Things That Go Bump in the Night (Halloween Short by Tabby)

     Kaitlyn drove through the streets of New York and watched people crowd the sidewalks. Everyone always in a rush to reach whatever destination was on his or her agenda. She wondered if their lives had turned out the way they had planned. People came to New York with big dreams. It seemed those dreams were squashed upon their arrival.

      Pulled from her musings when a horn blasted in the background, Kaitlyn realized the light had turned green and the driver of the car behind her wasn’t very happy. He shook his fist and said a few choice words as she let off the brake and proceeded through the intersection.

     With her education, she had been sure she would have landed a job at a big radio station, news anchor or hosted of her own radio show. Well that didn’t happen. She did get her own radio show, if you could even call it that. She worked for a small station and was the radio personality for a show called Things That Go Bump in the Night. She dealt with crazy people that believed in the supernatural. Pulling into the empty parking lot she put her car into park, she sat and glared at the front of the building that housed the radio station. The reflection of the full moon bounced off the floor to ceiling windows that made up the tall building, a total of sixty floors but at this time of night it was a dark tower stretching to touch the midnight sky. A sigh escaped her as she reached for her purse.

     There was one rewarding aspect of her job and that was Grayson. A smile spread across her face as she pictured him in her mind. He was gorgeous, tall, blond, and eyes to die for. 

She opened the car door and grunted at the thought of another night of humoring her insane listeners. Who as far as she could tell never slept. How pathetic.

     Kaitlyn pushed the front door open and was greeted by the night security guard. He was older and a little overweight but always happy. “Hi, Miss. Mathews.”

     “Hi, John, how are your tonight?”

     “I’m great.” He glanced at his watch. “I’m off in about twenty minutes.”

     “You have a great night.” She smiled and headed for the elevators. The building was completely void at this time of night. Most of the offices housed Lawyers, Doctors and other professionals that had closed their doors at five o’clock. The elevator stopped on the twelfth floor, she glanced cross the hall to the door labeled KWRR. It was a thorn in her side but it was a job.

She crossed the hall and opened the door to an empty office. Her show didn’t even warrant others, except her and Grayson. She sighed and blew the hair from her eyes.

     Kaitlyn dropped herself down in her chair and glanced around the control room wondering where Grayson was. He was usually at the station before she arrived for her show.

     A beautiful blonde walked in with a sweet welcoming smile. “Hey, sorry I didn’t catch you when you came in but I was on the phone with Grayson,” Allie said. “Seems he has come down with a bug and won’t be in tonight. Think you can handle things on your own? I can stay if you need me to, but I have a date.”

     Of course she had a date. If you looked up gorgeous in the dictionary, Kaitlyn was sure that there would be a picture of Alley. She had men groveling at her feet to take her out. But between her long blonde hair, blue eyes and legs that went on forever, how could she blame them? Alley wasn’t you typical airhead. No she was educated and sweet as could be.

     “No, I’ll be fine, go… have a good time.” She dismissed her with a wave of her hand.

     “Oh, I almost forgot.” She tossed a newspaper on the desk. “This is your topic for tonight.”

Kaitlyn’s jaw dropped. “Come on. You have to be kidding me.” The Alabaster murders had been headlines for the last two week. Two women had been murdered but that was pretty normal for NY. The odd thing was that the killer drained the bodies of every drop of blood. Then it got even weirder because there wasn’t a wound on them. The name alabaster came from the fact they looked like beautiful white statues or porcelain dolls.

     “Nope. That’s the grand plan. Wow! You’re going to have one heck of a night. Ok, call if you need anything.” She smiled. “I’ll lock up on my way out. Good luck with the wackos.”

     Kaitlyn leaned back in her chair, took a deep breath and exhaled trying to release the aggravation pulsing through her body. She was startled when the phone rang. “Damn it!” She wasn’t use to the phone ringing in the control room. Grayson always answered the phone and patched it through to her.

     “Hello...Hello?” All she heard was breathing. Great. She didn’t have time for this crap. She slammed the phone down in its cradle. Ten minutes until her show started, just enough time to grab a cup of coffee. Working the midnight to six am shift called for lots of caffeine. 

     The hall was dark but she knew the station well enough to maneuver through the blackness. She flipped on the light in the break room, grabbed a mug and reached for the coffee pot. A loud bang echoed from down the hall. “What the heck? Grayson?” Maybe he’d decided to come in after all. When she received no response, she put the mug down and stepped into the hall. Nothing. Shrugging, she returned to the task of pouring her coffee.

     On her way back to the control room she stopped. It sounded like someone had followed her. “You’re acting crazy!” She eased back down into her chair and placed her headphones on her head. She was letting the fact that she was all alone get to her and the phone call hadn’t helped. She wouldn’t play into the insanity that her listeners lived by. There was no such thing as ghosts and monsters. All of it was a bunch of crap. The phone rang again, she just looked at it with hopes it would stop. Fear tightened her chest. It stopped after one ring. With a sigh of relief, she leaned back in her chair. But jumped when it rang again.

     “Hello?” Her voice quivered as her heart pounded in her chest.

     It was a man’s voice and he whispered to her. “After tonight you’ll believe.” The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

     “Stop calling me!” She slammed the phone down. Placing her hand on her chest, she tried to bring her erratic pulse back to its normal rhythm. Glancing around the room, she got the eerie feeling she was being watched. “Get it together, Kaitlyn. The show must go on.” She sat back and waited for the spot they played at the beginning of her show to end. It was the creepiest intro. Blood curding screams and insane laughter echoed in her ears. As the laughing died out, she pressed a red button to activate her mic. “Welcome all. This is Pandora mistress of all things wicked. Come and take a chilling journey with me on Things That Go Bump In The Night. Tonight we will explore the alabaster murders. This case has the authorities scratching their heads. So let’s see if my viewers can solve this one for them.” She rolled her eyes. The whole show was such a joke. “Let’s take our first caller. Caller you are on the air.”

     “Hi, Pandora, I’m Elvira.”

     “It’s nice to meet you Elvira. What is your theory on this weird case?” Great, her first freak of the night.

     “I can do better than just a theory. I am a medium and have talked to these poor women.”

     She leaned her head back on the chair and released a breath. “Really? What did you find out?”

     “They were both brutally murdered.”

     Wow! She just solved it. No one knew they were brutally murdered. God these people were going to be the end of her. “But the bodies didn’t have a mark on them.”

     “True. But police aren’t looking for a human.”

     Of course not. Kaitlyn’s head flopped into her hands. “Who should the police be looking for?”

     “A sadistic vampire. He is a blood lusting beast that kills without a conscience.”

     “Say you are right. Wouldn’t there still be some sort of mark on the body?”

     A small laugh sounded from the woman who called herself Elvira. There was no way that was her real name. She was probably one of those old women that had a shop full of candles and mystical books. It was all just totally ridiculous.

     “Well, Pandora, honey. I figured you would be more educated on the subject of the undead. Their saliva has healing powers. A few licks and all the wounds are gone.”

     “Hmm. I didn’t know that. Sorry but we need to move on to the next caller.” She reached to disconnect the phone.

     “Wait.”

     Kaitlyn’s hand stopped short of disconnecting the call. “Yes?” She blew out a breath of frustration.

     “I know the next victim’s name. He has killed every Friday for the last two weeks and he will kill again tonight.”

     “What is the poor girl’s name?”

     “Kaitlyn, spelled with a K. I thought it was strange because that is an odd spelling.”

Her heart lodged in her throat. Panic stripped the blood from her veins. In a shaky voice, she replied. “Thanks Elvira. Time for a short break. We will be back in five.” 

     The echo of a door slamming came from down the hall. Kaitlyn removed her headphones and listened. Another door slammed and a rattling sound came from the dark hallway. Panic crept its way up her spine like little icy fingers. She looked around the room for a weapon and all she found was an umbrella. “Great, what are you going to do with that?” But the more she looked at it she thought it does have a point at the end. It was going to have to do.

     She clutched the umbrella to her chest. Then headed down the hall, turning on lights as she searched the station, room by room. She was down to the last room, Grayson’s office. 

     When she noticed light coming from under the door. Kaitlyn took a deep breath and reached for the doorknob, her hand shook as sweat dampened her skin. She opened the door to find an empty room. A nervous laugh escaped her. Flipping off the light, she wondered who had turned it on. Maybe it was left on. That had to be it: someone had forgotten to turn it off. She turned and got the wind knocked out of her as she collided with a rock hard chest. A blood-curdling scream escaped her and she flailed around, swinging her arms, and the umbrella.

     “Hey! Calm down!”

     “Grayson?”

     “Yeah, it’s me.”

     She smacked him on the shoulder. “You scared the crap out of me.”

     “Sorry,” he replied, reaching to rub her shoulder. “What has you so spooked?”

     “I keep getting this call. First, it was just breathing then he said…after tonight you’ll believe. Then there was this whole thing with a caller on the show tonight. She says the next alabaster victim will be named Kaitlyn with a K.”

     “Believe? Kaitlyn with a k?”

     “Yes he said believe! And the caller said K!” 

     “Are you sure he said, after tonight you‘ll believe?”

     She turned her head to the side. “What did…you…say?” She tripped over her words as fear took hold.

     “After tonight you’ll believe.” A sly smile curved the edges of him mouth.

     Kaitlyn’s jaw dropped open. Reality set in. The creepy feeling of being stalked closed in on her. “It was you,” she started to back away. “Why?”

     “I thought it would be fun to play a little game with you tonight. Maybe a little hide and seek would be fun. Think about it Kaitlyn. You really should pay more attention to your listeners. They aren’t all kooks. Some of them really do know what they are talking about.” Grayson eyes met hers and his lips curled into a snarl revealing razor sharp fangs.

     Kaitlyn gasped and reached for her neck. “This isn’t possible.” She shook her head. “Stop trying to scare me! Okay you win. I’m scared. Now stop!”

     “Oh, but it is, I have grown tired of your whininess. The poison you spew about people like me not existing. Well, do you believe now?”

     “Vampires?” She continued to back down the hall. No way it wasn’t possible. None of it was real. “Stop trying to scare me it isn’t funny!” She tried to walk past him. “The show is back on the air in about one minute.” She replied.

     “Yes, Kaitlyn, vampires.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her close, running his nose up the side of her face. “You smell delicious.”

She tried to pull away but his fingers dug into her arm. “Stop! You’re hurting me.” Kaitlyn pulled out of his grasp and ran down the hall. 

     He continued to stalk her like a wild animal. “We are predators and we live for the kill. Movies and books have turned us into romantic heroes. It is human nature I guess, to take the things that scare you and make them something that your little minds can cope with.”

     Kaitlyn realized she’d backed herself into a dead end. Her eyes shot around the hall looking for escape. He closed in. Panic threatened to strangle her. Every time she tried to dart to one side or the other, he mimicked her movements. Then she remembered the umbrella. Looking down she clutched the only weapon she had.

     “Aww…come on Kaitlyn…I just want a little bite.” His lips turned up into the smile she had always adored. Now it didn’t seem as sweet and endearing as it used to be. Now it came across as cold and calculating. Her eyes widened as his face morphed into the monster her truly was. His eyes turned white and sunk deep into their sockets. Pale skin replaced his normal golden tones and claws extended from his fingers.

     “Stay away from me.” She held up the umbrella. Jabbing it in his direction. In her panic the umbrella opened. Fumbling with the damned thing she tried to get it closed.

     A loud booming laugh echoed through the hall. “What are you going to do with that, Kaitlyn?”

     His eyes shown an eerie reflective gold like that of a cat and his tongue glided over his fangs. He looked upon her with hunger. She was his next meal.

     “I won’t kill you or at least I’ll try not too. Okay that was a lie. I am going to kill you and I am going to enjoy draining every drop of blood from your body.” He laughed as he sprung from the floor and lunged at her.

    She gripped the umbrella and plunged it forward aiming for his heart. All the stories she’d heard said to aim for the heart. It was the only way to kill a vampire. She heard an awful squishing sound as the umbrella punctured his chest. He clutched the object protruding right below his collarbone and glared at her in shock. She slumped to the floor and sobbed. His body lay there on the floor not moving. Then his hand shot out grabbing for her. A shrill scream ripped from her throat. She clasped the end of the umbrella and slammed it down until it hit the floor.

     Kaitlyn crawled to the nearest phone, leaving a trail of bloody handprints.

     “911, what is your emergency?”

    “I killed a vampire.”

     “Ma’am…what?”

     “I killed a vampire.” She sat on the floor and sobbed, blood dripped from her hands. She had killed a monster. She watched as all evidence of the bloodthirsty beast morphed back into the beautiful man she lusted after for so long.

     “I’m sending the police, stay on the line.”  The phone slipped from her hand. She pulled her knees to her chest and backed up into the corner. Tortured sobs ripped from her throat.

     Kaitlyn was lead out of the station in cuff. She turned to the officer, “He was a vampire and the alabaster killer. He was going to kill me!”

      “Yeah, I know. He was a vampire and the alabaster killer. Sure.” The officer replied as he placed a hand on her head, putting her in the car.

No one believed her. But how could she blame them. Until tonight, she didn’t believe any of it either. She stared out the window as the NYPD officers talked and shook their heads at her. Their eyes told her they questioned her sanity. She slumped in her seat, knowing her fate was sealed.

     “What happened here?” The detective asked.

     “Victim is a young male stabbed through the heart with of all things an umbrella.” The officer replied shaking his head. “She says he was a vampire and that he attacked her. I found her curled up in a corner mumbling incoherently about vampires and covered in the victims blood.”

     “Vampires?” the detective questioned.

    “Yeah, she also says he’s the alabaster murderer. The reason there are no marks and the blood is drained from the bodies is because vampires can close the wounds with a lick of the tongue. She’s Kaitlyn Mathews, AKA Pandora. She does that show, Things That Go Bump in the Night.” He pointed to his head and rotated his finger in a circle. “Guess the insanity finally took hold.”

     “Alabaster murderer huh? Take her to the hospital to be evaluated. If she is a little off we will let the hospital deal with her. I don’t have time to waste on an open and closed case. Heck she admitted that she killed him. What more do we need? We have enough on our plates with the alabaster case.”

I hope you enjoyed my short Halloween story. 

Happy Haunting,

Tabitha Blake