THE VAMPIRE NEXT DOOR

Chapter 3: Nightshift

The ER was abuzz with life when Maria pulled up with a whole seven minutes to spare. She was about to pull her keys out when her truck sputtered and died.

"What the hell?" Maria turned her keys, yet nothing happened.

Sure, she'd neglected maintenance for years upon years on this thing, but she'd assumed that she and her truck had an unspoken agreement that it would live forever.

"Why have you forsaken me?!" Maria once again tried the key to no resolve. She'd have to deal with this when she got off later, but she could already feel her chest growing tight as she thought of her dwindling bank account and what a repair like this might cost.

Her welcome email had given her directions to the back entrance, where she found a long hallway that led to the administrative side of the building. She'd barely taken two steps inside when she heard a high-pitched female voice in front of her.

"Oh sh*t, what happened to you?" The woman appeared to be on break as her mouth was full with a half-eaten sandwich. Her dirty blonde hair was pinned behind her ears, and her scrubs featured the entire Scooby-Doo cast in doctor's attire.

Maria looked up from her phone where she'd been reading the directions her new manager had sent her. She'd hoped that she would be able to find the breakroom and maybe a spare pair of scrubs before running into anyone, but it seemed she'd have no such luck.

"I spilled my coffee," Maria admitted.

"Damn. That's a tragedy." The nurse before her empathized. "And on your first day too."

"How'd you know?"

"Celia told me to keep an eye out for you. I'm Savannah." Savannah didn't put out a hand to shake but instead took another bite of her sandwich.

"I'm—"

"Maria," Savannah interrupted, once again with her mouth full. "C'mon, let's get you cleaned up, and I'll walk you to Celia's office. I'm sure that she has a stack of paperwork waiting for you."

Ten minutes later, Maria found herself walking to Celia's office in a set of fresh scrubs covered with the entire cast of Smurfs.

They passed a sign on the way that stated 'Happy staff, equals happy patients' where an arrow was directing them back to the break room they'd come from.

"Don't believe the sign," Savannah smirked. "They work us to the bone here."

"Great," muttered Maria. It wasn't ideal, but at least it was a paycheck. With the attitude her truck was throwing, gods knew she needed it.

"My break is about over," Savannah said, "But let me get your number. You just moved here from Texas, right?"

Either Savannah was the hospital's busy body, or this hospital didn't keep anything under wraps because it seemed all of Maria's business was out in the open.

"Yes, I just got here a couple of days ago."

"I've lived here my entire life, so don't worry, I'll show you all the places worth going to." Savannah pulled out her phone, and Maria obliged by typing her number in. A friend wouldn't be so bad, especially one who seemed so keen on knowing everything about everyone.

"Could you start with telling me who the best tow truck in town is?"

"Oh, you poor thing. What happened?" The genuine tone in Savannah's voice immediately made Maria feel at ease for having given her number.

"I'm sure that it could have been worse, but the moment I parked my truck, it just conked out on me."

"What an a*sh*le!" Savannah began clicking through her phone. "Yes, I do know a guy. Where do you live? I'll have him drop it off at your place, and we can carpool together after work."

"Oh, that's so sweet of you! You don't have to—"

Savannah shooed away Maria's objection, and Maria honestly would have objected more; however, she much preferred the idea of owing Savannah a bit of gas money versus what an Uber might cost.

"And don't worry about the tow truck," Savannah said, seeming to have read Maria's mind. “My cousin owns the business, and he owes me for letting my plants die while he was house-sitting for me last month."

"You're an angel!" Maria could resist no longer and pulled Savannah into a tight squeeze. "But I do have one important question. What kind of plants do you have?"

***

MARIA'S HOUSE — THE NEXT DAY

Savannah arrived at 9:25 pm on the dot the following evening. Tonight's outfit was a set of blue scrubs with dancing eggs and pieces of bacon.

"Thanks again for coming by," Maria said as she locked the door behind her. "I'm not sure when the mechanic will be able to squeeze me in, so it means a lot."

This was only half the truth. The mechanic had technically said that she could fit Maria in anytime this week, but seeing that the mechanic suspected it was battery issues, Maria was quoted between $500-$800. Thinking of the savings account she'd drained to move here, Maria knew she would have to put any repairs on hold until her first paycheck cleared.

Savannah waved her away, unbothered by the drive and seemingly more interested in Alessandro's house. "Have you made sure that whoever lives there isn't going to murder you in your sleep, then throw you off one of the red rock cliffs and make it look like an accident?"

Maria paused, not sure how to answer.

"I listen to a lot of true crime podcasts," Savannah shrugged.

"I actually met him last night, and he seemed harmless enough." A small thrill ran through Maria as she thought of that evening. She'd hoped to run into him again today but had no such luck.

"Well, call me anytime if he gives you trouble. I know people," Savannah said menacingly. "Oh, I can't believe I forgot—" Savannah reached into her cup holder and then presented Maria with a small succulent. "I know it's not much but happy housewarming!"

"I love it!" Maria squealed, perhaps a bit too loudly, but her house had been feeling lonely without her plant babies around, and this plant was the perfect first new roommate. "Do you mind if I set it inside really quick?"

"Of course not. It gives me time to pull up directions to the hospital," Savannah settled into the car and began typing on her phone.

Maria immediately found the perfect spot for her new succulent right in the center of her kitchen counter. In the small space, it served as the ideal centerpiece. She was instantly in love!

Maria was about to head out of the front door when she noticed movement coming from Alessandro's house out of the corner of her eye.

She shouldn't run outside to say hi. That was creepy, right?

But her body was already walking towards her back door, and Maria slid it open before she could contemplate further.

Maybe she could play it off as if she were stepping outside for some fresh air and just so happened to notice him. Or perhaps, she could make a loud noise and have him be the one to see her first. However, when she glanced in Alessandro's direction again, she noticed that he stood staring at the waning moon as if waiting for something to happen.

Maria looked up at the moon. It was beautiful, but the way he was staring at it didn't seem to be in awe; it appeared he was waiting for something to happen.

And then, a moment later, something did happen!

Alessandro no longer stood in his grassy backyard. Instead, a tiny winged animal flew off into the night sky from his place.

It all happened so quickly that Maria didn't know what to make of it. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief. She knew that this night shift was going to be rough on her, but either it was causing her to go absolutely crazy, or she'd really just seen her neighbor turn into a bat.