"To let them know you're okay."

"Okay? You call this okay?" she asked, baring her fangs.

"You disappeared more than a month ago. Don't you think they'd want to know you're still alive?"

"I'm not alive."

"Yes, you are. Maybe not in the same way you were before, but you're here. You're talking to me. I'm sure they'd give anything to see you again."

"I'd rather they think I was dead than ... whatever I am now."

"Amber, your family—

"Stop!" she shouted. The sudden noise sent animals scurrying through the underbrush. "Just stop."

"I'm sorry." I started toward her, but she backed away.

"I have to eat now," she said quietly. "I don't want you to see that. I'll meet you back at the house."

Before I could say anything, she melted into the darkness, leaving me alone with the stars.

*******

I felt terrible about the way our walk had ended. Amber stayed in the forest until it was nearly dawn, even though I suspected she had finished feeding well before then. When she returned, she headed straight to the basement. I didn't bother trying to talk to her. I knew she needed space.