It really was the little things that mattered, Steve mused.
In his line of work, the little things could mean life or death. For instance, not having the right kind of coffee. It had to be strong, caffeinated and it had to taste good. If it sucked he wasn’t going to drink it, which would defeat the purpose. He couldn’t afford to fall asleep out here. That’s how you get dead, like the last hunter they put in this district.
A distinct thud interrupted Steve’s rambling thoughts. It had come from the “Drawers of the Dead,” as the morgue attendant called them. Steve gave a slight grin from his memory of telling the guy that staying the night in the morgue was part of a frat initiation. It has been one of his more elaborate tales. In the end it had cost him $50 bucks, but at least he was would be able to get this one as it rose and not have to chase it all over creation.
Another thud echoed in the steel cabinets.
“Showtime,” he said as he hopped off the wooden table he’d been sitting on for the better part of the night. He stood staring at the wall of stainless steel cabinets used to hold the remains of the recently departed. A few more bumps and bangs directed him to the correct drawer.
Steve contemplated opening it himself so he could get this one over with, but impatience was one of the top ten reasons hunters get killed. Instead he leaned his shoulder up against the row of drawers next to the one from which his target was struggling to get free.
After a few more bangs, the drawer’s door flew off it’s hinges and two hands reached out to grasp the edges for leverage. Steve heard a couple of grunts, then watched silently as the metal slab from within started to appear. It carried upon it the body of a young woman who had been murdered three days ago and who now looked very much alive. And naked.
Steve was momentarily distracted as the woman’s ample breasts rose and fell from the unneeded breaths she was taking. He mentally shook himself. His girlfriend would be pissed if she knew he was standing here watching a naked lady. Of course, this was no lady. This was a vampire and he was about to dispatch it from this world. Ample breasts and all.
The vamp turned its head suddenly and looked right at Steve.
“What’s up,” he said. He could see the confusion in her eyes but the look quickly turned more sinister. Steve knew her hunger had just set in and she was probably thinking he’d be a great snack.
She swung her legs over the side of the slab and hopped to the floor in one fluid motion. Her dark brown hair barely brushed the top of her cleavage, hiding nothing from Steve’s careful observation. She stood there, in all her naked glory, staring at him with the eyes of dangerous predator.
“Like what you see, Sugar?” she asked. The brunette vampire ran her hands slowly up her stomach up to her breasts then back down her sides to her hips. She bent her knees slightly as she gave a little groan of anticipation.
“Not so much. I’m not into necrophilia and I have a girlfriend. Who happens to be very much alive. Which you aren’t. You’re just a blood-sucking corpse,” Steve replied.
The vampire snarled and ran at him. He moved to the left just out of her grasp, turned and buried his stake into her back. The wooden point pushed all the way through her chest, piercing her heart on the way. She grabbed her staked chest and screamed, then turned to dust.
Steve bent down to pick up the stake that had fallen to the floor. “The females are always so dramatic. I’ll bet she was a Valerie or a Monica,” he said aloud. He walked over to the table where he’d been sitting and flipped through the charts until he found the paperwork on the now deceased vampire. “Gretchen Walker, wait. No. This can’t be right, that’s my girlfriend’s name. And lists our address.”
Steve starting flipping through all the paper work in the clipboard, looking at the records of every deceased person allegedly being held in the morgue. Each one’s name was Gretchen Walker. Steve dropped the chart and ran for the door.
His mind was whirring with realizations. This had been a setup. They killed that poor girl as a distraction so they could get his girlfriend. That damn attendant was probably in on it too. Dammit. He knew it had been too easy to persuade that guy. And the little shit had taken his money too.
To be continued…