He was late.

Lou walked in with minutes to midnight. He smiled at me as the night darkened outside. My bar cut off from the rest of the world. The last customer for today had stepped out just moments ago. There was absolutely nothing that now stopped him from ending my life after this morning's insolence.

I couldn't muster up a smile for him as he approached his usual seat. But his smirk as he walked over unsettled me today. He had been unreadable since day one, however he seemed more like a wall today than ever.

"Good evening, Ryleigh." The usual greeting. "Nice breeze out today."

"I know, it was pretty nice out this morning too." The bottle of scotch glugged as I poured out a glass for him.

He didn't say anything else, but his smile widened as I dragged a stool over to him along with his drink. His long fingers wrapped around the glass as I sat down. "So... how was your day, Ryleigh?" The glass paused on the way to his lips. "Anything... interesting happen?"

He was prodding. This was clearly on purpose. I... I don't know what to do.

I shrugged after a short moment of silence, eyes glued to the counter. "Nothing much, really." Another usual reply. It's best to go the oblivious rou-

"That's strange." I stiffened as Lou cut me off. "I could have sworn something feels off about you today."

I forced an eyeroll. My arms went across my chest. "Stop pretending you care about me, Lou. You're just making shit up."

"Am I now?" He chuckled, a hint of genuine amusement crossing through his eyes at my false irritation. "Well then, Ryleigh, why don't you tell me how your day was?"

"Nothing happened."

"Nothing during the morning shift?"

"Nothing at all."

"A little incident, perhaps?"

I gritted my teeth. This was harrowing. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You do know what I'm talking about." There it is. "But it seems like you want me to force it out of you."

A fairly seductive question, with a fairly seductive look on his face. But the way my gut curled was more towards terrified than turned on.

I shrugged. "No need to play around with me then. Say what you want to say about this morning."

"Why don't you start?" He smirked, still trying to get me to speak.

I shook my head. "According to me, nothing happened."

A chuckle escaped him. "You're feigning amnesia, is it? I can appreciate the silence." I flinched slightly at the quiet thud produced by the empty tumbler being placed back on the counter. "Seems like this will take a while... get me a stronger drink, Ryleigh."

Surprise crossed through me. A stronger drink? He always drank scotch. We had vodk-I mean, he had a vodka shot to celebrate a week last time.

"Umm... Sure." I replied slowly and slid off my stool. I was happy to get away from him. My eyes roamed the shelves in search of options. "What do you want? Scotch? Rum? We have blended Scotch Whiskey too."

"Hmm..." He was quiet for a short moment. "That black bottle towards the left seems rather interesting."

"Rum." I replied almost instinctively as I started to move away from him. "Be right th-"

My reply was cut off as something hard wrapped around my throat. I was forced back as Lou appeared in front of me. My chest collapsed inwards at the look on his face- it was absolutely blank. Stone cold. Dead. The usual look in his eyes was gone. His eyes were gone. There was nothing there. It was blank and hollow, black veins visible under his pale skin, towering over me as he pushed me away.

A choked gasp of pain escaped me as my lower back slammed into the back of the bar. The bottles behind me rattled loudly at the impact as Lou leaned in. "Don't... fucking... mess with me, Ryleigh." I couldn't breathe. It hurt. "You should be honoured at my patronage."

It had happened so fast. It had all happened so fast. My hand startled to scrabble for purchase against the wood behind my back as my body adjusted to the situation. The other hand moved to wrap around the wrist of the hand he choked me with. I couldn't breathe. It hurt. He will kill me.

As if realising he was dangerously close to crushing my windpipe, his grip loosened a bit. I gasped for air, breaths still restrained, body still trapped.

My eyes were glued to his. He seemed to grow as I watched him. His figure got a bit more towering, his skin got a bit more translucent. And those eyes getting a bit more terrifying.

"The way you struggle against my continued presence is pretty amusing." He continued, his voice slipped into a rasp. "You should be honoured that I choose to come here. There are several other places which worship the ground I walk on."

"Well..." I was speaking. I was somehow speaking. And I was angry too. My angry gaze was defiantly glued to his features. "... I d-don't. So wh-" My already choked voice faltered as his fingers tightened almost minisculely. My lungs screamed for air. My throat hurt. "Why do-don't you g-go to them?"

Lou's glare got colder. His hand finally tightened till the little air I was getting was gone. My hands had given up the fight. They had gone limp against Lou's cold body. My vision was also going. I wasn't sure if those were Lou's eyes or black spots appearing in my vision.

I can't... die. I don't w... want to die.

My hand tightened on his shirt in a last ditch effort. "L... Let... go..." I whispered as the last of my vision left me.

My chest hurt. My throat hurt. I needed air. I needed air. I need... air. Give me... air. Let...

Me...

Br... eath... e...

"You're not going anywhere, Ryleigh."

My eyes snapped wide open as the vise around my neck vanished. I gasped for air, strength returned to my arms. Both my hands moving to wrap around Lou's arm. The only thing that kept me on my feet.

"Welcome back, Ryleigh." That voice I hated so much cut through my ears. Those sinkholes in his face somehow glinted in sadistic amusement. "You can't escape from me."

"Shut... up..." I growled, my anger rose as my oxygen levels returned to normal. My voice was rough. It hurt to speak even that much.

He raised an eyebrow. "What did you say?"

"Shut... up... you fucking b-bastard." My nails dug into his cold skin. "You can just fucking... go to those bars that wor-worship your stupid ass because I never will."

Strength returned to his grip. He moved closer. His breath smelt like an old meat freezer. It was rancid. It was cold. "You should watch what you say, Ryleigh." He sneered, sharp teeth inches from me. "My patience with you is stretched very thin today."

I sneered back at him. "Kiss my skinny ass, motherfu-urgh—"

He cut me off once more as he tightened his hand around my throat. I couldn't breathe again, but I wouldn't back down. My throat forced in a rough breath, and I clamped down on my teeth as I held his hollow gaze. He growled, bared his teeth and got closer. His forked tongue twitched in his mouth.

Tension was thick in the air. Our anger clashed as we both refused to back down. After what he'd done this morning, I wasn't too happy either. He needs to know that I'm no longer taking any shit from him. I'm not his slave. I will not listen to him, or do as he pleases whenever he wants.

My hands tightened around his wrist. I am my own person. Not hi-

The bell above the door rang. A sound more familiar to me than my own voice.

It cut through the tension with its pleasant sound and dispersed my anger, turning it into confusion. Lou's head snapped to the side. My eyes tried to catch a glimpse through my fading vision. Customers? I had customers?

"So, uh... y'all open?"

I couldn't see beyond Lou, but I could make out three sets of feet from under his armpit.

"Yes."

"No."

Lou and I chorussed the answer, both our voices rough for different reasons. I frowned up at him as he turned to look at me. The entrance seemed to have caught him by surprise too. The black veins had receded. He was back down to his normal size, but his eyes were still the same. "It's open." He clarified without looking back at them.

"Great." A different voice answered nonchalantly. All three feet turned to to head to a table, and all three came into sight. Humans. They looked like humans. One man, two women. Varying ages. "I'll have whatever's on tap. These two want Long Island Ice Teas.

"No." I mumbled as I struggled against Lou. I kicked out, my foot connecting with Lou's calf. It felt like I'd hit a steel bar.

"What do you think you're doing?" Lou spoke dryly, eyes on me as one hand clawed at his wrist. "We're not done here."

"Yes... we... are." I replied, my eyes glued to the now-seated customers who watched our little show. "Let me... go."

Lou held me there for a few more moments, completely unmoved and unfazed by me. He sighed loudly and turned away from me.

Air returned to my lungs as he finally let go. I gasped loudly, one hand flew to my tender throat. My legs crumbled part way, but the hand placed against the countertop kept me upright. The cool air burnt the inside of my throat, my lungs almost screamed in relief from the buckets of air I swallowed. My spotty vision cleared up as I regained strength in my legs.

Lou had vanished from my vision, only to be reseated at his place a moment later. Looking like a normal person again as if nothing had happened. The new people were watched me expectantly. "The bar is... closed." Speaking through my bruised throat hurt.

"Doesn't seem like it." One of women replied matter-of-factly. "Lights are on. Sign hasn't been flipped."

My eyes flickered to the door. That was indeed true. "What the..." My eyes moved towards Lou. While I was still mad at him, I had something to clear up. "You said... You said, no one c-can enter."

Lou sighed loudly once more. His finger circled the rim of his empty tumbler meaningfully. "I said, 'No human can enter or exit'."

"'No... human'.?" Still rubbing my throat, I pulled away from the bar. "You're all not human?" This question was aimed towards the new arrivals.

I knew the answer even before the eyeroll. "Of course not."

That makes sense. They didn't even raise a brow at the situation they'd walked in on. Choking bartenders for insubordinate behavior has to be a normal thing with these... demons.

"The bar is closed." My voice didn't seem to be coming back to me. "If you all could kindly leave."

"Again, doesn't seem like it's closed."

"Well, it is." I snapped. Their casual attitude felt like salt to my wounded pride. "So, leave."

All three of them exchanged looks, the man finally shrugged and turned back to me. "Like I said, one tap beer and two LIITs."

"Which I'm not going to be serving because I'm no longer open." My eyes flickered to Lou as he cleared his throat loudly. "Can you fucking wait? I'm dealing with something."

Lou rolled his eyes. He twisted in his seat to face them. "The bar is open. Give her a few minutes, she'll serve you."

"What?! No!" The semi-yell from me started up a short round of painful coughing. I felt humiliated. I felt embarrassed. And the way these... things stared at me made it worse. I wanted to go home.

I forced the coughs away before I straightened up. Crossing my arms across my chest, I shook my head once more. "I ain't serving shit. Not to you guys, or to you, Lou." If only my voice had the capability to sound as pissed as I felt. "I'm done here. My throat hurts and it's been a long day."

"No, you're not." Lou tapped his glass a bit more audibly this time. "I've kept you alive for a reason. So, fulfill it."

I raised an eyebrow. "Fulfill it yourself. I'm going home." I heard one of the new guests tsk in irritation as I turned away.

"Are you forgetting what I can do to you, Ryleigh?" I froze in my place, the lights in the bar going dim. "There is one reason I've kept you alive. You are free to guess what it is."

My throat twinged with pain as if to remind me. I didn't need a reminder nor did I need a guess. I'd been living it for the last week.

"I've already mentioned that my patience is stretched thin with you, Ryleigh. And I haven't had a proper drink in over 24 hours— so I'm willing to let you go. Your only punishment will be to serve those nice people over there."

Nice people? Yeah, right. None of you are even people apart from me. "Are there... Are there anymore of them coming?"

"Who knows? Maybe today or maybe tomorrow."

"Will I have to serve them as a bartender too?"

"Yes."

Dammit. It's one thing serving one person, but it another thing having to serve an entire crowd of people after hours. I'm not getting paid for this. And I can't even tell anyone about this so I have no one to complain too. I can only assume that I can't go to any kind of emergency services to get out of here. There's no way to quit either. I'd rather not have Lou hound me while I look for a new job. Plus, he'd probably actually kill me then.

The bell above the door dinged pleasantly again. A gust of cold air stirred my hair as two more people walked in. They looked normal. They all looked normal.

One of them raised their hand to grab my attention as they sat down, as if I wasn't already staring at them. "Two taps here."

Give me a gun and I'll 'tap' the shit out of all of you.

"I'm waiting, Ryleigh." Lou sang softly behind me.

Both my hands tightened into fists. They fell open a few moments later as a sense of defeat filled my body. I can't escape. Not with these many of them around.

I exhaled harshly. My head up to face the ceiling for a few moments as I swallowed whatever was left of my pride yet again.

"Two tap beers. Coming right up."