We Only Come Out At Night

Chapter One

I didn't want to be here. It wasn't the Santa Carla heat, music from the concert on the beach, or nauseous smells from the surrounding restaurants on the board walk. The constant work of stacking VHS', cassettes, and books kept me almost happily distracted. It was almost closing time on the board walk, twelve o'clock. After that was when the children, mothers, and whoever wanted it be alive by sun up made sure to be home. Everyone else out was fair game. It was like an unspoken rule among the people who lived in the town. If you wanted to live, make sure you were inside and make sure they never saw or noticed you otherwise... Well you'd find out.

The bells rung, making me snap my head to the doors. The beads in my white dreadlocked hair clattered as the rest of my body caught up with me. There were no other people; the store was empty besides me. This made me a bit more cautious as I grabbed the stacks of tapes I'd been working on and carried them to the back room. My black side cut beach skirt and black knitted crop top, which had an off the shoulder frilly layer covered my breasts,flowed as I walked causing a gentle breeze against my skin. My belly button barbell glistened in the florescence lights. With one hand I opened the door to the back room and set the tapes down on the closest desk. I turned back and made my way to the front. As I was the one to close up shop, I had to lock the front door from the inside. Max informed me last night that I'd have to lock up alone tonight.

Working at VideoMax had its perks but closing up alone? Yeah, that wasn't one of them. It was creepy especially when you had to walk alone. I turned out the light and headed back to the back storage room. I was especially glad that I had the competence to turn on the light as a guide way to the back before going to lock the front door. Surprisingly enough I'd made my way to the back without causing a mess which happened way more than would be expected. That in itself was a miracle if I ever saw one.

As I pushed the door to the back open, I quickly hit the lights to the storage and locked the door. Maybe if I hauled ass to the church then maybe, just maybe, I'd get lucky and they'd let me in for the night. I was already too far from the shelter. I pushed my bag up on my shoulder and my dreads from my face as I began the long journey from the video store. It was probably a good thing I didn't decorate my old apartment. I was an eighteen year old runaway with now no place to live.

I didn't have a horrible life or anything,I was just homeless because I forgot to pay the rent. It wasn't anything new though. I forgot shit all the time and I didn't exactly have any family to stay with either. When I was a bit younger I left home I was in and made my way across the country to California. I wasn't sure why I chose California at first. It seemed my style, you know? Rock bands, crazy hair, gnarly clothes, "Land of the Runaways," they said. "Sounds perfect," was my first and only thought so I left.

It started slowly then became constant and unending, the Rain rain was the least of my worries though. While thinking of my past, I made my way down the winding street to Fairview Chapel,which doubled to be a homeless shelter. And that's where I'd found the doors to be locked. Locked until eight a.m. the next day. So, being stuck out in the rain and having minimal options, I began to walk back to the video store. I still had the keys, I could stay in storage and if Max found me, I'd tell him the truth. I was a good five to ten miles away and I was already soaked. Why did I even offer to close up tonight? Maybe it was because I was an ignorant waste of space with a soft spot for my poor boss. Was it because I felt like Max needed free time? He had a date tonight actually and I was hoping he'd be more successful this time. Max wasn't one for dates, for some reason none of these women actually came back. I can only blame myself for this; I was sure this would happen at some point though, being out too late. I had been careful until now. Now I was "free-game."

I was half a mile back towards the shop with nine and a half to go when I heard it. It wasn't thunder; no it couldn't just be what I was practically praying for at the moment. It was the damned roar of a motorcycle. I was fucked, utterly fucked.