Chapter Text
It was 7pm on a November evening. All the customers were gone, and it was just her and a few other staff left; finishing up for the day. El worked a job in her local supermarket; it was good money, surprisingly, but not the most engaging. Every now and again a customer would ask her where the birthday cards were, or.. if they still had this in store, but most of the time it was just stacking boring old shelves.
On that thought, the last cake mix was placed, and it was time to go sign out. El pondered what her journey home would be like as she made her way to the back of the store. She was walking home tonight. Usually she would take her bike, but that ship had sailed a few days ago when some sort of gear had given in; it was in for repairs for a while, but hopefully not for too long. Walking felt so slow compared to her bicycle, and when she just wanted to get home after a day of stacking, it was extra torturous. It wasn't all bad though! The evenings in November had this specific vibe to them that she'd always loved, in a way. She never really worked this late so she didn't get to soak up the feeling often, and when she did, she got home too fast to take it in. This time however, this time she would soak up those vibes like a happy human sponge!
El said her farewells to the rest of the staff as she passed by. A couple ladies who worked on the tills were wiping their stations down, readying them for tomorrow morning. El waved them goodbye, and one of the ladies smiled back. The rest didn't see, being too busy with their cleaning, probably. El turned, and headed for the exit.
As was her normal routine, El stopped just before the exit by the shopping baskets where the newspapers lay. There weren't many good ones left, only the weird controversial ones that almost no one liked, but that was the fun of it! El enjoyed reading the silly stupid stuff the presses had on the front covers. Her eyes scanned over the little that were left. All she could see was nonsense, per usual. One stated ‘COWS LOSE THEIR JOBS AS MILK PRICES DROP’... huh? El snorted, imagining hundreds of cows at the job centre after losing their jobs. Another said something about owls being spies?? An image of owls with those small spy cameras for eyes appeared in El’s mind, and she laughed a little to herself again. She scanned the rest of the shelf, and one last cover caught her eye, right on the bottom shelf in the left hand corner. It stated in big bold letters ‘WOMAN BITTEN IN THE NIGHT. VAMPIRES TO BLAME?!’ Vampires? But they were myth, El thought. Despite herself, El looked out into the night, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness beyond the trees around the car park. She quickly regained herself though. El shook her head, clearing those thoughts from her mind, it was silly; to dwell on them, just as silly as believing them was. It's all lies to make people pick it up, nothing more, El thought.
On that thought, El walked out the door, and cool air hit her face. El shivered slightly, and put on her jacket. It was a rare day, or evening rather, when El got cold. She didn't feel it too often, but something about this evening seemed to reach right down to her bones. Her mind flitted to that cover she read once again, but she shook her head, and the thoughts left her, as they had before. El wasn't naive of the non-supernatural dangers of the early night though, she thought, as she looked up to the dark blanket that was the sky. Perhaps it was foolish, but her excitement much outweighed her fear. The quietness of the usually busy parking area, the darkness illuminated by buzzing streetlights, it was all so unusual, but thrilling; at least, it was to her. El sighed, and closed her eyes, taking it in, lavishing in the feeling. Then, she opened them, and walked into the eve.