"Sorry, I forgot you can't see.." apologized the boy, brushing past to get to a light.

I clung onto the staircase railing, easing only when the room was lit. A sort of lounge lay to my left and multiple doors lined a hallway ahead of me. The boy leaned up against the wall, a safe distance away, watching me take in everything. "During the Prohibition this place was buzzing with the illegal sale of bootlegged alcohol. Safe from the cops," he spoke as I glanced around, "Then came the Depression. Mr. Smithman's business took a plunge, and so did Smithman... right off this very building."

The morbid joke left the air bitter.

He continued, "After that the building went from owner to owner. No one made an attempt to restore it to its former glory. A friend of mine got a hand on it, cleared out this basement, and made it into what you see here. No one knew about it."

It was silent for a moment."How did you know about it then?" I inquired.

"My friend gave it to me before he was killed," the boy's eyes dropped to the floor, "My point is, it's safe here."

I stared at him curiously, still not understanding who, or what, this boy was. He looked ordinary, like a kid I could've passed on campus without a second look. Not that he wasn't attractive, because he was. The hole in his shirt revealed a healthy, and toned, chest. He was tall and skinny, but I could guess that he possessed more concealed muscle than his clothing would suggest. He wore black canvas sneakers with dark straight leg jeans. A simple white v-neck was in part hidden by a black jacket. The sole unusual aspect of his dress was a belt that he had tucked both a knife and a wooden stake into. His black hair was ruffled from the skirmish, but not in an unlikeable way. Those deep brown eyes seemed to hold a peculiar sorrow and regret. After prolonged eye contact, I realized I might have been staring too long and quickly diverted my eyes.

"Nathaniel.." he paused, "is my name. You can call me Nate if you want."

"I'm Elizabeth," I replied.

I took a step forward to examine the basement but swayed, all of a sudden feeling very disoriented and tired. Nate ran forward to help me balance. "It's been a long night. We can talk tomorrow. There's a guest room with a bed, let me take you," and without waiting for a reply, he swept me off my feet and carried me to the room at the end of the hallway.

He set me carefully on the bed. I didn't waste any time pulling up the covers, ignoring the fact that I still wore shoes. Nate lingered in the doorway for an extra second or two before turning off the light and retreating, closing the door softly.