chapter 4

A Chapter by Kittybell

Joseph

I never imagined that a vampire would be able to cry. Not once have I met a vampire or any demon that had any human functions including body warmth. As I carried Elaina to the spare bedroom in my small apartment I could feel her body radiate heat like a functional human. She had passed out after her spasm making it easy to transport her to the bed. As I walked out of the room to go to sleep myself I notice the flashing red numbers of the alarm clock reading 5:50AM. I panicked. I had to be at work by six!

I dashed out of the room at full speed heading for my closet. I grabbed the first decent outfit I could find; a navy blue button up shirt and black dress pants.

I was about to leave the apartment when I heard light footsteps coming up from behind me. My body tensed as it got closer. I spun around and came face to face with Elaina, now dressed in my old girlfriend’s cloths.

She stared at me for a while before she asked in her musical voice, “Where are you going?”

My body still tensed I answered, “I am going to work. You can stay here until I get back if you like, then we will talk some more.”

She nodded and turned back toward the bedroom I placed her in. I watched her walk into the bedroom before I left the apartment with only five minutes to get to the hospital.

“Who do you think you are?” I stood in the administrator of Lenox Hill hospital office listening to her rant. “How am I supposed to get all our patients taken care of when our best doctor is late and we are short on staff? I expect a good explanation Joseph, after your shift I want the paper work on my desk.” She waved her hand toward the door indicating that I may leave.

My mind raced as I walked down the hall to my first patient. Who is she? Where did she come from? Why is she in New York? Why did I take her into my home? These questions circled around the one mysterious demon sitting in my spare bedroom. Elaina.

A group of nurses and doctors rushed by I assumed answering an emergency call, as I turned and entered my patients room.

“Good morning, Miss Robinson. What might be the reason for you being here?” I asked as I thumbed through the papers on my clip board of patients.

“Well doctor Hunter, I woke up with this pounding headache and it hasn’t gone away.” She twisted her hands in her lap nervously.

I thumbed through my papers again. “What were you doing last night? Drinking and stuff like that.”

She stopped fidgeting and looked at me curiously. “I went out drinking with a few of my friends. What does that have to do with my headache?”

I sighed. “How drunk did you get ma’am?”

She started to fidget again. “Um.”

I repeated my question. “Ma’am, how drunk did you get?”

“I got smashed, ok?!” She exclaimed.

I sighed again. “Go home and get some rest and maybe take some aspirin. You just have a hangover, nothing to go to hospital for.” I wrote what I told her down on a piece of paper, handed the paper to her, and walked out of the room on to my next patient.

Most of my patients ended up the same way as my first patient, just with different problems.

My day was dull and the thought of Elaina running through my brain didn’t help me with my work at all. I messed up on almost half of the prescriptions I gave out today and I didn’t pay any attention to the conversations I had through the day.

When my shift was finally over I was worn out. My body ached from the demon encounters I had the night before and the troubles I went through with Elaina.

Patients and doctors alike sped past as I slowly walked to the garage parking lot in search of my car, still thinking of Elaina the mysterious demon.

Ten minutes passed and my body starts to relax with the anticipation of the comfortable seat of my car when all of a sudden something very large and black swooped past me head making me jump. I spun around in a complete circle looking for the culprit when I spotted someone standing by my black Miata. As I got closer I could make out distinct features such as the slender figure and the auburn hair. With a sudden shock I realized who it was. It was Elaina. I stared at her, wondering how she happened to know where I worked and how she got here.

As I drew ever closer to my car she started to speak. “Hello Joseph.” I kept my mouth shut as I walked to the driver’s side of the car. “I did not know you were a doctor. What a useful occupation for a demon killer such as yourself.” She smiled a devilish smile.

“If I remember correctly I did say to stay at my apartment.” I said aggressively.

“And if I remember correctly, young Joseph, you said I may stay at the apartment if I wish. You do not command my actions.” She answered calmly, her face a blank slate.

I glared at her for a moment before I ducked into my car. I slammed the door shut. I hadn’t noticed that she had silently slipped into the car until I glanced over to see where she was.

“Why are you here?” I grumbled as my hands fumbled with the keys.

“I was curious.” She stated, giving me no more information.

We sat in the car in silence as I finally pushed the key into the ignition and started the car. The hum of the engine filled the silence, making the garage seem eerie. I finally gave up on the silence and drove out of my parking space. I reached the exit of the garage and prepared to turn down my usually route home when Elaina suddenly grabbed the wheel, veering it the other direction.

“What do you think you are doing?!” I hissed.

“I’m not going to apologize for my action. You do not look well. I think you should eat something.” Worry flashed across her face.

My curiosity flared. “I’m fine Elaina. Why would a demon such as yourself be worried about a lowly human like me anyway?” I raised an eyebrow as I glanced at her. She portrayed no emotion on her perfect, feline face as she stared out her window obviously avoiding the question.

Minutes upon minutes passed, slowly turning into hours.

We eventually arrived at Kips bay. The ride would normally take eight minutes leaving straight from the Lennox hospital. Somehow, Elaina made the trip last nearly close to an hour forcing me to take multiple turns.

I slowly drove to the end of the road when a wave pushed the car off the road. I quickly yanked the wheel to keep the car from veering off the road.

A high pitched squeal sounded from water.

I finally got the car under control and cautiously turned my head towards the sound. What I saw was not a boat like I was hoping. To my disgust and horror a large snake like creature loomed over the bay, slime and mud dripping from its scales. The combination of brown and murky greens made it possible to blend in with the water it swam in. Long dull spikes ran along its spine and around its jaw, and gruesome teeth that looked sharp enough to tear through rock protruded from its mouth at every possible angle.

“Sea serpent.” Elaina whispered, glaring at the creature. She stayed impossibly still as she explained. “They are unintelligent creatures but exceptionally fast. They usually travel in pairs, a serpent and a tamer.” She paused, glancing outside the car.

The sea serpent stayed where it was, watching.

“What does a tamer do?” I asked nervously. I had never dealt with any water demons before. I haven’t even bothered to search for any, figuring they didn’t exist.

She continued to look outside, seeming to search for something. “They control the serpents. They look similar to the snakes themselves but walk on two feet. I believe he was--” The car shook violently, cutting her off.

I quickly turned my attention to the sea serpent but the snake hadn’t moved. I believe we found the tamer. I thought, glancing towards Elaina.

She broke the door open with a powerful blow from her leg, hitting something invisible to my eyes. She jumped out of the car, landing in a crouch. Her body started to shake, and her muscles began to bulge. She turned sharply towards me, giving me a deadly glare. Her head whipped back and a horrifying scream escaped her throat. Collapsing on all fours, her body shook one last time, her bones cracking and her muscles stretching underneath her skin, leaving her in the form of a panther with midnight blue fur.

I sat frozen in my seat as I watched her leap forward in the air and land heavily on the same thing she hit with the door. As they fell to the ground the area below Elaina shimmered, barley showing a muddy form.

A loud splash sounded from the water and seconds later a wave of water hit the car with a crash, soaking Elaina and her opponent causing the creature to become visible. What appeared was a human version of the sea serpent in the bay. Its murky brown scales covered with a cloak and baggy pants.

Elaina gave off a ferocious growl, in my head I heard her scream. “Stop gawking and go take care of the serpent!” I was amazed; I couldn’t believe she could talk as an animal.

I pushed the door open and jumped out of the car, just as a large spiked tail crushed it.

I carried no weapons on my person and the only weapons I did have were crushed with the car. I was left defenseless. There was no way I was going to fight of a giant snake with my two bare hands.

The snake’s tail came down at me for another attack. I rolled out of the way, the tail missing me by inches. The serpent's tail slid under me as I came to a stop and flipped me fifteen feet in the air. As I plummeted toward the ground I caught a glimpse of Elaina’s fight. Her opponent was invisible to me, but from what I could see she was not fairing too well in the fight.

My legs were grabbed by the serpent’s tail, my head inches from the ground, and was thrown to the water. By body prickled with pain as the winter water hit me, knocking the air out of my half inflated lungs. As my limp body drifted to the bottom of the bay my vision start to darken, making everything turn to blobs of shapeless shadows.

So this is how it ends. I thought numbly as my body finally landed at the bottom of the bay.

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