The Loners Ch. 01

My name is Alan Brooks, and I...am a loser. I know, great description, huh? But, that's honestly what it is. I live a rather meager life, going to work, playing video games, reading, watching Japanese anime, and daydream. Yep. Daydream. That's me in a nutshell. Oh, and boring, vastly boring. And did I mention...I'm sure you've figured it out by now, self conscience. I suppose I shouldn't be complaining that much. Looks wise, I suppose I'm average at 5 foot 10 inches, and 155 pounds. Okay, maybe a little on the scrawny side, but...what are you gonna do? Genetics combined with no will for real physical activity does that to you.

Today had begun like most days. The good old alarm clock rang faithfully at 6:30 am. I rolled out of bed, showered, changed, and got ready for the day. Thankfully, the bathroom was connected to my bedroom, which made for easy access and I could just walk into the bathroom at night with just my underwear on and not have to worry about disturbing my roommate, Dave, or his girlfriend, Ashley, with images they'd rather not see for the rest of his life. The house we were living in was from my father, a rather successful businessman, died a year and a half ago from cancer, and had left everything to me. Since I knew him for such a long time, I allowed him to live with me to help me pay bills and so I didn't have to live alone.

Anyway, I proceeded outside my room, and into the living room, and found the usual sight, my roommate asleep on the couch with his girlfriend in his arms. The sight irked me a little. Not that they were actively fucking on the couch (at least, I hope not!), they were even fully clothed. It's just that sometimes, they feel asleep together while watching movies or something along those lines, and sometimes don't bother to relocate to his bedroom. The reason why the sight irked me was because I was jealous. Not of the fact that Dave was dating Ashley. I never even knew who she was until he introduced her to me.

No, I was jealous of the fact that he had a relationship at all, something I've never had in my 25 years of existence. It wasn't as though I never tried, but, for the most part, I was either dicked around or politely shot down. Okay, maybe I was a little chicken, but the other two elements are equally true. My failures in this department forced the question of just who would be interested in me anyways?

I suppressed the ugly thoughts, and turned my mind to blank as I arrived for work. I had only just started two weeks ago after leaving my previous occupation, the Marine Corps. Yeah, how about that? Adding insult to injury, a Marine, and still unlucky with women. Yeah, thanks Mr. Recruiter, you liar.

Whatever. My work consisted of mindless stocking in Wal-Mart, just something to hold me over until I started school full time. The day droned on as usual, a couple of short conversations with some of my co-workers, nothing really interesting. At long last, the day ended, and I got to come home to my empty life. At least, that's what it felt like to me, empty. Because of my personality, my interaction with most people is poor at best. I first noticed this in school, when I began to actively read books while in study hall or lunch, to the amusement of many.

I mean, seriously, who among the socially accepted reads books in school when they don't have to? In my experience, nearly zero. And while everyone else talked about the latest gossip or sports or whatever held their interest, I find most of these conversations boring. Sure, I can talk about how many of us wish the Miami Heat empire would come crumbling to the ground, or whether or not we'll ever see Floyd and Manny fight, but beyond that, I lose interest. Now if someone wanted to discuss Bleach or Naruto, I would be all over that. But...that just doesn't happen.

Back to my empty life, yeah. At the end of the day, I see everyone else happy with their significant other, yet I get to sit home all by myself with no one to really relate to. I almost feel like House in this regard, aside from the broken leg and Vicoden addiction, along with an awe inspiring wit. When I came home, I saw that my roommate was gone, who worked night shifts as supervisor at the local McDonalds.

"Yay, time alone." I muttered to myself, sighing. As if I didn't have enough of that. Did I also admit that I was depressed? It sucks to be alone constantly like this, and naturally, I have no one to blame but myself, which made things worse. I used to try to open up and go out, trying to blend in, but that made things even worse. At least like this, I was somewhat content, having put the life of drinking and partying behind me. Depressed, yes, but at least I'm not an addict. After a few hours on some faithful Call of Duty, I decided to take a break and step outside to stare at the stars. I wouldn't call it star-gazing, for I feel that would be an insult to those who really do star-gazing, but I like to look at them from time to time, such as tonight. They really were nice, and the summer air, though humid, wasn't that bad at night. I would like to think that the stars could grant my wishes, maybe find a girlfriend, or give me a purpose to live rather than this drone existence that I currently live with. So far though, nothing.

I decided that since the weather was nice, I would go out for a nice walk. There was a local recreational area that consisted of a couple of basketball and baseball courts, along with a trail that circled the park completely. Of course, at this time of night, since it was almost 11 at night, no one was up here, except for a few strays, doing whatever it was they were doing. I minded my business and continued my walk alone. I was at one of the more obscure points in the trail when a sound caught my ears. It was whispers. Paying it no mind at first, I proceeded on my walk, figuring that there were others walking along the trail, but the whispers grew louder, and no one was in sight, and I caught parts of the conversation.

"You sure your wife won't mind?" A soothing and very sensual woman's voice asked.

"What she don't know won't hurt her." A male voice responded, which was slurring slightly. 'What an asshole.' I thought to myself. The woman giggled.

"Oh, you're bad." She responded.

"That's right, but enough about that, let's get started." The man said.

'Really? The two of you are about to get it on here?' I was walking a little more quietly at this point, for I didn't know who they were are how they would react if I disturbed them.

"Before we do, there's something I'd like to tell you, and that is that I hate unfaithful men, and that's why you are going to be my meal tonight."

"What the hell?" The guy asked as I stopped and thought the same thing. I then heard the beginnings of a scream, which was cut off before it could get too loud. I was frozen in my tracks. My first instinct was to reach in my pockets for my cell phone, only to find there was none. Fuck! Well, who expects to happen on a murder while walking around a 'peaceful' park? Well, time to follow my next instinct. Run away! And so I ran. I didn't know who or what was going on, and I certainly didn't want to find out by myself. However, I didn't make it but a handful of steps before a figure suddenly appeared in front of me, causing me to stop.

It was a woman, with all black hair that stretched to her lower back, along with a black shirt and jeans. I didn't take the time to observe the rest of her, for I was too busy staring at the blood running from the corners of her mouth, along with her blood red eyes. Once again, I was frozen, and she took several steps toward me.

"Odd, usually no one comes out this far at this time." She said as she approached.

Oh...shit. I'm about to die. The only move I made was to take a step back in fear. However, one step was all I could manage.

"Sorry, but I can't allow any witnesses." She said, now barely a few feet from me, and it was here that I noticed that she had fangs.

Well, if there was a bright side to this, at least someone is going to put me out of my misery, I realized, and closed my eyes, and waited. And waited. And waited. Nothing was happening. I dared to open my eyes, to find that her head was cocked and was looking at me curiously.

"Why did you resign yourself to death so easily?" She asked.

"Wh-what?"

"Most people beg for their lives, or at the very least, attempt to fight back, but you did neither. Is it because you are a coward? Or that you want to die?"

"Uh..."

"I sense...loneliness...in you...not unlike my own." She seemed to be drifting in thought, then straightened her head.

"I'll spare you on the condition that you do not speak of the events tonight, understand?" I dumbly nodded my head.

"Good." And with that, she was gone.

With the girl gone, I lost the strength in my legs, and sat down. What just happened? Who, are what, was that? I went back home, sort of on automatic pilot. My mind was far too busy dwelling on what just happened. The rest of the night sort of passed in a blur as exhaustion also settled in on me, and I feel asleep quickly when I returned home.

The good old alarm clock faithfully woke me up as usual, and I resisted the urge to throw it against the wall to keep it quiet. Even though I slept, I still felt more tired than ever. The events of last night, however, woke up my mind, and I spent a few moments dwelling on it before I began my routine, the strange event replaying in my mind. I also thought about calling someone. I mean, just how would she know? A quick call to the authorities and that was that. Surely they could protect my identity, couldn't they?

Somehow...I felt like that wasn't possible. She could, after all, vanish and reappear out of nowhere, and images of those fangs sinking into my neck came to mind. I decided against telling anyone. There was also the obvious question of just who would believe me? 'I met some crazy woman who killed someone last night that had fangs and could disappear.' Yeah, that will go over well. Despite my fatigue, I managed to get to work on time and begin another drone day, the only difference being that a couple of people pointed out that I looked like hell, which I passed off as simply having a rough night sleeping.

The day could not have passed by fast enough, and it was a bigger relief than usual to come home. My roommates' car was gone, indicating that I would have time alone, something that I was thankful for, for a change. When I walked into the living room, however, I just about jumped out of my skin. Someone was sitting on the couch, watching TV. Not just anyone, though. It was her. She turned to me, an amused smile on her features, and her eyes normal with a deep brown.

"Well, it's about time, I was starting to think you were avoiding your own home on purpose." She said.

"Wha-what...what are you doing here? I didn't say anything to anybody!" I stammered, wondering on whether or not she changed her mind on killing me.

She threw her arms behind her head and leaned back into the couch. "Well, I need a place to crash for a little while, and I figured this would be as good as any, since you and I have already met." She casually responded.

Deciding that she wasn't going to go all crazy on me, I gave her a once over, and wow...she was exquisite. Her jet black hair smoothly settled itself both in front and behind her in nice, straight lines. Her face was something that looked like it would be more at home on film or magazines, the kind that would have nearly everyone drooling over. She was also generously gifted in her chest area, and though I'm an idiot when it comes to breast size, they certainly made themselves known, and were more than a handful. She was also wearing shorts, and was showing off her smooth and very appealing legs.

I then stopped, and did a double take. I recognized both the shirt and shorts she was wearing. "H-hey, are those mine!?" I asked, pointing a finger at her.

She turned to me, a curious look on her face, then seemed to realize what I was pointing at and looked down, tugging on the shirt. "Oh this? Yeah, I figured that since we're about the same size, these would fit fine, although it took a little extra time finding the shirt, since you don't have boobs. Besides, I don't think you would have wanted to see me in my blood stained outfit, since that's the only one I have."

"Well then, where is your other outfit?" I asked.

"In the wash." She said.

Geez, the woman was a leech. "M-my wash!?"

She ignored me and returned her attention to the TV. "You know, for all of the channels you get, there's nothing good on at all, except for the history channel, but even that is terrible right now."

I simply stared at her. This was unbelievable. First, she murders someone last night, nearly kills me, then shows up in my house with my clothes on, using my washing machine and my TV.

"Okay, this is fucking ridiculous, who the fuck are you? And what gives you any right to come to my house and use all of my things like you own them!?"

Gone was the smile on her face when she turned to me, and then she vanished. I felt a hand grab the back of shoulder, and she leaned in close and whispered in my ear. "You should be a little more polite to the one who spared your life." She then reappeared before me.

"But, I guess I can answer a few questions. I'll just warn you now though, I don't plan on staying here too long, a couple of days at best, then, I'll be out of your life, probably forever. I'm Rachel, and I'm a vampire."

My jaw dropped. Seriously? She smiled in amusement. "What? You didn't think a human does the things I do did you?"

"Uh, I guess not."

"Normally, I'm a little more careful when I feed, but, I admit, I got a little careless last night, and in all honesty, I didn't think that you would just randomly stumble upon us last night, but hey, shit happens."

"Feed?" I immediately regretted asking that.

"Well, yeah, you know, Vampires feed on the blood of humans, right? I mean, everyone knows that." She mocked.

"Okay, okay, dumb question." I admitted. "My name's Alan." I said, deciding to be polite and offer my hand, which she took in response. Her hand was gentle and soft to hold. The shake then broke.

"So, where are you from? And where do you plan on going?" I asked next. She raised a hand.

"Woah, woah, I said I'm not staying for long, so don't bother trying to get to know me, trust me, it's better that you don't, it's bad enough that you even know I'm a vampire" She responded, turning and sitting back down on the couch.

The gesture annoyed me. "Look, uh, Rachel, I don't know what's going on with you, but, can you really not sit around like you own the place?" I asked.

Rachel turned to me. "I know how to carry my weight, I threw your clothes in the wash as well, as well as cleaned this place up a little, you seem to be a bit of a slob, if you don't mind me saying." She said, turning back to the TV, aimlessly flicking through the channels. Curious, I went down to the washing machine and opened it, and sure enough, my clothes were all there. Okay, maybe I judged her a little too soon.

I came upstairs to find her still aimlessly flicking through channels, though she looked annoyed. "Nothing, nothing, nothing, garbage..." She was muttering as she flicked through. Finally, she had enough and threw her arms in the air. "Geez, nothing!" She put the remote down and turned to me as I sat down on a nearby chair.

"So, what do you do for fun?" She asked me. I shrugged.

"Video games?" I suggested. She shook her head. "Not really my thing, people are so ruthless online that it's not really fun." I kind of shrunk at that. I happen to be one of those ruthless people that she was referring to. "Sorry, we really like to win, and it takes time to get really good."

"Oh, so you're one the assholes that always kicks the shit out of me?" She accused. I meekly nodded my head. "Sorry."

"Whatever, anything else?" She asked.

"Well, I'm a big fan of Japanese animation." I said next.

"Animation? As in cartoons? Aren't you a little too old for that?" She said, irritating me.

"They're not cartoons! Most American cartoons are almost garbage compared to Japanese animation! People might not realize this, but there are some really good ones out there." I said, probably a little too defensively.

Rachel took it in stride. "Fine, prove it, show me what a cartoon can really do."

To prove my point, I pulled out my faithful hard drive, hooked it up to the TV, and decided to show her a more extreme series that I rather enjoyed, called Elfin Lied. It was a short, and rather violent series, and is almost infamous for the first eight minutes of the first episode, known as one of the most disturbing ever, for both it's violence and constant nudity.

Her mouth was agape the entire episode, I saw, and got a smug look on my face. "Wow..." Was all she said when the episode was over. "That's fucked up. I've been around for a while and that was...wow. I almost feel like I was watching Saving Private Ryan."

"An excellent movie, I might add." I responded.

"Well, yeah, obviously, but still, I didn't expect the intro when I first saw it, I was stunned." She said. "So, c'mon, hurry up, start the next episode. I'm sold now." She admitted. Before I could do that, however, the sound of a familiar car began to approach.

"Uh oh, I forgot my roommate has off on Tuesdays." I said out loud, turning to Rachel. "How am I going to explain you?" I asked her.

She merely smiled. "Don't worry, you won't have to, just act natural."

Act natural? Just how am I supposed to act natural when I have a vampire sitting in my living room? A very beautiful one at that. Deciding to take her advice, I sat back down. I don't know what she has in mind, but, I just had a feeling that taking her advice would be a good idea. I started the next episode when my roommate walked in. "Hey Alan, what's up?" He asked as he came in. "S'up Dave." I responded. I heard him walk next to me.

"What are you watching?" He asked. My brain stopped. 'He can't see her!?'

"Elfin Lied." I responded, attempting to keep my cool.

"What made you want to watch this?" He asked. Dave wasn't really a fan of Japanese animation in general, but, he didn't really mind it either.

Rachel had turned in my direction and was smiling. "Yes, I'm still here, but for the moment, the only one who can see and hear me is you, and only because I allow it. Like I said, I got careless last night. But then again, the guy last night was some random I pulled from the bar, so I didn't think to camouflage myself after we left." She pointed out.

"Dude, what are you looking at?" Dave asked me as Rachel giggled.

"Way to play it cool, slick." She mocked me.

"N-nothing. Thought I head something, like a really bothersome pest." I responded. Ha! Take that!

"You up for some Call of Duty?" Dave asked me, as I also heard. "Really? A pest, am I?" I nodded my head, attempting to ignore Rachel's comments and dirty looks, apparently having fun at my expense.

"Sure." I said, turning off Elfin Lied.

"Hey, why did you have to do that? You could have just kept it running you know." Rachel pouted. Again, I ignored her, packed up my hard drive, and brought it to my room where the rest of my electronics resided, to find my room completely clean and organized.

My mouth fell open at the sight. Rachel the appeared and sat on my bed. "What? I said you were a bit of a slob and I cleaned up for you. I did say that I was going to pull my own weight around and earn my few days stay, didn't I?" She said with a smile on her face. I sighed. My room was a rather small one, and only really had room for my TV, and my bed, which I used as my chair. It also occurred to me before I sat down, that I never have anyone else, aside from Dave from time to time, sit on my bed, much less this very attractive woman...vampire.