Macabre: the Gothic Boutique [1st draft]

Chapter 01

A/N: Original draft of Macabre. Third draft (will be up in another book) is VERY, VERY different!

Macabre: the Gothic Boutique

The only place in the world where you can host a vampire, participate in a full moon change with a werewolf, and take a walk on the wild side in Fairy Land. Buy one event, at $299.99, get one free, plus the opportunity to win another on October 31st. For the full Halloween experience, come early. Each event requires an entire week of your time.

25% discount for students!

Warning: These events are real and precautions should be taken before paying. Do your research with our What, How, and When to Do It manual, only $35.99. A complete physical must be done upon purchase, including blood work for each event. This is NOT covered in the price listed above, however a physician from Macabre will be provided at a reasonable price.

I frowned at the purple and black flyer stuck to my hoopti windshield; aka my junked up car only capable of getting from point A to point B. It was a brown rusting '71 Oldsmobile death trap with holes in the floor and cracked leather seats that pinched. The hole was so bad in the passenger floor that anyone sitting in the front seat had to straddle either side or risk losing a foot. The air conditioning worked, but only if I wanted to smell like molding cheese and I never had any hope of listening to music during commute. That would be unheard of...listening to music while driving? And clearly the people distributing these flyers didn't have eyes.

The car sounded horrible, but it looked even worse. Dad got it for me as a going away college present, though that wouldn't be for another year, and rationalized its condition because it was a classic. More like a classic piece of junk I figured, but hey, no one can beat free, and Dad had plans on me fixing it up. I could barely afford rent, so it wasn't going to happen any time soon. Besides, he was the car buff, not me. I like old, just not in my cars. Dad likes cars, Mom likes flowers, and I like old people. Everybody has their thing and the elderly just happen to be mine.

Swinging the door open to my classic, I reached for the garish advertisement, tearing it from my windshield, and scanning over it again. "Who could afford this?" I said, mumbling under my breath while crumpling it in my fingers and throwing it in the back along with my orange paisley work bag. I gave my car a once over, raising an eyebrow. "Clearly, Macabre employees have bad judgment."

I nearly moaned with pleasure when I sat down and the dull throb vibrating through my thighs lessened. My aching feet were going to protest immensely the next time I got up and I was dreading it. A ten hour shift in a nursing home was still a ten hour shift at the end of the day, even if I enjoyed my job. And, of course, the walk to my car hadn't helped matters.

I shoved the keys in the ignition and cringed as it attempted to start. I grumbled an 'as usual,' and let it rest, before turning the key again. A relieved smile slipped across my face as it sputtered to life. If anything, this old piece of crap was dependable, but every time it didn't start that niggling heap of worry flooded my mind.

I quickly glanced at my wrist watch as I started pulling out of the newly paved parking lot of the nursing home. It was only three in the afternoon, but I could feel the drowsiness washing through me and the need for a coffee became fierce. It being Friday, I had a total of five hours to get some sleep before Maggie, my best friend since childhood, decided time was up.

I worked four ten hour consecutive shifts, sometimes five if it was needed, Tuesday through Friday and even though we'd been here for two months, Maggie still insisted we explore every Friday night. But really she was just hoping to get into a party scene where they don't care if we're just barely brushing nineteen. And it was fun the first couple of times. Now it just seemed more like a chore.