NIGHT CREATURES
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of Joss Whedon's wonderful creations, but a couple of the new faces that you'll see here are straight out of the twisted dungeon that is my own mind… muahah!… okay, I'm done.
Chapter 1: Shadow Dwellers
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He rests.
"It is only in the darkest of places that reality is truly present. The darkness that lies at the heart of all creation is required for the full flavor of the world to exist. The creator, after all, sought to banish the dark when he created the light. Where then, are the mysteries of life better kept than in those places that hearken back to the times before even creation?"
He stirs.
"I seek those secrets, and have spent my life and, indeed my soul, in their pursuit. I have even spent my death. I will know."
He flies.
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The skies above Los Angeles are an astonishing sight, if caught at the right moment. It lacks the gothic beauty and terror of New York, and does not possess the quiet Puritan majesty of Boston. It is frighteningly beautiful in its own way. On a cool night, when the mists have rolled up over the hills into the valley, the air carries a yellow tint that seems to make the city glow. It seems to wrap it in a silent shroud, and all its residents are enveloped by it. In this quiet fog life still moves. Life and death.
From the mist emerges a slender figure, a woman, casting her eyes nervously about, uneasy in the suddenly burdensome peace of the fog. The heels of her shoes click heavily on the sidewalk as she moves toward her home, some seven blocks away. From above her, the creature sniffs the air, his nose twitching as he catches the scent of her fear. He follows, and she hears the soft padding of his step behind her.
"Pardon me…" The voice from behind her slows her, the silken voice like music.
"Yes?"
"You're lost."
"No, not really. My house is just down the street…" She stops as he steps fully into the light. His pale skin glistens with the moisture that accumulated in the air. His eyes are a dull gray and he looks on her as a scientist looks on a lab rat.
"Please, tell me."
He moves ever so slightly closer, his right hand reaches to touch her face.
"Tell you? Tell you what?"
Her voice is a whisper as he draws her close.
"Your secrets."
She does not even scream as he sinks his face to her neck, drinking deeply of her life force. She drops silently to the ground while he remains still, a euphoric look on his face.
"No answers."
He flies.
As he leaves, another figure emerges from the fog. He is a tall, slender man with a youthful face, but time-worn eyes. He drops to one knee and turns the face of the woman who had only seven blocks to safety.
"Another."
He removes a small silver cross from his pocket and places it on her chest. He does not know if she drank, but he takes no chances. An injection of garlic to her veins ensures that her final sleep does not become something else.
"I'm too late again."
The fog closes around him as he walks away, leaving only the woman. Where the shadows are, he will be found. Where darkness goes, he must follow. It is his duty. And his curse.