Eli's Visit

This was inspired by PeteMork's Eli's Curse but it ain't half as good as that masterpiece.

Clint pulled his cell phone from the worn holder on his belt to check the time. 4:06 p.m. Close enough to quitting time for him. Most people in his field worked a 7-3:30 shift but he had a boss that wasn't much of a morning person so they opted for an 8-4:30 shift. Since the boss wasn't around today he could pack it up just a tad early.

The spring season was in full effect and with it came a punishing workload. Thank heavens the spring temperatures had been merciful so far since most of the weeks he had been spending on this particular job were in the attic. Work had always been something he enjoyed, something he looked forward to each morning when the alarm clock sounded forth in all it's 80's music glory. Lately though work had become just another vile four letter word. The pace and schedule had been brutal. Deadlines had turned eight hour days into ten or more and demanded the sacrifice of precious Saturdays. He worked to live, not lived to work but what had to be done had to be done.

Once he collected his tools he headed to his faithful work truck and loaded everything up. The old battle worn Ford Ranger was always a welcome sight at the end of the day. Clint opened the door and was engulfed by the usual expansion of smoldering heat that was released from the cab. A daily present from the hot sun's gaze upon the truck. He sat down with a tired sigh, rolled down the window and put the key in the ignition. With a flip of his wrist the little truck rumbled to life, ready to embark on the hour long commute home.

A few miles down the road the familiar little "mom and pop" gas station came into view. It would be the last convenient stop on the journey home. A long drive on a warm spring day in a truck with no air conditioning usually required a cold beverage. Clint veered of the road into the tight parking lot of the store. He entered the old building, headed straight for the drink coolers, grabbed a Pepsi then went to the cashier. Same ole routine.

"Hey, how are you doing today?" he asked.
"Oh pretty good I guess how 'bout yourself?" the middle-aged woman replied.
"Better than I deserve I reckon." he answered.
"Will that be all?"she asked.
"Yes mam'." he replied.

And that was it. The last live interaction with a human being until sometime the next morning at work. Sometimes he didn't really need a drink just some proof that he existed in a world outside of work.

The rest of the journey home was spent sipping on a cold Pepsi while wondering how many grammatical errors his latest work of fan fiction contained. He was a proud member of the We, The Infected online forum and was constantly humbled whenever the poems and stories that he submitted were not only approved but actually read. He smiled to himself as he thought, "Wonders will never cease." He smiled again as he thought that with his latest story he might have even created some new, never before seen errors. As he recalled the lines of his story, trying to make sure he got it right, the miles passed by unnoticed. Soon he rolled into his driveway and parked his trusty companion in the usual spot.

A quick shower and a cold glass of tea later Clint was resting in his recliner under the refreshing breeze of the livingroom ceiling fan. His laptop was sitting securely in his lap while Raven, his blue-eyed Siamese beauty, lay next to him in the adjoining recliner, purring loudly now that the guy who put the food in the bowl was home. He plugged the nifty wireless gadget into the computer, shook the nifty wireless mouse that resided on the arm of the recliner in order to wake up the sleeping electronic gem, then began clicking on magical icons that would take him to the wonderous land where his fellow Infected roamed.

As he waited for the sometimes slow connection to be established he took a moment to look at the Let The Right One In posters that adorned the walls. Oskar and Eli were always there, in some form or another. He shifted his gaze to a picture placed high and in the center of the room. It was an incredible portrait of Oskar and Eli that one of the Infected had created and made available to any who wanted it, along with many other truly inspiring works. Clint always found the picture to be very inspiring and couldn't believe that something so beautiful, so emotional could come from someone who was always bent on world domination.

Finally. The connection was made and with a few quick mouse clicks the forum for the Infected appeared on the screen. Home at last. Clint quickly scanned the site for new posts in each section, clicking on each one in order as he methodicaly worked his way down the screen.

Let The Right One In (Film): Oh man, I never noticed that in that scene before.

Let Me In: Not interested. There's only one version for me.

Let The Right One In (Novel): I really need to read the book again.

Handling The Undead: Can't wait for more people to read this book.

Human Harbour, Little Star, Paper Walls: Gotta learn Swedish.

Media: Oooh! Those are great pics.

Off Topic: Let's see what he's listening to today.

Fan Fiction: Hmmm, another story about one the Infected having an Eli encounter.

Fan Art: Whoa, that's really cool.

Ok, now I'm caught up. I can start working on my next story, he thought to himself. Clint relished every second he spent weaving his tale. It made him feel like he was actually spending time with Oskar and Eli. That felt good. Was it obsession or passion? Did it really matter since there was no one around to notice?

A couple of hours later the moon was hanging high in the star cluttered sky. The only sound in Clint's house was the feverish clicking of keys by two fingers trained in the art of pecking. The assault on the keyboard was halted only when checking the pocket sized dictionary was required for proper spelling. Supper time was drawing near but the words were flowing so saltine crackers, which wouldn't require any detours from writing, were on the menu.

A sudden sharp hiss and growl from Raven got Clint's attention. He looked over and saw her standing at attention. She was pointed towards the back door. Her blue eyes blazed with intensity while her back was arched in typical cat fashion. Clint looked towards the door then back at Raven.

"What is it girl?" he asked, like she was really gonna answer.

A few seconds later there was a light knock at the door. Clint was perplexed for a moment. No one ever came to visit, especially on a week night. Must be someone from the local volunteer fire department looking for annual donations again, he thought. He sat the computer over to the side and got up to open the door. Raven's disapproval became more adamant as he got closer to the door.

"Sshhh!" he hissed back at her.

Clint turned the door knob, then eased the door inward. When he looked into the large, beautiful blue eyes that peered up at him from the delicate, dark haired form standing across the threshold his heart stopped. His eyes exploded while his jaw dropped. Profound shock took hold of him, bound him, forced him into a state disbelief. After a long moment of frozen silence a soft voice broke the ice.

"May I come in?"

Clint blinked rapidly several times then shook the dumbfounded look off his face.

"It's ...uh...it's really you, I mean you're you. I mean you're... Eli. Uh...oh wait!"

Clint swung the door closed then bolted towards Raven. He scooped her up in a flash and zipped her to the front door, opened it and tossed her outside. She always loved it out there. Willing his body to move faster than it was supposed to he made a b-line back to the door which he snatched open.

"I'm sorry...I um... I had to put the... cat out." he stammered

"Please, please come in." he said as he made an inviting gesture with his arm.

"You do understand why I'm here and what inviting me in means don't you?" Eli asked.

"Oh most definetly. Please come in." he said with an excited smile.

Eli smiled back then slowly crossed the threshold to enter the house. Clint closed the door then motioned for his guest to make herself comfortable in the livingroom. Eli went and sat in Raven's recliner. Clint was trying desperately to gather himself.

"Is there anything I can get you?"he asked as he strolled over to the livingroom.

"No. I'm good thanks." she replied calmly. "I see you're writing another chapter to your story." she said as she picked up the laptop.

Clint went over to his recliner and sat down, never taking his eyes off of Eli. He swallowed hard. His heart had started back with pounding beats. His legs quivered slightly and his nervousness echoed through his voice.

"Yeah, are you familiar with it?" he asked in amazement.

"Ofcourse. I read all the fan fiction on the forum." she said with a mischievous grin.

Eli couldn't help but notice how uneasy Clint was so she reached over and placed a hand on top of his. He flinched a little then relaxed his hand under hers.

"It's ok. You don't have to be afraid." she assured as she squeezed his hand gently.

Clint looked down at her hand then back into her eyes.

"Oh I'm not afraid. I just don't want to screw this up."

Eli seemed puzzled.

"You see, I was warned recently by one of my fellow Infected that you'd probably be coming here but..." his words trailed off as he turned his head away.

"But what?" Eli asked.

Clint slowly turned his drooping head back to Eli.

"But I didn't think I was worthy enough." he said, keeping his head down.

Eli took her other hand and guided Clint's head up by the chin.

"If you weren't I wouldn't be here." she said solemnly.

Clint's face radiated with joy and his smile threatened to wrap around his head. He sat back in the recliner and Eli did the same.

"So, which story is your favorite?" Clint asked.

"The one with me in it." Eli laughingly replied.

Clint gave her his best "Well duh!" look which evoked a chuckle from each of them.

"So which author is next?" he inquired.

"Hmm, I haven't decided yet. There are a few really good stories going on right now and I'd kinda like to see where they go."

"Yeah, I guess you being here means mine won't get finished huh?" he frowned.

"Yeah, I guess so." she admitted with a guilty expression.

"Who cares!? This is sooo much better than some story!" he exclaimed.

Clint's enthusiasm chased Eli's unwanted expression away. She leaned over to Clint and again took his hand, squeezing it tightly this time.

"I want you to know that I 'm really sorry that I..."

"No Eli,"Clint interrupted,"You don't ever have to be sorry for coming here tonight. All you're doing is taking what's already yours and has been since the moment I stumbled across you're existance. I thought then that it was chance but I know now that it was fate."

Eli smiled.

"Eli, I just have one thing to ask."

"Sure. Anything."

"Can we have this whole night together? Will you wait until just before dawn so we can have this night?"

"I'd like that very much."

Relieved and overwhelmed Clint stood up and paced for a moment in front of Eli.

"Whew! I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe you're really here." he said as giddy as a kid on Christmas morning.

"Yeah, I've been getting similar reactions from other forum members."she said.

Clint stopped pacing and studied Eli carefully.

"You know, I always figured Lina was picked to play you because of her incredible acting talent but now I also see that the resemblance between you two is striking. You two are quite beautiful if you don't mind me saying so."

"Thanks."

A look of sudden realization swept over Clint's face.

"You're not going to visit her are you? I mean..."

"No! I could never do that!"

"Ok. Whew! I just had to ask. I'm sorry."

"It's ok."

Clint and Eli dove into conversation. The night advanced but Clint never grew weary. He eagerly told her how much her story had affected his life. He was sure that she had been hearing many such confessions lately but still, she listened as if he were the first to reveal his thoughts to her. They shared their feelings on love and their trials of companionship. They talked, laughed and shared stories. They even watched Let The Right One In and Eli gave him her own commentary on the actual events portrayed in the film. He was grateful to learn that John... er...Oskar had meant so much to her and still did. At his request they enjoyed a moonlit stroll across the acres of his property that led them up on top of a small tree covered foothill. At the top of the hill was a clearing with a huge rock trapped halfway in the ground. There they brought their stroll to an end and leaned against the rock. Clint's heart grew heavy as the night grew towards the dawn.

"Eli...I know the time is near."he said gravely.

She tilted her head down and nodded in agreement.

"It's ok Eli. I know you need this and I want to give it."

This time he reached out and brought her head up gently with his hand, looked into her eyes and spoke as sincerely as he knew how.

"I want you to know that you've given more than what you're about to take. I'm only sorry that I can't give more."

He cleared his throat and suppressed his tears.

"Eli, there is something I want to recite to you."

"Sure Clint. What is it?" she said softly.

"It's a poem I wrote way back when I joined the forum called Infected."

"Oh I know that one." she confirmed with a smile.

"Wow. I'm blown away. Wonders really will never cease. It would still mean a lot to me to recite it in person though."

"Ofcourse. Please do."

They sat down crosslegged in front of each other. Clint looked up at the fleeting night sky then into Eli's eyes.

"When this is over you can stay in my house as long as you need to. I've blackened the windows in my bedroom and when you close the door no sunlight will enter. You don't have to worry about anyone coming over. No one will miss me anytime soon."

"I will." she said. Her words brought tears from them both.

She reached both her hands out to him and he accepted her invitation with his hands. Slowly and sincerely he recited each line of the poem without faltering. At the end of the last verse,"Take from me what you will, I surrender all", they came together and shared a long embrace. He buried his head in her chest then felt the tingle of her fangs penetrating his neck. As she took what he freely gave he leaned his head back just a little and whispered into her ear,"Thank you." Several minutes later a sharp cracking sound echoed through the night.