A cloud of thick cigar smoke filled the club and a melancholic song
mirrored the atmosphere. This was not a place for dance, love or laughter. This
was one of the places people seemed to end up at when they felt miserable,
alone and forgotten.
Sheri watched the crowd from the stage and let them hear about her pain
and suffering through her words and voice.
There weren’t that many customers tonight expect the regulars. A few sat
by the bar and some were scattered around the tables. The only thing they had
in common was that everyone seemed gloomier than the other. Expect for one.
He was wearing a dark grey suit and had a glass of red wine in his hand.
He had been staring intensely at her for the whole night. It seemed like he actually
was more interested in her performance than in reaching the bottom of his
glass.
The song was finished and as Sheri stood up a lone applaud originated
from the man’s corner. Ignoring it, Sheri walked off the stage and went to her
dressing room. As she closed the door behind her she let out a long sigh.
She unzipped her blood red dress, let it slowly slide off and let her
hair down. She really didn’t long for putting on her waitress uniform, so she
took her time and an extra glance at herself in the mirror. Her appearance would
be more fitting for a seductive siren than a simple waitress.
A small yellow jar sat alone on the table. “For keeping you stable”, the
shrink had said. If it wasn’t necessary for staying in working condition she
would have thrown the pills in the gutter. She took a few and swallowed them
before leaving the room.
- You can go home now Alice, Sheri said with a faint smile. I’ll take
over from here.
- Thanks, the woman responded. A whisky to the man with the trench in
table 5 and a new bottle of wine to the suit in the corner.
- Got it.
A young boy had sat down by the piano. He played as if bound by a
beautiful, yet sorrowful spell. His smooth voice echoed through the hall as
Sheri put down the whisky by the almost passed out man in a trench coat and
picked up the empty ones. Silently she put them on a tray and brought them back
to the bar. For a few seconds she then stopped to listen to the music before
heading towards the corner with a bottle of wine.
- The boy is good, but a little bit pitchy, the man said. Don’t you
think?
Sheri looked up at the man and noticed that he met her with an equally
piercing gaze.
- You seem to know something about music, Sheri said as she put down the
bottle on the table.
- I have picked up a few things over the years, the man said with a
grin. Would you like to sit down for a minute? You fascinate me.
For a second she hesitated. But a minute or two surely could do no harm,
right? So she pulled out a chair and sat down by the table.
- So, what do you find so fascinating in me? Sheri said looking straight
into the man’s eyes.
- The determination in your eyes, he answered calmly. I have never seen
such power, but there is also something sad hanging in the air.
- Interesting. So what brings a man like you to a place like this?
The man pulled his chair a bit closer to hers, without breaking their
eye contact.
- The same as everyone else: A great loss. I just lost my lover in an
odd accident. I found the body, drained from blood, in my bathtub. The world is
so cruel and humans die so easily.
- True, Sheri said impatiently.
Now you have to excuse me. I have work to do. Enjoy your wine.
She stood up and went back to the bar. She was actually thankful for
taking those pills, since they were the only thing keeping her together at the
moment.
The next night Sheri had another show and again she put on the mask of a
seductive siren in order to sing about the pain everyone kept hidden in their
hearts and the salvation people hoped to find at the bottom of a glass. And
again the man sat in the corner, wearing another grey suit and drinking red
wine.
After the show Sheri changed her clothes and went to sit by the man in
the corner. There was nothing else to do at the moment anyways.
They chatted for a while about this and that without asking anything
personal. They had a lot in common and if it would have been another time,
place and circumstances they could really have hit it off. But Sheri could
never let such a thing happen.
- You have stain on your shirt, Sheri said. It looks like blood.
The man tensed up and tried to cover the stain with his jacket.
- It’s just some red wine, he said nervously. Oh my, how time flies! I’m
sorry but I really need to leave now.
- What a coincidence, Sheri said calmly with a piercing look. So do I.
The man hurried out and after a few seconds Sheri followed him. When she
got outside she just managed to get a glimpse of a grey jacket disappearing behind
a corner. Soon after some clatter and a few curses were heard. Too bad, the
clumsy ones weren’t much of a challenge for a skilled hunter.
She followed the figure through dark alleys and backstreets. After a few
blocks it stopped to look around for followers. It relaxed and walked calmly
into the dead end. Sheri grinned to herself. Now the real fun could start.
Careful not to make any sound she snuck after the thing and hid behind a
dumpster. A man and a woman stood a few steps away from her, whispering. The
man caressed the woman caringly before giving her a passionate kiss. New lovers
obviously.
Their relationship didn’t matter. The clock was ticking anyways and soon
time and luck would run out.
The woman, clearly the dominant one, pressed the man up against the wall
and kissed his neck. The man seemed to fade into some odd kind of ecstasy mixed
together with fear and pain. First tensing up and then passing out.
The creature giggled and crouched over the poor fool. He hadn’t had a
chance against that monster. But tonight the luck was on his side.
Sheri pulled out a knife and stepped out of the shadows. The creature
let out a surprised shriek and its eyes widened by fear. Quickly it pulled its
act together and tried to figure out how to explain this.
- Take it easy, it stuttered. This is not what it looks like.
- Do you really think I’ fall for such a lie? Sheri said coldly. What I
have seen and the blood on your jacket are more than enough proof of what you
are. Aren’t they Alice?
For a split second Sheri felt the high from the creature’s horror. Then she
ended its petty life and covered the grey jacket in what must, a long time ago,
have been Alice’s blood.
Sheri sat on her stool and sung. Tonight there was a bit of a crowd, but
that didn’t keep her from seeing the man in a suit in the corner table. But
tonight he wasn’t alone. Tonight he sat with a handsome young man as his
company.
After her number Sheri went to make them company for a while before her
shift would start. The new one seemed quite naïve and cheery, but still he was
both dignified and intelligent.
- Michael would you mind getting us something to drink? The suit said
caringly. I’m parched.
- You’re such a pain, the youngster said and gave his company a light
kiss. I’ll be right back with you two.
Michael left and the suit leaned a bit closer to me.
- Could you promise not to tell him about me drinking wine? He said
nervously. He hates alcohol above all else and I don’t want to upset him.
- Don’t worry, Sheri said with a smile. I’m used to keeping secrets.
