The Last Call

Chester was the epitome of pathetic in the most classical sense. It was not so much that he had no real life, but how he lived it. He had the same routine every day. He would wake up, get cleaned up, trudge through his mediocre job, and rush home to get ready to go out. He would find some hole-in-the-wall bar and waste what meager wages he had earned trying to impress every woman he could find. When buying them drinks did not work, he would resort to gifts, all while flattering them profusely. It never worked and he would always end up crying himself to sleep within his tiny one bedroom apartment.

Now Chester was not exactly ugly, but he had no real defining features either. He was slightly overweight and beginning to lose his hair. His glasses had always been a point of self-consciousness but this wasn’t his real problem. Chester’s problem was he was extremely awkward around the opposite sex and tried extremely hard to overcome this. If his advances were rebuffed, he would try harder and eventually leave any woman in his presence scared for her life. He gave off, “stalker vibes”, to almost any woman who spoke to him longer than ten minutes. He had no clue how to land a date but he constantly felt the need to continue this cycle, despite how much he failed.

Then one night, as the bar was calling last call, he shuffled away from his newest defeat and ordered his last drink. He sat at the bar sipping upon it, contemplating the purchase of a pint of Ben & Jerry’s on his way home to cry. A tap upon his shoulder drew his attention to the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. She had long, flowing dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and her proportions where that of the models he secretly ogled in his bathroom.

He stammered, attempting to introduce himself while this goddess simply smiled at him and trailed a finger upon his glass. He had no words, which might have been for the best considering his track record. She raises his glass to her lips, taking a sip before handing it back to Chester. He shyly took a drink himself, his eyes still locked on his new guest. If he had paid more attention he would have noticed the tiny cylindrical object that now rested at the bottom of the glass.

She leaned in, blowing gently into his ear before giving him a wink. He tried to steel his nerves and respond but could only manage to nod in agreement. Then without a word, she took him gently by the hand and guided him to the door and out to her car, Chester stumbling to keep pace, his adrenaline coursing through his veins and the implications of finally taking a woman home for the night.

The car came to a stop in a part of town Chester was not familiar with, but he was too enamored by this woman to care. He was guided up a set of steps and through a hallway. The lights seemed rather dim, but he assumed it was for romantic atmosphere. The trip came to a close at a door way, she had left him standing in the hall and simply gestured with a bending finger for him to follow. Chester stood shaking, his body not sure how to proceed. Sweat beaded upon his forehead and his thoughts overwhelmed him with choices.

A quick slap to his own cheek brought him back to his current situation. He couldn’t just leave, he monologue to himself. He took a deep breath, pushed away any reservations, and took a step inside the room. He coached himself within his head, assuring himself that he could do this, that it was what he had wanted for years now.

“So, um…w-what’s your name? I m-mean…I’m Ch-Chester,” fumbling with his words and mentally beating himself up on not introducing himself first.

Then his eyes fell upon the woman who had undressed herself and had laid bare upon a mattress on the floor. A sly smile rested on her lips, her hands running across her silky smooth skin. She again urged him to her, a look of longing resting in her eyes. Chester was unsure of how to respond, his feet shuffling a bit under him, his nerves getting the better of him. It stood there for a moment, just watching her and eventually she curled over onto her knees, hands sprawled out upon the mattress.

If Chester had not been so preoccupied by this sight he would have noticed that there were no other furnishings in the room. He would have also noticed that the windows had been boarded shut and the light that dangled above them flickered erratically among the random drips of water that seeped through holes in the drywall ceiling. He would have noticed all this if his pupils had not been focused directly on the curved form that now lay before him.

The woman began to crawl toward Chester, slowly, seductively and inched her way closer. She pulled at his belt until it fell to the floor away and Chester could not resist, it had been far too long since he had been with a woman. When her finger tips pressed at the cloth near his zipper and attempted to undo the fastening, Chester’s body quivered violently in elation. He could no longer contain himself and quickly soiled his undergarments.

His face flashed red, knowing that any minute now his new friend would be mocking him. He could hear her now within his mind and the thought brought thick tears to his eyes. He jerked away from her hands, quickly brushed away the signs of embarrassment, and turned for the door. He stumbled toward the exit, all while attempting to fasten his belt. When his hands rested on the door knob he turned quickly to apologize, hoping to make up for the humiliation.

“I’m s-sorry…,” his words crackling as his eyes narrowed in an attempt to see her through his alcohol blurred vision.

The woman, who now stood wrapped in a sheet at the bedroom door, anger forming upon her brow. Then in an instant her body leapt forward, dropping the sheet and sprinting toward Chester. Her hands clapped down upon the floor and her gape became more animal than human. He quickly rubbed at his eyes, his vision blurring more as the seconds ticked by. His body felt heavy suddenly and he had to fight to remain standing. He leaned against the door, still fighting with the knob.

Her skin tightened about her mouth as it drew unnaturally wide and for the first time that night Chester knew why she had not spoken. Within those beautiful lips rested jagged razors in place of what should have been teeth and the sound that erupted through the hallway was nothing close to human. He cupped a hand over one of his ears, trying to drown out the guttural wails of whatever creature now pursued him all while fumbling with the door knob with the other. Chester only had a few moments before this thing was upon him and his body felt weak now, he even had trouble seeing the door knob right within his hands.

When the door finally opened Chester’s body came crashing from it, stumbling upon the landing then down the steps toward the street. The commotion caught a homeless man's attention, who had made residence across the road and Chester soon found himself being helped to his feet by the man. He mumbled amidst tears, attempting to warn the man of the coming doom. His hand shook as he pointed toward the doorway he had fell from. When he was finally able to form a word it came out almost in a scream.

"Monster!" he bellowed into the night before passing out.

The man looked up the steps but only witnessed the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on, buck naked, slowly closing the door behind her. A laugh erupted from the homeless man before he turned back to Chester, "Man, how much have you had to drink?"