The Vampire of Sacremento

Room 5421

I stared out of the tinted window of the white van. Trees were whirring by at a steady rate. I leaned closer to the glass and rested my head against it, being jolted along with the car.

“We’re almost there…” the red haired man who sat in the passenger seat announced this.  He had this thing were he would leave his sentences hanging like he had more to say. But he never said more.

I heard muttering coming from my right and I lifted up my head to see who was talking to themselves now. A guy, who was obviously younger than me, was hunched over in the seat and rocking back and forth. Clenched tightly in his hands was a Rosary. It shook violently and I wasn’t sure if it was because of all the bumps in the road or due to his unsteady hands. I looked away from him and leaned my head back up against the window. I was starting to drift off to sleep when loud and anything but sane laughter awoke me completely.

“Why yes Mrs. Sanchez, I would LOVE some of your apple streusel along with my cup of tea!” I turned around and saw a young woman talking to the air surrounding her head. She tipped her hands to her mouth and started screaming at the top of her lungs.

“Mrs. Sanchez! How could you try to poison me? I asked for TEA Mrs. Sanchez! I wanted tea!” she thrashed about in her seat and I felt thankful that I wasn’t one of the unlucky brutes sitting next to her. They were pressed as close to the wall of the car as possible without actually being one with the wall of the car.

“Anna Lee. Please calm down.” The red haired man was turned around and was staring calmly at the girl. Her screams immediately stopped and her dilated pupils focused in on the red haired man’s unusually small ones.

“Calm down, okay? Mrs. Sanchez is not here, and she is not trying to poison you. Okay?” they stared at each other until she slowly nodded her head.

“Good. And please, no more screaming. That goes for everyone.” He returned his attention back to a paper back book in his lap that I had not noticed until now. Wuthering Heights was written neatly across the front. Wow.

I turned around again and leaned my head up against the window. I started to drift off again but was, again, woken up by one of the other crazies. Some one was beginning to sing a song.

“This little piggy is a drug attic,” the singer sat in the row behind me, but appeared to be the most stable person out of the 5 of us.

“This little piggy got raped.” The boy looked about 15 and was staring at his hands as he sung his song.

“This little piggy is a war vet,” an uneasy smile slowly spread across his face.

“This little piggy is gay.” He looked up from his lap and he had the faraway look that Anna Lee had moments before.

“And this little piggy went BAM BAM BAM, right at his daddy’s head.” The car sank into an uneasy silence.

“It still needs editing, it doesn’t totally rhyme yet.” the boy said, an easy smile on his face. Was all of that true? It wasn’t hard to tell which one was about me. But how did he know? I’ve never met this kid in my life! And everything else he said…is all of that true too?

I closed my eyes and slowly shook my head. I don’t belong in an Insane Asylum. I’m not crazy. Not like these people.

I drifted off to sleep moments later.

My dreams were filled with what happened early this morning, when I woke up in the nightmare.

I got yanked out of my bed by a man with bright white clothes on, ordering me to get dressed. I would have demanded what was going on if it wasn’t for gun that was held inches from my head. I complied and the man led me out of my room. Sitting down on a sofa, I saw Alan with his head in his hands. His shoulders shook and muffled sobs came from him. I tried to walk in his direction but the man was leading me to the front door. “Alan, what’s going on?” I yelled to him. He slowly lifted his head out of his hands and looked at me with swollen puffy eyes. “You need help bro…it’s either there or jail. I’m sorry. I’m just trying to help.” As a screamed at Alan for betraying me and demanded to know where I was being taken to, the man led me out of the house and put me in the van that I sit in now. We had picked up my “companions” along the way. The guy who woke me up this morning was our designated driver.