The Vampire's Nanny Ch 1: Jenny

The river raged down below be, completely disregarding the calm waters of my mind. It had all come on so suddenly; I definitely hadn’t planned on coming here. But after what happened at work today, I realized what I truly wanted, what I needed to happen. My revelation was only 30 minutes old, but was already wiser than my 24 years of experience in this world. I knew I was right, that this was right.

                                            *Half an Hour Earlier*

“Here’s your cash m’ame, have a nice day.” I said with a smile                                                  The woman grumbled something in reply and trudged out the door, her steps unsteady.

“She should be in bed,” remarked my co-worker, Alicia. “When I’m 60 years old, I won’t step one toe out of my door past ten o’clock!”                                                                                          I made a non-comitical grunt, personally of the opinion that it wasn’t anyone’s business if seniors decided to do their banking at 1 in the morning or not. At least she an improvement on the normal crowd she got on the night shift. From 11 till 3, the Green Titon bank would be visited by many customers of various sobriety, all intent on replenishing their wallets so that their night of fun could last for a few more hours.

Normally, the tells would be closed at six, like every other normal bank. However, last month our most important worker in the building was brutally murdered by some cash-seeking teen with a steel baseball bat. With the ATM machine out of commission, our customers made a huge protest about how their access to their cash was far too limited now. Since we were the only bank in the town, Mr. Simmins, the manager and my boss, was forced to oblige the crowd and replace the ATM machine with a rotating crew of 24 hours.

All this meant to me was more hours, and more hours meant more money, which I needed if I was going to keep up my rent. With both parents dead and being an only child, I had no one to rely on for financial assistance. It had been that way for the last 7 years.                                       

“Hey, Jenny,” Alicia asked, “I was going to ask you yesterday, but I forgot, would you mind trading shifts with me Thursday? I really need a few more hours this week, Johnny was going to take me on a weekend vacation to California, but I don’t have that much for spending money, and I really don’t want him to pay for everything this time-“     

I gave her a nod without looking at her and made a noise of assent. She gave a squeal and wrapped her arms around me. “Oh thanks Jenny! You’re the best! I promise you can have next week’s Thursday!” I tried my best to smile and patted her on the back. Alicia was a nice girl, younger than me by a few years. This wasn’t the first time I’d given up a shift for her, but it would be the last. I just didn’t know it then.

The automatic bell on the door gave a buzz, announcing the presence of a very shaky teen with bloodshot eyes. He wore a long, dark trench coat and a blue beanie hat and heavy boots. I was immediately on the alert; this guy was obviously stoned and might be trouble. He darted his eyes to and fro, looking around the building before carefully making his way up to us. He was rather short, from my sitting position at the desk he was only just above eye level with me.

“Can I help you, sir?” I asked cautiously.

“I-“ he gulped and started again. “I- I want some money”.

“Well sir, if I could just verify your card number I’ll withdraw some money out of your account and-“

“I don’t have one.” He said, his eyes still shifting from side to side. It was almost making me dizzy.

“Then do you wish to take out a loan?” I asked, keeping my professional manner. Glancing to my left, I saw Alicia looking at us with worry. Slowly, her hand reached for the phone, but she didn’t dial. Maybe we were just panicking, after all, during the night shift when only two people are working, surely imaginations start to run away with what could be a perfectly normal situation. Returning my gaze to my customer, I gave him my full attention.

“I-I can’t have a load”. He stuttered. “That’s w- that’s why I’m here. T- to pay off a loan.” Suddenly, he shot his hand into the pocket of his trench coat. Alarmed, I stood up and turned back towards Alicia, giving her a quick nod towards the phone. She dialed 911 before the phone was off its cradle.

“NO!” shouted the man in front of my desk, now brandishing a handgun, pointed shakily at Alicia. “Hang up right now, or I’ll- I’ll shoot! Jenny hesitated a moment, and an indistinct female voice could be heard at the other end of the line, asking about the state of our emergency.

At that moment, the door opened, and a tall man with a black bowler hat walked inside, a frown on his face. The boy with the gun hadn’t noticed him, despite the buzzing sound that the door made. He was too intent on watching Alicia, demanding that she put the phone down in a too-loud whisper. Alicia’s eyes were open as wide as saucers now, as she took in the gun pointed at her and the man behind her attacker. Slowly, painfully slowly, the arm holding the phone dropped, and the device was returned to the cradle.

“I wa-want you both to t-take our all your money, and give it to me.” Basic training kicked in, and I quickly dialed the number to open the till, backwards, so that it would both open the till and notify the authorities that we were in trouble. Alicia opened her till as well, and pulled out a roll of $20 bills. He snatched them from her hands, and then turned back to me. When I handed him the same, he quickly backed away, right into the strange man. Jumping forwards as if he were electrocuted, the boy whipped around his gun now aimed at the new arrival. I took this opportunity to pick up my own phone, and attempted to dial 911 once more. I couldn’t hear sirens, and I knew the police station was close. I assumed that no notification had been sent to the authorities, and that they remained unaware of what was going on two streets down. Stupid till.

But then the boy backed up against the opposite wall, waving his gun frantically at all three of us. “STOP!” he screamed in a terrified voice. “JUST S-STOP MOVING!!” We all froze, but my call to the police had worked. This time, the officer at the other end had been able to catch the robber’s words, and I heard a hasty assurance that a swat car would be on its way. The robber stared panicking, and ordered us all to stand against a wall, to which we complied. Suddenly, the sound of sirens wailing broke the silence of the night.

“NO!” He screamed looking around frantically. He knew he was caught. Suddenly, his eyes landed on me. “You!” he said, coming towards me quickly. “Is there a back way out?” I told him there was one door, but it was locked, and only I had the key. Alicia turned to me in shock and gave me a quick slap on the arm. “Jenny! What the hell are you doing?!” I ignored her, and started walking towards the back room, where the only other exit resided. I heard hurried footsteps behind me, and knew the robber was following.

“If you send t-them after us, I-I’ll kill her!” He quickly called behind him. We marched along the corridor, the robber right on my heels. When we reached the door, he waited impatiently for me to find the key in my purse. When I tried to hand it to him, he shook his head and indicated that he wanted me to unlock it, which I did. The moment the door opened, he pushed me forwards, grasping my shoulder in one hand and the gun in the other.

“You h-have to come” He said in his shaky voice. If they find m-me-” he left his sentence unfinished. We made our way across the street, moving quickly. It was barely 5 minutes walking before we reached his destination, which turned out to be a pathetic excuse for a car.

He jumped in the driver’s seat, and turned to me once more, gun pointing out the window. “I-I wanted to m-make sure that you won’t t-tell anyone w-where I went.” He said, taking aim at me. My life didn’t flash before my eyes; that had happened when I heard the sirens. It was almost like I had been waiting for him to shoot the whole time. I waited for him to pull the trigger, hoping he’d get it over with.

But then he suddenly turned on the engine, and sped off into the night. I was left standing there, alive, alone, and confused. And then another feeling came, one that almost made me collapse on the street.

I was disappointed.

Back at the bank, when I had heard the sirens wailing and felt the adrenalin rush in the room, I hadn’t really known why I had told the robber about the back door. I just knew that I didn’t want the police to come. It grew clearer and clearer what I wanted to happen the further we travelled from the bank. I wanted him to shoot me. It wouldn’t be suicide if someone did the shooting, and I would be guilt free. It wasn’t a plan, exactly. On the surface, I still wanted the man to be caught, of course. But I couldn’t ignore the feeling of excitement that crept up inside me the moment the boy with the gun had walked into the building though. Yes, I had done my duty, called the police, and complied with his wishes, but another thought, unbidden crept into my mind. What if Alicia hadn’t been there? Would I have acted in the same way? Or would I have attempted to anger the boy, so that he would have no choice but to shoot me?

I felt sick, even weak. Was I really that cowardly? That I had to get somebody else to kill me just because I couldn’t take living here anymore?

“No.” I said to myself firmly. I wouldn’t be a coward, if I wanted to die, then I would have to make it happen myself. Straightening up, I made my way down the road. This ended tonight.

     

                                                              ***

So this is how I ended up perched on the railing of the Bryson river, working up the nerve to jump. Very few thoughts were running through my head, but the ones that did tended to repeat themselves.

Is this the right thing to do?

I  just want it all to end!

I should have called Mr. Simmins first to tell him I quite....

I hardly think he’ll care; you’re just another employee!

But Alicia might worry-

She’ll be glad you’re gone! Without you, she’ll have twice as many hours-

At least until the replacement comes; then she’ll be in the same boat anyways-

You’re replaceable! 

No one wants you to come back!

Might as well end this charade of a life.

Did I leave the window to my apartment open?

JUMP!

And with a sort of half strangled cry, I let go of the railing, and dived head first into the water at a 40 foot drop. I slammed into the water painfully, and promptly swallowed a gush of water on purpose. The water was freezing and fast, it didn’t take long for me to get swept undercurrent. My body was telling me to fight, to kick, to swim, breath, damn it! But I had strong willpower, and I swam down as far as I could before trying my hardest to become immobile. I focussed on counting to ten, and by then the fight had been knocked out of me, as well as my breath.

This was it. This is all my life had amounted to. I swallowed even more water, and a few bubbles came out of my mouth. I went down further underwater, and waiting as blackness crept through my vision, blocking everything else out. Just before I was rendered unconscious, I felt a mild shock as something tugged roughly at the front of my blouse.