All this Henry Townsend pondered as the woman walked up to him, a lost expression in her eyes. She tossed down a piece of paper and gave a confused sigh.
"I need copies." She said, her eyebrows knitted together.
Henry shook his head clear and looked down at the paper.
"Yes, okay. Um... Sorry, I'm a bit.. Out of it today." He apologized, as he picked up the paper.
It was for an art event to take place that Friday.
"What do you need exactly?" He asked, moving out from behind the counter at Kinko's and walking over by her side.
"Copies. Lots of them." She said. She laughed. "I have no idea, honestly. I just need to get the word out."
Henry nodded. Wasn't unheard of, really. The ambience in the empty copy shop never changed as he silently went to work. Running back and forth between two or three machines, he began making copies on bold colored paper.
"Is this going to cost that much? I only have a twenty..." The girl said, brushing back a piece of her hair.
"Don't worry about price, I'll cut you a deal." Henry said with a wink. It crossed his mind that he had yet to introduce himself. He stuck out his hand.
"Henry Townsend. It's a pleasure." He said with a smile. She smiled back and took his hand firmly.
"Eve Simpson." She said warmly. Her hand lingered in his.
They both became very aware of the contact, and drew away to go back to their tasks silently. When all was finished, Henry bound the stacks of flyers, and told her to not worry about the price.
"Are you sure?" She asked.
"Yeah, don't worry about it. It was just a few trees." Henry said with a smile and a nod.
"Hey.. Do you like art?" Eve asked, reluctant to leave. She handed Henry a flyer.
He glanced down at it. It was at a studio not far from the Kinko's.. People came in all the time to get their copies made whenever there was a show there. He looked up at Eve.
"I'll be there. You can count on it." He said with a smile.
The two parted, but it would not be the end of their story by far.
The next morning, things were not right for Henry Townsend. He woke up, noticing that his alarm clock was apparantly not working. Figuring at first an electrical storm had maybe caused a disruption, he didn't think to much. But the digital screen stated the time as 00:00, and Henry did not see how that was even possible. Trying to remember where he had put the receipt on the clock, he headed to the shower, making a mental note to visit K-Mart later that night.
Henry showered, noticing with disdain that the hot water wasn't working. Shivering, but determined to look his best for the night's art show, he washed his longish brown hair. Looking through his cabinet, he noticed all his razors had seemingly became rusty overnight. Not wanting to show up looking gruff and lazy, he made a note to pick up razors when he went to K-Mart as well.
Making his way back to his room in a towel, he fished out some nice dark Dickies and a button down shirt. He left it untucked, and partially unbuttoned at the top. Taking a moment to brush his hair, he checked himself out in the mirror. Confident, he made his way to the kitchen.
To add to his horribly odd morning, the contents to his fridge were also under a peculiar spell. Everything had rotted and had a good layer of mold on it. Well, everything except for his energy drinks. He grabbed a can, and made his way to the door. He needed to get to the store, or at the very least, get out of this apartment.
When he got to the door, he froze. Lengths of chains covered the door, and his exit was not going to possible.
Henry spent a good hour trying to escape. Break a window.. bust the door.. Yell for help. But none of it worked. Exasparated, he collapsed to the floor for a bit, and took in a nap.
Eve woke up the morning of Friday in a buzz. Henry was a real fox. And, quite frankly, the girls down at the studio all wanted him as well. They all said he was gay, because he never gave them a second look. Of course, they also underappreciated how stimulating working at Kinko's overnight was.
By that evening, everything was perfect. The show was set up to be a success. And, to top it all off, Eve looked stunning.
A clingy black dress that hung off her shoulders and draped elegantly down her frame, and her hair with just a bit of waves. She even added an artistic flair to her look by allowing one of the other girls to make her up with the latest colors to compliment her complexion.
While she didn't even know Henry, she felt a connection to him. He would be there, she was sure of it. It was just a matter of when.
Eve frowned as she scanned the function, wondering what her possible prince charming would be wearing that evening, and if he would bring her flowers.
As the function slowly winded down, it became apparant that Henry wasn't going to show up. Disappointed, but not wanting to show it, Eve feigned being tired and left to walk to the subway and return home.
It was foggy outside, and damper then she remembered. Of course, she hadn't been outside for close to three hours, and weather had a habit of changing. She walked on and on, thinking about Henry.
He had been really cute, a lot cuter then the typical scumbags always hitting on her. So even though he certainly didn't owe her anything, his abscense from the function was a rather low hit.
Eve stopped, reaching a hand down to adjust the straps on her high heels. The shoes were entirely impractical, but what could she do? They matched the dress. As she had one hand resting on her delicate leg, paused to take a breath, she heard a growl behind her. Slowly, she stood and turned.
Her visability was heavily hindered by the fog. She could only see about ten feet in each direction. And at the edge of that ten feet stood a dog. Emaciated, almost with a rotted appearance. It was dark, and had very sharp teeth. It's eyes glowed as it eyed her hungrily. Taking a step back, the dog charged, and Eve noticed what a monstrocity it was. It's head was split, straight down the middle. Yet the creature was alive. Very so.
Screaming, Eve turned and began running. This was a very complicated task to pull off in heels. She tripped, and fell to the ground. She turned towards the creature, and notice it wasn't just one, but a whole pack. Lifting an arm up in front of her face, a feeble attempt at protection at best, she shrunk away from the creature.
The attack never came. Hearing grunting and the yelping of the creatures, she opened her eyes and lowered her arm. A man with a bat was beating the dogs away. Eve stood, and when the man stood there breathing heavily and holding the bloody bat over the lifeless body of one of the creatures, she spoke.
"What the hell was that?" She asked.
The man spun around, as if he had not known I was there. Slowly, eve realised that it was not out of suprise of her prescence, but out of the suprising recognition he must have felt. It was Henry. A bit battered, and certainly looking dirty, but Henry nonetheless.
"I have no idea.. Why are you here? Is this some twisted dream or something?" He asked.
Frightened, Eve just shrugged, trying not to cry. Henry saw her vulnerable state and he, being a man, swooped in to offer her comfort. However, comfort was shortlived as a howl from not to far away sounded.
"We need to run," Henry said. "this place is not safe."