Eating Out

Note: This story can also be found on my DeviantART account: http://LouTheWolf.deviantart.com . It's also based on a dream I had. Enjoy ^_^

I walked into the old-fashioned barbeque restaurant known as Choppes. The smell of beef, pork, spices, barbeque sauce, and other things good to eat hit my nostrils, and they flared as my stomach let me know how impatient it was. I had never eaten here before so I figured I would try something new tonight. I was the only one here besides the plump, middle-aged woman who ran the place, and her friendly face was the first thing I noticed.

My feet began to carry me towards the counter, but the woman saw me and said, “I hope you’re not in too much of a hurry, sweetie. I’m just cooking the last batch of meat. It’s almost done but you’ll have to wait a few minutes.” And then she smiled.

I was a patient young woman. I could wait.

She went out the back door to tend to her meat while I began to look around the place. Wood floors, the smell of cedar, a small television showing the news in a corner, some crumbs on the floor as well as a few drips of barbeque sauce, and an overflowing trash can in need of emptying. It seemed as if the place had been extremely busy earlier, not a surprise in this small Texas town. But it was close to closing time now and it was late.

I like eating late.

I watched the large woman tend her meat from a window, waiting for her to come back in to serve me.

The cowbell on the door clanged behind me as someone else entered the place.

I listened to his footsteps shuffle a bit behind me before I turned around. It was a man. I had guessed right. He had wavy, dark brown hair and brown eyes and looked as if he had worked hard for a few years. He was an attractive man who looked to be in his late 20’s or early 30’s. He also looked nervous and some sweat gleamed on his forehead.

I watched him amble around picking up the few things for sell, like Choppes’s signature barbeque sauce and small souvenir spoons and thimbles proclaiming one had visited The Lone Star State. But he was just wasting time, waiting for the plump woman to come back into her restaurant.

He finally looked in my direction, and he had a look of surprise on his face like he had just noticed me. The surprise on his face turned into what looked like disappointment and then resolution…as well as a little lust. I was used to getting the last look from men, and some women. I knew I was attractive with my wavy brunette hair that went past my shoulders, my dark green eyes, my pale skin, and my slim, shapely body. He began walking in my direction, still with that nervous look on his face and the other looks coupled with it. Man this man was easy to read.

As he approached me his smell wafted into my nose. He smelled of oilfield, like he had simply changed his clothes when he had finished his shift before coming here. No surprise. That kind of work was plentiful here. I did wonder why he was nervous. I would think finally getting off work and going to eat dinner would relax a person.

“Um hi,” he said briskly when he had reached me. “What’s a young woman like you doing here so late?” He rubbed his left hand on the back of his neck while keeping his right hand in his jacket pocket. He didn’t want me there for some reason. Any other day I know he wouldn’t mind an attractive young woman paying him some attention. Tonight, though, something was different.

“I got off work late and since I don’t work tomorrow morning, I figured I would come here and eat something. I’ve heard it’s good, but I’ve never tried it. How do you like it?” I replied.

“Oh it’s real good food.” He was fidgety. It was kind of annoying, but it tickled my curiosity as well. He looked uncomfortable and he looked at me with annoyance. “Why don’t you just come in tomorrow?” he said to me. “The food will still be here. A young, pretty girl like yourself shouldn’t be out this late alone.”

“Oh but I like to eat late, and I can take care of myself.” I looked at him with no fear. He looked at me like I had messed something up.

“What are you doing here so late yourself? Like you said, the food will be here tomorrow.” I looked at him with curiosity.

He sighed. “I just got fired. Just didn’t need me anymore or something. Figured I’d come here and eat some good food n’ make myself feel better.” He had gotten fired, but the rest was a lie. He was thinking about something else. I looked at the one hand in his pocket, and he saw me look, making him more nervous. I was betting there was a gun in his pocket and he was planning on robbing this woman, maybe killing her as well. He didn’t have a mask on and I was a witness. I probably needed to be killed too.

“Why were you fired?” I asked him. I portrayed a curious, ignorant look that seemed to relax him a little after a minute. I was a good actor. I looked into his eyes, hinting that maybe I was a little attracted to him and he relaxed a little more.

“They just didn’t want me anymore. Said they had too many people on the job.” As he said this I caught a glimpse of anger in his eyes. “It’s alright,” I replied. “I bet a man such as yourself can find another, better job in no time at all.” I flashed my teeth at him and he smiled a little in response. I reached for his left arm, which he had dropped to his side, and stroked it a little. This surprised him a bit, but he also relaxed even more. Why wouldn’t he with a pretty woman paying attention to him? The right hand stayed in is jacket pocket, but his eyes stayed on mine.

“Tell me about it,” I melted my words into his eyes. He began to tell me about himself and his job and I listened intently. He needed money and his job hadn’t paid much anyway. He was in debt and didn’t want to lose his house. I guess robbing this place had been his only option in his mind. Well it obviously made good money.

When he finished his story I looked concerned and like I felt for him. He cast his eyes downward thinking about his situation. I saw him fidget with whatever it was in his right pocket. He looked at me again and I looked back. I hoped he wouldn’t pull the gun out and shoot me.

I stepped towards him and held out my arms. Maybe he would give me a hug and forget about what he was going to do. I doubted it but why not.

He looked at me kind of surprised, but then stepped forward and embraced me with both arms as I embraced him. But he was quick and smarter than I took him for. I felt the cold metal of the small caliber pistol on the back of my neck that he had taken out of his pocket along with his right hand. His face was close to mine as he whispered with determination, “I’m sorry. I need to do this. I don’t have a choice.” I felt the small gun fire its bullet into my head and I went limp and he let me go. I fell on the floor, apparently dead. The gun wasn’t loud enough for the old woman to hear it from outside. She still tended her meat.

He turned away from my body on the floor and went to the counter to wait for the plump woman. I sat up silently, shaking my head a little and rubbing the now healed place where the bullet had entered. It was still tender. The cartridge lay on the floor where it had been pushed out of my head.

I had tried to be patient and wait for the meal I wanted. I had even been willing to let this guy eat his dinner and leave, but I was tired of talking and waiting. This guy would do. He didn’t have much to live for anyway, and I was currently mad at him for trying to kill me. I’d just eat him. Perfect revenge.

I stood up and made my way over to the man silently and stood behind him. He finally noticed that there was someone behind him and turned around. As he did I took the gun away from him and took it apart so fast he didn’t know what was going on. I dropped the parts on the floor. I didn’t like to break killing weapons. After all, I was a killing weapon as well.

He looked at me like I was a ghost, and I looked at him like a wolf looks at easy prey. I grabbed his head with both hands and sunk my teeth into his neck as I slammed him onto the floor. He fought me but he was no match. The blood lust overtook me and I drank till there was no blood left in his body. My stomach was happy. It had waited days for a good meal.

When I was finished I licked the gaping wound on the man’s neck and it began to heal. No use having anyone who found him think of an animal or supernatural things…if they found him that is. I stood up and wiped my mouth on my hand and then licked the blood off. Man I felt good. Not only had I just eaten a big meal, I had prevented a murder of an innocent woman. How many times does that happen on a hunt? Even if it was accidental and the woman had been only minutes away from being killed by me instead. It felt good, and I felt good. Now it was time to get some exercise and hide the body while I was at it.

I took out my wallet from my pocket, a men’s worn, black leather wallet I had kept from one of my victims, and pulled out a 10-dollar bill and dropped it in the tip jar. I threw the man’s body over my shoulder, looked around the place once more for any evidence I might have missed, and walked out the door happy.