A/N: Day three and I’ve completed another short story! Okay, so I cheated a little, because I already had the idea for this story in my head. But I’m going to give myself points for keeping it as a short story and not writing the novel it may one day be, so it all evens out. Enjoy.

Donovan Loves His Job

The screams echoed down the dark hallway, and Donovan smiled, pleased at the sound. The others were doing their job then, which would make his all the easier.

He lurked in the shadows of a doorway, invisible in his black robe. His face was pale, dark circles ringed his eyes, and liquid red dotted his lips and chin. He grinned in anticipation and the hint of fangs flashed in the dim light.

He could hear the footsteps approaching him now, and he licked his lips hungrily. So they had made it past the others. Would they be so lucky with him? He drew back further into the shadows and waited.

There they were, dim shapes moving through the darkness. A dozen or so. He let two thirds of them pass, unaware of his presence, before he suddenly surged forward, growling and baring his fangs.

There were a number of screams, and those who had already passed ran down the hallway in terror. Those left behind shrank against the wall as he stalked toward them. He looked them over with dark amusement, and chose his prey. He slid closer to a particularly good looking girl dressed rather scantily. He leaned his face close to hers, and in a low, growling voice said, “Boo.”

Nervous giggles emerged from the group and with a satisfied smile, Donovan slid back into the shadows, allowing them to pass. They slid along the wall, still trying to keep their distance from him. As they turned the corner, the girl looked back and gave a small wave. Donovan smiled. He loved his job.

Several hours later, Donovan slid out the side door next to his post and leaned against the railing of the stairs which led down from the upper level of the Infernal Mansion. He slipped on a pair of dark sunglasses, and squinted against the sun setting beyond the horizon of the ocean. He pulled up the hood of his robe as further protection from the dimming light, and let the ocean breeze wash over him. The one draw back to working in the haunted house on the boardwalk was the heat.

Donovan watched the line of beachgoers below waiting to get into the ride, and was amused to see the girl he had played with earlier waiting to once more enter with her friends.

“Hey, Don,” a voice behind him suddenly called, and he turned to see Cameron, one of his fellow employees coming up the stairs. “Here’s your coffee,” the young man said, passing him a styrofoam container.

Donovan took it gratefully and sipped on the warm liquid, feeling the kick of caffeine push away the sluggishness that he usually felt at this time of day. Cameron watched him for a moment, then shook his head. “I don’t know how you can drink that stuff when it’s so hot out, and are you sure you didn’t want anything to eat? I’ve got an extra sandwich…”

Donovan shook his head. “I’ll get something after work.”

Cameron rolled his eyes. “That’s still three hours away. Whatever, man, it’s your funeral. You probably just don’t want to deal with taking out those teeth,” he added, smirking. With a wave, the young man slid into the side door, continuing on his mission of food delivery.

Donovan chuckled and once more leaned against the railing. He sipped his coffee, being careful not to smudge his makeup, and looked out again at the setting sun, wincing slightly as a few rays slid around the edge of his glasses. He yawned and his fangs glinted in the sunlight.

He sometimes wished he hadn’t taken the early evening shift; he was always so tired at the start of it. But then again, he thought, his eyes turning to the girl standing in line, that left the rest of his night free for other things.

Donovan finished the last of his coffee, crushed the cup, and tossed it into the trash can by the door. Then he slid back into the shadows of the haunted house, relaxing slightly as the darkness engulfed him, despite the heat that also wrapped itself around him.

He took off his glasses, sliding them back into an inner pocket, where they clinked against the false teeth he had been given on his first day of work. He kept them with him in case anyone ever asked about them. He’d once tried them on, but had thought that they looked goofy.

So he worked with his own. Nobody had ever looked twice assuming it was all part of his costume. He loved that about humans; the way they simply ignored what didn’t fit into their normal world-view.

Donovan stretched in the darkness, feeling far more awake with the buzz of the caffeine and the coming darkness. His senses grew sharper and he breathed deeply. He could smell the mustiness of the ride, the sharp tang of the ocean air, and the delicious smell of excited humans. The now-familiar whiff of the girl reached him, revealing that she had entered the haunted house.

What better life was there than this? Living by the sea, able to enjoy its pleasures. And living near so many humans who had thrown their cares to the winds, who would be more than willing to indulge in a little vacation fling, never noticing that they were providing him with a meal in the process. He had been coming every summer since he had discovered the benefits of the situation ten years ago.

Donovan prepared himself for the next group of vacationers, grinning as he did. He loved his summers. He loved his job.

A/N: I just want to mention where the inspiration for this came from.

Last summer my sister and I were at the boardwalk and we went on this cheesy monster ride. The first time through, the one guy who was there to scare us completely wasn’t paying attention, so we waved goodbye to him as we passed. So we decided to go on again after riding a few other rides. The second time, there were more people lurking inside, but this same guy, along with another of the people working inside, still manages to not scare us, because we know where he is. We wave again. One of them stalks us up the track. Very menacing. We decide to go on a third time. We’re waiting in line and there are these open parts to the ride on the second level, where the cars can be seen from outside, and the guy we’ve been waving to is standing in one of them. And he’s looking at us. As we get closer and move out of sight of the guy, we can see the monitors of the inside of the ride, in a sort of negative black and white image. We see a white shape go flying across the screen, and we’re like “oh crap they moved!” We get inside. The first one scares us. And then so does the second. We scream. One of them says “That’s right.” And we applaud their success. We later saw the one we’d been waving at standing at a side staircase, and we shouted up to him “Ghouls rule!” He nodded solemnly in acknowledgment of the fact.

And thus I was inspired to think, wouldn’t it be funny if a real vampire worked in a fake haunted house ride? And so we have Donovan. One day I’ll write more with him, but for now it’s a nice introduction.