Dartmouth

Laura Fielding

Finally, I get a chance to sit down. I sank into the chair closest to me as I looked up briefly at the clock above my head. It was nearly 10 pm. I had been here only two hours and already I was exhausted. Ashley Miller, the girl who usually sat at the Circulation Desk, had left earlier and I had been kept busy, helping students find books and stocking the reserve shelves full of books for this semester’s classes. Now students would be coming in for ‘late night’ studying. I laughed to myself as I closed my eyes. Late night? For half the students, this was mid morning.

One of the reasons I loved working at Dartmouth College; no one could blame you if you kept odd hours or didn’t look like everyone else. My short cropped brown hair, my constant change of eye color and my pale skin, they all fit in normally at this little liberal arts school I called home. It felt like home, especially after all these years. I smiled at the thought. I had been going here for what seemed like an eternity…

Immediately, my reverie was interrupted as I felt books getting dropped on the desk. I looked up to see about a dozen or so fall out of the student’s hands; he sheepishly looked at me. Fair skin and dark hair, about the same shade as the desk where I sat, popped out at me as I looked at him. As I picked up some of the books, Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales and Poems and a book on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder having fallen on the floor, I looked up to noticed that he looked a little nervous as he stood there, as if he were expecting something to happen. Inwardly, I sighed. Must be a freshman. He smiled and looked around for a moment before looking at me again.

“I’d like to check out these books.”

I nodded. As I checked them out, I asked him, “You look new. Are you a freshman?”

It took him a moment to answer, “I’m a junior, I think… I just transferred here. I don’t know if all my credits went through. My name is Lucas.” He stuck out his hand, already in a mitten, to me. I grasped it and smiled.

“Mira.”

I shook my hand out while I continued to check out the books. For some reason, my hand felt as if it had been vibrating when I had touched Lucas’ hand. I ignored it and asked, “What school did you transfer from?”

“Harvard.”

I looked up and blinked in surprise. “You transferred from Harvard?”

He shrugged, “I realized I liked smaller schools better.”

I smiled in spite of myself. “Then you’ll love Dartmouth. How many schools have you been to?”

“A few. Here and there.”

“Oh. Which school has been your favorite?”

He took the receipt from my hand, placed it in one of the books and proceeded to take all of the books as he grinned at me.

“Dartmouth.”

He then walked out of the library and disappeared around the corner. I shook my head and smiled as he left; on the computer, I glanced at the books he had borrowed and was surprised to see a few of the other titles listed:

Do Vampires Exist?

The Vampire Encyclopedia

Dracula

Private Files of a Vampirologist: Case Histories and Letters

Vampires and Vampirism: Legends from Around the World

As I read the list, chills went up my spine. This Harvard transfer sure seemed to have an interest in vampires… then I shook my head and smiled. I was just scaring myself. He was probably just another over eager English student. They were having an English class this year that dealt with Gothic literature… I thought. Perhaps that is what was expected of Harvard undergraduate students. I shrugged my shoulders and cleared the screen of his book selections. I watched as students cross back and forth in front of my desk. Winter Trimester here always brought new students to the library, especially the first couple days of school when it was ‘understandable’ for students to lose their way and ‘end up’ in the library. I smiled and relaxed in my chair. While watching everyone mill around, I thought to myself, I wonder what will be in store for this semester?

When the library finally closed at 2am, I walked back to my apartment near the edge of campus. As I walked home, I noticed that a thick sense of quietness had settled over Dartmouth campus. Usually, the wind would be blowing at night as I came home or even a little breeze. Tonight there was nothing. I looked up at the sky and saw that it was clear but dark. I stopped, usually on a night like tonight, you could see stars.

Huh. WeatherBug didn’t mention a storm coming for another week.

Dartmouth was far enough from any big city that the stars were clear and bright. I shook my head and continued walking. For some reason, I began walking faster than usual and I could feel my heart thudding along quickly. My hands started feeling clammy and my muscles had more tension in them with every step, almost as if I was running away from something, but wanting to stay invisible at the same time. There is something wrong here, but I can’t place my finger on it...

As I passed some of the trees by the East Wheelock Cluster dormitories, I heard something rustle in the trees and jumped. I spun around and saw the leaves on a nearby tree rustling in a small breeze. I laughed uneasily and turn back towards my apartment. I walked a few more steps before I felt something wet and heavy land in my hair. My heart lurched and I looked up slowly, the image of a dead person hanging from the trees instantly coming to mind. I could just imagine that what had hit my head was a massive glob of blood dripping from the distorted and mangled body. I sighed in relief when I saw that clouds had quickly gathered over head and that what I had felt was only a slushy mix of snow and ice that was beginning to fall. I shook my head and chastised myself for allowing my imagination to get the best of me. Yet still, I hurried home faster than usual, every step seeming to get colder and darker. Imagination or not, I knew I’d only be safe once I was home. Once I reached my street, I noticed that all of the lamp lights were dead. That’s weird. The trees on my street swayed ominously in the darkness as I crossed my street and ran into the front yard, stepping on the frost encrusted grass, which crackled far too loudly for my comfort.

I tried to calm myself and hoped that my roommates Sarah and Nina would be downstairs and have the heater turned on full blast. As I reached the doorknob, there was an abrupt scream come from the house across the road. I spun around and gasped as instinctively I pinned myself against the door. As soon as I did the front porch light went off. I covered my mouth with my thick woolen glove to stifle a scream that threatened to emerge from my throat as something ran through the trees and into the street. Quickly, I fumbled in my pocket for something sharp. I knew I had a nail clipper or a pen knife or even a mechanical pencil. Where is it? My heart began thumping even faster than it had before and I felt like something was pressing against my chest. I watched as the person stopped and peered at me. Even from the distance between us, I noticed that its eyes seemed to glint red in the dark as if reflecting light from an unknown source. The person looked tall and rail thin from his silhouette. At least, it looked like a he. The person inched closer to me until he was a few inches from the cars in the street. Then he quickly glanced up at something else and fled.

I stood there for a moment, my heart slowing down slowly, but still racing like I had just run all the way from the library. I felt the object in my pocket that I had latched onto. I rubbed my thumb against it and realized it was a mini plastic fork from my dinner. Somehow that seemed highly amusing to me and I smiled as I ran my thumb up and down it. Suddenly I hear the door lock click open and I spun around to see Sarah slowly opening the door.

“Are you ok, Mira? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. I was just coming to see if you were on your way home yet.”

“I…I don’t know.” I replied softly. I walked in quickly, wanting to be outside no longer than possible and saw Nina walking down the stairs sleepily towards us.

“What was that scream?” She yawned, “It woke me up.”

I shrugged uneasily, hoping she wouldn’t see my nerves and replied, “You know the girls across the street, there was probably a mouse or something and it scared them.”

Nina looked oddly at me and then replied, “Oh. Well that’s a pretty loud scream.”

Sarah nodded and remarked, “It was. Anyway, why don’t we all go back to bed? I know I’m tired. I was just getting ready for bed when I heard it.”

Nina nodded from the stairs and went back upstairs. As she did, Sarah whispered, “That didn’t sound like a scream from seeing a mouse.”

“I know. I’m surprised that Nina believed me.”

Right as Sarah went to close the door, I noticed that all of the lamp lights and the porch light had come back on. As I was looking outside, Sarah gently touched the door as another gust of wind blew by and snapped it shut, making the whole house shudder. I looked at Sarah who smiled grimly.

“Sounds like another winter storm is coming in.” She whispered as she turned out the lights and we headed up to our bedrooms.

The next morning, I drove to my internship/job at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. As I drove, I looked out at the sky and noticed that the clouds looked more ominous. A dense fog seemed to be drifting into town at the same time. It did snow last weekend… I suppose those could be snow clouds. After last night, who knows? Somehow they looked darker though. I shrugged at the thought as I parked and felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. As I looked at who had messaged me, I was surprised to see Nina Rhinehart on the screen. She knows that I can’t take messages while at work, I thought to myself. I opened the message to see a brief text, Can you see how Jessica Chappel is doing? Her roommates are worried.

Jessica? I thought, startled. Jessica is in the hospital?

Jessica was one of the girls who lived across the street, in graduate student housing. In fact, she lived in the house where the scream had come from last night. Was that her who I heard scream last night? I quickly messaged Nina back and walked into the hospital.

As I entered the hospital, I went up to the nurse at the front desk. When she looked up, she smiled and greeted me warmly.

“Mira! How are you today? Is today your day here?”

I nodded. “I’m doing well, Marlayna. But I need to ask you something.” I hesitated for a moment, “A friend of mine is here right now. Jessica Chappel. I think she may have been brought in last night.”

Marlayna looked at me in surprise. “Oh yes, Miss Chappel. She came in early this morning, into the emergency room. I believe she is in the Trauma Center’s wing right now. It was surprising what happened to her.”

I blinked. “What happened?”

“I only know the basics. She apparently came in and was immediately diagnosed as acutely anemic. The report says that she was found passed out on the floor in her apartment. The police think there might be something to it and all day they’ve been interviewing the doctor who dealt with her last night.”

I nodded and smiled grimly. “The police are involved? Well, hopefully they’ll be able to figure this out soon.”

“Hopefully.” A voice said from behind me.

I spun around and gasped quickly as I saw Lucas standing right behind me. Marlayna looked at him cheerily and said, “Lucas Wolfe! How are you doing today sweetie?”

Lucas grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m doing well, Marlayna. Though I think that she” he nodded at me, “looks a bit pale.” He smiled at me and asked, “Are you ok?”

I looked at him in annoyance and snapped, “I’m fine. You don’t look too robust yourself.”

“I’m only trying to be nice. It’s just cold outside.”

“I thought it was fine.” I had no clue why I was snapping at him. I shook my head; I knew I was just being jittery, especially after last night. “Sorry I’m being rude. I don’t mean to be.”

Lucas waved his hand and replied, “No need. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

He turned back to Marlayna and asked, “Where is Jessica Chappel’s room? I brought a get well gift for her.”

“That’s so sweet of you, Lucas! Why, I think Mira is heading up there herself. Jessica’s room is in the Trauma wing. Just up that way.” Marlayna pointed down one of the hallways. Lucas nodded and I waved as he started walking down the hallway.

I quickly caught up with him and asked, “So why are you really up here?

Lucas lifted the small gift out of his jacket pocket and replied, “Get well gift.”

“How do you know her? You just moved here, like what? A week ago?”

Lucas nodded, “My brother and sister are good friends with her and her roommates. So Jessica was one of the first people I met when I moved up here.”

“How do you know Marlayna so well?”

Lucas shook his head and smiled. “Marlayna lives next door to me and my brother and sister.”

“Wait. Is your sister Daphne Welles?”

“Yeah. It confuses some people because Daphne goes by our mother’s name. Welles.”

“And your brother is Quintin, right?” I had remember them coming over and hanging out with Sarah at times. I knew that both Sarah and Daphne were in school politics and so I had never bothered to get to know them more than that. Marlayna also loved to chatter on about her neighbors; in particular, the beautiful, brilliant Daphne Welles who is a straight A student, works part time, is in school politics and does community service on the weekends. I, of course, thought that, if everything Marlayna said was true, she acted a little too perfect.

“Yea, he’s an English major. He’s the one who I got all of the books for yesterday. He’s been ill lately, but he is doing a paper on Western Mythological Literature, thus the books.”

I nodded, “Sounds like an overachiever.”

Lucas grinned, “I think my whole family is. Hopefully I won’t let them down. But I’m a Psych major. I don’t think that will seem too impressive on a resume.”

“You’d be surprised. I’m actually getting my graduate degree in Psychology right now.”

“So why are you working in a hospital? I thought that only Pre-Med students got internships here.”

I smiled back at him. It felt good to not be asking all the questions. “My interest is in PTSD.”

“PTSD?”

“Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Like the book you took out yesterday.”

Lucas grinned and suddenly seemed more relaxed. “Interesting.”

We walked into Jessica’s room together and suddenly I stopped.

“You can come in. I don’t think she’ll bite you.” Lucas laughed.

I looked at him and replied, “She looks so pale.”

“For someone who works in the hospital, I’d think you would be used to seeing people being this pale.”

“She looks almost dead.” I whispered as I walked farther into the room.

Lucas brushed some wisps of hair off of her forehead and continued looking at her as he whispered, “Indeed she does.” Suddenly he looked up and smiled, “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

I walked up next to him and looked at Jessica more closely. Her skin was paler than my own and looked like it was made of wax. The circles beneath her eyes were dark and large. The oddest part of her countenance was the appearance of two tiny pricks in her neck, reminiscent of the prick marks that come after one’s blood is drawn.

“I wonder why the nurse pricked her for blood twice…”

“I don’t think the nurse did. Why would a nurse take blood from someone already suffering from an anemic condition? Plus it’s in her neck. Not even a beginning nurse would take blood from her there.”

“Then how…?”

“Some prick has decided to play Dracula.” Lucas smiled grimly at his own dark humor. We were quiet for a moment, listening only to the machinery that surrounded Jessica, before Lucas mentioned, “We should probably go. I don’t want you to be later for work than you already are.”

I looked up at the clock in the room and groaned. “Yeah.”

He walked with me to my department and then whispered, “Stay safe.”

I looked at him oddly and he remarked, “Jessica lived across from you and Sarah. If someone went after her, they might want to come after one of you guys next.” He then walked away quickly before I was able to say anything else.

During my break that day, I grabbed my laptop out of my bag and connected to the hospital’s internet, googling information on the attacks. The first thing that popped up on my search was the local TV station’s website and on it, a small article on the attacks in the police report. Lucas had been right. Jessica had been found unconscious on her floor this morning. I shuddered as I felt chills go up my spine. A small voice in the back of my head said that the person I had seen last night was mostly likely the person who bit Jessica.