Chapter 1: The Pub

"Hey man, where are you heading?" Danny looked up from Guitar World, the popular guitar magazine he annually subscribes to, while laid out on the sofa in the living room, looking very comfortable. "Didn't you just come back?"

Indeed, I had just gotten home not long ago, in the evening, from a rather bad day at work and didn't feel like talking to anyone. I worked at the local fishery, just to earn a bit of keeps while still in university. I liked having a bit of spare cash to spend, seeing as I decided to be independent and not bother my parents even though they were considered to be upper class folk. I was almost a grown adult; I could definitely take care of myself.

"Out." I gave a very short reply, annoyed that my roommate had to question practically everything I did, like he was my mother or something.

"Be careful, man. I heard on the news that there's this crazy bloodsucker out there that prowls around at night. I don't want you becoming one of them."

I rolled my eyes. Trust him to believe those stupid stories on the news. "Yeah, whatever."

He narrowed his eyes, scrutinising me, making sure I was taking his word for it. "I'm serious, man. Be careful."

"I will." I replied as I headed out the door, grabbing my coat. He didn't look too convinced.

"Look, tell you what. I'll be back before the sun is up, okay, just so you'll know that I wasn't taken by "one of them"." I quoted the last three words in the air with my hands.

He glared at me, knowing that I was making fun of him. I ignored him and continued to walk down the street, wrapping my arms around myself. It was a little chilly these past few nights. I decided to go down to the pub for a drink or two, not just to warm up but to let the day end a bit better as well.

I stepped into the pub and hung my coat on the rack just inside the entrance. I looked around, it was rather empty, just the way I wanted it to be. I walked to the bar counter and took a seat.

"Hey there, what can I get for you?" The bartender walked over.

"Whatever you've got on tap." I gestured to the taps and pulled a few bills out of my pocket, ready to slide it to him.

He placed the mug in front of me but didn't take the bills. "Don't worry about it. It's on that lady over there."

I looked over to the direction he was pointing at, wondering what kind of girl would be buying me a drink on such a quiet night. Most would say I was rather charming with the girls usually, but tonight, I would much rather be alone. I squinted and eventually spotted her at the corner of the pub, but she was in the shadows and I couldn't see her face quite as clearly. I raised my mug, gave a grim smile and a small nod in her direction as a gesture of thanks. In return, she raised her right hand slightly as a form of an acknowledgement of my thanks.

I then turned back to face the counter and slowing drank the beer, trying to put the disastrous day behind me. Customers and bosses could be so demanding sometimes. I shook my head, trying to clear it of any unpleasant thoughts. I had lessons to go to the next morning so I could not stay as long as I would have liked to.

A little over an hour and three mugs later, I decided it was time to leave if I wanted to get to classes on time. I left a couple of bills on the counter to pay for the extra drinks as well as to tip the bartender, and made my way to the rack to take my coat. I turned to look for the girl to thank again but she was no longer there. I shrugged as I put on my coat and walked out into the now slightly chilled air, making my way back to the apartment.

I collapsed onto my bed the moment I got into my room. I welcomed the smell my room had, the kind of smell that invited sleep. The room smelt like me, basically. It had my smell, not in a disgusting way. It smelt clean, and induced sleep.

"Hey man, you're back!" Danny stood just outside the door of my room, blatantly too happy to see me.

"Just like I said I would be." I rolled over my side, facing the wall, away from him.

"There was another attack tonight. It was on the news again. The same bloodsucker from the other attacks they showed before." His tone changed. "I was just worried about you, man."

"Yeah, sure, thanks." I mumbled as I gradually fell asleep and heard him sigh while walking back to his room down the hallway.