| The Dark It Loves Night settles in over the now quiet town. The place is dark but for the waning moon overhead. A shadowy creature lurks among the trees. It moves faster, breaking into a run. It is nearly invisible with its black fur for camouflage and its movements too fast for the eye to follow. It stops in a patch of moonlight and sniffs the air. What couldn’t be seen before is now a wolf. It lowers its head and bares its teeth, looking more menacing and dangerous. The ominous creature looks west and takes off, seeming evanescent with the dark and trees closing in on it. Suddenly, it stops once again and peers into the clearing. A boy, obviously lost, steps into the moonlight and scans the trees around him. The wolf stares at the young man intently, soaking in his golden hair and stormy blue-gray eyes. It licks its lips lowers its head, a tremor running through its body. Slowly, the fur melts off its body and its bones crunch and move. A lithe body appears under the darkness of the wolf. The figure stands. What a beguiling creature! Her hair is as black as the velvet night sky, her skin pale, almost translucent in the light of the moon. A woman like no other. She produces a cloak out of nowhere and wraps it tightly to protect against the cold. She steps into the clearing the moon is bright and full. The body of this creature looks like it was dipped in a thin layer of silver. Her eyes as black as her hair with lips as red as the blood, she craves in her other form. Any eye that that falls upon her is captured in her bewitching gaze. The boy looks upon this striking and terrible being in fear and awe. The cold air hits him and he faints, bewilderment and exhaustion catching up with him. The woman leans over his body and sniffs his neck, hunger taking over. She stands up, disgusted with herself. A poor, innocent boy lies at her feet and she cannot curb her horrible need. She moves away from the unfortunate boy. She stands alone. No one to comfort her. Alone. The poor accursed being, an outcast from the rest of the human race. She feels nothing but the loneliness of her life and the bitter cold of night. Nothing gives her heat except the nectar she takes from her victims. That, too, is only temporary. Not tonight. She will not hurt this child who is a man. She looks off into the distance, still and quiet. Sensing something, she crouches. Before she leaves, she takes her cloak off and drapes over the sleeping body. It will keep him warm and someone will find him when he wakes. She slowly transforms, her fur sprouting and teeth growing. The figure takes off, evaporating into the dark she hates. The dark it loves. |