Creatures of the Dark

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Do not distribute, plagiarize, or copy anything from this story. Plagiarism is a crime, in the eyes of the law and in the eyes of the Lord. Please be aware of typos and grammatical errors. - SVilla1n Prologue The dark sky roared, the flash of lightning illuminating the damp road of Melody Lane, the small droplets of rain gently waking up Meghan Palmer as she lay on the street, sore. She opened her eyes, both the dead sky and raindrops meeting her gaze. Meghan groaned as she pulled her body upwards to sit, her senses going wild. She could see the tiny particles of the rainwater as it slowly dropped to the ground, she could hear the faint sound of an engine a few kilometers away from her, and she could smell the vague fragrance of fresh human blood. "Blood? Seriously? Mikael must've drugged my drink or something. Screw that jerk." Meghan frowned at the thought, absentmindedly raising her fingers to touch the slight sting on the side of her neck before standing up. She looked around her, squinting her eyes as she tries to read the sign on the post. Sunken Forest straight ahead. "The hell? How did I get here?" her eyes widening in shock as she recalled the stories circulating in the city about the strange occurrences in the Sunken Forest. Meghan didn't know what to do. If she takes the road back to the city on foot, she won't be home until tomorrow night. At the thought of arriving after a whole day, her stomach growled, her hunger growing even more so without hesitation she followed the single road towards the tunnel that leads to the Sunken Forest. When she was about a few feet away from the entrance, a shadow appeared in front of her. "What's your business inside?" She stopped walking. "First of all, I don't know how I got here and I have bite marks on my neck! I couldn't go back to the city at this hour, my clothes are all wet and I'm really really hungry..." "Hungry?" the shadow advanced but maintained a distance from her shaking figure. Throwing her hands up in the air, she groaned. "I feel weird. And I suddenly have these blood cravings-" In a swift motion, the shadow sprinted towards her. Meghan let out a scream, her thoughts in a whirlwind as she waited for the shadow's blow but nothing happened. She slowly opened her eyes only to meet the stranger's blazing red eyes, observing her. They were both an inch away and Meghan couldn't move. There was something about those eyes that somewhat felt like... danger. I can't die yet! I'm not even halfway through my life, I have bills to pay, dreams to reach and a family yet to build! She thought closing her eyes, body shaking in fear. "Who are you with?" the stranger asked again sternly. Meghan opened her eyes again. "I'm all alone when I woke up. I was laying there..." she pointed on the spot she sat at earlier. The stranger turned his back on her, muttering something she can strangely hear. "Goddamn it, another newborn... Gavin's gonna flip about this." That's weird. I can hear his voice from afar... his thoughts... Her eyes widening in realization. Meghan pulled her legs backward to walk away from the shadow, trying her best not to make any sound. When she's far enough, she turns around ready to make a run for her life when the stranger appeared right in front of her! Her muffled screams echoed towards the street as the shadow pulled her inside the tunnel in a flash, her vision blurry from her unshed tears. By the time the strong wind stopped, the stranger slowly drops her to the ground. Meghan's eyes widened upon seeing the massive dark fortress in front of her. "This is the only place to go if you're hungry but that fortress is sacred. I want you to be on your best behavior or else..." the stranger started walking very fast. "Or else what?" she absentmindedly sprinted towards him in a flash, now walking beside him as they follow the path that leads to the fortress. The stranger chuckled. "Or else you'll get your heart ripped out of your body..." A bolt of fear traveled across Meghan's body. She shivered at the thought of 'ripping the heart out' as she follows the stranger go through series of doors and hallways and then eventually arriving in front of by far the largest door, revealing a grand hall draped in black and red curtains. She watched as the stranger confidently walked towards a group of people all wearing black clothes, the two ladies sitting on top of the rectangular wooden table while the remaining ones welcomed him. "Another newborn case..." "No way. How did you find her?" "Shall we report this to the council?" "Why did you even bring her here? If they found out they're all going to think one of us turned her..." The group spoke in hushed whispers but with Meghan's new enhanced senses, she silently listened to the conversation. Wincing at some parts where she heard another sentence with 'just kill her' or 'rip her heart out'. When the group turned towards her, she gave them a disgusted look. "Y'all done talking about me? 'Cause I'm starving!" she hissed. She glared at the group when they turned around to gossip some more until the guy with blonde hair advanced towards her in a blink. "I apologize for the lack of hospitality. We were just looking out for our entire tier..." Meghan nodded, her tongue poking in the inside of her cheeks in annoyance. "I'm not that dumb. I can see that I'm not welcome here so I'll just ask another person to help me. Screw you!" She whirled around to leave but she found herself staring at another pair of blood-colored eyes. This time, a woman, smiling at her like she's some piece of meat. "I could be of help..."