Night descended upon the neighborhood like a silent predator. Chilly air uncharacteristic of a California summer swept through the quiet streets of L.A. Most of house lights in the neighborhood were off. Amongst the dim sprinkling of stars in the sky glided a small figure. It landed on the roof of one house, then jumped swiftly to the next. It repeated this until it reached the city. Lurking in the shadowed alleys, it scanned the streets in search of something. Finally, its eyes locked onto a man walking down the street.
The man had his head down and his jacket collar up, shielding his neck and face from view. His hands were stuffed deep into his pockets. He walked alone, down the street and into an alley. The small figure, who was also in said alley, grinned in anticipation.
The man stopped and slumped against the wall. Sighing, he produced a cigarette and a lighter from his pocket. He lit the cigarette and took a puff. He relished in the feeling of the nicotine sparking his nerves. Nowadays, it seemed to be the only thing that kept him from feeling so low. Problems with his job, problems at home…nighttime was the only real peace he got.
As the man took another puff of smoke, he noticed something sticking from behind the dumpster. Curious, he took a look behind the bin, and was startled to see a young girl. She had big purple glasses and her hair done up in a bun. She looked as if she had been crying. The girl looked up at him with big, fearful green eyes. As he moved closer, she flinched.
"P-please don't hurt me, mister," she squeaked. The man flicked away his cigarette and knelt down to her level.
"I won't hurt ya, kid. Watcha doin' out here this late?" the little girl bit her lip.
"I-I got lost," she sniffed. "I-I wanna go home…"
"Don't worry, kid. What's say I help you find your mom?"
The girl smiled as she stood up, her face beaming with gratefulness.
"Thank you, mister!" she said. She smiled broadly, revealing, to the man's shock, rows of gleaming, sharp teeth. He backed away, but realized he was cornered.
To his horror, the little girl began to swell, her skin bubbling and morphing like wax. She grew taller and taller, until she was two times bigger than him. Before he could think to move, the new creature lashed out with a jet-black claw, catching him on the shoulder. He yelped and fell to the ground. Clutching his bleeding shoulder, he searched frantically for something to defend himself with-
The monster raked his back with its claws, making him scream in pain. Then the demon pulled him from the ground and stared at him with two shockingly different eyes. One was a bright, blood red, the other a cold steel grey. It opened its gaping mouth, revealing once again the razor-sharp teeth, and began to inhale.
The man was quite in shock. From his body, a whitish mist flowed into the monster's mouth. The demon gave a happy growl and continued to suck the life from the man, whose skin grew wrinkled and aged with every bit of mist. Finally, the monster released him, and he collapsed to the ground. He lay still, unmoving, unseeing. The monster began to shrink back into the form of a little girl. She collapsed with a gasp. Upon seeing the man's body, she burst into tears.
"Why? Why do you do this!" she sobbed.
I must feed. I need life force.
"You kill innocent people!"
Their life means nothing to me besides the fact that it is food.
Distant police sirens sounded from the city. Jeanette looked up, half-expecting someone to be standing over her. There was. The ebony-furred Chipette from earlier grabbed Jeanette's arm roughly, pulling her to her feet.
We must leave. Know this, Jeanette. I will not stop until you give me your life.
Jeanette could do nothing but weep as she was carried into the star-sprinkled sky.
