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For the Night is Dark and Full of Terrors

    It was enough to drive any girl insane. Arlene Lullah Thomas! Don’t tell me you’re falling for that unnerving, inconsiderate, not even human… person! She buried her head in her pillows to drown her thoughts. But all she could think about was his face, those burning eyes and that long luscious hair of his. Heck her own hair never looked that great when they're long! Raven, why??? She was going to try and force herself to fall asleep when she heard the sound of pebbles thrown at her window.  She quickly shot up to take a look. But it was only Johnny. She couldn’t help but feel a little bit disappointed. She opened her window anyway.

“What do you want Johnny?” she whispered.

“Let’s go and paint!” motioning for her to come down.

    Johnny Carson was her friend for as long as she could remember. Being brought up in the same neighborhood, Johnny was an orphan who lived with his aunt a few blocks down the road. She motioned for him to wait. Sleep was not coming to her anyway. She changed into her jeans and pulled on a sweater. For extra precaution against the chill night air, she took her long black coat and pulled a grey-checkered newsboy cap on her head, and proceeded to tiptoe down the stairs. She grabbed her paint bag from the store and slowly went out through the back sliding door. 

“Where are we going?” she asked. Johnny was a decent enough guy. He was about 2 years older than her and had bright orange hair that girls seems to dig. They had been friends for so long that she just couldn’t imagine him as anything else though. 

“You’ll see. An empty place. No traffic. Should be easy for us to do our job.” 

“No one else?”

“Ryan couldn’t go. He was too flat out from his rugby practice. Ben and Lisa are out of town with their parents.”

She followed him a few blocks, passed the intersection to the railway station. He kept on walking towards the industrial area, through factories and warehouses. Finally he found the wall he was looking for. It was the back alley of a row of new buildings. White and freshly painted from the looks of it. Nobody is going to come around here.

Johnny had brought with him two battery powered LED lights. He switched them on and the lights illuminated the wall with a soft glow. They began to work. Arlene doing one side and Johnny doing the wall on her left. It had been a few weeks since she last painted. Holding a can in one hand, she admits she could feel the rush of adrenaline again. To her, painting a wall was like giving a painter a giant white canvas. So much space to work with. Her specialty was animals. While Johnny always drew women in various state of undress or with dresses. Today she decided to do an owl. A close-up of an owl with big orange eyes.

They were about half way through when she felt a bit thirsty. She glanced at Johnny’s wall. He was doing a girl in a flowing red kimono.

“Hey Johnny do you want any drinks? I’m going to run up to the store” she asked.

“Sure. And a pack of cigs if you don’t mind?” he added.

“No worries.” she said as she took her purse and brisk walked out onto the main road. She felt the night was much dimmer than usual. She looked up at the sky but couldn’t see the moon. Good thing the main road was well lit though, she thought. The petrol station was not that far, only a few streets down. She came in, quickly picked her items and paid at the cash register. 

She walked back, one hand holding the plastic bag. The whole walk probably took her less than 10 minutes. But as she walked into the alley she noticed a person standing over Johnny. He was bending over him, while Johnny was sitting, slumped against the wall. 

“Ryan, is that you? Decided to join us after all?” she called out, excited. The light was too dim it was hard to make out. The guy stood up. It must be him, she thought, decided to join at the last minute. She walked towards them but the guy jogged towards her, stopping her midway. 

She was surprised! It wasn’t Ryan. But he was very good looking. He flashed her a dazzling smile with perfect white teeth. 

“Hey” he said.

“Oh, do I know you?” she was a bit confused. She was expecting Ryan or someone part of the gang.

“Nah, I’m new in town. A friend of his,” he said. His voice was deep and so fluid, she thought. She looked into his eyes. They were the deepest black she had ever seen. It seemed to stretch forever and for some reason she found it hard to tear away from them.

"Really?" she felt strangely drawn to him.

"You can call me Vincent." with that he put his arm out for a handshake.

    She took his hand and shook it but he didn't let go. What a handsome and charming guy, she thought. She couldn't resist the unmistakable pull, like gravity. She found herself stepping closer and closer..

***

    Ravenach was out in the forest. He had been waiting in the trees, somewhere near where he thought the supposed doorway would be. His mind though was on another matter. Replaying in his head the look on Arlene’s face the previous evening when he kissed her hand. It was all he could do to keep a serious face. The thought sent him grinning in the dark. She is so transparent! A few more seconds and she would’ve fainted. He had to admit he had never bothered to spend so much time with a human girl before. He usually ignored humans in general. He was only 120 years old after all. Still lots to learn in a lifespan of an elf, which could stretch to about a thousand, give or take. 

    Watching the moon now, the eclipse would be upon them in just a few minutes. The witching hour, sometimes they were called. He came prepared. Over his usual leather garments, he slipped on his metal suit. The armor was very thin and light, but like anything elven made, it would be able to withstand any blade that struck it, giving additional protection to his wrists, shoulders and chest. And usually he would be dealing with more than just blades. There were bound to be claws and fangs that he would probably encounter before the night was over. His body tensed and his ears pricked for any tell-tale sound. 

    Then he noticed the shadows moving by the big rock across the stream. And it began, like an open floodgate. The demons, the wargs, the goblins poured out by the dozens. He jumped down from the tree, unleashing the two daggers from their sheaths. He was by far outnumbered. But none of them could ever match his speed. Realizing the presence of a Night Hunter elf, they ran in a scrambled panic of complete disorder. He targeted them one by one, hunting them down as they ran in every direction, extinguishing them on sight.

    He blocked a goblin’s swinging axe with his left hand and stabbed the creature right through its throat. He was slicing them left and right. The lessor demons never stood a chance. He was waiting for their pack leader. The vampire. But as he killed the last of them, he couldn’t see any sign of any vampires at all. Maybe the old hag had given up after all, he thought. Well that was lucky of him.

    Just as the thought crossed his mind, his senses picked up the unmistakable scent of human blood in the air.