GRAVEYARD TALES - S1/E6 - FRANKIE AND HIS NEW GIRLFRIEND

It was quite a few years ago when I got my first proper girlfriend.
She was called Amber Baker and we met in the Spar shop when I was buying a six-pack of beer. She was so breathtakingly beautiful, that I had to summon up the courage to ask her out for a date. I was afraid she was going to say no, but she said yes! And soon after that, we were a proper couple.
It was a few weeks after we became a proper couple, that my mates came round to meet her. As they walked into the room, I could tell that Sean and Dean thought she was beautiful as well as I did. Charlotte, being a girl, didn't take any notice of Amber's dazzleness, and just said hello to her, really polite. Then all five of us sat down to watch a movie. But after a while, we all started talking.
"So, how long have you guys been going out?" Charlotte asked.
"Well, officially, we've been going out for two weeks," answered Amber. "But we went on a few dates together before that."
"And how did you meet?" asked Dean.
"We met in the Spar shop," I answered. "I was buying a pack of beers, and Amber was buying a pack of cigarettes."
"He came running out after I left the shop," said Amber. "And just asked me out, just like that."
Amber turned to me. "I love you so much, Frankie."
"I love you too," I said, feeling embarrassed in front of Charlotte and the twins.
Amber planted a big kiss on my cheek. Charlotte leapt up as if she'd been burnt. "I'll just go and get a drink," she told us.
"Oh, don't go on our account," smiled Amber. "We won't start snogging."
"No, no, I need a drink anyway," insisted Charlotte. As she headed to the kitchen, Dean said he needed a drink as well, and his brother followed suit.
Amber turned to me. "You don't think they're embarrassed to be in the same room as us, do you?"
"Oh, no," I reassured her. "You know what, I fancy a beer, you want one?"
Amber shook her head, and I got up to head for the kitchen.
As I got closer, I was surprised that the door was shut, and I could hear muffled voices coming from inside. I put my ear to the door, and clearly made out Charlotte's voice.
"...I don't know, Sean, I mean, I think she's a very sweet girl, but there's something about her..."
"What do you mean, Chaz?" I made out Sean's voice.
"Well, I'm not being mean, but Frankie's not exactly a Hollywood hunk, whereas Amber..."
"...Is a Fleur Delacour lookalike," butted in Dean.
"Yes, surely she wouldn't be interested in someone like Frankie."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I opened the door as if I hadn't been listening right outside. Charlotte and the twins were standing there, with cans of beer in their hands. They all looked around as I entered.
"Hi, Frankie!" Charlotte positively beamed.
I grimaced.
"Frankie, what's wrong?" Asked Sean.
"Oh, nothing," I answered. "I've been thinking, why would someone as gorgeous as Amber be interested in an ugly gimp like me?"
Charlotte and the twins all looked at each other, exasperated.
"Frankie..." Dean started.
"No, don't bother lying to me!" I snarled. "I heard every single word you said! You don't like Amber!"
"No, Frankie, we like Amber," started Charlotte. "But I think there's something about her... I don't know. Look, I think she's a bit suspect, that's all."
"What do you mean, suspect?" I demanded.
But before Charlotte or Sean or Dean could answer, we all heard a coughing from the doorway. We all turned. Amber was standing there, watching us.
"What's going on?" She asked. "I could hear you lot shouting from the living-room. Frankie, is it true? Don't your friends like me?"
I looked at the others, they were all looking a bit shocked.
"Look, Amber," said Charlotte. "We do like you, we were just wondering how on Earth someone like you could have ended up with someone like Frankie. That's all."
She was only making it worse. Amber seemed to get the wrong end of the stick. She turned to me.
"Frankie. It's clear your friends don't like me. I think one of us should go. It's either me or them," she jerked her head towards Charlotte and the twins.
I dithered a bit. I couldn't believe I'd been given an ultimatum. I knew straight off who I'd pick. I'd only know Amber about four weeks, whereas I'd known Charlotte four years, and the twins my whole life.
I turned to Amber, went up to her, and gave her a hug. The others all gasped behind me. Then I said:
"I'm sorry, Amber, I can't be with someone who makes me choose between her and my friends."
Amber looked at me,her pretty face getting uglier as she took on a malicious look. Snarling, she raced over to the kitchen drawer and took out a large knife.
"Wrong answer!" She screamed. She lunged towards Charlotte. The twins and I screamed at her to run, but Charlotte wasn't fast enough. With a flash of silver, Amber sunk the knife into Charlotte's leg.
We were all shocked. Poor Chaz lay there on the floor, her leg jerked in an ungainly position, a puddle of blood oozing from it.
Dean reached for the phone to dial 911. He told them it was an emergency and to bring out an ambulance and the police.
Realising what he done, Amber raced for the door to escape, but Sean and I rugby-tackled her. We both sat on top of her until the police and the ambulance arrived.
Charlotte was put onto a stretcher and taken to the hospital via the ambulance and Dean went with her. Sean, the police and I remained with Amber.
The police ordered Sean and I to get off Amber. Then the police seargeant pulled her to her feet.
"Ah," he said, taking a good look at Amber. "I know who you are, Amber Baker."
Sean and I looked at him, a bit bewildered.
He saw us looking, and carried on. "Amber Baker is a resident at Oredasep House. A hospital for mentally ill people. A few nights ago, Amber decided to escape, and we've been trying to track her down ever since."
"But why was she at the hospital in the first place?" I asked.
"Well, she claims she's a Succubus. Do you know what a Succubus is?"
Sean and I nodded. A Succubus is a woman-like demon who pretends she loves a human man, in order to gain energy for herself, up until the point where her victim is either exhausted or near death.
"But she isn't really one, is she?" Asked Sean.
"Well," carried on the police sergeant. "There have been reports where most of her past boyfriends have died in mysterious circumstances. Murdered in their beds!"
Suddenly, without warning, Sean whipped out his hand in front of him. He was holding something. I recognised it as the large green Celtic cross I'd inherited when my father died and kept in the kitchen drawer, because there was no room to hang it up.
We all heard a hissing noise. I looked at the floor and got a shock. Amber's feet were covered in smoke, then the rest of her, very slowly, was concealed by a large amount of fire. And then she vanished, in a puff of smoke, very similar to human combustion.
Sean and I looked at each other, shocked.
"How did you know what to do?" I asked.
"Well, I knew you kept the cross in the drawer, and I wanted to see whether she was a Succubus or not. Holding out the cross was something I learnt from watching that 'Omen' movie."
aWe turned to the door, the police had scarpered. They probably thought they'd lost their minds.
Sean and I went to the hospital. Luckily, Charlotte's leg wound wasn't fatal, and she was awake and joking with Dean when Sean and I arrived.
I didn't fall out with Charlotte and the twins over talking about me and Amber in the kitchen. All I can say is, I was very lucky I overheard the conversation, because it saved my life. If I hadn't gone to the kitchen when I did, I would have been murdered in my bed!

Watch out for Episode Seven, The Prank, in the near future...