The Beautiful Monster

Alyssa knew that she had to fight her way out, but she didn't have a weapon. She shoved her hand into the pocket of her coat, her fingers curling around a ballpoint pen.

She clicked out the tip before whirling around and stabbing the vampire in the eye.

The vampire cried out in pain, clawing at his bleeding eye as he stumbled away from her.

Alyssa threw open the door and ran into the hallway, nearly knocking Sam over. She panted from the adrenaline thundering through her.

"Get security," she told him, not wanting the vampire to try to kill her again. She didn't know if security could do much, but they could at least buy her some time.

Sam scrambled away, sprinting down the hall to find a guard.

Alyssa backed away from the room, feeling her heart pound heavily in her chest. She managed to escape with her life this time, but what about next time or the next?

How many times would this happen? She was attacked in her place of work of all places!

"What happened?"

Alyssa whirled around to see two security guards behind her. She pointed down the hall.

"Room 210. A man snuck in there and attacked me," she told them. Her voice was shaking slightly.

The security guards nodded before hurrying down the hall to the room.

Alyssa waited in the hallway, holding her breath the entire time the security guards were in the room. What if the vampire was killing them?

She chewed on her bottom lip, unsure of what to do. She felt so scared, so lost. None of this was supposed to happen.

A few minutes later, the security guards walked out of the room. They looked completely fine, like they didn't even struggle or fight, but they were walking out alone. They didn't have the vampire with them.

Alyssa stared at them in confusion as they approached, unsure of what was happening.

They should've been dragging him out of the room in handcuffs or something.

She wasn't sure how strong vampires were, but she was sure an injured one could probably be detained at least.

"Where is he?" she asked them.

"No one was in there, ma'am," one of the security guards told her.

Alyssa's eyes widened as she looked up and down the hallway, wondering how the vampire escaped so quickly.

She turned back to the security guards, feeling tears form in her eyes out of fright and frustration.

"I swear he was. I'm not making it up," she told them, not wanting them to think that she was crazy.

She knew what she saw, what she felt. He was real. He just escaped somehow.

"We believe you. We saw traces of blood on the ground. We'll run through the security footage and find him," the other security guard told her, giving her a sympathetic look.

Alyssa nodded, knowing that was all that they could do. She thanked them quietly, watching them walk off down the hallway.

She looked back at the room warily before hurrying off down the hall. She eventually saw Sam and waved him over.

"Are you okay, Dr. Morgan?" Sam asked her.

Alyssa nodded, even though telling him that she was fine was a complete lie. She was far from fine right now, and even thinking about staying in this hospital made her stomach churn. She needed some time.

"Can you ask one of the other doctors working to take over for me today? I need to run," Alyssa told him.

She felt bad about leaving as soon as she got here, but she was so frazzled right now. There was no way that she could calm down and work after what just happened.

"Of course," Sam told her with a nod. He then rushed off down the hall.

Alyssa thanked him quietly, watching him run off. She needed to get somewhere private. She didn't like being so exposed in the middle of the hallway right now.

She hated feeling so unsafe in places where she originally felt safe. The locker room would have to do for now.

Once she got into the locker room, she turned and shut the door, making sure that no one else was in there with her.

She sat on a bench and breathed in deep, trying to calm herself. She fought for her life in there, and the vampire was still out there! What if he came back? He would certainly be pissed off that she stabbed him.

Alyssa grabbed her phone and stared at it. She was backed into a corner. She couldn't keep fighting off these vampires by herself.

She needed a vampire by her side to help her, or she wasn't going to survive beyond this month.

She had too much that she wanted to do with her life to just not get help. She had to stomach her pride and ego.

She clicked on Elias' contact and then the call button, lifting the phone to her ear to listen to it ring and ring. When she heard him pick up the phone, she took in a breath and spoke.

"I need your help."

***********

Alyssa agreed to meet Elias at a local park. She wanted to meet somewhere discreet but also where people could see her in case the vampire tried to attack her again.

It was getting harder and harder finding places where she felt safe.

She hoped that Elias could help her out and not make things any worse than they already were.

She soon saw Elias heading down the walking path toward her with a concerned look on his face.

She hadn't told him exactly what happened, but she did tell him that they needed to talk because she felt like she was in danger. He immediately agreed to come see her.

"Are you okay? Did something happen?" Elias asked her as he sat on the bench beside her.. He looked her over, like he was looking for injuries or bite marks.